by Marla Monroe
He would keep a close watch on her wounds and keep them clean and dry. He wouldn’t let her out of the bed until she was healed. Finally, he managed to settle down and drift off to sleep. His last thought was that he was glad he’d finally admitted his feelings for Leigh. Just in case.
Chapter Thirteen
Leigh woke up hot and thirsty the next morning as sunlight streamed through the window. Her arms and belly throbbed enough that she had tears in her eyes. She moaned because she wasn’t sure she could say anything, but it was enough to rouse the men.
Joel immediately woke up and touched her forehead. He was careful not to touch her arms.
“Fuck! Jonathan. Wake up.”
“I’m up, what’s wrong?” Jonathan rolled over and cursed when he touched Leigh’s shoulder.
“She’s got a fever, doesn’t she,” he said as he rose up on one arm.
“Yeah. We need to get some Tylenol in her. Go get some water.” Joel got out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. “I’ll get the medicine.”
Leigh whimpered when the bed shook from them getting up. Jonathan leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“I’m sorry, baby. We’ll be more careful. I’ll be right back with some water.” Jonathan grabbed his jeans and pulled them on as he headed toward the door.
Joel returned with the Tylenol and a cloth. He sat the bottle on the bedside table and carefully knelt on the bed next to Leigh. He wiped her face and forehead with the cool cloth. It felt wonderful to her. She was so hot.
Jonathan returned with a glass of water and held it to her lips for her to take small sips before Joel popped two Tylenol into her mouth. She sipped more water and swallowed, almost choking around the pills. Her throat remained dry despite having drunk the water. She licked her dry lips.
“More water.”
“Here you go, baby. Drink all you want. I’ll get you more,” Jonathan assured her.
She drank almost all the water then nodded her head that she was through. They lowered her back to the bed. Joel pulled on jeans and a T-shirt.
“Leigh, I need to check your wounds. I’ll try not to hurt you, but I know it’s going to hurt some. I’m sorry, baby.”
Leigh smiled as best she could and nodded her head. “I understand.”
She turned and watched Jonathan button up his shirt. She loved looking at him. He was so tall and muscular. She felt safe in his arms. She wanted him to hold her, but was scared it would hurt too much.
Joel carefully sat on the bed and managed not to jar her. She turned and smiled at him in encouragement. She knew he was doing the best he could do. He eased the bandage up on one side and looked at her arm and hand. She couldn’t see it since he had the bandage open toward him, but by the wince he gave, she knew it had to be bad. He did the same thing with her belly. He didn’t bother with the other side. Instead, he sighed and looked at her.
“Leigh, baby. I’m going to have to clean them again. They’re infected.” Joel’s eyes were teary.
She knew it would hurt him to hurt her. She just nodded. What else could she do? They had to stop the infection.
“I understand. It’s okay, Joel. I know you don’t mean to hurt me.” She closed her eyes.
She couldn’t keep them open. They were so heavy. When they started working on her wounds, she would wake up for sure. Until then, she would just rest a while.
* * * *
Joel nodded toward the door for Jonathan to follow him. They closed the door most of the way, but left it cracked in case Leigh called out. Joel didn’t like the looks of her wounds.
“How bad are they?” Jonathan asked.
Joel sighed and shook his head. “They’re puffy, red, and hot looking. They’ve got to be cleaned, but it’s going to hurt her for me to press on them. I wish we had more peroxide, but we don’t. I’m going to need your help when I start working on her. Then I’m going to stay with her while you see about the horses. Then you can stay with her while I go check the herd.”
“Sounds good to me. What are you going to clean them with?”
“Hot water is all we have. I’ll put the antibiotic salve back on them after I dry them.” Joel heaved out a breath. “Fuck, I don’t want to do this.”
“I hear you. I’ll be right there with you.” Jonathan clasped him on the shoulder.
“Bring up that washtub from the pantry. I’m going to set up the bedside table to put it on. You might have to hold her down some, Jonathan. She understands.”
“Aw, hell.” Jonathan looked at Joel then turned and walked down the stairs to get the washtub.
Joel returned to the room and began to clear off the bedside table. He put a towel over it to protect it from the water in case he spilled any of it. Then he pulled out all the washcloths they had in case he needed them and piled them on the bed next to the table. He pulled out the antibiotic salve and sat it next to the cloths.
Jonathan returned with the washtub and walked into the bathroom to run it full of hot water from the tub. When he returned a few seconds later, Joel had him set it on the table.
“Go on and sit on the bed by her feet, so you can help hold her still. You can’t really hold her hand down since she has a couple of cuts on her hand.”
“I’ll manage somehow,” Jonathan said with a grimace.
He carefully sat on the bed close to her hand. The bed dipped despite his trying to be careful. Leigh moaned and opened her eyes.
“Sorry, baby.” Jonathan patted her thigh through the covers.
“S’okay.”
Joel looked over at Jonathan and nodded his head. He dipped one of the cloths in the hot water and gingerly squeezed the water out. His hands had steam rising from them in the cooler room air. He started with her hand, holding a spot on her wrist that didn’t have any bites or claw cuts. She groaned and tears ran from her eyes, but Leigh didn’t cry out.
As he moved up her arm, she cried louder, but didn’t scream or struggle other than little involuntary jerks. It was breaking his heart, but Joel knew it had to be done.
By the time they were finished, she had thankfully passed out. Her face was streaked with dried tears. Jonathan was shaking like a leaf, and he wasn’t in much better shape himself.
“I’ll pour this out and clean it,” Jonathan said.
“Bring it back up when you finish. I’m going to bathe her with cold water to try and bring the fever down. She’s burning up with it.” Joel handed Jonathan the tub of hot water. “Pour it out in the bathroom.
Jonathan took the washtub from Joel. After disposing of the dirty water, he headed for the stairs. Joel took the remaining clean cloths and put them away except for one. He rinsed it in cold water and returned to bathe Leigh with it. He folded back the comforter but left the sheet covering her. Then he slowly began to sponge her face while he waited for Jonathan to return with the clean washbasin.
He was scared. He couldn’t remember being scared in a long time. He didn’t want to lose her. Despite having bartered for her against his rules, he had fallen in love with her. He knew in his heart that he had done the right thing. Now if they could pull her through this, he would make sure she never knew a day without him telling her he loved her.
Jonathan returned with the clean tub and filled it with cold water from the bath. He placed it on the table and stared at Leigh with a sick expression on his face. Joel knew how he felt. He was scared, too.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can, Joel. If you need me, holler out the door.”
“I will. I’m just going to bathe her off and try to get this fever down.”
“I swear I’m going to kill every last wolf when we get the chance,” Jonathan said.
“You can count on it, brother.” Joel squeezed out the cloth and began wiping across Leigh’s neck.
Long minutes passed, and she began to move about on the bed, moaning. He could tell the fever had increased by the feel of her hot skin. The more she thrashed, the more she ran the risk of splitting her stitches. He fin
ally got in the bed with her again and held her still. She whimpered and moaned, but she didn’t wake up. He was losing her. If her fever didn’t come down soon, she could have brain damage.
Soft footsteps sounded on the stairs. Joel got out of the bed and went to the door to be sure it was Jonathan.
“How is she?” he asked as Joel backed up to let him in.
“Not good. I’m afraid we’re going to lose her, Jonathan. I can’t get the fever to break.”
“Fuck! We can’t lose her. We just found her.” Jonathan began to pace, running his hands through his hair. “What about putting snow in the water or better yet, in the bath cloth and holding it to her skin?”
“I guess it’s worth a try. I’m fresh out of ideas.”
“I’ll go get a boiler full of snow and bring it up. I’ll be right back.” He raced out the door and, from the sound of it, bounded down the stairs.
Joel gritted his teeth and went back to sponging her off with the now-lukewarm water. When Jonathan returned a few seconds later, he had two boilers full of snow. He handed one to Joel and took the other one to the other side of the bed. He had a dishcloth and began filling it with snow. Joel followed suit with his wet cloth. They held the snow-filled towels to her neck, then rubbed them around her face and chest.
They continued this over and over with Jonathan leaving to get fresh snow twice. Finally, she began to shiver and sweat. They piled the comforter back on her and Jonathan got on top of the covers to keep her warm now that the fever had broken.
“As soon as she stops shivering, change her clothes and put towels under her to keep her off the wet sheets. I’m going to check on the herd. I’ll be back as soon as I can. If she wakes up, you can give her more Tylenol. It’s been nearly four hours now.” Joel pulled on another shirt as he told Jonathan what to do.
“I’ll take care of her. You be careful. Take the gun with you.”
“I will. I just want to round up the stragglers and make sure they’re where they can get to water. I’ll throw out fresh hay as well.” Joel hurried out the bedroom door and clomped down the stairs.
He jogged through the snow to the barn once he got outside and quickly saddled his horse. He was anxious to get back to Leigh as soon as possible, but they had to keep the herd together or they would lose some of them. The herd was their livelihood and source of fresh meat, something that Leigh would need if, no, when she recovered.
He prayed that she would be awake and coherent when he returned. His heart remained in his throat the entire time he was out on the ranch instead of being inside with her. Don’t let her die, God. Please.
* * * *
Jonathan prayed the entire time he lay on top of the covers keeping Leigh warm. After she began to settle down and her teeth were no longer chattering, he climbed off the bed and gathered towels and one of his T-shirts to put on her. He pulled back the covers and pulled off the sheet. It was soaking wet. He carefully lifted her and laid her on a towel while he laid a towel where she slept. Then he patted her dry and pulled the T-shirt on over her head and down her body. He had a devil of a time getting her arms through the armholes with the bandages in place.
Once he had her settled once again, he sponged fresh water on her lips. Her tongue peeked out and lapped it up. After a few seconds of this, she opened her eyes. They were glazed, but open.
“Thirsty.” Her voice came out raspy and weak.
“Here you go, baby.” Jonathan held the glass of water to her lips while holding her up slightly. She moaned, but sipped at the water.
“Hold on and let me get you some medicine to take.” Jonathan quickly poured out two Tylenol tablets and then raised her back up to swallow the pills with the water.
She choked and coughed and spluttered, but finally managed to get them down. She turned her head and stared at Jonathan with a blank expression on her face.
“Where am I? What’s going on?”
“Do you remember the wolves, Leigh?” he asked.
“No. What’s wrong with me?”
“You were attacked by wolves. You’ve got some cuts and scratches we had to sew up. Do you hurt anywhere in particular?”
“Not too bad. I can’t remember where I am.”
“You’re at home in the house on the ranch. Try to get some sleep, Leigh. You’ll feel better when you wake up again.”
She closed her eyes and let out a long breath. Jonathan panicked until he saw her chest rise and fall again. He drew up a chair and sat next to the bed, keeping watch on her. She moaned occasionally in her sleep but didn’t wake back up before Joel got back.
“How is she?” Joel asked in a whisper as he walked in.
“Better, I think, but she woke up earlier. Her eyes were glazed and she didn’t know where she was or what had happened to her.”
“Was she able to take any more Tylenol?”
“Yeah, she sputtered and coughed a good bit with it, but got them down. She also drank some more water. I think she needs to drink more, though. Maybe we should start waking her up every few hours and get her to drink,” Jonathan suggested.
“That’s probably a good idea. How long has she been asleep this time?” Joel asked.
“It’s only been about an hour. Let’s wait another hour.” Jonathan walked over to the door. “How was the herd?”
“Miracle of miracles, I don’t think we lost any of them. I did have to round up quite a few stragglers, though. I didn’t see any sign of the wolves, either.”
“That’s good. I’m going to fix us something to eat. We need to keep our strength up to help her and tend to the animals.”
“I’ll watch her. I’ll wake her up in another hour.” Joel took the chair by the bed and leaned back.
Jonathan took the stairs two at a time. He looked at the mess in the kitchen. He’d gotten rid of the dead wolves, but the blood remained and needed to be cleaned up. He sighed and set about putting the kitchen back to rights. Then he fixed them soup and sandwiches. He ate his first, then carried a tray up to Joel.
“How is she doing?” he asked, handing the tray to Joel.
“About the same. I woke her up a little while ago and gave her water. She drank about half the glass. She’s warm to the touch, but not hot like she was. A little fever is good. It helps fight off the infection. I just don’t want it to get up like it was.”
“I cleaned up the kitchen.” Jonathan didn’t know what to say. All he could think about was Leigh.
“I noticed when I went out that you’d gotten rid of the bodies and put a board over the window. We’ll have to get an entire window casing to replace that one. Means a trip to Sky Line once Leigh has recovered.”
“I don’t like the idea of leaving her here while we go. It will take both of us to load one.” Jonathan planted his hands on his hips.
“Me neither. Maybe she can stay with Ronnie if everything is okay with them by then.”
“We can’t even call and check on her, but I’m not leaving Leigh to go find out how she is,” Jonathan confessed.
“Me neither.”
“We’ve got another two hours of light left. I’m going to go out and check the horses again. Do you think the herd’s okay for the rest of the night?” Jonathan asked.
“Yeah. We’ll check them early in the morning.” Joel stretched his legs out in front of him as he ate his sandwich.
“I’ll be right back, then.”
Jonathan turned and headed for the kitchen and his coat. He needed the coat and the scarf since the wind seemed to have picked up. It wasn’t as cold as the night before, but the wind lowered the temperature by at least five degrees.
He hurried and checked the horses, making sure they had plenty of food and water. Night was well on its way by the time he walked outside the barn. He stood outside in the snow and looked up at the sky full of stars. He wished Leigh was well so he could show her the spectacular view.
He vowed he would as soon as she could come back outside. He wouldn’t accept anything les
s than her full recovery. He looked up at the stars again, and when he saw a falling star, he made his wish.
Chapter Fourteen
A week passed and Leigh felt a little better each day. Her wounds were still puffy, and throbbed when she held them down. They propped them on pillows, and that helped. Still, she was sore all over, and the attack was still hazy in her memory. She finally remembered where she was. Then she remembered the men. They had bartered for her, and she was theirs now.
Leigh wasn’t sure how she felt about that. They had been nothing but kind to her, and treated her carefully. Surely they were good men. How did they feel about her, though? She felt a closeness to them, but wasn’t sure if that was gratitude, or something more.
The men were very cautions around her as far as talking about what happened. They seemed to think that bringing it up would upset her too much. Finally, she decided that if she was going to get her memory back, she needed to push it. That meant pushing them to tell her more about the incident.
When Jonathan walked back into the room with a bowl of soup for her, her mouth watered even though she knew she’d never finish it all. She just didn’t have room in her stomach right now.
“How are you doing, baby?” Jonathan asked as he sat the bowl on the bedside table.
“I’m fine. Wish I could feed myself, but it hurts to bend my fingers still.”
“I like feeding you.” He grinned and winked. “You’ll have your hands back in eating shape in no time now.”
Jonathan dipped up a spoonful of the beef soup and fed it to her. She managed to eat a little over half the bowl this time. It was a record for her.
“That was better than last time, wasn’t it,” she said with a broad smile.
“Yes, it was.” He sat the bowl back on the table to take downstairs later.
“Tell me about the attack, Jonathan. I need to know if I’m going to remember everything. I feel like my recent past is all hazy.”
