He glanced at Emma Jane, who murmured something incoherent as her eyelids fluttered. The old Jasper wouldn’t have hesitated to go with Cam and the others. After all, what did he know about treating gunshot wounds? He’d be more useful chasing down the rest of the bandits.
Yet now, things were different. Leaving Emma Jane seemed almost inconceivable.
He turned to Cam. “My wife’s been shot. I need to stay with her.”
Shadows crossed the man’s face. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize... Is she going to be all right?”
The question tore at Jasper’s insides, biting in places so sensitive he wouldn’t have known they existed otherwise.
“She’ll be fine,” Will said. “I just need something to press against the wound to stop the bleeding. My handkerchief and scarf are about soaked through.”
Cam unwound the scarf from his neck. “Use this. Ugliest thing on earth, but it’s made from good wool. A little blood can’t make it any uglier.”
Will took the scarf and pressed it to Emma Jane’s back. Jasper adjusted Emma Jane’s position to make it easier for Will to tend to her injury. If only he could do more than keep her out of the snow.
“I appreciate your help,” Jasper told Cam. “I know you’ll want to be with the posse going after the remaining bandits, but can you spare a rider to head to town to get a doctor?”
“Sure thing. You want him to meet you at your place?”
His place. Was there such a thing anymore? He couldn’t imagine going back to his family home without Emma Jane, and she’d made it clear that it wasn’t home to her.
“We’re staying at the Rafferty.”
If Jasper’s change of address surprised Cam, he gave no indication. The other man gave a nod. “I’ll get on it. That wife of yours saved a lot of men from being killed tonight. Wes told us about the trap with the explosives. Had she not come when she did, providing a distraction, we’d have all been slaughtered.”
Jasper shivered at the thought. For a moment there, he’d honestly believed that there was no hope. But then he’d thought of Emma Jane and asked what she would do. Immediately, he had the instinct to say a prayer. All he’d said was, “Lord, help us,” and then Emma Jane had showed up.
Was she an answer to all of his prayers? He’d asked her about how God spoke to her and answered prayers, and she’d said it all happened in the way he’d just described. God didn’t literally step out and give him an answer or do something for him, but it always seemed like He had exactly what he needed when he needed it.
Jasper stroked Emma Jane’s silky blond hair. He’d been so blind about so many things, including how simple it was to follow God. And how God had brought them together.
Will said she’d be fine, but Jasper couldn’t help but send up another prayer for Emma Jane’s survival.
And when she was better, could they find a way to heal the rift between them? Now, more than ever, Jasper wanted to make their marriage work. He’d hoped to court her and get her to come around to seeing things his way. But maybe there wasn’t time for that. Maybe he just needed to be honest with his feelings, exposing the rawest places of his heart, and risk being rejected.
“I love you, Emma Jane,” he whispered hoarsely.
She murmured something incoherent, and Jasper hoped that, somehow, she’d understood.
“Don’t worry,” Will said, catching Jasper’s eye. “You’ll be able to tell her that when she’s awake. Like I said, she’s going to be fine.”
Then Will stood. “Now, I’m going to get on my horse, and you’re going to put Emma Jane in my arms. You need to keep pressure on the wound. She’s still bleeding, and from what I can tell, the bullet’s still lodged inside her. We need to get her to the doctor and get the bullet out right away.”
“I want to carry her.” Jasper adjusted Emma Jane in his arms and stood. She was so light in his arms. How had he not noticed what a frail creature she was?
Probably because she was the strongest woman he knew.
Will looked at him like he wanted to argue, but then he shook his head. “Fine. But you need to keep her steady. Too much jostling is going to make the bullet move, and it could travel to her vital organs and kill her.”
Jasper gave a quick nod. He’d already known what was at stake, but Will’s reminder made it all the more important to be the one to carry Emma Jane into town. If these were to be her last moments, then he had so much he wanted to tell her.
Then Jasper stopped himself. No. He wouldn’t let this be the end. Not for Emma Jane, not for them.
“You’re going to live, Emma Jane,” he rasped, kissing her on top of the head once more. “You’re going to live and be my wife in all ways, and we’re going to raise Moses...and whatever other children we may have.”
Will and some of the other men helped Jasper mount his horse, and then helped get Emma Jane settled comfortably in his arms. Some of the posse had already ridden out in pursuit of the remaining bandits, while the rest were either gathering up the injured or keeping the ones they were apprehending together to send to jail.
They rode back to town, and Jasper was grateful for the buckskin’s easy lope. When he’d bought the horse, he’d wondered if he was paying too much. But if it meant Emma Jane’s survival, the gelding was worth every penny.
Doc Wallace was just getting off his horse when they arrived at the hotel. He helped Jasper get Emma Jane up to their room and settled in the bed.
“You did a
