Mrs. Abbott came across the room and embraced him. “I am so thankful for your return.” She pulled back and gripped his shoulders. “Mary is at my cabin. You and Dawn may fetch her whenever you are ready, but she is welcome to stay as long as you need.”
Jacob inclined his head as the woman slipped out the door. While Dawn washed the blood from her hands, he moved over to Edmund’s side. God, You have shown me what is truly important in life. People. Family. Not what one accomplishes. Please allow this man the same opportunity. Mrs. Brooke’s worried and weary, lined face, reminded him of Edmund’s comment about her beauty. Perhaps if he were to pull through, he could find happiness with this widow who seemed to care more deeply about him than simply a nurse to a patient.
Dawn appeared at his side and took his hand. Silently, she inclined her head toward the door. Jacob followed her out into the night, where finally a cool breeze filtered through the fort.
Once outside, Dawn wrapped her arms around his middle and nestled her head into his chest. “I thought I had lost you,” she whispered.
“I thought I was lost to you as well.” Jacob held her close and laid his cheek upon her head. “I never should have left you and Mary. I am so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”
Dawn looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. “Forgive you? Of course. How could I ever be mad at you when you came back to me? I do not care what I may have said in the past—I love you, Jacob McFadin, and I hope to never see another day of this life without you in it.”
“Oh, Dawn. I love you too.” He pressed a kiss to her lips, a kiss filled with the promise of forever. A kiss that said this was only the beginning. Jacob pulled back from her and smiled. “I have a surprise for you.”
Her brows pulled together. “A surprise?”
“Edmund asked us to take Mary, to be her parents.”
Dawn’s mouth dropped open. But then her gaze slid toward the cabin door.
“Not because he was injured,” Jacob added. “He asked before we ever went into battle. He said he had been thinking on it for a while.”
“Really?” A smile crept onto her face.
Jacob nodded.
“Oh, Jacob. I would love nothing more.”
He took her hand into his. “There is one more matter which we need to resolve.” Jacob glanced about, then led Dawn a few feet away from the cabin where he was sure no one could overhear. She watched him with her chin angled and brows raised. “Dawn, I wish to make our marriage a true union in every sense of the word. Perhaps not tonight, for my head still aches from where I fell from Samson.”
Dawn gasped. “You fell? Are you injured?” She glanced him over, eyes wide in the darkness. Jacob chuckled and caught a knuckle under her chin, coaxing her lovely eyes back to his.
“Only a few aches and pains and a bump to the head. Nothing that will not heal in a day or two.”
His wife sighed, and her lips tipped up in a grin before she stepped closer. “Then I would be most glad to make this marriage a true one….when you are better.”
Jacob’s smile widened. “Then let us go get our girl.” Dawn leaned into him as they went to embrace the family God had blessed them with.
August 22, 1782
Dawn peered through the doorway early the next afternoon and grinned. Jacob’s chin was settled on his chest above his crossed arms, and soft snores emanated from his body. Meanwhile, Mary played quietly on the floor, pretending her small collection of pinecones was a family. Jacob needed the rest nearly as much as Edmund did, after having ridden all night and day to bring the other man to help. Dawn went to him and pulled a chair up beside him before she gently shook his arm.
Jacob blinked, then abruptly sat up. “I fell asleep.” His voice held an edge of panic.
Dawn chuckled. “All is well. Mary is playing safely in the floor. And Edmund is awake.”
“He is?”
Dawn nodded, a smile stretching her face.
Jacob wiped his hands on the front of his breeches and stood. “Can we see him?”
Dawn inclined her head again. “Mary, would you like to see your uncle?”
The child’s reaction was as quick and pleased as Jacob’s. She popped from the ground and nodded before collecting her pinecones and depositing them in the basket in the corner. Then she ran up to Jacob and raised her arms. Jacob winced as he lifted her but did not hesitate to do so. Dawn gave a slight shake of her head.
Together, the three of them walked to Elijah Craig’s cabin where Edmund was still stationed. Likely, it would be another day or two before it was safe for him to be moved. Though his waking was a positive sign, he had suffered great trauma, and moving him too soon could prove detrimental.
When they stepped into the room, they stopped, for Edmund appeared to be sleeping once more. Mrs. Brooke offered them a tired smile as she motioned them in. “He is in and out,” she whispered. “But you are free to visit.”
