Whirlwind Reunion Read Online Free

sprang out of bed. She grabbed her cotton wrapper from the back of her vanity chair and pulled it on, tying it snugly as she rushed down the stairs. She snatched up her medical bag then opened the door. And froze. “Russ?”
    The big man’s back was to her and he was carrying someone. He looked over his shoulder, features taut. Urgent. “He needs help.”
    Ef Gerard, Whirlwind’s blacksmith, stood in the darker shadows holding the man’s feet.
    She flung the door wide. “Bring him in. Follow me.”
    Hurrying, she led them to the back room and the patient cot in the near corner. After placing her bag on the floor, she lit an oil lamp while Russ and Ef carefully laid the man face-down on the mattress then stepped away.
    â€œHis back’s the worst of it,” Russ said.
    Holding the light high, she walked over to the patient. She searched for injuries, her gaze skimming over sock feet and powerful thighs in denims filmed with red dust. Blood caked the back of his white shirt. It had splattered on the sleeves, too. His face was also bloody. Swollen and—
    Her heart stopped. It was Matt!

Chapter Two
    A nnalise froze for a second. Matt. He needed help. Though stunned, she remembered her training and managed to gather her wits. Pushing the lamp into his brother’s hand, she bent down to feel for her patient’s carotid pulse. It was strong.
    A closer look in the wavering light showed his ripped and bloodied shirt was stuck to his back. Rising, she pushed aside the curtain separating the clinic’s two beds and went to the glass-fronted cabinet for a pair of scissors.
    â€œWhat happened?” she asked Russ. “Who did this?”
    â€œI don’t know. Matt hasn’t been conscious for us to ask.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I hope he can tell us when he wakes up. Why won’t he wake up?”
    â€œMaybe because he’s lost a lot of blood.” Annalise eased down onto the edge of the bed, snipping the hem of the shirt then ripping it up the middle. “Or maybe he was knocked out.”
    Russ shifted behind her, throwing shadows against the wall. “How bad is it?”
    â€œThe wounds need to be cleaned before I can tell.” She carefully peeled back Matt’s shirt and swallowed hard at the sight of his torn, mangled flesh.
    Russ and Ef both made a sound of shock. Annalise folded the fabric out of her way, revealing the strong broad lines of his back, the fluid muscles of his shoulders and upper arms. His smooth bronze skin was now ripped and gaping. The wounds didn’t extend past his lean waist, the worst of them on and between his shoulder blades. Who had done this?
    Emotion surged inside her, a mix of compassion and regret. She realized her hands were shaking.
    Steeling herself, she managed to control the tremor in her voice. “Where did you find him?”
    â€œA couple of miles east of Whirlwind.” Russ handed the lamp to Ef and moved to the foot of the cot. “His mare was nearby.”
    She returned to the cabinet which also held bandages, powders, instruments, various salves and antiseptic treatments, including carbolic acid. “Can one of you fetch me a bowl of water?”
    While the blacksmith did that, Annalise took the carbolic acid and a couple of clean squares of linen from the cabinet. The rush of footsteps had her looking over her shoulder.
    Lydia Baldwin hurried through the door. “Russ?”
    â€œSugar.” He pulled his beautiful raven-haired wife into his side as her gaze went to the man on the cot.
    â€œOh no,” she breathed. “How is he?”
    â€œHe’s alive.” In the smoky amber light, Russ looked pale, bleak. “Don’t know much else yet.”
    The brunette placed a soothing hand on his chest. “I saw you and Ef ride in so I came on over.”
    He brushed a kiss across her hair.
    Swallowing past a lump in her throat, Annalise moved back