When kindred spirits uni.., p.21
When Kindred Spirits Unite, page 21
“Stop that,” her mother scowled. “Lay back down, child. The sickness is fading, but we can’t ward it off if you insist on getting up like that. Down.”
Not willing to take no for an answer or making any time for any sort of answer, Topsannah pushed her on her right shoulder and stomach to lay back down. Nora didn’t mind obeying until she tried to put weight on her left side.
A cry spilled out before she could help herself.
Her mother hastily tried to help, shifting the blankets and helping her to move into a more comfortable position. She then brought forth a broth for Nora to drink.
Though it was hard to make anything land in her mouth, Nora tried. She hadn’t realized she was parched. She drank all that she could and then pulled away to collapse in a heap.
Something was wrong with her. Now that she felt more alert, she could sense the throbbing pain. She tugged back the blankets to find a tight bandage wrapped around her shoulder and upper arm. There were also strong-smelling herbs bound in to help the healing process.
Settling back down, Nora inhaled deeply and tried to think.
It took her a minute to remember. She recalled her escape with Theo piece by piece, from leaving the town dance to getting shot while racing away. The memory made her wrinkle her nose in distaste.
That had to explain the bandage. Part of it, at least.
“Don’t touch it,” Topsannah scolded her gently when she touched the wrappings. “You will slow down the healing process. I cannot keep doing this, Nadua, you know that. What are you doing, coming back here in the middle of dying?”
Nora felt her lips twitch. Her mother always grew dramatic when she was badly worried. She moved her good hand to touch her hand.
“I’m going to be fine, Pia. I’m sorry for worrying you. We didn’t know where else to go when…Wait, where’s Theo?” Nora asked and hurriedly looked around.
She suddenly had a flashback to a strange memory when she said Theo’s name. It was only a moment, and a very confusing one. She must have been delirious to have called him her handsome husband. Or was that a dream itself? She suddenly wasn’t sure any longer.
A lump formed in her throat when she realized that he had been able to bring her all the way here. He had to be there somewhere.
Emotions swept over her. Hopefully, he was faring much better than herself. Nora wasn’t sure. She tugged back the blanket so she could stand and go see for herself.
Her mother merely tutted and gently nudged her back down.
Though it felt as though she was fighting, Nora found herself settling back on the ground as if she hadn’t done a single thing. She wondered how weak she had become or if her mother had become very strong.
“Wait,” Nora protested weakly. “Pia, please. I need to see Theo. Is he all right? He has to be. I need him to be. I’m not even that tired.”
Her mother scoffed when that word apparently triggered something in her because Nora started to yawn. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment as she felt the weight of her eyelids grow.
“Shh,” Topsannah murmured. “I’m going to dress your wound. Go back to sleep. You’re not leaving until you are feeling much, much better. Sleep. You are safe here.”
That was such a comforting thought. Settling on the blankets, Nora slowly closed her eyes again. Sleep was weighing down on her shoulders now as if it had a pressing matter to share with her.
Nora drifted off before her mother had unwrapped her wound.
Chapter 32
Theo watched the children laugh and play, envying their cheerful mannerisms.
He hadn’t spent a lot of time around children for most of his life. An only child, and then he was working among men for years.
Most of the work he did wasn’t safe enough for children to be around anyway.
Once or twice, he had supposed that having children would be nice.
Didn’t every man expect to build himself a family with a good wife and a brood of strong, rambunctious sons and daughters? It was a nice notion that he just had never made that much time for.
Now, he was out there on his own and feeling like he was only seeing children for the first time. Admiring babies in the arms of fresh-faced parents was one thing, and watching youthful faces shout and laugh as they ran about was something different altogether.
He had no idea what they were playing. They even spoke another language, a native one, that was too swift for him to understand. All he could do was stand out of the way and watch while he waited.
The waiting was growing tiresome.
However, there wasn’t much else he could do. Upon escaping the posse, he had immediately been approached by several native men with their weapons pointed at him. He had tried to speak but had no idea what to say.
It had been a blur after that.
Those men had talked among themselves while taking Nora’s horse and then Nora herself. Although Theo had begun to panic, desperation drove him to see what they might do with her.
To his relief, they had pulled out their waterskins and started wiping the blood off her. Then they made their way a short distance over to their village, where men and children gathered to watch them arrive. Several of the warriors had stayed close to talk to one another. They had eyed him warily and touched their weapons with fondness.
It was hard to tell if they were going to kill him or let him stay or kick him out. People came out of their shelters to stare at him, elbowing one another and pointing.
Though he supposed it was better than still being on the run from the posse, he had no idea about what to expect in a place like this. He had met a few natives through the years, but they were usually visiting the town he lived in. Never before had he been to one of their towns or villages.
Noticing the skins and temporary structures, he supposed they didn’t stay all year long. It was all he could gather about them while he wondered what was going to happen to him.
Not knowing what else to do, Theo had stayed put. There was no way that he was going to leave without Nora. She was alive but in bad condition. Did this village know how to take care of such wounds?
Questions flooded his mind as he paced.
An older woman had come up to him after a short time to offer him some food. “Safe,” she said with a heavy accent. “Safe.”
While Theo still had no idea what might happen from moment to moment, he found some solace in hearing a little English among these people. They had given him food and a place to stay. As much as he wanted to relax, however, he wasn’t sure that could happen until they let him see—
“Theo!”
His heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
Whirling around, he could hardly believe his eyes as Nora hurried toward him. She passed by someone and waved, not minding one of the warriors who had taken it upon himself to stand guard near Theo.
“Nora,” he breathed in relief.
Warmth flooded through his body as the worries began melting away off his shoulders.
He studied Nora, seeing the way she favored her left side and had a purple bruise on her face. Her soft blouse and skirt were gone. Most likely, they were ruined for good. That was a little disappointing because she had looked lovely.
But Theo knew she would look beautiful in everything that she wore. Even now, she wore a buckskin dress like the other women nearby. It was a simple tan color with fringe on the sleeves. Her hair had been neatly tied back in two long braids. Remembering how she had worn those when they first met, he wondered if she had been here before.
He was just relieved to see her again. Though she looked weary, there was a small smile on her face.
Taking two steps toward Nora, he wrapped his arms around the young woman. He needed to know for a surety that he wasn’t dreaming. The last couple of days had been filled with internal torture as he prayed that she might be safe.
And now she was in his arms.
Strong emotions swept over him. The weight of them was surprising, making him uncertain of how they had come about so quickly. But he couldn’t deny them if he tried.
Another minute passed before he realized how long they had been hugging each other. Heat started to creep up his face as he cleared his throat and then let go.
She was also blushing once she glanced up.
That was when Theo recalled the last time they had interacted. The warriors had allowed him to carry Nora a short distance because she had called out his name while they washed the blood off her.
Hot to the touch, she had been nestled against his chest. It seemed to him she was trying to wake up. Being conscious was another matter, however. She had managed to slur a few words before passing out. Shortly after that, the men had taken her from his arms and disappeared with her.
He had been too worried to think about what Nora had said. But he remembered now. His lips twitched as he realized she must have been terribly feverish, mumbling about him being handsome and even something about marriage.
It was the fever, he told himself. Surely that’s all it had been.
Yet, there was a part of him that hoped she might have meant it.
Nora inhaled deeply, loudly, while looking him over. She tilted her head as she said, “My mother said it’s been nearly three days since we got here.”
“That’s right,” he said before realizing what she had said. “What, your mother?”
Her mouth opened closed as she sought the right words. In the meantime, he stared in bewilderment.
“Well…You know that my family died. The cabin burned down with them inside it. But I wasn’t inside. I collapsed, and this tribe was traveling through the area. There used to be more room for them to go before the town grew. Anyway, my Pia took me in and raised me after that. I honor her by calling her my mother.”
The story began to click together inside his mind. The braids, her strange looks around town, even some elements of how she talked.
“Oh. Wow,” Theo commented.
He wished he could think of something more to say, but he was stumped. The surprise clung to him while he tried to imagine that sort of life. She had lived through so much in her short number of years.
The dress she wore swished lightly. “Three days, then. The posse didn’t follow us? I don’t…well, I don’t quite remember much of anything after I was shot,” Nora explained hesitantly.
That didn’t change how much she had done for him. Knowing he would never amount to half the incredible human being that she was, Theo cleared his throat. There wasn’t much for him to tell.
“I had to wake you a little bit, so I knew where to take us while riding. But you were pretty much unconscious by the time we cleared the ledge. It only took a minute for the warriors to find us. It was…Well, they brought us here and took you away. Not a lot of folks speak English, so I don’t really know much about what has happened lately,” he added.
Her brow knit. “So, the posse hasn’t found us. I hope that’s a good thing for us all.”
He watched as her hand crept up to her left shoulder to start rubbing it. That didn’t seem like a good sign. Gently reaching out, he took her hand and gave it a squeeze before letting go.
“It’s going to be just fine,” Theo promised her. “We’ll figure it out. There’s no reason for us to worry or do anything until you feel better.”
Although Nora nodded, he wasn’t quite ready to believe the smile on her face. They had been through a lot, so she had to still feel on edge.
Maybe they could stay put for a while. Though the idea made him a little nervous, she clearly trusted these people, and he trusted her. She needed time and space to heal, and he needed to figure out the next step to this crazy situation he had gotten himself into with his uncle.
A few days and then they would do something, Theo decided.
He looked down at the young woman beside him. With a prayer in his heart, he hoped that their luck might start to turn around for something better.
Chapter 33
Nora stayed with Theo while she still had the strength.
When she first started to waver, he invited them to sit down on the grass. It was thick and lush and comfortable. Her knee had touched Theo’s while they gave up on conversation to watch the children play. She explained the rules until she began to tire again.
Her eyes started to close for longer seconds at a time. She tried to pay attention, but she was having a hard time of it until she heard a low chuckle in her ear.
Upon blinking, she found that Theo had climbed up onto his feet. He offered her his hand graciously, like the gentleman that he was, slowly and somewhat reluctantly, beginning to understand that he was.
She started to reach out with her left arm until a stabbing pain passed through her. Wincing, she tightened her hand into a fist before switching to provide him with her right hand.
Her injury was all too inconvenient.
The bullet had brushed across her upper arm, just deep enough to cause a fair amount of blood loss. Especially from the hard riding she had done. Bent over the saddle as she had been, it had made sense that she had wound up covered with blood on her face to her waist. Her mother had mentioned how the hunters, or warriors like Theo had called them so innocently, had thought that she was dead.
While Nora was glad to be alive, the pain wasn’t exactly what she was excited to live with.
Being shot was only half of her problem. From what she understood, she had been hung over the side of Theo’s horse for a moment with only his hand wrapped around her arm. That wasn’t something she blamed him for. Rather, she was grateful he had tried so hard to protect her like that. Her body would have dragged her weight down, and it felt like an ugly sprain that she could feel deep into her back.
On the bright side, her fever was gone. She had gotten up a short while ago with a burst of energy. Her mother hadn’t wanted her to be up for too long lest she fall ill all over again, but Nora knew she needed to escape the sick tent for a while.
“You look exhausted,” Theo said once she was on her feet.
When she wavered, he wrapped an arm around her waist. It felt comfortable being pressed this close beside him. Her heartbeat quickened. Looking up at him curiously, Nora prayed the flushing on her face wasn’t too noticeable.
“Only a little,” she murmured before hesitantly adding, “I was worried about you and needed to make sure you were safe. Has everyone been kind?”
He gazed at her for a moment before his lips started to turn upward. Then he nodded in reply. “Kind enough for a man they don’t know and don’t respect.”
Directing them toward her tent, Nora made sure that they started moving before she said anything in reply. “They have reason to be cautious, of course. But I’m certain they respect you after all you’ve done for me. Thank you, by the way,” she added meaningfully.
When he looked down at her, they shared another smile.
Theo returned her to her tent and said farewell before letting her slip inside.
Though she’d had the energy to be with him outside, suddenly seeing that pile of skins waiting for her made every bone in her body feel like they were heavy stones.
