Give Me A Texas Ranger. Jodi Thomas
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reportedly staying.
Anna was safe at the camp, surrounded by a hundred armed men, and with luck he’d be back in time to catch Thorn’s whole gang before they caused any more harm.
Chapter 7
Annalane spent her first few days in camp setting up the long, narrow room at the front of the infirmary to serve as a doctor’s office and operating room. She wasn’t sure if it was curiosity, or the long absence of an infirmary in camp, but people dropped by to help and to complain about small ailments. Two of the three women in camp were pregnant and happy to see someone they could talk to.
Her brother walked in on the third day to nod his approval at the job she was doing. Shelves filled with organized and labeled supplies lined the wall. He talked of his excitement at being posted at his first fort, but said little about medicine. When she asked a few questions about where to put tools, he seemed unsure. She knew medical school was mostly two terms of lectures and some work on cadavers if students could afford them, but she was shocked at his lack of knowledge. A nurse, a week into training knew the names of medical supplies.
Before she could begin to ask more questions or suggest he might help set up his own office, Devin announced, “I’ll be riding back along the stage line to inform the owners of their loss of employees. Not that it’s the army’s fault—we warned them not to try a run this far north. Teamster wagon trains a hundred long were safe enough to move from fort to fort, but it is far too early to even think about establishing a stage line.” He pointed at her. “You were a fool to take a stage. You should have waited at Dodge until supply wagons with guards could have delivered you.”
She hated the way he talked down to her, never thinking to ask if she’d had enough money to wait in Dodge. Before she could fire back, he stormed toward the door.
Glancing back, he added, “I’m assuming you can handle everything here while I’m gone.”
“How long will that be?” Annalane asked, thinking one, maybe two days there and the same back should do it. What if the camp needed a doctor while he was gone? She wondered if her little brother had yet had his hands covered in warm blood. She doubted it. Being a doctor to him was more theory and grandeur than reality.
“I’ll be gone a week,” he said without meeting her gaze. “Maybe more. I have army business to take care of that doesn’t concern you.”
She straightened. “Devin, I’m here to help you, not do all the work. Don’t you dare treat me like your servant.”
He frowned. “Or what? Or you’ll pack up and leave? Go ahead. You’ve never been much good at staying around. I doubt if it ever occurred to you that all those years during the war your family might have needed you around. Times were hard then, you know.” For a moment he looked like the boy she remembered and not the man before her.
Annalane fought down words she knew she’d regret saying. She didn’t have the funds to go anywhere and he was well aware of the fact. She might be able to make it back to Fort Worth, or even Austin, but then she’d be penniless, looking for a job. She wanted to also point out that if he thought it was hard at home, he should have tried being at the battles.
But she wouldn’t tell him. That was the past. Hopefully he’d never know war, and in time her memories would fade.
When she didn’t snap back, he softened slightly. “Look, sis, I know it’s hard on you, but you’re used to hard times. I want to help you, I really do. My plan is simple. Help me set up this place and get it started, then maybe one of the single officers will see how useful you are to have around. Lieutenant Dodson is a widower with three kids and having a hell of a time. If you play your cards right, you could be married to him by Christmas and have a man to take care of you.”
“You’re delusional.” Who would take care of Dodson…and the three children…and the house…and…She frowned, knowing her brother would never understand that marriage is not a ticket out of work.
Devin laughed. “Come on, Annalane, you need a husband and Dodson can’t afford to be too picky. It might not be a marriage of love like you and your first love thought you had nine years ago, but it would be practical. He’s been in the army for over ten years, so he’s made of sturdier stuff than the kid you called husband for an hour.”
Annalane fought the urge to slap her only kin. If Sergeant Cunningham hadn’t walked through the door, she might have. Devin had always been spoiled as a child and he hadn’t changed much.
Cunningham saluted Devin, then addressed her. “I’m sorry to bother you this early, but I’ve been sent to tell you or the doctor that Private Price’s wife is going into labor and everyone in camp knows Victoria is a screamer when she’s not happy.”
Devin headed for the door. “Take care of it, Annalane. I’ve got men waiting for me. Surely even you can handle a birthing.” He was gone before she could answer.
Annalane grabbed a basket she’d put supplies in and shoved it toward the sergeant. “Let’s go. Babies don’t wait.”
Cunningham led the way. “Did your brother ever deliver a baby?”
“Not that I know of,” she answered, aware that most of Devin’s experience had probably been on corpses.
“That’s what I figured. He looked a might pale. How about you?”
“I’ve delivered a dozen or more near battlefields. Wives wanting to see their men one more time before the baby came.” They moved through the tents and corrals along the outside of a wooden stockade that held supplies, as she added, “The hospital where I worked only treated veterans, but some women didn’t know that until they arrived, already in hard labor. We kept a room ready for emergencies like that. Over the four years I was there, I welcomed many a life into this world and helped the mother mourn the passing of a few wee ones who didn’t make the crossing.”
The sergeant smiled. “Mrs. Price will be real happy you’re here. She didn’t much like the idea of having the doc come. She tried to talk to your brother last week about how to prepare, her being still two years from twenty and all. He told her she had no business following her man into unsettled territory and should try to make it home before she went into labor.”
Annalane thought that sounded exactly like what Devin would say. She stepped into one of the new two-room cabins built for married men. The smell of fresh-cut wood greeted her, along with the sound of a woman crying for help. She sounded far more frightened than in pain.
“Set the supplies down, please, Sergeant. I’ll need a stack of towels and a large washtub, cleaned and scrubbed with soap and hot water.” She passed a man standing at the bedroom door, looking like he might pass out at any moment. “And, Sergeant, take Private Price with you.”
Sergeant Cunningham followed orders.
Annalane moved to the bed already stained with blood. “I’m here to help, Victoria, so don’t you worry. Together we’re going to deliver this baby.”
A girl not out of her teens looked up, wide-eyed and near panic. “I don’t know what to do,” she shouted, as if Annalane might be deaf.
“I do,” Annalane answered. “You can call me Anna. I’ll help you through each step. We’re going to climb this mountain one step at a time.” She pulled a small pair of scissors from her apron pocket. “First, I’m going to place these under the bed right below you. My grandmother used to tell me they will cut the pain in half for the rest of your labor.” Annalane smiled, realizing the girl believed her. “And when the baby comes, I’ll know right where the scissors are when it’s time to cut the cord. Now, Victoria, the first thing I want you to do is lean back and relax. When the next contraction comes take deep, slow breaths and let the tightness roll over you, knowing that it’s not pain, but just your body practicing for the job it’s got to do.”
The girl followed orders and Annalane did her job. Nine hours later, she carried a newborn son to the private, who still looked like he might