Joining Hearts- Chapter 2 (part 2)

I am looking for any helpful suggestions to make my book better. Constructive criticism can be brutal but necessary and I welcome all comments. Thanks.

Chapter 2- part 2

          The next morning, Hank awoke to the smells of bacon and eggs frying in the kitchen. He looked out the window and saw that it was much later than he expected. His mother had let him oversleep and now he was behind on his chores. He leapt out of bed, put on his clothes and rushed to the kitchen.

          “Mother, how could you let me sleep so late? Now it will take me hours to get caught up on my chores.” Hank moaned.

          “Sit down and eat, Son.” His mother said emphatically. “I have already fed the animals and the rest of your chores can wait. We need to finish our talk.” Lucy fixed plates for the both of them and sat down as she handed Hank his breakfast.

          “Last night you asked why you never met any of my family. When my parents found out I was pregnant, my life was a living hell. The good news was that the banker would not have anything to do with me, I was soiled goods. Then, my parents wanted to know who the man was that stole my virginity so they could make me marry him. When I told them he was already married, that was all they needed to hear. Since there was no way that their friends were going to find out that their daughter was going to have a bastard baby, they shipped me off to a charity hospital in the city. They told me I could not come home until after the baby was born and given up for adoption. Part of me could not believe that my parents would do this to me and then I remembered that these were the same parents who literally sold me to the banker for farm equipment. Imagine if they had found out you were the son of an Indian! I had no plans of giving you up so there was no way I was going to return home, ever. That is why you have never met my family. I do not have any brothers or sisters and with the way my parents treated me, I was not ever going to allow them the privilege of meeting my son.

          “Well, I suppose I can understand that,” Hank replied, finding that he actually agreed with her.

          “But what ever happened with my father?” Hank asked. He still had not heard what he was waiting for.

          “After that day in the barn, I didn’t hear from him again until you were two. I received a letter one day from someone signed James. I had only known your father by the name of Screaming Eagle so I imagine he must have taken on a Christian name over time. To this day, I have no idea how he ever found out where we lived. As I continued reading the letter, I noticed that he only asked about you. He never bothered to ask me how I was doing. I was angry and threw that letter away. A few months later, I received two letters and again, he was asking about you. It was as though he completely forgot he ever knew or cared for me. I realized that maybe he never did and that broke my heart. As a result, I became so furious that I refused to send him any letters. The years passed and the letters kept coming, all asking about you.”

          “Why didn’t you finally give up and send him a letter telling him how I was? It seems that if you had just answered his letter, he might have finally stopped writing to you and left you alone.”

          Lucy hesitated; this was the part she knew she was probably going to regret.

          “I did. I finally sent him one letter. I told him your name, that you were a brilliant student doing great in your studies at school and how much of a help you were to me at home. I ended the letter telling him that you were MY son and that he gave you up the day he told me he was married. I told him to leave us alone and that I never wanted to see him and he was never to try to see you.” Lucy held her breath waiting for the impact.

          “What! Hank shoved his plate away, his anger flaring. “I spent my whole life not knowing my father because of you? How could you do that to me! Why would you do that to me?” Hank stood up and headed for the door, glaring at his mother. “What gave you the right to make that decision for me? I will never forgive you for this … Never!
                             ***
          Hank’s thoughts came rushing back to the present as another sharp stab of pain temporarily brought him out of unconsciousness and he realized not only was his heart was pounding rapidly but he now had a fever. He was going to have to find some help soon or he just might not make it this time. He looked around and thought he saw a small cabin off in the distance. How could I have missed that? Hank thought. He prided himself in his ability to notice fine details and could not believe he had not seen it before now. “I must be losing my touch,” He grumbled, “or about to die.” He thought with a grimace, as he felt another shooting pain. He also noticed that it was starting to rain.

          Rain. It had rained the day his mama died. It had not started as a rainy day; in fact, it had started as a beautiful summer day. By the time that day had ended, however, the rain was hiding his tears. In fact, the sequence of events that had taken place the day she died resulted in why he was now sitting under this very tree. As Hank slipped back toward unconsciousness, his fevered mind returned to that fateful day.

          Ever since Hank had found out about his parentage, things had been strained between him and his mother. They talked, but only when necessary. The day she died, however, things for some reason had seemed almost like old times.

          “Mama, I’m going to head into town. I need to talk to Mr. Clancy about fixing the spare wheel for the wagon and get some tools. I might even stop and get a haircut.” He started to walk out the door when his mother called him.

          “Okay, well since you are talking to me at the moment, before you came in here, I was cleaning and organizing the cabinets and realized that I need to do a little shopping myself. If you will wait a few minutes, I will get cleaned up and be ready to go.”

          “Darn it.” Hank thought to himself. Though he told his mother the truth about what he was going to do, he had also wanted to sneak a drink at the saloon and maybe enjoy the company of a pretty lady or two. Now he had to take his Mother with him.

          “Okay, Mother.” Hank said dejectedly. He hooked the horse up to the wagon and drove it to the front of the house. He hopped down so he could help his mother up into the wagon. It was a beautiful summer afternoon and with the wind blowing gently, Hank was just sure it would be a pleasant ride. He was wrong. On the way into town, he inwardly groaned as his mother began to verbalize her shopping list and add more items. He realized that this was going to be a very long trip. He was definitely going to get his thick black hair cut now just so he didn’t have to go shopping. As they arrived in town, Hank tied up the wagon and helped his mother down.

          “I am going to be at Orville’s General Store. I will meet you here at the wagon when I am done. And Hank?”

          “Yes, Mama?”

          "Stay away from that saloon, you hear me?”

          Frustrated about this abrupt change of plans, Hank had gone to purchase the tools he needed from Mr. Clancy and went back to the wagon to see if his mother was there yet. “Still shopping I guess,” he muttered. Looking across the street, he could hear the music coming out of the saloon and almost see one or two of the girls. “Ugh, why did she have to come along?” I guess I might as well go get that haircut. As he turned to walk up the street, he started to hear commotion from inside the saloon. Gunshots and screams permeated the air and he quickly ducked behind the nearest water trough. A lone man ran out of the saloon and an instant later, two more followed him with shots ringing through the air, as they were determined to hit their target. Caught up in the moment, Hank did not see that a few doors down, his mother had exited the store at the same time. Fear permeated his entire being as he cried out for her to go back inside. It was too late. One of the bullets that had missed its mark had found its way to a different target and before he could finish his warning, he saw his mother fall to the ground in a crumpled heap. “No!” Hank cried. Time seemed to stand still as he raced across the street to get to his mother. He kneeled at her side and gently grasped her hand to find her still barely breathing. As her breaths started to become shallower, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. “I love you, Son."

          “I love you too Mama, please don’t leave me. Someone get the doc!” he cried out knowing it was too late as he noticed that the bullet had pierced her heart. As a crowd began to gather, Hank looked at his dear mother willing her to live. There was so much he still wanted to say and do and he wanted to ask for forgiveness for his terrible behavior. In the next moment, after he watched her take her last breath, tears began to fill his eyes as he looked off in the distance. He managed to catch a glimpse of the men who had done this terrible thing and anger began to flood his broken heart as he watched them ride off on their horses. “I will get them for you Mama,” he said as it slowly began to rain.
                             ***

          Hank awoke from his blackout to the sound of thunder and lightning. Darkness had set in and it took a moment for his head to clear enough for him to recall where he was. The next clap of thunder caused him to jump in such a way that the pain in his leg reasserted itself and all memory of the days events came rushing back in an instant. After thirteen years, he had finally tracked down his mother’s killers- Luke and Willie Jessup. He had been lucky enough to find out their names the day he buried her. Following the funeral, a man came up to him and said that he had been in the saloon when the fight broke out. It turned out that the Jessup’s were wanted for many bank robberies and even a few murders and the man they had chased out of the saloon had made the mistake of publicly identifying them.
          Once Hank had gotten this information, he vowed that he would not stop until he had avenged his mother’s death. That was how he ended up working as a bounty hunter. It certainly hadn’t been his intention but his sharp shooting skills gave him a certain edge and the rewards from the job allowed him to earn a decent living while he freely roamed the country looking for the Jessup brothers. Early on, he found that they moved around constantly not leaving much clue to where they were headed to next which made them difficult to find. He was beginning to tire of the chase and at times thought he might never find them but he had decided long ago that he was not going to stop until they were found. The reward money for their capture had gotten large but it didn’t matter, he didn’t want it. This was personal and he had finally tracked them down right here in Colorado. He had even managed to kill Willie but Luke had gotten away, right after he fired the shot that was currently lodged in Hank’s thigh. Now, if he didn’t find help soon, he might never get another chance to finish his pursuit. Hank suddenly remembered that he had seen a cabin earlier and raised his cowboy hat to shield his eyes from the falling rain to try to locate it. Maybe there would be someone there who could help him out. All of a sudden, as if by a miracle, not only did he manage to see a light but also it appeared as if it was moving towards him! “Help!” he managed to faintly cry out not knowing if he had been heard or not. “Come on, Lucky,” he said as he aimed to untie his horse to try to head towards the light. “Lucky? Where is that damned horse!” He swore. Wondering if he forgot to tie him up, Hank tried to stand in a last ditch effort to find the animal and immediately, the throbbing pain came rushing back. Right before the blackness engulfed him, he faintly heard someone say, “Excuse me, Sir. Is this your horse?”