Page 17 of Married By Midnight
“Dell,” she said. “We probably need to send for the doctor.” The man stood there with a cup in his hand. She took the cup from him and gently placed her hand on his arm. “Dell, now.”
“Oh! Right. I’ll get Dusty on it right away.” The man left and the woman came over to the side of the bed, blocking the sunlight so he could see her clearly.
Ian realized that yes, she wasn’t beautiful; instead, she was breathtaking. She put the cup on the table next to him. With gentle fingers the woman touched the bandage on his head. She pulled her fingers away so quickly, Ian thought he imagined the gentleness of her touch.
She pulled up a chair closer to the bed and looked at him with kind eyes. “How are you feeling? Do you remember anything?”
Ian tried to speak but instead of words, a guttural sound came from his mouth. He licked his lips and could tell that they were dry and cracked.
“Oh, I apologize. I’m not much of a hostess, am I? Let me get you something to drink. Stay there.” She quickly left the room.Stay there?As if he had anywhere else to go.
It only took a moment for her to return with a jar of water. She put her hand against Ian’s neck and held the jar against his lips. His skin burned where she touched him.
“Don’t drink it too quickly. You might choke.” Ian didn’t care. He was so thirsty. She finally pulled the jar away and put it back on the table. “You can have some more in a bit.” She settled back down on the chair, adjusting the skirt of the ugly brown dress and then leaning forward on her elbows. “How are you feeling, Mr. Poole?”
Mr. Poole? Why was she calling him that?
“Who’s Mr. Poole?”
She pushed back from her elbows and sat straight in the chair. “Isn’t that you? Mr. Ian Poole?”
Ian felt the bandage on his head again. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? That’s the name on your notebook.”
“I honestly don’t know.” Ian looked at the woman again. “Who are you?”
“My name is Sarah Abrahams and you are at my family… I mean, you are at my farm. My farm hands found you in the creek during a storm and brought you here. Why would you be in the creek, Mr. Poole?”
“I don’t know. How long have I been here?”
“Four nights. I don’t know how long were you unconscious before Dusty found you.”
“Dusty? Is that your husband?”
The woman gave a light laugh and her face completely changed. Her eyes appeared brighter and her face instantly relaxed. “No. Dusty isn’t my husband. He is one of the farm hands. What is the last thing you remember?”
“I don’t remember anything, except jumping off the train.”
“So, you are a train jumper?”
“I guess.”
“Hobo, tramp, vagabond. What good comes out of being on a train?”
“My head hurts. I think I’d like to be alone now.”
“The doctor is on his way to look at you. I’ll leave you here since I don’t think you can go anywhere.” She pushed the jar closer to him. “Don’t drink all of it at once.” Ian watched as she picked up the cup from the nightstand and left the room, closing the door behind her.
He listened to her footsteps disappear from the door. He wished she hadn’t interrogated him. He didn’t do well with questions being thrown at him. Ian wondered why that was.
His throat was parched again. He leaned over and picked up the jar of water, and with shaky hands brought it to his lips. It took three gulps and the water was gone.
He wiped his hand on the back of his sleeve and put the jar back on the table. His mouth wasn’t so dry now.
He leaned back in the bed and was thinking about the Sarah in the brown dress, when he felt his stomach recoil and he retched all over the blue, pink and yellow quilt.
After the doctor visited, Ian didn’t see much of Sarah. The old man, Dell, stayed with him. When he tried to inquire about her, Dell simply said she was in mourning and not to upset her.
