By the time they arrived back in Denver, Hollister was almost completely healed. Even the scar where the blade had entered his stomach was slowly disappearing. Chee developed an uneasy truce with Shaniah when he saw Hollister’s improvement. She remained on Dog’s bad list though.
Monkey Pete was happy to hear his contraptions had worked, but less so when he found out his equipment had been left behind.
“Sorry, Monkey Pete,” Hollister said. “In all the excitement we forget to grab the Ass-Kicker also, so it’s gone too, and I expect Winchester ain’t going to be too happy about that either. Besides, your damn dynamite nearly got us killed, so stop whining.” Pete groused and muttered a few curses but eventually came around.
The train chugged into Denver, and Hollister was happy to see the warehouse again. He’d come to think of it as home. Which was strange because there was nothing homelike about it.
On the way Shaniah and Hollister made no attempts to hide their relationship. But to Jonas it felt as if a veil of melancholy had descended over her and he couldn’t tell why. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t jolly her out of it.
They arrived about three o’clock in the afternoon. The warehouse became a hub of activity as the train was resupplied and restocked. Shaniah and Hollister stayed in his cabin until it grew dark.
“There’s something I’ve got to go do,” he said. “When I get back, let’s take a walk. Sound good?”
She stood and took him in her arms. She kissed him, a long lingering kiss.
“What’s that for?” he asked.
“For what you did for me. For my people. For keeping your promise.”
“Huh,” he said.