The Five Dollar Mail (Book 1: The Green & Book 2: Lynch's Boys)

27: Water and Fire

Book cover art by Angela Taratuta, graphics by me. Featured chapter artwork of Fiona is by the incredible Laura Hollingsworth, the writer/illustrator of The Siver Eye webcomic at http://www.thesilvereye.com/.

Storm moved slowly, leaning heavily on Fiona as she guided him to the bench in the kitchen. He'd thrown on some jeans and and a soft, well-worn coat obviously made of a colorfully striped Hudson Bay blanket. His feet were bare. Lily didn't much like that he was up around, but there wasn't much she could do about it other than give him a disapproving look. She had been drying the dishes from supper, and quickly tossed aside her towel to assist him as he sat. A sheen of perspiration had broken out over his brow and upper lip. She frowned sternly.

"Don't you think you should be resting?" she scolded, noting with concern his shallow breathing.

"Don't ask me," he countered breathlessly. "Bender says I need to walk around."

Lily paused, then nodded in understanding, her scowl softening. That's right. Moving around a bit will help keep his breathing clear.

"Bender's concerned about pneumonia," Fiona said, worry tinging her voice. "He says if he stays on his back too much and doesn't breath deeply, his lungs could fill with water."

"That's what he said," Storm gasped. "I'm surprised he doesn't have me standing up in a horse stall with a sling holding me upright."

"Oh, now." Lily smiled at the mental image. "Mr. Bender is doing the best he can, I'm sure."

"All I know is I'm glad I didn't break a leg. He'd have to come out with a rifle and put me down."

Fiona narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't even joke about that, Lights the Storm Peltier." She turned to Lily. "He wants to wash up a bit. He says he stinks."

"I do stink. When I can smell myself, it's bad. And my scalp itches...it's driving me crazy."

Lily hadn't really noticed. It isn't like anyone here is a stranger to the smell of sweat and horses. "Well, you can't wash your head till the stitches heal a bit more. But we can get you some hot water to sponge off with. Will you need help? We can call Luis or Jesse..."

"Just help me with my hair and I can manage the rest. Raising my arms is not so easy right now." He drew in a shaking breath, trying to force air deeply into his bruised lungs. "Let's just get the clots out, I can't stand it."

Fiona was working the pump and filling a pail with water. Lily turned to the stove and started coaxing it back to life. The coals were still hot from supper, so it flared quickly back into a flickering orange glow.

"So," Storm said as he unfastened his coat and gingerly eased it off his shoulders, revealing an incorrectly buttoned and untucked flannel shirt. "I heard I missed some excitement in here. Was that the same man Saint said was here before?"

Lily felt her face flush. "Yes, you did. You were probably better off for missing it, too. I think you've had plenty of excitement already." She stood up and went to get a towel out of the cupboard. "That was Richard Galloway. He's that lawyer that was here before."