Chapter Twenty-Three

"John, this is Charlie's sister, Lydia," Mary Ellen said quietly as she moved forward to stand behind the woman seated at Jess' side. "Lydia, this is John MacLaine."

Lydia came to her feet, the washcloth still in her hand. "I'm glad to finally have the chance to thank you for what you've done to help us. I hope you know how much we…" She stopped speaking as it was obvious John MacLaine wasn't hearing a word she said.

Mac stood silently staring at Jess' face, at the closed eyes pinched in pain even while unconscious. At the sight of the bandage around the chest, Mac drew a deep breath.

"Would you like to sit here beside him, John?" Mary Ellen asked gently.

Mac nervously flicked his eyes toward her. Before he could answer, Jess began to move and softly moaned. Immediately, Mary Ellen and Lydia both shifted their attention solely to him.

"Oh! He might be starting to wake up. I think the laudanum has been wearing off for a while now." Lydia sank back down onto the chair and gently pressed the washcloth to Jess' cheeks. "Mary Ellen, you'd better get Charlie."

Very concerned, Mary Ellen gave Mac a quick "pardon me" and rushed out of the room.

"Ma'am? What's happenin'? Why are y'all so worried here? Jess wakin' up─ain't that a good thing?" Mac asked anxiously.

"Yes and no. Because when he comes around, he feels the pain more intensely. And he hasn't really fully awakened yet. That's why we need Charlie, so he can─" She suddenly stopped her thought and glanced at Mac.

"So he can what, Miss Lydia?"

"Hold him still," she said in a hushed tone. "Since he isn't fully awake, it's like he's, well, like he's caught in a nightmare. We guess he's reliving the fight. He talks about fire and thrashes around. We have to be careful so he doesn't disturb the wound. We don't want the stitches to tear. The bullet went in at an angle, and the doctor said it wasn't too deep, but it still did enough damage that… well, we need to be careful of him."

Again, Jess moved restlessly and began to mumble. Mac couldn't make out the words, but he could see what Lydia meant. If Jess wasn't still, he could hurt himself. "Tell me what to do, and I'll help."

She explained the way they had been handling the situation, how Mac could help to steady Jess. As Mac placed his hands on Jess' shoulders, Jess groaned and rustled around. Then he shifted his position and settled a bit.

"Mr. MacLaine, it seems as though he's trying to wake up and he doesn't appear to be dreaming right now, not moving too much, so maybe you can relax your hold and try sitting here with him." Lydia stood up and moved aside, allowing Mac to take her place on the chair.

"It might be of help for you to talk to him." Lydia hoped the familiar voice would serve to keep Jess calm.

As Mac carried on a slow and steady one-sided conversation about anything he could think of─horses, cattle, the weather, food─Jess' eyes slowly opened. He moved his head side to side, blinking, trying to focus, his eyes darting from one face to the other. Clearly confused and obviously struggling with the pain, he again became restless. Mac placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Jess, it's me, Mac. You remember your ol' buddy Mac, don'tcha? Now, we gotta calm ya down. Just like we'd settle a rascally broomtail. Ya hear me?"

Jess finally got his eyes focused on the source of the voice, but still seemed unsure.

"Remember, Jess? Can ya hear me?"

His eyebrows hiking up, Jess drew a shaky breath. "Mac…" he whispered.

Mac smiled. "Yeah, buddy. You're goin' to more trouble than need be, to git attention here."

"Everything… okay?"

"Sure is, pal. We won."

Jess sighed and closed his eyes. "Good… 'at's good."

"Sure is," Mac said quietly, nervous at watching the suffering of his friend.

Jess was trying to say something else, his voice weak. Taking his hand in hers, Lydia leaned in close from the other side of the bed to try to hear the words.

"Char… Charlie?"

Lydia choked up at the fact that this incredibly wounded man was more concerned about her brother than with his own condition. "Charlie's fine, Jess. You saved him." Tears gathering in her eyes, she gently smoothed her hand along the fever-reddened cheek.

Suddenly, Jess groaned and grimaced. Then the pain caused him to again fall into unconsciousness.

It was at that moment that Charlie Kirby rushed into the room, his wife following him.

"He woke up!" Lydia smiled. "Fully awake. He recognized Mr. MacLaine."

Seeing that Jess was once again unconscious now though, Mary Ellen said, "I'll get the medicine ready. He's bound to wake up again soon."

Lydia moved back as Charlie pulled a chair to the opposite side of the bed from Mac, and sat down to wait, worried about how feverish Jess looked. As he watched Jess' face and saw for sure he was unconscious, he turned his view to Mac.

"There's something I want you to know. You see, Jess getting shot… it was my fault."

Mac frowned. "I saw what happened, Charlie. You and Jess were trapped there at them big rocks, and both of ya had just run outta ammunition when one of those Kerr men came ridin' in at ya from one direction, and another was comin' at ya from the other way. From where I was, I only had a good angle at one of 'em. I took him down─got him in the shoulder─but the other Kerr hired gun is the one that shot toward you and Jess. That ain't your fault."

"It is."

"You mean 'cause Jess jumped in front of you to take the bullet."

"Bravest, most selfless thing I've ever seen in my life. Or ever will see."

Mac gave an understanding nod of agreement.

"But that's not what I mean about it being my fault. You see, before the shooting started, Jess had planned that maneuver, like he planned everything." He shook his head. "I still don't know how he came up with all that strategy. He's so young. How would he know those things?"

"Did you fight in the war, Charlie?"

"No."

"Well, Jess did. In some kind of special unit. I don't know much about it, he didn't say much on it. But I reckon that's where some of his battle know-how comes from." Mac glanced at Jess. "The rest comes from him bein' so gall-durned smart."

"Well, Jess had it worked out that the two of us─him and me─that we would make our way over to be stationed there at those rocks to draw some of Kerr's men in that direction while your group broke their line on the flank. It worked just like he said it would."

"Except for you runnin' out of ammo."

"Yeah." Charlie's expression was one of misery. "See, before the fighting, when we were getting everything ready for the attack that we knew would be coming, Jess came in the kitchen. His gunbelt was packed with bullets, and so was a bandolier he was wearing."

"Yeah, I seen him with that thing on before, in another fight."

"He told me, 'Here's your ammo, Charlie. Bring it with ya.' He handed me a box of bullets, and then he went outside. Just then, Mary Ellen came in all upset, telling me I was needed to stop an argument between a two of our men out on the porch. I set the box on the table so I could go outside to break it up… and then Kerr's men came riding over the hill… and I grabbed my gun. It was there in the parlor by the front door. And I ran for the rocks where Jess was." Charlie's voice trailed away and he stared at his boots. "I forgot to go back for the bullets. Jess and me─we both had to use his ammunition. And we ran out. Because of my mistake."

Mac simply listened, wondering why Kirby was even telling him this, divulging a secret shame he didn't need to share.

Charlie looked up. "And Jess… he knew that, Mac. He knew it was my fault. That I forgot the ammo. When that rider came at us, with his gun pointed right at me, there was no way for me to defend myself. And no way for us to move out of the way of that gun. We could both see he was gonna pull the trigger. And right before he did…"

There were tears in the man's eyes.

"Jess threw himself in front of me."

Charlie gritted his teeth, trying to control his emotions.

"And that's when your friend Dawson made it around from the far side of the rocks and took that Kerr hombre down. Or else, he mighta had time for a second shot at ya. After that, the fightin' wound down fast. The rest of Kerr's men retreated."

Charlie nodded. His voice shook as he said, "Can't figure why Jess would have done what he did. It was my fault. I should have taken that bullet. Why would he sacrifice himself like that to protect me?"

Mac again looked over at Jess. "I figure that's just the kind a' man he is."

"And that's why I wanted you to know everything that happened. Jess Harper deserves for his friends to know what a hero he truly is."

"Charlie, somehow I don't reckon Jess would care one bit whether folks think of him as a hero. All he cared about was makin' sure that kid of yours has a daddy."

"But Jess still might die. Because of me." Charlie practically choked on the words.

Mac looked back at Charlie. "Ya know, I ain't been around Jess for long. But I know how stubborn he is. After I git settled over where I'm goin' in the Panhandle, I'll send you a letter askin' how he is. And when you answer me, it won't surprise me even a mite if you say he's already healed and busy gittin' in trouble someplace else."

Charlie smiled slightly. "It does seem like once he sets his mind to something, you can count on him getting it done."

"That's a fact." Mac reached over and gave Charlie a friendly slap on the shoulder. "And here's another fact. Jess knows you and your neighbors ain't fightin' men. You're ranchers, not soldiers. You ain't used to thinkin' 'bout boxes of ammo in the midst of an attack. I know Jess wouldn't beat you up about forgittin' that ammo. So I figure you oughta stop beatin' yourself up about it."

Jess' breathing and grimacing grew more and more harsh. He groaned and flinched, his winces clearly showing his increasing pain. Suddenly, his eyes opened.

Charlie stood up. "I know you're hurting, Jess. We'll give you some medicine to help."

Soon, Jess had been medicated and given some water. He lay still, his eyes squeezed shut, as he struggled through difficult breathing, the fever, and the fact that the pain relief had not yet taken affect. Lydia again encouraged Mac to talk to him.

"Jess boy, your ol' pal Mac here again… well, I gotta tell ya somethin'. See, I'm gonna be movin' on. I heard about some work over at the southwest side of the Panhandle that sounds like it'll suit me fine. And I gotta jump on it, or else they might git somebody else. You understand?"

Jess gave a slight nod.

Mac's serious expression and low voice showed how reluctant he was to leave. "You gotta git better, Jess. I gotta know you'll be okay."

Jess gulped a breath and still could barely make his voice above a whisper, but forced his eyes open to look at his friend.

"I'm fine. Been good ridin' with ya, Mac."

Mac stood up from the bedside chair. "Charlie, like I told Jess, I'm headin' out now."

Charlie also rose. "Sure you won't stay for dinner with us?"

"Nah, I gotta make some headway towards the Panhandle before the sun goes down."

Jess' eyes had closed, and he appeared to have drifted into sleep. Still Mac said a final goodbye to him.

"I'm gonna miss trailin' along with ya, amigo. Sure hope we run into each other agin one of these days. I just gotta be honest with ya."

Surprisingly, Jess managed a low murmur before the pain medication and oblivion claimed him.

"Mac… you say that… a lot."