Lorna shook her head and then headed out into the hallway with Darren following closely at her heels. She turned and quietly informed him, “I think he’s just overheated, as if he’s been working out in the sun for too long.”
“Heat stroke?” Darren queried. “How would he get heat stroke sitting on the porch?”
“He didn’t get it today. I think it’s probably a combination of dealing with Mark’s death and having worked too many hours outside over the last week. He barely drinks any water when he’s working and he never stops for lunch. June told me so yesterday.”
“It has been warmer than usual,” Darren agreed. “But, heat stroke? Why didn’t he get sick earlier?”
Lorna shook her head. “I don’t know. But he’s sick now and that’s the only thing that makes any sense to me. I saw soldiers suffer the same thing, and it always hit them after they were out of the sun for a while. His heart rate is a little fast, but it’s steady and strong.”
“And the headache?” Darren asked.
“It goes along with heat stroke. Once his body has time to cool down and recuperate, he should be fine.”
She looked up at Darren and realized that he didn’t share her optimism. He looked terrified on behalf of his pa. “Should I send for the doctor?”
“No. We just need to get his fever down. I’ll sit with him for a bit and see how he does.”
“He needs to stop working so hard, if this is the outcome,” Darren told her.
“Or at least know when to take a break. It’s not good for anyone to be working in the heat like he has been. Everyone needs to drink plenty of water and rest when it’s hot outside.”
“This is nothing compared to summer,” Darren informed her.
“Well, everyone needs to start taking more precautions. I’ve seen men die from heat stroke.” She knew it was the wrong thing to say the minute the words left her mouth, but it was too late to call them back.
“Is he going to be all right?” Darren asked worriedly, his gaze going back to the open bedroom door where his pa lay weak and pale.
“Darren, he should be fine. The sun can be very dangerous, and he just got a bit too much of it at one time. He’s just going to need to take it easy for a day or two.”
“If you’re sure.” Darren met her eyes, looking for some assurance that his pa was going to make it through this episode no worse for the wear.
“If I think we need the doctor, I’ll come and get you. I promise. He’ll most likely sleep through the night. Go and take care of whatever chores or duties you have. I’ll sit with him for now.”
“I can sit—”
“Don’t you have evening chores that need done?” she asked him.
“Always.”
“Then go and do them. There’s nothing you can do up here that I can’t also do. That is not true about your chores. I wouldn’t even know where to start,” Lorna teased him.
Darren nodded and shared a smile with her. “I’ll have to teach you about the ranch and the chores we do every day. Some of them you’ll hate, but I think you’ll find others very enjoyable.”
Lorna smiled. “I’ve never lived on a ranch before, so I look forward to learning some new things. Just not tonight.”
“Not tonight. If you’re sure he doesn’t need the doctor…”
“He does not,” she informed him once more.
Darren nodded. “I’ll be out in the barn if you need me,” he said before going back into the bedroom for a brief moment. Lorna waited outside.
June joined Lorna in the hallway and murmured, “I’ll send a tray with some tea up for you.”
“The tea would be lovely, but I can come down and get it,” Lorna told her.
June patted her on the shoulder and shook her head. “You stay up here and I’ll bring it up. I’m very glad you’re here and I know Brian feels the same way.”
“Thank you. I’m glad to be here as well.”
Darren lingered by his pa’s bedside until June and Ethan went downstairs, and then he headed for the bedroom door. He stopped and looked at Lorna one last time before exiting. “Promise to come and get me if he worsens or you think he needs the doctor.”
“I will. Go do your chores and stop worrying.”
“That is a difficult request, but I will try. I’ll check back in on him a bit later.”
“He’s going to be fine,” she whispered back, seeing that Brian was sound asleep. She felt his forehead and his skin felt a bit cooler from the cloths already.
Once Darren left the room, Lorna settled in a chair by the bedside. She found it interesting that Darren was so concerned for Brian’s health. It was another facet of the man she found appealing and she offered up a silent prayer that her diagnosis of heat stroke was the explanation for Brian’s symptoms. His life was too important to too many people for it to be taken for granted.
Brian needed to live, as Darren would need his counsel in the coming days and weeks. Lorna was sure of it. If she had anything to say about it, he would be making a full recovery sometime very soon.
Chapter 14
The Golden Nugget saloon was full tonight, but Orvis was seated in his private parlor, completely immune to whatever was going on in the main bar room. He reached for the bottle of whiskey and poured himself another glass, tossing it back in one swallow and relishing the burn as the liquor made its way down to his stomach.
Across from him sat George Hess, dressed in a brocade vest with his gold pocket watch chain dangling from a small pocket, gleaming each time he moved. George had removed his hat, and it sat like a beacon on the table next to his elbow.
Where other men wore dirty railroad caps, crumpled felt hats covered in mine dust, or cowboy hats personalized by the creases and curls on the crown and rims, George Hess could always be seen in a black top hat.
The man exuded wealth and a social status that didn’t exist out West quite yet. It could be found by the dozens in the drawing rooms and men’s clubs of Philadelphia and Boston, but in Virginia City, there was only the Golden Nugget saloon and Orvis’s private parlor. This was as good as it got here in this little backwards town, and Orvis intended to change that. George was the key to his future success.
“Another drink?” Orvis pushed the bottle of whiskey toward the older man. George’s long beard and moustache were white, peppered with gray, and his dark eyes were currently narrowed in obvious irritation.
“A drink isn’t going to fix the problem, Harington,” George said in a voice that would have had lesser men scurrying to leave the room.
“I realize that and I’m taking steps to get you the land you want,” Orvis told him.
“What steps?” George demanded. This was a man used to getting his way and unaccustomed to having to wait for anything.
Orvis nodded and explained about the outlaws. “They are doing well at creating a sense of unrest amongst the townsfolk. Already, several of the smaller miners and ranchers have talked about selling off their land and moving away from here.”
“Are the Wilsons among their number?”
Orvis shook his head and then added, “Not yet. But after burying Mark, a message has been sent. The recent outlaw activity, courtesy of my hired guns, has everyone thinking Virginia City might not be the place they want to live out the rest of their lives.”
George nodded and reached for one of the cigars he’d traveled with. He snipped off the end and, after lighting it, nodded toward the box. “Help yourself.”
Orvis eyed the cigars and then selected one. He mimicked George’s actions, snipping the end off and lighting it with a match, puffing on it to get it burning just right. He barely contained the urge to cough as the smoke filled his lungs, but he managed to remain calm and give the appearance that this was a normal activity for him.
“Thank you. Very nice.”
George eyed him. “What about the town sheriff? Are we going to have a problem from that direction?”
“Old Chisholm?” Orvis asked incredulously.
“I think not.” Orvis laughed and took another puff of his cigar. “Sheriff Chisholm is blind as a bat most days.”
George raised an aristocratic eyebrow and queried, “The sheriff is blind?”
Orvis nodded. “Mostly. The man is stubborn as a mule and refuses to give up his position. I’ve allowed it because it suits me to do so at this juncture in time.”
“Maybe a little incentive is needed?” George asked.
Orvis thought for a minute and then shook his head. “If you’re suggesting the sheriff can be bought, that is a mistake. Chisholm is as honest as they come. The man cannot be bought, but that doesn’t mean that he’ll pose a problem. His health is very poor, and with his vision quickly fading, he can’t be positive of anything he does witness.”
“You’re sure of this?”
Orvis nodded. “I’m sure. Besides, Chisholm is no threat to our enterprise. As the mayor of Virginia City, I allow the man to keep his position.” Orvis hoped he didn’t sound like he was bragging, but he was confident that a few words spoken in the right ears would have the entire town backing him if he desired to find another lawman to watch over their interests.
George puffed on his cigar for a moment and then told him, “My plans for the railroad cannot go forward without purchasing the piece of land held by the Wilsons. I cannot even give the go-ahead for them to begin laying tracks in this direction until I’m certain that land is mine.”
Orvis nodded and then assured him, “Give me two weeks. I’ll have Brian Wilson signing that purchase offer, and at a much lower rate than you originally offered him, too.”
George gave him a hard stare and then stubbed his cigar out, leaving the ashes in the small bowl in the middle of the table as he stood up and retrieved his hat. He placed it upon his head and then picked up his black leather duster coat. “I hope you’re right. Virginia City was my first choice, but it’s not the only option available to me.”
George picked up the gold-handled cane he always had with him and hit the floorboards twice. The man who always accompanied George, acting as a bodyguard and man of affairs, pulled back the curtain that separated the private parlor from the main area of the bar.
“Sir?”
“I’m ready to leave.”
The man inclined his head and then held the curtain open while George walked through and out of the bar. Orvis remained behind at the table, enjoying the expensive cigar and tossing back another glass of whiskey. The Wilsons were a problem, and he couldn’t have that.
“Claus!” he raised his voice, summoning the boys who were going to make sure Brian was ready to sell in the next two weeks. When no one came in, he raised his voice and called again. “Claus! Get in here!”
Claus stumbled through the curtain, Leroy right behind him. “Boss?”
Orvis looked at them, puffed on his cigar, and then narrowed his gaze at Claus. “I heard about your altercation at the festival with the Wilson boy. Explain.”
“He approached me. Put his hand on me. Said he knew me from somewhere.”
“You’d best watch your back, both of you. The Wilson boy you killed might have been passive, but the one remaining is anything but.”
“Darren’s gotten himself a feisty woman with auburn hair and hazel eyes.”
This was news to Orvis, and he stroked his chin as he contemplated how this could be used to his advantage. “You’re talking about the newcomer to town?”
Claus nodded. “She didn’t think twice about jumping in between us when it looked like we were going to fight.”
“Feisty and stupid,” Leroy added. “The chit didn’t even have a gun.”
Orvis waved Leroy’s comment away. “It would appear that she didn’t need one to break you and Darren up. So, the newcomer has caught Darren’s eye.”
Claus nodded, affirming Orvis’s statement. “She’s also the one who saved the Johnson boy. I hear she removed the bullet and now she’s helping out the doc.”
“She’s coming to town often, then?”
Claus shrugged his shoulders. “I haven’t seen her, but that’s what’s being said. Doc Ellsworth has her helping him a few days a week. Guess she was a nurse or something during the war.”
“That’s very interesting. Very interesting.” Orvis couldn’t contain his grin. Darren was interested in the gal and it didn’t sound like he was doing a very good job of protecting her from the evils that could befall her whilst traveling to town from the ranch. If Brian Wilson continued to resist the inevitable, Orvis now had leverage to force his compliance.
“Boys, it seems fate has just handed us the secret to our success. Keep up the current plans, but if things don’t turn our way soon, we’ll change our attentions to the feisty one. Brian will come to regret not cooperating with me the first time.”
Leroy and Claus shared a grin. “You let us know what you want done and we’ll see to it. If it involves that feisty gal, it won’t be any hardship. She’s a looker.”
Orvis nodded and then waved them away. “Get out of here and have someone keep tabs on the gal and the other people at the ranch. I don’t want any surprises this close to reaching our goal. Brian’s grieving the loss of one son; knowing he could lose another member of his household may be enough to break him.”
Leroy and Claus left, and Orvis settled back in his chair and enjoyed the rest of his cigar. He helped himself to another glass of whiskey, his mind already planning what he was going to do once he completed the sale of the Wilson property. He’d be the richest man in the region, and he’d be able to call all of the shots. No one would dare defy him at that point. No one.
Chapter 15
Darren stood in the doorway, his gaze taking in the scene before him, just as he had been doing every hour throughout the night. Lorna had insisted on staying with his pa to try and break his fever, telling both Darren and Aunt June that she wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink with Brian so ill.
Darren had wanted to protest, but he’d discovered that Lorna had a stubborn streak. He’d given up trying to convince her to return to her own bed, instead choosing to just check in on her often. He’d left the bedroom door open several inches, enabling him to do so without disturbing the occupants inside.
Lorna was an enigma to him. He’d never met a woman who had such a strong streak of determination and compassion for her fellow man, while still being so feisty and independent.
She certainly was different from any of the other women living in Virginia City, and that was a good thing, in Darren’s opinion. He’d certainly never found himself attracted to any of the single women living in town or on the nearby ranches.
It was now in the wee hours of the morning, and while he longed for his own bed, he found himself silently walking up the stairs and peeking through the doorway. His father appeared to be resting comfortably at the moment, turned on his side with his back toward the now sleeping Lorna.
She was curled in the chair next to the bed, her feet tucked up beneath her skirts and her head lying on her folded arms where they rested on the side table. The basin of water she’d been using to help bathe his pa’s feverish face sat at an odd angle on her lap. Darren quietly made his way across the room and removed it before it could spill on her skirts.
He picked up the wet cloth that had dropped from her hand to lie on the floorboards and sat it and the basin of water on the dresser. He then returned to stand before her. He looked his fill, frowning when he saw a small shiver move over her body. He looked around the room and then retrieved a quilt from the opposite side, bringing it to where Lorna slept and draping it over her sleeping form.
She was still sleeping, and he took a moment to check on his father, pleased and relieved to find that he was no longer feverish. He looked back at Lorna, his thoughts moving from worry about his pa to acknowledgment of the young woman responsible for his health.
She was beautiful, but not just on the outside. Lorna was a sweet and caring woman who had stirred up feelings inside of him that he’d never
had before. Darren had never felt so drawn to a woman or found himself looking for excuses to spend time in a woman’s presence. Not until now.
She was braver than many men he knew and didn’t expect anyone to do for her what she could do herself. Many women who would have found themselves in her situation would have been in hysterics, completely lost and with no earthly idea of how to carry on with their life. Not Lorna. She had embraced the situation and Darren hadn’t seen any evidence of her feeling sorry for herself. Not once.
He was still watching her when she started to stir, her hands coming up to grip the blanket even as a frown marred her brow. She opened her eyes and looked straight at him, a soft smile curling her lips as she came more fully awake.
“Do I have you to thank for the blanket?” she asked, her voice soft and husky from sleep.
A Bride to Heal His Broken Heart Page 10
