Frontier Gift of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 5) (26 page)

“I hadn’t thought about him,” she wailed. “That just makes the choice even more difficult.”

“No, it doesn’t. We both need you. We have to save
you
.”

“Sam, no, no,” she cried, shaking her head. She put her hands against her stomach. “This is our son—just as surely as Little John is a real wonderful boy—this child is alive and real.”

“I understand that,” he said.

“Then you will agree, it’s our duty to save him. We have to! We must!”

“I want that just as much as you, but not at the expense of your life. I won’t choose!”

“You have to, Sam,” she wailed, covering her eyes with her hands.

“No! I refuse,” he said, clenching his jaw. “God put a man with Rory’s skills here for a reason.”

“Yes,” she agreed, looking at him again. “So that he could perform the surgery and save our son.”

“No. So that he could save both you and the babe by turning it.”

Catherine quickly shook her head. “No! You heard Rory. Our son could suffocate. I won’t risk it!”

“We just have to believe that Rory can perform that miracle—turn the babe safely—and save both of you,” he insisted, making his voice firm but composed.

“Maybe Mrs. Smith is right. Maybe we should do nothing and just see what happens.”

“By then it might be too late to save either one of you. I won’t let that happen.” He stood and ambled over to the hearth fire, gazing into the
flames. If something happened to Catherine, it would turn his life to ruin just as surely as the fire laid waste to the logs in the hearth. “Doing nothing often leads to nothing. We can’t leave this to chance.”

Catherine rose and startled him by gathering up her petticoats and gown. Her movements were awkward and slow, but he could see her emotions rising hot and fast.

“What are you doing?” he asked, incredulous.

“I’m getting dressed. And then I’m going to join my family in our Christmas celebrations. I should be out there now. We’ll all enjoy Christmas together until the babe comes, then I will have the surgery.” Her chin was quivering, but her voice was resolute.

A cold tightness settled in Sam’s chest. If he couldn’t talk her out of this surgery, it might be their last Christmas together. He banished the thought as quick as it came. He couldn’t let that happen.

“Catherine, please, come and sit in front of the fire with me. We have to decide this together—you and me.”

“No, I’ve made my decision. It’s my life and my body and
I
will determine what happens to it—not you!”

She flung the words at him like a knife and they stabbed his heart just as painfully and deeply as the sharpest blade.

“But it’s
our
child.”

The truth of his words stopped her. She froze in place. Then she turned and ran to him, letting his arms enfold her. She wept against his chest and cried, “I’m sorry Sam, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. You just have to believe. Believe in that miracle you talked about.” He hugged her and kissed the top of her head, resting just below his chin.

She tilted her head back to look into his face. “Do you in fact believe, truly believe, that God will perform this miracle?”

He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his knuckle and said, “I do.”

“Then I will too.”

“Mrs. Smith?” Sam called into the kitchen.

“Yes,” she answered from a corner chair, where she sat by herself.

He stood in front of her, but she remained seated.

“Your services are no longer required. Here’s your normal fee,” he said, handing her the coins.

“What do you mean by that?” she demanded as she grabbed for the coins.

The touch of her cold bony fingers made a shiver scuttle down Sam’s spine, nevertheless he looked her in the eye and said, “Since we have a well-qualified physician and Mrs. Wrigley, who has had many children herself, here to assist him, your help is no longer needed.”

Affronted and evidently surprised, her eyes widened. “You don’t mean to say you’re going to listen to that…that… charlatan!”

“I am indeed,” Sam answered.

She shook a finger in his face. “May an old woman’s curse rest upon you for heeding that barbaric man,” she swore pointing a finger at him. “Please bid Mrs. Wyllie goodbye for me.”

“That I will do, to be sure,” Sam said. “I’ll have one of my brothers escort you to your hamlet.”

“I’ll not have it! It would be improper for me to be alone with a man. I am well used to traversing these woods by myself!”

“As you wish,” he hurriedly agreed. “Mrs. Wrigley, please escort Mrs. Smith to the door.”

“With pleasure,” Mrs. Wrigley said with a roll of her eyes and a side-long glance at him.

Mrs. Smith hurried toward the door, threw on her heavy coat, and left.

Through the front window, Sam watched her wagon leave, breathing a
sigh of relief. He turned around and glanced about the room for Rory. Bear and Artis sat comfortably in front of the fire conversing with Stephen and Jane. The four glanced at him, but he simply said, “I’ll explain later.”

“Is Catherine well?” Artis asked.

“She will be!” Sam swore as he strode toward Rory, who had Nicole balanced on one knee and Samuel on the other.

Imitating Rory, the two toddlers were making funny faces at each other and at Kelly. Sam could hear the other children playing upstairs.

“I hate to interrupt your game, but we’ve made a decision,” Sam told Rory.

“Kelly girl, take these two little jesters,” he said.

Rory followed him into the bedroom and Sam closed the door.

“We want you to try to turn the babe,” he told Rory without preamble.

“Good. You’ve have made the best decision under the circumstances,” he said. He turned to Catherine, his chin set with determination. “I promise you, I will do everything in my power to save your child. You have just given your babe the best chance at life.”

“What do we do now?” she asked.

Sam still saw vulnerability in her eyes, but now strength showed on her face.

“We’ll do several things. First, Mrs. Wrigley was correct to give you Mugwort tea, but what we’ll do is use a warm compress of mugwort on your abdomen to stimulate blood flow. This can cause uterine contractions that may change the babe’s position.”

“Let’s get started,” Sam said. “I’ll have Mrs. Wrigley gather what you need and I’ll bring it.”

“Tell her to prepare a warm compress with plenty of mugwort. If she doesn’t have enough, I brought some with me. Also, have her send some mixed with lavender, if she has it, in a pan we can burn over the hearth fire. We’ll burn that and let Catherine breathe the smoke.”

“Understood,” Sam said, glad to be finally able help and take action. “Anything else?”

“Yes, have Miss Henk bring a stack of extra pillows, a blanket, and sheets for the floor.”

That made Sam curious, but he would save his questions for later. He set off to find Mrs. Wrigley and Miss Henk as fast as he could.

“Rory, I’m so grateful you’re here to help me,” Catherine said after Sam left. Dressed in her warm blue velvet robe, she sat in front of the hearth.

“I’m glad I’m here too,” Rory said. He walked over and stood in front of her.

“Who would have guessed that a man with your building and trapping skills would also be a well-trained physician?”

“We can all have many talents as long as we are open to learning new things,” he said. “A lifetime is long enough to learn a dozen skills if we’re willing to try new things. My old friend Benjamin Franklin was an author, printer, statesman, postmaster, scientist, inventor, and earned two honorary doctoral degrees. Compared to him, I’m an underachiever.”

She laughed. “Well, I guess I had better get busy learning some new skills. How did you know Dr. Franklin?”

“We used to frequent the same tavern when I went to medical school in Pennsylvania. We had some lively conversations there!”

Catherine leaned forward. “Rory, Sam’s not here just now. Tell me honestly. Do you think turning the babe will work? Please tell me the candid truth.”

“Yes, it could very well work. But the most important thing is for you to believe it will work. You will need to focus on your babe and stay as relaxed as possible, without tensing your body, especially in the abdominal area while we try several techniques.”

“All right.”

“Have you had any other cramps or contractions?”

“No, only the three.”

“Then I think we can safely assume, they were not true labor contractions. That’s good, we need some time to get your babe to turn.”

“Do you think it’s a boy?” she asked.

“There’s a good chance. If not, it’s a really big girl,” he said chuckling. “However, one never knows for sure until we catch our first delightful glimpse.”

“I can’t wait for that,” she said.

“I think we would all like that,” he agreed. “As soon as Miss Henk gets here with the pillows and blankets, I will have you lie on the floor and then we will elevate your hips about a foot. We will have you do this for about fifteen minutes, twice this evening and three times tomorrow.”

Catherine teared. For the first time today, she felt hope fill her heart. Rory certainly seemed to know what to do. Sam was right. The doctor was sent here for a reason.

Miss Henk hurried in carrying several pillows, sheets, and a couple of thick blankets.

“Thank you Miss Henk,” Rory said, moving Catherine’s two favorite upholstered chairs, which sat in front of the hearth, well to the side. “Help me make a pallet on that rug in front of the hearth for Mrs. Wyllie. After you get the blankets laid out, stack pillows at least a foot high.”

“Yes, Sir,” the housekeeper replied, getting started.

As he helped unfold and place the blankets, he said, “Catherine, get completely undressed, except for your shift, Lay with your hips on top of the pillow stack and expose the skin of your abdomen to the heat of the hearth. We will put the warm compress there shortly. Miss Henk can help lower you onto the pillows and then cover you once you are in a comfortable in position.”

Catherine didn’t think it would be possible to get comfortable with her bottom a foot up in the air, but she sighed and said, “All right.”

“Cover all of you with a sheet except your abdomen. I want you to stay warm. I’ll step out while Miss Henk gets you prepared.” He squeezed her hand and left.

After Rory left the room, Catherine felt a moment of panic. She quickly prayed that Sam was right about this being their best option—that, with God’s help, Rory could save their babe. And her from certain death.

Chapter 26

I
t didn’t work. At least not yesterday or the two times they tried earlier today. But Sam refused to give up. They would try tilting her hips and the compress one more time.

Sam paced in the front room, sipping a small brandy for his frazzled nerves as he waited impatiently for Mrs. Wrigley to make the final compress.

Had he made a mistake? He asked himself the same question a dozen times during the night and another dozen times so far today. Each time, he came to the same conclusion. It was their best and only option.

But in the dark wee hours of the morning, when he wasn’t thinking straight, he’d let himself wonder if the old woman’s curse might come true.

He sat the brandy on the mantel and ran his hands through his hair, eyes squeezed shut.
God, please, grant us that miracle
.

Since it was a mild sunny day, Bear and Stephen were outside, waiting for William to arrive. They were both as anxious as he was to see their brother return safely. Everyone else was upstairs resting or reading, trying to stay quiet for Catherine’s sake so she could relax.

“It’s ready,” the cook called to Sam.

He went to her and took the warm compress.

“That’s the end of the mugwort,” she told him.

“Dr. McGuffin has more if we need it,” he answered.

“I pray it works this time, Captain,” she said kindly.

“Me too,” Sam replied. “Please continue to pray.”

He took the compress into the bedroom and carefully handed it to the doctor.

Rory positioned it on Catherine’s abdomen and then reached for the pan with the mugwort and lavender in it and placed it near the hot coals in the hearth. “I’ve been holding off on burning this because it has a rather strong odor—like incense—that tends to linger. Hopefully, mixed with lavender, it won’t be too overpowering. The lavender should be relaxing and may even make you sleepy. We will give the compress and the smoke fifteen minutes or so and then if it doesn’t work, we’ll try another trick,” he said cheerfully.