Desperate Read Free Page A

working on a new case together. When James Rivera, our outlaw, suddenly left town, we chased him at full gallop. Your father’s horse jumped a ravine, and somehow your father lost his footing in the saddle. He fell off the horse and tumbled down into the ravine. I stopped when I saw him fall.” Deke looked at her father and then back at Meg. “Frankly, that first night I didn’t think he’d make it. But he kept saying he had to get home. When he managed to tell me where he lived, I brought him here.”
    “Thank you, for bringing him to us.” Meg stared at their father; his color was yellow, his breathing shallow. “When did this happen?”
    “Two days ago. I’m surprised he made it this long. It was the least I could do. Your father’s been good to me.”
    Meg stared at the shadow of the man her father was. He’d always been a big man, robust and healthy and strong. Sure, he’d been shot before. In his line of business, such were the injuries of the trade. Bounty hunting wasn’t a safe occupation, but she’d never worried about his dying, before now.
    “Do you think he’s going to make it?” Meg asked.
    Deke shook his head, his gaze on the man lying unconscious. “I’m not a doctor. I don’t know. But I know he’s hurt bad. He’s been coughing up blood.”
    Oh, God, no, he couldn’t die. Not her Papa.
    She couldn’t…she couldn’t lose her beloved father. He was the one who took care of her. He couldn’t leave her alone with Ruby and Annabelle. And Meg couldn’t shoulder the burden of paying for the farm and putting food on their table. She couldn’t take on one more thing. Placing her face in her hands, she felt Annabelle come up behind her and lay her hands on her shoulder. “We don’t know anything yet. Let’s wait for the doctor.”
    “I’m afraid. He’s never been hurt like this before.”
    “I know,” Annabelle said quietly.
    Meg pulled her hands away from her face. She never let herself be vulnerable in front of her sisters. Never. Yet, the idea of losing their father and her having full responsibility was daunting. She loved her sisters, but she dreamed of her own life. Still, she knew as sure as her next breath that if something were to happen to their father, she’d take over the complete running of the farm and make sure her sisters had a home. They were family, and she’d care for them.
    She gazed at her father lying still, his breathing shallow; she could almost believe he was a corpse. A scratch ran across his cheek, and a bruise marred his forehead. She’d never seen him look so frail.
    The front door opened. “Meg, Annabelle? I have the doctor.”
    Ruby led the man into the bedroom. “Is he better?”
    Meg shook her head. “Thanks for coming, Doc.”
    “Why don’t you all clear the room and let me take a good look at my patient.”
    Meg and her sisters and even Deke left the doctor with their father. Outside the bedroom, Meg watched as they paced the floor of the quaint farmhouse, their shoes making a rhythmic thump on the wooden floor. Her mother had decorated the farmhouse with love, some antiques and homemade quilts and a wooden dining table. It wasn’t fancy, but it was home.
    Deke sat at the table, drumming his fingers. “Maybe I should go. I can spend the night in town.”
    “No, you brought our Papa home. You’re welcome to sleep in the loft of the barn. There’s a bed in there, and I promise you Ruby’s going to fix us some supper just as soon the doctor leaves,” Meg told him, feeling such a debt of gratitude toward this man. “Papa would want us to make certain you were treated well for your effort.”
    She watched Ruby flounce towards Mr. Culver and sighed. The girl was all fanciful with notions of love and poetry and men. Not the reality of the situation, which was working until you dropped with exhaustion. Ruby’s head was cluttered with dreams that could only get her into trouble. Even now while their father lay hurt in the next room, she