“I’ve an idea.”
“You’ve no idea.”
Fire flashed in her eyes and for a moment he thought she’d argue. “I’m not a schoolgirl, and I can assure you that even the city has its share of evil men.”
A part of him hoped she would fight with him. He wanted to fight. Wanted to dispel the excess energy.
“Hey, Matthias,” Holden said. “I’m going to take the dog out behind the barn.”
Matthias tore his gaze from Abby. He looked down at the dog that lay in the dirt. What a waste.
“I’ll take her,” he said.
Just then the dog whimpered and Quinn squirmed his hand out of Abby’s. “Abby, the dog isn’t dead.”
Tommy wiggled out of her arms and followed his brother.
Abby followed the boys. “Boys, stay back. The dog is injured and will bite if you get close.”
Holden knelt next to the animal. “She’s not doing too well.”
“We don’t want to hurt her,” Quinn said.
Abby knelt next to the dog. Gently, she rubbed its head. The dog opened its eyes for a moment then closed them again. “But she doesn’t know that. She only knows that she hurts and that she’s scared.”
“I’ll take her away,” Holden said, his voice grave. “No sense in letting it suffer.”
Matthias nodded.
For the boys’ sake, both men were careful not to say that they planned to shoot the animal to take it out of its misery.
Abby read the intent in his eyes. “Can’t we try and save it?” she whispered.
Quinn looked up at his father, his eyes filled with tears. “Can’t we save her?”
Matthias rubbed his hand on the dog’s head. The dog lifted her head and licked his hand. Damn, but he felt helpless. “I don’t know what to do for her, son.”
Abby smoothed her hands over the dog’s body. She lay still until Abby touched her back haunch. “Let me have a look at her.”
Matthias would have argued if not for the look of hope in his sons’ eyes. Feeling like he owed it to the boys to try, he gingerly lifted the dog and rolled it over. The dog yelped and growled but didn’t snap.
Abby studied the dog’s leg. “Her leg is broken. There’s no doubt about that. But I don’t see any other injuries. Collier shot at the dog but he may not have hit it.”
“A broken leg is fixable.”
Matthias tapped his finger against his knee. “I’ve set broken legs before.”
“The dog will have to take it easy for a couple of months,” Abby said. “Mrs. Clements has been feeding her and her pups scraps for weeks. She’ll look after her.”
Matthias nodded. He still had his doubts. This was a hard land and the weak didn’t survive, but for now he was willing to give it a try. “Let’s get her over to the livery. We can set the leg there and then find a quiet spot where she could rest.”
He lifted the dog again and headed toward the barn, with Abby and the boys on his heels. The inside of the barn was cool and shaded and he carried the dog to a soft pile of hay.
Abby found two large sticks outside the barn and hurried toward him. “This should do.” She knelt down and tore a strip of her petticoat off. “And you can tie them with this.”
He accepted the strips. “You boys stand back. I’ve got to set the dog’s leg and she’s not going to like it one bit.”
“Is it gonna hurt?” Tommy said.
“Yes it is, son.”
Tommy popped his thumb in his mouth and held on to Abby’s skirt. The boy had grown so attached to her.
Matthias ran his hand over the dog’s leg. He could feel the break in the thigh. It felt clean, but there was just no telling. “Abby, hold the dog’s head.”
Without a word, she positioned herself at the dog’s head and gently wrapped her hands around its snout. “Ready.”
He spoke soothingly to the dog and then without warning snapped the bone in place. The dog jerked. The boys screamed. Abby steady, never loosening her hold once.
Mathias quickly positioned the two wood sticks on the leg and tied them into place. He looked up at Abby. “Okay, let go.”
She released the dog, who started growling as she sat up on her uninjured haunch. Then barking and growling more she hobbled over to a dark corner and sat down.
“What do we do now?” Quinn said.
Abby wiped her hands on her skirt. “For now, we’ll just get her a bit of water and then we’ll just leave her be. Later tonight, maybe we can bring her a bone to chew on.”
“Is she gonna be okay, Abby?” Tommy said.
“I think she just might. She just needs time to heal now.”