Chapter 16 Beta's Saddletramp and Nakoosay

Jess's POV

Josh retired to Slim and my room, leaving us to lay there in silence. The lamp had been dimmed but a fire had been started in the fireplace so we weren't cold and if I squinted some, I could still make out Slim's face. He hadn't spoken to me after my story of the past and I was worried.

He wasn't truly gasping anymore but if I stilled my thoughts and listened hard, I could hear him wheeze just a tad. I slept some but was awoken by pains that seemed to burn though I didn't move. I groaned and didn't realize how loud it was until I heard Slim's voice softly ask

"Are you okay Jess?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" I say with a slight grunt as the pain had dulled but I still ached something awful.

"I know you aren't downplaying to me, right, Jess?" I smile the ever slightest at the gentle suspicion evident in his question. Slim fortunately or unfortunately for me, depends on how you look at it, has become an expert at knowing when I say I'm fine but I'm not really.

"You hurt bad?" Slim's concern has grown and shows in his voice as I think how lucky I am to have a friend that cares that much about me.

"mmm they beat me up pretty rough I guess" I confessed as my aches seem to dull even more as talking with Slim helps take my mind from my numerous injuries.

"Where did they get you?" Slim asked.

Thinking fast I realize that I didn't ask if Slim got hurt.

"Tell me what happened to you first" Slim grunts in annoyance and I can't help but smile, though the motion causes a wave of pain from my bruised jaw.

Slim grunts again and says "Well, I got hit in the head, kidnapped, and tied up. Then I escaped and was out in the cold for a day and night without shelter, water, food, or fire. I got a fever from being out in the cold for so long, but I think it's pretty much gone. Fell twice and hit my head twice if I remember correctly. So, not too bad considering." My lack of response wasn't voluntary as I slowly tried to grasp everything that had happened to him.

"I'm sorry Slim" I said as I tried to not drown in the ocean of guilt that tried to overwhelm me.

"Don't be Jess. You couldn't have known all of this was going to happen. I would be kind of mad though if you did and didn't tell me" I laugh and I can almost hear Slim's smile in the darkened room. "Whatever you are feeling right now Jess it can't be guilt or shame. Six years ago, you took down a gang of murders even though you wanted nothing to do with it. You put your own personal feeling about bounty hunting into perspective and decided not to take the money like last time but to do it for justice.

"I think that shows just how much you had grown after you stopped bunty hunting. The Marshal sure was lucky to have found you Jess back then. I don't think other people could have done what you did and not collected on the reward or taken advantage of the situation to their advantage. You were helping people even before I met you and that makes me proud of you, Jess.

"You did not know or even dream that Josh was going to come back. What you did back then was good Jess and even the idea of putting this mess on you makes me sick.

"Now tell me - how bad off are you?" Slim's voice was as soft as I have ever heard it. I list my injuries to him, and we talk back and forth for a while until I ask him a question and all I hear I silence. A small snore reaches my ears and I know that Slim is fast asleep.

Exhaustion soon overtakes me as well and sleep claims me for the rest of the night.

To Be Continued