by Jodi Thomas
He fell on the first step of the hotel. “Please hurry. I think some may be trapped.”
Jennie heard herself draw in a breath to scream, but her ears were so full of others’ cries she couldn’t find her voice to add to the noise. People moved in circles wanting to help but not knowing what to do. Some ran for their overcoats, others grabbed lanterns and headed for the barn, but most just stood around in panic.
One clear voice shouted above the crowd. “Everyone, stop!”
To Jennie’s surprise, all the people froze in midstep, and Mrs. Gray’s voice continued. “We’ll be of no help panicking like a bunch of chickens.” Like a general, she took her place on the third step of the stairs. “We don’t know how many are hurt, but we’ve got to be ready. Amos, ride to town and get all the help you can. All you other men need to don your coats and hitch up the wagons. Any women who aren’t squeamish go also. The rest of you help me. We’ll need coffee, blankets and towels ready for when they get here. Before the first wounded arrive, I want this place ready to serve as a field hospital.”
As Jennie ran up the stairs, Mrs. Gray ordered the dining room turned into a makeshift ward. Suddenly Jennie had no doubt where the little lady had received her training. Girls, still in their nightgowns, rolled blankets and pushed tables together. Women, who an hour before were so tired they could barely climb the stairs to bed, ran full speed to ready the hotel.
Jennie hurried through the open bedroom door to grab her coat. “Did you hear, Audrey?”
“Yes.” Audrey was already stuffing her hair into a hat. “I’m going down to the wreck. I’ve got to help.” She stomped down the steps with Jennie right behind her. “I’m not staying behind and making coffee when folks down there are hurt.”
“But one of us has to stay here!” Jennie shouted at Audrey, knowing no one would bother to listen to their conversation in the panic. “Delta got a telegram today. Her stepbrother is on his way, and she’s not strong enough to fight him.”
They’d reached the porch. Audrey suddenly turned to face Jennie. “He’ll kill her!” She didn’t shout, yet the words seemed to ring between them both.
“I know.” Jennie fought back the tears. No one who’d seen Delta’s fear could doubt such a fact.
Audrey stepped into the rain. “I have to help those people.”
“I know,” Jennie answered.
“You best stay here and be ready if he comes. Delta told me one day that he was barrel-chested and as hairless as a boiled onion. If such a man opens our bedroom door, shoot him.”
“I’ve never …”
“Don’t matter. Shooting a man ain’t something most folks need to practice.” Audrey looked off into the night. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Be careful!” Jennie shouted above the storm.
“I was raised with mud deeper than this during any drought in Flatwater,” Audrey answered as she took a lantern. “See you later.”
Jennie tried to watch Audrey, but the rain curtained everything. She stood on the porch feeling useless. She wanted to go to the wreck; but Audrey was right, someone had to stay and protect Delta.
“Pardon me, Jennie!” a voice shouted as a tiny hand tugged on her skirt. She turned to see True at her side. “What if he’s wearing a hat?”
“What?”
True leaned closer. “What if that stepbrother is wearing a hat and we can’t tell if he’s bald?”
Holding the child tightly, she answered, “I think we’ll know him. We have to do our best to protect Delta. He may not even be on the train, but we have to be prepared.”
True looked up. “I can help. My ma taught me how to load and fire a gun.”
Jennie thought a moment about handing the child Delta’s gun but decided against it. “Here’s our plan. I’ll stand on the porch and watch for him. You go upstairs and take care of Delta. If I see him, I’ll come running right up and we’ll lock ourselves in until Audrey or the marshal gets back.”
True nodded. “I’ll wait with Delta. No matter what, I won’t leave her alone.”
“Thanks.” Jennie hugged the child. “I don’t plan on allowing a single person in this house tonight without checking them out. With us on guard, Delta will be safe.”
True pulled away and vanished as the first wagon from the wreck pulled up to the porch. Without hesitation Jennie stepped into the rain and held her arms wide to help.
Wagon after wagon rolled to the porch, each one filled with people, cold, crying, hurt. Jennie helped them down, softly welcoming them, trying to convince them they were safe. As she worked, she carefully watched for a man with a barrel chest and no hair. He’d be traveling alone, and she had the feeling she’d be able to see the evil in his eyes and know who he was even before he took his hat off.
Some folks hugged her tightly as they cried on her shoulder and bled on her clothes. She held them, offering them all her strength as she led them into the foyer. Slowly she realized that when people were hurt, no matter what age, they wanted someone to hold them.
People continued to come until the house was filled. The injured the worst were put in bedrooms upstairs; others were made as comfortable as possible downstairs. One by one the people drained all energy from Jennie, yet she returned again and again to the porch to wait for the next load. She said a little prayer of thanks each time the wagon contained no man matching the description Delta had given Audrey.
Finally, no more came, yet still she waited. She tried not to notice the icy wind or the steady drizzle. Her clothes had been wet so long her shoulders ached from the weight. She’d seen Austin McCormick several times riding on horseback beside the wagons, but he hadn’t spoken to her; he’d only touched his hat in salute. Somehow the knowledge that he was near made her less afraid.
“Jennie.” Mrs. Gray stood at the doorway. “Come inside and get warm. There are no more wagons. Everyone has been cared for.”
“No,” Jennie whispered without turning around. “Audrey and the marshal are still out there. They’d have come in if everyone was found.” No matter how cold she was, she wouldn’t leave her post until she knew Delta would be safe for the night. And Delta wouldn’t be safe until Jennie had seen everyone who was on the train.
Mrs. Gray nodded and returned to the house packed with wounded passengers. “I don’t know where we’ll put any more injured if they do come.”
Chapter 10
Jennie watched the shadows, waiting for Marshal McCormick and Audrey to return. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she saw Austin moving toward her. He plowed slowly through the mud leading his horse. As he neared, Jennie saw Audrey balanced atop the animal. She held a small woman in her arms as a mother cradles her child.
When the marshal was a foot from the steps, men ran from the barn to assist. He handed them the reins and turned to accept the injured woman from Audrey.
“Careful,” Audrey ordered. “We’ve hurt her enough pulling her from the train.”
“We had to pull her out. We couldn’t just leave her there to die in the rain. No telling how many bodies we’ll find come morning.” The marshal’s voice sounded exhausted and worried.
As he moved onto the porch, his gaze met Jennie’s. “She’s hurt bad,” he said. “She needs a bed.”
“There are no more.” Jennie forced herself to look down at the woman. Her face was covered in mud and blood. “We rilled even the last bedroll half an hour ago.” Jennie turned back to Austin, but he was waiting for directions.
“Take her to our room. She can have my bed,” Jennie answered. “I’ll sleep on the stairs.”
Blood dripped onto Austin’s coat as he carried the injured woman up the stairs to Audrey and Jennie’s room. She seemed so small, reminding him a great deal of the other woman he’d carried to the same room only a week before. But he feared this woman was far more gravely injured than Delta had been, and from what he could tell, she must have been traveling alone, for no one looked for her at the wreck. If he hadn’t seen her hand,
she might still be under the pile of steel and boxes.
“She’s far worse than the others,” Audrey admitted, opening the bedroom door for Austin. “I don’t know if there’s much we can do to help her.” She glanced in the room at True. “Get some towels, True. Jennie and I’ll clean her up.”
They could hear Jennie’s deep intake of breath. “I …”
Audrey looked at her friend. “You’ll help,” she said, simply willing Jennie to be strong enough to do what must be done.
Jennie closed her eyes. “I’ll try.” She hadn’t signed on to be a nurse, but it seemed as if she’d seen more blood this past week than she’d seen in her lifetime.
As Austin stepped past the women and into the room, he saw Delta asleep on one of the beds, her back turned to him.
“Quiet,” Jennie whispered. “Delta needs rest.”
The marshal placed the patient on the nearest empty bed without making a sound. Blood dribbled from the woman’s mouth, and her face was covered in mud. Austin forced himself not to look too closely, for he knew he was looking at death.
Audrey began to undress the patient. “Best go down and get yourself a cup of coffee, Marshal. I’ll let you know how she is as soon as I do all I can. If the doc’s sober, send him up, but I’ll not have him in this room smelling of spirits.”
“Send True down with any news.” Austin knew the boy was listening just outside the door to every word they said. In the past week True had shadowed him most nights when he’d made his rounds.
“I’ll do that.” Audrey smiled silently, thanking the marshal for knowing about True yet holding his tongue.
Austin slapped his wet hat against his leg and moved to the door. “Don’t forget to put a bandage on that leg of yours.”
Looking down at the long, thin cut on her calf, Audrey pronounced, “It’s no more than a scratch, but don’t you worry. I’ll get to it in time.”
Austin moved away knowing he’d have to attend to his horse before he settled down to coffee. As he shoved through the crowd along the hallway, he admitted to himself that he admired the redhead more every time he saw her. She was a strong woman, but he doubted even her will could pull the injured girl away from death’s door.
Crossing through the rain to the barn, he found, to his surprise, the men talking of Jennie Munday.
“You should have seen her helping folks down from the wagon like they were all her family,” one said.
“Yeah, far as I know she was the only one of us who didn’t go in for coffee,” another added. “She wouldn’t even quit until Audrey got back. Guess she knew if her friend was still out there, then it wasn’t over.”
Another said, “I don’t think there was a person who came through that door tonight that she didn’t comfort. I saw her put her arm around man and woman alike while she calmed them. Even gave up her bed, I hear.”
Austin listened as he rubbed his horse down. He’d thought Audrey a hero, but what Jennie had done was no small thing. She’d been on his mind all week, and the feel of her in his arms had been dancing through his dreams every night. He needed to talk with Jennie worse than he figured he’d ever needed anyone’s company. Maybe all he wanted was what she’d given everyone tonight—a welcome.
Ten minutes later, when he stepped in the dining room, Mrs. Gray, the resident dictator, confronted him before he could even reach the bottom of the stairs.
“You planning to stay a while, Marshal?”
Austin tossed his hat and damp duster on a hook and nodded. He could see from the movement in the room that this was not a place to have a quiet cup of coffee. There were people everywhere and not a single chair vacant.
“Well, we’ve got folks to see after and the hungry to feed. Since most of my girls are busy nursing, I know you won’t mind helping us out.”
Austin raised his eyebrow. If the lady tries to lasso an apron on him, she’d find she was out of luck.
Mrs. Gray smiled as if she’d read his mind. “All I need you to do is take this pot of coffee over to the lunch counter where the men are drying out. We always ask folks if they want coffee, tea or milk. If they say coffee, pour them a cup. If they say tea or milk, ask one of the girls to help them.”
Austin nodded. “Sounds simple enough.” If anyone else in the world had asked him, he would have turned her down; but Mrs. Gray had a way about her that made even someone twice her size not want to argue.
He wrapped his fingers around the warm handle of the huge kitchen coffeepot and moved to the counter. “I assume you want coffee,” he said with a scowl to the first person sitting at the counter.
No one argued with Austin as he moved down the counter pouring cup after cup of the hot liquid. No one dared order anything else except what the marshal served.
An hour later Austin stood on the porch with the last cup of hot coffee in his hand. He watched the rain. His clothes were still damp, but he was too tired even to feel the cold. As soon as he heard about the woman upstairs, he planned to head back to his room behind the jail. He wished he’d had time to talk to Jennie. The lady seemed to have a moment for everyone except him, and he wasn’t about to admit he needed her, even if he could feel an ache to touch her go all the way to his soul.
“Marshal,” a voice whispered behind him.
Austin turned and looked down at True. “Yes, son.”
“Audrey said they got the woman all bandaged up and she’s resting.” True moved closer. “But she was hoping you could check on Jennie.”
“Is she hurt?”
“No, sir. Audrey says some women ain’t meant to see all that much innards at once. Jennie helped her do the doctoring, but then she ran out of the room.”
The marshal started to move toward the door, but a tiny hand shoved Austin’s hat and duster at him. “Jennie ain’t upstairs,” True said. “I followed her down the back steps. She’s out in the wash house.”
Austin bolted off the porch and started around the house. “I’ll find her,” he called back.
“When you do, tell her not to worry about Delta,” True yelled. “I’m watching over her.”
Austin moved through the blackness toward the wash house. For a moment he couldn’t find her in the pale light coming from the main house, but he could hear her softly crying. As his eyes adjusted he saw Jennie standing over a washtub rubbing something white up and down the washboard.
“Jennie,” he said as he moved forward.
She stopped suddenly as though she’d been caught doing something wrong.
“Jennie, don’t be frightened.”
She looked up but didn’t seem to recognize him. Even in the shadows he could see the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Jennie, I’m here.” He wanted to hold her, but he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t frighten her more if he moved too fast.
“Austin,” she whispered. “I can’t get the blood out of my apron. I can’t get the blood out, and you know how we have to have spotless aprons.” She started rubbing the cloth back and forth along the scrub board.
Austin pulled the apron from her fingers. “We’ll get you a new one tomorrow. Right now you need sleep. It’s been a long night.”
“I can’t go back to my room. I’m afraid someone is going to die in there tonight. I can smell death in the air, feel it clammy next to my skin.”
He pulled her against him. “Jennie,” he whispered over and over as he stroked her hair. “Everything’s going to be all right.” She hadn’t had any sleep in almost twenty-four hours. He’d seen seasoned soldiers crumble with less than she’d had to endure tonight.
“Jennie, I’ve got to get you warm and dry or you’ll be sick. It’s freezing out here and you’re dripping wet. You need to go in.”
She tried to pull away. “There’s no room inside. People are sleeping shoulder to shoulder on the floor. I’ve nowhere to go.”
“I know a place.” He draped his damp duster over her shoulders and lifted her in his arms, then stepped back out into the rain. She hel
d to him tightly as he walked around the hotel and up the road leading to town.
Her crying stopped, but her hold around his neck didn’t, as they reached the first buildings. In an hour it would be morning, but now everyone in town was asleep. Austin turned down the alley and within minutes had kicked open the back door of the jail.
“This isn’t much, but at least you can get dry and warm up before I take you back. You need some hot coffee in you before you have to face that crowd at the hotel again.”
“I’m fine now, honest. I don’t know why …”
He could feel her back straighten. She was pulling away from him even though her body hadn’t moved. He shook his head. “It’s all right. I figure everyone, man or woman, has got a right to crumble now and then.”
“Thank you for being there to pick up the pieces.” Jennie smiled, very much aware that he was still holding her.
“Oh,” he laughed as he lowered her legs to the floor. For a moment she still clung to him. With his rough hands, he pushed the wet hair away from her face and fought the urge to kiss her. If ever there was a woman who looked like she needed kissing, it was this one, but he’d promised himself she’d be the one to make the next move.
He forced himself to pull away as he removed his duster from her shoulders. “I’ll light the stove and boil some coffee. Why don’t you pull off that wet dress? You can wrap up in a blanket from one of the cells. It may be dusty, but at least it will be dry.”
Jennie nodded and moved into the shadows. Being careful to keep his back turned, Austin could still hear her moving around. He heard wet clothes hit the floor as he reached for a light and decided he was getting plenty warm without the stove. Another garment plopped on the wood, and he fought the urge to turn around as he shoved logs into a still-warm Franklin stove.
“When’s the last time there was a prisoner in this place?” Jennie whispered from close behind him.