The Prairie Doctor’s Bride

Chapter Seven

She woke with a start to the daylight streaming through the windowpanes and her cheek mashed against the table. Her entire body ached from sitting in the chair through the night.

Across from her, Doc Graham slept with his head cushioned by his arm. The other arm was stretched most of the way across the table. His dark hair, longer on top than on the sides, flopped over his face with just enough wave in it to make him appear boyish in his sleep. A coarse, dark stubble had grown on his jaw overnight.

She shook the remaining cobwebs from her mind, stood, stretched briefly and then crouched down to check on Tommy. His breathing was even and deep. He slept. Peacefully. She peeled back the cover over his feet to check his bandage. It still looked fresh. Why hadn’t the doc wanted to use her honey? Didn’t he know it was good for cuts and such? And Tommy’s cut was the biggest she’d ever seen. She’d make sure to add some when she changed the bandage later, after she returned from taking the doctor home. She put Tommy’s cover back on and stood.

The doc had done his part. Tommy was healing. The least she could do was offer him breakfast before taking him back to town. She sure didn’t have any money to pay him for his doctorin’. Didn’t even have any eggs to send with him! She filled the tin pot with water from the pitcher and threw in two handfuls of chicory. Then she hung the pot on the hook and swung it over the hearth. She set another chip on the fire and stirred up the ashes.

Quiet as a mouse, she slipped outside to see to her needs and those of her animals. An inch of new snow had fallen during the night and the air was crisp with the tang of winter’s end. In the shed, she gave Berta a measure of oats, checked on her sheep and milked her goat. Then she walked to the chicken coop and gathered the eggs. Seven eggs—that was plenty for the three of them and the number was a good sign. She carried the pail and basket back to the house.

When she walked through the door, the doc was crouched over Tommy.

“Is he all right?” she asked quickly.

“He might have some dizziness for a few days.”

She knelt before the hearth. “I’ll have breakfast for you directly.” She pushed the iron skillet closer to the hearth. “Then I’ll take you back to town.”

She heard the door close behind her. Had he left? Was he walking back to town? She jumped to her feet and rushed to the window. He stood in the middle of the yard and stretched. My, but he was a tall man! Much bigger than Thomas had been.

She took in the yard, trying to see it through his eyes. It was always a bit muddy and dreary this time of year. Only the hardiest of weeds had gotten a start in the dirt. At least last night’s snow covered most of it and made the yard look clean. She let out a sigh. It wasn’t much to look at. Not when compared to the fine houses in town. Each new house that was built in Oak Grove looked bigger and finer than the last.

Well, it was all she could do to keep the place running as it was. There was no time for prettying up things. But it was her place. Hers and Tommy’s and built by his father. And that meant something. She wasn’t going to apologize for it.

He headed for the rain barrel on the far side of the cabin, moving with a measured steadiness that had a way of calming a person. He leaned over and splashed water on his face. His gasp and quick shudder at the coldness amused her. The man probably had someone warm his water at home—straight from a pot on a fancy stove. Well, he would just have to forego that kind of coddling here.

She couldn’t seem to hold back from stealing one more glance. If coddling made a man weak, like Carl had said, the doc didn’t look weak in the least. His shoulders were broad as a barn door and his linen shirt stretched over them in a manner that made butterflies suddenly swarm in her tummy. He looked full of health...full of vigor. Her cheeks warmed at the thought. It had been a long time since she’d noticed a man’s qualities.

When he stepped inside the privy, she pulled away from the window, not wanting to puzzle out why she had stood there watching him for a spell when she had so much to do. Not wanting to decipher that at all. She moved back to awaken Tommy and help him with his morning needs.

The doc strode through the door and stopped when he saw the spread on the table. Coffee, fried eggs, toast and jam. She fixed a plate for him and set it across the table. Then she fixed another plate for Tommy and gave it to him there on his pallet. Last, she fixed one for herself.

He waited for her to sit down, like a gentleman. She said grace, adding at the end how grateful she was for Tommy feeling better and for the doctor’s skill. Then the man waited for her to take a bite of food.

“It’ll get cold fast, Doc. Eat up.” She was awkward with his ways. The last person who sat at the table with her, besides her son, was Tommy’s father and he’d not been one to wait on her to start eating first.

“This is every bit as good as the breakfast I get at the restaurant in town,” he said, after a few bites.

“Can’t mess up eggs and toast, Doc,” she said, amused.

He gave a derisive snort.

“You mean you can’t cook a simple thing like this?” The thought struck her as comical. “Didn’t you learn growin’ up?”

He shrugged. “I’ve always had someone cook for me. I take my meals at the restaurant, often with Mayor Melbourne. Sometimes the sheriff joins us. It gives me a chance to catch up on what is happening in town. Things like kidnappings and such.” He added the last smoothly.

She pulled a sharp breath. She hadn’t thought through what would happen next after forcing him here. If he went to the sheriff...

She put down her fork, no longer hungry. All she’d done to get him here...was wrong. She was ashamed she couldn’t pay the doc like most folks and instead had to go and do such a terrible thing. It couldn’t be helped, she told herself for the tenth time since Tommy had hurt himself yesterday. She’d do it again if she had to. But Tommy was innocent in all of it and she didn’t want him sharing in the burden of the guilt she now carried.

She stole a glance at her son. He was done eating and had lain back down. His eyes were closed, but his breathing wasn’t the deep, even breathing of someone who was asleep. Most likely he was listening to all that was being said. She didn’t want Tommy hearing what she’d done.

Doc Graham leaned back in his chair and studied her.

Her gut knotted. It was like he knew the predicament he’d put her in by his words. Guess she’d better say something despite Tommy. The doc deserved that after all he’d done. She couldn’t look him in the eye, so she stared at her plate. “I’m sorry for the way things happened last night. I—I guess I panicked some. I was afraid if you knew I couldn’t pay you, that you wouldn’t help Tommy. I just didn’t know any other way to make you come here.”

“All you had to do was ask.”

His soft words struck right to her core. She drew in a sharp breath, feeling even more remorseful.

“I take my oath seriously, payment or no payment, although a hearty breakfast eases the lack of coin immensely. While I was learning medical skills, you were obviously learning to cook.”

He liked her cooking? The tightness inside her eased. Slowly, she raised her gaze. He was sopping up the yolk with his toast and appeared to be enjoying the meal immensely.

“Seems a man who can’t cook should hire one,” she said cautiously. “That’d be the smart thing. Then maybe he wouldn’t be out in the evening and getting himself caught up like a rabbit in a snare. Ain’t nothing good that happens after the sun goes down.”

Did his eyes just twinkle?

“Odd you should mention that. Those were my exact thoughts. The celebration going on at the new town hall was to welcome a handful of women from back East. They came to marry. I hope to take one of them as my wife, thereby solving my problem of lack of a cook.”

“Can’t believe a woman would come so far just to marry a man. What if she ends up with a lout?” Carl came to mind. Anyone who ended up with him was in for a rough time of it.

Then she realized that she’d as much as called the doc a lout. “Not that you are a lout, Doc.”

He flashed a grin. “I’ve been informed that I would be impossible to live with. That I am married to my work.”

Her astonishment must have showed on her face. His eyes twinkled—again! “You mean a woman said that straight to your face? In my mind, a man who takes his work seriously is a good thing.”

“She said it right after I’d missed our third social engagement at the opera house in Boston. A patient was in need of my medical skills. Josephine called off the courtship that night. Looking back, it was smart—a practical response. At that time, I didn’t have time for a wife or a family. And she was correct. I did put my career ahead of everything else.”

She thought about Tommy. “Well! There are some who would appreciate that quality in a man. I surely would.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment but studied her silently.

Her cheeks heated. Guess the conversation was getting a mite personal. She finished her toast in one dry mouthful.

“Doc, you could easily get tricked and end up married to a woman who can’t cook but one thing. Or you could end up with a nag. A woman wanting to marry might not show you that part of herself until after the vows are said.”

“True. It is a risk—for me as well as the woman.”

“It’s a scary thing to contemplate,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t figure why anyone would do it.” She and Thomas had known each other since they were babies. Their families had grown up in the woods there in Virginia. She couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t known him. Meeting a stranger and deciding to spend the rest of your life with them seemed like a crazy thing to do.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that there are many valid reasons. A person must realize their circumstances need changing and then they do something about it. Not all women are that brave.”

She hadn’t thought of it like that—being brave. “You got a gal in mind?”

He shook his head. “Not yet. I want to speak with each one individually. I have certain qualities I’m looking for to narrow my choice down to the best woman.”

She’d never heard of such a thing. “I guess you’ve figured a way to find a flower among the weeds, then. Could be smart,” she said slowly.

He raised a dark brow. “I’m so glad you approve.”

He was teasing her, she realized, her heart skipping a beat. Like they were friends. Imagine that! A man like him—smart, intelligent and handsome.

In the next breath, she reined in her delight. Don’t be silly, she told herself. You’re a grown woman with a seven-year-old son. No doctor is going to want to be friends with you. He’s just being kind.

She stood abruptly. “It’s time I got you back.”

She checked on her son once more and then grabbed her coat. When the doc stood and reached out to help her with her sleeve, she pulled back from him with a sharp tug. “I can handle it myself.” She plopped her old hat on her head for emphasis.

He looked to be about to say something but then turned to her son. “In the future, please refrain from climbing on the shed and scaring your mother. You may like to think you are a cat with nine lives to spare, but you are a boy with only one life. You need to take care of it.”

Sylvia looked from her son to the big man. He took a lot on himself to school her young ’un. Schoolin’ Tommy was her place. But what he said had truth in it.

“I’ll get my mule,” she said.

She hitched Berta to the wagon and fifteen minutes later they arrived at the river. They journeyed along a short piece, among the fledgling cottonwood trees that grew only along the southern bank. Buds had formed. Wouldn’t be long before leaves unfurled.

Nothing like her insides that were curled up tight.

Now that the deed was done, she couldn’t let loose of fretting about it. Would he tell the sheriff what she’d done? Would the entire town know that he’d spent the whole night at her place?

“Why was Carl Caulder bothering you at the mercantile?”

She tightened her grip on the reins and kept her gaze on the road. “We go way back. He’s Tommy’s uncle and thinks that gives him the right to boss me and Tommy around.”

His brows drew together. “I wouldn’t call what he was doing bossing. More like bullying.”

“I know. He’s hard to take,” she whispered. “Especially when he’s feeling all high-and-mighty and had a couple drinks. His brother wasn’t anything like him. Thomas was a good man.”

They came to the ferry crossing. Thankfully, the flat raft remained on this side of the river. She started to lead Berta down the bank and onto the wooden planks when she felt the doc’s hand on her arm.

“I’ll find my own way back from here.”

She held the reins taut while he climbed from the wagon and grabbed his doctorin’ bag. He returned to her side of the wagon and looked up at her, squinting against the sunlight. “I’ll check on Tommy in a day or two.”

“No need. I can care for my son now.”

He frowned. “I should be aware of how he heals.”

“It ain’t... It ain’t that I don’t appreciate the thought.”

“Then what is the problem?”

The reason stared him in the face! Didn’t he have any sensibilities? She let a twig drift past as she contemplated how to answer him. Seemed all she could do was be blunt.

“I can’t pay you.”

“I thought you understood. That isn’t a problem.”

“It is for me,” she hurried to say. “It may be late in comin’, but I pay my debts.”

It pained her to have to ask, but she had to know where things stood between them. “You going to tell about this? The sheriff—or anyone else?”

He pressed his lips together. “I won’t say anything to Sheriff Baniff. And I can’t see why it is anybody else’s business.”

It was as if the notion of being improper was not something he ever dealt with. Here she’d been dealing with it practically every minute of her entire life. She swallowed again. “I—I mean about stayin’ the night.”

“Oh. No one will hear a word of it from me.”

She breathed a sigh of relief.

“Believe me. It’s an easy decision. Should I say anything, questions will arise not only about your virtue, but also about my inability to thwart my kidnapping. People would know that you, a small mite of a woman, bested me. I can’t afford that. My reputation might never recover.”

He was teasing her in that way of his. Nothing seemed to ruffle him. In every moment, he was confident and strong. She wished she could soak up some of that. It would be nice to feel that sure of herself again. Guess when Thomas left her, any sureness she possessed had evaporated.

She smiled slightly at his quip. “Thank you kindly for your help.”

He stepped onto the ferry and slipped the tether line off the stump. Taking hold of the heavy rope that was suspended across the river to the opposite bank, he put his back into it and pulled hard. The flat raft eased out into the current and carried him across the water.

* * *

Once ashore on the north bank, Nelson followed the wagon trail toward Oak Grove.

The early-morning sun warmed his back and quickly melted the thin crust of snow into a slushy mess. After he brushed past, the weeds and grass lining the trail sprang back to attention with only a few casualties bent and crushed under his boots. He was vaguely aware of this while he walked and mulled over the strange encounter with Miss Marks.

He could have wrestled the gun away from her at any time. Why didn’t he? What had held him back every time that he’d thought to try it? Was it the desperation of the act? Tommy was worth everything to her. She would go to any lengths to make sure he was well and safe. He couldn’t imagine his own parents breaking the law in order to take care of him. They had packed him off to boarding school when he was Tommy’s age—with a formal, undemonstrative goodbye. Miss Marks would never have let her son go away at all.

It had to be impossibly hard for her to survive on that piece of land. Almost any other woman in her situation would have moved into town long ago. What was it that kept her there? That plot of land or her unmarried status?