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LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
July 27, 1869
Polly hurried to the door and opened it wide, revealing nothing but the nearly bare wheat fields stretching to the horizon. The trail to town was a line worn into the earth, unbroken by any travelers as far as she could see. Good Lord, where is he? Theo needs help now, she thought.
“It’s still going to be a while,” Johanna called from the parlor. “Even riding full-out both ways, it’ll be at least half an hour before they get here.”
“He might not....” Polly started to speak, but her voice died away as she thought about what she was saying. She had just been about to say that Theo might not have half an hour, but the thought was too terrible to release into the air, as if speaking it aloud would jinx him where he lay. She went back to the parlor and knelt alongside the sofa. “Half an hour is a long time to wait,” she finally said as she grasped Theo’s hand. He didn’t respond.
Her husband was a handsome man even in these circumstances. She reached out to smooth his sandy blond hair, only gingerly touching him where she could feel the bump growing larger, and she caressed his cheek, cupping his strong jaw in her palm. He had a day of stubble on him, and though she always complained about how it tickled her when they kissed, she couldn’t think of a thing she wanted more than for him to be awake and all right, tickling her with as many kisses as he wanted.
It was so strange to see him like this, weak and unresponsive, when he was so very unlike this in his normal life. It was just last night, in fact, that he’d kept her up until all hours, tossing her around in bed like she was a feather, doing things to her that made her blush even now, just thinking about it. Weak just wasn’t a word she associated with him.
Theo had the strong, lean form of a man who spent all day working out in the fields, a laugh that could rattle the dishes in the sideboard, and eyes as rich and warm as mahogany. Eyes that she hoped to see again, but there was a secret fear already growing within her that she had seen them for the last time. Head injuries were nothing to be taken lightly, and as Johanna had pointed out, the doctor was far away. Polly let out a sob.
Her neighbor was at her side immediately. “Let’s not worry too much just yet,” Johanna said, helping Polly to her feet and giving her a tight hug. “If we don’t even know what happened to him, we can’t begin to guess how things are going to turn out.”
Polly took a handkerchief from her sleeve and dabbed at her eyes. “You’re right,” she said. “Of course you’re right. I’m just scared.”
“I would be too,” Johanna said. “Heck, I am scared. But I’m right here with you.”
Polly took Johanna’s hand tightly. “Thank you,” she said. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
Johanna steered her to one of the armchairs opposite the sofa. “Knowing you, I have a feeling you still would have managed somehow,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t know how you got Theo in here in the first place. When I was with child, I was entirely useless for the whole nine months. Just ask Nelson.”
Polly gave her a faint smile and rubbed her belly. “I’m not sure how I did it myself,” she said. “It all happened so fast.” Now that she was sitting down and had a moment to think about it, she was stunned at how quickly things had changed. Two hours ago it was a beautiful day, she thought. Now I’m living in a nightmare.
She had been scrubbing dishes at the sink and glanced out the window to see Theo coming home. Everything looked wrong, though. He had ridden out a short while earlier, saying he was going to inspect the fence at the west end of the field. Half an hour later here he was, returning to the house on foot, his horse nowhere to be seen. Theo had his right hand raised, pressed to the back of his head, and as he walked he stumbled and weaved from side to side. If he had been anybody else, she would have guessed that he was drunk.
She quickly dried her hands and went out to meet him. His eyes were unfocused and he could not meet her gaze; she wasn’t even sure that he’d actually seen her. She grabbed him by the shoulders to steady him. “Theo, what’s wrong?” she asked, trying to keep the alarm out of her voice.
“Head hurts,” was all he said. His stare swung from side to side until, as if by chance, he spied the front door and started ahead. “Gotta lie down.”
“All right, let’s get you inside,” she said, reaching for his elbow. Her fingers closed on air instead of his arm, however, because at that moment Theo crumpled like a withered cornhusk and fell to the earth in a heap.
“Theo!” Polly tried to rouse him, slapping him lightly on the cheek, then harder. He was out. She knelt in the dirt and pulled him to her, cradling his head in her hands, and it was then that she really felt a chill grow within. There was a bump on the back of his head; she could feel his flesh swelling and stiffening, and when she turned his head to sift through his hair, she could see a large red scrape. He had hit something, or something had hit him. Hard.
“Lord, help me,” she murmured as she felt goosebumps cover her arms. She gently laid him on the ground and then got to her feet and looked to the east. The Deere farm was right next to theirs, and she frequently walked over to visit Johanna, but she didn’t even know if they were home right now. I hope they’re not in town or anything, she thought. Regardless, I can’t leave Theo in the sun like this anyway.
Her husband was far too heavy for her to lift, even when she wasn’t encumbered with a belly like she had now, but she was able to take his wrists and drag him into the house. Once in the parlor, she wrestled him up to the sofa and arranged him as comfortably as she could. All the while that she was pulling him around like a pig carcass, he made nary a sound, and that was what scared her more than anything else.
Polly hurried over to the Deere place and fortunately found them at home; while Nelson went for the doctor straight away, Johanna returned to the house with Polly to help out. Not that there was much to do. Theo didn’t move, didn’t groan, didn’t so much as sigh during all the time that the women watched him. More than once, Polly put her head to his chest, as much to hear his heart as to be closer to him.
“I’m sure he’ll be up and around in no time,” Johanna said, though her restless pacing back and forth seemed to belie her optimism. “Who knows, he might be doing all this just so he can get some rest, what with the year we’ve been having.”
Polly gave her another weak smile. “I wouldn’t put that past him,” she said. The winter wheat had come in like never before, but along with it, a rash of grasshoppers. Theo had been working harder than she’d ever seen him. Now that the harvest was nearly finished, Polly had been hoping to see a bit more of her husband; she just hadn’t imagined that it might be in a sickbed.
She felt a wave of panic race through her. She sometimes wondered what she would do without Theo, and she tossed around ideas in her head, judging the merits of each without worrying about any of them overmuch. Now that he was hurt, she realized that she really had no idea at all what she would do if it turned out to be serious. It was terrifying, and although she dearly loved the man lying in front of her, she couldn’t look at him like this. Not now.
“I’m going to make some tea,” Polly said abruptly, then turned on her heel and walked out of the room. She had to fight her urge to run.
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Johanna called.
Polly barely heard her as she used a ladle to fill the teakettle. She didn’t really want any tea, but she needed to distract herself with something, to give herself a mindless task or she was afraid that she would collapse in a fit of nerves.
She tried to put everything else out of her thoughts as she revived the fire and set the kettle to boil. It’s not going to help anything if I get hysterical, she thought. In fact, right now there’s probably only one thing I can do that will help.
She glanced over her shoulder. She could see the sleeve of Johanna’s dress as she sat there in the parlor, watching over Theo. Polly clasped her hands and bowed her head.
Dear Lord. If we’ve ever needed your help, it’s now, she thought. You’ve always given us your love and protection, and Theo really needs that today. Please give him the strength to get through this. Send him back to us.
She felt a now-familiar tremble in her belly. The baby had been kicking for weeks now, and the thought that she had a child inside her normally filled her with joy. Today it only reminded her how very much was riding on a healthy father and husband. She suppressed another sob as she poured the hot water over the tea. I’ve got to be strong now, she thought, placing a hand atop her belly. Especially now.
“Johanna.”
It was only a single word, but it filled Polly with a burst of hope. Theo’s voice, while weak and raspy compared to his normal baritone, had never sounded better. She nearly dropped the teapot when she realized that he’d spoken, and she rushed out of the kitchen.
There in the parlor, Johanna was standing at Theo’s side, her grin as broad as the sofa. “Look who’s awake,” she said as Polly stepped into the room.
Theo was still lying down, but he had propped himself up on one elbow and he was watching the women with half-opened eyes.
“Oh, thank God,” Polly said. “You had us so worried. Do you remember what happened?”
He looked around the parlor, as if he had just now realized where he was. “How did I get here?”
“When you got home, you collapsed outside. I had to bring you in here myself,” Polly said.
His gaze, still unsteady, slid to her and his brow furrowed. “You brought me in?”
“Sure did,” Polly said. “I dragged you like a sack of potatoes.”
Theo reached back and felt the bump on the back of his head. “Well, I don’t know what happened, but my head hurts something fierce,” he said.
“You came back without your horse. I wonder if you got thrown or something,” Polly said. “In any case, you had some kind of accident, but the doctor should be here soon. He’ll get you checked out.”
Theo nodded and let his head fall back to the pillow. While he watched them, his frown deepened.
“Can I get you anything?” Polly asked. “Do you want some water or something?”
“No, I’m fine,” he said. “Aside from the bump.”
Polly nodded and knelt alongside the sofa. “I’m so relieved,” she said, taking his hand in hers. “You don’t know how worried I was. I was already thinking about all these terrible things. Just hearing you speak puts me a lot more at ease, though.” She leaned close, lay one hand against his cheek and stared into those beautiful deep eyes. “You’ve got to get better real soon,” she said. “The baby and I aren’t going to let you just lay around, so don’t get used to this.” She kissed him then, ignoring the tickly whiskers and simply enjoying the feel of his lips against her own.
When she leaned back, he was staring at her with the same frown he’d had before. “Don’t take this wrong,” he said. “That was nice, real nice. But who are you?”