The Lawman's Agreement (Entangled Scandalous) (23 page)

“Hey, fellow,” Zack called out. “Stop moving over there, or you’ll bring this whole damned place down on our heads.”

“Help me,” the man called out. “My legs are trapped.”

“I know. As soon as the doc and I get this man out, I’ll bring another worker in with me to lift that beam. In the meantime, you need to wait while the doc decides what to do to help this man.”

“Why can’t you get me out first?”

Zack turned his full attention on the frightened man. “What’s your name, buddy?”

“Evan Picker. I’ve only been working here two weeks.”

“Well, Evan, in order to get you out we’ll need to lift the beam. However, at the moment, the path is too narrow to get you past this man. We have to take things in order to prevent the possibility of a total collapse.”

Thankfully, Evan ceased his struggling and Suzanne returned to the work at hand. “I think if we can lift him part way up the wooden stake, I can hold a compress to his back until we slide him the rest of the way to the end. Then, the moment his body clears the stake, I can press another compress to his stomach. If I can hold the pressure while you lift, this may just work.”

Off to the right, the collapsed wall shifted slightly, the structure groaning as if it were in physical pain. Another shower of sawdust fell from the damaged ceiling.

Evan Picker screamed, his fear echoing through the small space. He began struggling again, yanking at the wooden beam with one hand while tugging at his trapped legs with the other.

“Evan!” Zack shouted. “Stop.”

Zack’s warning came too late, as the last of the precariously balanced beams began to fall. Suzanne threw herself over her patient. Zack leaned forward as well, shielding Suzanne from the onslaught of flying wood. A rumble reverberated throughout the mill. The final wall holding the structure together tumbled down around them.

When the dust settled, she heard Zack ask, “
Cher
, are you okay?”

Her head spun and an ache took hold of her left arm. She tried to open her eyes, yet the pain kept forcing them shut. “I think I’m going…to…”

“Suzanne!” Zack’s frantic call was the last thing she heard before darkness enveloped her.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Zack moved frantically from one injured person to the other, when all he really wanted to do was stay at Suzanne’s side. The inside of their wooden prison reminded him of a house of cards. One wrong move and the entire structure would collapse, burying the four of them beneath tons of rubble.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Evan Picker called out. “I panicked.”

Zack wanted to forgive the young man, yet the sight of Suzanne unconscious and her arm likely broken, kept his words, both forgiving and angry, in check. Instead, he concentrated on things he could hopefully control. “Did the beams shift any? Are you able to get free?

“They shifted a bit and one of the bigger ones has moved.”

“Don’t try and get out yourself,” Zack told him. “I’ll be there in a minute to see if I can lift the smaller pieces.”

“How about the other fellow and the doc?” Evan asked.

“This fellow’s the same. Dr. Martindale’s unconscious, but breathing regular. I think her arm might be broken.”

“Damn, Marshal. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

Zack gritted his teeth, biting back the curse he could feel bubbling up from inside. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure a way out of here. I just have to get my bearings.”

Although her voice was barely audible, Zack heard Miri calling to him from somewhere the other side of the collapsed wall. “Zack, can you hear me?”

“I hear you, Miri. Now, get the hell away from this place. It could collapse even more with the slightest vibration.”

“I’m not sure what it looks like down there, Zack, but from up top, we can actually see farther into the entranceway than we could before. We don’t have a lot of manpower up here as yet, but we did get word from Jake. They’re on their way back and should be here by early morning. Is everyone all right?”

“The two mill workers are about the same,” Zack called back. “But Suzanne took a bump to the head protecting her patient and I think she may have injured her arm. She’s unconscious, but I’m praying she’ll come around soon.”

“Keep her comfortable,” Sara said. “And, if you think there might be a break, see if you can find a small piece of wood to use as a splint. If you can get to the doc’s medical bag, there should be plenty of bandages in there to wrap around the brace.”

Zack moved back to get a better look at both Suzanne’s arm and the bump on her head. He reached out to brush a stray strand of hair from her forehead just as her eyes fluttered open.

“What happened?”

“The last wall caved in,” he said, emotion clogging his throat. “You got knocked on the head with a piece of debris and, I think you may have also taken a hit to the arm when you were shielding your patient.”

Suzanne struggled to move her left arm, the pain etched across her face bringing tears to Zack’s eyes.

“Yes,” she confirmed, “it’s definitely broken.”

“I’m going to find something to use for a splint. What can I give you for pain?”

“Nothing. I don’t want to be groggy in case you need my help with the other patients.”

“Never mind that. You’re hurting.”

Suzanne raised her good hand and laid it against his arm. “My first duty is to my patients, Zack. I can handle a little bit of discomfort.”

“At least let me try to fix up your arm.”

She nodded, and he could tell her eyes were getting heavy. A moment later, she’d slipped back into the dark void of unconsciousness.

Zack worked as quickly as their precarious surroundings would allow, sorting through a pile of rubble until he’d found a thin, flat board. He rummaged through Suzanne’s bag, pulling out two rolls of bandages. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, doing his best to recall the limited training all marshals were given in case of emergency. As adept as he’d been bandaging a fake wound, this was far different. This was someone he cared about; someone he loved.

The realization hit him square between the eyes. This wasn’t the first time he’d thought about how much Suzanne meant to him. Yet now, under these circumstances, the urge to tell her how he felt was overwhelming.

Once he’d finished splinting Suzanne’s arm, Zack moved to the patient with the stake through his gut. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem much worse for the wear. The bleeding around the wound had eased, most likely due to the packing Suzanne had already placed at his back. The man’s breathing was a bit ragged and he was still unconscious but, at least, he was still alive.

“Okay, Evan, I’m making my way in your direction. If it looks like my movements might start another collapse, I’m going to stop. I’m not leaving you there though. I promise, even if we have to wait until reinforcements arrive, we will get you out of here.”

“I trust you, Marshal. And, I’m not going anywhere. Causing one collapse was enough for me.”

The young man’s heartfelt admission made Zack smile. By the time he’d worked his way to the man’s side, Zack’s anger at Evan’s recklessness had abated. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.” Zack reached for the one wooden beam resting across Evan’s legs. “I’m going to try and lift this using another smaller piece of wood as a fulcrum. If it lifts up at all, do your best to scoot yourself backward until your legs are free.”

“I got it.”

“Don’t try to stand in case something’s broken. I don’t want you falling into one of the last support beams.”

From behind him, Zack could hear Suzanne’s faint call. “Zack, is everything okay?”

Zack quickly said a silent ‘thank you’ that she’d regained consciousness. “Yes,
cher
, I’m trying to get Evan out from under these beams.”

“Don’t let him try and stand in case he has injuries he’s not aware of.”

Zack fought back a chuckle at her duplicate thought, choosing instead to agree with her. “We’ll be careful, doc.”

Thankfully, he was able to lift the beam far enough for Evan Picker to move out from beneath the rubble.

“My legs seem fine, Marshal.” He raised and lowered each leg. “I do have a cut of some kind though. When I was scooting myself backward, there was a wet, sticky spot beneath me. Now, my hand’s covered with blood.”

“You stay on the ground and I’ll pull you back toward Dr. Martindale.”

“Yes sir.”

Zack took hold of Evan’s shirt collar and pulled him slowly around the pile of discarded wood. Evan sucked in a breath a couple of times as Zack dragged him along, but said nothing.

By the time they’d reached Suzanne, she was struggling to sit up.

Zack reached out and helped her into a seated position. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I need to get back to my patient.” She raised her splinted arm, her beautiful features puckered by the obvious pain. “You’ve made me as good as…as good as…new.”

“These lamps aren’t going to last much longer,” Zack told her. “Once they go out, we’ll be in pitch darkness. We’ll do whatever we absolutely have to do to keep the man alive, but other than that we’ll have to wait until morning for the rescue team.”

“Let me take a look at Mr. Picker first,” she said. “I want to see where the blood he mentioned is coming from.”

Zack helped Evan out of his heavy work shirt and turned him until he faced Suzanne.

Suzanne leaned closer and ran her hand across the young man’s back. “You’ve got a bad scrape and a couple of cuts on your back but that shouldn’t have caused any excessive bleeding. Can you let down your pants please?”

“Huh?”

The boy’s surprised response drew Zack’s laughter. “She said to drop your drawers, boy. She’s a doctor and has seen it all before.”

Somewhat reluctantly, Evan loosened the cinch on his pants and let them slide down his legs. The heavy cotton snagged on something part way down and he let out a yelp.

“Stop,” Suzanne ordered. “Zack, can you get the shears out of my bag please?”

Zack handed her the requested item and Suzanne began cutting carefully around the leg of Evan’s pants to reveal a large splitter of wood embedded in the side of his leg.

“Can you get it out, doc?” Evan asked.

“Yes, but first I want to pour some disinfectant on the wound and have a bandage ready to use as a compress.”

Zack handed Suzanne the items she needed. “How can I help?” he asked.

“I’m going to pour the disinfectant over the wound. Then, once we can see the blood flow clean, I’ll get you to slowly pull out the splitter. I’ll immediately…I’ll…”

The last of Suzanne’s words faded, as she swooned, her body falling hard against Zack’s chest.

“She’s passed out again,” Zack confirmed. “Let me lay her down and I’ll get you bandaged up.”

“Why doesn’t she just take the medicine like you said?” Evan asked.

Zack looked down at where Suzanne lay on the cold ground. Four months ago he would have wondered the same thing. Now, he understood. “Because, taking care of you and the other man is more important to her than her own pain.”

Evan Picker let out a long, hard sigh. “She must really love her job.”

Zack nodded, then reached out and brushed his fingertips across Suzanne’s flushed cheek. “More than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

By the time Suzanne regained consciousness the third time, Zack had removed the splinter, finished applying the bandages, and he and Evan had seen to the other man’s wounds, removing the old, blood-soaked bandages and replacing them with the last of the clean ones from Suzanne’s bag.

“How long was I out?” she asked.

“About an hour, give or take,” Zack said. “You’ll be happy to know, Evan’s wound wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked and I was able to get him cleaned up and bandaged.”

“I have to get to the other man,” she said.

When she would have tried to sit up again, Zack pressed his hand gently to her shoulder. “Evan and I changed the bandages already. I used some more of the disinfectant.”

Suzanne laughed softly, as if amused by his admission, even the smallest movement causing pain to flash across her face. Zack held his breath, waiting for her to drift off again, and wished he could take the pain in her place.

“Any idea how much longer we’ll be down here?” Evan asked.

“Well, it’s after midnight now. There’s no moon tonight, so no chance of a rescue attempt. Most likely the majority of the townspeople have gone home to rest up. I’m sure my deputy is standing guard outside.”

“We should get some sleep,” Suzanne suggested. “I’d like to try and remove this man from off the spike in the morning and maybe stitch up the worst of his wounds before the rescue crew gets to us.”

Zack couldn’t imagine Suzanne trying to sew up a gaping wound with only one hand, but then where she was concerned, he’d learned to take nothing for granted. He turned in Evan’s direction and asked, “Who is this fellow anyway? I don’t recognize him.”

Evan shrugged. “I don’t know much about him. He started a couple of weeks ago, not long after me. I think his name is Jed.”

Zack blew out the wick from one of the lamps. “Well, Evan, I suggest we take the doc’s advice and get some shuteye.”

Evan found a post to sit up against and closed his eyes in search of rest. Zack shifted himself until he could lean against another post and then drew Suzanne to his side, pillowing her head on his shoulder. He positioned her injured arm carefully across his chest.

She relaxed back into his embrace, her breathing even. She turned her head and pressed her lips to his throat and mumbled softly against his skin, her words barely above a whisper. Within moments, she was fast asleep.

Zack laid his head back against the post, letting her words sink in completely. She’d said she loved him, the muted admission music to his weary soul.

He thought back to when he’d scoffed at his deputy’s claim that he needed a wife, a family. He still worried about taking a wife and having a family only to leave them to mourn his death at the hands of an unscrupulous outlaw.

Yet, since he’d met Suzanne, fallen in love with her, his views had changed.
He
had changed. If there were ever to be a woman strong enough, brave enough, to be a lawman’s wife, it was Suzanne. As much as it pained him to admit it, Pete had been right, a life without love, without family, was no way to live.

Morning crept in around them, seeping through the cracks of the collapsed structure. Zack sat up slowly, easing Suzanne to the ground beside him and using his discarded jacket as a pillow for her head.

Not long after the first draft of light, he could hear voices. He recognized those of his deputy, Tom Stiles and Abel Stoner, the livery owner. Cautiously, Zack moved closer to the front of the structure. “Who’s out there?”

“Zack, it’s me, Tom. Can you hear me?” Stiles called out.

“Yeah, Tom, I can hear you. What have you fellows got planned?”

“We’re waiting for some more manpower to help clear the loose wood. We don’t want to yank out the wrong pieces and have the whole danged thing fall down around your head.”

Zack chuckled. “Good thinking, Tom.”

“Matt’s on his way over now. The
River Maiden
is about an hour out from docking. We’re going to wait for Jake and your brother. Between the five of us, we should be able to clear a path and get you out of there.”

“While you’re waiting, you might want to look for some stronger wooden planks to use as braces.”

“Already done,” Tom confirmed. “Matt was out here until midnight last night sorting through the rubble for as many useable pieces as he could find.”

“What about the injured we removed yesterday? Suzanne’s going to want a full report.”