"You don't—"
"Hold still." He had her shoulder beneath his hand before she could pull back. "This is going to hurt."
She drew in a strained breath as he began to peel away the binding. All thought of sex faded as he exposed the wound.
Cade muttered a curse that filled her with dread.
"Is it infected?"
"Nothing a little penicillin wouldn't cure."
She looked at the wound and felt sick and scared to' her toes. "Do we have any penicillin?"
"Back at the ranch."
"Think we could send for it?" she asked weakly, hoping he couldn't hear the fear behind her words.
He didn't answer which only made it worse. His expression scared her silly. When he crossed to put a pan of water on the stove she looked more closely at the wound. It was ugly, deep, raw and puckered. Even she could see it was becoming infected.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to open the cut a little and try to draw some of the infection out with hot water."
"I don't think so. That sounds painful."
"You can handle it."
His matter-of-fact words left her with nothing to say.
"I'll have to open the scab. It will hurt a little," he told her. "And this cloth will be hot. I'm going to press it against the wound. We'll do it a couple of times, then we'll pour some rubbing alcohol in there."
"Sounds like fun," she said grimly.
"Better than having gangrene set in."
She couldn't argue with that.
"Here. Swallow these."
She swallowed down the aspirins and ordered her stomach not to reject them. It was a near battle, but she won.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Not if I live to be a hundred. So go ahead."
She couldn't stop the indrawn hiss or the tears that poured down her cheeks, but she refused to cry out. The pain made her dizzy and sick. She refused to pass out either. She'd show this man that she could be as tough as she needed to be, despite the fact that his form of torture seemed to last endless hours. When he was done, she sagged limply against the chair while tears continued to flood her face.
"Here. Drink this."
The kindness in his voice sent more tears over the edge. "Will it be okay?"
He stroked her hair. She could almost close her eyes and believe it was a lover's caress. He blotted the tears on her cheeks with tender kindness.
"You're a survivor, just like your daughter."
That opened her eyes. "Look, there's something you'd better know—".
"Shh!"
Jayne didn't even breathe as he reached for his gun.
"Get over by the baby," he said so softly she had to strain to hear him. "There's someone outside."
Chapter Four
Cade reached for his gun as Jayne grabbed the shirt he'd left out for her and struggled into it. He flattened himself beside the lone window at the front of the cabin. He could barely see out past the accumulated dirt.
Part of him felt surreal, like a movie actor playing a role, while the other part tamped down real fear. He'd heard a horse whicker. Someone was definitely out there. But who? None of his men should be over this way unless Hap had gotten worried and sent out a search party. It was early for that, but possible.
More likely, it was the bastard who'd left them stranded here in the first place. But what had been the point? Jayne's comment about her husband had made inarguable sense. That left Luis or a drifter as prime candidates for grand theft auto. Cade didn't like either possibility.
Noise carried clearly from the shelter behind the shack. Someone was stabling a horse? Whoever was outside was making no effort to keep quiet. Cade scowled. They got occasional drifters on the Circle M. But being a drifter didn't make the person any less dangerous. Just the opposite.
Cade darted a glance toward Jayne. She was no longer standing beside the bed. Lines of pain bracketed her mouth, but she'd taken the metal frying pan from the hook near the woodstove. As he watched, she walked unsteadily up behind the door, holding the pan firmly in her good hand. He didn't know whether to mentally applaud her bravery or curse her foolishness. What did she think she was going to do with a frying pan?
He shook his head at her and motioned her back. She lifted her chin and the pan, determination in every line of her body. From outside, someone began to whistle a popular country-and-western tune, slightly off-key. There was no time left to argue as the door handle turned. Cade aimed for a body shot and waited while the door swung open.
Zedekiah Lithcolm sauntered two steps into the room and came to an abrupt halt. The whistle broke off with a surprised woof of air. He held his traveling bag in one hand, saddlebags and a rifle in the other.
Of all the possibilities that had come to mind, Zed hadn't even been on Cade's list.
"Hell," Zed drawled. "I knew you wouldn't want to see me again, but I didn't expect you'd shoot me on sight."
Cade didn't lower the gun. Mixed feelings tore through him. Zed had been his friend once. One of the few he'd made on the circuit. Zed rode the bulls, Cade roped the steers. The two of them had often shared drinks and even rooms together to cut costs.
They'd also shared Cade's wife, effectively ending their friendship.
"What are you doing here, Zed?" The words came out more evenly than Cade had any right to expect.
"Lookin' for a job."
Cade narrowed his eyes. "At a line shack?"
"No, I was plannin' to rest here for the day and ride down to the ranch tomorrow. Lafferty stumbled this morning after I broke camp. He didn't come up lame, but he's pretty tuckered so when I spotted the shack I decided we could both use a day of rest."
It had the ring of truth. But then, Zed had always been glib and quick with his words.
"Say, if you're not going to shoot me out of hand, could you lower the gun and let me drop my gear? My arms are gettin' tired."
Cade's gaze flew to Jayne. She still stood behind Zed, unnoticed. And she still gripped the frying pan as she watched Cade for cues. Taking a deep breath and releasing it through his nose, he gave her a half nod and lowered the gun. Zed spun toward her quickly.
"Whoa! Hello, there. Looks like I'm interruptin' big time." His infectious grin spread as he directed all his charm at Jayne. "But if you were plannin' to brain me with that thing, darlin' you'd need a ladder. You're a little bit of a thing, aren't you?"
Standing there in Cade's too big shirt that was buttoned all wrong with her hair long and wild about her head, she looked like she'd been making love. Cade felt his groin and his anger tighten at the same time while Zed's grin spread.
"Actually, I had a much lower target in mind," she said mock sweetly. "Once you take out the kneecap and the groin, the brain's easy to reach—assuming it can be found."
Cade felt a sense of intense satisfaction at her words and her tone. Jayne wasn't buying into Zed's notorious charm. Zed whirled back to him with a startled expression. Cade let his lips curl up at the corners.
"I think she's serious," Zed said.
"Believe it," Jayne agreed.
"What the hell's goin' on here, Cade?"
Cade shoved the gun back in his waistband, but he left his hand resting on it as he indicated a chair with a nod. "Have a seat. You can drop your gear right there, but set the rifle down nice and easy. I want to see your hands the entire time."
"Have you lost your mind? What's going on?"
"Do it, Zed."
All humor was gone. Zed knew him well enough to know he- wasn't kidding. With exaggerated motions, Zed set the rifle on the floor, then set his gear beside it.
"Take a seat," Cade ordered.
Questions spilled from Zed's eyes. He sat stiffly, his gaze swinging between Cade and Jayne. There were some interesting lines of strain around his mouth and eyes that hadn't been there the last time Cade had seen him. Zed had always been a big man like Cade—tall, but rangy. Only now Zed was downright gaunt. Those lines were lines of pain, Ca
de reflected. He wondered what had happened to the other man, but he wasn't taking chances.
"Jayne, get the rifle and bring it over here. Where's your .45?" he asked Zed.
"In my saddlebag."
The baby chose that moment to announce her presence with a loud wail. Zed's mouth dropped as he darted a look at the bunk bed. Then he swung an assessing look at Jayne.
"You robbin' cradles now, Cade?"
Cade ignored the question. Jayne skirted Zed's chair and picked up the rifle.
"Where were you camped yesterday?"
"Hell. What sort of trouble you in, buddy?"
Weakly, Jayne kicked the saddlebag farther away from where Zed sat. But she lifted the rifle with the ease of someone who knew exactly what to do with it if she had to. The woman managed to continually surprise him.
"It's loaded," she announced.
"Of course it's loaded! Wouldn't be much point in carryin' it empty now, would there?"
"Let me see it," Cade said.
"I know a loaded gun when I hold one," she told him.
"But do you know if it's the one from my truck?"
"Oh." She held it out to him, looking embarrassed.
"Your truck? Why would I have— What in thunder is goin' on here, Cade? I feel like I'm in the middle of a grade B western."
Hadn't Cade felt exactly the same way? He glanced down and saw the rifle wasn't his. He shook his head without touching the weapon and focused his attention on Zed. There was a time he would have trusted the other man with his life.
He just shouldn't have trusted Zed with his wife.
"You'd better see to Heather," he told Jayne.
The baby's cries were escalating. Jayne gave Cade a disgruntled look and Zed a wide berth as she headed back to the bunk beds with the rifle. At least now she was armed. After watching her with the frying pan, Cade had no doubt she'd use the rifle if she felt threatened. She probably would have done some damage with the pan as well, he decided. Cade rocked back on his heels.
"Someone stole my truck late yesterday afternoon. Know anything about it?"
"How would I know anything about that? I don't even understand what's going on around here. I made camp up in the hills out back last night. Late."
"How late?"
"I wasn't lookin' at my watch, but it was almost dark when I found a spot. If I'd known the shack was here, I'd've come down even in the dark."
"Where's your truck?"
"I sold it and the trailer."
Cade stared in astonishment. "Why would you do a thing like that? They were practically new." . "I needed the money. It's a long story. You want to tell me what's goin' on here first?"
"No."
Zed glanced at Jayne. She held the baby against her good shoulder and observed the two men warily. Pain shadowed her eyes.
Zed gave a tuneless whistle. "O-kay. I had a bad run of luck a few months ago. Got hung up during a competition. Damn bull dragged me clear around the ring more than once before they got me free. That was one mad bull. He gored me, then stomped me pretty good. Surprised you didn't hear about it."
"I don't keep up with the circuit anymore."
Zed shrugged. "By the time I paid the medical bills—"
"You had insurance."
"Had being the operative word. Seems I missed a couple a payments and they dropped me. What you see is what I got left. I kept Lafferty instead of the truck because he can run on grass instead of gas."
"So what are you doing here?"
"I told ya. Lookin' for work."
That surprised Cade more than Zed's tale of injuries.
Bull riders were always getting hurt. But the last time he'd seen Zed, Cade had knocked the other man halfway across the room. They hadn't spoken since.
"Why come here?"
Zed shrugged. "I didn't have anywhere else to go."
Cade stared at the man he'd once called a friend and tried to decide if Zed was telling the truth. Like him, Zed had been a loner. He never talked about his past any more than Cade did. Cade didn't really know much about Zed. But what would be the point in lying? Bonita was dead. Cade didn't have anything else Zed might be interested in. Still, he couldn't bring himself to completely trust the bull rider. Not anymore. And Cade didn't like coincidence. Especially when Zed just happened to arrive here at this particular time.
Jayne watched quietly as she rocked the baby in her arms. She looked young and vulnerable and in pain. The bright-pink glow to her cheeks told its own story.
"You only have Lafferty?" Cade asked.
"And my gear, such as it is."
The quarter horse was high-strung for a gelding. He might let Cade ride double on him, but the odds of him carrying a crying baby in addition were too low to consider. Cade couldn't take a chance on riding Jayne and Heather out of here on Lafferty. But if he didn't get some antibiotics into Jayne soon she was going to end up in serious trouble.
Jayne laid the baby down and reached for a diaper. Fool woman didn't know when to ask for help.
"I'll change her," he said.
"I can do it."
"You'll start the shoulder bleeding again. I'll take care of her." He turned to Zed. "Were your injuries serious enough to require antibiotics?"
Zed grunted an affirmative. "Oh, yeah."
"Got any with you? That you can spare?"
Zed looked at Jayne. "Sure."
"Get them."
The room went silent for the beat of a heart. Even the baby seemed to be listening.
"All right."
Zed stood slowly. Jayne reached for the rifle sitting beside .her, but Cade shook his head.
"He said he had a .45 in his saddlebags," she reminded him.
"It's okay. I don't think Zed plans to shoot us."
"Hell," Zed muttered.
Cade didn't sit down beside the baby until Zed finished rifling through his bag and came up with a prescription bottle that rattled nicely.
"I've got more'n I thought. Looks like a couple of days' worth here. You aren't allergic to anything are you?" he asked Jayne.
"Yeah, people who shoot guns at me. But I don't have any medical allergies."
Zed's mouth dropped open, his handsome face looking almost comical. "You were shot?"
"Her husband shot her in the back," Cade said quickly. "The bullet tore across the top of her shoulder. The wound's starting to get infected. I planned to walk out and go for help today. Now I won't have to."
It was a question and a challenge. Zed realized it immediately. He nodded. "No, you won't. I can have Lafferty saddled again in five minutes. Here, ma'am. You might want to take two of these tablets to start. You want to get a large dose in your system to begin with."
Cade inclined his head in agreement and turned his attention to the baby. Heather continued her protest of the messy diaper.
Amazingly, Jayne didn't argue about the pills. That chewed on Cade. With her, silence wasn't exactly the norm. He wanted to check her forehead to see how hot she felt, but he suspected she wouldn't appreciate it under the current circumstances. She took the bottle of tablets from Zed cautiously, read it, thanked him and walked over to the jug of water.
"I'll pour it for you," Zed offered.
"I can manage."
"I don't doubt it for a minute, ma'am, but my mama raised me to be courteous and friendly."
Cade blew out a puff of air and fastened the tape on the diaper.
"Thank you," Jayne said.
"If you don't mind my askin', what are you puttin' on the wound?"
"I cleaned it and used some antibacterial cream," Cade told him.
"Let's not forget the rubbing alcohol," Jayne interjected. "I haven't."
His lips curved up. That was more like it. "And most of my rubbing alcohol," he added for Zed.
"Then I'll leave you my medical kit. I've got some clean bandages and other things you might be able to use."
Cade inclined his head in thanks.
"I've also got some pain med
ication left. Looks to me like the lady needs it more'n me."
It was plain she wanted to refuse, and telling that she didn't.
"Thank you," Jayne said when he handed her a second bottle with a couple of tablets inside. "What about a cell phone?" she asked.
"Sorry."
"What is it with you people? I thought everyone had a cell phone these days."
"I'd need to have someone I wanted to call first."
Jayne swallowed down the water and the pills, swaying slightly. Cade started to rise, but saw Zed was watching her closely. He turned and their gazes locked in mutual concern.
"I'll saddle Lafferty."
"Okay," Cade agreed. "And Zed?"
The other man stopped, his hand resting on the door handle.
"Tell Hap I just hired you on. We'll see how it goes."
For a moment, Zed didn't say anything. They looked at one another, no longer friends, but no longer enemies, either. Bonita was dead and so was the past.
"Thanks."
Cade nodded. "Mind if we hang on to your rifle?"
His eyes narrowed in concern. "You think you're in danger?"
"I can't be completely certain that her husband didn't follow us out here and strand us for reasons of his own. Before you come walking back through that door again you need to sing out."
"I'll remember that," he agreed. "Whistling nearly got me shot—and panfried."
Jayne didn't smile. She watched Zed as if he were a potentially dangerous predator.
"My foreman, Hap, is rounding up the herd west of here," Cade told him. "Talk with him privately."
"Will he believe me?"
Cade looked around for something to write on. Then he spotted his blue bandanna where he'd hung it to dry after rinsing it clean. "Give him this. He'll recognize it. Tell him not to trust anyone."
Zed frowned. Cade realized he should give Zed more of an explanation. "Before you sign on with me, you'd better know that we've had some trouble recently."
Zed's gaze flicked to Jayne who was sitting now on the bottom bunk bed watching them.
"Besides her husband," Cade clarified.
Someone's Baby Page 6