Barbed Wire by Erin Wade

Author:Erin Wade [Wade, Erin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-08-27T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 41

“Kristen, wake up,” Morgan said as he shook her roughly. It took her a moment to recognize Jerilyn’s tearstained face over her brother’s shoulder.

“Reid!” Her mind was instantly alert. “Something’s happened to Reid!”

“We don’t know,” Morgan replied. “When he didn’t return to camp last night, I became worried about him. Jerilyn says he started back immediately after bringing you here. Did he say anything to you about stopping anywhere or making a detour?”

Fear filled her eyes. “No! He changed horses and said he’d have to hurry to make it back by midnight.”

“Get all the men!” Morgan instructed Wallace. “Start looking for him. I’ll wait here in case he ran into trouble and returns home. Let me know as soon as you find him.”

###

“It’s almost sundown,” Morgan mumbled, pacing the floor. “We should have heard from someone by now.”

An angry cloud of red dust swirled across the plains and up the road heading for the ranch.

“Riders are coming!” Jerilyn shouted, running to the door.

Two men thundered into the ranch yard. The body of Reid dangled between them. “You’re next, Morgan Jouett,” they hollered, dropping Reid’s body to the cold, muddy ground and galloping away.

“No!” Jerilyn screamed. “Not Reid. God, please not Reid.”

Morgan reached his brother first. “Don’t pick him up,” he ordered. “He’s wrapped in barbed wire. Wallace, grab a pair of wire cutters from my saddle bag.

“Kristen, get the bottle of laudanum from my office. Run! Shanghai, get a blanket so we can cover him. He’s freezing.”

Reid whimpered when the quilt they placed on him pressed the barbs into his skin. Morgan slowly poured laudanum into his mouth and Reid lapsed into a drug-induced sleep.

Working at a painfully slow pace, Morgan snipped the strands of barbed wire and carefully removed it from his brother’s body. Every pore of Reid’s body seemed to ooze blood. After what seemed like an eternity, Morgan motioned for the men to lift Reid onto a clean quilt and carry him into the house.

“He’s still breathing,” Morgan said, “but we don’t have time to waste. Gwen, go get some hot water and towels, while Jerilyn and I get him out of these wet clothes.”

He told Shanghai to ride into town to get Doc. “Take a few men with you,” he said. “And hurry.”

###

“It looks like he was trussed up in barbed wire and then dragged behind a horse,” Doc said as he closed his bag. “Broken ribs, fractured leg, and too many minuscule stab wounds to count. But he’s a strong young buck. He’ll recover. The most important thing is keeping the wounds cleaned and treated three times a day with the antibiotic wash to avoid infection.

“Morgan, limit the laudanum to three times a day. Opium is exceedingly addictive.”

Morgan thanked the doctor for coming and escorted him to the door.

Kristen sat staring into the licking flames of the fireplace. She softly prayed for her brother in the next room. “Please don’t take Reid, Lord. He’s one of the good ones.”

She raised her head as boots shuffled to her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.