Christmas Kisses Collection. Louise Allen

During one of their rests he’d looked at her leg. It was more inflamed than before. Walking hadn’t helped.

      It hurt him to see her in pain. Yet she still didn’t complain.

      “Chance, I’m sorry I got us into this and now I’m holding us up.”

      “For starters, you didn’t get us into this. I agreed to see the boy’s father. I knew the risks. That’s all on me. As for your leg, yes, you should have told me sooner but there isn’t much more we could have done. You didn’t get bitten on purpose. So enough of that kind of talk.”

      “My, you are being all noble. But, then, that’s who you are.”

      She made the statement sound as if she knew few people who were noble and admired him for it. He liked having Ellen think he was someone special.

      By noon, he had to walk beside her while she leaned on him in order for her to move. Each time her injured leg touched the ground she winced. They had stopped again to rest when Chance said, “I’m going to have to carry you.”

      Thankfully the land had flattened out. The river was wider and slower, letting him know that were getting close to the coast.

      Ellen shook her head. “How long would you last, doing that in this heat? Leave me and go for help.”

      “What?” She’d been terrified when he been gone for only minutes. He couldn’t leave her with a dangerously high fever out in the jungle alone. “No way. We’re in this together.”

      “I could never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me.”

      Chance cupped her face. “I think that’s my line. Now, let’s not talk about it any more. We’re going to try you riding on my back for a while.”

      “Okay, but you let me have the packs.”

      He removed them and helped her on with them.

      “Okay, you ready?” He squatted so she could reach around his neck.

      She did so. Her heat seeped through his shirt. He wrapped his arms under her thighs and lifted her on his back as he stood. Chance started down the path. It wasn’t an easy trek but it was far better than seeing Ellen’s misery. They made it further than Chance had thought they would before he had to rest. Ellen could hardly keep her eyes open she was so consumed by fever. He had to find help soon or she would be in real danger of having lasting side effects.

      “It’s time to go again.” She offered little help getting on his back. The fever was taking her energy.

      Again Chance trudged down the path. There wasn’t a dry stitch of clothes on either one of them. Sweat poured from where their bodies met. He leaned forward so that Ellen rested on his back more than held on. She’d long ago become heavier and her arms more relaxed. Had she passed out?

      The river now stretched out more like a placid lake. High grass grew on each side of the path. The jungle was far off to the sides, affording them little protection. The only plan Chance had for them finding cover was to go into the grass and lie down, hoping they weren’t seen. He’d reached the point that he needed someone to see them. It would be an opportunity to get help for Ellen.

      With an amount of relief he hadn’t known it was possible to feel, he heard the sounds of life carried over the water. There must be a village close by. He took Ellen to a spot far enough off the path that he believed she would be safe. He then eased her from his back and to the ground. There was no argument. She was unconscious. At least she wasn’t feeling any pain.

      He removed the packs and placed his under her head. Checking her pulse, he was glad to find that it was strong but she burned with fever. He pulled a bottle out and poured a few drops of water into her mouth. Watching her swallow, he gave her some more. He then drank a mouthful, leaving the bottle beside her in case she woke.

      Kissing her on the forehead, he headed back to the path at almost a run. He hated leaving Ellen by herself but at least she was unaware he was doing so. That way she wouldn’t fear being left alone.

      When he reached the river he continued his pace along the path. After a couple of turns he came to a village of stilted homes built out over the water. These were much nicer dwellings constructed of finer material than those he had seen before. Still small, they appeared as if they might have more than one room.

      Boats were tied below a number of them. Maybe he could find someone to take him and Ellen downriver. He continued running. A couple of children played in a bare spot at the bottom of a ladder to one of the huts. They chattered when they saw him and a woman stepped out onto the porch. Raising a hand to her forehead as if blocking the sun, she watched him approach.

      Chance slowed his pace to a jog. He didn’t want to scare away any aid he might find. “I need help,” he called in Spanish. “A woman is sick.”

      A couple of other villagers exited their huts.

      “I’m a doctor. I need to borrow a boat.”

      A young man joined the children as if in protective mode.

      Chance stopped before he got too close to the first hut. “I have a sick woman with me. We need to get to Saba. I can pay for the boat. I’m Dr. Chance Freeman. I work with the Traveling Clinic out of La Ceiba.”

      Hopefully they had heard of the clinic. Maybe someone they knew had come to it.

      The young man spoke up. “I know of it.”

      “Can you help me?” There was desperation in every word. Chance would get down on his knees and beg if he had to. All his fear was for Ellen. Her life. Had she woken? Found herself alone? He’d promised not to leave her again, yet he had. “Will you take me downriver to Saba?”

      The young man looked around at the women then back at Chance. “I have no boat.”

      “What about these?” Chance waved his hand in the direction of the boats under the huts.

      “Not mine.”

      The woman standing above them said, “Take my husband’s. But you better return it.”

      “Come,” the young man said, and headed toward the boat under the hut.

      He didn’t have to ask Chance twice. The man untied the boat and held it. The craft reminded Chance of a canoe with a flat bottom. There were no benches to sit on so he took a seat on the planks. The vessel seemed water-worthy enough but at this point it didn’t matter. He needed to get back to Ellen. The man pushed away from shore, using a long-handled narrow paddle.

      “We must go upstream, two bends in the path.” Chance pointed in the direction he wanted them to go.

      The man nodded and pushed against the bottom of the shallow riverbed, turning the boat so that Chance sat in the front. They headed upstream. Keeping the boat close to the shore, the man maneuvered them toward Ellen’s hiding place. Even with the regular flap-flap of the water against the hull, they weren’t moving fast enough for Chance. Worry circled like a wild animal in him.

      “Here.” Chance pointed to the shore. “Stop here.”

      The man directed the boat to land and it had hardly hit when Chance stepped out. He didn’t wait on the man before he found the path along the river and backtracked to where Ellen waited. Running through the grass, he found her where he had left her. She looked as if she hadn’t moved.

      He went down beside her and lifted her head to his thigh. “Sweetheart. Wake up.”

      “You left me.”

      Great. If he didn’t already feel horrible.

      “I did but I’m back now. I found a boat and someone to take us to Saba.”

      “Good. I’m looking forward to sleeping in a bed with you.”

      “That sounds wonderful to me too but right now we need to get you to a hospital.”

      The young man arrived