A Bride to Heal His Broken Heart
Page 12
“We all have chores that need doing. I’ll get mine done later.”
“If you’re sure…I’d be happy for a ride into town. Truthfully, I’m not one hundred percent confident I can remember all of the turns and twists in the trail to get me there. Not yet, anyway.”
“It’ll come. I’ll go get the wagon ready.”
“I’ll help clear the table and be out in a few minutes,” she assured him. She watched him leave the dining room, her heart racing as she contemplated spending more time alone with Darren.
It might have been improper, but she’d really enjoyed this morning when it had been just the two of them. The ride into town would be another opportunity to spend time with him. Where the day had seemed mundane before, it was now full of promise, and she couldn’t wait to see what else lay in store for her.
Chapter 17
Darren hitched the horses to the wagon, turning when he heard feet approaching from behind him. He could tell it was Lorna by the fact that her footsteps sounded light and were much closer together than the taller ranch hands’. He turned and met her gaze. “Ready?”
She nodded and he waved a hand toward the front of the wagon and the buckboard. He held her arm while she placed her foot on the step, and then made sure she was steady and seated before he released her. He pushed the step aside and then rounded the wagon and climbed up himself. He snapped the reins and they headed out of the yard.
He searched for something to say, but nothing immediately came to mind that hadn’t already been said early that morning. Lorna didn’t seem inclined to speak much either. They rode that way for quite a while. Darren kept his eyes forward, but he could feel her gaze landing on him from time to time, and he wondered what she was thinking when she looked at him.
She wasn’t overtly staring at him, just sneaking small glances beneath her lashes every few minutes. He finally cleared his throat as the town came into view and asked, “How long do you work today?”
“Just until the noon hour.”
Darren nodded and then took a deep breath before asking, “I wonder if you might accompany me to lay some wreaths at my mother’s and Mark’s graves once you’re finished for the day?”
He felt Lorna look at him and met her gaze. She had a look of surprise on her face, which quickly changed to understanding, further confirming what he’d decided about her character. She was very compassionate.
“I would like that very much.”
Darren nodded, his throat tight with emotion. He was dreading going to the gravesites, but he also knew that it was something he needed to do. He just didn’t want to do it alone. He was struggling for something else to say, his hands gripping the reins tightly, when he felt Lorna’s hand reach over and clasp his own.
He glanced down at their hands, his holding the reins and her hand lying atop it. He thought about how much smaller her hand was than his own, but how much strength it hid. He glanced over at her, a question in his eyes.
She gave him a soft smile and told him gently, “I would love to go with you to the gravesites.”
Darren nodded and then directed his attention back to the wagon as they turned onto the main street of the town. Folks were already out and about, taking care of chores and business matters. He made his way to the center of town where the doctor’s office was. He pulled the team to a stop and immediately felt a loss when Lorna removed her hand from his own.
He cleared his throat and then turned toward her. “In case I forget later – thank you. Today would have been my mother’s birthday. It was Mark’s idea to lay wreaths on her gravesite every year at this time. That was one of the main reasons Mark always wanted to attend the festival. He said he could always sense her presence near.”
“But you didn’t?” Lorna questioned softly.
Darren shrugged. “Maybe. Anyway, Mark would have been pleased to know you were part of the tradition to honor Ma.” He shook himself, looked around, and then jumped out of the wagon.
He came around to her side and, instead of locating the step sitting next to the door of the doctor’s office, he reached up with both hands, placed them around her waist, and lifted her to the ground.
He kept his hands in place long enough to ensure she had her footing and then stepped back. He refused to rub his palms on his thighs, but they were tingling from the contact with her person. The unfamiliar sensation puzzled him for a moment.
She busied herself with straightening her skirts and then looked up, her eyes not quite meeting his own. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be back here at noon.”
Lorna nodded and then headed for the office door. He watched her until she was inside. There was something about her; he found himself seriously considering the possibility of courting her.
Since Darren had never even thought about courting any other woman, the fact that he was giving serious consideration to doing so now was perplexing. He’d just lost his brother, and yet he couldn’t seem to get the beautiful young woman now living at the ranch out of his mind.
She was everything he’d want in a potential wife, despite having never given it much thought: brave, honest, caring, beautiful. Her smile was like sunshine on a cloudy day. And the way she’d jumped right in and taken care of his pa…Darren knew she’d show her future husband and children the same sort of unconditional love and support.
The thought of Lorna becoming someone else’s wife didn’t sit well with him, however. She deserved someone who would treat her well, be a helpmate for her, make her smile, and fill her life with joy.
That was a tall order for many of the men living in Virginia City, who only saw a wife as someone to take care of the children and do the cooking and cleaning. They didn’t care if they were happy, just that there was a hot meal on the table at the end of each day.
That wasn’t the sort of life Lorna deserved and not one that Darren would ever force upon his future wife. No, if he’d learned anything from living with the Wilsons, it was that love formed the foundation of a happy marriage. It was love that allowed them to weather the storms that would most assuredly come up.
Lorna deserved that kind of love. She would have had it with Mark. At least, Darren liked to think that. But Mark was dead, and Lorna was here, still needing a husband.
The horses tossed their heads, indicating they were growing tired of waiting, bringing him back to the present. The office door closed, and he climbed back into the wagon and directed the horses down the street until he reached the sheriff’s office. He parked the wagon off to the side of the building and then headed inside.
Sheriff Chisholm was sitting at his desk, a knife in his hand, whittling away on a piece of wood. “Morning, Sheriff,” Darren said as he walked inside.
The sheriff eyed him carefully, squinting for a long moment before seeming to recognize his visitor. “Darren? What brings you to town this morning?”
Darren ignored the question that had lingered after his name. The sheriff’s eyesight was fading quickly, and with the current outlaw situation around Virginia City at an all-time high, that was not a good thing.
“I brought Miss MacPherson in to help Doc out for a short while. Thought I’d stop by and talk to you about them outlaws.”
“What about ‘em?” the sheriff asked, laying down the piece of wood and his knife.
Darren watched him carefully, noticing how fidgety he’d become since mention of the outlaws had been made. “I was at the festival and saw one of the men who was with the outlaws the night Mark was shot.”
The sheriff fidgeted more and shook his head. “How can you be sure? I thought you said they had their faces covered.”
Darren nodded. “They did, with red bandanas. The same red bandana I saw sticking out of this man’s back pocket. Then there’s his eyes. Hard to forget eyes that cold.”
“Now, Darren. I know you’re wanting the man who killed your brother, but you need to let the law handle this.”
“The law, meaning you?” Dar
ren asked, trying to keep the skepticism out of his voice.
Sheriff Chisholm tapped the silver star pinned to his chest and nodded his head. “That’s right. This here proclaims me the law around these parts.”
“Then tell me what you’re doing to try and find these men. The last time I was in this office, they robbed the bank just down the street in broad daylight, and the pastor’s son was shot and almost died.”
Sheriff Chisholm looked almost green, and he stood up hastily, knocking over his chair in the process. The loud crash reverberated through the jail. “I told you I have everything under control.”
Darren crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “And I’m here to tell you it’s not enough. This town is under attack and something needs to be done.”
“You listen to me, Darren Wilson. You leave well enough alone and let me handle this situation. The last thing any of us needs is you sticking your nose into things and stirring up more trouble. Now, you get on out of here. Go back to your ranch and take care of them cattle and horses.”
Darren stared at the man, clenching his fists as his annoyance with the inept sheriff threatened to loosen his tongue. Darren had always tried to treat people with respect, but in this instance, he found himself struggling to hold back the words that wanted to spring out of him. The sheriff didn’t have everything under control and was only lying to himself if he honestly thought otherwise.
Afraid he might actually tell the sheriff what he was thinking, Darren tipped the brim of his hat to the lawman and turned on his heel, leaving the jail quickly. He stood on the boardwalk, looking up and down the street and taking measured breaths as he forced himself to calm down.
He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that the sheriff wasn’t actually doing anything to help bring the outlaws to justice. The man could barely discern who was stepping into the jail.
Putting a loaded weapon in the man’s hand could be very dangerous to one’s health, for he was just as likely to shoot a member of his posse as he was the men they would be chasing.
No, if the outlaws were going to be brought to justice, it most likely wasn’t going to come from the sheriff. Darren would just have to keep his eyes and ears open.
The outlaws were getting cocky; they were sure to make a costly mistake sometime. Darren only hoped he would be around when that time came.
Chapter 18
Dr. Seth Ellsworth’s office was off to a very slow start this morning. Lorna had restocked the examination room and then wiped down everything before finding herself without anything else to occupy her time. That left her sitting at the small desk in the corner waiting for the next patient to arrive, with nothing to do but think. About Darren. About Brian. About their conversations earlier that morning.
Brian had thought it was important for her to know that Darren was adopted, and she’d seen in his eyes that he wanted to say something else when June had announced breakfast was ready and interrupted them.
When she’d gone back upstairs after eating, Brian had been fast asleep, and she hadn’t wanted to wake him up. June had promised to look after him until she returned this afternoon, and now Lorna found herself wondering what else Brian had wanted to tell her.
She admired the fact that the Wilsons had so readily taken in a boy who wasn’t theirs. There was no doubt that Brian and his wife, Ginny, were charitable folk, especially when one considered the fact that Brian had given Darren’s father a job, a place to live, and a place to raise his son. It was just misfortune that Silas hadn’t lived to see Darren fully grown.
The fact that Brian and Ginny had stepped up and filled that void made them wonderful people in Lorna’s mind. Too many folks wouldn’t consider raising a child who wasn’t their own, justifying their position with the cost of doing so or not knowing what kind of character traits they might be bringing into their home. No, the Wilsons had done a marvelous thing for Darren, and it was plain to see that Brian loved him as a true son, not just an adopted one.
“Miss MacPherson…”
“Please, just call me Lorna,” she replied to the doctor’s wife, Claire.
“Very well. Lorna, would you like to join me for a cup of tea?”
Lorna glanced over to where the doctor was perusing some patient files. He nodded for her to go with his wife. “Thank you. I won’t be long,” Lorna said to him.
“Take your time, it seems we have very few patients this morning.”
Lorna nodded and then followed Claire through the back part of the office and across the small boardwalk that connected the office to their living quarters. “Come in,” Claire told her, walking through the small house to the back where the kitchen was located. “Make yourself comfortable.”
“Thank you. Is it convenient having your house so close to the office?” she asked.
Claire smiled. “That is a tough question to answer. It’s very convenient for Seth when there’s an emergency in the middle of the night, but annoying and bothersome at the same time. Most folks abide by the posted hours on the front door of the office, but there are a few who believe it is okay to bother us here, at home.”
“Goodness. When do either of you ever get a true break?”
“We don’t – unless we leave town, that is. Anyway, enough about me. Let’s talk about you. What brought you to Virginia City?”
Claire removed a pot of hot water from the stovetop and then poured it into two porcelain cups. She placed them on matching saucers and then set one in front of Lorna. She passed her a metal tin of tea and then sat down across from her.
“You came on the train, I believe?” Claire asked.
“I did. I came here originally as a mail-order bride.”
“A mail-order bride? Truly? Who were you supposed to marry?”
“Mark Wilson.”
Claire’s mouth opened wide. She covered it with her hand as she tried to hide her reaction. “You were supposed to marry Mark? When?”
“The day after he was shot and died.”
“Oh, my! Well, I’m so sorry for your loss. Mark was a wonderful man and would have been a very nice husband.”
“That’s what I’ve heard. I almost feel cheated for not having had a chance to meet the man.”
A loud crash echoed through the house, followed quickly by the doctor’s voice calling for Lorna. “Help! Lorna, I need your help.”
Lorna stood up, bumping into the table and spilling tea over her saucer and the tablecloth. “Dr. Ellsworth, whatever is the matter?”
“Quickly, I need your help in the surgery. A young man has been shot.”
Lorna followed him, running to keep up as they raced back to the office. The young man was a rancher who had unfortunately come upon the outlaws trying to steal some of his cattle in the wee hours of the morning. He’d been brought in by his father, who stood silently by, observing everything.
“Tyler, Jeremy, this is Miss MacPherson. She’s going to assist me,” Dr. Ellsworth introduced her.
Lorna grabbed her apron, slipped it over her head and then tied it around her waist. The young man was bleeding profusely from his right upper chest, but with his shirt on she couldn’t accurately assess his true injuries. With the doctor’s help, they managed to cut his shirt away and Lorna was relieved to see that the wound was on his shoulder, and not in his actual chest cavity.
The bullet had merely grazed him, cutting a deep furrow in his skin that was bleeding a lot. Fortunately, no bones had been injured, and there was no bullet to be removed. “You’re very lucky,” she told the young man.
“It sure don’t feel like luck, beggin’ your pardon, miss,” the young man replied, his face white in both shock and pain.
“Dr. Ellsworth, I’ve got the wound all cleaned up,” she murmured a few minutes later.
Dr. Ellsworth examined the wound and then shook his head. “Jeremy, there’s not much I can do for that kind of wound except to bandage it up and tell you not to use that arm for a while until it begins to heal.”
His father stepped forward at that point and laid a hand upon his son’s good shoulder. “You let me worry about that for the next few days. We’ll manage.”
“Did you send anyone to tell the sheriff what happened?” Dr. Ellsworth asked.
Tyler nodded and then sighed. “For all the good it will do. We need a new sheriff. This is getting out of hand. First Mark, then Timothy, now Jeremy? These outlaws need to be brought down and justice needs to be served.”
Lorna listened, not really offering much in the way of an opinion as the men continued to discuss the outlaws and how tragic it was that they were being allowed to act without consequences.