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Chapter 12
"Stupid. Stupid mistake!" Buck hollered looking up at the ceiling in disbelief. Heaving a sigh he re-holstered his gun and rubbed at his throbbing temples. Beating himself up mentally, he strode to the window to reach up and pull the sash down. Something outside caught his attention and he stopped in mid-pull.
"Well I'll be damned," he murmured as he rested his hands on the sill, poking his head out. He looked to the left and right of the house, and looked straight down. No footprints and the snow was completely undisturbed. The fine hairs on his neck prickled and his gut flip-flopped when he realized Frank Peters was still somewhere inside the house. Looking over by the cot he found Chris's rig. Empty.
Peters was armed.
Making as much noise as possible he moved to the front porch and called out above the wind, "He's rabbited, Vin! We're gonna need to check the outbuildings and surrounding area. He can't have gotten far on his bum leg!"
Vin and Ezra stared in confusion as Buck hopped off the porch with an anxious look on his face. "What are you talking about Buck?" Vin asked as he stood up from where he'd been squatting down next to Chris.
Buck reached out, grabbed Vin by the arm and pulled him in close. He whispered. "He's still in the house. He just wants us to think he's outside." Vin went to pull away, but Buck held tight, "He's got Chris's gun."
Vin shook his head and laughed with little humor. "This day just keeps getting better and better. Okay this is what we should do. First, we need to get Chris out of the snow and then we're gonna turn this house upside down and find Frank. Lastly, we're gonna truss him up like a Christmas goose."
"A little assistance here would be appreciated." Ezra's urgent call interrupted Buck and Vin's discussion. Glancing down at Ezra they could see that Chris had regained consciousness and had his right hand firmly twisted into Ezra's shirt front.
"Someone had better start explaining why I'm lying naked in the snow," he croaked out through chattering teeth.
Vin knelt down next to Chris and helped him sit up. "Well you were stewing in your own juices and we figured this was the best way to cool you off."
Chris narrowed his eyes at the trio and struggled to get untangled from the sheet. "Well now I'm wet and freezing." Groaning as he inadvertently twisted his shoulder. "Damn it, Vin! Get me outta this sheet."
"Hold your horses there, Stud." Buck stripped off his coat and wrapped it around his shivering friend. "We'll take care of you. Get you warmed up right quick. You just need to calm yourself down and let us do what needs doin'."
"Ezra, can you get Chris up on the porch while Buck and I check the house?" Vin asked as he brushed at the snow sticking to his trousers. His union suit was now wet and clammy from the snow.
Ezra glanced down at Chris's bare feet and the distance to the porch and frowned. "Mr. Tanner that may be easier said than done. Mr. Larabee is currently without proper footwear and in his current condition it will take some time to reach the porch."
"Sorry, Chris, I'm gonna have to carry you." Buck grunted as he swung his friend up into his arms and strode toward the porch with Vin and Ezra trailing behind. Setting Chris down on a bench he and Vin moved quietly inside the house. Ezra took up a position near Chris who looked about ready to pass out.
Chris huddled down into Buck's coat for warmth as the wind and snow assaulted them under the relative safety of the porch. The sheepskin lining was soft and Chris closed his eyes as he breathed in Buck's unique scent. As he pulled the coat closer around himself his throat tightened on a sob as he thought of all the times Buck had been there for him. Feeling tears prick behind his eyelids he shook himself, attributing the melancholy mood to the injuries and fever.
A crack splitting the night brought Chris's head up. Blinking blearily he wondered if he'd just heard thunder. Ezra was standing against him, his pistol drawn. "Where's the lightning? I heard the thunder. Where is the lightning?"
"Chris, that was gunfire and I sincerely hope Frank Peters has been dispatched with." Ezra kept careful watch from their location on the porch. It would be up to him to protect them and he had no intention of letting Buck and Vin down.
A clattering from inside the house had Ezra on edge and only his quick reflexes kept Vin from an early grave. Holstering his gun and placing a shaking hand over his heart Ezra pleaded, "Mr. Tanner, I must insist that in the future you announce yourself. Do you have the slightest inkling how close you came to having a third eye?"
Vin twisted round, "What you rambling on about, Ez? Told you we'd be right back." Smiling devilishly he held the door open as Buck struggled outside under a blanket wrapped burden.
Raising his eyebrows Ezra asked, "Deceased?"
Buck snorted as he dropped Frank Peters onto the porch, "Deader than a door nail. Thought he'd get the jump on us. He was hiding in a ladies wardrobe and jumped out as we were on our way out of the room. Planned on shooting us in the back like his lowlife brother did to poor ol' Chris here."
"Not supposed to shoot people in the back," Chris mumbled from where he was leaning against the house, his eyes at half mast. He watched with a disinterested eye as blood seeped out of the blanket wrapped bundle and trailed toward the edge of the porch to drip into the newly fallen snow. "He's leakin' and messing up the porch."
Vin glanced down and huffed, "Come on, Buck. We'll wrap him up in the other tarp and throw him in the wood shed with his brother. It's cold enough and they should keep for a while."
Chris held up a hand. "I need to lie down but I can't seem to get up." Ezra grabbed his hand and helped Chris to a standing position. "Thanks." He murmured and stumbled inside to the relative warmth of the parlor.
As they neared the cot Ezra tried to divest Chris of Buck's coat, but Chris stubbornly held onto it all the tighter. Glaring at Ezra, he dropped onto the cot and curled into the sheepskin. Sighing, Ezra picked up the blanket and draped it over the man shivering before the fire. He'd let Buck get his own coat back. He no longer had the energy for it.
Chris lay there staring into the flickering fire. The snapping and crackling of the logs comforting as the warmth slowly penetrated his chilled flesh. It was times such as these when he felt the weakest that he missed Sarah the most. She had the gift to make him feel better when he was feeling the worst; to kiss away the aches and hug away the sickness. He really needed her now.