Tracie Peterson - [Land of the Lone Star 03]

by Taming the Wind

  “Nothing is going to happen to either of you,” Carissa said, still unwilling to believe the worst could happen. “Now focus on keeping your son warm and let us do what we can to make you comfortable.”

  The hours seemed to stretch for an eternity. Carissa was just dozing in the bedside chair when she heard the unmistakable sound of male voices. For just a moment she dared to hope that the men had returned from the drive, but when the doctor bounded into the room, she knew it was otherwise.

  “Seems we have a little fella mighty eager to make his appearance,” the doctor said, taking the infant from Laura. “I’ll have him back to you as soon as possible.” He took the baby to the small table Hannah had put by the fire. On it she placed a small quilt folded and draped to add padding and warmth.

  Carissa watched the doctor as he examined the baby. He made several comments to Hannah and Juanita, but didn’t seem all that alarmed. He left the baby to the women and came back to examine Laura.

  “You both look to be in stable condition, given the experience,” the doctor said upon completing his examination.

  Carissa let go of her breath, not even realizing that she’d been holding it. She patted Laura’s hand. “See there, I told you all would be well.”

  Laura’s voice sounded quite weak. “Will he live?”

  The doctor gave her a hint of a smile as he offered her a soothing nod. “I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t. He’s breathing well and his color is quite good. The important thing will be to get him to eat and to keep him warm. You’re fortunate to have him born in the heat of summer. That and keeping him near the fire will both be to his benefit.”

  “But you can’t be sure,” Laura said.

  “No one can be sure,” Carissa interjected. “Remember what you told me about loving? It’s a risk, especially since people are bound to die one day.”

  Laura looked at Carissa and smiled for the first time. “You are right, of course. It seems harder now that I’m on the other side of the issue.”

  The doctor patted Laura in a fatherly manner. “There, now. You need to rest. You’re gonna need your strength to see this little one through. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  “Why don’t you stay with us, Dr. Sutton?” Hannah questioned, coming into the room with a small wooden box.

  “I can’t. I have another couple of patients to visit. I’ll get back out here first thing in the morning if all goes well. If you need me before then, just send Berto again, and I’ll come as soon as I can. But, frankly, there isn’t a great deal I can do at this point.” He looked at Laura and then back to Hannah and Carissa. “These things are out of our hands.”

  “What we can do is place the babe safely in God’s hands,” Hannah said. “Carissa, come help me. We’re going to make something for the baby.”

  “His name is Lucas,” Carissa said. “Laura named him Lucas.”

  Hannah smiled. “I like that name, Laura. It’s strong.”

  Laura gave a brief nod. “Lucas Brandon Reid.”

  The doctor took his leave, and Juanita went to tend Laura while Carissa held her new nephew. He couldn’t have weighed more than five pounds. He was so very small and looked rather like a wizened old man. Fuzzy hair like that of a peach covered his body, and on his head were fine wisps of brown hair.

  “I’m going to create a warming bed for him,” Hannah said, taking the quilt from the table and replacing it with the box. “I’ll be right back,” she told Carissa.

  It was hard to figure what Hannah was up to, but when she returned with a tray of stones, Carissa was even more confused. “I heated these in the oven,” Hannah said. “I’m going to put them around the sides of the box and then we’ll put the quilt over that. We’ll fix it so that the warmth heats the baby . . . Lucas . . . but doesn’t burn him.”

  “That’s brilliant,” Carissa said, nodding her approval.

  Within a moment, Hannah had it all arranged. She put her hand into the box and felt all around. “Perfect. Now we have a nice warm bed for Lucas.”

  Carissa gently placed the baby in the box, and Hannah quickly tucked the quilt around him. Glancing at the fire, Carissa went to add another couple of logs. She would sit and keep the fire all day and night for as long as it took. She would do whatever was required, if it meant helping keep Lucas alive for Laura.

  “Let’s check him frequently to make sure he’s not too warm,” Hannah said, her brows knitting together. “I don’t know how warm would be too warm, but hopefully we’ll be able to tell.”

  The next twenty-four hours proved to be good ones for the baby. He managed to suckle, and though Laura’s milk seemed slow in coming, Lucas continued to fight. By the third day, however, it was obvious that Laura wasn’t doing well. She seemed to weaken by the hour and a fever started that had Juanita and Hannah quite worried.

  “We need to bind her breasts and dry up her milk,” Juanita told Hannah and Carissa. “It is taking her strength. We must do this to help her be stronger.”

  “But what about Lucas?”

  “We feed him canned milk,” Juanita replied.

  “Juanita is right,” Hannah replied. “I’ve seen this before . . . when Marty was born. . . .” She fell silent.

  Carissa looked at the two women in grave worry. “She can’t die. Daniel and Lucas need her. Brandon needs her.” She glanced at her sister’s pale, lifeless body. “I need her.”

  Dr. Sutton finally arrived on the fourth day, and the prognosis wasn’t good. Carissa could scarcely believe him as he shook his head and closed his bag. “It’s childbed fever. Happens all the time, and we can’t really say why. There’s little I can do.”

  “There has to be something!” Carissa said, refusing to give up.

  The doctor gave her a sympathetic glance. “You can work to get her fever down. Get fluids in her.”

  “What about willow-bark tea?” Hannah asked.

  “No, it will increase her bleeding. The risk is too great,” Dr. Sutton replied.

  The baby began to cry, and Carissa hurried to pick him up. “He’s hungry—probably starving.”

  The doctor frowned. “If the mother dies, he will most likely die, too. Frankly, that’s often a blessing. Awfully hard for others to take care of a baby without a mother to feed it.”

  “But it can be done,” Hannah said firmly. “I’ve done it before with Marty.”

  “They aren’t going to die,” Carissa said, clutching Lucas closer. “I won’t let them.” A sob broke from her throat, and Hannah came to put her arm around her.

  “We’ll do everything we can,” Hannah whispered in her ear.

  “Dilute some canned milk and warm it,” the doctor suggested as he headed to the door. “Try giving him some of that every hour. If that doesn’t work—at least give him some sugar water. You will have to pursue it vigilantly, or he will grow weak from lack of fluids and starve.”

  The doctor glanced back at Laura’s lifeless body. Carissa had never been more frightened. “I can’t lose her,” Carissa told them. “And she won’t live if this baby doesn’t, so I will do whatever I can to see this through.”

  Dr. Sutton nodded. “I know you will, Mrs. Lowe. I know you will.”

  “It’s not the news you want to hear,” Ted Terry said, “but that’s the truth of it.”

  Hannah sat at the head of the table, and Carissa had joined them for the meal while Juanita cared for Lucas and Laura. The Terrys had come with news of another Indian attack.

  “The Cheyenne are working with the Comanche and Kiowa. It’s been quite bad up and down the plains. The sheriff told me they just learned that there was a massacre of several families in the panhandle area.”

  “Are you going to stay at your ranch or will you join us here?” Hannah asked.

  “For now we’ll go back and do our best to defend the place.”

  “But why? You needn’t risk your lives. Just come here and stay with us,” Hannah insisted. “We’ll be stronger together, and you know that the Comanc
he have long respected our ranch.”

  “I’ll take it under advisement,” Ted promised. He glanced at Marietta, who looked none too happy. “For now, however, I have to go back and do what I can to secure what’s mine.”

  “Well, at least eat your fill before you go. I wouldn’t want to send you off on an empty stomach.”

  Ted laughed. “No chance of that. I know my way to the trough.”

  Carissa felt Marietta’s hand on her arm and startled. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?”

  Marietta nodded. “I wondered how your sister was doing. Hannah said she’s been quite ill.”

  “She is and I must say I’m so frightened. She’s desperately weak, and it’s hard to get any kind of fluids into her, but the doctor says that’s critical.” She felt such a sense of dread. “I don’t know if I could bear it should Laura . . .”

  “Hush, now,” Marietta told her. “You gain nothing by fretting over the matter. Give it to the Lord and let Him work.”

  Carissa felt so hopeless. “I’m trying. I’m really trying.”

  “That’s all the Lord asks of us. Now, you need to eat more than that to keep up your strength. And where is that little gal of yours? I understand she’s had a birthday and turned two.”

  “She seems more like four or five,” Hannah interjected. “I’ve never seen anyone so smart and active. That child is everywhere at once and talks a blue streak.”

  “It’s true,” Carissa replied. “But as for where the children are—they ate earlier and now Marty is putting them down for naps. She has been an absolute godsend. I know we would never have managed without her.”

  Marietta bobbed her head. “My mother always said that there was never anyone too young to learn how to help. She had me shelling peas when I was just a little one. Life sometimes necessitates we grow up fast and out here—it’s a rule.”

  “I hate seeing them grow up too fast,” Hannah said with a sigh. “I’ve been so worried about Andy. I never wanted him to go on the cattle drive, as you know. I received a message from William once the cattle were safely delivered to Abilene. Apparently everyone is fine, but I won’t really rest until they’re all back home.”

  “I’m sure the boys feel the same way,” Ted said.

  A knock was heard coming from the front door. Being closest to the hall, Carissa jumped to her feet. “I’ll get it.” She hurried, hoping the doctor had made another return visit. Instead she found Judge Peevy on the other side of the door.

  “Well, well. Just the woman I wanted to see.”

  She smiled. “Is this about the ranch, then?”

  He nodded. “It is. Everything has gone quite well. The Atherton ranch will be yours, but not only that—our idea to purchase the piece outright was well received. I gave them your draft and the sale went through. The county will pocket the money, and that seemed to make everyone happy.”

  She clapped her hands much like Gloria might have. “I’m so happy. This is wonderful news.”

  “I agree. You do need to know, however, that you are under obligation to live there for five years.”

  “But I thought . . . I mean we aren’t homesteading.”

  “True, but that was a provision I had to agree to. They also made it clear that you could not sell the land back to Tyler.”

  “Then what good does it do for me to have it? I’ve saved the place for nothing.”

  The judge grinned. “Not exactly. To my way of thinking, you could still manage to get it back into his hands, if say . . . you were to marry him.”

  Carissa felt her cheeks grow hot. “There’s no plan for that.”

  “Well, I understood that you two were mutually interested in a future together. I’m just saying that there’s nothing in the contract that would keep Tyler from taking ownership if he’s married to you. After all, there wouldn’t be a sale involved.”

  Instead of feeling pleased about the news, Carissa suddenly felt sick. What if Tyler had no interest in marrying her? What if his feelings for her . . . feelings he had never spoken of but that Hannah and Laura assured her existed . . . had changed?

  “I suppose we will just have to wait and see,” she said in a barely audible voice.

  “Judge, how nice to see you. Won’t you join us for dinner?” Hannah asked, coming to join them. She looked at Carissa. “You were gone so long, I feared something was wrong.”

  “A bite to eat sounds just right to me,” Judge Peevy declared. “Is that fried chicken I smell?”

  Hannah laughed. “It is indeed. I fried it myself. Now, come along. The Terrys are here, and you men can discuss the affairs of the world. Ted has been telling us about the Indian troubles.”

  The two continued to talk as they walked away, leaving Carissa to close the door. She paused and leaned against the frame, wondering if she’d made a serious mistake. She wished she could have told Tyler about her plans prior to taking action. But that was the whole reason she had rushed to action—all the men who could have advised her were gone.

  She closed her eyes and tried to imagine telling Tyler the news that she’d just bought the ranch. Worse still, she had spent every cent in her bank account to do so. If Tyler asked her to marry him, there would be no problem. But if he didn’t . . .

  Carissa tried to push the thought from her mind, but it wouldn’t go. Tyler might hate her for what she’d done. The long months away could have given him a new direction for his life. What if he didn’t even return to Texas?

  She shook her head. “I’m borrowing trouble, and I already have plenty.” She opened her eyes and pushed off the doorframe. “There’s no sense in fretting about this now.” But even speaking the words aloud didn’t help her to let the matter go.

  15

  Looks like they’re setting up for quite the Fourth of July celebration,” William said after he and Tyler concluded business at the bank. All around Abilene streamers and banners were being hung in red, white, and blue.

  “You won’t see them celebrating as much in Texas,” Tyler countered. He pointed to a mercantile. “I’m going over there to pick up some presents for Gloria and Carissa. You ought to come and get Hannah and Robert something.”

  William glanced toward the store and then back to the building just ahead. “I’ll probably do that, but first I’m going to send a wire. With all the newspaper stories about Indian attacks and such, I’d like to hear from the sheriff in Cedar Springs.”

  “That would be wise,” Tyler said, bothered that he’d not thought of it himself. “How fast do you reckon we can start back?”

  “Hard to tell,” William replied. “The horses are in decent shape, but the new stock Brandon’s picking up might not be as cooperative. I’d like to think we could push hard and be back in two weeks or less. Now you go ahead to the mercantile, and I’ll get this wire sent, then join you.”

  Tyler nodded and headed out across the busy street. They’d been in Abilene for two days and finally business had been concluded. They’d received top dollar for their steers and had managed to make it to market with 2,442 head. The loss was far less than they’d anticipated, especially with the storm, and the profit was a good one. Tonight they would pay the men, and tomorrow they would head home. At least Tyler hoped that’s what they’d do.

  He entered the brightly decorated store and grinned at a display of red, white, and blue hair ribbons with a sign that read, Show your patriotic spirit with the colors of Old Glory!

  An older man stepped forward from behind the counter. “Morning, mister. Can I help you?”

  “I hope so,” Tyler replied. “I’m here to get a couple of presents. One for my sweetheart and one for a two-year-old girl.”

  The man led the way. “Over here we have a nice selection of toys and doodads to please the children. I think you will find our selection the best west of the Mississippi.”

  Tyler didn’t bother to say that he had no way to compare. Instead he studied a stack of books, marionettes, puzzles, blocks, and stick horses. Nothing
seemed quite right. He continued glancing through the merchandise until his gaze fell upon a beautiful china doll. He supposed that Gloria was really too small for such a present, but the doll was enchanting.

  “I see you’ve spied our finest doll,” the store clerk said, reaching out to pick up the elegant doll. “The dress is a replica of one worn by President Lincoln’s wife. Note the care given to the doll’s hair. That’s real human hair. I like the gold color, don’t you?”

  Tyler didn’t give the details much attention. “I’ll take it.” It didn’t even matter what the price was; he knew it would impress Gloria, and if she were too little for it, Carissa could save it until she was older.

  “And for your sweetheart . . . did you have anything in mind?”

  “Well, I had thought maybe a new gown, but now I’m inclined to consider a ring.”

  The man grinned. “Ah, so it’s quite serious?”

  “I suppose it is,” Tyler said, knowing that his heart was doing all his thinking.

  “I have a selection of rings that I keep in the safe. Let me take you back to my private office.” The man went to where a woman and another man were working to serve additional customers. He whispered something to the woman, who nodded with a glance Tyler’s way. She smiled and said something to the man.

  “Right this way,” the man announced, returning to Tyler. He took them down several aisles until they reached the back of the store.

  Tyler felt awkward and a bit out of place as the man led him to the office and pulled a tray of rings from the safe.

  “Now, some of these I have bought off widowers and widows. Some are brand-new. All are of the finest quality.”

  Looking over the selection of rings, Tyler picked up first one and then another. There were several gold bands, simple yet purposeful. A silver ring with a small blue stone seemed particularly pretty, but not exactly right. He held each ring up to the light and imagined it on Carissa’s finger. Finally, in the corner of the tray, Tyler spied a small, wide gold band. He’d almost overlooked it. Picking the piece up, he noticed beautiful etching on the band. Someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to create a beautiful piece of art in a wedding band.