“I know why you can’t walk,” said Jason continued quietly. He quickly wiped tears from his eyes.
“The bullet caught me in the wrong spot, the doctors said,” replied James.
“No, not that. I mean, I know why you got shot in the back. You were covering me at the time you were shot.”
“Janice told you that?” asked James, surprised.
“No, she did not. I saw you do it. You keep going out of your way to protect me, and I don’t know why.”
“Listen to me, Jason. It’s just like always. I’m not just protecting you; I’m protecting our families, yours and mine and ours together. That bullet that hit me in the back would have likely ended up in your skull if I hadn’t turned. So, I’m not sorry it happened as it did; and yes, I do want a wheelchair that allows me to get around the ranch and keep working for the town.
“We’re still in the middle of the same power struggle between the Judge and the Sheriff,” Jason added, lowering his voice even more. “It’s escalating since they used to be thick as thieves, and now they barely speak to each other.
“They both realize they need you and me on their side if one should take unilateral control of the town. Neither of them could care less about how I get around now, but I know you do, Jason. Thank you for your ideas. Let them both build the chairs and I will accept both, one for the ranch and the other for town. Our picking sides now will not ensure the safety of the townsfolk or our families. We need to let their little game play out, and when the dust clears, we decide what we want.”
“Thank you. That sounds like a good plan,” said a relieved Jason.
* * * *
The Sheriff drove downtown and barged straight into the hardware store, staring the owner in the eye without a word.
“Now, Sheriff,” he stammered. “It’s not like it looks. I got caught in the middle, and I was going to call on you first thing, as soon as I had a break here.”
“Did you close for lunch?”
“Sure, the same as always. I just went home for a couple of hours is all.”
“Home for a couple of hours, huh? Not enough time to tell an old friend and the man who lent you the seed money to open this store that something was going on I should know about?”
“You’re right,” the shop owner conceded, telling him everything he knew about the project and Judge Lowry. “The Judge is going to be mad if he finds out I told you all this. I don’t want to end up in his courtroom is all I know.”
“The Judge has never arrested anyone, and he has no part in carrying out the sentence he hands down. So, old friend, it’s me and only me you should be careful with. Are we understood?”
“Clear as day. What do you need?”
* * * * * * *
Chapter Five
Weston, Colorado
“I need you to get me the best materials you can find. I have a guy who will build the chair… Don’t even think about giving the other guys better parts,” said the Sheriff.
Sheriff Johnson headed back to talk with the former councilman. This time he didn’t have his deputies as backup, so he pulled the man from his cell.
Talking once again in a private room, he gave the man his choices.
“You can remain here and end up in front of a firing squad or neck-deep in a hangman’s noose, or you can agree to help me and possibly earn your freedom.”
“I’m listening,” replied the inmate.
“I need you to build a wheelchair for our town mayor, who was recently paralyzed by your new jail mate. We have a competition of sorts, and we need to win at any cost.”
“If we win, do I get to walk out of here?” he asked.
“Let’s go over the second part before we get ahead of ourselves,” the Sheriff suggested.
“As you may have guessed, I’m a fan of death-defying stunts. Since we have no sharks for you to jump over, I will agree to your idea to jump the courthouse on a motorcycle. If you don’t make it and crash into the building, it will just piss off the Judge, and if you complete it, my citizens will have been treated to a true exhibition, worthy of a Guinness record. Either way, I will be happy. Lastly, should you complete both tasks, you will either be banished from this town or work for me building machinery at my discretion. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Would you like some time to think about it?”
“No, sir. I will gladly accept your offer, Sheriff.”
“Okay, then I will work on the bike and ramps, and you can head down to the shop with one of my deputies to get started on the project. Last thing, Councilman. Try to run, and I’ll hunt you down like prey. There will be no second chances.”
The Sheriff called his deputy to take the man to the shop immediately.
“That just leaves the two of you,” called the Sheriff out loud, “and you’re eating up all my food.”
The councilman got to work on the new project, seeing that Cam had already started on his.
The hardware store owner supplied both men with sufficient materials to complete each project, giving the Sheriff priority.
Finding a running motorcycle was easier than finding someone to construct two ramps. The Sheriff would turn to the greenhouse architect for final construction plans. The bike was a 1995 Yamaha YZ 450 dirt bike, modified after the EMP that zapped most car and motorcycle electrical components.
* * * * * * *
Chapter Six
Raton Pass,
