Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard (35 page)

She glanced at the nurse for the first time as her eyes had been on Man from the moment she
’d
entered his room.  “How is he?” she asked.

“Better.  H
is pulse is getting stronger and
more
regular.
  His temperature has almost returned to normal.
”

Kate stood and leaned over so her lips were close to his ear.  Her voice hadn’t fully returned.  “I’m here,” she said as she squeezed his hand.  “Chief Marshal Meek is here to see you.”

Man shuffled a foot under the covers.

The nurse smiled and
nodded.  “
I think he
heard that.  That’s the first time he’s moved since I’ve been here.”

“Can Marshal Meek come in and see him?”
Kate
asked.

The nurse stood and said, “I’ll ask the doctor and see if it will be okay.  If it is, I’ll bring him.”

It was almost ten minutes be
fore the nurse and
Meek came in the room.  He went to the other side of the bed and reached for Man’s hand.  “Man, it’s Meek.  I came to
say
that you and Kate did a fantastic job in taking down Valdez and Engledow
and rescuing Clarice Carbon. 
I’
ll be here with Kate until you’
re able to be up and around.  She and I will take turns staying with you.”

His
gaze
went to Kate.  “I’ll stay with him.  Go get a room at the hotel and sleep.  You need it.
  If you pass out the doctor will have to tend to you, as well.
”

Kate
gave in, went to the hotel,
and rented a room.  She undressed and lay on the bed, thinking about how close she
’d come
to losing her husband.  Sleep evaded her for
only a few minutes and then
exhaustion took control of her mind and body and she went to sleep.

She woke with a start and raided up to look out the window.  It was dark.  She hurried to dress, went down the stairs, and found the lobby empty.  A clock was on the wall and she saw it was almost four in the morning.  She had been asleep for almost eighteen hours.

In a panic, she
ran to the hospital.  The waiting room was empty and dark.  She hurried down the hallway and pushed the door open to Man’s room.  Meek was asleep in a chair, but a different nurse from before was seated beside the bed.  She stood and hurried to the door to meet Kate.  The nurse motioned for her to go out in the hall.  She followed Kate and closed the door before speaking.

Kate anxiously waited for her to give a report on his condition.

“He’
s doing great.  In fact, he has called your name a few times.  The doctor has started cutting down on the laudanum.  He said by noon today,
your husband
should be conscious and
able to speak.”

The two women went back inside and found Marshal Meek standing b
eside the bed.  He
gave
Kate
an encoura
ging smile.  “It looks like he’
s out of the woods from what the doctor said.”

“I’m sorry I slept so long,” Kate said.  “I intended to sleep for only a few hours and come back.  Thank you for being here.”

“
You’re
welcome and it was good that I was here to relive you.  You
r body needed the rest. 
But now that you’re here, I’m going to go sleep for a while.”

Two days later, the doctor had M
an up and walking down the hallway.  Kate and Chief Meek walked on either side of him to keep his steady, but with each trip, he got stronger.

A week later, the doctor came in to visit with them. 
“He’
s ready to leave the hospital, but be careful with his shoulder for another couple of weeks.  The hemorrhaging could start again if he falls or puts a strain on that arm.  The muscles and tendons will take time to heal and he will need to start an
exercise program to get his
flexibility
and coordination back.  That could take an extended time.  There was extensive damage internally.
”

The next day,
Meek drove Man, Kate and Clarice Carbon to the train in a borrowed buggy.  He helped Man board and
then
stood on the platform to wave
as the train left the station.

Epilogue

A delegation from the police department was waiting to meet them
in Coeur d’Alene
.  Man’s arm was still in a sling, but other than that, he looked
healthy
.  He had lost weight, but Kate knew with good food and rest, he would be restored to his old self.

Roy and Dan were standing beside Cliff and Lucille. 
Kate noticed a ring on Lucille’s finger and gripped her friend’s hand to look.

“Congratulations,” she said.

“Thank you,” she said.

Kate
noticed that Dan was standing close beside Cliff and had a smile on his face. 
“I take it things have been running smoothly since we’ve been gone?”

Cliff glanced at Dan and gave him a pat on the back.  “I always wanted a couple of good sons of my own.
  And now I have them.
”

Dan blushed and looked down but he nodded and the smile stayed on his face.

Kate
turned when Clarice stepped up beside her.  She
made the introductions.  “
I expect you both could use good friends right now,
” Kate said.

Cliff helped Man into his buggy and Roy and Dan went to the cattle car for Red Bird, Arabian and the mules.  It was crowded in the buggy, but the five of them managed.  Roy and Dan rode the horses.

Cliff gestured at their new home as they passed by the forty acres.  The boys had the walls up and a roof over it.

“We discussed waiting until our new home was finished,” Lucille said.  “But
Cliff was insistent and I said
yes.  We’
re living at
his
place until the house is finished. 
The boys are still at my place, but soon we’ll all be under one roof. 
I have the boys working long hours on it.”

A policeman came riding up and Cliff stopped the buggy.

“Bank robbery,” the policeman said.  “The sheriff sent me to tell you.”

“Was anyone hurt?” Kate asked.

“No, but they got away with a bundle.”

Kate gestured for Cliff to head on.  “Then tell
Kincaid
to handle it himself. 
I have a more important job to do right now.”

Cliff took Man and Kate home.  “Clarice will stay with us until she finds a p
l
ace of her own,” Kate said.

Roy and Dan came to support Man as he went into the house and settled on the bed.  Kate hovered over him and checked his shoulder to make sure there was no blood.  There wasn’t, so she went to the door and waved
to
their fr
iends.

“We’ll take care of the stock,” Roy said.  “You see to Man.”

“
Don’t worry,
I will,” she said.
 
She turned back to her husband and smiled at him. 
“I’m on the job.”

And it was the most important job she’d ever had.

Visit Johnny Fowler

www.johnnyfowler.com

www.facebook.com/jrfow59

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Johnny Fowler grew up on a cattle ranch in w
est Texas and worked on a sixty-thousand-
acre ranch throughout high school and college.  He graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in business administration and began ranching for himself while employed by the USDA.  While with the USDA
,
he wrote newsletters for producers, and articles for agriculture publications and newspapers.

He has now converted the knowledge gained from his experiences and education into writing novels.