The
Fight
Why
me? He wondered, dismounting carefully, his muscles burning in protest. As he
reached out to tether his horse his ribs reminded him that they too were
unhappy with the abuse they’d recently received. “Why today of all days?” he
complained to nobody in particular.
Painfully
he made his way to the house, limping slightly and clutching his right side.
Hopefully, there’d be nobody inside and he’d be able to make it upstairs to his
room unnoticed. He paused with his hand on the door handle and looked toward
the barn, but unfortunately that gave him no hint as to whether or not anyone
else was home. A dripping sensation
made him swipe at his nose then grimace in pain. When he brought his hand down
he noticed the smear of blood and pulled the handkerchief from around his neck
and attempted to dab the incriminating evidence away.
Words
from the heated lecture that had taken place that very morning flashed into his
mind. ‘Fighting is never a good solution. There’s always another answer if you
look for one. The next time I find out you’ve been fighting, young man, you
will find yourself bottom up, across my knee!’
How
was he ever going to explain his way out of this one?
Dabbing
his nose once more, he looked at the handkerchief to find no blood. He wished
there was a mirror out here so he could more properly inspect his battered
face. Hopefully he had gotten it all. He straightened his clothing and stuffed
the handkerchief in his pocket. His eye was puffy and when he touched his
cheekbone it felt very tender. A black eye, that’s all I need. He wondered if
he should chance sneaking into the kitchen for a nice, cold steak. No, if Hop
Sing spotted him there’d be no covering up anything. His best bet was to make a
dash for his room and figure out his next plan after getting a look at the
damages. Another drip from his nose
caused him to groan. He pulled out the
handkerchief and once more wiped away the blood.
Stalling
out here was getting him nowhere and besides, he thought and glanced out at the
yard, someone could ride up at any minute. Taking a deep breath, he squared his
shoulders and opened the door then cautiously peered inside. The coast was clear. With a sigh of relief
he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Not bothering to remove his
gun belt, he tossed his hat on the credenza and hurried for the stairs. Before
his boot hit the bottom step he heard a voice call out from the desk.
“What
happened to you?”
Adam.
“Nothing,
just…” he waved his hand in a vague gesture, “just a fight,” he mumbled the
last few words and attempted to continue up the stairs.
“Wait
a minute,” Adam called out and started toward him. “A fight? Are you okay?”
“Of
course I am,” he answered gruffly, wanting to avoid this pointless
conversation. The deed was done. All that was left now was to cover the
evidence of the deed before anyone else found out about it.
Adam
let out a low whistle. “That’s some shiner you’ve got there.”
“Thank
you, very much,” he snapped, using all the sarcasm he could gather. “Now, if
you don’t mind I’d like to get upstairs.” Before I’m humiliated any further.
“Why
don’t you let me get a cold rag, or a slab of steak for that eye,” Adam
offered, smiling.
The
smile reminded him of a sadistic cat. “No thank you.”
“It’ll
help with the swelling.”
“Oh,
all right,” he agreed hastily, not wanting to waste any more time arguing.
“Bring it up to my room.”
A
few moments later there was a knock on his door. He opened it expecting to see
Adam, but where Adam’s face should have been there was only the picture on the
opposite wall. No, no, no. He’d been betrayed.
“Here
ya go, Pa.”
Ben
looked down, down, down…into the wide-eyed, guileless face of his beloved
youngest son and scowled fiercely before snatching the steak from his hand.
“I
brung ya the steak like Adam said.” Joe smiled and blinked his big green eyes
-- the portrait of innocence. “Are ya sure you’re okay, Pa?”
“Yes,
I’m perfectly fine,” he muttered impatiently. “Now run along.”
“Okay,”
Joe beamed angelically, but Ben wasn’t fooled. Any halo on this boy’s head,
could only be held in place by the pair of little horns hidden beneath that
curly mop of hair. “If ya need anything
else just let me know, Pa.”
Ben
sighed and gave him a dirty look before slamming the door in his sweet little
face. A moment later, as expected, he heard the unmistakable sound of Joseph
giggling ecstatically as he tromped down the stairs. “You were right, Adam!”
Ben heard him shout. “Wait ‘til I tell the guys!”
“JOSEPH!”