Hannah was so caught up in her thoughts that she squealed in surprise when Henry scooped her up into his arms. “Henry Wheeler, you put me down right this minute. You are supposed to ease back into strenuous activities.”
Henry laughed. “Strenuous? You think carrying you is strenuous? Honey, this isn’t strenuous; this is perfect. Being able to hold you and kiss you, and not have to fight that rooster makes me stronger than Atlas.”
“Maybe so, but I don’t want you to get hurt, now put me down. Then you can kiss me and help me into the buggy for our trip home.”
Henry smiled. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll do what you say only because kissing you would be much more fun if I can pull you up close. Which I can now.”
Then, as if to prove his point, Henry sat her on her feet and pulled her right up against him. He captured her lips with his and kissed her much closer to the way he had that morning. When her knees gave out under the feelings he was creating, he held her up and slowly, teasingly gentled the kiss. Finally, when she thought she would pass out from the lack of air and the feelings running through her, he released her lips and lifted her into the buggy. When he climbed up beside her, she almost slid out of the seat, her bones were still so soft and her muscles so much quivering jelly. He pulled her close and wrapped his arm around her, holding the reins in one hand. Then with a snap he headed back down the road toward Creede and the line shack that had been their home for the last week. Only tonight there would be no extra quilts between them, and Hannah couldn’t wait to sleep beside her new husband.
Henry had climbed into the buggy and instantly had to grab hold of Hannah. He was tickled by the way his kiss had affected her; she’d been so overwhelmed by his kiss she’d almost slid off the buggy seat. He’d pulled her close to him and she’d just melted against him like it was the only place she wanted to be. He fully understood her feeling. As he breathed in the scent that was completely Hannah, it filled his senses and made him want nothing more than to be immersed in it. When she was near like this, it was all he could do not to just forget that there was a world out there beyond the two of them. Tonight he planned to tell her how he felt. He wanted to whisper those three little words and have her know that he truly meant them with every fiber of his being.
She sighed and he squeezed her tight. “Are you all right, Hannah? Are you cold? There’s that bear fur in the back if you need it.”
She looked up at him. “Oh no! I’m good, as a matter of fact I’m better than good.”
She smiled and leaned close and kissed him on the corner of his mouth. “Thank you for marrying me, Henry.”
He pulled her even closer... “No, Hannah, honey. Thank you for marrying me. I’m the one who has found a rare jewel here. What was it the king’s mother said in Proverbs? ‘A good wife is worth more than rubies.’ Or something like that. That’s you, Hannah. You’re worth more than rubies, diamonds, gold, or silver. That you agreed to be mine makes me the richest man in the world.”
They rode on in silence until they entered Creede. Henry drove the buggy past the Nugget and saw Archie and several of his lackeys standing around. One seemed familiar to him, but when he looked back for a second look the man was gone. Maybe it had been his imagination, but he thought it had been Augustus Rayner, the man who’d killed Hannah’s sister. He refocused on his lovely wife. “I want to make a couple of stops before we head to the cabin.”
Hannah looked up at him with questions in her eye. “I want to stop at Mr. McRae’s and get us a couple of dinners. I don’t want you to have to cook on our wedding night. I also want to stop at the dry goods and get some sweet corn feed for Bob. He did his job and tonight he’ll be sleeping in the lean-to with the cow and horses. So I want to reward him with some special feed.”
Hannah squeezed his arm in her hug. “Those both sound like good ideas. I’ve never actually been in Crowther’s Dry Goods; I’ll go in with you and look around.”
“Darlin’, if you want to come everywhere with me today, I’ll stop and crow that you’re my wife louder than old Bob there ever could.”
From the back seat came a disgusted “Brawlk!”
“Nope, Bob, I won’t take it back. Our Hannah makes me feel like the strongest man in the world. With her on my arm, not only can I out strut you, I can and will out crow you, too.”
Bob clucked like he was disagreeing, and Henry smiled at the giggle that escaped Hannah and the pretty blush that warmed her cheeks and neck.
They stopped in front of Edwin McRae’s house and Henry got down and knocked on the door. The man opened and said, “Marshal, thought you were dead.”
Henry shook his head. “Everyone today has said that. I’m sorry to disappoint.”
“I’m actually glad you aren’t dead; maybe you’ll be able to help clean up this town.”
“Well, I’m trying to do what I was sent here to do, Edwin. Maybe that will help.”
“I know you didn’t stop by to chat. What can I do for you?”
Henry smiled. “I married Nurse Coppersmith just a little bit ago. I’d like to keep her from having to cook our wedding feast. You wouldn’t happen to have two meals handy, would you?”
McRae rubbed his chin. “I normally don’t have much in the way of supper on account most miners want a lunch, but I think I could put together a basket that would feed the two of you pretty good. Might even have a few pieces of apple stack cake left that Miss Bing brought me this morning. Can ya give me about half an hour to make a basket fer ya?”
Henry nodded. “Much obliged. We need to stop by the dry good store, anyway, so we’ll be back after that.”
“Sounds good; and congratulations on yer nuptials.”
Henry smiled. “Thanks, maybe you should think about finding a wife.”
McRae smiled. “Might be, I have a thought or two along those lines.”
Henry shook his hand and climbed back in the buggy. “He’s putting us together a basket, so let’s go to the dry goods and then swing by and get our supper.”
Hannah and Henry entered Crowther’s Dry Goods store. Hannah let go of Henry’s arm and started wandering up and down the aisles looking at things. There were several things that the mercantile didn’t have and some overlap. There seemed to be more mining and farming goods here than at the mercantile and less in the way of womanly things or household items. She was moving up an aisle looking at canning supplies and kitchen wares when she remembered she’d wanted to ask Henry just what kind of cookware he had in his apartment. She started toward him when she heard and saw Benita Crowther enter the store and make a straight line for Henry. She latched on to his arm like they were courting. “Marshal Wheeler, I’m so relieved that the rumors of your death were wrong. I’ve been so worried about you.”
Henry smiled at her and tried to pull his arm away but the woman was latched on like a tick on a hound. “Thank you, Miss Crowther. As you can see, I’m fine. I took a bullet to the back but thankfully, I was in good hands.”
The girl batted her eyes at him. Hannah wanted to laugh at the silly girl but surprisingly, another part of her wanted to scratch the little flirt’s eyes out. “Well, I think to celebrate we should go on a picnic tomorrow. What time will you pick me up?”
Before Henry could open his mouth to answer the forward little leech, Hannah came up behind them. “Benita Crowther, I would appreciate it if you took your hands off my husband.”
Benita jerked around as she let go of Henry. “You’re married to Nurse Coppersmith? Why didn’t you say something?”
Hannah again pulled the woman’s attention toward her. “When did he have a chance to? You latched onto him like a saddle on a cowpony the moment you walked in the door.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything. When did you two marry and how come no one knows about it?”
“Henry married me about a half hour ago at Reverend Bing’s church. That’s why not a lot of people know about it. We stopped here to get some things we need to set up our house together.”
>
The woman sighed. “I don’t understand. What is wrong with me? First, it looks like Waylon will be my groom and instead he sends for a mail order bride just like Mr. Jackson. Now you got the Marshal. Why can’t I find a husband?”
Hannah started to tell her she came across too desperate for a husband and scared them all off but Henry beat her to saying anything. “You just have to find the right man, Miss Crowther. Hey now, Doctor Thomas isn’t married. Maybe he’d be a good match for you. I bet Hannah could mention you to him if you wanted. Why she could even give you an introduction, I bet.”
Hannah looked at Henry like he’d grown a third eye. What was that man playing at? Why would he sic this leech onto the doctor? Of course, the Doctor was single. Maybe he would like an introduction to a single woman in town.
Benita looked at her and Hannah sighed. “I’ll mention you to him, Benita, but don’t get your hopes up too much. He’s really very busy, you know.”
Benita grabbed her and hugged her. “Oh, thank you, Hannah. I just need a chance. I’ll make him a good wife. You’ll see.”
This was what she’d been afraid of. Henry was a man and lived mostly in Topaz and probably didn’t know Benita’s reputation for being over-zealous when it came to looking for a husband. Hannah smiled and was relieved when Mr. Crowther came around the corner and handed Henry a sack of sweet corn feed. “Anything else, Marshal?”
He looked at Hannah, “Well, did you see something you need?”
“I’m not sure; maybe I should wait till I see what we have in Topaz first.”
Henry nodded. “Nope, that’s all this time.”
He settled up and they left to get their supper basket and head home for their wedding feast and then the wedding night. Hannah shivered at the thought of finally being able to know Henry as her husband.
Thirteen
Two weeks later.
Hannah looked at Henry sleeping beside her. The last two weeks had been the best of her life. She and Henry had moved into his apartment over the jail in Topaz and they’d quickly settled into a routine together. Hannah would wake and get up and fix breakfast for them while Henry went out and fed the horses and milked the cow. When he brought the milk in they’d eat together. Some mornings they got out of bed faster than others and Hannah blushed when she thought of those times they lingered in bed. The one thing that made her laugh and irritated Henry was Bob. No matter how sure Henry was that the rooster was locked out of the house at night, they were awakened every morning by Bob sitting on the post at the foot of the bed crowing. Henry couldn’t figure out how the rooster was getting in every single morning. Hannah knew it had more to do with who had given her Bob than the bird himself. He was a special bird and so it tickled her but didn’t bother her that he could do the impossible.
The other thing was Bob still followed her around. The people of Topaz had even started to laugh and joke about Nurse Hannah and her assistant, Bob Chicken. However, he had come in handy and even helpful a few times. There was the man who’d been more drunk than hurt and tried to get personal with her. Henry had been out with a local rancher chasing rustlers, but Bob had pecked and kicked and beat the man with his large wings till the guy had run out into the street screaming about demonic roosters.
Then there were the little kids who were hurt and scared, and Bob would set and let them hug him or pet him and just cluck lightly to them. Parents of those kids talked about how gentle and kind the oversized rooster was. But mostly they talked about him as Hannah’s shadow. Henry had even gone so far as to build a hen house and get six chickens for them and they had eggs every day, but still Bob would end up in the house every morning waking them from the foot of the bed.
Every Wednesday Hannah would hitch her wagon and ride to the clinic and work alongside Doctor Thomas. The man had taken to being out of the clinic himself most other days. More to escape from Benita’s attempts at getting him to court her than anything. So they both enjoyed Wednesdays when they could work in the clinic and see to the health of Creede’s citizens. Henry rode in with her, his stallion Fury tied behind her buggy. After he’d dropped her off at the clinic, he’d go back into town. Black Jack Ketchem and his deputy had left Creede without a word to anyone. Even Mr. Anders was mad about it since they’d held up a payroll shipment being sent to the mine on their way out of town.
Henry had wanted posters drawn up for them and sent to every lawman in Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. But so far all they’d heard were rumors of train and stage coach robberies the two had done. While everyone but Archie and Anders were glad Ketchem was gone, not having a local lawman had made Creede a more dangerous place. Once again women in the area were not going anywhere alone. Henry and Mr. Anders, as well as Reverend Bing, had sent out advertisements for someone to come and take over as sheriff, but so far no one had answered the ads. That left Henry having to spend more time in Creede.
Still, their time together was sweet. Their love for each other was growing and even if Henry hadn’t said the words to her yet, Hannah knew he loved her. The one dark spot in her life was Gus. She’d been called to the Golden Nugget twice more over the last two weeks, both times to treat girls that he himself had punished.
So far Henry had not been able to go with her on any of her visits to the Nugget and Bob had never gone inside with her but every time she was finished, Gus would make a comment or try to catch her alone, reminding her that if she breathed a word of who he used to be, she’d pay the price. He also kept making comments about how he bet she was an even better toy than her sister had been and one day he’d have to play with her and see.
Hannah was worried. She had thought about telling both Henry and Doctor Thomas that she wasn’t going to see the women at the saloons any more. She had enough with her work in Topaz and seeing all the women who’d come up in a family way lately. There was Beatrice Jameson, Marta Clark, a couple in Topaz, and a few of the miners’ wives. Between that and patching up accidents and dealing with illness in and around Topaz, Hannah was busy. She’d talk to Henry tonight and Doctor Thomas on Wednesday when she went to the clinic. As comfortable as the women were with having her do their doctoring for woman problems, there really wasn’t a need for her in Creede. Doctor Thomas could do what was needed without her.
She’d convinced herself that she was going to concentrate on Topaz’s citizens and midwifing and put as much distance between her and Gus Reed as possible. She was just getting ready to go to the sheriff’s office and meet her husband when Celeste Divine, the first girl she’d patched up after Gus punished her, came into the clinic. “Mrs. Wheeler, I was sent to fetch you; one of the girls is real bad off. This time it wasn’t a punishment. Gus said to tell you she’s bleeding a whole lot and it ain’t her time to bleed.”
Hannah nodded and grabbed her bag stuffing extra bandages and some laudanum and witch hazel in the bag as well as her stethoscope and some medicinal alcohol. She climbed in the buggy, motioning for Celeste to climb up beside her. The girl had run all the way from town. “Oh, no, ma’am, I couldn’t ride beside you. What would people think?”
“I don’t care what they think, Celeste. I’m the one tasked with seeing to your health and well-being, and you’ve done exhausted yourself coming to get me. Now get up here. We don’t have time to argue.”
The girl climbed in the buggy and just before Hannah took off, Bob hopped in the back and settled himself on the rear bench. “It’s funny how that rooster follows you around, Mrs. Wheeler.”
Hannah got her mare heading toward the Nugget. “That’s Bob, Celeste, he’s a very special rooster.”
The girl gave her a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”
Hannah didn’t know why but she found herself telling Celeste all about her guardian angel and the gift of Bob the attack chicken, her protector and chaperone. The girl didn’t look like she doubted a word Hannah said but when the tale was told, Celeste said. “But you’re married now. Why is he still here?”
“I don’t know,
Celeste. I guess his job of protecting me isn’t over yet. Or maybe he’s still here because he has nowhere else to go.”
“I know if I was anything but a whore I’d be happy to have a chicken like Bob.”
Bob hopped up on the back of the front seat and then into Celeste’s lap, letting the innocent minded whore pet him just like he did the little children who needed comfort. Hannah’s heart hurt for the young woman beside her. She said a little prayer that this woman would find a way out of the life she was in before that innocence was lost to her cruel profession.
They arrived at the Golden Nugget. Hannah looked around; Mr. Anders wasn’t there but Gus was standing on the landing talking to Archie Grady. Something twisted in Hannah’s stomach; something about this wasn’t right. But maybe it was just the fact that she had to deal yet again with her sister’s killer. Gus motioned for her to come with him and she climbed the steps. Archie passed her going down and she felt, more than saw, his eyes travel over her figure in a way that made her feel covered in slime. Gus led her to the door of a room on the far end of the hall. “I had to put her in here. She was screaming so loud earlier that it was upsetting the other girls. She calmed down some when we turned the lights down and covered the windows. But she’s bleeding awful bad.”
“I’ll see what I can do, but if it’s as bad as you say you’ll probably need to send someone to Bachelor to find Doctor Thomas.”
“If we need to we will. Just see what you can do first. If nothing else, give her some medicine so she won’t scream anymore.”
Hannah nodded and entered the darkened room. There was a single lamp turned down low. She could see the shape of the girl in the bed under the covers. She walked toward the bed unaware of Gus entering behind her and locking the door. “Hey there, I’m Nurse Wheeler. Tell me what’s going on with you.” As she got nearer the bed she realized that there wasn’t a person in the bed but just sheets and blankets arranged to look like a person. Her heart slammed into her chest as she felt Gus grab her from behind “I told you one day I’d see if you were a better plaything than your sister. Archie is sending me to Durango to run the new brothel and you’ll be my personal whore from today on. Hannah opened her mouth to scream when something was shoved over her mouth and nose. She caught the scent of ether before everything went black.
Hannah the Healer Page 9
