Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jeb had a sack full of jelly beans in his hand and he hoped that they would do the trick in putting a smile on Wyatt's face. Zachariah had been gone for two days now and Wyatt had been more than a little melancholy. It didn't help matters that Craig still hadn't shown his face.

Jeb knew his little brother was alive and in town because Gill had poked his head into the saloon twice in the five days since they'd been in town and seen the man.... Dangling drunkenly from stair rails while drowning in whiskey and whores.

With each day of Craig's selfish, childishness, Jeb felt himself grow more and more frustrated, disappointed and annoyed in his brother.

Jebidiah spared a quick glance at the saloon as he walked past it in the low light of the evening. The ruckus coming from inside told him a good time could be found through those swinging doors but Jeb wasn't interested in taking a look. Saloons had never been his cup of tea. He preferred quiet nights beside the river with nothing but the moonlight and his man.

Thoughts of just what he'd do on those quiet moonlit nights were interrupted when the swinging doors of the saloon flew open and a body was tossed out.

Jebidiah barely had time to register that it was his brother's body before he stepped back to avoid being toppled over.

"Do you know that damned man?" the barkeep asked from the door when Jebidiah cursed down at Craig's moaning body.

"Yeah," he admitted grudgingly. "Yeah, I know him."

Craig got to his hands and knees and wobbly made weak attempt to stand. With a growl, Jebidiah placed a heavy boot on his brother's back, shoving his belly into the dirt once again.

"If he comes back in here looking for a fight, he's gonna get more than he can handle," the burly barkeep warned.

Jeb tipped his hat at the angry man. "You won't get an argument from me."

The barkeep nodded curtly, snarled down at Craig and strode back into the saloon.

"Goddammit, Jeb, let me up! And get your damned foot off my back!"

Jeb sighed and stepped down just a tiny bit harder before backing away. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked his younger brother as he slid his thumbs through his belt loops and stared down at him.

"I'm having fun, big brother," Craig muttered, using the nearby hitching post to pull himself to his feet.

Jebidiah raised a brow. "Fun?"

"Yeah," Craig muttered rubbing at his temple.

Jeb shook his head. "Willie was always the one I had to worry about when it came to liquor. I never thought I'd have to worry just as much about you."

Craig spit dirt from his mouth and swiped his shirtsleeve across his lips. "Why the hell did you say his name for? I don't want to hear it."

Jeb rolled his eyes. "I don't give a three-toed rat's ass what you want to hear. I'll talk about him all I want to."

Craig attempted to head back toward the saloon. Jeb grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip, stopping him in his tracks. "He died, Craig. Willie died and it hurt, it still hurts, but you have to move on. Wyatt is—"

"Dying!" Craig exclaimed, cutting him off. He yanked his arm free from Jeb's grip. "He's dying, Jeb. Both of my best friends...."

Jeb shook his head before rubbing at his neck. "Wyatt is awake and growing stronger. He has been for days."

Shock registered on Craig's face before morphing into rage. He swung at Jeb who easily dodged the sloppy punch. Craig's momentum sent him stumbling and he would have fallen had he not latched himself onto a passerby to steady himself.

"How dare you," Craig hissed. "How dare you not tell me."

"I'm sorry..." the harassed passerby whispered.

Craig frowned. "Not you," he grumbled, shoving the man away. The abused and rather confused man saw his chance and quickly made a break for it.

Craig whirled on Jeb but Jeb spoke first. "I was waiting on you to pull your head out of your ass, little brother. I thought that the last time I dragged you out of a saloon and gave you news about Wyatt, you'd see the light and change your ways. I dragged you out once to help you, I wasn't gonna do it again.

"If you want to go see Wyatt then go see him, but you damn well better get a bath and get sober first. Seeing you like this would only make him worry."

"Wyatt doesn't need me," Craig muttered, kicking at the dirt. "He has Zachariah."

Jebidiah opened his mouth, fully intending to tell Craig that the giant, bounty hunter had left town, but then changed his mind. If his brother wanted to become a drunken fool then Jeb wasn't going to stop him. He'd spent his whole life tending to everyone and he was done. It was time for Craig to stand on his own two feet.

"If you decide to pull your head out of your ass, we'd be more than happy to see you at the doc's. But you damn well better be in better shape than this when you come. Wyatt don't need to be worrying over you."

Jebidiah turned and strode away, hoping he could shake the bad mood his younger brother had put him in before he saw Wyatt. The boy would surely pick up on it in a hurry.

***

'What did he say?' Wyatt quickly asked the moment Jeb stepped into the room.

Jebidiah cleared his throat and rubbed at his neck. "Who?"

"Craig," Pete spoke up from his bed. "Wyatt was standing by the window and saw you two talking in town."

Jeb tossed the candy onto Wyatt's bed, noticing Eleanor who was sitting silently in the corner. That woman was a full bushel short of a load. She rarely spoke, didn't leave her room often and tended to simply sit in shadowed corners and attempt to disappear into the background.

But she'd been through hell ten times over by the sound of it so Jeb didn't fault her for her oddities.

Wyatt didn't even glance at the sack of candy. His eyes never left Jeb. 'What did Craig say? Is he okay?'

Jeb clenched and unclenched his fists as he chewed on his lip. What the hell was he supposed to say.

'He's drunk, isn't he?'

Jeb didn't need to speak so he simply nodded.

'He knows I'm here?'

"He does now," Jeb replied, averting his gaze momentarily.

Wyatt's dark eyes narrowed. 'He didn't before?'

"He won't pull a whiskey bottle out of his mouth long enough to listen to much of anything," Jeb snapped defensively.

Wyatt's sadness was damn near palpable and Jeb wanted nothing more than to hightail it out of that room like a coward. "I brought you candy," he muttered.

Wyatt nodded and grabbed the sack, though the sadness on his face didn't fade. Jeb was grateful when he felt Gill's presence behind him just before the man slid an arm around his waist and came to stand beside him.

"The doctor said that as long as Pete is feeling up to the wagon ride and Wyatt has the strength to get around, we can live in the next day or two."

Jeb nodded, happy to hear the news. "It'll be good to get home." Then he smiled. "Speaking of home..." Reaching into his pocket, Jeb pulled the two envelopes from within.

"This one is yours," he said, tossing one to Pete. "I figure Jane wouldn't want me reading it out loud."

Pete's ears reddened but that crooked grin spread across his face. "It would probably make you jealous. That woman has a way with words..."

Jeb grumbled under his breath. "I'll be she does.. just remember that's my cousin you're sharing sweet words with."

Pete laughed. "You remember that Gill was mine before he was yours. We shared something special."

Gill rolled his eyes. "What does the other note say?"

Jeb opened it up. "It's from Maria. It says, 'Hope you all are doing some better. You need to be getting Pete and Wyatt home so I can tend to them. They need a real doctor's care and I just don't trust it to be anyone but me. The baby came yesterday, if Pete hasn't read his letter yet then this is the first he's hearing. You're a pa, Pete—"

Jeb stopped reading as Pete's eyes lit up and his jaw dropped. "I'm a pa?"

"That's what it says," Jeb assured him.

"Well keep goin'!" Pete exclaimed. "Is Jane alright? Is the baby okay? It ain't got two heads, does it?"

Jeb chuckled and returned his attention to the paper. "Jane and the babe are both doing just fine. The boy is gonna be a charmer, like his sweet talking daddy, if I had to guess but maybe some of his mama's good sense will take hold. Preston is doing great at learning just what a cousin does. He hasn't left Jane or the babe for more than a few minutes and insists on helping in every way that he can. That's all I have to say for now. Y'all just get on home. You've been gone far too long."

As Jeb stopped reading, Pete tore open his letter and he quickly swallowed hard, his throat bobbing. He held the letting out to Wyatt. "Don't read past the first couple of lines cuz I can't promise what you'll see.. but you'll want to see what she said first."

Wyatt took the letter and looked down at it. Jeb saw the tears fill his brown eyes before he looked up, a happy smile beaming across his face. Just as Craig came shuffling into the room, Wyatt put the letter down and sighed.

'She named the baby Willie.'