Unexpected Hope (Book 2 in the Red Valley series)

Chapter 24

Claire had been at the Triple L for a month, and things seemed to be working out wonderfully. She and Hope were getting along great, as if they had been friends forever, and they'd already started making clothes for the babies. Ellie was even trying to learn to sew as well. Things were still quiet on the ranch. They did find an area that looked like it was where Jed had been entering the property, but as far as they could tell, nobody had been in the area for several weeks.

Nobody had even seen Jed in town until the last couple of days, and then he was only seen in the saloon. It seemed that gambling and drinking had become his life. Hope was coping well with her memory loss. Sometimes she had little flashes of memories, but nothing more. Once Levi told her everything he knew, she seemed content to move forward and not look back.

Spring had come to Red Valley and with that came the Sunday afternoon dinners of the three families. The adults were sitting outside on the front porch at the Triple L. They had all decided that it would be better to go to their house, for Hope's sake. Andy, Anne, Cole, and Grace were sitting in rocking chairs, while Levi and Hope sat in the swing at one end of the porch. The day was warm with a gentle breeze bringing the scent of the blooming rose bushes and other flowering plants.

Anne was holding the newest addition to their family, Daniel, as he dozed on and off. The rest of the children were running around playing and enjoying the warm afternoon. A few minutes later, Ellie's scream pierced the tranquility of the day. Six pairs of eyes looked up from the porch to see what had happened. Before anyone could move, Blake was at her side ripping off his shirt.

He bent down and placed the wadded shirt to the side of her face then scooped her up and began to run towards the house. All three men were off and running as the three women watched anxiously. When the men reached them, Ellie was still whimpering as Blake's cream colored shirt slowly turned crimson with her blood. Levi bent down to take his daughter from the boy then turned and ran back to the house.

Hope met them at the top of the steps. "What happened Blake?"

"We were all playing tag." Blake said as he huffed, out of breath. "She fell and landed on a stick. It's a pretty bad cut."

Gently, Levi pulled back the shirt Blake had used as a make shift bandage. The side of her face was covered in so much blood, it was impossible to see how bad it really was. But judging by the amount of blood, she was probably going to need stitches. Before Levi could say anything, Andy was running to the barn to saddle a horse. "I'll go get Doc and be back as fast as I can." He hollered over his shoulder.

Hope opened the front door to allow Levi to enter the house. "Go put her on her bed please. I'll get some bandages and hot water."

Levi began to head up the stairs and Ellie began to call for Blake, who instantly fell in behind them. As he laid her on her bed, Levi once again pulled the bloody shirt back gently dabbing the side of her face. Her blonde hair was caked with blood and her beautiful slate blue eyes were filled with pain.

An unfamiliar feeling squeezed inside his chest as Blake knelt beside the bed, then reached out taking her small hand into his. "It'll be okay Ellie; I'll stay right here with you." A slight nod was the only indication that she heard him. A few moments later, Hope rushed into the room with several clean rags to use as bandages followed by Grace with Cole bringing up the rear carrying a steaming bucket of water. Anne had stayed with the rest of the children outside.

"Blake honey, you need to go on back downstairs." Grace said quietly to her son.

"No." Ellie whimpered as she squeezed his hand harder.

"Mama, I promised I would stay right here with her."

Reluctantly, Grace gave in. She had seen that look in his eyes more than once and knew what it meant. After all he got it from his stubborn father. "All right, but make sure you stay out of the way."

"Yes ma'am."

Hope walked up behind Levi and motioned for Cole to set the water down. "Let me sit down so I can clean it and see how bad it is." It was one of the hardest things he'd had to do, but he knew that Hope loved his little girl and was only trying to help her. She sat down and began to methodically clean the cut. After all the blood was gone, she could see the wound clearly for the first time.

It was definitely going to need stitches and leave a scar on her beautiful face. There was about a three inch long gash that started at her temple on the left side of her face and curved around under her cheekbone. At least it had missed her eye. This is bad but that would have been horrible. The sound of hooves could be heard thundering down the drive; the front door slammed and heavy footsteps came up the stairs and down the hall, stopping in front of Ellie's bedroom door.

An out of breath Doc Baker walked in carrying is black medical bag. He immediately walked over and pulled back the bandage to see. Andy hadn't told him anything other than she had fallen and was bleeding heavily. Sitting on the edge of the bed where Hope had just been, he reached in his bag and brought out a small brown glass bottle.

He opened it, and dribbled a few drops of the liquid on a clean rag that seemed to just appear in his hand. "Ellie, honey, I'm going to put this over your nose and I want you to take a deep breath okay. You'll get sleepy and when you wake up I'll have your face all cleaned up."

Again she gave a slight nod as Doc Baker laid the rag over her nose. In just a few seconds, her eye lids fluttered closed and she was sound asleep. He removed the now bloody bandage getting his first look at the wound. He poked, prodded, and pulled at the cut, inspecting it carefully. It was slightly jagged, and was definitely going to need stitches. After cleaning it thoroughly, he began to meticulously sew it.

Blake stayed at her side the entire time, just as he'd promised. His papa had always told him, if you make a promise, you keep it. He'd watched as Doc sewed the tiny stitches, wincing every so often. But he never let go of Ellie's hand.

Doc Baker had just finished the last stitch. "I didn't give her very much, so she should be waking up soon." He said as he began to put his medical supplies away. "You should keep her quiet for a few days. She doesn't have to stay in bed, but no running or jumping. You know it's going to leave a nasty scar, but I tried to make the stitches as small as possible. The most important thing right now is to make sure that there's no infection. If you don't mind, I'd like to stay for a little longer and see how her pain is when she wakes up.

Hope shifted from one foot to the other as she rubbed her back to try and relieve the ache. Immediately, Levi was at her side. "I'll sit up here with her; y'all can go back downstairs and have some pie and coffee."

Blake looked up at her. "I'll stay with her, if that's okay. I promised her that I wouldn't leave. You can go down and rest. I'll come and get you when she wakes up."

Cole felt immense pride for his eldest son. The boy had made a promise and he was keeping it. Most boys his age wouldn't have been able stay while Doc Baker was stitching Ellie up. "We will be right downstairs if you need anything, just yell." Levi said as he patted the boy on the shoulder, then left the room.

Once the room was empty, Blake poured some of the hot water in a basin, got a clean cloth, and began wiping the side of her face. She was like a sister to him, always following after him, and tagging along; he didn't mind it though. She wasn't spoiled and was pretty fun to play with, not that he would admit that to anyone.