Chapter Thirteen

Craig was attempting to talk himself into getting out of the bed. He needed to get a good bath, a change of clothes and head back to the ranch so Ezekiel didn't worry too long about where he was.

Choosing to ignore the fact that he was thinking about someone else's feelings above his own, Craig sat up and threw his legs over the bed. He was just preparing to gather up his energy to stand when a loud bang sounded on the door.

Craig went diving for his gun as the door swung open. "Tell her to cover up because I'm coming in," Ezekiel growled as he strode into the room.

Then the big man stopped. Craig was tangled up in the sheet on the floor with his revolver aimed at Ezekiel's chest while Ezekiel glanced around the room with confusion.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" Craig demanded, putting his gun down. "I could have shot you."

Ezekiel closed the door behind him, though it didn't shut quite right with the splintered lock. "I uh..." He rubbed at his neck and appeared more out of place and at a loss for words than Craig had ever seen him. It was endearing really.

Craig freed himself from the sheet and stood up, wishing the pounding in his head would subside. "You know if you wanted to come in, you could have just asked. Now they're gonna charge me for a lock."

Ezekiel shook his head and fixed Craig with a stern glare. "Why are you here? Why aren't you at the ranch?"

Craig yawned and winced at the increased tempo of the drummers in his head. "I had a night off and Chester wanted to come to town, daddy. I'm sorry I didn't ask for permission but you were already gone doing whatever it was you went to do last night."

"Edison had me checking a fence line," Ezekiel quickly informed him. "And that doesn't matter. Why, when you get one free moment, do you insist on coming into town and getting drunk, gambling away your money and bedding every woman in sight?"

Craig frowned. He wanted to tell Ezekiel to go to hell but his head hurt too bad. Instead he walked to the water basin and splashed some water on his face before drying it with a stiff white towel. "First off, I didn't gamble away all my money. Second, getting drunk was a mistake, I'll admit that. The headache I have this morning is proof enough. And third, while I can't remember the last half of the night, I do recall that the first half I wasn't tempted by any of the scantily clad women vying for my attention. And since I woke up here alone this morning, I'm assuming the second half of the night went about the same."

Ezekiel glanced around again, his shoulders sagging a bit. Craig realized the man looked tired—bone tired. He felt another tug of guilt for causing him to worry. Then again, it wasn't Craig's fault the man was so overbearing.

"I came here to let you know I wasn't gonna be responsible for you anymore."

"Good. I don't need anyone to be responsible for me," Craig muttered. "I was just waking up and I was going to head down, get a good bath, a new change of clothes and then head on out to the ranch even though I don't have to work today. You don't have to worry about me."

Ezekiel flopped down in the chair, his gaze never leaving Craig. "Don't I?"

Craig shoved his hand through his tangled blond hair, attempting to tame it a bit. "No. I feel better than I have in a long time. Sure, I drank far too much last night but it didn't leave me wanting more. I've been known to completely lose myself in whiskey for days, or even weeks, but I don't want more just now. And I was about to come back to work early." He winked. "Surely I get credit for that."

Ezekiel was quiet for several long moments. Craig spent that time, gathering up his gun belt and sliding into his boots. "Where are you going?" Ezekiel asked as Craig headed for the door.

"To get a bath, a change of clothes and bring you back some breakfast. You look terrible, Ezekiel. Sleep. I'll be back soon."

"Terrible huh?" Ezekiel's lips twitched. "I notice you keep staring anyhow."

Craig felt that shockwave shoot through him and knew he needed to get gone before leaving became impossible. He shrugged one shoulder. "Nothing else to look at in here."

Craig left the room and headed down the stairs. Pulling his hat low as he stepped outside, Craig took a deep breath of fresh air.

He felt......good. Better than he had in a long time. He felt more like his old self this morning than he'd felt in over a year. Gone was just about every bit of that melancholy that had held him down.

He no longer felt as if he were drowning. He might not be safely on shore just yet, but he felt as if he'd managed to find something to hang onto and float his way in.

A smile curved his cheeks as he thought of the way Ezekiel had barged into his room. The man had been worried and jealous. Craig was glad he'd been alone in that bed. He couldn't imagine the temper he'd have seen if Ezekiel had caught him with someone.

His mind was on thoughts of Ezekiel the entire time he bathed at the bath house and slid into the new clothes he'd purchased at the tailor. He dropped his dirty outfit off to be washed before heading down the road to one of the diners.

Balancing a large tray with two meals, Craig pushed the broken door open with his hip and stepped into the room to find Ezekiel sprawled out on the bed sound asleep.

The man looked as if he'd been run over and left. His arms and legs were dangling off the bed and he was face down on the pillows with his muffled snores filling the room.

Craig sighed. Ezekiel needed to learn to lighten up a bit. Perhaps if the man wasn't always so uptight, he'd rest better at night.

Placing the tray of food on the small table, Craig grabbed his plate and sat down in the arm chair. As he ate, he thought about home and his family, which he was beginning to miss more and more now that he wasn't spending most of his time in drunken stupors.

He needed to go home again soon. Perhaps not to stay, (since he enjoyed working for Edison and he was curious to see where things would go with Ezekiel), but at least to visit.

He wondered if Ezekiel would come with him. Jeb and the man were bound to get along since they were both equally bossy. And Wyatt would probably scare the man to death with threats of death should he hurt Craig.

Craig smiled. Then he frowned. Damn he missed them all.

A rustling on the bed had Craig snapping out of his thoughts and glancing at Ezekiel as the man sat up and rubbed at his face roughly with his hand.

"Hello, sleeping beauty."

Ezekiel looked at him from the corner of his eye. "Just a while ago you said I looked like hell."

Craig chuckled. "The nap helped." He pointed to the tray on the table. "I got you some food too. Figured you might be hungry."

Ezekiel grabbed the tray and began shoveling food into his mouth. Craig watched him with a mixture of disgust and amusement. He'd never seen anyone put food away quite like that before.

Ezekiel paused, (probably for breath, Craig assumed), and looked over at him. "I was ready to be really damn mad at you when I got here."

Craig nodded. "The broken door is proof of that."

Ezekiel cast a guilty glance toward the crooked door and sighed. "I'm still annoyed as hell that the first place you ran was the saloon."

Craig opened his mouth to defend himself but Ezekiel held up his hand. "But, you're right. You have every right to let loose and enjoy yourself now and then. And you do seem...different today. You don't have quite the chip on your shoulder."

Craig grumbled under his breath. "I never had a chip on my shoulder. I have an 'I can't stand bossy folks treating me like a child' on my shoulder. You and my brother are more alike than I care to admit. Impossible."

Ezekiel laughed before taking another bite of breakfast. "I was surprised to see how fast you had that gun in your hand. I'd noticed you wearing it but it never occurred to me that you actually knew how to use it."

Craig frowned. "Of course I know how to use it. I told you I was in a gang."

"You just don't have the look of a killer. And most men good with guns are killers."

Craig stood up and carried his empty plate to the tray. "No, I'm not a killer. I have. But only in self-defense or to protect someone." Craig thought back to the many times the gang had thumped folks over the head and tied them up. "We left more headaches and hurt pride behind then we did death."

Ezekiel stood up and walked toward him. Craig instantly had that feeling of being stalked. Ezekiel was smiling, as if he knew exactly how weak he made Craig's legs when he stood close. "So, why the talent with the gun if you chose not to use it?"

Shaking off the effects of Ezekiel's nearness, Craig took a step back and pulled his revolver from the holster. He spun it around and around his finger, even tossing and catching it several times with a smile on his face and his eyes never leaving Ezekiel's.

"I learned how to be good with a gun," he began as he slipped it back effortlessly into the holster. "Because the ladies love it."

Hunger flashed in Ezekiel's dark eyes. He drew that full bottom lip between his teeth before flashing a wicked grin. "Is that right? What if I told you men love it too?"