"Doctor, come quick!" A familiar whine in the darkness calls. The light burns the back of Isabella's eyes as she tenses and shifts. The bristled fur under her cheek scratching her delicate freckled skin. Pain burdens her as a heavy congested cough pushes her to consciousness.
"Oh, goodness, bring her to my office. Hello Mr Mule, Who's a good boy?" An older voice coos as the mule wheezes. A dark-skinned gentleman wearing a blue tailor coat had approached.
Duke snorts towards the man who approaches his flank. He is tired and thirsty, so the gentlemen offered him water to come close.
Isabella pushes herself up from his back and groaned.
The gentlemen rested his hand on her back to gently push her back down. "Don't sit up. Something might open back up." He said seeing the bloodstains run down Duke's back. He gently and patted her back softly and watched as she tensed but soon relaxed.
"My name is Doctor Micheal P. Derulo Mam, are you alright?" He spoke slow and calm. Guiding Duke by the reigns and escorting them back alongside William the boy from the Saloon.
"I've been thrown from a horse and shot Doc." Izzy chuckled.
"Dear me, well, hang in there miss. I'll patch you up real nice and pretty." He said and gave her back another gentle rub of comfort. They walked a short distance down the road Duke marching on a slow pace. They approached a rather new structure — the sign for the Doctor laying in the dirt waiting to be hoisted up on a pulley system. The unpainted doorframe was in the middle of being sanded by a carpenter dressed in worn jeans and checked shirt. William assisted the Doctor with sliding Isabella off Duke's back as she fell limp in their arms.
"Could you open the door for us?" Dr Micheal called out. He had a voice made of silk, a deep baritone that could speak a melody without effort.
"Sure thing Doc, she okay?" The carpenter asked.
"Doc, I think there is a branch lodged in her abdomen," William spoke up. Once Izzy was upright, he could see the leaves hiding in the blood. Dr Micheal looked down and moved the flap of her coat to reveal the significant injury. "We will have to see Henry. Quickly." They went inside, Henry holding the door open for him as the other two workers stopped to watch.
Inside there was a small room where a medical bed was waiting. Dr Micheal and William hoisted Isabella onto it, and she laid down still conscious.
"William, please go take care of the Mule outside and make sure he is fed and hydrated." Dr Micheal lead William out of the room. "Sir! I can help!" William complained. "I know you can. I need the Mule taken care of first then come on back as quick as you can so you can help me with the surgery. Go on." He gestured to the door, and William shook his head quickly before running off. "I'll take him to the stable!" He yelled as he ran and grabbed the Mule by the reigns before Dr Micheal went back in to see Izzy.
"Alright, let's take a look." He said and peeled away the clothes from the wound carefully. "I'm going to have to cut your shirt away." He said, taking out a pair of shears after washing his hands.
"Don't you fucking dare," Izzy said and removed her jacket. She tried to lift the shirt, but the Doctor stopped her. "You'll move too much and make it bleed again. It's not worth it."
Izzy glared at him. Then looked to the injury now that she could see it. The branch of a birch tree sticking out of her. The whitebark stained red with her blood. Looking at it now it was like a wave of pain washed over her. The realization of how bad the injury was finally starting to sink in. She began to panic, and her breath quickened.
"Calm down Miss, no need for that." He said and rubbed her shoulder. Izzy laid still, almost holding her breath as the Doctor cut away her shirt. Once he removed the shirt, he grabbed a bottle from the counter and poured it into a bowl, the solution was clear, and he dipped a rag into it and began to clean the wound. It stung, and she held her breath.
"Ah ah, I need you to breathe. Slow breaths, my dear." He said and kept working quickly cleaning away the clotted blood to see the wound.
"When did this happen?" He asked
"I can't say I passed out. Sometime after the rain passed." Izzy said and breathed slowly. "That was yesterday. You're lucky to be alive. It must not have hit one of your vital organs."
"Can you get it out?"
"Yes, you need to stay still, though. It's gonna hurt." Dr Micheal stopped cleaning and inspected the branch.
"I can handle pain," Izzy said darkly and turned away to look at the wall. She took a few long deep breaths just as William reentered the room.
"Ah, William, can you grab me my forceps. We need to extract the foreign object, clean the wound and repair any veins. Wash your hands."
Isabella didn't watch, but she felt inch by inch as they removed the branch from her. It was worse than getting shot since the splinters got stuck inside in which the Doctor plucked them out one by one. It hurt, but not as severely as she was expecting it too. Eventually, she started to feel light-headed and tired. Her eyes were fluttering open and closed. Dr Micheal noticed from the corner of his eye. "So, Miss, what's your name?" He asked, trying to keep her awake. "Isabella Morningstar," Izzy replied, trying to keep herself awake. "Where are you from?" "Nowhere." "You were born somewhere, America?" He asked again. "Yeah, I was born in America just like everyone else around here." She said sarcastically. "Not me, mam, I was born in Canada." "Canada?" William asked. "Canada is North of America. It's a rather new country, just like America." "Why would you come here?" Izzy asked. "Why does anyone? Freedom and adventure. Plus I'm looking for someone. Hold on, William, could you clamp this vein for me?" He asked as William gazed close at the wound. Izzy had stopped paying attention with the conversation, trying her hardest not to look she found a scar in the wood on the wall. A tree knot must have popped off after it was cut now leaving a hole. She felt a dull pinch of pain, but mostly, she felt foggy. "Hey doc, I feel funny." She finally said.
"That would be a tincture dear. I used it to numb the area I am working in." He said calmly. Izzy noticed the blood on his sleeve when he reached into the plate to drop a large chunk of wood into the dish.
"That was the last piece, lets clean it up and stitch it closed. Have you been practising your stitches?" "Yes, sir! Three every day." "Good lad." Dr Micheal started cleaning up his supplies as William began to clean and stitch the wound. "I'm glad you can practice on me, kid," Izzy said with a bitter tone. "Now now miss, the only way he is going to learn is by practising. This town needs a Doctor if something happens to me." Dr Micheal defended William as he struggled to stay calm during this now tense room. "We also have to talk about your bill." He added. "I have a nugget of gold in my left boot. You can have it," Izzy said and stuck her boot toward him. "What's in the right boot?" He asked "A knife." Izzy threatened again. "Easy tiger, William why don't you let me finish up. Take the gold nugget. You deserve it." He said and fished it out of her boot. "Thank you, sir!" He said and finished the last stitch he was on and washed his hands before accepting the payment.
Izzy waited till the boy was gone and it was just her and the Doctor alone in the room before she tried to sit up. "Hey hey, back down you go. You are on bed rest for three days minimum." "Excuse me?" "Yes, you pop this open you could bleed out and die in seconds. You have a torn artery, I have fixed it for now, but it will take time to heal, if you are bleeding internally, I need you here to fix that too." Dr Micheal stern was gentle. Isabella was stubborn, but she was no fool, he was the Doctor, and everything he had done so far was proof enough he was a good one.
"Alright."
On the outskirts of the town, the early morning had stirred Arthur from a light sleep. Rested enough he laid there starring at the sky as the colours changed from violet to blue. The orange and pink clouds were colouring his morning with a beauty more elegant than any woman. Arthur's mind drifted — thinking about a different time. On a morning just like this. His eyes squinted and relaxed in a series of emotional expressions which crossed his face. The empty sky the only witness to his inner turmoil. Arthur sat up faster then he should. The head rush of blood made him dizzy. He enjoyed the sensation and ignited a cigarette quickly hoping the feeling would remain. As the cloud of smoke filtered around his head, Arthur pulled out his journal, which had been returned to him and flipped to the last page. The picture of Isabella and Rosalyn next to each other on opposite pages and he started to scribble under Izzy's image.
"I'm sorry I hurt you, Izzy. I'm sorry I let you down. I did what Dutch told me to do, but I knew it was wrong. I could have let you go without taking a thing, but I didn't. I should have taken that bullet instead of you, and I will never forgive myself. "
The writing was messy but clear enough for Arthur as he covered his face with his hand and tried to calm the series of heavy huffs which captured his breath. As the shameful pain of tears threatened to fall, a small delicate voice was heard singing softly in the distance — an angelic voice which sung the song of god not far from his campsite. The boys around him were all passed out asleep as the early morning birds had barely begun to chirp. Soon the single voice became a pair, the second voice was weak, couldn't reach the same key but was still pleasant to listen to. Arthur sat for a minute; the sweet melody calming him so he could close the journal and put it away.
Curiosity got the better of him, and as soon as he gathered his composure, he rose from the sleeping bag and began to search for the source of music. He was silently creeping across the field. Curious if it was the same woman from the night before singing a different tune. It was a short walk down the hill before to a small river leading to a watering hole not far away — a couple of ladies sitting on a blanket together doing the dishes. Rosalyn was cleaning the coffee pot, standing in the water next to a collection of filled Canteens. The group of them were singing, but Arthur couldn't tell who was singing what from this distance. Their voices mixed like honey and milk, but one was superior to then the rest. He wondered which voice was Rosalyn's. As Arthur crept closer to find out, the singing stopped, and Rosalyn turned to the raven-haired girl.
"Juniper, when you go for a high note, make sure it comes from your belly, not your throat. The higher the note, the more air you need to reach it." Rosalyn spoke kindly.
"Rosie, I'm tired. Can't this wait?" Juniper complained in a childish tone. She was rather young to be holding a baby as big as the boy in her lap.
"You're the one who wants to be a professional Opera singer, and you need to practice every day. If you stop hitting the high notes, you'll lose the ability to do so. Is that what you want?" Rosalyn scolded her.
"No!" Juniper pouted.
"Ladies, please. I was enjoying the song; let us go through the whole song just once." Honey complained while grinding coffee beans next to Juniper.
"It's up to you Junie," Rosalyn said and walked back to them with a coffee pot dripping with water.
"I don't like practising with an audience." Juniper's eyes had landed on Arthur. His sneaking wasn't as stealthy as he first thought, and he stood up to present himself.
"Mornin'." He greeted and tipped his hat to them.
"Good Morning Mr Callaghan. Or wait no it's..." Honey licked her lips and clicked her teeth being sarcastic.
"Morgan," Arthur answered calmly.
"Ah that right, The fibber." Honey jested.
"Leave him alone. He's trying to help." Rosalyn of all people spoke up for him, making the other two stare at her curiously.
"It's not like you to trust outsiders Rosie." Juniper stood up from the blanket with her babe as Arthur approached them.
"Don't get so excited, I heard a couple of banshee's wailing songs this morning, and it woke me up. Came to see if a couple of coyotes were mating." Arthur quipped quickly making Rosalyn laugh. Junipers face went red with anger as she huffed.
"Oh! You awful brute." She about threw a baby rattle at him, but Honey caught her hand before she could launch it.
"I think it's time we head back to make breakfast ladies." Honey guided Juniper away after picking up the blanket.
"Go ahead. I need to speak with Mr Morgan," Rosalyn said and didn't take her eyes on him while handing the coffee pot to Honey.
"If you say so miss." Honey said as she brought Juniper and the baby back to camp.
As they walked away, Arthur looked to Rosalyn. She was dressed in proper riding gear. A pair of rancher jeans, a dark blue checked collared shirt unbuttoned at the top. Her hair tied back in a messy ponytail and a couple of workman's pride boots on her feet. She looked like a real cowgirl, especially with her sleeves drenched with water from filling canteens. "Sour little lady," Arthur said as his eyes lingered too long.
"See something you like?" Rosalyn asked, catching him staring. Her expression was rather curious towards him.
"Just wondering why you ladies wear such restrictive dresses out in the west when you look fine in this." Arthur caught himself quickly. What was the matter with him? Rosalyn's eyes bore into his, and it felt like she was undressing him with just her stare. Was that what he wanted?
"Anyways, I need to be clear on a few things before we travel any further. I'm going to make you an offer. It seems that money is the only thing that speaks out here so I will offer you $500 to take us safely to Blackwater, but before I pay you, I want to hear you promise that you will ensure that my caravan is safe from your gang." Rosalyn spoke sternly to him.
Arthur's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the offer, it was a lot of money, but he couldn't promise their safety. Not when it came to Dutch. If he found out these people were loaded, they would not be safe from their schemes. They would try to dupe them for everything and leave them in the dust for the ravagers to finish off. He hesitated in his answer, thinking of Izzy and how these were her people.
"I can promise you that." He answered.
"Good, Then I don't have to worry about you trying to steal from me now?" Rosalyn asked and started to collect the water canteens. She started slinging them over her shoulders to carry back, but Arthur stopped her and took them.
"Let me take them." He insisted.
"Arthur, it's fine, I got it." Rosalyn tried to pull it back, but Arthur already had it slung over his shoulder. So she ended up pulling Arthur into her. She tried to step away, but Arthur held her hips, stopping her.
"Rose, I had no intention to steal from you," Arthur said, holding her small frame to his.
"I don't believe you," Rosalyn said as she stared between his eyes and lips. She was undeniably attracted to the rugged cowboy. Arthur could see it, and she wanted a kiss. She wanted a kiss back in the hotel, that is until Izzy showed up.
"Then don't," Arthur said as he leaned in closer to her. Before he could kiss her, Rosalyn's fingers pressed up to his lips.
"Tsk tsk Mr Morgan. You are going to get me in trouble." She said and pinched his nose before pulling away from him. Taking the last of the canteens up in her arms and walking back to camp, singing as she strode away. Her flaunting hips were taunting him as she sang the last part of the Hymn.
"All to Jesus, I surrender, Make me, Saviour. Wholly Thine. Let me feel the Holy Spirit. Truly know that. Thou art Mine. And I surrender all. I surrender all. All to thee my blesses saviour. I surrender all. " Rosalyn sang with the superior voice, the angelic melody which soothed his soul.
"Full of surprises." Arthur shook his head and carried the few canteens he picked up and followed after Rosalyn. He was hoping that she would keep singing for the rest of their trip on the road.