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He walked to her, took the picture from her hand, and set it on the nightstand. “I’m an open book, Dania. You don’t have to pilfer through my bedroom. Ask me anything. Do you want to know about the man in the picture?”
“Yes, who is he?”
His eyes went to the snapshot, and she could tell he thought a lot of the man. “His name was Logan Mansfield.”
“Was?” She hoped she’d heard him wrong.
“He died in the line of duty.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Here was another person Brett grieved. “Mr. Mansfield must have meant a lot to you, or you wouldn’t have kept a photo of him.”
“He’s been gone a long time. But I like to think that he’s my guardian angel.” He looked at the picture, then at her. “He’s the reason I’m a marshal.”
“I’d love to know how he came to mean so much to you.” She sank onto the bed and patted the place beside her.
“You really want to know?” He eased down on the spot.
“I do.” The closer she got to Brett, the more she realized he was a man of great depth.
“Remember, I told you how Randy beat me up after he killed my mother?” He rubbed his chin and watched her as if gauging her reaction before he continued.
She nodded. Of course she remembered. She’d never forget the hurt that had covered Brett’s face as he’d recounted what had to have been the worst night of his life.
He drew in a deep breath. “During the beating, a knock came at the door, which made Randy stop hitting me. He got the most worried look on his face and told me not to move as he sneaked over and peeked through the living room curtain. All at once, he reared back in a panic, sputtering, ‘I can’t get rid of that guy.’ His eyes darted around as he looked for a place to hide. More knocks came. Randy stormed to the kitchen. He tore open the broom closet and squeezed himself into the cramped space. He kept the door ajar and told me, ‘Tell that marshal you haven’t seen me. I’ll be watching. If you screw up, I’ll kill him. And then I’ll kill you.’ He shut himself inside.”
“That had to be terrifying. I can’t imagine going through something like that as an adult, but you were just a kid. And that your very own father would threaten your life... I just don’t know how you came away from that without deep scars.” She placed her hand on his.
“Oh, I have the scars.” His eyes met hers. “But Gran got me the help I needed. You sure you want to hear this?”
“Brett, I want to learn everything I can about the man who is risking everything to help me.” Remorse for the years she’d avoided him fell heavily upon her.
He placed his hand on top of hers. “If you’re sure?”
She nodded.
“I answered the door, knowing that Randy was watching. I must admit that I thought about running away, but then I thought of Mom all alone in her bedroom. She needed my help, so I opened the door a crack.
“A tall man wearing a cowboy hat and black jacket squatted until he was eye level with me and said, ‘Hi there, sport. I’m Deputy Marshal Logan Mansfield. Is your dad home?’ As I shook my head no, he gave me a slight smile. The way he looked at me made me feel like I was important. I hated lying to him, but I had to. If I’d given a wrong answer, Randy would have killed both me and the marshal.”
“What did the marshal do?” Dania picked up the picture and studied it again. He had a kind expression on his manly face.
“Logan knew I was lying. Instead of questioning me more, he sniffed the air like he could smell something he didn’t like. Thinking about it now, he had to have smelled the cordite from the gun going off when Randy shot Mom. But Logan didn’t ask about a gun. Instead, he said, ‘Mind if I wait for him?’ And just like that, he pushed past me and came inside.
“I reached to take his arm to stop him but saw his gun and badge attached to his belt. I’d watched classic Westerns on TV about Marshal Dillon and Wyatt Earp. I knew I could trust him, and I wanted to tell him about Mom but couldn’t. I had to get him to leave, so I told him my dad didn’t like strangers in the house. That didn’t stop Logan.
“He searched the living room and peered into the kitchen before he came back to me. Patting my shoulder, he said, ‘Don’t worry, sport. I’m no stranger. Randy knows me. We go waaay back.’ Of course, my eyes were focused on the gun on his hip. For a crazy moment, I wondered if I could take it from him and make him leave. But then I worried that I might shoot him like Randy had shot Mom, and I didn’t want to do that.”
“Can you imagine if you would have tried to take his gun and what would have happened?” Empathy for Brett swelled within her.
“Logan never would have let me. About this time, he saw the welts and red marks on my skin and squatted to assess the damage. Speaking softly, he said, ‘I know your dad beat you. Tell me where he is, and I’ll make sure he doesn’t do it again.’”
“What did you do?”
“I tried not to look into the kitchen at the broom closet, but I couldn’t help it. Logan saw where I was looking. He knew exactly where Randy was without me saying a word. He also understood that I was scared spitless. I mean, my heart pounded so hard it nearly burst out of my chest. I believed at any moment Randy would jump from the closet shooting.”
Dania could well imagine how frightened he was. And he’d been only nine.
“Logan must have seen the terror in my eyes. He leaned close to my ear and said, ‘You know, it takes a lot of courage to do the right thing. You’re as brave as most marshals.’ I stared at him. I didn’t feel brave. My insides were tangled in knots, and I wanted to cry. You won’t believe what he did next.” Brett shook his head as if he still had a hard time understanding.
