take you to the doctor there, and then if you’re not opposed to it, I’ll offer you a place to stay with us.”
“Don’t you want to know what I did to get brought in?”
“Can’t have been too bad. Want to tell me?”
“I stole some food and a hog to feed the kids at the orphanage. They were starving.” Bodie glanced toward the creek, his Adam’s apple bobbing when he swallowed.
Thickness lodged in Ridge’s chest. The bastards! The kid did nothing to warrant the bounty hunters’ treatment. He looked away, taking a deep breath.
“Are you really an outlaw like Hiram claimed?” Bodie asked.
“Yep.”
Addie returned and wiped the boy’s face with the damp cloth. Her mouth tightened into a rigid line when she saw the severity of Bodie’s bruises. Her light, gentle strokes appeared to have touched something inside the boy. He closed his eyes, a soft sigh escaping his mouth.
His spurs rattling, Ridge stooped to pick up his wanted poster. The headline screamed, WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE—$3,000!
Damn, the price for his capture had risen. He tried to fold it and put it away before Addie saw it, but he wasn’t fast enough. She caught a glimpse before he stuffed it in his pocket. Dammit! Surprising him, she placed her palm against his chest over his heart and drew a circle.
“Addie girl, I still doubt the wisdom of marrying you, but I can no more send you away than stop breathing, and I hate myself for my weakness.” He wrapped her in his arms, and she snuggled into the folds of his shirt.
When they broke apart, she helped him get Bodie onto the gray mare belonging to the bounty hunters, then accepted a boost onto her buckskin. Wordlessly, Addie had made her feelings plain. For better or worse, they were in this together—for however long they lived.
Worry niggled in Ridge’s brain.
The bounty hunter knew where he was, and he’d be back. Logic said he probably wouldn’t come alone.
* * *
Dr. Mary was the first to see them ride into Hope’s Crossing and came running, followed by Clay and Jack. Careful of his wound, Ridge dismounted, then lifted Addie down. He scanned the size of the growing crowd of curious onlookers. “The boy needs to be seen to, Doc. I’ll be by later.”
The petite woman of medicine wore her customary bullet necklace, made from slugs she’d removed from patients. They clinked together with each movement. “Let’s go, kid. I’ll patch you up.”
“His name’s Bodie Nix,” Ridge called after them.
“I expect to see you at the hospital too, when you finish talking,” the doc shot back.
Hell!
“What happened?” Jack asked, the tin sheriff’s badge pinned to his shirt reflecting the sunlight.
“Addie and I went for a ride over our property to try out new mounts.” Ridge gave them a quick rundown of the encounter with the bounty hunters. “The dead man there recognized me, and they started shooting. I killed this one, but the other got to his horse and hightailed it. I put a bullet in his thigh but don’t think I hit him anywhere else.”
Clay took a drag from his cigarette. “Dammit to hell!”
“I know. Just when we start to get comfortable, lawmen or bounty hunters find one of us,” Ridge agreed.
Jack shot a gaze to the sole entrance to town, and Ridge could easily imagine the string of cusswords running through Jack’s head. They were in his too.
“That’s the problem,” Jack grated out. “We’ve gotten too damn comfortable. Counting you, we still have at least half a dozen wanted men here, and that’s only the ones I know. Others don’t talk about their pasts, so we might never know until it’s too late.”
“This changes things.” Clay threw his cigarette to the dirt and ground it out with the toe of his boot. “We need to call a town meeting—tonight. We have matters to discuss that affect us all.”
“I agree. Until then, Addie and I need to get something to eat and check on the kid.” Ridge gathered the horses’ reins.
“What are we going to do with the boy?” Clay asked.
“I found him. I’ll take him in.” Ridge glanced toward the small hospital awash in the afternoon sunlight. “Besides, I have to hire someone to stay on the property with Addie now anyway. I’m generally gone in the daytime, and I won’t leave her alone. Not with that bounty hunter around.” And the men likely still scouring the countryside for her. They’d find her sooner or later.
The urge to ride out in search