Chapter Nine

Sheriff Mort Cory accepted the cup of steaming hot coffee that Slim placed into his hands. The two men sat at the table in the ranch house, which had recently been scrubbed clean of blood by some helpful neighbors while Slim and Jess were still recovering. The sheriff had sent his deputy out to retrieve the body of Frankie Mount, and soon Jim Baxter would be joining him at the undertaker's office, for he was set to hang the following day. A hanging was something that never quite settled right with Slim, but he had to admit he wouldn't be sad when Jim was no longer of this world. He wouldn't go watch the hanging, but he certainly wasn't going to try and stop it.

Jess set his own coffee mug on the table next to Slim and slipped into his chair. It had been nearly a month since Jess had finally regained full consciousness, his fever slipping away and his memories flooding back in a storm that caused headaches and nightmares, but also allowed him to fully acknowledge that his friend was, in fact, alive. The two men had remained in town for a couple of weeks until the doctor had finally, somewhat unwillingly, allowed them to return home.

"Did you find the money that Jim took off of Ricky Mount?" Slim asked the sheriff as he took a tentative sip of his still too hot coffee.

The sheriff nodded. "He had it stashed in Bill Ender's old place," Mort acknowledged. "We've returned it to Cheyenne. Seems it came from a stage robbery out there a few months ago, so it's rightfully theirs."

"Seems it's all worked out then," Jess said.

Mort nodded and finished up the last of his coffee. He sat the cup down on the table and stood up, stopping to put his hat back on his head. "You boys doing okay out here then?" he asked. "Need me to send anyone out to help with the ranch or the relay station until you're fully better?"

Slim shook his head. "I think we're just about there, Mort." Jess nodded in his agreement.

"All right." Mort looked down at the two men in front of him and paused for a moment. He was a sheriff first, always, but Mort couldn't deny that he felt a special bond with these two young men. He looked at them practically like sons, and he had nearly lost them both in the last month. He cleared his throat, realizing that he suddenly was feeling a little more emotional than he wanted to let on. "I'll see you in town," he said, and he nodded a goodbye and headed out the door as both men called out their goodbyes.

Jess and Slim were alone again, something that had been rare over the last month as they recovered. They both finished their coffee in relative silence until Slim started to go over the list of chores that needed to be done, now that they were both back on their feet. When he finished, they remained seated next to each other, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Jess broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, Slim," he said.

"Sorry for what, Pard?" Slim asked.

"All of it. You, getting shot. Putting you through all of this, and all the other times. Seems like all I do is attract trouble." Jess stopped and looked down at the table in front of him, seemingly engrossed by the patterns of the wood. He felt a large comforting hand drape itself across his shoulder.

"Stop that now, Jess," Slim said. "Seems like we've both attracted our share of trouble over the years." Slim took a deep breath before continuing. "Ever since Andy left for school, and Jonesy went with him…well, you're all I've got left, partner. You're not getting away from me, so don't even start talking about leaving."

Jess looked up at his friend, blinking rapidly. "How'd you know I was thinking about leaving?"

Slim laughed softly. "Every time something happens, you get it in your mind you've got to leave. You've got to protect me, or something." Slim shook his head. "I don't need protecting, Jess. I just need you, here. My brother."

Jess smiled back at Slim and finally let out a soft chuckle of his own. "Even with all the trouble I bring?" he asked, somewhat sheepishly.

"Isn't that what little brothers are for? Trouble?" Slim asked, smiling. "Besides," Slim said, slapping his friend good-naturedly on his back, "I can't handle all this ranch work on my own!" With that, Slim stood up and headed for the door, stopping for a moment to settle his hat on his head. Without even glancing back at the table, he called, "You coming?" and then headed out the door. He didn't have to look back to know that Jess would be there.

Jess threw back the cup of coffee, finishing the last of it. He stood up, delighted that the world no longer spun, and his head no longer pounded with the movement. "Coming, Pard," he said softly, and he followed his brother out the door.