5
Boudreaux closed his eyes, trying to think past the pain that was spreading out from his upper shoulder.
“You’ve been shot?” Miss Wilson gasped.
“Yes, Miss Wilson. Please remain calm. We shall reach…” He drew in a shallow breath. “The inn…and the innkeeper can summon…a doctor.”
It was becoming harder and harder to ignore the pain. A slow numbness, thick as marmalade, creeped down his arms. Within minutes he was unable to hold the reins at all. The straps of leather began to slip through his loosening fingers.
“Take…the reins,” he said to the girl a moment before he slumped against her. A sweet feminine scent filled his nose as he nearly collapsed on top of her.
“Mr. Boudreaux?” she whimpered, pushing back against him.
He wanted to apologize; she was such a fragile little thing. To
