Special Delivery Baby

The cowboy grasped the horse’s lead.

Two men leaned over a prone figure, and Will leaned heavily on his cane.

Tomasina touched his sleeve. “Are you all right?”

He shook off her hold, forcing himself back to the present. He wasn’t at Little Round Top. The war was over. He wasn’t the captain anymore. But this was his community. He’d sworn to protect this town, and he was a man who kept his word.

“There’s been an injury.” He grit the words out. If the man hadn’t risen by now, it must be serious. “Find Doc Fletcher.”

Tomasina followed his gaze. “Do you think it’s bad?”

Had she realized how close he’d come to slipping back into his memories? Had she sensed his agony? He couldn’t let her see him like this. He couldn’t let anyone see him this way. He wouldn’t be seen as weak.

Channeling his shock at the unexpected reaction, he snapped, “Well it sure isn’t good.”

The flash of hurt in her eyes stabbed him with regret. He’d apologize later. And say...what? How did he explain the scars he carried from the war that remained out of view? He’d never let anyone see inside his pain.

Weak men made poor leaders.

* * *

Tomasina retrieved her hat and reached for her horse. She pressed her forehead against the animal’s haunches and sucked in a deep breath. Her heart continued to pound painfully in her chest. She’d have laid down her life to prevent that bull from crashing through the fence. She’d taken precautions. Her pa had always stressed the importance of safety and common sense. She’d made a promise that no one would get hurt, and she’d believed in her own word. Nothing like this had ever happened before. She’d staged dozens of shows without incident.

Clenching her jaw, she straightened. This had nothing to do with her. She didn’t have any enemies.

“Let me help,” she called toward Will. “I’ll send one of the boys to fetch the doc.”

“You’ve done enough already,” he barked over his shoulder. “Don’t make this any worse than it already is.”

Her whole chest ached. She could have weathered his anger, but his disappointment was her undoing.

Someone had sabotaged her show, and she wasn’t resting until she discovered who had spooked that bull. The act was deliberate; it had to be. She’d seen plenty of animal wounds over the years, and she recognized full well when an injury was man-made.

Several of the cowboys clustered around the downed bull. She motioned for one of the younger men and bid him to fetch the doc. Eager to help, the cowboy sprinted off.

A man she recognized as Theo Pierce, a drover of her father’s generation, rubbed the back of his neck. “That bull is going to cost you.”

“You shot him.” Tomasina crossed her arms. “Why do I have to pay?”

If Will had listened to her from the beginning instead of treating her as though she needed protection, she might have saved the animal. His interference rankled. Mostly because she hadn’t expected his prowess. Though he always moved with an inherent grace, his horsemanship was faultless. Picturing him as a staid banker whose only skill rested with ledgers and numbers had insulated her against the bewildering feelings he stirred. Seeing this other side of him, the fierce warrior, had shattered the last vestige of her illusion. Will Canfield was a dangerous man.

“That animal was on loan to your show,” Theo said. “That makes its death your responsibility. We already lost more than a dozen on the trail. I can’t afford to lose any more.” He leaned closer and touched the reddened flank. “This isn’t from a gun. What happened?”

“I’d ask you the same thing. Someone speared this bull and sent it into the corral.” She gauged the other men’s reactions, searching for any sign of guilt. “Are you telling me that no one saw anything?”

“My outfit was watching the show,” Theo replied easily. “Same as everyone else. We had plenty of time before the bronc busting, and that’s the only event any of the boys entered.”

The men appeared as confused as Tomasina. No one looked away or shuffled their feet.

“Which means someone opened the gate and speared that poor animal without anyone seeing anything. Seems far-fetched to me. Who was closest to that end of the corral?”

She’d find the person who had been standing near that gate and see if he had anything more to say outside the prying eyes of the other cowboys.

Theo rubbed the back of his neck. “James Johnson was the last fellow I noticed near the gate.”

Tomasina took an involuntary step backward. James. He was right smack-dab in the middle of trouble yet again. She spun around lest someone see the tears welling in her eyes. Was Will correct? Did she have an enemy? Had the man she considered a brother done this deliberately? They’d argued, but this action was malicious even for James. It was high time the two of them had a showdown. They’d gone through too much together. He’d been avoiding her for far too long.

Truth be told, she’d been avoiding him, as well. He was a reminder of her pa. A painful reminder of all she’d lost. Tears threatened once more, and she clenched her jaw. Pa was gone, and blubbering about it wasn’t going to bring him back. There was work to be done.

“Theo,” she said, turning back. “I’ll pay you fair market price for the bull. Throw a picnic for the rest of the boys. Tell ’em it’s from the Stone outfit.” She might as well spread some good will. Who knew what the future held. “The rest of you fan out and help with the cleanup. We’ve got injured folks.”

Another drover she recognized as a fellow named Dutch grumbled. “They’ve got their own folks who’ll see to the injured. It ain’t our responsibility.”

“It was our cattle that caused the ruckus.” Dutch wasn’t known for going out of his way, but he was a good man at heart. “If someone had been keeping watch, this never woulda happened. I think we owe these townsfolk some decency.”

Theo chucked the man on the shoulder. “Come on, Dutch.”

“If you say so, boss.”

Tomasina clenched her teeth. Dutch wasn’t opposed to taking orders, as long as those orders didn’t come from a woman.

“That’s right Christian of you, Dutch,” she grumbled. “I bet your momma would be real proud.”

“Aw, don’t get sore at me. I could use your help. You’re the best tracker we got. Can you come around tonight? The fellows on the last drive lost a few of their cattle along the creek bed.”

“I’ll help.”

She’d always be the lowest ranking drover. The men had never been much for taking orders from her even when her pa was alive. They didn’t treat her as a woman so much as an adolescent. They admired her skill and joked with her around the campfire, but she was never an equal. The distance had grown more pronounced following her pa’s death. The cycle had begun anew, and once more she had to prove herself. Another reason she had to ride better, shoot better and take the jobs the other men didn’t want.

Shoving those worries aside, she rounded up the remaining men and gathered bandages and supplies before setting off to assist with the injured. Most of the wounds were minor cuts and scrapes from getting pushed and shoved by the fleeing crowd, and most of those folks had dispersed already. If the doc was around, she didn’t see him.

She passed by the two cowboys tending the injured horse.

“It’s not bad,” the taller one said. “Just a scratch.”

Relieved, she marched on. Will knelt in front of a red-faced man clutching his ankle. She squared her shoulders and approached him. He didn’t look up. She cleared her throat and held out a roll of bandages.

When he continued to ignore her, she planted her hands on her hips. “You gonna be mad at me or you gonna let me help?”

Without lifting his head, he waved her nearer. “Hand me those bandages.”

Tomasina blew out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and knelt beside him. His acknowledgment wasn’t exactly a declaration of forgiveness, but at least it was a start.

After a quick examination they concluded the man’s ankle wasn’t broken, only badly sprained. During her ministrations, the man alternately cursed and gritted his teeth. She sat back and unfurled a length of bandage. Will supported the man’s leg while she tightly wound the bandages around the man’s ankle.

Will kept the man’s attention diverted with a steady stream of questions. Nonsense mostly. He even had the man laughing at one point. Their banter shut her out, and a strange little ache settled in her chest. No matter where she traveled, she was always the outsider. Even surrounded by dozens of cowboys she was alone. She was alone because she was different. As she completed her task, Will helped secure the wrapped end.

She served as the unofficial doc in the outfit for minor injuries; another duty that had somehow fallen on her. Until now she hadn’t realized how telling it was that the boys had assigned her that duty. They let a woman do the nursing.