A Cowgirl's Pride (19 page)
Authors: Lorraine Nelson
“He has a nasty lookin’ welt on his forehead. Must’ve
gotten knocked off the horse by a low-hangin’ tree branch,” said Lucas as he
and Michael worked quickly to remove
clothing.
“Or something,” said Michael, suspicion lacing
his voice.
Winnie came in carrying a stack of blankets. “I
put them in to warm as soon as they left to search for him. This has happened
before on our ranch, but rarely. Here’s a stocking cap for his head. We have to
get him warmed up and fast.”
“Thank you,” Zakia said, taking the blankets to
cover his body as skin became exposed.
“Should I
call an ambulance?” asked Leah. She wanted to cling to
hinder the warm-up process.
“I doubt they could get here in this storm, but
it wouldn’t hurt to have emergency personnel on the line.”
“He’s beginnin’ to shiver, so that’s a good
sign,” said Lucas.
“I have emergency first aid training, Leah, but
it’s the bump on his head that worries me. Plus, we don’t know how long he was
out there. Better call it in.”
They’d stripped
him in the warm blankets. His shivering intensified, but he never opened his
eyes.
“Keep those warm blankets comin’, Winnie, luv,”
said Lucas.
She left to fetch another round, bringing back
another warmed hat.
Leah picked up the phone to dial 911. “Just our
luck! The damned phone lines are down.” She quickly put a hand over her mouth
and looked around for the boys. “Sorry, Zak. Where are the twins?”
“Watching a movie in their room. I thought it
would be easier to help
“Bless you, girl! I’m not thinking straight.”
Leah slumped in the chair closest to the fire where she could watch
Michael tried his cell phone. “No reception here
either.”
“
eyes are twitchin’. He’s startin’ to come around. Winnie, fetch him somethin'
warm to drink,” said Lucas.
“The kettle’s boiling. I’ll make him a cup of bouillon.”
When Winnie came back,
Pete. Hope that’s okay, Luke.”
“That’s fine,” said Luke. “Pete will tend to
him.”
“How’s
“Warming up. I'm about to check his pulse, but the
shivering has eased off some,” Michael answered.
“Good. Is
there anything I can help with?”
“Not unless you’re a doctor. All anyone can do
is keep him warm and wait,” said Michael. “Zakia, if you could bring in a pan
of water and a first aid kit, I can clean up that head wound.”
“Okay,” she said as she bustled out to the
kitchen, returning a few minutes later with the requested items.
“Actually, I trained in pre-med before opting
for law enforcement and missing persons. Can I have a look?” asked
“By God, yes!” said Lucas. “You’re an answer to
prayer.”
that wound. Did anyone call an ambulance?”
Lucas shook his head. “Nope, phone lines are
down. At least we haven’t lost power.”
“Ahhh! I’ll be right back,” he said as he left
the room.
“And I’ll go out to the storage shed and make
sure the generator’s ready to go, just in case,” said Luke.
“Good idea, but string a rope to guide you back.
Sounds like that wind has picked up even more.”
“Will do, Dad.”
“I’ll go with you,” said Michael.
and picked up the wet cloth to sponge
head injury. “It’s not too deep. Looks worse than it is. Head wounds always
bleed profusely, and now that he’s warming up, it’ll get worse.” He sorted
through the supplies until he found what he needed, then proceeded to bandage
the wound. “That should do it.” He opened one of
assuredly. “Pupils are almost normal. He should be coming to soon.”
Leah breathed a sigh of relief at the comforting
words. “Thanks for being here,
We owe you one.”
“You don’t owe me anything, pretty lady, but I’d
love a cup of coffee.”
“I’ll go make some,” she said, taking one last
look at
beside him in an instant. “
How do you feel?”
He looked straight at her. “Like I have a
guardian angel watching over me. What happened?”
“You fell off your horse,” she said, smiling
with relief.
“Where’s Diablo?”
“In the barn.”
“The trees along that trail need to be trimmed,”
he said as he reached a hand to his head. “It feels like I have a flock of
woodpeckers hammering away at my skull.”
“You veered off the trail. We found you in a
snowdrift about twenty feet west of the beaten path.”
“You found me?”
“Well, I saw Diablo pawing at the snow and held
him while the men dug you out.”
He started to get up, but lay back down again.
“Uh, where are my pants?”
“They’re in the dryer. I’ll go check to see if
they’re dry,” said Winnie.
“Thanks. Much appreciated,” he said with a
twinkle in his eye. “Bet you looked,” he whispered for only Leah to hear.
Her gaze slid from the bottom of the blanket all
the way up to his chin. “You’d be right,” she said smiling. “But I was too busy
trying to figure out if you were still breathing to notice anything else.”
“Oh.”
Was that acceptance of the facts or
disappointment she heard in his voice?
Leah had forgotten all about
Winnie and see if I can get that cup of coffee.”
“Oh,
I’m so sorry.”
“No problem. See you later.”
What a kind and gentle man he was. He’d make
some woman a great catch one day.
Chapter Twelve
The last thing
with his hat pulled low over his eyes to keep the blowing snow out, trusting
Diablo to take them home safely. It seemed to be taking forever to make the
short journey, and he’d lifted his head, trying to get a bearing on where they
were. That's when a crunch of excruciating pain turned everything black.
“Where’s my lucky hat?”
Lucas’s loud guffaw hurt his already aching
head. “Buried in a snow drift most likely. It weren’t too lucky for you today.”
“No, but that hat’s been everywhere with me
since I started work here.”
“Don’t fret. I’ll buy ya another for survivin’
the storm.”
“You bought me the first one.”
“Is that the same hat? Geez man, it’s high time
ya had another.”
“I do have other hats. It’s just that I really
liked that one.”
“Nice to see that you’re feeling well enough to
worry about your hat,” said Leah, sending a laughing smile his way. “Especially
since you resemble Rudolph with that bright red nose.”
He reached up to rub it. “I’m fine. How long was
I out there?”
“No one knows for sure,” she said. “Pete came to
the house for help, worried when you didn’t show up for dinner.”
“I finished the chores before taking Diablo for
a ride, so I must’ve been out for about an hour or so.”
“Diablo stayed with you, or we may not have
found you in time. The snow probably acted as an insulator, keeping you
semi-warm,” said Leah.
“Kind’a like an Eskimo in an igloo,” Lucas said.
Leah caressed
have a touch of frostbite in places, but at least you’re alive.”
Winnie brought his clothes in, still warm from
the dryer.
“Come on, Leah. Let’s leave the man a little
privacy to get dressed,” said her father.
“He’s probably still weak from his ordeal. What
if he gets dizzy and falls? Someone should be here.”
“Then I’ll stay,” Lucas said. “Now git!”
right with the situation, but it saddened him to know that she wasn’t willing
to divulge their relationship in front of her family. Huh! What relationship?
He’d killed that with his coarse words earlier.
As soon as the women left, he snagged his black
T-shirt and pulled it over his head. He looked for his boxers, but they weren’t
there. Damn! He’d dressed in such a hurry at Cameron’s place that he’d probably
left them there. His jeans came next, and Leah was right. As soon as he stood,
an attack of dizziness hit, and he damned near keeled over.
“You okay, boy?” Lucas asked, grabbing
“Dizzy, and my feet are paining something awful.
Otherwise, I’m fine.”
“Frostbite. I’ll have
“
The trespasser?”
“Yeah, he studied to be a doctor before
switchin’ jobs. Lucky for us.”
cold,” he said, shivering uncontrollably.
Lucas grabbed the blankets and spread them over
him. “Best put your feet up and get the blood flowin' ag’in.”
He did, and Lucas tucked a blanket around them.
“Here, it’s probably not too hot now, but Winnie
made you some broth to warm yer innards. Drink up and I’ll get more.”
“Thanks, Lucas. I’m sorry to be such a bother.”
“No bother. I’d do the same for anybody in your
situation and so would you.”
He nodded in response, took the proffered mug in
both hands, drank the tepid broth and passed him the cup.
“Keep warm. I’ll be right back.”
who brought the fresh mug of bouillon, but
have a moment alone to talk to the woman?
“Lucas said you’re experiencing pain in your
feet. Okay if I have a look?”
“Sure.”
at being cared for by a man he’d held at gunpoint that morning, but he was
mighty thankful for the man's training. “The color’s good, no blood blisters.
That’s a good sign, but it’s definitely frostbite. I’ll apply some cream to
help soften the dead tissue. Got any aloe vera cream, Leah?”
“I’ll check with Zakia.”
Leah hurried from the room and, finding the
requested item, returned with a jar in her hands, which she handed to
first aid kit and pulled out a roll of fuzzy cotton gauze.
“I’m going to put some of this between your toes
to keep them from rubbing each other.”
“Why?”
“To decrease tissue damage from friction.”
“Oh.”
“You shouldn’t put any weight on them until they
heal,” said
“How am I supposed to do my job?”
“You don’t, not if you want to keep your parts
intact.”
“Is it that bad?”
“Bad enough. I’ve done what I can but you’ll
need to see your doctor. He might want some X-rays.”
“Why? Nothing’s broken.”
“They’ll tell him the extent of the damage. I
think it’s minor, but you’ll need to have them checked to be certain.”
“Well, if I can’t walk, I can’t drive. How am I
supposed to get there?”