“Oh no. Is Charlotte alright?”
Mary could tell by the shock on Doc’s face he cared about this woman called Charlotte. Were they close, she wondered? It was none of her business and yet she found herself very curious to know what lay behind his concern for the woman.
“Yeah, she’s alright, but now the dead man’s brother is demanding justice.”
Big Angus turned toward the big barn leading the two horses behind him. Doc sent her a look that said I told you so, but Mary was confused and she wanted clarification. “Doc, if this woman named Charlotte was defending herself, how can the dead man’s brother seek justice. Why would the woman be on trial for defending herself?”
Doc’s sympathetic gaze made Mary uneasy. “Mary, I don’t know how else to say this to make you understand, so I’ll just say it. People like Charlotte, are considered—”
“As having no value,” Mary offered. “Because this Charlotte works in a saloon, people on the outside have decided she is trash and therefore she’s not permitted to do harm in the process of defending herself. Not even to a predator such as the man who tried to—”
“Yes, that’s correct. Even though Charlotte, who is a lovely person and a hard worker who does not sell her body for money, even she is judged unfairly because of where she works.”
“That’s what you tried to explain to me this morning on the trail.”
Now, she understood their conversation about the knife in her boot. “I fear I am doomed then, for there are those who will pursue me for what they think I am and I will be forced to defend myself. This will not end well, I fear.”
Doc reached up and touched her tattooed cheek. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There are a lot of people in this town who respect your brother and the Hanovers. They may have underlining and conflicting thoughts about you, but they aren’t going to be stupid enough to act on them. And, once they get to know you, you will change their opinions by just being the lovely person you are.”
Mary looked up into the kind eyes of her champion and knew he meant his words. She just hoped they were true. She felt the pull of her attraction to the man standing before her and without conscious thought, her eyes dropped to his lips so close for the taking. She could just lean in and—
“I’ll check in on Charlotte later, but right now, I want to introduce you to Mrs. Hanover. Are you ready?”
“Am I ready?” She repeated and pulled her eyes from his lips to his dark gaze.
“Yes, to meet Mrs. Hanover.”
“Ah.” Was she ready? No, but she knew she could not come to the end of her journey if she would not take the first step.
Doc extended his elbow to her, and for a moment she was confused as to his meaning, but when he reached for her hand and wrapped her fingers around his arms, she remembered the gesture from somewhere far back in her past. She liked the feel of his strong arm beneath her fingers and she liked being close to the man. There was a connection there she hadn’t felt since—”
“Mary?” He peered down at her.
“Yes, I’m ready. Lead the way.” She took a deep breath and followed where he led her.
A quick knock at the back door of the large, two-story house and Doc entered as if he had been inside many times. “Hello, Sarah. How are you today?”
The woman standing at the kitchen counter turned at the sound of his voice. Mary saw the blush on her cheeks and when the woman fluttered about smoothing her hair with her flour-coated fingers, Mary realized the woman was quite smitten by the good doctor.
“Doctor Howard. I wasn’t expecting you . . . I mean had I known you were dropping by, I would have . . . good morning.”
Mary watched the woman stammer and felt a twinge of jealousy watching the woman gush around Doc. She had only been in town two minutes and already she was learning that women were attracted to the man who was her chamption. Why did that bother her so much? He was not hers. And she could not be his.
“Sarah, do you know where Mrs. Hanover is? Is she home?”
The woman glanced at Mary and then at the juncture where their arms entwined. Mary caught herself hugging his arm just a bit closer. “Um . . . Mrs. Hanover? Yes, she’s in the parlor.”
“Thank you, Sarah. My, something sure does smell good in here.” Doc paid the woman a compliment and then turned without another glance and pulled Mary down the hall to the front of the house. He called out just before they entered the large foyer. “Mrs. Hanover? Aggie? It’s Doc. I have someone I want you to meet.”
“Doctor Howard. I’m in here. Please, do come in. And bring your guest.” Mary heard a woman’s voice call out from the room across the hallway.
Doc turned to her and whispered. “You’ll love Aggie. Take a deep breath and relax. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“What makes you think I’m afraid,” she whispered back determined to show the courage her Ute parents instilled in her as their daughter.
Doc grinned and looked down at his arm. “Because you are cutting the circulation off in my arm.”
She followed his gaze and saw her fingertips were white from clutching his arm so tight. “I suppose I could relax a bit,” she teased hoping to make light of her nerves.
He pulled her into the room and she saw the woman called Aggie Hanover stand up to greet them. The woman’s warm smile helped Mary relax if only a little bit. “And who is this lovely young woman you have on your arm, Doctor? I don’t believe I’ve seen you around town before. Are you new to Creede?” The woman walked gracefully across the carpeted floor belying her rounded middle-aged figure.
“Mrs. Hanover . . . Aggie, this is a young woman I met at The Springs while I was searching for medicinal herbs and roots. After speaking with her—and getting to know more about her, I knew I had to convince her to return to Creede with me.”
The woman’s face lit up. “You brought a young woman back to Creede? Doctor, are you saying that you and this young woman are—”
“Oh, no.” Doc sent Mary a surprised look. “Perhaps we could all sit down and I can explain better why we are here.”
“Yes, let’s all sit down for I am most curious about our good doctor finding interest in a young woman so much that he had to convinced her to come home with him.” She cut Mary an amused look. “As you can tell by my reaction, that isn’t something that happens often . . . or at all really,” she added
Once the three of them were seated, Doc started again. “Aggie, what I’m about to tell you is going to be quite shocking, but I need you to keep an open mind. Also, I will need your help in introducing Mary to members of our town.”
Frowning, Aggie looked back and forth between the two of them. “I will do everything I can to help.” She sat back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap.
“Thank you, Aggie. Alright, so as I said, I was at The Springs searching for roots and plants I could use in my practice when I came upon this young woman. Mary. Our unexpected meeting caught us both by surprise, but we managed to strike up a conversation. Her tale is quite extraordinary, Aggie, but after I heard her story, I realized I had to convince her to come back with me to Creede.”
Mary watched Aggie’s confused look to Doc. “I’m sorry, Doc. I’m not usually so slow to catch on, but I still don’t understand what you are trying so hard to tell me.”
“We know this woman, or I should say we have known of this woman for a very long time and now she is here among us,” Doc explained.
“We know you?” Aggie turned to her. “Perhaps if I knew your last name, Mary, that might help me place you.”
Mary turned to Doc for guidance and he reached out and squeezed her hand. “Yes, I think her last name will help you understand who she is and why I felt so compelled to bring her here, but I think before we get to that, perhaps I should tell you her story. I believe it will help lessen the shock of the truth.”
“The truth?” Aggie sat back in her chair. “About what? Perhaps you should start at the beginning for I have no idea wha
t you are trying to tell me.”
“Very well.” And for the next twenty minutes, Mary sat beside Doc and listened to him lay out the details of their meeting, their revelation of who she was, and the hope of a happy reunion catapulted her to this very moment.
When Doc was finished with his story, Aggie Hanover sat in her chair speechless staring at Mary’s face, her tattoos, her hair. “This young woman is Mary O’Brien. Liam’s sister, Mary. I am nearly paralyzed with shock and if I wasn’t seeing her with my own eyes, I would say complete disbelief.”
Doc nodded. “I understand your shock. I felt it myself when I first made the realization Mary was Liam’s Mary, but I’ve had time to process the truth. As you can well imagine, there are others who will experience that same disbelief and that’s why I need your help in making the introductions and finding her a place to stay that’s safe and private until we can come up with a plan to let Liam in on this once-in-a-lifetime miracle reunion.”
“She’s welcome to stay here as long as she likes. Forever if that is her choice for we will welcome her with open hearts and open arms.” The woman popped up from her chair and made a beeline to Mary. She flinched when the woman reached out, but instead of striking out at her, the woman pulled her off the settee and into a warm, soft embrace. The woman hugged Mary so tight she could barely breathe, but she still remained unsure what she should do. Then Aggie spoke to her against her ear. “Mary, my dear, sweet child. It is only by the grace of God that you are standing here. It is divine intervention that after all these years . . .” Aggie paused lost in the miracle she was witness to. “After all these years, you have been returned to your family, albeit a different family, but a family just the same.”
Mary felt her emotions gathering. She didn’t want to cry. She tried to push the tears back, but the unexpected kindness and unconditional love this stranger was offering to her, was too hard to resist.
Aggie leaned away and her soft hands caressed Mary’s tattooed cheek. She couldn’t help but flinch at the woman’s touch. “Do not worry, Mary. You are among family now, and you have nothing to fear.
Doc watched Aggie embrace Mary. “I can see I brought her to the right place.”
“I’ll take her upstairs and get her settled. I’ll be right back.”
He watched Aggie leave with Mary. Then he paced the parlor trying to think the least shocking way to tell his friend that his sister had returned from the dead.
About a half an hour later, Aggie returned to find Doc still pacing. “I had Sarah and the stable boy draw a hot bath for Mary and I laid out one of Grace’s dresses she’d left last time her and John and the children stayed with us. They are about the same height and size, I think. Besides, all those layers of hand-me-down clothes she has on will just draw more negative attention to the poor girl.”
Doc hugged Aggie. “Thank you. I knew I could depend on you. I think we could use the help of your husband to determine the best course of action regarding this delicate matter. Do you know when he’s coming home? I’d like the opportunity to explain to him what’s happened. He’s not going to believe this either at first.”
“No need. I’m right here.” Hiram walked into the parlor and headed straight for Aggie. He hugged his beloved wife and then stood back and turned a keen eye to him. “Now, what is it I’m not going to believe.”
“I—we—didn’t hear you come in.” Aggie stumbled over her words and Doc knew immediately by the scrutiny the man was giving them both that he knew something was amiss.
Hiram had a sharp and observant legal mind. He was a genius, in fact, and Aggie’s awkwardness did not escape him. He cut a look at Doc and back to his wife. “I sense there’s something you two would like to share with me and based upon your comment when I entered the room, I’m certain of it. Waste no more time, good doctor. Tell me what it is I need to know and exactly what is it I’m not going to believe.”
“Not going to believe what?” All three of the room’s occupants turned at the sound of another male voice. This time, his friend, Liam, strode into the room and joined the group.
Doc watched him glance at the three of them. “What are we not going to believe?” he repeated.
“That’s just what I was asking my wife and the good doctor here when you came in.”
Doc shot a look to Aggie who tried to distract her husband. “Hiram, darling. Doc was in the process of telling me about his journey. There’s no need to put him through an interrogation.”
Doc knew the minute Aggie said the word Hiram went on alert. He wasn’t considered the best legal mind this side of the Mississippi for nothing. Doc’s suspicions were confirmed when Hiram went on the offensive.
“Interrogation? You think by me asking Doc to explain what it is I won’t believe is an interrogation? Such a strong word choice, don’t you think, my dear?”
“Hiram, what I meant was—”
Hiram turned to him. “I want to hear what Doc Howard has to say.”
Doc sent a look of resignation to Aggie and she mouthed “I’m sorry.” This wasn’t at all the way he wanted to break this kind of news, but the cow was out of the barn now, so might as well try to make the best of it. “Gentlemen. Aggie. Why don’t we all have a seat? Hiram is right and there’s no use trying to pretend otherwise. Liam, you should take a seat too. You are gonna want to hear this story.”
Liam cut a curious look to Hiram and then to Aggie and finally landing on Doc. He thought Liam was going to excuse himself, but when he turned and pulled the chair from the window closer, Doc breathed a quiet sigh of relief. This was going to be hard on his friend and the shock of the truth was coming out of nowhere. He would do his best to soften the blow.
When everyone had settled in, Doc began again. He told the story of how he traveled to The Springs to find roots and herbs for medicinal use. He explained how he’s stumbled upon a young woman in the woods and tended to her skinned knee.
Hiram interrupted him at certain points to ask for clarification. “So you found a woman, alone in the woods?”
“Yes, but she had just arrived in town and was staying with a couple there.”
“And they allowed her to go into the woods alone? That doesn’t sound very charitable,” Hiram said.
“No, it wasn’t charitable at all. The woman, Mrs. Webber, was quite harsh. She was mistreating the young woman and—”
Liam spoke up, “Ah, and that’s when you decided to rescue the damsel in distress and bring her with you to Creede.”
“No, not exactly.”
Liam frowned.
“It wasn’t until after I learned how she came to The Springs that I realized I had to bring her home with me.”
“How she came to The Springs? That’s a bit cryptic wouldn’t you say? Where is her family?” Liam, like Hiram, wanted to know more details.
“Yes, well, that’s a little bit harder to explain,” Doc said. He shot a look at Aggie and then at Hiram. He felt the man’s scrutiny.
“I don’t understand. Why?” Liam asked.
When Doc didn’t answer right away, Liam added. “Well, I hope you’ve assured her that she is welcome within our extended family and we will watch over her as if she were one of our own,” Liam proclaimed.
Doc swallowed hard. “Yes, she knows we will treat her like family, at least that’s her hope. And this is where I come to the part I said you aren’t going to believe.” He hesitated for half a second. “You see, when I learned this woman’s story and how she came to be in The Springs, I realized I was looking at a miracle.”
“A miracle?” Hiram interjected. “Doc, you are talking in riddles and that isn’t like you. Get to the point. What is it about this woman we aren’t going to believe and what has she done that could be considered a miracle?”
“I survived.”
Everyone turned toward the parlor doorway. There stood Mary, in Grace’s hand-me-down dress, her thick fiery braid hanging over one shoulder looking like a princess herself. Aggie rose and met Ma
ry at the door. Doc watched as Hiram and Liam stood at Mary’s arrival. He could see Hiram’s mind clicking as fast as the tumblers on a safe. His eyes keen with interest and squinted in concentration as he took in Mary’s appearance. Seconds passed, and Doc knew the minute Hiram arrived at the correct conclusion.
Realization widened his eyes and he sent a shocked look to Doc. His silent nod to Hiram let him know he had guessed correctly, and now all eyes turned to Mary. She was pale and he saw her hands shake when Aggie greeted her at the door and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to support her. Her eyes never leaving her brother. He could see tears pooling in her bright blue eyes, and yet she stood unmoving. Waiting.
Liam also turned to greet the latecomer. Doc watched his friend’s face, a mixture of confusion and curiosity. No one spoke and the only sounds in the room were of the great house creaking in the cooling afternoon air and the sound of Sarah in the kitchen.
Doc joined Mary and Aggie in the doorway and offered Mary his arm. He saw the gratitude in her eyes when she took it and held on tight. This was a moment that had culminated over nearly two decades. He didn’t want to rush it for either of them.
He escorted Mary to where Liam stood and made the introductions. “Liam. This is Mary. The young woman I told you about.”
His friend stepped closer in greeting, then studied her face. “You look familiar. Have we met before?”
“Yes, we’ve met,” Mary spoke softly keeping her eyes on her brother’s face.
“I feel like I should know you, but I can’t quite place where I’ve seen you before.” Doc watched Liam’s gaze land on the tattoos. “I don’t usually forget such a distinctive mark.”
“They weren’t there the last time we saw each other,” she offered.
“I know what those marks mean, and I’m sorry about your experience, but I’m glad to see you’ve survived the ordeal. I know your family must be thrilled to get you back.”
Mary Page 7
