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Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
Mary walked beside Joel, wondering where he was leading her. He had given her the information about bathing in the river, and she was still trying to wrap her head around it. She had gone river bathing before, but it was when she was a kid. Although she was slightly comforted that he would be there for company and safety, it did not make her feel ultimately better.
Truth be told, if she did not have to wash the grime off her body, she would have declined the offer.
“You might have to watch your steps as you come further,” Joel told her,” the grasses are wet and slippery when you get closer to the river.”
Okay, another thing to watch out for, Mary noted.
“Just one question. How deep is the river? Is the current going to carry me away? Do I have to be worried about things that might bite or sting me? I feel like I have to get all my bases covered,”
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CHAPTER 22Joel yawned loudly, his hands outstretched as he walked out of his room the following day. He had, after the night, gone to bed and had surprisingly slept well considering the day they had.The sun was coming out from behind the clouds, but his thoughts were already occupied.He had woken up, and the first thing he thought about was the previous day, the events of how he and Mary had worked together to treat the injured miners, the brief moment they had shared at the river, and the lightness that had filled the air despite the tension they had begun on. He had been surprised at the turn of events, he admitted to himself.When they had gotten into the buggy, the air had hummed with tension and words unsaid. Then Mary had broken the spell when she talked about needing a bath. He chuckled to himself as he remembered how scared she was to walk into the river, scared that something in the water woul
After the War. Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23Mary walked alongside Joel as they strolled the road to the clinic. It was their first day as real partners, and she was pretty eager to see how it would go. Oh, she knew it would include a whole ton of arguments because Joel would not give her full rein or trust her judgment as she asked him to. He was that stubborn. Well, she was just as stubborn-headed and relatively determined to get her way.But she was happy because things had turned out differently. She had woken up this morning with heaviness in her heart. She had concluded that he would tell her to be on her way, now that the worst had been taken care of. She hadn’t wanted that. Taking care of the patients yesterday- no matter how hectic it had been, had ignited something in her that she thought had gone to sleep. Her zeal had been reawakened with renewed vigor, and all she wanted to do was stay back and help.She had also pr
After the War. Chapter 24
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