Worth the Wait by Karen Witemeyer

Author:Karen Witemeyer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC042030;FIC042040;FIC027050
ISBN: 9781441264978
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2016-12-12T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

8

Ben gritted his teeth as the wagon bumped down the road, determined to hold onto consciousness. His head felt like a smithy’s anvil with the blacksmith pounding a sledge against the back of his skull over and over. Yet even through the haze of pain, he’d noticed which direction Tori had steered the team. Whatever had her spooked about this road, he didn’t want her facing it alone. Even if the only attackers were memories from her past. He might not be able to fight off a flesh-and-blood enemy at the moment, but he could battle ghosts. And he aimed to do just that.

“I see the house up ahead, Ben.” Tori twisted slightly to toss the words over her shoulder. “We’ll have you there soon. I promise.”

He grunted a bit in response. It was all he could manage with the majority of his energy being spent staving off the darkness that kept encroaching. Her continued use of his given name served as a pleasant distraction, though. Ben’s mouth quirked up just a bit at the corners. The fact that she hadn’t reinforced the formality between them now that the initial scare had passed gave him hope that one barrier might have finally come down.

The wagon dipped to the left as Tori turned off the main road. Ben couldn’t see much beyond sky, but he could hear a dog bark and children’s voices. He relaxed just a bit. Kids generally meant womenfolk and family. Less chance of Tori running into another unsavory character.

Hercules added his yips to the orchestration as Lewis shuffled across the wagon bed and lifted up on his knees to get a better view.

“What do you see, scamp?” Ben mumbled the words, but Lewis seemed to understand.

“A big white house, and a tree with a rope swing! And kids. A boy who looks a little older than me and a girl. She’s short. And she’s got a doll.” He reported the last with such a tone of disgust, Ben would have chuckled if he wasn’t sure the vibrations would set off a cataclysm in his head.

“Any grown-ups?”

Lewis made a show of looking right then left. “Nope. Wait. A lady just came out the front door.”

He heard a woman’s voice calling to her children. “Michael. Daphne. Come up to the house.”

The team slowed, and Ben grabbed onto the side of the wagon. As soon as they stopped, he was going to drag himself to a seated position. He didn’t want these folks to think him completely incapacitated.

“Please, I need help.” Tori started her plea before the horses halted. “My . . . friend is hurt. He was kicked in the head by a horse while protecting my son. If you could spare some medical supplies, I can tend him out here. I just need some soap and hot water—spirits, if you have them—and, perhaps, some salve and clean bandages.”

“There’s too much dirt blowing around out here,” the other woman said, her voice closer now that the wagon had stopped. “Let’s get him in the house.

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.