Page 17 of Return to Telegraph Creek

Chapter Six

In Good Hands

She was right, so I shut my trap.A sudden dizziness o’ercame me, and I reckoned I must have passed out, because the next thing I knew I was lying in bed and Oscar was frowning o’er me.

“Jimmy!Jimmy, it’s all right, now.”He looked so worried, and I hated to cause him such stress.

Then Miss June’s face came into view, and I don’t think I was ever so glad to see a person other than Oscar.

“Well, there you are,” she said with a smile.“I’ve had a quick look at that gash and we’re going to need to stitch you up, but you should be just fine.”

I was relieved to hear it.I tried to push myself into a sitting position, but the sharp stab of pain and Oscar’s hands holding me down prevented it.

“Jimmy, I swear—” Oscar said, with more anger than I’d expected.

“Be still,” Miss June advised me.“You’re going to have to rest for a few days as well, and you’d better not fight me on that.”

I relaxed and lay back into the comfortable mattress, as helpless as a newborn.

“I reckon I ain’t up to a fight right now.”

“No, you ain’t.You gotta do as Miss June says, because I want you—” Oscar made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a stifled sob.“I want you to get well and strong again.I need you well and strong, Jimmy.You know I do.”

My gaze flashed to the love of my life, and it hurt to see him so upset.He was more used to me taking care of him than the other way around.

“I know you do,” I said, reaching out to clasp his hand.“I’m sorry.”

He rolled his eyes, and it soothed me to make him tetchy and irritated.

“Don’t be sorry,” he grumbled, smoothing his thumb o’er my knuckles and holding my hand tight in his.“Just do as Miss June says.”

“I will.”

“And the next time you feel like takin’ the quick way down, you think twice, all right?”He sounded stern and fed up, and I forced a smile.

“I will, for certain.Maybe you better go in front next time.”

He rolled his eyes again.“Yeah, maybe I better.”

He leaned down and kissed me on my forehead, the press of his sweet, soft lips like a balm to my soul.

Trick came in then with a steaming basin of a milky liquid that she placed with care onto the bedside table.

“Hey, Jimmy,” she said, flashing me a smile.“Good to see ya.”

“Trick,” I said, grinning.“I’m glad to see you, too.”

“Trick, will you and Oscar help Jimmy roll onto his good side, so I can see what I’m doing?”Miss June asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Trick said, and Oscar said, “Sure.”

With their gentle assistance I moved into the position Miss June wanted me in, with more than a little discomfort.

“All right, let’s have a better look at this wound.This is going to sting.I’m going to use carbolic acid to clean it, but I’ve diluted it quite a bit.”

“What’s that smell?”Oscar murmured, wrinkling his nose.

“It’s the phenol.”