They were soon on the road again and Jake was no closer to understanding what had motivated Dave to leave. There were now only eighteen miles between them and the Elk.
When they resumed their ride, Jake may have still been wondering about Dave, but he was grateful when Jack changed the topic to Sara. In less than a minute, he forgot about Dave as he began a long monologue starting with their almost disastrous meeting in front of her father’s store.
The miles passed quickly as Jake came close to repeating most of their conversations almost verbatim. He did leave out some of their more personal comments, but as he rambled, Jack and John just rode quietly alongside with smiles on their faces. They had been relieved to find Jake but were happy to know that he would soon marry Miss Smith and the ranch would become an even better place to work.
_____
Al Pope was just about to turn over his watch to Pack Oliver when he took one last glance down the road and changed his mind.
Al exclaimed, “Somebody’s comin’, Pack!”
Pack had to shield his eyes against the early evening sun but soon picked up the dust cloud and shouted, “It’s gotta be them!”
“Let’s not get Miss Sara all excited yet. Let’s give ‘em a minute to get closer just to be sure. It might be somebody else.”
“On a Sunday?” Pack asked.
“It’s probably Jake and the boys, but it ain’t gonna hurt to wait a minute, Pack. If we see three riders and a packhorse, then we’ll let Miss Sara know.”
The two men continued to stare at the distant riders until Al said, “It’s them alright. Let’s go tell Miss Sara and get everybody in the chow house.”
As they turned to leave the loft, Pack said, “I sure wish I could see Jake’s face when he walks in that front door.”
Before they began climbing down the ladder, Al said, “I wonder how he looked when Jack told him Dave ran off.”
“Jake will handle it. It’s just kinda odd that he ran off like the boss did.”
“Yeah, but he didn’t murder anybody before he skedaddled.”
_____
Sara had been so anxious after Charlie suggested that Jake might return today that she found it difficult to concentrate on anything constructive after dusting and doing some minor rearranging.
She’d been reduced to thoughtful pacing for the past hour, and much of those thoughts centered on the envelope lying on Jake’s desk. She wasn’t about to open it or even try to read it though the envelope. But she was sure that Dave Forrest was its author, and it contained an explanation for his disappearance.
She was evolving a new theory as her circling track carried her into the main room at the same moment that Al Pope knocked loudly on the front door.
She hurried to the door and before she could ask, Al excitedly said, “He’s comin’, Miss Sara. He oughta be here in less than thirty minutes.”
Sara grinned and said, “Thank you!” before Al turned and raced off the porch.
She didn’t stay in the open doorway to watch Al disappear, but after a short glance down the access road, closed the door and walked to the couch where she took a seat. She smoothed her dress and tried to calm her excitement. She’d used some of her spare time to change out of her new riding outfit but wasn’t sure if it was an improvement.
_____
Even though Jake didn’t have a clue that Sara was waiting for him in the ranch house, he was still excited when he first spotted the Elk’s buildings. He’d asked Mars for more speed when they came into view, so after he’d been spotted by Al and Pack, the thirty minutes had been reduced to twenty.
What he was hoping and expecting to find in the house was a note from Dave. When Jack had told him that none of them had searched the house, which he understood, he knew that if Dave hadn’t left a note, then he might never know what had made him leave. He still wondered if Dave’s unexpected departure had something to do with his father’s earlier escape. If Dave had spotted his father, he might try to do Jake’s job and lost the gunfight.
By the time they turned down the access road, Jake’s mind was occupied by Dave’s disappearance. Sara didn’t even make a cameo appearance during the last two miles.
Jake soon noticed someone waiting on the porch steps but couldn’t see anyone else. It was a Sunday, so that wasn’t unusual. He soon identified Bill Jackson, who was now stepping away from the house.
When they pulled up, Bill said, “It’s really good to see you back, Jake. You can head into the house and I’ll take care of Mars and Vulcan.”
Jake dismounted, pulled his Winchester from its scabbard, then said, “Thanks, Bill. Jack and John will tell you and the other boys what happened and what I plan to do.”
Bill nodded then looked at Jack and said, “You two may as well stay in your saddles. Charlie has some hot chow ready.”
Jake walked to Vulcan, slipped the Sharps from it scabbard and said, “Bill, can you have my personal gear left on the porch?”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Jake smiled then turned to the porch without mentioning Bill’s use of ‘boss’ rather than his Christian name.
As he climbed the steps, Bill looked at Jack and motioned for him to follow before he led
