The Preacher's Bride Collection by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781643521213
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2013-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

In between frantic, wordless prayers, Emma rocked her friend in her arms. “It’ll be all right, Jesse. You’ll see. Just hold on. Please, hold on.” But already he was drifting in and out of consciousness and moaning, and she didn’t like his coloring at all. She finally eased his head down onto her lap and waited for help to arrive.

When her father and dark-haired Josh Rogers came running, the young physician wasted no time in slitting Jesse’s pant leg to the knee, while her pa carefully tugged off the pastor’s boot, revealing the angry-looking fang marks in Jesse’s rapidly swelling limb. The doctor made two slices across the wound, then sucked out as much venom-tainted blood as possible, spitting it off to the side. His expression revealed little as he worked, but Emma could see the concern darkening his blue eyes.

“He’ll be okay, won’t he?” she had to ask.

Doc Rogers opened a bottle of spirits and doused the injury, then met her eyes. “He belongs to God, Emma. We’ll just have to do our best and trust that His will be done.”

“I hate it when people say that,” she muttered, gazing down at Jesse and stroking his hair. It felt silky and soft, and the tawny curls lay against his face as he slept, making him look especially vulnerable and young. So young.

“I’ve brought some hartshorn,” Papa said, holding out a small vial. “It often helps this kind of thing.”

“We’ll try everything we’ve got,” the doctor said. After applying some of the ammonia preparation, he took a roll of bandage out of his medical bag and wrapped Jesse’s calf. “We’d best get him back to the wagon now and keep him as quiet as possible. I’ll stay with him through the night. Longer, if needed. After that, even if he pulls through, he’ll need someone at his side all the time for a while.”

If he pulls through. Emma dismissed that statement immediately. He’d pull through if she had anything to say about it. “I’ll stay with him,” she blurted. “I’ve been driving his wagon for days.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, sweetheart,” her father protested. “Folks might get the wrong idea.”

Emma raised her chin. “Folks? We’re supposed to care about other folks at a time like this? When Jesse might be—” She swallowed the hateful word. “When Jesse has no one to care for him? You and Mama would be right behind me.”

He released a slow breath. “I see your point. But first we’re going to have our hands full just getting him through the long hours ahead.” He turned to the doctor. “I’ll assist you, Josh, all during the night if you need me.”

“Thanks. But right now we’d best get him back to camp.” Stooping over, he slid his arms under Jesse’s limp ones and raised his torso, while Papa picked up his legs. “Mind bringing my bag, Emma?” the doctor asked.

Not trusting her voice, she gave a nod and plucked up the medical kit and Jesse’s boot.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.