RomanceEverAfter
|
|
|
People You Should Know A Conversation with Ross Howard, A Cure for Kirby, Meet Monica Davis and Geir Ness. The Beauty of Change Series Historical Romance Column and Book Reviewer: Kaye Hatfield NEW! Sam DeMarco Have you dreamed of starting your own business? Sam DeMarco, owner of Compliance Team, did and he tells us how he made his dream a reality! Photo Gallery Romance & You (Articles) Romantic Memoir
Quotes & Poetry Expand your quotes and poetic horizons by visiting our various Quotes & Poetry categories: Thought of the Week: Time for New Beginnings A series of 8 articles by Melissa Hamilton comprising a collection of principles that will allow you to make your vision for the future a reality. Read about the Amish, India, Philippines, Greece, & Rome.
|
The source of the sounds was obviously no danger to her—at least not at the moment. A man was lying unconscious on the barn floor, moaning softly, his head caked with blood, his shirt a rusty red where it had become saturated. Rory apparently shared her view of the figure’s harmlessness as he merely sniffed at the stranger and then sat down to watch what was going to happen next. It never occurred to her to do otherwise than what she did. She fetched a basin of water from the pump, washed the wound—a long crease along the left side of his head which exposed the bone—tore an old sheet into strips for bandages, removed the stiffened shirt and saw that no additional damage had been done to his muscular torso and arms. She caught the eyes looking at her and saw the lips silently saying "water." Nodding, she hurried off to the well again and quickly returned with a battered and dripping tin cup. She held it out to her patient, slipped a hand behind his head and helped him drain it of its contents. The effort seemed to have robbed him of the last of his energy. Unsure whether he had fallen asleep or simply lapsed back into unconsciousness, she covered him with a blanket, decided she had done all she could do for him, and went off to her chores with Rory trailing behind. The stranger drove her own troubles temporarily from her mind as she pressed her head against the warm flank of the cow and deftly stripped her of her milk. A doctor was out of the question. It was twenty-two miles to the nearest one in Rosebend. It wasn’t difficult to decide who the stranger was. There had been rumors of a clash between the Union and Confederate troops near Hyatt. Wounded and dazed, he must have wandered off. That was very likely the answer, she thought, and also the solution to the problem. The first soldiers coming by would take him off her hands, either his own—whichever side he was on—or the others. In one case to fight again, in the other to become a prisoner. All things considered, she felt the latter event to be the happier one for him. Thinking about the still form stretched out on a bed of hay, she shook her head at the folly that had sent her husband and this young man off to kill and be killed. The old men hanging about the village store argued back and forth over the war. The consensus, if there was one, was that the southern states could secede if they wanted to and take their damn slaves along with them, that Kentucky should stay in the Union, that if no one bothered them, they wouldn’t go bothering anyone either. That made sense to Kate, but as she went back through the barn with the pail of milk and looked down at the sleeping form, she knew there would be a lot of bothering. It was noon before she could take time out to check again on the wounded man, and then she had to take the restless Aaron along. The hot summer day had made the stranger push aside the blanket she’d thrown over him. As she re-entered the barn, she could see he was struggling, unsuccessfully, to sit up. They looked at each other. Aaron clutched at his mother’s skirt, while Rory, tail wagging, went over to the man’s side. An extended hand increased the wagging rate. A More Perfect Union - 3 >>>(Continue) |
|
|
Photo Gallery
