Of course Jude would offer that. But they didn't need anyone from the ranch infected with the disease. He was pretty sure Mum had said he’d had smallpox when he was a lad. But he couldn't remember if any of the others had. Lucy, Jonah, and Jude would have been the only ones born at that time.
He eased out his breath. If he didn't send for them, surely his brothers would stay put.
He raised his gaze to Two Stones, who was studying him with those eyes that saw everything.
"Now tell me how you are."
Jericho gave a half shrug. "Holding up." He looked to the lodge where Dinah was working. "I'm worried about her, though. She's pushing too hard."
"She's a wonder." Two Stones's voice held enough respect that it bordered on awe.
Jericho jerked his gaze to him.
Two Stones met the look with one corner of his mouth twitching. "Do you disagree?"
Jericho worked to relax his clenched jaw. He looked back at the lodge so he didn't have to meet that gaze. Two Stones saw too much sometimes. "Of course not. She's a good doctor." That felt like an insult, it so understated Dinah's abilities.
Two Stones's voice dropped, all humor disappearing. "She is more than that. My mother still lives because of her. She has changed every one of our people. Keeping alive those who would be buried by now." The chastisement in his words came through clearly, forming a knot in Jericho's throat.
When Two Stones spoke again, his voice softened a little. "I think you know this. It is time you say it also."
Jericho forced himself to meet Two Stones’s eyes. "You're right. I'm glad she was here."
Was he really? Glad she was there to save the village, certainly. But glad she'd come to the ranch?His ranch, the refuge for his family? He was thankful she'd been there when Jonah was hurt. She might well have saved his life. The memory of Lillian's laughter slipped back in. That never would have happened if Dinah hadn’t suggested he get her a dog. Just being around Dinah seemed to have given his niece a new hope.
A mother is the heart of a family. If she loses hope, so does everyone else.
Dinah's words from a moment before sounded in his mind. Shewasn'tthe children's mother. Lucy would never be there for Lillian and Sean again. But could another woman fill that place for them? Could someone like Dinah Wyatt inspire them the same way a mother could?
The answer was obvious. She already had.
Two Stones tapped his arm. "You should make her your wife, my friend."
Then he turned and walked back toward his parents' lodge. As though he hadn't just spoken the word that Jericho had avoided at all cost for years now.
Two Stones spun, walking backward. "What I came to tell you is that the wife of my cousin has returned. She will come to Dinah to learn what should be done for the sick. Then the two of you can go home."
* * *
Dinah leaned so close to the creek water, she nearly pressed her face into the flow. As she splashed the cool liquid on her cheeks, then her neck, slowly but surely, her body came back to life.
"Feels good, doesn't it?" Jericho’s voice sounded as weary as she felt as he knelt beside her at the creek on their way back to the ranch.
She raised up, water dripping down her neck into her dress. "Really good."
Now that they'd washed, she had to find the energy to stand again. Then remount her horse.
Her entire body ached. Her legs didn't have enough strength to hold her. But she'd have to force them to.
Jericho must have overheard her thoughts, for he pushed to his feet, then reached for her elbow. She allowed him to help her stand, staggering a step before she found her balance.
"Well, would you look what washed up in the creek."
She spun at the voice. Gilead sat on horseback on the opposite bank, grinning.
When she turned, Jericho's hand dropped away from her elbow. But Gil had surely seen it. Would he think something had happened between the two of them? Heat flushed up her neck, no matter that she tried to stop it. Of course nothing had. They'd simply spent a great deal of time together, working side by side to bring relief to those who were miserable.
And Jericho had been extending that same offering to her.
