Chapter 14
Tim fell so slowly that Troy wasn’t sure what was happening at first. It was only when he saw the red blooming on the boy’s chest that he understood.
He took aim and fired, but he had always been a dreadful shot.
He missed the invaders’ leader, and when he tried a second time to hit the man, he was already gone, riding out of the camp.
Troy ran to Lizzy and Tim.
The boy lay limp. Was he breathing? There was so much blood. Troy couldn’t be certain if he was alive, but if they wanted him to have a chance, they needed to get him to Julie right now.
He tried to ease the boy out of Lizzy’s arms. She was catatonic, holding her little brother and rocking back and forth, tears streaming down her face.
“Lizzy, can you give Timmy to me?” Troy asked gently.
She didn’t hear him.
“Lizzy?”
Nothing, no recognition of her name.
He tried placing a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.
This was a waste of time that Tim didn’t have.
Panic filled Troy. If Tim died, Lizzy would have lost her entire family.
Then he would lose her. He couldn’t let that happen.
He loved her so much, so deeply, that her pain was his, and he could hardly stand the ache in his chest. Still, there was life in the boy, and if it was going to stay there, he had to take Tim from her.
“Lizzy, please,” Troy tried again. “He’s dying. Give him to me so we can save him.”
Nothing. She kept rocking and crying. Was she in another world? Couldn’t his words reach her there? It certainly seemed that they couldn’t.
“Isabel!”
The change in her was absolute when he used her Spanish name. She blinked, and her eyes focused on him for the first time in a while. Troy breathed a sigh of relief.
“Give him to me so we can get him to Julie,” Troy urged.
Lizzy nodded dazedly. She looked as though Troy had woken her from a deep sleep. She drew in a breath and slowly released Tim.
The boy weighed nothing. At fourteen he should have been heavier, but life had clearly taken something from him, making him smaller and lighter than he should be. Well, he wouldn’t lose his life that day, not if Troy had anything to say about it.
Julie was in her tent, bandaging some cuts and bruises. Troy pushed past everyone. No one was more important than Tim.
“Oh my,” she said when she saw the state of him. “Everyone but Emily out!”
As people dispersed, Troy laid Tim on the bed and stepped back. Julie went to the boy straight away and nodded.
“All right. Both of you need to get out,” she ordered, beginning to gather supplies.
Troy turned and saw Lizzy standing beside him.
“No,” she said. “I have to stay.”
“Not if you want him to live. You have to go, Liz. Now!” Julie said, crouching beside Tim and examining him.
Troy took Lizzy’s hand. “Come on, Isabel. Let’s go.” He spoke softly to her, using the name her father had given her. Lizzy looked unsure but followed him.
He took her to the campfire. There were dead men lying in a row by the fire.
There were also some blankets, no doubt to place over the dead, and Troy took one and wrapped it around Lizzy’s shoulders.
She was shaking, most likely not from the chilly night air but from the shock.
She had a cut on her arm, and it looked as though it would need stitches, but he decided to only bandage it for now. Then he settled her near the fire.
Carl’s mother was walking around with mugs and a teapot. She offered Troy one. “It’s chamomile and lavender and something else for the shock,” she said. “I’ve had three mugs and I feel a lot better.” She smiled weakly.
“Could you give Lizzy a mug?” Troy asked. “And make sure she drinks it.”
Meredith nodded. “Sure. I suspect there will be a few like her today.”
Troy went to find Michael and was relieved that his older brother was fine. He had a bandage on his arm and one around his shoulder, holding his left arm to his side.
“Hey, you made it,” Michael said with a smile. “I was going to come and look for you.”
“You always were the slower of the two of us,” Troy said with a wide grin. He hugged his older brother. “I am so glad you’re okay. You are okay?”
“Yes,” Michael said through gritted teeth. “I am, but only if you let go. My shoulder was dislocated. Andrew put it back and now it’s throbbing.”
“Ah gee, I’m sorry,” Troy said.
“That’ll teach me to try and wrestle a galloping man out of his saddle,” Michael said. “But you’re not hurt?”
Troy shook his head.
“And Lizzy?”
“She’s not hurt physically, but Tim was shot,” Troy said. It was difficult to coax the words out of his mouth. Why was it so hard? Tears formed in the back of his throat, and Troy found he was weeping. “He’s hurt real bad, Mike.”
Michael, using his good arm, embraced his little brother.
Troy’s tears didn’t last long. Soon he was wiping his eyes and sniffing. “Sorry,” he said, noting the wet mark on Michael’s shoulder.
“It’ll dry,” Michael said, lifting the fabric of his shirt and shrugging. “How bad is the kid hurt?”
“I don’t know; Julie has him,” Troy said.
“And Lizzy?” Michael asked.
“She’s with Meredith at the campfire,” Troy said. “Mike, we survived. They know we’re armed and dangerous. Surely they won’t look for trouble again.”
Michael raised his brows. “Is that really what you think or just what you’re hoping for fervently?”
“I don’t know,” Troy said. “A little of both.” He wasn’t sure. He was so tired now that he could collapse where he stood. It had been a fun, exciting, and dreadful day all rolled into one.
“Why don’t you go and sit with Lizzy? We’ll get our thoughts together and then we can all have a meeting in the days to come,” Michael said. “I don’t think these ruffians will come back too soon.”
“But you think they will be back?” Troy asked.
“That man in the suit in the restaurant you told us about,” Michael said.
“Kyle told him to mind his manners and he sent eight men after you to beat Kyle up. Then he sends a group of, what, twenty armed men to our camp to attack and kill us? He’s the king of overreactions.
I’ll bet you money he isn’t done with us. ”
Michael’s words hung like a millstone around Troy’s neck as he made his way back to the campfire. Lizzy was still sitting on her log, but she was alone. It seemed she had drunk her tea because there was no mug nearby.
Troy sat down beside her. She opened the blanket and draped it around him. Then they sat, holding hands under the blanket, their heads together, not saying anything as the night wore on.
It was in the cold hours just before dawn when Troy was shaken awake.
He looked up at Julie, who had purple bags under her eyes and hands stained red with blood.
“I wanted to tell you both Tim’s surgery went well.
We got the bullet out. It was a gut shot that thankfully only grazed his liver.
Really, if there is an organ you don’t mind injuring a little, it’s your liver.
It has amazing healing abilities. And he’s young and strong.
So, with rest, he will recover in no time,” Julie said.
Lizzy threw off the blanket and, grabbing Julie, hugged her until Troy had to force her to let go.
“Thank you,” she said, weeping. “Thank you so much.”
Julie smiled. “I’m so glad I was able to help.”
Lizzy turned to Troy and threw her arms around his neck. “He’s going to be okay!”
Troy smiled and held her close. “Praise God.”
Three weeks passed in a blur. During that time the camp rebuilt what had been destroyed. They had lost three tents, but they were able to build something better with the lumber Kyle, Troy, and Lizzy had brought back with them.
Tim recovered enough to be allowed out of bed for a few hours of schooling every day, much to his disgust, and Kyle only had bruises, scratches, and a few very tender ribs to show for his ordeal as well.
Which was good because Troy, Lizzy, and a handful of others had been kept busy setting up the boobytraps around the camp. Everyone agreed it was a priority to set up defenses, and so the lookout platforms in the trees and the traps were almost complete now.
No one could work all the time though, so Troy had something wonderful planned for him and Lizzy that Sunday afternoon. He lugged along a basket filled with a picnic lunch. Luckily, they weren’t going far.
He had decided to take Lizzy away from the camp for an afternoon to help lift her spirits.
After the fight, she had become quite skittish and nervous.
And it was understandable. What they had all gone through was enough to change anyone.
Troy didn’t blame her, but he also wanted to give her a chance to heal, and being surrounded constantly by reminders of the day she almost lost Tim made that impossible.
There was a hill not far from the camp that had a truly wonderful view of the surrounding area. Troy took Lizzy there.
“All the way to the top?” she asked when they were about halfway.
“All the way,” he said, panting a little. He’d packed quite a bit of food and a bottle of wine he’d bought in San Antonio for this occasion. There was something else in his pocket that he’d bought in town as well, but that was a surprise.
“You know, we could have gone to the grove by the creek,” she said, huffing as she walked up the uneven, rocky ground. “We could be eating our lunch by now.”
“Stop complaining; the view will be worth it,” Troy said.
After a few more minutes of walking and huffing and puffing, they made it to the top. Troy put the basket down under a tree and spread out a blanket on the ground for them to sit on.
Lizzy stood at the edge on a rock, looking down over the camp. “There’s the mine and the camp and the beginnings of the town,” she said, pointing. “You can see everything from up here. It’s amazing.”
“It is,” he said. “I thought you would like it. It kind of puts things into perspective, don’t you think?”
Lizzy tilted her head. “Perspective? How?”