Page 57 of Wellspring
“TAKE Abreath for me, Mr.Heller, as deep as you can without coughing,” Dr.Lillard said two days later.“I want to see how your lung is healing.”
Erick shot Cade a quelling look where he hovered nearby.He wouldn’t ever get stronger if he didn’t push himself, but Cade didn’t want him to lift so much as a finger.Erick inhaled slowly because he seemed able to get more air that way than if he gulped it in, but even with that, he could only take in half what he could have before Sanders cravenly shot him in the back.
“Excellent,” Lillard said as Erick exhaled just as slowly.“You’re making better progress than I’d hoped.Lungs are tricky things.We know so little about them, you see.Now, let’s get you on your feet.Lying in bed all day isn’t good for you either.The wound has closed almost completely, so as long as you’re careful, you can start building your strength back up.”
That sounded wonderful to Erick; he was tired of simply lying in bed, even if he’d begun to sit up to eat.He swung his legs over the side and tried to push to his feet, only to have his knees buckle under him.Cade was at his side in an instant to steady him before he could drop back onto the mattress.
“Are you sure he’s ready to be out of bed?”Cade asked sharply.
“I’m fine.”Erick took as deep a breath as he could and stiffened his legs.With Cade hovering at his side, he took a few shuffling steps, only making it as far as the door to his room before he had to catch hold of the frame to hold himself up, his breath rasping.
Dr.Lillard nodded toward the chair at his bedside.“To start, let’s just have you sit here for a bit.You can eat your meals there, and tomorrow we can start having you take short walks.”
It took Erick a humiliating long time to catch his breath enough to speak.“How long… before I am back to my full strength?”
Dr.Lillard frowned.“Truthfully, you may always see some aftereffects.I had to remove the bottom lobe of your lung.There are breathing exercises that will help restore some of your lung capacity, but only time will tell how much that will be.I’ve only had to perform this type of surgery once before, during the war, and unfortunately that soldier succumbed to sepsis.But conditions here are much more aseptic than a field hospital.I should be able to remove your stitches within another week, but I’d recommend at least another six weeks of reduced activity before you attempt anything as strenuous as riding a horse.”
Cade blanched and leaned against the far wall, looking as near to fainting as Erick had ever seen him, whether at the thought of the surgery or at how near Erick had come to dying, Erick didn’t know.“Is there still a risk of sepsis?”Cade asked after clearing his throat twice.
“No, we passed that worry several days ago,” Lillard said.“Now we just have to let the wound finish healing and build Erick’s strength back up, however far that ends up being.The biggest issue there, as you’ll have seen with your friend MacRae, is getting discouraged and giving up.Recovery won’t happen in a straight line.There will be good days and bad days.You didn’t lose a limb the way he did, but that makes it harder in a way.You won’t have that visible reminder to slow down and give yourself time to heal.”
“I did not travel from Prussia to Texas to give up,” Erick said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile at Cade.“Teach me these breathing exercises so I can begin to regain my potency.”Cade snickered, as Erick hoped he would.No matter how much effort or time it took, he would become the man Cade had fallen in love with again.Anything less was simply not acceptable.
CADE TIPPEDhis face up to absorb the warmth of the morning sun and stretched his legs to rest on the porch rail.Too many days spent inside always left him feeling like his skin didn’t fit right, but this morning Doc Lillard had decided Erick could walk as far as the porch of his office and rest there while he did his breathing exercises.In the time they had been sitting there, half the town, it seemed, had stopped to check on Erick and thank Cade for shooting Sanders and Lutz.Cade had made sure to tell them Javier had killed Lutz, although Cade would have if Javier hadn’t, so maybe it wasn’t worth correcting them.Still, credit where credit was due and all that.
“Erick,” Miz Hart exclaimed, sailing up to where they sat, “you are looking much better than the last time I saw you.I’m glad to see Webster is taking good care of you.”
“Ma’am.”Cade touched the brim of his hat politely.
He let the flow of words wash over him as Miz Hart caught Erick up on all the town chatter, which seemed to mostly consist of admiration for the new marshal.He’d have to warn Burke when he made it back to Wellspring.The blacksmith had grown overconfident in his courtship of the independent shopkeeper, but it sounded as if he might have actual competition for once.
Speaking of the new marshal….Cade sat up slowly, dropping his feet to the ground as he watched Marshal Parnell ride into town leading a posse of riders and in the middle, a wagon holding several trussed-up men, including….Hot damn, he’d actually done it.He’d gone and arrested Reichardt.
“Marshal, if you’re a drinking man, I’ll buy you the best whiskey the Meiers have to offer,” he hollered over the noise of the wagon wheels and the clomp of the horses’ hooves.
That met with a jeer from one of the men in the wagon—Collier, who was obviously recovering more quickly from his gunshot wound than Erick had—but the marshal only tipped his hat.“Just doing my job, Webster,” he called back.“Good to see you out of bed, Heller.Miss Hart.”
“Marshal,” she replied with a genteel nod and a slight blush.Oh yeah, Burke had competition, all right.
“What will become of the JR now that Reichardt is in custody?”Miz Hart asked when Parnell and his prisoners had ridden on.
“Well, nothing immediately,” Cade said.“He’ll have to stand trial—”
“Everyone in the tavern heard Sanders announce that Reichardt wanted Carter to lead the raid to prove himself,” Erick said.Cade hid a flinch at the reminder of what Sanders had done next.Erick was alive and getting stronger every day.“So he clearly had knowledge of what would happen, even if he had not planned it himself.”
“Payne must have turned Jim Collier over to the marshal when he visited Wellspring.One of the JR hands, wounded in the attack,” he added for Erick’s benefit.“I bet he’s been happy to claim he was only following Reichardt’s orders.Not that he wouldn’t say anything to save his own miserable skin, but that will back up what the Meiers and Jock and the others heard.And if Reichardt’s convicted, well, hanging’s too good for him but it’s probably all we can hope for.”
“If Reichardt has any relatives, they don’t live in the area.”Though she wasn’t a gossip herself, Miz Hart seemed to hear all the local news, hearsay, and chitchat.“It may take some time to track that down.And if there is anyone, they might not be interested in running a ranch in the middle of Texas.”
“I bet Miz Roarke wouldn’t mind picking up some JR property,” Cade said.“Especially if it meant we could stay on Wellspring land all the way into town.”
“With Reichardt and most of his men gone, there may be no one left to manage the estate,” Erick added.“There will be cattle and horses that need to be seen to, especially before winter comes.”
“Winters in Texas probably aren’t like the ones you’re used to,” Cade said with a smile.“But you’re right.The stock can graze awhile longer, but they’ll run out of feed and supplies before long, and I don’t see any hands sticking around if they aren’t getting paid.”
“I am sure Payne is already making plans.”It was clear from Erick’s voice how eager he was to return to Wellspring as soon as Doc Lillard would release him.
“Plans that’ll have us busier than ever,” Cade said with a groan.They were already shorthanded.If they added land and livestock from the JR, that would make it even worse.And it’s not like they could trust any of the men left from the JR outfit, even if Parnell didn’t arrest all of them or if any of them didn’t stand trial or weren’t found guilty.Cade sure wouldn’t sleep at night with any of them in the bunkhouse with him!
