Would-Be Wilderness Wife by Regina Scott

Author:Regina Scott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-08-24T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

It was nearly dinner before Catherine had Levi settled. First she and the others had to dry themselves from the rain. Although she had toweled off her hair with a cloth Mrs. Wallin provided, the only way to dry her dress was to stand and turn in front of the hearth like a chicken on a spit, careful not to get too close lest a stray spark catch her skirts on fire.

She used the time to direct James how to shave kindling to her specifications for Levi’s splint and to send Beth for the other supplies she’d need. Then she splinted the leg properly and added a stick at the end that could be twisted as needed to provide traction.

Levi generally cooperated with few protests, and Beth peppered her with questions. But by far the most helpful was Drew. Once she had Levi positioned on one of the benches near the table, he sat at his brother’s head, hands braced on Levi’s shoulders as both a warning not to move and a deterrent when the youth had second thoughts.

“You’d make a fine nurse,” Catherine commented at one point when she’d finished setting the bone.

“I’ll leave that to the professional,” Drew answered, but his smile warmed her more than his words.

When she finished, Levi gave the splinted leg a wiggle, then yelped at the pain the movement must have caused. “How long do I have to wear this?”

“Weeks if you’re careful,” Catherine said, rising and shaking out her skirts. “Months if you’re not. Despite what your brother said about hobbling, limping for the rest of your life is best avoided if possible.”

The boy grumbled, but his pallor told Catherine that some part of him would heed her warning.

Mrs. Wallin had been sitting nearby. Now she shifted to be next to her youngest son. “You listen to Miss Stanway, Levi. And to your brothers, as well. What would you have done if they hadn’t come back for you?”

“Died and rotted,” James said cheerfully, and Beth smacked him on the shoulder with one hand.

Catherine drew back, watching as James and Beth teased Levi until the youth’s cheeks bloomed red. John had returned to the house a while ago, with Simon out spelling him on watch. He, too, joined in the fun.

Catherine wished she could joke about it, but the entire time she’d been working on Levi, her family had kept intruding on her thoughts. What if someone had gone back for Nathan on the battlefield? Would he be alive today? Where were the men her father had tended when the medical tent had been shelled? Had none of them gone to see if he could be saved?

Levi’s wounds weren’t as serious, and for that she was thankful. But something about his injuries nagged at her, and she wasn’t sure why.

Drew rose and came to where she stood by the stairs.

“I didn’t want to ask you in front of Levi,” he murmured, “but I need to know. How bad is it?”

“It was a simple fracture,” Catherine assured him.

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