Read Online Love's Rescue by Tammy Barley - Free Book Online Page B

She would stay in Carson City with the Van Dorns until she could support herself, or she’d stay in the cramped upper room of Hale Imports, if she had to—but she would not remain at Jake’s ranch.
    Jess shoved aside the covers with her left arm and dropped her legs over the edge of the bunk. She ground her teeth against the burning in her right arm and chest, moving in spite of it.
    In alarm, Red Deer helped Jess to her feet, not certain what she was intending to do. “Do you wish to bathe now?”
    A cold sweat broke out along Jess’s skin. She felt physically ill from the burns, and she began to shake. A white haze clouded her vision. She knew she was in shock.
    “You should not do much yet,” Red Deer said in a soothing voice. “I will help you to wash and put more salve on the burns, but then you must rest. I think a terrible thing has happened to you. Sleep will help your body and your heart to heal.”
    Jess nodded weakly, unable to do anything else. Red Deer helped her lower herself into a chair. Jess noted again how her black hair was cut just a few inches above her shoulders. She, too, had lost a loved one. And recently. With all the strife between the Indians and the settlers, perhaps she knew suffering all too well. Though Jess couldn’t stop the deluge of sorrow and reminiscence, she regretted her own surly attitude. She did not want to cause this woman further sadness. “I appreciate what you’ve done for me, Red Deer. Forgive me if I was unkind.”
    Red Deer reassured her with a gracious smile, then asked, “You lost someone?”
    “Yes, my family.” And any servants who didn’t make it to safety, she realized. What had happened to Elsie, Maureen, Malcolm, and Ho Chen? Were they safe?
    Red Deer’s black eyes shone in empathy. Her face was round with a softly flared nose, characteristic of the Paiute people. “I saw the way you looked at your ruined dress and ornaments,” she said. “You are one who will remember your dead with the strength of great love, Miss Hale.”
    “Please, call me Jess,” she said.
    As she carefully sponged her burns, Red Deer rinsed the cloth. “Jessica…I heard the cattlemen call you by this name. Does it have a meaning?” she asked. “I have learned that not all white names have meanings.”
    Jess shook her head, too exhausted to elaborate. She remained quiet while Red Deer applied a salve and wrapped her arm in clean strips of cloth.
    When she had finished, Red Deer said she would prepare a bath, but Jess held up a hand. “If you wouldn’t mind, I think I’ll rest again. I can bathe later, if it isn’t too much trouble.”
    “Yes, Jessica. The rest will be good. I will bring food later.”
    Gratefully accepting assistance, Jess slipped under the covers once again. Quietly, Red Deer left. Alone again, Jess cried as the hours came and went until, at last, the comforting arms of sleep embraced her.
    ***
    In the days that followed, Red Deer left trays of food for Jess, which she discovered each time she awoke. She would eat a little, and then, grieving, drift back to sleep.
    While she slept, nightmares tormented her—her family dying horribly around her, sometimes along with Maureen, Malcolm, or one of the others. She would bolt upright, initially flooded with relief that it had been only a dream. In the next instant, though, reality would assault her, and she suffered anew the pain of her loss. Then she would cry herself to sleep again, only to have the brutal cycle repeat itself as the sun rose and set.
    One morning, just before daybreak, Jess woke from a mercifully dreamless sleep, and, for once, tears didn’t come. Rolling her pillow more comfortably beneath her head, she finally felt clear of mind.
    What was she to do now? Jess thoughtfully searched the shadows above. First, she had to find out if the servants had survived. She had to make certain they were well, and, once she did, she would help find them new places to work. After that…her father’s