Mail Order Bride: Westward Dance Read Online Free PDF Page A

real well
so it’ll be easier traveling for you. You ready?” Dean
said.
    “As I’ll ever be,” Seth
responded.
    Marcus said, “We can just unhitch the
litter and use it to hoist him into the wagon. There’re four of us,
so we should be able to lift him on even though he’s gained a lot
of weight lately.”
    “You just wait ‘til I can kick your ass
again,” Seth said.
    Fifteen minutes later they had Seth
loaded and were under way back to the ranch. They had been as
careful as possible, but there had still been some jarring and Seth
had blacked out again. Dean figured it was for the best. At least
if Seth was unconscious he wouldn’t be feeling any pain.
    Dean couldn’t get the horses moving
beyond a trot in some places because of deep ruts and pot holes. He
steered Buster and Nugget all over the trail sometimes. If anyone
had been watching, it would have looked like he was driving
drunk.
    It was late June and it stayed light
out past six. Dusk was just falling as they turned down the lane
leading to the ranch. Tessa flew to meet them. She had been
standing out on the porch waiting for them.
    “How is he?” she asked as she walked
alongside the wagon.
    Dean just shook his head. His grim
expression told Tessa everything she needed to know.
    “Dr. Turner is here. He’ll know what to
do, Dean,” she said in an effort to comfort her husband.
    She moved back to see Seth as Dean
stopped the wagon in front of the house. She saw how awful his leg
looked and swallowed hard to keep from making any comment about
it.
    Smiling at Seth she said, “That
certainly looks nasty. You’ll do anything to get out of
work.”
    Seth saw the shock in her eyes but was
grateful that her response was humorous. He needed it right now. If
she’d have started crying, he would have, too.
    “We’re going to take care of you.
Please don’t worry,” Tessa said. She squeezed his hand and then
turned back to Dean. “We have everything set up. We moved Mikey
upstairs with Jack and put Seth in the room next to us so that
we’re close to him.”
    “Good idea,” Dean said.
    “Is the herd all right?” she
asked.
    “Yeah. A few minor bites and cuts, but
otherwise they’re fine. Ray and Marty are putting them in the back
pasture for now. Let’s get him in the house,” Dean said.
    Dr. Turner came out and walked to the
wagon. He climbed up into it. Despite being an older man, he was
strong and spry.
    “Evening, Seth,” he said as if they
were meeting on the street or at some social occasion.
    “Hi, Doc,” the younger man
responded.
    “Let’s take a look see,” Dr. Turner
said.
    He started with the collarbone, noting
the bruising that had spread across Seth’s chest. It was most
likely fractured, but there was no bone protrusion, for which he
was glad. It would heal well in time. Seth’s leg was another
matter. He noticed that the bones had been set, but he was going to
have to look at the leg closer to determine how good of a job had
been done.
    “Those splints look pretty good. Your
collarbone’s gonna hurt like the dickens for a while, but it’ll be
fine. I’ll be able to tell more about your leg when we get your
pants off and such,” he told Seth.
    He hopped down off the wagon and they
set about getting him moved. Once he was lying on the bed in what
had been the Mikey’s room, he was given laudanum and left to rest
for a few minutes to allow the drug to start working. Then Dr.
Turner began undoing the splint and cutting away Seth’s pants. He
didn’t like what he saw as more of the leg was revealed.
    With sheer determination Seth withstood
Dr. Turner’s examination. He saw the concern on Dr. Turner’s face
as he worked. Seth winced and gritted his teeth as his leg was
turned slightly.
    “Doc?’ Seth said.
    “Yes, son?”
    “Tell me the truth. How bad is it?”
Seth asked.
    Dr. Turner let out a sigh. “These
breaks are about as bad as I’ve ever seen. I’m glad that there’re
no bones poking out, but with