surprise, he chuckled again. âDonât worry, Frannie. Iâve come to discover that I shouldnât expect much from you. You have a tendency to surprise me.â
Against her will . . . or maybe because of his frankness, she smiled.
L uke turned out to be an easy companion. He didnât say much. Instead, he encouraged her to close both eyes and relax. A nurse came in to take her blood pressure and to tell her that the plastic surgeon for eyes was on his way.
When they were alone again, he leaned closer. âYou okay?â
âTruth?â
âAlways.â
âNo. Iâm frightened. I donât want to be blind, and Iâm not too excited about getting stitches around my eye neither. And my face hurts.â
âThatâs to be expected. Do you want me to see if theyâll give you more medicine for the pain?â
â Nee. I need to be strong. I donât want to be in a greater daze than I am right now.â
âThat makes sense. Iâve always greeted doctors with a mix of anticipation and fear.â
Just then two doctors and a nurse came into their little cubicle.
âFrannie? Iâm Dr. Carlson and this is Dr. Arthur. Weâre going to look at your eye, okay?â
She nodded.
As they crowded around her, she did her best to lie still.
But she felt the shakes start, so much so that she knew everyone in the room was aware of it.
âAre you in pain?â Dr. Carlson asked.
âSome,â she murmured. In truth, she was so stunned by the unexpected events, she wasnât completely sure how she felt.
âDo you want some more pain medicine?â
She didnât know. Werenât all medicines bad? But if the doctors asked her to take them, then she must need them, right? âIâm just afraid of what youâre going to do,â she said, hating that her voice was trembling.
Then, to her surprise, Luke took her hand. âItâs okay, Frannie. You donât need to make any decisions right now at all. Iâll stay right here with you.â
And though it wasnât in her nature to accept help, Frannie found herself linking his fingers between hers and exhaling.
She needed someone to clutch and lean on. To calm her nerves. And Luke did seem more than willing to accept her burdens.
âIâve got you, Frannie,â he whispered.
And truly . . . right then and there, she felt like he did.
âStay as still as you possibly can,â Dr. Carlson ordered as he and the other physician bent close and peered into her eye.
The light felt blinding. Her vision blurred.
And she was so very glad that she couldnât see what was happening.
Chapter 4
âI never agreed with Mamm and Daed searching through the drawers and cabinets in our rooms. Everyone needs some privacy, I think. But Mamm said she only looked through my things because sheâd gone through Perryâs.â
D EBORAH B ORNTRAGER
D espite the rumors that were buzzing around their tight-knit community, Deborah Borntrager still loved her brother. Sure, Perry had made some bad decisions. Heâd gotten mixed up with the wrong kind of people. Sometimes, too, he could be terribly mean, almost spiteful with his sharp words and temper.
Sometimes heâd even been that way with family members who cared about him.
But everyone made mistakes, right? Deborah knew she did. She knew she was still making mistakes.
She comforted herself with that thought every morning when she said her prayers. With each sunrise, sheâd get down on her knees and reach out to the Lord. Then, in the quiet of her room, sheâd talk to Jesus about Perryâs good points. Even the ones that Perry had seemed to have forgotten about. Perry had never been one for self-reflection.
Next, sheâd pray for the Lord to help everyone in their community to forgive Perry. Heâd caused so much hurt by his lies and anger, and it was becoming mighty apparent that
Back in the Saddle (v5.0)