There were nights he still woke, sweating in the darkness.
When the war finally ended, he returned to New York only to find the city filled with broken veterans and grieving families.Every street corner became another reminder of what men could do to one another.
Eventually, it had been too much for him to bear.Secure in the knowledge that his growing daughter would be safe in the bosom of his late wife’s family, he headed west to get away from it all.
He told himself he was searching for peace.Instead, he found another violent world wearing different clothes.
Doc glanced again toward Lucas.
Road agents.Gunslingers.Desperate men.The frontier bred them as surely as the mountains bred storms.
Reaching into his medical valise, Doc removed his stethoscope and listened carefully to the woman’s chest.Her heartbeat remained strong, and thankfully he heard no fluid in the lungs.It was still early, but so far, so good.
Outside, the sound of approaching hoofbeats interrupted the silence.
Lucas immediately drew his revolver and flattened himself beside the doorway.
“So much as a peep outta you,” he warned quietly, “and you’re a dead man.”
Doc said nothing.
Whoever was coming, he was in for an unpleasant surprise.And there was nothing Doc could do about it.
“Howdy!”a voice called from outside.“Seen your fire and thought I’d stop awhile.Heard there was a town down here somewheres, but ain’t found it afore the sun dropped.”
One of the men outside answered easily enough.“Ain’t no town around here, friend, but you’re welcome to stop.”
“I’m grateful.Be good to stretch my?—”
Two gunshots shattered the night.
The horse whinnied and then quieted down, and then only the sound of the crackling fire could be heard.
Doc closed his eyes briefly.Another life ended.Another family somewhere, maybe, left wondering...
Lucas calmly holstered his revolver.That made two dead in less than two days.
“When’s she gonna wake up?”the outlaw demanded.
Doc ignored him.
“I ain’t askin’ again.”
“The answer remains the same,” Doc snapped.“I don’t know.”
He adjusted the spectacles on the bridge of his nose, trying to keep his temper from boiling over.
Lucas glared at him, but Doc no longer feared men like this the way he once might have.
Age and war had burned much of that fear out of him.But he still had a patient to protect.
And now he understood exactly what these men wanted.
Ransom.
The woman’s wealth—or the wealth of someone who cared for her—was likely the only reason she remained alive.Which meant keeping her unconscious as long as possible might buy her precious time.
“Lucas,” a voice called from outside.“Get out here.”
