Untamed Journey (42 page)

Scrambling toward Jackson, Ruth looked
frantically for signs of life.

When he sucked air back in to his starved
lungs, the pain in his ribs nearly crushed all ability to speak. He
wedged his boot under Smith’s heavy hip and pushed the dead man off
him, then his gaze swept the room for Ruth.

When she launched herself into Jackson’s
arms, he held her tightly as he scanned the remaining occupants of
the room, looking for new threats.

Jackson’s cousin nodded his reassurance as he
took watch at the front door, anticipating the arrival of Emmett
and Mike in response to shots fired.

As Ruth relished the comfort and relief of
Jackson’s warmth surrounding her, she glanced towards Jasper Smith,
lying face down on the fancy wool rug.

Next to his murdered partner and childhood
friend was the ancient Colt revolver Ruth’s father had given her
the day he set off to war.

“G
et back in bed,
this minute,” Ruth scolded, as she turned around to see Jackson
sitting up and struggling to pull a shirt over his bandaged
ribs.

“Glad to, if you’ll join me.” Jackson
offered, as he did his best to hide a grimace of pain.

“Don’t be absurd,” she replied. “You need to
let those ribs heal so you can carry me over the threshold.”

“Marry me tomorrow, and I’ll find a way to
carry you to the other side, several times over,” he teased with a
smile. “Nothing important was damaged.”

She blushed several shades of pink, and
placed a cup of coffee in Jackson’s hands to keep them
occupied.

“You have to be patient.” Ruth smiled as she
sidestepped Jackson’s arms and grabbed his breakfast tray. “Three
weeks is hardly any time at all to wait. It barely gives
Catherine’s daughter time to finish my dress. She wants to start
making her own money before deciding on a husband. Catherine says
her daughter has talent, just like her sister so many years ago.
Now eat your breakfast.”

“My ribs will be fine in a few days. I’ve
taken worse,” Jackson insisted, gulping down the last of his coffee
and a third biscuit. “Tell her to hurry with the sewing. I want the
woman I love by my side.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ruth promised.
“This is my home now.”

“So why did I hear you talking about building
a house up in your meadow?” he asked. “Are you planning to boot me
out when cabin fever takes hold this winter?”

“That’s a surprise for Sue,” Ruth explained.
“She gets her own home, closer to her crops. And I can use her
rooms to see patients. That’s another reason why you need to get
back in bed and heal quickly. How on earth will I convince folks to
let me treat them if my own husband doesn’t heal properly?”

He let Ruth lead him back towards the bed,
where he quickly pulled her off balance and into his lap for a long
and promising kiss. “If we time our first child right, folks will
have living proof of your healing skills,” Jackson insisted, as he
pulled a laughing Ruth into his bed to while away the afternoon
playing doctor.