Silence followed. He was pretty sure he had hit the bastard. He had no idea if the guy was wounded or dead, but he couldn’t take the chance the man was still out there, waiting for them to move. He kept the rifle aimed toward the spot where he had last seen the attacker, blinking to keep his eyes open and focused.
“Someone’s coming,” Jenny said.
“Where?”
“Down the trail.” Her eyes brightened. “It’s Denver!” She rose a little and waved.
Cowboy hat pulled low, Denver rode full tilt in their direction, rifle in hand, sliding Jenny’s palomino to a halt in front of the tree, dismounting and hurrying to join them.
“Rosebud came back with an empty saddle,” Denver explained. “I figured you might be in trouble. Didn’t have time to saddle another horse, just took off as fast as I could. I heard gunshots as I neared the rise. When I started down the hill, I spotted a guy on a dirt bike hauling ass across the desert toward the road.”
“You think he’s gone?” Cain asked.
“I didn’t see anyone else.” Denver looked down at Cain and saw his shirt and sleeve soaked in blood, more running over his hand.
“Jesus, you’ve been hit.”
“We need an ambulance,” Jenny said in a shaky voice. “But there’s no cell service out here.”
“I’ll ride back up the hill and call 911. Tell them to send a medevac chopper.” He looked at Cain. “You gonna be okay till it gets here?”
“I’m too stubborn to let that bastard kill me.” But his vision was beginning to darken around the edges. He took a last look at Jenny, then his eyes drifted closed, and he slipped into blackness.
“Put pressure on the wound,” Denver said. “I’ll be right back.” Denver grabbed the saddle horn and swung up on Rosebud, then urged the palomino into a run.
Jenny rolled Cain onto his back. Forcing down her panic and fear, she unzipped his jacket and swallowed against the sight of the blood on his chest. Leaning over him, she pressed her hands hard on the scarf covering the bullet hole. Silently, she began to pray, asking God to help Cain. She looked up to see Denver riding hell-for-leather back toward them.
He pulled the palomino to a halt. “Medics are on the way. Hospital’s only thirty miles from here. Shouldn’t take a chopper long to get here.” He looked down to where Jenny was keeping pressure on Cain’s bloody wound. “How’s he doing?”
Jenny fought back tears. “He’s lost a lot of blood. I hope they get here soon.”
“I’ll ride back up on the ridge and watch for them, make sure they know where we are. Ground’s flat all along the bottom of the hill. They shouldn’t have a problem landing.”
“Be careful, Denver. We don’t know for sure whoever it was isn’t still out there.”
Denver nodded. He spun and gigged the horse, took off at a gallop for the ridge.
“You’re going to be okay,” Jenny said. Tears returned to her eyes and began to roll down her cheeks. “Just hold on.” She wished she could rest his head in her lap, let him know she was there, but she didn’t want to move him, and she had to keep the pressure on.
It seemed like hours until she heard thewhop whop whopof a helicopter overhead. The chopper began to descend, blowing up dust and debris; then the skids settled on the ground, and the engine went silent. As the doors slid open, two EMTs in black uniforms, one young and brawny, the other older, tall, and slender, jumped out carrying a stretcher.
Ducking the blades, they hurried over to where Cain lay next to the tree.
“Thank God, you’re here,” Jenny said. “It looks really bad, and he’s lost a lot of blood.”
“He’s in good hands now,” the older man said.
While she and Denver looked on, the men worked over Cain’s body, checking his vitals, cleaning and packing the wound, administering an antibiotic, preparing him for the short ride back to the hospital.
All the while, Jenny watched, feeling useless and sick inside.
“You want to come along?” the younger of the techs asked as they made final adjustments, securing Cain to the stretcher.
“Yes. Absolutely. Thank you.”
“I’ll call the hands and Maria,” Denver said. “Let them know what’s going on.”
“I’ll let Cain know what’s happening as soon as he wakes up.” She refused to consider the possibility that he wouldn’t.
