Chapter 4
Theda examined the young man. He wasn't much older than her. If she had to guess, she'd say he was around her brother's age. His cheekbones were sharp, but also nicely shaped, and made her look at his face a little longer than she should have.
His brown hair fell over his forehead, a bit shaggy from everything he’d been through. There was scruffy hair across his chin and lower face, showing he hadn’t shaved in at least a day, maybe two.
Theda tentatively reached out and pressed her palm to his forehead. He was too warm. His fever was getting worse. She'd seen his bright green eyes, both intelligent and full of curiosity, but he'd been too injured to keep himself awake.
She decided to start with the basics. She pulled back what was left of his shirt. There were deep purple bruises across his ribs, and cuts and scrapes all up and down his arms and his stomach.
“He got pretty banged up,” Phineas said from behind her.
"It looks like it." She looked back at him over her shoulder.
She'd forgotten he was even there for a few moments.
"You don't have to wait for me to finish, you know.
I don't think that he's going to wake up again.
Not any time soon." Theda frowned. She wished she had been able to talk to him, to ask him what happened.
“I’m not going to just leave you unsupervised with him. We know nothing about him. He could be a criminal, or something worse.”
Theda raised an eyebrow. “What’s worse than a criminal?”
Phineas shook his head, an expression of exasperation on his face.
“I don’t know, but he could be it. If he wakes up and there’s no one here to help you…”
"I'll be fine, Phineas. You've taught me a few things about defending myself. You can't stand here watching for the rest of the day; you have responsibilities. After I get him bandaged up, how about I drive the wagon today, so I can check in on him as we stop along the way."
“Are you sure? I could get Leland to help keep an eye on you both.”
“No.” Theda snapped. “What I mean is, there’s no need to bother anyone with something I can handle myself.
If it makes you feel better, we can tie one of his arms to the wagon, and if he wakes at all, I'll get you right away.
" Theda noticed the blood dried into his hair.
She took a closer look, and her frown deepened.
“What is it?” Phineas asked.
“He has a head wound. It’s pretty deep. Even if he does wake up, he may be pretty disoriented for a while.” She shook her head. How had he found himself in such a lousy mess?
"All right." Phineas jumped into the wagon in one swift jump and grabbed a length of rope from on top of a nearby crate.
He tied one of the man's wrists and then secured the rope to the side of the wagon.
"This won't hold him for long, but if he does wake up and is unreasonable, you get out of reach and come find me right away.
" Phineas' stormy eyes fixed on hers as he stepped by her.
“Don’t worry.” Theda shook her head.
“I always worry.” Phineas sighed. “You don’t know what it can be like out here.
I’ve seen my share of situations during my time.
I couldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to you.
Especially if it was because of a man I brought into the wagon train, and then into your wagon.
” He swallowed visibly, and Theda realized how hard it was for him.
“Phineas…”
“It’s all right. I know you’re able to take care of yourself and all that… but I think maybe I should have left him out there. What good explanation could there be for him to be out there all alone, unconscious?”
"Phineas, you are not the type of man to leave another injured and alone with no hope to live.
You did the right thing by bringing him here, and as soon as he's awake, I am sure that you will find a way to get to the bottom of why he's here.
" Theda hated it when her brother hovered and acted as if she were helpless, but she also understood.
He struggled with how they'd lost their parents, just like she did. His pain was different and hard in different ways.
"All right. I hope you are right about it." He sighed again, then jumped from the back of the wagon to the ground. He looked back up at her. "We'll leave in about ten minutes, so be ready."
Theda nodded and waved as he walked away. Once she was alone, she made her way back to her patient. He was a mess, so that was the first order of business.
She got some fresh water from the buckets behind the wagon and some cloth and then started washing him down. The effort finished off both buckets of water Phineas brought that morning from the creek.
Once he was as clean as she could get him, she fixed the wounds. She bandaged his head, then examined each cut. She wrapped his ribs. As far as she could tell, three of them were broken. Whoever he was, he had a long recovery in front of him.
She'd done everything she could for the moment, so she pulled a quilt over him and then looked at the tattered shirt he'd worn, lying on the floor of the wagon. She gathered it up, along with the one sole boot that the man wore when her brother brought him to the wagon.
"You won't need that, will you?" Theda asked him, even though she knew he wouldn't respond.
Filling the silence felt right. "We'll see what we can find for you to use once you wake up.
" She took his ruined shirt and his single boot and left them on the side of the road.
The other wagons were starting to move, so she made quick work of packing up the rest of the things that were out.
She made her way to the front of the wagon and started forward, guiding the horses. She glanced back at her unconscious patient in the back of her wagon. His arm was at an odd angle, being tied to the side, but she couldn't untie him.
As much as she disliked not giving him the benefit of the doubt, she also knew that her brother was right. They had no idea if he was dangerous or not.
Only time would tell who the stranger was and what kind of threat he could pose to the wagon train.
---*---
Theda lifted the man’s head, Jem’s head. She’d started calling him Jem. It wasn’t his name, probably wasn't anywhere close to it, but she couldn't keep thinking of him as simply a stranger.
She pulled out her canteen of water and trickled some down his throat. She'd been giving him water and broth that way for the past three days, since they'd brought him there. He was losing weight, though, and eventually, he'd need to relieve himself.
She was starting to wonder if he’d wake up at all.
“How’s he doing?” Phineas asked, walking up and leaning against the open back of the wagon.
"Same as he was yesterday, and the day before." Theda tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. It wasn't her brother's fault that Jem hadn't woken up. Phineas had done everything he could to help the man.
“Do you think he’ll wake up soon?” Phineas asked.
"I'm not sure. I want to believe he will, but…
" Theda's voice wavered. She didn't want to show just how much it meant to her to get the stranger to wake up, but she couldn't hide it either.
Watching him slowly weaken and grow worse instead of better brought all sorts of painful memories roaring to the surface.
“We can’t keep him forever, especially since we have no idea what he’d want. We may have to consider leaving him in the nearest town we pass, or settlement. They could help him figure out what happened when he wakes up.”
“ Leave him?” Theda’s pain and sadness roared to life with anger. “ We aren’t going to leave him anywhere. We found him, it’s our responsibility to help him.”
"I wasn't necessarily considering leaving him on the side of the road, but…
we can't just keep providing for him and carting him with us when we have no idea if he’ll ever wake up.
Especially when we'll be facing a river crossing soon, and a dangerous one at that.
" Phineas sighed. "I'm sorry, Theda. Hopefully, he'll wake up.
But don't get too attached, we still don't know why he was out here all alone in the first place.
There may be a better situation or someone better equipped to deal with his particular situation. "
Theda frowned as her brother pushed off the wagon and walked away, leaving her alone with Jem. She reached out for one of his hands and examined the scars on his palm. She didn't know if they were from a burn or from hard work. It looked difficult, whatever it was.
She turned his hand over and ran her finger against his calluses. If she had to guess, he rode a horse a lot. She'd noticed several scars on his sides and his chest when she'd wrapped his wounds. She found herself wanting to ask him about them.
Jem was muscled, strong, as if he spent his time doing hard work. He must have had a reason to be out on the plains. What had led him to get so turned around in the storm that he ended up unconscious and hurt?
After finishing with her normal bandaging and would cleaning routines, she buttoned up the shirt she’d borrowed from her brother .
He looked peaceful, like he was simply sleeping.
"Please wake up soon. Everyone is getting impatient, and I don't know how much longer I can convince them that you might still be okay.
" She sighed, then stood and made her way out of the wagon to the morning fire.
It was still early, and the sun was just starting to rise as people finished their breakfast and prepared to leave and start their trek for the day.
He’s handsome, does he have a family?
Theda bit her lip.
What does it matter? It’s not like he’s going with us all the way to Oregon territory.
Theda was so lost in her thoughts that she almost ran right into Leland.
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “Leland, what are you doing here?”
“Just coming by to check on you,” His gaze softened as his eyes met hers. Then those same eyes hardened as they swung over to Jem. “You’re here alone with him?”
“He’s still unconscious, Leland.” She shrugged, not wanting to worry about what was really bothering Leland. “I’m caring for him, just like I would for anyone else.”
"Right." Leland still didn't look happy, his expression stormy. "If there's anything I can do, let me know."
Theda smiled thinly. She knew that Leland was trying to find a way to be around her, but she still didn’t know how to deal with him. He wanted more, a relationship, but that wasn't something she was interested in, not with him, not with anyone .
He was her brother’s friend, and she’d known him for years.
She’d never felt in a romantic way about him.
Even if she did think of him that way, she was too scared to let anyone get that close to her again.
Not after what happened the last time. People close to her died; she couldn’t save them.
It was for his good as much as it was for hers that she keep her distance.
“I will let you know. So far, there’s no sign of him waking up, and I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon. I promised Phineas that I’d tell him if he woke up.”
“Of course, you could come to me too, if you can’t get to your brother. You know that I’m here to help.” Leland paused, and an expression she couldn't quite read washed over his face. She frowned .
“I know.” She poured him a cup of coffee and passed it to him. “Anything else on your mind?”
"Yes, actually. I know that we've had a lot going on these past few days, with the stranger showing up, and you being busy with all the people around the camp who need you, but I was wondering, would you like to walk with me one of these days?
" His tone grew gruff, and Theda knew it was hard for him to ask. She frowned.
"I'd love to, Leland, I really would, but I'm not sure that's best."
“Why not?” Leland’s eyebrows shot up.
“I think you know why.” Theda sighed. “I’ve thought about this a lot, Leland, and I’m just not interested in getting to know anyone in a romantic way at the moment.”
“Romantic…” Leland’s skin went a little pale. “Right. I just…I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.”
"You haven't, Leland. You're a dear family friend, and I didn't want to change hats between us."
“Do you think you’ll ever feel differently?” Leland held his hat in his hands.
“I’m not sure. Probably not. I don’t want this to change how you think of me.” She sighed. “I just…it’s not something I can think about right now, caring for someone in that way.”
“Maybe I could change your mind. If you give me a chance.”
Theda kept her smile in the place.
“I don’t think so, Leland. I can’t really…” Before she could finish her sentence, a soft noise in the back of the wagon pulled her attention away from Leland. It was Jem, he was stirring.
“He’s waking up!” Theda couldn't hide her excitement. “You should get Phineas. He made me promise I’d send for him if Jem wakes up.”
“Jem?” Leland asked. She didn't overlook the dark tone he used.
"He needed a name. Would you get my brother?" She scrambled into the wagon and reached Jem’s side as Leland disappeared, finally going to get Phineas. She looked down at his face, waiting with anticipation to see those same bright eyes she'd seen before.
She couldn't hold back her curiosity. She wanted to know who he was, what he needed, and why he was there.
“Can you hear me?” She asked softly.
He stirred and a moment later, his eyes slowly blinked open. He reached out with one hand, and the other jerked as he came up against the restraints that were tying him to the side of the wagon.
Theda saw the fear register in his eyes, and his whole body tensed.
“Where am I? Who are you?” He demanded. His voice was dry and hoarse, and a little deeper than she’d expected. He began to thrash, his panic picking up as he fought.
"Whoa, calm down. You're okay, you're safe." All she could do was try to calm him down and hope that he'd gotten himself under control by the time her brother got there.