Page 20 of A Rugged Beauty
He heard the quiet exhale but didn't glance at Maddie. "I am."
"C'mon!"
Doc followed the boy at a jog that got his heart pumping. This was why he'd joined this wagon train—and the one before it. People needed him. Doing good works was the only thing that helped erase the grief. Otherwise, it threatened to overwhelm him.
He was conscious of Maddie trailing behind. He spoke over his shoulder, though he didn't let himself look at her. "I'm certain I won't need assistance."
But she followed them anyway.
Alex climbed into the wagon, throwing out, "You better wait there. Ma doesn't like anyone tracking mud in our wagon."
Doc started to protest, but Maddie stayed him with a hand on his forearm.
Her touch burned like a brand and he jerked away from her. "If you please."
He saw what might've been a flash of hurt before her expression blanked.
The wagon jostled. It was easier to slip into his bedside persona than to think about the slight girl at his side. He set his bag on the ground and opened it, pulling out his fine suture needle. He had his catgut in hand when Alex edged out of the wagon and dropped to the ground with a small brown dog in his arms.
The boy’s eyes were hopeful as he presented the squirming ball of fur to Doc. "This is Tommy. He don't like strangers much."
The little dog growled at Doc, baring its teeth.
"This.” A breath. “Is Tommy?”
He could see Maddie from the corner of his vision. She seemed to be biting her bottom lip. To keep a smile from blooming?
She could've warned him.
Alex continued waiting with that hopeful look on his face. He held the dog securely and presented one front paw, where a gash stood out on the dog's forearm. The fur had been shaved away and clean black stitches were visible, at least where they hadn't been torn out by doggy teeth.
"Would you like me to take over for you?" Maddie asked sweetly. "I'm sure such a prestigious doctor such as yourself has other important tasks to look after."
Anger stirred at her trickery. She’d been making a fool of him all along. But Doc was conscious of the boy watching him. He'd been a boy once, with a dog that had followed him around day and night, slept at the end of his bed.
Doc shook his head. He wouldn’t let her win. "I'll be happy to stitch him up."
He had needle and thread in hand so he carefully closed up the wound with finger and thumb, avoiding those canine teeth. He couldn’t help but examine the stitches still intact.
“Miss Maddie does fine stitching, don’t she?” Alex asked.
“They are good sutures," he said reluctantly.
But when he glanced up, Maddie was already gone.
Four
It hadn't worked.
Sparrow lay huddled in the tree shelter, staring out into the night.
She had spent the entire afternoon ranging farther and farther away from the campsite, finding every downed log, branch, twig, and piece of tree bark she could find and delivering them to H, who had fed them to a bonfire that stretched ten feet in the sky and sent a plume of dark smoke heavenward. Her skin and hair still smelled like smoke, even now.
As the afternoon had waned into the evening, she'd returned to the fire with another armful of wood. With every load, H's shoulders drooped more.
When the sun slipped behind the horizon, he'd told her no more. No more wood. They would let the fire burn out.
That had been hours ago.
