Chapter Six

"Ahhhh! Dad-gum!"

That was the sound Slim had been waiting for. Feeling was coming alive in Jess' body, the scream that came through his lips only a portion of what was poking all over his entire flesh and Jess' limbs started to twitch for a new reason.

"I told you it was going to hurt," Slim said, hanging onto Jess' legs so they didn't jerk so hard that they kicked him in the chin.

"You c-could lie t-t'me some t-time, you know."

"If I did, wouldn't that make me a scoundrel like someone else I know?" He was teasing, but it couldn't quite reach the place where the tickle could produce a laugh, but there was a small smile that crept into each man's cheek.

"I r-reckon."

"Now that we know for sure you're not a snowman's equal, we can start heating your hide a bit more," Slim said, wringing out the cloth of warmer water, the application to Jess' lips and across the rest of his face slightly reducing the vocal quiver, even if the shaking of his body couldn't be tamed for awhile longer.

"I'm gonna b-be all r-right?" Jess asked, pulling his foot under the blankets that covered him.

"I think so." Slim nodded, reaching for the hidden foot and once attached, he pulled it out with his fingers solidly gripping into the flesh of Jess' toes. "You feel that, don't you?"

"What're you t-trying to do, make me holler the r-roof off again?"

"Not quite, but it'd be a good sound to hear."

"Sure, you can say that because you ain't feeling what I am." Jess finished with a thumb into his chest.

"See, with your outer temperature rising, it's bringing your internal number up a couple of notches too. You even sound like yourself again. What do you think, Jonesy, is he cured?"

"Close to it, I suppose," Jonesy answered, the small smile on his lips unable to reflect in his eyes. In fact, if Jess or Slim was looking to the depths in Jonesy's darkest hue, they would see that the shadows had grown even deeper when his hand was given a short rise. "Since there's nothing for me to do here, I guess I best get back out there."

Slim and Jess followed Jonesy out of the room with their gazes, the two lines of blue connecting when Jonesy's back disappeared behind the wall. In the middle of his own struggle, Jess had hardly been aware of the other man in the house, but there was no denying his presence now. The sound of his voice, soothing, yet haunting, spoke loud enough into his brother's ear that some of the notes carried to their position in the kitchen. Jess would have lowered his head with the sadness that came with it, but it was the look of his partner that kept his eyes from moving. There was more to this story than what had been said, and Jess had a feeling that Slim had read more pages than he was letting on.

"Let it out, Slim. I kinda know the main event, but I gotta know the end results. You didn't send Andy outta the room just so he wouldn't see me holler. What've I done?"

"The man you shot is Zack Dowling's younger brother. A lot of men see that as an opening for revenge and with this one, it could go all the way to the slamming of a coffin's permanent lid. Dowling's an outlaw, Jess. They both are."

"Dad-gum. Here I thought he was nothing but a down-on-his-luck sort. I had to go meet up with the real deal."

"Yeah," Slim said with a shake of his head. "Looks like we both did."

"Did he come here threatening?" Jess asked, but the only reply would be his partner's nod, for a prominent sound coming from the other room would steal the words from Slim's mind before they could reach his lips.

The guttural cry preceded a gasp for air, but the lungs that yearned for it wouldn't get filled, for the life that had been clinging onto a thin strand had just let go. The replacing sound was that of silent tears being shed, the shaking of a strong set of shoulders that unnaturally drooped against grief's heaviest load, and in his passing, a heavier burden would find its weight pressing on more than one man's back. Jonesy's soft steps came into the kitchen, but neither of them needed to hear the announcement through his lips that the younger Dowling was gone. As all three heads became bowed in shared solemnity, there was more than one prayer raised heavenward, for potential danger had just taken on a whole new capacity.

"Considering the turn of events, a gun would be mighty nice to have right about now," Jonesy said, and Jess' hand was quick to slap his bare hip, while his eyes absorbed the vacant piece of leather that hugged Slim's right side.

"Where's my iron?"

"I was going to ask you the same," Slim said with a point to the pile of Jess' discarded clothes in a corner. "Your holster was empty when you got here."

"Dad-gum." Jess pounded his fist against his upper leg. "I musta lost it somewhere in the snow. Didn't even feel it let go. And yours?"

"I got stripped of mine soon after Dowling arrived. The rifles and shotgun went with it out the front door and into the snow. I wish I would've thought to search for them when I was out tending Traveler, but all I had on my mind was the urgent need at hand, not what need might come later."

"So we ain't got any weapons," Jess said, his jaw finally able to harden as he looked at Slim's similarly tight expression.

"Just the knife," Jonesy said, pulling it out of his pocket. "I hid it after I took the bullet out."

Jess reached for the tool, his finger tracing its sharp edge. "Well, it's something."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure that it's going to be enough."

"What do you mean, Slim?" Jess asked, sliding the blade underneath the blanket that covered him.

"In that room's a grieving man, with the threat for revenge as close to his tongue as the goose pimples are all over your body. And because of that blizzard out there, we're stuck with him until it's over."

Jonesy dropped his hands into his pockets, the frown at its deepest position. "What's over, Slim? The blizzard, or our lives?"

"I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that," Slim said, taking a step closer to the older man to drape a hand on his shoulder. "Jonesy, go stay with Andy in the bedroom. Keep him there awhile, at least until we get the feel of what's going to happen next."

"All right, Slim," Jonesy said, his hand wrapping around the bottle of medicinal purposes to tuck inside of his vest. "Don't need him finding this. I'm afraid he's already got enough fire to breathe in without this."

"Good thinking, Jonesy," Slim said, his hands resting against his hips as Jonesy completed the walk to the bedroom, where the bottle would get slipped back inside of the boot at the end of his cot.

"What do you think's gonna happen next?" Jess asked, looking up at Slim, his partner's head taking on the early movement of a shake.

"Some type of revenge," Slim answered, taking his voice to a softer level. "But each man takes that feeling along different paths. I know that you'd draw your gun, I'd do that too if merited, but how far will this man go?"

"How far does he know?"

Slim took a step to the stove, the steaming pot of water going into the bowl by Jess' feet. "Nothing other than you brought him in."

"Maybe that could be to our advantage," Jess said, no longer wincing as he dipped his toes into the water.

"I don't know Jess. He's bound to ask questions."

Jess pulled the blanket high enough to reveal a bare knee, the droplets of water running down his leg as he coated his stinging skin with the healing temperature. "Can I ask one?"

"Sure."

"Since I can't dunk my whole body in this bowl, you reckon I could get some clothes?"

"I'll be back in a moment." Slim nodded, tossing the cloth that was in his hand toward Jess and as he stepped around the side of the fireplace, it was impossible to not glance at the dead man on the floor and the mourning man that was bowed above him. He had been right in his words to Andy that he loved his brother. Not every blood relation held fond emotions for the other, but it was obvious that this pair had shared what he and Andy had inside of them, and now what they both shared with Jess. But what the picture of truth also told him was that his other words to Andy likely were true too. He would take "great offense" to someone that would do his brother harm. Deadly offense.

With a simple word to his brother and Jonesy, Slim pulled a pair of Jess' jeans, socks and shirt from his drawer, his eyes staring straight ahead as he exited the bedroom, but there was a different set that was now following him. He sensed the gaze and didn't meet it as he passed, but where he wanted to give a warning to his partner when he rounded the corner, the only vocal release was done from the one who grabbed the clothes from his hand.

"Thanks, Slim," Jess said, the blankets coming off of his body with a toss, and still chilled, he made quick work of putting his arms through the holes of his shirt, and then almost in a leap, he landed in his jeans, the quick pull up finishing with the knife going into the rear pocket. Giving each button a rapid fasten, leaving the one closest to his neck open, Jess went back to his waist and put the buckle in place to secure his pants when the stranger's steps sounded behind him.

"Sherman?" The deep voice sent a hard throb straight into Slim's chest. "I'd like to speak with your friend about my brother."

Slim gave a short nod. Of course he would, as that kind of desire would come natural, but how soon after speaking the truth would it change to something more dangerous? Since he couldn't boot the man out the door like he had wanted from the first moment he made entry, Slim had no other choice than to proceed. "Sure. Zack Dowling, this is Jess Harper."

Jess gave a short bob of his head, the back of his throat scratching with a spark. "Dowling."

"You brought my brother in," Zack said, the hand at his side not reaching forward, but it did flinch slightly toward his gun. "I'm much obliged to your effort. I don't think many men, if any, would do what you've done."

Dowling didn't even know the half of it. The soft sigh crept through Jess' lips, his gaze momentarily lowering before flicking back upward. "I'm only sorry it wasn't enough."

"I want to know what happened to my brother," Zack said, the image of his face creating two messages. One, he was understandably filled with grief, but two, he was filled with rage, and the latter was looking for the fuel to be completely set into flames. "How'd he get shot?"

He could lie his way out this whole mess, but if found out sooner than intended, wouldn't that just put the entire family on a dangerous path that could get the rocks to tumble from underneath their feet at any moment? Either route could prove difficult, but wouldn't it be better to face it now instead of making a fast return a day or even an hour ahead? "He said something about his horse, called him Old Friend. Well, he musta broke his leg and he had to go mercy's route to his reward."

"Aw, poor kid. He was mighty fond of that animal. It must have torn Abe apart to put his best friend down. What else is there, Harper?"

"He said he needed to meet you between Laramie and Cheyenne, but without his mount, he was trying to steal another."

"That fool. We might be far from trotting along the high road, but horse stealing isn't our normal route. That's when he got it?"

Before the reply settled on his tongue, Jess looked at Slim, their eyes showing that a lie at this point would do little. Truth, even with possible tragic results, was the right course to take. And with that shared glance, it was agreed. "Well, that's when he drew his gun, but the other man was proved faster."

"What other man?" Dowling asked, his eyes darting back and forth between Slim and Jess. "All I've seen is Abe and you."

"That's because there wasn't another man, Dowling." The honesty fell from Jess' lips like a single snowflake in an otherwise clear sky, drifting to melt inside of a raucous fire. "It was my horse that your brother tried to steal, and it was my bullet that killed him."

"You shot Abe?" The incredulous tone heaped guilt on Jess' back, and color finally had reason to pool back into Jess' cheeks. "You shot Abe?"

"It was either him or me," Jess answered, his eyes at their softest hue, and even his blink had the ability to convey his sympathy, but it couldn't be seen by the flashes of anger across from him, even when it came off of Jess' tongue at the same softness. "I'm sorry, Dowling."

"Sorry?" Dowling boomed, his feet starting to clomp the ground with his pace. "That word means nothing in death."

"I know," Jess said, keeping his tone quiet.

The hard thump came to a stop in front of Jess. "Where'd this happen?"

"Cave, up in the rocks by Pine Ridge."

Dowling's hand rose to point toward the wall, his facial scrunch reaching up to furl his brow. "What's that, four, five miles east of here?"

"Something like that."

"Then when the storm hit, Abe and I weren't that far apart in the first place."

"Distance don't mean much in all that white out there," Jess said slowly, watching the level of fury on the man's face lower, but experience told him that it wasn't going to get completely wiped away. This man had just lost his brother, and even if there was additional shock to absorb, the pain would still find its outlet.

"I wasn't that far away." Dowling ran a rough hand through his hair. "If I'd only known then I could've saved him, maybe even Old Friend, too."

"I'm sorry," Jess repeated, giving his head a slight shake. "I wished it woulda turned out a lot differently too."

"You shot him, how can you say that?"

"Sure, because I had no other choice, but I tried to save him. We wouldn't have made it here if I hadn't."

"I can't believe this," Dowling said, the anger starting to pump volume into his voice again. "What kind of man guns down another, and then risks his life to try to help him?"

Slim wanted to answer, but he kept his mouth stuck in a straight line, for the mind behind the tirade that was spewing in front of them wouldn't understand. The answer, albeit complicated, was solely in the name of Jess Harper. He was that kind of man. Slim had hoped during the exchange that the side of compassion would win over the ugly side of revenge, but it was fast becoming apparent that it didn't matter what lengths Jess took to get help for Abe, when it was the same hand that fired the fatal bullet.

"I called my brother a fool, Harper, but you're a bigger fool by far. You should've left my brother where you dropped him and ran, but even if you had, I would've still found you and buried you. Your trek here just makes my duty that much easier."

"Wait a minute, Dowling," Slim said, the decision to remain quiet coming to an abrupt halt with the snapping of his lips. "Don't lay all this at Jess' feet. You said yourself that your brother made a poor decision this morning. If he hadn't tried to fight the snow himself, then his horse wouldn't have had need to be put down. That was only the first of his bad decisions. The second was when he decided to take Jess' horse."

"Then Harper shot him!"

"Hold on, I'm not finished. And even if he would have succeeded and gunned down Jess instead, he could have taken his horse out of the cave. What's to say the same thing wouldn't have happened as before? Jess' horse might've seen the same fate. Your brother would be a dead man no matter which path he took."

"Don't try to twist things up with a different scenario, Sherman. I know I could do nothing if a poor choice was all that put my brother to his death in a blizzard, but that's not all that happened. The facts are plain. My brother's dead and someone's going to pay for his life. And that someone is the man who shot him!"

"Wait!"

"No! You're a dead man, Harper. Right. Now!"