Take care of the Elk and the boys, and I know that Sara will make you happy.
Your friend and ex-foreman,
Dave
On the bottom of the page was written:
I, Dave Forrest, owe Jake Elliott the sum of seven hundred dollars.
Jake noticed that it wasn’t signed, probably because Dave knew that he’d never have to repay the money.
He wasn’t surprised by Sara’s first question when she asked, “You aren’t going to ask him to pay back a dime; will you?”
He shook his head as he smiled at her and replied, “No. What do you think of the letter?”
“I have mixed feelings. I was impressed with his honesty, but not his behavior. I didn’t know him at all, but I can’t condone having an affair with his sister-in-law, regardless of their feelings for each other. He should have left their ranch before it had gone that far.”
“I agree with you, ma’am. I’m just relieved that he hadn’t heard from my father and gone to meet him. At least he’s probably already on his new ranch with Violet and the children. I wonder if he’s going to marry her now.”
“Speaking of marriage, Mister Elliott. When can we tie the knot? You implied in your telegram that Friday would be the extent of our courtship.”
“I have to go to the bank tomorrow to get some money to pay the men. We can make arrangements while we’re there. Do you want a church wedding?”
“I’d prefer to be married by Reverend Faraday, but if he wants to have us wait for a week, then we can walk to the courthouse tomorrow afternoon.”
Jake studied her face for just a few seconds to see if she was just having a bit of fun at his expense but quickly realized that she wasn’t.
“Alright. We’ll visit the reverend after I get the money from the bank and hear what he has to say. But do you want to talk to your parents first?”
“They don’t expect me to come home tonight, Jake. So, they’re probably hoping that we get married long before I start showing.”
This time, he was sure she was pulling his leg, but as he smiled, he changed his mind. She seemed serious and realized that he still hadn’t fully adjusted to Sara’s straightforward nature.
“One of the first things you told me was how blunt you were, but I spent most of that long ride hearing your laugh and appreciating your wit and physical gifts. You just reminded me that you are a very frank woman.”
“Now that you’ve been reintroduced to my harsh nature, you’re not having second thoughts; are you?”
“Oh, no! Not at all. I was just having difficulty separating your witty and dry sense of humor from your serious side. You’d make a marvelous poker player, Sara.”
She smiled and asked, “So, will we still visit Reverend Faraday tomorrow?”
“Absolutely. I’d hate to be sitting before the good reverend when you appear to be hiding a watermelon under your dress. Besides, I don’t want to just store the wedding band set I bought until I meet a more genteel young lady.”
Sara laughed, then kissed him before saying, “You can show me the rings just before we make use of them. But before we do anything else, we may want to visit your ranch hands who are waiting for us in the chow house. They seem to believe that we need some private time to talk, but I’m pretty sure they expect us to do something else while we’re alone.”
“I guess we’ll have to disappoint them because we definitely need to talk. They can wait for a little while and let their imaginations go wild.”
“As you’re their boss now, it’s your call. Let’s go to the kitchen. Charlie Shimshock left a mountain of food, so I didn’t have to cook when you returned. We can talk while we try to turn it into a hill.”
“That sounds like a good idea. I’ll start a fire in the cookstove for coffee.”
They stood then Jake laid Dave’s letter on the desk before taking her hand. He left the office door open after they left the room because he knew he’d have to put away the Sharps after they had their supper and long conversation.
_____
As they enjoyed Charlie’s cooking, Jake told Sara all that had happened since he left. She wasn’t surprised that he’d needed to fend off a highwayman but wasn’t able to answer his question about the outlaw making it to Fort Benton. She listened intently as he talked about his hopes of finding his father in Woman’s Breast then having them shattered when he met the town’s lone occupant. She was equally intrigued when he described his non-violent method of dealing with the deserters.
She hadn’t asked a single question until he mentioned finding the name of R.L. Kemper on the hotel register. Then she couldn’t avoid interrupting his narrative.
“Why did you think that your father would use that name?”
“I’m almost finished, so I’ll answer your question shortly. It deserves its own explanation.”
Sara had been surprised by his response to what she considered to be an innocent question. Now she was even more curious to hear his answer.
Jake soon ended the story of his fruitless and frustrating search and took a few moments to organize his thoughts.
“What I’m going to tell you is only my theory to explain why my father and mother had argued so violently. It’s all speculation, but after talking to Jerome Wright, my father’s
