“L et’s get you propped up in your chair.” Ed shared a concerned glance with Rebekah, then they heaved together to lift Kaitlyn to a more comfortable position in her padded chair.

When they’d brought Drew inside, the full force of the illness had overwhelmed Ed.

Everywhere, his family lay moaning, barely moving at all.

He hadn’t even known where to begin until Rebekah had started into nurse mode.

She’d settled the men in David’s room, placing pallets on the floor where necessary to create a makeshift sick room.

Ed followed her lead, still reeling from the shock.

“Can you tell me what you made everyone for lunch?” Rebekah kneeled in front of the ashen Kaitlyn, running a cool cloth over her forehead as she worked to discover the source of the illness that had everyone down.

The shake of Kaitlyn’s head was barely perceptible. “Jo…in…the barn.”

Jo? He’d assumed she was in the back bedroom, where Rebekah had carried Tillie to rest, or maybe in the outhouse. Why had she been in the barn?

Rebekah rustled to her feet, then out the front door before Ed could force his muscles to move.

She was as tenacious in caring for the McGraws as she’d been in getting a story.

He swiped the cold rag across Kaitlyn’s forehead once more, then rested it on her neck before moving to the other room to check on Tillie, who’d cried out for help.

This was more than one man could handle alone.

And why was everyone this ill? Why wasn’t he?

Had to be something that had happened since last night when he’d ridden out to find Isaac.

He’d returned this morning and stopped at the main house only long enough to try to talk Nick or Drew into spending the day watching after Rebekah, but they’d both begged off.

A rattle at the door, then it clanged open. Rebekah entered with Jo leaning heavily against her. Ed left Tillie, calm for the moment, to help get Jo settled.

“She went to the barn to try to ride out for help.” Rebekah panted out the words. “When she got there, the horses were sick too.”

Ed stilled. “The horses? It has to be?—”

“The well.”

They pumped water into the trough from the well, used buckets to carry drinking water inside.

Rebekah grabbed his arm as he turned to head out to the corral. “I already covered the trough and opened the gate to the pasture where the creek is.”

“Right. They’ll go there to get water.” He ran a hand through his hair, then paced to the door. At least they had an answer. But how?

Rebekah finished settling Jo, then moved to where he stood at the open door. “Want me to unsaddle Lightning and Mabel? Put them in the pasture too?”

Right now, this moment, was the first time he’d been thankful for her.

Ed scanned the sick family members behind them. How had this happened? “I’ll do it. I need to go see if I can figure out what happened to the well. You going to be all right in here if I do?”

Her head bobbed, a crinkle across her brow. “You think we’re doing the right things? I’ve never seen a sickness like this before.”

“We’re doing good. You are, at least.” He’d never seen her vulnerable like this. “It’ll be all right. Everyone will pull through.”

They have to.

Ed held her gaze, then moved through the open door onto the porch. The sun filled the sky as if all was right in the world, but something very wrong had happened here.

He rushed through caring for the horses before moving to the well.

A quick check of the well revealed a dead animal floating at the bottom. Something big.

He stood, shaking. Someone had to have done this on purpose.

Ed always double-checked to be sure the well was covered. So did Drew.

Anyone with a lick of sense knew that a dead animal in the well was akin to poisoning it. Who would do such a thing?

He had a guess. But his family needed him at this moment. There’d be time for answers and consequences later.

Ed winced at the tinge of pain in his stomach as he hauled a bucket in to the stove. At least being gone from the ranch had left him in better shape than the others. As he trudged across the living room floor, he spied Rebekah moving from Tillie to Kaitlyn.

He was still shaking with anger as he said, “It’s the well all right. We’ll have to boil the water from the creek until we can dig a new one.”

Her eyes went wide and fearful.

He passed Rebekah on his way back out to the creek to bring up another bucketful. She was wiping down Kaitlyn’s face and neck with a cool cloth, trying to get the fever down. The sight of everyone so weak knotted his stomach.

When he came back inside, he found Rebekah in front of the stove, fine hairs curling around her face from the heat. She’d already lit a fire. He reached over her to set the pot in place, then stepped back. “Guess we can use milk to quench their thirst for now. If they can keep it down.”

“I’ll help you get everyone a round of fresh cool cloths, then I’ll ride over to fetch Aunt Opal’s canning pot too.

If it’s the well, we’re going to have to boil a lot of water.

I’ll want to wash up the bed sheets and their soiled clothes for them as soon as possible.

Not to mention the water I’ll need for cooking as they recover enough to begin eating. ”

Leave it to Rebekah. To think he’d always thought her bossy.

But tonight, he was thankful for her smarts.

The two of them worked in tandem, placing clean cloths on feverish foreheads.

As soon as they finished, Rebekah hurried off to get the other pot.

While she was gone, Ed spent his time hauling the children out to the privy in his arms or helping the adults make the walk out there.

Rebekah whisked in the front door, out of breath, and set a couple of large pots in the kitchen, then kneeled where Ed sat next to Kaitlyn. “I’ll take over. You look tired.”

He gulped down the unbidden tears of weariness and worry. “Thank you for staying to help.”

She smiled tentatively, worry shining from her eyes. Ed wanted to rest for one moment in their shared concern, but David let out a moan.

Ed ran David out to the privy again. He had half a mind to fork out a mound of hay for everyone to lie on out there so they wouldn’t have to go so far, but the day had grown too hot.

When he came back inside, Rebekah had stripped off soiled bedsheets and dipped out a pitcher of the water to cool after it’d boiled.

“Lean on me. There.” Rebekah had an arm around Kaitlyn’s waist, helping her out the door. As they passed Ed, Rebekah lifted her brows in a worried expression.

How long could this last? Everyone had grown so weak from loss of fluids.

The endless rounds of damp cloths, drinks of milk, and runs to the privy were interspersed with the scrubbing of laundry on the washboard out back.

The stench was lessening as Rebekah took it on herself to clean out the soiled clothes and sheets.

Ed kept pushing fresh water to anyone who was awake, making the rounds and worrying over his family.

As he hurried out the front door with Nick leaning heavily on his side, he spied Rebekah scrubbing up the floor where Drew hadn’t been able to make it outside.

Ed rubbed the palm of his hand across his stomach as he leaned against the privy.

At least he’d been spared the worst by running all over town taking care of Rebekah these last few days.

He had to give it to Rebekah. She could have just gone home.

But she’d stuck with him. Jumped in to help with all the tasks, pleasant or unpleasant.

Mostly unpleasant. When she’d even gone so far as to start washing, he’d thought she was worrying too much about cleanliness—until he noticed how much better the place smelled.

He guessed folks would recover faster if they breathed fresh air instead of stench.

After Ed settled Nick back in the sickroom with Drew and David, he returned to the living room to hear Tillie’s quiet “I want my mama” and the soft sobs that followed.

“I have an idea.” Rebekah bent over Kaitlyn, changing out the cloth on her head. When she turned toward Tillie, Ed couldn’t help noticing the weariness in her eyes. “How would you like for me to rock you while I sing a little song?”

Tillie’s face brightened amidst the paleness of her skin.

She scooted away from her stepmother to where Rebekah took a seat in the rocker.

Probably the first time Rebekah had even sat down since they’d arrived back here.

She reached down to help Tillie up into her lap, placing a cooling cloth on the back of her neck in the process.

A gentle hum left Rebekah’s throat. Jo sighed with weariness as she walked over to sit at Rebekah’s feet. Even David perked up, listening.

A sweet melody left Rebekah’s lips to float around the room.

It filled every crevice with its soothing softness.

Ed spied a mess on the floor and set to mopping it up as he listened.

He remembered her singing the song back in school.

Remembered his young schoolboy infatuation with the fiery-haired Rebekah.

Remembered her kindness to the littler children and her sweet, sweet voice.

Out the window behind her swayed the laundry she’d hung on the line.

The gentle breeze lifted it as if in time to her singing as the sunlight faded.

She’d worked as hard as he had today to care for those dearest to him, without even having to be asked.

This must be what having a partner felt like.

Someone to share your burdens. Someone to lighten your load.

Someone who understood you in a way no one else did.

To think he’d hurt her so long ago without even giving it a thought. Rebekah more than deserved that long-overdue apology from him. She deserved his friendship.

“Uncle Ed.” The now familiar cry escaped from David as he hurried for the door.