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Chris helped Lydia and Mary into the wagon Lydia had brought from town. Buck was still watchful in case Wickes moved again. But his shot had gone through the man's heart — what little there was of it.
"Come on Buck." Chris insisted as everyone was mounted but him. Finally Buck jumped into his saddle and they were on their way.
Riding away from Wickes Town, the six men surrounded the wagon to protect its occupants. Mary felt a huge sense of relief from knowing Wickes couldn't hurt her again. At the same time, the tingling sensations in her feet and hands was excruciating. Wickes had her tied up so tight that the ropes had cut off virtually all of the blood flow to her extremities and cut huge gashes into her wrists and ankles — even through the top of her shoes. I should have quite a bruise tomorrow, Mary thought as she ran a fingers over her cheekbone to assess the damage.
Mary was just glad Wickes never realized the effects his words had on her. "What if it all went away?" he had so caustically asked. "Is your precious pride worth the life of your child?" Oh, how those words had cut. Mary had always believed she would never be so desperate as to sell herself. Now she wasn't so sure. If she had been in Nora's situation or if she had no other way to feed Billy, — maybe, just maybe — maybe she wasn't so different from Nora, Lydia and the rest.
Glancing at the woman beside her, Mary was struck by the vulnerability she saw there. She always thought of working girls as being tough and brassy. Never had she stopped to consider they had feelings and needs too. Mary could tell by the flashes of emotions on her face she was replaying the events of the past several days in her mind.
"I want to thank you for what you did back there," Mary haltedly began. "I can't imagine what it is like to have to shoot someone but if you hadn't been there, Chris and or I would be dead now."
Jolted out of her reverie, Lydia tried to shake off what she had done. "He had it comin' for all the pain he'd caused. Besides, it would have been a big waste if he," nodding toward the gunslinger in black riding just ahead of the wagon, "had been killed by the likes of Wickes."
Nodding in agreement, Mary didn't know what else to say. So she tried to shift into a more comfortable position which only made her hurt more. A stifled moan escaped her lips.
"You okay?" Lydia asked.
"I have definitely felt better. The more I sit here the more sore spots that come out." Mary said gingerly.
Nathan, overhearing the latter part of the conversation, discretely looked at the two women. Making up his mind, he nudged his horse to catch Chris.
"There's a stream 'bout half mile ahead. Think we need to stop and let the women have a little rest. Ezra should be able to catch us then. Give me a chance to look over Miz Travis too." he said as he slowed down beside him. Glancing back over his shoulder, Chris could tell Mary was miserable.
Chris turned back around but didn't say a word. Taking it as an affirmative, Nathan reined his horse in so he could drop back beside the wagon to inform the women.
"We goin' stop up here in a little bit so you all can stretch your legs some." Nathan said. "Miz Travis, I want to look at those cuts there and put something on 'em to keep any infection away. Should ease the pain too."
As the wagon pulled to a halt beside the stream, Buck and Josiah dismounted and approached it to help the women down. While Buck walked with Lydia a short distance away, Josiah helped Mary to a stack of nearby rocks and eased her onto them. Nathan followed with his medicine bag.
Chris called for Vin and JD to ride back a mile or so to make sure they weren't being followed. "Keep an eye out for Ezra too." he reminded them. Afterwards, he began to loosen the saddles and harnesses on the horses so that they too could rest a while. When he finished this, he leaned on his horse, watching Nathan and Josiah tend to Mary.
Dipping a rag into the cool water, Josiah handed it to Mary. "Here. This should help the swelling on your face."
She took it with her left hand while Nathan worked on her right arm, gently cleaning the wound, applying ointment, and then wrapping it. Afterward, he did the same for her left arm.
"Now, lets have a look at your legs." Nathan said as he shifted positions.
Mary raised her dress so Nathan could untie her shoes and remove them. She bit her lip as Nathan began to pull the first one off.
Josiah noticing the color draining from her face quickly took the rag, re-wet it, and placed it on the back of Mary's neck.
Nathan couldn't help himself. He hissed upon seeing Mary's feet. Her feet appeared bruised and were swollen from the lack of blood. The gashes were deep and blood had run into her shoes from the wounds. His disgust wasn't with Mary. Rather, it was for the man who did such a thing to her.
"Still with me Miz Travis?" Nathan asked the pale trembling woman leaning against Josiah.
"Just barely." Mary finally managed to say.
Josiah reached for the canteen laying beside him. "Drink this." he said has he held it to her mouth.
Taking a drink, Mary began to cough. A flush crept onto her face and her eyes teared up. When she caught her breath, she glared at Josiah. "Mr. Sanchez! That was definitely not water."
Chuckling Josiah smiled at her. "Your absolutely right Mrs. Travis. You looked like you needed something a little stronger than water. Even Jesus recognized the healing power of a little drink now and then."
Although Mary tried to act mad, she couldn't sustain it. Shaking her head and smiling at the big man, she did have to admit the whiskey had gotten her blood moving again and woke her up. It had also distracted her from the pain in her feet.
Nathan had managed to clean the worse of the blood from Mary's feet. He wished he could clean the wounds, but he was afraid the rubbing would hurt her too much. Then it dawned on him he could let the stream do it.
"Miz Travis, think it would be good for you to set with your feet in the water awhile. It'll help clean out the wounds and lessen the swellin."
After Mary nodded her consent, Josiah shifted and helped her swing her feet into the water. At first the water felt brutally cold to Mary, but as her feet adjusted to the temperature, they actually began to feel better. With the obvious wounds taken care of, Nathan began to question Mary for other injuries.
"Are you hurt anywhere else?"
"Just a few bruises from riding out here swung over a saddle and on my arms." Mary assured them. "They aren't too bad though. A day or two and I'm sure they'll be gone."
A look passed between the two men. Finally, it was Josiah who asked the biggest question. "Mary, did he hurt you in any other way?" the big man gently inquired.
Catching the hidden meaning, Mary quickly calmed their fears. "No. I really am fine. He didn't do anything else. He said he was saving me as his prize after the women had been returned and he had beaten all of you." she finished uneasily.
Relieved, the two men finally relaxed. "Well then, we'll just leave you a few minutes to rest while your feet are soaking." Josiah said as they began to move away.
"Thank you both so much." Mary gratefully said. "Before you go, could one of you ask Mr. Larabee to come over here?"
Mary had been keenly aware of Chris' eyes boring into her during the medical treatment. Even now, with her back to him, she could still feel his gaze.
Riding away from Wickes Town, Chris drew a shaky breath. It surprised him how rattled the encounter had left him. He could still picture Mary on the bed, tied up — frightened and in pain. It was a sight that would haunt him. After all, he was the one who had started all of this by taking Nora to Four Corners. Whatever had happened to Mary in that tent was his fault.
His heart had just about stopped when Wickes got the drop on them outside of the tent. It wasn't for himself that he was afraid, rather, it had been for Mary. He could shield her from the initial bullets, but he couldn't stop what Wickes would do to her after he was dead. When the shot had rung out he had instinctively drawn Mary closer while tensing for its impact. When he didn't feel it, he had been afraid Mary had been hit. But no, it was Wickes who fell and it was Lydia who had fired the shot.
Lydia. The one I told to stay in town. Damn woman. Could have gotten herself killed. As it was, she saved us.
Nathan rode up beside him and gave him a long appraising look. Finally, he told Chris that they needed to stop so he could look at Mary's wounds. Glancing back, Chris cringed inside. Mary looked in agony and the impact of having shot another human being was beginning to show on Lydia. Chris silently consented. What else could he do.
Pulling to a stop beside the stream, Chris held back until Josiah and Buck moved to the wagon to help the women. It gave him an excuse to hang back and take a few minutes to himself. Remembering that some of Wickes men could still come after them, Chris decided they better play it safe and make sure they weren't being followed. After sending JD and Vin, he distracted himself by taking care of the horses. Finally there was nothing to do but wait.
Leaning on the back quarter of his horse, Chris took a long look at Mary and tried to determine how bad she had been hurt. He couldn't hear anything that was being said between Josiah, Nathan or Mary, but he could see their facial expressions and body language.
When Mary practically passed out from the pain of Nathan pulling off her shoes, Chris found himself wishing Wickes was still alive so he could empty his gun into him. "You died far too quickly and painlessly Mr. Wickes," Chris growled.
Continuing to watch the three by the water, he couldn't believe Josiah had given Mary whiskey to drink. The look on her face — any other time, Chris would have gotten a good laugh from it. As it was, it only made Chris feel worse that Mary had needed it to brace herself from passing out.
Watching her turn around and immerse her feet, he couldn't see her face anymore. What had she said that caused Josiah and Nathan to look at each other like that? What had that bastard done to her? Part of him didn't want to know; the other part felt compelled to know.
Seeing the two men begin to move towards him, Chris glanced at them to try to judge what Mary had told them. Unable to, his gaze quickly shifted back to the woman at the edge of the water.
The intense stare was not missed by the two men approaching him. Stopping beside him, Josiah and Nathan looked at each other and then at Chris .
"Miz Travis will be sore for a few days but other than that she's okay." Nathan said, trying to ease the tension he saw in Chris' face and body.
Not getting any reaction, Nathan looked at Josiah as if to tell him to give it a shot. "Chris, what happened wasn't your fault. You didn't know Wickes would take Mary or that Lydia would follow us." Josiah said echoing Nathan's words.
"I should have." Chris said flatly.
Josiah chuckled. "If you can see into the future and know what other men are going to do before they do it, then I'm sure Ezra would be more than happy to take you on as a partner."
"Go talk to her." Nathan urged. "You'll see that she don't blame you none."
Looking at the two men, Chris seemed torn so Josiah made up his mind for him. "She asked to see you."
Standing upright, Chris pulled his hat lower over his eyes before moving towards the woman still sitting with her feet in the water.
Stopping and crouching quietly beside her, Chris waited for Mary to make the first move.
"I just wanted to thank you for saving me." Mary began. Shuddering, she continued "I don't even want to think about what would have happened if you hadn't come when you did."
Hope flared in Chris. Maybe she had been spared the worst of it. Maybe he'd gotten there early enough. Even so, she had been injured. That was bad enough. Still not looking at her, Chris finally spoke in a voice rough with emotion.
"You shouldn't have been put in danger in the first place. If I would have posted a guard on Nora, none of this would have happened."
Exasperated by the guilt she was hearing, both in his words and in the inflection of his voice, Mary grabbed Chris' arm to emphasize her words. "You didn't do this Chris. You told me Wickes was fooled by the figures going over the cliff and there was no reason for you to know he would show up back in town. Besides, it was pure chance that I was even with Nora when he did. It's not your fault." she stressed.
Looking at her, Chris contemplated what Mary had just said. It helped some, but it still bothered him to know Mary had been hurt.
Seeing that her words had made an impact, Mary gave his arm one final squeeze before dropping her hand. "How's your friend Lydia doing?" Mary asked the tall man beside her.
Glancing at Lydia and Buck a short ways away, Chris shook his head. "Haven't spoken to her yet." he simply said. Seeing the unspoken words of 'don't you think you should' in Mary's eyes, Chris nodded at her before rising and moving toward Buck and Lydia.
Nearing the two, Chris could hear Buck using his charm on Lydia trying to bolster her spirits. "Now a pretty woman like you could have anything she wanted in someplace like San Francisco. Why men will be standing in line just to get a chance to take you out to dinner."
Seeing Chris coming, Buck quickly leaned over and said something to Lydia that Chris couldn't hear. Standing, he nodded to Chris before moving away.
"How's Mrs Travis doing?" Lydia quietly asked the man beside her.
"She'll be okay. What about you?"
"Wickes deserved to be shot if for no other reason than for what he did to Nora and your lady friend." Looking down, Lydia softly continued "Besides as Buck has reminded me several times, I didn't actually kill him. I only stopped him from killin' you or Mrs. Travis."
"I am beholding to you for saving Mary."
Looking at him and weighing the events of the past several hours, Lydia made up her mind to leave Four Corners the next day. There was no reason to stay.
"Nora will be well enough to head out in the mornin'. Think we'll head west and try our luck out there now that we don't have to worry about Wickes comin' after us."
"As you said, there's no hurry now. You could stay awhile."
"There's only one reason I would stay and you're already taken." Lydia replied.
Startled by her response, Chris asked her to clarify what she meant by that.
"Mrs. Travis." Lydia explained.
"Mrs Travis? I think you are under the wrong impression. Her father-in-law hired me to ..." Chris began only to stop when Lydia started to laugh.
"Do you know I heard the same thing two days ago." Shaking her head in disbelief at his apparent confusion, she continued. "Come on. I saw the look on your face when Nora said she had been taken and when Wickes had you both in his gun sights. It seems you two are the only ones who don't know what's between you."
Standing, she began to move away only to stop beside him. "If it don't work out though, you come see me. My door will always be open for you." Lydia said with a husky voice.
Looking down, Chris could see tears in her eyes. Before walking away, she reached up to kiss Chris lightly on the cheek.
Chris was still standing there looking at, but not seeing, the countryside when Vin, JD, and Ezra joined the group. Soon afterwards, everyone headed back to town.
Chris didn't have a chance to speak to Lydia again before she left town. He had just walked out of the boardinghouse when he saw her and the other girls preparing to leave. Leaning on a post, he tipped his hat in respect as the wagon pulled out of town.
The end.
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