For Love

Chapter 40

Another knock at the door revealed Sully, breathing hard with moss in hand. Jason thanked him and promptly packed the wounds with peat moss and carefully bandaged her feet to keep it in place. Just as he finished, there was a loud thump at the door.

"What now?" he grumbled and opening the door, he found Jeremy in the middle of a long yawn. Jeremy looked sheepishly at him.

"Sorry. I must have nodded off. Guess I'm more tired than I thought."

Jason rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. "Yeah, it was a long night. I'm pretty beat myself."

"You both need to rest," said Lottie, still holding Laurie's hand. "Especially you, Jason. The marshal said you dug her out of the ground in record time, pretty much by yourself. He said you impressed him, and I thought nothing impressed that man."

Jason tossed her a smile and turned back to his brother. "Would you mind filling Josh in downstairs for me with my apologies? I don't think I'll make it back down for a while. And then why don't you go home and get some sleep. I doubt we'll hear from Campbell at this hour, and I'd be willing to bet the marshal will want to watch the door himself, or maybe put his deputy on it."

"Yeah. Okay, I'll check back in a few hours."

"Good. Oh, and Jeremy?"

His younger brother looked up to search Jason's face, a question in his eyes.

"Thank you."

Jeremy grinned and disappeared into the hallway.

"I'll bring you up some breakfast in a minute," said Lottie, walking toward the door. She opened her eyes wide and gave him a pointed look. "Then you get a nap."

"Oh, no thank you, Lottie," said Jason, following her. "You've been more than a friend today. I just want to rest a bit, and then I'll come down. Save me a seat for lunch."

"Suit yourself. And Jason," she added, nodding toward the bedroom where Laurie lay.

Jason tiredly smiled his understanding. "I don't care," he said with feeling. "As soon as we've dealt with Campbell, I'll make it right."

"Oh Jason, I know you will! Didn't I tell you your first child might be a little early?"

"But his name would be Bolt," he said, smiling at the referenced memory of a time when he had been wrongly accused of siring three little heathens. Lottie had been the only one in town besides his brothers who had believed his innocence. "I remember."

"Safe to come in?" asked Richard at the door with two more buckets of steaming water.

"Just pour them in the tub," said Lottie. She and Jason exchanged a glance while Richard performed the task. She made a quick return to Laurie's side, fussing over Laurie for a moment before leaving the room, empty buckets in hand.

Jason shut the door behind her and stripped himself down. He eased himself into the shallow water and tipped his head back with his eyes closed. His muscles relaxed while thoughts of where Campbell might have hidden whirled around in his mind.

"That scared the hell out of me," said Richard.

Jason's eyes flew open. For just a brief second he'd forgotten Laurie's brother was still there, quietly sitting next to her and holding her hand. It was an odd gesture, coming from one who previously seemed hell-bent on making his sister's life miserable. He straightened and grabbed the cake of soap left beside him on the table. "Yeah."

"I know you don't understand how things are between us," Richard told him. "Trust me, we weren't always this way."

"Explain to me what Laurie could have done to you that was so terrible that she deserved your contempt."