Page 56 of Wellspring
Dr.Lillard clapped him on the back.“I’m sure he’ll be glad you’re out of jail.Just don’t wear him out.”
“I won’t,” Cade promised as he headed toward the room the doctor indicated with a wave of his hand.He walked in on silent feet, glad he wore his moccasins and not heavy boots, even if Lizzie Hart had brought a change of clothes for him and Javier after their first day in lockup.Erick needed his rest and Cade didn’t want to disturb him.He just needed tosee.He trusted Chel—of course he did—but he trusted his own eyes more.Once he’d seen for himself that Erick was still alive, he could let go of the fear and tension that still hadn’t left him.
With the curtains pulled, the room was dim, but Cade didn’t need more light to see Erick on the bed, pale against the white sheets, his chest rising and falling slightly in the rhythm of his fitful breathing.Cade collapsed into the chair next to the bed, catching himself in time to keep from making a noise that might wake Erick.He was alive.Barely, maybe, but he was alive.Cade buried his face in his hands to muffle the sob that threatened to choke him.
Erick was alive.
He took a deep breath and then another one, forcing down the bile that rose in his throat.Sanders hadn’t succeeded.Erick was going to live.
Chapter Thirty
ON THEbed, Erick stirred, although Cade knew he hadn’t made any sound.He reached out but stopped short of touching Erick’s hand, not wanting to wake him if he was only shifting in his sleep.Warmth radiated from Erick’s skin, another layer of reassurance, not the fever heat that would’ve indicated more problems, but the safe warmth of a healthy body.Okay, as healthy as someone could be with a bullet hole in him.
He studied Erick’s face instead.His skin was pale beneath the little bit of tan he’d managed to acquire from working outdoors, his forehead furrowed, creases drawing his mouth into a frown.His hair was tousled against the pillow beneath his head, and knowing the care Erick took with his appearance even when wearing work clothes, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching a hand out to gently smooth it down.
Erick’s eyelids fluttered, and his brow furrowed even more as they parted, giving Cade a glimpse of clouded blue eyes.“Cade?”he rasped, as if it hurt him to speak,
Cade grasped his hand and squeezed it gently.“Yeah, I’m here.Parnell let me and Javier go.”He leaned forward to drop a kiss on Erick’s forehead.“You’re not allowed to die on me, understand?”he ordered, his own voice nearly as rough as Erick’s.
“I’ll do my best,” Erick answered dryly, “as long as you stop trying to get yourself killed too.”
“Hey, Sanders shot at me first!Not that I wasn’t going to kill him anyway for what he did to you.”
Erick sighed.“Michele told me what happened.I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you wearing your buckskins.”He caught the thin beaded braid of Cade’s hair and tugged it lightly.“Come over here.”
Cade leaned in to kiss Erick, but before he could mate their lips, Erick frowned and moved his hand to rub at Cade’s temple.“What do you have on your face?”
“War paint,” Cade replied bashfully.“I wiped off what I could, but I didn’t exactly have a bath, much less a mirror, to clean up in jail.”
Erick traced the paint with his fingers.“I am sure Dr.Lillard will have a way for you to wash up later.”He drew a labored breath.“One day you must let me see you in your Comanche garb.But now, give me a kiss.”
That was a request Cade would gladly grant.Erick’s lips were dry and he had to break away far too soon to draw in another ragged breath, but it was still the best kiss Cade had ever gotten.He planned on getting a lot more of them as soon as they had the guarantee of privacy.
A rap on the door forced Cade to draw back.He rested his hand on the hilt of his knife, ready to throw at a moment’s notice.He hoped the threat had passed, with Sanders and Lutz dead and Parnell seeming to believe their side of the story, but he wasn’t about to take chances with Erick’s safety just yet.Javier stuck his head in the door, shaggy after several days in jail.“Michele, Mac, and I are heading back to Wellspring.They need the supplies we came into town to get before”—Javier glanced at Erick with a wince—”before things went to hell, and after nearly a week of Beaufort’s cooking, Payne will be even more bad-tempered than usual.”
Cade chuckled a little at the image.“I’m staying here until I know for sure there’s no one coming to finish what Sanders started.Payne will just have to do without me for a few more days.”
“I think we can manage,” Javier said, “though we’ll miss both of you.Erick, you keep getting better, you hear?”
“I shall endeavor to do so,” Erick replied with a strained smile.Javier returned it and started to leave.
“Javier,” Cade called.“Be careful.Even with the fight and Parnell, Reichardt is still out there, and we don’t know how many hands the JR has left.”
“Actually, Parnell offered to go with us,” Javier said.“He wants to see what happened at Wellspring for himself.”
That sounded good to Cade, as long as Reichardt didn’t have them all killed as they crossed JR land to get to Wellspring, but he kept that thought to himself.“Ride safe,” he said instead.
Chel cuffed Javier to step aside so she could enter the room.“Erick, I hope you’ll be well enough to come back to Wellspring by the time we make the next supply run.”Her gaze slid over to Cade.“Don’t do anything stupid enough to get thrown back into jail before then.”
“Not planning on leaving Erick’s side,” Cade asserted.Though at some point he’d have to retrieve his weapons and his leathers from the sheriff’s office.Only for Erick would he have left his bow behind.
“I’ll keep him safe from himself,” Erick assured Chel in a rough voice.
“That’s it.You all quit ganging up on me and get out of here so Erick can get some sleep.”When Erick tried to protest, Cade silenced him with a gentle kiss as Javier and Chel took their leave.“The more you rest, the sooner you’ll heal.I have plans for you that Reichardt’s stupid attack interrupted.And trust me, you’ll need all your strength to keep up.”
“I look forward to it,” Erick said.He looked like he wanted to say more, but a yawn interrupted him, which turned into a grimace.
“Sleep.”Cade settled in to keep watch.
