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“How far are we from Willow Creek?”
Ben stared toward the mountains in the distance. “A couple of hard day's ride.” He wasn’t sure he could make it over the mountain in his condition. There were several steep passes they’d have to walk the horses through and he didn’t think he’d be able to do it in this much pain. “Silver Falls is closer.”
Walter was watching them. The old man didn’t look much better than he felt, and Ben hoped he didn’t have another gun on him.
“There is a doctor there,” Morning Dove said, drawing his attention away from Walter. “You will need medicines to help with infection.”
He nodded in agreement. “Then we go back to Silver Falls.”
Stepping off the small porch in front of the cabin, he winced, every move causing sharp pains that felt like hot pokers digging into his chest. Morning Dove said, “Cash,” to get the horse's attention. His horse looked their way, but never moved until Ben clicked his tongue.
“Can you climb up?”
“I don’t have a choice.”
She shook her head. “No, you do not.”
Getting into the saddle made him break out into a cold sweat. His ears were ringing, and he was dizzy by the time he took the reins in hand. He settled into the saddle and repositioned his hat before looking down at Walter. Blood leaked from his side to pool on the leaves underneath him. His face was clawed, bright red streaks were painted in harsh lines over his pale skin from when Morning Dove had fought him. His lip was busted and there was already bruising around one of his eyes. If he weren’t in so much pain, he would have taunted the old man for getting his ass kicked by a girl, but kept his snide remarks to himself.
Morning Dove looked at Walter. She opened her mouth several times to say something, but closed it before ever uttering a word. She turned to Walter’s horse and gave him a slap on the rump hard enough the animal bolted, racing into the trees. He was nothing but a small speck of streaking color when Morning Dove settled on Wind Chaser’s saddle. She looked over at him, her gaze falling to his chest. He still hadn’t looked. He didn’t want to know how bad it was. If he pretended it was only a flesh wound, he might be able to make it back to Silver Falls. If not…
He met Morning Dove’s gaze and saw fear lurking in her eyes. It was gone an instant later, the smile she gave him forced.
“Ready?”
He nodded and gave Walter one last look. The old man was gasping for breath, but he couldn’t find a single shit to care about it. If Morning Dove hadn’t shot him, it would be him lying there dying. Walter would have taken Morning Dove and left him for dead without blinking an eye. “Yeah,” he said. “Let’s go.”
The ride through the trees was excruciating. He bit the inside of his jaw to keep from saying anything as Morning Dove already looked harried. He figured the shock of what had happened back at the cabin was slowly wearing off. He’d felt like that a time or two in his life and knew how numb it left you.
The river came into view and he nodded at it with his head. “Follow it until it veers to the right. You’ll want to go left at that point, back into the trees. Silver Falls is a straight shot from there.”
She gave him a look that said she knew what he wasn’t saying. That he didn’t know if he’d make it back or not and was telling her how to get there without him. His vision was already getting blurry around the edges, and the possibility he’d bleed out before they made it back was real. If he died along the way, he didn’t want her lost out in the wilderness with no way to find people who could help her.
Pain was stealing his breath with every inhale and his grip on Cash’s reins was so tight, his knuckles were turning white. He tried to smile at her to wipe the worried look off her face, but her expression told him it came out more like a grimace instead.
“Do not die on me, Ben.”
His lips quirked up on one side. “I don’t plan on it, darling.”
She didn’t look as if she believed him. Truth be told, neither did he.
He was so pale, Morning Dove was sure all the blood in his body had leaked out of the hole in his chest.
She was not sure how he had not passed out yet. His white-knuckled grip on the reins and the harsh lines on his face told her of the pain he felt and every step Cash made pulled a small wince from him. If she knew it would not hurt him more, she would demand they run the horses faster.
The sun had not moved far across the sky when she saw his head lower. His eyes closed, and his grip on Cash’s reins slackened. The moment he swayed, she gasped and reached for him, holding him upright.
“Ben!” His eyes rolled back when his head lolled in her direction. She held onto him, panicked. “Ben, wake up!”
She laid her fingers to his neck, feeling for a pulse, and blew out a breath when she felt it. She grabbed Cash and Wind Chaser’s reins to get the horses to stop and sat there for long moments as her mind raced.
The river was a shining ribbon of glass that wound through the trees. How far were they from Silver Falls? Would they even make it back?
Her eyes filled with tears, but she forced them away and stared into the distance. They had only spent two nights in the wild. If they rode straight through…
Those tears blurred her vision again. Would Ben even live that long?
She bit back a sob and grabbed him with both hands, leaning him forward to lay over Cash’s neck. When she was sure he would not fall, she jumped to the ground and searched both saddlebags. She found a long, thin coil of rope and spent long minutes wrapping it under Cash and over Ben as many times as she could before tying it off, praying it would hold.
