Free Lover's Gold by Kat Martin

you down. You can rest a little inside.” Gingerly she helped him out of the wagon, then handed him his crutch. He smiled down at her, and the smile lightened his already pale eyes.
    “You’re a pretty handy lady to have around,” he said. This time his eyes were alight with mischief. It was clear his mind still lingered on their kiss, and Elaina fought to keep from blushing again. She reached behind him, searched beneath the seat, and grabbed her small medicine satchel, which had ridden next to the .45 caliber revolver Morgan insisted on bringing.
    As they walked toward the house, Elaina noticed the carefully tended flower beds where lovely daffodils bloomed in startling contrast to their barren surroundings. Morgan propped the crutch beneath his uninjured arm and kept his weight on his one good leg.
    Once inside, Mary Colson fetched Morgan a cup of hot coffee. She grinned broadly as he took his first sip, noting the grimace he tried to hide. “Most o’ ye city folk don’t much like the taste o’ chicory, but it makes a bit o’ coffee go a lot farther.”
    “It’s fine, Mrs. Colson. Thank you. I think I’ve dug my share of chicory root in the forest, though I can’t remember where.”
    Elaina supposed anything was possible. Shrugging her shoulders, she went to look after little Johnny. The boy’s face was blotchy, his skin hot and damp, but he recognized her and smiled broadly. It was hard to tell where his freckles left off and the blotches began.
    “How are you feeling?” she asked.
    “I’m awful hot and kinda dizzylike.”
    Elaina pulled back the covers and looked at the boy’s narrow chest. The boy’s skin looked pale and his neck a little flushed.
    “Mary, has he taken any bad chills lately? This looks like a simple fever of some sort. Nothing dangerous, I don’t think, but it’s always best to take no chances.” She glanced down and began to fish through her medicine bag.
    “Well, he did take a tumble into the mill pond. Slipped on a rock, or some such cock-and-bull story. Ye know how boys are.” She tried to look at her son sternly, but it was easy to see the love she felt for the redheaded boy. “Come home soaked to the skin, he did. S’pose that could be what done it?”
    “More than likely.” Elaina handed a small glass vial to Mary Colson. “This is birch oil. Good for quieting the fever. The dosage is a teaspoonful in a cup of boiling water. Just keep him warm and let him get some rest. I’ll stop by again in a couple of days. If he isn’t better, we’ll have Doc Willowford take a look at him.” Elaina wrote down the dosage and directions and gave them to Mary Colson.
    Mary seemed relieved. “We can’t afford to pay Doc’s fees. Can’t really afford for Johnny here to be off work, but gettin’ ’im well is the most important thing. We surely thank ye for comin’ all this way.”
    “Will I be well next week, Miss McAllister?” Johnny’s eyes took on an excited glow. “Pa says if I git well quick he’ll take me to the circus. There’s one comin’ to Hazleton. You ever been to a circus?”
    Elaina smiled, remembering a time when she’d begged her mother to let her go, but her mother said the circus was dirty and smelly and not the kind of place for a young lady of her upbringing.
    “No, I’m afraid I haven’t,” Elaina told him, “but I’ve read all about them, and I’ve always wanted to go. You take your medicine like your mama says, and I’ll bet you’ll be fine in just a few days.” She ran her fingers through his silky red hair and Johnny grinned up at her.
    “Thanks for coinin’,” he said. “I was awfully worried ’bout missin’ that circus.”
    “It was my pleasure.” She turned her attention to Mary. “Now, how about a cup of that coffee?”
    Dan Morgan watched the two women move from the boy’s bedside to the small table in the area that served as the kitchen. He reclined in a thumb-backed rocker, since the boy was stretched out on the