A Groom For Ruby. Emma Miller

over his. He gasped and let his eyes fall shut again. Where was he? He must be dreaming. He felt as if he were spinning and there was a throbbing ache in the back of his head. But he wanted to see those warm brown eyes again... He had to know if she was real or just his imagination.

      “Hiram, wake up. You have to wake up,” A melodic, feminine voice urged. “Please don’t die.” He felt her hands on his chest. “You can’t die.”

      Hiram? Hiram was dying? Joseph drew in a deep breath and forced his eyes open again. What had happened to Hiram? And why was he dreaming about Sara’s hired man? Joseph parted his lips and tried to speak, but soft fingertips pressed against them.

      “Hush, don’t try to talk. Save your strength.”

      Save his strength? What for? He started to try to sit up, but another wave of dizziness came over him.

      A cool hand pressed against his forehead. “Everything’s going to be all right,” the voice said. But who was this lovely girl? And why was she so concerned about him?

      “Who...who are you?” he managed to whisper.

      “I’m Ruby. It’s nice to meet you, Hiram.”

      What beautiful eyes she had. He’d never seen such beautiful eyes. They were a warm brown, almost the color of cinnamon, streaked with darker ribbons of walnut. They radiated compassion. He could feel himself melting under her gaze.

      And her voice...

      “Hiram?” he repeated thickly. “I’m not Hiram.”

      “Oh, Sara,” the lovely girl said, speaking over her shoulder. “He’s hurt bad. He can’t remember his own name.”

      Sara’s chuckle cut through the fog in Joseph’s head like a fresh breeze.

      “That’s not Hiram,” Sara exclaimed. “This is one of my clients, Joseph Brenneman.” The matchmaker came to stand over him.

      Her voice faded and then came back to him. Joseph wasn’t certain if only a moment had passed or an hour. But it was still raining. “I’ve called Hannah’s daughter, Grace,” the matchmaker said, holding an umbrella over him. “Emergency cell phone came in handy. You’ve got quite a bump there. Hit it on the edge of the brick flowerbed. I think you need to go into town for stitches. The immediate care clinic should be open. Be cheaper and faster than the hospital. I don’t think you need an emergency room.” This last statement seemed to be as much for herself as him.

      “I need stitches?” Joseph reached back to gingerly touch his head, but all he could feel was cloth.

      “Yes, you need stitches,” the sweet voice chimed in. “Don’t fuss with it. The towel is to stop the bleeding.”

      He blinked, trying to focus and then she was there again, the beautiful woman. “You’re Ruby?” he asked. Where had she come from? Could this be the one Ellie had said that Sara had gone to pick up at the bus station? And then in bits and pieces, he remembered going out into the rain to help the women out of the buggy. The girl with the sweet voice had been getting down and... Had she fallen? She must have. Apparently, somehow, they’d fallen together. He stared at her, then lowered his gaze, overcome with shyness.

      “I’m so sorry,” she said. “It’s all my fault.”

      “Ne.” He slowly sat up, holding the wet towel against the back of his head. He wondered where his hat was. It wasn’t proper for him to meet this lovely girl without his head covered. “I...I should have...have caught you.” Joseph tried to remember what Ellie had said about her. Ruby. Even her name was special. Had Ellie said Ruby was coming to marry someone? Was she already spoken for?

      Not that it would matter. Ruby would think him a hopeless woodenhead now, a klutz who’d slipped and broken his skull.

      “Here’s Grace now,” Sara said. “We were in luck. She was just next door. She’ll drive you into Dover and get you patched up.” And then to Ruby, Sara explained, “Grace is my cousin’s daughter. She’s Mennonite and drives a car.”

      “I don’t think I need to see a doctor,” Joseph protested. “It’s just a little bump on the head.” He raised his gaze to Ruby again.

      Sara scoffed. “Nonsense. You cracked your head like a melon. You need more stitches than I’d like to put in you. And you’re not to worry about the cost. You fell in my yard, and I’ll pay for everything.”

      “Do you feel well enough to walk?” Grace appeared at his side, taking his arm.

      “I can walk,” Joseph said.

      “I’m going with him.” Ruby grabbed his other arm to help him to his feet. “It’s the least I can do.”

      Sara looked at her. “Are you certain? Not sure how long the wait will be.”

      “Ne, I want to,” Ruby insisted.

      “Well, then, go and change your dress and stockings. There’s no need for you to go out with your things wet and dirty,” Sara replied. “You look as if you’ve been swimming in a mud puddle.”

      “I’ll hurry,” Ruby said.

      Walking to Grace’s motor vehicle took more effort than Joseph expected. Every step he took was a shaky one. His stomach churned and his head throbbed. He felt foolish with the towel on his head. As they made their way to the black SUV, he remembered his horse and buggy. He’d come to see Sara, and his horse was still harnessed and tied in her shed. “My horse,” he began, but Sara patted his hand.

      “Don’t worry. Hiram will take care of him. Plenty of room in my barn.”

      “He’s wet,” Joseph said.

      “I said you’re not to worry.” She peered into his face. “Hiram can rub him down and give him a nice ration of oats.”

      Joseph slid into the back seat and leaned back, gratefully resting his aching head. He thought he only closed his eyes for a moment but then the door on the other side opened and Ruby climbed in. “It will be all right,” she said soothingly.

      A short time later, they arrived at the urgent care facility and Joseph, Sara and Ruby got out of the car.

      “I’ll call you when we need a ride home,” Sara told Grace. “No telling how long a wait we’ll have.” She turned to Joseph as they went through the automatic doors at the entrance. “You two just find a seat in the waiting room. I’ll check you in. Hopefully, they’ll see you soon.”

      But the walk-in facility was busy and it was obvious he wasn’t going to see a doctor right away. Instead, Ruby guided him to a corner of the crowded room while Sara checked him in. Ruby found two empty seats side by side and proceeded to convince another waiting patient and his mother into moving to the far wall so that Sara could sit with her and Joseph. As Joseph watched Ruby, he couldn’t help but be surprised a young woman could be so assertive with Englishers in a strange town.

      “You’ll be able to see the television better from over there,” Ruby assured the woman who was wearing a tight Superman T-shirt, cut-off denim shorts and cowboy boots.

      Her child, a stout, red-faced boy of about eight, didn’t appear to be too sick to Joseph. In one hand the boy clutched a can of soda, in the other a bag of chips. But he was whining that he was hungry and needed a candy bar from the vending machine. The kid’s head was shaved except for a standing ridge down the center, two inches high and a thin braid hanging down the back of his dirty shirt.

      “You’ll be closer to the snacks, as well,” Ruby said with a cheery smile as she scooped up the woman’s rain jacket and handed it to her. The boy’s mother reluctantly gathered her belongings and moved toward the other vacant seats. “Terrible, isn’t it, how you have to wait?” Ruby went on. “We’re so grateful that you were kind enough to allow our friend to sit with us.”

      “I want a candy bar!” the boy whined.

      “All