“I’ve been to the Flush more than once,” Holliday continued as another chunk of glass was plucked free and dropped into the cup. “Rough place. There are some good games held there, though.”
Pain stabbed close to Caleb’s chin.
Next came the light rattle of glass against tin.
“I enjoy a good game or two, myself, now and then.”
Not much pain this time. Caleb’s face was starting to numb.
Another chip of glass fell on top of the bigger pieces.
“From what I’ve heard, most of your games are fair enough.”
A bit of pain that felt like a small insect bite.
Another chip fell into the cup.
“I’m sure you’re aware,” Holliday added, “that you’ve got a few cheaters in the mix.”
Caleb reflexively turned to look directly into the dentist’s eyes. He was stopped by a firm hand that came up quickly to clamp onto Caleb’s chin.
“Wha?” Caleb asked.
Still holding onto Caleb’s jaw with his fingers splayed so as not to disturb any of the remaining glass shards, Holliday nodded and kept talking. “Oh, it’s true. I know at least one of them well enough. I was even tossing around the notion of trying to cut myself in on his action, but since you came to me first . . .”
Trailing off, Holliday pulled at one more piece of glass. This time, the pain that shot through Caleb’s face was like a spike being twisted through the bottom half of his skull. The glass didn’t come free, since it was wedged into the jawbone itself rather than the flesh surrounding it.
Holliday patted Caleb on the chest as he leaned back to reach for his rack of instruments. When he leaned forward again, Holliday smiled reassuringly down at Caleb. “Now don’t you move,” he said, holding up a pair of larger metal tongs, “or this might sting. The good news is that I should be able to work around the teeth you’ve got left. You do a fine job of maintaining them, by the way.”
Before Caleb could say anything, he felt the dentist’s grip tighten on his head and then heard the distinct sound of metal clamping around glass. There was a crunch, which filled his head like a shotgun blast as the shard was pulled free.
Caleb squirmed in the chair. His hands gripped onto the wooden arms, and his eyes became so wide that he could barely even see through them anymore. There was some pressure, a tug, and then the warm flow of blood. The sensation that followed was warm as well and would have been agonizing if it hadn’t already been eclipsed by the pain that soaked through every inch of his skull.
When he was a kid, Caleb had loved to climb fence posts and walk along the rails surrounding his father’s land. One time, he’d slipped from the fence and landed the wrong way upon his left leg. The moment he hit the ground, he knew his leg was misaligned. When he reached down, he felt the bones in his knee poking out at odd angles.
A doctor had tugged on his leg to set the bones right again. Any other time, and the thought of wrenching his knee like that would have seemed awful. Compared to the way it had felt when they were misaligned, however, that lesser pain was a blessing. At least things were being set right again in the process.
Sitting in that uncomfortable chair with Holliday wrenching the glass out of his jaw, Caleb felt that same kind of pain. It hurt, but it hurt a whole lot less than how it had been hurting before. And when it was over, at least he would be set right again.
Another glass shard dropped into a cup that was so full, the glass no longer rattled inside of it.
“All right, then,” Holliday said. “Unless my eyes are failing me, I’d say that about does it. All you need is some glue, and you might be able to put that bottle back together again. Ever hear of Humpty Dumpty?”
Caleb’s vision was blurred, and he felt like he was falling through murky water. All of that made Holliday’s comments seem even more ludicrous. “Wha?” he asked. It didn’t hurt so much to talk anymore. “What?”
Just as his fingertips grazed against his jaw, Caleb felt that steady, almost skeletal hand reach out to stop him.
“Leave it be,” Holliday said. “For now, anyway. It needs time to heal, but you should be right as rain before too long.”
Sitting up, Caleb pulled in a few breaths to clear his head. Moving his jaw didn’t exactly feel good, but the pain was nothing compared to how it had been not too long ago.
“I can stitch up some of those cuts if you still have it in you,” Holliday said.
Caleb looked over to the dentist and found that sitting up and seeing Holliday at an equal level was something of a new perspective. Holliday still looked pale and gaunt. His eyes, which had seemed a cool blue before, now seemed gray. Sweat had broken out across his forehead and slicked his dark blond hair against his scalp. The perspiration seemed to come from something else besides the heat that filled the room as it did the entire state of Texas at that time of year.
Before too long, Holliday picked up on Caleb’s careful inspection of him. “You strike me as a fighting man,” Holliday said.
Once more taken off his guard, Caleb replied, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The way you’re sizing me up. I’ve seen wild dogs with less fire in their eyes.”
Now it was Caleb’s turn to smile. Even though the gesture hurt, it was good to be able to do it again. “I’ve heard about you, Holliday. You’re more than just a dentist around here.”
Holliday’s eyes showed a glint of amusement. When he smiled, he showed a set of well-maintained if slightly bloodied teeth. “Is that a fact, now?”
Caleb saw the bloodstains on the dentist’s teeth and reacted just enough for Holliday to pick up on it. In one motion, Holliday had turned away from Caleb and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to dab at his mouth. He cleared his throat a few times, but that soon degenerated into a series of hacking coughs.
One after another, the coughs came. They started shaking Holliday like a pair of rough, invisible hands as the sound he made became gritty and wet. And just as quickly as they’d overtaken him, the coughs were forced back down. Holliday wiped his mouth, pulled in a breath, and once again set his eyes upon Caleb.
Oddly enough, Caleb had to admit that Holliday looked even stronger than before.
“You said I had some cheaters in my place,” Caleb reminded the dentist. “From what I hear, you could be one of them.”
“And who told you that? Someone who bet too much and lost is what I’d wager.”
“Yeah. They lost, all right.”
“And let me guess. They didn’t take it up with the law, either?”
“No. They didn’t.” Caleb nodded at the way Holliday composed himself. He liked to think he had instinct to spare when it came to judging men. Even so, it was hard to get a read on the dentist before him. “So who is this cheater, then? Will you tell me?”
“First things first,” Holliday said. “How about you settle up with the girl out front for this service before I provide you with another one?”
A knot formed in Caleb’s stomach. “I don’t have any money with me. At least, probably not enough to pay for this.”
“Are you happy with my work?”
Caleb took a moment to mull the question and found no ulterior motives behind it. Holliday’s expression was genuine as he perched on the edge of his stool waiting for the response. Reaching up to feel his jaw, he found plenty of bloody gaps but no more glass. “Feels a whole lot better than when I came in.”
“Then that can hold me over until you can pay me. Now, how about those cuts? Shall I see to them, or would you prefer to go to another doctor?”
“Since I’m already here, you might as well do it. If I’m going to run up a bill, I’d just as soon just run up one big one than a few smaller ones.”