Breathe Again

Chapter 18

Dottie laid Elliot down in his crib and began buttoning up her bodice as she straightened. Pulling his lightweight blanket up to his chest, she kissed his forehead before leaving.

She pushed the quilt door out of the way and crossed the loft to the staircase, but froze when she heard Sterling say below, "Did you see anything amiss while you were there? I can't believe I've been gone almost two weeks now."

"All the pine needles seemed to be in their proper place, and every pinecone was accounted for, but I'm not a regular to your neck of the woods, so I can't be certain," Ashfield answered.

The scrunching of hay underfoot marked their progress as they walked past the stairs, followed a few minutes later by Sterling asking, "Will here do?"

"Yep, just remove your shirt—or should I say, my shirt— and lie back if you will so I may take a look."

A few minutes passed before Ashfield said, "You really should have let me tend this burn sooner." There was a tense pause before he continued, "Was there a reason you left in such a hurry before I could see to your wound?"

Dottie's brow wrinkled in confusion. Had Sterling been burned? How had she not heard about it until now? Ashfield made it sound as though it was a relatively fresh injury, but the only recent fire she knew of was the one here. Did that mean he was here when their house was on fire?

She scoffed. It wasn't possible. Her mother would have told her if that were the case. Peering over the railing at the top of the stairs, Dottie found no sight of either man below.

Dottie bit her lip and slowly made her way down the stairs, hoping they wouldn't hear her skirts swishing against the treads.

Sterling glared up at Ashfield from where he lay atop a blanket on a short stack of hay bales. He was tempted to put his shirt back on and leave the barn.

He did not want to talk about the day of the fire, or what it dredged up within him. But after living with the man, Sterling had learned Ashfield was tenacious when it came to his patients and their care. He'd no doubt follow him around and pester him until he could ensure he was healed.

"I'm fine," Sterling grumbled, unwilling to say more on the subject.

Ashfield manipulated Sterling's left side and glanced up to meet his gaze, "Two weeks ago, this area was still infected. I should know. I cleaned out a significant amount of pus and dead tissue."

Sterling rolled his eyes and growled, "It's healed now." If this was how the examination was going to proceed, he was going to punch Ashfield in the face. Ashfield was poking at more than just a healing burn. Memories, far more painful than the wound, began swirling in his mind, dancing like the dust motes in the beams of sunshine streaming through the barn.

"From the looks of it, this was a serious burn," Ashfield continued, completely unaware of the turmoil roiling within Sterling. He palpated the area, pleased to find the skin was a great deal better than just last week. "An infection in something this size easily could have found you dead."

Sterling took a deep breath and tried to remain calm, "Last time I checked, I'm alive."

Ashfield took one look at the banked ire blazing in Sterling's eyes and knew he had pushed the man to too far. However, healing had just as much to do with the emotional wound created as the physical scar left behind.

He would not be doing his job if he focused solely on the visible wounds and did not try to help heal the man as a whole. Sterling was harboring pain that would slowly eat away at him until he was reduced to a bitter husk if it wasn't voiced and carefully dealt with. He liked the man too much to see that happen.