Chapter 10: BARE

The barn doors were open.

Lily’s heart pounded with that singular sentence, grateful for it as she raced towards the barn. If the doors were not open, she wouldn’t have seen the fire until it had burned down the entire barn and killing the animals in it. In the meantime, the fire was confined to a small portion of the barn, and from her calculations, manageable.

She reached the farm, hurrying to release the animals. They could afford to lose the barn, but not the animals, and if she didn’t hurry, she’d be too late. Unlatching every stall and throwing the doors wide open, she stepped to the side, giving room for the frightened animals to run out.

She reached up, pulling her wet hair into a tight bun atop her head. Her attention moved back to the situation at hand, as her eyes searched frantically for a solution. The fire seemed to spread, consuming every hay in its path. If she didn’t hurry, the roof would cave in on her and the entire barn would be consumed. She couldn’t put out the fire all by herself, she thought, but she could stop it from spreading!

Quickly, her eyes scanned the barn, coming to rest on a pitchfork that rested against the door. Releasing a sigh of relief, she hurried to it and picked it up. She swept the hay away from the fire, knowing it acted as fuel. Her face burned with heat as she got close to the fire and used the pitchfork to sweep the hay aside. To her relief, it worked. She stepped aside and watched as the fire burned in one place, unable to move further.

Throwing the pitchfork to the side, she removed the bucket from the hook and raced back outside in search of water, finding the small pool the rain had created in a hold Lenny and Millie had dug by the house that afternoon. She filled the bucket with muddy water and carried it back into the barn, grateful to find that the fire had died down tremendously.

Three muddy buckets of water later, she quenched the fire.

It seemed like nearly a decade before Lily was finally making her way into the house, drenched from head to toe in rain and mud. She forced air through her parched throat, her fingers cramping as she dumped the bucket in the mud.

Turning to race into the building, her leg muscles protesting her actions as she reached the room and removed the sheets on the bed. She placed them on the chair and threw open her trunk. Digging into it, she found the blanket that had belonged to her parents; it was one of the few things she hadn’t gotten rid of in New York.

For a while, she knelt there, hugging the blanket against herself as if by doing so, she would be given one last chance to hold her parents in her arms. But she wasn’t. She was instead reminded of the unconscious man who awaited her downstairs, and she rose to her feet and hurriedly made her way to him.

His body trembled as she knelt by his side. Mud stained his clothes, clinging to his pale body. She knew she had to take his clothes off, and the thought made her bite down on her lower lip, embarrassment setting her face on fire. For a second, she considered leaving his clothes on and covering him with the blanket, but she knew it would be pointless—she needed to take his clothes off.

She reached for his wet shirt, nervously undoing his buttons until his bare chest laid before her. Tossing his shirt to the side, she stared at his dislocated shoulder, cringing at the blueness of his skin.

“Raymond…” The words barely made it past her lips as she reached forward, her trembling fingers settling on his shoulder. She needed to snap the bone back to its proper position. The thought alone frightened her, but she knew what was required of her, if she didn’t want the situation to get worse. With that in mind, she wrapped her arms around his arm, pulled her eyelids shut, heaved a breath and, clamping down on her lip, she pulled.

Raymond’s loud growl rang through the entire building for several seconds. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. She opened her eyes to find him lying still on the floor, barely breathing.

Tears filled her eyes as she stared at him, wishing she could ease his pain, yet knowing she couldn’t. She reached for the zip of his pants, undoing it and sliding it off. She didn’t dare look at him, for she feared the warmth that was now consuming her body. She instead released a soft sigh and pulled the blanket over his bare body.

***

Raymond’s eyelids parted slowly until the image of the ceiling became clear. He tried to rise, pain slicing up his arm muscles as he did. He gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to yell as he pushed himself to a sitting position. Something slipped down his chest, leaving it exposed to the cool air. He glanced down to find his chest exposed, the sheet and blanket falling to his waist, and doing very little to hide the fact that he was naked underneath.

Confused, he raised his eyes to find Lily seated in a rocking chair overlooking his makeshift cot on the floor.

Heat immediately burned Raymond’s face at the sight of her. What happened?! His mind screamed, fearful of the thought that something had happened between them. Surely, nothing could have happened! He couldn’t have consummated their marriage, could he? It was a question Raymond couldn’t answer. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t remember anything.

He turned his attention back to Lily, who was slouched on the chair, her head falling off the side. There was no doubt in his mind that she would wake up with cramps the next morning. He wondered what she was doing sleeping on the chair, rather than in the room upstairs as his gaze traveled down the length of her, a soft breath drifting from his lips when he found she was fully dressed.

He tried to rise to his feet, the sheets falling to the floor as he did, leaving him standing there completely bare. Pain rewarded his efforts were rewarded, forcing his lips to tear open as he let out a loud groan.

Lily jumped to her feet. “Raymond?!” She rushed to his side and took hold of his arm, silently urging him to lie back down. He complied.

“My arm…” he murmured, his lips barely forming the words.

He felt Lily pull the sheets over his body, and he immediately remembered that he had been standing naked before her only a few seconds ago. His face burned with embarrassment.

Lily lifted his head up slightly and placed something soft underneath.

“You need to rest.” She tried to rise, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her. It wasn’t until she let out a pained gasp that he realized he was holding on too tightly.

“What happened?” he breathed, releasing his hold on her.

“You dislocated your shoulder and nearly burned down the barn!” she snapped, rising to her feet and straightening. “Don’t rise or it’ll get worse. I will make breakfast and ride to town in search of a doctor. Don’t move until I return.” She sounded upset—furious, even.

Her outburst stirred his memory, reminding him of the incident that had left him injured. He remembered the fire he had started in the barn before crawling out and collapsing on the back porch.

Lily saved my life! The thought filled him with remorse. His cruelty toward her hadn’t stopped her from helping him.

He opened his mouth to voice his appreciation, but found it impossible to speak as pain clouded his mind, covering him like a heavy blanket until he could no longer fight the darkness.

He closed his eyes, giving in to the darkness.