Lucy's Quilt by Joyce Livingston

Author:Joyce Livingston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2013-01-15T05:00:00+00:00

Seven

Juliette dozed off during the night but woke each time Stone’s breathing grew uneven, he moaned, or he’d shift his position. Although she couldn’t make out the time on the wall clock in the semidarkness of the room, she knew it would soon be dawn.

Suddenly, Stone grabbed at her wrist and began making sounds like those of a whimpering child. She took his hand in hers and realized he was not awake but dreaming. He mumbled something almost incoherently at first, then the words became clearer. “Lucy, Lucy. I won’t, I won’t. Lucy—”

Juliette shook him gently, fearing he was having a nightmare about Lucy’s death. “It’s me. Juliette. You’re dreaming.”

He stopped thrashing about, and his body grew still as his eyes opened wide. “Di–did I say anything?” he whispered as he held tightly to her hand.

“Nothing I could understand,” she answered, not wanting to upset him. “You’re probably running a fever, that’s all.”

“You’ve been here at my side all night, haven’t you?”

She stroked the good side of his forehead gently. “Yes. How are you feeling? How’s the shoulder?”

He moved slightly. “Uggh. Sore.”

“Your head looked pretty nasty too. How did that injury happen?”

Stone cringed as he lowered his shoulder back onto the pillow. “Shot grazed my head after I came out of MacGregor’s cabin.”

Fear coursed through her veins at the thought. “A shot came that close to your head? Oh, Stone. You could have been killed!”

“Yes, he could have,” her father added as he came in with a fresh glass of water. “Three times. Once by that shot. The second time by the man who knifed him. Then when that gun went off, it could’ve hit Stone as easily as it did its owner.”

Amazed, she turned quickly back toward Stone. “What happened to that man?”

Her father answered for him. “He died.”

Juliette let out a loud gasp. “I didn’t know. Oh, Stone. I had no idea what you went through. He died? How awful you must feel.”

“Juliette, that man tried to kill him,” her father inserted quickly in his defense. “It was him or Stone. Stone tried to get the gun away from him, but the man pulled the trigger during their scuffle. There was nothing Stone could do. It wasn’t his fault.”

“Oh, I wasn’t blaming Stone, I just—”

Stone clamped his eyes shut and gnawed at his lip. “I didn’t mean for him to die. It just happened. I wish I could’ve prevented it. Maybe captured him instead of—”

“But you couldn’t,” Father interjected. “I witnessed the whole thing. The man’s death was unavoidable. He pulled the trigger, not you.”

Stone’s fingers touched the cloth covering his shoulder. “But it happened nonetheless. His blood is on my hands.”

“That’s not so. Don’t even think it!” John replied sharply. “If it weren’t for you, even more lives would’ve been lost. Ask anyone who was there last night. Ask Zach Nance. Ask MacGregor. Ask me!”

“They all said you were a hero,” Juliette added proudly. “I heard them.”

“Don’t feel much like a hero.”

“Well, you are one.” John placed the glass on the table.

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