And the greatest of these is Love

Chapter 14

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Violet jumped out of the automobile and ran into the infirmary with Gunther close behind. As she stormed through the door, she saw Molly, Sargent Grant, Mike Hickam, Henry Gowen, and Faith and Carson Shepherd. She stopped, looked frantically at everyone when Faith came up to her and put her arm around her.

"What's going on Dr. Faith?" she could barely ask while looking questioningly from face to face. "Is Jake all right?"

"Violet, it's going to be all right, but right now Jake is resting. Unfortunately, he was beat up by some men at work today. He's suffered several blows, resulting in broken ribs, swollen black eyes, and a dislocated jaw. We need to transfer him to Clearwater Hospital," Faith explained.

Violet immediately covered her mouth with her hand and cried out, "I want to see him!"

"You will, I just want to warn you before you go in, that he will be bruised, and black and blue."

Faith led Violet to where Jake was laying. When he saw Violet, he tried to smile, but his face was so swollen and it hurt. His eyes spoke volumes to Violet as she ran towards him then stopped.

"I want to hug you and hold you sweetheart, but I'm afraid I'll hurt you," she apologized.

"I know, I want to hug you too," he could barely speak. His ribs made it hard for him to breathe and talking took more effort that caused pain.

"You're going to the hospital in Clearwater, and I'm going with you!" Violet reassured Jake.

Faith spoke up, "Dr. Carson will be driving him in our own automobile, as we don't have an ambulance yet, so if you want to ride along, I'm sure it'll be all right. We'll be leaving as soon as Dr. Carson has the arrangements all settled. He's waiting for the hospital to call him back."

"All right, but Dr. Faith, how did this happen?" Violet wanted to find out why her husband was hurt so badly. "Did he fall?"

Faith called Nathan over to join them. "Please explain to Mrs. Taylor what happened to Jake."

Nathan waved at Mike Hickam and Henry to join him. "Mrs. Taylor, while Jake was working on building the pipelines, some co-workers started to spread news about Jake's past of being in prison. They nicknamed him "inmate" and ostracized him. Today, they took it further and cornered him to beat him."

"What? Why did you allow them to ridicule him in the first place?" she questioned Henry.

Mike stepped in and spoke, "Mrs. Taylor, I'm sorry, it started when Jake was living in Tent city. It didn't happen at work, but when they left and went to their tents. Jake never complained and seemed to handle it himself. We were unaware of the badgering, or we would've tried to intervene."

"Mrs. Taylor, let me add that sometimes, we find it best to not step in. A man doesn't like to appear weak in front of other men, so they rather tough it out. It's hard for a man to admit he needs help," Henry added.

Violet grabbed the back of the chair next to her and sat down, shaking her head in disbelief.

Nathan slowly approached Violet, "Ma'am, I'm sorry that you both have to go through this. Now, we've interviewed your husband while Dr. Carson attended to his injuries. From what we now know, we have names to follow through with and we will be pursuing justice for Jake. However, from what Mike and Henry have told me, there were three men that were involved with the ambush on Jake. Seems they can't be found right yet. However, the word is out to the local communities in the area and the Mounties are on the look out for these men."

Just then Carson hung up the phone and greeted Violet, "Clearwater Hospital is prepared for us to bring Jake there for x-rays of his ribs. We'll be leaving in a few minutes. Are you riding with me?"

"Yes, of course, thank you!"

Carson and Faith left to get Jake up.

Nathan and Gunther reassured Violet they were on the case and would keep her informed. "Take care of yourself and your husband ma'am," and left. "If you have any concerns please let us know."

Mike apologized once more, "I wasn't aware of what was going on or this would never have happened. No excuses though, it did happen under my watch, and I'm sorry."

Henry too was very regretful, "We try to hire the best of men, but we will find these three, you can rest assured. This is not over."

As the doctors came with Jake in a wheelchair, he looked so pathetic to Violet. She felt so badly that this ambush had happened to him and prayed it wouldn't make him bitter again.

The doctors assisted Jake into the automobile while Violet sat in the back. Molly and Faith went back into the infirmary. "You know Molly, this is exactly we need our ambulance and x-ray machine. Not to mention more room," Faith sighed.

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Dr. Carson drove quickly to Clearwater Hospital trying to avoid any holes in the road as to not jolt Jake and cause any further pain. When they arrived, a nurse was waiting outside with a wheelchair to help Jake inside. Violet was right by his side. Carson parked his automobile and rushed inside.

Jake had his eyes closed wincing with pain. Even though Carson had wrapped his chest as tight as he could to protect his ribs they hurt with every breath. His eyes were bloodshot and blurry from the swelling, and his jaw was off to the side totally agape. His left shoulder was still sore from being dislocated, even though Carson had snapped it back into place. His head was pounding but he tried to put on a brave face for Violet.

As they went into the examining room, Dr. Thompson performed his examination while listening to Dr. Shepherd's findings. Dr. Thompson nodded, "Yes, I agree, we need to get x-rays first. He made arrangements with the imaging department to attend to Jake immediately.

"What are they going to do for Jake Dr. Shepherd?" Violet barely got her words out.

"Right now, Violet, we're checking to see what extent he's injured. The first step is to observe his reaction to any movement of his torso with the x-rays. If they are bruised or broken, it will take time to heal," Carson explained, "Probably close to 6 weeks."

"Oh my, 6 weeks!" he won't be able to stay still that long. What about his jaw?"

Violet asked.

"They're going to x-ray his jaw too. It might be dislocated like his shoulder, but if it is, the doctor can press it back into place. Jake will feel soreness and have to be careful when yawning or any abrupt movement of his mouth. Eating might be a bit difficult at first, but he'll recover easily," Carson informed her.

"With his swollen eyes, will he have any loss of sight?" Violet was really worried.

"He'll be checked by Dr. Fisher, the ophthalmologist, but usually once the swelling goes down his eyes will clear up and the redness will subside. Violet, I've seen enough fights to know that most of the time, after a month or two, most injuries have subsided and he'll be back to old self. Let's just take it one step at a time."

As Violet took in a deep breath, she finally settle down a bit. Soon, Jake was back in the examining room with Dr. Thompson. Jake was relieved to be back with his wife.

"How did it go Jake?" Violet asked.

"Hi honey, well it wasn't fun," Jake moaned.

Dr. Thompson looked at Violet and Dr. Carson and gave them the results of the x-rays. "The good news is none of the ribs are broken, but there are two badly bruised ribs. Not much can be done, except that Jake needs to keep his torso straight without moving to the side as much as possible so they heal."

Violet quickly asked, "For how long?"

Dr. Thompson paused thinking, then answered, "Maybe a month or so, if he's on his best behavior."

Jake sighed deeply, "How am I going to support my wife if I can't work?"

"Honey, don't worry about that, you just focus on getting better," Violet smiled.

Looking at his wife, his eyes drifted down and he hung his head. She knew how badly he felt, as if he had failed her. "Don't give up, this is the hardest day, Dr. Carson says each day forward will be easier and easier."

"Now Jake, while it will be hard to take deep breaths, you actually will need to from time to time. Keeping your lungs moving will keep them clear. We don't want you to develop pneumonia. Dr. Carson will be checking on you periodically to make sure your lungs stay clear."

Dr. Carson nodded, "Molly will put you on the schedule. I believe it'll be too hard in the beginning to come to the infirmary, so we will come to your home."

Dr. Thompson continued by saying that he was able to press Jake's jaw back in place and that for a while Jake would need to watch that he not overextend his jaw in a yawn and expect to be a bit sore chewing. "We are waiting for Dr. Fisher to examine Jake's eyes, to make sure there are no internal injuries. So, in the meantime, the nurse is getting an ice bag prepared to help keep the swelling down on your jaw."

As the two doctors conferred, Violet walked over to Jake and took his hand, "Jake honey, what I say you know I mean, right? Sargent Grant and the Mounties are looking for the men who did this to you. Hopefully, they'll be found soon and dealt with. You also know that God is in control, right? We'll get through this together." Violet leaned down and kissed Jake every so softly on his forehead.

Jake couldn't say much with his jaw sore, but he thought for a minute that Violet was way too optimistic and she didn't have to deal with the challenging parts of life. Yes, he believed in God of course, but what these guys did to Jake touched off an old part of him, the part that he thought he had left behind after meeting Pastor Lewis in prison. Part of him wanted revenge. He couldn't work now as he had to heal first. When he returned, the men who were still working for Mr. Gowen, now knew about his past, so how could he expect to be respected if he did return there to work?

Dr. Fisher entered the room then and introduced himself to Jake and Violet, "Let me take him to my examination room where all my equipment is. And then I'll bring him right back, I promise."

"Can I go please," Violet asked?

"I don't see why not, so come along," Dr. Fisher took Jake's wheelchair and headed to his office with Violet walking alongside.

It didn't take long and they were back in the exam room. "All right we're done here. Jake's eyes should fully recover after the swelling disappears with no internal damage. That's the good news we were all praying for."

"So, we can leave for home now?" Carson asked.

"Yes, you now know firsthand, what we discovered and can take it from here," Dr. Thompson said as he shook Carson's hand.

"Thank you, Dr. Thompson. I can't wait to get our own x-ray machine in Hope Valley!" Carson smiled.

"Yes, thank you," Jake shook his hand too. They all got back into Carson's automobile and left for home in Hope Valley.

"It'll be great to get back home," Violet said.

"Yes, it will," Jake said as he looked tenderly at his wife.

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Back in Hope Valley, Violet and Dr. Carson helped Jake inside his house. He felt and looked terrible. His nose was no longer bleeding and his cuts and scrapes had been tenderly washed clean, but the swelling around his black eyes and the ripped and ruined clothing made him look like he had been in war. Carson stayed and helped Violet lift Jake to take off his bloodied and torn clothes. Violet rushed downstairs to get a warm basin of water to wash off any leftover dirt or blood and brought fresh pajamas for him to put on.

Carson helped prop him up with pillows and suggested that Violet bring back several cloth bags filled with ice and towels. The two of them worked side by side attending to Jake as best as they could.

"Let's break the ice into small pieces so they don't jab Jake and mold to his ribs and head better. Keep the ice on for about 20 minutes, give him a break, and then place as hot as he can take it of towels for about the same length of time. Rotate cold and hot the rest of the day, and then begin again in the morning," Carson showed Violet.

"Can he eat now?" Violet asked.

"Sure, just a little at a time, his jaw was dislocated so it's going to be tender. I would suggest soft foods, like soup, maybe stew to begin with. Make sure he drinks plenty of water." Carson advised. He'll probably not be able to go down the stairs until his ribs start healing. Do you have a pan for him to use to relieve himself?"

"I don't have anything but my cooking utensils, will a pot work?" Violet asked while watching Jake fall asleep.

"I'll bring by a bedpan for Jake to use for now. I'm sure it won't be long and Jake will want to get up and be downstairs sooner than later. Just make sure you are with him the first few times," he cautioned.

"Oh, by the way," Violet began, "in the commotion earlier, I believe I left my notes from visiting Marie Landoch and Elsa Andersson who is already 5 months pregnant and she's never been seen by a medical person. Brook Hutton asked me to come back when her husband, Carl was there."

"I'm sure Molly has found your notes and they are safely on top of your desk, so not to worry."

"I'm not worried, except for the fact that I made an appointment for Elsa to come see me tomorrow to check on her pregnancy," Violet shared.

"That's perfectly fine. One of us will be there and we can take care of it."

"Dr. Carson, it's just that, well, Elsa and I became good acquaintances with us both being new, and I would like to be there for her as I told her I would be," Violet insisted.

"You need to take care of your husband, Jake. It won't be long and he'll be back on his feet," Carson reassured her as he reached for the doorknob.

"Wait! Truth be told, Jake and I haven't much money. He's had a rough start and now that he can't work, I need to work," Violet looked at Carson pleading.

Carson sighed and gave it some thought, "Look, if you only work part-time while Jake is sleeping or relaxing, we'll see how it goes. I'm sure it won't be for long."

Violet was encouraged that Dr. Carson saw things her way and closed the door behind her. She went to the kitchen to start her soup for dinner, but she felt she really needed to pray first.

She sat on the chair in the living room and closed her eyes, "Lord, thank you for sparing Jake from any more serious injuries, we know it could've been much worse or even (she didn't want to think of him dying) He not only has a hard time ahead in physical recovery, but emotionally too. You know Him Lord, he is starting to feel some old wounds surfacing again. Pastor Lewis was there for him in prison and he became a new man. Please Lord, don't let this set him back. If there's someone who can reach him spiritually here in Hope Valley, send him our way. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen."

When she finished she sat letting all her emotions out. Sobbing with relief, she grabbed her hankie and wiped her face. She listened, but all she heard was Jake's snoring, so she went to the kitchen and began cooking and humming Amazing Grace.

Over at Gowen Oil, Henry and Mike had called all the employees together. Henry spoke, "Men, I know that today was quite a challenging and upsetting day. Now, I want to make it perfectly clear, there will not be any further talk about Jake Taylor and his past. We all have a past, and some of us are not proud of it, including me."

The new workers wondered what Henry was referring to, but Henry continued, "Because it has been brought up I want you to know the truth. Yes, Jake was in prison. He didn't kill anyone or rob a bank, nothing like that. He got in a bar fight, and the judge who heard his case, was tough but wise. He was sentenced to prison, but he served his time as a janitor. As the prudent judge realized the 3 months he would serve in prison would help Jake, not make things worse. That's exactly what happened."

Mike Hickam spoke next, "When he came applying for work, we knew about his past prison sentence, but it didn't dissuade us from hiring him. He had come out a new man and needed a second chance. Hope Valley believes in second chances here. He has been a good, steady worker worth every penny."

Henry spoke up again, "Mr. Hickam is absolutely right, there wouldn't be a Gowen Oil if it weren't for second chances. So, my word to the wise here, do not ever think you are better than the man you are working with. When Jake recovers and he returns, he is to be respected. If I here differently about Jake or any man here, you will be gone. Have I made myself clear?"

One of the men in the crowd shouted, "What happened to the men who attacked Jake?"

"You'll have to ask Sargent Grant; he and the Mounties are on top of this case. Obviously, they took off, but they'll find them."

All the workers nodded. "All right then, I look forward to enjoying the Family Fun Fest here with you all in a few weeks. We work hard, but we also play hard.