by Karen Baney
Emily and Hannah grew up on adjoining farms several miles outside of Cincinnati. Hannah could not remember a time when she and Emily weren’t friends, despite being such opposites in looks and personality. With her dark curls and flashing nutmeg brown eyes, Emily charmed everyone, from the most reserved students to the toughest bullies in their school. As she grew older and began filling out her dress, boys noticed her long before noticing Hannah—not that any had noticed Hannah in school. Walking to and from school together, Hannah often found herself in the role of quiet listener to Emily’s constant chattering about what Amanda Taylor wore that day, or how the pigs on the farm gave birth to a large litter, or who danced with who at the last barn dance. Perhaps if Emily had set her mind on memorizing her lessons at school and not on such things, she would have made higher marks and Hannah would have spent less time trying to help her catch up.
Besides helping Emily with her school work, Hannah found in her a friend with whom she could confide her deepest sorrows, especially following her mother’s death. Even when her father sent her away to live with her aunt, she wrote letters to Emily almost weekly. When Hannah moved back to the farm with her father, years later, she easily picked up her friendship with Emily. Sadly, she was the only constant person in her life.
As Drew pulled the phaeton carriage to a stop down the street from the large whitewashed church building, Hannah scanned the crowd for her tall friend. Spotting her, she threw her arm up for a quick wave after Drew helped her to the ground. Emily turned without acknowledging Hannah and entered through the large dark wood doors. Perhaps she just didn’t see me.
Placing her hand in the crook of Drew’s arm, Hannah smiled, confident nothing could ruin her good mood in anticipation of a wonderful afternoon.
Once inside the church, Hannah watched as Emily and Levi took their seats in their normal pew. Drew led Hannah to the same pew. As soon as Drew and Hannah sat, she leaned forward to greet Emily, who immediately, without word, stood and followed her husband out of the pew.
“Emily, wait—”
“We’ll talk later,” Emily hissed, glancing back over her shoulder with a frown.
When Levi and Emily took a seat on the other side of the sanctuary, Hannah couldn’t help but feel hurt by her friend’s angry response. Had she unknowingly done something to offend Emily?
Feeling Drew’s body stiffen, Hannah peeked his direction. The couple on the other side of Drew stood and moved elsewhere. Soon, the pew in front of them emptied, as long time friends scattered to the edges of the room like marbles spilled on the floor.
Looking up at Drew she saw the stoic expression etched on his face.
“What’s going on?” she whispered, still trying to determine in what way she or Drew might have offended so many people.
Drew shook his head curtly.
When the music started, she shifted her gaze to the words in the hymnal, not needing to read them, but needing to hide her growing sadness over the rejection of her friends. Her voice sounded forced as she tried to sing praises to her God. Inside, she felt anything but gratitude.
Hannah shifted in her seat as the service dragged on. Her attention waned, not really hearing the words of the pastor.
As the last strains of the final hymn echoed in the wooden room, the pastor stood and gave a blessing. The sound of booted feet heightened as the crowd exited the church. Not waiting for Drew, Hannah hurried to catch up with Emily outside.
“Emily, we’ve been sitting together for years. Why did you move this morning?” Hannah asked as her friend tried to dodge her for a second time. “Aren’t you coming to dinner?”
“No, we are not,” Emily replied emphasizing each word, not looking Hannah in the eye.
“Are you not feeling well?”
“I am feeling fine,” Emily said, glaring at Drew as he came to stand next to his wife.
Hannah held her breath, hoping Emily might elaborate on her strange behavior.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Emily snapped as Levi started leading her around Hannah again.
Confused and hurt by Emily’s behavior, she reached out, placing her hand on Emily’s arm. “Please tell me, what have I done that offends you?”
Emily’s dark eyes flashed with anger as she turned to face Hannah. Brushing Hannah’s hand from her arm, she said, “It was our money, Hannah. We sacrificed and saved for years for that money. Levi took on that second shift at the meat factory so we would have enough for a home of our own to get out of that horrible squalor.”
“I don’t understand—”
“No, you don’t understand. And neither did Thomas. He just thought he could walk right into that bank and take what we worked so hard for,” Emily wagged her finger in Hannah’s face, causing Hannah to involuntarily take a step backwards. “And him, a worthless, gambling scoundrel! Never worked an honest day’s labor in his life. But, he thought he could just take what wasn’t his.”
“I understand your anger with Thomas, but—”
Levi, who stood with arms folded across his barrel chest, finally spoke, directing his comments to Drew, “A doctor is nothing without his reputation and yours is tainted by your brother’s wild ways. Tell me, Drew, did he try to hide out at your clinic when his plan failed?” Anger shrouded his words.
Drew dropped his arms to his side, stepping closer to Levi. “How could you think such a thing?”
Hannah bit her lower lip, hoping Drew and Levi would not come to blows. She was certain Drew would not win against the much larger man.
“Everyone knows you’ve been bailing him out of trouble for years. Well, this time the people of this city are not going to stand for it,” Levi responded through clenched teeth.
By now, several other couples gathered around listening to the heated conversation. Friends, who greeted her with a hug and warm smile last week, looked on with hatred carved on their faces. Tears threatened at the corners of Hannah’s eyes as the pain of betrayal heightened.
“There is nothing to get upset about,” Drew pleaded, looking around the crowd. “I have not seen Thomas in over a year.”
“That’s not what Mrs. Pierce said!” one woman from the crowd shouted. “She said she saw a man who looked like your brother going into the clinic late that night.”
Hannah frowned, balling her fist at her side. How can they believe that busybody over my husband?
“If anyone did enter the clinic that night,” Drew’s voice boomed, “it was without an invitation.”
“So you don’t deny what Mrs. Pierce said?” Levi pulled Drew’s attention his way.
Running his hand through his short sandy hair, Drew said, “I’m saying that it is possible someone could have entered uninvited without our knowledge.”
Emily raised her voice above the growing murmurs, “It doesn’t matter to me if Thomas entered your house with your blessing or not. I for one,” she said, resting her hand on her protruding belly, “will not be birthing my child at your clinic or with your assistance.”
Hannah’s tears streamed down her heated face as Emily’s words pierced her heart. How could Emily say such a thing? She talked for months about how wonderful it would be to have her best friend by her side as she labored to bring her first child into this world. Now, the friend who stood by her in a school yard full of bullies was acting the part of instigator. Did their friendship mean so little?
“And I won’t be stopping at your clinic for Franklin’s medications!” another older married woman shouted.
“When my niece has her child, I’m telling her to go to Doc Henderson!” A typically quiet man shouted.
As others added in vehement voices their promise to no longer visit Drew’s clinic, Hannah watched his face harden. Closing his eyes, he bowed his head.
Don’t give up, Drew! Her heart shouted.
When he lifted his head again, he held out his elbow for Hannah wordlessly. With a firm nod to her, she read the silent message: it was time to go. In the midst of angry murmurs circl
ing about them, Hannah followed her husband to their carriage. As he took the seat next to her, his eyes faced forward. His jaw set in a hard line. His shoulders slumped in defeat.
Chapter 2
Drew slapped the reins hard against the chestnut mare’s back, directing the carriage from the church yard. He heard rumblings that many of his patients were upset at him over Thomas’s attempted crime. But, he had not expected this—the whole church rising up in anger against him.
Worse than their anger was the disappointment he saw in Hannah’s face. She expected him to put up a fight. Unfortunately, fighting with his patients—with his friends—would not change their minds about his presumed guilt.
Pulling the carriage to a stop in front of the clinic, Drew hopped down and rounded to the other side. Holding his hand out for Hannah, his eyes locked on her red-rimmed ones. Her gaze quickly darted away. As soon as her feet settled safely on the ground, she released his hand, rushing up the walkway.
Taking a seat in the carriage, Drew navigated the busy street until he arrived at the livery to store the carriage and board the horse. He welcomed the walk home, hoping Hannah might recover before he arrived.
His stomach churned as he replayed the scene from the churchyard in his mind. Levi’s words repeated over and over. A doctor is nothing without his reputation. Yours is tainted by your brother.
Such harsh, unforgiving words with little hope of reconciliation. Could Drew possibly salvage his reputation, or was it too late?
Perhaps they were a bit justified in their anger. Up until last year Drew had sheltered Thomas and covered for his troublesome behavior. He should have stood up to Thomas sooner, voicing his concerns. Or he should have asked Thomas to find his own place to live.
But, Thomas was his brother. He couldn’t turn him away no more than he could turn away injured patient. Thomas was his only family left. He felt responsible, bound by brotherhood. Even if Thomas’s actions destroyed Drew’s reputation, he could not stop caring and reaching out—even if Thomas continued to reject him.
As he approached the clinic, his steps slowed. A brief memory from the morning after the robbery flitted through his mind. When he entered the kitchen in the early morning, after relieving Hannah from watching Mr. Davis, he recalled thinking something seemed out of place. Though he never figured out what…
Was it possible Thomas really had entered their home after his crime? Surely he would have heard something, as he sat vigil with Mr. Davis.
The savory aroma of the roast greeted Drew as he opened the door. Pausing, he shook off his frustration over the seemingly impossible situation. Cautiously, he walked down the hall towards the kitchen, looking for Hannah. She stood with her back to him, staring out the window over the sink.
As he cleared his throat to announce his presence, Hannah’s sniffles turned to sobs. Closing the distance, he turned her towards him then wrapped his arms around her waist. She buried her head against his chest. Several moments passed with Drew stroking her hair, not knowing what to say.
Hannah leaned back, looking up at him. “How could they blame us? We had nothing to do with Thomas?”
Drew swallowed several times, searching for an answer.
A frown crossed her face. “Why didn’t you defend us?”
The words came sharply. Drew released his hold on his wife as his shoulders slumped in defeat. “What should I have said?” he replied, more harshly than he should have. “Nothing would have persuaded them to think differently.”
Hannah propped one hand on her hip, forcing her elbow to jut sharply away from her body. It was the posture he most despised in his wife as it often preceded an angry outburst.
“Are you going to just let them walk away from the clinic? Are you going to close the doors, Drew?”
Her lack of faith in him pierced his heart. “Give it time. Things will turn around. They will forget their anger.”
Hannah turned and pulled the roast from the oven. Slamming it down on the top of the stove, her voice low and tenuous, “What if they don’t?”
Pursing his lips tightly, Drew hoped they would forget soon. He could not consider what would happen if they did not.
In the weeks since the bank robbery, no patients came, save for Mr. Davis. The two follow up visits for Mr. Davis showed him quickly recovered from the gunshot wound. Odd, how the victim of his brother’s crime entrusted his care to Drew, yet the rest of the city lost trust in him. If the city’s opinion failed to change, his days of practicing medicine in Ohio were over. He could not support his wife on one patient a month; much less the children he and Hannah hoped would come soon.
With no patients to see, Drew dodged the oncoming carriages to cross the street to the mercantile. After greeting Francis, the owner, Drew paid for a copy of the daily newspaper before returning to the clinic. Flipping through the pages, he scanned the headlines for the latest developments on the Union’s progress which reminded him of his decision over a year ago. Instead of enlisting to serve in the Union, Drew remained home—to the townsfolk’s dismay. Newly married when the War Between the States started, he hesitated to leave his wife. He knew the city still needed a doctor whether or not the country warred. So, he stayed. Then six months ago, Doc Henderson moved to town. Some members of the community started pressuring Drew to reconsider, now that two doctors practiced in the area. Still, he remained steadfast in his decision.
Again, he found himself on the receiving end of the city’s ire. They were not forgetting. They were not forgiving. They did not want to hear the truth that Drew had nothing to do with Thomas’s actions. Instead, their opinion seemed more immovable as time went on.
Drew tried to change their minds. He met with several influential men from church. None of them were swayed by his discussion or by his track record of providing excellent care. He needed to make a decision soon about whether he should give up medicine or if he and Hannah should move. Staying seemed less of an option.
Running his hands through his hair, Drew realized he let his mind wander and had absorbed none of the news he was reading. Placing the paper aside, he rubbed his hand along the edge of his large oak desk. The prick to his finger interrupted the movement as a small sliver embedded his skin. Turning his hand over, he scrutinized the sliver, too deep for him to remove without assistance.
Following the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, Drew entered the kitchen. He stood silently in the door admiring his wife while she mixed dough of some sort. Her long strawberry blonde hair was secured in a fashionable chignon at the base of her slender neck. The work dress hung perfectly on her petite frame with the bow of her apron accenting her tiny waist. Unable to resist the urge, he snuck up behind Hannah. He then grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into an embrace, breathing deeply of her scent. Something about just holding her calmed him.
---
Hannah welcomed her husband’s nearness, though unexpected at this time of day. As she turned to face him, he held out his hand palm side up. She looked from his lithe fingers to his face, raising an eyebrow in question.
He shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. “I seem to be in need of your expert nursing.”
As he pointed to his finger, Hannah saw the small sliver. She ran upstairs to retrieve a needle from her sewing basket before returning to her poor injured husband. He stood where she left him, still holding out his hand.
Hannah took his right hand in her left, aware of how small and dainty her hands looked against his. His smooth hands bore no sign of roughness—only the gentle unmarred hands of a doctor, strong and steady. Taking the needle with her right hand, she gently worked the sliver from beneath his skin. Once free, she placed her lips on his long finger kissing the spot softly.
Drew curved his hand under her chin. The sweet action caused her to slowly straighten and look into his eyes. The love reflected there warmed her heart.
With his hand still resting lightly under her chin, he drew her lips closer to his own. Hannah melted into his arms as he
kissed her soundly. She shared the love she felt for her husband by responding. When Drew slowed the kiss, Hannah leaned back in his embrace. She trailed her dainty fingers along his jaw line as she stepped away smiling.
Moving to the stove, she poured him a cup of black coffee. Handing the mug to Drew, Hannah giggled and shooed him back to the clinic, a satisfied sigh escaping her lips.
---
Ah, he loved this woman. Drew thought as he took the offered coffee. Now how to provide for her with no patients and a dwindling income?
Sitting down at his desk again, he picked up the newspaper and turned to the middle. An article about the growing gold town of La Paz in the new Arizona Territory caught his eye. The article stated that shortly after Arizona officially became a territory in February last year, gold was discovered along the Colorado River in the southwestern part of the territory. They estimated several thousand miners now lived in the area. The rapidly growing town needed doctors, lawyers, boardinghouses, laundry services, and more.
Doctors. Drew’s eyes lingered on the word. Maybe, if they left soon, he and Hannah would still have enough money to relocate to the west. If he could find a buyer for the office, then they would be in a better position to move to the territory. Removing a sheet of paper from the stack on his desk, Drew started listing things they would need and estimated how much it would cost. Excitement built as he thought of a new adventure, starting life over where no one knew them. Or their family ties to a bank robber. This had to be the answer to his prayers. He would speak to Hannah soon about moving to La Paz.
Hannah finished kneading the bread dough then put the loaf of bread in the oven to bake. Unlike in the past, this loaf would bake without interruption, she thought ironically. As she cleaned the kitchen, she could not stop worrying. She noticed the lack of patients coming to the clinic in recent days. A week passed since he saw his last patient, a middle aged man who died from the infected abscess on his side. No others graced the steps of the clinic since.
