Once Upon a Christmas: A Wynter Family Saga by Patrick Elyssa & Coi J.K. & Clare Tiffany & Robinson Maggie

Author:Patrick, Elyssa & Coi, J.K. & Clare, Tiffany & Robinson, Maggie [Patrick, Elyssa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vauxhall Vixens
Published: 2016-10-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

W hen she returned to the officer’s tent, she found her patient sprawled face down on the floor, halfway to the door.

She rushed forward with a curse and carefully turned him over. “You idiot. Where did you think you were going?”

He groaned and blinked up at her with those piercing gray eyes. She couldn’t tell if he actually saw her this time, or if he was still delirious. She put her hand to his forehead, but couldn’t tell if his fever had gone down any. Maybe a little?

When she took her hand away, he grabbed it and kissed her palm. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, eyes closing. “I wish things were different, but I have to do this.”

He was speaking English again. Perfect, unbroken, unaccented English.

“What is it you have to do?” she prodded as she poked at the bandage around his midsection. If he’d torn open his stitches getting out of that cot . . .

“I don’t want to leave you, Danielle, but I have to protect my brother. I can’t let James go off to war on his own.”

Winnie raised a brow, but she couldn’t say she was very surprised. Her patient’s fevered, phantom conversations had been slowly filling in some of the blanks, answering some of her questions without him even knowing it.

It also wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned this woman named Danielle. “Don’t wait for me,” he murmured, dropping his hand. “I can’t ask you to.”

She paused for a long moment in case he wanted to reveal anything more, but he didn’t stir again. He’d fallen back to sleep right there on the floor.

She traced her fingers across the hard slash of his cheekbone and let her gaze wander over the delectable softness of his lips and the devastating cleft in his chin. “Your lady is a fool if she isn’t waiting for you,” she whispered, aware of the envy filling her chest. “No matter how long it takes.”

What must it have been like to walk away from a family that really cared? She sat back and gazed up, ignoring the canvas ceiling over their heads, seeing instead the familiar face of her father. Tears welled and she swallowed hard. Winnie hadn’t given up anything worth ranting incoherently about. She hadn’t joined the war effort for any particularly noble reason. She’d only wanted to escape. Escape, and take control of her own future.

She shook her head and wiped at her eyes. “I think that’s more than enough of the past for one night, don’t you?” She cleared her throat and put her hands on her hips. “Now, how am I going to get you off the floor and back into that bed?”

At first she hefted and pushed, but worried about hurting him. After a few minutes without any luck, she leaned close and spoke into his ear. “Come on, big guy. You’ve got to help me out here. I can’t lift this big muscle-bound form all by myself.”

He roused enough to follow her directions, staggering and tottering and leaning on her heavily as he slowly got to his feet.

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