Love's Rescue by Tammy Barley

Author:Tammy Barley [Barley, Tammy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: United States, Christian, General, Romance, United States - History - Civil War; 1861-1865, Christian Fiction, Historical, Fiction, General Fiction
ISBN: 9781603741088
Google: WCBkPgAACAAJ
Amazon: 1603741089
Publisher: Whitaker House
Published: 2009-06-30T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

The dark haze hadn’t left her, though the surroundings had become vaguely familiar, and she realized they were nearing the ranch. All at once, Jake was no longer behind her, and then she was in his arms.

She heard the door swing open. “Hold her, my friend,” Lone Wolf said. “I will move this closer to the fire.” A heavy piece of furniture rumbled against the floor, and then she was lowered to the couch. “What has happened?”

“Wolves.” Jake’s voice was quiet, tense.

Jess heard him leave the room, and then she heard movements in the kitchen. The front door must have been open, because several pairs of boots sounded on the porch. One of the ranchmen called out, “Jake?”

“In here.”

Jess tried to pull herself from the cloying haze. Jake was beside her again. Her skirts had been pushed back from her leg injuries. She heard Taggart’s voice. “What’s happened to her?”

A damp cloth was pressed to the back of her calf, and she grunted in pain.

“She’s been bit,” Jake said. “This cut is deep.”

He and Lone Wolf spoke quietly as her calf first felt cold from being drenched, then burned so fiercely that her head cleared a little. “Bennett,” she moaned, trying to pull away from their ministrations.

“It’s whiskey, Jess. We’re cleaning out the bites.”

She pushed herself up on her elbows, then rolled over on her stomach to give them easier access to her wounds.

“Look at her dress.” That was Reese. Jess became aware of the light of several kerosene lamps. She was facing Jake’s desk.

Jake glanced up from where he knelt. “How are you doing, Jess?”

She grunted again while he poured more whiskey over her leg. “Famously.”

“Wolf?” Taggart asked her.

Jess nodded, glancing up to his mop of orange hair and his blue eyes. “Five, but only one took me for mutton.” She hissed when a dry cloth was pressed firmly on the wounds. Her sense of humor was fading fast.

Reese asked, “What did he look like?”

“Like a Yankee in a fur coat.”

“As bad as that, Jess?” Jess didn’t see Jake’s smile, but she heard it in his voice.

She smiled with him. “Well, worse than some, I suppose.” He released her leg, then wrapped a clean towel around it. She could feel fresh blood seeping into the cloth.

“I’ll be right back,” Jake assured her.

Jess glanced at the stairs. Jake took them two at time, then disappeared into the middle room upstairs. He emerged carrying a wooden box, which he set on the table when he came downstairs. Jess leaned up on both elbows, watching as he lifted off the lid and brought out scissors, needle, and thread.

Jess groaned and dropped her forehead to the arm of the sofa. When she lifted her face again, Taggart was staring into it. Without a word, he dragged Jake’s big chair over and settled himself down beside her, taking her slender hand in his rough, brawny one and holding it tight. Jake tied a snug knot in the thread.

His eyes met Jess’s. “This will hurt some,” he warned her.

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