Damaged Hearts (13 page)

“What’s stopping you now?  You know Ali would jump at the chance to spend time with Kat.  Morgan wouldn’t be happy about it but if she got to spend time with you too, she might get accept it better.”  Angel offered.

“Maybe it would be a good idea for us all to stay here for a bit.  Bring Consuela and the kids and possibly move some of stock to a closer pasture to make it easier for Adam to handle.”  Rick said thoughtfully.  “How many rooms do you have in the house?”

“We have four, and there is space in the main room to make up some pallets if we need to.”  Angel answered.  “Plus, if it would make things easier, Matt and I could stay at your place or in the bunkhouse and Morgan and Ali could share my room.  I know it isn’t proper but we are going to be married before long; it’s not like I’ll end up pregnant or something.” She laughed.

“Speaking of Matt, where did he take off to?”  Rick asked.  “He and I should talk about that and a few other things before he heads back to the house.”

“He went into town and took Marie with him.  He wanted to check on James and talk to your father if he could, plus he thought maybe he should talk to Kat’s attorney too.”  Angel explained. 

“I think he may even have a few words with the mayor if Marie can talk him into listening.”

“Sounds like he’ll be in town for quite a while.”  Rick said.  They heard hoof beats and turned their attention to the yard.  “Looks like the doctor is here.”  

Rick went inside and Angel went out to the yard to meet Dr. Applewhite.  Frank dismounted, obviously tired, and took the reins of his horse and the doctor’s, walking them to cool them before loosening their cinches and taking them to the water. 

Angel escorted the doctor inside where they met Rick in the main room.  “So I hear we have multiple problems that need to be checked out.”  The doctor said.  “Where shall we start?”

“Kaitlyn is in her room resting but I’d like to have her checked out first.  I have a gunshot wound but Angel cleaned, stitched and dressed it; it’s just a flesh wound and not giving me any trouble.”  Rick answered.

“Well, where is her room and I‘ll get started.”  The doctor arched a questioning eyebrow at Rick. 

Stepping between the two men before they went at each other Angel told him “If you’ll follow me please, my sister is just down the hall.”

As they walked into the room, the doctor took note of the plain appearance of it.  “Are you certain this is your sister’s room?”  He asked confused.  “If it’s not, she would be much more comfortable in her own.”

“Yes Dr. Applewhite, I am positive that this is my sister’s room.”  Angel sighed.  “She does not really have any items of sentimental value and does not care for frills.  Let me wake her and let her know you are here.”  Angel quickly roused her sister and straightened her clothing and bedding.  “Dr. Applewhite is here to check out your injuries Kat.”  She informed her.

“What’s this that I hear about you having been kidnapped again?”  The doctor began.  “Let’s go ahead and look at these ribs and see if we can determine how bad off you are.”

Angel helped Kat out of her shirt and then gave her a towel that she had thoughtfully brought into the room earlier to cover herself.  The doctor looked pointedly at the bruises all over the parts of her body that were still exposed.  “What happened to you girl?” 

“You’ve already been told, I was kidnapped and held by George Jenkins.  I think part of the bruising is from the saddle horn digging into me when he threw me over the horse.  I rode face down for what seemed like a several hours.  More of the bruising is from where he kicked me repeatedly in the ribs and then of course the bruises on my face are from being hit repeatedly.”  Kat took a breath.  “As for the rest, he molested me but there is nothing you can do to fix that.  He wasn’t able to force himself on me though because I laughed at him.  That seemed to make him unable to perform; thank God.”

“Sounds like you had a major ordeal...again.”  The doctor told her.  “Let’s check out these ribs and see what’s going on with them.”  He helped her sit up, then he and Angel slowly unwrapped her.  “Oh my God, this is much worse than I thought.  How do you manage to breathe my dear?”  He asked noticing that Rick had stepped into the room and was quietly surveying the bruises himself.

“If the man wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself with my bare hands.  The Sheriff may get the same punishment.”  He ground out.  “Why didn’t you tell me you were hurting so bad?  And don’t try to tell me you weren’t hurting, your bruises give away too much.”

“Rick, I must demand that you leave at once.  This is highly improper and you are not helping her at all by yelling at her.”  The doctor stated, pointing at the door.

“This is my future wife you are talking about.”  Rick informed the doctor as Angel escorted him into the hall; he only went because he agreed with the doctor that yelling would not do Kaitlyn any good.

Closing the door softly behind them, Rick went back to the main room to wait for the news as Angel went into the kitchen for more supplies.  He had already seen some of the bruises but this was the first he had seen of the ones on her chest and he assumed her breasts were as bad.  It made him irate all over again just thinking about it.

“Well young lady,” The doctor started “I agree with your sister, it looks like you have two broken and two cracked ribs.  Binding them is about all we can do for that.  Your cheekbone seems to be fractured and will heal on its own and your jaw and nose are both broke.  Your wrist, which I am not even sure you noticed with all your other pain, is only sprained, so we will wrap it.  As for the black eye and all the other bruises and swelling; I’ll leave some liniment and time will help those to heal.”

“So how soon before I can work cattle and train my horses?”  Kat asked, knowing she really didn’t want the answer.

“I’d say in about four weeks you’ll be able to ease into doing some of the light work and go back to full time in as early as six.”  He replied knowing full well that she would not listen to his orders.  She had always been independent and after seeing her numerous times for injuries, he knew she had a stiff tolerance for pain.  He also knew that if she thought she might possibly be able to get into the saddle, she would.

“Doc, you know as well as I do that I can’t wait six weeks before I work my yearlings again.  I have to be out there daily if not every other day.”  She argued.  “How about two weeks?  If I promise to go light and wait for four weeks before doing anything heavier, will two weeks be ok?”

“Let’s discuss this later, like maybe on my next visit.  Now, do I need to further my exam?  I can tell just by what I’ve seen so far that more happened than what you have said.”  The doctor started.  “I know you don’t want to go into a lot of detail but I need to know, are there other things that I need to check?”

“No Doc, he hurt me bad but he didn’t accomplish what he wanted to.  Strangely enough when I laughed at him, he couldn’t make himself perform.”  She explained.  “He was quite brutal in a lot of ways but at least I didn’t have to suffer what I went through last time and there’s no chance of unwanted results from anything like that.”

“Well, if you’re sure.  Before I go though, let me treat those abrasions on your face and arms and we definitely need to drain and dress that nasty gash on your leg; Angel didn’t mention it.  Did you know it was there?” He asked as he began putting antiseptic on her arms first and then her face, making her jump in pain.  “This one on your leg is the worst of any of these, what happened?”

“I either got that from some low lying brush or when he dragged me across the camp site and I tried to escape.  He threw me down and I remember feeling something rip from the stump that I hit.”  She answered.  “How bad is it?  I forgot to mention it to Angel or Rick so no one has looked at it yet.”

“Well, you’ve got a rather bad infection and quite a bit of swelling in the infected area.”  He explained.  “There is the beginning of a red streak running up the back of the leg which is the worst part.  If we don’t take care of this infection fast, you stand a chance of losing your leg.”

“Oh God Doc, NO!  That can’t happen.  Rick is taking on damaged goods anyway agreeing to marry me after knowing what happened with George all that time ago.  There’s no way I could let him have a wife with a bad or missing leg.”  Kat sobbed.  “What can you do?  I can endure anything so long as I don’t lose it and I can go to my husband as almost a whole woman.”

“Calm down Kaitlyn, let’s see if we can get it cleaned up and some of the infection drained.”  The doctor said.  “This is going to hurt like the dickens but I think you’ll handle it fine.  Just to be sure though…ah here she is.”  The doctor interrupted himself as Angel came back through the door carrying whisky and more rags.

“Oh no!”  She gasped almost dropping the tray.

“I guess that answers that question.”  Kat spoke up as she supported herself on her elbows.  “Well Doc, as bad as I hate to say it; do your worst.  Angel, bring a leather strap if you would.”

“Oh Doctor, how on earth did I miss that?”  Angel asked in anguish at what she was seeing.  She knew the red streak was a dangerous sign of blood poisoning.  She quickly left the room, almost running into Rick as she hurried to the kitchen and grabbed a small leather strap that they kept for occasions like this one.

“What is going on Angel?”  Rick demanded.  “You are white as a sheet and from what you have in your hand, there is worse to come.”

“Rick, somehow when I was doctoring Kat; I missed a long, deep gash on her leg.  It’s swelled up and is infected and the doctor has to drain it or she could lose her leg.”  She confessed.  “I am so very sorry.  Never in a hundred years would I do that to my sister.”

“Hush Angel; no one is blaming you, least of all Kaitlyn.”  He said wrapping her in a comforting brotherly hug.  “Let’s get back into that room and see what can be done.  Just remember that whatever happens; it’s not your fault.”

They walked down the hallway together and into the room.  Rick almost gasped as he saw her leg.  Giving the doctor a look that said he was not leaving under any circumstances, he moved a chair to the head of the bed and sat down.  Taking Kat’s hand in his, he gently kissed it and looked into her eyes.

“Hey baby, it’s going to be ok.  I’m here and I’m going to make sure you don’t go anywhere.  I’m not leaving until everything is alright and you’re up and around on your own.” He promised.

The doctor, after seeing how much she calmed down in the presence of this well-known young man, decided to let him stay and started to work immediately.  “Ok Kat, you have a few choices here.”  He started.  “We can either attempt to put you under, start working on this and see how much you can stand, or give you a liberal dose of this whiskey and then start.  What do you think?”

“I say give me the whiskey Doc.”  She said with all the bravo she had left.  “I can take it.”

Rick handed her the bottle, urging her take several large gulps before setting it on the bedside table.  Taking her small, calloused hand in his again, he nodded to the doctor and started another one of the longest nights in his life.

The doctor took a wicked looking scalpel and after looking at both Rick and Angel, asked them to switch places.  He then began cutting a long opening along the original cut.  Angel wiped away the blood and the infection that drained out and held Kat’s hand in hers as Rick held her leg immobile.  Although he could feel her flexing, he didn’t think she was attempting to kick out.  Angel knew the pain Kat was going though as the grip on her hand transferred the message.

After making the cut, the doctor proceeded to bleed the incision and then applied pressure as he attempted to get every bit of infection from it that he could.  Angel continued wiping away what drained from the wound then, the doctor quietly ordered her to get steaming hot water to make hot packs.  He explained that the heat from the rags would help with drawing the remaining infection from beneath the skin.

Doing as he said, she quickly left the room and returned with a steaming kettle from the stove where she had set it earlier.  She looked at her sister and noticed that her eyes were closed and her body was not tense like it was before she left the room.  “What happened?”  She asked, nodding at Kat.

“I gave her quite a bit of whiskey Angel.”  Rick admitted.  “I had her drink it fairly fast too.  I knew what kind of pain was coming and didn’t want her to try to brave her way through it only to pass out and come to again while we were still working.”