Montana Sky: The Purchased Bride (Kindle Worlds Novella) (The Jones's of Morgan's Crossing Book 2) Read online

  Jess saw it too. “The wound must be, um … up higher.” For modesty’s sake, he took a step back.

  Zadie nodded as Anson returned with the bandages. She lifted the girl’s skirts up as high as she could, while the men turned their backs in case the poor thing came to. “Oh my word!”

  Anson’s brow furrowed. “What is it?”

  “Good Lord. She’s been shot in the hip!”

  Jess’s face twisted up in confusion as he glanced over his shoulder and saw the bullet wound. “Who would do that?”

  Two

  “Oh, this is terrible!” Zadie exclaimed.

  “You can fix her … right?” Jess asked.

  Zadie shook her head as she looked in dismay at the woman’s leg. “Doc Drake taught me how to set broken bones, but he didn’t teach me anything about bullet holes.”

  “I know a thing or two,” Anson volunteered as he finally turned around.

  Zadie gaped at him in shock. “You do?” Zadie said in surprise.

  Jess smiled in relief. “That’s right, he does – thank the Lord! Tell us what you need.”

  Anson pulled up a chair and sat to better examine the wound. “It looks like just a flesh wound, so I can clean it, but that might not be enough. Knowing about something and actually doing it are two different things. Besides, I don’t know how much blood she’s lost.” He looked up at Jess. “Ride to town and fetch Doc Rawlins – tell him what’s going on here. And have him bring some laudanum.”

  Jess’s eyes were fixed on the young woman. He couldn’t bring himself to look away. The thought of the poor thing not pulling through yanked at his heartstrings.

  “Jess!” Anson snapped his fingers in front of Jess’s face. “Standing there staring isn’t going to help her – get a move on! Take Julius Caesar, he’s the fastest.”

  Jess wiped his hand over his face. “Right.” And away he went. Every moment he wasted was a moment that might kill her. He reached the barn, grabbed a rope and ran to the corral, knowing that before he could ride Anson’s prized stallion, he’d have to catch him. Julius Caesar would go right up to Anson, but with Jess it could be another story.

  Thankfully, the horse didn’t put up a fuss this time. Jess quickly led him to the barn, saddled him, slipped on his bridle, then mounted and was off like a shot. It was as if Julius sensed Jess’s urgency.

  Jess let the horse have his head, but soon slowed him to an even canter, not wanting him to tire too soon. Still, by the time he reached Morgan’s Crossing at this pace, fetched Doc Rawlins and rode back with him, almost four hours would have passed. Would the girl be in worse shape or better by then? He had no idea. And he couldn’t get the agonized look on the girl’s face out of his head.

  When he reached Morgan’s Crossing it was mid-afternoon. He spied Prudence Morgan with May Tisdale, an older white-haired woman he’d met the week before, sitting on the Morgans’ front porch. “Mrs. Morgan!” he shouted, bringing Julius to a skidding stop.

  Prudence raised both eyebrows. “What’s your hurry, Mr. Jones?”

  “I need to find Doc Rawlins! Someone’s hurt at the ranch!”

  “Merciful heavens!” Mrs. Tisdale cried. “He’s up at the mine.”

  “Much obliged.” Jess turned Julius and took off. The doctor often stayed near the mine in case of any accidents, which happened more often than not. Thankfully it wasn’t far. When he reached it, several miners were milling about, and two were speaking with Clyde Rossmoor, the foreman. Jess had only met him once, but he wasn’t hard to spot. “Mr. Rossmoor!”

  Clyde and the miners looked up as Julius came to a halt. “Whaddaya want, boy?”

  “I need Doc Rawlins. Where is he?”

  One of the miners, a man Jess had never seen before, looked him up and down. “Who’s askin’?”

  “Jess Jones – Anson’s cousin. Someone’s hurt out at his place. Where’s Doc?”

  Clyde gave a toss of his head in the likely direction. “Last I saw him he was over there puttin’ somethin’ on a bad scrape one of the fellas got.”

  “Thanks,” Jess said, kicked Julius and took off.

  “In a hurry, ain’t he?” one of the miners commented. If they only knew …

  He found the doctor sitting on a tree stump, wrapping a bandage around the bloodied arm of a man standing next to him. “Doc!”

  The doctor glanced up from his work. “Howdy.”

  Jess jumped off his horse and hurried to where he sat. “I’ve come from the Anson Jones ranch. Someone’s hurt and we need you out there right now.”

  “Hurt? What kind of hurt?” he asked calmly as he tied off the bandage.

  “Gunshot wound. Anson said to bring laudanum.”

  The doctor looked up. “Gunshot?! Well, why didn’t ya say so in the first place? I’ll have to gather a few things.”

  “Fine, just hurry.”

  The miner he wasn’t familiar with was suddenly behind him. “Someone shoot himself in the foot?”

  Jess looked at him. Morgan’s Crossing was so small, he’d met pretty much all the townspeople in the month he’d been there. It helped that when you were the new guy in town, everyone wanted to get a look at you. But this fellow was unknown to him. “Not exactly, but it’s not something we want to leave to chance.”

  The man rubbed his whiskered jaw. “Guess not. Hope they don’t up and die on ya.”

  The comment rankled, and Jess’s jaw tightened. “Not bloody likely.”

  The man smiled at him oddly. “The way ya talk … ya from someplace back east?”

  “No, I’m from Oregon, but much of my family’s from England.”

  The miner nodded knowingly. “Oh, that explains it. Not much of an accent, but it’s there – just like that Anson fella.”

  “He’s my cousin,” Jess remarked as the doctor returned with his bag and a horse. Doc informed Clyde he’d be elsewhere the rest of the day and headed out. Jess wanted to let Julius take off at a gallop, just as he’d done when he left the ranch, but he could tell the doctor’s horse would never keep up. He’d just have to be patient and pray the girl was better when they got there. Preferably conscious.

  When they arrived, Jess almost groaned at the look on Zadie’s face as she ran out to the barnyard to greet them. “Thank Heaven you’re back! Quickly, Doctor, this way. Jess!” she called over her shoulder as the doc dismounted and followed her. “Take care of the stock, will you?”

  Jess hopped off Julius. “The stock? Now?!”

  “Yes!” she insisted as she entered the house.

  Now he did groan. He wanted to see how the girl was doing. But if Anson wanted him to feed the stock, she must not be doing too badly. He sighed in relief, patted Julius on the neck and led him to the barn. The doctor’s horse followed at a distance, probably hoping he’d be fed too.

  Jess took care of both mounts, fed them, then tended the rest of the animals. He was almost afraid to go inside now and wondered what he’d find when he did. Had the girl been abducted and escaped? If so, what else had her captors done to her? No wonder she couldn’t talk! The thought made his blood boil enough that when he entered the house, his hands were balled into fists.

  Zadie saw the look on his face. “Jess, what’s wrong?”

  “Er … nothing.” His eyes went straight to the table. “Where is she?”

  “Upstairs in our bed. Doc thought she’d be more comfortable there.”

  Jess put his hands on his hips. “Right. But that means you and Anson haven’t any place to sleep.”

  “We’ll figure things out. The important thing is Doc took care of her wound.”

  “Was there a bullet?”

  “No – it must have gone right through her clothing. Anson was right, it was a flesh wound, but a good-sized one. It probably hurt her something awful to walk here.”

  “Walk here from where?” he said. “That’s what I’d like to know. Did she say anything?”

  “Not much – and nothing we could make sense of. She didn’t under
stand us either.”

  “After what she looks like she’s been through, I don’t doubt it.”

  Zadie looked away. “Doc says someone beat her. He’s seen this sort of thing before.”

  “But who? And speaking of that, who is she?”

  “We don’t know yet.”

  Jess paced the kitchen, his hands still on his hips as they often were when he was upset or annoyed. “What if whoever hurt her is looking for her?”

  “Anson brought that up too. We’ll deal with it if and when the time comes.”

  Jess stopped and nodded. “Can I see her?”

  Zadie studied him. “I suppose so, but she’s asleep.”

  “The doc gave her some laudanum?”

  Zadie nodded, still studying him. “Jess, I don’t know who this girl is or how she came to be in our barn, but whatever happens, it’s not your fault.”

  “What?”

  Zadie smiled. “Anson has told me a lot about you – and one of the things he told me was that you have an overactive sense of responsibility.”

  Jess’s eyebrows shot up. “He said that?”

  “He most certainly did.”

  Jess looked at the floor as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I found her … so yes, that makes me responsible for her.”

  “To a certain extent. This is our place, not yours.”

  “Then we’re all responsible. At least until she’s on her feet or we can get her back to her family.”

  Zadie nodded. “But what if she doesn’t have any? Jess, we know nothing about her.”

  “We’ll find out when she wakes up.”

  “The doctor said that probably won’t be until tomorrow. You’ll have to be patient.”

  Jess nodded, more to himself than to her. “I’ll take the first watch.”

  “First watch?”

  He held his hands out at his sides in a what-did-you-expect gesture. “She might wake up.”

  Zadie smiled. “Jess, don’t you think it’s a little improper for you to be in the same room with a young lady while she’s sleeping?”

  Jess opened his mouth to speak, closed it, opened it again. She had a point. “Very well, you take the first watch.”

  Zadie laughed. “I pity the poor woman that winds up married to you. Isn’t one of your other cousins like this? Overprotective?”

  Jess headed for the stairs. “Oh yeah, that would be Harrison Cooke. He drives his wife crazy.”

  “Yes, well, it obviously runs in the family.” She followed him.

  He stopped and turned on the staircase. “There are a lot worse things to be.”

  She thought about that for a moment. “True.”

  Jess smiled at her, turned and took the stairs two at a time.

  * * *

  Lillie felt as if she was floating, surrounded by a fog. She drifted in and out of sleep for what seemed like hours, but maybe was only minutes. Who knew? She herself knew nothing, could feel nothing … no, wait. A dull ache in her right hip. Strange.

  Now she noticed more feelings. Her jaw ached as badly as her side. It was hard to breathe, but she couldn’t seem to escape the fog she was in. She’d have to wait until it lifted out of her brain. That’s where it was. Must be. She couldn’t think. But what happened? Why did she hurt? If only she could remember. Though considering what she could feel, why would she want to?

  She tried to open her eyes. Nothing. She couldn’t so much as blink, let alone move a limb. She was trapped in a sightless limbo, turning neither left or right, nor moving forward or backward. Still. So still.

  She sensed a breeze against her ear, as if someone was trying to tell her a secret. And after a moment she felt something change – something was different about her, other than the pain. She suddenly felt lighter, as if she’d been freed from something. But what?

  Lillie only knew that she’d found some small shred of comfort at the moment, and didn’t want it to end …

  * * *

  Jess dipped a cloth into the washbasin, wrung it out and placed it on the girl’s forehead. He could barely take his eyes off her. She was beautiful, even if half of her face was black and blue. Someone had smacked her a few times … and whoever it was would pay.

  He tried not to think about that anymore, and instead concentrated on the mysterious young woman on the bed. Who was she? Where did she come from? What were they going to do with her – other than the obvious, of course? He’d take care of her, see that she gained her strength back, tell her she was safe with him and his family. No further harm would come to her so long as he was around.

  He leaned forward again and spoke directly into her ear. Doc Drake said that sometimes when a person was unconscious, they could still hear a person speak to them. “It’s gonna be all right, you’re safe here.” He sat up again and studied her. Nothing. Earlier she’d moved when he spoke to her that way, but not this time.

  He sighed and leaned back in his chair. Zadie had sat with her while Anson tried to figure out where they were going to sleep. Not all the furniture had been moved into the house yet, and more was still being delivered. They’d paid a friend to go to the train station in Sweetwater Springs, pick their goods up and bring them to the ranch. They had a spare bed coming. As soon as it arrived, they would set it up for her if she was still there. Until then, they’d have to sleep on a pallet on the parlor floor while Jess had the cot in the cabin.

  But the thought of retiring for the evening had no appeal. He was staring at the face of the beaten, wounded woman. She not only had a black eye, a bruised face and a flesh wound in the hip, but the doctor thought one of her ribs might be cracked. How could he leave her?

  He shook his head and tried not to get angry. Instead he concentrated on her face. Her complexion was creamy, which made the bruises on her face stand out all the more. Her dark hair gave her skin a porcelain look. He wasn’t sure what color her eyes were – he’d been too worried about her before to notice, and knew better than to ask Zadie, though she would know. She noticed details like that, one of the things that made her a good rancher’s wife.

  If only Jess were so lucky to marry a woman like his cousin had. He wondered if the poor black-and-blue angel on the bed was married. No rings on her fingers … oh, what was he thinking. Let the poor thing recover, he scolded himself. He quickly straightened and glanced at the open door. Zadie would be back at any moment – he’d offered to sit with their patient while she and Anson made up their bed downstairs.

  He wasn’t sure if he could wait until morning to find out who she was, where she came from, what happened to her. He wanted answers and wanted them now. But clearly now wasn’t the time.

  With a sigh Jess leaned forward one last time and bent to his angel’s ear. “Sleep well, sweetheart. I’ll be with you again in the morning.” If not sooner, he thought. Someone had to watch over her while she slept. It might as well be him. And he wasn’t likely to sleep anyway.

  Three

  Lillie awoke slowly, not sure where she was. She wasn’t at home, that was for sure – she had done everything in her power to leave it as far behind as possible. It was the one coherent thought she had, to be free of her father however she could …

  “Mama,” she whispered. The vibration of her own voice stirred her to consciousness. She felt something cool and wet on her forehead, and welcomed the comfort it brought. She thought she heard voices, but wasn’t sure. Then again, right now she wasn’t sure of much. Had she escaped? No, she hadn’t. The dull ache in her right side reminded her that she’d been too careless, too slow.

  Then he’d … he’d shot her. She still couldn’t believe it. “Nooo,” she moaned.

  Lillie forced her eyes open and found herself looking into a man’s face. Naturally, her first reaction was to run, but her body refused to work. One hand fell weakly off the bed, which made her realize she was in one. “Who are you?” she rasped.

  “My name’s Jess Jones. I found you in the barn yesterday. You were in an awful ba
d way, so I brought you up to the house so we could tend you.”

  “Tend me?”

  “Yes, ma’am. You see … well, I’m not sure how it happened but you got yourself shot in the hip.”

  “I … what?”

  This Jeff Jones – was that his name? – looked stunned for a moment, staring into her eyes. She’d been told her gray eyes were her best feature, so maybe that was it. Or maybe it was the bruises she was sure surrounded them. Finally he shook himself and said, “Zadie gave you some laudanum early this morning.”

  “Sadie?”

  “No, Zay-dee,” he corrected. “But I do have an Aunt Sadie back home.”

  “Home?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Back in Clear Creek. It’s in Oregon.”

  Lillie glanced around the room before looking back at the man. “Where am I?”

  “Morgan’s Crossing, ma’am. That is, you’re on my cousin’s ranch a couple hours’ ride from town.”

  So at least she’d managed to get some distance from her father, but not enough. He could still find her here and finish what he’d started. “I can’t stay here.”

  “Nonsense – you can stay here as long as you want! Unless, of course, your kinfolk are worried about you. Do you have any nearby?”

  For a moment Lillie was lost in his peaceful sky-blue eyes. She wanted to keep staring into them, but knew she couldn’t afford the luxury. Things were becoming clearer and she had to figure out what to do. Unfortunately, her tired body had other ideas. She’d intended to close her eyes for a moment before answering, but fell asleep instead.

  * * *

  Jess sat and stared at the beautiful young woman asleep on the bed. She looked better than she had the day before – a bit of color had returned to her cheeks, and he’d gotten a good look at her eyes, a sharp contrast to her dark hair. He would have to let Zadie and Anson know that she’d woken up, even if it was for only a few minutes.

  He sighed. He still didn’t know her name or where she came from, nor the answer to the most important question: how did she get shot? Who in their right mind would try to harm such an exquisite creature? Was it an accident? But if so, why was she hiding in Anson’s barn? No, the only logical explanation was that someone had shot her on purpose and botched it, giving her a flesh wound and nothing more.