Iris (Suitors of Seattle Book 8) (2 page)

Mallie stared at Iris with big brown eyes that were swimming with tears.  "Pa said he was going to bring back the new doctor."  She cradled her arm tighter against her, obviously afraid to let Iris look at it.

Iris dropped to her knees beside the girl, trying again to look at her arm.  "I'm Dr. Sullivan.  Please let me look at it."

Edna Petunia rushed forward, pulling a peppermint stick from her cleavage.  "If you're good, I'll let you have a piece of candy."

Iris closed her eyes, knowing where the candy had come from.  When would Edna listen to her and start putting peppermint sticks in a paper sack?  She didn't think anyone, even a child of ten, would want to eat a peppermint stick covered in sweat. 

Mallie smiled, distracted from her pain for a moment. "I'd like that."

Iris looked at her young patient and sighed.  She hated a child's first impression of her to be pain, but this time it couldn't be helped.  "Mallie, I'm going to have to set your arm.  Do you know what that means?" she asked, her voice soft.

Mallie shook her head.  "Will it hurt?"

Iris nodded.  "I won't lie to you.  It's going to hurt a lot.  More than anything that you've ever felt in your whole life.  But after it's done, it's going to start feeling better, and I'm going to give you something you can take for the pain."  She had a packet of aspirin in her bag that would make the girl feel a lot better. She didn't believe in giving strong medicines to children.

A solitary tear trickled down Mallie's face.  "How come you told me the truth?  Usually people lie when you ask if something will hurt."

"Because I want you to know you can always trust me to be honest with you."  Iris patted Mallie's shoulder gently.  "Edna Petunia?  Will you take the other girls outside please?"  She didn't want them to see their older sister in the kind of pain she was about to be in.

Edna nodded.  "Come along girls."  She led them to the door.  "Do you girls know of a good place to find flowers around here?  There should be some in bloom by now, shouldn't there?"

Etta and Katie each took one of Edna's hands and led her from the house.  The last thing Iris heard before the door closed was, "I'll bet I can pick more flowers than either of you.  I know how to make them into pretty tiaras that will make you look like princesses as well."

Iris smiled.  Edna was an odd duck, but she was certainly good with children. 

"Mr. Harvey?  Would you help me put Mallie on the table?" 

He nodded and walked to the chair where his oldest daughter was sitting.  "I'll try not to hurt you as I move you, Mallie."  He scooped his daughter into his arms and placed her gently on the table. 

Iris opened her bag and removed the small boards she kept there for splinting, along with some strips of gauze before turning to her patient.  "This is going to be the worst part, Mallie.  I know you can be brave for me.  Your pa is going to hold you so you don't move around too much, and I'm going to move the bone back into place so that it will heal properly.  If I let it heal like it is now, with the bones crooked, you may never be able to use your arm again.  This is really important."

Mallie's eyes were wide as she nodded.  "Yes, ma'am."

Iris closed her eyes and said a quick prayer that everything went easily before nodding to Mr. Harvey.  "Sit behind her on the table and put your arms around her waist, holding her as still as you can.  Let her lean back against you."

Francis nodded, hating having to be the one to help with this, but understanding immediately that he needed to be there for his daughter.  He moved onto the table and put his arms around Mallie, kissing the top of her head.  "It'll go quick."

Mallie closed her eyes and leaned back against her father.

Iris gripped the girl's arm and pulled her wrist, wincing at the girl's scream of pain.  She didn't stop though, and as quickly as she could put the bone in place, feeling it carefully to see if it was straight.  When there was no resistance, and no further yells from her patient, she glanced at the girl's face.  "She's fainted."  Iris had never been so happy to say those words in her life.  She'd helped set bones many times in medical school, but never on a child so young, and never without a healthy amount of alcohol going into the patient first.  As she didn't think young children should be drinking alcohol, she hadn't given any to Mallie.

Francis closed his eyes, thankful she was out of pain, but hating that she'd been in so much to begin with.  "You're sure nothing else is wrong?"

Iris frowned as she repositioned the arm again, sweat standing out on her forehead from the effort it took.  "You didn't mention anything else could be wrong!  How did this happen?"

"She and her sisters were running on their lunch break at school, racing with some of their cousins.  Mallie went to jump a creek and misjudged the distance, landing hard on her arm."  He sighed.  "The three girls walked all the way home to get me, rather than sending someone instead.  I wish they'd stayed put and sent one of their older cousins."

"She didn't hit her head?"  Iris felt along Mallie's arm and smiled.  She was certain she had it straight.  She reached for the pieces of wood she'd brought with her that she'd leave on for a few days until it was time for the plaster. 

"No.  The girls would have told me."

"Good.  I don't see why anything else would be wrong then."  She looked at him.  "Go ahead and lay her head on the table, and come help me over here."

"Don't you have a nurse to help with these things?"

Iris cocked an eyebrow at him.  "My nurse is out taking care of your daughters.  I thought you'd want to stay with Mallie so she'd be calmer since a stranger is working on her."

Francis sighed.  He knew she was right, but he hated to admit it.  He carefully laid Mallie's head on the table before walking around to where she stood.  "What do you need me to do?"

Iris carefully positioned the boards like she wanted them.  "Just hold these boards.  Don't let them move, not even a bit.  I need to wrap them."

The whole process took over thirty minutes with him holding as still as he could while she wrapped Mallie's arm along with the boards.  "I'm going to want you to bring her into my office in two days.  I'll need to check the break and see if it's mending straight.  If it is, I'll put a cast on it.  If not, we'll have to start all over again."

He frowned.  "It'll mend right.  I won't let her move until Wednesday when I bring her in."

"How are you going to keep her from moving?  Are you planning on walking to school with her every day?"

"I'm going to keep her home from school until the cast is on."  He didn't like the idea of her missing school, but she needed to.  He'd make an exception.

"What about her chores?  Who's going to take care of her during the day?"

"I'll talk to my brother and his wife.  I'm sure Tracy will let her daughter Edith come and stay with us to take care of things."

Iris made a face.  "How old is Edith?  Old enough to be left with the care of an injured ten year old?"  She still couldn't believe he'd left his three daughters to take care of themselves while he'd gone into town to get her, especially with the oldest daughter being injured.

"Edith's twenty.  You have a problem with that?"  He couldn't believe this woman, a doctor of all things, was questioning him.  As if she knew more about child rearing than he did.

A tiny voice in his head reminded him he knew nothing at all of child rearing, but he ignored the voice in favor of indignation. 

Iris shook her head.  "I have no problem with that at all.  What I do have a problem with is you leaving your three daughters out here alone when the oldest, who is only ten, was injured and could do nothing for the others.  Do you want to tell me exactly what you were thinking?"  Iris's voice got louder and louder as she spoke until the last word was a near-shout.

"I was thinking that I'd be able to get help faster if I went alone and wasn't carting three children along."  He stepped back, because the doctor was re-packing her medical bag, obviously finished.  "I don't really think you have any room to talk anyway.  Your 'nurse' was offering my daughter a peppermint stick that had been in her cleavage!  I can just imagine what that thing has been through!"

Iris sighed.  "I can't get her to stop doing that."  Her voice was exasperated.  "She said she's been keeping peppermint sticks there for children since before I was born and she wasn't about to stop now."  She didn't mention the stories the older woman had told her about how much her former fiancé had enjoyed the peppermint taste when they'd been 'sparkin.'

Mallie let out a low moan, and Iris turned her attention back to her patient.  "It's all done.  You need to be careful, and your pa is going to bring you into town to see me in two days."  She helped Mallie sit up at the edge of the table.

Francis rushed to his daughter's side.  "I'm going to see if your cousin, Edith, will come stay with you while I work for the next couple of days.  I don't want you to have to do any kind of work."

"I'm so sorry, Pa," Mallie whispered, her face white.

"Oh, baby, you didn't do anything wrong."  He carefully gave her a one-armed hug, doing his best not to hurt her. 

"But it's my responsibility to take care of my sisters and now I can't." 

"You've done a great job.  Remember when we all had to stay with Aunt Tracy for a while after Katie was born?  This is kind of the same thing.  Family helps family."

Mallie nodded slowly.  "I just don't want to let you down."

"You're not letting me down."  He kissed her forehead.  "I need you and your sisters to ride in the wagon back to town with me, and then over to Aunt Tracy's to get Edith."

Iris had been pretending not to overhear the conversation, but she looked up at that.  "Why don't I stay with your girls while you get your niece?  Then you can take me into town without having to worry about how fast you drive with Mallie in the wagon."

Francis shook his head.  "I can't ask the town's doctor to watch my girls."

"You're not asking.  I'm offering."  She rolled up the sleeves of the dress she was wearing.  "I'll fix supper while you're gone as well."  She didn't wait for an answer and walked to the stove to add some coal and start a fire. 

Francis gave her one last look before leaving.  He really didn't have a choice.

Chapter Two

It was early evening by the time Francis got back with his niece.  He left her in the house with them and helped Iris and Edna Petunia into the wagon.

"I appreciate you staying with my girls while I went to fetch my niece.  I hope you aren't going to charge doctor's rates for the time you were with them," he joked.

Iris made a face.  "I won't charge you for watching them at all.  It's what people do to help each other."  She sighed.  "How did you manage when their mother died?"

He shrugged.  "Thankfully my sister had just had a baby, and she was able to act as a wet nurse for Katie.  We all stayed with my brother, Andy, and his wife, Tracy.  It was a crazy time, because I was working on the ranch every day, and the girls weren't old enough to be in school yet."

"Your sister-in-law must be a special woman to have been willing to take on three extra children that way."

"Oh, you wouldn't believe the half of it.  Tracy is an amazing woman."  He kept glancing past Iris to something and Iris finally turned to look at Edna.  The crown of flowers Edna and the girls had made was slipping and some of the flowers were hanging low over Edna's right eye. 

"Edna Petunia, you're losing your crown," Iris whispered softly.

"I am not!  I thought it would look dashing this way.  Don't you think?"

Iris nodded skeptically.  "What kind of flower is that anyway?"

"The girls called it Texas paintbrush, but I've never heard of it."

"That's what it's called around here," Francis agreed.  "I don't know if it's the real name or not, but it suits most folks."

"They're pretty."

"They were Katherine's favorite flower," he said without thinking, almost immediately biting his tongue.  It was hard for him to speak of his late wife.  There had really been no love between them, not like what had developed between Tracy and Andy, and he'd always felt guilty for that.  He'd done his best to be a good husband, and she'd been a good wife, but something had always been missing.

"Was Katherine your wife?" Iris asked, seeing the pained look on his face.

He nodded.  "This was her favorite time of the year, when the Texas paintbrush was blooming and the days were getting warmer.  She never liked the summer or the winter, but said spring was just perfect."

"I like summers best, but I haven't lived through a Texas summer yet.  I've heard it gets so hot you can fry an egg on your front step."

Francis laughed.  "That may be so, but I've never tried it.  I can tell you, you're going to be praying for a cooling rain right along with the rest of us by mid-June."

Iris was pleased to see him laugh.  He seemed much too serious to her.  "What time will you be bringing Mallie into town to see me on Wednesday?" she asked.

He frowned.  "Oh, I guess I'd better make an appointment."

Edna Petunia snorted.  "That's not exactly necessary in this town, Mr. Harvey.  People are too ignorant to recognize a good doctor when they see one."

Francis looked at Iris.  "You did a fine job with Mallie.  I don't think I could have found someone who could have done better."  He knew it wasn't ideal for her, but he was glad she hadn't been swamped with patients when he arrived.

Iris smiled.  "Tell all your friends that, would you?  People seem to think that being a woman automatically means I can't be a good doctor."

"I guess I thought that a few hours ago as well."  He shrugged.  "Sure, I'll let everyone know."  He certainly didn't want to run the risk that she'd leave town looking for more work.

They drove the rest of the way to town in silence.  He dropped them both off in front of her office, carefully helping both ladies down from the wagon.  "I'll see you on Wednesday, right after lunch, Dr. Sullivan."  He glanced at Edna and tipped his hat to her.  "Miss Blue."

"Thank you for bringing us back, Mr. Harvey."  Iris went into her office to be certain she'd left everything tidy before locking the door behind her. 

As they walked home, Iris asked, "Who was that man I saw you with earlier, Edna Petunia?"

"Oh?  That old goat?  Just some old man who keeps following me around town like a lost puppy."  Edna shook her head.  "Crazy old man tells me I'm the most beautiful woman he's ever seen.  I think you need to check his eyes, Iris.  They must be failing him."

Iris stifled a giggle.  As much as she loved Edna Petunia, she had to agree there.  Edna was not any man's dream woman.  She was certainly special, though, so Iris just smiled.  "I've always thought you were beautiful."  Edna was very pretty on the inside where it really mattered.  Having seven older sisters had taught Iris a great deal about how people should and shouldn't act.  Edna Petunia broke every rule of propriety their mother had ever taught them, but she didn't lie and she didn't pretend things were one way when they were really another.  Iris had to admire that about her.

Edna made supper while Iris tidied up the house.  She'd gotten used to doing for herself in the years she'd lived in dorms.  She liked not having servants underfoot all the time.  She considered her sister Rose a pampered socialite.  She hoped no one ever saw her that way.

As soon as supper was over Edna Petunia jumped to her feet.  "I think I'll go for a walk.  It's too nice a night to stay in."  Edna rushed out the door closing it behind her before Iris could say a word.  It just wasn't like Edna to avoid housework. 

After finishing the dishes by herself, Iris sat at the table and wrote a short letter to her mother.  It would have to be good enough until next week.  Sometimes there just wasn't enough to write about.

She sat for a while with one of her medical books, going over the procedure to remove an appendix again.  It was something she'd observed several times, but she'd never done one herself.  She wanted to be prepared for anything that came her way.

After a while she glanced at the clock, surprised at how late it was.  Edna Petunia was still out.

She walked to the window and peered out, and there was Edna wrapped in the arms of the same man she'd seen her with earlier.  What was she thinking?

Iris stifled a giggle.  At her age, if it made her happy, she should do it.  Iris went to bed, smiling.  She hoped Edna Petunia found another love after all this time.

*****

Francis drove slowly the whole way into town, worried that he'd jar Mallie's arm.  She seemed to be doing better than she had been, but Mallie tried so hard to be stoic all the time, it was hard to tell. 

"Are you all right?" he asked for the thirtieth time in ten minutes.

"Pa, I'm fine.  I was fine the last time you asked and the time before that.  The aspirin has been enough to make me feel all right."  Mallie gave him a look that seemed to tell him to calm down.

Edith had been at the house day and night since the doc had left on Monday.  She'd stayed behind to get the laundry finished.  She hated being outside hanging clothes on the line while Mallie was inside by herself.  His niece needed to have her own children soon or she'd wear out her mothering skills on his.

After stopping the wagon in front of Dr. Sullivan's office, he helped Mallie down.  "Is this where the nice lady doctor works, Pa?"  Mallie had talked about nothing but the 'lady doctor' for the past two days.  The doctor had made a real impression on his daughter.

Francis smiled.  He was glad Mallie still thought the doctor was nice after the way she'd had to hurt her.  "It is."  He pushed the door open to find Edna Petunia sitting at a desk in the front room.  He couldn't quite decide what to think of the older woman.  She was certainly like no old woman he'd ever met. 

Edna looked at them both and smiled.  "How are you feeling, Mallie?"

"Lots better.  I've done everything the doctor told me to do."  Mallie walked over to Edna and smiled.  "Do you have more peppermint sticks?" she asked in a whisper.

Edna nodded.  "I never leave home without them.  If you're good for Doc Sullivan, I'll let you have another one."

"I'd like that."

Francis wanted to tell Mallie to stay away from the odd old woman, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.  All three of his girls had taken to the crazy woman for reasons he couldn't fathom.  "Is the doc in?"

"She's back in the examining room cleaning her doctor supplies.  Why, I couldn't tell you.  It's not like she has patients in and out of this place all day every day."  Edna pushed to her feet. 

Francis stepped back from the old woman.  When he'd first seen her, he'd thought she looked like a grandmother.  Of course, as soon as she opened her mouth, everyone around her knew that she wasn't the grandmotherly sort.  She'd make a good eccentric aunt, though.

Edna led the way back to the examining room, pushing the door open.  "Mallie's here to see you."

Iris turned and beamed at her young patient, her face lighting up.  "How are you feeling, Mallie?"  She patted the table where she wanted Mallie to sit and watched as Mr. Harvey carefully helped his daughter to the edge of the table.

"I'm doing a whole lot better.  It's even less puffy."

Iris examined the broken arm carefully.  "The swelling and bruising are much better.  I'm going to need to feel it, and it may hurt a bit."

Mallie nodded.  "I know.  I'll be brave."

Iris stifled a laugh, her eyes meeting Mr. Harvey's over the girl's head.  "I appreciate that.  It's so difficult to have cowards writhing on the floor of my office while I'm trying to examine them."

"What does writhing mean?"

"Oh, it means rolling around moaning."  Iris was careful not to smile as she said the words.

"Do people really do that?" Mallie's eyes were wide.

Iris leaned forward as if to impart a secret.  "Only men.  Girls are almost always brave."

Mallie giggled.  "Pa is brave."

Iris shrugged.  "I'd have to see him hurt to believe it."  She looked at Mr. Harvey.  "The break seems to be staying in place beautifully.  I'm going to go ahead and put a cast on it.  The cast cannot get wet at all."

Francis nodded.  "I had a broken arm when I was about her age.  I fell out of a tree."

Mallie looked at her father.  "You did?"

"I did, and we didn't have a doctor close by back then.  My pa had to take me all the way to Austin."  He didn't mention the agony that had been involved with the long drive.  He'd never have given a woman doctor a chance if he hadn't remembered how painful that drive was.

"Do you remember your pa?" Mallie asked, her voice soft and confused.

Francis was startled by the question.  "Of course I do.  I was fifteen when he died."

"Oh."  Mallie said nothing else.

Iris looked back and forth between father and daughter as she carefully slipped a sock with a thumb hole cut out over the girl's hand.  There was obviously something going on, and Mallie needed to talk to her father about it. 

"Do you remember your mother, Mallie?" Iris asked, keeping her face down as she began wrapping the arm.

Mallie burst into tears.  "I remember her sometimes, but just because I have a photograph.  I can't remember her voice or anything else about her.  I remember her grave."

Iris wasn't certain what to say to the girl, but she knew she had to say something, and Mr. Harvey looked like he was frozen in place, incapable of speech.  "How old were you when she died?"

Mallie used her good hand to wipe the tears from her face.  "Four."

"Most people don't have a lot of memories of being that young, sweetheart.  I can't imagine how hard it would be to lose your mother.  Mine bosses me around a lot, but she's still my mother."  Iris looked at Mr. Harvey, but there seemed to be no help from that direction.  "What about your grandmothers?  I bet they're fun to be around."

Mallie shook her head.  "I don't have any grandparents.  My mother was an orphan from Massachusetts and my pa lost his parents before I was born."

Iris felt her heart tighten in her chest.  The poor girl had no real mother figure at all?  "Who do you go to when you need to be comforted?  Who fixes you chicken soup when you're sick?"

"Aunt Tracy.  We used to walk to her house after school, but now that we're older, we just go home."  Mallie smiled as she mentioned her aunt.  "She grew up in the same orphanage as my mama, and she married Uncle Andy."

"She did?"  Iris had never known an orphan before her sister Violet's son, who was now ten. 

"Yes, and she tells me all kinds of wonderful stories about mama.  She was the one who found her on the orphanage steps, you know."

"No, I didn't know that.  I'm glad you have your aunt to tell you special things about your mother then."  Iris looked at Mr. Harvey who was still silent.  "I'm sure your pa has some nice stories about your mother as well."

Francis sighed.  "Of course I do."  He didn't know what to say.  He'd been married to Katherine for seven years, and knew almost nothing about the woman.  She'd been quiet and said little, taking care of the children and the house, because she knew it was her responsibility.  She'd never seemed happy to do it, though.  Not like Tracy and his mother had been. He'd worried about her a lot, but when he'd asked if she was all right, there had been no real answers.