Chapter 22

As Charger's long strides ate up the distance between himself and Strawberry, Heath's mind was a consumed in a whirlwind of thoughts as he made his way back to his birth town with the task of finding answers. After all these years of believing Matilda to be dead only to find out that somehow, there was a chance that she was alive... He didn't know what to think. How could he know what to think? There had never been any reason for him to doubt her passing, after all, there was a grave there in the town's cemetery next to where he had laid their mother that had her name written on the cross but now, with what had just come to light, he couldn't believe it. How could it be even a possibility? Matilda was dead, or so he had been led to believe. Had be been lied to all these years?

He couldn't come up with a single good reason to why his mother would have lied about her death.

As hard as he was trying, he couldn't come up with a single answer for the untold number of questions that were whirling around in his mind. That letter, that horrible letter that had managed to reach him on the battlefield a couple months after he'd left home was long gone from this earth but the words written by his mother had forever been etched into his memory.

My dearest Heath, I wish I could write to you of good news, but I'm afraid that I cannot. It pains me to write this but I'm afraid that something has happened here at home of which, you have to be told. Recently, a diphtheria epidemic came through town, claiming the lives of a number of children before it ran its course. Our little Matilda was one of them…

The road ahead of him blurred as tears came to his eyes, Heath quickly drawing the back of his hand across them to clear his vision. He wasn't far from Strawberry now, recognizing well the landscape surrounding the now ghost town. He hadn't been back here since the day he'd come to rescue Victoria when she'd come looking for answers about her dead husband and his mother. There was nothing for him here anymore except painful memories.

What had happened to his Uncle and Aunt after they had left, he didn't know. He'd tried to convince Hannah to leave and come with him, promising that he'd be able to find her a nice new home in Stockton but the woman had been insistent on staying put. Strawberry was her home and she couldn't be persuaded to leave no matter how hard he'd tried. Still, in order to make sure that she was taken care of, every month he wired her a portion of his earnings from the ranch for her to pick up when she went across to Willow Creek, the nearest town with a telegraph, bank and general store eight miles away.

Coming over a rise, the town of Strawberry came into view in the distance. He was almost there. Seeing the town, memories that he'd preferred not to recall came flooding back to him. Even though it had been just over a year now since his mother's passing, his loss now felt as raw as it had been the day she'd died. Before he'd come after Victoria, the last time he'd come here was when he'd received the letter telling him of his mother's illness. How his life had changed since then. His mother's revelation on her deathbed had set in motion the wheels that had brought him to this moment.

To the possibility that his little sister was still alive.

There was no other explanation as to why Millie had his mother's locket in her possession but that she was actually his half-sister Matilda. How could it be though? Why would his mother have lied to him about a thing like that? What had happened at home after he'd left to enlist in the army? His mother had never mentioned to him anything else about Matilda. They'd never spoken of it when he'd come home to visit her.

Why hadn't she told him the truth?

Nearing the ghost town, Heath slowed his stallion to a trot and turned him in the direction of the cemetery. He'd stop and visit with his mother for a moment before going to see Hannah, hoping that he'd be able to sort his thoughts and questions into something other than the mess they were currently were in the meantime. Charger tossed his head a little as he brought him to a halt in front of the cemetery, the old white picket fence surrounding it well on its way to falling down. Dismounting, he ground tied the stallion and stepped in through the half opened gate, making his way over to his mother's final resting place.

Taking his hat off, he lowered himself to one knee, looking at the crude wooden headstone he'd erected to mark her final resting place. He'd promised himself that when he got the chance, he'd give her a proper headstone but one thing after another had prevented him from carrying out his intentions. To the right of her was Matilda's grave, marked with the old cross that his Uncle had made for her. He fidgeted with his hat in his hands, unable to think of any words to say. Staying there for some time, he replaced his hat back on his head then placed his hand on his sister's cross for a moment before rising to leave. It was time to go dig up some answers.

Time slipped on by, Jarrod alternating between keeping watch over Millie, standing guard at the window and getting the stove down in the kitchen going. They would need hot water to clean her wounds and lots of it, judging how her back appeared. Through it, Millie slept on and he was more than content to let her sleep. He knew if she was to have any chance of fighting off the infection, she would need her strength for getting through the coming days.

An hour passed, nearing an hour and a half when the sound of hoof-beats approaching the house reached his ears. Rising, Millie slept on as he went to investigate. Creeping downstairs, his hand resting on the grip of his pistol, he cautiously peeked through one of the curtains to see who had pulled up outside. To his relief he saw that Nick had returned with the Sheriff and he went out to meet them.

"How's Millie?" Nick questioned, tying his horse up as Jarrod came out onto the porch.

"Holding on. Where's the doctor?"

"I'm afraid he's out doing his rounds through the mining camps." Sheriff Ragan told him, joining him on the porch as Nick took the saddlebags filled with things he'd taken from the doctor's inventory from off Coco's back. "There's no telling where he is now or any way of finding him within the next day or two. Alder only has one doctor. Nearest one after that is over at Angels Camp."

Hearing that, Jarrod's heart sank. Angels Camp was miles away and if they were going to waste time going all that way to bring a doctor back, they would be better off getting Millie back to Senora then taking the train to Stockton. She'd be home then, home with Mother and Audra to help take care of her and a doctor that would be able to treat her.

"I unlocked his office though for your brother, we brought back supplies." He continued, Nick also coming onto the porch. "I take it she's bad off then?"

"Come see for yourself Sheriff. I'll let you be the judge of that." Jarrod led the way through the house up to the room where he'd left Millie, stopping outside the door before they went in. "She's sleeping, I don't know what her reaction will be if she wakes and sees you. She was pretty scared when we found her."

"Poor kid's been through hell." Nick commented. "Can hardly blame her for takin' fright."

Morris nodded his agreement and Jarrod stepped aside to let him through the doorway. Walking softly so that he didn't disturb her, he came over to look at her and when he saw the injuries that had been inflicted upon her, he regretted having that cup of coffee earlier on. "I've seen a lot in my time as Sheriff, but that has to take the prize." He whispered, shaking his head as Jarrod and Nick stood beside him. "I-I'm sorry, I had no idea."

"Now you do." Jarrod replied bluntly. "Millie tried to run away and this is what Alton gave her for her efforts. He whipped her and left her chained out in the shed behind the barn since Monday, without food or water or medical attention."

"My word..." He shook his head again. "I can assure you gentlemen, I will do everything I can to make sure that he is brought in to be held accountable for his crimes."

"You'd better bring him in mighty quick then Sheriff," Nick threatened. "because if I get my hands on him first, he ain't gonna be left for long on this earth."

"I will pretend I didn't hear that, judging that I have an idea of how you must feel. I have a daughter also, married now, but if someone did something like this to her…" He turned to Nick. "I imagine I'd feel the exact same way as you both."

"If that's all Sheriff-" Jarrod interjected. "we should get to taking care of her wounds if you don't mind."

"Of course. I'll see myself out."

Morris left and Nick moved over closer to his brother. "What now?"

"We've got to get her to a doctor. Those wounds are infected by the looks of them and she's running a fever. If the nearest doctor is Angels Camp then I think it's best if we can get her home."

Nick nodded his agreement. "It's too late to start headin' home with her now and I doubt she'd be able to ride. In the mornin' I head back to Alder and see about hirin' a wagon or buggy to get her home in."

"Given her condition, I don't think we've got much choice otherwise." Jarrod's voice trailed off as his brother handed him the saddlebags.

"I noticed you got the stove goin', I'll get some water on to boil."

Nick left and Jarrod gently sat down on the bed beside Millie, the girl stirring as he placed the saddlebags down beside him. "Hey sweetheart. Feeling any better?" He questioned softly, tucking her hair back behind her ear.

Millie shook her head. "I-I thought I heard a horse outside. Is the doctor here?"

"I'm afraid not honey, that was Nick getting back with the Sheriff. The doctor is out doing his rounds at the mining camps but Nick brought along some things with him so we can get those wounds cleaned. In the morning, we'll be heading home and Doctor Merar will be able to take care of you. How does that sound?"

"It'll be good to be home." Her reply was a soft whisper. Just talking was tiring her. "But Jarrod, what about Cade? He's never gonna let you take me."

"We'll deal with him if and when that problem arises. I don't want you worrying about him, alright? I just want you to rest, work on getting better and leave the worrying to Nick and I."

She nodded a little. "May I have more water please?"

After giving her another drink from the canteen, Jarrod began looking through the supplies that Nick had brought. In addition to the medical supplies he'd obtained, there were also two light calico dresses in the bottom of one of the saddlebags, one a light blue and the other a flower print. Along with them were the undergarments that she needed also. He was thankful his brother had the foresight to think about clothes for the girl, he hadn't thought about it. At least she wouldn't need to stay in those ruined and bloodstained clothes. "Looks like Nick spoiled you." He remarked as he took them both out from the saddlebag to show her. "Which one do you want to wear after we've gotten you cleaned up?"

"Blue one." Millie replied without any hesitation.

"The blue dress it is then."

As Jarrod sorted through the supplies, Nick returned to the bedroom. Hearing the sound of his footsteps, Millie opened her eyes again and he smiled a little to reassure her as he sat down on the bed beside her. "It's alright, it's only me."

"Nick…" Millie reached a hand out to him and he took it in his own, squeezing her hand gently. "I-I'm sorry, about earlier. I know you'd never hurt me. I… I just got scared. I'm sorry."

"Oh darlin', who could blame you after what you've been through? I understand." He reassured her softly, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Still can't believe you're both really here." She continued, looking over at Jarrod before she looked back at Nick. "I didn't think anyone was gonna come for me."

"I'm just sorry we didn't get here sooner."

"I didn't make it exactly easy for you to find me. How'd you find me?"

"That's a conversation for another time. You just hold on, ya hear? We're gonna get you home just as soon as we can. You're gonna be alright lil one, we're gonna take care of you."

Millie smiled a little. 'How's Audra?' She questioned, having forgotten she'd already asked Jarrod that earlier.

"She's just fine."

Going to rise, Nick helped her sit up. "Cade… He was the one who hurt Audra. I-I'm sorry. Audra wouldn't have been hurt if it wasn't for me."

"No. No Millie." Jarrod interjected strongly. "No, the fault for what happened to Audra lies solely on the one who assaulted her." He picked up that she'd asked the same question again. "How do you know it was him though?" He wondered.

"He told me."

Hearing that, Nick had to take a deep breath to steady himself. It had been bad enough what this man had done to Millie but to think that he'd also nearly raped Audra… "If I see him Jarrod, I'll know if it was him or not. I'd never forget that man's face."

"We'll have to deal with that later Nick." He had everything ready now to start tending to Millie's wounds. "Would you get the water? If you find any salt, mix some into it."

His brother nodded and rose, Jarrod dragging the chair closer to use as a table. Setting the things he would need down he sat beside Millie, the girl smiling a little as he took her hand in his. "You're safe now honey, you'll be alright."

"I know. Thank you." She paused for a moment. "But Cade… I don't want you or Nick getting hurt because of me. That's why I never said anything to you. I was trying to keep you all safe."

"While I can understand and appreciate your point of view Millie, it's downright silly. You couldn't deal with this on your own. You should have told us."

"I… I know that now."

Realizing he might have been a little harsh with her, he sighed. 'We'll talk about this later, alright? Once you're feeling stronger."

Millie nodded as Nick returned with a large basin filled with warm water. "Where do ya want it?" Nick questioned.

''Down here will do." He motioned to the floor beside the chair. "You'll have to hold her, Nick. I'm sorry about this Millie, I can't promise this won't hurt but we don't have any other choice. Those wounds are looking quite bad."

"I know." She replied softly as Nick sat down beside her opposite from Jarrod. She wasn't looking forward to what needed to be done but her wounds had to be cleaned. When Nick was ready, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder as he stroked her hair. "Just get it over with."

Picking up one of the pairs of scissors, Jarrod began tending to her back by cutting the remnants of her dress and undergarments in order to get to the wounds. Most of her clothing was stuck with dried blood and dirt to her wounds and after he'd cut the majority of it away, he began wetting down what was left to loosen it before pulling it off the wounds.

As Jarrod worked, Millie buried her face in Nick's neck, tears running down her cheeks as she whimpered softly. Though she knew Jarrod was trying to be gentle, the slightest touch on her torn back sent excruciating waves of pain flooding through her. Having him cleaning her wounds hurt just as much, if not more because of how inflamed and angry the gashes were, then when Cade had flogged her. Still trying not to cry out, tears began pouring down her cheeks when he started washing the wounds thoroughly with the saltwater. It was nothing short of pure agony, him having to clean the wounds.

"Easy now darlin'." Nick soothed softly as Millie began to whimper from the pain. "It'll be over soon." His cheek rested against the top of her head, his heart breaking for her a little more at every sound that came from her. "It'll all be over soon. You're doin' so well, lil one."

Jarrod had to force himself to ignore Millie's pain to continue with the job, cleaning the dried blood and dirt carefully from each wound. When the water had turned red from her blood he stood, picking up the basin. "You rest for a moment Millie, I need to get fresh water."

She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat as Jarrod left and rested against Nick.

"When Jarrod's done, what do ya say to me gettin' these tangles out of your hair and givin' it a good brushin'?"

"That'd be nice."

"Alright. We'll do that then lil one."

Jarrod soon returned and picked up again where he had left on, washing the wounds as thoroughly as he could. Some of them began to bleed again with being disturbed but given that they were full of dirt, he had little choice. They were already infected and as painful as he knew it was for her, it had to be done. Slowly he began to make progress as he worked on cleaning the wounds from the top of her shoulders down to her hips. He lost count of how many lacerations they were, the wounds criss-crossing over each other and going every which way.

When they healed up, the poor girl was going to be horribly scarred for life.

After what felt like an eternity passing by for Millie, Jarrod had finally finished tending to her back and had moved on to the wounds on her neck and wrists. Having them cleaned didn't hurt anywhere as much and after he'd cleaned them, he applied a salve that Nick had brought and wrapped them carefully with bandages.

"Alright, looks like we're finished for now then." Jarrod announced as he tucked the end of the bandage in beneath itself. It hadn't been pleasant but it was over for her now at least and for that, he was thankful. She'd tried hard not to cry out when he'd been cleaning her wounds but her soft little whimpers had broken his heart into a thousand pieces. Just like Nick, by the time Jarrod had finished, he wanted a piece of Cade too for what he'd put his little angel through. "I'll give you a moment to rest before we get you into some clean clothes." He told her as he went to start packing everything up. "You just rest there my darling."

"No, you're not... quite finished... just yet." Millie replied, barely audible. "My leg needs tendin' to too."

"Leg?"

"Cade shot me."

"What?!" Nick blurted out with horror. Just when he didn't think things could get any worse, she'd also been shot? "What do you mean he shot you?" He demanded to know.

"He... shot me." She was too exhausted to catch onto the anger in his voice and continued to explain emotionlessly. "When he... he caught up with me... when I tried to run away, he shot me."

Oh my god. For once, Jarrod was utterly lost for words.

"Why didn't you say somethin' earlier?" Nick asked. "We shoulda been looking at that first."

She shrugged, her head still resting on his shoulder.

Nick shook his head and sighed heavily. "You poor darlin'." He said and pressed a kiss to her head.

Poor darling was right. Without a word but regaining his composure, Jarrod knelt down in front of her and lifted her skirts up over her knees. Sure enough, a bloodied bandage was wrapped around her lower right leg and judging from the dried blood that had seeped through it, her leg had been bleeding for quite some time after the bandage had been applied. "Who did this?" He questioned, looking up at Millie. "Who bandaged it?"

"Cade did, after he shot me... Told me... I wasn't allowed to die just yet."

Swallowing, Jarrod fought to keep control over his emotions. "Alright, it appears we're not done just yet then. I'm sorry Millie, I didn't know."

"Just... get it over with." She was beyond caring, the pain a persistent agony now that she could do nothing about. She just wanted it over. "Just do it."

As gently as he could, Jarrod began to unwrap the bandage, having to stop and wet it with water from the basin to loosen the blood. It didn't appear that the wound had been cared for other than this bandage having been applied and when he'd gotten it off he could see the girl was right; she had been shot.

"Jarrod?"

He glanced up at his brother at his question. "Through and through but it doesn't look good Nick."

"What can we do?"

"I'll clean it as best I can for now but we need to get her to a doctor as soon as we can." He turned back to her leg, swallowing back the bile rising in his throat. The smell from the wound was unbearable, pus and blood oozing out from it being disturbed. Stuffed inside the wound was gauze, obviously put there in order to stem the bleeding when she'd first been shot but that was going to have to come out. "You said this happened Sunday night?"

Millie nodded ever so slightly, her strength spent.

Four days. Four days his little girl had been left with a gunshot wound clear through her leg. He'd thought that her back had been the cause of her starting fever but given the condition of her leg, it was no wonder she was in the shape she was. Her leg was severely infected. Having been left in this state, chained in that shed, it would have been a death sentence for her if they hadn't found her when they did.

A long, slow, horrible and painful death.

One of which Cade Alton deserved to die.

"This is going to hurt like the dickens Millie but there's nothing I can do. I'm sorry." He looked back up at her, Millie resting with her head against his brother's shoulder. "You scream, cry, do whatever you want honey. Just try to keep your leg still, okay?"

She nodded just a little, too exhausted to even attempt steeling herself for the pain she knew was coming. "Just... do it." She murmured. "Get it over with."

Washing a pair of tweezers first in the alcohol Nick had brought back, he set to work on the wound. How much gauze had been stuffed into the wound he didn't know but it had been left in there too long and had been allowed to fester, leading to infection. Taking hold of the first piece he could see, Millie flinched as he started to pull the bloody, pus covered gauze out from the wound.

Her fingers gripped tightly to the back of Nick's vest, more tears running down her cheeks as pain coursed through her. Soft whimpers came from her throat that she couldn't hold back which turned into soft crying the longer the process took.

"It's alright." Nick consoled her gently, his fingers intertwined through her matted hair as he rubbed the back of her head firmly. "It'll all be over soon lil one."

Dumping another piece of gauze he'd fished out of the wound into the basin beside him with the others, Jarrod had to stop for a moment to compose himself and let the girl have a rest. So far, it appeared that the bullet had gone cleanly through and hadn't hit the bone, for which he was grateful. "Won't be much longer now honey." He told her, rubbing her other leg. "You're being so brave."

Millie managed a faint little smile at him.

"Jarrod's right, you're doin' so good lil one."

"You ready for me to keep going?"

She nodded just a little bit, tightening her grip on Nick's vest as Jarrod set to work again.

As gently as he possibly could, Jarrod kept pulling the gauze from the wound. It just seemed to keep coming and he had to keep digging deeper into the wound to get it out. Her leg started bleeding again with the injury being disturbed, blood dripping freely from the wound mixed with pus. Her pitiful cries continued, Jarrod wishing that they had something to give her for the pain but there hadn't been anything he'd seen in what Nick had brought with him. "Wasn't there any laudanum or something left there?"

He shook his head sadly. "I tried lookin' but I couldn't find any."

Jarrod again took another moment to give Millie some brief reprieve. "I'm so sorry sweetheart."

"It's… It's not your fault." She murmured, her head tucked in beneath Nick's chin. "You're doing… Your best."

He smiled a little, trying to bring her some comfort as he rubbed her other leg again. "It'll be over soon, then you can rest."

The girl nodded a little and he set back to work, going in from the other side to continue cleaning the wound. It wasn't easy getting the remainder of the blood and pus soaked gauze out with the wound having started to heal over it but it had to be done. Digging in deeper, Millie let out a scream, Nick doing his best to soothe her as Jarrod continued. A few moments later, her body went limp as the pain was finally too much for her body to cope with any longer.

"She's passed out." Nick told Jarrod as his brother looked up at him. "Took long enough."

"Thank goodness for that. Lie her down and get some more light here so I can see what I'm dealing with." Nick quickly did as he was bid, lying her down with her leg over the side of the bed so Jarrod could continue working. Going over to the lamp illuminating the room he picked it up, bringing it over closer so his older brother could get a better view of the wound. "What a mess…" Jarrod muttered, pulling yet more gauze from the hole in her leg. "Poor girl."

Holding the lamp for his brother, Nick forced back the bile rising in his throat as he saw the wound. It looked bad, the girl's leg red and swollen up while the wound continued to bleed and seep pus. He could remember well how it had been for him when he'd gotten shot during that ill-fated cattle drive just after Heath had come to the family, his leg had taken quite a few weeks to heal and he still had a slight limp from time to time. He'd been lucky, he'd been able to get to a doctor quickly and the wound had healed without complication. Millie on the other hand… "Should we leave tonight?"

Jarrod shook his head. "She's going to need to rest after this. We'll let her rest tonight and leave first thing in the morning. With luck, we should be able to make it in time to catch the train back to Stockton tomorrow afternoon." Pulling the final piece of gauze from the wound he motioned for his brother to get in with the light so he could have a better look. With the gauze out he could finally clean the wound properly. Washing it thoroughly first with water, he then washed it with the remaining alcohol before dressing and bandaging it again.

Through it all, Millie lay motionless while he worked as quickly as he could.

"Done?"

He nodded in response to his brother's question as he stood. "We're done for now." He replied, turning back to Millie as the girl started to regain consciousness. Sitting down beside her, he took her hand in his. "Easy Millie. You're alright."

"J-Jarrod?"

"Yes sweetheart."

"G-gonna, gonna be sick."

Lifting her up so she didn't accidentally inhale her vomit, Jarrod held her as she threw up into the empty basin Nick placed beneath her chin. When she'd finished, she sagged against him, her energy spent and gently, he laid her back down on her side. "Just rest now darling, alright?" He tucked her hair back behind her ear as she closed her eyes again. "Everything will be just fine."