Blankets. Warmth.

  "Rain, go get some more blankets," she ordered. "Flower, run get my backpack. Hurry, kids!"

  The children almost bowled over Silver Eagle as they ran out the door. She watched the Indian cross the room and stare down at the purplish-black mass surrounding the two puncture marks on Stone's calf muscle. The wounds were criss-crossed with deep slashes, where Stone had evidently cut with his knife to try to suck out the venom. Silver Eagle pulled his hunting knife from its sheath and slit the leg of Stone's denims nearly to the crotch.

  "Rattler," he said in a worried voice. "A big one."

  Tess smoothed back Stone's matted hair, resisting the urge to cover him with her own body to combat the clammy coldness her palm encountered.

  "How can you tell?" she asked.

  "Coral snake—he would be dead now. Cottonmouth and copperhead do not get big enough to leave so big a bite. A big diamondback."

  "I hope you're right," she said grimly. "It makes a difference what kind of antivenin you use to treat different snakebites."

  "I am sure," Silver Eagle said.

  As soon as Flower and Rain raced back into the room, Tess grabbed her backpack.

  "Get the blankets on him, kids, and lower his legs now, so the venom doesn't seep upward with the blood," she said. "Rain, did you see the snake?"

  "No," Rain said in a strangled voice. He took a deep breath when Silver Eagle laid a hand on his shoulder. "Pa... Pa was getting some wood for the fire when I heard him yell. On the way home he told me it must've been a rattler, 'cause the brush pile was beside some rocks where they like to lay. But it got away before he saw it, and he didn't hear it rattle."

  "That's an old wives' tale," Tess murmured distractedly as she pulled the syringe from her snake bite kit. "Rattlesnakes don't always rattle in warning, especially if the snake was half asleep and Stone startled it."

  After scanning the directions in the kit, she grabbed a package from it and opened the lid to reveal a dozen glass vials, each filled with a powdery substance.

  "You have brought this medicine with you?" Silver Eagle asked.

  "Yes," she answered. "I took a class—got certified. I had to have a doctor write me a prescription so I could carry this with me when I went backpacking."

  She glanced worriedly at the shaman. "I'm... I'm supposed to make sure he's not allergic to this first, because the antivenin could hurt him worse than the snakebite if he is. But it's been so long since he was bitten, I'm afraid to wait any longer."

  Silver Eagle looked at Rain, and Rain turned his gaze heavenward. As soon as his grandson's eyes met his again, Silver Eagle spoke to Tess.

  "He is not what you said—allergic. Give him the medicine."

  Tess hesitated, turning her face toward him, a plea in her eyes. "How can you be sure? I could kill him."

  "I will do it, if you don't. You brought the medicine here when he needed it. It wouldn't be so if it were wrong."

  "But I'm not sure how much to use," Tess said with a sob. "It's meant to be used immediately. After a person's been affected for a while, it takes a larger dose."

  Silver Eagle gave an exasperated sigh and reached for the package. Almost as though something guided his hand, he picked out several vials and scooped them to one side. His hand hesitated a second, then he added two more vials, until eight of them lay loose on the bed.

  "These," he said, waving his hand over the vials.

  Something in the shaman's voice and steady gaze gave Tess back her confidence. "Take his pants off."

  While Silver Eagle removed Stone's denims, she grabbed the bottle of sterile water and drew a syringe full to mix with the powdered antivenin, handing each vial to Rain and murmuring for him to shake it. She then drew the vials of the mixture back into the syringe and pushed the plunger until a small stream of liquid spurted out, displacing the air in the needle.

  With a fairly steady hand, she inserted the needle into Stone's upper thigh and slowly depressed the plunger. After the last drop disappeared into his body, she removed the needle and grabbed a cotton ball from her kit to press over the small drop of blood that welled up on his leg.

  She knew it was her imagination, but a deep sense that she had done the right thing immediately engulfed her. She replaced the still usable items into the medicine kit before she settled beside Stone on the bed and pulled the blankets up around his neck.

  "It'll be a while before we know if it worked," she said, smoothing a stray curl from Stone's forehead. "I'll stay with him tonight."

  Rain and Flower hesitantly approached her, and she opened her arms to them. Gathering them close, she rocked them gently for a moment, making a wordless attempt at comfort.

  Her own terror and fear threatened to overwhelm her again, but she forced herself to think of the children. They had lost their parents within months of each other, and now the man around whom their world centered lay near death. Stone's words of a few days ago whispered in her mind: The children had lost so much already—she had to do everything in her power to bring Stone through this crisis.

  For the children's sake—and for her own. She loved Stone so terribly much.

  Flower pushed away first and put a hand on Rain's shaking shoulder. "We should get our chores done, Rain," she said quietly. "Pa won't like it if he wakes up and finds out we haven't done them."

  Rain gave a sniff, then hugged Tess's neck one last time. He glanced, embarrassed, at Silver Eagle when he stood. But the shaman smiled at Rain and nodded.

  "It is good to show you care, Rain Shadow. But your sister is right, and the time will pass faster if we do the work that needs to be done. I'll help you both in a minute."

  Rain and Flower slowly walked out of the bedroom, pausing at the door to look back at their father. The pain on their faces, mixed with their childish attempts at bravery, tore at Tess's heart. She forced a nod at them, hoping the gesture would ease just a little of their worry, although she was far from sure herself that Stone would live.

  So many things could still happen, she thought to herself as soon as the children disappeared, and she turned back to Stone. Shock had weakened that wonderfully strong body. Infection could set in. He could still have convulsions....

  "We will need the plants for the fever and the swelling in his leg," Silver Eagle said. "Rain and I will gather them and prepare them. And we will do a ceremony to drive out the evil spirit left behind by the snake."

  "Please," she said softly. "Do everything you can. We can't let him die. The children need him so much."

  "He will fight," Silver Eagle said. "He has many good reasons to live—the children's love—and yours."

  "Yes," she agreed without reservation. "If love can pull him through, he'll make it."

  Long after midnight, Tess still sat in the rocking chair Rain had brought in from the back porch for her. Stone's breathing was deep and steady now, as though he slept in a healing sleep rather than tortured unconsciousness. His thready pulse had evened out shortly after she had given him the injection, but he still hadn't opened his eyes.

  Rain slipped into the room, as quiet as a shadow.

  "You should be asleep, Rain," she murmured. "I promised I'd call you kids if your father got worse."

  "I can't sleep. Please, Tess. I want to stay, too."

  "Okay. Come here."

  Though he was a little large for her lap, she lifted the blanket she had tossed over herself when the evening cooled, and Rain sat down on her knee. She pulled him close and wrapped the blanket around them both, settling her chin on Rain's silky black hair when he snuggled into her neck.

  "Tess?" Rain asked in a hesitant voice. "Is... is Pa gonna live?"

  "I'm pretty sure he's going to make it now, Rain," she murmured soothingly, stroking his small arm. "He's a lot better than he was when you got him back here."

  "Then why hasn't he woken up?"

  "He's resting now, getting his strength back and fighting the snake's venom."

  "Oh."

  Rain snuggled just a hair closer to her and stifled a yawn. She touched a toe to the floor, and the chair rocked slightly. Long, quiet moments passed as she cuddled Rain close, breathing in his faint little-boy scent and enjoying holding him in her arms. Her eyes never left the bed, though, where Stone lay unmoving.

  "Tess?"

  Rain's voice was groggy, and she kept the chair rocking, hoping he would drop off into much-needed sleep.

  "What, Rain?" she whispered.

  "I was awfully scared. Men aren't supposed to be scared, are they?"

  "Rain, honey, I don't think men or women ever get over being scared at times. Especially when someone they love is in danger. But you should be very proud of yourself. You kept your head and got your pa back here, where we could help him. He might not have made it without you."

  "It seemed like it took us forever to get home."

  "I'm sure it did. It's funny, isn't it, how sometimes time flies by and you feel like you have to run to catch up to it. Other times, you almost want to push it to make it go faster."

  "Uh-huh. Did it go fast or slow when you came here to us, Tess?"

  "To tell the truth, I don't know, Rain. But I guess it must have been pretty fast, since it was about the same time in the day that I fell when I woke up here."

  "You must have been pretty surprised, huh?" Rain said with a slight chuckle.

  "You better believe it," she admitted. "And I was pretty scared, too. I'm just glad I landed here with you and your family, instead of someplace where I might have been in real danger."

  "The spirits probably brought you," Rain said with another yawn.

  "You mean, so I'd be here when your pa needed the snakebite medicine?" She shook her head slowly, Rain's hair stroking her cheek with the movement. "I'm not sure if I believe in your grandfather's Indian spirits, Rain, but a couple of weeks ago I didn't believe a person could travel through time, either. So your grandfather's right about one thing—there are lots of wonders in the world we don't understand."

  "Ummmm." Rain's eyelashes brushed her neck, and he relaxed in her hold. "But your spirits are white, Tess," he murmured just before he dropped into a deep sleep.

  She adjusted Rain to a more comfortable position in her arms and smiled down at him. That was a new idea—she had never read anywhere that any Indian religion believed in a division of spirits, white for white people and Indian for Indians.

  Sensing something different in the room, she glanced at the bed to see Stone's eyes open and centered on her. She gave a soft gasp of joy, and only the burden in her arms kept her from flinging herself onto the bed.

  "Stone, darling," she breathed. "Oh, God, we've been so frightened."

  "Is he too heavy for you to lift him over here beside me?" Stone asked softly. "I don't think I can help you."

  "Please don't even try. I think I can do it."

  Bracing her uninjured leg under her, she scooted to the edge of the rocking chair and managed to lay Rain on the bed without waking him. Stone stifled a groan and moved over, drawing Rain with him and slipping an arm under the boy's head.

  "Now you," he said to her. "There's room, and you've probably been sitting there all night."

  She hesitated, eyeing the space on the bed longingly. It didn't beckon her for sleep, though, as much as the thought of being so close to Stone.

  "Do you want something to eat or drink?" she asked. "Flower left some soup on the stove."

  "I just want you beside me, Tess," he murmured. "Please."

  She slipped into the bed without further protest and took Stone's hand when he held it out to lay her cheek against it. Their eyes met and clung, and she wrapped her fingers in his, drawing his hand to her mouth to kiss it.

  His thumb gently stroking her lip, Stone asked, "Is Flower all right?"

  "Uh-huh. And Silver Eagle's here. He came while Flower and I were having a picnic at the lake."

  "Sorry I missed the picnic." Stone slipped his thumb between her lips, and she gently nibbled at it. "Have you been eating right and drinking your milk?"

  "Um-hum." She watched Stone's eyes darken with emotion when she flicked her tongue around his callused thumb.

  Stone pulled his hand free and buried it in her hair. "I need you to kiss me, Tess," he whispered. "If you don't kiss me within the next few seconds, I feel like I'll never get well."

  "We can't have that, can we?" she whispered.

  Carefully, she leaned across Rain and covered Stone's mouth with her own. His lips parted in answer to hers, and she closed her eyes, glorying in the softness of his mouth and the certainty that he was out of danger. When their lips parted for breath, they murmured each other's name in unison, then sought each other's mouth again.

  "Wanna go for a stroll, Angie?" Michael asked. "Looks like things are fine here for a while."

  "Oh, that would be nice. It's a pretty night out under the stars."

  "Sure is. And I'm ready for some fresh air." He gave a brief bow, then motioned for her to precede him. When they both hovered over the cabin roof, they spread their wings wide and stretched to their full size.

  "Michael," she said, "you did a wonderful job in that crisis."

  "Aw, thanks, Angie. It's real nice of you to say that." He cocked his elbow and offered her his arm. "Shall we go?"

  She slipped her hand into his arm, and Michael took a step. The next second he tumbled down the roof end over end, and she swooped beneath him just before he reached the ground. Righting him, she drifted the last few feet with him.

  "Oh, dear," she murmured. "Are you all right?"

  "Danged robes!" he growled. A contemplative look came over his face, and he rubbed at his chin. "You know, we've pretty much got freedom as to what corporeal form we take on."

  "What do you mean?"

  He blinked his eyes, then stared down at his legs with a smile of satisfaction. He now wore a feathery white pair of pants, cuffed at his ankles.

  "Why, that looks very comfortable," she said.

  "Why don't you try it?"

  "Uh... no, that's all right. I like my robe."

  "Suit yourself."

  He held out his aim again, and she grasped it. He strolled up a set of invisible stairs, toward the star-strewn sky, and she willingly walked at his side.

  Nineteen

  "Get your butt back in that chair, Stone!" Tess called through the kitchen window.

  Stone glanced at the door behind him, half expecting to see Tess standing outlined behind the screen. When he realized her voice had come through the window—she must be standing at the dry sink, where she couldn't possibly see him—he frowned at Lonesome.

  "I've heard that women have eyes in the back of their head, boy," he said in a low voice. "But I sure as heck never knew they could see through walls."

  Lonesome pricked his ears when Rain and Silver Eagle emerged from the barn, Rain on Smoky and the shaman riding his pinto. After what Stone took as an apologetic look, the dog leaped to its feet and raced across the yard. Lonesome circled the horses and riders once, then loped ahead of them as Rain waved at Stone and kneed Smoky forward.

  Cursing the weakness that still lingered, Stone sat back in the rocking chair. He should be the one riding out to check on the cattle and fences. As a matter of fact, there were a thousand and one other things he should be doing—not the least of which was getting back out there and making another try for some of those wild horses. Now he even owed Doc Calder for his visit yesterday to check on the snakebite.

  He glanced at the garden, where Flower moved up a row of pole beans as she picked them and dropped them into the peck basket on her arm. He still hadn't been over to the Widow Brown's, either, and Flower's dress hung several inches above her ankles. Grudgingly, he admitted that the denims Tess now wore every day—ignoring any look of censure he gave her—would probably be a lot more comfortable for Flower to work in.

  Tess placed her hands on his shoulders, her thumbs massaging his tight muscles. "You're not used to sitting here and letting everyone else do the work, huh?" she asked.

  "I thought you could only see through walls," he said in a gruff voice. "I didn't know you could walk through them, too."

  "What's that mean?" She laughed.

  "It means I didn't even hear you come out onto the porch," he told her as he leaned back into the kneading strokes. "Um, that feels good."

  "You're supposed to be resting, not sitting here all tensed up because you can't get out there and work yourself to a frazzle."

  "Yeah. Well, the work won't go away. It'll just pile up, and there'll be more of it to do when I'm able to get back to it."

  He felt her fingers dig deeper into his shoulders.

  "Ouch! That hurts," he grumbled.

  "Then for heaven's sake, relax. Lean your head forward."

  He dropped his head onto his chest. After a second he closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Magic. She had magic in her fingers—magic to soothe his tense muscles, and magic that made him long for her beside him in his empty bed at night, so he could show her some sorcery of his own.

  But sorcery had a dark, unexplainable side, too—as unexplainable as a hole in time, through which the woman he loved had found her way to him. She could also leave him that way, at any time she chose. He tensed again at the thought, and Tess murmured her annoyance as she kneaded harder.

  After another moment or so her fingers left his neck, and Tess adjusted her crutches under her arms. She swung to the other rocking chair and sat down, reaching over and laying a hand on his.

  "The doctor said you could start walking around tomorrow, Stone. You have to let your body heal itself. If you do, by next week you'll be back to full strength."

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah," he grumbled. He rested his head against the back of the chair and loosened his grip on the arm to turn his hand over. Twining his fingers around hers, he held her palm against his.

  "And there will be another week's work piled up," he said with a sigh. "You and the kids can't do it all, not even with Silver Eagle's help."