Rena's Cowboy

by Agnes Alexander

  “It could happen to anyone, Curly. Don’t talk. Save your strength. We’ve got to get that bullet out.”

  “I know.” He looked pained. “It hurts like hell.”

  “It’s going to hurt worse when we go for the bullet, but I know you can take it.” Jake looked at Gil. “Got any whisky around here?”

  Gil went to the shelf and took a half full bottle from under some clothes. “Will this be enough?”

  Jake nodded and opened it. He held the bottle to Curly. “Take several swallows.”

  Rena couldn’t help wondering how Jake was going to get the bullet out of the man’s shoulder.

  Jake turned to her. “Rena, we’ve got to keep him perfectly still. If he thrashes around I could injure him more. Do you think you can hold his feet?”

  She dropped the sheet and nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

  “Gil, you hold his torso. It won’t be easy, but don’t either of you let go of him until I say.” He turned back to the patient. “I don’t have any instruments so I’ll have to use my fingers. This is going to hurt like hell, Curly. Are you ready?” Curly nodded and Jake stuck a rag in Curly’s mouth. “Okay, folks. Hold him tight.”

  Rena knew Curly was in pain and couldn’t watch Jake work. Curly’s legs stayed straight, but they trembled and jerked. She refused to let him raise them or turn them to the side. It wasn’t easy, because he was a big man.

  “I feel the bullet,” Jake said. “Thank God, it’s not embedded in the bone.”

  It didn’t take long, but to her it felt like hours. She knew to Curly it must have seemed an eternity. She wondered how he could lay so still and keep quiet.

  “Got it,” Jake announced, holding up the bullet. “You can let go now.”

  She looked at Curly; he hadn’t fought them because he’d passed out.

  Jake worked quickly. He packed the wound and then wrapped the torn rags around the shoulder. Rena watched in fascinated horror. She couldn’t help thinking of the modern medicine from her day. If this had happened then, Curly would’ve been in a sterile hospital with doctors and nurses. He would’ve been given anesthesia and he wouldn’t feel a thing. Tears came to Rena’s eyes as she watched Jake continue to work on the man. She couldn’t help wondering if there was something they could put on the wound to prevent infection. Honey, maybe. But at this point she didn’t say anything to Jake about it. She’d wait and see what they did.

  “If you don’t need me no more, I better get back to the herd, Boss. Them damn rustlers could’ve run off half of them by now.”

  “Go in the house and let Rena fix you some food to take with you. I’ll be out later. I need to keep an eye on Curly for a while. When he comes to, he may thrash around and that won’t do him any good.”

  After Rena sent Gil off, she came back to the bunkhouse with a plate of food and a cup of coffee for Jake. He smiled when she entered.

  “I thought you could use this.” She handed him the food. “How is he?”

  “He’s still out. May be for a while.” Jake sipped the coffee. “Did you eat?”

  She nodded. She wasn’t lying. She nibbled a little while she made his plate. “If you think you should go check on the cows, I can sit with him.”

  “If he wakes up soon and isn’t too rambunctious, I may let you. I’ll decide when he comes around.”

  They were silent for several minutes. Rena broke it. “Do things like this happen often, Jake?”

  “Not really. It’s quiet around here most of the time. It just seems when something goes wrong, several things do.”

  “Maybe my coming here has brought you bad luck.”

  “Don’t say that. People don’t cause bad luck. It all started with the bank trying to seize our ranch. You didn’t have anything to do with that.”

  “But…”

  “Besides I’d say we’re pretty lucky to have you. You saved Silas’s life when Wigham showed up. I’ll always be grateful for that. And what about yesterday? You saved Finn. I couldn’t have held off those men by myself. God knows what would’ve happened to Adela if you hadn’t been here to help me. So don’t talk about bringing us bad luck. I think you might be our lucky charm.” He smiled at her.

  She returned the smile, then blushed. “You have a way of making me feel better.” She hoped he didn’t realize she was not only talking about the things he said, but about the kiss, too. When she looked into his dark eyes she could tell he knew exactly what she meant.

  “I’m sorry about what happened in the bedroom, Rena.” Just like that, he confirmed her suspicions.

  She ducked her head and almost whispered, “I don’t want you to be. It was…” Her voice trailed off.

  “I don’t push myself on women, but I feel compelled to tell you the truth.”

  “What truth is that, Jake?”

  “The truth is I’m not sorry about kissing you. I’m sorry that Gil showed up when he did.”

  She gave him a tentative smile. “Maybe that was for the best.”

  He nodded. “Maybe so.”

  Curly stirred. He mumbled something, but she didn’t understand what he said. She leaned over him and his eyes popped open.

  “What a beautiful sight to wake up to.” His words were clear this time.

  Rena jerked her head back.

  “All right, Curly. Don’t get excited because you’re lucky enough to have a beautiful woman help look after you.” Jake looked down at the man. “If you get too worked up, you could bust everything open.”

  “It might be worth it to have a beautiful woman like this take care of me. She’s an angel, you know.”

  “No, Curly. I’m just a woman and I want to help all that I can.”

  “She was a big help getting that bullet out.” He checked the bandage to be sure the bleeding had stopped. “I’m sure it’s going to hurt you for a while.”

  “I don’t see how it could hurt any worse. It’s throbbing now, Boss.”

  “I’m sure it is. When Silas gets back, we’ll see about getting a doctor so he can give you something to ease it. In the meantime let’s get some food in you. Rena brought me some good stew. Some of the juice will give you strength.”

  “If Miss Rena made it, I’ll give it a try.”

  “Actually Adela made it, but I warmed it up.”

  “That’s just as good. At least you had something to do with it.”

  “I’ll be right back.” She reached for Jake’s empty plate and cup. “I’ll bring you more coffee,” she said.

  “Thanks.” Jake wouldn’t look at her because he was afraid she’d see in his eyes that he was having a hard time not being jealous of Curly.

  Chapter 8

  Storm clouds were gathering fast. Silas had a feeling this was going to be a bad one. They were still five miles from the river. If it flooded, and it would if it rained as hard as he thought it might, there was no way they could cross it in the buckboard. He struggled with what to do. It wouldn’t be proper to let Finn set up camp with Adela while he rode on to the ranch. Though he wasn’t looking forward to camping with his wife, he knew he had no choice. He rode a little ahead and yelled for Finn to stop.

  After explaining the situation, he pointed to a patch of cottonwoods about half a mile away. “I think we can put a good enough lean-to together there to keep the supplies dry as well as ourselves. Finn, you’ll take my horse and go on to the ranch. Tell Jake what’s going on. Even if the river swells, we should be able to get across tomorrow.”

  By the time they reached the grove, set up a make-shift lean-to, built a small fire, backed the wagon under the limbs for protection and hobbled the horses, the rain began to fall. Finn straddled Silas’s red mare and headed toward the ranch.

  Adela searched in the box of supplies they’d bought for the cattle drive and found the coffee pot and grinder. Silas walked to the small lake at the foot of the ridge and brought back enough water for Adela to boil coffee and cook something for their supper. She soon had a small vegetable stew ready to eat
and coffee to drink. These chores had been done in silence.

  He could tell she wanted to talk to him, but didn’t give her any encouragement. There was nothing to say. It had all been said before and there was no need to rehash it. He was being hard on her, but it was the only thing he knew to do. Anything else would just make matters worse.

  When they finished eating, Silas went to check on the horses. By the time he returned, rain was spitting out the campfire and Adela had climbed into the wagon. She sat in the spot he’d cleaned out for her by pushing and stacking the supplies to the side, her back to him.

  Silas paused and looked at her. She was still as pretty as the first time he’d set eyes on her and he knew he had to have her. The two years they’d been married hadn’t dimmed her looks in any way. Many ranch wives faded fast, but Adela had held up well. The only signs of the hard work she did were the rough hands and the skin which had darkened some by the sun. Her hair was still the silky black he’d once loved running his fingers through and her figure hadn’t changed from the day they married except during the time she carried his son. After he was born, it didn’t take her long to get back to her normal size.

  At times he still had that overwhelming desire for her, but most of those times, he could squelch it, or hold off until he could get into town and seek release with one of the women at the Silver Slipper. When he’d married, he didn’t think he’d ever patronize the saloon again. Things had changed. Now he seemed to be going more frequently than he did before the nuptials. Of course every time he was in town he made a stop. Only last night he’d had the luck to find Molly free and willing.

  But occasionally his desire was so strong he didn’t have time to go into town. Adela never said no to him. This made him feel guilty because he knew she’d enjoyed loving him as much as he did her in the beginning. Now that was impossible, so when the urge hit, he’d make it as quick as possible. Once his desire had been satisfied, he’d turn from her and go to sleep without any words. Though he was never rough or hurt Adela, he didn’t give her the affection she craved. How could he? Every time he saw her in their bed, or without her clothes, he re-lived that terrible morning. The morning that was forever imprinted on his mind. The sight of her lying there asleep, and his little son dead beside her. That was the image that only liquor and another woman could temporarily erase from his thoughts.

  Adela moved around. He knew she was getting ready to lie down. He dropped his head and began putting out what fire the rain hadn’t quenched. By the time he raised his head, Adela was no longer sitting up.

  He walked to the back of the lean-to and looked out at the rain. It was falling harder. Turning, he sat on a downed tree. He wanted to give her plenty of time to go to sleep before he climbed into the wagon beside her. He was afraid she still wanted to talk and he wasn’t in the mood tonight.

  His mind was blank when her voice broke into the stillness. “I know you think I killed our baby, Silas, but I didn’t.”

  He was startled and a little shocked at her words. He’d never accused her of killing their child, though it was the only reasonable explanation. “I never claimed you did, Adela,” he said.

  “I know you haven’t voiced it, but your actions have spoken louder than any words ever could.”

  “I was hurt and confused. I guess I still am.”

  “Do you think I wasn’t, Silas? When I learned my baby was dead, I wanted to die, too.”

  “Adela, I didn’t mean to imply…”

  “Well, imply you did, Silas. Was I lying on top of our baby when you came in? No. You said I was on the other side of the bed.” She took a deep breath. “I know you were hurt and angry, but so was I. I’ve been dying inside ever since that day. I kept…” she paused a moment. “Silas, I was dozing when you came in and discovered our baby wasn’t breathing. What if I’d implied that you sat on him and smothered him? How would you feel?”

  “Damn it, Adela. I never said you killed the baby. How dare you say I did.”

  “I didn’t say that, Silas. I simply asked how you’d feel if I implied that you had killed it.” She went on when he didn’t answer. “I’ve thought about it long and hard. I don’t know how or why our baby died. I only know that if I’d rolled on him, he would’ve cried or I would’ve felt it beneath me. Mothers have those instincts.” When he still didn’t reply she said, “I know you lost a baby that day, Silas, but I lost a baby and a husband.”

  Nothing else was said and Silas stared into the night, his mind racing. Was Adela right? Did the baby die on its own? Would she have known if she’d lain on it? But what could have killed it? Had he put his wife through needless suffering?

  Thirty minutes later, Silas got up and moved to the wagon. He climbed inside and lay down beside Adela. He hesitated only seconds, then reached over, put his arm around her and pulled her against his chest.

  She didn’t turn around, but she didn’t pull away, either.

  * * * *

  Finn made it back to the ranch shortly before nine that night.

  “I’m glad you’re here.” Jake explained what had happened to Curly, then stood and stretched. “He’s in and out of it, but he’ll be fine.”

  “I can’t believe it. We’ve got to catch them bad guys, Jake.”

  “Yes, Finn, we do.” He nodded to the older man. Sometimes he forgot that Finn wasn’t as old as he looked. Maybe it was because Finn had always looked the same to him. The man had yet to reach forty. “I’ll see what Rena has left to eat and I’ll make you a plate.”

  “That would be great. I am a mite hungry.”

  Jake took the food out to Finn a few minutes later. “Since you’re here to look after Curly, I think I’ll sleep in the house tonight.”

  “Can’t say as I blame you there. If I had a chance to stay in the house alone with a pretty little thing like Miss Rena, I’d take advantage of it, too.” Finn sniggered.

  “Shut up, Finn. You know I’m not thinking anything like that. After yesterday, I don’t think it’s safe for her to be alone. Something could happen before we could get to the house.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  “Finn!”

  “Don’t get angry. You know damn well it’s the truth. You can’t keep your eyes off of her and she’s about as bad over you.”

  “What makes you think that?” Jake stared at him.

  “I don’t think it, I know it. I’m not sure if the others know because they don’t sit at the table and watch like I do. She may be a city girl, but she’s taking to ranch life fast.” He laughed. “’Course I’m not one bit worried about you taking advantage of her virtue.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Remember what she did to Silas. I figure she’d do the same with you if you got out of line.”

  Jake shook his head and headed for the door. “If you need me, come to the front and knock. When I sleep in the house, I use the sofa.”

  “Now that’s a dumb thing to do when you’ve got that pretty little yellow-haired girl warming your bed.”

  “Like I said, I do it for protection, Finn.” When Finn frowned, Jake went on, “I don’t want to get flipped like my brother did. He complained about his back for three days.” Jake went out the door and closed it behind him.

  Chapter 9

  Rena woke up when she heard someone come into the house. She eased down the hall and saw Jake in the kitchen making a plate. She waited until he exited before entering the common area. Rena liked Jake, but she couldn’t afford to let him kiss her again.

  It had been sweet—well, more that sweet. It had been wonderful, but she couldn’t let herself lose her heart or let him lose his. She still planned to find the cave and make her way back to the time and place she belonged to. She didn’t want to leave a broken heart behind her or take one with her, for that matter. It was best if they never shared another kiss. It would be easier when Adela and Silas got home. That way she never had to be alone with Jake.

  Relighting the lamp he had extinguished
and pouring herself a cup of coffee, she sat and wondered where Adela and Silas were. She hoped they weren’t stuck somewhere because of the storm or worse, broken down.

  The back door opened and she jumped.

  “I didn’t wake you, did I?” Jake asked, coming inside.

  “Not this time. When you made a plate earlier, you did.”

  “It was for Finn. He was hungry.”

  “Finn? Where’s Adela and Silas?”

  “Trapped on the other side of the river.”

  She frowned. “Why?”

  “The river rises and it’s impossible to cross it with the buckboard. They could lose all the supplies or worse, get caught in the rushing water and drown.”

  “I see. How long will it be before they can come home?”

  “If the rain stops soon, they could make it tomorrow. The water goes down quickly when it’s this hot and has been this dry.”

  “I hope they get here soon. I miss Adela.” She shifted her position. “How’s Curly tonight?”

  “Still weak, but he’ll be fine. In a few days we’re going to have a devil of a time keeping him in bed. Finn is standing guard over him tonight.”

  She couldn’t think of anything else to ask or say, so she drank her coffee. She hoped Jake would finish his soon and head out to the bunkhouse, where he’d been sleeping for the last few days.

  “I decided it’d be better if I slept in the house tonight.”

  “I’ll be fine.” No, she wanted to scream. I like it too much when you’re near.

  “I’m sure you will, but if we have any uninvited visitors I want to be here to help you fend them off. After all, you were a big help to me.” He chuckled. “Or was it the other way around? Was I helping you?”

  What could she say? She didn’t want to insult the man, but she had to be sure to keep her distance. Lord, he was a good kisser. One of the best she’d ever kissed, if not the best.

  After a long pause, Jake spoke quietly. “Rena, when you first came here you had something with you. Gray Feather found it and gave it to me. He told me not to look at it, but to put it away until you’d been here for a while. So much has happened that I haven’t had a chance to show it to you. Tonight is the perfect time.”