Mail-Order Bride Ink: Dear Mr. Turner (18 page)

“Hold still,” Bowen ordered. “I have to get this bullet out.”

“Well, as I see it,” Eli rasped, “them outlaws done most of that.” He turned his head to look at him. “I guess all things work for good like the Almighty says. If ya hadn’t shown up and helped us recapture the varmints, we might never have made it back alive.”

Major winced in pain as Doc Drake did his work, then glanced at Eli. “The woman … she’s safe?”

“Will you two shut it?” Doc Waller snapped. “Land sakes, you’ve both been shot, for crying out loud. Stay quiet and let us work!”

Major and Eli closed their eyes and did as they were told.

“And for your information, Grandma is fine and serving tea in the parlor,” Doc Waller informed them. “That young feller you had locked up before, Eli, he brought her back to town safe and sound.”

Eli smiled despite the pain. “I knew he’d do right.”

“Thank the Lord he did.” Bowen pulled the bullet from Major’s shoulder and dropped it into a metal pan with a
clink.
“He said his brother forced him to go with them when they were broken out. They took Grandma as leverage to make sure Ninian would do as he was told.”

Eli managed to smile despite the grimace on his face. “I like that boy. Gotta a fine horse too …”

“Shush!” Doc Waller ordered. “Don’t waste your strength talking.”

Eli smiled weakly and closed his eyes, his head lolling to one side. This time, he didn’t reopen them for a while.

“
W
hat’s taking
them so long?” Pleasant asked as she paced the parlor.

“For Heaven’s sake, child, sit down and finish your tea,” Grandma said. “All that walking isn’t going to do you a bit of good.”

“You can’t blame her, Grandma,” Honoria said. “If my future husband was in there, I’d probably be pacing too.”

Grandma sighed in resignation. “This day has been a doozy, hasn’t it?”

Honoria studied the torn hem of her dress. “Yes, it certainly has.”

Doc Waller suddenly burst into the parlor. “Er … ah …” He looked between the women. “Honoria, can I borrow you for a minute?”

“What’s going on?” Grandma asked. “Do I need to help?”

“You’ve been through enough for one day, Sarah. Besides, I need a stronger pair of hands. Honoria can handle it.”

Honoria swallowed hard. “If you say so, Doc. What do you need me to do?”

“Come with me.” He turned and hurried back to the patient room in the rear of the house.

Honoria’s eyes darted between Grandma and Pleasant. She took a deep breath, shrugged, got up and followed him.

“What’s that about?” Pleasant asked worriedly.

Grandma shook her head. “One of them must be bleeding pretty bad. I have no idea which one.”

A hand flew to Pleasant’s mouth as her jaw began to tremble. “Oh, Grandma! I can’t lose Eli or Major! I just can’t!”

Grandma stood up and pulled Pleasant into her arms. “There now, child. Doc and Bowen will do everything they can to make sure both your men pull out of this.”

“But what if they can’t? What if one of them dies?”

“Don’t go jumping to conclusions, child. We don’t know what’s going on back there. And if, God forbid, the good Lord takes one of them, then we’ll do what we have to do. Dying is part of living – that’s just the way things are. You’ll see your share of it in this world, no doubt about it.”

Pleasant pulled away to wipe the tears from her eyes. “I’ve never had to deal with death, other than my mother. But I can hardly count that – she died giving birth to my brother and me, so I never knew her. I guess … I guess I never had to deal with much of anything until now.” More tears fell.

Grandma stroked her hair tenderly. “Then ain’t you glad you got friends and folks here that can help see you through it?”

Pleasant stared at her. She was right – she did have friends here. The people of Clear Creek stood by each other, she’d seen them do it. And there were her brothers on top of that. She took a deep breath to stop her tears, then hugged Grandma. “Thank you for reminding me of that. And thank you for being with me now.”

“You’re part of this town, Pleasant. Of course I’m gonna be with you. Now sit down and finish your cup of tea before it gets cold. It’ll calm your nerves.”

Pleasant sniffled, went to the settee and sat. She picked up her teacup and took a slow sip of the hot brew. Grandma was right, it felt good going down her throat. A shiver went up her spine. This day
had
been a doozy – and it wasn’t over yet.

* * *

“
W
hat’s he doing
?” Major Quincy Comfort asked, eyes wide, as he watched Bowen Drake close his eyes and put his hands over Eli’s wound.

Honoria studied him as she pondered the man’s name. She’d never heard of someone named “Major” before. “Doing what he does best,” she replied.

“Let him have another swig of whiskey, Honoria,” Doc Waller ordered.

She handed Major a flask. He took it gratefully and gulped a few mouthfuls, grimacing as he handed it back to her. “I’ve never been much of a drinking man …”

“Good for you, son,” Doc Waller replied. “How’d you break a rib?”

Major let his head fall back against the pillow. “Eli tackled me to get me … out of the way. I landed on a sharp rock. Eli landed on … his side on top of me. That’s … when he was hit.”

Doc continued to stitch up his shoulder. “It’s a good thing too, or you’d be dead. That bullet probably would’ve caught you right in the gut. I’m just glad you two made it back alive so we could tend you proper.”

Major glanced at Eli, Bowen still bent over him. “He’s lost too much blood.”

“He’ll pull through,” Doc assured him.

“How can you be sure?”

Doc looked at Bowen. “Because I’ve seen it before. Now hold still, I’m not done yet. Honoria, bring me some bandages from the hutch over there – I’m gonna teach you how to wrap some ribs.”

She nodded and obeyed. She saw Major Comfort (good heavens, what a name!) watching her, and met his gaze as she returned to her chair by the bed, bandages in hand.

“Just hang onto those while I finish this,” Doc said.

She complied and sat quietly. Major kept his gaze locked on her, and she tried not to fidget under his scrutiny. The man had been shot, after all, and might have a broken rib to boot. Who knew what was going on in his mind …

“Do you have brothers?”

Honoria jumped. “What?”

Major swallowed hard and licked his dry lips. “Do you have brothers?”

She studied his brown hair with golden highlights from the sun. “Yes. But you shouldn’t be talking – you’ll only waste your strength.”

“I’ve suffered as much before,” he said.

Honoria shook her head. “That seems unlikely.”

“Don’t be too sure,” Doc Waller replied. “He’s got a scar on his other shoulder to match this one.”

Major nodded slightly. “Got hit by a Union bullet … guarding a rail line south of Waynesboro. Trying to stop Sherman’s March to the Sea. I didn’t quite succeed,” he added with a chuckle.

“Oh my!” Honoria gasped. This man was a war hero … well, on the wrong side of the war, she thought, but nonetheless.

“But it’s my sister’s betrothed I’m worried about. I won’t see her made a widow so soon.”

“She won’t be,” Honoria said. “They never got the chance to finish the wedding, remember?”

“Oh yes,” he said weakly. “My brothers and I interrupted it.”

“You and them dang-blasted outlaws,” Doc Waller tossed in.

“Maybe if you hadn’t, they’d have gotten to the ‘I do’s’ before the outlaws broke out,” Honoria said.

“Perhaps.” He turned his head to see what Doc Waller was doing. “Give me that flask again, Miss … ?”

“Cooke,” she told him.

“Miss Cooke.” He seemed weaker. Or tired, she wasn’t sure which. It was amazing the man was talking at all, considering he’d only had but a few swigs of whiskey as painkiller while Doc Drake dug a bullet out of him and Doc Waller closed him up. She handed him the flask.

But he didn’t bring it to his lips. “Help the man, Honoria,” Doc Waller ordered. “He’s a sturdy thing, but every tree can only take so much wind before it starts to go over.”

She helped him drink, then placed the flask on the table next to him. The poor man needed rest – riding back to town must have taken its toll on him.

She looked at Eli. Doc Drake sat quietly watching him before he reached for some of the bandages on the bed. “Honoria,” he said. “Can you help me?”

She glanced at Doc Waller who nodded for her to go ahead. She placed the bandages she held in her lap on the table, then got up and went around to the other bed.

“I need you to help me bandage his wound,” he said. “We’re going to have to wrap them around him.” She nodded as he showed her what to do so they could get the job done.

As they worked she caught little glimpses of their other patient. He never took his eyes off her, and it made her nervous. The man might be weak and tired from blood loss and in pain, but his steady gaze had nothing to do with weakness and everything to do with interest.

Honoria swallowed hard as she watched him in return for a moment, then turned back to her work.

* * *

“
H
ow’s our brother
?” Darcy asked Pleasant as he and the rest of their siblings entered the parlor.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“I’ll go check,” Grandma said. “Pleasant, why don’t you get your brothers some tea? Cups and saucers are in the dining room hutch. The kettle’s on the stove and the tea is on the worktable. And bring them the cookie jar – it’s full.”

Pleasant nodded numbly. Perhaps the simple task would jolt her back to reality – if she wanted any part of reality right now. She took the teapot, went into the kitchen and began to prepare another pot.

Michael followed her. “I’m sorry, Pleasant.”

She looked at him. “For what?”

“For ruining your wedding, for one. For listening to that swindler Rupert. For … not protecting you, when I should have,” he finished haltingly.

“I ran away before you had the chance.” She turned to get the cookie jar.

“We’re all sorry, you know.”

She reached for the jar. “Rupert must have told you quite the tale.”

“He made it sound like you needed rescuing.”

“And you believed him?”

Michael absently rubbed the stumps on his right hand. “We believed Major and Daddy.”

She turned around, the jar in her hands. His eyes were full of regret. “You came a long way to rescue me.”

“We came a long way to help Rupert bring you back to Savannah. But in truth, I think Major and the rest of us just wanted to see that you were okay.”

She turned to him, setting the jar on the worktable harder than she needed to. “And what would you have done if you’d found me already married?”

Her brother took a step back, his mouth half-open to answer. She knew he was thinking of what to say. “None of us were sure what we’d find when we caught up to you.”

“Aunt Phidelia told you where I was?”

“Yes. That matchmaker certainly didn’t.”

Pleasant couldn’t help but smile. “Mrs. Pettigrew.”

“That’s her. She’s a strange one.”

“Eccentric,” she corrected.

“Regardless, she wouldn’t tell us anything.”

“I imagine Aunt Phidelia finally relented because she thought I’d be married by the time you showed up.”

“We thought so too, which is why we wondered why Rupert was so adamant.”

Her eyes widened. “He’s mad. What could he do if Eli and I had already wed?”

“Nothing. Except perhaps make you a widow.”

Pleasant gasped. “He wouldn’t dare!”

Michael’s face grew solemn. “Rupert? He would dare. One more reason we came with him – we didn’t think it wise to let him go unsupervised. Who knows what sort of mischief he’d cause?”

The sight of Rupert tied to a chair in the hotel dining room, Mrs. Dunnigan and her trusty ladle at the ready should he misbehave, came back, and she chuckled to herself. “I think Rupert has met his match here. He’ll be going home empty-handed.”

Michael smiled. “Yes, he will.” He sighed. “You’re happy here?”

She nodded. “More than you know. It’s not Comfort Fields by any stretch, but I love the people here. And Eli is a good man. I could do no better.”

“I’m glad to hear it. We lost everything, you know – Rupert saw to that. But I have to tell you that Daddy and you were our only concerns.”

Pleasant stared at him a moment as her lower lip began to tremble. “You forgive me, then?”

“For what?”

“For running away?”

“Of course we do,” Darcy said from behind Michael.

She looked up to find all five of them standing in the kitchen, and smiled in relief. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone when I left, but I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t marry Rupert.”

“Neither could any of us if we’d been in your shoes,” Matt replied. “I’m sorry too. I thought you were being selfish at first. Then I had to think about what I’d do – and I’d have done the same thing.”

Pleasant went to her twin and hugged him. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She pulled away and looked at her brothers. “Stay.”

They glanced at one another. “And do what?” Zachary asked. “We have no jobs, no house, nothing.”

“And you have the same waiting for you back in Savannah,” she pointed out. “Please, now that you’re all here, don’t leave me.”

“Daddy’s with Aunt Phidelia,” Matt said, more to himself than anyone else.

Benedict went to the worktable, opened the cookie jar, took one out and had a bite. “Mmm, molasses,” he said as he chewed. “I’d stay just for these.”