Monroe, Marla - Their Bartered Bride [Men of the Border Lands 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (17 page)

“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 less 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.”

“I’m not sure you’re up to it yet, baby.”

“I am. I promise I am. Please?”

Jonathan winced and she could tell he’d given in by the doomed expression on his face.

He started back when they first started having more trouble with the wolves and told her about how one had been digging at the door. That was when they decided to get help in hunting them down.

He went over meeting Brice, Garrett, and Ronnie. “She came over that night to be with you. We figured two would be safer than one, and you could keep each other company.”

“I remember now,” Leigh said. “She’s really nice. She and I talked about all sorts of things. She was going to help me with my garden this coming spring.”

Jonathan then told her about the wolf attack as far as they were able to piece it together.

“Ronnie told me she was pregnant. When the wolves attacked, they attacked her first, and she was trying to protect her baby. I grabbed a knife and stabbed the wolf over and over when I couldn’t pull it off of her. Then another wolf attacked me. Ronnie managed to get the pantry door open, and then the cellar. She climbed down the stairs. I fought off the last wolf with my hands and lucked out closing the door and bolting it before my arms started throbbing and I couldn’t use my hands anymore.” Leigh felt the tears well up in her eyes.

She didn’t want to cry anymore. It upset the men.

“So you remember everything now?” Jonathan asked in a careful voice.

“Most everything. I’m a little hazy on things before that, too. But it’s coming back to me.”

“Good. Don’t push it, baby. Give yourself time to remember it without stressing out over it.”

“Jonathan? Would you hold me? I feel safe in your arms. I want to feel safe for a little while.” Leigh turned frightened eyes up to him.

“Of course I will. You’ll have to help me. I don’t want to hurt you anywhere.” Jonathan sat on the edge of the bed and leaned back against the headboard.

He reached for her and carefully pulled her into his arms, avoiding her belly and hands. She scooted further up in his lap and rested her head against his shoulder.

“Wrap your arms around me,” she said.

“I’m afraid I’ll hurt you, baby.”

“I’ll tell you if you do. Please?” she begged.

“Okay, you say something if I hurt you.”

He gently wrapped them around her upper body where she had very few scratches.

“How is that?” he asked.

“Good. Really good. Thanks, Jonathan.”

A little while later Joel walked in. He took one look at Jonathan holding her and grinned.

“Do you feel better, Leigh?”

“Yes. I remember about the attack now. I’m still hazy about before the attack, but it should come back to me soon.” Leigh smiled up at him.

“Good girl. Just take it slow, and don’t force it.” He sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked her hair back from her face. Then he bent over and kissed her lightly on the lips.