Fired Up Read Online Free PDF Page A

and up. Just moving his eyeballs almost made his head fall off from the pain.
    â€œGlynna took a needle to my back, right?” Dare was only talking to Jonas now, as he didn’t think he was going to get much from the youngsters. “How did it look when she was done?”
    â€œIt was an improvement over an open wound. And face it, Dare, your back is already ugly. It didn’t much matter if she made her stitches pretty or not.”
    â€œFor a parson, you’ve got a mean streak.”
    Jonas looked over his shoulder and smiled, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes. “I think we all oughta pick up and move to someplace that lies flat like the world oughta do. I think we oughta try Kansas. I bet there hasn’t been an avalanche in that state since the first mosquito hatched.”
    â€œWe got the bleeding stopped. You’ll be fine if you don’t get an infection.” Vince was riding right behind the wagon.
    Raising his aching head to look at his friend, Dare said, “We need to—”
    â€œDon’t turn your head to look at me.” Vince’s voice had that tone he could use, the one that could make General Robert E. Lee himself back down. The Regulators hadn’t been officers, though there had been a battlefield promotion a time or two that ended up being rescinded. But Vince would’ve made a fine officer if he had a lick of ambition. In fact, Vince had the raw material, the brains, and a willingness to work hard that went with a man who achieved a lot. And yet he’d become a lawyer by reading law books, then came to this far-removed corner of the world and proceeded to be mostly idle.
    Dare too could give an order if he was in the mood, but he rarely was. He preferred to do things himself.
    Since it hurt to move anyway, Dare laid his face back down on the board that kept whacking at him. “Why?”
    â€œBecause the left side of your face is scraped raw. If you look at me and rest that side of your face on the wagon box, you’ll be regretting it for a long time to come.”
    â€œKansas doesn’t sound so bad. It’s nice in Indiana too, where I come from. No rockslides in Indiana. The summers don’t try to roast you like a chicken. Lots of thick grass and tall trees that make house building and wood for the fire easy to come by. You think Luke would mind if we left him and Texas far behind?”
    Vince rode up beside the wagon so he came into Dare’sview. “Luke’s mighty attached to that ranch of his. I think we’re stuck together here in Texas.”
    â€œStay still, Dare.” Jonas could give an order now and then, too. “I know it goes against the grain, but could you do it just this once and give yourself a chance to heal?”
    â€œRight now, staying still is about all I’m capable of. I’m gonna close my eyes for a bit. I’m not passing out.” Talking hurt. So did thinking. So did breathing. Since breathing was unstoppable, he cut everything else out.
    â€œHere’s town, just ahead.” Jonas nodded forward. “You spent most of the trip unconscious. Aren’t you supposed to stay awake after a head injury?”
    â€œI don’t know.” Dare didn’t bother to look. He’d seen Broken Wheel before.
    â€œI thought you were a doctor,” Paul said. “Aren’t you supposed to know things like that?”
    â€œI am indeed.” Dare wished everyone would just quit talking. He was finding out that listening hurt, too.
    â€œWe’ll get you settled, and I’ll stay with you awhile.” Vince was more than willing. He lived in a small upper room above his law office, while Dare had a house with a spare bedroom.
    â€œI’ll take my turn,” Jonas said.
    Hoofbeats almost made Dare look, but the pain stopped him. “I’ll come in and cook and clean for you, Dare.”
    Glynna. Her pretty golden hair coated with dirt. Her golden