Within My Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

performing the procedure incorrectly? After all, he’d never done it before.
    His nerves worn thin, sweat slicked his body. Rachel had said she’d join him back here quickly , but apparently they had different definitions of the word.
    With Lyda looking on, her expression fluctuating between agony and disbelief, Rand repeated another compression, praying with each downward thrust, then leaned close again, listening through the earpieces, willing for God to grant his petition.
    He knew God could heal with a thought. He also knew, only too well, that sometimes God chose not to. Rand rose up again, clasped hands positioned over Ben’s heart. If he had anything to say about it—and he did—he was going to make sure that this time, God made the right choice.

3
    P lease make your way outside to the boardwalk.” Rachel hurried the patrons toward the front doors, frustrated at their lethargic pace. Herding cattle was faster than this. “There’s been an emergency and we need to close the store temporarily.” She glanced toward the back room, wondering what was happening, when— from the corner of her eye—she saw an older teenage boy loitering in the corner, one hand hidden inside his unbuttoned coat.
    Her instincts told her he was up to no good, but she didn’t have time to confront whatever he might have done. She ushered him toward the open doors.
    At one time, she’d known almost everyone living in Timber Ridge, at least by face. But those days were long past. Every day, it seemed, more people arrived in Timber Ridge, enticed west by the lure of gold.
    She’d never seen most of these people before and didn’t know them well enough to trust them alone in the mercantile. Not with what James had told her about the increase in theft. Ben and Lyda had been victims of thieves themselves—boots and clothing gone missing, staple items unaccounted for in the ledger. And though Lyda had never said anything outright, Rachel had gotten the impression that money was tight for them these days too.
    She peered through the store’s front window, trusting Mitch and Kurt had made it safely to the jail and watching for Angelo, Dr. Brookston’s assistant, hoping to see him coming with the medicine. “As soon as possible, Mr. and Mrs. Mullins will reopen the store.” Even as she said it, she prayed it would be true. That both Ben and Lyda would be opening the doors again.
    She trusted Rand Brookston to do all he could for Ben. Having witnessed the doctor’s skill firsthand, she knew Timber Ridge was fortunate to have such a gifted physician. Still, something about him grated on her, and she knew she hadn’t done a good job of disguising those misgivings. She regretted her curt response moments ago in the buckboard when he asked her if she’d given Lyda the proper instructions. She sensed from his confused expression that he hadn’t meant to sound condescending. Even though he had . . .
    Maybe it was his self-assurance that she found so off-putting, or the confident manner in which he carried himself. Or the way women watched him when he strode down the boardwalk, or how they fawned over him after church services or at social gatherings. When it came down to it, if someone asked her why she felt the way she did about him, she wouldn’t have been able to tell them in definitive terms.
    She only knew that he was a physician, as her father had been, which was enough to make her want to keep her personal distance.
    “Mama!”
    About to latch the front doors, Rachel heard the familiar voice and peered through the glass to spot Mitchell running toward her full force, Kurt fast on his heels.
    Mitchell skirted the crowd on the boardwalk and skidded to a stop, his thin chest working hard. “Uncle James had some”—he pushed the words out between heavy breaths—“sheriffin’ to do, so he sent us . . . here to stay with Uncle Ben and . . . Aunt Lyda ’til you came.”
    Rachel brushed the hair from his eyes. “That’s fine,