Saving the Gunslinger

Chapter Fifty-Two

Chapter Fifty-Two

Pain is what brought Eleanor to consciousness. It felt as if her head were in a vice and someone continued to tighten it. With a moan, she brought her hand to her head and winced at the lump she felt there. Slowly her eyes fluttered open. The room was dark but she recognized the shadows she saw. She was in her old bedroom at the doc's house.

But why was she here?

Thinking and concentrating were hard things to accomplish when your head felt as if a blacksmith was inside hammering away but she forced herself to push past the pain and attempt to remember why she was here.

She'd been at the ranch with Samantha. She'd been sewing on the porch. That's when men had arrived....

"Samantha?!" she cried out as she sat bolt upright in bed and her head swam forcing her to slam her eyes closed once again.

"Ell?" Timothy's voice broke through the darkness and the bed dipped as he climbed onto it and took her face gently in his hands. "Everything's okay, Ell. I'm here and everything's okay."

Eleanor let out a sob and threw herself against his strong chest as Timothy wrapped himself around her and held her tight. She could hear him whispering softly against her hair as she soaked his dusty blue shirt with tears.

"Samantha?" she finally gasped. "Is Sam okay?"

"She's fine," he promised, pressing a kiss to her brow. She looked up at him in the darkness, her eyes adjusting to the lack of light and she was certain that his green eyes were bright with tears. Lifting a hand, Eleanor caressed his cheek and felt the moisture there as he leaned into her touch.

"What happened, Ell?"

She shivered, making no attempt to remove herself from warmth of his embrace. "It was so fast. The men seemed to come out of nowhere. If Samantha hadn't insisted I keep that rifle near me... I shot one of them but the other grabbed me and he said he was going to..." Eleanor froze. She laid a hand over her pregnant belly and felt fear grip her heart. Had that man...

She tried to pull away from Timothy. She already didn't deserve him after the number of men who had touched her body—if she had been unfaithful to her husband even by force....

"Where the hell are you going?" Timothy grumbled, not loosening his hold. "I'm not ready to let go of you yet." Eleanor bit her lip hard and thought the tension didn't leave her body, she did stop attempting to move away from him. Timothy pressed a tender kiss to her temple. "Talk to me, Eleanor."

She took a deep breath. She had to tell him. He deserved the truth. She'd done enough running away from Timothy in their short time together and it wasn't fair for her to do more now. "I think he may have.. That man wanted to force me and he knocked me unconscious and I can't remember if he did..."

"He didn't," Timothy's quiet assurance interrupted her. "He didn't get a chance to before Samantha chased him off."

Relief washed through her like a river. More tears gathered in Eleanor's eyes and Tim's fingertips gently wiped them away when they fell down her cheeks. "Are you sure?" she whispered.

"Positive. The doc talked to Zachary who had already heard everything from Samantha. And when Doctor Reynolds came in here to check on you and Creed, he told me the story."

"Creed?" Eleanor frowned. "The puppy was hurt?"

Timothy smoothed her hair. "He was shot in the leg but he'll make a full recovery." He chuckled. "And he's rather happy with his warm bed in the floor and the endless supply of meaty bones Catherine's been supplying him with."