She went to the opposite side of the mattress and reached across to grab his waistband. “I’ll tug if you can scoot him. Would it be better if I held one edge of the door and one of you came over here?”
Dusty shook his head. “Trying to change we might drop him. This will work. Hold him steady while we set down the door.”
Bracing herself against the mattress, she held tight to his waistband. Dusty and Chico laid the door on the floor. The three of them got Austin safely centered on the bed.
Chico went to Austin’s feet. “I’ll get his boots off him. Then we can get rid of his britches.”
The two men got the boots and then the pants from Austin but left on his underwear.
She covered him with a sheet to his waist. “Thank you. I’m so grateful you heard the shots Spuds fired and came back to the house. Spuds and I needed your help.”
Dusty acted embarrassed. “We think a lot of Austin. He’s a good boss—wouldn’t ask us to do anything he wouldn’t do.”
Chico nodded. “Sí, he is a good man. Once I was injured and missed almost a month of work but he paid me anyway. Made sure I was taken care of and never grumbled about being short handed.”
After washing her hands, she’d opened the trunk that contained her sewing supplies and laid them on the bed. “I think you may have to hold him while I sew the wound together.”
Dear Lord, help me do this without passing out. Guide my hands.
She didn’t want the men to have to pick her up off the floor. She grasped her scissors and cut away what was left of her husband’s shirt. He wasn’t wearing anything under his shirt.
Spuds had set out a bottle of whiskey, ointment, and some other things she couldn’t identify. “You’ll want to clean the wound with the whiskey.”
“I’ll also use some on the needle before I use it.” She found her strongest thread and prepared her needle. “All right, men, can you restrain him for me? If any of you have experience with injuries like this, please feel free to give me advice.”
Spuds poured the alcohol onto the top wound. “I’ve seen it done. You take a little gunpowder and flour and mix it to staunch the bleeding.” He passed her two containers.
She met the cook’s gaze. “How much of each?”
Spuds shook his head. “No idea.”
“I’ll go for half and half then. When the doctor arrives, he can correct the procedure.” With a spoon she mixed together a small amount of the two. Carefully, she pressed the mixture into the wound.
Spuds handed her a jar. “Then put some of this on top of that. It’ll be greasy so don’t get it on your hands or you won’t be able to hold the skin together to sew.”
Using the spoon again, she scooped a small amount into the wound. Now came the hardest part. She took a deep breath.
“Now, hold him down.” She tried to pretend she was darning a sock or dress. The ruse didn’t work. No one’s imagination was that strong.
Poking the needle into her husband’s skin was a terrible job. Austin jerked with each stitch. Before she was done, sweat poured from her forehead. Spuds blotted it dry. She pulled the thread as tight as she dared for fear of the stitches tearing out when he moved.
Chapter Thirteen
Mina finished sewing together the first bullet hole and leaned against the wall. “That was the easiest one. His back is a mess. And we have to turn him without pulling out the front stitches.”
Dusty studied Austin. “You don’t have to turn him completely. If Chico and I hold him kind of on his side, would you be able to stitch him?”
“I think so. Then he wouldn’t have to be completely turned twice.” She helped roll him to his side, making certain to protect his shoulder.
Chico met her gaze. “We have him steady. Go ahead.”
Spuds shook his head. “That is one mess, isn’t it? No way that’s not gonna leave a big indented scar.”
Mina went through the steps again, starting with cleaning the shoulder. When she got to the point where she needed to push the skin in place, she stopped. “Spuds, could you wash your hands good and help hold the flesh together?”
“I washed them good in the kitchen.” He held them out for her to inspect. “You tell me where to press and I’ll try to stay out of the way.”
The four of them huddled around Austin so close their heads could touch. She climbed onto the bed and worked kneeling. Spuds’ help was needed with Austin in this position. He could jerk more.
“I’m working as fast as I can. I wish the doctor would get here.”
Spuds didn’t look up. “Like you said, we don’t even know if he was in his office. He could have been on another call. We can’t count on him coming today.
Dusty said, “The bleeding has slowed. Guess the gunpowder and flour helped.”
She focused on her task. “What kind of ointment is that?”
Spuds said, “General purpose. We use it for everything, including the animals. Before you ask, not the same jar. This one stays in the house.”
Dusty glanced up. “This is what Buck used on the heifer he doctored after that coyote nipped her. I don’t know what’s in it, but it seems to work.”
Chico said, “Besides, it’s what we have. I don’t know what a doctor would use.”
She tied a knot in the last stitch. “I hope we find out soon. Poor Austin has lost a lot of blood. He’s not going to bounce back right away from this.”
After folding a
