Annie Oakley's Arc

Chapter 21 of 25

Annie tried to sit up an hour later. The room tilted. She sank back into the couch and pressed a hand to her stomach. It was hard to the touch, and hot, and it would not stop turning over on itself. "I want to go home," she said. Lainey looked at her from the low table. "Can you stand?" Annie put her feet on the floor. She got halfway up before the pain doubled her. She sat down hard and reached for the bin. "You're not riding," Lainey said. "Not like this." Temperance came in from the kitchen with a mug. "Broth. Small sips." Annie took the mug in both hands. The steam smelled like salt and onion. She sipped. It went down warm. She waited. Her stomach pulled tight, then heaved. She got the bin up in time. The broth came back with a stripe of yellow bile in it. She coughed and cried at the same time. Temperance set the mug down and knelt by the couch. "Lie back. I want to feel your belly." Annie lay back. Temperance pressed low and to the side. Annie yelped and jerked her knees up. More bile came up into the bin. Temperance sat back on her heels. She looked at Lainey. "That's not a bug." "No," Lainey said. "That's an ulcer. Maybe two. Her belly's swollen." "Stress does it," Temperance said. "The doctor warned her." Annie turned her face into the cushion. "I ate this morning. I did what he said." "I believe you," Lainey said. "You've still been scared every day for weeks. That eats a stomach too." Temperance stood. "She's not going anywhere tonight. She stays here." Lainey nodded once. "I'll ride back and tell Misty. I'll bring her things." Temperance went to the kitchen and came back with a tall glass of fizzy water. She set it in Annie's hands. "Small sips. The bubbles settle it. My sister used to keep it by the bed." Annie sipped. She waited for her stomach to fight it. It didn't. She sipped again. The tight band across her belly loosened a hair. Not gone. Just less. "Better?" Temperance asked. "A little." "Then keep drinking." Lainey stood and pulled her hat off the peg. She bent and kissed the top of Annie's head. "I'll be back before dark. You listen to Temperance." "I will." The door shut behind her. Annie heard the horse move off the boards and onto grass. She held the glass with both hands and watched the bubbles climb. Temperance sat down on the low table again. "You're staying under this roof until your belly's quiet. However long that takes." Annie nodded. The song she owed, the route ahead, the mining camp, the sister's town — all of it stepped back one pace. Only the glass in her hands was close. She took another sip and it stayed down.