Horse With No Name Read Online Free Page B

shirt from around the
broken arm.
    Suddenly Hunter lifted his head off the bed.
He groaned and began struggling, trying to sit up, although without
much steam behind the attempt. Merrick moved a step closer to
assist, but Parker was able to calm the man with a few words. He
placed both hands on Hunter's shoulders and eased him back
down.
    Hunter said something that Julia didn't
catch, and Dr. Parker had to lean in and turn his head to place his
ear close to Hunter's mouth. Things were quiet for a moment and
then the doctor straightened up and turned to Merrick, "I think you
can leave us now. He'll be fine with me. I'll set this arm and look
after his cuts and bruises." He turned to Julia. "Miss Thom, could
you find Eleanor, please, and send her? She's probably at the
Mitchell's store."
    Julia nodded and Merrick followed her out of
the room and then out of the house.

Five
    Betty Mitchell ladled a generous portion of stew
from the large Dutch oven into a smaller pot that Julia held out
for her. The stew smelled richly of onion and roasted venison. It
made Julia's mouth water.
    When the smaller pot was full, Julia waited
while Betty wrapped up two loaves of bread and six scones. They
were heading over to James Hunter's house to check in on him and
make sure he was eating.
    Betty was Julia's closest friend in Horse. On
the surface they had very little in common; Betty was married and
had come to British Columbia from Canada's far eastern maritime
provinces. She and her ridiculously handsome husband, Christopher,
owned and ran the General Store. They were childless, which brought
tears to Betty's eyes every time it was mentioned in Julia's
presence. The couple poured their love and attention into their
shop and it showed. It was the loveliest little store for hundreds
of miles and the Mitchell's were justifiably proud of what they'd
built. Betty and Julia had bonded initially out of necessity,
perhaps. The ratio of men to women in a place this remote was
overwhelming. Secretly, Betty wanted to keep an eye on Julia; to
keep her safe from the possibly predatory men who might want to
hitch their wagons, and their kitchens, to Julia. She needn't have
worried. Julia was far too enamored of her new status as a single
working woman to throw it away for some man with a quarter section
and most of his own hair.
    Betty kissed her husband goodbye, which made
Julia avert her eyes, and the two women proceeded down Main Street
toward Hunter's little house that was tucked away in the street
just behind his shop.
    Doctor Parker had set Hunter's arm in a
splint. He said the break wasn't too bad and that Hunter should
regain the use of the arm in no time. Julia assumed this was a huge
relief to Hunter. A watchmaker with only one working arm was like a
clock with just one hand.
    "Yoo hoo! Mr. Hunter!" Betty called as she
tapped gently on the front door and then opened it without waiting.
Julia loved her friend's implacable friendliness. It was totally
without guile and one of Julia's favorite things about Mrs.
Mitchell. It would never occur to Betty that someone might not
appreciate her barging into their home. In her mind, she was there
on a mission of goodwill and closed doors didn't mean much to her
in that case.
    "Hello?" the querying voice came from the
back of the house, unsure of itself.
    "Mr. Hunter, it's Betty Mitchell and Julia
Thom. We're here with provisions. May we come in?" Betty was
already standing in the front hall, eyeing the kitchen.
    There was some rustling and a thump from the
bedroom and then Hunter appeared in the doorway, clad in a striped
dressing gown over what appeared to be a long nightshirt. His hair
was rumpled from his pillow and he held the splinted arm gingerly
with the other.
    "Um..." he said, looking confused.
    "Don't fight it, Mr. Hunter," Julia said,
smiling at him. "You'll not win. We won't stay long. We just
brought you some bread and scones, and some of Christopher
Mitchell's famous venison stew."
    "I