For Jeremy's Sake Chapter Two
On Candy's first night as a fancy lady, she came up with some ideas that worked. She would talk to the customer until he either passed out drunk or fell asleep due to the late hour. One man wasn't quite intoxicated enough to pass out so Candy kept handing him drinks until he keeled over. There was one man that she even fooled into thinking he had fulfilled his manly duty when he hadn't done anything except vomit in the washroom.
On Candy's second night on the job, things were going pretty much the same with her fooling the men or getting them drunk so they did not even touch her. Until George came in the room.
George was a big burly man almost twice the size of Jason. Candy's trickery didn't work on him. He knew exactly what he wanted and he wasn't leaving until he got it.
Candy screamed as loud as she could when George tried to kiss her. She turned over a table and threw a bottle of whiskey at him.
Down the hall, Jeremy was awakened by her screams. Even though he was still very sick, he realized it was Candy screaming. He got out of bed and stumbled his way out of the room and down the hall.
Jane Ellen was sitting with Jeremy. She was startled when he suddenly got out of bed. She squealed and hid her eyes as young girls are not supposed to see men in their long John's.
Candy kept screaming as Jeremy staggered his way to her. His headache made it difficult to focus his eyes. Finally getting to the room, the young logger saw a huge man trying to manhandle his wife.
Jeremy grabbed an umbrella that was in a stand by the door. It was impossible for him to reach the man's head so he poked him in the ass with the point of the umbrella.
Immediately, George let go of Candy. "Quit jabbing me in the ass, you little pipsqueak!"
The big man snatched the umbrella away from Jeremy and threw it across the room. George yanked Candy up from the bed where she was sitting. He began running his hands over her body.
Mrs. Bolt tried to fight him, but he was too big and too strong. Jeremy got another umbrella from the stand. He jabbed George in the butt repeatedly.
George abruptly let go of Candy. She fell back on the bed. Snatching this second umbrella away from the angry husband, he shouted, "I told you to quit jabbing me in my arse!"
George threw the umbrella down and grabbed Jeremy. He held Young Bolt up over his head and began turning round and round with him.
Jeremy yelled, "Put me down!"
George continued turning holding Jeremy over his head. He turned faster and faster. Candy shouted for him to stop. He kept going.
"My husband has influenza! Stop! Please stop!" The frightened wife pleaded.
Suddenly, Jeremy vomited all over George. Candy backed up to get out of the way of the horrible mess. George set Jeremy on his feet. Both of them were dizzy especially Jeremy.
Candy helped her husband to the washroom. "Get out of here, George!" She yelled.
"No! I paid you. I mean to have a go at you. Hubby can watch if he wants to." George replied.
"Get the hell out before I kill you!" Jeremy yelled.
"Nope." George said smugly.
Jeremy couldn't argue with the stubborn man anymore. He was retching violently in the washroom basin. Candy was in there with him.
The bedroom door opened. A tall handsome man came in. He looked at George. "The Bolts told you to leave. Now get out!"
George was intimidated by the man's deep raspy voice and the look of steel in his blue eyes. Without saying another word, George left.
The handsome man spoke to Candy through the washroom door. "Mrs. Bolt, that big guy is gone. He won't bother you or your husband again. Oh, I'm Jane Ellen's daddy. She came and told me that you both needed help since Jeremy is sick. Wait a minute! Bolt? Jeremy? Are you Jason Bolt's baby brother?" Jane Ellen's father asked.
"Yes, my husband is Jason's youngest brother." Candy replied from inside the washroom.
"Well! What about that? I grew up with Jason on that ole mountain! My name is Noble Hawkins. I remember when Jeremy was born. How are Jason and Joshua doing?" Noble asked.
"Joshua is in the hospital in Tacoma with influenza. Jason is with him. Joshua's wife, Biddie is there too taking care of him." Candy spoke through the door.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope Josh gets better soon." Noble said.
Candy and Jeremy came out of the washroom. She helped her husband sit down on the bed. She sat next to him.
Wrapping the blanket from the end of the bed around Jeremy, Candy smiled at Noble. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Hawkins. Jeremy doesn't have his usual strength since he has influenza. You seem to be recovering which is wonderful."
"You're welcome, ma'am. Please call me Noble. Yes, I am much improved. Thank you. My wife, Connie, still has a little way to go. Would you like for me to tote Jeremy back to your room? He doesn't appear to feel like walking." Noble asked.
Jeremy was slumped sideways against his wife with his head on her shoulder. Candy had washed his face and wiped off his undershirt in the washroom.
"That would be a tremendous help. Thank you, Noble." Candy answered.
Noble Hawkins picked up Jeremy very carefully. "Put me down, Jason. I can walk." Jeremy told him.
"Oh, no, trying to fight George has caused his fever to spike, It's serious when he doesn't recognize people." Mrs. Bolt worried.
"Let's get him back in his bed and you can give him some cool water and some broth." Noble said.
When Jeremy was back in his bed dressed in clean under garments, his wife was going to go downstairs to the kitchen to get him some fresh drinking water and some broth. As she was about to open the door, someone knocked on it.
Candy looked at Noble. He reached in his pocket for his pistol. "Open it." He whispered as he took a step forward.
Candy opened the door cautiously. It was Lottie. Noble put away his pistol. Jeremy's wife stopped holding her breath.
"Hello, Lottie. You remember me?" Noble grinned.
"Yes, I remember you, Noble Hawkins! I called you the fourth Bolt brother because you and Jason were such close friends. I'm afraid I can't chat right now, Noble. I have bad news." Lottie glanced at Jeremy in the bed. Then she looked at Candy.
Candy put her hand to her mouth. "Lottie! Is Joshua gone?"
"Not yet, but I'm afraid he hasn't got much longer. Maybe two days. Jason sent me a wire a few minutes ago since Jeremy has not replied to his last two or three messages from his brother." Lottie explained. "I wired Jason back to tell him that Jeremy is sick. I told him too that I didn't think the youngest Bolt could make the trip to Tacoma even to say goodbye to Josh." Lottie's voice cracked.
"Josh? Where are you, Josh?" Jeremy murmured.
Candy glanced at the bed. "Lottie, I've got to at least try to get him to Tacoma. He would never forgive me if Joshua passed, and I hadn't at least tried to get him there to say goodbye. Oh, dear! This is awful!"
"I understand, Candy. But Jeremy is very sick. It's not safe for him to travel now." Lottie replied.
"Ladies, I will be glad to take you to Tacoma. I'm well and Connie is almost well. She and Jane Ellen would be fine traveling. Candy, I know it's your decision whether or not you and Jeremy go, but I remember how close the Bolt brothers are. There is no question in my mind that Jeremy would do anything to see Josh before he's gone." Noble stated.
Candy Bolt was sitting on the bed holding her husband's hand as she gazed at his face. "You are right, Noble. Lottie and I appreciate your offer to help us."
The young wife thought seriously about what to do. "Lottie, we have to go. That's our only option."
"You're right, Candy. Lord help anyone who is foolish enough to try to keep the Bolt brothers apart during a crisis." Lottie spoke.
Candy nodded at Lottie. "When can we leave, Noble?"
"In about an hour. Let me go tell Connie and Jane Ellen. I'll go try to get a bigger buckboard and put a tarp over the bed of it. We will do everything we can to keep as warm as possible especially for Jeremy and Jane Ellen." Noble replied.
"Noble Hawkins, you are a good man." Lottie proclaimed.
"Thank you, Lottie." He replied as he left the room.
Miss Hatfield helped Candy get Jeremy ready for the trip. Then she rushed back to the church to get their belongings.
Noble got a bigger wagon and the supplies that they needed. Connie packed their things plus all the blankets and quilts she had. Jane Ellen helped her mother. The young girl cried as she worked. She was heartsick that Jeremy was losing his brother.
Within the hour, the group was ready to go. It was dark and cold. The wind was blowing a little. Noble was concerned about the possibility of snow. He hoped it would hold off this one night. He knew his hope would not stop the weather, but he still hoped.
Candy, Lottie, and Connie were in the back of the wagon with Jeremy. Jane Ellen was back there too after her father refused to allow her to sit up front with him due to the cold.
Candy stuck her head out of the tarp opening. "Noble, it was so nice of you to get two bed rolls for Jeremy. Those along with some of the quilts and blankets make a fairly comfortable bed for him. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Candy." Noble replied.
The passengers were quiet for some time. Then Noble heard the ladies and his daughter praying for Joshua. He prayed with them silently until he spoke "Amen!" at the close of the prayer.
The word amen brought an old memory to Hawkins' mind. He was with the Bolts at their mother's funeral. Fiona Elspeth Bolt was the center of her family's life as most moms are. She had been called Lizzie her whole life. Johnny and Lizzie Bolt were a loving happy couple until she suddenly passed one day.
Her funeral was where five-year-old Jeremy began stuttering when he tried to say amen at the end of the closing prayer. Noble hadn't thought about that in a very long time. However; he remembered it like it was yesterday. Jason and his dad were worried about little Jeremy who was heartbroken over not being able to talk right as he called it.
"Jason! Josh!" Jeremy cried out.
The young man's voice brought Hawkins back to the present. "Get on, now!" He urged the horses to move faster.
As the pace picked up, Noble heard Candy soothing her husband in his distress. A tear came to Hawkins' eye as he thought how upset Jeremy and Jason would be over the loss of Joshua.
They traveled on until they came to a stagecoach blocking the road. Noble stopped the buckboard several feet back from the vehicle. He got his shotgun and jumped down from the wagon.
Slowly walking toward the stranded coach, Noble spoke in a loud firm voice, "Hello! What's happened? May I help you?"
Suddenly five armed men busted out of the stagecoach. Noble shot and killed two of them before a third man grabbed him from behind causing him to drop his weapon. The other man pointed a gun at him.
"Noble! What's going on? Are you alright?" Connie shouted as she looked out of the wagon.
"Stay inside the wagon, Constance! All of you stay in there!" Hawkins shouted.
"Let me go, you bastard! What are you stopping us for? I'm trying to get a sick man to see his dying brother before it's too late! Are you such dogs that you would begrudge a man that?" Noble snarled at the bandits.
"He ain't my brother! Why should I care?" One of the thieves growled.
The other criminals laughed.
"My mistake. I should have known you men aren't human. If you were, you wouldn't be doing this." Noble spoke grimly.
"Bert, Farley, I'll go see what I can find worth stealing in that piddly little ole wagon while you two keep watch over our hero here." Brady glared at Hawkins.
Farley stepped in front of Noble with his pistol in his hand. He pointed it at Hawkins' chest.
"Okay, Brady! Find me something good, alright?" Bert responded.
'Sure, kid." Brady replied walking to the buckboard.
"You leave them alone! If you hurt any of them, you will pay, you son of a bitch!" Noble shouted.
"Shut the hell up!" Bert hit his captive on the head with the butt of his pistol. Noble fell to the ground unconscious.
Bert and Farley left their victim where he fell. They climbed back into the stagecoach to escape the cold.
"Get out of here!" Lottie shouted as Brady climbed in the back of the buckboard.
"Where is my husband?!" Connie demanded.
Candy was seated next to Jeremy on his pallet. She was wiping his feverish brow with cold wet cloths. She glanced briefly at the bandit. She did not speak.
"Ain't you got nothing to say, Red?" Brady chuckled.
Mrs. Bolt looked at him. "No, I have nothing to say to you. I'm busy taking care of my husband." She turned her attention back to Jeremy.
"Well, that's a very nice wedding ring you have on. I imagine it cost your sick man here a pretty penny. Take it off and give it to me!" Brady said pointing his pistol at her.
"No!" Candy spoke as a reflex. She had promised herself on the day she and Jeremy married that she would never take this ring off.
"You better give it to me, woman! You are getting on my nerves!" Brady yelled.
Jeremy stirred due to the yelling. "Jason! Help! Jason!"
Candy patted Jeremy's arm. He sighed at her touch.
"I'm waiting!" Brady put his gun on Jeremy's stomach.
"Here! Take it! Don't hurt him, please!" Candy removed her wedding ring and handed it to him.
The thief accepted it with his free hand. He looked at it and stuck it in his pocket.
"You other ladies give me your jewelry and money, fast!" He told them.
Lottie and Constance complied quickly. Brady removed the gun from Jeremy's stomach as he collected the valuables.
Candy sighed when the thug started to leave the wagon. She thought they were safe from him since he had gotten what he was after.
Brady took one step down the wagon ladder. Then he turned abruptly and came back inside.
"I forgot something!" He pulled out his pistol and shot Jeremy in the stomach. Jeremy screamed in pain. The ladies and Jane Ellen screamed in horror.
Brady left the wagon fast. He ran to the stagecoach and climbed to the driver's seat. "Yah! Yah!" The horses took off.
Noble was waking up. He saw the stagecoach leaving and he heard the women screaming. He got up slowly making his way to the buckboard.
"Daddy! A thief robbed us and shot Jeremy!" Jane Ellen cried.
Lottie was tearing an old flannel nightgown apart. Constance was holding the swatches tightly against Young Bolt's bullet wound.
"We have to get Jeremy to a doctor! Should we go back to Bridgewater?" Candy asked frantically.
"No, honey, we need to go to Weaver. Aaron Stempel is staying with a friend there. He can remove this bullet. Weaver is a lot closer than Bridgewater." Lottie explained as she kept tearing that old nightgown.
"That's a good idea, Lottie. I remember where Weaver is located. I will get us there as soon as possible. Jeremy is gonna be alright." Noble encouraged.
As Hawkins went out of the wagon, he fell to the ground. His wife hurried to help him get up.
"Noble, you can't drive the wagon now. You have to rest." Connie told him. She helped him back inside.
"I have to get Jeremy to Weaver. He needs medical care right away." Noble protested.
"You are not able right now. One of us will drive the buckboard." Connie gazed seriously at him.
"I can do it, Noble. Jeremy taught me how." Candy assured him.
Lottie took over applying pressure to Young Bolt's injury. Jane Ellen started tearing swatches.
Candy bundled up and got into the driver's seat. As she picked up the reins, she heard someone shouting, "Wait, Miss! Wait!"
The young wife pulled her pistol out of her coat pocket. It was in her purse earlier during the confrontation with Brady.
When she leaned far to the left and looked behind her, Candy saw George from the saloon. She pointed the gun at him.
"Stay away from us, George! Jeremy has been shot! I will kill you if you try to keep me from getting him to someone who can help him!" Candy Bolt yelled.
"I'm not going to stop you. I want to help you. I went back to the Horse Trough to apologize to you and your husband. Linwood told me that you are taking Jeremy to see his brother before he dies. I'm very sorry to hear that and I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. Please let me help you. You should be taking care of your husband instead of trying to manage horses." George explained.
Candy pondered his words. He seemed sincere.
"Alright, George, I accept your apology. I forgive you. Thank you for helping us. We are going to Weaver."
George got in the driver's seat. Candy returned to the back of the wagon. She chuckled softly to herself.
Earlier today, George was grabbing her. Now she was letting him help her.
As Candy watched her beloved husband's face, she knew she couldn't refuse an offer of help for Jeremy's sake.
Story will go on…..