Rebellious Bride by Donna Fletcher

Author:Donna Fletcher
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Historical Romance, 19th century
Publisher: Donna Fletcher
Published: 2013-03-18T21:04:24+00:00

Chapter 15

The cold weather that swept in with November brought with it, its fair share of sniffles and sore throats. Otherwise the people of Little had suffered few ailments these past weeks to keep Lil busy.

Doc Talbert intended to enjoy “the quiet before the chaos,” as he termed it, insisting that there was always a lull before a rash of illnesses hit. So he had taken himself off to Susie’s saloon to spend the remainder of the afternoon plying his tender throat with whiskey in the guise of medicinal purposes.

Lil fussed around the office. She busied herself by removing the light cotton summer curtains and replacing them with mustard-colored drapes, which she drew back with brown silk cords, each caught in the center by large tassels. The heavy material would keep the cold from the room, as would the potbelly stove that occupied one corner.

She had paid Billy handsomely to chop wood and keep a supply handy in the coming months. Lil was about to clean and restock the medicine cabinet when her father interrupted, entering the room.

“Busy, Lil?”

Glad to hear his voice, she spun around. “I’m never too—” Her words died abruptly when she saw the blood running down his arm and covering his hand. She hurried over to him.

“It’s nothing, so don’t go getting yourself all worked up,” he said, attempting to reassure her.

Lil took hold of his uninjured arm and guided him to the examination table. “Since you walked in here on your own, without a lick of assistance, I’d say the wound isn’t as bad as it looks.”

“That’s my gal, level-headed like her father,” he complimented, adding a proud smile. He sat on the table and held his bloody arm out to her. “All yours.”

Lil gently moved his arm to rest against his chest. “I need to get a few things first,” she explained. Then, without haste, yet in a swift, smooth manner, she gathered the necessary items and placed them on a tray, which she set beside her father.

“After your mother died, you always looked after me, made sure I was taken care of,” he said. His injured arm rested on a tall square table, which Lil had positioned in front of him and had covered with a clean white cloth. To the side she set a bowl of warm water.

Lil cut away his shirt-sleeve several inches above his elbow, away from the wound. She then gently removed the blood-soaked material and proceeded to cleanse her father’s forearm and hand. “I remember how through the years I worried about you. With each injury you suffered, I watched Doc carefully so I would be able to give you the best of care.”

‘‘You carried too heavy a burden for one so young,’’ Sam said. “I’m sorry I didn’t provide better for you.”

Lil didn’t allow her father to see her relief when she discovered his wound was minor. “Your apology isn’t necessary, Dad. You provided me with much more than I ever dreamed of having.”

He seemed surprised. “I don’t understand.

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