Two Sides of the Same Coin (61 page)

“That’s great!”

“We’ll be discharging you day after tomorrow if we can get you up, and you’re able to get around a bit, and your vital signs remain stable.”

“Okay. Will I be able to take my buddy huntin’ once I get out?” Mike smiled at me from behind the doctor.

“After a week or so of rest, I don’t see why not. I would caution you not to shoot a rifle with any kickback. It won’t keep your shoulder from continuing to heal, but it certainly won’t feel good.”

“No problems with that.”

“I’ll also prescribe some pain pills if you need them.”

“Is that the stuff that makes me feel like I’m really happy and just floatin’ around? The stuff that even though I can still feel the pain, I just don’t care?”

“That would be the stuff.”

“Don’t reckon I need it. I don’t like the way it feels.”

“I’ll write the prescription. It’s up to you to fill it. Mr. Connelly, you’re a lucky man. Not only in not sustaining major damage to yourself, or due to the fact that you’re healing very well, but also due to the number of people who care about you. I’ve heard that this young man here hasn’t been home since you were brought in.” He gestured to Mike. “I’ve had to give one of my nurses some vacation time because she kept coming down here to see you. I’ve also heard you’ve had a constant stream of visitors.” He shook my hand as he left. “I’ll stop by in a few hours.”

I looked around the room. There were quite a few flowers. “It looks like the florist is doin’ good business off me.”

“There’s more at home.”

“You’re kiddin’.”

“Nope, and Smitty said, as of today’s mail, you’ve got quite a few cards.”

“Still the best thing to me is you bein’ here.”

“I was so scared, Jeff. I thought I was gonna lose you.” He held my hand in a death grip.

“I told ya, buddy, the bullet wasn’t kryptonite.”

“Cocky bastard.”

“The reason I jumped Wayne even though he had the gun is he said he was gonna go after you. I couldn’t let that happen no matter what happened to me.”

Mike just looked at me, tears in his eyes. He squeezed my hand. Just then there was a commotion at the door.

“Jeff! You’re awake and coherent! I told you it was all going to end soon.” Mary Grace breezed into the room. She grabbed my hand and held it tightly.

“Thanks, Mary Grace, and thanks for all your help.”

“Don’t mention it at all. I have something to help your shoulder heal.” She opened her big mom-type purse and pulled out a beautiful piece of rock crystal.

“I programmed this for healing.” She set it gently on my shoulder. I woulda thought the weight of anythin’ on my shoulder would hurt, but surprisingly it didn’t.

“Thanks again! You take pretty good care of me and Mike.”

“That’s what friends are for. Oh, after the news of your solving the cattle thievery and catching the rustlers hit the newspapers, the gallery has been swamped. I expect that it is going to stay that way until after the New Year. Two of your sculptures have sold, and we had a reporter from
American West Magazine
there to see the exhibit. You’re a famous man now, Jeff. So when are you able to go home?”

“Possibly the day after tomorrow; I’m really lookin’ forward to it. I wanna get rid of all these tubes.”

“Mike, how are you doing? Did you finally get some sleep?”

“I did. Actually, I’m getting used to sleepin’ in this chair.”

“See, Jeff, you need to get better quickly. If you don’t, this boy will never get any sleep.”

“You can go home, buddy; I don’t want you to get sick or nothin’.”

“Don’t worry about me. Just concentrate on gettin’ better.”

“I guess Wayne has to be in solitary confinement in prison.”

“Why is that, Mary Grace?”

“I heard it’s common knowledge that he was beaten so badly by a gay man, even though he had a gun. They don’t give him a long life expectancy if he’s in with the general population.”

“Wow, that’s got to be tough; I wouldn’t even wish that on him, bein’ alone and disfigured for the rest of his life in captivity.”

“The evil he sent out reverberated on him. He got what he deserved. The Goddess doesn’t mess around when it comes to justice.”

Mike and I just looked at each other. I have a lot of respect for Mary Grace’s beliefs. Maybe it was psychosomatic, but my shoulder did feel better with the crystal on it.

“Jeff, Mike, I brought the pictures of the caroling and the snowball fight; do you feel up to looking at them?”

“Sure, Mary Grace.” She pulled out a folder that contained a bunch of pictures. They had turned out really well. We all looked good singing together, and the snowball fight pictures showed that we were having a great time. Everyone was smiling, and you could tell we were all great friends. Mike leaned over me while we were looking at the pictures. It was really nice of Mary Grace to bring them.

“These are fantastic, Mary Grace. Are you putting them up in the exhibit?”

“We certainly are. We really want to stress the fact that you and Mike are locals.” I was beginning to feel really tired again. I started yawning, and Mary Grace made the excuse she had to get some shopping done while she was here in Wenatchee. I closed my eyes, just for a second, and drifted off to sleep.

It was several hours later when I woke up. Mike was still in the room, and he had Harrison in his lap. He saw my eyes open and smiled at me, and then said something to Harrison. Just then I realized that someone was holding my finger, and I turned my head to see Ann, sitting in a chair which was pulled right up to my bed. Tom was standing behind her. Lisa smiled at me and kept a hold of my finger.

“Uncle Jeff!”

“Uncle Jeff!” Mike brought Harrison over to me and set him on the bed in one of the few areas which didn’t have any tubes from me to something.

“You got the bad guys, Uncle Jeff.”

“I sure did, buckaroo! They’re not gonna bother us no more.”

“Can I go huntin’ with you and Uncle Mike?”

“Did you ask your mom and dad?” He looked up at Tom and Ann with pleading eyes.

“Please, please?”

“You think you’re gonna be well enough to go hunting?” Ann looked at me skeptically.

“The doctor said it’s okay. I reckon Mike will have to do all the work though.”

“I’ll help, Uncle Mike!” Mike smiled at Harrison. I had to answer though.

“I bet you will, buckaroo, and that’ll make twice the work for Uncle Mike.”

“You must be feelin’ better, Jeff; you’re startin’ to joke around.” Ann laughed at me and then asked me how old I was the first time my dad took me hunting. When I answered three, she and Tom laughed and said yes.

Just then Maria brought a tray with some food on it. Tom, Ann, and the kids left to give me a chance to eat. I got big kisses from Harrison and Lisa. After they had left, I tried the mystery meat in gravy sauce and imitation potatoes.

“Maria, am I supposed to eat this, or is it for somethin’ else?”

She laughed. “Our hospital food is not the best, is it?”

“That’s an understatement if I ever heard one.” She looked around and then opened a bag she had brought. Inside were three pork and red chile tamales.

“I brought you these. I hope they make up for the bad food.”

“Thanks!” I dug in. Despite not bein’ able to identify just what the hospital food was, I ate it all, even the jello and I hate jello. I was still exhausted and fell asleep right after dinner.

I ended up sleeping the whole night through. Mike was still there when I woke up. He’d shaved and had on different clothes; I found out later he had gone to Maria’s for a few hours sleep and to clean up. Sandy and Smitty were also there. I smiled at Sandy, and she started crying. She grabbed my hand.

“Jeff, I was so worried. Every time I came you were out or asleep.”

“The bullet wasn’t made of kryptonite, darlin’. I’m okay. I actually feel a lot better today.” She slapped my hand and started crying even harder.

“Kryptonite my ass, you could have been killed. Just like Dad said, you acted like a real cowboy, act first and think later. I was really afraid for you. Mike said you were so pale when they got you in the ambulance that you already looked dead. None of us could sleep for worrying about you.”

I glanced at Mike and said, “Thanks, buddy.” He suddenly found his boots real interesting.

“Sandy, I did call your dad. I didn’t mean to upset anyone.”

“I know; I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“I do have a favor to ask you though, darlin’.”

“Of course, Jeff, what?”

“Can you explain to me sometime how women think? I mean, you start cryin’ because you’re so worried about me, then you hit me. This ain’t the first time it’s happened either. I just want to understand what’s goin’ on in that beautiful head of yours.” She finally smiled and giggled. Smitty chuckled.

“Jeff, I don’t think we’re ever going to understand womenfolk. Remember men are from Mars, and women are from Venus,” Smitty commented.

“I reckon so. I just wanna understand Sandy. We’re pretty close, and it hurts, especially the gettin’ hit when I don’t understand.”

“Okay, enough you two of talking about me like I wasn’t even here. Jeff, I reckon I was just so upset and worried; all the emotion got bottled up inside, then I got a bit mad that you didn’t think.”

“Okay, I reckon next time, I’ll just stay way back and get you a punchin’ bag or somethin’ so you can hit it and not me.”

“Good idea, Jeff.” Smitty winked at me, and Sandy lightly slapped his arm. She then changed the subject.

“Jeff, Wayne’s arraignment is next week. He’s pleading guilty to take the death penalty off the table. Dad talked to the prosecutor and the judge, and they want to hear what you have to say about the sentencing.”

“I’m glad they’re open to listenin’.”

“Jeff, that’s a right nice thing you’re doing for Wayne,” Smitty said. “I don’t know if I could be that forgiving.”

“Smitty, I ain’t gonna let myself become corrupted by hate. Hate is what got Wayne in this spot in the first place.” Just then José and Josh came in the room.

“Boss, I am very happy to see that you are getting better. Hijole, I was worried.” Josh nodded as José spoke.

“So how are you, Mr. Foreman?” I asked.

“Quien? Me?” José looked very surprised.

“Yes you. You’ve been onboard with every issue we’ve had since I got back, you ran roundup well, and you’ve really jumped into this dude thing with both feet. I can’t think of a better person for foreman.” José grinned and gingerly gave me a hug.

“I am happy to see you are better, boss. You looked very bad when the ambulance took you away. When you were unconscious, you had this gray look. We were very worried.” Just about everyone there nodded.

“You guys are gonna get me dizzy if you don’t stop with the bobble head imitations.” That seemed to break a good deal of tension. Everyone started filling me in on what had happened in the last few days: Wayne, the reward for the capture of the rustlers, dead or alive, and everything else. When I said we had to split the reward as we all worked together, everyone argued against it good naturedly. The doctor came by, and they all went out into the hall as he checked me over. He called a nurse to remove the tubes, which made me feel one hundred percent better. Everyone took turns walking with me the rest of the day to help me get my strength back. The best thing was I’d be going home tomorrow!

A
FEW
days later, I was home. I still was a bit slow on my feet, but the doctor felt I was making great progress with the physical therapy. I did feel good enough to have the houseful of people we’d planned for Thanksgiving. Both Tom and Jonathan wanted to interview me for their magazines, and so did a couple of other folks. I reckoned the ranch was going to get a good deal of publicity. Mike had built a fire in the fireplace. We were cuddled together on the sofa. It was snowing again outside, and I could smell the chili he had in the slow cooker. It was nice to be home.

“Mike, I got a favor to ask.”

“What’s that, Jeffy?”

“When we go into Okanogan after the first of the year, let’s spend some extra time at the courthouse after Wayne’s arraignment.”

“Okay, why though?”

“Well, I was figurin’ since it’s the county seat….”

He gave me a quizzical look, so I continued.

“The courthouse is where we’d register as domestic partners with the state. After Prop 71 passed here in Washington, it’s marriage in everythin’ but the name. That is if you want to, buddy. I know I wanna spend my life with you. So, I reckon what I’m askin’ is will you marry me?”

He leaned over and kissed me. “That’s the best offer I’ve ever had.”

“I reckon that’s a yes?” He nodded. “Great!” We kissed again. It’s funny so many folks have said we’re two sides of the same coin. I just know that Mike and I are made for each other, and there’s no one I’d rather have on my team to face the future.

Epilogue

D
ECEMBER
nights come early in north Washington. It was about four thirty in the afternoon, and it was already dark. I was sitting on the couch in the living room, my back to the corner of the couch, and my legs crossed Indian style. Mike was laying with his head on my lap. Snow was softly falling outside. A fire was lit in the fireplace. The Christmas tree was about ten feet tall and was in one corner of the room, giving off a fresh piney smell that really reminded me of Christmas. We both had on red long handles and wool socks. A throw blanket was over Mike’s legs and feet; I had another draped over my lap. In the background, Jars of Clay sang “Christmas for Cowboys.”

It was only a few days before Christmas. I reckoned I was as ready as I’d ever get. I tried this week making jewelry with my bronze casting technique. I was surprised as hell I was able to do it. I made two rings, one with a header throwin’ a rope over a calf’s head, and the other a heeler throwing the rope over the calf’s hind leg. I reckoned since we had practiced so much team roping and we were now in an official domestic partnership, we ought to have rings. So I made them out of fourteen carat gold. I figured I would put them in the stockings we had hung in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve. They looked really good. The faces were large enough for the calf roping header on Mike’s ring, and the heeler on mine. The rings were a matching set. Like me and Mike.