“How’s Juniper?” She slid to the ground, then turned to unfasten the pot Tanner had strapped behind her saddle.
Riley reached for her reins. “She hasn’t thrown up in the last hour or so. She’s resting now.”
When she had the pot free, she turned to her brother-in-law. His face looked pale, with lines fading away from his eyes. “Is she still feeling the baby move?”
“I think so. She said she did this morning.” He looked back toward the house and ran a hand through his hair.
Poor man. He must be wrung out with worry.
She started toward the house. “That’s good. We’ll get her eating and feeling better, and they’ll both be fine.”
Lord, please let that be true.
Faith met her at the door with a hushing finger to her lips. “She’s finally sleeping, I think.”
Lorelei looked toward the bed pallet that Juniper had taken over from her first moments back in the cabin. Her sister barely seemed to raise the covers as she lay on her side, turned away from the door.
Faith lifted the lid from the soup pot in Lorelei’s hands and sniffed deeply. “Is that ham I smell?”
“Ham soup. It needs another hour to cook. Can you hang it over the fire?”
As Faith took the load from her, Lorelei scanned the room. The floor didn’t look like it’d been swept in a week, but Faith and Rosie had probably had their hands full with Juniper and the horses.
She moved to the corner to grab the broom and kept her voice low so she didn’t wake Juniper. “Has Riley been caring for June while you help Rosie with the horses?”
“He was at first, but Juniper started to get bad right after you guys went to look for Steps Right. I thought I’d stay here in case he needed help. One of us rode out mornings and evenings to see if there were new foals, but otherwise we kept close.”
Lorelei paused in her sweeping to study Faith. “Were there times Juniper needed you both?” Had they thoughtsomething awful was about to happen that would require two people to handle?
Faith’s gaze moved to Juniper, and Lorelei followed her direction. June’s face seemed completely devoid of color, maybe even a little gray. Was that a trick of the dim light?
When Faith finally spoke, her voice came far softer than its usual blunt tone. “It was just ... scary. She cast up her accounts every hour at least, sometimes every quarter hour. There wasn’t anything left inside her to come out, but I knew she had to keep sipping water, even if she couldn’t keep it down.”
Faith looked more vulnerable in that moment than she had in years. Lorelei would have drawn her into a hug, but Faith usually shied away from affectionate touches. Probably because she’d been pinched too many times when they were little.
So Lorelei settled for laying a hand on her arm. “That must have been awful for all of you. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help.”
Faith’s eyes shimmered as the corners of her mouth pulled up a little. “I’m glad you’re here now.”
Once more, her eyes stung. Should she move back to the ranch? At least for tonight, she would stay and see if the worst was over or if Juniper still needed her.
Juniper didn’t stir for more than two hours.
Lorelei had sent Riley and Faith out to help Rosie with the herd, for it was clear both of them had been holed up in this cabin too long.
She was kneading cornmeal batter to make johnnycakes when Juniper’s weak voice broke the quiet. “Lor?”
She spun around to see her sister’s eyes had finally opened, the blanket lowered a little. Lorelei’s heart lightened, and a smile came easily. She dipped her hands in a bowl of water, then dried them on her apron as she moved to Juniper’s bed and knelt beside the mattress. “How are you feeling?”
Juniper gave her a weak, sleepy smile. “Much better.”
A cup of water sat beside the bed, and Lorelei reached for it. “Can you sip this? I have ginger tea ready as well.”
A look of pain crossed Juniper’s face, but then she dutifully raised up on one elbow and reached for the cup. Lorelei kept hold of it to help lift. Her sister seemed so frail. So fragile. Like skin draped over bones that might crack any moment.
Lorelei’s own body ached as even the small act of sipping water seemed to exhaust her. Juniper sank back onto the mattress, her eyes closed as she recovered from the effort.
“Has your stomach settled?” In this condition, Juniper didn’t look capable of eating even ham stew. If only they had a chicken for broth.
