PART 11
Early next morning came
quickly. Dan and Brian had stayed the
night at the sheriff’s office keeping an eye on Hank, who had not yet woke up
from his previous days drinking binge.
Michaela had come by the night before to check on Hank just to make sure
he was Ok.
Dan had just woke up and put
on a pot of coffee, and Brian was still asleep on a cot by the opposite
wall. Soon, Dan heard a moan come from
inside the jail cell.
“Mmmm, what?” Dan heard Hank
say, and then Hank opened his eyes and realized he wasn’t in his saloon
anymore. “Hey, where am I?” His yell
woke Brian up.
Hank stood up and looked
outside his cell. His eyes were
bloodshot. Brian sat up and rubbed the
sleep out of his eyes.
“What am I doing in
here? Who are you?” Hank looked at Dan,
and then continued his yelling. “Get me
out of here.”
Dan just sat in the chair,
with a fresh cup of coffee in hand, and stared at him.
“You have no right to keep
me in here.”
“Oh, don’t I?” Dan said
calmly.
“No, you don’t. I don’t belong in here.”
“Dr. Blake seems to think
you do.” Dan was surprised at how calm he was at the moment.
Hank stopped his ranting.
“Seems that you shot, Dr.
Blake, and there was a witness.” Dan
told him. Brian watched the exchange
from his cot.
“Who? Who saw me shoot her? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t shoot anybody,” he yelled.
“Dr. Blake,” Dan stood up
and walked toward Hank. He stopped
right in front of him, but far enough away that Hank couldn’t reach him. “Dr. Blake saw you shoot her.”
“No, I didn’t,” Hank denied
again.
“Well, somebody did. She was shot in the arm. When she came to, she said you did it.”
“She was lying.”
“We’ll let a judge decide
that.” Dan went to sit back down. Brian smiled with amusement while Hank
continued complaining.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * *
“Morning, Nan.” Andrew said
to her as he brought in breakfast for her and Nat from the hotel. “Morning, Nat.”
“Good morning, Andrew,” Nat
said as he sat by his wife’s side.
“Good morning, Andrew,” Nan
said to her doctor.
“I brought up breakfast for
both of you.” He handed Nat a tray full
of food.
“Look’s great,” Nat told
him, as he set the tray down on the stand by the bed. “Hope you’re hungry, honey.”
“Yeah, I’m starved,” Nan
said.
“Good, you need your
strength,” Andrew told her. “I’ll leave
you two alone then,” he said before he left the room.
“Are you going to go into
town today, Nat?” she asked him.
“Why?” he looked at her.
“No reason,” Nan looked down
at her food. Her stomach lurched a
little. She looked back up at Nat.
“Actually, I’m not very hungry after all,” she pushed away her food.
“But, Nan. You said you were starved.”
“I was, until I saw the
food.” Nan looked a little green to
Nat.
“What about it?” Nat looked
confused. “It’s pancakes. You love pancakes.”
“Nat, please, take the food
back downstairs.”
Nat hesitated, “Well,
Ok.” He took the tray from her and
turned to leave. He stopped at the door
and tuned back to look at his wife. He
looked about to say something to her, but changed his mind and left.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
“Nat,” Colleen saw Nat walk
into the downstairs office. “What’s
wrong?” she saw the breakfast tray in his hands.
“Nan all of a sudden felt
sick,” Nat told her.
“I wonder why,” she thought.
Andrew walked into the
room. “What’s wrong?” he looked at Nat.
“Nan’s feeling sick.”
“I’ll go up and check on
her. You go ahead and eat your
breakfast.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * *
“Judge Thomas will be
arriving on Friday afternoon’s train,” Horace Bing, the telegraph operator,
told Sully at the post office.
“Thanks, Horace. I’ll go let the others know that the judge
will be here in a few days.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * *
As Nat was finishing up his
breakfast, Andrew came back downstairs.
“How is she?” Is something
wrong?” Nat spit out before Andrew had a chance to say anything.
“She’s fine.”
“Why’s she sick?”
“She’s going to be for a
little while probably.”
“Why?”
“Why don’t you go back
upstairs to see Nan. She’s feeling Ok
right now. She’ll be able to eat
something a little later.”
“Ok.” Nat finished up his
glass of milk and went back upstairs to see Nan.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * *
“So, what did Andrew say is
wrong with you?” Nat asked his wife as he sat beside her on the bed.
“He said that I’m fine,
Nat. And that you’re not supposed to
worry about me.”
“But you’re sick…”
“No, I’m not…well, not
really.” She paused for a moment. “You’re going to be a daddy,” she smiled at
him.
Nat just stared at her. “What?” he said.
“We’re having a baby, Nat.”
The realization of what Nan
was saying began to sink in. “A baby?”
Nan nodded, a huge grin on
her face. The grin was catchy, because
Nat began grinning.
“Nan,” he breathed and
leaned over to embrace her.
