These Healing Hills

by Ann H. Gabhart

  “So did she eat one?” Fran poked the doll’s stomach. “A bean.”

  “She nibbled on one a fair while.”

  “Then they must be extra-powerful medicine if just a nibble can keep her well. Maybe I’d better tell my next patient about purple-speckled beans.” Fran started packing up her instruments.

  “Woody’s done rode off on your horse, so you might as well sit a while.” Becca peered out the door and then pointed to a straight chair. “Sadie and me, we’ll entertain you with a song or two. We might even get Ma to join in.”

  “I reckon I can sing and hull beans at the same time,” Mrs. Locke said.

  “Can we sing the frog courting song?” Sadie hopped up and down.

  When they started singing “Froggie went a-courting,” Fran laughed. “My grandmother used to sing that song to me. Some of the words were different, but the tune was the same.”

  “Oh yeah?” Becca stopped singing and grinned at Fran. “Then you have to sing them for us so we can add your verse to ours.”

  “I don’t know if I remember.” Fran hedged. She couldn’t sing right here in the middle of them all, with Ben Locke right outside the door.

  “You remember.” Becca gave her a considering look. “You’re just pulling a shy on us.”

  Sadie tugged on Fran’s sleeve. “You have to sing it for us, Nurse. You have to.”

  “Don’t be a pester, Sadie.” Mrs. Locke spoke mildly. She emptied the hulls out of her apron and looked up at Fran. “But I’m thinkin’ you might have a fine singing voice, Nurse Howard. So if’n you’re a mind to, we’d be happy to hear you sing it for us.”

  “Oh yes. Please, Nurse Howard,” Sadie begged. “Pretty please with sorghum molasses on top.”

  Fran laughed. “I don’t guess I can turn down sorghum molasses. I’ll sing it through once. It’s real short, and then you can sing it with me. All right, Sadie?”

  Sadie’s eyes sparkled as she nodded.

  Fran felt silly, but then sometimes it was good to be a little silly. She cleared her throat and sang her grandmother’s words.

  “Froggie went a-courting, he did ride. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

  Froggie went a-courting, he did ride. Uh-huh.

  Jumped so high he thought he’d fly. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

  Went right up and hit the sky. Uh-huh.

  Bumped his head and said, ‘Oh my.’ Uh-huh. Uh-huh.”

  Sadie bounced up and down and clapped her hands. “I can sing it now. Uh-huh.”

  They were singing the verse again when Ben stepped inside. Fran let her voice fade away as warmth exploded in her cheeks. Betty was right. She did forget her position sometimes.

  Sadie ran over and grabbed his hands to pull him into the room. “Nurse Howard just taught us a new verse to the froggie song. You want to hear us sing it?”

  “I heard you when I came in just now.” Ben’s lips turned up a little as he looked at Fran. “Didn’t sound like anything I ever heard a sergeant sing. Sergeants mostly bark orders.”

  A smile tickled Fran’s lips, even though she knew she shouldn’t grab the bait he was shaking in front of her with the talk of sergeants. “Orders you followed?” She swept her gaze across his face and to his arm.

  “I generally got in trouble if I didn’t.”

  When he laughed, Fran couldn’t keep her smile under wraps. She did have the sense to keep her head ducked so the man couldn’t see her eyes.

  “What are you talking about?” Becca sounded bothered. “Us singing don’t have a thing to do with your sergeants.”

  “I think we might’ve come in late to this particular story, Becca.” Mrs. Locke didn’t stop shelling her beans, but Fran knew she was watching her.

  “If it’s a story, I want to hear it.” Sadie jerked on Ben’s shirt.

  “Watch out. You’re liable to get paint on your baby doll,” Ben warned her. “And could be I’ll tell you the story some of these days. Or maybe Nurse Howard will.”

  “Maybe.” Fran didn’t look up as she took extra time buckling her saddlebag.

  Ben Locke changed the whole feel of the room when he stepped inside, bringing in the smell of the outdoors and the sweat of working. But it would be the same with any man coming into a room full of women. It was only their meeting in the woods that had her feeling so off balance.

  But she was the nurse. It was up to her to get the balance back right. Betty would have told her it was up to her to keep things in balance from the start. Fran straightened up and looked at Sadie. “It’s not that good a story, Sadie. I just told your brother to keep his arm in a sling a little longer, but as you can see, he’s not good at following a nurse’s orders. I’m glad you did and that your ears are fine this week.”

  “My arm is fine too.” Ben held out his arm and twisted it back and forth.

  “Did you go to the hospital and let them x-ray it?” Fran finally looked directly at Ben. That was easier to do when she was talking like a nurse instead of singing about frogs going courting.

  “I haven’t had time to make the jaunt down that way, but Granny Em came by. She said it appeared to be healed nicely.”

  “Granny Em?”

  Mrs. Locke looked up from her beans. “Granny Em has a right good feel for bones.”

  “I’m sure she does, but an x-ray might confirm that.” Fran kept her voice even. She didn’t want Mrs. Locke to think she was dismissing Granny Em’s doctoring skills.

  “Now, Ma, you know the nurses don’t like us to depend on mountain grannies instead of them.” Something about Ben’s voice changed, as though he’d heard disapproval in Fran’s voice, even though she had intended none.

  Fran wasn’t sure what about the man made her so nervous. She had treated plenty of the mountain men and their wives without feeling a bit shaky about her skills. But when Ben Locke settled his gaze on her, she seemed to lack sureness about anything. Maybe because she knew he’d had medic experience in the army. She didn’t want to believe it had anything to do with his dark blue eyes.

  “Not at all,” she said. “We’re not in competition with anyone. We merely want to do our best to be sure everybody gets proper care.”

  “Well said, Nurse Howard. Did you have to memorize that when you came to Hyden?” The smile in his eyes was gone.

  This time Fran didn’t shrink from his direct look. “No. No, I didn’t. But it is true for all the nurses I’ve met.”

  Sadie hugged her doll close and scooted over to lean against her mother.

  Mrs. Locke looked ready to say something, but Becca gave Ben’s arm a whack. “What’s wrong with you? Don’t be running the nurses away. Granny Em’s fine, but I want the nurses here when little Carl is ready to show his face.”

  “Don’t worry, Becca. We’ll be here if someone comes after us, but it will be a while yet.” Fran pushed a smile out on her face as she looked at Becca and picked up her saddlebag. “Nurse Dawson or I will be back to check on you in a couple of weeks. If any of you need something before then, just send Woody down for us.”

  She looked out the front door, relieved to see Woody back with Jasmine. A strained silence had fallen over the room where moments ago all had been friendly and easy. Maybe Betty was right. Maybe she was wrong to try to be friends with her patients. Just get the job done. But she’d always thought smiles were part of the job.

  She directed a big smile toward Sadie. “You and Priscilla keep drinking your milk.”

  “Yes’m.” Sadie didn’t move away from her mother.

  Mrs. Locke’s eyes narrowed as she stared past Fran toward Ben just inside the door. But he wouldn’t stop Fran leaving. He appeared more than ready for her to be gone. She was definitely more than ready to be gone. He had changed from friendly to antagonistic in a heartbeat, but being in a war could make men volatile. She knew that, for it had surely changed Seth from a man of promises to a man of betrayal. She needed no more of that.

  She kept her eyes away from Ben as she stepped past him.

  19

/>   “The heat up on that roof must have addled your brains.” Becca glared at Ben after the door shut softly behind the nurse. “What’s the matter with you?”

  He didn’t answer Becca because he didn’t know what was the matter with him. Something about Francine put him on edge. Not Francine. Nurse Howard. He wasn’t on a first-name basis with the woman. Wouldn’t likely ever be on a first-name basis with her. She wasn’t one of them. She was from beyond the mountains, where people didn’t understand mountain ways.

  He’d come across that enough in the army. Always having to prove he had enough sense to do whatever needed to be done. Not having money didn’t mean a man didn’t have brains. His sergeant had accused him of having a chip on his shoulder and maybe he did. Maybe he’d let it show with the nurse. That didn’t mean he wanted to admit it.

  “Well?” Becca wasn’t one to let something ride.

  “I said what I thought. She had no reason to be bothered.” He should have kept quiet. That sounded lame even to his ears.

  “Times is when a body don’t let out ev’ry thought.” His mother looked up from her beans. “Run after Miss Nurse, Sadie, and tell her to wait a minute for that mess of beans we promised her. Becca, get a sack out of the drawer for me.”

  Sadie slipped past him to go out the door, her eyes too big, as though he scared her.

  He met his mother’s steady gaze. “I’m sorry.”

  “It ain’t me you need to say that to.” She slipped a couple of handfuls of beans into the sack Becca gave her.

  “Some things are best left alone,” Ben said.

  “Could be you’re right.” His mother peered out the window and then handed the beans to Becca. “Appears she’s waiting. Run these on out to her.”

  “Should I tell her we’re sorry?” Becca took the sack of beans and shot Ben a look. “That Ben’s sorry?”

  Ben shut his eyes a second to hide his irritation. He’d known it would be different coming home to a houseful of women after living with his army brothers for years. Women were always ready with hurt feelings. Men just socked somebody in the nose if they got mad. Could be somebody should have socked him in the nose for upsetting the nurse. She hadn’t intended to rile him. He wasn’t even sure what had poked those rude words out of him.

  “I can do my own apologizing.” He reached out and took the sack from Becca when she started to step past him. “Here. I’ll take them out to her.”

  Becca gave him a look as she handed over the sack of beans, but for once, she kept her mouth shut.

  He stepped out on the porch in time to hear Woody say, “You ain’t mad, are you, Nurse Howard? I took a little while coming back from the creek. You said you didn’t want Jasmine tired out.”

  “I’m not upset. You did exactly what I asked. Jasmine needed a drink.” The nurse didn’t seem to notice Ben on the porch as she reached for her mare’s reins. Instead she looked at Sadie beside her. “You best back up, Sadie. Jasmine can be a little fractious at times. Except when Woody is riding her.”

  “But ain’t you gonna wait for the beans, Nurse?” Sadie stepped over behind Woody.

  “Thank your mother for me, but I’ll try those purple beans another time.” She put her foot in the stirrup and mounted her horse in one graceful movement.

  Ben couldn’t keep from admiring how she sat in the saddle. She really was lovely, even with her hair tucked up and wearing her frontier nurse blue pants and vest. It might be interesting to see her in a dress going to a dance. He put the brakes on his thoughts. He was here to apologize. Not ask her to a dance.

  “No need to wait.” He held up the sack of beans. “Here they are.”

  For a few seconds, he thought she was going to flick her reins and take off. But then she relaxed her hands and turned toward him with that same forced smile she had given him inside. “Then, I’ll be glad to take them. I’m sure Nurse Dawson and I will enjoy them for our supper.”

  He stepped over to the woman on the horse, too aware of Woody and Sadie watching him. Watching them. He could take care of that. “Woody, go find some coal oil to get that paint off your face, and Sadie, you get on back in the house and help Ma.”

  Ben waited until Sadie scampered back into the house and Woody headed toward the shed with a curious glance over his shoulder. Becca was probably watching out the window, but at least none of them were right there peering over his shoulder.

  He handed the sack of beans to the nurse. “Ma says I need to apologize for speaking my mind.”

  “This is your house, Mr. Locke. You are free to say whatever you want.” Her voice was stiff.

  “Free. That’s a good word. Free.” He put his hand on her horse’s nose when the mare turned toward his voice. “And home. They were words to dwell on while I was over there.”

  Her voice softened and her smile looked almost genuine. “Now you have both. Home and free.”

  “So I do. But sometimes I still need a sergeant to keep me in line. Ma. You.”

  “I’m not a sergeant and I do well to keep myself in line. Nurse Dawson is always telling me I forget my place at times.”

  “What is your place?”

  She looked a little puzzled by his question. “Sometimes I wonder.” She looked away from him, then out toward the mountains. “But I do love it here. The trees. The hills. Even the rocks.”

  “The snakes?”

  “The snakes not so much.” She patted her mare’s neck.

  “What about the people?”

  She let her gaze come back to him. “I like the people too. I admire women like your mother, and how could I not love youngsters like Sadie. There is something real about the people here.”

  “People aren’t real where you come from up in the city?”

  “I guess that did sound foolish. But whether you like me saying it or not, the people here are different from the people I grew up with.”

  “Yeah, they probably had shoes.”

  She kept her eyes locked on him. “You have shoes.”

  He lifted his foot up. “So I do. Compliments of Uncle Sam. But it could be I ought to take them off since I seem to keep sticking my foot in my mouth. Shoe leather is tough on the teeth. Then again that’s something else outsiders don’t expect us mountain folk to have. Teeth.”

  She frowned a little at that, but instead of responding, she twisted around in the saddle to stuff the sack of beans in the top of the saddlebag. “Tell your mother thank you for me. She has a generous heart.”

  “And I act like I have no heart at all.” Ben reached for the mare’s bridle before the nurse could turn the horse away.

  “I wouldn’t say that. I see your heart for your family. For the mountains.” Her polite smile came out again as she looked at his hand on her mare’s bridle. “It’s been a pleasure talking with you, Mr. Locke, but I need to be on my way.”

  “Sure.” He turned loose of the bridle and stepped back. “But I am sorry, Sarge. Really.”

  An actual smile slipped out on her face. “You’re going to have to stop calling me that.”

  “But weren’t you the one who told me to call you Sergeant?”

  She shook her head. “A momentary lapse of good judgment.”

  “What’s the matter? Can’t nurses have fun?”

  “Of course. The same as sergeants, but I’m guessing your sergeants in the army let you know when it was time for fun and when it was time to attend to your duties. I need to be about my duty as a nurse.” She turned her horse’s head and flicked the reins. The mare cantered out of the yard.

  “Don’t get lost,” Ben called after her.

  “Very funny.” She looked over her shoulder at him. “We’ll be fine as long as the snakes stay out of our path.”

  He watched her out of sight with an odd urge to trail after her to be sure she didn’t meet any of those snakes. But he didn’t even have a horse. And no reason to feel responsible for her. She’d traversed these hills through snakes and more before he got home. Other people had pointed
her in the right direction if she got lost.

  But it was time to go hunting a horse. Or a truck. Maybe both. A man couldn’t always go shanks’ mare. He’d done enough walking the last few years to last a lifetime. He didn’t have to walk now. He stared out at the trail the nurse had disappeared down. The storekeeper said folks had trucks that could go most anywhere. If he cut a tree here and there, he could probably get one of those trucks nearly up to the house.

  With the way people were going to automobiles, they’d be building roads. Until then, a man could get plenty of places by driving in creek beds. If a man had a motor vehicle, he could drive clear out of the mountains, if that was what he wanted to do.

  For three long years he’d thought about coming home and now here he was thinking about leaving. Maybe that was why the nurse seemed to be drawing him. Because she was from beyond the hills. But she’d come here by choice.

  He’d come home by choice. Wanted to be here with his family. It was just that he wasn’t sure what the future could hold.

  If only his father were still there to help him get his head straight. To figure out what he should do. Ben shut his eyes and remembered his pa now and again taking a rest on the porch. Back then, Ben could talk any problem out with him. Most of the time, his pa would open up his Bible to help find the answers.

  Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

  That was one from Proverbs Pa liked to point out to Ben. Trust. Believe. Listen. That was his father’s way. Ben had carried a Bible all through the war, and while he hadn’t opened it as much as he should have, whenever he did, it was as though his father was sitting down right beside him to point out Scriptures he needed to see. Psalm 46:1 pulled him through some dark days. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

  With the thought of that verse, he could almost hear his pa speaking in his head. The Lord was with you over there, son, but you got to remember he come home with you too. The good Lord is everywhere around us. You just have to be still and listen for him.