Help him, God.Her entire body ached to see Aaron like this.
When he stopped coughing, she climbed onto the wagon step and lifted Aaron's splinted leg, turning the lower half of his body. If only he were a child, she could carry him back to the rear of the wagon, then tuck him in where he could be warm.
But though he was a grown man, he still needed her help.
At last, he gathered enough strength and awareness to climb down, and she guided him, helping him find balance with the walking sticks once he reached the ground. With those poles, she couldn't tuck herself under his arm, but she kept up a steady string of encouragement as she walked beside him. "You're going to feel better soon. Once you rest and get warm, you'll gain strength back. Then we’ll be at Settler’s Fort, and the doctor can help make you all better."
Something twinged in her spirit. Couldn't God make him better without the doctor’s care? She should tell Aaron she’d been praying. Give him hope.
Once she'd helped him climb up the back of the wagon and collapse onto the blanket there, she covered him with all the remaining quilts they had. Only his eyes peered out, and as he stared at her, they didn't appear as glassy as before. More exhausted perhaps, but aware.
She stroked a tuft of hair away from his eyes. "You're going to get better, Aaron Long. I've been praying, and you're going to get better."
Something in his expression changed, brightening his eyes a little. The blanket shifted, and his hand slipped out, reaching for hers. She gripped his gloved fingers with her own.
He squeezed tighter than she'd have thought he had the strength for. Then his voice came through the blankets, muffled but definitely clear enough to understand. "I love you, Katie Barlow. You’re the light God sent to keep my darkness away."
The sharp burn of tears sprang to her eyes, and she brought her other hand so she could cling to Aaron with both—with all she had. "I feel the same way. You make me hope for things I never thought possible."
Another cough overtook him—it was a wonder he'd been able to say so much already without coughing.
When the heaves subsided, she lifted his hand to her mouth and pressed a kiss there, then tucked it back under the blankets. "Sleep and get better. I'll get us to Settler’s Fort as soon as I can."
CHAPTER12
Had Aaron given her the wrong directions?
Katie leaned forward to peer through the falling snow at the path in front of the mules. This didn't even seem to be a road. She was simply guiding the team around the trees in this scattered wood. With snow covering the ground, she had no idea what lay beneath.
Before they'd left camp that morning, Aaron had whispered their route in a hoarse tone in between coughs. His brother’s cabin lay off the main road through a sparse wood. She'd found the marker to know when to leave the road, but were they still going the right direction? She'd been navigating these trees for more than a quarter hour now. Maybe she’d missed the cabin.
She glanced back at Aaron but only caught a glimpse of the blanket that cocooned him before she had to look back at the land ahead to guide the team around a cluster of trees.
Should she stop and ask him if he recognized anything around them? He'd been sleeping when they turned off the road, and his body desperately needed that chance to regain strength. But if he could identify whether they were going the right direction or not, they could get to the shelter of his brother’s home far quicker. Of course, they couldn't see much for the snowfall that seemed to be growing thicker. Waking him might not help at all.
A bark sounded ahead, and she straightened, straining to see what Barney had spotted.
The dog stood at attention, staring through the snow. He barked again.
She reined in the mules lest they run over the mutt, for he hadn't left the center of the path.
Another figure appeared through the curtain of white. A man. Layered with such a thick coat and hood, she couldn't see much of him.
The stranger raised his hand toward her, maybe in greeting. As he walked by the dog, he held that arm out to Barney, but of course the animal slinked sideways out of reach.
As the man turned his focus on her and proceeded toward the side of the wagon, his gait turned wary. He halted a few steps away from the bench, his hood casting shadows over his eyes that made him look at least a score of years older than she. "Can I help you?"
She tightened her grip on the reins. Could he be dangerous? Aaron kept his rifle under the seat, but her hands were so cold, she might not be able to pull the trigger. Certainly not with any speed. Yet if Nate lived around here, this fellow could be a neighbor.
She lifted her voice. "We're looking for Nate Long's place. Do you know him?"
His gaze shot down the length of the wagon. "We?"
Better she make it clear she wasn't alone. "His brother’s asleep in the wagon." Also better not to reveal Aaron's weakened condition.
But the stranger jerked into motion, striding toward the bed. "Aaron?"
Her heart hammered. This man knew him. He must not be a danger. She scrambled down from the wagon as the fellow moved to Aaron's blanket-wrapped body.
