The Montana Doctor's Love (New Montana Brides Book 8)

by Susan Leigh Carlton

  “That young man has a case for our daughter,” Charlotte said.

  “He’s a good man, just like his father, and Mary needs someone like that,” Zebulon said.

  Chapter Eight

  A House Call

  Mary Louise answered Patrick’s knock. “Has something happened? Are Mama and Papa all right?” she asked.

  “They’re fine. It’s you and Emily I’m concerned about. I saw them in the store and they told me you had been sick,” he said.

  “I don’t know if I’d call it sick. We were coughing, and sneezing. It was probably a summer cold. You… Oh my God, you think it might be pneumonia don’t you?”

  “It’s been known to pop up weeks after exposure. It bothered me. Would you mind if I checked Emily?”

  “No, of course not. Come on in. She’s taking a nap,” she said.

  “How is her coughing? Is it productive? Wet?”

  “It’s better than it was.” She led the way to the bedroom she was sharing with Emily.

  He laid his hand on her forehead. “If she has a fever, it’s slight. Can you remove her gown so I can listen to her chest?”

  “Sure,” she said, and began removing the gown. Emily awakened.

  “It’s okay, sweetie. Doctor Palmer wants to listen to you breathe.”

  “Emily, do you remember me?” he said.

  She nodded.

  “I want you to listen to something.” He wiped the ear pieces and the microphone of the stethoscope with a gauze pad soaked in alcohol. Then he put the earpieces in her ear and put the microphone on her chest. “Do you hear anything?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Would you mind if I listened too?”

  She shook her head.

  “Now, I’m going to listen. Would you cough for me?”

  She coughed, and he moved the microphone. “Again?”

  He repeated the process. “Now, I need to listen to your back.” They went through the same process. He took out a tongue depressor. “Can you open your mouth real wide for me?. Like this.” He opened his mouth as wide as he could. She giggled at the sight and opened her mouth; he looked at her throat. He wiped his thermometer with the alcohol pad. “Would you hold this under your tongue? Don’t bite it. It wouldn’t taste good.” He read the thermometer.

  He turned to her mother and said, “Her temperature is just over 100º. You need to keep an eye on that. Her throat is red. The lungs have some congestion, but I don’t hear any fluid. What I think what happened is she was trying to develop something, but the inoculation knocked it down to something her body is able to fight off. I’m glad you got them. Give her plenty of liquid. If she feels overly warm, put a damp washcloth on her forehead and call either me or Dad. Is your phone working?”

  “Yes it is. What about me?” she asked. “Are you going to check me?”

  He felt her forehead? “Let me take your temperature.” He wiped the thermometer down and said, “Don’t bite it. It won’t taste good.” Emily giggled, Mary Louise smiled.

  He read it and said, “Yours is slightly elevated, but not quite as high as Emily’s.”

  He wiped the thermometer and put it away. “I would like for you to come in and let Dad check you over.”

  “Can’t you do it,” she asked. She saw his face was flushed. “I embarrassed you, didn’t I?”

  “You did,” he admitted. “I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be right.”

  “Why not? Your Dad examines my mother, and he has examined me,” she said.

  “Mary Louise, please.”

  “Oh all right. Can you listen from the back like you did with Emily?” she asked. He had a distressed look on his face. “It’s all right. I’ll come in and let your dad check me out.

  “It might have been interesting, don’t you think?” she asked.

  “Mary Louise! I don’t know if I could maintain my professional detachment. You know I want to call on you,” he said.

  “I do. Call me, and we’ll talk about it,” she said, smiling.

  “I’m glad you came,” she said. “Even if you didn’t finish the job.”

  “I’m going back to town,” he said. “Don’t forget to come in to see Dad. Give Emily plenty of liquids, and call me if you even think she’s getting worse.”

  “I will,” she said. She rose to her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re a nice guy, Patrick. Your patients are lucky to have such a caring person for their doctor.”

  The Doctors Palmer Offices Two days later…

  Patrick’s face broke into a smile when Mary Louise Wells walked into the office with her daughter Emily.

  “Did you bring this pretty little girl to see me?” he asked.

  “I did,” she said.

  “I didn’t really think you would come in,” he said. “I’m glad you did.

  “I told you I would, and I keep my word.”

  “I’ll remember that.” He turned to Emily. How are you this morning?”

  “Fine,” Emily said.

  “Are you going to let me examine you today?”

  “Yes,” her voice so low, Patrick could hardly hear it.

  “Okay. Come on and let’s get this done. Would you remove her dress, you can use one of those sheets to cover her, and I’ll be right with you.”

  In his father’s office, he said, “Dad, Mary Louise is here. Both she and Emily have been sick. I checked Emily the other night and she had some congestion and a fever. Mary Louise had a slight elevation in temp. I’d like for you to check her after I examine Emily.”

  “Okay, son. Send them back when you’re ready.

  “Are you ready for me, Emily,” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “I’m going to take your temperature first.” He wiped the thermometer with an alcohol gauze pad, put in her mouth, and said, “Don’t bite it.”

  Two minutes later, he read it. “Good news, you don’t have a fever. Now, let me listen.

  “She still has a little congestion, but not as much as the last time. I think she’s won the battle.” Then to Emily, “You’ve been such a good girl, would you like a piece of candy?”

  She looked at her mother. “”It’s all right, what do you say?”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “You’re welcome,” “We’re finished for today. It wasn’t so bad was it?”

  “Your turn,” he said to Mary Louise.

  “Change your mind about examining me?” she asked, smiling, as her hand fingered a button on her dress.

  “No,” he said. “Dad’s waiting for you.”

  Chapter Nine

  Mary Louise

  Doctor Carter Palmer’s Examining Room…

  “Mary Louise… How nice to see you! How have you been?”

  “A little under the weather, but I’m better. Patrick thinks I need to be checked. He wouldn’t do anything except take my temperature. I think I embarrassed him when I told him it would all right. He said something about maintaining his professional detachment.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “Just like his father. Carter won’t examine a woman unless I’m in the room. It’s a matter of propriety. If Patrick had thought it was serious, he would have checked you.

  “I think he may have a thing for you. I hope so; he hasn’t seen anyone since he came home. I don’t know about when he was in Washington,” Elizabeth said.

  “He asked some time back if he could call on me. I told him I wasn’t ready. I told him to call me and we could talk about it.”

  “Carter will be in to listen to your chest in just a minute. How’s Emily?”

  “She had the same thing I had. Patrick just checked her and said she was better. She didn’t have a fever, but still has some congestion.”

  Doctor Carter Palmer…

  “Mary Louise… good to see you again. Patrick said you’ve been under the weather.”

  “A little, but I’m better,” she said.

  “It’s good that you came in, you don’t mess around with pneum
onia, as you well know.

  “Did he check your daughter today?”

  “Yes. He said she’s better, but still has a little congestion,” she said.

  “He told me you were inoculated?” Doctor Palmer said.

  “Yes. He pretty much insisted on it at the hospital.” She said.

  “Well, that probably kept one or both of you from getting a full blown case.”

  Elizabeth, can you help me here, please?

  “Let me listen to your chest.” Hmm… I don’t hear any congestion. Open wide.” He peered down her throat. “It looks okay. I don’t see or hear anything to cause concern.

  “Make sure to drink plenty of water. It can help reduce congestion. Call us if you have heavy perspiration, coughing, or fever.”

  “Patrick could have done this when he was at the ranch,” she said.

  “He could have, but it’s probably good he didn’t. If he’d seen anything that bothered him, he would have checked it out.”

  “He’s a good doctor. He really has a way with children. He put Emily completely at ease with what he was doing. Said he got that from watching you,” she said.

  “I guess he paid attention,” Carter laughed. “He is a good doctor. He learned things at Hopkins I had never heard, and I’ve learned a lot from him.”

  “Well?” Patrick said when she came out of his father’s office.

  “He said I’m good to go,” she answered.”

  “Good. Do you have time for lunch before you head back?” he asked.

  “We do. Want to join us?” she said.

  “That’s what I had in mind.” he replied.

  They went to the same restaurant as before. Patrick helped Emily make her selection and gave it to the waitress. “What we talked about the other night…” Mary Louise began. “I thought you were going to call.”

  “I knew you had a lot on your mind, and I didn’t want to add to it,” he said.

  “I have given a lot of thought to it. I would like for you to call on us,” she said.

  “I have a question,” he said. “You don’t have to answer, but would this be a friends call, or a courting call?”

  “Which would you prefer?” she asked, turning the question around

  He took both her hands in his. “I’ve always regretted losing contact with you after school. I would like to court you,” he said.

  She looked down at the large hands that engulfed hers, and then turned her sparkling green eyes to look directly into his. “I would like that, Patrick. I would like that very much.”

  I could get lost in those eyes. My hands are sweating. He released her hands, and wiped his on his trousers. “I’m glad. I don’t know why this made me nervous, but it did.”

  The Christian Church Sunday…

  Patrick stood outside the church, waiting… Mary Louise had said she would be at church on Sunday. He gave up and went inside when the music started. His mother leaned over and said, “They didn’t come?”

  He whispered, “No, something must have happened. I’ll call after lunch.”

  He didn’t get the opportunity to call. The hospital called with an emergency. A young farmer had been brought in with symptoms of appendicitis. They asked if either of the Palmers could look at the young man. They had not been able to contact their surgeon.

  “I’ll take it son,” Carter said. “You’ve been out two or three times this week.”

  “Why don’t we both go? I haven’t done an appendectomy since my second year at Wash General, I’d like to get the experience, if you don’t mind the company,” Patrick said.

  The young man’s appendix had ruptured, turning a normal removal of the appendix into an emergency. Anytime the appendix ruptures, there is a high risk of gangrene. When Carter removed the appendix, he pointed to spots of gangrene. We need to debride the tissue surrounding this. If it spreads, we may lose him. The two doctors spent most of the afternoon in surgery.

  Late in the afternoon, Patrick said, “Dad, why don’t you go on home. I’ll stay here with the patient.”

  “Are you sure?” Carter asked.

  “I’m sure. You can take the next one. I’ll go talk to his wife.” Patrick said.

  “Is Frank going to die?” the farmer’s wife asked Patrick.

  “I don’t think so. He has a good chance of beating this. The appendix showed signs of gangrene, and we removed all we could find. We doused the whole area with carbolic acid. This will probably prevent infection. The only treatment for gangrene is removal of any affected tissues. We did that. Now we wait and see.”

  “Then there’s nothing more you can do?” she asked.

  “If his condition worsens, we could reopen the wound and see if there is anything more we can do. In my opinion, by that time it will have spread. Don’t give up. I’ve seen a lot of things happen. He looks to be healthy, and that’s in his favor. I wish I could be more specific, but we just don’t understand gangrene. We’re doing all we can for him. It’s in the hands of a higher power now.

  “I will check on him in the morning. They will call me tonight if they need me.”

  Chapter ten

  Baltimore

  Patrick’s mother and father had gone to bed when he came in from the hospital. There was a note pinned to the door of the icebox.

  The note said, “Mary Louise called twice. She sounded upset.” He looked at the clock. It’s past midnight. It’s too late to call tonight.

  He sat at the table with the plate his mother had left for him. He was bone weary, but knew he had to eat. It was almost tomorrow, another day. A few more bites and he gave it up. About to fall asleep at the table, he covered the plate and put it back in the ice box.

  He sat on his bed and removed his shoes. He fell asleep, fully clothed, and didn’t awaken until daybreak. He staggered into the kitchen and found his father, at the table with a cup of coffee.

  “Did the hospital call?” he asked.

  “No, were they supposed to?”

  “I asked them to call if our patient took a turn for the worse,” Patrick said.

  “What time was it when you finally came home?”

  “It was past midnight,” Patrick said. “They asked me to help with another emergency, a gunshot wound. I checked on our patient after I finished helping with the gunshot wound. He was holding his own, so I came on home. I’ll get a quick bath and go back over there.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Carter said. “You go back to bed.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I’ll take you up on it.” Back in his bedroom, he undressed and fell asleep a minute after his head hit the pillow.

  It was mid-morning when we awakened again. He bathed and dressed. He went to the kitchen.

  “Mr. Patrick you look like something the cat drug in and the dogs didn’t want. You sit down and I’ll fix you some breakfast,” the housekeeper said.

  “Thank you, Thelma. I need to make a phone call first.”

  The phone was on a table in the parlor. He took it off the hook and cranked it. “Central, would you get me the Circle P ranch please”

  It was answered by Charlotte after the third ring. “Hello,” she said.

  “Mrs. Parsons, this is Patrick Palmer. Could I speak to Mary Louise, please?”

  “Oh Patrick. She was expecting you to call last night. She’s not here. She and Emily left for Baltimore this morning. She’s staying with my sister for a while.”

  “I was at the hospital all day and a good bit of the night. This was kind of sudden, wasn’t it?” he asked.

  “She decided Wednesday, and called Martha. When she couldn’t get you yesterday, she asked me to tell you, she just wasn’t ready.

  “Don’t be upset with her, Patrick. She feels guilty about the feelings she’s having about you, and didn’t know what to do. For what it’s worth, she cares about you. So do we, for that matter.

  “I shouldn’t even tell you this, but she and Preston were having a hard time of it. He wouldn’t accept our help. They could have s
tayed with us, and worked the ranch with Hiram, but he wouldn’t have it. Then when he passed, she had no choice but to come back home. Zebulon paid the hospital bill, because she couldn’t. She thought it was all her fault.”

  “I didn’t know any of that. I appreciate you telling me. It’s a three day trip to Baltimore. I imagine she will be calling you when she gets there. Would you tell her I understand, I’ll be waiting whenever she is ready?”

  “You’re what she needs Patrick. A good man.”

  “I appreciate that. Thank you for telling me about it. I guess maybe I was pushing her too soon.”

  “It wasn’t that. She was overwhelmed. I’ll tell her what you said, when I talk to her.”

  He hung up the phone and turned to the breakfast Thelma had ready for him.

  Patrick’s mother saw him in the kitchen and asked, “Did you call Mary Louise?”

  He didn’t look up. “She’s gone. She left with Emily for Baltimore this morning. She’s going to stay with her aunt for a while.”

  “You talked to Charlotte?”

  “Yes. She said everything that’s happened caught up to her and she was overwhelmed,” Patrick said.

  “What are you going to do,” she asked.

  “The only thing I can do. Work. I’ll get over it. Speaking of, I had better get going. I want to go by the hospital and see how the man Dad and I operated on is doing.”

  “He told me last night, he really enjoyed working with you yesterday,” she said.

  I wish I had his hands. He’s incredible.”

  “He had a lot of practice in the war. He told me once he had amputated over a thousand legs during the war,” she said.

  Patrick kissed her on the cheek, and said “I hope I never have to experience anything like that. I’ll see you later. I’ll be in the office after the hospital.”

  In the hospital, one of the nurses accompanied him to the room. “What kind of night did he have?” he asked.

  “For the most part, he was quiet,” she said. “They took his temperature at four o’clock and it was 100.2°, so it hasn’t gotten worse.”

  The patient’s wife was asleep, in a chair, her head on the bed. “We’re going to have another sick one if she doesn’t get some rest,” Patrick observed.