"Mother? Doctor? I was checking on Audra and she woke up. I thought you might like to know."
"Thank you, Jarrod. That was good thinking. Is she still awake?" Victoria asked her oldest son.
"No, Mother. She fell back to sleep rather quickly but she managed to voice a concern that I think I will have to check on. She sounded worried that Karen had been hurt in the incident as well. She insisted that I bring Karen to her when she woke up so that Audra could see for herself that Karen was alright."
"I think that maybe you should go and take care of that. It might be easier to wake her now than to comfort her if the storm should wake her. Just be gentle when you wake her."
"I promise, Mother." Jarrod turned around and headed back up the stairs. He knew that this was going to be a tricky proposition.
He knocked lightly on Heath's door before turning the handle and opening the door slowly. When he poked his head around the door, he saw Karen curled up to Heath's pillow and facing away from the window. She seemed to be shaking in the light from the lightning flashes.
"Karen? Karen, are you alright?"
The young woman sat upright on the bed, clutching the covers tightly to her. Her eyes had gone large with fright. Jarrod moved quickly to the bed and pulled her in for a hug. "It's alright, Karen. I promise. Everything is alright. You're safe here at the house and so is Audra. She's going to be alright."
"Audra's okay?" Karen asked in a small voice as she huddled into the hug that Jarrod offered.
"She will be. She'll probably be very sore and not able to do much for a few days, but the doctor says that she'll be okay. He said that it wasn't a serious injury."
"Can I- can I see her?" Karen looked up at the man who had brought her the news that she had hoped to hear.
"I think that can be arranged. She woke up earlier and asked to see you. She wants to reassure herself that you're alright. I tried to tell her that you were but she is most insistent that she see for herself. Would you like to go see her right now? I think Mother and the doctor are in there right now checking on her."
"Is Ms. Victoria angry that Audra got shot?"
"Not angry, dear girl. Merely worried for my daughter." The voice from the doorway answered before Jarrod had a chance. Victoria walked into the room and straight to the side of the bed. "Karen, if I were angry about Audra getting shot, I would not be angry with you. I would be angry with the person who shot her." She looked down at the young woman who had made herself a place within this close knit family. "But I would like the doctor to take a look at you as well, my dear. Just to make certain that you are uninjured as you seem to be. May I bring him in?"
Karen nodded. "I think that would be alright. Will you stay as he examines me?"
"We both will. I think Jarrod can stay as well. In fact, since you seem so comfortable with him right now, he may even stay sitting on the bed next to you if you want him to."
"I think I would like that."
Victoria went to the door and called in the doctor. Then, she sat down in the chair beside Heath's bed. Jarrod re-positioned himself on the bed. Karen slid herself over to his side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Just relax, Karen. He's not going to hurt you."
"I know. I just wish Heath were here."
"I wish he were too, dear. I wish he were. I would much prefer to have my whole family under my roof during storms like this one." Victoria's voice soothed a great many of Karen's fears as the doctor began to examine her. Before she knew it, he was finished.
"Ms. Victoria, this young lady, with the exceptions of the injuries I treated the last time I was out here, seems to be in excellent health. I think everything is going to be just fine here."
"Doctor, would you like to get some sleep? I think Silas set up a room for you."
"I would indeed, Ms. Victoria. Thank you."
The two of them walked out of the room and Jarrod just continued holding Karen gently close to him. "You can sleep, Karen. I'm right here."
"I think I'd better go in and see Audra before supper so that she can stop worrying." Karen stood up from the bed and Jarrod walked with her into Audra's room.
"Audra? Audra, I brought someone to see you if you're up to it."
"Is it Karen? Jarrod, have you brought Karen in? I didn't want you to wake her if she was sleeping."
"I woke up because of the storm, Audra. He didn't wake me. I promise." Karen sat down next to her and touched her hand. "How bad is it, Audra? Tell me the truth."
"I'll be fine. The doctor says I only passed out because the adrenaline wore out when I realized that we had made it back to the house."
"I'm so glad you're going to be alright. I feel so bad that you got hurt when you went out with me. I feel like this whole thing is all my fault." Karen was crying now and that bothered Jarrod. It obviously bothered Audra too.
"Karen, no. This is definitely not your fault. I do not blame you and I'm certain beyond belief that Mother doesn't either."
"Of course, I don't blame you, Karen. I hope you believe that. I couldn't blame you. You didn't make this person shoot Audra. You didn't ask them to shoot at you."
"No, Ms. Victoria! Never!"
"Then, dear girl, do not think that I could possibly blame you for something you didn't cause to happen." Victoria walked around the bed and wrapped her arms around the young woman sitting next to Audra. Karen turned into the embrace and wrapped her arms around the older woman's waist, hugging her tightly.
Victoria hugged her back and patted her shoulders. "Everything is fine, Karen. We are all safe and I'm sure that Heath will be home in the morning when the storm is over."
Karen stiffened a little bit on hearing that Heath still wasn't home. Victoria just held her closer.
"You wouldn't have wanted him to try to travel in this storm, would you, Karen?"
"No. But I worry about him when he isn't with me."
"He'll be safe. He knows that you need him, dear. He won't take any unnecessary chances. Not when he knows that you need him to be safe as much as he needs you to be safe."
"Mother's right, Karen. He won't take any chances because he wants to come back to you." Audra was trying to comfort Karen but she wasn't sure that it was working.
Victoria started noticing that Karen was starting to droop a bit. "Karen, dear, would you like to join us for dinner before you go to sleep?"
"I shouldn't be so tired. I'm not the one that got hurt."
"You had an overdose of adrenaline just like Audra did," the doctor explained. "And just like Audra, you have burned off the extra adrenaline now and your body needs to rest after the added jolt. It's a completely normal reaction to the type of excitement you and Audra both had today. I would suggest eating dinner and then getting a good night's sleep. You'll feel much better in the morning."
"Jarrod, would you take Karen downstairs and ask Silas to have the kitchen prepare a tray for Audra up here? I'll make sure that she eats and then I'll come down and eat myself."
"Yes, Mother. Doctor, would you care to join us?"
"I will. I think it is very important to have a decent meal before bedtime. I'll check back in with you before I head off to bed, Miss Audra."
"Thank you, doctor. I'm sorry you got stranded out here."
"It's not a bad place to get stranded. But thank you."
Audra looked at her mother. "Mother, you should eat first and then bring my tray up for me. I insist."
The doctor offered his arm to Victoria and Jarrod offered his to Karen as the four of them left the room. Nick was downstairs in the dining room already when they arrived.
"Hello, Mother. Doctor. Jarrod. Karen. I hope you feel better after your nap, Karen."
"I would feel better if Heath were here. You've all taken such good care of me. But I just wish Heath were here so that I knew he was safe."
"I'm certain that my brother would appreciate the gesture, Karen. But I'm also very sure that he is most likely sitting in one of the hotels in town just waiting for this weather to clear."
Heath slept that night but not well. He tossed and turned, remembering the last time he'd been out in a storm like this. Out on the Ponderosa. The night that Karen intended to kill herself with her father's own gun.
His dreams were not pleasant and he didn't get nearly enough rest. He was up repeatedly looking out the window of the hotel and wishing that he could head home.
HEATH'S NIGHTMARE
Heath saw himself standing outside the stable and watching for Audra and Karen to return from exercising the horses. He had no idea which direction they had gone but he knew they'd been gone for a while.
Suddenly, two horses came galloping into the yard, their sides lathered in sweat. Audra fell off the first horse, exhausted. "Help Karen!" She cried. "Help Karen!"
Heath ran to Flame Star's side and pulled Karen off the horse to find her unresponsive. He laid her on the ground and that's when he noticed the blood on his hands from her back. He lifted her up enough that he could see the hole in her back where she'd been shot.
"No! Karen! Someone get the doctor! Hurry!" Heath grabbed the blanket that someone handed him and pressed it against the wound. "Karen, stay with me. Please! You have to stay with me! I need you!"
"Heath? Heath, is that you?" Karen's voice sounded slurred, as if she'd had too much to drink.
"I'm here, Karen. I'm right here."
"I was worried that I wouldn't make it back in time to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"I love you, Heath. I really do." And with those words, Karen went unconscious.
"No!" He felt hands take his shoulders. "No! She can't leave me!"
HEATH'S NIGHTMARE ENDS
"Heath! Heath! Wake up!" Adam's voice finally penetrated the nightmare and reached Heath.
He looked up at Adam. "What happened?"
"Why don't you tell me? I woke up to you calling for someone to get a doctor and then you started begging Karen to stay with you, telling her that you need her."
"Just a nightmare. Thank God it was just a nightmare." Adam's puzzled look drew Heath's attention. "Someone sabotaged a saddle blanket when Karen was going to work one of our older horses. Mother offered her the chance to do that when she asked for something to do. She was taking a little extra time away from school at the suggestion of the headmistress. There were some problems with one of the other girls teasing Karen and suggesting that I had been less than a gentleman with her. I told you a little about that earlier. When Karen got into the saddle with that blanket under it, the horse reared and bolted. My brothers and I rode out after her, worried for her safety. We finally caught up to them. The horse has amazing stamina but it eventually ran out. When we caught them, Karen's hand was wrapped up in the reins where she'd been trying to hold onto the saddle horn. It twisted her wrist and apparently strained her shoulder as well. My brothers put her on my horse with me and I took her back to the house."
"What happened in the nightmare?"
"In my nightmare, Karen and Audra rode into the yard with Audra yelling for someone to help Karen. I went to her only to find that she'd been shot in the back. She told me she loved me just before she passed out." Heath took a deep breath that shook. Adam noticed it.
"Is that where I woke you up?"
Heath nodded. "I'm kind of glad you did. I don't think I want to know what happened next. I've never seen anyone survive a wound like that one."
"Heath, can you honestly say that you love my sister?"
"I can. Although I would like to get to know her a little bit better than I already do."
"I think that would be a good idea. Now, let's try to get a little more sleep. The storm's let up and we need to head out at first light. I'm eager to see my little sister."
Heath chuckled. "You aren't the only one, Adam. You aren't the only one."
The two men got back to sleep, both glad that the storm had passed by. Heath hoping that Karen hadn't been too disturbed by the storm.
Heath didn't need to worry. Right after Jarrod had taken her downstairs and made sure that she ate something, Karen fell asleep on the couch where she had sat down in order to work on some embroidery.
No one had even noticed until the hoop fell from her hands and hit the floor. Nick and Jarrod had looked at her with indulgent smiles on their faces. Jarrod picked her up and carried her back to Heath's room. Nick picked up the embroidery hoop and set it off to one side so that Karen could work on it the next day.
Thankfully, Jarrod had left Heath's door open just a bit. He was able to just push it open the rest of the way with his foot. He lay her down on the bed and pulled a light blanket up over her. "Sleep tight, Karen. And know that you are safe here with us." He kissed her forehead and left the room, pulling the door shut behind him before making his way to his own room.