To Live or To Die (A Bonanza Short Story)

(Chapter 10) Safe and Sound

With a sigh, I push the peas around on my plate of food. I'm not really hungry even though I haven't eaten since the last time Mrs. Lassiter fed us in that shack and that had only been bread and water. With everything that's happened today, it's sort of stolen my appetite. What I really want is Joe; I haven't seen him since he helped me to this room in the hotel and that was hours ago. Turning my head towards the window, I can tell it's dark outside despite the fact that the curtains are closed. I've been asleep ever since Doc Martin fixed up my hand and feet and I figure Joe's been too busy to come check on me yet I hope he comes soon.

Just as I lean my head back onto the pillow that's propping me up, someone knocks on the door so I call out, "Who is it?"

"Shelia, it's me." Joe's voice drifts through the door. Surprised, I quickly smooth my hair and fix my dress.

"Come in, Joe." I answer, feeling tears prick the back of my eyes. The door opens and his familiar form fills the doorway. He shuts the door with his foot and steps across the room to the bureau, where he lays down the tray he was carrying. He walks over to the bed and my eyes never leave him for a second; I was so sure while I was held hostage that I'd never see him again. That thought alone makes my eyes fill with tears as he sits down on the edge of the bed beside me. Looking at him, I notice that his hazel eyes are shining with unshed tears, too.

I quickly pull the tray off my lap and onto the other side of the bed before I throw myself into his outstretched arms. As I wrap my arms around his back and bury my fingers into his curls, being careful with my broken hand, I feel his shoulders begin to shake as the tears stream down my face. We sit there like that for a few minutes, just crying in each other's arms.

Joe leans back and takes my face in his hands, wiping the tears off my cheeks with his thumbs. He pulls me closer and kisses me soft and slow yet like he'll never get to kiss me again. I grab a handful of the back of his shirt as he pulls me even closer and wish that my right hand wasn't in a cast so I could hold him tighter.

Our kiss finished, Joe buries his face in my neck and hair, "Shelia, I love you so much!"

"I love you, too, Little Joe." I run my fingers through his hair, the feel of his soft, brown curls comforting.

"I didn't think I was going to see you alive ever again." His shoulders shutter again. "When I saw you laying on the ground out there today, I was so relieved I wanted to cry and jump for joy at the same time."

"I heard you all ride up and I thought it was Carver and the others. I was so scared but then I looked up and there you were." He leans back and grabs my hand, squeezing it tight before kissing the top of it as I smile at him. "Joe, you've never looked so good to me before."

"Shelia, I know you told me they didn't hurt you, but are you sure?" His face falls into a serious expression.

"No, Joe, they didn't," I shake my head, "they offended me but it's over now because I'm safe with you and Carver's dead."

"What do you mean by offended, what did Carver do to you?" His grip tightens painfully on my hand but I don't care, I'm holding his hand. I'll never take the little things like holding someone's hand for granted again.

"Carver said that he'd always been jealous of you because of all the attention the pretty girls gave you, especially me." I sigh. "He said he wanted a taste of what you've been getting, so he kissed me. I went off on him, saying when you found out, you'd kill him. Then he said he was going to talk to his mother about keeping me alive so he could have a wife. I got a slap to the face after I told him he was disgusting. He didn't touch me after that though."

"Then I'm glad it was my bullet that killed him," he sighs angrily, "but are you sure he didn't hurt you?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Joe." Reaching up, I caress his cheek. "What's been going on while I was asleep?"

"Well, about an hour after we rode into town, Pa hung Harry Lassiter." He pauses to lean in and kiss my cheek before he shakes his head as he continues, "Mrs. Lassiter stood there with Kirt and watched the whole thing."

"What are they going to do with Mrs. Lassiter and Kirt?"

"Their trials start tomorrow."

"What do you think will happen to them?"

"They'll probably both go to jail for the rest of their lives and there's also a possibility that Kirt might hang." He lays my hand in my lap and walks over to the bureau where he grabs the tray and carries it back over. He quickly steps around the other side of the bed as I pull my tray into my lap. With one smooth motion, he climbs onto the bed beside me, plopping his tray of food in his lap, "Well, let's not think about that right now, our supper is getting cold and I like my food to be warm when I eat it."

"Little Joe?" I watch him shove a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"Yeah?" He asks around the food in his mouth.

"I love you." He looks at me and quickly swallows. Leaning towards me, careful not to spill his food, he kisses me again.

"And I love you, my little milkmaid."