Unexpected (30 page)

“
Thank you.”

“You are strong Josie. 
So is Ryker.  They will return,” Magda encouraged.

“
We found Clancy’s body in an alley this morning.  He had a gunshot between his eyes,” Gus said as Josie was taking a sip of her tea.

Josie didn’t act surprised.
“And you came to ask my brother about it?” There was no love lost for that man.  He was Butch’s lap dog.

“No, I came to ask Mr. Reid about it.
Well, and to see how you are doing.”

“Really Gus—do you have to do this now?” asked Mrs. Russell.

“Mr. Reid and my brother saved my life last night.” Josie answered him anyway and gave Magda a nod that it was okay.  She patted her on the shoulder and went back in the house leaving the two alone.

“Yes, the doctor told me.” He looked at her sheepishly.  “I’m not going to bring them in Josie.  I honestly just rode out to see how you were.”

She could see the sincerity in his eyes. “I’m fine.  If it hadn’t been for my men, I would be dead by now.”  She would die first before she let Butch touch her again.

“
I’m grateful—really. I’ll send a team out to the mine to look for them.”  He took a deep breath. “There’s something else—Butch returned home early this morning.” He may have not gotten a reaction with news of the death of Clancy, but the fear she had for Butch certainly did.

Her hand holding the teacup started trembling.  It was violent enough to spill the tea in it. 
If Butch was alive, where were Ryker and Cogan?

Tears welled up in her eyes and it was obvious to Gus then and there, that she had been traumatized by the man.
  He decided not to tell her what Butch was ranting about when he came back to town due to her reaction. “Look, that may not mean anything.  Mr. Reid seems quite resourceful.”

Just as
he said that, finally a lone rider appeared in the distance.

“Oh God!
” she dropped her teacup and it shattered on the porch. She didn’t even seem to notice as she rushed down the steps into the yard.  It couldn’t have been better timing.  She was already planning their funerals.

Ryker saw
Josephine waiting in the yard.  Soon, the rest of the household spilled out next to her.

It only took Josie a moment to see the makeshift travois hitched to the mare.  Seeing that Ryker was riding the
horse, that meant that Cogan was on it.  “Oh no!”  She ran forward as fast as her legs could carry her.  Panic and fear surged through her.

Ryker dismoun
ted as Josie ran by him to Cogan. 

“Is he dead?”
Her voice was on the verge of cracking.  She didn’t think she could take this again. How come the men she loved kept coming home half dead on the backs of horses?  His clothing was soaked with blood.

“Not yet.”  He looked at the crowd.  “I need help to get him in the bunkhouse.  It took me half the day to build this damn thing and haul his large body on it. He weighs more than a train, I swear.”

“I’ll help you.” Gus followed Ryker as he led the mare toward the bunkhouse.

“I’ll get my bag.” The doctor
hurried back to the house.

Josie
walked beside him and started to run her hands over Cogan’s unconscious body to check his wounds when Ryker finally halted in front of the bunkhouse.  “Cogan, can you hear me?” Her hands framed his face and turned it so she could see the damage.  There was blood everywhere.  “Oh God, I don’t think he’s breathing!”

“I didn’t either Josie, but he’s alive.”
Ryker stepped in next to her and nodded to Gus to help him lift the large man.

“How do you know?” 

He pulled open his shirt and showed her numerous bullet wounds that have since healed.

“But—”

“Out of the way Josie, we’ve got to get him in bed.  He’s still got all of those bullets in him, and I have no idea what the hell they’re made of to take him down.”

She sobbed
, covered her mouth with her hands, and stepped aside as the two men strained themselves dragging him up the three steps into the bunkhouse.  He paused in the doorway and spoke without looking at her. “You’d better fetch Father Sampson.”

“I can’t leave him.” Tears rolled down her face.

“Just go Josie. He’s in good hands.  He’ll need the priest.”

He was right.  Cogan was a man of faith and maybe it would make a difference. “I will then.” She ran to the corral and saddled the bay.

Gus helped lay Cogan in bed and exchanged looks over the unconscious man. “Don’t you think she should be here?  He doesn’t look good.”

Ryker shook his head
knowing he made the right choice. “Help me with his shirt.” Josephine was a rock most times, but she was in love with this big brute and was close to hysterics despite how put together she looked to Gus. She would only get in the way.

“Jesus Christ.” Gus
suddenly released him and stood back after they’d gotten the tattered cloth off him.  There were at least a half dozen bullet holes in his torso. They looked to be about a week old, but somehow he knew they were fresher than that.  “How the
hell
is he still alive?” It wasn’t just the bullet wounds.  The man had old scars the likes of which he’d never seen. He should have been dead a dozen times over.

“He’s got some unique qualities,
” was all Ryker said not meeting his eyes. The doctor came in then and he was grateful because he didn’t want to answer anymore questions. “The bullets are still in him Doc, we gotta get them out or he’s going to die.”

He stood over the large gunman with his mouth hanging open
, seeing what Gus did. “The internal bleeding alone should have killed him in hours.”

“Not this man.  Please, trust me.”

Doc Russell decided to do just that and opened his bag. Then in came his wife and Hattie carrying a pot of steaming hot water and stark white linen cloths.  They stopped and both gasped in unison.  Hattie made the sign of the cross.

“Magda, sterilize these.” He handed her a handful of instruments.
He knew they were just as stunned as he was, but he was a professional and a compassionate man.  He needed to get busy, fast.  Thankfully, she overcame her own surprise and quickly did as he asked.

When he cut into the first bullet hole, Cogan groaned and actually found the strength to move.

“Hold him down, or I’ll slice into something vital!”

Both Gus and Ryker took a side and pinned him to the mattress, though Ryker doubted that would be enough.  He was just hoping he was too weak to fight them.
  He would just use his forceps to extract the bullet, but flesh had started to form over the wounds.  He wished he could give him something for the pain too, but there wasn’t any time.

It was over an hour before Josie returned with the priest who hadn’t ridden in a saddle for more than twenty years.  Josie was frantic, so he conceded and saddled his mule. 

The doctor was rinsing his hands in a rain barrel outside of the bunkhouse.

“Is he going
to make it?”

Josie didn’t wait for an answer. She rushed by him into the bu
ilding.

“If he makes tonight, he will.” The doctor said.  Then he cast a look toward the open door of the bunkhouse before walking up to the priest as he dismounted.
He lowered his voice to just above a whisper hoping not to be overheard. “Father, I can’t explain what I saw but—”

Father Sampson held up his hand
cutting the doctor off. He needed a few seconds. He then flexed his legs under his robes trying to dispel the muscle soreness, and grimaced. “Before you judge him, he is a good man.  That’s all you need to know.”

“But that can’t be divine, I mean—“

“That man has spent the better part of his life in service of God. I’ve not seen anything more divine than him, and I’ve lived a long time. Trust me.  I’m the expert in this field.”

After some hesitation the doctor nodded. “All right father.  I will
trust your judgment.” He walked away.

Father Sampson retrieved his bible from the saddle bags and went up the steps pausing in the doorway
thinking that it felt more like a staircase then three steps.  He was sorely out of shape. He stepped inside and saw Josephine on her knees beside Cogan’s bunk.  Her forehead was against his and she was whispering to him.

He cleared his throat.

She glanced at him, and stood up. She didn’t care what anyone thought anymore, or if they found out about her and Cogan.  She just wanted him to live. “Can you do anything for him?” Her eyes were swollen red.  She had no tears left but the evidence that she’d been distraught over the man was clear.

“I can try.” He smiled reassuringly. 

***

Inside the house
Gus, Ryker and Doc Russell were gathered around the dining room table staring at the nine silver bullets they extracted from Cogan’s torso.

Gus picked one up and stared at it.
“Silver?  They’re silver.  Why silver?” Gus stated to no one in particular.

“Because that can kill him….or wound him to weaken him
enough so he can be killed,” came Father Sampson’s voice from the doorway.

The three men turned and looked at him.

“He’ll be fine by the way.  He’s awake.”

Ryker made to go by him, and the father placed his hand on the man’s chest. “
Give him some time with Josephine.”

He
wanted to thank Cogan for saving his sister, but he also knew how upset Josie was and agreed with the priest. “All right Father. How about you fill us in, then?  How did you know about the bullets?”

“It’s something I read in a book
—a very rare book.”  He breathed in deeply and told them everything he knew. “It’s why Butch came to see me. He knew I knew something about Mr. Reid. When I woke up my book was gone. It spoke of things about the werewolf.  Most of it was fiction though, I’m sure of it.  Cogan is nothing like those creatures it portrayed, but the silver was something Butch had plenty of, so he probably thought it was worth a try.”  He looked over at the doctor and Gus who were standing in shock listening. “We need to protect this man. He isn’t a monster.  The last few months proved it. More than once he’s placed himself in danger to save people.”

“
The townspeople won’t go for this,” Gus finally said.

“
The townspeople don’t have to know.” Ryker answered firmly meeting Gus’s eyes.

“
Well, I hate to ruin our secret, but Butch is still alive and back in town.”  Gus went on to tell them what Butch was telling people. “He claims you and Cogan are murderers. That you went up to his mine and killed everyone.”

Ryker turned and faced Gus
, his expression turning deadly serious. “Cogan and I are the only witnesses to what happened in the mine unless you can find one of those hundred Chinese workers that we rescued. Even then, I doubt they saw a damn thing.  The place was plunged into darkness. He has no proof.”

“How am I going to explain it?”
Gus reached for a chair and sat down looking at the far wall.  “I wired for the marshal. I can’t explain this.” He sliced a hand through the air.

“Tell the Marshal that they killed each other.
  Greed makes people crazy.  Everyone knew that he’d taken Josie.  Cogan and I were the only two out of that entire town that had the balls to rescue her!”

“
I know.  I’m sorry Ryker. We—a few of us wanted to help, but we feared him too much.”

Ryker narrowed his eyes in anger. “
So you knew!”

“N-no, not until Clancy showed up bragging that Butch had his prize.”

“And still no one jumped in to help! These are people that Josie has helped out more than once, yet when it comes to her being kidnapped by a madman, no one steps up.”

Including me
, thought Gus, feeling the weight of guilt and shame. “So what really happened up there?”

“I don’t know.  I didn’t
see anything.  I just rode in, got Josie and when she was safe, I found Cogan, shot to hell.”

“
Did that big fella kill everyone like Butch said?”

“I don’t know Gus.  You’ll have to ask Cogan.”

“I’ll do just that then.”

***

“Hey.”

Josie looked up from where she knelt when she heard Cogan’s voice.  The priest suddenly excused himself and left after he finished his prayer.

“You look like hell,” he murmured deeply seeing how worn she looked.

“You have me beat.” She smiled weakly
smoothing her hand over his stubble roughened cheek.

He smiled and held up his arm.

She went to him, just to be gathered against his hard chest.

“I told you it takes a lot to kill me.”

“He nearly did, didn’t he?”             

“W
ell, I’m still here.  I’ve been through worse.”