Courting Kate

by Rich, Mary Lou

  “He left the shindig early. He’s down at the paper now. Hear the Sentinel is putting out a special edition.”

  A knot of fear gripped Tanner’s heart. Kate had been vaccinated, but his brothers hadn’t. Maybe he should get them vaccinated, but that would mean bringing them into town and possibly exposing them to the disease. He’d talk to the doctor. In the meantime, he’d make sure the boys stayed clear of Jacksonville if he had to tie their feet to a stump.

  “Mr. Blaine?”

  He turned to see one of the Britt boys. “Howdy, son. What can I do for you?”

  “Madame deRoboam said to give you this note.” He handed Tanner a folded piece of paper, then ran off to join his chums.

  Tanner went back into the lobby and opened it. Claiming a headache, Madame Jeanne had gone home by way of Cornelius Beekman’s carriage. While he hoped she wasn’t ill, Tanner couldn’t help but be grateful that she had left. It gave him the opportunity to spend the rest of the evening with Kate.

  When the curtain went up on the last act, Tanner took the seat that the doctor had vacated.

  Kate looked up in surprise.

  “Jeanne went home. No sense in both of us sitting alone.”

  Kate nodded, then directed her attention toward the stage.

  He, however, couldn’t focus on anything but her. He inhaled the scent of her, examined her profile by the dim lights of the theater. And since she couldn’t see, him being taller, he drank his fill of the creamy, rising mounds of flesh he’d only dreamed of watching earlier. From his viewpoint, he could almost swear he saw dusky nipples, but then he always did have a vivid imagination. Whatever he was seeing, it looked mighty fine.

  He heard her sniff, then saw a sparkling tear make its way down her cheek. “Kate?”

  “It’s so sad,” she whispered, fishing in her reticule.

  He took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. Murmuring a thank you, she took it and dabbed at her cheeks. When she tried to return it, he took her hand and encased it in his own. He could have sat there forever, but long before he was ready, the curtain dropped.

  Yells and whistles rose from the audience.

  He gave Kate a startled look.

  “They loved it. Wasn’t it wonderful?” she sighed, her expression dreamy.

  “Wonderful,” he agreed. While Tanner had no idea what had happened on the stage, he wished the play could have lasted all night.

  After several curtain calls, the house lights were lit and the audience filed out of the theater.

  He helped Kate into her cloak and saw her to the buggy, then he retrieved his horse and tied it on behind. Two blocks. He wished it was two miles, but the night was cold and he didn’t want Kate to take a chill.

  A gun boomed, then another.

  “Somebody’s shooting.” Pulling Kate down on the seat, he guided the buggy off the road and stopped behind the drooping branches of a pine tree.

  Kate laughed. “It’s midnight,” she explained, easing upright. “Happy New Year, Tanner.” She gazed up at him, her face pale, silvered by moonlight, her eyes shining like the brightest of stars.

  “Happy New Year, Kate.” Unable to resist, he took her in his arms. Her lips were soft and cool; he warmed them with his own. Discovering she was kissing him back, his kiss deepened; he pressed his tongue between her teeth. She tasted of punch and honeyed nectar, like the heart of a fragrant flower. He savored the core of sweetness, exploring every delicious crevice.

  She shyly made a few explorations of her own. Sighing, she moved even closer, then her arms crept up and around his neck.

  He kissed her chin, then her neck where the cloak had parted, then nibbled his way to the creamy tops of each breast. Her skin was soft as the finest satin, flawless as the most priceless pearl. He slid his fingers inside the velvet fabric, savoring the heat of her flesh against his palm.

  She arched against him, and whispered his name.

  His pulse raged like the rapids of a river, making him oblivious to everything but the woman in his arms. He bent his head to her rose-colored lips.

  Her hands fastened in his hair. Her heart beat like the wings of a hummingbird against the roughness of his fingers. She was so sweet, so perfect, and he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.

  “Tanner, is that you?” a man called out from the street.

  “Dammit!” Tanner moved in front of Kate, shielding her from the curious eyes of the caller. “Yeah, Ed. What do you want?”

  “Doc needs his buggy. Got four more cases of the pox up Sterling Creek. Board of Health wants everyone off the street.”

  The ominous message cooled Tanner’s overheated blood. Seven, maybe eight new victims, and who knew how many more. He gazed down at Kate, then tenderly kissed the tip of her nose. “Guess we’d better get you home, darlin’.”

  After seeing Kate safely inside, and kissing her good night, he returned the buggy to the doctor.

  “Sorry, Doc, didn’t know you’d be needing it tonight,” he said, climbing down off the seat.

  “I was hoping I wouldn’t. If the circumstances were different, I wouldn’t have cared if you hadn’t brought the rig back until dawn.” The doctor ran a hand through his hair. “Damn this pox. You never know when it will strike next, or who.”

  “Doc, are you sure Kate’s safe?” Tanner asked, unable to bear the thought that she might contract the disease. “And what about the boys? Should I get them immunized?”

  “Kate’s been vaccinated. She won’t get it. The boys will be safe enough if you keep them home.” The physician set his black bag onto the floorboard, then he gripped Tanner’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, they’ll all be fine.” He climbed into the buggy.

  Tanner swung into his saddle and followed the doctor as far as the cutoff, then headed toward the mountain.

  A cold wind moaned down the canyon, and howled through the treetops overhead. It was a lonely, forbidding sound. Riding alone in the darkness, fear for Kate made him pull up his horse. Made him want to head back to town.

  What would he do after he got there? She wouldn’t come with him. And he sure couldn’t stay.

  Kate will be fine, the doctor had assured him. The man knew his business. He wouldn’t have said that if she was in any danger.

  Reluctantly, Tanner headed up the trail. Thinking of the awful disease and how fast it was spreading, he only wished he felt that certain.

  Chapter 11

  A rumble of wheels brought Kate to her window. Another wagon load of sick being taken to Kanaka Flats. Later, on the return trip, that same wagon filled with coffins would be heading for the cemetery.

  She rubbed her arms against a sudden chill, and averted her eyes past the wagon to the street, where a choking cloud of dense smoke rose to cover the town. Pitch fires had been built at intervals down Main Street in hopes that the smoke would purify the air and therefore prevent the spread of the pox. Then, resorting to ancient traditions, sulphur had been added to the flames until the supply ran out.

  The fires did nothing to quell the panic. Five people had died. Thirteen new cases had appeared. The Board of Health ruled Jacksonville was in quarantine. No one was allowed either in or out. She thought it ironic that when the vaccine was plentiful a number of people refused to have it. Now that the supply of vaccine had run out, people were clamoring to be immunized.

  Since public gatherings were prohibited, Kate had closed her shop and remained inside her house, only going out for short periods to walk her dog. Even Fluffy appeared nervous, never straying from her side.

  The bustling town of Jacksonville had become a tomb. Yellow flags indicating the presence of the disease were seen on every side. Even more frightening, black wreaths had now appeared on more than a few doors.

  Although ineffective, the fires burned on, manned by day and night. The editor of the Sentinel drew a vivid picture of the eerie scene.

  By day the town is enveloped in thick smoke and by night the deserted street
s are lit up by lines of fire that blaze and flicker among the shadows, and throw a ghastly and sepulchral light over everything....

  Kate stared through the haze, her gaze going to the mountains. The boys hadn’t been to see her in quite a while now, and while she missed them, she also gave thanks. She couldn’t stand it if any of them contracted the disease.

  Tanner had been in town. What if he had been exposed? She thought about the theater and the large gathering of people, some of whom were in the pesthouse now. Unable to bear the thought that he, too, might get the pox, she closed her eyes and bowed her head.

  Dear God, please keep Tanner and the boys safe. Please don’t let them get the disease.

  She added a few prayers for the victims and their families. Some of them were church-going folks. Some that died were devout Christians. And that poor little Love girl... a sweeter child had never been born.

  God hadn’t helped them. Maybe he wouldn’t hear her either. She went back to look out the window. The scene resembled a picture of hell. Somewhere a woman wailed and screamed, the sound terrible, desperate. Was she the wife, the mother of one of the victims?

  How many more would be stricken and die? Kate drew her shawl more closely around her. It was as if the Almighty had washed his hands of the whole Rogue Valley.

  * * *

  Freezing rain, then sprinkles of snow, drifted down from a cloud filled sky, making Tanner put aside his tools and head for the house shortly before noon. It had been three days since he’d seen Kate. Three days that he’d been worried sick. The doctor had promised she’d be all right, but Tanner couldn’t rest until he’d seen her for himself.

  After making sure the boys were all right, he checked the food staples, making a note to pick up whatever they might need. He knew this would probably be his last trip to town until spring. Not just because of the smallpox epidemic, but also because heavy winter snow would soon engulf the pass. Like it or not, they would be isolated for the rest of the winter.

  Maybe the danger’s past. Maybe Kate will be all right.

  But his optimism died when, nearing Jacksonville, he paused to rest his horse on a rim overlooking the town. From there he noted the bonfires in the streets and the cloud of smoke covering the town. He also saw a campfire at the trailhead. A man with a rifle stood guard.

  Finding the trail to Jacksonville blocked and guarded only increased Tanner’s fears for Kate. It appeared that the town was in quarantine, which meant the smallpox epidemic had grown worse. Anxiety knotted his middle, and he fought the urge to race the horse down the hill and see if Kate was all right.

  Common sense told him the only thing that would accomplish would be to get himself shot, or put in jail, neither of which would help Kate or the boys.

  He stealthily retreated from the rocky ledge before he could be spotted. Avoiding the main trail so that he wouldn’t leave tracks in the fresh snow, he kept to the trees and made his way down the hill. When he neared the trailhead, he led the horse into a draw and tied him to a sapling.

  Kate’s place sat in the middle of town, in the open. He couldn’t possibly go there until full dark or else he’d be seen. Because it was closer and surrounded by shrubbery and trees, he decided going to the doctor’s place would be his best bet. The physician could tell him the state of things, and also how Kate was—if the doctor was there. If he wasn’t, at least it would be a good place to wait until Tanner could get to Kate’s.

  Like a shadow, he slipped from tree to tree until he reached the clapboard house. Relieved to see a light inside, but also afraid the doc might be busy with a patient, Tanner hugged the wall and peered through the window.

  The doctor sat alone, dozing in a chair.

  Tanner tried the door and found it unlocked. He quietly went inside. “Doc, it’s Tanner Blaine,” he said softly. “I need to talk to you.”

  “Tanner? What are you doing in town?” The gray haired man’s face was etched with weariness. He staggered from the chair and pulled the curtains. “Son, don’t you know we’re in quarantine? If anybody found you here, you wouldn’t be allowed to leave.”

  “I don’t intend to stay that long. I had to find out about Kate.”

  The physician gave him an uneasy look. “She’s well, so far.”

  “So far?” Tanner gripped his arms. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Today a man came down with the pox, someone I gave the vaccine to a few minutes before I injected Kate.”

  A chill swept through Tanner’s veins. “I thought you said she was safe. She couldn’t get it.”

  “I thought she couldn’t. Apparently something was wrong with the vaccine.”

  “Then she could get sick, too.” An aching fear tightened his throat.

  “She might. I’m not sure.” The doctor let out a weary sigh, then peered at him through red-rimmed eyes. He motioned Tanner into the kitchen and poured them each a cup of coffee.

  Tanner took his to the table and sat down.

  Dr. Thomas took the chair opposite him. Ordinarily fastidious, the medical man’s clothes were wrinkled and stained, making it apparent that it had been several days since he’d gone to bed. “How are the kids? Anybody feeling poorly?”

  “No, they’re fine.” Tanner took off his hat and ran a hand through his snow-dusted hair.

  “Tanner, you ought to know that Kate’s volunteered to nurse the sick, although nobody has taken her up on it yet.”

  “You can’t let her do it.”

  “She’s a grown woman. I’m very fond of Kate, too, and much as I’d like to stop her, I have no say in the matter.”

  Tanner knew he wouldn’t either—if he gave her any choice. A muscle jumped in his clenched jaw. He downed the coffee then shoved the cup aside. “That tears it. I’m taking Kate out of here, Doc, and God help anybody that tries to stop me.”

  “Do what you have to, Tanner. I, too, would feel better if Kathleen was away from here, at least until the disease has run its course.”

  His mouth grim with determination, Tanner held out his hand. “Take care of yourself, Fred.”

  “You, too, son,” the physician called softly after him before shutting the door.

  Tanner waited in the shadows and checked the street. Except for the men stoking the fires, there wasn’t a soul in sight. Hoping it would stay that way, he crept from shadow to shadow until he reached Kate’s.

  He peered through her window and saw her sitting by the stove. Raising a finger, he tapped on the glass.

  Fluffy raised his head and growled.

  “Don’t bark, dammit,” he whispered.

  Kate came to the window and peeped out, then she hurried to open the door. “Tanner! What are you doing here?”

  He stepped inside. “Gather your things, I’m taking you to the mountain.”

  “You’re crazy. I can’t leave with you. The town’s in quarantine. Besides, what would people think?”

  “They’d think you’ve got some sense.” He strode to her bed, stripped off a blanket and began throwing things inside.

  “Stop it! I said I’m not going.”

  Frowning, he glanced toward the window. “You keep up that racket and neither of us will be allowed to leave. The boys need me at home. I’m not going without you, so make up your mind which way it’s going to be.” He stood, waited.

  She sighed in defeat. “You leave me no choice. What about Fluffy?”

  “He can come, if he stays quiet.”

  She stared at him a minute, then she nodded her head. “This is just temporary. As soon as the danger’s over, I’m coming straight back to town.”

  “Fine. Get your stuff ready, and let’s get moving.” He waited for Kate to put on heavier clothes and boots, then she put night garments and a change of clothes into a carpetbag.

  “Do you have any foodstuffs; flour, sugar...? The mercantile is closed, and under the circumstances...”

  “Yes, I have both, along with a few other things we might need.” She stuffed carbolic a
cid and other medical supplies into her bag, then wrapped the foodstuffs in a navy blue blanket and tied the corners shut. “I’m ready.”

  He extinguished the light, then led the way from the house. “What if somebody comes by and finds me missing?” she asked quietly. “Shouldn’t I tell someone I’m leaving?”

  “Doc Thomas knows. Now be quiet and get a move on.” He motioned Kate to go ahead of him until she’d reached a grove of bushy cedars. Tanner followed close behind, using a fallen limb to brush the snow free of their tracks.

  After that, he led the way, keeping to the shadows. Kate, the dog beside her, stayed close by his side.

  When they neared the trailhead, he motioned her to silence.

  Now two men were there, one standing beside a campfire, the other sitting, wrapped in a blanket. “Damn, it’s colder than a witch’s tit.” The man that had complained stomped his feet and held his hands out to the fire. “How long we gonna stay out here?”

  “Nobody with any sense would be out on a night like this,” the other man said, drawing the blanket closer.

  “Nobody with any sense would be trying to get into a town that’s quarantined.”

  “What are we sitting out here for, then?” He struggled to his feet. “I’m for going home.”

  “May as well die of the pox as pneumonia,” the other man agreed. He kicked some snow on the fire, then gathered up his rifle and the rest of his belongings. Muttering to each other, the men headed back into town.

  Tanner let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “We wait a few more minutes, then we’ll go find the horse.”

  When he was certain the men weren’t going to come back, he hurried Kate across the clearing and into the trees. The horse stood, tail to the wind, where he’d left him. “We’re in luck— with the snow falling like it is now, we won’t leave a trail.”

  “That’s good,” Kate said, her teeth chattering.

  He frowned. Although her cloak was wool, it wasn’t all that heavy. She’d be half frozen before they reached the crest of the hill. Then he remembered the slicker he carried behind the saddle. It would keep the wind and snow off and help the cloak retain her body heat. He removed it and made her put it on. “How’s that?”