Page 54 of Wellspring
“Walsh took a bullet in one leg and cracked some ribs, and a bullet grazed Burke’s head, but they were the worst of it, from what I saw before we rode back to check on you,” Michele reported.“The ranch took some damage from both fire and bullets, but buildings can be replaced.You just focus on getting well.”
Erick was sure the conflict had been worse than Michele was telling him, but before he could press her for more details, a stranger he could only assume was Dr.Lillard entered the room, a cautious smile on his face.
“I’m glad to see you awake.I’ve been cutting back the anesthetics, but I wasn’t sure how long it would take for them to clear your body.You’re very lucky to be alive, Mr.Heller,” he said.
Michele stood and moved toward the door.“I’ll give Cade and Javier the good news.Don’t do anything stupid to set back your recovery or you’ll answer to me.”
“Your girl’s very devoted.”The doctor pulled aside the bed sheet to check the bandages covering Erick’s chest.“She’s barely left your side since she got here, except when Reverend Smithson came to pray over you.”
“She’s not—” Erick’s voice broke as the doctor peeled away the bandage and pain stabbed through his torso.Maybe it was better to let him and the rest of the town believe what they wanted.
The pounding of hooves on the street outside drew the doctor’s attention away from Erick’s injuries, and he stepped to the open window.“It’s that MacRae fellow, and it looks like there’s a marshal with him,” Lillard said.
Erick didn’t sigh, though relief flooded through him.Hopefully this marshal would be more honest than the last lawman and Cade would be out of jail soon.
CADE ROSEto his feet when the door swung open and Mac stalked in, followed by a tall man with short brown hair and a US Marshal’s badge.“What the hell are you doing in there, Cade?”Mac demanded.
Next to him, Javier stood as well.
“And Javier?”Mac added.“Tatum, where’s Lutz and what the hell is going on?”
“Lutz’s dead,” Tatum said with a grimace.“Trujillo blew him away with that big-ass gun of his.And Webster put an arrow through Frank Sanders’s eye.That’s what the hell they’re doing here.”
“Tell them the rest, Tatum,” Javier insisted.“Lutz and Sanders both opened fire on us first.And that’s after Sanders shot Erick Heller in the back.There are plenty of witnesses to both, if you’d had the stones to ask anyone.”
“I’m a postmaster, not a lawman,” Tatum protested.
“Well, I am a lawman,” the man with MacRae said.“US Marshal Jonas Parnell.Gentlemen, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to stay here a bit longer until I can get to the bottom of this, but if what you’re saying is true, I won’t see any cause to charge you.”
“Get to the bottom of it fast,” Cade demanded.“I need to see if Erick’s still alive.”
Parnell looked at Tatum.“Where is this Erick now?”
“In Dr.Lillard’s surgery, just down Main Street,” Tatum replied.
Parnell pursed his lips, but before he could reply, the door opened again to admit Chel.“About time you got here, MacRae,” she groused.“Cade, Erick is awake and asking for you.”
“Then I believe that is where I should start,” Parnell said.“Since he is the most wounded party in all of this, barring the dead men, he can tell me his side of the story, and we can begin the process of uncovering the truth.”He tipped his hat in Chel’s direction.“Ma’am.”
She rolled her eyes at Parnell and turned to glare at Tatum.
“I’ll show you where the surgery is, Marshal,” Tatum offered.
Cade snickered.Tatum was a fool, leaving them alone with Chel and Mac.Although the new marshal seemed like a decent man, so Cade wouldn’t break out just yet.
Parnell glanced Cade’s way, like he knew what Cade was thinking.“You’d better stay here, Tatum.MacRae can show me where the surgery is.”
Cade’s opinion of the man rose another few notches.At least he wasn’t an idiot like Tatum, and he had to hope he wasn’t as crooked as Lutz.
DR.LILLARDhad just finished putting Erick through a round of torture as he examined the wounds on his back and chest, had him breathe in and out as strongly and as long as he could, and rebandaged him, when the door opened.Having it be Cade would be a fitting reward for his suffering, but instead it was MacRae with another man Erick didn’t recognize.
“Heller, this is Marshal Parnell,” MacRae said.“I told him about all the shit Lutz was pulling with the JR, and he agreed to come check things out.”
“And I understand Sheriff Lutz is dead, so I need to gather information on my own,” the marshal said.“I thought I’d start with you.”
“I didn’t see what happened to Lutz, but if Cade and Javier said they acted in self-defense, I know they’re telling the truth,” Erick said.It hurt to speak, but he had to convince this new lawman to set Cade and Javier free.He tried to sit up, but Dr.Lillard eased him back into bed.
“He’s recuperating from a life-threatening injury,” Dr.Lillard insisted.“He needs to rest, so be quick about it.”
