The Doctor's Newfound Family

by Valerie Hansen

  “Come inside,” he said. “There’s no need for you young’uns to see all that. No need at all. No sirree.”

  Sara Beth grasped his coat sleeve and stopped him. “Tell me. Please?”

  She saw him look to the boys, then shake his head. The sadness and empathy in his expression told her more than any words could have. Much more than she wanted to know.

  Biting her lip and fighting dizziness, she passed all her brothers into Abe’s care, then whirled and ran back into the street, pushing her way through the gaggle of onlookers.

  A young, dark-haired man in a black frock coat was crouched down next to three bodies that lay on the walkway. Two had already been covered and he was laying the muddy folds of a wool cape over the face and upper torso of the third to mask it.

  Sara Beth immediately recognized the fabric of her mother’s skirt and gave a little shriek.

  The hatless man quickly stood, focused his dark, somber gaze on her and grasped her arms to stop her from proceeding.

  She tried to lunge past him toward the bodies as she fought to free herself. “No. Let me go!”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, holding her fast. “I did all I could. By the time I got here they were gone to Glory.”

  “No. That can’t be true.”

  “Unfortunately, I’m quite certain it is,” he answered. “I’m a doctor.”

  “But you’re wrong! You have to be wrong.”

  “I am sorry, miss.”

  Truth and sympathy were evident in the man’s darkly serious gaze.

  Bright lights sparkled in Sara Beth’s field of vision. Her head spun and she felt wobbly the way she sometimes did during an earthquake.

  Her mouth was dry, prickly. She took several shuddering breaths and blinked rapidly, trying to clear her thoughts, to accept what her heart insisted was impossible. It was no use.

  Darkness akin to a starless night began to close in on her. She sensed herself descending into a bottomless pit of hopelessness and despair.

  No longer wanting to see or hear anything that was transpiring around her, she closed her eyes and let go of a reality too painful to acknowledge.

  She was only vaguely aware of someone’s strong arms catching her as she sank blissfully into the welcome void of unconsciousness.

  Chapter Two

  Dr. Taylor Hayward’s boots clumped up the creaky wooden steps as he carried the unconscious young woman into Warner’s Cobweb Palace.

  He laid her atop the bar rather than lower her onto the dusty floor. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be offended when she awoke to find herself the center of interest in the old saloon. In his opinion the bar was the cleanest area in the entire building and therefore the best choice as a makeshift fainting couch.

  He didn’t think the girl was ill or would be in need of his services once she regained consciousness. She had simply received a shock when she had stumbled upon the grisly scene and would surely come around soon without medical intervention. Still, he planned to stay close to her until she was in possession of her full faculties and to offer smelling salts if need be.

  Suddenly, there was a high-pitched shout and a sharp pain in his ankle. He looked down to see a reddish-haired boy of about eight drawing back to give his shin another whack. Before the child had a chance to kick him again, Taylor lifted him by the back of his coat collar and held him at arm’s length.

  “Whoa, son. Take it easy.”

  The wiry boy wriggled and swung his fists in the man’s direction even though his arms were far too short to reach his intended victim. “What’d you do to my sister?” he screeched.

  “This young lady? Nothing. She fainted and I caught her so she wouldn’t fall and hurt herself. That’s all. What’s your name?”

  Still struggling and obviously intent on doing more bodily harm, the boy ignored the question. Looking past him, Taylor saw a slightly older child holding a toddler and standing next to the proprietor. Since none of the children was familiar to him, he called out, “Hey, Abe. Do you know this little rascal who’s tryin’ to take me apart?”

  The old man nodded as he laid a hand on Luke’s head and stroked his hair. “Aye. That’s Mathias Reese, Miss Sara Beth’s brother. So are these young gentlemen. This is Luke and the baby’s Josiah.”

  “Then suppose you tell them I’m an innocent doctor, not a mugger?”

  Mathias started to relax but his eyes looked suspiciously moist. “You’re a doctor?”

  Taylor lowered him carefully to the floor at his feet and released him before crouching to speak with him on his level. “That’s right. And it’s a good thing, too, because I think my ankle will need medical attention.”

  The child glanced out the door to where the crowd was still milling around the recently deceased threesome. “Can you fix my mama?”

  Taylor’s breath caught. Ah, so that was why the girl had fainted. Little wonder. She and the boys were apparently part of a family that had just been devastated in a matter of minutes.

  He laid a hand of consolation on the boy’s thin shoulder before he said, “I’m sorry, son. I got here too late to help her.”

  “Papa?” Mathias whispered. His lower lip was trembling and he was clearly fighting to keep from weeping.

  Instead of answering, Taylor swept the grieving child up in his arms and motioned to Abe to join him rather than leave the unconscious girl unattended.

  “Both their parents?” Taylor asked quietly aside.

  The old man nodded again. “Afraid so. I don’t know what these poor little tykes’ll do now.”

  “What about the other man. Who was he?”

  “Can’t say. I think I’ve seen him around but I never did catch his name. He’s one of the regular dock workers is all I know. I didn’t see everything that happened but I do know that Mrs. Reese managed to shoot their attacker before she fell, too.”

  “I suppose it was a robbery gone terribly wrong,” the doctor said. “What I don’t understand is why a refined couple like that was out wandering this neighborhood at night.”

  Behind him, the girl stirred and moaned. Taylor passed Mathias to Abe Warner and grasped her delicate hand. As her eyes fluttered open, he was struck by the flecks of golden color in her beautiful, green gaze.

  She blinked, managed to focus, and tried immediately to sit up.

  Taylor gently restrained her. “Lie still. You’ve had a bad shock and you need a few more moments to gather your wits before you try to stand.”

  Her eyes widened, misted. “Mama and Papa are both gone, aren’t they?”

  Taylor knew better than to lie to her. “Yes. I’m afraid so. Are you the eldest of their children?”

  She continued to stare at the ceiling of the dimly lit room and act as if she hadn’t comprehended.

  “Miss?” Taylor chafed her wrist in his hands to help revive her. “Miss? Can you hear me?”

  He saw her gather herself, mentally, before she answered, “Yes,” and again endeavored to rise. This time he assisted her and carefully helped her down from the bar. She seemed steadier on her feet than he’d expected, so he released her.

  To his surprise, she squared her shoulders, lifted her chin and addressed him boldly. “Thank you for your efforts on behalf of my parents, Doctor. I left home in a rush and neglected my reticule but perhaps my father’s purse contains enough to satisfy your fee.” She paused briefly then added, “Unless he has been robbed.”

  “Do you think that’s what led to this?”

  “Of course,” she replied, yet there was something odd in her expression. Something that alerted the doctor to the possibility that she was hiding something.

  “Would you like me to help you make final arrangements?” Taylor asked.

  “Thank you, but that won’t be necessary,” Sara Beth answered. “I’m sure Mr. Warner can assist me.”

  “Well, please accept my condolences. If there is anything I can do for you in the future, feel free to call upon me. My office is located at the corner of California an
d Montgomery streets, above the Wells Fargo & Co. office.” He withdrew a card from his vest pocket and presented it to her. “My name is Taylor Hayward.”

  For a brief moment, he thought she might refuse to take the card. Then, she pocketed it without comment.

  The doctor turned to Abe Warner. “Can you handle everything in here for now?”

  “We’ll be fine.” The apple-cheeked old man gave a wistful smile. “If I can manage my mischievous monkeys and all the birds and other critters in here, a few little boys won’t cause me no trouble.”

  Taylor hoped Abe was right. He had an unsettled feeling about leaving the children in the elderly man’s care, yet it looked as if their sister was old enough and wise enough to eventually provide a stable home for them.

  She was an extraordinary young woman, he mused. Her fortitude in the face of disaster was not only unusual, it was inspiring. Most women he had encountered, of any age, were flighty and prone to getting the vapors over the littlest fright or disappointment. Miss Sara Beth Reese had fainted, yes, but for good reason. And she had quickly pulled herself together and regained her sensibilities in a way that truly amazed him.

  Polite society required that he keep his distance unless summoned, of course, but he would nevertheless try to stay abreast of the little family’s circumstances. Taylor had had the benefit of the support of both his parents all his life and he couldn’t imagine how he’d have managed without his father’s wise counsel and his mother’s tempering gentleness and abiding Christian faith.

  He glanced back at the Reese children as he stepped outside. They had gathered around their big sister and were clinging to her as if she were the only lifeline from a sinking ship. He hoped—and prayed—that that was not so. There were many opportunities in San Francisco these days, but there were also many pitfalls and dangers, especially for a young, pretty woman with no family elders to advise and cosset her.

  As Sara Beth comforted the boys and dried their eyes, she wondered why she, too, was not weeping. She wanted to cry but the tears would not come. Perhaps that was because she still could not force herself to believe her mama and papa were gone forever. Oh, she believed in heaven. That wasn’t the problem. Her question was how a benevolent Heavenly Father could have allowed her and the boys to be left so alone.

  “I shall need to return home soon,” she told Abe Warner. “Will you escort us?”

  “I’d be obliged,” he said, “but I can’t leave my store with all these goings-on outside. There’ll be the law to deal with and then—”

  “Will you then arrange for a proper funeral?” Sara Beth asked. “I wouldn’t know how to begin.”

  “Of course, of course. Your pastor should be notified, too. What church do you attend?”

  “First Congregational,” she said. “At least, Mama and I went and took the boys. Papa never seemed to have the time. He was always working.”

  “That reminds me,” Abe said, frowning. “You’ll need to make sure that that workshop of his is secure. Lock it up good and tight, if you know what I mean. There’ll have to be an accounting and you wouldn’t want to come up short.”

  “I don’t know a thing about that, either,” Sara Beth said. “Papa brought the gold dust samples home and assayed them all by himself. None of us were permitted to even watch from outside a window. What shall I do?”

  “Leave everything just as it sits,” Abe advised. “Whoever assigned him to do the assay work will surely contact you and make further arrangements.” He shook his head pensively. “Always did seem a mite reckless to me, trusting outsiders to handle the dust—even a little of it. Then again, they say there wasn’t room for the entire operation under one roof at the mint yet, and your papa was an honest man. He’d had that job ever since Moffat and Company sold to Curtis and Ward, hadn’t he?”

  “I—I think so.” She rubbed her temples. “I’m sorry, Mr. Warner. I can’t seem to concentrate at the moment.”

  “It’s the shock, I reckon. You’re right about needin’ to get on home and take it easy. I’ll arrange for someone to drive you.”

  “No, no. We can walk. I don’t have the price of a private hack and I don’t know when I’d be able to repay you.”

  “There’s someone close by who has his own buggy. Never you fear. He won’t charge a penny.”

  “But—”

  “No argument, girl. I think he’s still outside. I’ll go talk to him and be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”

  Mathias tugged on her skirt to get her attention. “Are we goin’ home, Sara Beth?”

  “Yes, dear. As soon as we can.”

  “What about…?” His lower lip began to quiver as he gazed out the open door.

  “Mr. Warner will take care of things for us here,” she said, realizing that her real problems were only just beginning. “We need to get on home. I’ll fix some nice pancakes. You’ll feel better after you eat.”

  Although she knew that it now fell to her to hold the family together, she had absolutely no idea how she was going to accomplish that feat.

  Yes, she knew how to keep house and do the same things her mother had always done, such as sew and prepare meals.

  But those were the least of her worries, weren’t they? With Papa gone, who would support them? Who would bring in the wages they’d need to survive, let alone flourish as they had been? Sara Beth had had only one serious suitor in the past year and repeatedly rejected his offers of marriage, with her mother’s blessing.

  Perhaps that was why Mama had specifically mentioned the Ladies’ Protection and Relief Society, Sara Beth reminded herself. The benevolent organization had begun as a part of her home church and she already knew many of the members. Mama herself had once worked for some of those dear ladies as a seamstress, until she’d met and married Papa.

  Are my skills with needle and thread sufficient to do the same? she wondered. Was there a chance she might find the kind of gainful employment that had once kept her and her widowed mother off the streets? She prayed so. For if not, she and her brothers were going to be in trouble. And soon.

  Abe found the young doctor in the alley, awaiting the arrival of the sheriff. “You bring your buggy, Taylor?”

  “Yes. I was just coming in from a call outside town so I already had the horse in harness. I wouldn’t have stopped to hitch up otherwise.”

  “Good. I’ve got a favor to ask. Miss Sara Beth and her brothers need a ride home. I’d take ’em myself but I don’t dare leave my emporium until the furor dies down a bit more. I figure I might as well open the bar and take care of the thirsty curiosity-seekers, too.”

  The doctor chuckled wryly. “That’s what I’d have expected, you old reprobate. Don’t you know that rotgut is bad for you?”

  “It’s a darned sight safer than the water we get from the water wagons,” Abe countered. “That stuff’s clear green sometimes, especially come summer.”

  “I can’t argue with you there,” Taylor replied. “All right. I’ll bring my horse around and wait while you fetch the Reese children.”

  “One of ’em ain’t exactly a child, if you get my drift. You okay with that?”

  “I’m a doctor,” Taylor said. “And we’ll have the boys with us as chaperones. As long as Miss Sara Beth doesn’t mind riding with me, I’m sure no one else will think twice about it.”

  The old man snorted cynically. “If you say so. Just keep your interest professional, you hear?”

  “Have you taken it upon yourself to look out for the young lady’s honor?”

  “I wish I could,” Abe answered, sobering. “An old codger like me is no good example for those boys, nor a fitting companion for a young woman of Sara Beth’s upbringing.”

  “What do you think she’ll do?”

  Abe shrugged. “Don’t know.”

  “Does she have grandparents? Aunts and uncles?”

  “None, far as I know, although in a case like this folks sometimes crawl out of the woodwork lookin’ for a piece of the inheri
tance.”

  “Reese had money?”

  “I reckon. They live in a pretty nice two-story house over on Pike. You’ll see when you drive ’em home. Ol’ Robert worked for the mint for a couple of years before he and another fella went into the assay business for themselves.”

  “Then that’s good, right?”

  “I ain’t sure. Robert used to take lots of samples home with him. It was his job to double-check the official assay and he didn’t like to work with a lot of other people watching. All I can see is trouble ahead.”

  “How so?”

  “Can’t say for certain. It just seems to me that if anybody was to take a notion to help himself to some of that gold dust, now’s the time he’d prob’ly do it. Fetch the buggy. I’ll go get your passengers.”

  Taylor mulled over the old man’s opinions and concerns as he led his horse and compact rig into the alley. He supposed he should be thankful for the opportunity to help the orphaned children, but he had to admit that there was more to his interest than mere altruism.

  Something about the lost look in Miss Sara Beth’s eyes had touched him deeply, irrevocably. In an instant he had come to care about her far more than the circumstances called for. True, she was strong-willed, but she also reminded him of a lost sheep being circled by a pack of ravenous wolves. Given what Abe knew about the whole situation, it was little wonder the elderly man felt a fatherly bent toward the girl.

  Taylor huffed and shook his head as his conscience kicked him in the gut. His personal feelings were far from paternal in regard to the lovely young woman. Her hair was the rich colors of autumn, spun into silk. And her eyes were jade gems, sparkling with the very flecks of gold her father had once tested. It was improper of him to notice such things, yet he had.

  His outward behavior, of course, would always remain above reproach. He would never stoop to taking advantage of a woman, especially not one as innocent and needy as Miss Reese. He would, however, be more vigilant on her behalf than he would any of his other patients.