Phoebe's Promise (Oregon Sky Series Book 1) by Dawson Kay P

Author:Dawson, Kay P. [Dawson, Kay P.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2016-04-03T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

It had been at least two hours since the wagons had stopped for the day. The wind was still tossing them around, and the rain was hitting the canvas in a steady downpour. The inside of the wagon was chilly, but the amount of heat coming from Grace terrified the others.

She had brought up all of the food in her stomach, and continued to heave every time she tried to drink any water. She had been in and out of consciousness, awake just long enough to let them see how scared she was.

Phoebe tried her hardest to keep herself calm, knowing she needed to control her emotions when Grace needed her.

But it was tearing her apart. She knew too well what was likely happening, and she had never felt so helpless in her life.

No matter how hard she tried to stop it, she could feel a tear escaping.

"Phoebe, I'm thirsty." Her sister's hoarse voice broke through her grief. She was alone in the wagon with Grace, while Audrey and the O'Hara's set up camp and made something to eat.

"Here, let me help you sit up..." She put her hands behind Grace's head and gently tugged to help her up enough to drink. Phoebe put the metal cup up to Grace’s lips, letting the cool liquid dribble down her throat.

Her sister coughed a bit, choking on the water hitting the dryness of her throat. The one good thing about the weather was the fresh, clean water the rain was providing. She knew as soon as they had stopped, James O'Hara and Colton had dragged a large empty barrel outside that had been emptied of flour to collect rainwater to give Grace.

"Is that better?" Desperate to hear her sister say she was feeling better, Phoebe looked longingly into her eyes to see if there was any improvement. She knew if it was cholera, it would move fast. But if they could keep her hydrated, they might have a small chance to fight it.

And, she kept telling herself, maybe it wasn't cholera at all. In truth, she had witnessed the terrible agony and diarrhea suffered by her mother, and then those on this wagon train that had succumbed to the illness, but hadn't seen any of that with Grace.

That gave her some hope.

But Grace was very sick, and they both knew it. Out here, they didn't have a doctor to care for them when they got ill. They were completely at the mercy of any sickness that came along, relying only on their own strength to fight it.

Grace took her hand. Phoebe felt the heat coming from the skin.

"Ma and pa would sure be surprised if they knew we were out here on a wagon train heading west, wouldn't they?" Grace was trying to talk about anything that would take their minds off the seriousness of what was happening.

Phoebe smiled down at her sister. "Well, they would likely be surprised you were out here, but I doubt they would be too shocked to hear I was.

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