stomach churned. The hole in Joshua Blue’s shoulder wasn’t much bigger than a man’s finger, but it had the potential to kill him with infection. In his weakened condition, he might not be able to fight it. Adie squeezed his hand. She feared for his health. She also feared for herself and Stephen. She’d just opened the first saddlebag when she heard the gunshot. Later, when he’d fallen asleep, she’d search his things.
“Whiskey, please,” Bessie said matter-of-factly.
Adie watched as Caroline splashed whiskey into her sister’s palm. As Bessie rubbed her hands together, Caroline dampened a patch of cotton and gave it to her sister. Bessie looked at the man’s face. “This is going to hurt, sir.”
He closed his eyes. “Just do it.”
Bessie took a probe from the instruments Caroline had put on a clean towel. As she inserted it into the wound, Joshua Blue arched up. Bessie pulled back.
“Adie, Caroline. You’ll have to hold him down.”
The two women moved into position. On their knees, they each held a shoulder. As Bessie went to work, Adie felt the man straining against her hands. She also sensed acceptance. The bullet had to come out.
“I found it,” Bessie said.
She removed the probe and lifted a pair of forceps. After a glance at her patient, she inserted the instrument, pinched the bullet and pulled it out. Joshua Blue groaned with pain. Adie wondered which hurt more, his chest or his belly.
Bessie held the bullet up to the light and examined it. “It’s in one piece. We’re done except for stitching this gentleman up.”
He let out a breath. “Thank you.”
“You’ll do fine as long as the wound doesn’t fester. Of course you’ll have to rest up for a while.”
He grunted. “How long?”
Adie had been wondering the same thing.
“As long as it takes.” Bessie took a stitch with a needle and black thread. “Judging by your appearance, you’re half starved. You need a week in bed and a month in a rocking chair.”
Adie cringed. “That’s so long.”
Bessie gave her a motherly look. “It’s what the man needs, honey. We’ll be all right.”
Leave it to Bessie to calm the waters. Mary would pitch a fit. Pearl, conscious of her belly, would stop coming downstairs. Caroline judged no one. She’d befriend Mr. Blue without hesitation, posing a problem of a different kind. Adie watched as the nurse stitched up the wound, snipped the thread and wiped the incision with whiskey. She inspected her handiwork, then wiped the man’s brow with a clean rag. “We need to get you to bed. Can you walk?”
“I think so.”
With Adie on one side and Caroline on the other, he leveraged to his feet. He looked like a kicked-in chimney pipe, but he managed to move down the hall. Adie started to follow, but Bessie stopped her. “I’ll see to him. Go hold Stephen. It’ll make you feel better.”
“Thanks, Bessie.”
“By the way,” said the older woman. “Who is this man?”
“I wish I knew.” Adie told her briefly about finding him on the porch. “He was in pain even before Mary shot him.”
“Maybe an ulcer,” Bessie said. “I’ve got a small bottle of laudanum. I’ll fetch it for him.”
Adie thought of his earlier comment about the drug but said nothing. She wanted Joshua Blue to fall asleep so she could finish going through his saddlebags, but first she needed to check her son.
“Whatever you think,” she said to Bessie. “The sooner he heals, the sooner he can leave.”
“He needs time,” the nurse said gently.
Adie sighed. She’d cook meals for Joshua Blue and nurse his wounds. She’d change his sheets and wash his clothes. But time to heal—what he needed most—was the one thing she didn’t want to give. The sooner he left, the safer she and Stephen would be.
As Bessie went down the hall, Adie headed for the parlor where she heard Pearl humming a lullaby to Stephen. She rounded the corner and saw both Pearl and Mary on the divan. Pearl looked lost, but Mary had crossed her arms and was glowering. Adie had hoped to check Stephen and escape to the carriage house, but she couldn’t leave without explaining to her friends.
“Who is he?” Mary demanded.
“I don’t know,” Adie said. “But I’m certain he means no harm.”
Mary groaned. “You can’t possibly know that.”
Adie couldn’t be sure, but he’d come to the door sick and weak. “Look at him. He’s downright scrawny.”
“He’s also dressed like a gunfighter,” Mary insisted. “I know his kind.”
Adie felt naive next to Mary, but she couldn’t stop worrying about the stranger. She didn’t want to argue, but she needed to set Mary straight. “He fainted on the porch. What else could I do? Leave him there?”
“You could have gone for the sheriff.”
To protect Stephen, Adie kept to herself as much as possible. If a Pinkerton’s detective visited Denver, he’d go straight to the law and make inquiries. The less the sheriff knew about Adie and her home, the safer her son would be. She gave Mary an impatient look. “It wasn’t necessary.”
“You’re too trusting,” Mary insisted.
Pearl sighed. “I wish you hadn’t shot him.”
“He went for his gun!”
Adie worried, but only for an instant. A man intending harm didn’t tell a woman to feed a hungry baby. “He has belly trouble,” she said to Mary. “He probably bent over in pain.”
Recognition flitted across Mary’s face.
Pearl went back to crooning to Stephen, who’d fallen peacefully asleep. Adie envied him. She wouldn’t sleep that well until Joshua Blue left Denver. “I have to see to his horse.”
Mary pushed to her feet. “I’ll help.”
“No.” Adie waved casually, but her stomach had jumped. She wanted to go through his things by herself. “It’s been a long night. You and Pearl should get some sleep.”
“If you’re sure—”
“I am.” Adie forced a smile. “I’ll see you both in the morning.”
Before Mary could ask another question, Adie headed for the back door. As she turned the knob, Bessie came down the hall. “Mr. Blue wants to see you.”
The saddlebags would have to wait but only for a bit. With rubbery knees, she thanked Bessie and went to see Joshua Blue.
Chapter
