The Sheriff’s Glorious Return – Extended Epilogue

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Five years after the wedding of Samuel and Paige Rogers, things should have been quiet in Jefferson City, Missouri. Sam was pleased with Jackson’s progress. His own sheriff’s deputy, Jackson had handled himself well, and a circling red-tailed hawk bore witness. They rode out of Jefferson City, both once again behind the badge. Sam had little reason to wonder why he’d abandoned the post, but after marrying Paige and setting up a stable household, the life of transporting and bounty hunting was happily put away once and for all. And as much as he enjoyed the idea of opening a fine little shop, he knew he was a man of certain skills. He’d passed them along to Jackson, and neither man could consider it a reasonable way to spend their time tossing away that which they were both best at.

And there were other things to consider, as there always were. The nation was at the dawn of the new century, it was only a few precious moments away. Progress had come to Wyoming, with communication wires strung out between poles, news streaming across the country faster than ever before. And it wasn’t the only thing moving faster. Trains had not only replaced the horse and carriage, but had brought the entire country closer together. The Civil War recessed into everyone’s memory, and it seemed as of the dawn of the American century was finally upon them. Cities were rising and expanding, the white man seemed to have driven out the red even in a few short years. They were squirreled away, and it seemed at if they’d never terrorize the white communities again.

But the Ottawa and their ilk were not the greatest threat to Sam and Jackson on that day. As sheriff and deputy, duty called them once more into the outskirts of Jefferson City. The redbud were fresh with an early summer bloom, jackrabbits and bobcats popping in and out of the chokeberry.

Jackson looked around, his steed huffing beneath him. “How close, do you think?”

Sam took a deep breath and scanned the area for himself. “Hard to say. I wish we had more men.”

“Had to leave somebody behind to watch the store,” Jackson said. “What do you make of our new deputy?”

“Stanley? Upright enough, capable. Do you have any reason to think otherwise?”

Jackson huffed. “He’s taken a shying to our Emily.”

Sam nodded, not surprised to hear it. Jackson had become a protective older brother to Sam’s beloved daughter. She needed it, and Sam wanted it. Even more, Sam was pleased to know that the lad had grown into such a dutiful and stalwart fellow. When Sam passed or retired, he felt certain that Jackson would take his place as sheriff of Jefferson City, and he would be a good leader. He would not be prone to corruption, not even to the merest suggestion of it. He would protect Emily even after Sam could no longer do so.

So, it was natural that he would worry for the girl.

“He’s a good deputy,” Sam said. “Or do you feel otherwise?”

Jackson seemed to give it some thought. “If you think he’s worthy. What about… her feelings? Is she… receptive?”

Sam had to take a closer look at his old friend. “Jackson, you’re not… jealous? You don’t harbor feelings for the girl?”

“Me? No, I… I love her as a sister, of course, I only want to make sure she’s happily married off. Such a thing to think!”

Sam chuckled, glancing around. “I was only teasing… well, only a bit.”

“He’s not a bad fellow, brave enough. We left the whole of the city in his care, after all.”

“He’s not ready for this kind of mission.” Sam shook his head. “That bear, it has to be taken down.”

Jackson seemed to take some time to think. “You recall, years ago, on that fateful day en route to Chicago, to Joliet? That bear who came upon us?”

“I do. I hardly think it’s the same creature, of course.”

“No, of course not, no. But it was… it was a moment worth remembering, a good lesson. I’d been ready to plug the thing there and then. You’d stayed my hand, explaining that she could have cubs, she could have reason for doing what she did—just… just as Miss Ellie Bronson had her own reasons.”

Sam took a long, slow look at the young man, taking time to measure his words. “She’s with the Lord now, Jackson. She is His charge, not ours, not any longer.”

“I know it,” Jackson answered, “and I accept it. But… we never will know, will we?”

“We don’t need to. There are powers in the world which we cannot control, Jackson. Like the weather, we can often hope to endure it, even to exploit it, but we cannot command it.”

“And they bettered us,” Jackson said.

“Did they? The woman cleansed her soul of whatever her crimes were. She gave her life in exchange for ours.”

“She did,” Jackson said, “that’s just my point. It haunts me, even now.”

After a passing silence, Sam sighed. “I know it. And I’m sorry for it. Taking you out on such a misadventure, it was… it was reckless, I take the full brunt of the blame for that.”

“Don’t even think it! Were you to take off without me, I’d have tracked you down… just as sure as the Ottawa hunted us down.”

“They weren’t the only ones.”

Sam nodded. “That bear has to be felled. It’s getting too bold.”

“It is,” Jackson said, “and it will be. Could it be that it’s the cub of the mother, coming to claim their due?”

Sam turned to Jackson with a look he didn’t care to disguise. “Honestly, Jackson, your flights of fancy. I’m beginning to wonder about you.”

“You should wonder, be both should. Karen says there are mysteries we cannot ever know. They ways of the Lord are mysterious, but they’re undeniable.”

“True enough,” Sam said, “but the Lord is no mere bear?”

“He’s a miracle worker, sir! He can take whatever shape He chooses.”

Sam had to turn and give that some thought. “My young sir, I’ve often told you how glad I am that you are my friend, my deputy, and I know you’ll make a fine sheriff one day. But I also recall telling you that you had a way with the Lord’s word? Would you still consider trading the badge for the collar?”

Jackson seemed to give that some thought, tilting his head. “Perhaps. But how can I trust you to see yourself and your upcoming grandchildren to fruition without me?”

“By the Lord’s guidance! You’re conspicuous at church, and your woman is God-fearing. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life hunting bears and men? Wouldn’t you rather be fishing for souls?”

“Would you join me? Would you lead me by example?”

Sam huffed and shook his head. “I should never have put down the badge. It was a symptom of my shame, but it came at the detriment of my community. I was cowardly to feel as I did.”

“You weren’t,” Jackson said, “not ever. Nobody could blame you for what happened to your first wife. The only one who does, my old friend, is you. But the law, our duty, it can’t be rendered useless by the manipulations of lesser men. You taught me that yourself, with every day and in every way.”

Sam had to nod. There was little denying it. “I’m glad you learned the lesson so well. You’re a good man, Jackson, you’ll be a good father and husband, a good sheriff.”

“I will be,” Jackson said with a nod. “But that’s because of you.”

Sam didn’t have to think about that too long. “I’m the lucky one, to have met you at all, my young friend. Is your wife… quite well?”

“Hardly showing, but that bump is rising fast. She’ll be all manner of difficulty as the time nears.”

“You can count on that! My Paige was a holy terror before our Lisa finally arrived. I thought she was going to murder me right by her bedside.”

“I thought the same,” Jackson said, the two men chuckling. “She’s a powerful spirit.”

“She is, and not just in spirit. I’m just grateful that she and Emily have such a healthy relationship. Their quite well-paired with one another, I have to say.”

Jackson nodded. “They both love you… and they’re not alone.”

Sam cracked a little smile.

The bear broke out of nowhere, roaring out and shaking its head. The horses flinched, the beasts rearing back and shaking their manes. The bear seemed to know their shock and seemed even more to enjoy it. The more the horses bucked and clopped, the more aggressive the bear seemed. It charged and swiped, the horses rearing back and up to flail their hard hooves to drive the creature back.

Sam was quick to draw on the beast, but it was Jackson who held out his hand to stay the shot. In an odd reversal, it was the younger man who had the more mature reaction. The horses quieted and even the bear seemed to do the same. It didn’t attack, and that was as much as Sam could expect. More than anything else, he was curious as to how the younger man had grown, how much he had learned. So, Sam watched and held his mount, and let Jackson pursue and obey his own instincts.

“Hold your clapping jaws,” Jackson bellowed at the bear, holding an angry hand out to quiet the creature. “We’ve a real quarrel with you!” The bear growled and seemed to be listening, as was Sam himself. The younger man went on, “You’ve eaten the livestock of our friends, those of our own kind. We are honor-bound to protect them, as you would protect your own!”

A long, steady silence followed as Sam looked on, ready to enforce the firepower Jackson seemed eager to avoid. And it only brought Sam gratification to know that he’d raised a young man of poor choices and turned him into a fellow with sensitivity and insight even Sam didn’t have. And that was as much as he could hope for.

The bear looked around, growling, clearly caught between his or her desire for prey and the desire for survival.

“Back down,” Jackson bellowed with a preacher’s baritone. “I say to you now that you will bow to the power of the Christ Almighty, as must all creatures great and small, or will be laid low!” The bear roared, but Jackson was undeterred. Even the horses seemed emboldened by the younger man’s declaration.

“I swear by the God of all things,” Jackson went on, “you will leave this place. You will not endanger those in my charge! You will eat your fish and feed your cubs and leave my kind to be! Otherwise, I will have no choice but to lay you low!”

The bear roared, shaking is massive head, flashing those white fangs, the pink gums, the fatty hide rolling around its thick neck.

“Wail away,” Jackson said. “You’ve heard the word of the Lord!

“And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.’”

The bear seemed confused, because Sam knew it to be a creature of limited intellect. It fed off the ground and the trees, skimming fatty fish from the rivers. It could know nothing of the human tongue of any language. It could hardly know the Lord’s word. But it still seemed moved, as if it did have some way to receive what Jackson was trying to impart.

“And it was so,” Jackson went on, his voice filling the skies. “God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.”

The bear seemed to understand. It nodded its great head, shaking it to send ripples down its fleshy body.

“Hear me now, child of God,” Jackson said. “You’ll leave my kind in peace. You’ll find your prey in the streams, not in the stables. You’ll stay where God intended you to be, and not assume upon our kind.”

The bear was suddenly antagonized, rearing up on its hind legs to swipe its forepaws and wail out its frustration. Sam could only look on, amazed at the young man’s skill and command and what only seemed like spiritual mastery.

Jackson called out, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free, and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so, the body is not made up of one part but of many.”

Sam watched as his ward bettered him in every way. He was a brighter fellow than Sam by tens, a more sensitive soul to spiritual matters. He was the example Sam wanted to follow, instead of it being the other way around.

Both Sam and the bear kept listening as Jackson seemed imbued with the power of the Lord Almighty. He went on, “Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But, in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.”

Even the bear seemed to understand, and it was calm as it backed down. Sam was struck by the biblical tale of Daniel in the lions’ den. They’d bowed down before them just as the bear had backed away from the bluster and the fury of Jackson’s delivery of the scripture.

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I’ve no need of you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I’ve no need of you!’ No! Each part is necessary, all parts carry their portion. You are you, great bear, and I am me. But we’ve no quarrel. Go back to your own realm, where the God of all wishes you to be. You’ve no need to be in our place, were the God of all has put us. Know your place and keep it, and we shall do the same. Hear and know the words of the Lord.”

The bear growled and grunted, finally turning to shuffle off, a whine deep in its massive throat. Sam was most gratified that the lad had used non-violent means, but there was little certainty that the bear would stop harassing the people of Jefferson City.

“Not that you don’t have a fine sense of command,” Sam said, “but who knows how good the animal’s memory is.”

“It won’t come back,” Jackson said, shaking his head and looking up. “The Lord has other plans for the creature. The bear may think it has free will to go where it chooses, but it is as conscribed to the Will of God as much as any human.”

Sam looked deeper into the younger man’s face. He saw there a glint of something new, the shape of the man he was becoming. He’d been a good student, an eager pupil, a good and noble son, and a potent deputy. But his time of learning at Sam’s feet seemed over, at long last. Jackson had become the fully realized man Sam had always hoped. He was already married with a child on the way, and Sam was certain then that Jackson had become the man who was ready to raise his own family. He’d teach his own son the things Sam had taught him.

His new family and Sam’s would remain in Jefferson City, Sam could only hope. But he had the sense that he might have lost his deputy to a different service to the community. Turning to ride back, Jackson said, “I wonder if, perhaps, instead of the badge…”

“The collar? You’ve certainly got a knack for it.”

“You… you wouldn’t mind? I won’t abandon you, especially now that you’re back behind the badge.”

“You never would and never could,” Sam said. “Were you to take Karen off to some place far off, you’ll never be far from my side, and you’ll always be in my heart.” They rode on back toward Jefferson. “Thank goodness we’ve already got a well-trained young man to replace you.”

“No,” Jackson said, “not goodness… thank God.”

Sam looked up and he could hardly doubt that there were forces at work which were beyond him. Sam was a man of good faith, but Jackson had a stronger faith, a stronger mind, a stronger will. Sam couldn’t help but respect him, admire him. And he knew that, with one keeping the light of the law and the other holding the candle of faith, they would lead Jefferson City and, in that way, all of the country into a brighter future.

The new century was about to dawn, bringing new opportunities, new challenges, new lives, and new loves.

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Grab my new series, "Legends of the Lawless Frontier", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

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