by J. Rosemary Moss
Genre: Fan Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: PG
LINK TO PART ONE
~
Somehow Adam and I managed to climb back up the rest of the slope. He had to lean on me yet again—who would have guessed that I'd become so familiar with the hardness of Adam's back and the feel of his shirt? A shirt that was soaked with sweat, by the by. And small wonder: we were both panting and doubled over by the time we reached the top.
But where had that gunshot come from? Brian had probably carried a pistol onto the stage—he usually traveled with one. Perhaps he had fired a warning shot at a rattler.
Still, not knowing was sheer hell. And my nerves were fraught enough from the accident. I was almost glad that Adam was there at my side. That fact forced me to keep calm. It would be unthinkable to panic in front of him.
“Now what?” I demanded, forcing myself to stand up straight. “Can you see who fired that shot?”
I felt Adam straighten up beside me as he answered. “No,” he said. “But it came from that direction.”
I rolled my eyes. “Please don’t tell me you’re pointing,” I said. “You know I can’t see you.”
There was an awkward silence, followed by a self-mocking laugh on Adam’s part. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That was idiotic of me.”
I was somewhat mollified by the humor in voice. “Not to worry,” I said. “My brother does things like that all the time.”
Adam chuckled at that and then got back to business. “The shot came from the west--but whoever fired it isn’t in sight. Are your servants armed?”
“Brian is,” I confirmed. “But he couldn’t have fired that shot—you sent him in the opposite direction to look for the driver."
I'm not sure why I specified that. I think I wanted to let Adam know that I hadn't forgotten his presumption in giving orders to my servants.
"I’m not sure if Peter was carrying a weapon," I continued. "I suppose he might have been.”
“And Peter went after the horses?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Well, let’s hope that he’s responsible for the shot and that he has everything under control,” Adam said with a sigh. “Let’s get some water into our patients, and then we’ll go after him.”
But I put my foot down at that. “Adam, you’re in no condition to walk any further on that leg. I refuse to support you all the way down that road. God knows how much of a distance we’re talking about.”
I felt him stiffen at that. He still had an arm around me and he was still leaning against me for support, so I had no problem judging his reaction. He was angry and annoyed.
“I’m still capable of walking,” he said in a taut voice. “And I’m not about to abandon your servant, even if you don’t give a damn about him.”
My blood boiled at that. “What I give a damn about is getting all of us—you, me and my servants—out of this mess alive! You won’t help matters by exacerbating your injuries and incapacitating yourself.”
Adam responded by taking his arm off my shoulders. “I’ll lead you to the two injured men,” he told me, his voice deathly calm. “Stay with them and give them water—you should be able to manage that. I’ll go after Peter on my own.”
He took hold of my arm, but I had no intention of meekly obeying his orders. I had a fairly good notion of where he stood in relationship to me, so I jabbed at his face.
I felt my fist make contact with his jaw—and I felt him stumble backward from the impact of it. But he didn't say anything. He didn't even grunt or groan. There was just a stark silence between us.
I had taken him by surprise. I would never have managed to hit him otherwise. And he couldn’t retaliate—not against a blind man. That infuriated me, for since we couldn’t fight it out I’d have to apologize.
I swallowed hard. Best to get this over with.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “Are you all right?”
“I’ll live,” he said.
I sighed. “Don’t go after Peter,” I said. “We can’t leave these injured men alone—and I’m not going to be much use to them if something goes wrong. Besides, you’ll never make it on that leg of yours.”
I heard him inhale sharply at that. I could have bit off my own tongue—why had I brought up his leg again? He might have listened to me for the sake of our patients, but now he something to prove.
“Just do your best,” he ordered. “I don’t expect to be gone long. If I can’t find Peter within a short distance I’ll turn back. Now will you let me guide you to our patients?"
I swore under my breath. “It doesn’t look like I have much choice.”
LINK TO PART TEN
No comments:
Post a Comment