"We can wrap this, and tomorrow start applying a salve. I don't know how long it will take to recover, a few weeks, I imagine, barring any problems."
"A few weeks does not sound all that bad, I was thinking it would be longer, so that's good." She said, watching Speed, but his movements were vague, and his voice, hardly audible moans and sighs as they began to roll him on his side. The wound was ugly and yes, the exit wound was much larger than where the bullet had entered. She had done bandaging, cleaned cuts, scrapes, and puncture wounds, though none of this magnitude or severity.
"How careful must I be when doing this after he's out to the ranch?" She asked. "The last thing I want to do is make this worse." That was the key, to not make this any worse than it already was.
"Speed knows yer true nature," Addy pointed out, "an' Alice trusts his judgement." So just from Speed's word, Alice would give Leah the benefit of the doubt. "She's a strong woman, so she has her own mind." Something that Leah could understand. "As fer you, ya got yer own mind, too, makin' yer own way, an' ya gotta overcome yer family along th' way."
"She is a strong woman I noticed that right off." She smiled, "Thank you, yes I am too, but for a different reason, or reasons. Speed made a good choice, or she did.
Addy sipped some coffee. "My brothers gave me a hard time, but they meant well, an' I'd love if I could have 'em all back. Can't imagine what it'd be like ta have 'em fightin' me every step'a th' way." Family was supposed to support you, pick you up when you were down, but give you the freedom to make your own mistakes and learn from them. She couldn't fathom not only not having that support, but having your own family trying to undermine you.
"Things really changed when the boys left to make their own way, Pa became harder, them men he hired were harder as well. Sure, there has always been the feud with the Thorntons, but once the boys were no longer there to support him, Pa began the slide off the deep end. Then I was gone, and finally Ma. Wherever she ended up."
"At any rate, I hope th' culprit gets found, so we don't gotta worry 'bout more'a this. Could just be a single man with a grudge against Speed, or could be more, ta get rid'a th' law in town."
"Yes, that's my hope, as well as that Pa had no hand in this."
"How careful must I be when doing this after he's out to the ranch?" She asked. "The last thing I want to do is make this worse."
Jonah chuckled, although he understood her concern. "Once he's back home he'll be able to let you know if you're getting too rough!" It was going to be painful for a while anyway, but that would be all the worse if infection set in, and Alice would be sure to notice that. "The stitches will need to come out in ten days, you can do that, if you feel confident, or you can come back here, or I could go there." He grinned. "A day in the country wouldn't do me any harm."
Alice smiled, "Yes, yes he will and I'll be as gentle as the work allows, I know what infection looks like, I've seen it before." She offered, infection did not just occur in large wounds, such as the one she was looking at. Helping to dress the wound \did make her feel better, and being able to see that yes, he was alive, caused her to smile.
"Be honest with me, how long before he could realistically get back to the job?" That was the real question, that and how would this affect him. It was not his gun hand, but lingering effects might pose other problems that could affect how he responded. Favoring the injured shoulder, which would certainly be something anyone would do, could cause Speed to react a bit slower than normal in any given situation where he might have to struggle with a belligerent drunk, or break up a crowd, or just about anything.
"I'm being silly about this I know, but I suppose knowing how long before he could pin on a badge is a normal question, given the type of job it is." She confessed. "I just don't want to lose him."
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"Yes, that's my hope, as well as that Pa had no hand in this."
"Seems like Elias'd be more...obvious." Addy shrugged. "Not enough that he could be accused'a anything, but enough that ya'd know it was his doin'." Elias Steelegrave was a smart man, and he'd want anyone he was going after to know it was him, yet not be able to prove anything.
"Wouldn't be surprised, if he did have somethin' ta do with it, that a body might turn up. Can't see that he'd tolerate th' mistake'a not finishin' th' job." He'd like as not have anyone who failed him discretely dispatched.
"I'm being silly about this I know, but I suppose knowing how long before he could pin on a badge is a normal question, given the type of job it is." She confessed. "I just don't want to lose him."
"It's not silly at all to worry about someone you care for." Jonah smiled, helping to lay Speed back in the bed, then pulling the blanket up to his chin. "It's hard to say how long it's going to take, that depends on whether or not there's been any nerve damage, and that will be a few days to assess...we'll have to wait for the swelling to go down. I suppose you can help by getting him to move it as much as he can tolerate, so the muscles don't tighten up and atrophy."
It really was too soon to tell. "It doesn't seem to have torn any ligaments or tendons, but even so, the muscles are going to hurt for quite a while. But Speed is a determined man, I'm sure he'll put his all into it."
"Seems like Elias'd be more...obvious." Addy shrugged. "Not enough that he could be accused'a anything, but enough that ya'd know it was his doin'."
"No, no he wouldn't do anything to actually give away his participation in this. I'd like to think that it was not him, or his hiring, but then again, I can't put it past him." Leah responded. "He can be downright evil!"
She thought a moment, "Thinking he may be behind this, the man that shot Speed, meant it to be a heart shot. So there may be no corps. Depends on when word reaches him the man failed." That sent a chill through her. He would want the failure rectified, either by killing the man, or by trying again.
"Taking care of him won't be all that difficult then?" She asked. That she minded the idea of caring for his wounds since it was front and back. "I wish they had caught him, or the men involved. That this gunman may be lurking to insure he had done the job, is a bit unsettling. I suppose this is part and parcel of being a lawman out here." Alice reflected.
"Well, you're right his is determined, and I believe he'll mend quickly, at least so far as the wounds closing. Pa always said that it's not what the outsides do, it's the insides of a bullet wound, both the actual wound and his mind. To be taken by surprise like that, I just don't know how he will react to it." She was conflicted about it, naturally.
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
Leah thought a moment, "Thinking he may be behind this, the man that shot Speed, meant it to be a heart shot. So there may be no corps. Depends on when word reaches him the man failed."
"Well, leastways this served as a warnin'," Addy pointed out, "so we can be more cautious." If someone came gunning for Speed again, they'd have a lot to get past. "Same fer th' other lawmen, an' likely th' council as well. Not ta say that's gonna happen, but folks are gonna be more cautious."
Shrugging, she munched on a treat, then changed the subject. "I see that hospital's startin'. Gonna be a godsend fer th' territory, ya done good."
"Well, I can't say how difficult he'll be as a patient," Jonah chuckled, "I've seen burly lumberjacks who cried and fussed like babies at any slight thing, and I've treated children who were stoic and never complained." To a degree, pain was individual, and some people could deal with it better than others. "It remains to be seen, what sort of patient he is, although I can't see you tolerating any undue angst."
Alice was a smart girl, she'd know if Speed was being over-dramatic, and he was pretty sure she would lay down the law.
"As for unseen wounds, I can't say on that, either. That's another individual reaction, and while I think that Speed is the sort of man who can overcome it, there's no telling." He shrugged. "He might not realize if it has effected him for some years, but having someone who cares about him, supports him, that should help."