Free Desperate (Harris Trilogy Book One) by Teresa Greene Page A

would take a drink every time he finished with a patient. The drunker he became the more men died. 
    On the other hand Doctor Greene was a wonder. He looked disheveled and had to be exhausted but he kept going. He was a great doctor and Kate was extremely impressed with his abilities. The injured soldiers were lucky if Doctor Jacob Greene treated them.

Chapter Four
     
    David arrived at his quarters l ooking forward to seeing Kate. He was a little worried when she was not in his tent waiting for him. Perhaps she was still at the field hospital where the injured soldiers were taken for medical treatment. He mounted his tired horse to go get her and bring her back to his quarters.
    When David arrived at the field hospital, it was mayhem. The two doctors were working frantically to save as many lives of the injured soldiers as they could. Other young soldiers were assisting as needed, but he saw no sign of Kate.
    As he moved along the many cots of injured and dying soldiers, his mind circled around his doubts of continuing the war. Was the war worth all the death? Some of the injured soldiers were clinging to life by a tenuous hold. It hurt David to see them in such agony. He heard moaning caused by the painful injuries, and could smell the sickly odor of infection.
    Finally, he saw Kate wearing her once white uniform shirt and trousers, now covered with the red , crimson blood of the injured and dying soldiers. He could see she was so exhausted she could hardly stand on her tired feet. 
    Taking a few moments, he watched her move among the soldier s giving aid anyway she could. The injured thought a young man tended them. They had no idea a beautiful woman was seeing to their needs. He realized her heart was a pretty as her face. She never wavered through all the mayhem of the moans, pain and blood. 
    Even though she appeared extremely tired, she smiled when she saw him. David tucked his arm into hers and led her out of the tent to the surrounding dark forest where they could have some privacy.
    Her face was masked by the darkness. He reached out and ran a finger over her lips. He whispered, “Kate it’s time to call it a night. Let’s go get some rest tonight. You can come back in the morning. The patients will still be here.” He did not have the heart to tell her there would probably be hundreds more arriving tomorrow since the battle was far from over. He and his men were scheduled to be back on the battle field at dawn. It was possible the battle could last for days.
    Outside his quarters, David ordered a soldier to bring some warm water. He opened the flap to his tent and waited for her to enter. Now that they were alone, he gripped her arms and asked, “Are you okay?”
    Tears shimmered in her eyes but she fought to keep them at bay. “It has been a horrible day. I can’t begin to explain the pain I feel.” She touched a finger to his dirty cheek. “I guess it hasn’t been any better for you.”
    “Let’s don’t discuss the horrors we have experienced today. Let’s pretend none of it happened .” Just knowing tomorrow would be a repeat of today, his stomach was one hard knot.
    “Captain Harris.”
    David stepped outside and took the bucket of water from the soldier. “Thank you, son.”
    He s at the bucket in front of Kate and rummaged through a bag on his cot until he found a bar of soap and a clean cloth. Water splashed over the rim when he dropped the soap and cloth in the bucket. His fingers moved to the buttons on her shirt.
    B loody hands wrapped around his fingers in protest. Color tinted her perfect cheeks. “I can give myself a bath. It is not proper for you to see me naked.” 
    “I promise it is okay fo r me to give you a bath, Kate. You can relax because I am too tired to do anything more.” Her expression still wary, she dropped her hands to her side.
    David pulled the bloody shirt away, and then the binding concealing he r breasts. The stiff fabric had chaffed her skin and it was raw.