Jason pulled up ten minutes later, with everyone in tow.
“We voted,” he told Janice, who was made to wait outside. “We all wanted to come and give our support. I hope you’re not upset.”
“No,” she replied. “I’m not mad. If it were one of you in there, James and I would be right here as well. We won’t know anything for a while. It’s after 4:00, so you will need to head back before dark. But I’m nervous about you being at the ranch alone, especially with those men so close today…
“Everyone wait here,” she continued. “Billy can come with me and we will be back soon,” she added, before driving the truck towards the center of town.
* * * *
“How are you on beef?” Janice asked the restaurant owner, who was getting ready for another busy dinner shift.
“We are getting low,” he said nervously. “Business is good, but I could only get good meat from your husband, and he was unsure about making another deal.”
“I have a deal for you,” she said, holding little Billy on her hip. “I remember you used to have several rooms above the restaurant to rent.”
“Yes, that is true,” he agreed.
“How many are vacant now?” Janice asked.
“I have two units unoccupied, each with two bedrooms and one bath. Well, now it’s the outhouse over there,” he pointed.
“I’ll make you a deal. You give me both of those rooms for a couple of days, or even a week, and I’ll make the same deal my husband did last time.”
“You mean the same price and everything?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean,” Janice told him.
She went on to relay the story about her husband’s condition, and she secured the deal.
“What if he can’t complete the butchering?” the restauranteur asked.
“Then I will do it,” she replied. “Trust me, it won’t be the first time.”
“Then it’s a deal, and I hope Mr. James gets better real soon.”
“Me too.”
Janice returned to her friends and relayed the news about the rooms to a relieved Jason and Lauren, who were both concerned about heading back to the ranch so late in the day.
“Do they take dogs?” asked Jenna.
“They do now,” replied Janice, petting Chance on the head.
“You go and get checked in, and I will be by with any news on James.”
Janice waited outside the doctor’s office, wishing they had a true surgery center here.
It had never been a priority before, since they were so close to Trinidad and some of the best surgeons in the country. Now she had three of them here right now, working on her best friend and companion. Her mind wandered.
What if my husband is paralyzed? That, she thought, we can figure out.
What if he doesn’t make it through the surgery? she thought, as doubt crept into her now-fragile mind.
Then we bring him home and make sure the rest of our group, both adults and children, are taken care of.
She smiled just a bit, knowing she would be okay, even in the worst of outcomes.
She spoke a prayer aloud for her husband, and kept her feelings about the man who shot him to herself.
Had the Sheriff tried to save him because it was the right thing to do, or did he have other plans for the shooter if he were to survive?
She couldn’t be sure either way, but it was out of her hands and she would spend no more time dwelling on it.
An hour later, a nurse stepped out of the clinic to speak with her.
“Your husband suffered a single gunshot wound to the upper lumbar spine that did irreparable damage to his spinal cord. He has control over bladder and bowels, but the likelihood of him walking again is slim. I’m sorry, I wish I could give you better news.”
Janice’s brain spun in a holding pattern. This was one of two likely scenarios, but it still stung that her husband would have a much more difficult life ahead of him.
“What about the man who shot him?” she blurted out, without thinking it through.
“It looks like he will be okay, with minimal injury long term,” the nurse reported.
Janice felt a surge of emotion run through her body. She refused to give credence to the crazy thoughts it ignited.
“How are you holding up?” asked Sheriff Johnson coming up from behind, putting a hand on her shoulder and scaring the daylights out of her.
“Considering I just found out that my husband can’t walk anymore, but his shooter will likely recover nicely, I think I’m holding up better than most.”
“I’m sorry to hear about that. I know he will be just as headstrong and loyal to his post as always in the coming days. As for the other man, well, he’s not going anywhere. I’ve got an open cell with his name on it.”
“So, you saved him just to kill him?” she asked, sounding annoyed.
“Not exactly,” he replied. “I have a method to this madness, but rest assured he won’t be hurting anyone else, now or ever.”
“Can I see James?” Janice asked the nurse.
“Of course. He is stable now.”
“Does he know? I mean, does he know that he won’t walk again?”
“Yes, he has been informed and advised about his coming days of recovery,” replied the nurse.
Janice saw her invincible man laid out on a gurney, tired and weak.
He reached out his hand, telling her it would be okay.
“Come close, my Darling,” he started. “I’m so happy you and everyone else is okay. The whole thing was scary with you all in the line of fire at the start.”
Janice began to cry for the first time in months.
“I was so scared for you,” she said, “for our new family and for us.”
“I know,
