The Doctor's Wife

by Cheryl St. John

  All that clothing had to cost a fortune! With a sick feeling in her stomach, Ellie clutched Nate and said softly to Caleb, “I—I can’t pay you back for all that.”

  He cast her a gentle smile. “You’re my family now. That’s my responsibility.”

  “But—”

  “Money’s not a problem,” he assured her. “I lease my share of the ranch, and receive a comfortable sum each month. I also own a few horses that my father breeds for me.”

  Dazed, Ellie returned to the buggy, not even noticing the heat as Caleb drove the team and pulled up in front of his house.

  “This it?” Flynn asked, jumping down and eyeing the two-story structure. It must have looked like a castle. Ellie remembered her reaction the first time she’d seen it.

  Caleb looked at his pocket watch. “We have time for baths—Ellie, will you help me heat water?”

  She’d bathed the night before and could have managed quite well with a pitcher and bowl, but she caught his drift. The boys needed baths and their heads washed.

  “One can eat while the other is bathing,” he said when they were alone for a moment in the kitchen. “Just don’t let them eat too much at a time just yet, and nothing too rich or spicy. Their stomachs will need to get used to adequate amounts slowly.”

  Hearing their undernourished condition referred to in such a way angered Ellie all over again. She nodded her understanding.

  Nate had awakened and was crying with an empty tummy. She and Caleb pumped water, then Caleb stoked the stove while Ellie fed the baby and prepared small portions of bread and fruit for the boys. Flynn ate, then explored the house and yard, returning often to express his delight.

  Benjamin, however, sat on the back step as though unimpressed.

  “Who’s first?” Caleb asked.

  Flynn volunteered, and they left him alone to scrub. In spite of his protests, Ellie returned to make sure he did a good job washing his hair and behind his ears and under his nails.

  Eventually both boys sat on kitchen chairs wearing spanking new knee-length union suits, the tops of which hung at their waists, while Caleb donned his gold-rimmed spectacles, then cleansed and treated their shoulders, necks, ears and faces with unguent.

  “I want you to drink this,” Caleb said to Benjamin.

  Benjamin looked at the cup. “I don’t have to take nothin’ from you if I don’t want to.”

  “No, you don’t. But as a doctor I think you should drink it so it doesn’t hurt quite as bad while I work on your feet.”

  The lad’s expression faltered, but he caught himself. “What is it?”

  “Laudanum. A small dose. If I were going to poison you, I wouldn’t have traveled all the way to Florence in the heat to bring you here, now would I?”

  Benjamin drank the liquid reluctantly and grimaced. Caleb waited for the medicine to take effect before starting to work. Benjamin held his expression in stoic reserve while Caleb disinfected the sores on his toes and feet, applied salve and bandaged them.

  Ellie and Flynn watched his sure gentle movements. It was apparent that he took great care not to hurt Benjamin any more than he had to, and when Ben flinched, regret crossed Caleb’s features.

  Ellie remembered the concern and care he’d given the Bowman woman, and wondered how his father could have missed the rightness of this occupation for his son. Caleb truly cared for the patients he treated, and that concern was evident in his every touch and glance. She remembered how much better she’d felt knowing he was tending to her arm, and drew comfort that her brothers were receiving that same special care. Surely his confidence and manner gave them ease, too.

  “I’d really prefer you didn’t walk for several days,” he said, studying his handiwork through his lenses. “But I wouldn’t want you to miss your sister’s wedding, so you’re free to walk until we get back here afterward. Then I want you off your feet, except for a few minutes at a time.”

  “He kin go to the outhouse, right?” Flynn asked.

  That was what Caleb had meant, but Flynn spelled it out as plainly as only a child could. Caleb smiled, noting the boy’s neatly parted wet and wavy dark hair. “Right.”

  Ellie studied her brothers’ clean hair and freshly scrubbed skin as they buttoned up their union suits. Flynn had begun to unfold his new trousers and shirt. Overwhelming gratefulness rushed over her and she locked gazes with Caleb. She wanted to thank him. She could never repay this debt. The clothes and shoes were material, but a chance for a new life was invaluable. And that was what he’d given them. All of them. The words stuck in her heart.

  “Before this afternoon,” Caleb said, wiping his hands on a towel, “I want to let you know that you will be able to eat as much and as often as you want in this home. But right now, for these first days, we need to go slow so you don’t get sick.”

  He looked at each of the boys. “Understand?”

  Flynn nodded and Ben ignored him.

  “We’d better change clothing now ourselves,” he said to Ellie, closing his leather bag.

  She gathered her satchel and the packages and hurried up to the room she’d used before. Caleb had thoughtfully placed a walnut-framed cheval mirror in the corner.

  Flynn brought her water. “I’m a’sposed to help ya if ya need anything.”

  “I’ll call if I need anything.”

  He seated himself on the floor outside her room and she grinned, closing the door. She washed her hands and face with the fresh water and dressed her hair, all the while replying to his muffled questions. Brushing a few wrinkles from the rose-colored dress, she slipped it on. It had a row of buttons up the back.

  “Now I need help,” she said.

  Flynn burst into the room, and she turned her back, indicating the fasteners.

  He buttoned her dress clumsily, and she checked in the mirror to make sure he’d gotten them all.

  “This is sorta like a fairy tale, isn’t it?” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “What is?”

  “Gettin’ to live in this fancy house and you marryin’ the doctor an’ all. I looked in the pantry room and the kitchen shelves and there’s food to last a winter!”

  Ellie pulled him against her, mindful of his bruised ribs and back, and hugged him as tightly as she dared. Cupping his beloved face, she looked down into the dark, dark eyes of this boy she’d raised on her own with no means to do it and rubbed her thumbs over his freckled cheekbones. The salve Caleb had daubed on his peeled and burned nose glistened. “Nobody will ever hurt you again, sweet boy. I promise you. You’re going to eat my cooking until you pop and then eat some more.”

  “Do I get ta sleep in one o’ these rooms up here? There ain’t no barn.”

  “You and Ben get a room to share, but a bed all your own. Caleb had two beds sent over from the furniture store. I haven’t fixed the room up yet, but we’ll have plenty of time to do that.”

  “I always wanted a feather pilla, Ellie. ’Member you had one once, but somethin’ happened to it. You shared it with me sometimes.”

  Their mother had thrown it out into the yard in a drunken fit, and a dog had torn it open and scattered the feathers to the November wind. “You’ll have one all your own,” she promised.

  She was making a lot of promises, placing a lot of hope in the doctor and their agreement. Keeping all those promises depended on Caleb Chaney. Once more Ellie felt completely vulnerable, something she had never wanted to feel again.

  Chapter Eight

  Ben came out dressed in the clothes Ellie had purchased for him, rather than those Caleb had selected. She started to object, but Caleb silenced her by saying, “What handsome brothers you have, Ellie.”

  Benjamin’s disdain for Caleb was apparent in his silent glare, but Caleb took it in stride and delivered them to the church.

  Ellie had never been to a wedding, so she didn’t know what to expect. She certainly hadn’t anticipated so many people, all dressed in fine clothes and fashionable hats, to fill the pews a
nd murmur things she didn’t want to imagine. She’d never been inside a church before either, and the varnished pine walls, hanging tapestries and brass candelabras fascinated her.

  At least Reverend Beecher’s face was familiar, if not the black robe and white stole with gold embroidered crosses that he wore. Facing him wasn’t nearly as frightening as facing Mr. Heath had been that same morning.

  Caleb’s attire was unfamiliar as well, and obviously not ready-made. The black suit and tie and white shirt had been tailored to his tall frame and broad shoulders, and emphasized his masculinity. The cut and fabric were a subtle reminder of his prosperity, and for a brief moment Ellie resented her reasons for doing this. That first day when she’d walked beside this man, she’d imagined being his friend, pretended she was someone with whom he’d be proud to be seen.

  And here she was using a made-up name to wed herself to him so she could have a measure of stability for the first time in her life. He was still as respectable and as kind and as honorable as she’d first thought—more so now that she’d really seen his nature. If she’d had any doubts before, they’d been erased this morning when he’d controlled his temper and handled the situation at the Heath farm calmly and firmly.

  She had made the right decision for her brothers.

  As she stood beside him and the crowd hushed, she smiled at Benjamin and Flynn in their new clothing and shoes and her heart welled with newfound joy.

  The reverend spoke and she turned her attention to his words. In a matter of minutes, she’d repeated the vows he read from a slim volume, and Caleb did the same. Reverend Beecher took her hand and gave it to Caleb, and Ellie gaped at the gold ring set with an emerald surrounded by diamond chips that Caleb slid on her finger. And just like that they were pronounced man and wife.

  Caleb placed his hands on her upper arms, and the unexpected touch startled her. He leaned forward and she stared at him.

  He touched his cheek to hers only briefly, then released her and offered his jacket-clad arm. Feeling foolish, Ellie placed her hand on his sleeve and he led them away from the altar amidst a smattering of applause.

  A sea of people appeared to greet and congratulate them, and the names and faces became a blur. She recognized Caleb’s parents—his mother with tears in her eyes—and Caleb’s sister and her family, as well as a few of the store owners she’d met while shopping with Nate. Goldie Krenshaw had turned out to see Ellie’s marriage, and Ellie couldn’t have been more surprised.

  “I’m so happy for you,” she said, and took her hand.

  Ellie smiled her thanks. “How are things at the dormitory?”

  “Same as always. ’Cept your wedding made for a bit more exciting news this week.”

  “How did you know to come today?”

  “Read one of the notices posted around town. Said everyone was welcome, so I thought I’d come over since I had the afternoon free.”

  “I’m glad you did,” Ellie said as Caleb took her elbow. “Real glad.”

  Caleb ushered her down the church stairs and into his buggy waiting on the street. “The boys,” she said, thinking of Nate as well as her brothers.

  “My parents will bring them home.”

  Home. They had a home. At long last. The concept constricted her throat, and she brought her fists to her heart. Could her wish really be coming true?

  “Are you all right?” he asked, slowing the team in front of the house. Concern creased his forehead, and the afternoon sun glinted off his hair.

  Words failing her because of this unexpected good fortune, she nodded.

  He came around, and reached up for her.

  Ellie placed her hand in his and used the step to descend. “There’s someone in the house!” she said, catching sight of a figure moving behind the window, and noting that the door stood open.

  “Yes.” He led her up the walk.

  She glanced at him in confusion, then back at the house, hesitant to go any farther.

  “It’s okay,” he said with a smile. “It’s a surprise.”

  Puzzled, she walked ahead of him into the house and the savory smell of food got her attention. He gestured into the room he called a parlor. She stepped to the doorway. Two tables had been set up and draped with white linen. One held an assortment of meat and potato dishes, relishes and rolls. On the other stood a three-layered cake with fluffy white frosting, and an enormous bowl filled with what looked like lemonade. A silver ladle was propped against the rim and glass cups were stacked nearby.

  “What is all this?” she asked.

  “It’s customary to celebrate a wedding,” he said with the lift of one brow. The grin quickly turned to a look of concern. “You don’t like it?”

  “Yes.” She admired the tables of food more closely. “I like it a lot. I just didn’t know….”

  “Well, that’s why it was a surprise.” He looked at her as though she’d said something foolish and she probably had. None of the surprises in Ellie’s previous life had been pleasant.

  Her mind raced and silently she cursed the Episcopal ladies for not mentioning wedding etiquette in their obviously incomplete book of manners. Thanks were always appropriate. “Thank you.”

  “You’re a puzzle, Ellie.”

  Guests started arriving then and Caleb’s friends and neighbors and relatives monopolized their attention. Mrs. Ned arrived and gave the women arranging the tables helpful suggestions.

  Even Miss Shaw and Mrs. Henderson arrived and congratulated the newlyweds. A wedding in Newton was obviously a big event. Everyone seemed to know what to do with themselves, filling plates and cups and eating standing up or sitting on the furniture or even carrying their feast outdoors and standing in the yard in clusters.

  “That’s such a pretty dress,” Patricia said. “How are you managing your clothing with that dreadful cast?”

  “I’ve taken the seams out of the left sleeve of all my shirtwaists. Caleb just bought this dress for me this morning, and the shop owner’s wife took out the stitches carefully so I could repair it as good as new when the cast comes off.”

  “It’s a beautiful ring, too.”

  The piece of jewelry felt heavy and foreign on her finger, and with her arm held across her breast in the sling, it seemed as though everyone commented on the winking gems.

  “Your brothers are certainly handsome young men, though so terribly shy. I haven’t heard either one say a word.”

  “Where did you see them last?”

  “Outside. Lucy is taken with your younger brother. The girl is so forward.”

  Ellie thought Lucy was delightful and would have loved to see Ben and Flynn show some of her confidence. Maybe she’d be good for them.

  “I think I’ll find them. They don’t know anyone here.”

  Ellie spotted the children beneath the shadow of a willow tree in the side yard. The boys had removed their shoes and rolled back their sleeves. Lucy was in the process of unbuttoning her tiny leather boots and slipping them off.

  “Look, Ellie,” she said with an impish grin. “We’re coolin’ our feet.”

  Benjamin stared off toward the street as though he were bored.

  “Lucy said you’re her aunt now.” Flynn systematically peeled leaves and twigs from a willow branch he’d broken from the tree.

  “I guess I am.” Ellie settled herself on the grass beside Benjamin.

  “You’re still our sister an’ that’s better.”

  Lucy had peeled her white stockings down and they lay strewn in the grass. She wiggled her toes and giggled. “This feels funny.”

  Her feet were as white and delicate as Nate’s, her tiny toes pink and cute. They’d probably never had sun or grass touch them before. Benjamin met Ellie’s eyes, and she knew the comparison he was making. He’d kept his new stockings on over his ravaged and bandaged feet and was resting them just as Caleb had instructed. Even wearing a new pair of shoes that were large enough must have been torture these past few hours.

  She laid her
hand on his tanned, bare arm. “You all right?”

  He nodded.

  “Did you eat?”

  He shook his head.

  “I did,” Flynn piped up. “Caleb helped me choose stuff. But Ben didn’t wanna go in there with all them people.”

  “I’ll go get you food.” Ellie hurried into the house and returned with carefully selected portions on a plate. “I couldn’t carry a drink too, Flynn. Go get your brother some lemonade.”

  Flynn scurried off to obey.

  Ben accepted the plate and fork and dug into the savory dishes.

  “Those two times I ate with you at the farm, and Mrs. Heath cooked a meal and we all sat in the kitchen, that wasn’t how it usually was…was it?”

  “Nope. We ate on the back step and we mostly got salt pork or corn dodgers or bean porridge. Sometimes the girls brought us cookies or hunks of fresh bread. Once one of them snuck us a custard pie. I think Mrs. Heath knew, but she was scared o’ him.”

  She spoke around the ache in her throat. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “It only woulda made you feel bad. I didn’t want you to worry about us. You had your own problems. And there wasn’t anything you coulda done.”

  This was the first time in months he’d spoken more than half a dozen surly words to her. “Things are going to be a whole lot better from here on,” she assured him. “You have to go to school, Ben. You have to know how to read and figure to get by.”

  “I haven’t been to school since fourth grade,” he said. “I’d be the only big dummy there. I can’t go.”

  “You can go. And you can make up what you’ve missed. I’ll help you.”

  He shook his head.

  Lucy interrupted. “I’m going to school pretty soon. You can sit by me.”

  Ben’s skin turned red beneath his deep tan. He didn’t look at the little girl or acknowledge she’d spoken.

  “He don’t like me.” Lucy had leaned to whisper in Ellie’s ear. She’d pressed her weight against the cast, but it didn’t hurt anything except where it pushed the plaster of paris into her ribs.

  “He likes you just fine,” Ellie said softly. “It just takes him a while to warm up to people.”