Chapter Thirteen

The sounds of the main street drifted up to him even though the window was closed. Ben had found himself dozing off only to jolt awake again as his overworked mind would find something new to torment him with. He shifted against the wooden headboard and tried not to wake Joe with his movement. His son had barely moved from where he had been laid down hours ago and Ben knew it was yet another indicator of just how exhausted he was. Ordinarily, Joe slept the same way he did everything else in life – with as much energy as possible. He was a restless sleeper who fidgeted and tossed the bedding from one side of the bed to the other. When he was younger, it was not uncommon for his father to come in to check on him before heading to bed himself, only to find the bulk of his bedding on the floor. The memory brought a faint smile to his face and Ben reached out a hand and laid it across his son’s wayward curls. Somehow the simple physical touch and reassurance was enough to calm his thoughts and he found himself slowly sliding back into sleep. Everybody seemed to notice how tactile Joe was and yet not many people noted how much like his father he was on that front. It was just second nature to both of them.

Both Adam and Hoss had laid out their bedrolls across the floor and rustled up some pillows from the hotel clerk, despite the fact their father had offered to pay for another room. Neither one was prepared to leave, even if it made for a cramped space to sleep. The sheriff had pointed them in the direction of the livery to put up the horses and soon turned up with Joe’s horse and a mare that they assumed belonged to Jed Watson. Old Jed had been very vocal about his stolen horse and what she was worth and even though he’d clearly exaggerated that value, it felt good to know they could actually return her to her rightful owner. Along with a sizeable apology to smooth things over, no doubt.

Even as the small town went about its daily business, nobody in the hotel room was awake to care. The front desk clerk had been issued strict instructions by the sheriff as he departed that nobody was to disturb the room under any circumstances with the only exception being the doctor. As he walked along the boardwalk, he couldn’t help but shake his head at the story he’d been told.

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The shabby bar had seen better days and the beer was warm which did nothing to improve his sullen mood. As the few dusty customers drifted in, he watched them intently from under the brim of his hat. Kent was acutely aware that his face would be plastered on wanted posters on every wall from one end of the territory to the other, but figured he was relatively safe in a tiny one-horse town. It certainly wasn’t big enough to have any kind of law that was worth worrying about and the occupants of the saloon didn’t even pay him any mind. He had been locked in a cell for four years and over that four years had plotted exactly what he would do once he got out to all those who had put him there. It never occurred to him that he wouldn’t get out, but the chance to make a run for it had taken longer than he’d anticipated. The hatred had kept him going for four long years and it pushed him on to finish the job before he set out for his new life with a new name. There were only two left on his target list and he knew that one of them had run away to Reno, like a dog with his tail between his legs. He would spend however long it took to hunt his prey down, but his plan had just taken a major knock. It was the only reason he wasn’t in Reno already. Indians had taken to raiding homesteads and unwary travelers and the army was out in force, hunting them down. While he had no wish to run into army soldiers or even local militia, he’d barely escaped one trio of braves. His horse had not been so lucky. The mare had gone down with an arrow embedded in her broad chest and it was only sheer luck that had kept him from being skewered by a second arrow. If the horse hadn’t stumbled and dropped him onto the ground, he knew his hunting days would be over. The horse’s dead body had given him enough cover to take aim and shoot down one of the braves while winging a second one. The third one had wisely decided to retreat along with his injured friend. As he took another slow swallow of the lukewarm beer, Kent made his decision on just how he would get to Reno. First things first meant he needed a new horse as it had been a long and hot walk into the town. It would take a few days longer than planned to get to Reno, since he had to take a longer way around, but he was a patient man. After all, after four years, what was a few more days?

---

The deep well he found himself in was the blackest place he’d ever been. Joe reached out a hand in front of his face, but couldn’t make out his fingers. He felt a deep sense of dread filling him as he tried to call out, but his voice stuck in his throat.

“Let me out!” The words sounded like a whisper mocking him in the darkness and he tried again. “Let me out!”

“They hung Pa and now we’re going to hang you!”

Joe could feel the rope sliding around his throat and he grasped at it as if he could stop what was coming. Adam’s breath in his ear made his heart race as he could feel his brother’s hatred.

He tried one last-ditch effort to stop the inevitable and pleaded with the brother who had once loved him.

“Adam! Adam don’t! You can’t!”

Hands grasped at his shoulders and he tried to fight them off. If he was going to die, he would not go down without a fight.

Ben jolted awake as he heard Joe cry out and he took a moment to realise what was happening. Joe had pushed himself away and was tangled in the edge of the blanket. He’d seen enough of his son’s nightmares to know what was coming next. Joe’s distress would only escalate so he grasped at his son’s shoulders and tried to wake him. Instead, Joe just grew more agitated.

“Adam … let me go!”

The shouts had woken both Adam and Hoss and they scrambled to help, but Adam pulled up short at his brother’s anguished shout. He watched as Joe wrestled against his father’s hand before Hoss quickly moved over to help. The two men kept hold as Joe struggled against them until he finally shook himself awake.

Across the room, Derek pushed himself up onto his elbows and watched as once again Joe seemed to fight against an invisible enemy. He’d seen it several times since they left Virginia City and each time Joe refused to say very much afterwards. The only insight he’d been given was that first night on the road when Joe had woken them all up with his screams.

“I dreamed about my pa. I dreamed he was dead.”

Derek never had figured out why Joe kept dreaming the same thing. He shivered as he knew how many times he had dreamed of his own father dying. The water swirling over his head as he ran out of air was a nightmare that left him shaking and gasping for breath every time. If Joe’s nightmare was anything like his, he understood entirely why Joe screamed. But his pa wasn’t dead and Derek couldn’t figure why his friend would keep dreaming such a thing. Joe certainly hadn’t given him any further hints and he’d given up asking.

Hoss wrapped his hand around the back of Joe’s head and tried to reassure his brother as he gasped for air.

“It’s alright there, Shortshanks. You’re okay, little brother.”

Adam couldn’t shake the ugly thoughts chasing around his head as Joe had clearly shouted his name in fear. His brother was afraid of him and he had no idea why. As Joe’s senses cleared and he shook off the last vestiges of the nightmare, he was still visibly shaking. He glimpsed Adam behind Hoss and involuntarily pulled back from them both. Nobody missed the fearful glance he cast around until he locked onto his father’s face.

“Pa?”

“I’m right here, Son. You’re safe.” Ben reached forward slowly, trying not to spook the boy any further. “It’s all right.”

As Joe grasped at his father, none of them were surprised. It had been some time since Joe last had a nightmare, but his usual response was the same. He would cling to whoever got to him first until he calmed down. Ben had no idea that Joe’s clenched fingers had little to do with usual behaviour and much more to do with reassuring himself that his father really was still alive.

Before any of them could find out what the nightmare was all about, Matthew chose that moment to wake up. The brightness of the room was overwhelming and he rubbed a hand across his face before trying to turn on his side. His body protested and he moaned aloud as Derek grabbed at his arm.

Adam decided it was clear he wasn’t wanted on Joe’s side of the room so he made his way across to the two brothers and sat down beside Matthew.

“Easy there, little buddy.” The words slipped out so easily and he paused for a fraction before he reached out and cupped the side of Matthew’s face. “It’s alright.”

Even before he could ask for it, Hoss appeared beside him with a glass of water and Adam wrapped an arm around Matthew’s back to help prop him up. The little boy gulped at the water, as if he had been deprived for weeks and Adam eased the glass back.

“Easy now, you don’t want to be sick.” Matthew’s eyes still looked glassy and slightly unfocused, but it was obvious he was aware of those around him. As Adam focused on his face, he thought the angry red rash seemed a little less red than it had been. “Let’s make sure that water stays down and we’ll try a bit more soon.”

Derek watched intently as virtual strangers cared for his little brother and ensured he was comfortable. It had been a long time since anybody had shown either of them any such kindness and he suddenly felt overwhelmed. Joe had talked about his family, but Derek realised he hadn’t quite believed him.

“Why are you helping us?” He hadn’t meant to blurt out the question quite so bluntly and Derek tried to backtrack quickly before he offended anybody. “I mean … why would you care what happens to us? You don’t even know us!”

Adam watched the boy sitting across from him and didn’t miss the hint of fear in the question. Derek wasn’t that much younger than Joe and he shuddered to think of his brother being tossed around in a world that didn’t care. He measured his answer carefully, knowing full well that Joe could hear him.

“Because if my brothers were in need and somebody else could help them, I hope that they would.”

Matthew fidgeted against his chest and Adam tipped the glass up once again for him to drain it.

“I’m sorry that folks haven’t always done right by you two, but I promise we are going to try and fix that.” Adam had no real idea at that point just how they were going to do that, but he knew his father well enough to know that he would fight, by whatever means he could, to stop the boys being sent back to the hell they had escaped from.

Derek was speechless as he considered the words. Nobody had ever gone in to fight for him before until Joe and Mitch came up with their plan.

“You mean that?” His eyes widened as he held his breath and waited for an answer.

Adam smiled at him and nodded as he looked around at his family. “We all mean it.”

He slowly looked up again to see Joe watching him intently and he smiled across the room at his brother. Joe’s face was a jumble of emotions and it took all of Adam’s resolve to hold his smile. By the time he looked back down at Matthew, the boy had drifted off again. Adam eased him back down onto the bed and nodded with approval as Derek wrapped his hands back around the younger boy’s scrawny arm. He wanted to go and grab his own brother’s arm and not let go until he got some answers, but instead he pushed to his feet and headed for the door. He felt like a coward as he pulled open the door and escaped.

“I’m gonna go and get the doctor.”

Joe watched him leave without speaking, but his father hadn’t missed any of it. His son’s strange response was concerning, as was his nightmare, but Adam’s reaction also concerned him.

As Adam made his way down the stairs, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Joe was still hiding something and he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to know what it was.

Why was his brother afraid of him?

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Roy was never one for detailed letter writing, but he knew that this letter needed detail. He needed answers and he didn’t want to waste time sending multiple letters and waiting to receive replies as they crossed back and forth over hundreds of miles. He needed to put every question down on paper and his lawman’s mind was running at full speed. The wires he had received from San Francisco had confirmed the boys’ sordid tale of children being sold out of Somerset Orphanage and it seemed the law there was finally beginning to act. The caretakers had been under investigation for some time, but it was only a recent case that had produced enough evidence for them to move in and start to dismantle the ring of dealers who had no conscience it seemed.

He sat and read over the letter once again and finally decided it was sufficient. As he pulled out an envelope and addressed it, he was already making plans to ride out to have a very long conversation with Walter Maddington. As Roy and his wife, Mary had never been blessed with any children, his blood boiled to think that anybody could treat children as some kind of commodity to be traded. A part of him could understand the desperation of a childless couple to bend the law, but he could not for the life of him understand a man like Walter who viewed the boys as some kind of slave labour. It was no wonder that Joe and Mitch had come to the conclusions they had. For all intents and purposes, Derek and Matthew really had been sold into slavery.