by Duane Boehm
“Eighteen years now,” Ethan answered.
“I always wondered what happened to that boy. That kid had some grit. I guess we know now why he is still alive. I thought sure that leg would get gangrene from all that cow shit and I’d have to saw it off, but he proved me wrong and I expect he will this time too,” Doc said.
“I appreciate you coming out here and tending to him, Doc,” Ethan said.
The old doctor smiled at Ethan and said, “This should really get the tongues a wagging in Last Stand.”
∞
Later in the afternoon, Sarah was out in the yard cussing under her breath as she tried to corner a chicken for dinner when she saw Benjamin running up the road. Her son never hurried back from school and her first thought was that he must have encountered the men that shot Gideon. She started to run to meet him, but was already worn out from chicken chasing and stopped to wait for him.
“What is it, Benjamin?” Sarah asked in a worried tone.
“I was hurrying home so I could take my turn watching over the man I found,” Benjamin said.
Sarah started building into a fury to unleash on her son for scaring her for no reason, but checked her emotion at seeing Benjamin standing there beaming with pride and wanting to help. She put her arm around his shoulder and started walking to the cabin. “That would be a big help to me. Do you remember hearing your pa talk about his friend Gideon that disappeared after the war? Well you found your pa’s best friend and saved his life,” she told him.
“Really? I bet Pa is real happy,” Benjamin said.
“I think he is, but he is kind of surprised by it all right now. I wouldn’t pester him with a lot of questions just yet,” Sarah said.
After they reached the bedroom, Benjamin said, “I am going to be quiet and do my schoolwork and if something happens, I will come get you.”
Pride welled up in Sarah. Her little man was growing up and becoming a lot like his father. She bent over and kissed him on top of the head. “Thank you. I really appreciate it,” she said and left the room.
Benjamin stared at Gideon, watching the slight movement of the cover as he breathed. He had heard so many stories about the man that he had expected him to be near giant in size. He certainly was not what Benjamin had imagined.
“Mr. Gideon, my name is Benjamin Oakes and my pa is Ethan. I found you and I am going to help you get well. I think Pa is going to be real happy when you get better and start talking. When he told me stories about you, I could tell that he missed you.”
Chapter 3
Doctor Abram was universally considered the leading gossip in Last Stand. Between his practice and his habit of stopping by the Last Stand Last Chance Saloon, there was very little that happened in the area that he did not know about or repeat. He liked to sit at a table in the saloon, drinking beer and holding court. By noon the day after his second visit to Ethan’s place, the town was abuzz with news of the return of Gideon Johann. The doctor gave out his original diagnosis of the likely death of Gideon, figuring that if he took a turn for the worse, that people would already be prepared for it, and if he lived, it would make the story all the better.
Gideon’s absence had taken on a life of its own over the years. The few bits of information that reached Last Stand had only added to the mystery until everybody had their own theory concerning his whereabouts, what he had been involved in, and why he never returned. He had become a kind of mythical figure by simply disappearing.
∞
Ethan and Sarah walked out onto the porch after eating lunch to enjoy the warm sunny day. She was going to sit with him as he smoked a pipe and then go tend to Gideon while Ethan checked the shoes on the horses. Sarah saw the rider first and immediately recognized who it was from the skirt hanging over each side of the saddle.
“Looks like Abigail Hanson is paying us a visit. I wish I could learn to straddle a horse with a skirt on like she does,” Sarah said in admiration.
“I wonder what brings her out this way?” Ethan asked.
Sarah looked at him as if he was as dense as a log. Before finally settling for Marcus Hanson as a husband, the former Abigail Schone had waited years for the return of Gideon. She had been considered the most eligible girl around before most of the bachelors gave up on courting her, convinced that she would become a spinster waiting for Gideon’s return. Marcus, with patience and persistence, had finally won her over after years of rejection.
“Well, if I had to guess, I would say that our gossipy doctor has got word out all over the county that Gideon is here and she has come to have a look for herself,” she said as if her deduction was the most obvious fact in the world.
“You really think so?” Ethan asked.
Sarah, annoyed that her husband could be so clueless, shook her head and said, “Ethan, sometimes you are as naïve as a child. How many times over the years has Abby just showed up out of the blue at our door for a visit?”
Before he could answer, Abigail was within hearing distance so he let the question hang.
“Ethan, Sarah, I guess you know why I am here. I am not going to pretend that this is just a social visit. I was in town and Doc Abram made a point of coming up to me and telling me about Gideon. That man takes a real delight in gossiping. He told me how badly Gideon was shot up and I figured since I wasted all those years of my life waiting for him to return that I was entitled to a peek at him before he died, if you don’t mind,” Abigail said in her no nonsense tone.
When Sarah had first moved to Last Stand after marrying Ethan, she and Abigail had not taken to each other. Being two of the prettier women in the area, and both independent and opinionated, they each viewed the other as an adversary. Over time, they had come to find that they had much more in common with each other than with most of the women in the area. They began to seek each other out when they needed to have an intelligent conversation with another woman and commiserate over the solitude of ranch life until they had become close friends.
“If anybody has the right to see him, it is you. He is not conscious, but you can have a look at him,” Sarah said before pausing and smiling. “You’re not planning on finishing him off are you?”
The awkwardness was broken and Abigail smiled mischievously. “No, I will wait to see if he recovers before I kill him,” she said.
Ethan and Sarah stayed on the porch when Abigail went inside the cabin. She paused at the doorway to the bedroom and took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding in her chest as if it were a blacksmith’s hammer and she felt so flush that she wondered if she was having her first hot flash. She willed herself into the room and looked down at him. His face was not as aged as she had been expecting. In fact, she thought he looked much the same as in his youth. He was more gaunt and the sun and wind had taken away some of the softness from his skin, but the man was definitely Gideon. There was a scar that had not been there. It started on his left cheekbone and went straight down about an inch, but overall it looked as if the last eighteen years had not been overly cruel to him.
She cursed herself under her breath for what she was feeling. She was a wife and a mother and it was wrong to feel like a giddy schoolgirl about a man that had disappeared a lifetime ago, but there was no denying what everyone always said about your first love. The emotion welled up in her like spring water pushing through the soil.
Abigail quickly flicked a tear away and then checked the door to make sure that no one was watching. She picked up his left hand with the two of hers and then gave him a kiss on the forehead. Sitting down in the chair, she held his hand, reminiscing about their days of courting. Mainly, she remembered the laughter. Gideon had been so funny and lighthearted, going to great lengths to make her giggle. The recollections made her realize how little humor was in her life these days.
“I sure never thought that I would catch sight of you again in this lifetime and I doubt that I would have if somebody had not shot you. It has been a long, long time,” Abby said.
Abby studied Gideo
n’s face and rubbed his hand. She had to convince herself that after all these years she was really looking at him. “Damn you, Gideon Johann. You wasted your life and made me settle for a second place marriage. Winnie could have been your daughter and we could have had a whole passel more,” she told him.
She checked the doorway again and leaned in and whispered, “There are things you should have known about if you hadn’t done your damn disappearing act,” She then fluttered out of the room so mad that she actually had thoughts of murder on her mind. Stopping at the front door, she collected herself before joining Ethan and Sarah on the porch.
“Thank you for allowing me to see him. I know coming here was silly, but I just had to see him alive one more time. He really has not changed that much. I was surprised,” Abigail said.
“I did not recognize him until he opened his eyes. Of course, I was not thinking about it being him and you knew it was Gideon. I guess that makes the difference,” Ethan said to make conversation.
Sarah noticed that Abigail assumed Gideon was on his deathbed. “Abby, Doc told us that he thinks he has a chance to live,” she said.
Abigail’s face lost all expression with only her eyelids blinking rapidly as if given a sharp slap by surprise. Thinking that he was dying and then learning that he had a fighting chance was such juxtaposition that it made her swoony. To end the lull in the conversation, she said, “Really? That old saw–bones is telling everybody in town that he is not going to make it. It’s a good thing he is a fine doctor or somebody would shoot him one of these days for his stories.”
Ethan and Sarah exchanged glances that served as a whole conversation about what they had just seen.
“Abby, I am doing everything that I can for him. He has improved, just never really woke up,” Sarah said.
“Oh, I know you are. This was just a silly schoolgirl idea of mine to come and see him. I am sorry to have been a bother to you,” Abigail said.
Ethan tapped his pipe on his boot heel and stood. “No bother at all. If there are two people in this world that had a right to get a look at Gideon, I figure it is me and you,” he said.
“I’d be beholden to you both if you kept this to yourselves. Marcus is still jealous anytime Gideon’s name comes up and God knows the fuss he would make if he found out about this,” Abigail said.
Sarah stood up and patted Abigail on the back. “Don’t you worry about that. Nobody else needs to know about this and if you want to see him again, you just come on over.”
As Abigail rode away, Ethan watched her until she was out of sight and said, “That wasn’t good was it?”
“I don’t know. Seeing him was something that she had to do and maybe she has put her mind to ease now,” Sarah answered.
“I don’t think so,” Ethan said as he headed towards the barn.
Chapter 4
Gideon was tired of dreaming. It seemed as if he had been sleeping for days, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not force his eyes open. He put Herculean effort into it to no avail. He was just too damned tired.
The dreams about Ethan had left him feeling as empty as a kicked over milk pail. He had not allowed himself to think of that time of his life in years. As far as he was concerned, Last Stand was a closed book never to be opened again. There were even dreams of Ethan’s family, a wife and son named Sarah and Benjamin that talked to him. He could hear the boy talking to him now even as he tried to vanquish the dream.
He could not endure one minute more of the dreams and this time he forced his eyes open. Looking back at him was a towheaded boy with eyes and mouth so wide open that the kid must have thought he was looking at a ghost. He had seen the kid before somewhere. His mind raced trying to figure out from where he would know the child and then it all came back. He had been shot and the boy had come along and kicked his foot. As he studied him, he realized he was looking at the spitting image of Ethan Oakes thirty years ago. He wanted to curse aloud at the thought that he could ride through this place after eighteen years of avoiding it and get shot and found by Ethan’s son, but instead, in a hoarse whisper, he said, “Hello, there.”
“Mr. Gideon, you are awake,” Benjamin said.
“Thank you for rescuing me,” Gideon said.
The boy seemed to swell up at the words. His shoulders pulled back, his chest thrust out, and he grinned as if he had won a prize at the fair. “You are welcome. I’m sorry about kicking you,” he said.
“Don’t worry about it. You had to find out if I was alive. I expect I would be dead by now if you hadn’t,” Gideon said.
The boy grinned again. “I’ll go get Pa. He will be so glad to see you. He has told me about you since I was a little boy,” he said as he lit out of the room.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Sarah asked her son as he ran towards the door.
“Mr. Gideon is awake, Momma. I’m going to get Pa,” he said as he disappeared out the door.
Sarah watched as Ethan and Benjamin entered the cabin and headed towards the bedroom. Ethan looked like he did the first time he was trying to get his nerve up to talk to her, and Benjamin was beside his pa, walking with purpose as if he were on a mission. “Benjamin, why don’t you stay in here with me and let your pa and Gideon catch up on things. You will have plenty of time later to see him,” she said.
The boy stopped and his shoulders sagged. Looking defeated, he said, “Yes, ma’am.”
Ethan could feel his heart racing in his chest as he entered the room. After so many years of waiting for this day, he was not sure he was ready for it or even wanted it anymore. He had no idea on what to say. The two men locked eyes with neither seeming to have a clue on how to start a conversation. The silence grew uncomfortable.
Finally, Gideon whispered, “It’s about time you tracked me down.”
Ethan grinned. “You always were the better tracker,” he said.
“Looks like you have done alright for yourself. That’s a fine looking boy you got. He looks like he was picked from your butt,” Gideon whispered.
Ethan chuckled and rubbed his cheek. “So they tell me. He’s got his ma’s brains though,” Ethan said.
“Well, that’s a good thing,” Gideon said and winked.
There it was – the wink. It had been so many years that Ethan had forgotten Gideon’s way of winking when he kidded you. He found it reassuring that something still remained the same.
“So how did you end up here and all shot up?” Ethan asked.
Gideon slowly inhaled a big breath before speaking. “I was working at the Chase Ranch in Cimarron when a couple of the cowhands named Bug Eye Carter and Pasty Collins decided to rustle some of the herd. They sold the cattle off and hightailed it. The fools were always talking about Silverton, and sure enough, that is where they were headed. Mr. Chase don’t take kindly to cattle rustlers and sent me after them and I got careless,” he said before pausing to rest. “I didn’t think they were smart enough to be watching their back, but I was wrong.”
“Looked like you put up a pretty good fight,” Ethan said.
Gideon nodded and said, “Enough of one that they decided not to bother trying to finish me off.”
“Were you going to look me up on your way through here?” Ethan asked.
Gideon looked at him blankly and then his eyelids slowly drooped shut.
Agitated, Ethan said, “You can ignore me this time, but you aren’t going anywhere for a while and I will get some answers before you do.”
Sarah saw the furrowed brow as soon as Ethan walked into the room. A look of frustration was what she half expected. There were too many unanswered questions for it to be perfect reunion. “How did it go?” she asked.
“Well, at least he is not an outlaw. He was chasing a couple of rustlers, though I expect that when he found them that he would have pronounced himself judge, jury, and hangman. When I asked him if he was going to stop by to visit, he conveniently went to sleep,” Ethan answered.
“Be patient, Ethan. The
man is just back from death’s door, and besides, you know as well as me that he is not going to give you any answers that are going to make it all better or that you probably really even want to hear,” Sarah said.
Ethan was looking down at the floor with his lips pursed and rubbing his thigh as if he had a Charley horse. “I know,” he said and put his hat on and went outdoors.
Benjamin was sitting on the swing waiting for Ethan. “Were you happy to see Mr. Gideon, Pa?” he asked.
Benjamin’s face was beaming in eager anticipation and Ethan said, “Yes, I was. It was good to talk to him again after all these years and I owe that to you. You did a fine thing, Benjamin.”
His son smiled back at him as if it were the best day of his life and the mood was contagious enough that Ethan started to feel good again, letting go of his agitation. “Let’s take a quick ride before supper,” he said.
Sarah checked on Gideon after Ethan and Benjamin rode away. He opened his eyes at the sound of her entering the room and she could not help but notice that they were the deepest shade of blue that she had ever witnessed. He made a poor attempt to smile at her.
“Hello, Gideon. I am Sarah, Ethan’s wife. I brought you some soup. How are you feeling?” Sarah said.
“Thank you for nursing me. I’m sure that it has been a burden with everything else that you have to do. As far as how I feel, well, I have had better days,” Gideon whispered.
“I’m sure you have. Can you sit up some so we can get this down you?” Sarah asked.
With effort on both their parts, they managed to get another pillow behind him to prop him up. He held up his hand to stall the spoon of soup coming his way to recover from the exertion and pain. After he nodded he was ready, the spoon came at him as if the utensil was on a mission of redemption.
“Oh, my God, that is good,” he said.
“Starvation probably has a way of improving the taste,” Sarah said.
