by Barbara Goss
“Oh.” He rubbed his chin. “Let me think.” He paced a bit and then smiled. “Why don’t you wear a pair of the trousers? Before we leave we’ll wash all our clothes in the river. We’ll have a refreshing swim and all clean clothes again.”
“That’ll work. And then we can spread them out on the bushes over there to dry,” she said.
“Maybe,” he said with a sly smile, “we can stay here an extra day. Don’t we deserve a small break from traveling?”
“We sure do,” Susannah said. “I’d love that.” She kicked off her boots and socks.
“Do you know how to swim?” he asked, kicking off his footwear.
“No, but I do know how to splash around,” she said. They both laughed.
“Even more reason for me to go with you,” he said.
“Race you to the shore,” she challenged and started to run toward the water.
Carter sped after her. He caught up with her as she was testing the water with one of her toes.
“Oh, Carter, it’s cold.”
“So is the air and we’ll both probably catch pneumonia. Hurry and get in so we can get out quickly and warm up.”
“Did you light a fire?” she asked.
“No, I didn’t. I probably should. You stay right here. Don’t move. I’ll start the fire, and we’ll jump in, and wash quickly, get out, and sit by the fire.”
“Carter?” When he turned back to her she said, “I forgot the soap. Could you bring that, too?”
“Yes, but don’t go into the water without me, you hear?”
“Yes!”
Susannah sat on a nearby rock waiting for Carter. Despite the coolness of the day, she couldn’t wait to get into the water. The sun felt warm, but the water was frigid. She dipped her toes into the water and splashed a bit, but she looked up when she saw something move in her peripheral vision. She swung around to see an Indian, sitting on a horse, staring at her.
Susannah felt numb. She couldn’t even scream. The Indian simply sat there, staring at her. He didn’t have his face painted, but he had long hair with a band around it.
She stood up, and turned to see Carter by her horse, and sprinted toward him as fast as she could run, and she threw herself into his arms.
Chapter 12
Carter had just gotten a good fire started and he left it to grab the soap from Susannah’s saddlebag when Susannah nearly knocked him over. She flew at him so fast he hardly had time to open his arms to catch her. She was trembling. He hugged her to him, thinking it was probably just a snake or an insect that had scared her. No matter what it was that had her spooked, he'd be sure to take full advantage of the situation, and hug her for a bit. Then he looked up and saw him. He gaged the distance from where the Indian was sitting on his horse to the rifle still tied to his saddle.
He pushed Susannah behind him, and walked the few steps to his horse, and put his hand on the rifle. The Indian saw him touch the gun and put both of his hands into the air. He said something, but Carter couldn’t understand the language the man had used.
He pointed the gun at the Indian with one hand and held Susannah behind him with the other.
The Indian slid off his horse and walked slowly toward them. He pointed to his mouth and grunted. He put both his palms out, which Carter thought might mean that he came in peace, so he loosened his hold on the rifle and Susannah.
He reached into his saddlebag, and took out a few pieces of dried beef and a few dried apple slices, and held them out to the man.
The Indian nodded. He took the food, jumped onto his horse, and rode back in the direction from which they’d just came. Carter and Susannah watched until he disappeared in the distance.
Carter turned and held Susannah tightly again. “It’s all right. He was just hungry.”
She felt so good in his arms, it was almost as if she were a perfect fit. The top of her head came to just below his chin, and without thinking, he kissed the top of her head.
“It’s all right now,” he said again.
“I don’t want to swim now,” she said. “I’m afraid.”
“All right. We can do our bathing and wash clothes tomorrow then.”
Carter started to back away from her, but she grabbed him. “Don’t let go!” she said, clinging to him.
Carter was only too happy to oblige. He held her tightly, closed his eyes, and rocked her back and forth. “He’s gone, you know.”
“What if there are more of them?”
“No, he was alone. If there had been others they all would have come for food, too.”
“Really?”
“Really. I have my guns, and I’ll protect you, Susannah. There’s no need to be afraid.”
She loosened her hold on him. While he missed being so close to her, he longed to see her back to her adventurous self again.
“Are you sure you don’t want to swim?”
“I’m sure. Can we just sit here for a while?”
“Of course we can.”
After sitting for an hour or so staring at the delightful river, Susannah decided she did want to swim after all, as long as he went with her and brought his gun with him.
He led her down to the water carrying his gun, a blanket, and the soap. They stepped into the river up to their knees, cringing against the cold. They took turns with their one bar of soap.
“Would you help me wash my hair?” she asked.
“Certainly. What should I do?”
She unbraided her long brown hair with flashes of red, and dipped her head into the water.
“Can you lather it?”
Carter took the soap, and lathered her hair and massaged her head, which he knew she’d like, because he remembered how much he’d liked it when his mother used to do the same for him.
Susannah moaned. “Oh, that feels glorious, Carter.”
At her words, he inwardly gasped. His heart seemed to thump harder, so he stopped. She was becoming a mighty big temptation to him.
“All right, time to rinse,” he said.
She bent over and rinsed her hair.
“Hurry! You have goose bumps on your goose bumps, Susannah.”
“I know. I’m freezing.”
After she’d rinsed her hair, she tossed him the soap.
“Get out and wrap yourself in the blanket. I’ll be right out,” he said.
She followed his orders.
He scrubbed quickly, rinsed, and then stepped out. Susannah was huddling in the blanket, and he scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the fire. He knelt to set her down by the fire, but she refused to relax her hands, still clinging to his neck.
“Susannah, let go before the blanket catches fire,” he said in a half-whisper. His will power was being pushed to the limit.
“I’m sorry,” she said, and let go of him. “When you knelt with me in your arms it felt like I was falling.”
“No problem,” he said. “Where’s your hairbrush?”
“It’s in the saddlebag where the soap was,” she answered.
He walked over, and grabbed her hairbrush, and he began to brush the long, silky strands, as they sat as close to the fire as they could safely get. Susannah had her eyes closed, and again, he knew she loved having her hair brushed. His sister had always liked it too. He kept brushing until it was as dry as it would get. He then fastened her hair up using her hairpins, and he wrapped one of his flannel shirts around her head.
“You have beautiful hair,” he said, as he worked on wrapping her head.
“Thank you,” she replied. “I need to put on some dry clothes. Have you found a good place?”
He stood up, and scanned the area for a safe haven, then changed his mind. “Because of what happened before, and because of the cold, I want you to change clothes right here, by the fire. I’ll go for a walk, but I won’t go far. I’ll put on clean clothes, too, though we'll be out of each other's line of sight, I’ll be close enough for you to hear me, should you even whisper loudly for me.”
; Susannah grabbed his hand. “You promise you won’t go far?”
“I promise.” He smiled down at her. “See that small clump of bushes?” He pointed. “That’s where I’ll be, but I promise I’ll face the opposite direction. Heaven knows I don’t need anymore temptation today.” He grabbed his clean clothes and walked to the bushes.
Though Susannah trusted him, she still dressed with her back to the bushes he was using as a refuge. She dressed quickly, donning her sleeping dress, even though it was still a few hours before bedtime. That way she wouldn’t have to worry about changing again. She placed the wet blanket and her wet clothes on a bush not far from the fire. She picked up a dry blanket, sat on her bedroll that had been folded and placed by the fire, and waited for Carter to return. It felt so good to be clean again.
When Carter returned, he sat beside her, and warmed his hands over the fire.
“So, what should we have for dinner?” he asked.
“I can catch us a fish,” she said, “if you’ll come with me.”
“Because of the Indian?” he asked.
She nodded.
“All right.”
Susannah caught a blue catfish. “Do you think they named this fish after the Blue River?” she asked.
“More than likely it’s because his skin is a bit on the blue side,” Carter said with a chuckle.
She cleaned the fish over a large stump using Carter’s knife, while he fetched the frying pan from his saddlebag. He set up the metal tripod and put the pan on top of it. He rubbed some lard into the pan and they waited until it was bubbling before Susannah plopped the fish down into the pan.
“We make a good team, you and me,” she said.
“I was just thinking the same thing.” He smiled up at her.
Susannah washed her hands in a bucket of water that had been placed near the fire, sat down on her folded bedroll, and watched him as he cooked the fish. She was finding it harder and harder to hide the love she had been feeling for him. She knew she had to keep it hidden because he was too honorable a man to take advantage of her, but oh, how she’d love it if he would kiss her and hold her.
The one kiss she’d ever had was from Ben, and she hadn’t liked it at all. She’d seen her parents kiss many times and she could tell they’d enjoyed it. She wondered if she’d like a kiss if it came from Carter. Why couldn’t they at least share a kiss? What harm could it do? Her parents had often kissed in front of their children, so it couldn’t be such a bad thing to do. She hugged herself just thinking about kissing Carter.
When they'd reached her family’s land, then what? Would he just ride away and leave her there? Going home seemed like such a good idea when she was sitting in Meg and Seth’s sitting room, but now she wasn’t so sure.
After they’d eaten, Carter gave her the pan to wash in the river, as he usually did when they were near a creek or stream.
Susannah shook her head. “I’ll do it tomorrow.”
“Why?” he asked.
“I don’t want to go down to the water alone,” she said.
“Do you want me to wash the pan?” he asked.
“No, it’s my job, and I need to wash my hands good anyway.”
“I’ll go with you then,” he said. He walked her to the water’s edge and stood watch while she scrubbed the frying pan. When she was done, he walked her back.
The sun was beginning to sink into the horizon, so Carter built up the fire, tended the horses, and they each completed their personal toilette. While Carter was still in the bushes, she moved his bedroll within an arms length of her own.
When he returned, he stared at the bedroll. “That’s a bit too close, Susannah.”
“I’m scared, Carter. I need to know you’re right beside me.”
He sighed. “I suppose it’s okay.” He covered her with a blanket before bedding down himself. “Can you touch me if you need me?” he asked.
Susannah reached over, and stretched out her arm, and touched his shoulder. “Yes. Oh, I feel so much better.”
“Good. Now, sleep well, and tomorrow we’ll do nothing but enjoy this place.”
“I wish it were summer,” she said. “I’d be able to stay in the water longer then.”
“Are there any places to swim in Oberlin?”
“No, just some muddy streams and creeks.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Now, try to get some sleep—we’ve a big day tomorrow of doing absolutely nothing at all.”
In the morning, Carter stretched his legs and yawned. The sun was shining and it looked to be a very warm March day.
“Susannah?” he called. She didn’t answer. He lay quietly, waiting for her to awaken. He’d never heard her snore before and the sound was bothering him. He thought if he touched her she might move and the snoring would stop, but it didn’t.
He got up from his bedroll and knelt down beside her. Her face was flushed, and her mouth was dry from sleeping with it open. He touched her forehead lightly and quickly removed his hand.
She was burning up with fever. She’d been fine last night. What could have happened to her overnight?
Though he was a doctor, he was still confused about what to do first. Get cold water or remove her blanket? He grabbed the nearest pot, ran down to the river, and filled it with fresh, cool water. He ran back and looked for a cloth, but he couldn’t find one, so he pulled off his shirt, dipped it into the water, and bathed her face.
Susannah moaned and then opened her eyes. “I’m sorry, Carter. I don’t feel well at all.”
““Just lay still. I’ll take care of you.” He tried to make his voice sound reassuring, but he was nervous. He had some training as a medical doctor, but his specialty was mental health, and he wasn’t sure he remembered the medical part. He couldn’t remember it now, at any rate.
Susannah fell back asleep. Carter continued to put cold compresses on her face, but the fever didn’t go down at all. Finally, he removed her blanket, scooped her up, and carried her down to the river. He walked in up to his waist and held all but her head in the cold water.
She thrashed about a bit, but he was able to soothe her, whispering words of assurance. He looked down at her flushed face and hollowed his hand to pour some water onto her face. She looked so small and fragile lying there as he rocked her.
Then a thought scared him nearly enough to make him faint. What if the swimming yesterday had caused her illness and here he was putting her in the river again? He lifted her up and ran back to the camp, a sopping wet Susannah cradled in his arms. Her thin dress clung to her, clearly showing her body. He tried not to look, covered her up, and built up the fire.
Then a horrible thought occurred to him. She could have pneumonia. What if she died like Hope had? What if he lost her? All these thoughts were driving him crazy. He felt her forehead. She did feel somewhat cooler, but he needed to get her into some dry clothes, which would be a trial for them both, but he had no other choice.
He reached into her sack and pulled out another of her sleeping dresses and shook it out. He walked over to where she lay, and took the blanket off of her, and prayed he’d be able to do this without her waking up and without either of them being embarrassed.
He pulled the wet dress off her slowly, by inching it up her body, while at the same time pulling the blanket up to cover what he’d left exposed. Carter knew she wouldn’t want him to see her like that. He tossed the wet dress aside, then, he put the dry one over her head, and slowly lowered it and the blanket so as to limit the sight of her body and preserve her dignity. When he had the dry dress completely on, he took the blanket off and moved her and her bedroll into the sunshine. He then tended to the wet dress by wringing it out and hanging it on a nearby bush to dry.
Water! How could he forget dehydration? He grabbed the pot again, went down to the river, filled the pan, and boiled the water over the fire. Then he placed the same pan into the river near the shore, so the cold water would cool it down. He boiled enough water to last the whole da
y. After it had cooled, he made her sip it at intervals. She was in and out of a fevered sleep, moaned a lot, but was too groggy to converse.
By evening Susannah was shivering. He covered her, but she still felt warm to the touch, yet she was shivering. He became even more worried than he was before. He brought his bedroll next to hers and lay beside her, holding her to try to keep her warm.
Her shivering soon stopped, and she curled into him. He kissed her warm forehead, held her tightly, and prayed like he’d never prayed before that Susannah would be all right.
Chapter 13
He awoke in the morning to birds singing in the nearby trees—always a good sign that spring was just around the corner. Before he opened his eyes, he became aware of his arm around a warm body and instinctively pulled it in closer. It felt so good to hold her. He kissed her forehead again, and was relieved that she felt cool. He sighed.
“Thank you, Lord.”
He looked down into the prettiest green eyes looking up at him. She put her arms around his neck and pressed her body close to his. She didn’t say a word, but held him, and tenderly massaged the back of his neck.
He’d been afraid something like this might happen to kill what willpower he had. It would be so easy, out here in the wilderness, especially with her being so willing. He bent and kissed her lips. She returned the kiss without hesitation, causing him no end of discomfort. He was reluctant to let her go—it would be so easy…and he was ready.
He hadn’t been a Christian long, so it wasn’t his knowledge of the Bible that stopped him from taking Susannah, then and there—or at least trying to—it was his honor as a gentleman that stopped him. He’d promised Meg, and he’d promised Susannah that he could be trusted. How would he feel about himself if he’d weakened and dishonored the woman he loved?
He broke the kiss and hugged her. “Oh, Susannah!” He softly whispered.
She responded by pressing her hips against his. “My body wants something, and I’m not sure what it is, but I feel ready for it,” she said. “I want to give this gift to you.”
