Liam Read Online Free PDF Page A

on crutches.”
    “And how am I going to get home, if I can’t navigate the streets on crutches?” asked Eleanor in a fit of pique.
    Liam knew she was in pain and was surprised how well she was taking it all. “I’ll take you home.”
    She shook her head. “You can’t be carrying me everywhere. We’ve already started tongues wagging just by your carrying me here.”
    Liam shrugged. “As long as they’re talking anyway, let’s give them something more to talk about. You’ll have to carry your crutches, your boot, and my steaks, so it’s not going to be as stable as if you had your arms around my neck, but we’ll manage.”
    He swept her into his arms. Doc handed her the crutches, her boot and Liam’s package of steaks, then held the door open for them.
    “Remember to keep it elevated,” Doc Cochran called in their wake.
    “I will Doc. Thanks.” Eleanor said over her shoulder.
    Liam walked back through camp to the reverend’s tent.
    Eleanor was quiet, something she hadn’t been before.
    “A penny for your thoughts,” he said.
    She looked up at him, her blue eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “I’ve never had to depend on someone like this before…and…and I hurt.”
    “I know it hurts. I wish it didn’t. But please don’t cry. Sometimes we have to depend on others. It happens to us all at one time or another. We might have to depend on family or friends to take care of us or our children. We depend on them to help us through the dark times. The times we struggle.”
    She sniffled. “You’re right, of course. And I’m much stronger than this. I’m just feeling sorry for myself. Ah, here we are.”
    Liam stopped before a huge tent. “You live here with your father? Alone?”
    “Don’t let the size of the tent fool you. We also use it for Sunday services. It can get quite crowded.”
    “I imagine it can. If you’ll hold the flap I’ll take you in. We should get you in bed with your foot up as soon as possible.”
    Eleanor sputtered. “You…you can let me d-down here. I can go in on my own.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t even know how to use the crutches. I’ll show you and speak to your father.”
    “No.” She practically shouted it. “Um, I mean, that won’t be necessary. I’ll explain to father.”
    Liam looked down at her and saw fear. “Now why would you be afraid to tell your father what happened, I wonder?” He narrowed his eyes at her in understanding. “You aren’t supposed to be going into The Gem are you?”
    She sagged in his arms. “No. I’m not. I’m supposed to leave the ladies who work there alone. It’s an arrangement my father made with Mr. Swearengen, so we could have the corner where the tent is for our services.”
    “So why do you do it if it’s only going to make your father and Mr. Swearengen angry?”
    He set her down on her good leg at the tent opening.
    “They need me. They need some encouragement. They need to know that their lives matter and that they have choices.”
    “It seems to me if the ladies wanted to come to church, they would. Surely, Mr. Swearengen wouldn’t stop them.”
    “Well, yes, I suppose that’s true, but very few of them come and they all need saving.”
    “Seems to me, you should concentrate on teaching the children and let your father do the saving. The children need to be educated so they don’t end up in the same straits as the men and women in The Gem . They aren’t all there by choice you know. Most of them didn’t have any other avenue open to them because they have no education. So you need to give other children the choice. Isn’t that right?”
    “Yes. You’re right, of course. You sound like my father.”
    “I sound like any father of a daughter, as headstrong as you are. I’m glad you ran into me. Now maybe you’ll listen to your father and leave the soul saving to him.”
    “But of course,” she said. Then muttered under her breath. “Until my ankle heals.”
    “I heard