The Blessing
~~ Part 8 ~~
It had finally stopped raining a couple of hours ago and when Lou saw the faint glow of flames near the river bank she knew she had finally found them. As she rode closer the site what she saw made her smile. Kid was sleeping sitting up with his arms around Jeremiah who was lying back against him. Both were covered in several cold and damp blankets.
She dismounted from the horse she had borrowed, and grabbed the axes from her saddlebag and an extra bag she packed with clothes. She walked over and gently tapped Kid on the shoulder. "Mornin'," she said as she smiled.
"Lou?" he asked half asleep. When he realized he wasn't dreaming he looked at her. "Guess it is. What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay back at the orphanage."
"Kid, you know me better than that. When I found out Jeremiah was trapped under a downed tree and no one else was gonna help until the rain let up, I couldn't wait. How is he?"
"Cold. Good you brought a couple of axes. We need to get him out of the river."
"I also brought a change of warm dry clothes for both of you," she said tossing him the extra saddlebag. "The Marshall and the doc are probably about an hour or so behind me. They're bringing a buckboard to take him back in."
Kid gently moved away from Jeremiah and stood. "We'll worry about getting him changed once he's free." Lou nodded as Kid removed his wet shirt and replaced it with a dryer warm one. When he was done Lou was already knee deep in the river chopping the tree. He grabbed the extra axe and started chopping from the other side.
"Kid... Lou?" Jeremiah asked waking up from the noise. "Lou you came!"
"Of course I did. We're gonna get you out of there real soon, just hold on a little longer."
"I didn't think you would come for me. Not after how I treated you. I'm so sorry."
Lou stopped and looked at her brother. "Jeremiah, I love you very much. No matter what you ever do, I will always love you, do you understand?" He nodded and she smiled. "Besides, I couldn't leave you out here all alone with Kid, who knows what kinda trouble the two of you could get in."
Jeremiah smiled and looked over towards the Kid who grinned back.
They went back to chopping silently and after awhile Kid wiped the sweat from his brow and looked over at Lou. "That might be enough. Jeremiah see if you can move your leg any. Don't get it free; I'll help with that, just see if we've cut enough."
Jeremiah did as he was asked and screamed in pain. Since Kid had arrived, Jeremiah had forgotten about the pain, but now that he tried to move it, he remembered how bad it was. "It hurts real bad, but I think I can get it free if someone helps." Lou threw the axe on the bank and went to help. "Can Kid do it?"
Lou smiled and nodded. She knew this was a big step in their relationship. She didn't know what had happened between the two during the night, but for Jeremiah to ask for Kid's help, she knew things were eventually going to be ok between them.
Kid put his arms under Jeremiah shoulders and folded his hands over the boy's chest. "OK Lou, on the count of three, see if you can lift the tree any. Ready?" Everyone nodded. "One... Two... Three!"
Lou reached under the tree near where Jeremiah's leg was stuck and moved it enough that Kid was able to pull Jeremiah completely free and up farther on the bank, out of the water. Once he was free, Lou ran over to them and started making sure Jeremiah was ok.
"I think his leg may be broken," she said. "But I'm more worried about how long he's been in the water. Help me get him in to dry clothes."
Jeremiah groaned at Lou's help and tried pushing her away.
"Jeremiah, it's not like I haven't seen any of it before. I've lived with six guys for almost two years." She looked at Kid and gave him her shy smile, remembering seeing him naked in the shower for the first time.
"Lou," Kid started, trying to hide a blush. He knew what she was thinking. "This is different; let me help him. Why don't you start fixin' some food that will warm him up? I'll help get him in to some dry clothes and then help him get comfortable."
Lou started to protest, but when she saw Jeremiah nod, she did as Kid asked. By the time she had warmed up some stew and bread over the fire, Kid had found two strong braches to help bind Jeremiah's leg, and propped him up against a tree close to the fire. Lou handed each of them a bowl then sat down between the two men.
They ate in silence, the only noise being an occasional sniffle or sneeze from Jeremiah, the water rushing by in the river and the crackle of the fire. Kid and Lou kept glancing at each other wondering if they should approach their upcoming marriage to Jeremiah, but decided to let it rest. He's been through enough already, and even though Jeremiah didn't seem as angry at Kid as before, they couldn't be sure.
By early afternoon, they finally heard the sounds of horses and knew the search party had returned. Soon everyone was helping pack things up and carefully move Jeremiah to the back of the buckboard. The doctor said his leg was broken, but that he had been damn lucky. He was more concerned about the frostbite that had started to appear on his foot as well as any river water Jeremiah may have swallowed.
The doctor recommended that someone ride with Jeremiah to help keep him still, and Jeremiah refused Lou's offer asking for Kid to ride with him instead.
Jeremiah slept most of the trip back due to the painkillers the doctor had given him. Lou rode slowly next to them, wanting to make sure everything was ok. As they got closer to St Joe's, Kid suggested she ride along and let everyone know at the orphanage about Jeremiah's condition and to get his room ready. When she agreed and rode off, Jeremiah finally spoke.
"I thought she'd never leave," he said.
Kid looked over at Jeremiah and smiled. "Figured you've been awake for the last hour or so, you weren't snorin'."
"I don't snore," Jeremiah protested.
"Your sister says the same thing, and she's had six of us tell her she does."
"You really love her, don't ya?" He asked looking Kid in the eyes.
"More than anything, Jeremiah."
"I guess, since you saved me, you 'spectin me to give you my blessin' ain't ya?"
"Jeremiah, I plan on marryin' your sister whether you want me to or not. I don't expect anythin' from you. I saved you because Lou would never forgive herself if somethin' happened to you. I'd like for you to be happy for us, but if you can't, I understand."
"Promise me somethin'," Jeremiah said. "Promise you'll never hurt her again."
"I can promise you I never intend to hurt her, but that doesn't mean I won't. All couples fight, and sometimes things are said they don't mean. But I can promise that I will never physically hurt her, they way our fathers did to our mothers, if that's what you mean."
Jeremiah nodded. "Just remember if you do, you won't have given me any choice."