See Chapter 1 for warnings and disclosures.
Additional warning: This chapter contains strong foul language. Do not read it if you are offended by that sort of thing.
CHAPTER 2
"Let's me go, you son of a bitch." The kid's cursing could be heard two blocks away. Buck had a firm grip on the back of the kid's shirt and was marching him down the street, seemingly oblivious to the kid's curses. Every few steps, the kid attempted to escape from Buck's hold, only to be jerked back in line.
Chris took a good look at the kid as they approached the jail. There was something off about the boy, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. The boy couldn't be more than ten or eleven years old. He was a bit on the short side – not more than an inch or two over five feet and appeared to be skinny as a rail in those oversized clothes he wore. The dirt and bruises covering his face didn't hide the too delicate features, and his voice, filled with fear and anger, was a mite too feminine. The realization hit him like a punch in the gut. The kid was a girl.
"Well, shit," he muttered under his breath. He entered the jail and immediately tuned out the curses Jed Slater was raining down on the two men who had failed at their attempt to break him out of jail. He no sooner removed his hat and tossed it on the desk than the door opened and Buck pushed the girl inside. He and J.D. quickly followed, shutting the door behind them.
Chris watched as the fear on the girl's face changed to abject terror. She froze in place, staring at the man locked in the first cell.
Slater stopped his diatribe in mid-curse and smiled. "Well, well, well. If this ain't my lucky day." He chuckled. "That's a mighty fine present you brought me, boys."
The next second, Slater rushed to the bars of his cell, grabbed them and gave them a hard shake. It was like a switch had been thrown. "Sammy, you little bastard. I'm gonna fuckin' kill you. It's yer fault I'm in here." Slater shook the bars of his cell again.
As one, Chris, J.D., Ezra, Josiah, and Judge Travis drew their guns and pointed them at Slater. "Back off."
The man didn't move, but continued to grip the bars of his cell and glare at the girl. Finally, the fact that he didn't have any choice sank in, and he moved back.
Sammy renewed her struggles to get away from Buck. In the moment of surprise following Slater's outburst, she managed to break free and ran for the door. She was brought up short when Vin wrapped his arms around her from behind and lifted her off her feet.
"Settle down now. Ain't nobody gonna hurt you."
"Let me go, you son-of-a-bitch." Sammy resumed her struggles, kicking back and catching the long-haired bounty hunter in the knee with the heel of her boot.
"Damn it." Vin let go of the girl, but had another firm grip on her before she could take more than two steps toward the door.
"Get her out of here," Chris ordered. "Take her over to the clinic. Nathan, you go with him and check her out. Some of those bruises look pretty fresh. J.D., you go, too."
The next thing Sammy knew, Vin had tossed her over his shoulder and was leaving the jail. The young black man she had noticed in the cells with Macon and Lefty followed them out the door. She renewed her struggles and began pounding her fists on Vin's back and kicking until a sharp slap stung her upturned backside.
"Calm down, or there'll be more where that came from."
"Vin," Nathan cautioned. "Be careful, she might have injuries we don't know about."
Vin shifted her weight on his shoulder as he started up the stairs leading to the clinic. "The way she's fightin' she ain't hurt too bad."
Once inside the clinic, Vin set Sammy on her feet and motioned to a chair beside a small table at the far side of the room. "Git over there an' sit down. An' don't ev'n think about tryin' ta run agin."
Nathan gave Vin a reproachful glare and took Sammy by the arm and led her to the chair Vin had indicated. "Here, sit down and let me take a look at ya. Ain't nobody here gonna hurt you, and we ain't gonna let Slater hurt you neither."
"Don't touch me." Sammy tried to get up, but Nathan pushed her back down into the chair. "Please, just let me go. I can't stay here. He's gonna kill me. I've gotta get away." Nathan reached toward her, intending to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder, but Sammy jerked away. "I said, don't touch me." No one in the room could miss the note of hysteria that was in her voice.
"Okay, okay. I won't touch you." Nathan took one step back – far enough to give the girl some breathing room, but not far enough for her to be able to escape. "J.D." Nathan jerked his head, indicating he wanted the young man to come and help keep the girl in her seat. Once J.D. had reached them, Nathan moved over to a side board where he picked up a pitcher and a tin mug.
"I'm just gonna get you some water." He blocked her view of what he was doing with his body, but Vin watched as Nathan placed a drop of a clear liquid into the water. Nathan turned and walked back to Sammy and handed her he mug. "Here, drink this. It'll make you feel better."
Sammy took the mug from Nathan and looked suspiciously at it. "It's just water. I promise, ain't no harm gonna come to you here." He put his hand under the mug and guided it up to her lips. Sammy was suspicious, but she was also thirsty, so she took a drink of the water. It tasted so refreshing that she drank again until the cup was empty. She started to ask for some more, but she started to feel funny.
"You son-of-a bitch," she managed to say before she slumped over, asleep. Nathan gently picked her up and laid her on the bed. He removed her boots, and gently ran his hands over her legs, torso and arms, feeling for injuries.
"What'd ya give her?" Vin stepped forward. He trusted the healer, but he wasn't sure he quite agreed with what he had done.
"It won't hurt her none, it was just a drop of somethin' to calm her down a little." Nathan turned around and looked at Vin and J.D. "She was getting' hysterical." The other two men nodded. They'd heard the hysterical note in her voice and had seen the glassy look in the girl's eyes as well. "She should sleep for a little while."
He resumed his inspection of the girl's injuries. He pushed up the girl's shirt sleeves to reveal more bruising on her arms. He'd noticed the way the girl had wrapped her arms around her middle while she was sitting in the chair, like she was protecting her ribs. He'd felt the binding that was wrapped around her torso from the bottom of her ribcage to her armpits. She had probably bound her breasts in her attempt to hide the fact that she was a girl.
"Chris was right. Some of these bruises aren't more 'n a day old. She might have some bruised or broken ribs, too, but she's already got bindin' around 'em. Since that's all I could do fer 'em I'll leave that in place."
He pulled a quilt up over the girl and turned to look at his friends. "Someone used this girl for a punchin' bag."
* * * * * * *
"I'll meet you over at the clinic in a bit." It had been decided that Josiah would stand guard over the prisoners while Buck and Ezra oversaw removing the bodies of the fallen outlaws from the street. Judge Travis was going to send a telegram to his wife to tell her he would be delayed in returning home. Chris had announced he had some unfinished business he needed to attend to before they all met up at the clinic. Chris opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. He closed the door behind himself and started across the porch.
"Chris, wait a minute." Judge Travis had followed him outside.
"With all due respect, Judge, you ain't gonna change my mind." Chris turned to look at the judge, who held up his hand to forestall any other comments from the gunfighter. Somehow Chris figured the judge knew exactly what his unfinished business with Mary entailed.
"Just hear me out for a minute." Judge Travis moved to sit down on one of the chairs beside the door. He sighed, the weight of the world suddenly felt like it was resting on his shoulders. "I'm not going to stop you from doing what you feel you need to do."
Chris nodded and moved to lean against a post. He was willing to listen to what the man had to say. After all, Judge Travis was one of the few men Chris respected, not to mention he was Mary's father-in-law.
"When my son was killed, Mary changed. Don't get me wrong, she's always been a strong-willed woman. But, she became even more determined that she would stand on her own no matter what it takes. Because of that, she's made some, shall we say less than good decisions. This morning was one of them."
Chris snorted. "One of those 'less than good decisions' damn near got her killed today." He straightened up. "If I hadn't grabbed her when I did, she woulda' taken a bullet to the chest." Chris looked Judge Travis in the eyes, wanting to make sure the older man did not misunderstand him. "I aim to make sure she thinks next time before she does somethin' else foolish."
Judge Travis nodded and stood. "I just want you to think about one thing, Chris. If this is just your temper talking, leave it be. You won't be doing either one of you any good by taking it out on her. But, if it's something else, you do what you think is best." He walked to the door and opened it. "Let me know what you all find out about that little girl. Now, I've got to try and straighten out this mess that has fallen into my lap."
Chris stood where he was for a few minutes, contemplating the judge's advise. No, his need to put Mary over his knee and blister her backside wasn't just his temper talking. Despite their rocky start, Mary had come to mean a great deal to him. He didn't want her to keep putting herself in danger just to prove the point that she wasn't anyone's victim.
He sighed as he stepped off the porch and onto the street. He did not look forward to the confrontation that was to come.
TBC