Page 362 of Conveniently Wed
Aundy dropped to her knees, held Nik’s head on her lap, and brushed her hand along his forehead. “Oh, you poor baby. You’ll be okay. We’ll take care of you. Nik, please be okay.” She turned her head to wipe her tear-stained cheek on her shoulder while Dent looked to Fred as he arrived on horseback.
“Call the doc and the sheriff. If they don’t answer, ride for town.” Dent yelled out the orders. Fred spun his horse around and took off to the house. Bill arrived, leading another horse thatDent mounted. He sent Bill to get the wagon so they could move Nik to the house.
“I need to find Lem, Missy. I’ll stay here, but I’m gonna look around.” Dent turned to Hank. He stood nearby, his face blanched white at the sight of all the blood. “Hank, walk over to that grove of trees and see if you find anything.”
Dent rode off in the opposite direction, studying the ground.
Aundy fished her handkerchief out of her pocket and rubbed at Nik’s dirty cheeks. His face had lost all color and the fact he hadn’t stirred worried her. That reminded her too much of the day Erik was injured.
She should never have let Nik stay out with the sheep after she had the first threat. Regardless of what she said, he would have snuck out to be with the sheep.
Bumped from behind, Aundy lifted an arm and Butter wedged his little body next to her side, bleating pitifully.
“I know, Butter. I know.” Aundy rubbed her arm over the lamb’s head. He flopped down on the grass next to her and sniffed at Nik, bleating again.
She forced herself not to look back at Bob. The dog was beyond helping.
The pounding sound of hooves beating the ground drew her gaze as Bill and Fred topped the hill in the wagon, bouncing wildly as they urged the horses to go faster.
Dent dismounted behind a tree and she wondered if he found Lem. She prayed the cowboy was alive.
Hastily sending up prayers for Nik and all her men, Aundy held onto Butter as the wagon creaked to a stop beside them. Bill and Fred cushioned the bed of the wagon with a few saddle blankets. Aundy scrambled to climb into the back, sitting down so the men could place the boy with his head resting on her lap. Fred picked up Butter and set him beside her.
“Thank you.” She glanced up at him with tear-filled eyes. She knew how much Fred disliked the sheep. To see him tenderly lift the lamb threatened to unravel the few threads keeping her from falling apart.
Dent waved frantically at them from the tree, so Bill and Fred guided the wagon that direction while Hank ran over.
“Help me get him loaded, boys.” Dent motioned to Lem. Although unconscious, he was breathing. A bloody cut on his head appeared to be all the damage he’d suffered.
“Looks like someone knocked him out. Probably clubbed him with the butt end of a rifle,” Dent said as they placed Lem in the wagon next to Nik. “Head back to the house. I’m gonna do a little sniffing around while we wait for the sheriff.”
“He’s out of town, but Kade and Doc both said they’d be here as quick as they could,” Fred said as Bill turned the wagon toward the house.
When the wagon stopped at the end of the front walk, Aundy carefully moved and lowered Nik’s head to the wagon bed before accepting Bill's hand and jumping down.
After running up the porch steps, she raced into Erik’s former room, glad she’d aired it recently after sorting through his things. The room looked orderly, if impersonal.
She flung the quilt off the bed and ran to the kitchen for an oilcloth. As Bill and Fred carried the boy inside the door, she draped it over the bed.
“Bring him in here,” Aundy said, watching as they gently placed Nik on the bed.
Aundy returned to the kitchen to start boiling water while Bill and Fred helped Lem into the house. Disoriented, he managed to walk into the front room with the support of the other two men.
Terrified she might lose Nik, Aundy hurried back to the bedroom with a pan of warm water and a stack of rags. She helda cloth over his wound, hoping to stop the flow of blood. After instructing Bill to hold the rag in place, she took another and wet it, wiping off Nik’s face and hands.
“Nik, you’re going to be just fine. You’re back at the house and safe now,” Aundy said as she rinsed the rag and washed his face again.
Bill peeled back the blood-soaked rag and Aundy handed him a fresh one. She took a damp cloth to Lem and dabbed at the wound on his head that already formed a scab.
The thundering of hooves echoed up the drive, and Fred ran outside to greet Kade.
“Doc’s coming!” Kade yelled loud enough they could hear him in the house. Fred scooped up Butter from the front lawn before climbing into the wagon and driving it to the barn, following the deputy as he raced ahead.
“How’s Nik?” Lem asked quietly, trying to look into the room where Bill bent over the boy.
“He’s bleeding a lot,” Aundy said, not knowing what else to do for Lem. She hurried to the kitchen and came back with a glass of water then handed it to him. He drank it down and leaned his head back against the chair, closing his eyes.
“Tried to stop him,” Lem said, shaking his head then wincing at the pain.
