Free Jake by Cynthia Woolf

cliffs today after all. He went and talked to his brothers, but Zach and Liam weren’t ready to work the cliff that morning. Hannah had caught a chill overnight and Liam was sitting with her making sure she took lots of hot liquids. Lily at the mercantile had recommended willow bark tea for the kids for when they got sick and told him to put honey in the drink, it would soothe her throat.
    “How is Hannah?” Jake asked when Liam told him she was sick.
    “She’ll be fine but I always hate it when she gets sick. It brings back memories of the flu and almost losing her along with Mary.”
    “I’m glad she’ll be feeling better soon. Selfishly, I want to start working the ropes on the cliff. I need you to work them from the top and not let me fall.”
    “I can do that. Probably starting tomorrow. The tea is working on Hannah and she’ll be bored and ready to get out of the tent by morning. Hell, she’s already bored. I’ve been reading to her for the last hour, just to keep her in bed.”
    “What’s keeping her there now?” asked Jake. He sat on the end of a large log.
    “She’s sleeping. Finally conked out. Gives me a chance to get something to eat and some coffee in me before I go down to the river. David is going to watch her for me today, so be extra careful. There won’t be any warning if we get company.” Liam grabbed a biscuit from the tin plate sitting on the rocks surrounding the campfire. He took the coffee pot, filled his cup and then sat down next to Jake on the fallen tree they’d sawed the branches off of so they could sit.
    “I’ll be careful. You should see about getting some rest. You look like hell. As long as Hannah’s napping why don’t you as well. We aren’t going up the cliff wall today anyway.”
    Liam shook his head. “I’ll work the river with Zach, like I planned. Just you be careful and don’t worry about me.”
    “How can I not worry about you? You have Hannah sick and stayed up with her all night, now you’re planning on working the day in the cold river, when you should be resting with Hannah. You’re going to make yourself sick and then who is it that’s going to have to take care of the kids? Me and Zach.” He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice but the look of disgust on Liam’s face told him he failed.
    “You’re not going to bully me or shame me into doing what you think I should,” said Liam with a laugh. “I taught you how to do that, don’t expect me to fall for it.”
    “Can’t blame me for trying. Seriously, I do worry about you. You’ve got a lot on your mind and a lot going on. Don’t let exhaustion bring you down.”
    “I won’t. Now you just take care of yourself and watch out for those bounty hunters.”
    “I will. Guess I better get back and help Becky for today. I’ll be over bright and early tomorrow. I’m going to bring Becky with me, so she can see how the block and tackle works. She should be able to help you at the top of the cliff while Zach and I work the cliff face.”
    “Did I hear someone say my name or were my ears burning for another reason?” said Zach, as he approached the fire. He held his hands out in front of him to warm them up.
    “Jake wants to start on the cliff face tomorrow. You got any problems with that?” said Liam.
    “Hallelujah! I was beginning to think we were going to be working in the river forever. We need to get into that rock. The real gold is there, I know it is. We just have to go get it.”
    “Well, Becky and I will be back here tomorrow after breakfast. I’d like to look in on Hannah and say ‘hi’ to David while I’m here. They weren’t awake when I was here last night.”
    “I’m sure he’d love to see you.”
    Jake went to the tent Liam shared with his children and lifted one of the flaps covering the opening. Hannah lay in a small cot at the back of the tent sound asleep. Her coal black hair lay lank against her forehead, evidence of a fever now broken.
    David sat on his cot,