CHAPTER 87

Wynn ran with his wife in his arms to the infirmary, even though she was screaming that everything was fine and that she could walk, she was his wife, his precious one, and no one would be able to stop him until he got inside that infirmary. Wynn was more than determined to take her in his arms. He knew it was just a graze on the arm, but how could that crazy niece Julia Thatcher be so cruel and hurt her own paternal aunt. She was going to pay dearly for making his wife suffer that pain, and that psychopath had threatened to kill his daughter. He was going to demand that the courts punish that girl. After all, these were two crimes, against two different people, and as witnesses, he only had people of weight, good people. Wynn walked as fast as he could, his wife Elizabeth Delayne was a great woman, and on many occasions she had shown him that, including fighting with all her might to save the lives of their children when they were born, and even risking her own life... and today once again, with an agility that would make many a mountie envious, she stood in front of our daughter Beth and defended her from Julia's clutches and that shot.

Wynn could feel the warm blood running down her arm, she was dizzy from the blood pouring down her arm. Wynn knew that the bullet wound was hurting a lot, because it burned and throbbed at the same time, and his wife was one of those who always fainted at the sight of blood.

Wynn felt so helpless right now, all his power in the mountie, all his career, he would trade it all not to see his wife go through this pain. It was heart-wrenching, it felt like a piece of her flesh was being ripped out. Knowing that she was collapsing in his arms drove him mad with rage against Julia Thatcher.

"If I could, I'd swap places with you, my love. I can't see you in pain. My heart feels like it's going to stop, seeing you like this..."

Wynn spoke softly to her as he continued his walk to the infirmary. He had never cursed as much as he had in those last moments, a school so far out of town and so far away from everything. Four more blocks and he'd be in the infirmary. But even walking as fast as he was trained, it seemed like an eternity to him... Tears streamed down his face, he couldn't bear to see his wife's blood gushing out like that.

And Wynn prayed aloud:

"Dear God... At this moment of deep distress, I carry my wife in my arms, and my heart is full of fear and anguish. She is the light of my life, and I cannot imagine living without her. I ask for your mercy and protection at this difficult time. Lord, please look after her, heal her wounds and restore her health. Give her the strength to fight and recover. Guide us along the path of healing and hope. Show us the path we must follow, so that she can recover and return home, where she is loved and eagerly awaited. God, send Your help, whether through doctors, family, friends or any other way You deem fit. At this time, we trust in Your exceptions and in Your grace. We ask that Your will be done, and that we may find strength, comfort and hope in Your presence. "

In that moment of despair, with his wounded wife in his arms and tears flowing, Wynn felt a lump in his throat as he begged God for help. His heart was heavy with worry, and he was about to lose hope, not knowing how to get there any faster.

Then, like a ray of hope, Hickman appeared with his wagon. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the young man from the lumber yard approaching, and Wynn's face lit up with a mixture of incredulity and gratitude. It was as if a miracle had happened right before his eyes.

Wynn understood that this was the hand of God delivered to him in his time of greatest need. He felt a comforting warmth filling his heart, and tears of gratitude replaced the tears of despair in his eyes. Hickman's presence and selfless help were an answer to his prayers, and Wynn knew that God was taking care of his wife through that person sent by Him.

With a mixture of brokenness and renewed faith, Wynn trusted that, with Hickman's help, they would find the way to his beloved wife's recovery. It was a powerful reminder that, even in the darkest moments, faith and hope can prevail, and that God works in mysterious ways to care for His children. Wynn thanked God in her heart for His providential intervention at that crucial moment.

Hickman more than quickly helped them into the wagon and hurried off to the town's infirmary. As soon as they parked in front of the infirmary, Faith rushed to open the doors, and they quickly laid Elizabeth Delayne on a stretcher. Carson had made a short trip, and Faith was left to take care of everything. Wynn trusted her, she might be the nurse, but he was witness to how much she knew and how hard she worked.

Wynn was going to help with the minor surgery to remove the bullet, which had lodged there and hit the brachial artery, which was why so much blood was gushing out.

Hickman, for his part, was in charge of helping the two young Mounties who had been hospitalized there for some time and would soon be discharged, so he went to help them with their personal hygiene.

Wynn rolled up his shirt sleeves, washed his hands and began to follow Faith's orders, while she, with a gentle but firm hand, made the small cut and removed the bullet with huge tweezers. Blood gushed loudly onto Wynn's face, and he knew what had happened there, and saw Faith struggling to control the bleeding. Bullet splinters grazed Wynn in several places, where the blood poured out like a sieve.

Faith put some open gauze over it and asked Wynn to compress it hard. In the meantime, she went to the cupboard and returned with a small stove with the flame already lit, an iron and needles with thread, as well as several pieces of white cloth. She wiped the area clean, the blood was too much for such a small wound.

- Wynn, I need you to hold her tightly, because if she wakes up then it will be very bad. See if you can get her to drink that gin, I need her well anaesthetized because this is going to take longer than we think, and I'm going to put a cloth soaked in ether over her nose to act as an anaesthetic.

Wynn knew how serious this was, so he took the glass of gin, put it in his mouth and then poured it into his wife's mouth, forcing her to drink all the liquid, even though she was passed out. His mouth was burning with the liquid, and he was most worried about his wife, who had never drunk before in her life. Her throat must have been on fire, but there was a shortage of medicine in the city after the outbreak of chickenpox, and this was the only way.

- Wynn, I'm going to burn your artery and sew up your vein so that everything gets better.

- I don't think it was just a glancing shot, was it?

- Yes, it was, but unfortunately in the wrong place and it caught that vein and that artery.

- I'll hold her Faith... I trust you...

Faith concentrated and carried out the whole procedure, and at the end she left the couple inside, while she cleaned herself up a bit.

Elizabeth Delayne opened her eyes with a headache and a strange smell, her throat was burning so badly that it was painful to swallow her own saliva, and the smell of drink was horrible.

Her eyes flicked to the side, where Wynn was crying desperately in a chair, without noticing that she had woken up. Her hand reached for his face as if it had a life of its own; it hurt to see her husband so sad like that.

Wynn raised his head slowly, he was afraid he was dreaming, his green eyes watered with tears, he couldn't stop looking at his wife...

The words died in his throat... He wanted to shout how much he loved her, but his voice wouldn't come out.

She smiled, showing him that she knew everything he wanted to say. And Wynn, with an agility to be envied by the very young, stood up and took his wife in his arms very carefully and kissed her with a passion, with so much love that his body ached.

"The fear of losing her; the fear that she would suffer; the fear of living without the woman of his life, it was all reflected in that kiss. "

A kiss that took him to another world. Wynn, more than ever, realized at that moment that she was very important to him, and that she was very important to him, and that he would love her all his life.