The twinkle in Gideon’s eyes darkened. He placed his napkin on the table and rose to his feet, deliberation cloaking each movement. He locked his gaze with Leah’s, holding her attention so tight she couldn’t breathe.
She watched his every step as he came around to her chair, took both her hands, and pulled her up and to his chest in a fluid motion, like a magnet to iron. He cradled her hands between his own, then raised them to his mouth, planting a kiss on her fingertips. Her whole body trembled.
“You’re cold.” Concern shadowed his face. He turned, leading her toward the large fireplace. When they reached the hearth, Gideon wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him. The heat of the fire soaked into her, and the warmth of Gideon’s hold pushed her nervousness away. She absorbed the strong beat of his heart.
How many times had they been in front of this fire together? But never like this. Never with this glorious feeling of melding together. Her mind drifted back to other times they’d been here, when she’d doctored Gideon’s wounds from the bear attack. She’d been so frightened then. Not really knowing what to do. Afraid she’d miss an important step that would kill him.
And then the idea came, like a bullet striking its target. She leaned back to watch Gideon’s face while she spoke. “I know what we should do with the money.”
His expression registered confusion, but his hands kept their grip at her back. “The money?”
“From my inheritance.”
His confusion shifted into amusement. “What should we do with it?”
Excitement started to build in Leah’s mind. “We should bring a doctor to Butte City, so the people here can have real medical care. And maybe an assistant, too, so he can make house calls into the mountain country.” She paused, eager for Gideon’s response.
His face softened, and he raised a hand to cup her cheek. The love in his gaze tightened her chest so she couldn’t have spoken if she wanted. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. That’s one of the things I love about you. How much you care about other people.”
Leah drew a breath, lost in the emotion in his deep emerald gaze. “Really?”
His eyes twinkled. “Yes. But there are so many other things I love, too.” And then he drew closer, bringing his lips to hers. His kiss was soft and light and filled with love. He pulled back to look in her eyes, the twinkles taking on a rakish gleam. “Can I tell you about them?”
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Dedication
To my family.
For your support, your encouragement, and your love.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are the product of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2014 Misty M. Beller
All rights reserved.
The Lady and the Mountain Doctor
Mountain Dreams Series
Book 2
Misty M. Beller
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord,
And wait patiently for Him.
Psalm 37:5-7a (NKJV)
Chapter One
October 28, 1876
Bryant Ranch - Near Butte City, Montana Territory
Miriam Bryant plunged her knife through the deer's thick winter fur, just the way her brother taught her. Crimson saturated the snow underneath, and she clenched her eyes tight against the sight. An acrid odor permeated the air. Miriam spun away, inhaling deep gulps of air.
They needed food. God sent the buck. She repeated the words in her head, as her stomach slowly unclenched. Finally, she turned back toward the animal, knife clutched tight in her hand. Once again, she wished she could have let the deer bound away in freedom. But their meat supply was low, and she had to pull her weight on the ranch.
The whisper of air was her only warning before a force slammed into her back, knocking her forward. A scream rent the air, and she writhed away from the creature pressing her against the deer carcass. Cougar. Pain pierced her body. Over and over. Everywhere the cat touched left new agony.
Miriam fought hard. She rolled onto her side and tried to crawl, but the animal was all around her, growling and screaming. A blast of pain shot through her leg, and her body jerked hard. She reached for the source of the pain, and slammed her fists into the furry head, again and again.
Her vision grew fuzzy. Her fist no longer met fur. The pressure in her knee loosened, leaving behind a searing pain. She forced her elbows into the snow, dragging herself away from the animal. Clenching her teeth, she rolled over. Every inch of her frame screamed in torture, but she had to move in spite of the agony.
With her last ounces of strength, she rolled, pushing against the snow in one rotation after another. The freezing dampness of the icy flakes seeped under her coat, adding to the misery in her body.
Finally, her muscles wouldn't move anymore. The world spun around her, and then blackness closed in.
~~~
October 28, 1876
Butte City, Montana Territory
Alex Donaghue pressed hard on the mortar, grinding the root chunks against the wooden pestle. The Echinacea root had no scent, but tiny particles of powder drifted up to tickle his nose.
In the two months since he'd joined his brother, Bryan, at the clinic here in Butte, they'd run dangerously low on too many of their medicines. Demand from the hordes of miners in town far outweighed the random shipments of supplies they received. But that wasn't all bad, because it gave Alex the opportunity to get to know the flora in the area. It'd been a long time since he'd ground his own herbs, but it was a skill that came back easily.
The front door in the next room slammed open, admitting the noises from the muddy street outside.
"Help! Doc Bryan, you in here?"
Alex dropped the tools to the counter and strode toward the connecting doorway. He barely stopped himself from crashing into Gideon Bryant in the opening.
"Alex." Gideon's face was a mask of panic as he half-dragged Alex toward the open front door. "It's Miriam. She was attacked by a mountain lion. Blood everywhere. She's not wakin' up."
Stopping beside the wagon bed, Alex gripped the side and surveyed the scene. A blonde woman lay bundled in several blankets. Her eyes were closed, and her pale face streaked with blood and dirt. Leaves and twigs tangled in her golden hair. Reaching into the wagon, he rested his palm on her forehead. Warm, but not dangerously so. He held a finger to her upper lip. A faint tickle of air. Breathing, but not very strong.
In the wagon, Gideon gathered the blankets by her head in his fists. "Get the other end. We'll use the blanket like a stretcher."
Alex did as directed. He'd only met Gideon a few times, as his ranch was up the mountain a couple hours. Bryan knew him well, since Gideon and his wife Leah had been instrumental in setting up the clinic in this remote mining city. He'd heard of Gideon's sister Miriam, but not seen her until now. The grim look on Gideon's face showed his fear.
They carried her up the stairs, through the front office, and into the front examination room. "Easy does it." They lowered her to the wood surface.
Alex eased the blankets open, starting at her neck and working toward her feet. Her buckskin coat was torn in several places. Shredded, really. But the main damage wasn't obvious until he uncovered her legs.
Blood everywhere. Is that why she hadn't regained consciousness? Her skirt gathered in a wad a
t her thigh, revealing a red-soaked petticoat and the left leg twisted in an irregular angle at the knee. Alex sucked in a breath.
"Bad?" Gideon's voice was flat, as if steeling himself for the worst.
Alex had been instructed in the art of the poker-face all four years at the McGill Faculty of Medicine. But this knee was painfully damaged. The lion had torn through her stocking and through the skin, revealing tendon, cartilage, ligament, and bone. This would take more than stitching the exterior layers together.
He looked up. "I'll need help with the surgery. Go get my brother. Should be at the Alice mine."
For a second, Gideon's eyes widened even more, darting between his sister and the window that overlooked the street. "All right." He strode toward the door, leaving Alex with a knot in his stomach, and a mountain of work ahead of him.
After cutting off the stocking, he inspected the rest of her. A few scratches that would need cleaning on her arm and calf, and deep puncture wounds on her back, but nothing that would require stitches. The position of the puncture wounds were high enough so they shouldn't have hit the lungs or other organs. But they were surely painful.
Focusing his attention on the knee, Alex cleaned the wound and prepared to examine the extent of the internal damage. A moan drifted from the woman, pulling his attention to her face. Her brows pulled together, creating deep furrows between them. Her eyes weren't open yet, but if the pain intensified from his efforts—which it surely would—that might bring her to full awareness. He moved to the cabinet and worktable to prepare the chloroform mask.
By the time boots sounded in the front room, Alex had inspected the wound in detail, and had a pretty good idea of what they'd need to do.
Male voices sounded through the wall, then Bryan entered the examination room alone. "What’s going on with Little Sister?" He submerged his arms in the washbasin by the door as he listened to Alex's debriefing.
"It doesn't look like there's bone displacement or significant damage to the cartilage. The lateral collateral ligament has a second degree tear, but the worst seems to be a large tear in the patellar tendon. I think we'll need to stitch it before closing the wound and splinting."
"Do you have materials ready to repair the tendon?" Bryan settled a clean smock over his flannel shirt.
"Yes, but do you want to examine the damage first to confirm the diagnosis?"
Bryan raised a brow at him. "You already did that, didn't you?"
"Yes, but…" Why did it bother him that Bryan trusted his work?
His brother clapped him lightly on the back. "You take the lead and I'll assist."
Alex shrugged. "Let's get started then." After all, he'd spent the last nine years preparing to be a competent physician. What good was all that hard work if he didn't do what it took to save a life when the need arose?
Turning back to the patient, he positioned himself over her wounded knee. For just a second, he shot a glance at her pale face, loose blonde hair scattering across the table.
It was almost his undoing.
Chapter Two
Alex snipped the silk thread over the feather quills along the incision in Miss Bryant's knee. There was consensus among his mentors at the McGill Faculty of Medicine that a quilled suture was right for stitching a wound this deep. He shot a glance at his brother from the corner of his eye. Did Bryan agree?
"Looks good." Bryan nodded, then gathered the forceps and other tools they'd used in the surgery.
Alex examined the wound again, trying to see it with fresh eyes. The sutures in the skin were clean. He'd stitched the delicate tendon fibers inside as well as he could, but most of the internal damage would have to heal on its own. Was that good enough? What if she sustained permanent damage that he could have corrected? He released a long breath. He'd done the best he could.
While Bryan washed the surgical instruments, Alex wrapped the wound with clean bandages, then fit the stiff leather splint over Miss Bryant's knee. Alex glanced at his brother when Bryan came to stand beside him. "Ready to remove the chloroform inhaler." He needed to prepare the laudanum for when she awoke. The pain was going to be rough for a while.
By the time Alex was satisfied with the placement and tightness of the splint, Bryan had already put away their equipment and removed his surgery smock.
"Gotta get back to the Alice if you don't need me. There was a small rockslide and I still have a few to tend." His big brother ran a hand through his amber brown hair. The color and loose curl was closer to their mother's, while Alex's hair was stick straight and dark brown like Pa's.
"I'll talk with Gideon. No problem. Thanks for the help." Alex hung his own smock on the hook beside Bryan's. Pausing, he glanced at his brother's retreating back. "Bryan?"
The familiar frame halted, then turned back to look at Alex.
"I think we should keep her here a week. At the clinic, I mean. Then make sure she stays nearby for a couple more?"
Bryan shrugged. "Your call. Sounds like a good plan."
A bit of tension left Alex's shoulders. Why did he always need Bryan's affirmation? It would get better the longer they worked together. Surely.
He followed Bryan through the doorway to the front room.
Gideon jumped to his feet the moment he saw them. "How is she?"
Alex stepped forward to address the man. "I think we accomplished what was needed in the surgery. She's still asleep, but should wake up soon. You can come back and see her if you'd like."
"Of course."
As Alex followed the man's long strides into the back room, he took in the broad shoulders and well-defined muscles. This mountain rancher wasn't a stranger to hard work.
Gideon hovered over his sister, her petite frame tiny in comparison to his.
Alex cleared his throat, then spoke in a low voice. "I'd like her to stay here at the clinic for at least a week. Her leg will require complete rest at first, then she'll need to start a few exercises. I'll want to keep an eye on the incision as well, and take the sutures out in two weeks." He eyed the taller man. Was he absorbing all the information?
The muscles in Gideon's jaw worked. "Whatever she needs."
"It'd be best if she could stay in town for at least a month or six weeks. We need to make sure the leg heals correctly and regains full motion."
Gideon's eyes shot to Alex's face. He didn't answer at first. Finally, he repeated his words. "Whatever she needs."
Relief washed through Alex as he released a breath. "Good." He motioned toward a chair by the wall. "Have a seat. Hard to say how long it'll take the chloroform to wear off."
Alex scanned the room. There wasn't really anything else he could do for the pair. But the mortar, pestle, and tiny chunks of Echinacea root still waited on the work counter for him to finish grinding.
While he worked, he kept an ear tuned to sounds behind him. All was quiet until Gideon spoke up. "What are you doing?"
Alex glanced back to see the man eyeing the mortar and pestle, a line furrowing his brow. "Grinding Echinacea root. Since we're heading into winter, I expect us to need a lot of this herb for colds and such."
"The medicine companies make you mix your own?"
A grin pulled Alex's face. "Local demand for a lot of remedies seems to be more than we can get with our irregular shipments. This country has good supply of some of the herbs, though. So I'll use what's available."
Before Gideon could respond, a groan from the table grabbed their attention. Miss Bryant's eyes flickered, then cracked enough to reveal a sliver of shadowed green. Her lips moved, but made no sound. The chloroform had likely turned her mouth to cotton.
Alex strode to the drinking pitcher and half-filled a tin cup. Slipping a hand behind the lady's shoulders he eased her up just high enough so she could sip the water. "This should help. Only take a little, though."
She gulped twice, like a starved kitten finally given milk. Then she sank back as another moan slid from her lips.
"Let me get something for the pain."
Setting the cup on the bedside table, he turned to get the tincture of laudanum he'd measured. Once again, he fitted his hand under her shoulders, careful to avoid the bandages on her back. "Here you go."
After swallowing, she sank against the thin pillow and her pale green eyes found his. "Thanks." The word seemed to take effort, and combined with the power of her gaze, formed a lump in his throat.
"You're welcome." His voice rasped, so he cleared it. Her gaze was so intense he couldn't hold it.
"Do you remember what happened, Miri?" Gideon's voice brought a welcome distraction.
Alex turned back to his worktable and plunged the mortar hard against the herb root in the pestle. His brain must still be strained from the surgery.
"I…was on my way home." Her voice was rough and the words came slowly. Was she having trouble remembering? They'd need to watch her for damage to the brain.
"There was a deer…a buck. I didn't want to bring him down, but I knew I should. I started to dress him…" Her words picked up speed, but stopped suddenly.
Alex stole a glance behind him. The delicate skin between her brows drew together.
Gideon patted her shoulder. "It's all right. I pretty much know what happened after that. Was on my way out when I heard your shot, then you screamed. If it makes you feel better, the mountain lion carcass is lying beside that buck you brought down."
Her face relaxed into the hint of a smile, although creases at the corners of her eyes signaled the pain she still felt. "At least there's something to show for this trouble. I'm sorry, Gideon. I didn't mean to put you through so much."
He huffed a dramatic sigh. "You always have been trouble."
"You're one to talk." She raised a brow.
Mountain Dreams Series: Books 1 - 3: Mountain Dreams Box Set 1 Page 27
