Page 21 of Charlotte's Reckoning
“His wound needs tending,”Seth bit out as he lowered his brother onto a patch of thick grass by the fallen tree. “After that, I need to find him a doctor.”
He could hardly stand Thorn, especially his stench, since the man seemed to have a distinct aversion to soap and water. And the sound of his voice, which included a lisp, set histeeth on edge. Ike felt the same way, and the more his brother got to know him, the more he agreed he needed to get rid of him quickly. That would have to wait until Judd healed enough to go toe to toe with theson of a bitch, however.
“Find a doctor on your own damn time. We’re riding. If you’re not there when we settle up, the rest of us will share your portion.”
“You’re not in charge here, Thorn,”Seth exclaimed while surging to his feet. Taller than the older man by half a foot at least, he used his height to loom over him, hoping to intimidate. “You’ll wait on Judd, who is.”
Thorn stared down at the silent, motionless man on the ground, his uneven breathing that whistled a bit upon each exhale the only sound in the night other than croaking frogs. Then he spit another stream of tobacco juice into the dirt. This time, it landed near Judd’s boot, and the disrespect caused Seth to seethe inside.
“I’ll give you a quarter hour, no more.”His gaze narrowed with disdain when it shifted to the man half his age challenging him. “As for you, pup. I don’t owe you a goddamn thing. When big brother here cocks up his toes and goes to meet Deadeye in the hereafter—which by the looks of him could be any second—we’ll take a vote on who will lead us from here on out.”With a smug smile on his ugly face, he reached up and patted Seth’s cheek. “If you’re lucky, we’ll keep you around to clean the privy and empty our spittoons. When you’re not standing around holding the horses while the men take care of business, that is.”
Pupwas as bad askidand did nothing to bolster the tough, take-no-shit image he wanted to portray to Thorn. His amusement vanished when Seth caught his wrist in a punishing grip and twisted his arm behind his back. He wrenched it higher, bending the older man forward as he leaned over him and snarled in his ear. “Pup that I am, I could snap the bones in your arm without breaking a sweat.”
“Enough, both of you,”Judd directed in a surprisingly robust voice. “There’s no time for squabbling when the law and a posse of irate locals whose money we stole are likely gaining on us.”
“Breaking his arm won’t take a second,”was Seth’s curt reply.
“I said enough,”his brother insisted.
Seth didn’t release him right away. Instead, he imagined how nice it would be after days of verbal jabs ranging from smug insinuations to overt insults to snap Thorn’s bones like a twig. It showed the extent of his self-control that he hadn’t lost his temper and lodged a bullet between his bushy eyebrows, which came close to numbering one rather than two.
“Your pissing contest is gonna have to wait,”Judd barked. “For now, I need to be patched up so we can get back on the road.”
Since the dark stain on his brother’s shirt had grown larger since their arrival, guilt over their fight while Judd lay injured and bleeding made him let Thorn go, albeit with a slight push. Off-balance, he stumbled forward, narrowly avoiding hitting his head on a tree before regaining his composure. Unwilling to take any insult lightly, especially from a“kid,”Thorn turned, ready to attack. But the distinct click of Judd cocking his Colt Walker .45 stopped him in his tracks.
“For Christ’s sake,”Judd hissed, aiming his revolver at Thorn’s chest. “I don’t know how Deadeye took this crap for over a decade. I’m bleeding here!”
The older man shot Seth a look that promised retribution then stalked toward the riverbank. Forgetting him the next instant, he crouched and got to work, exposing the wound in Judd’s side.
“Antagonizing him does us no favors,”his brother ground out through gritted teeth.
“So you’ve said before.”Seth grunted as he peeled away layers of blood-soaked cloth. “But I’m not a pastor, and fuck knows I’m no saint, so this turning-the-other-cheek bullshit is over.”
When he pulled back the last layer and exposed the bloody furrow the bullet had dug out of his side, Judd hissed in pain. Seth reared up onto his knees, tearing off his shirt for bandage material since their supplies were slim.
“Just a scratch, my ass,”he muttered as he quickly ripped the broadcloth into strips. “It’s at least an inch deep and oozing something fierce.”
Bending close, he noticed a steady river of blood an inch above the wound and carefully wiped it dry. It only lasted a moment but exposed the source—a pea-sized entry wound.
“Hell,”he whispered as he tore more strips from his shirt. “They got you twice.”
“Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention—”
When Seth pressed a wadded-up section of the sleeve against the hole, Judd’s hiss of pain cut off what else he would have said.
“This is beyond my basic skills. You need a doctor.”
“Staunch the bleeding and get me up on my horse. I’ve survived worse.”
“When? I’ve been riding with you since I was ten and have never seen you lose this much blood.”He wadded up more material and pressed them against the wound then tore what was left into strips and tied them together. “Sit up,”he urged. “I need to wrap these around you to hold the bandages in place.”
Judd couldn’t do it without help, adding to Seth’s concern. When he was patched up as much as possible, he boosted him onto his horse. Once on top, he stepped back, watching to see if his brother could stay seated, then had to grab his arm to keep him from falling off the other side.
“You won’t make it a mile without falling off and breaking your neck,”he predicted angrily.
“Tie me on, then,”Judd shot back.
Muttering under his breath, he did exactly that because his brother was stubborn, and, once his mind was set, there was no talking himout of it. Trussed up like a felon being carted off to the state penitentiary, he swayed in the saddle while Seth led his horse.
