She glanced around for something to tie around his leg. A rope. A piece of cloth. Anything long enough.
Her gaze snagged on Jonah's shirt pocket. "Your handkerchief." She didn't wait for him to hand it over, just yanked the cloth out.
The white square she'd stitched for him wouldn't be long enough, though. Her chest squeezed as she threw the cloth down. "Rope. I need something to tie around his leg to slow the bleeding."
Jonah was holding his hands over Sean's now, helping cover the wound and maybe keep some of the blood inside.
"Here." Miles yanked his leather braces off his shoulders, then thrust them towardher. Perfect.
She quickly worked them under the boy's leg. She knew enough for this part, but they needed Dinah. Now.
"Go for my sister." She spoke as she worked. "Tell her it's urgent."
Miles answered. "Lillian's already gone."
Jonah was murmuring over Sean's quieter sobs, fully focused on putting pressure on the wound and encouraging the boy.
She pulled the knot in the leather strap, then checked to see how snug it fit around Sean's leg. Hopefully that was right. It felt impossibly tight, but it might not even be enough. She'd never been trained in these things like Dinah had. Maybe she should have spent more time with Pop in the clinic, learning from him along with her sister. Though she wasn’t squeamish, she’d never been drawn to the sick and injured like her sister.
She eyed the mass of red covering Sean and Jonah's hands. Hers too. And Sean's trousers. And the ground around them.
Don't let him bleed out. You can't let him die. Please.
Was there something else she could do? She scanned the length of his body, but her mind was numb.
She rested her hand on Sean’s shoulder. She'd like to brush the hair from his eyes, but then she'd smear blood on his face. "It's going to be all right, Sean. I know it hurts, but Dinah's almost here. You're going to be all right."
If only she could be certain her words were true.
When the cabin door burst open, Eric tightened his grip on his daughter as she spun to the source of the noise. They must have arrived with Sean.
Naomi charged inside, scurrying straight to one of the back rooms. Jonah and Miles came next, balancing Sean between them on a blanket, with Dinah at the boy's side. Lillian followed, clutching her hands together as worry twisted her features.
Mary Ellen must have sensed the tension, for she curled into Eric, pressing on his injured ribs.
He ignored the burning and wrapped his arms around her, letting her feel the safety in his hold. "It's all right, princess. Everything's all right."
When Lillian had burst in a quarter hour before saying her brother had been cut with the saw, Dinah had leapt into action. As she grabbed her medical bag and a blanket from one of the chairs, he'd asked what he could do to help.
Stay with Mary Ellen,had been her response. So he and his daughter had remained here on the rug, reading “The Tortoise and the Hare” for the twentieth time. His version of it at least. He'd have to buy her more books when he could get to town.
Just now though, they had far more important things to worry about.
The group disappeared into the room Naomi had entered, but their voices drifted easily through the open doorway.
"Lay him here,” Dinah instructed. “Gently now."
"It's all right, Sean.” That was one of the brothers. “You're going to be just fine."
Was he? Eric needed to see for himself. The only glimpse he'd gotten had revealed blood everywhere. And his quiet sobs now, so long after the injury happened, meant he must still be in great pain.
Eric patted the floor beside him. "Can you stand here a minute?" Getting up would be hard enough with his ribs, but nearly impossible with Mary Ellen in his arms.
After struggling to his feet, Eric kept one hand over his middle until the fire eased. He took a cautious step forward, peering into the room where they'd taken Sean.
It was a bed chamber, and the boy lay in a narrow bunk. Dinah was working quickly, her manner the focused efficiencyof a doctor.
Naomi stood beside her, accepting bloodied cloths and handing over the things Dinah asked for.
