Little Lost Leon: Chapter Twelve

CHAPTER TWELVE

“What are you doing?”

Leon’s head was throbbing, and his ears were ringing quite loudly.  Nonetheless, he heard the question.

Then Leon remembered what he had done, and he opened his eyes.  There was a man standing over him, but he was not sure where they were at.

“Am I dead?”

“Were you wanting to die?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I just killed the parents of those three children.”

“Therefore, you condemn them to die, as well?”  What did they ever do to you?”

“They did not do anything to me.  They are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“So, for this they deserve to die by your hands?”

“I never made a move against them—let alone wanted to kill them. They would not be dying by my hands.”

“How can this be true?  For you were made well aware of their existence and how young they are.  You knew that they could not fend for themselves, and yet, you chose to abandon them in a time of desperate need by killing yourself.”

“Leave me alone.  I am trying to die here.”

“How can you be so sure that you are not already dead and this is just the beginning of your stay in Hell?”

“For what I have done, I deserve no mercy.  Killing that man was most justified, but killing the mother of those children was not.  I am sorry about them, but I have had enough tragedy for a lifetime.  I simply could not bear anymore.”

“No, there is no justification for what you have done—not even the killing of that man.  For what vengeance there may be to administer is strictly in the Lord’s hands.  For everyone belongs to Him, and He does with what is His in accordance to His will.  No one has the right to do what they want with what is not theirs.  This includes property and people.  Everything and everyone belongs to Him, and He alone has the right to do with what and who is His as He wants.  You would do well to remember this for the remainder of your days in the material realm.”

“What?”

“It is not your time to physically die.  For there is still much that your Heavenly Father wants to accomplish in and through you.  It was not your right to attempt to kill yourself.  You belong to Him, and you do not have the right to purposefully do harm to what belongs to Him without explicit permission to do so beforehand.  No one does.  Rise and start living your natural life again.”

Leon blinked his eyes, and he saw that he was still lying on the floor of Wayne’s cabin in his own vomit.  The Remington Army was still in his hand, and there was a strong smell of gunpowder in the air.  It had to have been strong to cut through the stench of his vomit.

“My name is Loren.  That is my sister, Annie, sitting at the table with my little brother, Russell, but we call him, Rusty.  We are hungry.  Mommy was fixing us breakfast, but she fell down before giving it to us.  She will not wake up.  I think she is hurt.”

It felt like someone had reached in and tried to rip Leon’s guts out again.  He slowly turned his head to see a small boy standing between him and the kitchen table.

Leon tried to say something to the boy, but a pain greater than he had ever felt before shot through Leon when he went to open his mouth.  Leon holstered the pistol and reached up to feel where he had held its barrel under his chin.  Then Leon felt a pain even greater than the one before, but at least he did not feel a bullet hole.

Leon slowly stood up and was finally able to tell Loren his name.  Then he went into the kitchen to check if the children’s mother was indeed dead.  She was, and Leon was grateful to see two perfectly round holes in her left temple.  For this indicated that she had not suffered for long—if any at all.

Leon next checked on the children’s breakfast items.  Sitting on the counter next to the stove were three bowls of what Leon had imagined gruel looking like from what he had read about it in books.  “At least it is still warm,” Leon thought to himself.

Leon was shocked to hear a loud snort coming from a horse in front of the cabin, and he rushed over to look out of a window.  Sure enough, there was his team of horses still hitched to the wagon.  He had wrapped their reins around a sweet gum out of sight of the cabin.  Quite obviously, he had failed to do a good job of it.

Leon turned his attention back to inside of the cabin and decided to go into the bedroom.  He did not know why, but he did it anyway.  Then he saw it still next to the bed.  It was his crib, and he knew what he should do.

There was a recurring nightmare that insisted on haunting Ruby even while she was wide awake.  The setting was not always the same, but it always involved her father finally catching back up to her.  He was sometimes accompanied by Master Mark and sometimes not.

An updated version of the nightmare was vividly playing in Ruby’s head as she ran as fast as she could toward Shirley’s.  Shirley’s was the brothel the owners of the brewery meeting with Alfred wanted to visit, and it had served as a nice temporary home for Ruby after she left the Fort Collins area.  Shirley’s was where she had first met her dearly departed husband, and Ruby did not think he would mind her returning to the business.

Ruby debated with herself whether or not she should stop by Shirley’s to at least collect the tidy little sum she had squirreled away while married to Cyrus.  The money could sure help facilitate her getting much farther away much faster than just on foot, but she also realized that it would not do her much good if her father was right on her heels.

Ruby actually turned her head around to see if her father was close behind her.  She did not see him anywhere around, and Ruby decided to stop by her room at Shirley’s.

Shirley had become a madam after becoming too old to attract very many new clients.  Oh, she still had her regulars, who had been entertained by her for years, but their ranks were thinning more and more with each passing year.

The look Ruby gave Shirley as she rushed upstairs to her room said it all.  Shirley was sad to see her go, but Ruby had told her enough about her past for Shirley to understand that this day might come.

Alfred was beyond devastated as he made his way back to the dining room.  He explained to the owners of the brewery that Dawn was actually his long lost sister, Ruby, but they did not act too concerned.

Alfred almost tore up the contracts, but at the last moment, a thought came to the forefront of his mind concerning all of the others who would benefit from this added stream of revenue—not to mention all of the other business in the area that could be generated by supplying barrels to their brewery.  “After all,” Alfred conceded to himself, “Business is business.”

With their business dealings concluded for the time being, the brewery’s owners left the dining room to go on their adventure like nothing else had happened, and Alfred left to go see if he could catch up to Miranda at the Shire regional office in town.  He had left a note at the restaurant asking Miranda to wait for him there in case he missed her at the office, but it was unnecessary.  For Miranda was bringing to a close her sales pitch to the wives of the brewery’s owners and had already taken orders for several furniture pieces.

After the sales pitch was brought to a close, the other wives decided that they were not finished having fun yet and headed out of the door.  Alfred told Miranda what had happened, and after weighing all of the pros and cons, they decided to head for the depot to check on when trains headed back east were scheduled to depart.

Miranda wanted to stay in Denver and keep looking for Ruby at least a little while longer, but Alfred had become convinced that she did not want to be found.  A very good passenger liner with seats still available was scheduled to depart in less than four hours, and they booked passage on it.

No, the team and wagon would not be going back east with Alfred and Miranda.  For the rig was meant to remain in Denver under the care of the Shire regional office and used to deliver products that had arrived by train to whoever had ordered them in the area.

Still, Alfred and Miranda thought that it would be merely polite to inform the head of the Shire regional office of their departure time.  So, Alfred headed to the manager’s house while Miranda headed back to their hotel room to pack.

Miranda was just about finished with packing when a soft knock on the door to their hotel room caused her to freeze in place.  For Alfred would never have knocked so softly.  In fact, he would have probably just barged right in with a, “Honey, I’m home!”

Miranda held her breath as she opened the door.  At long last, there was Ruby standing in front of the door with tears streaming down her face.

Miranda marveled at just how accurately Alfred had portrayed his long lost sister in the last portrait he had painted of her.  For he had painted one every year to depict possible changes in her size and facial features, and the only difference between the real Ruby and her last portrait was that Alfred still had her with her naturally auburn hair color instead of the wheat straw-blond she had dyed it.

“I’m sorry to bother you, mam.  I thought this was my brother’s room.”

“Is that really you, Ruby?  I am Alfred’s wife, Miranda.  We have been married close to nine years now.  Please, come in and wait.  For he should be back any time now.”

Ruby went into Alfred and Miranda’s room, but before she could go more than a few steps, Miranda had her in an embrace that would make someone who did not know any better think that Ruby was Miranda’s long lost sister.  Ruby started literally wailing with a mixture of relief and grief. Miranda’s tears mixed with Ruby’s, and when they let go of one another, there was Alfred standing at the door.

“Why did you run away?”

“I am so sorry, Alfred.  I thought you were our father, and I panicked.”

Hearing that initially shocked Alfred, but then he remembered Graham and Edgar, along with a host of others over the years, telling him just how much he and his father looked like they could have been twins.  The last time had been merely two years ago.

“Our father died of a massive heart attack while he was chasing me the day you left.  I have searched high and low for you, but it was as if you had disappeared from the face of the planet.”

Alfred and Ruby then rushed into each other’s arms.  Miranda did not think it was possible to see a more beautiful sight.

Nothing was said for several minutes before Miranda spoke up.  “Ruby, we have booked passage to head back home on a very nice passenger liner that is scheduled to depart in three hours.  If you could, there is also room for you to go with us then, but if that isn’t possible, we will gladly wait until you can.  You have nephews and nieces who have been anxious to meet you almost their entire lives.”

Ruby was still too overcome with emotion to speak, but she was able to nod her head up and down in an affirmative motion.  Ruby finally unwrapped her arms from around Alfred and headed out of the hotel room with a death-grip on his left hand.

Miranda trailed closely behind as they headed toward Shirley’s.  Ruby said that she only had a single suitcase of her belongings, which was already packed, but she wanted to give Shirley her money pouch as partial payment for the old madam treating her with such kindness and understanding.

“Oh good, you caught up with him, Ruby.”

“Yes.  Thank you so very much for telling me, Kent.

Kent was one of the owners of the Denver brewery that Alfred had just signed the contract with, and Alfred was certainly glad he had not acted impulsively after he came back into the room at the restaurant.  For when the owners of the brewery had acted like they could not care less about Dawn actually being his long-lost sister, Alfred had wanted to take his great frustration out on them, which would have surely resulted in them not wanting to help him in any way, shape or form.

Less than an hour later, Alfred, Miranda and Ruby were at the train depot booking passage for Ruby.  Since the train would not be departing for another two hours, the manager suggested that they might grab a bite to eat at a good cafe just down the street.  Miranda and Ruby headed there while Alfred headed back the house of the Shire regional office manager to inform him that Ruby had been found.

A short time later, Alfred was enjoying a big slice of apple pie with his wife and sister.  The other people in the cafe were enjoying listening to all of the laughter coming from Alfred, Miranda and Ruby’s table.

The trip back east was quite different than the one out west.  For it seemed like it had taken Alfred and Miranda months to arrive in Denver while the trip back to Blue Valley seemed to last but a couple of hours at most.

Miranda had thought to telegraph ahead to inform her parents of when her and Alfred was scheduled to arrive back home, and they had their children waiting on the platform for their train to pull in.  The look of glee on the faces of Miranda’s parents and their children quickly turned to shock when Ruby stepped onto the platform behind her brother and sister-in-law.

“Are you my Aunt Ruby?”

“Yes, and who would you be, my fine sir?”

“My name is Graham, but everyone calls me, RePete.  Well, except for Mommy.  Daddy started calling me that so people would not get me mixed up with his old friend, Graham.  He is really nice.  Daddy sometimes calls him, Chairman Graham.  That is my older brother, Pete, and my younger sister, Amanda.  Would you like to meet them?  They sure want to meet you, as I did.  Oh yeah, that is my Grandfather Kenneth and my Grandmother Lucille.  Would you like to meet them?  They would like to meet you.  I heard them say so.”

“Now, Graham.  Your Aunt Ruby is really tired from our long trip.  So are your mommy and daddy.  Why don’t we wait until we get home before ganging up on Aunt Ruby?”

RePete just surged his little shoulders and walked back to stand by his brother and sister.  Ruby had to work hard to stifle a giggle trying to get free.

“Thank you for coming to my rescue again, Miranda.  Although, his kind of attack is one I can relish.”

“We will see what you have to say about that after he plants himself on your lap and refuses to budge, my dear sister.  We should be heading out to Rainbow’s End, though.  For Vernon has wanted to find you almost as long as I have, and he doesn’t know that you have been found yet.  I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he first sees you again.”

“Vernon?  Who is Vernon?”

“Oh, he is someone you met years ago,” Alfred interjected.  “I will let him fill in the blanks in regards to his story.  I would like to stop by Shire headquarters real fast and let Chairman Graham and Edgar know that you have been found.  You have never met them, but they have been helping to look for you the past nineteen years or so.  There have been many, many others, but we will wait for a blow-out welcome home party for you at Rainbow’s End to introduce you to as many of them as possible.”

Miranda’s father had brought a Shire open-sided wagon with three rows of benches to sit in and room for their baggage in the back.  RePete made sure that Ruby sat with him and his siblings while the other adults sat in the other rows.

Ruby’s mouth was agape as they approached Shire.  Alfred and Miranda had already told her some about the company and Rainbow’s End.  Nonetheless, she was still having a hard time wrapping her mind around how different her life was going to be.

Ah, but she did not know the half of it yet.  For her eyes actually bugged-out when she first caught sight of the main house at Rainbow’s End, and they did not detract a bit when she saw Vernon standing out in front.  For it hit her squarely between the eyes just who he was, which is not as much of a figure of speech as you might assume.

Ruby waited until after Graham, Edgar and Miranda’s parents went home to whisper to Vernon that she had something to tell him in private, and Vernon took her on a walk under the stars toward the stables.  Ruby waited until they made it to the stables to tell him that he had a son, and then if was Vernon’s turn for his mouth to flop wide open.

When Leon saw his rig out in front of the cabin, he took it as a sign that he should make a run for it, and seeing his old crib still in the bedroom further reinforced this.  “After all,” he reasoned to himself, I have come too far to find myself locked up in prison for a crime I did not mean to commit!”

No, Leon was not dismissing being kept from killing himself, and he was not about to abandon those three children he had orphaned again.  Leon’s quickly-determined plan was that he would drop them off at the undertaker’s house in Whistling Pines, and the old man would probably hand them off to his daughter and her husband to raise as their own.  Yes, there was something vaguely familiar about that to Leon.

Ah, but things do not always work out quite like they are planned, and before Leon could move even one of the orphans out to his rig, three people on horseback came riding straight toward the cabin.  At least they looked peaceable enough.  For the two men and a woman were not brandishing firearms as far as Leon could see, but he really did not want to take the time to entertain even friendly guests at the moment.

“Hello in the house!  My name is Alfred, and we are looking for my nephew, who was born in this cabin almost thirteen years ago.  Please, be assured that we mean him no harm.  Would he be here now?”

“Whoa,” Leon thought to himself, “I was born in this cabin almost thirteen years ago.  Are they looking for me?  Could Alfred really be my uncle?  Well, I suppose there is only one way to find out,” and Leon asked through the still closed front door, “What was his mother’s name?”

“Ruby.  His mother’s name is Ruby, and this is her with his father and me.  If he is here, please ask him to come out and meet us.”

Leon did not know whether to start shouting with joy or screaming with rage.  Yes, the proper thing would have been to calmly go outside and identify himself, but Leon felt like he was going to explode.

Leon was just standing there with his head spinning when he felt a tug on his left shirt sleeve.  He looked down to see Loren, who told him, “You should go outside to meet your parents.”

Leon did not stop to wonder how Loren knew that they were his parents.  For he was too busy trying to decide whether or not he could dare to believe it, himself.  However, he walked out onto the front porch.

No, there was no room for doubt that the woman was indeed Leon's mother.  For it was all in the eyes, you see.

It was also clear to see that Vernon was indeed Leon’s father.  For Leon was the spitting image of his father, apart from having his mother’s eyes.

If Leon had of wanted to make a run for it, he would not have stood a chance.  For Vernon was out of the saddle and had his son in an embrace before Leon had time to blink.

Alfred certainly did not want to blink.  For he did not want to miss a millisecond of the miracle taking place before his eyes.

It would be easy to think that Alfred was rather used to seeing miracles after all he had seen and actually experienced in his life so far, but he did not want to take anything for granted.  For he felt like that would be tempting fate.  Besides, the proverbial stuff seemed to be always hitting the proverbial fan, which would take a miracle to clean up.

Speaking of such, Alfred saw a young boy standing just inside the front door, and he climbed down from his horse to introduce himself and ask a few questions.  When he reached the door, Alfred saw that the boy was not alone in the cabin.

“Howdy, my name is Alfred.  What are your names?”

“My name is Loren, and they are my sister and brother, Annie and Russell, who we call Rusty.  Is Leon still going to take us with him somewhere?”

“I don’t know.  Why was he going to take you-all somewhere?  Are your daddy and mommy here?”

“Yes, but I think they are very sick.”

“Where are your daddy and mommy?”

“Daddy is over there, and mommy is in the kitchen.”

Alfred looked in the direction Loren was pointing and saw their bodies on the floor.  A knot was forming in Alfred's stomach as he walked over to take a closer look.

Alfred saw the bullet holes and was not happy with where his mind was headed.  “Leon, would you mind coming back in here for a minute?”

Vernon and Ruby looked at each other when they heard their son’s name for the first time.  They followed him back inside of the cabin, and Leon braced himself for having to answer some questions he did not have all of the answers to.”

“Do you know what happened here, Leon?”

Leon proceeded to tell them all that he knew of, starting with the murders of William and Marie.  No, he did not hold anything back, except for him trying to kill himself and the stranger having a talk with him.

Needless to say, Alfred, Ruby and Vernon were all quite shocked, but they were equally impressed with Leon bravely telling the truth as best he could.  Alfred explained to Leon that the sheriff would have to contacted, and Leon nodded his head up and down to indicate that he understood.

Alfred added that he was quite sure the sheriff would be very fair in his investigation and let Leon stay at Rainbow’s End at least until it was over.  However, it would be probably better for Leon to wait for the sheriff to come out before heading there.

Ruby said that she and Vernon should stay with their son, and asked Alfred to drop off the children with Miranda at Rainbow’s End before contacting the sheriff.  Alfred agreed, and Vernon went out to tie Alfred’s horse to the back of Leon’s wagon as Ruby, Alfred and Leon took out as many heavy blankets as they could find to lay down on the bed of the wagon to make the trip a little more comfortable for the children.  After the children were placed on the blankets, Leon did not think that they looked quite as snug as a bug in a rug as he remembered being told that he did in Bonnie’s picnic basket, but he was quite sure that it was plenty good enough.  Furthermore, Loren, Annie and Rusty seemed rather excited to go on an adventure.

The sheriff and one of his deputies arrived a few hours later in a prisoner transport wagon, but it did not take long for them to determine that there had been no need for it.  For they immediately recognized the dead man in Wayne’s old cabin as being an outlaw wanted in at least a dozen jurisdictions, and it was determined that he he had killed the  woman—not Leon.  See there, another miracle right on cue.

Leon wanted to ask them how that could be, but before he could speak up, a thought reminded him that he did not actually remember shooting the woman.  It was at that very moment when Leon noticed a Remington Army just like he had strapped to the man’s leg, and he kept his mouth shut.

A shudder started at the top of Leon’s head and traveled all of the way down to the soles of his feet, and what made the scene all the eerier to him was the smile that his father gave him.  For Leon knew that he knew what had just transpired.  He did not understand how, but there was not a doubt in Leon’s mind that his father knew.

If you are still confused, Leon’s Henry rifle and the Remington Army pistols he and the outlaw had were all chambered for .44 caliber ammunition.  Yes, the cartridges used by the Henry were somewhat different, but with the sheriff not being interested in pursuing the matter further, the general size of the entrance wounds were close enough for him to conclude that the outlaw had killed the woman with his pistol and Leon had killed him in an attempt to stop the madness.  Leon never did discover how and when his emptied pistol just happened to be switched with the fully-loaded outlaw’s before the sheriff examined them.

After Leon was able to secure a tighter grip on himself, he volunteered to go with the sheriff and his deputy to show them where he had placed William and Marie’s bodies.  With nothing appearing to be inconsistent with Leon’s account, it was decided that Leon and his parents would take William and Marie’s bodies to Whistling Pines the next day.

Leon asked if it would be all right for him to stay up on the ridge until William and Marie were taken to Whistling Pines.  For he did not want to start a new chapter in his life until the old one was completely taken of.  Besides, Leon desperately wanted to at least change cloths before meeting the rest of his new family.

Yes, Leon was becoming rather ripe, as they say around those parts, and the stench from his vomit played a big role in the sheriff determining that Leon was not a cold-blooded killer.  Another miracle?

It was decided that Ruby would stay with her son in William and Marie’s cabin while Vernon went back to Rainbow’s End to bring back a wagon the next morning.  Leon and Ruby were both very thankful for having a little more time to become better acquainted before being dumped into the middle of a much larger family dynamic.