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almost as if reading her thoughts. 
    “It’s the Doc.”   The boy was with him. 
    “Thank God.”   She put her hand on her chest and took a deep breath.  She didn’t realize how tense she was.
    Cogan watched the older man get down from the buckboard carrying a black satchel. He quickly walked toward the front of the house out of his view.  The boy was fast on his heels.
    “Is the bullet still in here?” Josie asked peering at the distinct puncture hole now cleaned.
    “I believe so.  There’s no exit, ” he answered.
    Moments later Doc Russell rushed through the door with his bag and Thomas behind him. 
    “Josephine, how is he?” He paused when he saw Cogan giving him a wary once over.
    “He’s got a bullet in his shoulder.”
    “Well, then it’s a good thing Thomas found me heading from town.  It saved some time, and looks like he lost a good amount of blood.” He set his bag on the table beside the bed and opened it. “We have to get it out right away.”  His eyes glanced off Cogan, “I suppose you’re the man I can thank for putting a bullet through Elroy’s palm?”
    Cogan never said anything.
    The doctor didn’t seem to expect an answer. “Well, this explains why he didn’t’ tell me the truth,” he said as he started setting up his supplies while seeing Ryker’s condition. “He told me he accidently shot himself in the hand.”  He released a huff of humorous disbelief. “I would have dumped a shaker of salt in his wound if I’d known they did this.”
    “ Thomas, get Hattie to boil some water,” Josie said to her little brother.  They would need it to extract the bullet.
    “Ryker?” Thomas sobbed.
    Ryker raised his hand so his little brother could see he was fine.
    Thomas wiped his tears with the back of his hand, sniffed hard, and smiled. 
    Cogan took that as his cue to get his horses settled and his things in the house.   He knew he should have just got on his stallion and rode out of there because he wasn’t looking for trouble. Those days were long since behind him, but he didn’t like what was going on here either.  As far as he could see, these were good people who were making an honest living.  It was no skin off of his back to stay and help.  Well, the young woman may have had something to do with it too.
    Moments later, h e was unstrapping his bags from his horse and tossing them on the veranda when a young voice cut in.  He knew the boy followed him out a few minutes ago, but Cogan wasn’t much of a conversationalist so he let him start the talking.
    “Josie said you saved Ryker.”
    “I reckon I did.”
    “He’s really tough Mister,” Thomas felt the need to say.
    “Yeah, he was.” He smirked as he tossed another bag on the porch without looking at him.  He was being honest.  He was sure he hadn’t seen anyone as tough and brave as Ryker in years, and for a man so young, it was rare.  He heard the pride in the boy’s voice and knew that he admired his older brother.  Cogan never knew that type of sibling pride because he was alone, very alone.  He took the horses’ reins and started walking his toward the barn.
    “He was , wasn’t he?” the boy asked following him, walking quickly to keep pace with Cogan’s long stride.
    Cogan paused and stared down at him. “Your brother thought he was going to die and he stared the man in the eye that was going to do it. It was one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen kid. And I’ve seen a lot of things.”
    Thomas grinned.
    Just then Ryker’s bay horse came limping into the yard.
    “I’ll be damned,” Cogan said handing the boy the reins to his horses.  Miss Hamilton was right.  The horse did come home.  It was pretty spooked when it took off, so he thought it would run itself to death first. As it was, the horse was soaked with sweat and foam from running like hell for God knows how long. It was winded and eyed him with mistrust.
    “He’s limping,” Thomas said.
    “Yeah, he probably