The Outlaws: Jess Read Free Page B

rabbit and boil it up into a rich broth. He also
needed to find Meg's horse.
    Jess put his shirt back on and returned to camp. Meg
was still sleeping. He checked his guns, strapped on his gunbelt
and disappeared into the shadows of the cottonwoods. He found Meg's
mare tethered to a tree a few hundred yards from the campsite,
happily munching grass. He left the mare for the time being and
continued on his quest for food.
    Thirty minutes and two rabbits later, he
retraced his steps to Meg's horse and returned to camp with rabbits
and mare in tow.
    Meg slept on as Jess gutted and cleaned the
rabbits and put one in the battered coffeepot to boil and staked
the other over the fire to cook. Then he checked Meg for fever,
pleased to find it only slightly elevated, and inspected her wound
for infection.
    So far so good, Jess thought with relief as
he sat down beside Meg to await developments. Unfortunately things
could change quickly with wounds such as Meg had sustained. He was
gazing off into the distance, thinking about Rafe and Jess when Meg
awakened and spoke to him.
    "Am I going to die?"
    Jess's thoughts snapped back to the present
and his gaze swung around to the lady bounty hunter. "Not if I can
help it."
    "I'm thirsty."
    Jess carefully lifted her head, reached for
his canteen and held it to her lips. She drank deeply, sighed, and
indicated she'd had enough.
    "How are you feeling?" Jess asked, studying
her pallor with a critical eye. She'd lost too much blood for his
liking.
    "Like I've got one foot in the grave. I still
don't understand why you didn't leave with your brothers."
    "I'm not a Calder," Jess returned shortly. "I
told you my name last night."
    Meg regarded him with confusion. "Jess
Gentry. I remember, but..."
    "Just concentrate on getting well. We'll sort
everything else out later."
    "I want to go home."
    "You can't be moved yet. In a few days,
maybe. We'll have to wait and see what develops in the next few
hours."
    Meg's eyes grew round. "Like what? I can
still die, can't I?"
    "Well, there's always the possibility of
infection. I doused your wound with carbolic acid and I'm hoping it
was enough to prevent infection. If not, a fever is bound to
follow. But don't worry, I'm a doctor. I know what to do to help
you."
    Jess saw disbelief march across Meg's
features. Obviously she wasn't of a mind to take his word for
anything. But he had more important things to worry about, like
saving her life.
    "I'm going to give you some more laudanum,"
Jess said, reaching for the bottle. "Rest is the best thing for you
right now. When you awaken I'll feed you some rabbit broth. You'll
need it to keep up your strength."
    Meg shook her head. "No. No more laudanum. I
can't think when I'm drugged."
    "Don't think. Just concentrate on getting
well. You want to return to Zach, don't you?"
    Meg sent him a startled look. "How do you
know about Zach?"
    "You called for him in the night. Is he your
husband?"
    Meg shook her head.
    "Brother?" Another negative shake.
"Father?"
    "No."
    Jess abruptly cut off his questioning.
Clearly Zach was Meg's lover. Jess wished the man were here now so
he could give him a good dressing down. No man in his right mind
would allow his woman the freedom to turn to bounty hunting for a
living.
    "Open your mouth, Meg," Jess said sternly.
"I'll just give you enough laudanum to dull the pain."
    Meg stared at him, then opened her mouth with
marked reluctance. Before long she had fallen asleep. When she
awakened several hours later, Jess patiently fed her broth and bits
of rabbit flesh. She fell asleep again. Jess built up the fire and
settled down for the night on the bedroll he'd taken from Meg's
saddle.
    Her cry in the night pulled him from a deep
sleep and he sprang to her side. It didn't take a genius to
recognize the irrefutable signs of infection and fever. Meg was
drenched in perspiration, thrashing from side to side, damp strands
of dark hair plastered to her pale face. Her body burned with heat
that would