be, but she was glad to have him back in her life, and she couldn’t be prouder of his dedication to his profession.
That evening as she slept on her bedroll on the floor of the back room, she heard Garrett stirring. Still half-asleep, she got up, placing her hand on his forehead to assess his temperature.
He croaked, “Spring?”
Elated that he’d finally awakened, she replied, “I’m here.”
“Where am I?”
“Colt’s office.”
He made a move to sit up, but she stalled him gently. “You have to lie still. You’re hurt pretty bad.”
He quieted for a moment as if assessing her words. “What happened?”
“You were shot. Hold on, let me light a lamp.”
She did and when she glanced his way, found him asleep again. Sighing, she doused the lamp and returned to her bedroll.
Garrett opened his eyes, glanced around the small windowless room, and didn’t know where he was. Sleep tried to drag him under again, but he fought it to clear his mind enough to make sense of his surroundings. He tried to sit up, but pain dropped on him like an anvil, making him pant until the agony lessened somewhat.
The door opened. Odell appeared. “I see you’re awake.”
Garrett, still riding the wave of pain, thought he nodded but wasn’t sure.
“How are you feeling?”
The call of nature was strong. He whispered, “Need to relieve myself.”
“Got a chamber pot here.”
“No. Outside.”
“Letting you up is going to get both of us in trouble with Spring and Lucretia, but I understand.”
Odell walked over to the cot. Garrett managed to get himself upright and sat head down on the edge of the cot. Shaking from lack of strength and doing his best to ignore the roaring pain in his back, he fought to catch his breath. He glanced at the loose nightshirt he was wearing and its origin was another mystery. “What happened to me?”
“You were backshot.”
“When?”
“About five days ago. Ben found you and brought you here. Colt patched you up.”
“Spring?”
“Been here with you the entire time. She went to eat. I’m watching you until she gets back.” Odell assessed him. “You sure you want to go outside?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. That door there leads out back. You’ll have privacy. Let’s do this quick before she returns and cusses us both.”
Garrett agreed. Leaning on the old trapper for support, he shuffled his way on legs weak as wet string. His back protested angrily and sweat dampened his brow. Outside, the bright sunshine hurt his eyes. He couldn’t tell what the temperature was. His focus was on answering his needs before he passed out.
Back inside and feeling better, he lay on the cot and waited for his ragged breath to return to a pace akin to normal. His back felt like a bonfire fueled by jagged pieces of glass.
“How’s the pain?”
“Bad.”
“Got some laudanum tea here.”
Garrett struggled up, drank as much of the tea as he could, then lay back again. The many questions he wanted to put to Odell about the shooting were soon forgotten as sleep pulled him under once more.
Garrett awakened, and had no idea how much time had passed since Odell helped him outside. Had it been hours, days? He was still in the windowless room, however. The pain in his back had subsided somewhat but was still viable enough to let him know he’d not be dancing a jig anytime soon. He was hungry and thirsty. “Anybody here?” he called out.
The door to the front of the office opened, letting in the light of day. Spring entered. Seeing her filled him with a soft glow.
“Hey there,” she said, walking over to the cot.
“Hey.”
She placed a light hand on his forehead. “No fever. That’s good.”
He agreed.
“Welcome back to the world.”
“Thanks.”
“Are you thirsty? Hungry?”
“Both.”
“Colt said to give you soft things to eat first. Would you like some eggs?”
“Yes.”
He wanted to tell her how grateful he was for her presence and her brother’s care but his brain was scrambled as the eggs she’d offered.
Whit stuck his head in the door and Garrett was pleased to see him, as well. Spring said, “Odell told me about you going outside. I wasn’t happy but I understand. Whit will help you if you need to again. I’ll get those eggs from Dovie.”
Feeling a bit closer to human as a man who’d been shot in the back could, Garrett silently offered up thanks for being alive.
After putting in her request for Garrett’s eggs, Spring sat in the dining room to wait for Dovie to bring the plate. Hazel Jarvis entered the otherwise empty space