Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard (34 page)

“Caleb, will you take the two mules and
our two
horses to the stable at the
hotel where Clarice is staying? 
All of our belongings are
inside.  W
ill you keep them secur
e? 
There are two Winchester
rifles on both of the horses. 
My husband will want them back once he’s well.
”

“Yes
,
ma’am,
” he said.  “
I’
ll see they’
re safe
,
and take care of your things
,
as well.  Wh
at about the Walker Colts over
your shoulder?”

“I’ll keep them with me
,” she said
. 
“
They belong to Man and I can’t take the chance of losing them.  I trust you, but please unders
tand, the
se weapons are very special to him.
”

“I understand,” Caleb said.

The policeman and five others carried Man back to the wagon and Doctor Ashley climbed in with him.  “I’ll stay with him until Doctor Havins arrives.”

Kate climbed in the back of the wagon with Doctor Ashley and a policema
n jumped on the seat to drive.
Kate leaned out the back and said, “Thank you
,
Caleb.  T
ell Sheriff
Updike
I’m at the hospital.”

He waved acknowledgment
as the wagon moved away
.

Kate looked down at Man’s ashen face and forced herself not to throw up.

Chapter 14

Kate was asleep in a chair the next morning when a tap on her shoulder woke her.  It was Sheriff
Updike
.  Kate wiped the sleep from her eyes and stood to take the of
fered hand of the sheriff.

“I was o
ut on a case and didn’t get
word you were here until this morning,” he said.  “How is Marshal Manchester?  I was told at the front that they operated foll
owing a gunshot wound and that’
s all I know.”

“After Doctor Havins operated, he came out and said if Man made it through tomo
rrow
, the changes for survival will
be
better.  That was all he said.  However,
from that, I took it that Man’
s in bad shape.”

“What can I
do to help?” Sheriff
Updike
asked
.

“Nothing now.  A
nice policeman named Caleb Thornton is taking care of our things and animals. 
Clarice Carbon is at a hotel, the one near Doctor Ashley’s office.  I didn’t hear the name.”

“T
hat would be the Downtown Hotel.  I
t’s old, but okay.  I was told that you got both Valdez and Eng
ledow
.”

“Yes,” Deputy Kate said.  “Valdez shot Man, but I got both of them.
”  She gave him all the details, minus what had happened to Clarice.

“While we were looking for Valdez and Engledow,
” she added,
“
we found two men in a cabin.  R
eal backwoods mountain men.  We were suspicious of them and kept watch that night.  They came gunning for us.  I have wanted posters we found on them.  They gave us the name
s
Moose and Hoss.”

Sheriff
Updike
s
miled.  “I know about those two.  Pure trash and good riddance.  T
hey were wanted here and other places.  They worked
mostly
up and down the Snake River.”

“Not anymore.”

“Tell me about Clarice Carbon,” the sheriff said.

Kate paused only a moment
. 
“She’ll be fine.  We
rescued her before they had time to
do
anything.”

Updike frowned but nodded as he glanced down the hallway in thought.  “I see.”

“I don’t think she’ll stay i
n Mountain Home,” Kate added. 
“She mentioned selling the store and her home.  She has no family there and no reason to stay.”

“Was the money they took in the robbery still on them?” he asked.

“She has it back,” Kate said.
 
And s
he left it at that.

***

It was near midnight when Doctor Havins came to the waiting room and touched Kate on the shoulder.  “Can you come with me?” he said.

She was on her feet in an instant.  “What’s wrong?” she asked
.  S
he had to trot to keep up with the doctor.

“Marshal Manchester has started hemorrhaging internally.  I thought you would want to be with him at the end.”

Kate couldn’t choke back a sob
of agony.  Man was dying.  Tears flooded her cheeks and she had to wipe them away with her sleeve to see where she was walking.

Doctor Havins stopped at the door and Kate ran to Man.
His face was as white and pale as death.  She gripped his hand and
squeezed it.
It felt as cold as
his face looked.

A nurse brought her a chair so she
could sit.

“Man,” she said.  “Fight
, Man.  Y
ou must fight and live.  Listen to m
e.  D
o you hear me?  Damn you
,
Man, I need you.  You can’t leave me now.  We
have our life in front of us.  Y
ou can’t give up
.  Y
ou aren't a quitter.  You can’t let that bastard Valdez win.  You can’t die now.”

“I’ll give you a moment,” the doctor said and left them alone.

She glanced up as the doctor closed the door behind him. 
“Man
,” she s
aid and squeezed h
is hand
.  “I lov
e you.
Y
ou have to live for me, for us
,
for
the
childre
n we’ll have.  Stay with me
. 
Do you hear me United States Marshal Homer Manchester
?  I mean i
t.  Don’t you dare
die on me.
I won’t allow it.”

She paused when she felt a slight squeeze against her hand.  She looked into Man’s face, but he didn’t move.

“Darling,
” Kate said.
“
Remember our five-year plan?  Five years and then we settle down.  How can I do that without you? 
What about our children?  Don’t you want to see them?  We’ll have a boy and a girl.  A boy, strong and handsome just like his father, and a girl you can spoil
like you spoil me.
  They’ll never exist if you don’t fight right now.
”

Kate
continued to talk, telling
Man
to fight because she needed him.  His chest was bandaged, so she couldn’t touch him, but she leaned over and kisse
d his
cold
lips
.

This time, she was sure she felt him squeeze her hand.  Whether a little color returned to his cheeks, she couldn’t be sure if it was real or imagined.  She chose to believe he was fighting, and recovering.  And would not die on this day.

“I meant what I said,” she told him.  “I don’t want to be a marshal without you.  I’ll quit and hole up in our house and fade away.  Is that what you want? 
If you won’t fight then why should I?
  I’ll become a crazy old hermit and it’ll be all your fault.
”

Man’s eyelashes fluttered and his fingers moved against her hand.

“Doctor!” she yelled at the closed door.

The door opened and
Doctor
Havins rushed in.

“He moved,” she said.  “He hears me.  Do something.”

The doctor took Man’s spare wrist and lifted a pocket watch. 
“His pulse is stronger
.”  He used the
stethoscope that had been hanging around his neck and listened to Man’s heartbeat.  He leaned back with a surprised expression.  “His heart is racing.  I don’t know what you did, but it seems to be working.  He’s fighting.  And as long as he keeps fighting he’ll stand a chance.”

Kate leaned in to whisper in her husband’s ear. 
“
I love you, Homer Manchester.  Do you hear me?  I love you.  Y
ou’re going to be my husband
for the rest of our lives. 
We have about seventy years of living in front of us.  If you want me
, come back to me.
”

Man’s lips parted and his eyelashes fluttered again.

She
continued talking unti
l she became hoarse. 
Doctor
Havins
brou
ght her a
glass of water
.  “I must go, other pat
ients need my attention.  Man’s
vitals are
much
stronger no
w. 
Can you s
tay with him until I get back?”

“Of course I can,” she said.
 
“
Nobody can drag me away
fr
om him as long as he needs me.”

She continued to talk, holding his hand until her voice was gone.  A nurse came
in
to
check on him.  “His vital signs are strong now. 
Rest is the best medicine now. 
G
o get coffee and breakfast.  I’ll be here and if I need you, I’ll send somebody to find you.  There’s a man waiting for you.”

“Who is it?” Kate asked.

“He didn’t say, but he’s
older with a gray beard and a US marshal
s
’
badge on his vest.”

Kate
jerked in surprise.  “Chief Marshal Joseph Meek?
” she whispered barely loud enough for the nurse to hear. 
“He’s here?”

The nurse shrugged so she went to see for herself.

She found Chief Meek seated out front in the waiting room.  He stood when he saw Kate
shuffling toward him, barely able to lift her feet. 
He could see she was exhausted and from the expression on her face and
her bloodshot eyes
, he
expected the worst.

He fully expected to hear Man had died.

He stood with his arms at his side
s
until she was close
then
opened his arms for her.  She welcomed his embrace as
her
tears started again.  Chief M
eek held her
and let her cry.  Kate could
have been
the daughter he
’d never
had.  From their first meeting, he
’d known
she was special and a warm feeling for her
had developed over the time she’d
worked for him.

This was a side to Kate he had never witnessed before.  She was always so strong and outgoing.  When her crying subsided somewhat, he calmly asked, “What happened?”

She spoke so softly, h
e had to bend his head to he
ar her words
.

“I almost lost Man,” she said.  “He was hemorrhaging inside.  He almost bled to death.”

“How is he now?” Meek asked.

“The nurse said he was stable at the moment.  She’s keeping a close watch.  She said for me to go eat breakfast
, but
I’m not hungry
.  I’d rather stay here.”

“What you need is to get y
our strength back,” Meek said.

He took her arm, led her to a café, and ordered a large breakfast for her.  He drank coff
ee as he watched her eat.  He’
d eaten earlier.  She stopped eating after about a dozen bites, but he poin
ted to her plate and said, “Eat.
That’s an order, marshal.
”

She
se
nt him a glance of impatience as her strength returned, but
ate a few more bites.  Then, she
pushed her chair back
.  “If I eat any more, it won’t stay down.
  I need to get back to the hospital.
”

Meek
tossed money on the table for the meal. 
Outside, h
e took her arm and she almost pulled him into a trot going back to the hospital.  She left him at the waiting room and hurried to
Man’s
room.  The nurse was seated in a chair on one side of Man’s bed.  Kate sat on the other side and reached for his hand.  It was warmer than before.