Lincoln County Series 1-3 (21 page)

Cameron gently placed her hands on Mary’s shoulders. “I’m afraid it’s scarlet fever. The doctor and Andrew have been seeing to the many that are sick.”

“Is she going to be all right?”

“I don’t know.”

Mary was ringing her hands and backing out into the cold.

Cameron would not sit by and do nothing. “I’m coming with you.”

When they arrived at the Keiser’s home, Mary ran up the stairs to Penny, leaving Cameron to follow suit. She wasn’t prepared to see Penny’s ill health but was relieved upon hearing her loud breathing. The girl’s cheeks were flushed and the color of a red rose.

She fought oncoming nausea.
Now is not the time
, she scolded her protesting womb. After feeling the heat radiate from Penny’s forehead, she left to explore the large kitchen until she found a bowl. She pumped icy cold water into it and snatched up a utility towel. With Mary standing by sobbing and praying, she sponged Penny’s boiling temples, arms and neck. Lifting her nightdress only confirmed the tiny red bumps all over, a sign of the fever Andrew had described upon falling into his exhausted sleep. Cruelly, the rash along the girl’s chest and abdomen felt like sandpaper. Penny chilled and moaned and Cameron replaced the heavy quilt. It seemed to her that she should be uncovered to expel the heat, but that appeared contrary to what the doctors did.

“Her mouth, in the back...it’s awfully red, Mrs. Jackson. She has been throwing up terrible like, I thought she was going to die!”

“There’s nothing you could have done different. We can only wait—and pray.”

“Never have prayed much. Maybe you should do it, being a preacher’s wife and all,” Mary stated with hope, as she kneeled at Penny’s bedside.

Cameron looked at the pale color around Penny’s lips in stark contrast to her fiery complexion. Feeling inadequate for such a spiritual responsibility, she wished Andrew were here by her side, but he was not and so she did as expected and prayed like she’d never prayed before.

*** *** ***

Andrew had been forced to go home by Doc Colvin. Medically there was nothing he could do, only wait and officiate funerals. Four innocent children, Lord, I don’t understand. How do I explain to these loving mothers and fathers why their children are dying?

Silence.

He stomped snow from his boots and opened the door to his cold home. The fire had gone out, and apparently so had his wife. He assumed she would be there waiting for him. He could only trust she was all right and possibly helping a neighbor, a parishioner. He would sit in his wingback chair and rest until she returned. First, he stirred up a fire until the crackling warmth filled the home.

Andrew awoke later with a start. With the exception of the orange glow of embers in his fireplace, pitch black surrounded him. At the recognition of the time and that Cameron was not yet home, he rose and bundled himself up. He opened the door and stopped short in amazement. While he’d slept, a terrible wind had picked up and snow swirled around like ice dust, creating havoc with the fresh mountains of snow that had already fallen. He could not even see their barn.

“Cameron, where are you?” Fear gnawed at his middle that she could be out in the wicked weather. But something stronger than that fear overruled his dangling thoughts. Somehow, he knew she was safe. Where? He did not know. But he was powerless in himself and slowly closed the door. After stirring up a fresh blaze in the fireplace, he sought God and pleaded for protection over his wife, baby and the entire town of Lincoln County.

Chapter Nine

In town, Jake fought through the blizzard to carry a five-year-old to Lacey’s. He kicked at the door until Lacey opened it. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. The little guy just fell down stone cold in the mercantile and his mother has a passel of kids with her. I told her I would take him to Doc’s. He isn’t there and I don’t know what else to do with him. It’s a mess out there. I have to figure out how to get her and her children home.”

“Bring him up.”

He brought the feverish boy to one of the hotel’s rooms.

“The boy belongs to Kate Reynolds—his name’s Tyler. If you’ll take care of him, I’ll tell his mother where he is and bring them all here.”

Lacey agreed and Jake returned downstairs. Through the window in the restaurant, Jake stared in awe at the fierce storm brewing before his eyes. As if they didn’t have enough to deal with.

On his own accord, he gathered all the lanterns he could find from the hotel and placed them along the boardwalks in case someone should be lost while looking for town.

Upon his return with the rest of the Reynolds family, Jake was pleased to know that Doc Colvin was tending to Tyler. The man looked beyond haggard, and when he could not go on a moment longer, Lacey shuffled him off to bed. It was good they had two available docs during the epidemic.

Jake went into the restaurant, poured himself a cup of strong coffee and sat alone with unwanted thoughts. He also wondered if any good deeds would atone for what he’d done to Cameron. He scratched at his beard and swore at himself. He’d done an awful thing, an unforgiveable, cruel act. She would never speak to him again and she’d be wise not to. There was no way he could trust himself in her presence. Blast it all! He’d never expected to see her sitting so pretty in the moonlight, all by her lonesome of all things. He knew his relationship with Andrew was surely done for, as sure as he was sitting there, thinking of the man’s wife.

Resigned, he tossed his coffee back and headed to the attic. He pulled old cots and gathered blankets from every empty room in the hotel. The cots were arranged into rows so the adults could perform sponge baths on the children. Out of Kate’s six youngins all but two had fallen ill with sore throat, fever and rash. She did not cease at nursing each and every one and Jake admired her loving resolve.

“Mrs. Reynolds?” He assessed the older woman. She was weary as all could get. “How about you get some sleep now?”

Kate looked at him anxiously, as if seeking assurance that, if she slept, her children would be alive when she woke.

“You need sleep same as me.”

He didn’t know how to put it other than bluntly. “Let someone else take over. Your children will need you later if…” He did not finish his thought. He did not need to. After a few moments of looking distressed over the decision, as if it were the hardest one she’d ever had to make, Kate unwillingly heeded out of necessity.

At her departure he cursed out loud. Life was cruel. These children did not deserve this. Maybe it wasn’t life that was cruel, but God himself? Keeping everyone in line, as He looking down, and when displeased, He punished! Well, there were lots more people out in this world who needed punishing, needed to come face to face with His burning hand! Take himself for instance. Without hesitation, he would give his no-good life for one of Kate’s children.

Jake paced between rooms, angry at everything unfair. Fatigue caught up to him and he realized he’d been awake over twenty hours. He sat on the end of Tyler’s bed. Feeling the boy’s pulse, he frowned. It was too weak. He woke Doc Colvin. Faithfully, the doctor returned to his patient. Silvery, thin hair stood sporadically upon his head, his eyes swollen in protest of being open, no doubt. After checking the wheezing child, he shook his head sadly.

Jake looked at Lacey who stood in the doorway, pale as a ghost.

“Get his mother.”

He would not live.

Kate held her son’s face in her hands and kissed his cracked lips as she whispered pathetically, words of love and adoration. It was too much for Jake. He could not understand the death of a child. No loving God would do this. Andrew was wrong to believe, he was misled—and now, so was Cameron, he was sure of it.

*** *** ***

The next day Cameron helped Penny sit up in bed and grinned at Mary’s attempt to lighten her daughter’s spirit. She had broken through the worst. The girl grimaced when she saw her peeling fingers and toes, a sign of the departing illness.

“May I have some water?” she asked.

Mary sprang into action. “Anything you want.”

Satisfied, Cameron readied to go, her only desire now that Penny had pulled through was to see her husband. Although the storm had passed and the snow lay calm as could be on the frozen ground, she enlisted a stable boy’s assistance to bring her home.

Once on the property, she cried with relief when she saw smoke from the chimney. He was home.

“Andrew!”

He flung open the door and made a quick evaluation of her health before taking her into his arms. She smiled against his smooth neck as he instinctively laced his fingers through her mass of hair. She heard him inhale deeply before releasing her.

“I was readying to come and find you. Where did you run off to?” His bright eyes were not yet smoothed of concern.

“Mary Keiser needed me. Penny fell sick.” At seeing his look she assured him, “She’s fine, Andrew.”

“And you?”

“Only tired, nothing sleep cannot fix.”

After much rest, Andrew prepared a light soup and ladled it into bowls for each of them.

“Dr. Grover said it must have spread throughout the school.” He had Cameron bundled up cocoon-like in a chair beside the fireplace.

“How so?”

“As you know by now it’s highly contagious. Someone needs only sneeze, or share a pencil. It’s a terrible tragedy.”

“I’m so relieved that Penny made it through. I don’t know what Mary would have done to lose her. With her being a widow, I could only imagine the thought.”

Andrew pulled up his own chair, nestling it right in front of her. He set her soup in front of him on a serving tray.

“Don’t even think about feeding me!” she declared.

He retorted which a chuckle, “I don’t intend to. But it’s hot. Allow it to cool a few moments.”

He blew on his spoon of soup and swallowed it. “I need to head to town. I have some things to check into with Dr. Grover.”

He seemed to know what she was going to say before she said it.

“And, no. You may not come,” he said levelly.

“But I’ve already been exposed, you said so yourself that it affects the youngest.” She had a good argument. “Please. It’s dreadful waiting here, alone, not knowing...”

He held up his hand in surrender, himself unwilling to be apart from her again, so soon. “Very well. You win.”

Chapter Ten

Three days had passed since Andrew caved in to Cameron’s plea to accompany him to town and it weighed on him in heavy regret. He wept quietly as he wiped Cameron’s sweat laden brow. The merciless fever had latched itself to her. She was barely conscious, the slight moans that escaped her lips twisted his stomach. She was in pain and he could do nothing about it. Andrew forced fluids down her throat and did his best to keep her dry, cracking lips moist. He blamed himself. He should have never taken her with him.

“Darn her protests!” he said in frustration, throwing the damp rag to the floor. He stared hard at his wife’s bleak, still face. Dark circles under her eyes gave her a bruised appearance, and her breathing...it did not sound right. He stalked around the room wishing there was more he could do. There was no reason to get the doctor in the wretched weather. Dr. Grover would only do what he’d been doing all along, bathing, feeding, and the worst...waiting.

Throughout the long night and in between nodding off and checking on Cameron’s status, he finally became rested and alert. The gray dawn slowly began to creep through the window, reminding him it was a new day. Stretching, he rose and went to the kitchen and rationed out some food for breakfast. He scooped a ceramic cup throughout the bucket of water and filled it half full, bringing it to his wife’s lips.

“I’m going to give you a drink now.” He tilted back her head and poured a slight stream of water into her mouth.

She swallowed.

With hope, he placed a hand to her cheek. She was no longer burning up. He closed his eyes and gave thanks to God. He peered outside and could only wish the season would come to an end entirely. He did not care to see a winter like this ever again. He lay down beside Cameron and continued to pray.

Chapter Eleven