He swung around and glared. "She can't, Gil. I have to keep you all safe. If she's gonna take in every sick good-for-nothin' who walks by, she needs to do that somewhere that doesn't put my family in danger."
He half expected Gil to snap back at him, especially the way he’d been pushing. But his brother’s gaze turned thoughtful. Almost gentle. "Do you think this is the way Dat would want things? Us keeping the ranch so secluded?"
Jericho nodded. "It's what he told me to do. Almost his last words to me."
Gil’s head tipped. "I thought you said his last words were to keep the family together."
Again he nodded. "By keeping others out."
Gil tipped his head. "He said that?"
Hadn't he? Jericho replayed the scene in his mind. Dat lay in the big bed, his body fading so quickly. After only a couple weeks of sickness, he'd shrunken to a frail old man.Son, you're the man of the house now. You're strong. Capable. And your Heavenly Father is on your side. Keep the family together.
Tears had leaked through Jericho's defenses, but he ignored them. Just held his father's weak hand.I will.
Dat squeezed his fingers.Promise me.
I promise.
The sting of those long-ago tears burned his nose once more. He hadn't cried in years. He couldn't do it now. Not in front of Gil. He lifted his chin to look up into the branches again, anything to keep his emotions at bay.
But he had to be honest. "I don't think he did. I only remember him saying to keep the family together." He squared his shoulders and glanced at Gil. "But all our problems through the years came from letting strangers onto the land. Especially what happened to Lucy."
He couldn't bring himself to list Dinah as a problem. He wouldn't be hurting now if she'd never come to the Coulter ranch, but he wouldn’t have had the chance to know her. Even with his insides twisted and sliced, he wouldn't trade these past weeks with her.
Gil’s expression softened, but his words came out earnest. "I think you need to go after her. Find a way to make things work. Even if it means setting up a clinic on the edge of our land.” His mouth curved in a wry smile. “And maybe you can open the prison gates every so often. Give us a bit more freedom. You might be surprised to find that we don't actually want to leave. We just don't want to be held prisoner."
Then he stepped forward and gripped Jericho's shoulder, an act that felt like solidarity. Like they would face this together, a thought that relieved him more than he wanted to admit.
As Gil turned back toward the pasture, his final words drifted over his shoulder. "You might want to sharpen your ax too."
He watched his brother step through the fallen branches littering the ground, then slowly disappear through the trunks.
Could he be right?
What Gil said made sense, but Jericho needed time to think.
He turned back to the tree, swinging the ax once more. Too bad he couldn’t chop away his confusion with each strike. The sound of each blow echoed through the woods, and soon he found a comfortable rhythm.
One.
Two.
Three.
He counted each time the ax made contact with the tree trunk, letting the rhythm calm his mind.
His thoughts wandered back to Dinah. Her face, her smile, the way she'd look at him across the table. Across the room. His chest ached and his belly churned. Was this the way Mum and Dat had felt about each other? A love that created a physical pain when they were separated? A love that made him rethink all his plans so they could be together? So she could be happy?
But he couldn't turn away from his responsibilities. He had to keep his family safe.
Except… Dinah would want that too. Maybe together, they could find a way to accomplish both goals.
He slammed the ax into the tree a final time, and a crack split the air as the trunk gave way. He stepped back, giving the stub plenty of clearance as the mass of branches worked their way through the trees around them.
He would find Dinah and her sister. He would tell her he'd been a close-minded fool. And together, they would work out a way to move forward.
He spun and started toward the valley where he'd left Pinto. He didn't have a moment to lose.
