Page 67 of Training Rain
After a few hours of sleep, she felt more herself. She wanted to be angry with Jess for stretching the terms of his promise, but how could she when he only wanted to protect her? It was dangerous to heal a person when you didn’t know the cause of their injury. She had taken a risk.
Troy Breckenridge’s injuries would take time to heal. She had mended what she could, but the things his father had inflicted upon him were monstrous. It would take a lifetime to heal all the damage that had been done. She prayed to the Great Spirit that Troy was strong enough to overcome his past.
She had done all she could do and now, sitting by his bed she was helpless. All she could do was wait.
His eyes popped open as if he’d been awake for a while. The light blue was ringed with midnight and even with his pupils dilated from sleep, the contrast was startling.
“Where am I?”
“Nevada.”
“Bullshit.”
She laughed. “No. You’re in Nevada, not far from Las Vegas.”
“You don’t look like a doctor. Who are you?”
“Rain Silver, I’m not a doctor. I’m a medicine woman and I’m the same as you.”
“No one is like me.”
“Do you remember the hospital, Troy?”
He sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. “Where’s my father?”
The door opened. Rain didn’t need to turn around to know that Jess had come in. She could feel his presence as if he was an extension of herself. Strange how their connection had grown.
Troy’s eyes widened. He stood up and crouched as if to defend himself.
“No one is going to hurt you here, Troy.”
His eyes narrowed. “If that were true, you wouldn’t have called in the muscle. Who is he, an orderly with a needle behind his back? I know the drill. Where’s my father? What does he want to know?”
In spite of Troy towering over her, Rain stayed in the chair and looked up at him. He’d been through so much it was no wonder he was filled with fear and doubt. “Your father is not here. If you want to be returned to him, I will arrange it. All I ask is that you give me a chance to explain who we are and why we pulled you out of the hospital. After that, if you want to go back to Virginia, we can have you back there this afternoon. I understand you’re a dowser. I’m sure you can tell that my friend and I are psychic.”
Troy looked from Rain to Jess and kept his gaze fixed on the other man. Jess moved his hands from behind his back and opened the palms toward the younger man, showing that they were free of hypodermic needles or anything else. Troy sat on the edge of the bed. “If I want to walk out that door, you won’t stop me?”
“You’re not a prisoner. I would prefer it if you stayed and talked to me, but if you feel you must leave…” Rain stood up and moved to one side. Jess opened the door, revealing the living area of Adianca’s log cabin. Dark wood and homey furnishings painted a picture of comfort. It must not have been what Troy expected, his face registered the shock.
Adianca’s heavily wrinkled face peeked around the doorway. The rest of her followed and she grinned. “You look much better, son.” She held out her hand. “Come. I have food for you. You must want something to eat. I don’t know what they fed you back east, but I have steak and potatoes cooking in the kitchen.”
Rain had wanted to talk to Troy. They needed information and they had been waiting days for him to wake up. Yet she saw the wisdom of Adianca’s approach. Her mentor’s methods were gentler where needed. This boy had been abused. He deserved a bit of coddling.
With only a slight hesitation, Troy wrapped his enormous hand around the healer’s frail one and walked into the main part of the cabin. The warm smells of home cooking filled the air and even Rain’s stomach was not immune. She smiled at Jess and they followed the pair out of the bedroom.
Kane stood by the front door with his arms crossed over his chest, looking annoyed. “Shaman, we don’t have time for this.”
Adianca’s expression remained impassive. “When you are imprisoned for the better part of your life, we shall see if you want to talk before you’ve had a good meal, little Lakeland.”
He grumbled something about wishing she wouldn’t call him that and leaned against the wall silently.
The amount of food consumed by Troy Breckenridge had to be some kind of record. Rain and Jess ate with him but then sat and watched while he continued to devour every morsel of food for the next hour and a half.
Finally, he leaned back in the chair and looked up from the table. He looked down at his clothes. The hospital attire was basically pajamas, green-and-white-striped bottoms and a light-green tee-shirt. “Do you have any clothes that would fit me?”
“Jon has gone to find you some.” Adianca sat next to him.
Jess stood and started to clear the table so Rain followed suit and helped him.
