Winter Promise

by Martha Rogers

  He blew out his breath and shook his head. What was wrong with him? He’d steered clear of all the young women in Porterfield thus far without even thinking about it, but Abigail had pricked a hole in that wall around his heart. He had to be careful, or she’d start poking and scraping until it broke through completely.

  “You about through straightening that tray of instruments? You’ve been standing there a good ten minutes just moving them around.”

  Elliot jumped and dropped one of the clamps. “Oh, sorry, Doc, I guess I was distracted.”

  His uncle’s eyes twinkled behind his wire frame glasses. “Hmm, could it be that pretty little gal I saw across the street a little while ago?”

  Heat filled Elliot’s face. “No, I was just thinking about the patients we saw this morning.” He’d say anything to keep his uncle from getting any ideas about Miss Monroe.

  “Not much different from any other morning. A few cuts, scrapes, sore throat, and mashed thumb. Nothing I can see to worry about.” He strolled over to the pegs beside the door, retrieved his hat, and set it on his head. “It’s about lunchtime. How about we make a visit to the boardinghouse since Maggie is over in Carthage visiting her sister?”

  Elliot hesitated. Going to the boardinghouse meant he would most likely see Miss Monroe again since she lived there. He debated the pros and cons until his uncle shook his head and left the building.

  Elliot jumped into action and ran after Doc. “Wait up. I’m hungry, and Mrs. Sullivan’s food is about as good as it gets when Aunt Maggie’s not cooking.”

  “Good. I was beginning to think you might be sick or something yourself.” But his smirk and the lilt to his voice evidenced his true thoughts.

  If Miss Monroe so much as glanced his way, he’d have to . . . to what? Be polite and speak to her was his only choice if he didn’t want to appear rude.

  When they entered the dining area, she was already seated beside Cory at the boarder’s table. Doc waved at Mrs. Sullivan and took a seat at one of the extra tables set out for those who made reservations early for the noon and evening meals. When Aunt Maggie went over to visit her sister and mother once a month, Doc always made sure he had a place at the boardinghouse.

  Once seated, Elliot glanced up and realized Abigail sat directly in his line of vision. After Cory said grace, everyone filled their plates from the family-style platters on each table. Abigail’s musical laughter rang out. Apparently Cory must have made a humorous remark as the deputy’s face flushed bright red.

  He stabbed a piece of meat. Why should her laughing and talking to Cory be of any concern to him? He stuffed the meat into his mouth and chewed. He had to get his mind off Miss Monroe. “This pot roast is just like Aunt Maggie’s. Wonder if they use the same recipe.”

  Doc lifted the napkin tucked into his collar and swiped at a dab of gravy on his chin. “It wouldn’t surprise me any. Those two women are always exchanging recipes. That is, all except a few. Maggie won’t tell anyone her secret ingredient in her chocolate cake, and Mae won’t tell anyone her secret for that wonderful pound cake she makes.” He leaned over in a conspiratorial manner. “If you ask me, I think she uses buttermilk instead of sweet milk, but you never heard it from me.”

  Elliot shrugged and gulped down a swig of sweet tea. His knowledge of cooking was limited to making decent coffee. He certainly didn’t know what difference the kind of milk used would make. He ate food to enjoy it, not analyze what was in it.

  As hard as he tried, he couldn’t keep his gaze away from Abigail Monroe. Her voice carried to his table as she described some of what she wanted to do with her new building.

  “Like I said, she’s a pretty little girl.”

  Elliot’s fork clattered to his plate. “Who is?”

  “Miss Monroe. As if you weren’t sitting here staring at her.”

  Heat flooded his face. Had he been that obvious? He’d have to be much more careful in the future. She was simply another young woman like any other. If she wanted a husband, the town held plenty of men who would be interested, and it looked like Cory was already one of them.

  A commotion at the door grabbed his attention. Miss Miller, one of the teachers at the school, raced into the room. “Doc, you have to come quick. It’s Sally Davis. The boys were playing ball, and she got hit in the face. I think her nose is broken, and she’s bleeding something awful. Miss Perth is with her now.”

  Doc jumped up from the table with Elliot close behind. They followed her outside and up three blocks to the schoolhouse. Sally sat on the steps with Miss Perth beside her holding a bloodied rag to Sally’s face. Three boys, including Sally’s brother Pete, stood to the side with guilt and fear written on their faces.

  Doc examined her then pulled out his clean handkerchief. He replaced the blood-soaked one with it and turned to Elliot. “I want to take her down to the infirmary and check her out good. Can you carry her that far?”

  Elliot picked her up. Despite his wiry frame, he was strong and held her with ease.

  Miss Miller grabbed his arm. “Bring her over here. I have the wagon hitched up. It’ll be faster.”

  Doc thanked her and helped Elliot place Sally in the wagon. Miss Miller had even found a blanket and folded it to make a cleaner place for Sally to sit. Elliot climbed in back with her and helped hold her head and the cloth to stop the bleeding, and his uncle drove the wagon.

  Tears streaked her bloodied face. “It hurts, Doc Elliot.”

  He wiped away the tears with his own handkerchief. “I know it does, but Doc Jensen will get you fixed up in no time.” He remembered the girl from last fall when her family’s home had burned and injured her parents and younger brother and sister. She had been so brave then and had helped Kate Muldoon care for little Carrie and Lenny until her parents recovered.

  By the time they reached the infirmary, Sally’s parents were there to see what had happened. Doc took over and had the situation well in hand, so Elliot washed up and went back to the boardinghouse to retrieve the remains of the meal that had been interrupted. Mrs. Sullivan always took care of the doctors, as this wasn’t the first time a meal had been interrupted by an emergency.

  The dining room had emptied of all its patrons, and Mrs. Sullivan cleared the tables. She grinned when she spotted him. “Have your food all ready in a basket for you. I kept it warm on the back of my stove.”

  She disappeared into the kitchen, and Elliot gazed around the room. At least he didn’t have to encounter Abigail Monroe again. He could get on back and help Doc clean up then finish eating.

  “Oh, Doctor Jensen, how is the girl?”

  He turned to see Abigail standing near the stair landing. So much for not having to encounter her again. “She’s fine.” He moistened his lips. “People around here call me Doc Elliot and my uncle Doc Jensen so as not to get us confused.”

  “Well then, Doc Elliot, I’m glad she’s going to be all right.” She brushed past him, leaving a scent of rosewater as she did so. “I’m going to help Aunt Mae with cleaning up. She saved your meal for you.”

  All he could do was nod. If Mrs. Sullivan didn’t hurry up with the basket, he might have to leave without it. He’d miss the rest of his meal if he had to just so he could get as far away from Abigail Monroe as possible.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ON THURSDAY, ABIGAIL sat in the middle of the room in the only chair she had surrounded by boxes and crates delivered on the Wednesday afternoon train. Since Monday, she’d swept and cleaned until the wood floors shone almost like new. Frank Cahoon and his bride, Suzanne, had stopped in to help. On Wednesday Frank had moved the railing to the positions she wanted, and Suzanne had helped clean the plate glass windows and doors on the inside.

  The willingness of everyone to help thrilled Abigail. It added to her excitement as she tore into boxes filled with books mostly for the library. She picked up each volume and caressed the cover before setting it in a stack to be catalogued and shelved. Later this evening she’d finish writing down the
information for her card catalog and for the bindings of the books.

  “Hi. You need any help?”

  Abigail glanced up and grinned. “Kate! Come on in. I’m glad to see you. All these boxes and crates need to be unpacked. I’ve started with the books that came today.”

  Kate strolled across the room, her gaze darting about the space. “You’ve done a great job here. It’s as clean as Doc keeps the infirmary. How’d you like the surprise Nathan and Rachel had for you?”

  Abigail eyed the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lining one wall. Three of them had been installed this morning, and three more were to be delivered the day after tomorrow. “I love it. She didn’t say a word about it in all the letters we exchanged in the past few months. They fit perfectly.”

  Kate laughed and ran her hand across a shelf. “Lester Williams did a fine job building them. You might want to check out his store for some other items.”

  “I meant to go down to his shop today, but I haven’t had a lick of time to do anything but fix things up here. I’ll have to work extra hard to have everything ready for my grand opening on Saturday.” Nathan and Daniel had both promised to help, as had Frank and Cory. She prayed they wouldn’t forget.

  Kate waved a hand toward the windows. “I see Mr. Hinkle got the signs done. They really spruce up your windows and make this look like a real library.”

  Indeed, the lettering he’d done was just about perfect. He concentrated so hard on his work that he hadn’t even heard her when she’d offered him a cool drink of lemonade. “I love what’s he done, and he’s so meticulous.”

  Kate opened a box of books. “How are you sorting these? By alphabetical order?”

  “No, the ones I sent from home are packed by subject matter so it’ll be easier to catalog them tonight. The other ones we ordered have to be put in the correct stacks. Here, I’ll show you.”

  Abigail lifted a few of the books and showed Kate the stacks for subjects like science, biographies, arts, and history. The fiction books were set aside for later as they were the easiest to sort and label.

  They worked in silence for a few minutes, but it was a companionable silence that filled Abigail with joy at sharing her work with her sister by marriage.

  Kate stood and arched her back. “I’m not use to sitting on the floor. Think I’ll go borrow a chair from the infirmary.”

  “Oh, my, I didn’t even think about that.” Abigail jumped up. “Here, you use this one for a while. I want to check out how the books look on the shelves anyway. I guess I also need to find the crates with the chairs I ordered and get Daniel to open them for me so I’ll have them available for seating.”

  “OK.” She sat on the chair and opened another box. “By the way, what do you think of the men you’ve met so far?”

  Abigail tilted her head and peered at Kate. “I’m not sure. I haven’t really been around them enough to form an opinion one way or the other, and I’m really not interested now because I want to get the library established first.”

  “I think Cory and Elliot Jensen are about the two most eligible in town, especially since I think one of the hands at the ranch is interested in Jessica Miller. Of course there’s lots of others on the ranches and over at the sawmill. You’ll get to meet a bunch of them on Friday night for this month’s town social, and you’ll have ample opportunity at church gatherings as well.”

  Kate then laughed. “Listen to me. I hated it when Erin and Sarah fussed about marrying me off, and here I am trying to do the same to you.”

  “I don’t mind. I look forward to the socials. Cory and Dr. Jensen are both very nice, and your brother is quite handsome. He seemed to enjoy his nieces and nephews too.”

  Kate laughed. “Cory certainly has a way with them.” She sent a sidelong glance to Abigail. “He’s ambitious too. He wants to become a full sheriff or even a marshal one of these days.”

  “Why doesn’t he join the Texas Rangers that I’ve heard so much about?” She pictured him as a Ranger fighting battles with outlaws, and it sent a little smile to her heart.

  “He likes it here in Porterfield. Sheriff Rutherford will be ready to retire in a few years, and Cory would most likely be voted in to take his place. No one’s opposed Rutherford so far, and it doesn’t seem likely anyone would run against Cory.”

  Ambition, good looks, and well liked. What more could she ask for in a man? Even if she didn’t plan on marrying anytime soon, Cory would be fun to have as an escort. “I must say he’s nothing like any other men I’ve met, either here or in Connecticut.”

  Kate made no comment, but she grinned in that knowing way Abigail had come to recognize in the few days she’d been in town. Most likely Daniel would hear about this conversation and have a few words to share on the subject as well. Big brothers could be a tease.

  A few minutes later Kate stood and stretched. “I have to go back to the infirmary to check on a patient there and then I’ll head home. It’s getting on to suppertime.”

  Abigail glanced at the watch pinned to her shirtwaist. “Why, so it is. Where has the time gone? I’m not nearly through the list of things I need to do.” She sighed and walked back to the stack of boxes. “Looks like I’ll need to come back this evening and work some more.”

  “Daniel and I can come to help if you need us.” Kate headed for the door.

  “Thank you. I’ll let you know.”

  Kate hurried across the street, and Abigail surveyed the chore ahead of her. It’d take at least another day to get them all unpacked and sorted and then several more days getting labels made with the decimal system.

  Right now, however, hunger for one of Aunt Mae’s good suppers beckoned. She picked up her handbag, retrieved the key, and stepped through the door. After locking it securely she turned to walk away. Suddenly she found herself falling face forward. A sharp pain pierced her ankle and shot up her leg.

  She winced and pulled her skirt aside to observe her foot. The toe of her shoe had caught against a piece of loose board and caused her to trip. She bit her lip against the pain in her ankle and tried to stand, but that caused even more agony. She clung to a post in front of the building. Footsteps pounded across the street.

  “Abigail! Are you hurt?” Cory jumped up onto the boardwalk and grabbed Abigail around the waist.

  “I’m not sure. I tripped over a loose board and fell. Now my ankle hurts something terrible.”

  “Sit here on the step and let me have a look.”

  Abigail eased down and lifted her skirt. Heat infused her face as Cody unlaced her shoe. “It’s beginning to swell. I’m getting you over to the infirmary so the doctor can examine it.” He lifted her up to one foot and put his arm around her waist.

  With her shoe in one hand and pink in her cheeks, Abigail placed the other hand on Cory’s back and limped across the street on one foot, berating herself for her clumsiness.

  Elliot glanced out the window and spotted Cory helping Miss Monroe across the street. The young woman appeared to be injured. Concern as well as a snip of jealousy shot through him, and he raced through the door to help.

  He grabbed Abigail’s free arm and draped it across his shoulder. His arm slid around her waist above Cory’s. A little shock of surprise bolted through him when he realized he didn’t feel thick stays beneath her garment. His hand burned with the contact, but she needed to get off that ankle.

  “What happened to you, Miss Monroe?”

  Her cheeks flushed red, and she bit her lip. “I tripped on a loose board and fell flat on my face. I feel so silly.”

  “Nothing silly about that.” He helped her up the steps and into the infirmary. “Let’s get you on the table over there, and I’ll take a look at that ankle. Thank you, Cory; I’ll take over from here.”

  Cory released Abigail and stood back as Doc Elliot helped her up onto the examination table. “I don’t think it’s broken, but it had already begun to swell, so that’s why I took off her shoe.” He glanced around the room. “Where’s your uncle?
”

  “Very good thinking.” Cory’s action with the foot probably saved having to cut the shoe from Abigail’s foot. “Doc’s over at the Davis place. Carrie and Pete came home from school not feeling well, so he went to check on them. Now let me see what we have here, Miss Monroe.” Kate entered the examining room and rushed to Abigail’s side. “What in the world happened to you?”

  Abigail lifted her skirt again and explained to Kate while Doc Elliot examined a very red and swollen ankle. She had certainly twisted it without a doubt, but as Cory surmised, it didn’t appear broken. He nodded to Kate. “I need a cloth saturated with cold water. I’ll wrap her ankle with it, and that should help the swelling go down.” He turned back to Miss Monroe. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to use your foot for several weeks.”

  He noticed Cory turn and leave without saying good-bye to either his sister or Miss Monroe. That was strange, but Elliot had no time to think about it.

  Abigail’s face scrunched into frown followed by a moan. “Oh no, that isn’t possible. I have to get the library ready to open.”

  Kate returned with the cold water, chipped ice, and cloths. “The town has gone this long without a library, so another week or so isn’t going to make that much difference.”

  A tear slipped down Abigail’s cheek. “It will to me.” She flinched when he placed the icy compress around her ankle.

  “I’m sorry. I know it’s cold, but it’ll help the swelling.”

  “Actually, with this hot weather, it doesn’t feel so bad now, and it does numb the pain.” She reached down to touch the wrapping around her ankle.

  He gazed up into her eyes that had become liquid pools. Her simple beauty struck a chord in his soul that he didn’t want to hear. Breathing became difficult with her rosewater scent so close. He had to get away from her. “Excuse me, I’ll go into the next room and find crutches for you to use.”

  Her voice moaning over the fact she couldn’t work in her library followed him to the next room where his uncle stored medical equipment. She’d need some practice to use the crutches correctly. Kate could do it. He’d assign her to help Abigail learn how to maneuver with them.