Chapter Eight

Rose smiled as she stepped out onto the porch and saw her husband and daughter. Marston had saddled Kaitlyn's gentle mare, Chocolate, with the children's saddle that he had spent countless hours polishing until it shone.

Lucy was sitting proudly atop that saddle as she clung to the saddle horn and her short legs gripped the mare's sides. "Am I doing good, papa?" she asked, her voice the tiniest bit shaky.

Marston smiled up at her looking just about as proud as a man could look. "You're doing better than I've ever seen a first timer do, nugget," he replied as he led the mare around by her halter.

Duke sat on a bucket beside the barn polishing reins. "Maybe you should have started her on a pony her size."

"No kid of mine will ever get their start on a pony," Marston assured him.

"Yeah I don't need some tiny pony," Lucy agreed, poking out her chest. "This big horse will do just fine."

Rose saw the next event coming before it happened and laughed behind her hand. Pete came sneaking up behind Chocolate and winked at Marston. "Boo!" he hollered as he reached out and tickled Lucy's side.

The girl squealed and lost her grip on the saddle. She slid sideways and tumbled right into Pete's waiting arms. "Pete!" she screeched with a giggle as she fought against him. "You're nothing but a pain in my backside!"

Pete was laughing as he sat her on her feet. "I brought candy."

When he pulled the peppermint sticks from his pocket, her entire demeanor changed. She batted her lashes up at him and twirled her dark curls around her finger. "You're my favorite."

Pete laughed harder and handed the little con artist her candy. She took off giggling toward the house with her prize in hand. "That little traitor," Marston grumbled. He turned his attention to Pete. "What brings you this way?"

"Your daughter wanted to come for a visit," Pete replied, tipping his head toward Kaitlyn who was waiting beside their cart with had hands folded.

Marston motioned for her and she came to him with a smile. "Nice of you to finally come for a visit. I guess four days ain't too long to avoid your pa," he grumbled as he pulled her into a hug.

"You're in town quite a bit yourself," she reminded him gently as she pulled away.

Marston shrugged and busied himself picking at a knot in the horse's mane. "Don't seem right to interrupt a couple of newlyweds."

"Pa, you know you're always welcome," Kaitlyn assured him and he nodded.

The truth was, he didn't stop in because he didn't want to risk walking in on something that would make him have to kill Pete. Kaitlyn and Pete now lived in Doctor Rankin's old house. Doctor Rankin had retired and he and Blanche had moved south for warmer winters.

Kaitlyn was now the town doctor and she'd been accepted quickly. It had surprised Kaitlyn and Marston didn't tell her about his threats to every person in town who might dare say his daughter couldn't be a doctor simply because she was a woman.

He figured there were some perks that came with having a pa like him and his children might as well enjoy them.

"Well come on! It's good to have you all here just in time for lunch. Let's go eat," Rose called happily from the porch.

An approaching horse caused everyone to stop. "That looks like Jeremiah," Duke said as he stood and stretched out his back.

Marston nodded. "That is Jeremiah."

"But where's Langley?" Rose demanded.

Marston felt dread as heavy as lead settle into the pit of his stomach. Langley had sent letters home and assured them he was fine but what if he wasn't? There had to be something wrong for Jeremiah to be here without the boy. Jeremiah wouldn't have abandoned him.

"Where the hell is my son?" Marston demanded as Jeremiah hopped off his horse. The moment Marston said those words, Jeremiah appeared ready to hop right back in the saddle.

"Isn't he here?" he slurred, making it clear he'd had more than a little whiskey already today.

Marston's fists clenched. "No. He's not." Marston was aware of Rose coming to stand beside him and he put his arm around her soft waist.

"Oh shit," Jeremiah grumbled. He kicked at the dirt with his boot and nearly fell as he stumbled.

"Where is my son?!" Rose exclaimed as she reached out and grabbed Jeremiah by the front of his shirt, shaking him roughly.

"I don't know," Jeremiah muttered, grasping for his hat to prevent it from falling off.

Rose released him and Marston stepped forward. "What do you mean you don't know?!" he bellowed, causing everyone to take a step back. Even Creed opened one tired eye where he lay on the porch beside Lucy. "You were supposed to keep an eye on him," Marston reminded his brother more quietly. "How do you not know where he is?"

Jeremiah shrugged and swallowed hard. "Well, he was in jail but...."

"Jail?!" Rose exclaimed, as Carol stepped out of the house, alerted by the yelling that something was going on. "But he's been sending us letters and he never said a word about jail."

"I guess he didn't want you to know," Jeremiah stated, swiping his stained shirt sleeve across his mouth.

"How'd he wind up in jail to begin with?" Pete asked.

Jeremiah plucked at his trousers. "Well. That is... You see we... I uh..."

"You better spit it out before I make you eat your teeth," Marston warned.

Jeremiah's words came out in one quick rush of air. "We were robbing a bank, ran into trouble, he got shot and I didn't want to risk getting caught to go after him so he got arrested after I took off...."

"Robbing a bank?" Kaitlyn gasped.

"He was shot?" Rose demanded, the color draining from her face.

"You left him?" Marston ground out.

Jeremiah took a step back when he heard the venom in Marston's tone. Sure the two of them were always hitting and shooting one another but never had Marston ever sounded so angry.

"He wasn't shot bad!" Jeremiah insisted. "It was just in the leg so I knew it wouldn't kill him. I wasn't about to get myself shot or caught by going after him. I went back that night to bust him out but he told me real quick what he thought about me and insisted he was gonna serve his sentence."

"Which was?" Pete urged.

Three months," Jeremiah replied. "I left town of course. I wasn't going to stick around for three months."

"Of course," Duke cut in, his words laced with sarcasm. "Because it wasn't your fault or anything."

Jeremiah nodded, too drunk to realize that Duke wasn't truly his ally. "Exactly! I told the boy to wait in the alley seeing as how he didn't want to take part in the robbery itself."

"Thank God we did something right," Rose muttered, holding tight to Marston's arm.

Jeremiah snorted. "That depends on who you ask. He's the one who got himself caught. I was following the outlaw code. No risking your neck for anybody."

"That code changes when you're talking about my son," Marston ground out, his voice as icy as a Dakota winter.

"Not for me, it doesn't," Jeremiah countered vehemently.

"Where is our son now?" Rose asked, tired of fighting, yelling and excuses. She only wanted to know Langley was okay.

"I done told you I don't know," Jeremiah replied, without meeting her gaze. "I went to the town but somehow I missed him getting out of jail and he was done gone. I figured he'd come back here but if he hasn't then I don't know what happened to him."

Rose let out a whimper and ran for the house. Carol, Kaitlyn and Lucy followed her inside. Marston watched her go. He knew she'd run because she hated to cry in front of anyone and didn't want to appear weak with an audience watching. She had been nervous about Langley since he'd left but those letters had kept her spirits up—finding out those letters were a lie and Langley was out there alone was a hard thing to come to terms with.

Marston turned back to his worthless brother.

Jeremiah waited. He knew what was coming. Marston would let out a string of curses. He would rant and rave. He'd probably punch him a time or two and then they'd all go inside and have lunch. That's the way it always went with them.

What Jeremiah didn't expect was to see the calm that settled over his brother's features. "Leave," Marston stated simply.

Jeremiah stumbled back with confusion. "What? Aren't you going to hit me?"

Marston looked down his nose at him and raised his brow. "I've come to the realization that you just ain't worth it. Outlaw code my ass. You left my son lying there shot and bleeding because you're a damn coward. You got him into trouble and then abandoned him and got drunk."

"He's a grown damn man! I wasn't his babysitter!" Jeremiah exclaimed.

Marston shook his head. "He was a fool boy who wanted to have an adventure with the uncle he trusted and loved. He trusted you, Jeremiah. Hell, I trusted you. You put him in danger, got him shot, arrested and then didn't even have the decency to stick around until he got out of jail."

Jeremiah swallowed hard. "Marston I..."

"I told you to leave. I'm done. We're done. I have no brother. If you ever show up here again, you'll pay for it with your life. Now, I'm going to go comfort my wife and when I come back out, you had better be gone."

Marston turned his back and walked away. Jeremiah felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. Marston had never simply turned his back and walked away. Not in their entire lives. Marston had beat him, cussed him, stabbed him and shot him but never simply walked off.

"What were you thinking?" Duke demanded, his voice full of disappointment.

"Why the hell is this my fault?" Jeremiah griped. "Langley was the grown man who wanted to ride along with me."

"I'm sure he thought you'd look out for him," Duke countered. "You probably told him you would."

Jeremiah thought back to all the promises he'd made Langley. Promises that he would indeed look out for him and a promise at that bank that everything would be just fine. The promise that Jeremiah would be there when the boy got out of jail....

"Look, he's not even my real kin!" Jeremiah blustered loudly enough that everyone on the property would hear him. He threw his hands in the air. "He's nothing but some stray that Marston picked up. I don't risk my neck for nobody!"

Duke's fist shot out and caught Jeremiah hard in the jaw. Jeremiah was sent sprawling backward on the ground, bumping along on his backside for several feet before stopping. He glared up at Duke as he rubbed at his face. "What the hell was that for, you old bastard?"

"For saying that damn boy wasn't your kin. And for acting like it's okay that you turned your back on him. Now me, you and Marston, we've all done wrong in our lives and I'm not gonna bother with getting into it all but there is something that Marston and I have never done—turn our backs on each other. I have risked my neck for him and he's risked his neck for me even though we swear we never do and we gripe and complain every moment of it."

Jeremiah opened his mouth but Duke held up his hand. "You, Jeremiah, have never done anything for anyone else. Everything you do is to benefit yourself. Marston and I might have acted like heartless bastards, and we might have even been heartless bastards a time or two, but you've passed us right up."

Jeremiah shoved himself to his feet, wobbling slightly. He clenched his fists at his sides and glared hard at Duke. "I've never done anything for anyone? What about the fact that I traveled with Marston's damn family for weeks to get them up here and set up house with them when I thought my brother had died?"

"Well, hot damn, we can't forget about that, can we?" Duke snapped. "And I remember well what you said before I left to watch Marston hang. You told me that you would stay with them just long enough for me to get back and then you were leaving because there was no way you wanted to be saddled with Marston's bitch and her brats."

Jeremiah's eyes widened as he stumbled back several steps. He didn't remember saying that. Had he said that? Duke wasn't a liar so he must have. "That's it then?" Jeremiah whispered. "You've chosen your side?"

Duke crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "This ain't about sides, Jeremiah. It's about doing what's right..."

"That's a bunch of hypocritical horseshit coming from a murdering, thieving, raping....."

"Jeremiah stop," Pete cut in, deciding that he was done watching this train wreck happen. Pete had never liked Jeremiah but he didn't want to see the drunk man killed and it was clear that Duke was getting angry enough to do just that.

"Fine. I'm done." Jeremiah made a big show of wiping his hands together to show them just how done he was. "I'm out of here." He hopped on his horse and rode away just as quickly as he could.

***

"I'll go after him, Rose," Marston said, grabbing a rifle from the cabinet. "And I'll find Langley."

"You can't, Marston," Pete warned. "You're a dead man, remember? If you go wandering around the wrong parts and the wrong people saw you, they'd string you up again."

Rose glanced up from the sofa with red-rimmed eyes. "He's right, Marston."

Marston growled. Duke stepped forward. "I'll go."

Again Rose shook her head. "No one is going. I'm worried about Langley too but we have absolutely no idea where to go looking. And if we find him, and he's fine, he'll be angry that we didn't have faith in him. He is a grown man and we simply have to trust that we raised him with the right qualities and he'll be fine."

Marston moved across the room and knelt down in front of Rose. He ran his knuckles down her cheek. "Are you sure, love? I'll go after him and if anybody says a damn thing to me I'll teach them real quick to keep their mouths shut. You give me the word and I'll bring our boy home."

Rose stared into his golden eyes and laid her hand on his cheek. "I'm sure. Langley is okay. If he wasn't I'd feel it." She placed her hand over her heart. "But I love you for being willing to risk so much for...." She stopped quickly and bit her lip.

"For what?" he demanded gently.

Rose stared down at her hands. She had heard what Jeremiah had said outside. While she had tried to ignore his drunken ramblings about Langley not being real kin, it had still touched a very tender nerve.

Rose glanced at the crowd around them and Marston growled before clearing his throat. His irritation had the desire effect and everyone quickly scurried out, included Creed who loped up the stairs after Lucy.

"Answer me, Rose."

Rose swallowed hard. "Risking so much for a boy who's not really yours." She would have preferred not saying that, but she knew Marston wouldn't stop until she spoke the truth and he'd see through any lie.

"That's a hell of a thing for you to say to me," he stated flatly. "That is my boy. Mine. I have turned my entire life around for this family. For you, for Langley, for Kaitlyn, for Lucy. I would do anything for any of you. If there's one thing that life has taught me, it's that blood don't matter. My blood mama threw me out like trash. My blood pa took off before I even had a chance to know him. Duke is the closest thing to a pa I got and he's took care of me before even though I wasn't his real kin. Don't you ever say that Langley isn't mine again."

A tear hung on Rose's lash. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Marston grumbled, sweeping that tear away with a kiss. "I hate it when people apologize."

"I love you."

"I know," Marston assured her. He settled down beside her on the sofa and pulled her soft body into his arms. "But you're still worried and so am I."

Rose nodded, snuggling up against his chest. "Yes, but there's nothing we can do. I believe he's okay but we'll just have to wait. He's out there having the adventure he wanted and we'll just have to be here waiting whenever he decides to come home."

"I wonder how he's making it without anyone to listen to him talk?" Marston mused. "Never mind," he chuckled. "I'm sure he'll find a squirrel or something to ramble to."

"You're terrible!" Rose exclaimed with a smile as she stood up. Marston flashed a wicked grin but said nothing. "Did I just say I loved you?"

"Yep, and don't bother taking it back now."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Momentary daftness." She glanced toward the hall. "I'd better go check on that chicken."

Marston growled as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "And that is the reason I stick around." He nipped at her neck and felt her tremble. Rose was laughing as Marston kept his arms around her and led her from the room. He was proud that at least he'd eased his woman's worry a bit.

Jeremiah's betrayal still burned in Marston's gut but he forced it from his mind. He had trusted Jeremiah but that lesson had been learned. And if Langley didn't make it home in one piece, Marston made a silent vow to God that he'd hunt Jeremiah down and the man would pay in blood.