Faithful Heart (28 page)

Breanna was stunned. “I knew about Jerrod’s problem. Dottie
wrote about it. I just wasn’t aware it had become so serious.” She stood and said, “I’m going to the hospital right now. Can you tell me how to find it? I must see my sister.”

“I’ll do better than tell you how to find it, Breanna,” Will said. “I’ll take you there myself.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary, Mr. Reeves. I’ll find it if you give me directions.”

“You sure? I’ll be more than happy to take you.”

“I’m sure you have plenty to do. I’ll be fine.”

While Will wrote down directions, Maudie said, “Breanna, you haven’t said how long you’ll be here, but we have a bedroom upstairs that isn’t occupied. You’re welcome to stay with us.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Reeves,” Breanna said. “I’m scheduled to take a train day after tomorrow and head back for Denver. But with this unexpected situation, I may change my plans. We’ll talk about it after I see Dottie.”

“Aunt Breanna,” Molly Kate said.

“Yes, honey?”

“Before you go see Mommy, would you like to see my new doll Grandpa made for me?”

“Well, I sure would!” Breanna said, pulling the child close to her. “Where is your doll?”

As Breanna Baylor drove to San Francisco, she marveled at the love the elderly couple had shown the Harper children. Molly Kate’s life-sized doll was indeed a work of art, and Will had put a lot of work into James’s wagon. Breanna thanked God that Dottie had Will and Maudie. She was going to need them to
help her through the days ahead.

Breanna swung onto Clay Street and pulled up in front of the hospital. She stopped at the reception desk, learned that her sister was in room thirty-one, and headed down the hall. As she drew near the room, her nerves tensed and her heart quickened pace. It had been ten years …

The door to room thirty-one was closed. Breanna stopped in front of it and was taking a deep breath when a nurse came out of an adjacent room and moved down the hall toward her. The eyes of the two women met, and the nurse cocked her head, blinked, and came to a stop.

“Pardon me,” she said, “but you’ve got to be Mrs. Harper’s twin sister.”

Breanna smiled. “No, just her sister. I’m from Denver. Dottie doesn’t even know I’m here.”

“Well, I’m sure she’ll be plenty happy to see you. I was just in there. She’s asleep right now.”

“Should I wait?”

“Oh, no. I spent quite a bit of time with her this morning. She didn’t sleep well last night, but I’m sure seeing you will perk her up. She’s having a hard time with her husband’s situation. You do know about it?”

“Yes.”

“Well, she’s quite upset about his being in the asylum.”

“I can understand that,” Breanna said. “It’s got to be a horrible thing.”

“You can say that again. Anyway, you go on in there and wake her up.” With that, the nurse headed down the hall.

Breanna took another deep breath, pushed the door open,
and stepped into the room.

There were two beds, but one was unoccupied. Dottie was asleep in the bed next to the window. Breanna moved quietly to the side of the bed and looked down at the pale face of her sister. Memories flooded her mind. How many times during their childhood had she seen her little sister sleeping peacefully like this and lovingly kissed her forehead?

Breanna couldn’t resist. She bent over and kissed Dottie’s forehead. The patient stirred, rolled her head, and opened her eyes. They were dull at first, but when they focused on the face of the woman who stood beside her, they sharpened immediately.

Breanna smiled and said softly, “Hello, Dottie. I love you.”

Dottie’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. Her lips began to quiver as she gasped,
“
Bre-
Breanna!
Oh! Am I dreaming?”

Breanna took hold of her hand and kissed her forehead again. “No, you’re not dreaming. It’s me. In the flesh.”

“But how …?”

“I’ll explain it all in a minute.”

Dottie raised her other arm and started to cry. “Oh, let me hug you!”

Breanna released her hand and bent down so Dottie could wrap her arms around her neck. The sisters clung to each other and mingled their tears for several minutes. Then they looked at each other and laughed and wiped their faces dry.

Breanna drew up a chair, took Dottie by the hand, and said, “I found your precious children at the Reeves house, and Will and Maudie told me the whole story. I’m so sorry, Dottie. It hurts me to know you’ve been through so much.”

“It’s been very hard, I’ll admit,” Dottie said. “But Breanna, my Jesus has been so close to me. I’ve had a hard time sleeping at night, but His presence has been so real, so precious. I think maybe He’s kept me awake just so He could commune with me in my heart. This whole thing with Jerrod—especially his killing the police officer—is like a nightmare. But somehow I have peace like I never knew was possible.”

“That’s the kind of peace Jesus said He would give, didn’t He?”

“Yes. But you know, Sis, Christians can’t really experience this kind of peace until they face the storms of life where He can prove Himself to them. I know that now.”

“You’re right. How can we know Him as our Mighty Fortress unless we get into a battle? How can we know Him as the Rock that Is Higher Than I unless we get into a storm? We cannot know Him as the Prince of Peace until life robs us of our peace.”

Dottie squeezed Breanna’s hand. “Now, I want to know why you’re here in California. You didn’t make the trip just to come and surprise me, did you?”

“Well, I wish I could say that was the case, but it isn’t. Not that I haven’t wanted to come and see you, but you know how it is in my line of work.”

“Of course. So what brought you here?”

For the next hour or so, Breanna told Dottie all about the wagon train journey that started at South Pass, Wyoming. She told her about delivering babies and fighting off Indians. She told her about Curly Wesson and the joy she had in leading him to the Lord. She told her about the death of Frank Miller, whom Dottie remembered as the man who had jilted Breanna. She told her about Chief Red Claw—and about John Stranger.

Once she had brought Dottie up to date, Breanna told her she had a train ticket for Denver and was to leave day after tomorrow.

“Oh, so soon? Can’t you stay longer?”

“Well, when I learned about all this from Mr. and Mrs. Reeves, I told them I might make a change in plans … that I’d let them know after I saw you.”

“You mean you
can
stay longer?”

“Yes. All I have to do is wire Dr. Goodwin and tell him I’m going to be delayed, and why. I don’t want to leave you until you’re out of the hospital and well on the road to recovery.”

Tears spilled down Dottie’s cheeks. She was deeply touched and very happy with the prospect of having her sister near for a while.

Breanna told Dottie she would take the children to the Harper place so they could be in their own home. Whenever she had to be away without them, she would leave them with Will and Maudie. Dottie said it would be good for James and Molly Kate to be home, and it would give Breanna and the children an opportunity to get acquainted.

“That’s the best part,” Breanna said. “They seem like such wonderful children. I’m looking forward to getting to know them.”

Dottie’s eyes filled with tears once again. “Breanna, would … would you do me a real big favor?”

“Of course. Just name it.”

“Would you go to the asylum and see Jerrod for me? Tell him I’m doing better and that I’ll be there to see him as soon as I possibly can … and that I love him with all my heart?”

“Will they let me in to see him?”

“I’m sure they will. Our pastor said he was going to go see him. I would think if they let him in, they’d let family in, too. If they give you any problem, show them your nurse’s credentials and see him professionally.”

Breanna brushed a lock of hair off Dottie’s forehead. “You really love Jerrod, don’t you?”

“Yes. With everything that’s in me.”

“I admire you, Dottie. You’ve been so loving and faithful to Jerrod in spite of all that’s happened.”

“How could I be anything else? When I took my marriage vows, it was for better or for worse. I meant what I said that day, Breanna. I’ll love that man till the day I die … or he dies.”

Breanna stood to leave, then bent and kissed her sister’s forehead once more. She told Dottie she would take the children home, go see Jerrod in the morning, and come to the hospital and tell her how it went.

After supper at the Reeves house that evening, Breanna took her niece and nephew home. James put his new wagon on the front porch, and with Aunt Breanna’s help, Molly Kate placed her doll in her room on the second floor of the house. The doll was positioned at the window so she could “look” into the front yard. Molly Kate raised the arms and placed the hands against the window pane, making it appear that the doll was leaning against the window, trying to see clearly anyone who stood in the yard.

Just before bedtime, Breanna took the children outside with her, intending to lead the rented horse to the barn and give it hay and grain. When they stepped into the yard, Molly Kate backed up a few steps and clapped her hands. “Look, Aunt Breanna!” she said excitedly. “It looks like Molly Kate is looking right down at me!”

Breanna looked up at the window. The doll was silhouetted against the lantern light in the room, and her face was partially lighted. Breanna shook her head in wonderment and said, “Molly Kate, if I didn’t know better, I’d think it was
you
standing at the window!”

It was nine-thirty the next morning when Breanna Baylor stood at the lobby desk in the asylum, explaining to the male receptionist that she was the sister-in-law of Jerrod Harper and wanted to look in on him for her sister, who was in City Hospital.

“Ma’am,” the man said politely, “ordinarily the only people who can see the patients in the section where we have Mr. Harper are their ministers and the next of kin, not in-laws. I believe Dr. Carroll, who is our chief of staff, is with Mr. Harper right now. As soon as he comes out, I’ll explain the situation and ask if you can go in.”

“Thank you,” Breanna said.

At that moment, the door that led to the cells came open, and Dr. Matthew Carroll entered the lobby. The receptionist was about to speak to him when the doctor saw Breanna. He stopped abruptly, smiled, and said, “For a second there, I thought you were Dottie Harper, ma’am. I’m Dr. Matt Carroll. You
have
to be Dottie’s sister. Am I right?”

“Yes, I’m Breanna Baylor, doctor, and I’ve come to look in on Jerrod for my sister. This gentleman said you would have to give your approval for the visit.”

Carroll grinned at the receptionist. “I’ll take her in myself, Leonard.”

“Yes, sir.”

The doctor ushered Breanna through the double doors and said, “I need to explain some things to you before you see Jerrod, Miss Baylor. My office is right here. Let’s go in and sit down a moment.”

Breanna eased onto a straight-backed wooden chair in front of the desk. Carroll moved behind it, and as he sat down, he said, “Has your sister told you anything about me?”

“No, sir. We haven’t had a lot of time to talk. I was only with her a short while at the hospital yesterday.”

“I won’t bore you with a long spiel, but I want you to know that I am a Christian. Dottie—your sister has told me all about you.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear this about you, doctor. I know Jerrod is in the best of care, then.”

“Thank you. I assume you understand about Jerrod’s
dementia praecox
, which was brought on by the shell shock he suffered in the War.”

“Yes, doctor. The split personality—the good Jerrod and the bad Jerrod.”

“And your sister has told you everything that has happened?”

“Yes. All of it.”

“All right. I was just with him. We have him in chains in a padded cell. The dementia has almost completely taken over. He has moments now and then when he’s his old self, and when that happens, he’s very sorry for what he’s done. Weeps over it. But those moments are fewer and farther between, and becoming more brief all the time. Just now, he was fighting his chains and screaming that he was going to get out and kill your sister.”

Breanna looked the doctor square in the eye. “There’s no
hope he’ll ever be any better, is there?”

“None. There’s nothing we can do. I’ve tried sedatives since we’ve had him in here, hoping to at least calm him, but they don’t do a thing. As for a cure … never.”

“It’s hard to say this, Doctor, but since Jerrod is a Christian, it would actually be better if the Lord would just take him home.”

“I agree. But, of course, his life is in God’s hands.”

There was a brief pause, then Breanna said, “May I see him now?”

“Of course. Come with me.”

Dr. Carroll led Breanna down the hall past several padded cells. She shivered at the horrible cries and moans that met her ears.

When they came to Jerrod’s cell, the doctor stopped, nodded at the small window, and said, “He’s in there. You can move up close. He can’t reach you.”

Breanna leaned up to the window and looked at the man who had married her sister. Jerrod was on his feet, staring directly at her. A piteous look captured his face and tears filled his eyes. His voice was soft as he said, “Dottie. Oh, Dottie, you’ve come to see me. Please … forgive me for hurtin’ you. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, honey. So sorry. I love you so much.”

“Jerrod,” Breanna said with compassion, “I’m not Dottie. She’s still in the hospital from what you did to her. I’m her sister, Breanna. Dottie wants me to tell you—”

“Stop lying, Dottie!” Jerrod shouted. “I know it’s you! Why do you say you’re not you?”

Breanna looked back at the doctor, who whispered, “That’s how fast he can change.”

Breanna peered through the window again and said, “Jerrod, I am Dottie’s sister. She wants me to tell you that she loves you and—”

“Shut up!” Jerrod said. He backed up and slapped his hands over his ears and shut his eyes. “Liar! Liar! Liar!” he shouted. His face twisted grotesquely. His mouth opened wide and he screamed a wild, primal scream. Saliva sprayed from his mouth as he yelled, “I’ll kill you, Dottie! You hear me? I’ll get outta here and kill you!”