She sat and watched him for a while. Without meaning to do so, she drifted to sleep in the chair beside his bed.
She awoke to a loud pounding on the door. Ezra did not stir at the noise, so she stood up and went to the door. Felicity took a deep breath before answering it.
A tall man dressed entirely in black was on the other side. He glared at her, then looked over her shoulder to Ezra. He pushed past her without saying a word.
"Ezra, I thought I told you to watch out for this place while we were gone?" he said harshly before reaching the bed. "And here you are spending time with a fancy woman. There's at least one dead body in the street…" here the man broke off his tirade as he noticed the bloody bandages beside the bed and the reddish water in the basin. Then he turned his glare back on Felicity.
"I think you better tell me what happened."
Felicity shrank back against the door. She wanted to run. About that time a tall black man entered the room.
The man in black shifted his attention to the newcomer and Felicity breathed a sigh of relief.
"Nathan, best check him out. Seems Ezra got shot while we were gone." Then he glared back at her. "You gonna tell me who you are and what happened?"
An irrational thought floated into Felicity's head. *My cards lied. This is not peaceful.* Then she tried to face the man calmly. "My name is Felicity. He got shot after he won me. It's my fault."
At these words, the black man…Nathan…turned and looked at her. "Won you?" He then looked at Ezra in extreme irritation. Felicity could almost see him trying to decide if he should help Ezra or not. Actually, Felicity thought it looked like Nathan wanted to punch Ezra.
She looked from Nathan to the intimidating man in black and back to Ezra. Then she ran over to Ezra's side and took his hand. During all this, Ezra had not stirred. She wanted to run away completely, but she was afraid of what would happen. To her. To Ezra. She didn't entirely trust these two men, and she was not going to leave Ezra defenseless with them.
Bracing herself as much as she could, she turned to the man in black. He looked mad. "Who are you?" she demanded.
He glared at her. But Nathan looked at her and his expression softened. "Chris, can't you see she's scared? Ease up on her. Ma'am, my name's Nathan Jackson. This here's Chris Larabee. We're friends, or we used to be friends," at this he glared at Ezra, "of his." Nathan rather ungently removed the bandages Felicity had placed over Ezra's wound. She could tell Nathan was angry.
"Be careful!" she said. "He is a good man, despite what you think."
Nathan looked at her. Chris growled and left the room. Felicity relaxed visibly at his departure.
"He won you, and you say he's a good man?" Nathan was astonished.
"He also saved my life. That bullet was meant for me," she replied softly. "Already, he has treated me better than anyone else has."
"But ma'am…" Nathan broke off as Ezra stirred and opened his eyes.
"Oh, Mr. Jackson, I am pleased to see that you have returned safely from your sojourn to the next town."
"Save it, Ezra," Nathan growled.
Felicity could tell that Ezra was confused by Nathan's tone.
"What have I done now to offend your sensibilities?" Ezra's tone, Felicity noted, was one of resignation. As if he accepted that on occasion he offended this man unknowingly. He also sounded like he considered Nathan to be a friend.
"You won yourself a human being in a poker game."
"What was I supposed to do, allow her to stay with the individual who would put her up? I assure you, I have no intention of keeping her. Miss Chambers is free to go whenever she desires."
Felicity heard no more. She was free? That was the only thing she could think of, he was granting her her freedom. It was more than she had dared to even dream of or hope for. She was overwhelmed by what he had said.
She felt rather than saw a presence hovering over her. She felt herself being lifted by strong arms, but her mind was still too clouded to react to it. She heard voices, snippets of voices she thought she recognized but could not be sure. One said, "you just set right back there and I'll see to her." A vague protest registered in the thick of her mind. Felicity struggled to clear the fog. She felt the softness of something under her head and smelled a pungent aroma. ,She opened her eyes.
"Miss Chambers?" Nathan said quietly. "Are you all right?"
She looked at him. "Miss Chambers?" he asked again.
"Mr. Jackson, did he say what I think he said?" she asked quietly, not really sure if she wanted to hear his response or not.
"Depends on what you think he said," Nathan smiled.
"Did he say I was free?"
Nathan looked to her. "Why don't you ask him that?"
Felicity looked at Ezra, who was propped up on the pillow beside her looking at her with concern. "Did you mean that?"
"Certainly. I meant to inform you of that last night; unfortunately, that odious individual who had so recently been forced to relinquish you rendered that occurrence impossible. My apologies."
She blinked and tried to take in the sentence. Nathan whispered, "he meant to tell you last night, but then he got shot." Felicity nodded.
Felicity didn't know what to think. She knew Ezra was a gentleman. She could tell when she first saw him, but to have him give her without pause the one thing she never dreamed she could have was more than she knew how to understand. She didn't know how to thank him, or what to say to him. She sat up and reached over to Ezra, embracing him tightly, tears streaming down her face. "Thank you," she whispered.
Ezra cleared his throat. She could tell that she was making him uncomfortable with the display, but she just could not contain the joy that she felt.
"Miss Chambers," he said with a note of sadness in his voice, "your reaction to this shows me only how badly you needed a rescue. I am merely sorry that I was unable to assist you before." He pushed her back a moment and looked at her. "What will you do now?"
Felicity looked at him; she only knew one type of life. She had no skills, at least none of a reputable nature. "I don't know," she said uncertainly. "But I'll think of something. I never expected to do anything else."
He nodded and looked at Nathan, a saddened expression on his face. "It seems you are quite unprepared for this circumstance." Felicity nodded.
"You got you some right good ideas about healin' too, Miss Chambers. You patched up Ezra real good. You ever consider nursin'?"
She looked at him. "Mr. Jackson, I never dared consider anything before. Now, the whole world is a possibility." She turned back to Ezra, who was obviously tired and needing more rest, "Thanks to you." She kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"Miss Chambers…" he started.
"Please call me Felicity, both of you. I'm not used to bein' called 'Miss' and I find it a bit strange…like you aren't talking to me."
Ezra smiled, "Felicity, you'll get used to it, I assure you." Unexpectedly, the sound of Ezra's voice sent a shiver down her spine. When he said her name, she felt something she had never felt before, but she wasn't quite sure what it was. "However, if I am to address you by Felicity, then you must certainly call me Ezra."
Felicity nodded.
"And call me Nathan. I usually do the patchin' up around here, but I'd be delighted to have an assistant, if you'd like the job. It don't pay nothin'," he smiled.
"Well, that's better than I'm used to," Felicity grinned. She would do anything that allowed her to stay near Ezra. She fully recognized that the feeling growing inside her for him, the warmth she felt when she thought of him, was in part due to his action. But she could not help it. He had saved her life; no, not just her life but her very existence. How could she not be attracted to him?
But a part of her asked, what if he is not attracted to me?
She refused to listen to that part just yet. If it proved to be the case, she would deal with it then. She knew she did not feel worthy of him, but she could make herself worthy. She would work hard, and hope that Ezra noticed her.
She noticed Nathan looking at Ezra and realized that Ezra really did need to rest. But he was not going to do so, or rather he could not do so while she was still sitting as close to him as she was. As it was, he was fighting, it seemed to keep his eyes open. She stood up. "Ezra, I'll let you get some rest."
Nathan nodded. "That's a good idea."
Felicity walked to the door of Ezra's room. She had no idea where to go, what to do. That had always been a decision made for her. Nathan followed close behind her and shut the door behind him as they left. Felicity stood in the hall and looked at the door.
"You wanna stay and watch him for a bit?" Nathan asked.
Felicity nodded.
"Where're you staying?" he asked.
She looked at him, "Mr. Jackson…Nathan…I have no idea. I expected to stay with Ezra, but I never expected…"
Nathan nodded.
Just then Chris Larabee walked up to them, and Felicity shrank back against the wall, trying to hide behind Nathan. He had someone else with him. A tall man with blue eyes. The man looked like he was always smiling. Looking at them, she almost felt disoriented. They were seemingly opposites of one another.
"Easy there, Felicity. They ain't gonna hurt you," Nathan said.
His words of comfort did nothing to ease her fear though. Chris Larabee was a force to be reckoned with, and she was not altogether sure she was ready to deal with him. The other man grinned even more broadly when he saw her.
"Well, who have we here?" he said around a smile.
Felicity looked to Nathan, who sensed her discomfort and introduced his friend. "Felicity, this is Buck Wilmington."
She nodded to the tall man.
"Not very talkative, is she Nathan?" Buck said.
"Buck, why don't you go talk to Mary about findin' her a place to stay," Chris said. "I don't care what the hell Ezra was thinkin' about, but he ain't keepin' you," he growled at her. Chris started to go into the room, looking for all the world like he was about to deliver a final judgment on Ezra.
"Chris, easy there. Ezra ain't plannin' on keepin' her," Nathan put in just as Felicity shouted, "You leave him alone!" She was not going to allow anyone else to hurt Ezra, not when he'd done all he had for her. Before Nathan could stop her, she ran back into Ezra's room and bolted the door behind her.
Then she ran over to Ezra.
"Seems there is a bit of commotion out in the hallway, my dear. Pray enlighten me as to the cause.
"Mr. Larabee. He's not happy."
"That would be an understatement, Felicity. However, it is also a semi-permanent condition. Has something new occurred to increase his malcontent?"
"He don't like me."
She heard a pounding on the door and looked over to it anxiously.
"Felicity. Open up this door." It was Nathan. She wanted to trust him. She really did, but she did not want to let Mr. Larabee near Ezra.
Ezra seemed to sense her discomfort, for he put his hand on hers and said quietly, "Why don't you open the door?"
Because he had asked her to, she got up and went to the door, unbolting it and opening it slightly. Nathan stood out in the hallway beside Chris Larabee. She nearly shut the door again, but Nathan reached out and held it open. Before she could say anything, Chris said, "I didn't mean to frighten you, Miss Chambers. Mind lettin' me in?"
She could tell that he was making an effort to be kind to her, like he was aware that she was terrified of him and wanted to allay her concerns. She looked at Nathan, who nodded to her, indicating that it was all right.
Felicity opened the door all the way, allowing Chris and Nathan to enter the room. She turned around and watched as Chris asked Nathan, "How is he?"
Before she could shut the door, Buck Wilmington entered with a young man behind him and a tall bear of a man. Right behind those two was a slender man with long hair. The room was crowded, and Felicity had no idea where to turn. She decided to take refuge beside Ezra.
"I see you have determined to make my recovery room the location of a reception, Mr. Larabee," Ezra commented.
"The way I see it Ezra, we got a problem. And I am not referring to your companion. There's a man dead, and nobody will tell us what happened. Not only that, saloon got robbed last night, and Mr. Simmons is none too pleased about it."
Felicity looked around. What was this group of people? None of them looked like a sheriff. Why would Mr. Larabee be confronting Ezra over a saloon robbery and a death.
"It isn't what you think. He was defending me. He didn't murder that man. And he didn't rob the saloon!.
They all looked at her. The big bear of a man said, "Ma'am, we aren't saying he did."
Ezra looked over at her and smiled. "It's all right Felicity, they know that. I think what they want to find out is if there is any information I might impart regarding these occurrences." He turned his attention back to Chris. "Unfortunately, I was otherwise occupied at the time of the robbery. But Felicity can probably give you more detail regarding the identity of the dead man."
Chris fixed his gaze upon Felicity. She swallowed nervously. Ezra took her hand in his, "My dear, you have nothing to fear from these men. They are my friends. Please tell them what you know."
Though her fear did not decrease, Felicity nodded. "His name was Simon. He tried to kill me and shot Ezra instead." Without quite meaning to betray her emotion, she hissed, "I'm glad he's dead."
Nathan looked at her and nodded. She could tell he knew what she meant, and based on the color of his skin and his earlier reaction to Ezra, she figured he must have been a slave at one time. Perhaps that was why she instinctively trusted him. He understood her.
Ezra also smiled at her.
Nathan then turned to Chris. "That all the information you need? 'Cuz Ezra does need rest and I don't see him getting' any with the lot of you hovering about. Case you forgot, he did get shot last night."
Chris nodded and left the room. Buck tipped his hat and looked at her, winking. The young man looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't know what.
"Come on, JD," Buck said. "That gal don't need you moonin' over her."
"Buck!" the younger man said. His voice was colored with embarrassment and frustration. "You don't know nuthin'. I just wanted to ask her a few questions," he said as he followed the other man out in the hall. Felicity could hear them continuing to argue.
"And she ain't likely to answer your questions, now is she?"
She had to admit that the man was probably right. She wasn't likely to answer any questions.
The slender man had left without her noticing, but the bear of a man was talking to Nathan.
Nathan came over to her, "Felicity, I'd like you to meet Josiah Sanchez."
Josiah nodded to her, and she tried to smile at him. "Ma'am, I understand you been through a lot lately; I'm always willin' to listen if you need someone to talk to." He grinned at her broadly. She could tell that the gesture was meant to put her at ease, but it did not.
She looked to Nathan. "Josiah's a spiritual man, Felicity. Closest thing this area's got to a preacher."
"I ain't got any use for god," Felicity practically spat out.
"Maybe not, but you look like you could use a friend," Josiah put in calmly. She looked at him confused. He was unlike any preacher she'd ever met.
"Thank you, Mr. Sanchez. I appreciate the offer."
He nodded and looked at Nathan, smiling. "Take care of that rascal over there," he said as he left the room.
Felicity visibly relaxed as the room emptied out.
Over the past few hours, she had become aware of how much her life had changed. It was beginning to sink in. The person she used to be, the one she had had to be to preserve herself, was no longer who she was. She didn't know who she was anymore…who she was expected to be.
Nathan went over to Ezra and handed him a glass of water. "Drink this up, then you get some rest." Ezra took the glass, and Nathan took Felicity's arm and led her to the window. He opened the curtains a bit and pointed to a building. "You need anything, go to the church. Josiah will be there, and he knows how to find me. Okay?"
Felicity nodded.
"Don't worry. He'll be fine. You did a good job cleanin' that wound."
"Thank you, Nathan," Felicity said.
For a while, Felicity watched as Ezra slept. She memorized the curls of his dark hair against the white of the pillow; she studied his face. He was incredibly handsome. She missed the vibrancy of his eyes, as they were closed and she could not gaze into them. She remembered the outline of his chest. She longed to run her fingers all over his body, as she had never longed to do with any other man before. She wanted to feel his arms around her, his flesh pressed against hers. She wanted to taste him.
She turned away from Ezra, trying to clear her head of the thoughts running through it. She was embarrassed that this man, even in sleep, was able to bring out these desires in her, desires she never realized could exist. She was terrified of the feelings he stirred in her. She had only just met him, but she felt she needed him. Felicity stood and walked to the window; she could hear the faint sound of Ezra breathing. It seemed as though every one of her senses was focused on him; he permeated her awareness.
Felicity began to pace. She looked over at Ezra, and he was still sleeping. Oh, how she wanted to run her fingers through his hair, to touch him, to breathe him. She went and sat down beside him on the bed. Then she stood up abruptly. She knew she was acting foolishly. She moved a chair close to the bedside and sat down in the chair, watching him sleep.