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“Speaking of your mother, where’s she at?” Cly said with all the nonchalance he could muster. “I thought she’d be here, pacing around you. ”
From the doorway, Briar Wilkes responded. “I went to hit up the bottommost storage room, looking for a pair of pants no one wanted so I could cut off one of the legs. ” She held up a pair of Levi’s that had probably once belonged to a logger. “They’ll swim on you, so you’ll have to belt ’em. But I don’t think anyone will miss these things, and if anybody does, he can take it up with me. Hello, Jeremiah. ”
Andan Cly stood up, but Swakhammer only nodded in her direction. He figured she wouldn’t begrudge him the gesture, since his leg was still on the mend. But the captain couldn’t stop himself, and didn’t try.
“Weren’t you down here just last week?”
“It’s a slow season, and I felt like coming back. ”
“You must be the strangest man alive,” she teased.
“Maybe that’s it. Maybe I’m just looking for the company of my own kind. ” He smiled, and since he was up, wandered over to Zeke’s leg to take a look at the damage. The boy’s skin was snagged and torn, but his muscles were intact, and Mercy Lynch was a formidable seamstress.
Zeke winced as the curved needle dipped again, and shuddered as the thread slipped through his skin.
Cly said, “Before long, you’ll have one hell of a scar to show off. Girls love scars. ”
“They do?”
“They’re always a conversation-starter. ”
“I just bet they are. ” Briar only half stifled her smile as she added, “Except, come to think of it, I don’t believe we’ve ever heard any stories about your scars. I assume you have some, somewhere. ”
Cly tried not to look at her and mostly failed, his gaze darting back and forth between the morbid sight of Zeke’s mangled leg and the petite, curly-haired object of his truer interest. “None of mine are very interesting. ”
“I find that difficult to believe,” she pressed. Her eyes followed him as he shuffled from foot to foot.
“Captain,” Mercy Lynch said sharply. “You’re standing in my light. Am I going to have to send you errand-running like your junior crew member?”
“Um—”
Before he could form a smarter reply, the nurse declared, “All of y’all, this is silly. I don’t need an audience, and neither does my patient. Everybody out, except you, Miz Wilkes, if you’d care to stay and look after him. ”
“Funny thing is, I don’t care to,” she said. She brought the pants over to Zeke, who stretched out his hand and took them. “I’m glad he’s all right, and I’m glad you’re here to take care of him—but I’m still none too pleased with him, and anyway I don’t think he needs the comforting. ”
“I could use a shot of whiskey,” Zeke tried, because hope springs eternal.
“You could use a boot to the rear end, but you’re not going to get that, either. Yet. ”
Mercy said, “I’m sorry I don’t have any ether or anything. I know this doesn’t feel very good. ”
“It’s not that bad,” Zeke fibbed.
“You’re a liar. Still, I wish I could give you something for the pain. I think I’ll put that at number one on my wish list, Captain. ”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You offered to make a supply run, and I’m telling you about a supply I could use. ”
“Oh. Sure. Just put it down on paper, and I’ll take it with me when I leave. ”
“You’re leaving right now,” she reminded him. “But come back in an hour. I’ll have him finished up by then, and I’ll start considering my inventory. Now, what’s everyone standing around for? Didn’t I ask for peace and quiet?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Swakhammer said to his daughter with exaggerated deference. “I’ll pick up my sorry old bones and be on my way. ”
Captain Cly stood aside to let Swakhammer pass, which also allowed Briar to slip out underneath his arm on her way back to the door. He stopped her by saying her name the way he always did. “Hey, Wilkes. ”
“Cly?”
