Clawing one inch at a time, he reached for the light at the top. The heat pulled him and the glare hurt his eyes, but he had to keep climbing. She was up there. He could hear her voice, soft and melodic, reading from the Bible. The Gospel of Luke.
He opened his swollen eyelids a slit and brought her into focus. She balanced the small black book in one hand, while the other held a sponge she ran down his neck and across his chest.
Jake had been in countless fights, but none that threatened his life. Fighting a relentless enemy determined to win.
He wasn’t afraid to die. In fact, death would be welcome from the torment ravaging his body.
A spark of blue caught his eye. The locket rested on Juliette’s breast, filling him with hope.
It must be worth far more than he’d intimated to her. Wes had told him Ma was afraid to wear it because it was so costly. Discounting the bragging Wes was prone to, it was a valuable piece of jewelry that had finally found its rightful resting place.
The hope that God wouldn’t have brought him to this woman if he were not meant to live dangled before him, and he used it like a rope to pull himself out of this pit.
“Juliette.”
She stopped reading, showing she’d heard his whisper.
“Water.”
She fetched the water glass and held it to his lips, slipping her hand behind his head and tipping it forward so he could drink.
He rarely had to ask for anything. She usually knew what he wanted and when. He wasn’t her first patient. She’d cared for sick people before, perhaps her own parents.
The smell of kerosene was strong like the last drops burning off the wick, and he was surprised the light he’d thought from the sun came from a lamp, draining of its fuel.
She could sense when he’d had enough. Taking the water glass away, he wiped his mouth. The lamp sputtered out, but it wasn’t necessary. Moonlight flooded the room from the open window, illuminating her alabaster complexion and glowed like a halo over her hair that flowed in waves over her shoulders.
“Your mother. How did she die?”
“She had a cold all winter and a bad cough. It went into pneumonia and fever as bad as yours. We had no ice in those days, but Papa brought water from the boil—the spring. I helped him sponged her off for days. I was only eight at the time, and the thought that she might die never occurred to me.”
Juliette lay a fresh cloth on his forehead, and for a moment, he relished the relief it brought.
She brushed her hair back on one side and tilted her head as she looked away. “It was spring. Everything was abloom. Baby birds tweeted from their nests. Death seemed as far away as it could be. I didn’t even suspect until Papa came to me and said Mama had gone to heaven.”
“She died here in this very bed,” he said.
“Yes, as did Papa ten years later, and then Grace.”
“How did your father die?”
“He was working on our old carriage. It was off the wheels and propped up on something. Anyway, it fell on him…severing his leg. And the axle hit him in the head. He never regained consciousness, though he lingered for several days.”
Jake reached for her hand. How much tragedy had she experienced in her life, yet none would ever know. “I’m sorry, Juliette. How about your step-mother?”
She cleared her throat like she found it harder to speak of that time. A deep breath lifted her chest and the locket with it. “Grace died in childbirth. I wasn’t with her at the end. The mid-wife sent me out, saying it wasn’t proper for an unmarried woman to be present. But even outside the house, I heard her screams and took the children to the barn. Harp came and told us she was gone and the baby too.”
“Another tragedy, but I’m going to do my best not to be the fourth.”
She started, jerking her gaze back to him, then smiled. “No, you’re not. We’re going to fight you through this, Jake. You will recover.” Her tone held a forced cheerfulness.
He closed his fingers around her hand. “If I do make it through this, go with me, Juliette. Marry me. I don’t have a right to ask that because I don’t have a thing to offer you. I don’t have a house. Nothing but a bunkbed that won’t hold the two of us, much less the boys and Annie. I’ve wasted everything, Juliette. I have a good job, but I’ve wasted my money. But I’ve never had anything to work for before.”
“Jake, you barely know me.”
“I know you better than I’ve ever known anyone. That first day I knew you were the woman I wanted, but was afraid anyone as kind and caring and beautiful as you had to already be taken.
He didn’t know she wept until tears rolled down her cheeks. “If it was just me.”
“I’ll take care of your family. The boys will work on the ranch.”
“But Annie might never recover. I may have to take care of her for the rest of her life.”
He squeezed her hand with what strength he had left. “We’ll take care of Annie together. I want to lift some of that burden off your shoulders, Juliette. If it’s not right for a man to be alone, it isn’t right for a woman to shoulder all the responsibility either.”
***
“Jul, Miss Lydee said you need to go eat some supper. I’ll stay with Mr. Jake while you rest some after you eat.”
Thad waited for her to move, but Juliette rung water from the cloth and pressed it to Jake’s forehead before stepping away. Like putting out a grass fire, as soon as she doused the fire in one part, the rest flared. His condition had remained the same as yesterday, except his ability to keep anything in his stomach grew more difficult. Even water.
“He’s sleeping now. I managed to get the laudanum down him an hour ago, but it doesn’t last as long as it used to.”
“I’ll keep sponging him,” Thad said, taking the cloth from her hand as he reached for the water bucket.
The rest were already seated at the supper table when Juliette entered the room. “We’ve already blessed the food, dear,” Miss Lydee said as Juliette took her place. A plate of creamed corn, peas, and a fried chicken thigh would have had her salivating any other time. As it was her stomach revolted.
She lifted the wedge of cornbread resting on the side dish and nibbled around the edges.
“Is Mr. Jake doing better?” Corky asked.
“No, not yet.”
“Thad said Mr. Jake asked you to take us all with him when he leaves.” Hope tinged Corky’s cracking, almost thirteen-year-old voice.
Juliette didn’t respond and Miss Lydee chimed in. “Have you decided what to do?”
She had no desire to discuss the matter. Jake had asked her to marry him, but Jake wasn’t in his right mind. And the outcome was uncertain. She took a long drink of water. No, she wouldn’t allow for the possibility that he might not recover. “I haven’t as yet.”
Corky scowled. “If you’re worried about Harp kicking up a fuss about us leaving, there’s no reason. He never cared anything about any of us, except for Annie.”
Annie jerked up so fast, her glass crashed over, spilling water in all directions. She darted an anguished glance around the table, then ran out of the room.
Juliette scraped her chair back, prepared to follow her sister, but Miss Lydee shot to her feet, waving a hand. “Finish your supper, dear. I’ll see about Annie.”
Miss Lydee was such a sweet thing. She’d been a God-send. Juliette sank back into her seat and plucked her spoon from the puddle inching toward her plate. “Corky, would you clean up the mess?”
He cut her a sharp look before rising. “Sure, Jul, but you know it’s true. Harp only beat me and Thad. He never made Annie do anything and brought her peppermint sticks and treats. We all knew he liked her better.”
Yes, he liked Annie best, and, Lord help her, Juliette hadn’t realized why. Because he treated Annie with favoritism, she hadn’t watched Annie as closely as the boys. Didn’t think she needed protection.
All the while she’d congratulated herself that she’d put Harp in his place where th
e children were concerned, he’d been stalking and molesting Annie.
“Harp will have no bearing on my decision to move us to Nebraska, Corky.” There was no reason to fret that someone new would move in and find the body. Her only worry was carrying the secret with her.
After supper, Juliette glanced into the sickroom. Finding Jake still asleep and Thad sprawled in the chair, reading silently, she took the opportunity to change her dress and brush her hair. Regardless of the circumstances, she wished to look her best for Jake.
At the window, she drew in a deep, honeysuckle-scented breath and touched the locket. Looking out at the deepening twilight, she sent a prayer heavenward, hoping God would hear her despite those sins she couldn’t confess.
A sharp knock jolted her. Before she reached the door, it opened. Thad’s frightened face extinguished the peaceful moment and made her heart lurch.
“He’s calling for you, Jul. He’s talking out of his head and jostling so bad I’m afraid he’ll fall out of the bed. Maybe you can calm him down.” Little hope showed in Thad’s eyes. “And Corky says a storm’s coming. I have to help him get the buggy in the barn and the stock settled.”
She patted Thad’s arm. “Go ahead, and help Corky. I’ll watch Jake tonight.” She made her way to Jake’s room on leaden feet, knowing she wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.
With a soft thud, she closed her bedroom door and quickly closed the distance between herself and Jake, mentally girding herself for what lay ahead, fearing this would be one of the worst nights of his life. And hers.
So much for the hope of prayer. Instead of healing Jake, God was sending a storm.
The pungent smell of medicine hit her first, and she raised the window a bit more to let in some of the cooling breeze kicked up by the approaching storm.
Jake thrashed about, and she wondered if he were unconscious instead of merely asleep. “Jake, can I get you something?” She tried to keep his head from jerking back and forth.
“Water.”
“Of course.” She poured the glass half full and, holding it in one hand, slipped the other behind his head to steady it while putting the glass to his lips. Most of the water dribbled down his chin and neck. Maybe she ought to use the spoon.
He tried to sit up. “Help me, Juliette. I’ve got to get these steers in the pen before night.”
He was delirious. “I’ll help you, Jake. Just relax.” She sponged him off until he quieted. “Do you think you could eat some pea soup?”
A shudder ran through his body. “No, the smell of supper made me sick to my stomach.”
She should have closed the door, but honestly, the draft set up from the window to the door helped cool the room. A mosquito buzzed her ear. Thad hadn’t put the mosquito netting up over the open window. She dropped the sponge in the water bucket and rushed to hook the netting in place. It would impede the breeze, but without it, the mosquitoes would carry them off.
And Jake didn’t need any more torment.
She poured a little more water into the glass. Jake drank thirstily, but as soon as he’d emptied the glass, he clutched his stomach. With all her strength, she helped him to the edge of the bed. Just in time, as he emptied his stomach into the pail below.
Knowing how weak he was, she held his head until her arm felt like it might break. He’d neither eaten nor drunk much, yet he continued to retch with dry heaves. With her free hand, she stretched for the wet cloth. Wrapping it around the throat might settle the nausea.
Thankfully, it helped. He fell back against the pillow, drawing in labored breaths. Then the rain started in a torrent, drowning out the sound of his breathing. The wind tore the mosquito netting to shreds.
Juliette rushed to close the window, and lightning crashed so close the hair on her neck rose. Thunder followed, rattling the house. Normally, it would have rattled her too, but she paid no attention as she sped back to Jake’s side.
She pressed her hand on his chest to gauge his condition. His heart pounded so hard and fast it was impossible to count the beats as the doctor had suggested.
How long could his heart work this hard? How much hotter could his body get before being consumed?
His lips moved, and she lowered her ear to his mouth to hear above the roar of the rain and wind. “Get my knife. Snake.”
He was hallucinating. “It’s all right, Jake. I got rid of the snake.”
His fevered reddened eyes glared at her like she was crazy. “It’s around my leg, cording it.” He tried to find purchase with his elbows to get up.
She leaned over him to hold him down. “No, I killed the snake, Jake. What you feel is the bandage.” Dear Lord, tell me what to do.
He needed a dose of the laudanum, not to mention the elixirs, but she couldn’t risk wasting the precious medicine until he’d regained full consciousness. Maybe he could tolerate some more water.
As she brought the glass to his mouth, he flung his hand, striking the glass with such force, it went flying from her fingers and crashing to the floor. Ignoring the water puddling under her feet, she found the sponge and dipped it into the second bucket, hoping the water left would last through the night. She couldn’t send the boys into the woods for more in this weather.
Then as she sponged Jake’s face, squeezing water into his mouth, he went into a seizure.
His whole body buckled and his arm jerked so unexpectedly, it slammed into her head. She staggered back, clawing the air in an attempt to keep from falling. The wall stopped her. That and the washstand.
The wash bowel fell and spun crazily across the floor, but Juliette couldn’t have caught it if she’d tried. She bent double to keep balance and waited until the stars flashing in her eyes receded.
Lightning flashed in a continuous show like a lighthouse’s warning signal disorienting her senses. Thunder roared and rolled. She dropped to the floor and crawled back to the bed. God, I need your help.
Jake had quieted. Too quiet.
She pulled herself up, her hand going to his neck. Jake’s pulse raced just as fast as before, but still strong. If she could only get some water in him. Some medicine.
After filling the spoon with water, she took advantage of the calm to empty it into his mouth.
Jake inhaled abruptly, his face contorted, his hands gripping the sides of the bed, struggling to breathe.
Dear Lord, she’d choked him. If he weren’t lying down, she would pound his back, but it was useless trying to lift him. Maybe she could roll him to the side. Putting all her weight into the effort, she tried to turn him over.
Jake’s hands went to his throat and tore at it like he tried to loosen the thing that cut off his air. Juliette pounded on his chest, shoving his diaphragm with the heels of her hands, pounding again. Then she got on top of him. “Breathe, Jake,” she screamed to be heard over the roaring rain. “Breathe.”
A memory forced its way past her fear. Grace blowing into the face of a baby who held his breath and was turning blue. Juliette drew in a deep breath and placed her mouth over his, blowing as hard as she could.
Jake jerked and coughed.
She didn’t know she was weeping until the tears dropped on his face. “Jake, don’t leave me. Fight this thing. You mean too much to me.” She rested her cheek against his. “I love you. You’ve got to stay here and marry me.”
Silence fell over them as the rain softened to a patter. Jake’s hand brushed her hair from her face and traced her tears with his finger. “Juliette, I’m never going to leave you.”
Could she have heard right? He was talking in his own mind, his voice weak but steady. Her hand came up to stroke his neck. Yes, the pulse had slowed. Praise God, let it be.
Time stood still. She didn’t know how long they lay there, holding each other, until she realized heat still radiated from his body, and she must continue sponging him off. She lowered herself to the floor.
“Juliette, I’m parched. Could I have some water?” He twisted his dry lips from one side to the other
.
His glass lay in shards on the floor. She dashed to the kitchen and brought a mug filled with fresh water. Bringing the mug to his mouth, she forced him to drink slowly, and thankfully, he had no trouble keeping it down. Taking advantage of the moment, she gave him a dose of laudanum along with the other medicines.
He fell into a natural sleep as she continued sponging his face and chest. Exhaustion took over and inch by inch, she dropped to the side of the bed and rested her head on his shoulder.
The rooster’s crow woke her. She opened her eyes to find the room filled with the soft light of early dawn. The rain had stopped, and she heard the boys going about their morning chores.
She lifted her head. Jake still slept, breathing slow and even, but goodness, she must have poured the whole bucket of water over him. His face glistened and the pillow and sheet soaked. Her hand flew to his forehead. Cool as the center of a cucumber.
Her stiff muscles screamed in protest as she stood and scanned the room for some dry cloth. Riffling through the bureau drawer, she found a towel and patted Jake’s face dry. Thad would have to change his bedding and nightshirt.
She longed to wake him, but he needed his sleep. As did she. With one backward look, she crossed the room in jerky steps. Fear and tension had left her so weak and unbalanced she had to hold onto the wall out in the hall. Then those flashing stars returned to her vision. She clutched for support as darkness closed in.
Chapter 11
Jake polished off the chicken and dumplings Miss Lydee had brought him as fast as a starving man. He’d have asked for a good helping of her peach cobbler if he thought his shrunken stomach could take it. The doctor had come and gone, pronouncing him on the way to full health. The only bad thing, the doc wanted him to stay in bed a couple of days longer to regain his strength, but promised when he returned, he’d bring Jake a pair of crutches.
That meant getting out of this bed after over a week. Walking around. Going home. With Juliette. Had he been delirious when he heard her say she loved him? He was bound to find out.
Escaped (Intrigue Under Western Skies Book 4) Page 8