7th chapter is up.
Read and review plz!
Chapter 7
She remembered what father used to say about autumn storms during the night. "the Lord has kittens during the fall. Like many cats have litters that time of year. And look at our cat, Elly. She comes alive at night. By morning, they will be sleeping in their little baskets by the fire, done running. Until another one of those nights come along" She wondered if she should tell Frank about God's kittens. The story made her less afraid of thunder when she was a little girl. She'd tell the kittens goodnight in ever bedtime prayer, until mother put a stop to it.
It was 2 in the morning when she woke up with a start. Had Frank gone to bed yet? She thought he would wake her when it was her time to sit with Butch. Wrapped in her blanket, she got out of bed, careful not to wake her mother and tiptoed down the narrow hall. "it's alright, Butch. Ahm with ye. Aint nuthin' gonna harm ye now" she heard Frank's voice say softly, as if he was trying not to wake the whole house. She peered around the doorway of the small bedroom and saw Frank holding Butch' hand, while the older criminal tossed and turned in his feverish nightmares. It was hard to imagine they were both infamous criminals with a good price on their heads if you saw them like this. She knew the Texas rangers were always on their trail. She decided to make her presence known when Butch started trashing around even more and Frank started to look like he was about to panic.
"How long has he been like this?" she spoke, stepping into the room. Frank didn't look up and shrugged. "ah fell asleep when ye left. Ah woke up because he was calling mah name. He had them bad dreams before but..ah aint never seen him like this.. not this bad" he said quietly. "ah don't know if ah should wake him. Ma always said not to wake people when they have them bad dreams"
"it's just the fever, Frank. He's sweating it out. Would you like some tea?" Eleanor offered, but the young man frowned and shook his head. "Not if that means ah have te leave his side now. Ah think he wants me here"
She approached the bed slowly to take a closer look at Butch. His breathing was heavy, like he barely got the amount of air he needed, and his forehead was covered in sweat. "he aint doin' too good, is he?" Frank asked, looking up at her sadly. She felt sorry for the young criminal who had to watch the only man that resembled a friend deteriorate more and more. "will he be alright?" was the next question she couldn't answer. Sometimes, Butch seemed to feel slightly better, and then came another setback. His body was fighting something heavy, and she didn't know if he was strong enough to live through it. He was so thin.
So she placed her hand on Frank's shoulder and squeezed in an attempt to comfort him. "I don't know" she replied in all honesty. Another bold of lightning ripped through the sky, lighting up the distant prairie for a split second. When the clap of thunder followed, Butch sat up straight in his bed, awakened by the sound. His eyes wide and his breathing heavy, as if he had just faced the most horrible demons you could imagine.
"where am I?" he said, looking around, his eyes not yet used to the dim light in the room. "ahm here, Butch. Ahm so glad yer awake, ye were dreaming" Frank peeped, keeping himself from hugging his gang leader. Butch' breathing slowly evened out as he grew calmer and he slowly laid back down in the pillows, rubbing his eyes.
"ahm dying" he suddenly said, causing Frank to look crestfallen. "wh..whut? no yer not! Ye'll be alright. Just a dream!" the young man protested, but Butch shook his head. "ahm pretty sick, Frank" Somehow Eleanor was starting to realize he didn't know she was in the room. She reached out to lit the oillamp on the nightstand to reveal her presence to the second outlaw that night. But even when locking eyes with her for a short moment, he didn't seem to care much. "gon' be hard te dig a hole in that there frozen ground, little miss shark" he spoke weakly. She shook her head and nodded at Frank, who was currently trying his best not to start crying. "don't say things like that now, mister Cavendish, please" she said. "I will go wake my mother"
"no!" Butch said firmly, shaking his head. "Ye won't wake anyone. Ah don't want anymore bustlin' about and dragging me from mah bed. Ahm good where ah am. Ye girls did all ye could" he continued, sending Frank even more into a frenzy. "stop yer wailing ye idiot" But the young man shook his head. "ah can't, Butch! Ah don't want ye te die. What do I tell Ray when he comes back and yer dead?"
The gang leader sighed deeply and reached up to smooth his hair back. With difficulty, he sat up a little and poked Frank's shoulder with a trembling hand. "Thunder suddenly don't seem that scary anymore, does it, boy?" he said, giving Frank a small smile when he looked up in surprise. He hadn't been paying attention to the storm at all since Butch got so bad. "aint nuthin' quite as scary as losing a friend, Butch" Frank spoke. The gang leader nodded in agreement and laid back down, making himself comfortable again. "why don't ye go make miss Hartley and me some tea? Go make yerself useful" he grumbled. Frank looked desperate, he didn't want to leave Butch' side, but orders were orders so he got up from the chair and shuffled out of the bedroom with a barely hearable "alright, Butch"
There was a short silence between Butch and the young woman. "you wanted him out of this room, didn't you?" she asked. He nodded, staring up at the ceiling. "Ah really don't feel good. Don't want anyone around. Especially not Frank" she frowned lightly. "you want me to go?" she asked. Another silence followed. "ye can stay, little miss shark" she sat down in Frank's chair, not really knowing what to do to offer comfort to the dangerous outlaw, but she didn't want to do nothing, or give him the idea she was afraid of him, so she reached out and took his hand, squeezing it lightly. He looked at her, raising one eyebrow and gave her a small smile. "ah knew ye'd git fond of me" she chuckled a little. "Just rest. I'll be here" she assured him, making him chuckle. "thought ye were sure a hard ass, miss Hartley. Buy ye seem to have a heart after all, hm?" he gave her a wink.
"Just sleep, mister Cavendish"
But he shook his head. "I aint goin' back there, if ye don't mind. Ah'll be awake for a bit" she nodded in understanding. Despite the way he felt, his dreams were worse. "Tell me about yerself. Got a feller walkin' around somewhere? Chasin' cows up and down a plain er somethin'?" he asked and laughed when she started blushing. "I'm not married, if that's what you're referring to" she replied. He gave her a wicked grin. "ah know yer not married, but that doesn't stop a lot a gals from keeping fellers" she huffed in offense. "I was raised better than that, mind you" she shot back. He nodded, still chuckling despite his exhaustion. "weren't we all"
Frank came back with a tray with three steaming cups of tea and placed it carefully on the small table next to the bed. His eyes still red and his cheeks still wet from crying, he handed Eleanor her cup and she quietly thanked him. Tears started rolling down his cheeks again when he handed Butch his cup.
"are ye feelin' any better?" he asked weakly, afraid of the answer. Butch gave him an irritated look. "not any better than 10 minutes ago, Frank. I don't know why either!" he shot back. Eleanor, feeling sorry for the young boy, placed her hand on his arm gently. "why don't you go lay on the couch and take some rest? I'll sit with mister Cavendish for now" she offered, but Frank shook his head again. "Do as the lady tells ye, go te sleep" ordered Butch. Frank crossed his arms in defiance, still refusing. "when ah wake up you'll be dead" he said, more tears rolling down his cheeks. "ah promise ah won't be, how about that?" Butch said, giving Eleanor a small look. "ye promise?" Frank asked, looking at his leader pleadingly. "Ah promise te do mah best" it seemed to be enough for Frank, for he turned around and left to collapse on the couch in the livingroom.
"I'm going out to get a doctor for you tomorrow. I believe my mother and I did all we could. You need someone who knows what to do" Eleanor spoke softly, looking at the gang leader sadly, but he shook his head. "ye ain't going out there with mah gang riding around these parts. Ah ain't there te keep that pack of dogs from tearing ye to shreds" he said. She tilted her head in curiosity. "Are you trying to protect me, mister Cavendish? That seems an odd development after threatening to kill me and my mother a couple of times" she said.
He smiled at her. "ah warned ye not te sneak up on sleeping dogs, but ye just had te come in here. What else is a poor criminal te do when he's used to everybody wanting te kill him?" he chuckled. "well I'm glad you figured out we mean you no harm. Us poor ranch ladies. We wouldn't stand a chance" she said. He laughed and spread his arms, presenting himself. "ah yea? Well look at me, ye got me on mah back in a pretty vulnerable position, little lady. Ah ain't even wearing pants and ah have honestly no idea where my gun went" he said with a chuckle, but he soon grew serious again and gazed at her for a while. "ah little kindness goes a long way, especially in these here parts. Aint many ranch ladies that would have done what you did, eventhough ye feel ye never had a choice, yer sitting here at mah bedside keeping me company. Ye made that choice, aint nobody forced ye te do something like that" he said, studying her as she lowered her gaze to her folded hands in her lap.
"ah aint gonna harm ye, miss Hartley. And nuthin' will be done te yer ranch when mah boys come back. So stop yer fretting. Ah had te listen to Frank's whining about yer lovely smile for two days now, and ah don't think ah've ever seen it myself. Ah aint good company when ahm jealous" he said, giving her his kindest smile, a rare thing to see. She blushed, but couldn't help but smile despite trying to avoid his eyes. "Ahh there it is.. that wasn't so hard was it? Ah'll sleep much better now" he said, making himself comfortable again and pulling the blankets up to his chin.
She listened to the rain on the rooftop and the other sounds from outside. A coyote howled in the distance, causing one of the horses to neigh in uneasiness. She studied the gang leader for a while, the scars on his worn face and his silver plated tooth. He looked more at ease than before, as if he felt more comfortable with his present situation. And eventhough it looked satisfying, it could also mean his body was preparing to shut down completely. She had seen it before, people seem to be more at peace with death waiting just around the corner. But for now she could still see the slow but laboured rise and fall of his chest.
She reached out to feel his forehead with the back of her hand ever so gently, she didn't know if he was asleep or not. He opened one eye to peer at her with a wary gaze when he felt her touch.
"Don't do that" he warned, not keen on being touched, especially when he didn't have his eyes open and was trying to sleep. "I have to check your fever every now and then" she said, giving him a small reassuring smile. "You're still very hot. Would you like a wet cloth on your forehead? It might help with the nightmares. It's quite possible they're caused by your brain getting overheated" he thought about the offer for a moment. He really didn't want to return to those images his fevered brain cooked up before. "alright" he mumbled and watched her as she wrung out a cloth above the wash basin. She reached out to brush a few strands of his long hair away from his brow before dabbing his skin gently. He flinched the first few times she came so close to him, not used to being touched in such a tender matter, but he got used to it soon enough and tried to relax.
"what happened to your lip?" she asked. He stared at her for a moment, but she didn't meet his gaze, too occupied with dabbing his neck. "ah got mah ass kicked rather bad when ah was 12" he grumbled, embarrassed. She stopped for a moment and met his gaze, a shocked expression on her face. "12? Who treats a 12 year old so roughly that this happened?"
"mah pa was a mean old mister"
She could only stare at him in pure bewilderment. "Your..your father did that to you?" she asked. He nodded and shrugged a little. "slammed an empty whiskey bottle in mah face. Ah probably deserved it, ah don't remember why he did it" he said matter of factly, like it was nothing to be concerned about, like it happened every day in the world he grew up in. "so where's yer old man?" he asked her, trying to change the subject. She was too shocked to reply right away and needed a few moments to collect her bearings.
"He passed away a few years ago after a short period of sickness. Mother says he died of the cough. I had it when I was a child but.. I survived" she said while refreshing the cloth in the wash basin. "he taught me how to fire a gun" at that he chuckled. "ah bet he did"
"people didn't think it suitable for a woman to know how to fire a gun, so I don't flaunt that particular skill" she continued, fumbling her hands together in nervousness. "ain't suitable for a woman to do a lot of things. Hiding a wanted criminal for example, don't fall too good with the law either" he chuckled, his eyes still closed. There was a short silence between the two.
"so what are you two ladies going te do about keeping this ranch away from the railroad? Ah know ye aint gonna sell it anytime soon, are ye? And those four nice suits will return fer sure" he said.
She thought for a moment, what were they going to do? "I don't know, mister Cavendish. I don't know what can be done. I know it would break my mother's heart to lose this ranch. Father's parents build it with their own bare hands. I even believe my grandmother carried my pa in her belly when they were still putting a roof on this place. You came at the right time, if you had gotten sick a year later, we might have not been here to take care of you" she said. "there wouldn't have been no ranch or ladies to take over and demand things from"
"well don't ye go do them stupid things and fight with the railroad, little miss shark. I know ye got a nice row of teeth, but that aint gonna do ye much good this time. Take it from me. Ah know these boys. They're tough as nails, they won't back down. They get paid too much te back down" he said, giving her a stern look. She could only look back in surprise and confusion.
"You know them?"
He rolled his eyes. "well not personally. But ah've seen the mess they can leave behind when a rancher's family refused to give up their land. This ranch will be nothing but a smouldering heap of ash, and you and your mother.. ye think they will let ye just go and ride into the sunset once they come over te claim it for real?!" he said, raising his voice a little more each time. Was this girl daft?
"welcome te the real world, miss shark!" he fell back into his pillows panting. The whole speech had taken a lot from him.
"well why would you care? Once you're better, you'll be the one riding off into the sunset. Isn't that so, mister Cavendish?" she asked softly, straightening the covers of his bed and refreshing the cool cloth on his forehead in an attempt to calm him down.
