She looked at him through one swollen eye and he wanted to put his fist through the wall. Taking a deep breath, he pulled away from her. “I’ll see to the kids, then I’ll be back. It will just take a minute.”
***
Rachel twisted her fingers together as Rusty left the house. She really should go home, but with the beating she’d taken to the face, she was afraid she would terrify the children. And truth be known, she wanted someone strong to stay with her all night. Never in her entire life had she been as afraid as she’d been when she’d been dragged off into the woods.
The horror of what would have happened if Rusty had not come onto the scene caused her stomach to cramp. She had been about to be raped by three men. Her shivers increased until she felt as though she would never feel warm and safe again.
Even though merely a few minutes, it seemed as if Rusty had been gone for hours. Every creaking board, every male voice coming from the bunkhouse had her breaking into a sweat. She gripped her middle and rocked back and forth, a keening sound she barely recognized coming from deep inside her.
Her head jerked up as the front door swung open. Rusty strode in, his demeanor stiff and angry. One look at him, his strength, his caring, the anxiety in his eyes, made her burst into sobs once again.
He sat on the sofa and pulled her into his arms. After a few minutes of rubbing her back and murmuring unintelligible words in her ear, her strained muscles began to relax. It didn’t matter what he said. The sound of his voice, warm and soothing, did a lot to calm her down.
“Are Will and Amelia all right?”
“Yes. Will was already asleep and I told Amelia you were injured in a fall and would stay the night with me. She assured me she could take good care of Will.”
Rachel nodded and wiped her nose on the sleeve of Rusty’s shirt. “Oh, sorry.”
“That’s all right. I think we should get you cleaned up and into bed.” He stood and released her legs. She was able to stand, but only with him holding her tightly around the waist.
“I need a bath. I feel so dirty.”
“I’ll pull the tub into the kitchen and fill it up. That will give you some privacy.”
Using a large pot, he filled the tub with warm water, thankful the house had indoor plumbing. He took a new bar of soap and cloth from the closet and set them on a small stool next to the tub. When he entered the living room, Rachel still sat curled up on the sofa. The hunted animal look in her eyes tore him up.
“Come on, honey. The bath is ready.” With his arm around her shoulders, he led her to the kitchen. “Can you undress yourself?”
“Yes. But I want this dressed burned.”
“I’ll fetch one of my clean shirts for you to wear until I can get you another dress. I don’t think I should go back to your house for one now. We don’t want to take a chance on waking Will.”
“No! I don’t want Will to see me like this.”
“He won’t, honey. Just get undressed and climb into the tub. You’ll feel better.” He left her, softly closing the door.
Rachel eased out of Rusty’s shirt, inhaling the comforting smell coming from the clean cotton. Her eyes filled once more when she noted the front of her dress torn apart. Tears leaked down her bruised face as she removed all her clothes, tossing them into a pile to be thrown away.
All the muscles in her body hurt as she eased into the tub. The warm water felt wonderful as she sat down and leaned her head against the high metal rim. More tears ran down her cheeks. She scrubbed her skin until it was raw, but still didn’t feel clean. She dunked her head under the water, then lathered her hair and dunked again.
“Honey, are you finish
ed?”
“Yes.” She tried to stand and her foot slid out from under her, jarring her entire body as she landed on her backside, water sloshing out of the tub.
“What happened? Are you all right?”
Rachel covered her face with her hands and sobbed. What was the matter with her? She was never so weepy before. The door to the kitchen opened slowly, and Rusty stuck his head through. “Do you need help?”
She shook her head and wiped tears from her face, wincing where her fingers touched the bruise on her cheek. And cried harder.
Rusty moved into the room and held out a towel. “Here, stand up, if you can, and I’ll wrap the towel around you.”
“I can’t,” she wailed.
“Can’t what?”