A Ransomed Heart (16 page)

By the time they got back to the house the bleeding had stopped but there was a large wet spot on her pants and his. The tourniquet he had placed had stopped the bleeding but with devastating
consequences.  There was an infection brewing and the cloth had held it in the wound. When he slid her down to Kit and dismounted, she again cried in pain. Grabbing her away from his friend he held her close and hurried her into the house.

Mama had stripped the bed of the quilt and
laid out clean white sheets. On the round table by the bed, she had sterilized scissors, a sharp knife, and small tongs.  She had no idea what to expect so she had readied what she thought she would need.  Logan laid her down on the bed and hurried to remove her lace up boot. Mama went to work with the scissors trying to remove the blood-soaked fabric around the wound. When Logan had finished he waited to see the damages. Once the fabric was removed the deep purple sore was visible and he drew in a sharp breath. 

The bullet had entered the front of her leg probably hitting the bone. It was amazing she had walked, or even stood on it, and her struggling with him probably didn’t help it at all. He was frustrated with himself, he should have been more careful.  There was no need beating himself up about it now though
, there was more that needed to be done.  He looked at Mama for some idea of what to do and she instructed him to bring her the hot water from the stove and clean towels. When he rushed into the kitchen he saw Kit sitting at the table his eyes wide with fear.

“
Is she…fine?” his voice trembled.

“She
will be; she will be!” he stated, as if he was talking himself into it.

“Go for Little Bear, ask him for his herbs.”

Kit stood and bolted from the room, glad to be set into action; his face was white as a ghost as he darted past the window.

Logan hurried back into the room and poured the hot water into the wash basin then dunked the rag into the water.  It
scalded his skin but his adrenaline was pumping too fast to notice. Wringing out the wet cloth he handed it to Mama who washed the wound area and handed it back. They went on like this for what seemed like forever, him dumping the pink water out the window and filing the tub again, over and over.

Just when the ugly opening was
revealed, Little Bear and Singing Bird appeared at the door.  Mama moved out of the way for the two to look over the area. Their faces creased with concern and Singing Bird moved her heavy body back out of the room and to the table. She removed a deer skin pouch and dumped something out on the table and went to work. Little Bear looked up at Logan as if seeking permission.  Logan nodded and moved to Annabelle’s head grasping her hands in his. Mama moved to the foot of the bed and gently held Annabelle’s feet. It was time to remove the bullet.

Logan
swallowed hard and closed his eyes as Little Bear washed his hands in the hot water, then picked up the sharp knife. Logan put his lips close to Annabelle’s ear, he whispered something to her and then stretched his big arm across her chest to hold her to the bed. This was going to hurt. He knew all too well the pain she would feel, the burning tearing of flesh and the hot fingers as they dug around in her body looking for the metal ball.  He gritted his teeth and tried to hurt for her, but it didn’t work.

Even in her fevered state she tried to react. Mama held her legs still as Logan
wrestled with her upper body. Sometime in the middle of it all Kit entered the room and took her other side. Once or twice he hid his head and choked back the bile which rose in his throat. Annabelle had cried out loudly at first but now her ragged cries had turned to whimpers escaping sporadically from her white lips. Logan buried his face in her hair and continued to whisper to her. It was heart wrenching for him to even watch.

An
agonizing ten minutes later, the bullet, along with a small patch of fabric was removed. Mama matched the fabric with Annabelle’s bloomers and she made sure every piece matched perfectly.  Annabelle was quiet and her breathing had slowed, but her fever raged on. Little Bear left to help his wife, and Mama dumped the bloody water from the wash bin and rinsed it well, then poured a fresh draw of boiling water back into the porcelain bowl. Kit stared off into space, his face as white as Annabelle’s. Logan watched intently as Mama washed the wound until the water ran clear, then she retrieved an herbal poultice from Singing Bird and pressed it into the angry red hole. Next she stripped some clean white linen and wrapped in tightly around Annabelle’s leg. The whole process had taken just over an hour.

Mama and Kit left the room to thank Little Bear and Singing Bird, but Logan refused to move. Later that evening Mama brought him a bowl of soup but he hardly touched it, his attention completely on the beautiful girl sick in bed. His mind ran over the events of the past few days. He remembered the first moment he saw her in her wild beauty; their conversations; her face; her sweet kiss. He grimaced at the way he had treated her the first night in camp. He thought about her soft white skin next to his lips as he held her tightly. She had every right to be upset with him. But how could he have been so blind to her needs? He prided himself on helping people; people Robert Sevier had put into a corner, and here he was using her against the man he hated, when he should have been trying to helping her.

Then the
re was the matter of love. He wasn’t sure what he felt for this strange and infuriating girl, but it could be love. But he had no right falling for her. She already had a hard life, and as much as he hated it, Mr. Sevier could end that for her. A creeping shiver ran through him just thinking about that man with her. No, he might have money but he could never give her all she wanted. Maybe Logan couldn’t either, but he couldn’t send her back to the awful man. Logan might not be able to provide a lavish lifestyle but he did hope one day he could love a woman enough to make up for all of it. And looking at Bella’s pale face he wondered if he could love her enough.

Ang
er bubbled up inside of him. This wasn’t the first thing Logan had loved that Robert Sevier had hurt. No, for as long as Logan could remember, the haunting figure of a man stood in his view, hurting everything he touched. Logan had not realized it was real until he came here a few years ago, but always somewhere in his mind’s eye he could see a man who was willing to hurt others to get what he wanted, and for Logan, the man was Mr. Robert Sevier. And now, the woman he could love, even maybe wanted to love, was hurt, possibly dying because of that very man.

Annabelle moved her head and sighed, in a flash he was by her side his hand covering hers.
She shook her head and moaned and he understood her pain. With his free hand he rubbed his shoulder and stretched his neck. She had a long road to recovery, if the infection didn’t take her first. He gritted his teeth and looked at her, his face set in stone.

“I will not let you go
, Bella, I will not.”

She sighed then and her head rolled to the side as if now she was able to sleep in peace.  All through the night he stayed with her. Even when a
rooster crowed somewhere in the distance, rousing him from his fitful sleep, he refused to leave. Finally the morning sun showed its sunny head in the window and Logan stood to stretch his legs. His back hurt from leaning against the bed most of the night, but Annabelle looked peaceful and when he touched her forehead it seemed cooler than it had before. Slightly relived, he left the room for some coffee.

Mama and Kit were sitting at the table talking quietly over their steaming cups. They both looked anxiously at him when he entered the room. He smiled a ragged smile and
headed for the coffee pot.

“How is she?”
The concern was evident in Kit’s voice.

“I think her fever is down a bit
: she’s going to pull though this.” He didn’t just say it, he commanded it.

“She is a strong
girl; I think she’ll be fine.” Mama seemed slightly less certain, but her voice was encouraging and upbeat as usual. “You always did pick them stubborn.” She winked her eye at him, her affectionate habit.

Logan couldn’t help but smile. “When did you know
, Mama?”

Kit looked confused.

“Almost the moment you guys showed up with her. It wasn’t hard to tell.”

“Tell what?” Kit was lost.

“That Logan’s got feelings for the little redhead in there.” Her smile widened.

“Well
, you knew before I did then.” Logan wasn’t surprised though, it was like the woman could read the future.

Kit took a drink of the hot liquid and leaned back in his chair with a look of complete loss on his face. “Well
, I guess you both knew about it before me.”

Logan chuckled in spite of himself and rubbed on
e of Kit’s shoulders as he headed back to the bedroom. Behind him Kit piped up. “Does Annabelle know?” Then both he and Mama laughed.

The day wore on and Annabelle continued to sleep. Logan was so tired he could hardly hold his head up but he was worried about her waking up alone. The bed was
inviting and he finally climbed in beside her, after all it was a big bed. He slid his arm under the second pillow and propped his head up, he would only sleep a little while, and then he would fetch Little Bear to redress the wound. One last time he checked her forehead and found it very near normal. She was going to pull though, he was sure of it. Hesitantly he closed first one, then both of his eyes and let sleep roll over him. The last thing which crossed his mind was that he was in bed with Annabelle Casey.

Annabelle woke up to a terrible
headache and a burning sensation in her leg. She remembered very little about what had transpired in the past twenty-four hours; only bits and pieces of Logan’s voice, playing over and over in her head. Slowly opening her eyes she looked up at the wooden slats which made the floor of the loft. She must be in Mama’s room. Slowly she looked towards the door of the room, but the house was quiet. That was when she felt the warm breath on her face. Turning her head slowly to avoid any pain she found herself face to face with Logan.

He looked tired, concern lines deep on his face. She watched him for
awhile, studying every little detail of his appearance. His face was handsome with a firm jaw line and deep brow. His hair was darker in the house, along with his lashes, and the stubble which had formed on his face looked soft like the skin of a peach. She knew better, though, because as a child she had rubbed her father’s face when it looked like this only to be met with prickles. Suddenly the urge to touch Logan’s face became unbearable. It was impossible to turn in his direction so she awkwardly reached up with the hand nearest him. The back of her fingers brushed his face ever so gently and it made her stomach turn flips. He was warm against her cold fingers and she was worried she would wake him with her touch. Instead he just sighed and kept on sleeping.

For some reason this pleased her, maybe
because she could still gaze at him without feeling his eyes on her. Maybe it was because she didn’t have to answer any questions or get answers she may not want. Surely he had feelings about her running off to marry Mr. Sevier. The embarrassment of him knowing flushed her cheeks a bit and she drew her hand back away from his face, but she didn’t stop looking. The three buttons at the top of his shirt were undone and she could see a little bit of his dark skin underneath. She already knew he was strong, distinctly remembering being in his arms. It wasn’t hard to remember exactly what he looked like with his shirt off. His arms were tucked under his face and his muscular forearms were so close to her she could almost feel the heat of his skin.

It
seemed strange to her, thinking of a man this way. She had never had any experience with men, only her father and two older brothers. It wasn’t hard to remember them working hard and what they looked like after a long days work with their shirts off, cooling themselves on the front porch, but this was different. The feelings that welled up inside of her were strange and exciting. Again she reached up and touched him with her hand, this time letting it linger longer than before, feeling the stubble pressing against her hand and his warmth entering her body racing deep inside of her. No, this feeling was something she had never felt before and was doubtful she would ever feel again, it was something…wild.

Logan felt something cold on his face and his eyes fluttered open. There was Annabelle looking at him with her eyes wide and bright. Quickly he pushed up onto his elbow and looked her over. She followed him with her eyes and smiled shyly at him.

“Morning, handsome,” she said. Then her face burned with a blush at her forwardness.

“Bella,
you’re awake.” It was like he needed to say it to believe it. He felt happiness ripple though his body and he had to fight the urge to pull her up into his arms and hug her. Then happiness turned to concern. “Are you in much pain?”

She shook her head a little
, but didn’t move much. “I have a little headache, and my leg is a little sore, but other than that I think I am well.”

“Can I get you
anything?” He turned away from her to get out of bed but she caught his arm with her hand. It was cold against his skin and he quickly turned back to her. “Your hand is freezing, are you cold?”