Once Upon a Mail Order Bride - Linda Broday Page 0,78
her arm and noticed blood trickling across her skin from scrapes and cuts. “I must’ve landed on a rock after we jumped. But other than that, I think I’m okay. How about you?”
“Nothing broken, but my back hurts. Something struck me when we were running.”
“Turn around.”
“Probably nothing.” Ridge presented his back to her, and she gasped in horror at the sight through his ragged shirt.
A jagged piece of metal about two inches wide protruded from his right shoulder blade. Lord only knew how deep it went into the muscle. A mass of blood covered the wound. She described it to him. “It’s bleeding pretty bad.”
“Can you pull it out?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. But I need to find something to use as a bandage first.” For once, she regretted wearing trousers. A dress and petticoats would’ve provided oodles of material.
“What’s left of my shirt will do. I can go without one. The house isn’t that far.”
“Do you think the tornado got Bodie? Or the house?” Her stomach clenching, Addie grabbed hold of the metal, gave it a quick yank, and flung it. Ridge let out a yell and doubled over in pain. More blood flowed, but at least it wasn’t gushing. The metal obviously hadn’t gone too deep after all. She wadded the shirt into a ball and pressed it hard to the wound.
When Ridge could speak, the words came through clenched teeth. “I guess we’ll find out about Bodie and the house when we get there. The boy’s smart. He’d know to hide until the tornado passed.” Ridge winced at the pain. “I’m not worried about the town. Set in that canyon like it is, the high walls will protect it. Not sure about the Lassiters and the McClains though, out here with us.”
“I hope they were spared.” She refused to think about anyone else having to endure that devastating wind.
“How bad?” Ridge craned his neck, trying to see.
“I’ve seen worse.”
“Wrap it and let’s go. I need to get back and see what’s left of our place.”
“Not yet.” Addie held the compress firmly against him for several minutes more. Finally, at Ridge’s insistence, she lifted it and saw that the blood had slowed some. She bound the shirt tightly around him, her mind on King. Had the tornado gotten her beloved horse? When she finished, she took Ridge’s hand and let him pull her from the six-foot-deep ravine. The hail had stopped, but a light rain was still in the air. Addie shivered in the cold.
A strange odor struck her, like the smell of something dead, but not a person or animal. It was the land that had died. Addie turned around slowly. The tornado had wiped the land clean of all vegetation as far as she could see. Her head stung and itched, and when she scratched it, she found dirt caked underneath her fingernails. Surprised, she released a little cry.
“It’ll be all right, Addie.” Ridge’s voice was gentle. “Everything embedded in our skin will come out in time.”
“At least we’re alive. Everything else seems minor,” she agreed.
They set out, and she matched her stride to Ridge’s. An hour must’ve passed before the house came into view. Bodie saw them and came running. “I feared the worst when the horses came back alone.”
“We’re fine.” Ridge turned his attention to the house.
Addie followed his gaze to the missing corner of the roof and wall. The spare room had been clipped and was now open to the sky. “Ridge is hurt, but nothing serious. Where did you hide, Bodie?”
The kid crossed his arms and stuck his hands in his armpits. “I rode it out in your little room under the stairs.”
“Good.” She swiveled to look at the barn and noticed not a board out of place. “The horses?”
“They’re fine. So is the milk cow.” Bodie gave her a quick grin that vanished as soon as it formed. “You might’ve lost a few chickens. The worst part is the Lassiter kids, Ely and Jenny, were up fishing in that creek that runs across your property and theirs. They’ve vanished. Don’t rightly know if the tornado scooped them up or what. Everybody’s out looking for them.”
Concern crossed Ridge’s face. “Get me doctored, Addie. I need to help search.”
“Of course.” Her thoughts in a tangled mess, Addie hurried to the house with him. How could a couple of kids have survived that storm? Ignoring the smashed dishes on the floor, she jerked out the box of medical supplies. Her fingers trembled as she washed