BECCA Season of Willows (18 page)

“You son of a bitch! You…”

River started shouting in Sioux which no one but Becca and the children understood. Becca was very sure that no one would want to hear what he said either.

Ernest barked a laugh and glared at them all.
“It looks like the only solution here is to make you a widow again Becca? Then we’ll just send these two children to heaven too. I’ll be quick.”
River screamed drawing his knife as he shoved Becca behind him, lunging at Ernest. That gave Ernest the time he needed to draw a small pistol from his coat.

Becca screamed knowing what was going to happen. And things happened fast! Too fast!
The next thing Becca knew there were two shots. River threw his knife into Ernest Biggs chest at the same time and he grunted.
River twisted as his legs gave out. He fell to the floor on his back gasping for breath.
Ernest started to laugh as the gun went off and jerked as the knife hit him. Then a bigger shot sounded. Ernest stood wide eyed and the fell forward just a foot or two from River. Tuck holstered his gun as he came through the door.

Becca screamed as well as her Aunt who quickly fainted in the arms of her shocked husband. Frank laid her on the couch fanning her as Becca and the children seemed to come alive.
Becca fell on River as he gasped for breath and Mac rushed to him trying to stop the blood with his hands.
“Ahte! Papa! NO! Father! NO! I love you!”

He started to cry which then Mazie started too. Becca was already lifting River’s head. River choked and coughed.
“He dead?”

Becca bobbed her heads frantically and sobbed.

“Good. Tuck…we killed him.”
River swallowed and looked at Becca and held Mac’s hand still.

“Love you Mac, my son. Mazie, my daughter and loving wife Becca. Love you always.”
River closed his eyes and started trying to sing in his deep bass voice.
Beca grabbed his face in her hands.
“NO! Don’t you dare! Don’t you die on me! You shut up singing that damn death song! I’ve heard it enough around here! We have a baby coming River! You better damn well not die! You look at me and hold on. River! Still River?”

Tuck came running up and knelt by River ripping off his shirt. He pressed the spots where the bullets went in and held it there. Tuck nodded to Becca.

“I sent Fringe on paint for the Marshall and the Doc. They should be here soon. Fringe will ride at a damn high gallop for River. Hold on my friend, you still have a shit load to do here.”
Becca sat by River with Mac and Mazie in her arms. They watched Tuck pressing the wounds to stop the blood.
A swishing noise of skirts was heard beside them. Auntie Marcie stood wiping her eyes and ran to the kitchen setting up a kettle of water to boil.
“Becca! We heed bandages! Quickly now! Hurry!”

She was rushing around the kitchen looking for things. “Towels and sheets! I need a sheet for the dining table. The Doctor will want him there. Get the lanterns lit! We need lots of light!”
Soon it seemed everyone had a job trying to save River. Some of the cowboys came and lifted him carrying him to the table. Tuck was pleased that he wasn’t bleeding anymore but you could see the concern on his face with River’s shallow breathing.

Half an hour later the Doc came riding in on paint. He pushed through the people and saw River already stripped and on the table. Tuck told him about the shots from the small pistol.
“That just might just be what saved him besides the man is a poor shot…or a good one. It looks like he didn’t hit anything vital. Those girlie hand pistols the eastern men use are for shooting squirrels off your roof or the Fourth of July race gun. Small bullets and no real power. Let’s hope that he didn’t hit anything important.”
Doc washed up and putting on a apron. Getting all his tools out he though he would need he dumped them in a pan of hot water and poured some whisky in. He pulled out the thing for hearing hearts and listened to River’s heart he snorted.

“The man has a heart beat like a bull! It’s that breathin’ that bothers me!”
He pulled out a metal tube and poured whisky on it. he made a cut in the side of River’s left breast and shoved in the tube. Blood immediately started to pour out of the tube.
He placed a bowl on the floor to catch the blood. The Doc got started on getting the bullets out and with in a couple of hours he had River stitched and bandaged up. He listened to his breathing one more time and nodded. River was holding on. He was still alive.

The Marshal arrived and heard what happened from each person. He cursed and knelt rolling Ernest over checking for a pulse. He shook his head. The man was dead before he hit the floor.
The Marshall was surprised. The man really shouldn’t have been here and he was interested why? Uncle Frank sat down and told the whole sorted story. Then Becca took over and told the rest. After she finished her explanation she sat on the chair in the kitchen and held onto River speaking softly with him as Mac and Mazie held onto her.

The Doctor came to the dining table and patted River.

“This is gonna sound real stupid but his color is better.” Becca smirked. Mazie walked to River and crawled up on a chair to kiss his cheek.
“Ahte?”
She kissed his cheek again.

“I love you.”
Becca though her heart was going to burst for love of little Mazie.
“What’s the girl sayin’?”

The Doc caught her attention and Becca grinned. She ran her hand through Mazie’s black hair. “She’s saying ‘father’. She’s speaking Sioux.”

The Doc nodded and ran his hand over the child’s hair too.

“I think your Ahte will be fine child. He is just healing right now.”

The Marshall came in and looked at the familial scene. Mazie was running her little fingers through Rivers long hair. She turned to the men standing.

“That bad, bad man shot my Ahte River. He’s a bad, bad man.”

She turned to run her hands through his hair again and kissed his face. Mac came around the table to look at his father and hug his sister.

“The bad man is gone, Mazie. Pa saved us with his knife but it looks like Tuck shot him too. Pa was protecting us from that piece of ….”
Mac sobbed and his face buried in River’s neck.

“River! River! Pa! Yuh got to live! Ahte! I love yah!”

Becca had tears running down her face and saw the Marshall look like he was in pain and he sniffed.
“Ah hell! I got to get in the other room or I’ll be bawling too. Shit!”
The Doctor gently chuckled and patted Mac’s shoulder.
“He’ll be fine son. He’s doing real good so far. Every one just needs to settle down. I would practically guarantee he is going to be fine. He’s breathing real good now. That new procedure I read about is done real good. I’ll have to write that doctor and tell him. Who knows? River may become famous by getting shot.”
The whole idea was so ridiculous to Becca, she laughed.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
River opened his eyes and it was morning. The sun was shining . He was late to milk Mrs. Astor.
He tried to rise and pain went through him and he gasped. A soft hand was immediately there. Becca’s dear face was there to comfort him. He smiled at her and she started to cry and kissed him all over his face. She smelled like lavender and tasted like coffee. His favorite.
She wiped her face.
“That damned Ernest shot you twice, that dirty skunk!”
River frowned and shifted in the bed. “He dead?”
River gave a raspy cough from his dry throat.
Becca nodded as she adjusted his sheets.
“You got him with a knife in his chest as Tuck shot him in the back. And good riddance, I say!”

She fluffed a pillow and gently raised his head and put it behind him.
“The Marshall has been here and the Doctor is coming back by today to check and see if you’ve curled up your toes yet. I think he just might be disappointed.”

River rolled his eyes at her and she laughed. She stopped and sat on the bed by him reaching for his hand.

“I was so scared, River. If you hadn’t killed him he would have shot us all. He was going to kill the children! And then that evil man shot you! Twice! I thought I was going die!”

She poured River some water and lifted his head. River drank it all. He let out a big “Ah” and looked at her.

“I remember now. You a brave wife, Becca. You threaten your husband when he is singing death song. You telling me not to go! Not to leave you! I remember! I stay for you and so our children have good father…me!” Becca grinned and chuckled.
“That’s right! Only you!”
She looked deep in his eyes and bent and held him in her arms. Her cheek brushed against his as he smelled her hair and felt the softness of her skin.
“My Becca…”

She gently hugged him and whispered in his ear.
“My Still River. I love you so much.”
She looked at his face and he was asleep again. She kissed his lips again.

“I love you.”

Over the next two weeks Becca was beginning to rethink that she loved him unconditionally.

He was a ‘bear’ when he was healing. He bitched about things he should be doing and then got down right ugly. He cursed about Tuck doing his chores and then cursed about Tuck taking Becca to town. River even grabbed the back of Auntie’s skirts and yanked them when she made him drink his medicine. He was being a naughty rascal again.

Becca walked into their room on the day River had Auntie almost fainting and white as a sheet telling her about all the ‘hala’ scalps he had taken. He was going into great detail of killing untold amounts of ‘hala’ and stopped abruptly as he saw his wife at the door.

Becca walked in and fisted her hands on her hips. River grinned innocently.
This is the Becca I love.

“Still River McGann! You have yanked the tail of that story enough! Auntie? He tells a good tale, don’t you think? All those poor, poor ‘hala’!”

Her Aunt waved a handkerchief and dabbed her face. “Oh Becca…scalps?”

Becca showed a face of sorrow and shook her head. Then she glared at River and spit out.
“A hala is a flea, Auntie. A flea!”
Becca looked at River’s eyes sparkling with mischief and she narrowed her own at River as he chuckled. Auntie Marcie stood straight and gave a curt smile.
“So you had me so upset over dead fleas. A flea you say? I think I shall go make a cup of tea.” Auntie Marcie turned and frowned at River that changed into a smile.

“Naughty man!”

River laughed and took a sip of his cup of coffee. Becca had to chuckle at him. He was almost well enough to love on.
Two days later the Doc closed his case and looked at River giving him a hopeful look.
“Glad I came by. You are officially healed but you already knew that. You are well enough to take over with chores again River, but you have already been doing that, I suppose.

So! I hope NOT to see you again real soon. Stay out of the line of fire. I’m going home. Don’t overdo it!” He picked up his case and headed for the front door.
Becca stopped him and held out a sack. “Here yah go Doc. Some of my chocolate cake to keep you company.” The Doc’s eyes glittered with joy.

“Well, this is mighty fine Becca, mighty fine. Thank you.”
He gave her a peck on the cheek.
They heard a loud voice from the bedroom.

“No! He is taking chocolate cake you bake for me and kissing you? This is no good way to treat husband Becca!”

The Doc patted her cheek and chuckled.
“You take care of bossy in there and let me know when its time for you to give him that baby. Okay? Sent Tuck or Fringe.” Becca chuckled.

“You will be the second one to know, I promise.”
The Doc chuckled as River stumbled up behind him.

“You go! No kissing my wife. You get your own!”

The Doc barked a laugh and skipped down the stairs to his horse.
“Yeah. I’m workin’ on it River! I’m goin’ right now over to the Widow Parson’s ranch. She tells me that she has an itch that only I can scratch.”
He waggled his brows and let out a laugh. He jumped into his buggy and turned his horse towards the east. He waved and yelled out.

“Hold on to your hair, River!”
He set his horse at an easy pace and was soon out of sight. River grunted as Becca laughed.
“Ha! Ha! Very funny! Hold on to my hair! Ha!Ha!”
He picked up his hat and coat and yanked them on as Becca watched him.

“Where yuh goin’ River?” He flashed her a quick smile as he tipped his hat.

“I go to scalp some Hala in the barn.”
Mac came running out of his room.

“Can I go with yuh, Ahte? I have a great need to scalp some Hala.”

River snorted and grabbed his son’s shoulder.
“Come son. We will make war together.”
Mac got his hat and coat on and ran down the steps with River.”

“Are we really gonna make war with the Hala, Pa?”
River grunted and nodded.
“We will kill many Hala this day. We are going to curry and brush all the horses we can.”