Jacob grinned. He couldn’t help it. He’d always loved fireworks. “I’ll see you when I get
through
.”
Chapter Two
“Boneheaded stranger,” Mollie grumbled under her breath when the man’s face finally disappeared from above her.
Not that I’m complaining, Lord,
she mentally amended.
I appreciate that you sent help. Truly. It
just would have been nice if the fella weren’t
so all-fired sure he knew best. Adam ain’t
got the time to waste.
Mollie sighed and turned her attention back to her charge. Poor kid. He was only ten, too young to know the risks of playing in an old building. She was nearly twice his age. Full-grown. Responsible. So why hadn’t she made the church off-limits during their game of hide-and-seek? She’d known the place was run-down. Should have guessed it’d be dangerous, too. But she hadn’t.
All he’d done was drop down from the rafters after she’d discovered his hiding place, and the floor had completely given way. She could still hear the crack of the wood ringing in her ears . . . and the crack of Adam’s leg before his scream drowned out all other sound.
When she’d found the cellar door locked and chained, she’d nearly panicked before finding that length of rope in the storage closet. She’d tied all her hopes on that rope and now that stubborn, know-it-all man wouldn’t even toss the end down.
“I’m going to get you out of here, Adam.” She smoothed the hair off his forehead, alarmed by how clammy his skin had become. “You’ll be all right. I promise.”
Please let him be all right.
Adam moaned but made no effort to speak. Was he losing consciousness? Mollie’s heart thumped against her ribs. He had to be all right. He and Uncle Curtis were the closest thing she had to family. She’d never forgive herself if—
Bang!
Mollie jumped.
What on earth?
Had that been a gunshot? She swiveled to look behind her.
Something crashed. Then a shaft of light penetrated the darkness and illuminated the outline of a man climbing down the cellar stairs.
Her jaw slackened. The boneheaded fella had actually done it. He must’ve shot the lock clean off the chain.
He marched straight up to her and dropped a coil beside her hip. “Here’s your rope.” It hit the dirt with a thud. She expected a smirk or a gleam of gloating in his eyes, but he didn’t even look at her. His attention zeroed in on Adam. “I’ll need wood for a splint. All this is rotted,” he said, scowling at the debris scattered around them. “See what loose boards you can find laying around. No nails.”
Well, of course, no nails. She wasn’t an idiot. Mollie pushed to her feet, a scowl scrunching her forehead. Just because he succeeded in breaking down the cellar door didn’t mean he could come in and start taking over. Adam was
her
responsibility, and she wasn’t about to let some stranger mess with his leg. She’d seen what could happen when a bone wasn’t properly set. On the streets in Galveston, where she’d grown up, many of the beggars had been crippled by similar injuries that had healed poorly. She wouldn’t risk the same thing happening to Adam.
Fisting her fingers in her skirt, she planted herself in front of the stranger. “We should wait for the doctor to tend his leg.”
The man glared at her. “Lady, I
am
the doctor.” He raised his hand and jiggled a black bag. A doctor’s bag.
Mollie sucked in a breath. The Lord had not only sent her a man who could help get them out of the cellar, but he’d sent her a doctor. An honest-to-goodness doctor. One who wasn’t ancient like Dr. Bradshaw but young and strong and . . . downright handsome.
She glanced away before he caught her staring. Really, a man’s eyes should not be that blue. Especially not when his hair was so dark. And here she’d been complaining.
“Hurry and fetch those boards,” he repeated as he hunkered down next to Adam,
her
looks obviously not distracting him in the slightest. “I’ll need your help setting the leg after I examine him.”
At least he didn’t expect her to stand around and wring her hands. That would save her from having to disabuse him of the notion later. After giving a quick nod to let him know she’d heard, Mollie turned and jogged toward the exit. She was at the top of the stairs when she heard him introduce himself to Adam as Dr. Jacob Somebody. His last name failed to carry to her, but she didn’t let that slow her step. Adam needed her.
Sprinting around to the front of the building, she took stock of her choices. Should she rip out a stair? Pull down the shutters that were already unhinged? How would she remove the nails? She had no hammer. A rock, maybe?
She spun back toward the yard, scanning the ground. That’s when she spotted the large fallen pine bough. It must have broken off during a storm. Dead and dry, it lay abandoned, just begging to be useful. Well, today was the day.
Not knowing for sure how long the splint would need to be, Mollie decided to break off several branches of varying lengths and thicknesses. She snapped them free with her foot, then stomped off the needle-bearing ends, doing her best to even out the jagged edges until only a smooth, straight piece remained. Once she’d collected five acceptable sticks, she grabbed them up and hurried back to the cellar.
“I’ve got the wood,” she called as she trotted down the stairs. “Where do you . . .” Her mouth went completely dry at the sight that greeted her.
Dr. Jacob was tearing a piece of white cotton into strips. White cotton that must have belonged to his shirt at one time, for the man was bare to the waist. Well, not completely bare. He’d put his black vest back on. Not that it covered much. She still saw every play of his muscles as he tore the cotton. Very fine muscles, she couldn’t help but notice.
“Bring it over here.” He pointed to a spot on the floor beside his open medical bag.
Mollie swallowed hard, ordered her feet to move, and then complied. Forcing her gaze away from the fine pair of shoulders and biceps on display, she turned her attention to Adam. He lay still, appeared to be unconscious, but his chest continued to rise and fall. His left trouser leg had been cut from the hem to above the knee and spread wide. Blood stained his skin and a piece of white bone jabbed out of his flesh. Mollie dropped the wood and covered her mouth with her hand.
“You’re not going to faint on me, are you? I thought you were tougher than that.” The doctor’s disgruntled tone lit her temper.
She pulled her hand down and stiffened her spine. “Of course I’m not going to faint. I just didn’t know the break was so bad. It caught me by surprise—that’s all.”
“Well, get over your surprise and help me.” He gestured for her to station herself by Adam’s head. “I administered chloroform, so he won’t feel the pain, but I’ll still need you to hold him steady. I’m going to have to tug firmly on this leg to get it back into place.”
Mollie slid onto the floor and pressed her hands gently against Adam’s slim shoulders. Then she nodded at the doctor. “I’m ready.”
He met her gaze, his eyes hard and confident, though there seemed a touch of compassion there, too. As if he knew how difficult it was for her to see Adam in such circumstances.
“I’ve sprayed the bone and surrounding tissue with a carbolic acid solution that will reduce the risk of infection,” he explained as he took hold of Adam’s ankle, “but it’s essential that we get him to the surgery so I can clean his wound more thoroughly and get it closed as soon as possible.”
He glanced back up at her. “Are you ready?”
Mollie pressed firmly against Adam’s shoulders, pinning him to the ground. “Yes.”
Then, with a firm yank, he pulled Adam’s lower leg and twisted. Once the bone edges were in place, he gently released the leg and immediately began splinting it. Seeing what he was about, Mollie moved to his side and handed him the strips he’d torn from his shirt. He accepted her help with a nod, and in a manner of minutes they had Adam’s leg braced.
Doctor Jacob closed up his medical bag, shoved it into her hands, and bent to gather a still-unconscious Adam into his arms. “My horse is out front. Tie my bag to the saddle and wait for me.”
Mollie grabbed the doctor’s bag and dashed off. If the doc thought time was the enemy, then she’d not waste a single moment. She found his horse munching on a bit of grass beneath a stand of pines and took charge of the reins. By the time she had the bag secured behind the cantle, Doctor Jacob had arrived.
“Do you think you can hold him for a moment?” He examined her slim stature with a doubtful look. “I can’t mount with the boy, so I’ll need you to hand him up to me.”
Mollie straightened her shoulders. “I’m stronger than I look, Doc. I’ll hold him as long as you need me to.”
He raised a brow but offered no argument. After gesturing for her to come close to the horse’s side, he handed Adam into her arms.
She’d often carried Adam around on her back when they’d played, and he’d never seemed very heavy. But his limp form dragged at her arms like solid lead. Not that she’d let the doctor know that. She braced her knees and leaned backward to take as much of his weight on her chest as possible. Thankfully, Doctor Jacob mounted swiftly and reached down for Adam in no more than a handful of heartbeats. Still, her arms burned something dreadful as she tried to lift him up. The doctor had no such issues. He bent sideways in the saddle and collected Adam from her as easily as if she were handing him a pair of saddlebags.
“Take the reins,” the doc said once he was settled with Adam. “Lead Galen to town at a walk. We don’t want to jostle this leg too much.”
Mollie did as instructed, taking the most direct route to Dr. Bradshaw’s office. They reached the clinic less than ten minutes later. Mollie hurried to tie the new doc’s horse to the hitching post, casting a worried glance over her shoulder at Adam’s limp form.
Dr. Bradshaw stepped out onto the porch, drying his hands with a white towel. His smile of greeting faded as he caught sight of Adam.
“Mollie?” He tossed the towel over the porch railing and headed down the steps. “What happened?”
“I need to use your surgery,” Doctor Jacob announced without so much as a
howdy
. He carefully slid from Galen’s back, Adam still in his arms. “The boy’s got a compound fracture of the tibia. Bone’s been set, but I need to flush the wound and check for fragments before I suture him.”
Dr. Bradshaw frowned. “You’d be better off just amputating. The boy’s gonna lose that leg anyway. And he could lose his life if infection sets in, which it always does with this type of break.”
Mollie’s fingers froze on the saddle straps she’d been untying. Lose his leg? Adam? No! He was too young to face a life without being able to walk or run or ride a horse. But losing a leg was better than losing his life.
“I’m not amputating,” Doctor Jacob growled, his face nearly savage in his denial. “I sawed off more limbs than I care to count during the war, and I’m not about to subject this child to that fate.”
“Then I’m not letting you into my surgery.” Dr. Bradshaw crossed his pudgy arms over his chest and glared mulishly, his cheeks reddening around his white sideburns. “I won’t be a party to a procedure that
will end up costing that boy his life just because the war left a bad taste in your mouth.”
“Haven’t you heard of Dr. Lister’s advancements with carbolic acid? I’ve already started the treatment and have every confidence we can save the boy’s leg. If infection does set in, there will be time to amputate later should it become necessary.”
Dr. Bradshaw’s face had progressed from red to an alarming shade of purple. “How dare you question my professional judgment? I’ve been a respected physician for thirty years. My experience is vastly superior to you and this Lister person. I’ve heard of his theories. Poppycock, every one of them. Infections are caused by miasma, and once the body is opened up to this bad air, infection is certain to follow. I suggest, sir, that you hand that boy into my care at once and go about your business.”
“My business
is
this boy.” The new doc shifted his hold on Adam and edged closer to the clinic steps. “I’d hoped we could work together for a week or so as a matter of professional courtesy as I got settled, but I see now that I’m just going to have to ask you to step aside. I’m relieving you of duty, Dr. Bradshaw.”
Mollie’s gaze bounced from one man to the other, her pulse throbbing as tensions escalated. Questions volleyed inside her as well. What treatment would be best for Adam? Was Dr. Bradshaw’s suggestion the safest thing, or could new techniques spare Adam’s leg?
“Who do think you are to order me about?” Dr. Bradshaw demanded.
“I’m Dr. Jacob Sadler, new town physician hired on by the Cold Spring city council. I’m your replacement. Now step aside. I have a patient to tend.”
Sadler?
Mollie’s mind spun so fast she felt a little dizzy. Was his name some kind of crazy coincidence, or could he be—?
“Mollie?” The new doc turned to look at her. His face remained hard, but a touch of vulnerability softened the edges of his eyes. “I’m going to need your help.”
“I’m right behind ya, Doc.” She wasn’t about to leave Adam. But even if Doc Sadler had been fixin’ to treat a complete stranger, she’d still follow him up those stairs. The man oozed self-assurance, yet his eyes had pleaded for understanding. As if he needed her to believe in him.
Her.
Mollie Tate. As if her opinion mattered.
Dr. Bradshaw sputtered but sidled out of the way when the new doc climbed the steps with Adam in his arms. Mollie made to follow, but Dr. Bradshaw grasped her elbow as she passed.
“Don’t be a party to this, Mollie Tate,” he hissed. “He’ll kill that boy. You mark my words.”
She patted the old man’s shoulder while she tugged her sleeve free of his hold. “I know you mean well, Dr. Bradshaw. But if there’s a chance to save Adam’s leg, we’ve got to try.” She glanced through the clinic’s open doorway. “I believe Doc Sadler can do it, and I aim to give him all the help I can.”