Leo (Romancing the Ponderosa Book 3)

Chapter 5

"Cherry! Get back here!" It sounds like she's gotten away from Jeff again. "Evangelina Rosemary Tirk, I said come back here! I'll tell Ma an' she won't let Miss Misty watch you ever again!"

I hear his patterin' feet as he chases after her. Joe straightens, wipin' the sweat outta his eyes, lettin' out a little laugh. "That girl's name sure is a mouthful! Evangelina Rosemary Tirk, whooee. I'm glad she's just called Cherry."

"I'm sure her mother's glad, too, as much as she has to chase her around." Adam laughs, unbuttonin' an' untuckin' his black shirt. "She reminds me of you, Joe, when you were her age. I'm honestly surprised you survived!"

"Cherry! Jeff!" Misty's voice floats across the yard. "I've got some cookies and milk. Come get them."

A high pitched scream comes from the barn an' then a soft thump. All three of us take off a runnin' for the barn. Joe beats us to her. He scoops her off the ground an' cradles her limp body to his chest. Misty's at his side in an instant, pushin' damp curls off her pale face. Adam bends down next to a cryin' Jeff, who's sittin' in a heap near the door. Not gettin' an answer from him, he picks him up so he can at least have some comfort. "Jeff what happened? We need to know."

"Oh, Adam, it was awful!" He sobs even harder.

"What was awful?"

"She was climbin' up the ladder to the loft an' I must have scared her when I ran in. She fell off the ladder!"

"How far up was she?"

" 'Bout halfway."

"Adam, she needs a doctor badly." Joe says. "I can feel blood on the back of her head and it looks like her arm might be broken."

"She needs her mother, too." Misty says, slowly takin' her from Joe.

"I'll ride to my house and get Hannah and Leo. Hoss you take Cherry back to the house since it's closer. I'll bring the girls there." Joe turns but then realizes he ain't got a horse to ride. "Adam, I don't have Cooch."

"Take Blueberry, I'll need Sport to go get Doc Martin. Misty, go with Hoss and the little ones." He gives her a quick kiss before sittin' Jeff down so he can saddle his horse.

They take off as I'm helpin' Misty an' the little 'uns into the back of the wagon. I climb up on the seat, slappin' the horses into action. I make 'em go as fast as I dare so I don't jostle Cherry too much.

When we're 'bout halfway to the house I hear quiet cryin'. I quickly look back to see who it is an' see Misty sobbin'. Jeff scooches over to her an' taps her on the arm. "Please, Misty, don't cry! It ain't your fault Cherry fell. It's all my fault so please stop cryin'"

"Oh, Jeff, it isn't your fault!" I hear him begin to sob too. "Sweetheart, stop crying, please. It'll only make matters worse, not better. I can't stop if you don't and I don't want Adam to know I've been crying. It'll upset him, he hates to see me cry."

I hear 'em both try an' stop their tears. By the time I've pulled up in front of the house the only trace of their tears is Misty's red rimmed eyes an' Jeff's occasional sniff. Little miz Cherry's still unconscious an' neither Adam or Joe are here yet.

Openin' the front door Pa hurries over, knowin' somethin's wrong cuz I ain't supposed to be home until supper time. I help Misty outta the wagon bed as Pa grabs Jeff an' swings him to the ground. Misty an' I hurry into the house with Cherry.

Misty gently lays the still unconscious gal on the bed in the spare room downstairs by the dining room. Pa comes in a moment later with a bowl of warm water an' a clean cloth. Jeff's nowhere to be seen so I figure Pa musta given him somethin' to keep him busy an' outta the way.

"Here." Pa hands the squeezed out wet cloth to Misty an' she wipes Cherry's face with it. "Jeff told me what happened. Has she woken up since the fall?"

"No and that's what worries me the most." Misty hands Pa back the cloth to dip in the water again. He hands it back. "She must have hit her head harder than we thought."

We hear a wagon pull up fast outside. "I reckon that's Joe."

Walkin' out to the livin' room, I hear feet run across the front yard to the door which flies open. Leo runs in, flingin' off her bonnet, her eyes wildly lookin' around for Cherry.

"Leo, she's in the little room over here." I point to the open door an' she rushes in. Hearin' more footfall on the front porch, I look up to see Joe an' Hannah come in. "Any sign of Adam?"

"No, not yet." Joe throws his hat on the table. "Is Cherry any better?"

"She hasn't woken up yet."

"You mean she's still unconscious?" Hannah gasps. "She must be way worse than Little Joe thought."

"I'm 'fraid so. That's why I was askin' if you'd seen Adam, he should be back by now with the doc." Turnin' around, I look for Jeff, suddenly rememberin' him. He's nowhere in sight. "I reckon Jeff went upstairs or somethin'. Pa was with him last an' probably sent him up there."

Walkin' up the stairs, I look back to see Hannah plop down on the sofa, fannin' herself with a handkerchief. Joe's standin' over by the open front door. I reckon he's watchin' for Adam.

Turnin' the corner at the top of the stairs, I hear faint cryin'. I hurry down the hall an' into Jeff's room. Walkin' in the open door, I see the little feller face down on the bed with his face buried in a pillow.

"Hey, Jeff, there ain't no reason to cry." I sit on the edge of the bed an' rub his back. "Things like this happen all the time."

"They do?" Pickin' his head up off the pillow, he looks at me with red, teary eyes.

"Yep. You wouldn't believe how many timeless we've had to put Little Joe back together!" I laugh, tryin' to cheer him up.

"You mean Little Joe's gotten hurt bad before?" He slowly inches over into my lap, his eyes as big as saucers.

"That little brother of mine's gotten himself hurt so many dadburn times I'm surprised he's still in one piece."

"Has he ever gotten shot?"

"More times than I can count on one hand."

"Oh, wow! He don't look like it though."

"You don't have to look like it." I give him a nod. "You want to know somethin'?"

"Yea, I sure do, Hoss! What is it?"

"Almost all of us Cartwrights have been shot before. The only Cartwright who ain't been shot is miz Misty."

"You mean Miss Hannah's been shot before? But she's a lady, my ma said so!"

"Well, Jeff, sometimes ladies get shot, too." I shift him onto my other leg. "You see, 'bout a year ago, Little Joe found miz Hannah walkin' by herself through one of our fields. She was hurt real bad like, so Joe brought her home. Then two days later a bad man came to try an' take Hannah away but we put up a fight. In that fight Little Joe an' Hannah both took a bullet, Joe in the arm an' Hannah in the leg."

"Oh, wow!"

Hearin' two horses ride up outside, I sit Jeff back on the bed. "I figure that's Adam an' the doc. I better get back down there, you stay up here, alright?"

"Alright, Hoss."