The children ran after him, demanding to know if Josie was all right. Aunt Polly was already hitching up the wagon, ready to fetch the doctor. What worried Travis the most was that the town’s healer went for medical help. Dr. Gordon and Aunt Polly had always butted heads about their patients’ well-being—whether they needed natural substances or science. What could be so wrong with Josie that even herbs couldn’t help?
Travis kicked Josie’s bedroom open, darting towards the bed. But when he laid her down, he felt a wet sensation on his hand. He looked down, seeing blood, bright red blood on his palm. His heart seemed to stop, and his stomach clenched so violently he thought he might be sick.
“No. No. No. It can’t be,” he whispered.
His mind spun all over the place, but his one focus was keeping his wife alive. He watched helplessly as she writhed on the bed, her body trembling with pain. Josie’s eyes remained tightly shut, teeth clenched, while she gripped the blankets as if holding on for dear life. Tears streamed down her pale cheeks, and her damp hair clung to her face, slick with sweat. Seeing the once-determined Josie reduced to this state tore him apart, dragging him back to a dark place he swore he’d never revisit. He was here again—in the same room, covered in his wife’s blood, waiting on the doctor. Travis stumbled backward, his hands clutching the back of his head as he fought to hold back tears, threatening to break free.
Sophie’s labor had been excruciating and drawn out—her body too fragile to fight, fidgeting and moaning in bed, tears of agony streaming down her face.
“You’re a doctor, do something!”Travis had screamed, grabbing Dr. Gordon by the collar and shaking him in desperation. Dr. Gordon then gulped, placing his hand on Travis’s shoulder. They hadn’t seen eye-to-eye, especially when the doctor suggested a vile procedure to take away Gideon’s chance at life. That disagreement had only deepened the rift between Dr. Gordon and Aunt Polly. Yet even Aunt Polly had admitted that Sophie needed a doctor that day.
Travis’s heart stopped beating when Dr. Gordon explained Sophie wasn’t going to make it—but there was a way his son could. He could let both of them die or save Gideon. Travis remembered looking into Sophie’s eyes, seeing how much life was drained from her. He didn’t want to admit it, but his wife was dying. Travis should have listened to the doctor when he said another pregnancy would kill her.
“Save him,”Sophie whispered in a voice one could hardly call a whisper."Save our baby."
Travis’s eyes filled with tears. He couldn’t bear to let Sophie go, but he knew she’d never forgive him if he didn’t try to save Gideon. After agreeing to her wishes, he watched in horror as Dr. Gordon performed the deep incision to deliver their son. Travis clung to Sophie’s hand, his heart shattering with each of her screams. By the time Gideon cried, Sophie managed a weak smile, and then she was gone. Lying motionless on the pillow, she didn’t look like herself anymore—this wasn’t the vibrant girl Travis had fallen in love with. He had, in his own way, killed her.
“Pa? What’s wrong with Josie?”
Travis glanced over his shoulder, seeing Ivy and the other children peeking through the crack in the door. His heart sank—this was not something they should see. Without hesitation, he stretched his foot out, bracing it against the door to stop it from opening any farther.
“Stay back,” he said, his voice tight, trying to keep the panic from spilling. Their eyes gaped, brimming with tears.
“Ivy, I need you to take your siblings to your room and stay there until I come for you. None of you need to be here.”
“But Pa,” she wailed. “Will Josie die like Ma?”
“Josie gonna die?” Lillian asked, her bottom lip quivering.
“Please don’t let her die, Pa,” Jonas cried, his face red from tears.
Travis swallowed hard and squatted to their level, wiping his hands on his pants. “Don’t think like that. Just pray for her, all right?”
He stepped through the door and pulled Ivy and the others into a tight embrace, kissing the tops of their heads as he held them close. He had to save Josie. The thought of putting his children through another loss was unbearable, a weight he couldn’t imagine forcing them to carry again.
“Go to your room,” Travis whispered hoarsely. As the children dashed off, Travis rubbed his face, trying to erase any trace of histears. When he returned to the room, his heart ached as he saw Josie moving her head from side to side, moaning softly in pain.
Travis sat next to her, taking her hand in his. Her palms were clammy, and her pulse raced beneath his fingers. “They need you, Josie. Whatever this is, you have to fight it. Fight it for us.” He looked up to the ceiling, swallowing back his tears. “Dear God, don’t take her. Think about my children, please. You can have me any day. Just don’t take their new mother away.”
Travis sat at the dining table, tapping his fingers on the surface while he waited to hear the doctor’s report. Aunt Polly settled next to him, rubbing his back. Josie was strong; Travis knew that when she first met the children, taking on the role of a mother despite her youth and inexperience. Over the past two weeks, she had proved herself capable and resilient. Whatever this affliction was, she could fight it. His mind raced through possible reasons for her illness—exhaustion, a virus, some unknown disease? Was it contagious? And why was she bleeding?
Perhaps it was just her monthly courses. He remembered how Sophie had sometimes complained about cramping and nausea, but after taking Aunt Polly’s homemade remedies, she always felt better. Maybe that was what Josie needed. Yet Aunt Polly had gone for the doctor—why would she seek help from a man she loathed when it came to something as personal as a woman’s cycle? Surely Dr. Gordon had patients suffering from far worse conditions. However, when the doctor arrived, he wasted no time, kicking Travis out of the room and instructing him to wait.
Aunt Polly patted Travis’s back. “Be calm. She’s going to be fine.”
“How do you know that?” Travis asked sharply. “I’ve never seen her act like that.” Aunt Polly didn’t answer him. He turned to her, his pulse racing in his ear. “What do you think is wrong with her?”
Aunt Polly stiffened. “I don’t know. That’s why the doctor is here.”
“But you don’t trust him. The only time you brought him here was when Sophie was giving birth.”
Aunt Polly bit her lip and folded her hands in her lap. “Truth is, Travis, I’m worried about Josie. I can give her different variations of herbs, but I want a second opinion before I jump to conclusions. Josie is the mother of your children now, and like you, I don’t want to risk any more loss.”
Travis’s nails dug into his palm. “And what do you believe is the cause of her affliction?”
The bedroom door closed, interrupting them. Dr. Gordon entered the main room, his expression notably less grave than it had been during Sophie’s ordeal. Travis shot up from his chair, tension coiling in his muscles.
“How is she, Doc? Is she going to be all right?”
