Taming the Wind

*** FOURTEEN

Carissa awoke to the sound of someone crying. At first she thought it was Gloria, but the child slept soundly at her side. It was then she realized someone sounded to be in utter misery. Grabbing her wrap, Carissa hurried to find the source. The moans came louder as Carissa approached Laura's room.

Without knocking, Carissa threw open the door to find Laura writhing in pain.

A single lamp burned beside the bed, and Daniel slept restlessly in a smal boxed bed on the opposite side of the room.

"What's wrong?" Carissa asked, coming to Laura's side.

"It's ... the ... baby," Laura said from behind clenched teeth. Laura's pale, pain-lined face left Carissa little doubt that the situation was serious.

"How long have you been hurting?"

"For a few hours now."

"Why didn't you let someone know?"

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Laura's forehead beaded with perspiration as she cried out. "It's too early for the baby to come. I was praying it would stop."

Wringing her hands, Carissa shook her head. "What can I do?"

"The baby ... is coming," Laura said, falling back against her pillow. "You have ... to ... help me deliver."

Carissa knew the infant wasn't due for several more weeks. It was way too early, but apparently there was little they could do to stop it. Laura pushed back the covers, and Carissa gave a quick examination of the situation. The baby's head was already visible. Soon the delivery would be complete.

"What's going on?" Hannah asked, coming into the room.

"Laura's having the baby," Carissa said. Just then Laura bore down and the baby slid onto the bed. "Correction. Laura just had a little boy."

"I'll get Juanita to help us. Clear the baby's mouth," Hannah said, now fully awake. She left the room before Carissa could say anything.

The tiny infant didn't move or cry and Carissa feared he'd been stillborn. She took up a towel from the nightstand and gently wrapped the baby as Laura cried.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Laura sobbed.

"I don't know," Carissa said. "He's so small." She didn't want to rub the baby too much for fear she might well rub off his thin skin. She put her finger in the infant's mouth to make sure the throat was clear. The tiny infant drew a shallow breath.

It seemed like forever, but finally Juanita and Hannah returned. Hannah quickly took charge and cut the cord. "Juanita, please fetch some water from the stove. It may still have some warmth."

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"Si, I get it."

The weather had been hot for several weeks, much too hot for a fire in the bedroom fireplace. But Carissa knew that keeping the baby warm would be of the utmost importance.

"I'll get a fire going."

"Yes, build it up," Hannah said, continuing to minister care to the infant.

Carissa had just managed to lay the wood when she heard a tiny squeaking sound from the baby. It was like music.

"He's alive?" Laura asked.

"Yes," Hannah said, smiling. Just as quickly she grew serious.

"He is small, but I think you may have been farther along than you realized.

He seems quite healthy."

Laura nodded. "Let me see him. Please."

Hannah moved closer with the baby. "We must keep him warm. Put him against your skin, and I will go get water. You must lie still and keep warm.

Do you understand?"

"I understand."

Carissa hurried to get the fire going. She kept casting a glance over her shoulder to Laura. Her sister seemed to be completely unaware of anyone else in the room. Finally the kindling caught, and Carissa breathed a sigh of relief. She took great care to stoke and build the fire as quickly as possible, all the while praying for her new nephew.

Juanita and Hannah reappeared and over the course of the next hour worked together to clean up Laura and the baby and see to their well-being.

It was then Carissa learned

Juanita had sent Berto for the doctor.

"He should be here in a few hours," Juanita said. "Until then we do our best.

We need to keep this room very warm."

Carissa nodded. "I can keep the fire going. I need to go

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for more wood, and I'll have to check on Gloria." By now Daniel was awake and crying for his mother.

Hannah motioned to the door. "I've roused Marty. She'll see to the children, and Pepita is fixing breakfast." Within a matter of moments, Marty appeared to scoop up Daniel.

"Why do babies have to get born so early?"

Hannah laughed. "Because they have to make sure everyone knows they're in charge. Now, Carissa, if you'll sit here with your sister, I'll go get a few things we need."

At first Carissa thought her sister was sleeping, she was lying so still, but Laura quickly opened her eyes at the shift of the mattress.

The two sisters locked gazes, and Carissa could see the fear in Laura's eyes. She reached out and touched Laura's cheek with the back of her fingers. "It will be all right. You'll see."

"He's so small and the delivery is early--even if I was farther along," Laura said, tears filling her eyes. "I want to call him Lucas Brandon. If anything happens to me or to him, you will see to it, won't you?"

"Nothing is going to happen to either of you," Carissa said, stil unwil ing to believe the worst could happen. "Now focus on keeping your son warm and let us do what we can to make you comfortable."

The hours seemed to stretch for an eternity. Carissa was just dozing in the bedside chair when she heard the unmistakable sound of male voices. For just a moment she dared to hope that the men had returned from the drive, but when the doctor bounded into the room, she knew it was otherwise.

"Seems we have a little fella mighty eager to make his appearance," the doctor said, taking the infant from Laura. "I'll have him back to you as soon as possible." He took the baby

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to the small table Hannah had put by the fire. On it she placed a small quilt folded and draped to add padding and warmth.

Carissa watched the doctor as he examined the baby. He made several comments to Hannah and Juanita, but didn't seem all that alarmed. He left the baby to the women and came back to examine Laura.

"You both look to be in stable condition, given the experience," the doctor said upon completing his examination. Carissa let go of her breath, not even realizing that she'd been holding it. She patted Laura's hand. "See there, I told you all would be well."

Laura's voice sounded quite weak. "Will he live?"

The doctor gave her a hint of a smile as he offered her a soothing nod. "I don't see any reason why he shouldn't. He's breathing well and his color is quite good. The important thing will be to get him to eat and to keep him warm. You're fortunate to have him born in the heat of summer. That and keeping him near the fire will both be to his benefit."

"But you can't be sure," Laura said.

"No one can be sure," Carissa interjected. "Remember what you told me about loving? It's a risk, especially since people are bound to die one day."

Laura looked at Carissa and smiled for the first time. "You are right, of course. It seems harder now that I'm on the other side of the issue."

The doctor patted Laura in a fatherly manner. "There, now. You need to rest.

You're gonna need your strength to see this little one through. I'll be back tomorrow."

"Why don't you stay with us, Dr. Sutton?" Hannah questioned, coming into the room with a small wooden box.

"I can't. I have another couple of patients to visit. I'll get 170

back out here first thing in the morning if all goes well. If you need me before then, just send Berto again, and I'll come as soon as I can. But, frankly, there isn't a great deal I can do at this point." He looked at Laura and then back to Hannah and Carissa. "These things are out of our hands."

"What we can do is place the babe safely in God's hands," Hannah said.

"Carissa, come help me. We're going to make something for the baby."

"His name is Lucas," Carissa said. "Laura named him Lucas."

Hannah smiled. "I like that name, Laura. It's strong." Laura gave a brief nod.

"Lucas Brandon Reid."

The doctor took his leave, and Juanita went to tend Laura while Carissa held her new nephew. He couldn't have weighed more than five pounds. He was so very small and looked rather like a wizened old man. Fuzzy hair like that of a peach covered his body, and on his head were fine wisps of brown hair.

"I'm going to create a warming bed for him," Hannah said, taking the quilt from the table and replacing it with the box. "I'll be right back," she told Carissa.

It was hard to figure what Hannah was up to, but when she returned with a tray of stones, Carissa was even more confused. "I heated these in the oven," Hannah said. "I'm going to put them around the sides of the box and then we'll put the quilt over that. We'll fix it so that the warmth heats the baby ... Lucas ... but doesn't burn him."

"That's brilliant," Carissa said, nodding her approval.

Within a moment, Hannah had it all arranged. She put her hand into the box and felt all around. "Perfect. Now we have a nice warm bed for Lucas."

Carissa gently placed the baby in the box, and Hannah

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quickly tucked the quilt around him. Glancing at the fire, Carissa went to add another couple of logs. She would sit and keep the fire all day and night for as long as it took. She would do whatever was required, if it meant helping keep Lucas alive for Laura.

"Let's check him frequently to make sure he's not too warm," Hannah said, her brows knitting together. "I don't know how warm would be too warm, but hopefully we'll be able to tell."

The next twenty-four hours proved to be good ones for the baby. He managed to suckle, and though Laura's milk seemed slow in coming, Lucas continued to fight. By the third day, however, it was obvious that Laura wasn't doing well. She seemed to weaken by the hour and a fever started that had Juanita and Hannah quite worried.

"We need to bind her breasts and dry up her milk," Juanita told Hannah and Carissa. "It is taking her strength. We must do this to help her be stronger."

"But what about Lucas?"

"We feed him canned milk," Juanita replied.

"Juanita is right," Hannah replied. "I've seen this before ... when Marty was born ...." She fell silent.

Carissa looked at the two women in grave worry. "She can't die. Daniel and Lucas need her. Brandon needs her." She glanced at her sister's pale, lifeless body. "I need her." Dr. Sutton finally arrived on the fourth day, and the prognosis wasn't good. Carissa could scarcely believe him as he shook his head and closed his bag. "It's childbed fever. Happens all the time, and we can't really say why. There's little I can do."

"There has to be something!" Carissa said, refusing to give up.

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The doctor gave her a sympathetic glance. "You can work to get her fever down. Get fluids in her."

"What about willow-bark tea?" Hannah asked.

"No, it will increase her bleeding. The risk is too great," Dr. Sutton replied.

The baby began to cry, and Carissa hurried to pick him up. "He's hungry--

probably starving."

The doctor frowned. "If the mother dies, he will most likely die, too. Frankly, that's often a blessing. Awfully hard for others to take care of a baby without a mother to feed it."

"But it can be done," Hannah said firmly. "I've done it before with Marty."

"They aren't going to die," Carissa said, clutching Lucas closer. "I won't let them." A sob broke from her throat, and Hannah came to put her arm around her.

"We'l do everything we can," Hannah whispered in her ear.

"Dilute some canned milk and warm it," the doctor suggested as he headed to the door. "Try giving him some of that every hour. If that doesn't work--at least give him some sugar water. You will have to pursue it vigilantly, or he will grow weak from lack of fluids and starve."

The doctor glanced back at Laura's lifeless body. Carissa had never been more frightened. "I can't lose her," Carissa told them. "And she won't live if this baby doesn't, so I will do whatever I can to see this through."

Dr. Sutton nodded. "I know you will, Mrs. Lowe. I know you will."

***

"It's not the news you want to hear," Ted Terry said, "but that's the truth of it."

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Hannah sat at the head of the table, and Carissa had joined them for the meal while Juanita cared for Lucas and Laura. The Terrys had come with news of another Indian attack.

"The Cheyenne are working with the Comanche and Kiowa. It's been quite bad up and down the plains. The sheriff told me they just learned that there was a massacre of several

families in the panhandle area."

"Are you going to stay at your ranch or will you join us here?" Hannah asked.

"For now we'll go back and do our best to defend the place."

"But why? You needn't risk your lives. Just come here and stay with us,"

Hannah insisted. "We'll be stronger together, and you know that the Comanche have long respected our ranch."

"I'll take it under advisement," Ted promised. He glanced at Marietta, who looked none too happy. "For now, however, I have to go back and do what I can to secure what's mine."

"Well, at least eat your fill before you go. I wouldn't want to send you off on an empty stomach."

Ted laughed. "No chance of that. I know my way to the trough."

Carissa felt Marietta's hand on her arm and startled. "I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

Marietta nodded. "I wondered how your sister was doing.

Hannah said she's been quite ill."

"She is and I must say I'm so frightened. She's desperately weak, and it's hard to get any kind of fluids into her, but the doctor says that's critical." She felt such a sense of dread. "I don't know if I could bear it should Laura ..."

"Hush, now," Marietta told her. "You gain nothing by fretting over the matter.

Give it to the Lord and let Him work."

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Carissa felt so hopeless. "I'm trying. I'm really trying."

"That's all the Lord asks of us. Now, you need to eat more than that to keep up your strength. And where is that little gal of yours? I understand she's had a birthday and turned two."

"She seems more like four or five," Hannah interjected. "I've never seen anyone so smart and active. That child is everywhere at once and talks a blue streak."

"It's true," Carissa replied. "But as for where the children are--they ate earlier and now Marty is putting them down for naps. She has been an absolute godsend. I know we would never have managed without her."

Marietta bobbed her head. "My mother always said that there was never anyone too young to learn how to help. She had me shelling peas when I was just a little one. Life sometimes necessitates we grow up fast and out here--it's a rule."

"I hate seeing them grow up too fast," Hannah said with a sigh. "I've been so worried about Andy. I never wanted him to go on the cattle drive, as you know. I received a message from William once the cattle were safely delivered to Abilene. Apparently everyone is fine, but I won't really rest until they're all back home."

"I'm sure the boys feel the same way," Ted said.

A knock was heard coming from the front door. Being closest to the hall, Carissa jumped to her feet. "I'll get it."

She hurried, hoping the doctor had made another return visit. Instead she found Judge Peevy on the other side of the door. "Well, well. Just the woman I wanted to see."

She smiled. "Is this about the ranch, then?"

He nodded. "It is. Everything has gone quite well. The Atherton ranch will be yours, but not only that--our idea to purchase the piece outright was well received. I gave them

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your draft and the sale went through. The county will pocket the money, and that seemed to make everyone happy."

She clapped her hands much like Gloria might have. "I'm so happy. This is wonderful news."

"I agree. You do need to know, however, that you are under obligation to live there for five years."

"But I thought ... I mean we aren't homesteading."

"True, but that was a provision I had to agree to. They also made it clear that you could not sell the land back to Tyler."

"Then what good does it do for me to have it? I've saved the place for nothing."

The judge grinned. "Not exactly. To my way of thinking, you could still manage to get it back into his hands, if say ... you were to marry him."

Carissa felt her cheeks grow hot. "There's no plan for that."

"Well, I understood that you two were mutually interested in a future together.

I'm just saying that there's nothing in the contract that would keep Tyler from taking ownership if he's married to you. After all, there wouldn't be a sale involved."

Instead of feeling pleased about the news, Carissa suddenly felt sick. What if Tyler had no interest in marrying her? What if his feelings for her ... feelings he had never spoken of but that Hannah and Laura assured her

existed ...had changed?

"I suppose we will just have to wait and see," she said in a barely audible voice.

"Judge, how nice to see you. Won't you join us for dinner?"

Hannah asked, coming to join them. She looked at Carissa. "You were gone so long, I feared something was wrong."

"A bite to eat sounds just right to me," Judge Peevy declared.

"Is that fried chicken I smell?"

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Hannah laughed. "It is indeed. I fried it myself. Now, come along. The Terrys are here, and you men can discuss the affairs of the world. Ted has been telling us about the Indian troubles."

The two continued to talk as they walked away, leaving Carissa to close the door. She paused and leaned against the frame, wondering if she'd made a serious mistake. She wished she could have told Tyler about her plans prior to taking action. But that was the whole reason she had rushed to action--all the men who could have advised her were gone. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine telling Tyler the news that she'd just bought the ranch.

Worse still, she had spent every cent in her bank account to do so. If Tyler asked her to marry him, there would be no problem. But if he didn't ...

Carissa tried to push the thought from her mind, but it wouldn't go. Tyler might hate her for what she'd done. The long months away could have given him a new direction for his life. What if he didn't even return to Texas?

She shook her head. "I'm borrowing trouble, and I already have plenty." She opened her eyes and pushed off the doorframe. "There's no sense in fretting about this now." But even speaking the words aloud didn't help her to let the matter go.