Page 3 of Inventions of the Heart

Michelle pivoted toward the house. Jilly was better at this than she was. Then she remembered Jilly was gone. Laura was gone. That left Michelle, almost certainly more educated about anatomy and medicine than anyone else around the place. Nothing even resembling any practice at doctoring, though.

She spun back for the injured man and saw Zane rushing toward him carrying a little girl, with Annie clinging to his arm.

“Todd!” the woman screamed. She let go of Zane and ran faster.

Michelle sprinted, trying to get there, see what she could do.

The horses were taken into the barn.

The little girl began crying, “Pa, my papa. Pa.” High and wild and terrified, just like her ma. Michelle didn’t blame them.

Annie dropped to her knees beside Todd and tore at his shirt.

Zane, with his hands full of shrieking toddler, wasn’t much help. He looked around and saw Michelle and made one brief move to hand the little girl off.

Michelle dodged around him and knelt by Todd as his wife got his shirt open. He was utterly still.

“A bullet into his stomach,” Michelle noted. The next words to say werehe can’t survive this, but Michelle hadlearned a few things about handling people in tough situations, and she kept her prognosis to herself.

“Let’s get him inside.” She snapped out the order with such command that the two cowhands not busy with the horses picked him up and carried him toward the house.

Michelle helped Annie up. The woman wasn’t steady on her feet, and it looked like she was bleeding from at least two wounds. Her arm was bleeding and one leg, but both seemed to be working fine. She’d live.

Todd ... It would likely be time wasted. But Michelle had plenty of time, and Annie would need to see someone trying to help.

That’s when it hit her.

Annie and Todd. And the toddler was ... was ... Michelle dug deep. Her memory for names was excellent. Caroline. Annie Lane was Zane’s sister. Married to a rancher named Todd Lane. This gutshot man was Zane’s brother-in-law. Their picture was up in Zane’s office. Zane had mentioned their names once.

The men went inside and headed straight toward the stairs.

“No, bring him back. I want him on the kitchen table.” Michelle’s voice, again, got action. She turned to Zane. “I need bandages. Needle and thread, any medical supplies.”

She turned to Shad, who’d come in right behind them, the horses dealt with. “Get me a basin of water.” From the handy boiler she’d installed. But she didn’t say that. “And cloths. The rag bag is—”

“I know where it is.” Shad leapt into action.

Zane stood across the table from Michelle, Todd’s unconscious form between them. Caroline shrieked in his arms.

Michelle pressed two fingers against Todd’s neck andfound a steady pulse. Aware of Annie’s fear, Michelle spoke of what she’d found. “A very strong pulse. That’s a good sign.”

Maybe he had a chance, except Michelle only had the most miniscule notion of what to do. She found the bullet wound. The basin of water and a stack of clean rags were there before she could ask again.

Wringing out a wet rag, she wiped the terrible bleeding aside. “Two bullets. He’s been shot twice.”

She looked at Annie. “Zane, get her a chair. She’s been shot twice, too, but I want her to stay close to Todd.”

Annie grabbed her husband’s hand and pulled it to her lips. “Todd, Todd, can you hear me?”

“Shad, can you handle the chair?” Zane snapped.

Shad moved a chair behind Annie and as good as knocked her into it. Her knees were wobbly, so it wasn’t hard.

“Shad, get Jilly and the Hogan sisters back here. All three of them are fine at doctoring.”Finewas a little strong, but better than her. None of that mattered. Todd would die regardless of the skill of his doctor. Annie would live, regardless of who treated her. And Michelle, for now, was here to do her best for both of them.

Shad cracked an order to the two men who’d carried Todd in, and they left the room at a run. Jilly was riding herd with the Hogan sisters. The Steinmeyer family had ridden to town with some of Zane’s hands. Melinda and her baby had gone along. The first time to town for any of them since they’d come to live with Zane two weeks ago.

Shad hustled out of the room and was right back with a good-sized cloth bag. “Here’s what we have to treat injuries.”

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