Edge: Vengeance Valley (Edge series Book 17) by George G. Gilman

Author:George G. Gilman [Gilman, George G.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Lobo publications (A High Plains Wesrern)
Published: 2013-05-17T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

THE longer Edge had stayed in the doorway, the stronger he felt. Compared, that was, to the brink of collapse he had been at when he first rose from the bed. After he had watched the two surveyors ride from sight where the trail turned between the trees and the riverbank, he was able to do away with the rifle as a crutch and stand erect without the support of the door jamb.

‘Thank you,’ Maria said suddenly, to break the silence which had followed after the hoof beats faded from earshot. ‘You owed us no debt, but I am grateful you felt that you did.’

She had not idly watched the surveyors ride off the homestead. While the half-breed’s eyes were averted, she had worked nimbly with the remains of the dress. When he looked at her now, he saw that she had fashioned a halter to conceal her breasts, and a short skirt to cover her from waist to just above her knees. Had the circumstances been different, he might have found this attire more stimulating than her former nudity. The words had drawn Edge’s attention back to her and he watched the woman as she stooped and gathered up the limp form of her husband in her arms.

‘You owe us nothing now, that is certain,’ she said as she approached the doorway. ‘And I need the bed for Danny.’

Edge nodded and stepped out of her path. Her only sign of strain was the heavy sheen of sweat coating her blood-spotted face. ‘Glad you see it that way, ma’am. If you’ll tell me where my stuff is, I’ll be moving on.’

‘Danny put everything in the barn,’ Maria called from inside the barn. ‘Your clothes, too. I am a clean housekeeper for my husband.’ The door started to close. ‘No offence.’ It closed.

Oakley was not the only one to benefit from Maria’s belief in cleanliness. The first things Edge saw when he entered the barn were his shirt and undershirt hung and dried after being laundered.

The feeling of returned strength was proved to be false as he undertook the simple task of dressing. The bulkiness of the bandages made the familiar clothing a tight fit, but Edge seldom lied to others and never lied to himself. He could manage a short, slow walk in the noonday sun without trouble. Anything more than this required a major effort from his tortured body.

But his honesty was matched by his determination. It took him thirty sweating, grunting, cursing minutes to saddle the big gelding Wood row Ryan had provided for him. But he did it, and a sense of grim satisfaction was not all he got out of the exercise. He was rested and he was patched up. Use of his muscles took the stiffness out of his limbs. Thus, as he buckled on his gun belt and checked the Colt, then the Winchester, his actions were smoother and more agile. Then he looked in the saddlebags and abruptly reached the fullest extent of recovery that was humanly possible so soon after the beating.

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