Page 5 of Inventions of the Heart

“Let me have a look at your wounds.”

“They’re nothing. Wipe the blood off and wrap them up. I have to stay near Todd.”

Michelle thought Annie was an admirable woman. To distract her from being so blasted brave, she set Caroline in her lap.

Michelle went and wrung out a cloth, then knelt in front of the valiant woman. Between holding the baby and holding her husband’s limp hand, she barely noticed Michelle pulling a bullet out of her calf.

“Not in the muscle.” At least not much.

Annie nodded as if Michelle was speaking the obvious.

Michelle didn’t tell her it was a long way from a scratch and would need stitches.

Michelle decided to make Shad do that, too. For now, she pressed a pad of cloth to it until the bleeding stopped, then wrapped the pad tight.

She turned to Annie’s arm. Her sleeve was soaked in blood.

“Do you have another dress?”

“Y-yes.” Annie blinked at Michelle as if she feared why Michelle had asked.

“It will be faster and more modest if I rip your sleeve open rather than make you, um, disrobe. Your dress will be ruined. I just hoped you had something else to wear.”

“Rip it up. I have clothes here at Zane’s house.” Annie’s voice was laced with fear, pain, and anger. “I’m never wearing this dress again no matter how careful you are.”

Michelle nodded. Since there was a convenient bullet hole in Annie’s upper sleeve, Michelle put both fingers in the hole and ripped. The sleeve split without much of a fight.

“This one isn’t bad at all. I’m afraid you’ll need some stitches on your leg, but this, well, it bled freely, but the cut isn’t long nor deep. It’s mostly closed. I can wrap it—”

“Just wrap my leg, too. It’ll heal.”

No, it wouldn’t, but Michelle had things to do now. She’d wait and fight later.

She felt good about the tidy bandage on Annie’s arm. Stepping back, she turned to wash her hands again, then came right back to pick Caroline up. Done crying, Caroline, with all the strange commotion around her, eagerly watched all the activity.

“How much longer on those stitches, Shad?” Michelle wasn’t as good at handling a baby as Zane or Shad.

“I’m done.” Shad straightened from his stitching.

“Let me bandage it.” After a few minutes’ practice on Annie, she felt like she had a reasonable skill with that.

Michelle settled Caroline gently back on poor Annie’s lap. She looked over at Zane. “Wash your hands. You’re going to need to hold the baby.”

Michelle rounded the table as Shad straightened from his stitches. Under her breath, she told Shad, “Right calf. Stitches.”

Shad nodded and went to his next patient with his needle and thread. Michelle didn’t say anything, but she was impressed to see Shad stop and wash his hands before going to work.

Annie was so fixated on Todd that she didn’t seem to notice Shad coming at her with a needle.

Zane went to take Caroline back just as Shad got a firmgrip on Annie’s leg. He pressed one hand solidly on Annie’s shoulder. “Brace yourself, sister.”

Startled, she looked up at Zane, then down at Shad. “What are you doing?”

The needle poked her, and she hollered. She’d’ve jumped up, but Zane and Shad were ready for that, and she was held utterly still—not counting her mouth.

Caroline started crying.

The toddler crying, the mama shouting, it was loud enough—or maybe Michelle’s bandaging hurt bad enough—that Todd’s eyes flickered open.

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