Stained Snow (7 page)

The sheriff shook his head, but knowledge reflected in his eyes. “He said he’d never seen him before, but Anna called him Thomas.”

So many thoughts whirled through his mind, but the rage boiling in his blood wouldn’t let any of them come out. “Will.” At the sheriff’s voice, he forced his gaze up. “David is hanging in there. You can’t take off and leave him. Anna wouldn’t want you to.”

He tried to shove his rage into a corner. It kept leaking through. He nodded at the undertaker when they stepped inside. “She’s right back here,” the man said.

William lost all of his strength when he saw her laid out in the open casket. He dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face. He didn’t care if the other men thought him weak. How could he be strong without her there?

He brushed a hand over her face. Dark with bruises now, and they ringed her throat as well. He couldn’t bring himself to look any further, to know how else his own brother hurt the woman William loved. He had been thinking about seeing her again ever since he’d left the fort.

Not this way. Never this way.

The other men didn’t say a word as he sobbed over her. Finally, he got to his feet and turned to them. Even with their faces stony, he didn’t sense any judgment there. “She should be buried soon.” He could barely bear to think about it. “She deserves the dignity of that.”

“It’ll be taken care of, William,” the undertaker said.

William turned back to the sheriff. “I need to see my son.”

Carl nodded and led the way back outside. “Doc can’t get the bullet out,” he said as they headed down the street. “It’s right next to his spine. Said he’ll either never move again or die if he digs for it.”

“What’s going to happen if it stays in there?”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to talk to Doc about that.”

He knocked on the doctor’s door. When the door opened, the doctor pulled him inside. “You’ve heard then?”

“Carl told me. How is he?”

“He’s hanging on. He’s still really weak. I’ve been able to feed him a little, but it’s not looking good. He’s gained a little strength, but he can’t move much right now. With where the bullet is, even the smallest fall, if he walks, could dislodge it and paralyze him. It might have been better if the bullet killed him.”

William hated the truth he read in the man’s words. “Why would he do this to him? He’s just a little boy.”

The doc shook his head as he led him deeper into the building. “None of this makes much sense, Will.”

“He should be home with Anna right now.”

“I’m sorry about your loss there, Will. Anna was a wonderful woman.” William didn’t respond. He couldn’t even voice the thought. The doctor sighed and led him through the main room. “Come in and see your son.”

William followed the doctor back to a closed door. When the older man opened it for him, he stepped through but didn’t move past the doorway. David lay on his stomach on top of the bed. A bandage covered what must be the wound, but the rest of his back was exposed. “I tried to take it out,” the doctor said. “It’s too close to his spine. It’s up to him now. I’ve done all I can.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

The older man nodded then stepped back so William could move forward. He stopped beside the bed, resting a hand on the back of his son’s head. “I’m so sorry, David. I should have been there. I never should have left you.”

The boy’s eyelids fluttered open, and William bent down beside him. He heard the shallow breathing, and the way it whistled through his lips. “Pa? I’m so sorry, Pa.”

The voice was weak, but he was so thankful to hear it. “You have nothing to be sorry for, David. Nothing at all. I should have been there to protect you and your Ma.”

“I tried to stop him, Pa. I promise I did.”

William wished he never laid that responsibility on the boy’s shoulders. How could he have ever imagined something like this would happen? “It’s not your fault,” he murmured. “It’s not your fault at all.”

#

William stood in front of the hole dug in the ground. His face felt like carved stone, but behind that, he was dying himself. David gained a little strength back. He still couldn’t walk on his own, but Doc found a wheeled chair and rolled him down to the cemetery for the burial.

None of this should be happening. If William had never left to escort that prisoner, none of it would have. He might always carry that guilt with him. He placed even more of it at his brother’s feet.

Thomas had always held a grudge against him, sometimes it seemed since the day he was born. He had always been making William pay for some crime he didn’t know he committed. Picking fights with him and making him look like the aggressor. Making him do all of the work Thomas was supposed to do. He had never seen this much as a punishment. He enjoyed the work.

It only got worse when William got a bit older. He had seen Thomas sneaking out of the barn one night, and another person going in the other direction, toward the cabins of some of the married ranch hands. He figured it wasn’t any of his business what they had been doing and forgot about it. Thomas made his life hell after that night. A few weeks later, Thomas was gone. William could breathe again. At least until his brother returned a few years later, with even more hate in his eyes when he looked at William.

Patrick had taken both of them on a trip to drive some horses up to Fort Steele for the Army, where William first met Anna. On the way back home, Thomas attacked him. He had a scar down his back, from where Thomas’ knife sliced into him, to remind him of his brother’s hate. Patrick saved him then and told Thomas he was no longer welcome on the ranch.

Who would save him now? Because this grief strangled him. He had to be strong for David. His son was still here, and he had to reach down through the grief and find the gratitude for that. He closed his hand over the boy’s shoulder but barely heard any of the words the preacher said over the grave.

He had been back in town for two days. It had taken him that long to get everything arranged. The burial planned, telegrams sent. Anna’s father made it into town the night before. William had barely been able to face him, to see the sorrow in his dark green eyes. The man had already had to bury one woman he loved, Anna’s mother.

Everyone in town tried making things easier for him. How could they make this easier? He was burying the woman who meant everything to him today. Everything else in his life had burned to the ground.

He still had his son. He had to keep reminding himself of that.

The pastor closed his bible, finished speaking. A hand dropped to William’s shoulder. It wasn’t Patrick’s. When he turned his head, Anna’s father stood next to him. His second wife stood beside him now, praying fervently as if that was the only thing getting Anna’s soul to heaven.

“Come on, son. It’s time to say good-bye.”

William stepped forward and threw a handful of dirt on top of the coffin. He stood there for a moment. He felt adrift, like nothing would keep him in this world any longer. At least nothing worth staying for. Another hand came down on his back. This time it was Patrick. “Come on, Will. Let the others pass. You have to take care of your son.”

William stepped aside with Patrick, but he didn’t take his eyes from the grave. He never would have thought this would be his last memory of his wife. That he would have to see her like this. He wasn’t sure if he could live with it. He couldn’t if Thomas never paid for his crimes.

“He should get some more rest.” The doctor took the handles of the chair and nodded at the young boy.

William nodded and knelt down in front of David. “I’ll be by to see you in a little while. We’ll go home soon.”

“I’m sorry, Pa.”

“No. You have nothing to be sorry for.” He was the one who was sorry, and the guilt of it burned through his veins. “Go on. Get some rest.”

He stood again as the doctor wheeled his son away. He watched as the rest of the townspeople passed before the grave. Some threw dirt on the coffin, others flowers. Even when the rest cleared out, William stood next to the grave. He didn’t want to leave his wife. Even if he couldn’t be with her anymore, he couldn’t bring himself to leave her side. Thinking he was alone, he dropped to his knees in front of the grave. A few tears dripped down his cheeks, splashing the fresh dug earth.

“I promise you, Anna, I will find him. I will make sure he pays for what he’s done to you and David. I won’t let the two of you down. Not this time.”

Steps rustled in the grass behind him, and he stiffened. He hated he’d been caught in a weak moment. He lifted a hand to wipe the wetness from his cheeks. When he finally turned around, his stepfather waited for him, sorrow and pity in his eyes.

“You can come home with your Ma and me, Will. David will come too when he’s able.”

“I have to find him. I wasn’t able to protect them while Anna was still alive. I will make sure they get justice.”

“David is still alive. He needs you, Will. He needs you to be here and whole for him.”

Still, this weight on his soul wouldn’t leave him. “I can’t let him get away with this.”

Patrick shook his head. “You don’t want to start down this path of revenge. You don’t want to see what it will do to you. I don’t want to see it.”

“It doesn’t matter, Pa. He needs to pay for this. He’s never paid for anything he’s done. I’m not going to let it happen again.”

“Will,” he started to say, but William had already moved away.

“I’m going to see my son.”

Chapter 9

Bailey Ranch, Wyoming Territory

October 13, 1887

William rode into the ranch yard, his gaze scanning as he rode. He didn’t let out a breath until David came into sight, standing next to the corral. Patrick rode up beside him. “You’re going to kill that horse you ride him any harder. David’s fine. He wasn’t alone here. Your ma’s here. I left my foreman here. He was protected.”

He wasn’t sure he could ever be protected enough. The two days they’d spent driving horses to the fort and returning home had been hell for him, not being able to check on his son. “He’s not riding one of those horses.”

“It’s been nearly half a year, Will. Doc said he could do normal things if he felt up to it. He wants to ride again.”

William swung down from the saddle and jerked the cinch loose. The saddle nearly fell to the ground before he caught it by the horn. “He’s my son, Patrick, and he has a damn bullet in his back. Because of my brother. He’s not getting on one of those horses.”

“You’re not doing him any favors. He wants to do something. You should let him.”

He removed the bridle with more care then let the horse into the corral before turning to his stepfather. “Did you forget what else the doctor said? Even the smallest fall could dislodge the bullet and paralyze him if it doesn’t kill him. I’m not letting that happen.”

“You can’t control everything, Will.”

William closed his hand into a fist then slowly released it. “I’ll control what I can. He’s already taken Anna and my ranch from me. I’m not going to let him take my boy as well.”

He turned and strode off to where his son still stood. More like leaned, he realized as he approached. He could walk now, even though he got tired easily. It frustrated the boy.

He couldn’t run. Even walking was awkward, but he made sure to do it as often as he could. William had seen the pain and frustration on the boy’s face from walking across the room. It nearly tore his heart from his chest.

He put a hand on his son’s shoulder, and the boy tensed underneath his touch. “Which one do you like?”

“All of them.”

Even David’s voice sounded weak. Not good. He’d been gaining strength until the last month. It seemed like he fought for every step, every breath, now. Worry had been eating away at William. He tried to ignore it by working himself harder.

David shouldn’t be dealing with this. He should be able to run and play like any other kid. He should be able to do his chores, should have his mother calling him to dinner. Hell, they should be back on their own ranch. What was the point when he had only a couple horses with no where to keep them? Patrick offered to help him rebuild, but without Anna, he didn’t see a reason.

He didn’t see a reason for much of anything lately.

He hadn’t ridden out after Thomas after the funeral. He would have liked to, but David needed him, and the trail would have been cold. William had ridden to a few nearby towns, asking around. No one had seen him, but they said they’d put the word out, too. He hadn’t heard anything and started to think he never would find him. He’d never get justice for what was done to his family.

There wasn’t anything he could do anyway. The doc had said as much when he’d come by a couple weeks before. No sign the bullet shifted, but David could be fighting an illness or something. It might be more than that.

The shiver wracked the boy’s body, and William swallowed past the lump forming in his throat. “You need to get up to the house. Have your grandmother get you something warm.”

“I can do it.” David pulled away from him. “I don’t need your help walking.”