“Has she woken up yet?” The Doctor asks and lifts her eyelid.
“Twice, but she keeps passing out,” Dayton answers.
“Is that blood yours?” Eli demands.
Dayton looks at his hands and blanches. “No,” he replies hoarsely.
The doctor turns her head and finds a gash on a raised bump behind her ear. “Alright, we need to get her to my office. I think her arm is dislocated and she may have a concussion.”
Dayton whirls, looking for the man who hurt her and rage floods his body when he sees him on the ground. Eli watches, allowing Dayton to run and kick him in the stomach a few times before they grab him and pull him back. “Let me go!”
“Easy, Kentucky, Savannah needs you here, not in jail for murder,” Eli reminds him.
“Who the hell are you?” Dayton snarls and jerks free. He paces away, struggling to stop the anger ripping through his body. Every time he closes his eyes Dayton sees her reaching for him and falling backward screaming his name.
Eli grins. “Eli Irwin, and you are?”
“Dayton Patrick,” he replies and watches the doctor tie a makeshift sling around Savannah’s shoulder to support her arm.
“Alright, Mr. Patrick, just who the hell are you and why is this man after Savannah?”
Dayton turns and stares Eli down. “That’s a long conversation, and right now I need to be with her.”
Savannah wakes and groans in pain, struggling against the light and nausea that’s beating at her. “Ohh!” She groans. Her body hurts, and the pain in her arm is excruciating. “Dayton?” she calls and the Doctor smiles.
“He’s right here, Miss Ward. We’re going to go to my office across the street. Can you sit up?” Savannah sits with the doctor’s help and struggles not to vomit.
“It’s across the street. Tell me, what else hurts and are your legs affected?”
Dayton rushes over, and Eli watches his entire demeanor shift. Instantly, he gentles his touch and scoops her up, avoiding her dislocated arm. “She’s not walking anywhere.”
Savannah, burrows in his neck, hiding her face from the sunshine and stares of those around her. “Dayton, will you take me home?” she murmurs.
“Yes, Angel, I will,” he promises.
“Thank you,” she weeps and closes her eyes against the pain.
Eli watches with a grim look on his face. “We’ll meet you at the doctor’s office. I’m taking this trash to the Sheriff.”
Dayton pauses and glares at Eli, “He goes nowhere until I speak to him.”
“Of course.”
Chapter 27
“Miss Ward, my name is Doctor Stanton, but most people call me Doc.”
Savannah stares at him, taking in the silvered beard, spectacles and kind bedside manner. “It’s nice to meet you, Doc,” she whispers. His wife covers her with a blanket and takes the bloody bowl of water and rags from the room.
Savannah is sitting on a cot wearing her blood-stained chemise in a room at the Doctors house. He prods around the shoulder, causing her to bite back a scream of pain. Her long beautiful curls are tangle free, thanks to Mrs. Stanton, but the bruises, scrapes, and gash on her body stand out harshly against her porcelain skin.
“Alright,” he pats her good hand. “I’m just gonna come out with it. You have a nasty gash and bump that will cause a headache for a while, but you’ll live,” he grins and glances at Dayton with a little trepidation.
Dayton refused to leave her side, insisting that she needed him with her. The absurdity of the moment strikes her, but she agrees to let him stay. For some reason having him near her makes the pain less intense.
His black eyes are watching every move with barely concealed rage.
“The shoulder is dislocated, thankfully, I don’t think the arm is broken. Can you tell me what you remember?” Doctor Stanton asks.
“He tossed me backward,” she looks up at Dayton with traumatized eyes. “I tried to stop my fall,” she sniffs and tries to sit up, only to groan at the pain.
“Easy now,” Doc says pushing her back. “You did fine, Miss Ward, but I need to reset it.”
“Doc, I was a nurse in the war. I know what you need to do,” she whispers, glancing at Dayton.
Doctor Stanton quickly hides the surprise and wipes his hands on his pants and glances at Dayton. “Son, if you can stay, I will need help to reset it.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he promises, more for Savannah than him.
Mrs. Stanton returns with a bit of cloth rolled up for her to bite down on. “The morphine will help soon, Savannah. This is so you don’t bite your tongue,” she murmurs and steps back. Savannah closed her eyes and nods. “The morphine will also help you relax and allow the muscle around the shoulder to relax.”
Doc points to the hall and Dayton takes the hint. “We’ll be right back.”
“Are you sure you’re up to this? Maybe you should wait outside,” Doc starts just as Dayton follows him.
“I’m not leaving her,” Dayton snaps.
“How’s the patient?” Eli asks as Bubba steps inside, swallowing up what little space is in the entry.
“I’d like to hear the answer to that,” Bubba says softly.
“Eli, Bubba, nice to see you. Miss Ward is beaten up and has a dislocated shoulder. We’re just about to set it,” Doc answers. Eli curses softly and glances at Bubba.
“Mr. Patrick is going to sit behind her and brace her. Savannah will try to pull away from me. Don’t let her. Sometimes it pops back in quickly, sometimes it can be… difficult. If we’re lucky, she’ll pass out.”
“Lucky?” Dayton snarls and runs a hand over his face.
“What’s wrong, Kentucky, too much?” Eli teases.
Dayton glares at him and stomps back into
