He’d paused only a moment in the entry to get his bearings, but it was long enough for her words to wash over him. And what a gift they had been. Buoyed by her faith, he strode through the parlor area and located the surgery in a back room. He laid Adam down on the table and proceeded to wash his hands with soap and water thanks to an ewer and basin left on the counter of a medical cabinet. Soft footsteps behind him announced Mollie’s arrival.“In my bag is an instrument kit,” he stated. “Open it and set it on the counter while I cut away the rest of Adam’s trouser leg.”The girl made a perfect nurse, following his instructions, anticipating his needs, all without gabbing his ear off with pointless questions. After scrubbing her own hands clean, she set out his instruments, sprayed them with the carbolic acid solution, and then handed them to him the moment he requested them. In short order, they had the wound clean and sutured.“Look in the cabinets for some bandages.” Jacob nodded toward the glass-doored shelves along the wall as he washed the last of the blood from his hands.“Linen or cotton?”
