Saving the Gunslinger

Chapter Fifty-Five

Chapter Fifty-Five

Caroline stirred a bit as she began to come awake. Immediately her eyes flew open and she took in her surroundings. She'd expected to be lying on the boardwalk porch where Edgar had tossed her but instead she was in her own bed in the apartment at the saloon and brothel. She was fully dressed, laying on top of the covers with a thin throw blanket draped over her.

How had she gotten here? If she was home that had to mean the fight was over. But how had it gone? Surely if Clinton's men had won they wouldn't have tucked her into bed, would they?

Caroline got to her feet, weaving a bit as her head swam. She needed to check on her friends. Before she could take a step toward the door, it swung open and Sheriff Arthur Thomas stepped inside. Caroline took several quick steps back, her weak legs gave out and she fell sideways onto the bed.

"Stop right there!" she warned as he approached with a look of concern on his rather handsome face.

Caroline had no idea who she could trust. Arthur had come into town around the same time that Edgar had. Was he one of them?

"Ma'am, I'm not a threat to you," he assured her calmly. It was then that Caroline noticed the tray of food balanced in his hands. "I didn't realize you were up or I would have knocked. I just thought you might be hungry."

Her stomach roared in response. Caroline propped herself on the edge of the bed and folded her hands in her lap. "Thank you."

"No thanks necessary, ma'am," he replied, setting the tray down on the bed beside her. Caroline saw a bandage on his head sticking out slighly beneath his hat.

"What happened to you?" she asked. "Where are my friends? Are they okay?"

Arthur scratched at his tanned forearm. "Edgar shot me in the head but luckily it just grazed me. And everyone else is fine. Clinton and all the men he had working for him are dead."

Caroline breathed out her relief heavily. She picked up a piece of chicken from the plate of food and tore off a bite with her fingers before plopping it in her mouth. Guilt filled her as she chewed and stared off in space, lost in her thoughts. She should have realized that Edgar was bad. Should have known she couldn't trust him. Instead, she had led him straight to her friends and nearly caused their deaths.

The sheriff's throat cleared, reminding Caroline that the man was there. She glanced up at him as he pulled off his hat and held it tightly in his hands. His brown hair stuck up at odd angles around the bandage wrapped around his head. His blue eyes were warm but there was a sadness in them that caused her own heart to ache.

What was his story? Caroline didn't know. She had seen him many times since he'd been in town. He frequented the saloon but he always simply sat at a back table and didn't drink much. He never sampled the women and he never got drunk. He simply always sat there seeming lost in himself.

"I know guilt when I see it, ma'am, and trust me when I say you don't need to feel any. Those were evil men, the worst of the worst, and they built their lives on lying, using, and hurting folks. Your people are just fine and the danger is gone. None of them blame you so don't go blaming yourself."

Caroline blinked several times. She wasn't used to such kindness from men. Most men either treated her as an object of lust and attempted to rut with her, or treated her as a soiled, dirty woman not worthy of much respect.

"Thank you for your kindness, Sheriff."

He stuck his hat back on his head and took a step away, his jaw tensing. "Don't mention it, ma'am. This is my town and I take care of my people."