by Jodi Thomas
He didn't consider himself to be an easy man to fool. If Lacy lied to him tonight, she was a master at it. He stayed up until almost dawn piecing all the details together.
The next morning, for the first time in years, he overslept. When he rolled over and smelled coffee, he awoke all at once.
Lacy's humming drifted from the kitchen, and he relaxed.
Stomping into his boots, he met her stare when he reached the doorway.
"You almost missed breakfast," she said with a shy smile. "Which, considering the way I cook, might not be a bad idea."
She put the food on the table while he washed up behind the blanket that had become part of the kitchen. With his hair still damp, he sat down to a breakfast of potato pancakes and eggs.
"Looks good," he managed to lie.
"Thank you. I wasn't sure how many you'd want, so I made lots." She scraped the last few pancakes out of the skillet.
Whatever had happened between them last night had worked. Both were more relaxed. She even buttered his bread and handed it to him as though they were some old married couple. He questioned her about her Thursday workday, and she went through all the details of what had to be done so that they'd have the paper ready by Friday afternoon.
When she'd finished her meal, Lacy leaned close and checked to see how his head was healing, then stayed a moment longer to comb his hair with her fingers.
Walker closed his eyes and relaxed, imagining what it would be like to have a woman, to have Lacy, so near, so comfortable around him that she'd touch his hair while she talked about her day. It seemed a foreign world, but peaceful, if only for a moment.
"No one will see the scar until you go bald." She laughed. "But with this much hair, it may take a while."
When she moved away, he felt the loss of her even before he heard her stand.
"Well." She cleared the dishes. "What do you think of my cooking, Captain?"
The pancakes were burned on the outside and a mush of milk and egg mixture on the inside. Walker couldn't lie. "You're a great quilter."
"Spoken like a man not afraid to die." She laughed and raised the rolling pin she'd used to toughen the biscuit dough.
They were both laughing when someone pounded on the kitchen door.
Walker leaned over, pulling her behind him as he reached for his rifle. "Who's there!" he yelled.
"It's Riley. Let me in, Walker."
The door swung open.
The instant she saw the sheriff's worried face, Lacy let out a litde cry. Walker circled her waist with his free hand while he unsnapped the leather over his pistol with the other.
Riley hurried in. "It's bad." He shook his head. "I should have seen it coming, but I never thought—"
"Bailee? Sarah?" Lacy grabbed the sheriff's coat. "Who is it? Who's—" She couldn't finish.
Walker pulled her against him and braced her for what he knew would be bad news. "What happened, Sheriff?"
"Bailee and Sarah are fine." The old man swallowed and forced words. "It's Nell. She's hurt bad." He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the pain his words would cause. "Carter was coming into town to make his weekly delivery. He found your buggy all busted up down by the draw. Nell must have left before full daylight and been traveling as fast as old Dancer can run."
Lacy pushed away from Walker and jerked off her apron. "Where is she?"
Riley stepped out of her way. "At Doc's. But—" Lacy didn't give him time to say more.
CHAPTER 13
Walker followed Lacy as she ran down the back steps, across the alley, and into the rear entrance of the doctor's home. He was one step behind her when she darted through a kitchen, across the front office, and to the door of the examining room.
When the doctor saw her, he hurried forward, blocking her flight. "Now, Miss Lacy," he started. "It's not as bad as it may appear. There's a lot of blood, but I have her breathing regularly. I was about to check for broken bones."
Lacy stopped so fast Walker almost ran into her. She took huge gulps of air and waited for the doctor to move aside. Walker knew she prepared herself.
"Let me see her, Timothy," Lacy ordered.
Walker had met the doctor a few days before and thought him an odd match for the town. Dr. Timothy Mc- Clellan looked like he belonged more in Boston than on the frontier. He was tall, in his early thirties, with thinning sand-colored hair. His body appeared too bony to look healthy, and his intelligent eyes missed nothing around him. He stared at Lacy with the expression of a man facing a firing squad.
"If you'll calm down, I could use your help." He tried to be firm. "The last thing she needs is someone panicking. Thank the Lord McKoy found her, or she might have bled to death pinned under a buggy."
Lacy took a step forward as if planning to walk right through him if he didn't get out of her way.
The doctor moved aside. "We've got to move fast. Can you stay with me and help?"
"Yes." She moved toward the table and whispered, "I'm here, Nell, and I'm not leaving."
Walker wasn't sure he wanted to go farther. He'd seen enough blood to last him a lifetime. But he didn't want Lacy to have to face the scene alone.
The doctor made the decision for him. "I'm going to have to ask you gentlemen to leave. Now that Miss Lacy's here, she can assist me with Nell's clothes, and I can get to work."
Walker glanced over his shoulder. He wasn't surprised to see Riley standing by the door, but he hadn't even noticed Carter seated in the corner. The big man had blood all over his chest and hands.
To Walker's surprise, Lacy crossed to Carter. She laid her hand on his shoulder and whispered, "You got her here, now it's time to let the doctor do what he can. I'll be right with her, don't worry."
Carter nodded once and stood. He didn't say a word, but all in the room knew how much he cared for the young woman he still called "the kid."
Walker followed Carter and the sheriff into the little office beyond the examining room. They both took seats on chairs that were too small for them in a room that seemed dingy even with sunlight shining through a big window that faced the street.
The sheriff stepped into the kitchen area and grabbed a towel. He wet it and handed it to Carter. "How do you think the accident happened? We all know Nell can handle a wagon good as any man."
"She tumbled, wagon and all, down fifty feet." Carter closed his eyes as if trying to remember details. "Must have tried to make that turn at the draw too fast."
Walker noticed Carter's hands moving at his sides a few minutes before he said, "I had to put Dancer down. Two broken legs. If he hadn't been thrashing, I wouldn't have seen the buggy."
Carter rubbed off some of the blood, then looked directly at Walker. "I thought it was Lacy at first. All I saw was brown hair on a woman's body pinned below the buggy."
Riley shook his head. "It ain't like Nell. She's made that drive out to your place for years now. I remember when she didn't come to my shoulder she used to ride the train to town, borrow Lacy's buggy, and fly out to your place every time she got fired up about something." The sheriff leaned back and toyed with his pipe. "I remember when Fat Alice told her she had to go away to school, she ran off. Alice tele- grammed me, knowing Two Bits would be heading to you. When I wired back that she was safe, Alice answered to let her cool off a few days and then send the ranger after her."
Riley smiled, unaware that no one seemed to be listening to him. "Jacob Dalton came in from your place with her thrown over his saddle like a bag of potatoes. He tossed her on that train heading north and swore he'd track her down if she climbed off it before Chicago. She was swearing and spitting fire. She swore that when her breasts came in she was going to be a lady of the evening so she was just wasting time, on education."
Carter relaxed a little. "She wrote me Jacob threatened to climb on the train if she didn't clean her language up."
"Oh, he did," the sheriff agreed. "Said he'd paddle her all the way to Kansas City, but she just yelled back that when she went into
business she wasn't planning on letting him in her bed, even if he paid double.
"I think if the train hadn't started, I would have had to arrest the ranger just to cool him down. I've never seen him as mad at any outlaw as he was at that little hellcat of a girl in there." He pointed to the closed door. "After Nell left, I had to get him drunk to make him stop yelling. He swore the kid's parents must have been a rattlesnake and a badger."
Walker saw what the two men were doing. They were reminding each other of what a tough young lady lay on the other side of that door. He wished that he knew her, wished he'd watched her grow up as these two men had.
Lacy leaned her head around the door, her eyes full of unshed tears. "Nell's awake. We've got the drape on her, but she won't let the doctor start until she talks to Walker."
All three men stood. The sheriff and Carter paid no mind that their names hadn't been among the requested. All three marched back into the room.
Dr. McClellan circled like a warrior ready to do battle. "Be quick. As soon as the water boils, I've got to get to work, and I don't want an audience."
Walker was relieved to see several pots of water by the fireplace in the corner. Most of the doctors he knew didn't bother to wash their hands, much less wounds, but he'd heard they were teaching washing everything in medical schools nowadays.
Carter moved to one side of the table, Walker to the other.
Nell was covered with a cotton drape Walker had heard some doctors use when examining a woman. He'd seen men nude while the physician worked, but propriety demanded doctors only see the part of a woman injured, never more. The thick, unbleached material insured modesty, but judging from spots of blood already soaking through the drape, there wouldn't be much of Nell that McClellan wouldn't see today.
Nell's hair, almost the same brown as Lacy's, looked matted with blood and dirt. She had a cut on her forehead, another at her throat, and bruises already formed along the side of her face. One eye had closed with swelling, but the other stared up at Carter.
The big man took her hand without saying a word.
Nell glanced from him to Walker and back. 'Tell the sheriff," she whispered, "that I was chased by three men. I couldn't see who they were, but they started shooting as I neared the bend." She closed her eyes in pain. "I took a slug in my right arm and another in my back."
Walker developed a great respect for the young woman fighting back pain so she could say what had to be said. She didn't whine or bother to tell them how frightened she must be. He leaned closer, not wanting to miss a word and wishing he had time to tell her she would make a fine soldier.
The sheriff fidgeted at the foot of the bed, wanting to ask questions, but the doctor motioned him to be quiet as he circled, readying the room.
McClellan snapped orders at Lacy and, from the way she moved about, Walker had no doubt she'd helped the doctor before. They were frantically preparing to fight for Nell's life.
"Captain?" Nell whispered.
"I'm here," Walker answered.
"Once I tumbled, I couldn't move, but I heard them when they rode up to the overturned buggy. A man said, 'That's the first one down; let's move on to the next. When two are dead, the third will talk easy enough.'"
It took a second for the truth to hit Walker.
"Water's ready." The doctor broke the silence. "Everyone out!"
Nell's knuckles whitened around Carter's hand. "Watch over Bailee. They'll go after her next, now that they think they've got Lacy."
Carter's big hand moved beside Nell's fingers as if he sent her a private message.
"Don't worry about me," the girl said. 'Take care of Bailee."
Carter nodded and headed out of the room as the doctor snapped at them to hurry so he could get Nell patched up.
Walker glanced at Lacy as she tied on a white apron and moved a table full of supplies close to Nell. McClellan poured drops of chloroform onto a cloth. Walker backed out of the room.
The sheriff had stopped Carter from leaving when he made it back to the office. "Now hold on there." Riley pulled on the big man's arm.
Carter appeared ready to fight his way out if necessary.
"He's right." Walker moved between the door and Carter. "We've got to take a minute and plan."
"I have to get home to my wife," Carter answered.
"I'm going with you." Walker's comment surprised the big man. "I want to see the wagon. Plus we'll be safer together." Whoever shot at Nell might still be on the road between town and the McKoy farm.
Carter nodded.
"You're right, we should all go out and have a look," Riley put in.
Walker looked at Riley. "Right now, whoever shot Nell thinks they killed Lacy. Let's leave it that way for a few hours. I know it's a lot to ask, but I need you to watch over Lacy and Nell until I get back, Sheriff. And no one, not even a deputy, is to know that it's Nell on that table and not Lacy."
Riley mumbled. Like an old hunting dog, he didn't favor the idea of being left behind, but they both knew Walker wouldn't miss a clue, and if there was an ambush waiting, the younger men would have a better chance of riding hard and fast to cover. The sheriff nodded.
"Thanks." Walker gripped the old man's shoulder. "It's good to have someone I can trust. I'll be back before dark."
Carter and Walker left out the back door with only a stray dog to notice them. Carter unloaded several bushels of potatoes at the back of the mercantile and was waiting by the time Walker saddled up. They headed out of town, Carter in his wagon, Walker mounted.
Carter took the lead, since Walker had no idea what direction to take. Walker followed close enough to keep the wagon in sight but far enough away to notice any movement beside the road when the wagon passed.
By the time they reached what was left of the buggy, Walker had outlined a plan.
CHAPTER 14
Lacy's back ached so badly she felt it might snap at any moment. They'd worked on Nell's injuries for hours. Dr. McClellan first checked her for internal damage, which many doctors wouldn't have bothered with because many women would have objected. Lacy saw a woman die once from a tumor rather than allow a doctor to touch her so intimately. She knew Nell had no such fears and told Timothy McClellan so, when he hesitated.
Once they realized no internal organs were damaged, they moved to Nell's head and stitched up the cuts she suffered when the buggy rolled over her. All but one were in her hair, and Timothy closed the wounds with stitches that would have made a quilter proud. The last wound only took a few stitches at her throat, but looked like it might leave a scar. A reminder that if the small puncture wound had been an inch over, Nell would have bled to death before anyone could have saved her.
Next, the doctor moved to her limbs. A bullet lodged just below the shoulder on her left arm, and her right arm was broken in two places. Nell had been right about a bullet in her back. It wasn't as deep, but it was in a far more dangerous location.
Lacy watched as the doctor tried to remove it with great care.
After almost an hour he tossed the instruments aside. "I can't get the bullet," he swore.
Lacy fought to breathe. "But you can't leave it in."
Timothy's worried stare met hers. "If I dig around her spine any longer, I could do more damage than the bullet did. I'll not cripple her to get it out."
He paced beside the table, cursing his lack of skill. "I went the full two years of medical school," he complained, "so why do I feel so incompetent?"
"Just do the best you can," Lacy urged. "That's all anyone expects." She had heard several people say Dr. McClellan was already ten times a better doctor than the old man he'd replaced.
"She can live with it inside." He made a shaky judgment call. "Who knows, the bullet might not affect anything. It could just float around." He seemed angry at the world. "This isn't the war. Chances are good the gun the bullet came from didn't use black powder, so the possibility of blood poisoning is less than it would have been ten years ago." He walked over to a s
mall cabinet and poured himself a drink, something Lacy had never seen him do.
After downing the shot of whiskey as if it were medicine, he straightened and apologized for his outburst.
She would have been more reassured by the doctor's words if he hadn't looked so unhappy.
"What is it?" she whispered later as he bandaged the incision.
"I saw a wound like this in the small of a man's back once when I was in medical school." He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. "The man never walked again. One small bullet put him in a wheelchair for life."
Lacy wanted to scream, but she bit her lip and kept working. When Walker's father had been ill, she'd spent many hours with the doctor. He didn't have a wife and couldn't afford a nurse, even if he could find one willing to help out. So, sometimes, he'd cross the alley and ask her to assist. Blood didn't frighten Lacy like it did some people, and she wasn't afraid of hard work. She knew he was being more honest with her now than he might have been if he hadn't trusted her.
The memory of Nell jumping off the train yesterday filled her thoughts. She tried to imagine what it would be like if Nell couldn't walk, but no picture came to mind. Lacy thought of telling the doctor to try again because she knew Nell would risk death, maybe even prefer it, over being crippled. But this was Timothy's call. He had to do what he thought was right. His job was to save a life, not gamble with one.
"I'll give her something for the pain." He tied off the bandage. "We've got to keep her as quiet as possible and pray infection doesn't set in."
The doctor had no bed to offer Nell except his own in a little room above his offices. Lacy knew getting her up the stairs to his room, or even her little apartment above the shop, would cause more pain for Nell. Most patients walked in and out of the office. The few who couldn't were usually treated at home, for it was much easier for McClellan to travel to them. Only now, a sickroom or even a real bed would have come in handy.
The doctor must have read her thoughts for he added, "She'll be all right here for tonight. We'll bank her on both sides with a rolled blanket and make her as comfortable as possible. If the bleeding stops by morning, we'll talk about where to move her." He touched Lacy's shoulder with a quick pat. "You need to get some rest."