To Redeem a Heart

By Abigail Jones

Note: This story is based on the character of Troy Swanson, whom readers first met in Family Secret. He is Andi’s sister’s husband.

            Sometimes, when years have gone by, one can look back over his life and see things more clearly. All the problems, the high points, the low points, all seem to make more sense later. So, now, when I look back over the spring of 1888, I see so much beyond what I once did.

            Here is the story of that spring. This is a story of love, of courage, and of forgiveness.

            This is the story of my redemption.

    --Troy Swanson

Chapter 1

March 1888, San Joaquin Valley, California

           

The afternoon sun shone down on the rushing creek, which was nearly overflowing it on its banks from the spring rains. The water sparkled as the sun hit it, at the same time cascading across rocks and fallen branches. A young leaf from a nearby tree drifted down to the creek and was soon swept out of view by the mighty current.

            Up ahead I spotted a cluster of people gathered near the creek’s banks. I could make out at least four people, maybe more. Soon I drew close enough to see a small girl, no more than three years old, walking toward a woman seated close to the bank.

            Suddenly the toddler tripped and tumbled down toward the swollen creek. At one nudge my mare, Scarlet, sprang forward, covering most of the remaining ground in a few strides. I jumped off my horse and dashed toward the bank a moment after the little girl screamed and fell into the water. I ran straight into the creek, but the swift current nearly swept me off my feet. I took a few steps backward, regained my balance, and bent down to catch the child. The current carried her right to me, and I quickly lifted her to my shoulder and let her cough out the water in her lungs.

I struggled toward the bank and saw the woman and two teenagers running toward me. The younger teenager, a girl looking to be around fourteen, reached me first. I handed her the little girl, who was now both crying and coughing, and reached down to pick up my Stetson, which had fallen to the ground in my sprint to the creek.

Settling the hat on my head, I looked up at teenager. As she stared back at me, shocked, I felt the blood drain from my face.

            “Pa,” she finally managed to whisper.

            “Betsy?” I asked.

            She nodded and grasped the toddler more tightly. “Quiet, Gracie. You’re just fine,” she said softly to the wailing child. Gracie quieted somewhat at Betsy’s words.

            By now the older teenager, who I instantly recognized as my son, Levi, had come up behind his younger sister. Only a few seconds later my wife, Katherine, ran up.

            Kate didn’t seem to have recognized me yet, for she hadn’t taken her eyes off of Gracie. “Thank you for saving my niece,” she said. “I don’t what I would have done if you hadn’t come along. When Justin asked me to take of his daughter, I never dreamed -- ”

But she stopped short, looked up at me, then turned so white that I feared she would faint. Kate quickly regained her wits, however. “Thank you again.” She hesitated, then said, “Troy, why did you come back?”

            “I-I was just passing through,” I lied.

            She glared at me in response.

            “Is Hannah here?” I asked. “I have something to say. To all of you.”

            Kate nodded. “Hannah, honey, come over here, please,” she called, looking back toward where she had been sitting a minute before.

            A moment later a girl, maybe around ten or eleven, walked up. I barely recognized her as my youngest child, for she had changed so much since I saw her last over seven years ago. When she saw me, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

            “Do I know you from somewhere?” she asked.

            “Hannah, this is –“

            Levi broke off his mother’s kind introduction. “This is our pa. The one who ran off and left us when you were just a little thing. Now he’s probably come back to stir up more trouble.”

            “Levi!” Kate said sharply. “Just give him a chance!”

            I looked toward my only son, who glowered back. He must have been seventeen by now, old enough to understand everything that had gone on. Old enough to understand why he hated me. Turning away from Levi, I took a deep breath and pressed forward. “I’m sorry for what I did to you. For the pain I caused you. Could you find, somewhere in your hearts, a way to forgive me?”

            No one spoke for a long moment. Betsy stared down at the ground as Hannah and little Gracie regarded me with wide eyes. A lone tear dribbled down Kate’s cheek.

            Then Levi broke the silence. “Why did you ever bother to come back?” he yelled, his face flushed with anger. “To hurt us even more? Why don’t you just leave and go back to wherever it is you came from and never worry us again!”

            Fighting back disappointment, anger, and even tears, I turned and walked back to where Scarlet stood patiently. I rode off a fast lope, not even allowing myself to look back at my family.

***

            “Swanson! Troy Swanson!”

            I pulled Scarlet to a stop at the sound of the familiar voice. The road to Fresno, an hour’s ride away from where I had seen my family, appeared desolate. But someone was here.

            As I was puzzling this, Hank Bradley stepped out from behind a large boulder beside the road and walked toward me. “The boss told me I’d find you here,” he began.

            “What do you want, Bradley?” I asked curtly.

            A wide grin spread over his face, revealing his tobacco stained teeth. “You know.”

            I thought of the letter lying in my hotel room in Fresno. “How’d MacGregor know where to find me?”

            Bradley chuckled. “Our boss has ways, Swanson. You oughta know that.”

            “MacGregor’s not my boss anymore.”

            Hank’s face fell, and his eyes narrowed at my remark. “You saying that you don’t want to be a part of the boss’s new job?”

            “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’m done with his swindling and stealing.”

            “What’d you do, turn traitor on us while you were in prison?”

            “I didn’t spend seven years behind bars for nothing. And I have no intention of going back.”

            Hank walked over to me and placed a hand on Scarlet. “This has got something to do with your family, don’t it?”

            “Hank, I told you already. I’m done.”

            He turned and walked back toward the boulder, his cocky smile once again in place.  “I’m just saying, Swanson – you be in camp tonight or you’ll be sorry.”

            Even I as I rode off boldly, chills ran up my spine. I had an unmistakable feeling that I would, indeed, be sorry.

Chapter 2

           

I awoke the next morning much later than I had hoped to. The sun was already high in the sky, and most of Fresno was bustling. As I threw the covers up on my bed, I caught sight of the opened envelope lying on the nightstand. I picked it up and crumpled both the envelope and the letter inside, but, at a knock on my door, threw them on the floor.

            When I opened the door, Hank Bradley shoved his way inside my room.

            “You changed your mind yet?” he said, eyeing the crumpled letter on the floor. When I shook my head “no”, he continued. “I didn’t think so. But you may change your mind yet.”

            Defiantly, I crossed to the envelope and picked it back up, then tossed it into the fireplace, where I had just coaxed a roaring blaze to life a few moments before. The flames licked it up greedily.

            Hank chuckled and started to walk out. “You’ll regret that, Swanson,” he said. “The boss just rounded up your family. He gave me a message for you: If you’re not there by nightfall you’ll never see your wife and kids again.” The door slammed behind him as he walked back down the empty hallway.

            I stared at the burning letter hopelessly.

***

            I had awoken too late to get much in the way of breakfast, so I ate an early lunch and strolled around town for an hour or so, trying to decide what to do. I knew that I had to do something, or MacGregor would make good on this threat to kill my family. Of that I had little doubt.

            But what could I do, save agreeing to join the band of swindlers on their scheme? And then Kate and the kids – especially Levi – would hate me even more.

            My thoughts were interrupted as a young man rounding the corner up ahead barreled into me. “Levi!” I exclaimed. “Where’s your ma and sisters?”

            He scowled at me. “With some of your old pals. I managed to get away. I’m headed to Uncle Justin’s to see if he can help.” He started to push past me, then added, “As if you care.”

            I grabbed his shoulders and forced him to face me. We stood nearly eye to eye. “I do care.”

            He stared at me for a moment, as if unsure of whether to believe me or not, then brushed my hands off.

            An idea came into my head. By myself it would have been nearly impossible, but with Levi it just might work. “Do you have a horse around here?” I queried. When he didn’t answer, I explained, “Justin won’t be able to help. If you want to save them, you have to listen to me. You have to trust me.”

            Though hesitantly, he nodded. “I can get one from Blake’s livery.”

            “I have something I have to pick up. Meet me on the road leading south out of Fresno in half an hour.” He nodded again, and then we went our separate ways.

            Twenty-some minutes later I was waiting for Levi on the well-traveled road. Another minute or so, and he rode up on a tall buckskin. When he drew up alongside me, I handed him one of the revolvers I had bought only moments before and a handful of bullets.

            “I suppose you know how to use one of these, boy?” I asked.

            He nodded and tucked the Colt into his belt.

            I pointed westward. “MacGregor’s camp is about ten miles in that direction.

The quicker we can get there, the less risky.” I saw the hatred in his eyes as he watched me. “You have to do exactly as I say, or MacGregor just may kill our family. You understand?”

            He glared at me but nodded again. “I’m only doing this for them, though.”

            “That’s fine,” I said, nudging Scarlet forward. “This is the best chance that we’re going to get.”

            And maybe the only one I’ll ever have to make things right, I added silently.

Chapter 3

           

“You ready, boy?”

            Levi nodded and moved behind the rocks, his revolver in his hand. I crept in front of him and through the small opening between the boulders. From here I had a perfect view of MacGregor’s hideout, which was really a forgotten mining town. I made my way down toward the shacks, taking cover behind trees, rocks, and scrub.

Upon reaching the familiar campsite, I stole behind decrepit buildings until I reached a small cabin where I thought I heard Kate’s voice. There were no windows in the back, so I edged to the side of the building. I had just started to peer in, trying to make sure that I had the right shack, when I heard the sound of a rifle being cocked.

            “Drop it, Swanson,” a voice commanded. I let my Colt fall to the ground. Then, slowly, I turned around to see Davy Willis, one of MacGregor’s men, pointing his gun at me.

            From behind Willis came Levi. Tim Jones, another of the gang, stood holding a rifle to my son’s back.

            “Found this one by the rocks up there,” Jones said, pointing to where I had left Levi. “I’ll stick him in the cabin with his family. Take Swanson to the boss.”

            Willis, with the barrel of his rifle, motioned me toward another shack. He followed behind me until we reached the building, then stepped in front to rap on the door.

            “Come in,” the familiar voice of Randall MacGregor called out.

            Willis pushed the door open and motioned me inside. I stepped into the dim building and looked around. A crude cot was at one end, and a table appearing as old as the shack itself at the other. MacGregor sat behind the table on one of two chairs in the room, which creaked under his sparse weight when he shifted.

            “I see that you’ve changed your mind, Swanson.”

            “No, I haven’t,” I replied coolly.

            MacGregor waved at Willis dismissively, and the young man walked out, shutting the door behind him. “What brings you back here? Some stunt to be a brave hero and save your family?”

            “I suppose you could call it that.”

            “Well, you’re here now, anyway. You got my letter?”

            “Yes.”

            “Well, then, you know of my scheme. I need you to organize the men, to plan the details. To do as you used to, before the law found you.” Seeing my resentment, he continued, “Come on, Swanson. We need you.”

            Somehow, I got up the nerve to stare MacGregor in the eyes. “As I told Hank, I’m done. I’m finished with your underhanded business.”

            I could see him tense as I spoke. “You don’t care about your family? You heard Bradley’s message. You agree to help me by tonight or every one of them dies.” He moved a hand to his gun menacingly. “You do not have any doubts that I would kill them, do you?”

            “No,” I said. Images flashed through my mind of Kate when she was younger. Of our children. How could I sentence them to certain death?

            MacGregor sensed my weakening resolve and lowered his tone as he tried another tactic. “Give me your word that you will help us, and your family will go free. As soon as you say the word, I’ll have my men release them.”

            One word. That’s all it would take, and my family would be free and safe. Suddenly, the warnings of the Bible that Kate used to read every night echoed in my mind. “Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.” I had turned a deaf ear to the words then, but, somehow, I remembered them now. And this time I would listen.

            The other side of my mind raced to overcome me. This would be a sure way to lose any respect that I had hoped to gain from my family. They would never understand that I had to return to my old ways to save their lives, for MacGregor would never tell them. He would let them think that I had never changed.

            If only I could escape from MacGregor’s wiles and free my family, I would have their respect and they wouldn’t be killed. But the swindler would have them watched like a hawk. No, I knew what I had to do.

            “Release my wife and children, and I’ll do as you wish.”

            MacGregor smiled at my concession. “I’ll order my men to do so immediately.” He pointed to some papers that lay scattered across the table. “Those are my plans. Look over them, and we’ll talk more when I get back.”

            I did as he said and, as he left the room, began to think on what I had just done. I had no assurance that MacGregor would stay true to his word and no way of saving my family now should he not. Yet if I tried to back out now, he would only kill me.

            What if, in my attempt to do right, I had only stumbled into one of MacGregor’s traps?

Chapter 4

“You told me you would let them all go!” I yelled.

            MacGregor didn’t even wince at my words. “As soon as your family left, what proof did I have that you wouldn’t take off and leave me here? Or that your wife and kids wouldn’t go telling the law where our hideout is before we can move?” The smooth tone of the swindler only made me angrier.

            “You agreed to let my family leave this camp! My whole family!”

            “I’ll let your daughter go in good time, Swanson.” He chuckled as if enjoying my rage.

            I looked at Hannah, who stood in the corner of the cabin, staring down at her feet. In her hands was a tray filled with supper for MacGregor and me.

            “The matter is closed, Swanson. The rest of them are free, and your daughter is in no danger. She can help Willis’s sister with the cooking and laundry and such, and when you’ve finished your part of the job, you can both go. No harm done.”

            “You told me you would let them all go!” I said, my voice rising. “Let my daughter go or I won’t do a thing for you!” I took a few steps toward the small man threateningly.

            “Don’t, Pa,” Hannah begged, but she didn’t get any farther before MacGregor, with one shove, sent her stumbling into the corner. The tray of food clattered to the floor.

            That was it for me. I clenched my fist and punched MacGregor in the face. He reeled backwards, hatred flashing in his eyes, but then came back toward me with surprising force for a man of his size. His fist connected with my jaw. Ignoring the pain, I went at him again.

            He reached to his gun belt and removed the revolver. I quickly knocked it out of his hand before he could pull the trigger. The pistol skidded across the floor, stopping several feet away.

            Then one of his carefully thrown punches knocked me off balance and sent me sprawling into the rickety table. It splintered under my weight, creating enough noise that I was sure others nearby heard it. I had started to push myself back up when the door burst open and Bradley and Willis came in.

            “Hannah, run!” I called. “Out the window!”

            She dashed for the window but was quickly stopped by Bradley. Willis came toward me, as if to fight, but stopped short at MacGregor’s words.

            “This is my fight, boys.” With that he jerked me from the floor and delivered another sound punch to my jaw.

            We went back and forth for a few minutes, neither one able to defeat the other. Then, I remembered the revolver lying on the floor. I began to edge toward it, at the same time ducking his blows. Finally, I reached it and snatched it up, pointing it at my opponent.

            “Willis, Bradley, drop your gun belts,” I said. “No one move.”

***

            “And, after Pa tied the three men up, we sneaked out the back window. Then we crept back to the rocks where Pa and Levi had left their horses. MacGregor’s men spotted us right as we were leaving and took a few shots at us, but they never even came very close to hitting us.

            “We made it back as fast as we could, because Pa knew that the gang would break camp quickly. He sent me straight to Justin’s house while he went to see the sheriff.”

            I looked around at my family as Hannah finished another retelling of our escape. Kate’s brothers and sisters, their families, and Elizabeth Carter all sat around the spacious parlor at the Circle C ranch house. Even those who had already heard the story listened with rapt attention.

            Levi, seated in a chair beside me, said softly, “I suppose I owe you an apology.”

I looked over at him, and he offered me a small smile. “I was pretty rough on you. But after what you did for Hannah and the rest of us, well…” His voice trailed off. “I’m sorry, Pa.”

            I only nodded in response, but it was all Levi needed. Anything else could be said later.

            “We caught MacGregor’s gang early the next morning,” Mitch, who had been on the posse the sheriff had organized, continued. “By then they had gotten several miles south. Boy, was that swindler mad when he saw Troy come riding up with a dozen armed men behind him!”

            As Mitch and Hannah continued, with occasional input from Betsy or Levi, I let my thoughts drift away. A year ago, I would have never thought that I would be in this place. Yet here I was, sitting with the very people who I thought would never trust me again.

Then my mind turned back to the sermon this morning and the long talk that I had had with Justin afterwards about forgiveness and redemption. I still didn’t understand everything, but I had figured out one thing:

            I suppose that, after all, it isn’t so impossible for God to redeem a heart.