“No time to be a baby,” she whispered, leaning close to his face. His eyes were shut, and Jana didn’t know if he was asleep or not. She applied several more hot compresses, waiting until one cooled before applying the next. She hoped the heat from the water would draw any infection to the surface.
She didn’t know how long she worked over him, when she finally rose to her feet. Stretching the stiffness out of her legs, she glanced at Dan. He seemed to be resting quietly for the moment. She needed to find more water. Luckily, she had found some pain medication in the medical kit, and as soon as she filled the canteen, she would wake him and make him swallow some. It would also help to bring his raging fever down.
Jana found a shallow pond a short distance from her chosen campsite, nestled amongst the grove of cottonwoods. A creek gurgled into the pond at one end, but she was too tired to walk around the body of water to reach it. She knelt at the edge of the water, and filled the canteen, then rinsed her hands, using the abrasive silt at the bottom to scrub them clean. When she pulled her hands from the water, she gasped in surprised shock. She shuddered, and fanned her hand quickly in front of her, jumping back away from the water’s edge. Several small leeches clung to her fingers.
Chills of disgust seared up and down her spine as she swiped at the repulsive little creatures that looked like tiny black slugs. Putting a hand over her chest, she tried to calm her breathing. She hated slimy crawly things. Bugs she could deal with, but leeches and maggots repulsed her like nothing else ever had. She’d seen patients at the hospital treated with leeches, as therapy to restore blood circulation during a limb reattachment. Maggots had been used therapeutically to eat away infected tissue.
Jana glanced over her shoulder toward camp, then back at the pond. A faint memory seeped into her mind. Leeches sucked blood. Dan might have an infection that entered his blood near his wound. In one of her survival courses, the instructor had cited cases where infection had been prevented, and even reversed, by attaching leeches to a wound.
Without a second thought, Jana dashed back to camp, and grabbed the cooking pot and tin cup. Returning to the shore of the pond, she dipped the cup under the water, scooping up the fine silt at the bottom. Sure enough, the mud was teeming with leeches. Swallowing back her revulsion, she picked out the squiggly creatures, and tossed them in the pot. When she had collected about a dozen of them, she rinsed the cup and skimmed the surface of the pond for clean water, adding it to the pot.
Dan slept fitfully when she returned to his side. His body twitched, and he moaned several times. Jana eyed his wound. At a casual glance, it looked rather harmless. The dark bruises could have been caused by a bump or fall. Several gashes had broken the skin, but the one that was deeper than the rest that looked all red and angry, had to be the source of the infection.
Jana eyed the wiggling leeches in the pot next to her. She swallowed back the bile rising in her throat. This had to be done. It might be Dan’s only chance. With trembling fingers, she reached into the pot, and pulled out the first leech. The sucker at one end opened into a wide ‘o’ shape, and the vile creature squirmed and twisted, trying to attach itself to Jana’s finger.
She held it to Dan’s wound, until the invertebrate latched on. Her spine tingled, and she fought the urge to scratch at her suddenly itchy scalp. She reached into the pot again, and pulled out the next leech. Moments later, eight leeches hung attached to Dan’s injury. They seemed content to do the job she hoped would save his life. All she could do now was wait and see.
Jana added more wood to her fire. She poured some cool water from the canteen onto a cloth, and bathed Dan’s feverish face and neck. She wouldn’t wake him just yet. Running her fingers along his stubbly jawline, she softly whispered, “I love you, too, Dan.”
Chapter 19
Dan slowly lifted his head off the ground, squinting into the darkness. A fire crackled close by, illuminating the area around him. He raised his upper body, pushing against his elbows. Hissing as he inhaled a deep breath, he rolled to his side. Pain throbbed in his left shoulder. The memories came flooding back. He’d tangled with a goose this morning, and sometime in the afternoon, he’d felt sick. Then the lightning storm hit, then . . . he couldn’t remember anything after that.
“Jana,” he called, raising himself to a sitting position. His head pounded, and he blinked to dispel the sudden dizziness. Damn, he hadn’t felt like this since the morning after he’d gone out drinking with some college buddies a few years ago. The aftermath of that night had been enough to keep him away from all night bars.
Where was Jana? And how late in the night was it?
“Dan?”
His head turned in the direction he’d heard her voice. Seconds later, she appeared from out of the darkness, the cooking pot in one hand. A delicious smell wafted to his nose, and Dan’s stomach grumbled loudly in response.
“You’re awake,” she said, relief evident on her face. “Just in time, too. I have some food ready. How are you feeling?” She set the pot down, and knelt beside him. Her cool hand touched his forehead.
“Your fever’s gone finally,” she said in obvious approval, not waiting for his answer to her question. “Your arm looks a lot better, too. I’ll unwrap it again in the morning to make sure all the infection is gone.”
“Infection?” Dan glanced at his arm. He couldn’t see anything, but felt the bandage wrapped snuggly around his biceps.
“Yeah, infection,” Jana said. She leaned over him, and jabbed a finger in his chest. Her glare was like a mother hen’s. “You scared me to death. The next time you even get so much as a splinter, you’d better tell me right away, so something like this doesn’t happen again.”
“Why, Nurse Evans, it almost sounds like you’re worried about me,” he drawled, a wide grin on his face. He pushed himself off the ground, stretching his stiff limbs. It felt as if he’d been lying on the ground for days.
“Yes I was worried, you big dolt.” Jana stood, and her hands shot to her hips. “You could have died. And for someone experienced in the backcountry, you sure don’t pack the right medical supplies.” The intensity of her voice increased with her anger. “You needed antibiotics, but all I had was leeches.” She visibly shuddered.
Dan’s forehead wrinkled. “Leeches?”
“Since we’re in the nineteenth century without modern medical supplies, I had to resort to archaic methods. By attaching leeches to your wound, they sucked the infection right out,” Jana explained. “Yesterday, I didn’t know if it would work or not. You were barely conscious most of the day.”
Dan’s brows furrowed, and he shook his head, trying to comprehend. “Yesterday? The lightning storm this afternoon, that’s the last thing I remember.”
“That was yesterday,” Jana said dryly. “After I got you off the mountain, you collapsed when we reached this spot. We’ve been here ever since.”
Dan inhaled a deep breath. Yet one more delay to get them to where they needed to go. He couldn’t bear the thought of arriving too late. Hastings couldn’t get to Madison before them. Somehow they would have to make up the lost time. He felt weaker than a newborn.
“What’s in the pot?” he asked. If he hoped to be fit to travel in the morning, he needed food.
“Fish, and some plants I cooked with it. I think some are wild onions. Hopefully you like the flavor.” Her head turned toward the darkness from where she’d appeared earlier. “I cooked away from camp. There’s a black bear that’s been hanging around all day. I just hope the smell doesn’t attract a grizzly.”
Dan stared at her. An intense tingling sensation such as he’d never felt before flooded his entire being. His chest warmed. She was such an amazing woman. She survived a lightning storm, helped him off the mountain in his feverish state, and no doubt saved his life with her innovative way of treating his infection. And she managed to fend for herself and find food in the wilderness.
“Leeches, huh?” he asked, feigning a grimace.
“They were disgusting.” Jana shuddered. “They must have liked your blood. Once they were engorged, I replaced them with new ones. But at least leeches make great fish bait.” She smiled sheepishly, and pointed at the pot she’d set near the fire. “Eat. You need to get your strength back. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Dan lowered himself to the ground. He couldn’t help but stare at her. The love he felt for her was almost painful. He tore his eyes away when she looked decidedly uncomfortable by his stare. She offered him a spoon, and opened the lid to the pot. Large chunks of fish, and assorted greens floated in a savory smelling broth. He stuck his nose in the pot, and inhaled deeply.
“Smells great,” he said, smiling for encouragement. The last thing he wanted to do was make her feel uneasy again in his company. “Sit and join me?” he asked, hoping to dispel her sudden apprehension.
“I already ate,” she said hastily.
“At least sit with me, then.”
Jana nodded, and joined him by the fire. Neither one spoke while he ate the food. She’d certainly managed to bring some interesting flavor to the fish in the way she prepared it with the herbs and plants.
“There’s no water hemlock in this, is there?” he asked jokingly.
Jana’s face lit up in a slow, almost evil smile. “You’ll never know the difference, will you?”
Dan laughed. She’d thrown his own words back at him, when he taunted her a few weeks ago that her burger might be made from marmot meat.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I didn’t go through all the trouble to get you well, just so I could kill you now.”
Dan spooned a big chunk of fish in his mouth to ward off the sudden urge to pull her in his arms and kiss her. He’d be a fool if he acted on his desire. Their relationship was still teetering on a sharp edge, and he didn’t want to fall off the wrong side. All he could do was bide his time, respect Jana’s wishes to take things slow, and hope that in time, she’d come to love him just a little.
He stared into the fire. Just tell her you love her. Now was not the time. Maybe tomorrow. The arguments he waged with himself in his mind were sure to drive him mad. He had no idea how she might react to a declaration of love. She’d told him to back off. When they returned to the future, Jana might decide to do what she’d done the first time they met, and rush back home to California. If that was to be her choice, could he let her go? He had no hold on her. Somehow he’d figure out a way to give her reason enough to stay.
*****
“This is such a beautiful area. I’ve always loved coming to view the terraces,” Jana said, shielding her eyes from the brightness of the white view of the mountain before her.
“The early explorers called this White Mountain,” Dan said.
“Understandably so,” Jana answered. She stood at the base of the Minerva terraces and looked up, in awe at how nature had created these spectacular travertine formations. From a distance the step-terrace formations she gazed at looked like they were carved from granite. Jana knew from earlier visits that the naturally formed steps and terraces, some of which pooled with water, were composed of limestone. Some areas that were dry and without water were so starkly white, she couldn’t even look at them. They looked more like a gigantic mountain of cakes layered with heaping dust of icing. Not even snow was so brilliantly white in color.
Some areas had a more grayish hue. In still other parts, water cascaded down from one terrace formation onto the next, which seemed to paint the mountain in brilliant shades of orange, yellows, and reds. The blue pools that formed between steps and layers appeared to have icing laced around their edges.
“Wow,” Dan said, next to her, expressing her own sentiments. “Look at the brilliant colors! Minerva is pretty active right now. You can see why this area was named for the roman goddess of artists and sculptors.
“There’s so much more color here than in our time. Did some of the areas simply cease to produce water and then just die off?”
“No,” Dan shook his head. He turned slightly toward her, while pointing at the formations. Jana smiled to herself. He was back in naturalist and interpreter mode, and she was his tourist audience. “This is such a dynamic area. Underground vents open and close the water supply all the time. Without the water, there’s no bacteria, which, as I assume you know, is what gives off these brilliant colors. The white terraces are newly formed calcium carbonate deposits, and the gray ones are older.”
“I never knew there was so much more here than just this mountain”, Jana said, scanning her entire surroundings. The vast valley below her was comprised of many white mounds, and step terrace formations, in stark contrast to the greens of the willow trees and grasses. In their time, this area was a busy tourist hub, with a hotel, gift shops, and the old Fort Yellowstone, which was also the park’s headquarters.
“Yeah, the army built their fort right on top of some older formations, right over there.” Dan pointed to the north of where they stood, and Jana could picture the stone buildings that occupied the area in the future. As it was now, graying travertine was visible amongst the cottonwoods and green meadow.
“What a shame that so much of this was damaged when tourists first started coming here,” Dan continued. “There were no rules and regulations for stepping on these formations, and people used to break off chunks to take home as souvenirs. People used to put objects into the water, to let them get coated with calcium carbonate, which is the compound we call travertine.”
“What did they do? Come back a year later to pick up their objects?” Jana asked. She wondered if many of the park’s earlier visitors returned year after year.
Dan laughed. “No. It’s a really quick process. The hot springs produce about two tons of travertine every day.”
“Per day?” Jana’s eyes grew wide.
“Amazing, isn’t it. One of the few places on earth where you can actually see rock being formed right before your eyes. “ Dan paused, and his expression changed as if he’d just had a brilliant idea. “Would you like to take a bath? Jim Bridger loved to bathe in these springs.”
“What, so I can get coated with travertine? No thanks.” Jana waved him off. She’d always been curious about bathing in some of the springs, but this practice was very much illegal in her time. As enticing as the idea was, they couldn’t afford to lose any more time, and needed to be on their way.
“If my great uncle hadn’t been able to pass the law to protect the park from more concessioners, who knows what sort of damage would have been done here,” Dan said, abruptly changing the subject.
Jana gaped at him. He spoke so passionately, it was difficult to believe that several weeks ago, he was ready to travel back in time to jeopardize what his ancestors had worked for.
“In the early years, the first hotels here at Mammoth catered to people bathing in the hot springs.”
‘Yeah, I’ve heard that,” Jana said.
They stood in silence, admiring the beauty of the formations, when Dan nudged her. “Well, since you don’t want to take a nice hot soak, we might as well get moving. The next few days might get pretty strenuous. We have to hike up and over Bunsen Peak. We could go through the canyon and save at least a half day rather than go over the peak, but I’m not sure how we’ll get out of there. I believe it dead-ends at the falls.”
“Let’s go over, then,” Jana said. “As long as you’re well enough for it.”
“Fit as a fiddle. Thanks to my wonderful nurse.” He grinned, and Jana could do nothing but nod her head. He wouldn’t tell her if he was well enough or not.
She followed Dan as he led the way through the travertine area. They followed the Gardner River south until they reached a deep gorge, the sides of which were made up of enormous glaciated rock terraces and cliffs.
Dan set a fast pace away from the canyon, up a steep mountain that leveled out to a flat plateau, no doubt wanting to make up for the time they had lost while he’d been battling his infection. The goi
ng was slow and strenuous, and it took them an entire day to reach the top.
For the next two days, Jana observed Dan closely to make sure he didn’t overexert himself, sometimes feigning exhaustion to slow him down, certain that he would never admit to her that he was worn out. His body still needed to recover from the fever that had raged through him.
“This looks like a good place to stop,” she suggested casually the evening after climbing Bunsen Peak, surveying her surroundings. They’d left the canyon and river an hour or more ago, and were traveling through an open meadow. Up ahead stood a large grove of aspens. A wide stream meandered through the tall grasses, and they’d come upon several clear ponds that were hidden amongst tall reeds.
“You sure you don’t want to go any further?” he asked. “We’ve got plenty of daylight left. We could get a few more miles behind us.”
It was probably best to let him think she was tired, rather than suggest that he was the one needing to slow down after the last two strenuous days. “I’ve had enough for today. We’ve covered a lot of ground.”
Dan smiled softly. He stepped up close to her, and touched her arm. Jana’s heart reacted instantly to his warm hand. She sucked in a deep breath. This was a different touch than the indifferent way he held her close at night. She swallowed, suddenly nervous. His eyes on her face wouldn’t let go.
“I’ll admit, I’m a bit tired myself,” he said, still staring straight into her soul.
“We’d better not tell anyone that you fought with a goose, and the animal won. Your reputation as a ranger will be ruined.” Jana grinned, trying to lighten the sudden tension she felt.
“Oh, yeah?” Quite unexpectedly, he slid his backpack from his shoulders, and pulled her up against him. Jana’s smile left her face, and she gazed up into his intense eyes. “Geese are quite ferocious, you know. Almost as dangerous as a bear.” His voice was mesmerizing.
Yellowstone Deception (Yellowstone Romance Series Book 5) Page 14
