Leave a Candle Burning (24 page)

“Corina, I said no,” Dannan repeated when she didn’t seem to hear him.

Corina looked up, her face turning stubborn.

“I know you’re hungry,” Dannan said, meeting her gaze, “but I don’t have all the food on the table yet, and I want you to wait.”

Dannan was tired and hungry as well and could feel his temper rising. His brows rose, telling Corina he was waiting for an answer, but she turned away from him. Dannan’s jaw tightened as he went down on one knee to confront her at eye level.

“Did you hear me tell you to stay out of the bread?”

Her lip quivered, and Dannan did everything in his power to remember what Grant would have done in this situation.

“I don’t want you to cry,” Dannan directed softly, schooling his features but refusing to allow her willfulness. “Did you hear me?”

“Yes,” Corina said, lip quivering some.

“We will eat very soon, and you will not cry or touch the food until we sit down.”

The contents of the pot on the stove began to boil, and Dannan had no choice but to stand up to stir it. He had no more done this than Corina began to cry. As though her heart had been broken, she put her hands over her face and began to sob.

Dannan did not immediately move. His head went back for a moment, frustration filling him. Taking a few moments to calm down, Dannan moved the pot to the table and went to Corina. He took her in his arms and sat down with her in his lap.

“Corina,” Dannan spoke softly. “Listen to me. Corina?” he tried again.

When the words did not work, Dannan rocked her a little bit and prayed. He thought about how little of this type of behavior there had been. He did not want to make excuses for sin, but she had been amazingly well behaved since arriving in Tucker Mills.

Corina’s crying was stopping, so Dannan used his handkerchief to dry her face and wipe her small nose. She looked at him with a miserable, wet gaze, and Dannan’s heart felt as though it was breaking in two.

“Let’s eat,” he said hoarsely, unable to utter another word. Tears had clogged his throat, and he couldn’t even pray. He prepared Corina’s plate, and as soon as she was done eating, put her to bed. She was asleep within seconds of lying down, but Dannan did not leave the room. He knelt by the side of the bed and prayed. His heart heavy with his cousin’s loss and his new job as father, he begged God to give him the strength and to raise Corina as Grant would have done, believing that man to have been a very fine father.

It was a painful time on the floor of Corina’s room in the dark. Just thinking about Grant’s tender way with Corina brought Dannan’s own tears.

“This book is called
Old Dame Trot and Her Cat.
” Scottie held the book out for Corina, who was cuddled against her side on the parlor sofa. Scottie had been busy all day with no time to read, so they were getting a late start. Iris warned them that Dannan might be along any moment, but Scottie said they would get in as much as they could.

“ ‘Here you behold Dame Trot, and here her comic cat you see. Each seated in an elbow chair as snug as they can be,’ ” Scottie read, holding the book in such a way that Corina could see the funny pictures. Corina smiled at the picture of a cat in a red dress and another of the cat sitting by the fireplace in a chair as a person would.

Scottie read slowly, making the story last as long as possible. When the kitchen door opened, she glanced up and found that Dannan had come in the back way.

“Look who’s here,” Scottie said to Corina.

“Danna!” the little girl looked delighted to see him but didn’t leave Scottie’s side.

“Hello,” Dannan quietly greeted his little charge, not aware that Scottie and Corina had become so close. He took the chair closest to him in the room and tried not to show his surprise. This was the first time in almost two weeks Corina hadn’t run to him at the end of the day.

“We can finish tomorrow,” Scottie said, her eyes shifting between the two.

“I’m not in a hurry if you have time, Mrs. Peterson,” Dannan said.

“She Sottie,” Corina told him.

Scottie smiled, and Dannan had to smile as well.

“She calls you Scottie?” Dannan asked.

“Everyone calls me Scottie.”

“Sottie,” Corina said again, looking completely content at her side.

Dannan could not hold the huge smile that spread across his mouth. He was just short of laughing when Scottie, also smiling, dropped her eyes and went back to the book.

It didn’t take ten seconds for Dannan to know that he should have gone back to the kitchen with Iris or upstairs to visit Eli. The longer he listened to Scottie and watched her interaction with Corina, the more trapped his heart felt. Her voice and manner with Corina was so tender that had Dannan not known better, he would have taken the two for mother and child.

The book was done in rhyme form, and Dannan tried to attend. However, whenever he did that, he began to listen to Scottie’s voice and found that doing so took his mind to a bad place. Dannan tried to let his mind wander to other things, and it must have worked. Before he realized it, the story was done.

“Did you thank Scottie?” Dannan asked, coming to his feet as Corina came to him.

Corina turned to do the honors, and Dannan said, “Let’s go thank Iris too.”

Dannan held out his hand to Corina. They were headed toward the kitchen when Finn came from Eli’s room.

“Dannan,” he called from the open hallway upstairs. “Can you see Eli a moment?”

His tone was lost on Dannan, who started that way with Corina, but Scottie caught it.

“Dannan,” she said his name softly and spoke when he turned. “Corina should stay down here.”

Dannan’s eyes shot up to Finn and finally saw what Scottie had caught.

“I want you to go and see Iris,” Dannan instructed Corina, putting her down and ushering her that way before taking the stairs two at a time. Scottie followed behind Corina to quietly explain the situation to Iris and then went back to the parlor to wait. She sat so she could see her husband’s door, knowing it would be closed but feeling better just keeping watch.

“It came on suddenly,” Finn explained because Eli had no breath. “It’s just like last time, the attack that was over before you got here.”

Dannan was bent over the bed, his stethoscope moving over Eli’s chest. Finn had moved him off the headboard a bit, and Dannan listened to his thin chest rattle. Dannan, however, was more interested in Eli’s face. His eyes were calm, but his lips were growing purple. Dannan put a hand under his back and lifted him slightly. The rattling eased some, and Eli’s chest rose for the first time since Dannan entered the room.

“Better?” Dannan asked.

Eli gave a small nod, and the younger man continued to hold him up even when his arm began to pain.

“Finn, try putting some pillows right here.”

The men worked on either side of Eli, and not many minutes later, the bedridden man tried a few words.

“Better,” he said with a wisp of breath. “Thanks.”

“Just rest,” Finn cautioned.

“Scottie,” Eli tried.

“Just as soon as you’re stable,” Finn promised.

Dannan knew it was not his imagination that Eli relaxed as soon as Finn assured him that he would get Scottie. He was at an awkward angle, but his complexion was clearing, and in a few more minutes, he was able to speak.

“What’s causing these episodes?” Eli asked.

“There are a few possibilities,” Dannan said, “but I want to do some reading before I answer.”

“You’re supposed to grow quiet and think about it,” Eli teased.

Dannan smiled. “That’s the last time I answer questions about my work.”

Eli closed his eyes with a small sigh. These sessions, where the very air was robbed from him, were taxing. He also hated the thought of Scottie waiting in the parlor. He knew she worked hard not to worry, but he was also certain that she would not go about her business until she had news.

Eli was on the verge of dropping off when Dannan asked how he was doing.

“Better. A little sore, but breathing.”

“Do you want Scottie now?” Finn asked.

“Do I look sick?” Eli asked, giving Dannan a glimpse into the relationship he had with his wife.

“Just a little pale, and you’re not in your usual place against the headboard.”

Eli thought about it. “Let her come.”

Dannan didn’t ask if he should stay. He was going to continue to keep an eye on this man until he was sure there was nothing else to be done. Backing away from the bed when Scottie came swiftly inside, Dannan retreated only as far as the foot.

“How are you?” Scottie asked, having wasted no time sitting down and reaching for his hand.

“Better,” Eli assured her. “How are you?”

“Just concerned about you.”

“It was like last time, but I think it might have lasted a bit longer.”

Scottie reached up and smoothed his hair. “You look tired.”

“I am. I think I might just sleep and not worry about tea.”

“What if you wake in the night and feel hungry?”

“I’ll use the bell for Finn.”

Scottie studied his face. Finn had finally cut Eli’s hair, so it wasn’t wild around his head, but his dark beard made his pale cheeks and forehead stand out. Scottie wanted to fret over him but knew he would allow no such thing. Still holding his hand, she turned to Dannan.

“Do you know why this happens?”

“Not yet. I plan to look into it.”

“You’ll be back tomorrow?” Scottie checked.

“Or in the night if you need me.”

“Dannan,” Eli began, but then glanced at his wife. “Thank you” was all he managed, not willing to say anything that might make her worry. “Stay for tea, Dannan,” Eli said next. “I’m sure Iris has already served Corina, and she always makes more than we need.”

“I’ll just head down and do that,” Dannan agreed, “and then I’ll be back up to see you before we go.”

Scottie thanked Dannan as he left the room and then turned back to her husband.

“He’s a fine man, isn’t he?” he surprised her by saying. She thought he would be ready to talk about the way he was feeling.

“He is,” Scottie agreed, “but I must admit that Dannan’s not really on my mind right now.”

Eli smiled, a smile that Scottie misunderstood. After all, her husband never wanted to give her reasons to worry. Had Scottie but known it, Eli’s smile was about something else entirely.

“Why don’t you head down and have your tea?” he suggested.

“I’m not very hungry.”

“But you will be later, and Iris will want to come up and see me. She can’t do that unless she knows Dannan and Corina are taken care of.”

Scottie agreed, telling him she would be back up as soon as she could.

As Scottie left, Finn came back to the room. He had been waiting in the hall. Stopping by the bed, he fixed a stern eye on his employer and did not mince words.

“This sick, and you’re still plotting and planning for the future.”

“Ah, Finn,” Eli replied, smiling without remorse. “You know me so well.”