Chapter Seventeen
Jessie awoke slowly the next morning, grimacing at the splitting headache that struck her. She put a hand to her head to relieve some of the pain, and found it wrapped in a bandanna. The memory of chasing after Casey flooded back, and she remembered falling off her horse when lightning struck.
After that, she didn’t remember anything.
She’d fallen off horses plenty of times growing up on her father’s ranch, and her body had the telltale signs of taking a fall. When she used to break horses, sometimes she’d get bucked off and hit the ground so hard her breath got knocked out of her, or she’d go dizzy. The next day, her body was sore all over, and right now her whole body hurt, and her muscles were sore just like when she’d been on the ranch.
Her side hurt, and she looked down to see that the branch that had impaled her had been removed. In its place was a clean bandage. She remembered the pain of falling into the branch, and seeing Casey ride off into the woods.
As she began to become aware of her surroundings, she noticed she wasn’t wearing much clothing at all. Just her chemise and underwear, in fact. Why was she only in her underwear? She stilled, heart pounding in fear at the realization that she wasn’t anywhere she recognized.
She looked around cautiously. Where was she? The room looked like an abandoned cabin. The floorboards were falling apart, and she could see outside through a hole in the wall the size of her fist. The bed she lay on was covered in dust, and it looked like the cabin had seen better days.
Gray’s saddlebag sat next to the bed, and Jessie relaxed upon seeing it. Gray must have found her when she fell and brought her here. But if that was the case, where was he now?
The sun shone through the nearby broken window, and it seemed like it was about mid-day based on the amount of light. The storm had cleared, and a calm serenity had enveloped the area.
Dread filled Jessie as she realized the gravity of last night. They were so close to catching Casey, but he had gotten away because of her recklessness. She needed to get out of bed before more time was wasted.
She stood from the bed but was halted by waves of pain shooting through her body. Bracing herself against a wall with one hand, she grasped at her side with the other. Her headache intensified, warning her not to move or do much. She couldn’t ride a horse if her life depended on it right now.
The door opened and Gray walked in, holding firewood. Relief flashed across his handsome face, and her stomach fluttered again. He had been taking care of her. Warmth radiated from her at the realization that he hadn’t abandoned her to go after Casey.
She tried to take a step but stumbled. She braced herself against the wall again, preventing herself from falling. Gray dropped the firewood and rushed over to her side, putting his hand to her arm to steady her. She gladly accepted the help, grasping his arm and leaning on his strength.
“Hey, you need to be careful.” His voice was soft, like he was talking to a small child.
She nodded her head slowly, trying not to aggravate her headache while doing it. Now that she was standing up, the light was making her headache worse, and she felt dizzy.
“I think I need to lie back down,” she whispered. She made a move toward the bed but wasn’t able to open her eyes more than a sliver. It felt like she was moving slower than a grandma.
Gray swept her up into his arms and gently lay her on the bed, pulling the cover up over her. She’d forgotten that she was only wearing a chemise and blushed. “I, uh… Why am I only wearing my chemise?”
“You hit your head last night in the storm. I had to get you warm so you wouldn’t get sick. I promise you nothing happened while you were out.”
She fell silent at his direct statement. She knew he wouldn’t take advantage of her, but it was still good to hear reassurance that nothing had happened. Add that to the growing list of firsts she’d had with Gray. And she didn’t even remember this one either. A man had seen her practically naked.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted out again. Now that she was in bed, she was able to open her eyes fully. His brows furrowed and his expression grew serious.
“If it wasn’t for me, again, you’d be after Casey. Maybe it’s best you continue the search on your own. This is twice now we’ve been held up because of me.”
He scoffed and sat down on the bed beside her, placing his hand over hers in comfort. It felt nice to have him touch her again. Something about him felt calming to her, like everything was going to be okay when he was around.
“You shouldn’t have gone after Casey like you did, but it doesn’t matter. We wouldn’t have made it this far without your help.”
She searched his face for how he was feeling, expecting to see anger or frustration, but she couldn’t put her finger on his expression. It almost looked like worry, or that he cared for her.
“It was him, you know,” she said. “I saw him before I fell off my horse. It was Casey.”
Gray nodded in understanding. “Doesn’t surprise me. We knew we were close.”
“We should leave now and see if we can catch him.”
“You can’t go anywhere right now. You can’t even stand up.”
She lifted herself off the bed but was barely able to make it to her feet before pain shot up her back and her headache sharpened. Gray’s hand left hers, and he pushed her down.
This was so frustrating. She should be able to move. She’d had worse falls before, and they were so close to finding Casey. She didn’t want to be the one to slow them down.
“We will wait,” Gray said. “If you push yourself too hard now, it’ll be worse later.”
“You can still catch him if you go without me. I’ll be fine.” Her heart fell at the thought of him going after Casey alone, but Casey couldn’t get away. Swallowing hard, she felt the sting of tears and desperately fought them back. She didn’t want him to think less of her for this.
Gray shook his head. “No. We will catch him another day. I care more about making sure you are okay.”
She was surprised. He’d chosen once before to delay his search when she was taken by the man her father sent after her, and now he was delaying it again. Her heart warmed. Did he care for her?
If she was in a similar situation with someone she didn’t care for, she’d stop to make sure they were all right, sure. But as soon as she got the first chance to go after the man she was chasing, she would. The only reason Gray didn’t do the same was because he cared for her as a friend, even if that was all he saw her as. She couldn’t ask more of him, and she knew she shouldn’t want to, either.
Gray got up off the bed and made his way over to the wood he had dropped. He lit the fire next to the bed, and warmth started to slowly fill her. Even though it was bright and sunny outside, she could feel a hint of the chill in the air. Winter was coming, and it was something she was not looking forward to.
Hopefully she’d get better before too long, and they could go after Casey again. She didn’t want to have to search for Casey in the winter. The snow that enveloped Montana in the winter made tracking someone impossible. Trying to travel during the freezing temperatures was something she liked to avoid. She’d never been with another person during the winter, but she didn’t want to try with Gray, either.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine soon.” His voice was gentle, caring almost. Jessie saw heartrending tenderness in his eyes as he looked at her, and she knew she was powerless in resisting him any longer.
She fully expected to be better by the evening. But as dusk began to settle, she realized it wasn’t going to happen and they would have to spend the night in the cabin.
Gray at least wasn’t being a total pain in the ass while she was recovering. He was actually quite helpful. Anything she needed he was sure to get it for her, so she didn’t have to get out of bed. This helped her headache tremendously. Her body had already started to heal and wasn’t nearly as sore as it had been when she first woke up. Gray changed the bandage from her abdomen regularly, and she wasn’t going to get an infection, much to their relief.
By the evening she was able to walk, although Gray yelled at her to get back in bed when she tried. Her head wasn’t spinning as much anymore, and although she was in some pain, she was confident she’d be fine in the morning.
“So … you’ve asked me how I got into bounty hunting, but I’ve never heard how you got into being a gunslinger,” she said. Gray had started a fire earlier to prepare for the night and was now cleaning his gun by its light. “It’s not exactly something every little boy dreams of becoming as an adult, I imagine.”
Gray paused from cleaning his gun and looked across the cabin at her with an expression she couldn’t read. Curiosity? Anger? Annoyance? Several emotions flashed across his face at once, leaving her to wonder if it had been a mistake to bring it up, but she wanted to know.
He had asked her a lot of questions about herself; it was only fair she learned something about him too.
He was silent for a while before saying, “When I was younger, some people I loved dearly were killed. The sheriff didn’t do anything to catch the person who did it, so Luke and I took matters into our own hands.”
She shivered at the thought. Vigilante justice was common in the West, but usually once someone got their revenge, it ended there. What drove him to continue? She felt like he was telling her a half-truth. There was something he was trying to protect by not giving her the full story.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “Did you catch the man who did it?”
Gray returned his gaze to his gun. His movements were methodical and well-practiced from years of handling a weapon. How long had he been in his chosen profession?
“Not yet,” he said.
“Oh.” She raised her eyebrows in surprise and began fiddling with the blanket that covered her. “What’s preventing you from finding him?”
It was evident that he had been a gunslinger for years. The way he carried his gun, how he cleaned it. And how he rode a horse and acted when he talked to people in town. Why hadn’t he found the man responsible for killing people he loved?
“It’s complicated. I have to watch out for Luke, and it takes time to track down a person who doesn’t want to be found. Especially before I had the skills to find him. But I’ll find him now.”
His face hardened, and a look of determination filled his eyes. He was serious about finding the man, no matter how long it took. A part of her wanted to help him, because she was decent at tracking people, but she warned herself to stay out of it. When they caught Casey, they’d solve her problem, and then she could finally move on with her life. If she got caught up in someone else’s vendetta, she’d never be free.
Curiosity still got the best of her, though. She wanted to know more about why he became a gunslinger.
“So that explains you, but why did Luke follow in your footsteps?”
She wished she had someone in her life like Gray had Luke. Someone who would always be there, no matter what. Who, even when accused of murder, would have her back and fight to save her.
Gray chuckled. “Funny of you to assume it was Luke who followed me into this. People always assume that.”
She tilted her head inquisitively. “It was you who followed Luke?” She had assumed with Luke’s good nature that it had been Gray who had gotten into this kind of life first. “Luke doesn’t seem like the type of person who wants to go around killing people,” she added.
He raised a brow as his eyes met hers. “And I do?”
She’d walked right into that one. “No,” she said as she rolled her eyes. “But if I had to pick which one of you got into this first, I’d say it was you.”
Gray grinned, seeming to take pleasure in her discomfort. “A lot of people assume that. But Luke has a darkness in him that not many people see.”
That was interesting. He seemed so carefree that she couldn’t imagine a dark side to him. But everyone was full of surprises.
“Luke loved them, too,” Gray continued. “When our parents were killed, he wanted revenge on the man who did it. And his desire for that revenge morphed into what it is now over time.”
Parents.
Her heart squeezed at the admission. Although she wasn’t close with her father, she remembered the love she’d had for her mother, and the great pain she’d experienced at her death.
“If someone had killed my mother, I’d stop at nothing to get revenge as well,” she admitted. “But you’ve been doing this for a while, yet haven’t found the man who killed your parents?”
She wondered how close they had come, or what information they had found so far about the man.
He nodded again as he expertly reassembled his gun. “It was difficult at first. They were murdered when we were young, and it was hard to get information in the beginning. We weren’t as good at figuring out information when we started.”
She was honored that he would trust her with his story. She had a feeling it was something he didn”t share with just anyone, so it meant a lot that he let her in.
“So what do you know about him?” she asked. “Do you know where he is, or how to find him?”
Gray shook his head and his lips pursed together tightly. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “The trail had gone cold by the time we started looking for him.”
Disappointment rushed through her at his admission. She wished Gray was closer to figuring out who killed his parents so he could be free of this.
“Why did he do it?” she asked. She hoped that he wouldn’t clam up at such a private question, but he had trusted her with his story so far.
Gray shrugged. “I don’t think we will ever really know the true reason why.”
She couldn’t tell if he was evading the question, or if he really didn’t know. Trying to get back to safer territory, she asked, “So Luke wanted revenge, but you didn’t?”
He shrugged noncommittally. “It doesn’t matter what I want. I have to protect Luke.”
Her heart swelled at his admission. He’d been protecting his brother for years and had put his life in danger to protect him from harm.
“Besides, it was better than working on a ranch our whole lives doing manual labor,” he added.
She found it funny that something that sounded so horrible to one person could be the salvation of someone else.
“Doesn’t sound better to me. I’d rather work on a ranch than put my life at risk every day,” she said.
“Said the bounty hunter whose life is at risk every day.” He sounded almost playful.
“It’s not the same thing, and you know it.” She rolled her eyes again at him.
“True. Although if you have a reputation as a gunfighter, it might come back to bite you. Sometimes it’s a good thing to have a reputation. Sometimes it makes people do stupid things. Most people stay away from me, but there are always a few who have something to prove and try to show they are faster than me. So they come after me and end up dead.”
Silence fell upon them, and she wondered just how many people had wanted to prove they were faster than Gray, and how many people had lost their lives because of it.