Authors: Marla Monroe
Jonathan had cleaned her up and carried her to bed while he cleaned up the bathroom. He had time to gather himself and come to grips with the fact that they had almost lost her. They wouldn’t underestimate the wolves again.
“Joel, come to bed, man. She needs the warmth. She needs you,” Jonathan called from the bedroom.
He could hear the tears in his brother’s voice. They matched the tears in Joel’s eyes. He leaned into the counter and swallowed hard around the lump lodged in his throat. Once he had his emotions under control, he blew out two of the lamps and brought the other one to the bedroom. He quickly pulled off his clothes.
Jonathan had Leigh lying almost on top of him. “She woke up. I gave her some Tylenol. She swallowed it without water. I know she’s hurting. I can’t stand it, Joel.”
“I know. I know.” Joel climbed into bed after blowing out the lamp. He scooted over close to Leigh’s back and turned on his side to offer his warmth.
“Leigh, baby. I love you.” Joel needed to say that. He’d wrestled with it for several days, but held back because he felt guilty for buying her. He knew she needed to hear the words, and he needed to say them. He hoped she was awake enough to hear them.
“Love you, too, Joel. So much.” Her tiny voice sounded strained.
He knew it had to be from the pain. “Don’t talk, Leigh. Just rest for now. We have you.”
“Joel. I’m happy with you and Jonathan. I wouldn’t have been happy in a brothel.”
“We’ll always try to make you happy, Leigh. Now get some rest.”
Joel had closed the bedroom door to be sure nothing got inside to them through the open window downstairs. They would tend to it in the morning. Hell, they had to see to the horses and the cattle as well. They weren’t going to leave Leigh alone, though. They would have to take turns. He didn’t plan on ever leaving her alone again without someone to protect her.
He heard Jonathan’s light snore and could tell Leigh was asleep by the laxness of her body. He kept the covers pulled well over her. He didn’t want her to catch a cold and was scared to death of an infection in her wounds. He knew the woman who’d survived the attack last year had nearly died from an infection.
He would keep a close watch on her wounds and keep them clean and dry. He wouldn’t let her out of the bed until she was healed. Finally, he managed to settle down and drift off to sleep. His last thought was that he was glad he’d finally admitted his feelings for Leigh. Just in case.
Chapter Thirteen
Leigh woke up hot and thirsty the next morning as sunlight streamed through the window. Her arms and belly throbbed enough that she had tears in her eyes. She moaned because she wasn’t sure she could say anything, but it was enough to rouse the men.
Joel immediately woke up and touched her forehead. He was careful not to touch her arms.
“Fuck! Jonathan. Wake up.”
“I’m up, what’s wrong?” Jonathan rolled over and cursed when he touched Leigh’s shoulder.
“She’s got a fever, doesn’t she,” he said as he rose up on one arm.
“Yeah. We need to get some Tylenol in her. Go get some water.” Joel got out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. “I’ll get the medicine.”
Leigh whimpered when the bed shook from them getting up. Jonathan leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“I’m sorry, baby. We’ll be more careful. I’ll be right back with some water.” Jonathan grabbed his jeans and pulled them on as he headed toward the door.
Joel returned with the Tylenol and a cloth. He sat the bottle on the bedside table and carefully knelt on the bed next to Leigh. He wiped her face and forehead with the cool cloth. It felt wonderful to her. She was so hot.
Jonathan returned with a glass of water and held it to her lips for her to take small sips before Joel popped two Tylenol into her mouth. She sipped more water and swallowed, almost choking around the pills. Her throat remained dry despite having drunk the water. She licked her dry lips.
“More water.”
“Here you go, baby. Drink all you want. I’ll get you more,” Jonathan assured her.
She drank almost all the water then nodded her head that she was through. They lowered her back to the bed. Joel pulled on jeans and a T-shirt.
“Leigh, I need to check your wounds. I’ll try not to hurt you, but I know it’s going to hurt some. I’m sorry, baby.”
Leigh smiled as best she could and nodded her head. “I understand.”
She turned and watched Jonathan button up his shirt. She loved looking at him. He was so tall and muscular. She felt safe in his arms. She wanted him to hold her, but was scared it would hurt too much.
Joel carefully sat on the bed and managed not to jar her. She turned and smiled at him in encouragement. She knew he was doing the best he could do. He eased the bandage up on one side and looked at her arm and hand. She couldn’t see it since he had the bandage open toward him, but by the wince he gave, she knew it had to be bad. He did the same thing with her belly. He didn’t bother with the other side. Instead, he sighed and looked at her.
“Leigh, baby. I’m going to have to clean them again. They’re infected.” Joel’s eyes were teary.
She knew it would hurt him to hurt her. She just nodded. What else could she do? They had to stop the infection.
“I understand. It’s okay, Joel. I know you don’t mean to hurt me.” She closed her eyes.
She couldn’t keep them open. They were so heavy. When they started working on her wounds, she would wake up for sure. Until then, she would just rest a while.
* * * *
Joel nodded toward the door for Jonathan to follow him. They closed the door most of the way, but left it cracked in case Leigh called out. Joel didn’t like the looks of her wounds.
“How bad are they?” Jonathan asked.
Joel sighed and shook his head. “They’re puffy, red, and hot looking. They’ve got to be cleaned, but it’s going to hurt her for me to press on them. I wish we had more peroxide, but we don’t. I’m going to need your help when I start working on her. Then I’m going to stay with her while you see about the horses. Then you can stay with her while I go check the herd.”
“Sounds good to me. What are you going to clean them with?”
“Hot water is all we have. I’ll put the antibiotic salve back on them after I dry them.” Joel heaved out a breath. “Fuck, I don’t want to do this.”
“I hear you. I’ll be right there with you.” Jonathan clasped him on the shoulder.
“Bring up that washtub from the pantry. I’m going to set up the bedside table to put it on. You might have to hold her down some, Jonathan. She understands.”
“Aw, hell.” Jonathan looked at Joel then turned and walked down the stairs to get the washtub.
Joel returned to the room and began to clear off the bedside table. He put a towel over it to protect it from the water in case he spilled any of it. Then he pulled out all the washcloths they had in case he needed them and piled them on the bed next to the table. He pulled out the antibiotic salve and sat it next to the cloths.
Jonathan returned with the washtub and walked into the bathroom to run it full of hot water from the tub. When he returned a few seconds later, Joel had him set it on the table.
“Go on and sit on the bed by her feet, so you can help hold her still. You can’t really hold her hand down since she has a couple of cuts on her hand.”
“I’ll manage somehow,” Jonathan said with a grimace.
He carefully sat on the bed close to her hand. The bed dipped despite his trying to be careful. Leigh moaned and opened her eyes.
“Sorry, baby.” Jonathan patted her thigh through the covers.
“S’okay.”
Joel looked over at Jonathan and nodded his head. He dipped one of the cloths in the hot water and gingerly squeezed the water out. His hands had steam rising from them in the cooler room air. He started with her hand, holding a spot on her wrist that didn’t have any bites or claw cuts. She groaned and tears ran from her eyes, but Leigh didn’t cry out.
As he moved up her arm, she cried louder, but didn’t scream or struggle other than little involuntary jerks. It was breaking his heart, but Joel knew it had to be done.
By the time they were finished, she had thankfully passed out. Her face was streaked with dried tears. Jonathan was shaking like a leaf, and he wasn’t in much better shape himself.
“I’ll pour this out and clean it,” Jonathan said.
“Bring it back up when you finish. I’m going to bathe her with cold water to try and bring the fever down. She’s burning up with it.” Joel handed Jonathan the tub of hot water. “Pour it out in the bathroom.
Jonathan took the washtub from Joel. After disposing of the dirty water, he headed for the stairs. Joel took the remaining clean cloths and put them away except for one. He rinsed it in cold water and returned to bathe Leigh with it. He folded back the comforter but left the sheet covering her. Then he slowly began to sponge her face while he waited for Jonathan to return with the clean washbasin.
He was scared. He couldn’t remember being scared in a long time. He didn’t want to lose her. Despite having bartered for her against his rules, he had fallen in love with her. He knew in his heart that he had done the right thing. Now if they could pull her through this, he would make sure she never knew a day without him telling her he loved her.
Jonathan returned with the clean tub and filled it with cold water from the bath. He placed it on the table and stared at Leigh with a sick expression on his face. Joel knew how he felt. He was scared, too.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can, Joel. If you need me, holler out the door.”
“I will. I’m just going to bathe her off and try to get this fever down.”
“I swear I’m going to kill every last wolf when we get the chance,” Jonathan said.
“You can count on it, brother.” Joel squeezed out the cloth and began wiping across Leigh’s neck.
Long minutes passed, and she began to move about on the bed, moaning. He could tell the fever had increased by the feel of her hot skin. The more she thrashed, the more she ran the risk of splitting her stitches. He finally got in the bed with her again and held her still. She whimpered and moaned, but she didn’t wake up. He was losing her. If her fever didn’t come down soon, she could have brain damage.
Soft footsteps sounded on the stairs. Joel got out of the bed and went to the door to be sure it was Jonathan.
“How is she?” he asked as Joel backed up to let him in.
“Not good. I’m afraid we’re going to lose her, Jonathan. I can’t get the fever to break.”
“Fuck! We can’t lose her. We just found her.” Jonathan began to pace, running his hands through his hair. “What about putting snow in the water or better yet, in the bath cloth and holding it to her skin?”
“I guess it’s worth a try. I’m fresh out of ideas.”
“I’ll go get a boiler full of snow and bring it up. I’ll be right back.” He raced out the door and, from the sound of it, bounded down the stairs.
Joel gritted his teeth and went back to sponging her off with the now-lukewarm water. When Jonathan returned a few seconds later, he had two boilers full of snow. He handed one to Joel and took the other one to the other side of the bed. He had a dishcloth and began filling it with snow. Joel followed suit with his wet cloth. They held the snow-filled towels to her neck, then rubbed them around her face and chest.
They continued this over and over with Jonathan leaving to get fresh snow twice. Finally, she began to shiver and sweat. They piled the comforter back on her and Jonathan got on top of the covers to keep her warm now that the fever had broken.