He was still trying to get an accurate read on these visitors, and he needed to see a great deal more of Miss Naomi before he could make a judgement there. But he was more and more hard-pressed to find things he didn't like about Miss Dinah Wyatt.
CHAPTER10
The wound was healing exactly the way she'd hoped.
Dinah adjusted the clean cloth over the stitches on Jonah's leg and secured the bandage again. Two days since the injury, and the bleeding had nearly stopped. No sign of festering either.
When she finished with the bandage, she pulled the blanket back and turned to her patient. He'd been awake and watching the last two times she'd changed the dressing, and she was always careful not to meet his gaze until she'd covered him up again. She had no qualms about tending injuries in any area of a patient's body. But she didn't want Jonah to feel uncomfortable.
She offered a smile. "It's healing nicely. How's your pain? Do you need more laudanum?"
He gave a slight shake of his head. "Tired of sleeping."
She nodded. "That's a good sign."
A rustle sounded at the open door, and she glanced up to see her sister peering in.
Dinah moved the extra cloth from her lap into her case, then stood. "What are you doing up?" She'd even put a chamber pot beside Naomi's bed so she didn't have to leave the room.
Her sister wrinkled her nose and stepped into the bed chamber. "I can't lay there another minute." She turned a smile on Jonah. "Thought I'd come a-visting."
"Naomi." Dinah moved to her sister's side and took her elbow to lead her back.
Naomi pulled from her grasp with a frown. "You're being overbearing, Di. I feel worlds better. A few minutes out of bed won't make me puff up again."
Dinah scrutinized Naomi's cheeks. Most of the swelling had diminished. Her hands looked much better too. "Just for a minute."
From the bed, Jonah lifted a hand, drawing their attention as he pointed to the chair Dinah had just occupied. "Come sit." His voice still sounded exhausted, but that could be from the laudanum.
Naomi moved forward. "Thank you." Though she didn't look at Dinah as she settled into the seat, the air of triumph was hard to miss. She smiled at Jonah as she settled back and laced her hands in her lap. "How are you faring now? Is my sister treating you well?"
Dinah turned with a groan toward the door. "Five minutes, Naomi. Then it's back to bed if I have to carry you myself."
It might have been the swish of her skirts, but it sure sounded like Jonah chuckled as Dinah left the room.
She rejoined Lillian, who knelt beside one of the chairs lining the dining table, rubbing oil into the wood with a rag. "How's it coming?"
Lillian used the back of her wrist to swipe loose hairs from her face. "I can't believe how dirty these are. There's food caked between the spindles that must have been there for years."
Maybe since the last time the table was used for a family meal, judging by the layers of dust they'd wiped off yesterday from the chairs tucked between the wall and the table. She and Lillian had done basic cleaning most of the day yesterday, then stopped in time for the two of them and Naomi to take a bath in the large tub Lillian had shown her.
All that dusting and sweeping and mopping had helped the place look far more respectable, but not one of the men had commented on it. Had they noticed the difference? It seemed impossible they couldn't have, but they’d not said a word.
Today she and Lillian were moving a bit deeper with their cleaning, scraping away years of dirt and grime from the cookstove, the dining table, and now the chairs, polishing each piece until it shone with the luster of newness. Surely the men would notice these improvements.
If not, tomorrow would be the baseboards and walls. Unless she could talk Jericho into taking her to town.
"Uncle Jericho said he's going to Missoula Mills in the morning. I'm going to ask if I can ride with him."
Dinah stared at the girl. Had Dinah spoken her thoughts aloud? Strange that Lillian would make that comment when she'd just been thinking about the journey.
But why hadn't Jericho told Dinah? She'd asked if she could accompany him. She eyed Lillian. "When did he say that?" He'd been gone all day, riding off with Jude that morning as all the brothers left in different directions.
The girl shrugged. "When I was petting Eve. I heard him tell Uncle Gil and Uncle Sampson."
Dinah forced herself to return to her polishing. "Does he usually take you with him?"
"Nah. He won't let me go to town. He takes Sean hunting sometimes, and a few times we've gone to trade with Two Stones and his family in their village. But Uncle Jericho says Missoula Mills is no place for children." She rolled her eyes with those words. "Can't be worse than Virginia City, nohow. An' we got along just fine there. Mama taught us how to know who's all right to talk to an' who's just tryin' to rob you blind."
