Another Chance (13 page)

Davis pushed
his chair back and stood up, offering his hand across the desk.  “Welcome
to the department, Daniel.  Let me get some paperwork done and see if we
have a uniform around here that will fit you.  Come on and let me
introduce you to the staff and get my secretary started on the papers you’ll
need to sign.”

When Wolf
returned to the motel to pick Feather up, he found a note from her telling him
that Jordan had picked her up and she was at the barn.  He was to come
there.

He picked up a
local paper intending to scan through it to see what real estate was available
to rent.  He did not like living in a motel and didn’t plan to do it for
very long.  He returned to the room intending only to leave the newspaper,
but before he could leave, his cell phone rang.

“Hello,” Wolf
spoke into the receiver.

“Daniel, this
is Sheriff Davis.  I just had a thought I’d like to discuss with you, but
I know you’re probably headed out to Jordan’s barn.  Would you mind if I
stop by there to talk with you?”

“No.  But
I’m not goin’ there right now.  I saw a campground yesterday and I’m going
out there to make arrangements for a place to camp.  I don’t like
motels.”  Then he added, “After I’ve done that, I’ll head out there.”

“That’s fine,
I’ll meet you there.”  Sheriff John was nothing if not persistent.

At the
campground, Wolf assured the manager that although he and his sister would be
sleeping in the horse trailer, there would not be any horses with them and they
might like to set up a tepee too.  The manager agreed to that, and they
agreed on a price for a week of camping.  He knew it would probably take
that long to find a place to rent and to get everything moved in.

When he
finally backed the truck under the gooseneck of his trailer where he had
dropped it at Jordan’s place, he saw Sheriff Davis was already there ahead of
him.

He could see
Feather and the sheriff standing beside the round pen watching Jordan as she
rode one of the colts she had contracted to train.  He watched her ride as
he walked up to join them, impressed with the grace and confidence with which
she handled the young animal.  She was kind, but firm when the horse
needed leadership and rode with a lightness of hands and seat.  He sensed
that the horse wanted to please the woman who always provided calm guidance.

As he stopped
beside his sister, Jordan signaled the colt to halt and after asking for and
receiving a few steps of a smooth back up, she swung her leg over the back of
the saddle and stepped down giving the young horse a few strokes of approval on
his smooth, damp neck.

“I’m always
amazed at how a little thing like you handles these big animals so easily,”
Sheriff Davis spoke.

Jordan smiled
at him.  “Thank you.  And just to set the record straight, it’s not
always easy.  There are days when they seem to have forgotten everything
and I have to take the time to re-teach a lesson all over again.  Today
was a good day.”

Feather had
greeted her brother and was listening intently as he spoke softly to her,
telling her they were moving out to the campground the next day.

“I would like
for you ladies to meet my newest deputy,” Sheriff Davis spoke formally. 
“Deputy Daniel Cetan.”

Feather
squealed and hugged him, while Jordan smiled warmly in his direction. 
“Congratulations,” she said.
 
She
couldn’t hide the surprise in her honey colored eyes.

Wolf smiled
his thanks and returned his sister’s hug.

“Now,” Sheriff
Davis continued.  “We have a problem to discuss.”

Jordan looked
puzzled first at John Davis, then at Daniel.

Daniel met her
look and shrugged.  John Davis wouldn’t meet her inquiring look. 
“Can we go up and sit on the porch, Jordan?  This might take a while and
I’m not as young as y’all are.”

“Sure,” she
nodded.  “Y’all go on up.  It’ll just take me a minute to put this
colt up and then I’ll come on up there.”

Feather
reached her hand out to take the reins from Jordan.  “You go with
them.  Somehow I don’t think this concerns me a lot.  I’ll put your
horse away.”

Jordan
released the reins to her.  “Thanks, Feather.”  She fell in behind
Sheriff Davis who was already striding toward the brick house.  Wolf fell
in behind her.

Once he was
settled into one of the rocking chairs on the porch, John Davis turned to look
at her.  “Now, I know you aren’t going to like this, but since I can’t get
you to drop out of sight for a few weeks, this is my plan.  Daniel, here,
is used to working undercover and it looks like he’s a bit of a horseman. 
He comes with the very highest recommendations from his previous captain and
I’m placing him undercover here with you, until Lambert is found and locked
away again.”

Jordan stood
up, walked over to lean back against the rail that ran around the porch and
looked from one to the other.  “Undercover?  How is that going to
work?”

John Davis
shrugged his shoulders.  “He can be your boyfriend, or someone who works
for you.  Either way, he is here
all the time
.”

“Do you think
that will stop Lambert?”  Jordan asked.

“Maybe it will
make him think twice about attacking you.”  John responded.

She
smiled.  “My husband tried to stop him and was killed for his
efforts.  I don’t think Lambert will hesitate because another man is
here.”

Wolf leaned
forward.  “Maybe not, Jordan, but I’ll be expectin’ him.  Your
husband wasn’t and I have a lot of trainin’ your husband didn’t have.”

“My husband
was a football coach and was in great physical shape.”  She said firmly a
spark of anger flashing in her eyes.

“And I’ve
spent the last few years of my life livin’ with and workin’ among people just
like this Lambert.  People who hurt and kill other people because they got
up on the wrong side of the bed.  I know how to spot danger and how to
deal with it.  If I didn’t, I’d be dead by now.”  Wolf hoped she
would listen to reason.

“If that’s
supposed to make me feel better, I’m sorry.  It isn’t working.  I
know Lambert is coming after me and I don’t want anyone else in danger.  I
have Bhrandii to warn me and there are weapons stashed around the house and
barn that I know how to use.  I think I can protect myself.”  She had
discovered that she resented the notion she was some helpless female that would
faint at the idea of being attacked.  “I’ve been through this once and
survived.  I think I know better than anyone else just what Lambert is
capable of.”

“Oh
really?”  John Davis said.  “Remember that he killed Mr. Swartz
first.  They’re sure he planned to get your location from Mrs. Swartz by
any means necessary, including torture, if she hadn’t had a heart attack and
died before he got the chance.”

Jordan turned
her back on the two men and looked out over the land that was once again her
home.  Finally she turned around to face them.  “I don’t like
this.  I know, Sheriff John, that you are trying to protect me and I’m
grateful for that.”  She turned to look at Wolf and was again surprised by
the clear blue eyes that looked back at her from his swarthy features. 
“And even though we just met, I do trust you and believe that you are trying to
look out for my best interests.  However, I don’t want you or anyone else
sleeping in my barn and as old fashioned as it might sound, I do not want
people that I go to church with thinking that I have a live in boyfriend. 
Now, we can pretend that we are dating or something that will excuse you being
here a lot of the time, but when it’s time for me to go in the house and lock
the doors at night, I do that alone!  That is the only way I will agree to
having a
body guard.
  Between Bhrandii and the Lord, I think I will
be fine.”

John Davis
shook his head negatively.  “Jordan, honey, your daddy would have me drawn
and quartered if I let you make that choice.  You’ve got to be a little
more cooperative.  You also need to remember that if people are going to
judge your moral conduct when you know you are doing nothing wrong, then it’s a
problem between them and God and not something for you to worry about.”

She met his
eyes with a steady look of determination.  “No.”

“It would help
if you just allow me to set up a tepee somewhere between the barn and the
house.”  Wolf spoke up.  “I’ve spent many nights in a tepee and am
very comfortable there.  Then even if I slept on your couch, people need
not know that.  I could still be here and keep watch without anyone
doubting your morality and if anyone approaches the house at night, the dog
will make enough noise to wake me, if you’re worried about me bein’ in the
house at night.”

She started
shaking her head negatively again.  “That would be as bad as y’all
sleeping in the barn.”

Feather
arrived and joined the conversation at that point.  “You’ve never slept in
a tepee, Jordan.  Wolf and I spent all our summers in them when
grandfather was alive.  He insisted that we learn to appreciate the way
our ancestors lived.  Tepees are wonderful.”

For the first
time Jordan hesitated in her refusal.  John Davis jumped in at that
moment.  “Daniel would be here to help you with your horses and would
receive his pay from the county.”

“We can do all
our own cooking and wouldn’t need to bother you at all if you allow us the use
of the bathroom in the barn.  I love camping, but I also love showers at
night,” Feather chimed in.

Jordan looked
at her, studying her face for any sign of deceit, then turned to look at Daniel
before shaking her head again.  “I don’t want to put anyone else in
danger.”

“If you don’t
agree to this, then he’s goin’ to have me sittin’ out in the woods all night
watchin’ this place, fightin’ mosquitoes and everythin’ else that feeds on
human blood at night.”  Daniel returned her gaze evenly.

Jordan turned
her attention on the man she had known all her life to find him nodding in
agreement with his deputy.  “Skeeters get real bad in the woods at night.”

“Like they
won’t be bothered by them in a tepee?”  She challenged him, her blond
brows arching sharply.

“We burn a
type of natural repellant.”  Feather explained.  “Mosquitoes have
never been a problem when we camp.  Please let us set up our tepee here,
Jordan.  I hate noisy campgrounds.”

“And suppose
Lambert comes after y’all first?”  She asked.

“I will
know.”  Daniel spoke softly.  “My grandfather taught us to live in
the old ways of our people.  In fact, we learned to live off the land
totally for weeks at a time.  A man can’t do that without becomin’ a part
of the landscape around him.  My senses have always served me well. 
When this man comes, Jordan, whether for you or for us first, I will know, and
I
will
stop him.”

Finally Jordan’s resolve melted.  “I guess I
can’t win against the three of you.  Just remember, if I have a weapon in
my hand, don’t get in my line of fire.”

“It’s not an
easy thing to kill a man.”  John Davis observed softly.  “I’d be
afraid that you’d hesitate and just a small hesitation would give him a chance
to reach you.”

“I wouldn’t
hesitate.”  Her blond head shook firmly.  “I remember what he did to
David.”

“Thou shalt
not kill.  How often have you heard that during Sunday morning
service?”  The lawman asked.

Jordan
shrugged.  “I don’t know.”

“I know how
you were raised, Honey.  I’ve been in those Sunday morning services most
of the time.  I don’t want to bet your life that you wouldn’t hesitate for
just a second before you could pull the trigger.  I feel better knowing
that Daniel will be here.”  He pushed himself up out of the chair he was
setting in.  “Besides, how do you know that God didn’t send Daniel here at
this time for this very reason?”

That question
took Jordan by surprise.  She shrugged again, looking at the sheriff, then
at Daniel.  John Davis slipped one strong arm around her shoulders,
surprised by the muscles he felt there.  “You know how He works.  You
just gotta trust Him.”

Her head
dropped and nodded slightly as she returned his brief hug of affection. 
“Thanks.  You really know how to put a person in their place.”

He laughed
heartily at her sarcastic humor.  “See you in church Sunday.”

The three
young people watched him get in his truck and drive away.  After a few
minutes of silence, Wolf left the women on the porch and went down to where
he’d parked his horse trailer.  They watched quietly as he pulled a huge
bag out of the front of the trailer, then climbed up the ladder on the side and
began unlashing some long poles that had been secured there.

“Let me go
help him set up,” Feather said, as she rose and walked to the steps where she
paused and looked back at Jordan.  “Wolf is very good at undercover
work.  If he weren’t, he’d be dead.”

“I just don’t
want something to happen because of me.  Lambert has no mercy.”  Jordan’s
eyes were still following the man as he began to unroll what looked like a huge
tarpaulin.  She wasn’t aware that she was watching him, but Feather smiled
before she turned to go.

She
shrugged.  “If that man doesn’t come after you, then he’ll be fine. 
If he does, Wolf will stop him.  Trust God, yes, but trust Wolf too.”

Jordan’s eyes
followed her as she joined her brother.  Although not tall like her
brother, Feather was slim and willowy, straight limbed, hard muscled but
extremely feminine.  In contrast, her brother stood a bit over six
feet.  He too, was straight and hard muscled.  Jordan found herself
admiring the movement of his arms and legs as the two moved about, setting up
the big tent.  With efficient cooperation that came from working side by
side for many years, the brother and sister quickly erected the poles and soon
had the heavy cover hung around them.  To Jordan, it was a strange
apparition setting in a small opening between the brick house and the barn.