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.His dark eyes were filled with sadness as he watched the world ice over.He would be forced to remain where he was, in a strange bed, in a strange place, surrounded by strangers.Jamie tugged Jenny’s braid and led her into the office, where he picked up the book and flipped to the page where he had stopped the previous day.He pulled a chair close to the door of the infirmary and began to read.Jenny brought her chair over to face Jamie and see past him into the other room.She picked up her embroidery and went back to work, and when she felt that she had let enough time pass, she looked up to see glowing dark eyes watching her as Jamie read from the book.The wind rattled the windows, the sleet turned to snow, and the drifts piled up against the walls of the mission.In the infirmary, however, three people were carried to a tropical island by the sound of a rich young voice that brought the words to life.Jenny and Jamie had been hardly aware that Sister Mary Frances had joined them, picking up her knitting and taking a chair by the small stove, which crackled and blazed against the creeping cold.The three blinked like owls when the bell rang, announcing the dinner hour, and the nun went out to bring back a tray for her growing family.In his bed, Chase the Wind’s eyes searched the room, as if he had just awakened from a dream.Jamie stood and stretched, reaching his fingertips to the ceiling, then bending at the waist to touch the floor.Jenny picked up the poker and jabbed at the embers in the stove, then threw another chunk of wood in.Jamie went in to see if Chase the Wind needed anything, but he declined and Jamie promised to attend to him again before he went to bed.Sister Mary Frances returned with their dinner, and she stayed with the patient to help him with his meal while the twins ate in the office.After they were finished, Jamie helped the nun settle the young man for the night, then went off to his own bed.Sister Mary Frances left to take the dishes back to the kitchen.While she was gone, Jenny changed into her gown and stood in front of the stove, brushing out her hair while soaking up the heat before making a dash to her bed in the other room.She wondered if she should find another blanket for Chase the Wind and decided to mention it to Sister Mary Frances when she came back.She continued brushing out her hair, humming to herself all the while, until sparks flew from the ends when she pulled the brush through.She edged her backside as close to the heat as she dared, then made a run for her bed.Jenny pulled up short when she realized that Chase the Wind was standing at the end of his bed, his splinted leg held out stiffly beside him.Somehow he had released his leg from the rigging.He appeared to be dizzy; his hands were clutching the bed frame so tightly that his knuckles were white, and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut.“What are you doing?” Jenny asked.“I have to go to my mother.I need to send her to the spirit world.”Jenny stepped closer, trying to determine if he was truly awake or perhaps caught up in a continuing nightmare from his attack.“Your mother is already with your father,” she said as she took another step closer to him.She caught a flash of silver in his eyes as he looked at her, a spark of some kindred understanding.“She was with him as soon as her spirit left her body,” she said.“How can you know this?”Jenny stepped closer until she was standing right in front of him, and had to tilt her head up to see his face.She realized that he was the only person besides Jamie who was taller than she.“I know this because my father saw my mother’s spirit waiting for him when he was dying.He told me that she was waiting for him to join her, and his spirit left his body so he could be with her.”“He told you this when he was dying?”Jenny nodded, biting her lip to keep from crying at the memory of that awful day.She looked up into the dark eyes, which were suddenly filled with relief and gratitude, and saw the tense lines around the eyes fade.Suddenly he lost his balance, and tightened his grip on the bed frame.Jenny threw her arms around his waist, supporting him until he was able to back around and sit on the bed.She felt him trembling as he lowered himself, trying to keep the splinted leg from taking any of his weight.She waited until his body relaxed before she took her arms away.His own arm had become tangled in her hip-length hair, and as he tried to disentangle it, the ends flew up in all directions, still full of static from the brushing she had given it.Jenny finally just pulled it away with her hands, but some of it floated towards his arm, as if it didn’t want to be separated from him.Jenny quickly smoothed it down, then tied a knot in the whole mass and flipped it over her shoulder.“Are you all right?” she asked him when she finally felt that she had everything under control.He nodded.He seemed so weary he couldn’t even speak.“Lie back and I’ll fix your leg again,” she instructed.He did as he was told, and Jenny gently placed his leg in the brace and pulled it back up into traction.He watched her with his dark eyes, followed her with them as she went to her own bed.She bundled up into a ball once she was under the blankets, tucking her feet up into the tail of her gown.“Are you cold?” she asked.“I’m used to it.”“Good night”“Jenny?”“Yes?”“Thank you.”Sister Mary Frances returned to find both of them asleep.She placed extra blankets on both beds before she retired to her own small chamber.Outside, the wind continued to beat against the windows, and the snow piled up, drifting where the wind blew it until there was barely a dusting in some areas and the drifts were waist-high in others.Those travelers that had taken advantage of the few warm days just past regretted their foolishness as they looked for shelter from the elements.Those lucky enough to be inside snuggled deeper under their blankets and came closer to their fires, grateful for the comfort of those simple blessings.Jenny was dreaming.She knew she had to be because she saw her mother and father.The weather was warm, the sky blue, and she was in the middle of a beautiful pond, swimming without a stitch of clothing on
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