Healing Hearts (Easton Series #2) (5 page)

  
The crowd spread into the
churchyard for the toast and reception. She was soon separated from Jed, and, despite
her best efforts, Hannah attracted a swarm of bachelor men. Some simply smiled
shyly, but the bolder amongst them lit up about manly work injuries and
ailments they’d conquered. They weren’t given to flowery prose but their
message was clear: They were lonely and starved for womanly attention. Affection
flowed easily from these prairie suitors, yet Hannah was embarrassed and responded
awkwardly.

  
After waiting an appropriate
eternity, Hannah excused herself from the circle of men, and she pushed toward
a gaggle of women, where there was much cooing over Sarah Easton’s new baby.
Jed appeared again and introduced Hannah to Sarah Easton and her young sister,
Emily. She remembered Ella Wright from the bank, and for the first time she met
pretty Nelda Rose Hawkins, wife of the innkeeper she’d met on the way to the
wedding.

  
Nelda Rose was visibly in the
family way, and she pulled Hannah aside.

  
Taking a shaking breath, the tiny
woman with auburn hair and green eyes made an odd request. “Doctor Hannah, I
want you to bring this baby. Rutherford speaks highly of you, and --”

  
Hannah’s eyebrow arched. “He said
that?” She checked herself. “This is your first?”

  
Nelda’s round face tightened and
her eyes filled. “Third. I lost two.”

  
“I’m sorry.” Hannah reached down
and touched the woman’s shoulder. ”Miscarriage?”

  
Nelda Rose frowned. “The f-first
one. Then my boy died after three days.”

  
Oh God
. Hannah was careful to maintain a pleasant countenance. “Get
enough rest and eat meat.”

  
The woman brightened. “John won’t
let me work past supper.”

  
“I can see he’s a good man.”

  
“That he is.” Nelda made the sign
of the cross, bringing her hand from forehead to heart and sweeping across her
shoulders. Her jade eyes glistened.

  
Hannah didn’t put much stock in
religious faith, but she knew the proper response. “I’ll pray for your baby.”

  
“You’re kind. I knew I’d like you
when I heard all the talk about a lady doctor.”

  
“Thank you.”

 
 
Nelda Rose pursed her lips. “You know, folks
wonder why Doctor Rutherford never married. He’d make a good catch.”

  
Hannah shook her head and laughed.
If only Nelda Rose knew.
To Hannah the
reason for Jed’s bachelor status was as plain as the growing bump on Nelda’s
belly. She smiled and turned back to the circle of women.

Chapter 5

  
J
ed soon
tired of the
attention showered on Hannah in the churchyard, and the crowd chatter was
bringing on a headache. He angled to push her home, but now Roy Easton was a
bull standing in his path.

  
The sheriff sported a smug grin,
and that meant only one thing: He was wearing his meddling badge.

  
“Make her your calico partner.
You’ll find none better.”

  
“What?” Jed reeled as if hit by a
lightning bolt, yet somewhere inside he knew the man was right. She’d be
perfect if
he
wasn’t flawed. Hell,
the nightmares alone prevented him from taking a mate.

  
“Marry up with the woman. You
could sleep in your own bed again. The whole town’s talking about it.” He swept
a hand toward the crowd. “You’re nearly her equal, even
with
your bad temper.” Easton’s smile was bright enough to blind a
man.

  
Jed looked over Roy’s shoulder. Easton
had seen him lose his temper on two occasions, and he wasn’t about to give him
a show now. “I don’t believe the damn town is flapping about my business,” he
bit off, “and I don’t see
you
rushing
to tie the knot, Easton.”

  
The sheriff laughed. “My
prospective brides backed down when they saw the living quarters I offered in
cell number one.” He nodded in the direction of his jailhouse home down the
street.

  
“I suppose it could be a fly in
the ointment,” muttered Jed, “but a real man doesn’t let present circumstance get
in the way of family duty.”

  
The lawnman’s blue eyes pierced
his straight on. “Why is it you docs don’t take your own good advice?”

  
Jed touched the brim of his
Stetson. “Too busy handing it out, I reckon.”

  
“Hmmm.” The lawman frowned.

  
Jed fished for a new topic. “So,
Easton, I hear you’re busy as a bee in clover these days.”

  
“You hear right. I’m running the
jailhouse AND the newspaper, at least until Elijah heals from the beating. And,
starting tomorrow, I’m trading in my gun belt for a switch while Geneva goes on
her honeymoon.”

  
“Doesn’t that beat all! You’ll cut
a figure as schoolmarm.”

  
Roy grunted. “My title is headmaster,
but yes, I’m teaching for the week.”

  
“Who’s the sheriff while you’re
spitting ink at the young ‘uns?”

  
“Doc, I give you the lookout. Let
Miss Hannah do the doctoring. If outlaws show up, haul ‘em over, and I’ll take
care of ‘em. Heck, I’ll lock them in the cloak room.” He grinned.

  
Jed chuckled and wagged his head.
“You earn your pay, Easton. As for Elijah, he was much improved when I checked
on him yesterday, but the man needs to exercise discretion in his business.”

  
“Elijah says discretion doesn’t
sell papers.”

  
“Hawking gossip will get him
killed.”

  
“Likely.” Easton hitched a thumb
on his gun belt. “He’s all up about freedom of speech.”

  
“
Free speech allows Elijah to
make a fool of himself.”

  
“Likely,” the sheriff nodded.

  
Out of the corner of his eye Jed
saw two young men converging on Hannah. “Excuse me. I’ve got a business
interest to save.” He struck out in her direction.

  
Roy guffawed. “You do that, Jed.”
He tugged his hat as dismissal. “You do that.”

  
They parted, and Jed thought about
Roy’s words. Hannah was a woman who didn’t want marriage, or so it seemed from
her talk and actions, and although the woman had presented a puzzling case, it
suited him just fine.

  
Jed had noted Hannah’s stiff gait in
the mornings. She kept their discussions confined to business or household
matters, and as a consequence they’d discussed everything about the practice,
from the use of dry and wet dressings to disinfectants and antiseptics like
carbolic acid and bromine. He’d been treated to a strange emotional outburst
when they discussed the use of ether and chloroform. She’d said ether scared
her, because it was flammable, and she made repeated mention of Squibb’s ether factory
explosion.

  
Jed recalled her general store
purchase of a length of rope, to use in case of a house fire. Hannah had
indicated a preference for a first floor bedroom, but it wasn’t possible, unless
she slept in the surgery, so she’d settled on the rope solution, which she tied
to the bed frame so it was ready to use if she had to make a window escape.

  
The conclusion was obvious: Hannah
Sutton was deathly afraid of fire. It was her only phobia,
if one didn’t count men and marriage
, Jed thought as he eyed her blushing
and edging away from the two young bucks chatting her up at this moment.

  
As he hoofed his way to save
Hannah from the jawing, he caught her eye and motioned for her to come over. From
twenty paces he could see her heavy sigh of relief.

  
Jed decided he needed to know more
of her, if only to better understand her philosophy and approach to handling
patients. At least that’s what he told himself.

  
“Doctor Hannah, are you ready to
go home?”

  
She smiled readily, with eyes to
undo a lesser man. “Oh yes, I’m ready to go. I didn’t finish rolling bandages
yesterday.”

  
Once again, Jed offered his arm,
and they waved and shouted “goodbye” to the gregarious wedding party.

  
In silence, they walked the too-narrow
path to the street. Jed edged into the grass to give Hannah room to move in her
full skirt. Their strides became more leisurely as they put more distance
between themselves and the joyous fracas. He caught her studying the clapboard
buildings and a posse of miners loitering outside the general store, the older
ones carrying hunched shoulders and bent backs from years of work inside the
earth. They doffed their hats respectfully and stared as Hannah walked by.

 
“I’m afraid you’ll have to get used to
fending off the cowpunchers,” Jed murmured.

  
“They were nice men, just not
accustomed to seeing many single women, I suppose.”

  
“You let me know if any of them
give you trouble.” His voice was low and hoarse.

  
She quickened her step. “Oh, I
don’t expect trouble.”

  
“So . . . what made you decide to
become a doctor?” He threw the question out casually.

  
She hesitated a moment, glaring at
a tree along the path as though he were asking a mule-foolish question. His
anticipation hung on the warm breeze, and he was on the verge of saying “never
mind” when she took a deep breath and shot out her response. “A doctor helped
my family, and I wanted to be like him. I wanted to help people, especially
sick and injured people. There’s nothing finer than curing illness.”

  
“You had a great inspiration for
your aspiration,” he observed.

  
“Yes, and it became my passion.”
There was a genuine glow about her face. “Seeing as you asked me, I think it’s
fair to turn the table. Why did you become a doctor, Jed?”

  
“My father’s brother, my uncle,
was a doctor. I assisted him, starting when I was ten years old. He taught me
everything he knew, and I continued with formal training as I grew.”

  
“Lucky you.”

  
“Sawing off limbs in the war
wasn’t lucky,” he spit out impulsively. Checking his outburst, he set his jaw,
and himself, back on course: “I imagine it wasn’t easy for you to get into
medical college.”

  
Hannah peered into his blue eyes.
“It wasn’t, but my father fought that battle right along with me. It was us-against-them,
and we never quit.” Her tone was reverential and resolute as she continued, “I
understand your work during the war was truly difficult, and I greatly admire
your courage in persevering.”

  
He bristled under the praise. He
hadn’t
shown courage. What was there to
say without revealing deeply distressing images and emotions? Better not to
think about it, much less talk about it.

  
“Tell me about Nelda Rose Hawkins.”

 
“Ah, Nelda Rose,” he sighed, relieved to
move back onto firmer footing, “she’s pregnant again, and everyone prays for
the best for her and John.”

  
“She grew up here?”

  
“No. John came out to work as a
cowpuncher, years ago. When his father died he came into an inheritance, and he
bought the hotel. He sent for Nelda Rose, his cousin, to marry.”

  
“She’s his first cousin?”

  
“No. Second cousin and removed. If
you’re thinking –“

  
“I was, but it should be of no
consequence,” Hannah stated firmly.

  
“I agree.”

  
“She’s asked me to birth her
child,” Hannah confessed, “and I couldn’t bring myself to tell her you want me
to leave next week. Couldn’t I stay another month? I think she needs me, if
only to give her some peace of mind.”

  
They halted at the door to Jed’s
house, and his hands dove into his pockets. He wrapped his fingers around the
small scalpel still hidden there. Jed wasn’t a man easily offended, and he
understood Nelda’s need to believe in a new savior. It made perfect sense; like
it or not, his presence would be a reminder of her past birthing tragedies.

  
“Jed?” She turned to face him,
holding her breath. “I think Nelda Rose should have her say in this matter.”

  
He shifted his gaze down to
Hannah’s lovely, inquisitive gray eyes, and he gave a long slow nod. “Until the
baby comes.”

  
Hannah exhaled and threw her arms
around his broad shoulders. Her excitement was simple and heartfelt, and her
hug was warm and penetrated him more deeply than he could afford.