Healing Hearts (Proper Romance)

by Sarah M. Eden

“Wonderful to see you again,” Mrs. Carol said. “Did you need something?”

  “Only a moment of Miss Bricks’s time. Once she’s completed her business, of course.”

  Miriam hadn’t intended to undertake this with an audience. She set the spool of thread on the table where Mrs. Carol sat. “For Mrs. Wilhite,” she explained. “She said she liked tatting. My mother does as well, and this is precisely like the thread she most prefers.”

  Mrs. Carol was clearly surprised by the offering. “For Wilma?”

  Miriam nodded. “You needn’t tell her it’s from me.”

  Mrs. Carol didn’t say a word, didn’t look away. Nothing about her pinched expression spoke of approval. It seemed Miriam had overstepped herself.

  She took a step backward. “I will leave you to the rest of your day.”

  She turned and faced Hawk. “What was it you needed me to do?”

  He eyed her with blatant curiosity. “Do you always assume people seek you out because they want you to do something for them?”

  “Being useful is not a bad thing.” Indeed, it was the only thing that convinced people to keep her around.

  “Well, Miss Bricks, I’ve not come with a task for you.” He motioned her toward the door. “We can talk while we walk back to Doc’s house.”

  She nodded and fell into step alongside him.

  “The town’s hosting a social day after next,” he said. “I’d be honored if you’d considered going with me.”

  She stopped a single pace from the door. He couldn’t have shocked her more if he’d asked her to join the marshals. “You want me to go with you to a social? Are you certain?”

  He smiled at her. This was a man who likely broke a few hearts while enforcing the law. “I’m not one to issue idle invitations.”

  They stepped out of the millinery. “Why would you want to go with me? You hardly know me.”

  “That’s the point of socializing, ain’t it?” Hawk said. “Getting to know the other person.”

  He offered her his arm as they crossed the wide street toward Gideon’s house. Hawk did that sometimes when walking her to the hotel at the end of the day. She appreciated the considerate gesture.

  But, though she only vaguely admitted as much to herself, his was not the company she most longed for. He was kind and thoughtful, but he didn’t warm her through or bring her a sense of peace and comfort. Her thoughts didn’t spin when she was with him. Her heart didn’t pound.

  “Now, if you’re of a mind to accept my invitation,” Hawk said as they reached Gideon’s front porch, “I’ll make a few things clear up-front. Single women are few and far between in Wyoming. You’ll have plenty of offers to dance, and I’ll not begrudge you any of them. If there are any offers you’d rather not accept, why, you merely toss me a look, and I’ll clear out the pests. Secondly, there is always a chance that, owing to my work, I might be called away without warning. I have a good group of deputies who take care of most everything, but there are no guarantees.”

  Miriam reached out and opened the door. “So, you are inviting me to a social where you’re not going to dance with me—assuming you even show up?”

  Hawk’s usually stern mouth twisted in a grin as he followed her into the parlor. “That ain’t at all what I said. And now I’ve half a mind to ask someone else.”

  “Is that so? Because I had heard rumors that single women are few and far between in these parts.” She did appreciate that Hawk kept their conversations light.

  Hawk looked over at Gideon. “Are you hearing this, Doc?”

  “Sounds to me as though you’re being turned down.” Gideon’s eyes remained on the book he was reading. “You could always arrest her, I suppose, but you won’t haul her out without a fight.”

  Hawk chuckled and turned back to her. “You’d fight me, would you, Miriam?”

  “I didn’t mean she would fight you,” Gideon muttered.

  Heaven help her, her heart fluttered. “You wouldn’t let him drag me to jail?”

  He closed his book, but didn’t rise from the chair by the fireplace. “The only thing rarer around here than single women is competent nurses. More to the point, if you’re a jailbird, I’ll have to go back to burnt toast for every meal.” He gave her a look of absolute horror.

  Her smile came easily after that. She liked when he teased her. There’d been so little of that in her life that she sometimes wondered if she even remembered how to laugh. But she liked even more when he held her hand, when he brushed his fingers along her cheek, when his smile turned soft and gentle.

  “What do you say, Miriam?” Hawk asked. “Will you go to the social with me?”

  She appreciated his offer; she truly did. And he would be an enjoyable companion. Why, then, did she feel dissatisfied at the invitation? Perhaps she was simply nervous.

  “I haven’t anything nice to wear. I don’t even have a ribbon for my hair. I’ll look as drab as a hatchling.”

  Hawk held his hat to his heart. “Miss Miriam Bricks, you couldn’t look drab no matter what you wore, nor how ribbon-less your hair was. I’ve never thought otherwise, and I’d wager there’s no one in all this world who has.”

  It was one of the kindest things anyone had said to her. How was it this town could be so cold and so welcoming at the same time? “I would very much enjoy going to the social with you,” she said.

  “I’m looking forward to it.” Hawk plopped his wide-brimmed hat on his head. “Doc, if you have a moment later on, would you step over to my office? I’ve a bit of information for you.”

  Gideon frowned in confusion. “May I ask what about?”

  Hawk’s eyes darted to Miriam. “A clue in a mystery,” was all he said.

  A clue in a mystery. Instinct told her Hawk’s clue had something to do with her.

  “I have a minute now,” Gideon said.

  Hawk nodded. “Walk with me over to the jailhouse.”

  A moment later, they were gone. She stood in the middle of the parlor. Hawk had uncovered something. About her. Depending on what it was, she might lose her job. Worse by far, she might lose her freedom.

  Chapter 15

  “It seems a great deal of sour grapes to me.” Gideon had listened to Hawk relay the information he’d received from the Western Women’s Bureau. He didn’t like what he’d heard. “They’ve been caught being deceitful and are trying to lay the blame at someone else’s feet.” Namely, Miriam’s.

  Hawk was unmoved by the argument. “They’re likely panicked. A certain Mr. Ian MacNamara, lawyer and up-and-coming star in Washington’s political circles, has been making his own inquiries.”

  Gideon’s brother had gladly agreed to investigate the agency, but Ian had never been one to do things quietly. He’d likely made quite a ruckus in St. Louis.

  “Knowing the bureau was possibly covering their tracks, I did a little more digging,” Hawk said.

  Gideon stepped over to the windows of the marshal’s office and looked out over the town. The window, directly above the jail, provided a view of one end of the L-shaped Main Street. The wall to the right had a window that did the same for the other leg of Main. It was little wonder Hawk had claimed it for the marshals. He could monitor all of Savage Wells from this one room. And, judging by the amount of information he’d gathered, half the country.

  Gideon wasn’t certain he was ready to hear what else Hawk had uncovered; what he’d heard so far was discouraging. The bureau insisted that Miriam had been let go from five of her last six positions for being unfit to perform her duties as a nurse, something she’d kept from them, and that only an investigation on their part had revealed it. She’d known of the marriage arrangement, the bureau added, and that with her history no doctor would hire her so marrying one was her only option.

  He wanted to believe that the bureau was being untruthful. He needed to believe it. Mir
iam had admitted she’d been less than forthright about Nebraska. She’d even apologized, expressing regret. He’d thought that had cleared up the lies between them. But what if she was hiding so much more?

  Hawk remained at his desk. “If you’d rather I not tell you the rest, I’ll understand. Sometimes a drop or two of ignorance is better than a full measure of truth.”

  It was tempting, more so than Gideon would have guessed only a few short weeks earlier. But his doctor’s conscience would not allow him to leave potentially crucial information unrevealed. “What else did you discover?”

  “That she was, indeed, dismissed from five of her last six positions, though only the doctor she worked for five years ago expounded upon the reasons for her dismissal.”

  The confirmation didn’t sit well at all. He needed to know, though.

  Rupert Fletcher walked by on the street below, a limp to his gait. I’ll have to look into that; he shouldn’t still be limping. Weariness settled heavily on him. “What did this doctor give as his reason for letting Miriam go?”

  “He said she was ill in a way that interfered with her work.”

  Gideon paced away. An illness could be dismissed as a temporary impediment, not one that would last for years. Five of her last six positions ending in dismissal was a pattern he could not, as a doctor responsible for the well-being of half a territory, overlook.

  “The doctor in New York, the one from five years ago, said he’d rather not give details of her illness,” Hawk said. “He and his wife had grown fond of her. They don’t want to impose on her privacy.”

  That brought Gideon up short. “The doctor believes this illness is still afflicting her after nearly half a decade?”

  Hawk leaned back in his chair. The man never seemed ruffled by anything. “Seems that way.”

  Few things were that long-term without being obvious, especially to someone with medical training. But he hadn’t seen anything that would make him suspect even a minor illness, let alone something catastrophic.

  “I’d wager at least some of the other doctors would be willing to answer our questions.” Hawk’s steely gaze stopped Gideon’s pacing. “It’s possible you’ll learn things you’d rather you didn’t know.”

  Miriam did good, competent work. She cared for their patients. He was growing fond of her. What if he discovered she was hiding something truly devastating, that she’d been lying about something more than her past employment, perhaps had even deceived him about her ignorance of the arranged marriage? Could he ever trust her after that? What choice would he have but to fire her as the others had done?

  “Something of a dilemma, ain’t it?” Hawk at least sounded empathetic. “Tell me how you want to move forward. I can either leave things as they are, or I can contact more of her former employers.”

  Gideon resumed his pacing. “As a doctor, I need to know what this illness is, and as her employer, I need to know the reasons she has been fired so often, but I can’t help thinking that opening this particular Pandora’s box might be a grave mistake.”

  She’d claimed a piece of his heart. Seeing her walk inside his home on Hawk’s arm discussing their intention to go to the social together had brought to light just how real his affection was for her. He’d been rendered instantly jealous, frustrated, dejected. He’d fallen the first, tiniest bit in love with her. But he’d been horribly wrong on matters of the heart before, and the degree of deception Hawk was hinting at would shatter him. He knew it would. But, as painful as it would potentially be, the truth was crucial.

  “You need to make more inquiries.”

  Hawk raised an eyebrow. “You’re prepared to be the sixth doctor to dismiss her if what you learn necessitates it?”

  “I won’t put the well-being of my patients at risk.”

  “What about her well-being?” Hawk asked.

  “I know you’re not indifferent to her,” Gideon said. “I’m—I’m not entirely, either. But I have to know for certain that this town is safe in her hands.”

  Hawk stood. “I’ll send some telegrams today. We should know more soon enough.”

  Gideon left with that dire pronouncement echoing in his mind. Paisley was in the jailhouse, sitting at the sheriff’s desk, when he passed by a side window at the bottom of the outer staircase. Andrew sat across from Barney at their usual spot near the cells, a checkerboard between them.

  Barney would need a great deal of care soon enough. Gideon had been impressed with how Miriam had interacted with him. She was not only kind and patient, but she also understood the best way to help him.

  There was the rub. She was, in so many ways, exactly what this town needed—what he needed—and he’d just asked Hawk to open a proverbial can of worms.

  Chapter 16

  Wearing blue was the nearest thing to heaven Miriam could imagine after two years of gray.

  “Thank you, Paisley.” She carefully smoothed the bodice of the dress she was borrowing for the night. “Wearing gray to a town social would likely have offended someone. Everything I do seems to be taken as an affront.”

  “If anyone gives you a lick of trouble, you need only tell me. I’ll set ’em straight.” Paisley sat in the only chair in the room. She wore a finer dress than she usually did, though she still wore her deputy marshal badge. The contradiction in her appearance was echoed in her personality. Paisley was both tender and tough, kind and dangerous.

  She was also becoming something of a friend. It had begun with a heartfelt expression of gratitude for Miriam’s attention to Paisley’s father, and had continued with quick and friendly conversations in the days since. Miriam was grateful for a friend, but she was also terribly unsure how to proceed. Friendships eased some of her loneliness, but they were also a risk.

  The sound of scraping table legs and voices calling out instructions floated up from the restaurant below, where preparations for the social were well underway.

  “I think Gideon is upset with me,” Miriam said.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “A few different reasons.” She did her best not to fret, but she was worried. “He hasn’t teased or jested much these past couple of days. His patience with me has grown thin. Just this morning, I couldn’t recall the name of a tincture and, rather than simply remind me, he leapt into an endless stream of questions, quizzing me about things that he must surely know that I know. It was almost as if he expected to find out that I’ve only been pretending to be a nurse.”

  Paisley tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair. “I can’t imagine he doubts your training entirely. Perhaps he’s only worried that it isn’t as extensive as he’d hoped. He is planning to leave you here to treat his patients in his absence.”

  While the argument made sense, it felt incomplete. “He’s curt with me at other times, as well. We used to share stories and interact more lightheartedly during meals or between patients.” He used to hold her hand, speak tenderly. For one brief moment in his kitchen a week or so ago, she’d even thought he might kiss her. “I know his terseness isn’t a matter of him not feeling social. He is talkative with his patients. He and Mrs. Wilhite spent a full hour last evening laughing about something.”

  “It does seem like this is something about you.”

  Miriam rubbed at her mouth. She was certain it had everything to do with whatever Hawk had pulled him aside to tell him the day he’d asked her to this social.

  “I fear he is going to fire me, and I haven’t the slightest idea why.” At least all of the other doctors who’d dismissed her had had good reason. Gideon didn’t even know of her condition.

  “The last few weeks haven’t gone the way he expected,” Paisley said. “I suspect he’s trying to sort out where to go from here. Having so much on his mind, and most of it involving you, may be wearing on him.”

  Miriam leaned against the wall. How many years had she spent putting
down roots only to have them pulled up again? The experience was growing soul-dampening. And dangerous. There weren’t many tiny, tucked-away towns like this one where she could find work. Staying hidden was her only chance of staying alive.

  “I’ll keep an eye on our good doctor and see what I can discover,” Paisley said. “In the meantime, we have a couple of handsome men waiting for us downstairs. We owe it to ourselves to go enjoy their company.”

  Miriam wasn’t about to argue with that. Hawk was kind to her, and she appreciated that. Far too few people in her life had been. And he had invited her to accompany him to a social event. She hadn’t attended any kind of leisure function since she was sixteen years old. She fully meant to enjoy the all-too-rare treat.

  “Everyone is shocked that Hawk is coming with you,” Paisley said.

  “I know the town doesn’t have a high opinion of me.”

  Paisley waved that off. “No, they’re surprised that he is being social at all.”

  “Speaking of which,” Miriam said, “I cannot believe you convinced Cade to come tonight.” She had heard him grumbling about the social at Gideon’s house that morning.

  Paisley’s expression turned mischievous. “I told him I don’t kiss men who refuse to take me to socials. He agreed very quickly after that.”

  “Brilliantly devious,” Miriam acknowledged.

  “I know.”

  The more Miriam knew Paisley, the more she liked her. Did Paisley feel the same way? Did Miriam even want her to? The past years had taught Miriam to question everything: her worth, her judgment, her hopes and dreams.

  They reached the hotel lobby, which also served as the entrance to the restaurant. Even through the milling crowd, the men they were looking for were easy to spot.

  Miriam could scarcely imagine a more intimidating sight. Both Cade and Hawk exuded authority, with eyes that didn’t miss a detail, and stances that spoke of cool confidence. They wore gun belts at the ready, and bright silver badges declaring they were the law. Wouldn’t she look odd, surrounded by three such intimidating people?