Daisy had closed her eyes and hadn’t opened them again. Quinn could only hope she was sleeping and not dying. He studied the blotches and blisters on her skin. “I’ve never seen a rash like that before, have you?”
“If she wasn’t this sick, I’d say it was poison ivy, but it must be something else. It’s strange that Tim didn’t get it and I’m fine. I wonder if Arnold is all right.”
“Alicia would have been screaming by now if he wasn’t.”
Sullivan nodded. “You’re right about that. She will be going soon, wouldn’t she?”
“I’m hoping, but we’ll see what happens.”
His little girl moaned and stirred but didn’t wake up.
“Daisy? Daisy honey can you hear me?” Quinn continued to try to cool her. He heard people running up the steps and he hoped one of them was the doctor.
A pretty woman with dark hair and dark eyes stood up at the doorway. She had on a crisp white apron and she carried a doctor’s bag. “I’m Sheila Kelly. I think I could help if you’d let me.”
“Yes, yes, anything you could do would be appreciated,” Quinn said as he gestured for her to come into the room.
Sheila came in put down her bag and went back to the doorway for the basin of water that Dolly held. Sheila took it and set it down and went back for clean towels and soap.
“Quinn, is it?”
He nodded.
She offered a gentle smile. “I’ll need you to move. You can sit with her as soon as I’m done examining her.”
He quickly stood and stepped aside, watching as Sheila washed her hands with the soap and water before she touched Daisy.
“She has a fever, and you did well keeping her cool.” Sheila looked at Daisy’s body and then readjusted Daisy’s clothes. She frowned and a look of confusion crossed her face. “I’ve been told she was with two other children, and they are fine?”
Sullivan nodded. “Yes, she was outside playing with Tim and Arnold while Arnold’s mother watched them.”
“Did she drink anything? Did she touch anything? Has Arnold’s mother said what happened or when she noticed that Daisy wasn’t feeling well?”
Quinn glanced at Sullivan. “I don’t think anyone asked her.”
“I’ll go,” Dolly said from the doorway. “I’ll be right back.”
“Do you think you know what it is?” Quinn asked.
“Oh, I know what it is. I just want to know how she got it. She’ll be fine.” Sheila shook her head and looked angry. Then she looked at Sullivan. “If you have potatoes, I need you to mash them up into a paste and I’ll need a lot of them. Don’t cook them they need to be raw. Where’s Daisy’s mother?”
Heaven raised her hand. “I’m Daisy’s mother. You said she will be fine? But her eyes aren’t even open.”
Sheila went to the door. “You can come on in. It’s not contagious. It’s poison ivy. A very large amount, and it seems to be targeted. What I’m saying is somebody either took her clothes off and threw her into a bush of poison ivy or had poison ivy and wiped it all over her somehow. That’s why I’d like to talk to the adult who was with the children.”
Quinn stepped to the door and took Heaven’s hand. He pulled her inside the room. Then he set her on the bed and gave her a clean cloth so she could wipe the cooling water on her daughter.
“Quinn, what about me?” Tim asked.
“You were outside with them, correct?” Sheila asked.
Tim nodded.
“Were you playing with any plants outside?”
Tim shook his head. “Me and Arnold were playing tag and Daisy was helping Miss. Alicia with the garden. Miss. Alicia was tickling Daisy with some leaves, and Daisy was laughing and laughing. They did that for long time. Then she put some into Daisy’s mouth, but Daisy spit it out and started to cry.”
The adults glanced from one to the other. Everyone looked angry. Alicia must’ve done this on purpose. There wasn’t any other explanation. Poison ivy was bad enough if folks just happened to touch it, but to have it spread onto a child’s skin? All over her? How could somebody deliberately do something like that?
Heaven burst into tears. “If she had eaten those leaves, she’d be dead right now.”
“More than likely, yes. We need to wash her again with soap this time before we put on the potato paste. I’m grateful she fell sleep, or she’d be screaming.”
Alicia stood at the door with Arnold. “I heard you were looking for me. Oh, Daisy really is sick, I thought she just wanted attention as usual.”
Quinn balled his hands into fists but kept them by his sides. He was trying to stay as calm as he could. “You and Daisy were playing in the garden?”
“Why, yes, she helped me weed it. She seemed to be having fun.”
“Did you happen to see any poison ivy around?” Quinn asked trying to keep his eyes from narrowing on her.
“No, there’s none near the property that I’ve ever seen. Why? What’s the problem?”
“You do know what it looks like, don’t you?” Quinn asked.
“What’s this all about?” Alicia crossed her arms in front of her.
Heaven stood and started for the door but Quinn wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back to him. He glared at Alicia and wondered how he could have ever loved someone like her.
Sheila walked over to Alicia and stuck her hand out. Alicia looked horrified and didn’t move to shake Sheila’s hand.
“I’m Sheila Kelly, and I’m a healer in these parts. I have never seen a child so covered with poison ivy in my life. She has a high fever because of it, and the recovery is going to take weeks. There is a lot of pain and itching plus headaches that go along with this. So, could you explain how she got all the poison ivy under her clothes?”
Alicia looked Sheila up and down and frowned as though she found her lacking. “I don’t have to explain anything to you.” Alicia stood there as if that was the end of it.
Quinn had to keep himself from growling. He stepped around Heaven and stood next to Sheila. “We know what happened, we know how it happened, we even know you tried to get her to eat poisonous leaves. What I would like to know is why it happened. We’ve allowed you to live on the ranch rent free. We’ve been feeding you and your child for weeks and we haven’t asked a thing of you not that you’d pitch in to help ever. And you hurt a child? What is wrong with you?”
Alicia pointed at Sheila. “She’s not a doctor, and she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’s just saying what she thinks happened. She has no idea if it’s poison ivy or if it’s the measles. Don’t let her fool you.”
Quinn stared at Alicia, unable to believe the words coming out of her mouth. The mouth he had spent so much time yearning to kiss. “I want you out of my sight. I never want you near my children again. Do you understand me?”
“Your children!” Alicia snorted. “There’s a laugh. Come along, Arnold, we're not welcome here.” Alicia turned to walk away.
“You might as well start packing. I will talk to Teagan, and I’m certain he’ll agree that you need to go.” Quinn turned his back on her and went to Daisy. He sat on one side of her while Heaven sat on the other, both of them washing her gently with soap and water.
Dolly followed Sullivan into the room. He was carrying a great big pot of mashed raw potatoes. “You should have asked if he knew what a potato looked like before you sent him.” Dolly chuckled. She put the pot down on the table next to the bed. Then she looked at everyone in the room. “Anyone that is not a girl needs to leave. I have hot water on the stove and a big cake of soap on the counter. Each one of you is going to wash at least three times, do you hear me?”
Tim’s eyes widened as he caught Quinn’s gaze. “We really aren’t going to wash three whole times are we?”
Quinn chuckled. “Heaven, I will be downstairs if you need me. I’ll be making sure everyone washes three whole times. I think everyone needs to wash behind their ears for good measure.” He heard Tim groan and smiled. He leaned acr
oss Daisy and kissed Heaven’s lips quickly. “I’ll be back soon.”
Chapter Seventeen
Three weeks later, Heaven bumped up and down in the wagon with Quinn. He said he had a surprise to show her. She gave him a sidelong glance, warmed when she found him watching her. It hadn’t been easy nursing Daisy back to health, but Quinn had been at her side the whole time while they juggled the three children. She loved him with everything she had and then some. And she kept waiting and wanting him to ask her to marry him, but he never did.
They approached a newly built cabin hidden in the forest. Her excitement grew. Could it be? Yes, it must be the safe house for the boys. She had known he would keep his promise, but it was very exciting to see. The wagon had barely rolled to a stop before she jumped down.
The door opened and one of the men who used to come to take the children to a safe place stood there. “I was wondering when you’d get around to seeing me,” Ollie Jenks teased.
Heaven hugged Ollie. “I’m so glad to see you’re here. How’s it working out?”
“Were able to get some of the boys before the other men weeded them out.”
“That’s wonderful! I’m so glad.”
“You can thank your husband. He even sends some of his men over to help.”
She didn’t bother to correct Ollie’s assumption that Quinn and she were married. It was too long of a story why they weren’t, and she didn’t feel like going into it. “The boys are finding the place easily?”
“Quinn here has had some great ideas about communicating between safe houses and to the boys,” Ollie explained. “We’re getting more than we ever did, and I’m confident that very few are getting lost.”
She turned towards Quinn. “Thank you, you have done so much for me.”
Quinn gave her a wide grin. “My pleasure, my love.”
They stayed and had coffee. She’d never had a chance to get to know Ollie. The handoff of the children was usually very tense and very quick. It was pleasing to find him to be such a kind, caring, intelligent man. The house was stocked to the brim with supplies and the rooms had actual beds in them. She couldn’t have been more pleased.
“Well, Ollie, it’s been good to see you,” Quinn said as he stood.
He smiled warmly. “Stop by anytime. It’s always good to have company.”
Heaven stood and went to Ollie giving him a kiss on his cheek. His face turned a fiery crimson, but he smiled. Quinn held out his hand, and Heaven took it, following him to the wagon outside. He helped her up before he jumped to his seat, and then they were off.
“Has anybody heard anything from Alicia?” She gritted her teeth as she said the words, wondering why she’d even asked.
“She’s working for Dr. Bright. And she goes by Lauren, which I think is her real name. I don’t care as long as she’s not bothering us. It was a cruel thing she did to Daisy, and I don’t think I can ever forgive her for it.” He was trembling as he spoke, and it was reflected in his voice. “I was glad that Teagan was willing to take care of it for us. It was probably fortunate for her as well because I could have strangled her.”
“You know,” Heaven reasoned. “She never admitted what she did.”
“Tim’s account was enough for me. I believe him.”
“Did—did you ever find out what she was running from?”
“I’m not sure any of the stories she’s told are real. My best guess is she was hiding from an overbearing father. She was using a fake name from the start, and she was pretty young then, but now I don’t know for sure, although I am starting to believe there’s a husband involved.”
Heaven turned her head quickly and stared at him. “What do you mean there’s a husband involved? She wanted you to marry her,” Heaven said in disgust.
“It would’ve been another name change for her if I had married her.” He shook his head as he urged the horses up a low incline. “It’s all speculation, but I have a hard time believing she would carry a man’s child if she wasn’t married to him. She’s too calculating for that. Maybe her husband didn’t live up to her expectations. I’m still trying to reason out what happened at the hospital. She gave me a couple different stories about that. In one, she said her father wouldn’t allow her to stay and in another she said a doctor saw the way she looked at me and transferred her somewhere else. Now, though, I think she realized I had money after Teagan made a sizable donation to the hospital. Who knows? Maybe she was being courted by the doctor and he didn’t like her spending time with me.” He twisted in his seat and met her gaze. “I do think she’s running from someone again.”
“She’s a strange one, and she cannot be trusted,” said Heaven with a shudder. “I never want to see her again. I’m afraid of what I’d do to her. I know the Christian thing to do would be to forgive her, but it’s hard to forgive when you don’t have all the answers. And she hurt—” She choked back tears. “She hurt my child. I’ve prayed on this for a while and the furthest I can get is to not hate her.” Heaven glanced away. It had taken a lot for her to admit that she didn’t hate, but she had reasoned that hating never got her anywhere. She’d work on her forgiveness but when someone tries to kill your child, it was hard very hard. She should’ve gone to jail.
Quinn turned the wagon onto the road heading toward town. He grinned and patted his front shirt pocket. “Dolly gave me a list of supplies she needed.”
“I haven’t been to a store in a while. I’m looking forward to exploring new places. And I know two little ones who would love peppermint sticks.” She tempered the excitement she felt at getting to town. “But I can’t be away too long, Owen will need to be fed soon.”
“It shouldn’t take long at all. It’s just the basics, and on the plus side we get to spend more time together.” He put the reins in one hand and settled his other hand over hers.
It never failed to surprise her when she felt the spark between them. It happened every time they touched. Tim would refer to it as mushy. When he grew to be a man hopefully he would understand it was much, much more.
Quinn slowly released her. He needed both hands on the reins as he drove into town and pulled up in front of the general store. He jumped down and then lifted her from wagon and put her on the boardwalk. They walked into the store together. She loved hearing the bells above the door ring as they entered. They sounded so similar to the store where she had shopped when she’d first been married. All her years of living with her husband, she had hardly ever gone to the store, but when she had, it was the bells that had enchanted her the most, like a jingling, tinkling greeting, so friendly and familiar.
She followed Quinn as he went to the back of the building and greeted the store owner.
“John O’Rourke, this is my wife Heaven.” Quinn looked proud when he introduced her.
“My pleasure, ma’am. You got yourself a good one in Quinn.” John nodded his balding head and smiled. She had thought Quinn to be very tall, but John O’Rourke was about a foot taller.
Heaven smiled and nodded while her emotions rolled inside of her. Quinn was still pretending to be married and it hurt because he had not made it real. If he wanted to be married all he had to do was ask. Dread filled her stomach, and she began to feel nauseous. She hadn’t been looking at what was right in front of her. Rather she only saw what she wanted to see, and she had wanted to see he cared for her. Every breath she took caused her pain in her chest as she stood behind Quinn, smiling.
“Oh, and John could you add three peppermint sticks to the order.”
“Will do.”
She could feel the heat of Quinn’s stare, but she couldn’t bring herself look at him.
“You look pale.” He touched her on the arm. “Are you feeling all right?”
“I just need some air. I’ll be right out front.” She quickly walked to the door, and this time she wasn’t so enchanted with the sound of the bells ringing.
She didn’t know what to think. She didn’t know what to do. She’d been living in a
fairytale world she had created. Now that her eyes were open it hurt and hurt bad. She sat down on a bench close to the entrance to the store and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them the one person she didn’t want to see was bustling toward her.
Alicia was very well-dressed, and her hair was in an elaborate style. She looked healthier now than she had at the ranch.
“I didn’t expect to see you so soon. I imagined you still sulking.” She stepped way too close to Heaven and glared down at her. “I haven’t heard anything about a wedding, or did you to get married in secret?”
Speechless, Heaven stared at the woman. Hadn’t she caused enough trouble? Why would she just leave them all alone?
Suddenly Alicia put her hand to her mouth in feigned surprise. “Oh, I shouldn’t have said a word to you. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry you’re struggling so with the scars on his back, but the truth is the truth, and it’s so horrid.”
Confusion clouded Heaven’s mind. What on earth was this woman talking about?
“Every time I saw him, I thought I would be sick, but as a nurse I had to learn to look past it. Maybe you could just lie there and not touch him. Having the lights off will be a must, I suppose. There is nothing as ugly as those scars on his back, but you can just limit when you have to see them. I am sorry for you, though.” Alicia looked past her and suddenly turned around and hurried off.
Heaven knew who was behind her. She could feel his heat, and she also knew he must’ve heard everything Alicia had said. It must have sounded as though she and Alicia had been freely discussing his scars, maybe that they had talked about them many times. She turned and tilted her head back, gazing at him, and she flinched at the cold hard stare he gave her. She quickly looked away. What could she say? And even if she found the words, this wasn’t the place to say them.
Quinn: Cowboy Risk: The Kavanagh Brothers Book Two Page 10