Faith's Mountain Home

by Misty M. Beller

  Snow fell thicker now, turning into a curtain of white flakes that melted the instant they struck stone. The tread of the mining boots he’d been forced to purchase had worn thin through his months of hard work, and his foot slipped as he jumped down from a rise in the stone.

  He gripped a flat part of the boulder to steady himself, then pushed on. His pay would be docked if he arrived after the others, and he couldn’t afford to lose that money.

  His mind drifted back to the pair in the cave. Bright Sun had better gather wood soon, or she’d find only wet fodder. Then they’d have to suffer the cold until the logs dried enough to light. He should have thought to bring dry tinder. Maybe after work today, he could gather a load and come—

  A rock under his boot broke away, and his right foot shot out from under him, slipping off the edge of the ledge. He dived left, throwing his weight nearer the mountain as he scrambled for something to grab onto.

  With one leg dangling over the side, he landed hard on the ledge. His shoulder slammed into the vertical rock on his left, and he clutched at the solid ledge underneath him.

  No matter what, he had to keep from sliding off the mountain.

  Ten

  Nate’s body stilled, and he barely dared to breathe as he clung to the rock beneath him. His shoulder and hip pressed hard into the stone, and his legs splayed wide, one still dangling off the ledge.

  A powerful pain burned through his shoulder. God, let it not be injured. He’d have a few bruises, no doubt. But he couldn’t afford to be less than able-bodied. Not with all the responsibilities he had to fulfill.

  Slowly, he rolled himself closer to the mountain beside him, pulling his right leg back up on the ledge. He’d not seen evidence earlier that the stone was loose. But this type of fall came from being too confident. In fact, if he wasn’t mistaken, this was the same dip in the rock where Laura had lost her balance and nearly teetered over the edge that first day—the reason he’d followed her up and eventually frightened her in the cave, causing the injury to her ankle. If he didn’t know better, he might think this cave was cursed.

  But he did know better. Laura’s injury, Eagle Soaring’s wounds, even this feather-brained fall were all the results of either choices or accidents. Yet, none of them surprised God, and He could and would work all things together for their good. All they had to do was keep working at the tasks He’d given each of them. For Nate, that was the mine. And at this rate, a pay docking seemed to be in his immediate future.

  With a groan, he gathered his legs under him and pushed upright. A surge of fire speared his left shoulder, buckling his arm underneath him. He pulled the injured arm into himself, cradling it as he struggled to find a position where the shoulder didn’t burn like it was going up in flames.

  Not this again. He reached up to feel the back side of his shoulder. The hard knot was there, just as he’d felt the last time the shoulder bone pulled out of its socket. Bill had relieved most of the pain in minutes by working the joint back together—or something like that. They’d been running from a Virginia City posse at the time, so he’d not had the liberty of consulting a doctor. After the initial fire had been quenched, the joint had still ached for weeks.

  Holding the injured arm close to him, he gritted his teeth and worked himself up to standing. If he didn’t at least show himself at the mine, even as late as he was, they might think the worst and cut him loose altogether. Maybe someone there could work the joint back in place and he could get started on his day’s work.

  By the time he reached the mine, a wagon was parked outside the opening. Must be a freighter delivering supplies. Hiram’s team, if he wasn’t mistaken.

  Sloane and Danvers were each lifting a box from the rear of the conveyance and eyed Nate as he stumbled across the clearing toward them. They didn’t speak, but words weren’t necessary to convey their censure. Most of the men were friendly enough toward him, but a few still kept their distance. It didn’t help that he now appeared to be shirking his share of the work.

  He followed the men into the mine entrance. “Know which shaft Marson is in?” The superintendent would be best to speak with.

  “That way.” Sloane motioned with his elbow toward the left opening where the blasters were working.

  Nate didn’t pause to grab a candle from the stack and attach it to the bracket on his felt hat. This shaft wasn’t long, and he could already see the glow ahead where the others were working.

  Marson was speaking to Barlow, the lead blaster, but paused when Nate approached. Let him be reasonable, Lord. This superintendent usually was. More so than the other brawny man the owners had brought in from the States.

  As Nate stopped before him, Marson’s gaze landed on Nate’s arm, stalled there a moment, then swung back up to his face.

  “My apologies for being late, sir. Had a run-in with a rock on my way here. By chance, do we have anyone who knows how to move a shoulder joint back in place? If so, I can get to work straightaway.” Maybe he should say he’d get to work either way, but the fire in his shoulder surged hotter with each minute. He wouldn’t be worth much without the use of both hands. “If not, I can try to repair the arm myself.”

  Marson shook his head. “Sloane and Danvers should have the wagon unloaded. Ride back to town with Hiram and have the doc tend you. He’ll tell you to lay out for a week, but if you’re up to coming back tomorrow, I’ll start you with Barlow here. Working with the blasters should let your arm heal, since it’s the left you’ve injured.”

  Bile churned in Nate’s gut. Take the day off? “I’ll see if Doc Bradley can get it fixed quick, then I’ll come right back.”

  Again Marson shook his head. “I’ve seen plenty of these injuries. If you don’t let the shoulder heal, you’ll be more worthless to me when it happens again.” He leveled a look on Nate weighty enough to sink into his bones, even in the dim light of the mine’s interior. “I know you’d do it today if you could. But I’m telling you not to come back till tomorrow. At the soonest.”

  Nate eased out a breath. “Yes, sir.” Then he turned and trudged back through the darkness. The sooner he shed the weight of this agony in his shoulder, the better.

  The jingle of harness outside was Laura’s first warning a new patient might have arrived. She shifted closer to the window in the examination room so she could peek through the curtain for a glimpse, while Doc Micah worked with Judith, Mrs. Bailor’s baby, who’d been suffering from fever for three days now. The woman had knocked on the clinic door so early the doctor was still breaking his fast, but of course he’d welcomed in the worried mother and fussing child.

  Through the glass, a stout wagon stopped in front of the clinic, the kind freighters used to carry supplies back and forth to Fort Benton. She well knew how hard the bench seats were, for she’d ridden for two weeks on a similar conveyance on her way back to Settler’s Fort all those months ago.

  The lean man sitting atop the bench looked vaguely familiar and didn’t appear to be coming into the clinic but instead sat eyeing the porch. She followed his gaze.

  Her heart jolted at the sight of broad shoulders mounting the last step. What was Nate doing here so early in the morning? His workday had surely started by now. Did he come to get the doctor for an accident at the mine?

  “Nate’s here.” She murmured the words barely loud enough for Doc Micah to hear, just so he’d be prepared, then swung on her walking sticks toward the hallway and the front door.

  Nate was stepping inside when she reached the corridor. He paused, as if to get his bearings. Her heart did another leap as she caught sight of the odd tilt of his shoulders. “Nate, what is it?”

  He spun to face her, and she took in the lines of pain at the corners of his eyes even before she saw the way he clutched his left arm to his body.

  Her pulse slammed in her throat. “What happened? Come and sit.” With the examination room full, they usually had patients wait in one of the chairs in the hallway. “Or do you need to lie down?”r />
  He was standing now, but maybe he shouldn’t be. She could make a bed pallet on the floor. Or maybe Aaron’s bed would be large enough for him to rest beside his brother. Aaron would want to know Nate was hurt.

  Nate shook his head. “Just slipped on an icy rock. Need the doctor to work my shoulder joint back into place.”

  She sucked in a hard breath. The last time they’d had a man in with that injury, he’d been in tears when he arrived. And the scream he’d loosed as Doc Micah performed his work had echoed through the house for hours afterward.

  “Come and sit.” She motioned toward the chair but hovered near his side as he shuffled toward the seat. “Rest while I get the doctor.”

  Doc Micah was handing a bottle to Mrs. Bailor when Laura poked her head back in the room. He turned to her with raised brows while the mother packed up her child and satchel.

  “Nate’s here with a shoulder out of joint. Said he slipped on an icy rock.”

  The doctor nodded. “Have him come in as soon as I wipe this down.” Doc Micah was fastidiously clean when it came to his clinic, especially after patients who might carry a malady that was catching. She was more than grateful for that particular trait. The last thing Nate needed was a fever on top of his other struggles.

  Laura hobbled with her walking sticks back through the antechamber to the hallway, Mrs. Bailor on her heels. The woman was murmuring soothing words to her child and barely offered Laura a farewell wave as she left the clinic.

  She turned her focus to Nate. “Come back to the exam room. The doctor’s preparing for you.”

  The rock-solid set of his mouth showed his pain, but tears didn’t run down his face as they had with the other brawny man who’d suffered the same injury. Ingrid had helped the doctor that time, but that wouldn’t be the case this time. She’d returned to bed of her own accord after making the morning meal, so she must be feeling worse than usual.

  That meant Laura could help, and for that she was grateful. If there was anything she could do to ease Nate’s pain, she wanted to be there.

  She followed him back to the room where Doc Micah pointed toward the table. “Sit and let’s get your coat off.”

  Again, she stayed back against the wall until she was needed. Better to stay out of the doctor’s way until he needed a second pair of hands.

  Within less than a minute, the doctor had expertly eased Nate’s coat off and was examining his left shoulder. “It’s dislocated, but we can get it back in place quickly. The pain’ll get worse, but that part will be quick, and you’ll feel immediate relief.”

  Nate nodded. “I’ve had it before.” He spoke through his clenched jaw.

  “Should I get him something for the pain?” She didn’t usually interrupt the doctor’s work, but seeing Nate in so much agony pressed a weight on her own chest.

  The doctor looked up and raised his brows at Nate.

  He shook his head. “Just do it.”

  As Doc Micah positioned Nate on the table, he motioned to Laura. “Can you get me a bandage? We’ll need to wrap the arm close to his body.”

  Ah yes. She should have remembered that. She hobbled to the anteroom where they kept oft-needed supplies. Her injured leg was already growing weary, though she did her best not to put weight on the limb. There would be time to rest after Nate was settled.

  As she turned to take the bandage back to the examination room, a sharp cry sounded from that chamber. She hurried forward. Had the doctor’s poking become too much for Nate? Surely Micah hadn’t reset the arm the moment she walked away.

  But he was helping Nate sit upright, holding the arm close to his body. Clearly the hard work had been done. “It’ll be sore for a week at least, maybe two. How many times has it been dislocated in the past?”

  “Just once.” Nate’s face had lost much of its color, but he no longer held his jaw in a clamp.

  She handed the bandage to the doctor, then stepped around the table to Nate’s back so she could assist in the wrapping. Nate’s shoulders seemed to be shaking a little, probably from the pain, or maybe it was simply his body attempting to recover from so much shock. She laid a hand on his back, the only way she knew to soothe.

  His warmth emanated through his shirt, making her want to lean closer. Maybe she shouldn’t have touched him at all. She’d only meant the action as a nurse helping a patient. Mostly.

  In truth, there didn’t seem to be an easy way to draw that line where this man was concerned. How could she soothe him without opening herself to care more about him than she should? Between his attractiveness and the deeper qualities she’d seen these past months as he visited and cared for his brother, it was hard not to respect him. Hard not to care more than she wanted to.

  They finally finished wrapping his arm tight, and then Doc Micah helped Nate pull his coat on his good arm and button it. She moved back around the examination table to take her place by the window. Hopefully far enough from Nate that these unwanted emotions would settle. He gave her a glimmer of a smile when she turned back to face him. Probably just a smile of thanks for her help, but the grin was his off-kilter one that showed his single dimple and always started a fluttering in her middle.

  Thankfully, the doctor claimed his attention. “You need to take it easy for a week at least. Keep this bandage on. Do I have your word?”

  Nate faced the man, determination cloaking his eyes. “I promised Marson at the mine I wouldn’t come back today, but I need to return to work tomorrow. I’m not sure how I can do that with the arm tied up like this.”

  At least the man was honest. But that didn’t make him right.

  She wanted to step forward and tell Nate he didn’t have a choice in the matter. He had to allow the joint time to heal. But she forced herself to stay back. To let the doctor give orders. Patients were more likely to obey him anyway.

  Doc Micah released a sigh and scrubbed a hand through his hair. If she wasn’t so concerned about Nate, she would have smiled at the motion he made any time he fought his own frustration. When he finished with his more difficult patients, Doc Micah’s hair would often be sticking up in odd places.

  “Nate, it’s like this. If you’ve dislocated your shoulder once, it’s more likely to happen again, no matter how good the doctor was who reset the joint. Each time the shoulder dislocates, the joint becomes looser and looser, so another dislocation becomes more likely. If you don’t give it time to heal completely, it won’t need nearly as hard a blow to separate the bones next time. Unless you want to be in my office again the next time you slip on a rock, I suggest you follow my advice now.”

  A wisp of sadness slipped across Nate’s face. “I wish I could, but I’ve committed to working. I need to be there. Taking time off isn’t an option.” His tone was earnest, without a hint of disrespect.

  Again the doctor sighed, then he stepped back. “Do your best to be careful then. I suppose while you’re here, your brother would welcome a visit. I worry about his spirits.”

  Nate’s jaw flexed again as he met the doctor’s gaze. “I do, too. How is his leg recovering?”

  “The incision site is healing fine. I want to give it one more week before we see if the leg can bear weight.”

  Nate nodded as he let out a long breath. “All right, then. I’ll go spend a while with him.”

  With a nod, Doc Micah turned to her. “Now you, Miss Hannon, have spent more than your allotted time on that leg. Off to bed with you. Ring the bell if you need anything. As your doctor, I highly recommend you don’t leave that room.” The twinkle in his eye softened the command in his tone, but the pain in her ankle gave proof to the wisdom in his words.

  She hated being this weak, but maybe a short rest wouldn’t hurt anything.

  Eleven

  Nate fought to push through his exhaustion. His shoulder ached. In truth, his entire body ached. But the yearning in his spirit was stronger than any of it, and that was why he now traipsed toward the clinic. Sundays were by far his favorite day of the week�
�between church services when Reverend Vendor was available and the chance to spend unhurried hours around both Laura and his brother. He’d not been able to attend service that morning, but at least he would get to do the other.

  He’d gone all week without the two things that had been eating at him: seeing Laura and checking on their Indian friends at the cave. Between his days at the mine and his struggles with his arm, he’d only been able to stop and see his brother for two brief visits. He’d not glimpsed Laura during either of those.

  Was her leg injury that much worse this time? Maybe she was simply wearing herself out during the day so she had to rest in the evenings. Or perhaps she was helping in other parts of the house. He’d not seen Mrs. Bradley in several days, either.

  Nor had he been able to stop by the cave. With so many people around him in need, he was failing miserably at helping any of them. He could only imagine how the little girl and her grandfather had managed these past days. In fact, his mind had conjured all sorts of struggles they might be facing. Bright Sun was so young to be fully responsible—not just for her own care, but for her injured grandfather, too.

  Maybe Nate should insist they come to town to receive proper attention. Would being around so many white strangers be too much for them to handle?

  He mounted the steps to the clinic and paused at the door. Should he knock? He didn’t usually, but this time he was coming to see Laura more than Aaron. And he needed a word with the doctor, too. Maybe he should just walk in like usual and call out if he didn’t see anyone. When he pushed open the door and stepped inside, his eyes took their usual moment to adjust to the dim interior.

  “Mr. Long. It’s good to see you,” Mrs. Bradley’s voice called from the far end of the hall. “We missed you at church this morning. Micah was going to check on you and invite you to eat with us. Then we realized none of us knew where you were staying.”