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After making her way through the large crowd gathered
outside, Cally burst through the door of Dr. Wood’s office, where she found
Stone and Josie in the waiting area, praying quietly.
“Stone, what happened? They told me Cody’s been shot.”
Her voice was panic-stricken.
“I’m afraid so. It was an accident. Daniel Johnson
brought a gun to school this mornin’. Cody and some of the other boys were
horsin’ around with it and it went off, at least, that’s what we’ve been
told by some of the children. There’s no word on how he is yet.” Stone held
Cally thoughtfully by her arms.
She wanted to gasp when she noticed her son’s blood smeared
on Stone’s shirt. Cally covered her mouth, as if to catch her exclamation, but
nothing could keep the tears from filling her eyes.
“Is it bad?”
“We don’t know yet, so let’s not get ahead of
ourselves.”
“I can’t lose my boy, Stone, not my Cody. Oh, sweet
Jesus, please.”
Cally felt weak and her knees began to buckle as she sank
into Stone’s arms. He and Josie helped her into a chair. Josie huddled up
close beside her, wrapped her arm around her and gently spoke words of
encouragement. Within minutes Dr. Wood appeared from the exam room, causing
Cally to spring to her feet.
“Dr. Wood, how’s my son?”
“Take it easy, Cally. He’s going to be just fine. The
bullet grazed his right arm. No bones were broken, but the wound’s pretty deep.
I had a time getting him to stop bleeding. He’s gonna be sore there for quite
a while and have a nasty scar to brag about.”
“Can I see him?”
“Sure. I gave him some medicine, so he’s probably pretty
sleepy. The best thing for him now is to rest and to keep still.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Cally gushed before joining Cody.
Relief swept over the room and Stone and Josie embraced, thankful that their
prayers had been answered.
“I’d better go find Daniel, let him know that Cody’s
gonna be all right,” Stone said to Josie.
“I’ll stay here for a while, in case Cally needs
anything.”
Upon leaving the doctor’s office, Stone informed the
gathered townsfolk of Cody’s condition and assured them that he was going to
be fine. With cheers and applause they dispersed. Stone decided to check
Brock’s office to see if anyone might be there before heading out to the
Johnson home; he figured that Daniel probably didn’t wander off too far with
his friend being hurt. But on his way Stone ran into Jake.
“What’s this I hear about you shootin’ my boy?” Jake
asked in a nasty manner. He seemed unsteady and was probably drunk.
“You got some mixed up information, Jake. I didn’t shoot
Cody…”
“I told you to stay away from my boy!”
And before Stone had the chance to verbally defend himself,
Jake lunged at him. The two rolled into the street like tumbleweed being driven
by the wind and broke out into a full brawl. Stone knew there would be no
reasoning with Jake in his present condition, so he had no choice but to defend
himself, even though it hurt him to strike his old friend. To Stone’s
surprise, Jake was able to throw powerful, accurate punches. A crowd quickly
formed at a safe distance.
Having watched the scene erupt from the window of Dr.
Wood’s office, Josie fled outside. Josie watched in horror as Stone seemed to
be at the mercy of Jake’s rage; she wanted to go out there and stop Jake
herself, but when she took that first step towards the rumbling men, her parents
grabbed her and held her back. She couldn’t believe that no one was stopping
this. Just when she was about to break free from her pa’s arms, Brock Johnson
pushed his way through the crowd and fired his gun into the air.
“That’s enough, Jake,” he said once the startled men
looked his way. “Stone Hawkins didn’t hurt your boy. The boys were fooling
around in the schoolyard with my gun when it went off on accident.”
The dirty, bruised men were panting, and Jake looked as
though he was being delivered from a state of confusion. Stone kept an eye on
him, wondering if Brock’s words would be good enough for Jake.
“Why don’t you get up and go to your wife and son over at
Dr. Wood’s. They need you right now, and that’s where you belong,” said
Brock.
Jake took his time getting up, and didn’t even give Stone
another glance. He was clearly embarrassed by his actions, though he tried to
downplay it. After dusting himself off and spitting some blood out of his mouth,
he made his way to Dr. Wood’s office under the stunned, judgmental eye of the
townspeople.
A few men helped Stone to his feet, and Josie was instantly
at his side. She wanted to take him to her parents’ place, which was just a
few steps away.
Having seen the entire altercation, Gus, who was slightly
inebriated himself, jumped in front of Stone.
“You sure can take a whippin’ mister,” he commented
with a chuckle.
“Thanks,” Stone replied sarcastically.
Once again, the crowd thinned, and Josie and her parents were
taking Stone to their general store when Ruby stepped in their path.
“I could put some ice on that for you,” she offered, in a
genuinely concerned manner. Though it typically wasn’t her style, Ruby had
become completely infatuated with the mysterious, handsome stranger, and wanted
to be closer to him.
“I’ll take care of him,” Josie said sternly, proudly.
As she watched Josie and her parents usher Stone into the store, Ruby felt a
twinge of heartache.
Over at Dr. Wood’s office, Jake found Cally at Cody’s
side. Cody was tucked under a blanket, so his injuries weren’t obvious.
Jake’s heart leapt into his throat at the sight of his boy.
“Jake, what happened…?” Naturally, Cally was surprised
to see him, but the fact that he stood there in such disarray and slightly
bloody almost made her breathless.
“Never mind me. Cody…is he…”
“Doc says he’ll be fine, that the bullet just grazed his
arm real bad. He’s restin’ now.” Cally ran her fingers through her son’s
shiny blond hair.
Jake took a seat next to Cody on the other side of the bed.
“Cody, can you hear me son?” Jake whispered as he
carefully wrapped his arm and hand around Cody’s head.
“Pa?” Cody asked with a groggy voice, unable to open his
eyes.
“It’s me son. Are you hurtin’ real bad?”
“Some. Awful…tired…” his voice trailed off.
“You rest then. And I’m gonna be right here when you wake
up, and I ain’t never gonna leave you again.” He kissed Cody on the cheek.
Jake rested his head on Cody’s shoulder and began to cry.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if…” He wasn’t
able to finish his sentence, but Cally knew exactly what he meant, and how he
felt. She wanted to hold her husband and cry with him, but she was afraid of
somehow pushing him away again. In fact, she was worried that Jake would blame
her for what had happened. But she reached out with a trembling hand and placed
it on Jake’s head.
“I know. Even though he’s done a lot of crazy things, I
can’t imagine life without Cody,” Cally said as tears spilled down her face.
It was the closest she’d felt to Jake in years.
Jake regained his composure and looked up at Cally.
“I meant what I said. I’m not leaving you and the
children anymore. I need to be home, with my family.”
Cally was stunned to say the least. Jake stepped over to her
seat and knelt in front of her.
“I’m done with the claim. I was a stubborn fool for
thinkin’ there was anything out there for me. All this time, you and the
children needed me. I’m sorry Cally. I probably don’t have the right to ask
this after all I’ve done, but if you’ll forgive me, I’d like to come home
and work the farm again. It might take some time, but I promise to be a better
father and husband, if you’ll have me.”
Cally nearly fainted into his arms.
“Of course we want you back; we love you, Jake. It’s all
we’ve ever wanted.”
As the two embraced, tears of joy began to flow, and Cally
softly whispered, “Thank you, Jesus.”
©2004 StoriesByEmail.com
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