Hank grabbed a kitchen towel for Lily, and then let Max inside. He stepped over to peak at Kris, too. She hadn’t stirred. He stepped closer and felt her forehead. Then he returned to the table and sat down next to Lily.
“She’s burning up. Look, I think we should wake her and give her the medicine. You’ll see what I mean when she wakes up, and you’ll have to decide for yourself. But based on what I’ve seen and heard, I believe her story.”
Lily nodded cautiously, “Hank, if all you say is true, are we going to be in big trouble with Dr. Zell? I don’t want to lose this job. I like living and working here on the ranch, you know?”
Hank was thoughtful for a few moments.
“Look, Lily, I want you to know, I’ll protect you all I can. I’ll keep your knowledge of all this a secret, too. I don’t want you to get into any trouble, should any trouble come.”
Lily reached out and gave Hank’s hand a squeeze, “Okay, Hank, I believe you. I’ll go prepare her medicine.”
“Just one moment. There is something else I must tell you. I’m not who you think I am, either,” continued Hank. “I’m not really a cowboy, I’m actually an undercover agent working for the Treasury Department.”
Lily sat and stared at him for several moments before responding.
“I don’t know which is harder to believe, the story of this girl or that you aren’t a cowboy but an undercover agent. But, then you probably think I’m just a chef, but actually I’m FBI,” said Lily.
Now it was Hank’s turn to look puzzled.
“FBI?”
“Yes, we’ve long suspected Dr. Zell of illegalities, but she’s very coy and hard to pin down exactly what she’s up to. When your wife passed we decided to see if we could get an agent on site, here at the ranch. I volunteered.”
Max sat on Hank’s foot, oblivious to the bombshells that had been dropped tonight. Hank sipped his coffee, nodding thoughtfully. Then he returned to the couch and slipped his arm under Kris. He spoke to her softly as he helped her sit up, “Kris, come on girl, you need to wake up and take some medicine. Come on, little one, it will help you feel better.”
Lily stepped close with a mug of warm water, “I stirred a packet of medicine into this. It’s good for fevers.”
Kris began to wake. “Please let me live, please let me live,” she pleaded softly.
“Of course, of course, you’re safe here, Kris. It’s me, Hank, remember? Look, there’s nothing to worry about. Take this, drink it slowly,” said Hank, as he handed her the mug.
But she was too weak to hold it, so Hank sat next to her and held her upright with one arm and gave her sips of medicine with the other. Lily marveled at this rough and tough cowboy-turned-government-agent could be so gentle. Then the blanket slipped from Kris’ head.
“Oh, Hank!” Lily gasped.
“Yeah, no joke,” said Hank.
In a sign of solidarity, Max jumped onto the couch and sat next to Kris. Then he leaned against her, hoping for a scratch, but she was too weak.
Hank continued administering the medicine for Kris. After several minutes she was able to hold herself up, and finish the drink. Hank introduced Lily to her.
“Lily is the ranch cook. Well, you don’t know what a ranch is, but Lily prepares the food for everyone here. Just wait until you are stronger, and you can try her tamales. You won’t believe how good the food is on Earth,” he told her.
After a while Kris felt strong enough to walk, so Lily took her to bathe and change into clean clothes. While the ladies were busy Hank made some soup and fetched fresh bedding for the couch. He also sent a text to Juan’s GPS unit, “Rom 15:11”.
Eventually, Lily and Kris emerged from the bathroom. Kris was practically swimming in a borrowed set of Lilly’s leggings and sweatshirt. Her eyes were brighter than before, but she was still weak in her movements, and didn’t have the stamina to stand for long. Hank sat her on the couch and brought her a small cup of soup. She managed to eat a few bites. Lily asked if she’d ever had something like this before and she said no. She also said she thought it needed salt. Hank agreed.
“It is the low sodium kind. I don’t like it either, but it’s all we had,” he confessed to Lily in private.
After Kris had eaten a little, and had some more tea, she was ready to sleep again. Hank got her snuggled in with the fresh blankets and he and Lily returned to the kitchen table.
“It’s 3am, what are we going to do in the morning?” asked Lily.
“We?” asked Hank. “Are you saying to want to help more?”
Lilly nodded.
“You know, you could walk away now, and claim ignorance. Nobody would blame you,” continued Hank.
“No, I’ve seen her, I can’t walk away now.”
“You’re a brave woman, Lily. I’m glad to have your help.”
“Oh, I don’t think I’m brave. I’m scared, Hank. I don’t know what the future will bring. But I’ve met her, I’ve cared for her, I even had to explain her body to her, like a mom. No, I can’t turn aside and abandon her now. That would be wrong. If I can help save her, I will, no matter the cost. Also, I have a duty to get to the bottom of this…whatever this is. But tell me, why is a U.S. Treasury agent undercover at a remote ranch?”
“Yeah, makes no sense, right? But Dr. Zell has several large, military contracts, and there have been several irregularities with what she’s…or her companies…are paid to do and what’s actually been done. We think she’s been using the government monies for something else, but until tonight, we didn’t know what she was hiding, only that she had to be hiding something.”
Romans 15:1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.