No Longer the Prey
A Maverick story by Deana
Tag to the episode 'Prey of the Cat'. What Bart went through shocked me to pieces…I just HAD to write this!
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Bart Maverick tiredly rode through town without noticing anything that went on around him. Children played nearby, a dog ran across his path, but he barely saw them; his only focus was finding his brother, Bret. Once he did, then he could sleep…
Bret Maverick stood outside the hotel smoking a cigar. He saw his brother coming, and called out, "Bart!" His smile turned into a frown as his brother came closer and he could see him better; Bart's posture was slumped and it was obvious that he hadn't shaved. Bart didn't grow facial hair very fast, so what appeared to be a day's growth on his face really meant that it was two. Bret walked over to the hitching rail and waited for him to arrive.
When Bart finally did, he slowly dismounted from his horse and looked at his older brother for a few seconds before closing his eyes and dropping his forehead onto Bret's shoulder.
Alarmed, Bret put his arm around him. "Bart! What's wrong?"
Bart sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. I can't even believe it all myself."
Bret was further alarmed; his brother's voice was weak and he sounded exhausted. "Let's talk inside," he said. He grabbed the horse's reins and wrapped them around the rail before pulling Bart along.
Bart quietly submitted, walking as if his entire body was stiff.
Bret steered his brother inside the hotel and towards the stairs, climbing them slowly to match his brother's pace. After they reached the top, he noticed that Bart was limping. "What happened to your leg?"
"Broke it," Bart tiredly replied.
That was the last thing that Bret expected to hear. "You broke your leg? When?"
"Three months ago."
"How?"
"A cougar spooked my horse and he threw me," Bart explained as they reached Bret's room.
Bret unlocked the door and brought his brother inside, taking him over to the bed and sitting him down on it. He took the hat off his brother's head, pulled his jacket off, and pushed him to lie down. He picked up his brother's legs carefully—not sure which one had been broken—and swung them onto the bed before heading over to the bureau and grabbing the basin of water and a towel. He dragged a chair over and sat, wetting the towel and using it to wipe the trail dust and dirt from his brother's face. "All right: talk to me."
Bart's eyes were closed. It felt so good to be lying down that he'd nearly dropped right off to sleep.
"Bart?" Bret said, when his eyes remained closed. He wondered if his brother had a hidden wound or injury and stood to fetch a doctor, but Bart reopened his eyes.
"Sorry," Bart said, blinking slowly. "I didn't sleep last night."
Bret fought within himself to decide on his next reply as sat again and resumed cleaning his brother's face: 'Tell me what happened' or 'Get some sleep'. He decided that Bart could sleep all he wanted once he gave him the story. "Tell me what happened," he said.
Bart winced when Bret accidentally encountered a bruise. "Like I said, a cougar spooked my horse into throwing me."
Bret nodded.
"A man came upon me and brought me to his home…his name was Pete Stillman."
"Was?" said Bret as he rewet the towel.
Bart nodded. "He's dead now." He sighed again. "Anyway, he took me in and let me recuperate at his house. I was there the whole three months. The problem was, his wife fell in love with me."
Bret's eyebrows shot up. "She did, huh? Just like that?"
A spark of life came back into Bart's eyes at his brother's quip. "Yes, just like that. One day I was trying to walk without the cane that I'd been using, and my leg gave out. She reached out to catch me, and…well…"
Bret figured out what he was going to say.
"We kissed," Bart said, guiltily. "I immediately pushed her away and apologized, but to my surprise, she answered that it happened because we wanted it to. I kept my distance after that, and when I was well enough, decided to leave. Pete said no, that I had to stay and go hunting for that cougar with him. We went…and Kitty came with us. I fired at the cougar but missed, and heard another gunshot right after. Kitty called out that she'd hit the cougar, and as we went to see…we found Pete's dead body." He tiredly rubbed his eyes with the fingers of one hand. "Kitty said that she was sure she'd hit the cougar, so the bullet that killed him must've been mine." He paused there.
Bret felt terrible for his brother; he couldn't even imagine how he felt.
Bart didn't even get into that…it'd been devastating to think that he'd accidentally killed the man who had done so much for him. "Kitty signed a statement that it was an accident, but the sheriff didn't believe it. Later that day, I was in the stable when someone attacked me with a knife. It was Raquel, a Spanish dancer who was secretly in love with Pete. She thought that I killed Pete to take his wife, but I convinced her that it wasn't true. She believed me…she was the only one," he said, shaking his head. "That night, I went to the bunkhouse, knowing that it would be inappropriate to stay in the house alone with Kitty…but the men showed me in no-uncertain terms that I was not wanted. I had to go back into the house and told Kitty that I would leave in the morning, but she told me that she'd killed her husband so that we could be together, and if I left, she'd tell the sheriff that I murdered her husband in cold blood…I was her prisoner, Bret."
Bret was shocked. "What? She killed him herself?"
Bart nodded, closing his eyes.
"What did you do?" Bret asked, tossing the towel back into the bowl of water.
"I told the sheriff the next day," Bart answered. "He didn't believe me, and told Kitty what I said." He sighed and reopened his eyes. "She told him that no, it was an accident, and the sheriff told her to stop covering for me. That night, I tried to escape, but the ranch hands chased me and brought me back…where we found Kitty dead."
Bret almost did a double take. "What!"
Bart nodded. "I was arrested for the murder and thrown in jail."
Bret was shocked. "How did you get out? Are you wanted?"
Bart shook his head, to Bret's relief. "The sheriff took off his badge, put it on his desk, and walked out of the jail. He told the crowd of men outside that he was no longer the sheriff, and walked off…he was allowing them to do what they wanted with me." He paused again, remembering the angry mob heading towards him while he stood defenseless. "They opened the cell, beat on me, and dragged me out. Someone apparently hit me on the head, because I suddenly got a bucket of water in my face and found myself sitting on a horse…with a noose around my neck."
Bret stared at him with horror.
"One of them growled at me to sit up straight, but I was too dizzy." Bart reached up to rub the back of his head. "Before he could do anything, Raquel suddenly appeared, holding her knife on him. She told the townspeople that she was the one who killed Kitty, after Kitty admitted to her that she had murdered her husband." He sighed. "Everyone went quiet…realizing that they had been tormenting an innocent man. Raquel cut me loose and I pulled the noose off and asked whose horse I was sitting on. No one answered, so I rode off. I went back to the house, grabbed my things and my own horse, and headed here. I rode all night." His story finished, he sighed and closed his eyes before saying, "I was sure that I was going to die, Bret…and for nothing."
Bret was speechless at what he'd just heard. He shook his head, only one thing coming to mind. "Are you all right? Physically, I mean?" Emotionally was definitely another matter.
Bart's eyes were still closed. "I just need sleep."
Bret shook his head. "You should at least have a doctor take a look at you." His brother had broken his leg, been beaten at least twice, and hit on the head, for goodness sake.
"No," Bart said, his voice nearly a whisper. "I'm all right, now that I'm here." With that, he dropped off into a much-needed slumber.
Bret watched Bart sleep, still in shock over the harrowing events that he had suffered. He hoped that Bart didn't have any plans of immediately moving on…if he did, he would have company, for in that moment, Bret made a vow that for the foreseeable future, he was not going to let his brother out of his sight.
THE END