Miles's hands shot out to steady him.
Sampson blinked hard, trying to clear his vision. He focused on putting one foot in front of the other as Miles guided him toward the bunkhouse. "I just…need to lie down."
He let his brother walk with him to the door, but when he tugged the latch open, he clung to the wood. “I’ve got it from here.” He couldn’t focus with his blurry vision to look Miles in the eye. “It’s good to see you. We’ll talk in the morning.”
Miles didn’t step back right away, but Sampson had no strength to wait for him to leave. He pushed the door shut, then stumbled toward the bunk that had always been his.
He had to rest. And if he was lucky enough to find sleep, he could shut out the world and its troubles. He could forget, just for a little while, the wrongs he needed to right. The laudanum tugged like a stubborn mule at his senses.
Bed. Oblivion.
Everything else could wait for dawn.
* * *
Afeeble cry pierced Grace’s sleep, and she forced her eyes open. Ruby needed to eat.
She squinted at the light coming through the window. Morning, which meant this wouldn’t be a simple feeding then back to sleep. The babe would want to stay up and play.
She held in a sigh and pushed up to sitting, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.
Ruby’s hungry fussing was turning more desperate, which meant she’d be wailing soon if Grace didn’t hurry.
She moved to the basket and reached down for her. “It’s all right, sweet one. We’ll get you clean and fed. Don’t cry.” She scooped up the swaddled babe, cradling her close as Ruby’s cries turned to shuddering breaths. "Shhh. I'm here."
A soft knock at the door made her pause. “Yes?” Had Ruby woken someone?
That brought another thought.Clara.
Grace spun to see if the woman whose room they were sharing was still asleep. She’d completely forgotten about Clara in the other bed.
But that cot lay empty, with the blankets pulled up neatly. Had Grace overslept? She eyed the light streaming through the window. It was later than she’d realized, but her body screamed that it couldn’t possibly be time to stay awake for the day.
A soft voice sounded through the door. “It’s me. Jess. I heard Ruby and wondered if I could help.”
“Come in.”
Ruby was starting to fuss again, bumping her mouth against Grace’s neck in a desperate search for food.
Grace stepped to her bed and laid her down so she could change her wet wrappings. “Let’s get you clean. Then you can eat.”
The door opened, and Jess peeked in.
Grace managed to lift a tight smile for her. “Good morning. I’m sorry if the noise bothered everyone.”
Jess padded in with silent steps, her presence as gentle as her voice. “Not at all. I thought you might want a few minutes for yourself, so I hoped you’d let me change and feed Ruby.”
Grace lifted her gaze to see if Jess was earnest in the offer. Take over everything the babe needed right now? That felt like an offer much bigger than Jess probably realized.
The other woman was already reaching for a clean diaper from the stack beside the basket. A stack one of the other women had washed, dried, folded, and brought back to the room.
It all felt like too much. Too wonderful.
She couldn’t let herself get used to all this help, but maybe she could allow it just this morning.
She moved back to allow Jess room to work. “Thank you.”
The other woman greeted Ruby with a smile as she set in to the task. “There’s our sweet baby. Good morning. You’re just so precious.”
