Mail Order Bride: Westward Christmas Novel (Montana Mail Order Brides, Book 11) by Linda Bridey Page B

stay back.  Joe set about quieting the place down along with Sammi and Reckless’ assistance.  Ben checked Wendell’s breathing, but there was no respiration.  He pushed Wendell’s arms above his head and began chest compressions.  He counted off sixteen per minute and kept checking Wendell’s breathing after each minute. 
    “Come on, Wendell!” Ben said.  “You have to wake up, ole boy.”  He continued with the chest compressions, willing Wendell to start breathing again.  But, by the time fifteen minutes had gone by, Ben knew it was useless to continue.  He rested back on his haunches and shook his head. 
    Immediately, Sammi and Reckless started moving people out the door as Jake came over to Wendell and knelt by his friend’s lifeless form.  Joe joined him and rested his hand on Wendell’s shoulder.  Neither man spoke.  They couldn’t have if they’d tried.  Seth, Jamie, Luke, and Rebecca also gathered around their close friend and piano player. 
    Only Ben kept from crying.  He couldn’t afford to give in to his grief right then.  He had to gather himself and get Wendell to the undertaker’s.  Wendell’s only family were the people surrounding him at that moment, so there was no one else to notify. 
    Ben drew on his physician’s detachment and asked, “Seth, do you have one of your teams here?”
    Seth sniffed and said, “Yeah.”
    “May I use it to get Wendell to Briggs’ place?” Ben said.
    Seth nodded and said, “I’ll go pull it around to the back.”  His footsteps were heavy as he left the stage.  Maddie joined him and took his hand.  Seth gripped it tightly and walked out the door with her.
     
     

Chapter Nine
     
                  Ben and Marcus handled the deaths of their patients much differently.  Marcus felt each loss deeply and was known for shedding tears easily.  Ben withdrew into himself for several days, sometimes. He went about his job and talked to people, but there was no spark to him, no real emotion in his eyes. 
                  Marcus had learned to leave him alone and let him deal with it in his own way.  The fact that Wendell had been a close friend of Ben’s made it even worse.  Marcus understood this all too well.  He’d lost some good friends over the years, both white and Lakota, and each death was a blow to him.
                  The day after Wendell’s death, Ben sat at his desk staring into space when Marcus came in and sat down.  He eyed Ben but didn’t speak.  Sometimes the best way to offer support was to just sit quietly with someone.  He opened a medical journal he’d been reading and started marking off a section he wanted Mike to read.
                  Ben never looked at him, never acknowledged his presence.  He sat with his elbows resting on the desk, eyes downcast.  Marcus swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat and cursed his sensitivity again.  He fought back tears and turned back to his journal to distract himself. 
                  There was a soft knock at the door and Marcus looked up to see Sasha standing there.  Marcus offered her a small smile and waved her into the office.  She came forward, returned Marcus’ smile and then turned her attention to Ben. She arched an eyebrow at Marcus, who shook his head.
                  “Ben?” Sasha said softly.
                  He didn’t react.
                  Sasha went closer and put her hand under his chin and made him look at her.  She had been worried about Ben and saw that he was in tremendous pain.  She wanted nothing more than to comfort him.  She smoothed his hair away from his brow and smiled at him a little. 
                  “Ben, I’m so sorry,” she said, and kissed his forehead.
                  Marcus watched, expecting Ben to rebuff Sasha.  He was shocked when Ben threw his arms around Sasha’s waist and held on to her.