Hay went everywhere; the horses became nervous and excited, creating all manner of noises.
Knocking Caleb up against the wall with a loud thud, Wade was about to tackle the barely moving Sam again.
"I'm going to teach you a lesson, little fella…" He started for Sam when a voice from the doorway boomed, "This is gonna be a pure pleasure, you piece of trash.
"You touch that kid again and I'll shoot you dead, Wade." It was Hank, and he had a gun in his hand and a look in his eye that meant business. Wade rolled off Sam.
"What the hell you think you're doin'?" Wade laughed, his body turning as he looked at Hank standing there with a gun.
"Don't push me, Wade; there isn't a man on this ranch that won't back me all the way."
"Well, what do you think you are doing with a gun? You gonna shoot me, Hank?" Wade laughed again, staggering as he stood straight again.
"If I have to. Yeah."
"I will fire the lot of you. You can all pick up your paychecks in the morning." Wade waved his hand in front of him.
Caleb got to his feet, and went toward Sam. Sam was hurt pretty bad. He wasn't moving. His breathing was shallow and Caleb was afraid Wade had gone too far this time.
"Call an ambulance, Hank. Sam's pretty bad off."
Hank reached in his back pocket for his cell phone. He dialed the number, never once taking his eyes off Wade.
Some of the men came in and saw how bad Sam was and they all tried to help Caleb.
"If he dies, you are going to prison, Wade. And if he doesn't, you're going to the hospital."
"Hospital, what are you talking about?"
"You are sick Wade, and we all know it."
"Joe, call Cade. We need him over here."
"Okay, yeah. I'll take care of that." Joe looked down at Sam. "Is he going to be alright?"
"I don't know, but he's not in good shape right now."
Hank held the gun on Wade until the ambulance came, then he put it away.
Wade bristled.
"How did this happen?" the paramedic asked.
"This fella beat the hell out of him, that's how," Caleb said, shaking his head at Wade.
"You need us to notify the police?" the paramedic asked.
"Maybe you better." Caleb nodded.
Ten minutes later, as they were putting Sam in the ambulance, Cade showed up.
"My God, what's happened?" Cade's face was a mask of concern when he saw Sam.
Right behind him were the police.
After Joe related what had happened, the police headed to the barn.
Caleb grabbed his arm and brought him into the barn. "This is what happened. Wade jumped me. Sam jumped Wade to protect me, and Wade beat the hell out of him. Hank heard us and came in with a gun. That put a stop to it fast."
Cade turned to his brother, who was staring outside the barn as though watching the weather or something.
Cade went to the ambulance. "Is he going to be alright?"
"We don't know. The ER doctor will check him out at the hospital. I guess the police will handle the rest."
Cade nodded. "One more question. My brother is responsible for all of this. But…I think he's bi-polar. I need to get him some help. I need to do that right away. Where do I go?"
The paramedics looked at each other. "Tell the police, and after they are done with him, they'll make sure he sees a doctor."
"Good. Less hassle for me. Take good care of that kid."
"We will, sir."
"After I take care of my brother's problems, I'll be up there to see to him."
The men nodded as everyone gathered around the ambulance.
"Good."
They proceeded to tend to Sam while Cade went back inside the barn.
"Caleb, I’m sorry, are you hurt?"
Caleb nodded. "Yeah, I better go and get checked out myself."
"Good. Why don't you ride with Sam?"
"Okay…what you fixin' to do?"
"See to him," Cade said, almost too heavily.
"Are you arresting me?" Wade finally asked the officer who put his hands behind his back and slapped his wrist with cold hard handcuffs.
"Looks like," the officer replied as he was taking down a few statements from some of the men.
"He's worse than I thought, Caleb." Cade hung his head for a second as Caleb began walking out.
"Don't take it too hard. They'll fix him up."
"I hope they can. This is sure gonna tear Wendy up."
Caleb was silent as he got in the ambulance with Sam.
Cade looked at his brother who was in a drunk stupor and shook his head. "Well big brother, you done it this time."
Wade fussed with the police all the way to the squad car. Cade followed them to the police station.
Chapter Eleven
It was nearly dawn when Cade made it home. No one was up and he didn't want to wake anyone yet. He wanted to rest a little bit before going to work. He made himself some coffee and sat out on the porch. He needed to clear his head and think about what had happened.
Last night had been a disaster. And his brother had caused it all. That was hard to swallow. Wade was so out of character. The police kept Wade in a holding cell all night and assigned a doctor to have a look at him the next morning.
Cade asked them to call him when he left. He had a ranch to run; he couldn't hang around a police station until he knew something. But coming home with no answers didn't help matters any.
He'd looked bi-polar up on the net, and it described Wade's symptoms. He was almost sure that was what was wrong. Still, it gave little comfort. What did that mean in long terms? Would Wade have to live at one of those crazy houses? Would he get well? Or would this be a regular thing for him to have to handle?
He sipped the hot brew and shook his head. Caleb had a couple of broken ribs. The old man was lucky. If it hadn't been for Sam stepping in, Wade might have killed Caleb. That reality hit hard. Cade was a twin brother and it was almost like the other side of himself when he looked at Wade.
Sam was in even worse condition, and Cade wondered how he would ever tell his wife and sister-in-law. Hank had come up to the hospital and sat with Caleb and Sam as they put them in the same room. Cade told him to go home, that they wouldn't be doing much for him, but Hank insisted he'd sleep in the reclining chair.
Hank had looked at Cade seriously. "I want you to know something. I want you to hear it from me first. I threatened to kill Wade when I saw what he'd done. The way Sam was layin' there. I wasn't sure the kid was even alive. And then Caleb was all bent over. I really got mad, Cade, and I'm sorry. I know he's your brother and you love him."
"I do love him Hank, but not like this. I don't want to see him hurt anyone. At least now he'll get seen by a doctor. I wasn't sure how I was going to get him to go, before last night."
"Maybe it's best this way," Hank said.
Cade nodded. "It is. You try to get some rest. I'll be back as soon as I can get loose."
Hank nodded. "No worries on that score. I called Mike and he's comin' up to sit with them in a spell."
"Great. You don't know how I appreciate the both of you."
"Hey, we're family." Hank smiled.
"Yeah, I guess we really are…" Cade said and walked off.
Cade's phone rang.
"Daddy?" Kellie cried into the phone.
"Hi pumpkin, what's up? What are you doing up so early?" Cade smiled to himself.
"I don't know, Daddy. I just got the feeling I should call you; it woke me up. Is everything okay?"
"It will be, honey. Are you having fun?"
"Yeah…you sound funny. Is something wrong?"
"No, I'm just tired."
"But it's morning, didn't you sleep well?"
"No darlin', I didn't. But I think maybe I will tonight. What time you coming home?"
"Around ten."
"Great. I'll leave Mama a message."
"Thanks…and Daddy…I love you."
"I lo
ve you too, sweetheart."
Cade felt somehow better after talking to Kellie. He left a message for Julie and went to work at the ranch.
With Wade gone, the work could get hectic, especially since Sam, Hank, and Caleb weren't there either.
The men all gathered around for more news on Caleb and Sam.
"Caleb's got some busted ribs. They think that's all; they wanted to run a couple of tests on him, before they release him. He'll be home in a day or so. Sam, he's busted up a little more. He won't be back for a while."
"And Wade?" Joe, one of the oldest cowboys there, asked.
"He'll be seeing a doctor today," Cade announced slowly. "I gotta tell you boys, I’m pretty upset about all of this. He's my brother, but I don't want this happening again. Since he's out of the picture so to speak, I have to keep things running here. And it might get worse before it gets better. Unless they keep him there."
The boys all shook their heads and glanced down at the ground. "We are sorry for you, boss. It isn't your fault."
"Maybe, but I shouldn't have waited; I should have taken care of things last night and this wouldn't have happened."
"You don't know that for sure. And he's in good hands now. Nothing to worry about," one of the boys commented.
Cade shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to make sure he doesn't come back here to the ranch. Until he's much better, he can't run things here. And he isn't going to like that."
"If we can help, let us know."
"Thanks, all of you…You don't know how much comfort it is, to know the men you work with stand behind you." But as he was about to get to work, he hollered at the men, "If he comes back, before he's released, I want to know the minute he sets foot on the place."
"Yes sir," they all assured him.
~*~
Along about noon, Julie, Wendy and Kellie came over. Cade saw them and went to talk to them. He didn't want them hearing it all from someone else.
"What are you three doing here?" Cade asked, his voice was hard and his brow furrowed.
"I told Mama I wanted to see Caleb, so she brought me over," Kellie explained, hugging her dad.
"Oh, well, honey, Caleb isn't here right now."
Julie and Wendy looked strangely at him.
"Kellie, why don't you take your horse out for a ride this morning? He hasn't been out of the stall in a while since you been in school and I'm sure he needs to stretch his legs," Cade was saying.
"Okay, thanks Daddy." Kellie smiled and went inside the barn.
"What's going on, Cade?" Julie seemed to sense something in her husband's manner.
"Wait until she's out of ear-shot." Cade looked around to see his daughter leading her horse Cheyenne out of the barn.
"I won't be gone long…" She smiled.
"Be careful…" Cade hollered and spanked Cheyenne lightly on the rear.
"Are you going to tell us?"
About the time he was going to tell her, Letty pulled up in the yard.
"It's a family reunion, your sister is here." Cade pointed.
Julie eyed him sharply.
Wendy glanced over her shoulder and saw the car and that Letty and Sandy were both there.
"Tell us at lunch, then, okay?"
Cade bowed his head. "Yeah…"
"Do you think he was acting a little funny?" Wendy asked as they walked back toward the house.
"No, I think he was acting very funny. And seeing both of them this morning tells me someone knows what's going on. Let's go make some coffee."
Letty and Sandy were already inside. They were unusually quiet.
As Julie walked in, she headed for the coffee pot and waited to see if anyone was going to say anything.
"So…have you two heard?"
"Heard what?" Wendy jumped.
"About last night. Didn't Cade tell you?"
"Tell us what?" Julie insisted.
Letty hung her head, and moved to stand beside Wendy. "Let's sit down."
"Who died?" Julie almost laughed.
Sandy raised her head and shook herself.
"Enough of this sad sack stuff, what is going on? What happened last night?" Wendy demanded to know.
"There was a fight."
"A fight?" Julie and Wendy both shouted.
"Yes, Wade was drunk, and Caleb got it into his head to warn him off of Wendy. Wade didn't like it, so he attacked the old man. He broke two of his ribs…"
"Oh my God." Julie frowned. "Poor Caleb…"
"That's not all."
"What do you mean? Come on, out with it. We want the whole story."
"Well, from what Hank said, Sam walked in about the time that Wade laid into Caleb. He told him to get off him, Wade wouldn't do it, and so he jumped into the fight."
Wendy's eyes got big and fear gripped her. "Was Sam hurt?"
"Yeah, I'm afraid he was. Hank walked in and saw what was going on. He was petrified that Wade might have killed Sam. But he hadn't…" Letty explained, putting her hand on Wendy's.
"Sam is alright, then?" Wendy asked.
"No…he's in the hospital. He's hurt. Caleb, like I said, has some broken ribs. They are both at the hospital. They put them in the same room, said there was too much company; they'd have to put them together to hold the crowd. All the boys went up last night to see them."
Wendy jumped to her feet. "My God, Sam was hurt. How bad?"
"I'm not sure. Hank stayed up there all night, and Mike is up there now with them both. Soon as Hank shows up we'll know more. He called me last night as he knew I was alone and wanted me to know where he was."
"What happened to Wade?" Julie frowned as though murder might be on her mind.
"Hank told Wade to get off of Sam. Hank had a gun. So Wade rolled off Sam, but he couldn't get up. Hank said he was afraid Wade killed him. Caleb had gotten back on his feet. Hank called 911 and got an ambulance out here for Sam and Caleb. Caleb said Sam protected him; he saw Wade on Caleb and he just jumped him."
"Dear God, why didn't someone call me? I should be up there," Wendy cried.
"Not until you get a hold of yourself."
"Sam doesn't have anyone…"
"Yes he does," Letty protested. "He has us. Anyone who would save old Caleb is family in my books. Wade could have killed them both. If Hank hadn't gotten there when he did, he might have."
"Calm down, honey. We'll go up there in a bit," Julie insisted.
"How could this happen?" Sandy shook her head.
"Well, what happened to Wade?" Julie asked.
"Cade showed up, and the police showed up and took Wade in. Cade told them what he thought was wrong with his brother and they told him they would have him looked at. So Wade is finally getting some help, I guess."
Julie poured everyone some coffee and proceeded to make some toast.
"I'm glad Sam saved Caleb, but I hope he's alright." Wendy let a tear slip down her cheek. "Wade's a lot bigger than Sam."
"Oh honey, we'll go up there, but first you got to get hold of yourself. You can't go up there crying," Letty instructed.
"I guess you are right."
Then Julie sat back down and as she passed the coffee around and the toast, she stopped in midair.
"How is Cade taking all of this?"
"Hank said he was having a hard time with it. He thought if he'd handled it yesterday this wouldn't have happened."
Wendy sipped the coffee, but her throat burned from holding back her tears.
"Wade's twice as big as Sam…" Wendy repeated, her eyes staring off into the distance.
Letty put her hand on top of hers. "Well, that may be, but Hank said he gave Wade what for. And he did manage to get Caleb out of the way. For a little guy, he's pretty feisty."
Wendy tried to smile. "I guess he is."
"I'd say you picked a pretty nice fella for a boyfriend, Wendy," Sandy said.
Wendy nodded.
"So now what happens?" Wendy asked.
"Well, if they keep Wade, things will
settle out. But if they don't, then we may have more trouble from him if he tries to come back here. And we all know he will."
"Oh God…for Cade's sake I hope not," Julie cried.
Sandy put her coffee cup in the sink and looked out the window. She saw Kellie coming up the drive and told them to be quiet.
"Kellie's coming. Let's not worry her with this."
"No, maybe we can tell her later, when it is safe." Julie hung her head. "But she's gonna want to know where Caleb is. She really loves that old man."
"I think he's grown on all of us." Letty laughed.
Everyone nodded and laughed as Kellie walked in.
Chapter Twelve
Wendy went to the hospital the next day. She was shocked when she saw Sam. He was sitting up in bed, his hand bandaged, his chest bandaged and his head had some sort of wrap.
"My God, what did he do to you?"
Sam smiled. "You are a sight for sore eyes. Don't you fret now, it looks worse than it is."
"I'm so sorry this happened," Wendy began as she came to sit beside his bed.
"I'm just glad Caleb was okay," Sam said, still smiling.
"How can you sit here and smile…?" She looked at all his bandages. "He hurt you…"
"I'll be fine in a day or two," Sam said.
"Oh Sam…I was so scared when I heard about it." She took his hand and held it. "Everyone thought Wade killed you."
"Just having you here is all I need." Sam smiled. "And it takes more than a bulldozer like Wade to do me in. I might not be as tall, but I'm probably as tough."
"Can you tell me what happened?"
Sam bowed his head. "There's no use going over it. I’m sure Cade told you or Hank. They were there. I saw him messing with Caleb and it just crawled all over me. Caleb isn't some young man who can defend himself. Oh, he talks tough, but he's old. Wade was wasting him. I jumped in to get him off of him. It worked. End of story."
"You did it for Caleb?" Wendy squeezed his hand.
"Well, I couldn't let him kill him." Sam chuckled. "Have you heard anything about Wade?"
Wendy looked away. "The police took him, and Cade had a chance to tell him what he thought was wrong. So they will give him an evaluation. Cade's pressing charges. This is going to cause a lot of trouble when Wade gets out, unless someone can do something for him."
Stand By Me (Book 4 of the McKay's) Page 9