Kiowa's Oath

by Linda K. Hubalek

  Mary struggled against the pain in her head, not wanting to yell for help, but her anxiety was overtaking her need to stay calm.

  Her bedroom door opened, and Mary laid back down in relief.

  “Burdette, something’s wrong. Can you help me out of bed?”

  “Mary, this is Doctor Pansy, not Burdette.” Mary felt the woman’s hand press down onto her shoulder.

  “Can you focus on my face and see me clearly?”

  She struggled to open her eyes again, not realizing she’d tightly squeezed them shut to block the pain.

  “Take deep, slow breaths, and then open your eyes.”

  Mary did as Doctor Pansy instructed her, realizing Doctor Pansy was leaning over her, looking concerned.

  “Why are you here, Doctor Pansy? Did Burdette fetch you?”

  “It’s so good to see you’re awake and talking, Mary,” Doctor Pansy sighed as if she was truly relieved.

  “You’re in my exam room, Mary. You and Burdette took a tumble down your apartment stairs. Do you remember that?”

  Mary stared at Doctor Pansy while she searched her befuddled brain.

  “No.” She answered, then realized what the doctor had said.

  “Is Burdette all right?”

  “She is now, but it will take Burdette a while to recuperate. She broke her right leg, above the knee.”

  Mary struggled to move again. She had to get to her daughter.

  “She’s all right. I set the leg, and she’s being moved to her grandparent’s house right now. Amelia and Reuben will be taking care of her while her leg heals. Nolie will stay with them too.”

  “Oh, no.” Mary rubbed her forehead, trying to ease the pain in her head. “When did we fall?” And why couldn’t she remember it?

  “This morning. Burdette was going to school, and you were headed down to open your shop.”

  Doctor Pansy hesitated a minute before adding, “It rained overnight, and the street was muddy. Nolie had been up and down the steps before you and Burdette left, and a couple of steps were wet with mud. One of you accidentally slipped, apparently causing you both to fall.”

  “I hope no one told Nolie it was his fault that Burdie broke her leg.” The siblings were so close, and Mary didn’t want anything to change their feelings toward each other.

  “I can’t say, Mary. I’ve been busy with Burdette, and you.”

  “The fuzziness in my mind is starting to clear, but I can feel a lump on the back of my head. I assume I hit my head tumbling down the stairs?”

  “Yes, you hit your head pretty hard, and you’ve been unconscious for a while,” Doctor Pansy acknowledged. “Anything else hurt? Your back, arms, legs? I couldn’t feel any broken bones, but you have a large bruise in the middle of your back.”

  Why couldn’t she feel it? “Yes, my back hurts. Am I tied to the exam table, so I don’t slip off?”

  “No, why?”

  Mary thought about her answer for a second. “I tried to sit up, but I thought my legs were tied down, so I didn’t slip off the bed…or I guess the exam table.”

  Mary saw the worry in the doctor’s eyes before she composed her expression.

  Doctor Pansy lifted the sheet off her legs, but looked at Mary while saying, “I think you might have injured your back in the fall, but I couldn’t really test your reflexes while you were unconscious. Let’s test them now. First, move your right big toe.”

  Mary thought she did, but she wasn’t sure since the raised sheet blocked her view, besides the fact she was lying down.

  “Now, wiggle all your right toes…Try to rotate your ankle.”

  Try? Was her foot not working? Mary’s chest raced as she tried not to panic.

  “Now, move your left foot.” Doctor Pansy’s relieved breath was audible, and she quickly looked up to Mary.

  Doctor Pansy raised the sheet above her hips. “Raise your right knee a second, put it down, and then your left knee.”

  “Can you twist your right knee and hip to the outside?”

  Doctor Pansy was biting her lip. Was she waiting for Mary to move, when she thought she’d already done it?

  “Now the same for your left side. Swing your knee out while turning your hip.”

  Doctor Pansy laid the sheet back on top of her body and kept her hands underneath the sheet for a few seconds.

  “Do you feel my pushing on the sole of this foot?”

  “No,” Mary answered in confusion. “Which foot are you pressing on?”

  Doctor Pansy didn’t answer.

  “I feel you pressing your thumb into my…foot now,” Mary said in relief.

  “Which one?” Doctor Pansy challenged her.

  “It was my left foot. You were pressing into my instep.”

  Doctor Pansy dropped the sheet and moved forward to clamp her hands around Mary’s left hand.

  “I don’t know if it is permanent or only temporary, but your fall down the stairs damaged the nerves running through your spine. Right now, you’re not moving your right foot, leg, or hip at all. Your left leg moved a little and you finally felt my fingernail pressing into your instep, although I pressed hard all over the top and bottom of both feet.”

  Mary’s breath hitched and held with panic. Was she paralyzed? How would she take care of her children? Her store?

  “Breathe, Mary. Your back is badly bruised and swollen. I’m not surprised you’re having some nerve issues. You must have been temporarily airborne to fall that hard on your back, instead of just sliding down the stairs.

  “Right now, I’m thankful you’re breathing, coherent, and talking.”

  Doctor Pansy squeezed Mary’s hand, and she tightened her grip as if the doctor’s hand was a lifeline.

  “And luckily your shoulders, arms, and hands seem fine by the way you’ve wrapped your hands around mine,” Doctor Pansy beamed, as if was a miracle.

  And maybe it was.

  “What happens now?” Mary whispered, fearing to hear the doctor’s answer.

  “You test your patience—and probably your family’s—while your body heals. Someone will have to take care of your body, and I mean all parts of it, while you recover. As we don’t know the extent of the damage, besides not being able to walk, you may have no bladder or bowel control either.”

  Mary groaned with disgust. That’s why the commode smell was strong around her.

  “I don’t know that for sure, because you’re been unconscious, Mary. I’m just warning you it might happen. I hadn’t cleaned you or changed your clothing yet because I wanted to wait until you were awake.”

  “And I can’t just hop off this table and jump into a hot bath of steaming rose-scented water right now, can I?” Mary snarled in disgust.

  “No, not yet,” Doctor Pansy tried to placate her.

  Mary prided herself, almost to a fault she admitted, that her appearance and clothing were impeccable. Now she smelled like she’d bathed in urine!

  “Right now, just be content with the fact you’re alive, Mary. My waiting room is full of your family and friends praying you’d wake up.”

  Mary, thankfully, could feel her tears run down across her cheeks. Yes, she was grateful to be alive and would be able to hold her family again, even if she couldn’t stand, or walk, to do so at the moment.

  “I’ll go out and tell everyone you are awake and talking. Are you prepared for a few visitors? I won’t let the whole community come in at once, but your family needs to see you to ease their minds,” Doctor Pansy said with a light tone, probably thankful she’d be giving good news instead of the worst possible.

  “Yes, please. I need to see Nolie if he’s there too. He must be so upset.”

  “He’s here, along with your folks and siblings. I think one or two of the Reagan wives are staying with Burdette while they are waiting to see you.”

  As Doctor Pansy left, Mary’s thoughts turned to who would take care of her while she was convalescing. Surely her back would heal in a few weeks and their lives would return t
o normal.

  No, Burdette’s leg would take at least six weeks to heal, and even then she might have problems walking upstairs to their apartment.

  The pounding in the back of her head returned as she tried to concentrate and worry about how she was going to manage their problems.

  At least she had family to help her and her daughter during their healing.

  What if she could never walk up the steps to their apartment again?

  “Oh, Mary, you gave us quite a scare! Are you all right now?” Darcie took her left hand as Reuben moved around the table to grab her right hand. This wonderful couple adopted Mary when her and Gabe’s mother, Victoria, abandoned them when Mary was twelve and Gabe was fourteen. Gabe, her half-brother, was Reuben’s son but they had been apart for a decade until Reuben went back to New York to find him.

  Darcie’s children, Tate was then a toddler and Amelia, a baby, had given Mary and Gabe a solid family foundation when the adults married.

  “I’m all right, but where’s Nolie? I have to see him,” Mary asked as she looked around the room at her family’s worried faces.

  “Nolie’s with me, Mary,” Kiowa assured her as he eased her son in front of him.

  Mary held Kiowa’s gaze a moment, then let go of her parent’s hands to cradle Nolie as he crashed onto her chest, sobbing with his worry and sorrow. Mary rounded her shoulders in pain at his impact, but at least she felt the pain and could move her arms.

  “It’s okay, Nolie. It’s okay,” she comforted her son.

  But it was my fault! I should have wiped my feet on the rug before running up the stairs. You’ve told me umpteen times and—”

  “Nolie. Listen to me,” Mary commanded as she pulled Nolie’s face back to make him look at her. “Accidents happen. I was up and down the steps already this morning too, and I don’t remember cleaning my shoes.”

  “But—”

  “Accidents happen. Life isn’t always fair,” Mary told Nolie, but couldn’t help looking around at her family. It was a lesson many in this group had already learned and now it was Nolie’s turn.

  Doctor Pansy cleared her throat and looked at Mary. She understood the doctor was trying to ask if Mary wanted to explain what her situation was, or if she wanted Doctor Pansy to explain.

  And how to word it without Nolie feeling any worse?

  “Doctor Pansy says I… can’t walk…while my back heals. I’ll need constant help,” Mary tried to keep her voice from wobbling worse than it was.

  “Well, we’ll move all three of you into our house, then,” Darcie said with the conviction of a mother hen.

  “No,” Kiowa spoke up. “Darcie, you’ll have your hands full taking care of Burdette and Nolie. I’ll take care of Mary myself.”

  “Excuse me? There’s no way you’re taking care of my daughter, Kiowa Jones,” Darcie glared at Kiowa in disbelief, along with the rest of her family.

  Kiowa met every one of their stares and then turned to Mary, as if to ask her permission. She gave a slight nod.

  “I’ll be taking care of Mary, because she’s my wife.”

  The only person in the room who didn’t gasp in surprise was her son, Nolie. Only her children knew about her and Kiowa’s secret marriage.

  Chapter 3

  “What?”

  When!”

  “No, you can’t be married to—"

  “That’s enough! You don’t need the details, other than we married last December. Burdette and Nolie know because they were there for the ceremony, but don’t bother them with questions about it,” Kiowa warned Mary’s family.

  He was Nolie and Burdette’s step-father, and it was his right to look after them.

  “Right now, we’d like for you all to leave the room. Mary and I need to talk to Doctor Pansy about her care,” Kiowa added.

  “Ki?” Kiowa bent down to listen to Nolie, sensing he didn’t want the others hearing him.

  “What do you want to know, Nolie?”

  Nolie looked around, waiting for Doctor Pansy to escort everyone from the room before he continued.

  “Are we going to become a family now, the four of us?”

  Kiowa caught Mary’s gaze, and she moved her eyebrows up to question him too.

  They’d been in love and married out of state but kept their union a secret so as to not cause problems, mainly for the children. He was worried they, and Mary, would be ridiculed for having a half-breed as their father and husband.

  But today’s accident showed Kiowa his wedding vows to Mary were more important than what people thought of his background.

  “Yes. We’re a family, but please don’t talk about it to anyone else yet but your Shepard relatives. Your mother and sister have to heal first—”

  “But where are we all going to live?” Nolie interrupted him, and Kiowa predicted the questions were going to be a constant stream coming from his stepson, the Shepards, and eventually, the rest of the community.

  Pastor and Kaitlyn Reagan didn’t even know their secret.

  “Don’t know yet, Nolie. We got to let your mother and sister heal first. They can’t walk up to your apartment above the dress shop yet, and you know my place behind the blacksmith is too small for everyone.”

  Mary was having problems keeping her eyes open. How much pain was she in, and what were her exact injuries? He’d guessed she’d glossed them over to spare Nolie the truth.

  “For now, it’s best you stay with your grandparents and help with your sister’s care. I’ll take your mother to my place since there are no stairs to contend with.

  “And it will be easier for you, and Burdie, since she’ll be walking on crutches for several weeks, to visit your mother at my home.”

  Nolie seemed to think about that but then looked back at Kiowa. “That will work. When can I come to see how Ma’s settling in?”

  Kiowa glanced at Mary before answering. “How about you wait until tomorrow morning before school?”

  Kiowa leaned toward Nolie and pretended to whisper. “She smells like she fell in the outhouse and it might take a few baths to wash off the stink.”

  “Kiowa Jones, I heard that,” Mary huffed without opening her eyes.

  But Nolie’s faint smile was worth Mary’s warning words. Kiowa knew she understood he was trying to ease Nolie’s concern.

  “Okay, Nolie. Go home with your grandparents, then come over tomorrow.”

  “Do I have to go to school?”

  “Yes,” Kiowa said with new authority he was happy he could now use. “There are only two weeks left, and you’re in charge of bringing Burdie’s schoolwork home, besides your own. You both want to finish your year and move to the next grade in September.”

  “Nolie, it’s time to go,” Doctor Pansy interrupted their conversation. “I need to tend to your mother, all right?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Thank you for helping Ma and Burdie,” Nolie’s voice wobbled, but he politely said the right thing to the doctor.

  “We’ll see you in the morning, Nolie,” Kiowa promised as he gave his stepson a nod.

  “Well, you four have kept a secret for a long time. A belated congratulations on your marriage,” Doctor Pansy said with a smile.

  Kiowa reached for Mary’s hand, holding it in public for the first time ever in Clear Creek, even if it was in a private exam room.

  “What’s Mary’s problem, Doc, and what do I need to do to take care of her?”

  “Mary has injured her back, and we don't know how permanent the damage is until the swelling goes down around her spine.

  “Testing Mary’s legs earlier, only her left leg responded with limited movement. She couldn’t move her right leg at all, not even to wiggle her toes.”

  Mary squeezed his hand harder as she tried to keep from sobbing. Kiowa moved his left hand to wipe away the tears running down her face.

  He wanted to calm her with words, but they clogged in his throat and wouldn’t come out. Was his wife permanently paralyzed? Kiowa’s vision blurred with worry and
panic.

  “I’m hoping Mary’s mobility will improve with time and exercise. But I’ll warn you both, this could take months of hard work to get to that stage, and it won’t happen at the rate you want it to.

  “Kiowa, I know you want to do this, but can you afford to take time off work to take care of your wife full-time for at least the first couple of weeks?”

  “Yes, I can,” Kiowa didn’t elaborate the reason why though.

  “You two have so many questions to answer about your marriage, that I think I’d put up a ‘do not disturb’ sign on your door for a while,” Doctor Pansy muttered, still in disbelief of their marriage. “My father-in-law is going to be upset at you.”

  “Why? Because we didn’t have him marry us?” Kiowa asked.

  “Because you kept it a secret. You know everyone confides in Pastor Reagan. Plus, he’ll say you should have been sitting beside Mary in church, instead of roaming outside the building to listen to the services.”

  “What do I need to do to keep Mary as comfortable as possible?” Kiowa asked to ignore the doctor’s remark.

  “Give Mary a few drops of laudanum as needed for the first few days, if the pain is unbearable, but I don’t want her to use it past that if possible.”

  “A bath will do me the most good right now,” Mary interrupted them through gritted teeth.

  “I agree, and I’ll warn you, Kiowa, cover the bed with old towels as we don’t know how well her body functions are working yet.”

  Kiowa noticed Mary’s face redden with embarrassment.

  “Noted. Can you get supplies for us through Daisy’s pharmacy? We’ll need a bedpan, a rubber sheet, and uh, maybe other feminine necessities?”

  “Kiowa, please take me home,” Mary whimpered.

  “Can I carry her to my place, Doc, or do you prefer I get a board and help?”

  “Let’s get her eased into a sitting position and see how she does first,” Doctor Pansy suggested. “Don’t be surprised if you feel like passing out, though, Mary. This first time up is going to be a jolt to your head, back, and your senses.”

  Kiowa slid his right arm behind Mary’s shoulders and slowly lifted her back a few inches off the table and held her in place to get used to the position.