The Sheriff's Bride: A Golden Valley Story (Brides of Birch Creek Book 5)

by Laura D. Bastian

  Beatrice lifted her head. “I’m thinking, from what I’ve seen so far, that I’d like to build one with my own specifications. If I’m going to have a practice here in the center of the town, it would make sense to put everything in it that I would need.”

  “What kinds of things will that be?” Mrs. Howard asked.

  “I’ll want a room in the back with lots of sunlight where I can grow some of my own herbs and medicinal plants. I need a few rooms. One for the office itself, and an examination room, and if there happens to be a patient with an injury severe enough they need constant watching through the night, I’d need a place to have a bed for the patient.”

  “You don’t plan to stay over night for your patients do you?” Elias asked.

  “Of course I would,” Beatrice said. “Just like you needed constant care through the entire night. Who knows what kinds of injuries the people of Birch Creek might endure.”

  “That’s right,” Mrs. Howard said, leaning on her counter. “We’ve had people lose fingers and toes in simple farming and building mishaps. Luckily, we haven’t had any gunshot wounds like yourself, but who knows what we’ll see with how this place is growing.”

  Elias took a step closer to Beatrice so he could speak more privately. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to spend the night at your clinic.”

  She looked up at him from the list she’d been working on then looked at Mrs. Howard. “I don’t need this yet, since I don’t have a place to store it, but I want to see what you do have. Then I’ll know what I’ll need to order.” She handed the list to Mrs. Howard, affording them even more privacy when the woman walked away to begin filling it.

  Beatrice turned to face Elias directly. “Do you plan to spend the night at your jail house?”

  “On occasion I’ll have to,” he whispered.

  “Then how is that different for me to stay at my place of work?”

  Elias almost told her she couldn’t because she was his wife, and wives didn’t do things like that. He knew that wouldn’t go over well at all with the look she was giving him. Maybe he’d have to try another way to go about getting her to think rationally and carefully. She wouldn’t be safe if she was away from home in the middle of the night.

  “We’ll have to look into this more,” Elias said. “We first need to find a place to build.”

  Beatrice nodded and looked up with a smile on her face when Mrs. Howard walked back to them.

  “I’ve put a mark next to the things I have. If you’d like to look through the catalog and make a list of the items and quantities of the other things you’ll need, we can put this order in at the end of the week when we put our regular order in.”

  “I’ll come back and make the remaining order tomorrow, if that is all right. I think it best we continue looking at the land available then get him back to Susan’s place so he can rest. I’ve made the poor man do too much already.”

  “We’ll talk tomorrow about planning your wedding celebration as well,” Mrs Howard said.

  Elias nodded at the other woman and smiled inside at the response Beatrice gave her.

  “I’m sure we can do without,” Beatrice said. “But I am excited to learn more of this town by talking with you tomorrow. Being the center of activities here must give you a lot of opportunities to interact with most everyone. I’d like your input on how best to share information about my practice once I get it set up.”

  “Sounds wonderful, dear. Have a good day.” Mrs. Howard waved them farewell and as Elias held the door for Beatrice to walk through, he frowned at her mumbled comment.

  “We are not having a wedding celebration. It’s just foolish.”

  ***

  Beatrice stepped outside the mercantile and onto the wooden walkway then waited for a moment for Elias to step to her side.

  “Do you think she will really insist on having this celebration?”

  “I believe she will,” Elias said.

  “Why?” Beatrice looked at him as she took a step forward and he began walking along side her. “I mean, she doesn’t even know me. She wants to put together a celebration and spend time making sure there is food and getting everyone to show up. That is a lot of work.”

  “It is, but I’ve been here when she’s done one for a newly married couple. It seems like everyone enjoys having a reason to leave their regular chores and duties to get out and visit with their neighbors. Then there is all the talk of how everyone is doing and socializing that allows the town to feel closer to each other.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Beatrice said, glancing at him.

  Elias nodded. “It would also be a good opportunity to introduce yourself to the people here. To let them know you are a doctor and are planning to set up a practice. Then you can show off all your fine skills when you explain how you kept me from bleeding to death.”

  Beatrice smiled again as Elias gave her a grin.

  “I just don’t want to cause anyone any issues. If they bring food and things, then I feel like I should provide something as well. I don’t know how to make much of anything. I’m afraid all of my time was spent learning to stop bleeding instead of anything to do with baking or cooking.”

  “You don’t need to provide any food for your own celebration. You just need to be there, meet all the folks of the area, and let them know you are willing to help.”

  Beatrice sighed. “If you think it’s best, I suppose I won’t argue with Mrs. Howard about it anymore.”

  Elias smiled and she knew he was relieved at her change of mind. Learning to work in a new town would take some getting used to. She just hoped the people here would accept her. She was rather tired of fighting her way through all the bias the people back home had against women practicing medicine.

  “Look at that building there,” Elias said, breaking into her thoughts.

  “Which one?” Beatrice stopped and tried to find where he was pointing.

  “The one that is next to the building with the two horses hitched in front. It looks empty. Perhaps it would be available for a clinic.”

  “I think this might be the place Reverend Morrison mentioned. That looks like the bakery right there.”

  She glanced up and down the street to be sure there weren’t any horses or wagons moving past and stepped off the boardwalk and onto the dirt road. “Let’s go see.” She didn’t wait for him to join her, but was happy that he came with.

  The building was locked, and she peered inside the window, hoping to see at least a general idea of what was inside.

  “This likely won’t work long term,” Beatrice said. “And the more I think of it, I believe I’ll want to build one from the ground up. I have some very specific things I need included.”

  “That will take some time,” Elias said. “And a lot of money as well.”

  She couldn’t tell if he was upset, or just tired. It was hard to read a man’s body language at the best of times. Someone she didn’t know that well made it even more difficult. She didn’t want to make him regret marrying her, though she was still surprised she had accepted his offer of marriage. This was something she had to insist on, no matter what his opinion was.

  “I have some funds I brought for the express purpose of buying or building what I needed.”

  “You have money?” Elias asked.

  Beatrice hesitated for a moment. In many places, men thought they were entitled to everything their wife had. How could she make sure this didn’t become an issue.

  “The money was from my father’s portion of his practice. His colleagues were very specific in their desire that it be put toward something he would approve of.” She wasn’t going to mention the many different suggestions that related more to becoming someone’s wife or mother instead of what she really wanted. She wasn’t lying to her husband. At least not technically.

  “If you have money for the building of the place, then that will help immensely. Of course, it will still take some time before you could have anything built
. If you want to start your practice right away, this might have to do for a while.”

  Beatrice looked back inside the building. “Do you know who might own it?”

  Elias shook his head. “No, but we could ask at the bank. I’m sure there are records somewhere. Though I believe the bank would be closed by now. We’ll have to do it tomorrow.”

  Beatrice wanted to argue and head over to the bank right now to be sure it wasn’t closed. Or even go into the two buildings on each side of the vacant one and ask what they knew about it. Though after one look at Elias, she realized she’d better wait and get him back to the boarding house to rest.

  “Tomorrow is a good idea. Shall we head back to the Clark’s and see if Michael is home to ask questions about the building materials?”

  She took the arm he offered and wasn’t surprised to feel the difference in how he held himself compared to earlier when they had left the boarding house. Some doctor she was that she’d allowed her patient to get so worn out.

  ***

  Elias didn’t want to admit he was exhausted, but when they arrived at the boarding house, he was relieved to be invited to the front parlor and have some cookies Susan’s cook had made.

  It was ridiculous that he was still so tired and weak after his injury. How could he demand respect as the sheriff if he was this weak?

  Hopefully, by the time everyone came together to welcome them to the town, he would have more energy. Tomorrow he would need to return to the jail and make sure the report about the capture of Chet was recorded. Hicks had sent him a message that they had transfered Chet to Burley while they kept searching for his partners. If Elias was lucky, there would be a telegram with news from his deputy any day now.

  If only he could heal up faster. There was so much he wanted to do. Building a home would take a lot of time and effort, and though he wasn’t a born carpenter, he knew enough of the basics to get a frame at least. If Beatrice was used to fancy places and wanted all the amenities she found here at the boarding house, it would take a lot of work to build a house.

  Then on top of that, she wanted a new building made for her to care for the sick and the injured.

  He’d listened as she described all her wants for her practice, and most were reasonable. It wouldn’t need to be overly large. He wondered if they should build her clinic in the front part of a house. They could have it near the center of town, but still give them room to have the garden and stables and personal areas they would need. She could even have it on the ground floor and the rest of the building would be for their own family. That way, if she had a patient to care for at night, she wouldn’t actually have to be away from home.

  Now to just find a way to convince her of that without making her want to remind him of his earlier argument that a wife shouldn’t be spending nights away from home.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Elias offered his good arm to Beatrice as they walked out of the boarding house the next morning. He’d slept soundly thanks to a mixture of herbs she’d given him before bed. His shoulder still hurt but the wound had closed up completely and Beatrice had indicated she would be able to remove the stitching soon.

  “Are you sure you want that place by the bakery?” Elias asked. “We could wait and build the house first where you could set your practice up there.”

  “I think it’s important to get things started as soon as possible. I doubt Mr. and Mrs. Clark would like us having any patients come to the boarding house for treatment. I want something of my own right away.”

  Elias nodded. He wouldn’t bring up his concerns about lack of patients again. If he did, he was certain she’d take offense at it and think he was suggesting she wasn’t a good doctor. He just doubted there would be many people who would actually want to visit with a doctor. Most people just took care of any of their aches and pains on their own.

  They walked arm in arm to the building she’d wanted and she peered inside again.

  “Shall we talk with the baker?” Beatrice said as she stood up straight and turned to him.

  He nodded his agreement and the two stepped over to the door of the bakery. He opened the door for her and she stepped inside.

  “Good morning,” the man at the back said. “What can I do for you?”

  Elias took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of fresh baked bread.

  “Oh, good morning Sheriff,” the baker said. “Glad to see you up and about.”

  “Thank you,” Elias said. He searched his mind for the man’s name and when it finally registered he said. “Let me introduce my wife, Mr. Peterson. This is Dr. Beatrice Mills. She is looking to set up shop nearby.”

  “I heard about you marrying a doctor. Good thing she was close enough to heal you up.” Mr. Peterson walked out from around the back case where his bread was laid out. He offered his hand to Beatrice and smiled. “Good to meet you, Doctor.”

  Beatrice smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Peterson. I wondered if you knew anything about the building right to the side of you. I am looking for a temporary place to set up my practice. This appears to be in a good location.”

  “Oh, sure thing,” Mr. Peterson said. “The bank currently owns the title. The man who was in there before decided he’d rather not compete with the Howard’s mercantile and decided to move along to another place.”

  “Good to know,” Elias said. “Should we head over to the bank?” He turned to Beatrice who was busy looking inside the glass display case.

  “Do you have any sweet breads?” Beatrice asked, her voice full of longing.

  “I sure do,” Mr. Peterson said. “Over on this other side.”

  Beatrice moved to the case he indicated and pointed at one of the muffin type things. “Are those berries?”

  “Blueberries, yes.”

  “I’m going to need one of them.” She looked up at Elias. “What do you want?”

  Elias took a step to her side, amused at this new side of her personality. He leaned close to where she looked and glanced at her cheek while her eyes stayed focused on the food in front of them. He spoke softly, not wanting to startle her. “What do you suggest?”

  “Maybe one of the other kinds, then we can give each other a taste?”

  “Sounds good. You pick the other one. I know anything Mr. Peterson makes is delicious.”

  Beatrice studied the choices in front of her and finally pointed to a pastry. “That one too, please.”

  Mr. Peterson pulled them both out and handed them over. Beatrice took a bite of hers the moment it was in her hand and she sighed with pleasure.

  “Incredible. I’m going to do my best to get that building right next door now that I know what incredible work you do.”

  Elias chuckled and handed over the payment for the food. “Thank you, Mr. Peterson. We’ll be seeing you again soon, I’m sure.”

  “Looking forward to it, Sheriff. Good luck, Doctor. I hope you can get the place squared away for ya.”

  Elias walked out with Beatrice, actually surprised that no one seemed bothered by the fact she was a woman and planning on practicing medicine. Of course, maybe it was only because she’d raved over his food. The true test would be when she actually became open to seeing patients.

  Time would tell whether the people of Birch Creek would come to her for their ailments, or if they’d just do what they had always done. Either way, he’d do what he could to help Beatrice settle into Birch Creek.

  ***

  Beatrice tore the pastry in half and handed over part of hers to Elias. She then ripped the other biscuit in two and passed over the part that was his. They walked the distance to the bank and when she stepped inside she wondered if she should have brought her money. After marrying the sheriff and traveling to Birch Creek, she had no longer felt it necessary to keep it under her corset. She would need to eventually put it in a place that would be safer than the trunk in the room at the boarding house.

  She hadn’t worked with the business aspect of anything and wasn’t sure what to do exactly.
As much as she hated relying on a man, she found herself relieved that Elias was here with her. Of course, she would still need to come across as self assured as she could. She held her head up high and walked forward, directly to the front desk.

  “Good morning, Sheriff,” the man behind the desk said.

  Beatrice tried not to let that bother her. Of course he would speak to Elias first. They knew the sheriff. She was brand new in the area, and if the banker had heard the gossip that had obviously gone through town, he would know she was his wife. Beatrice would just have to get used to being thought of as a wife before anything else.

  “Morning, Mr. Smith.” Elias placed his hand on Beatrice’s lower back to allow her to stand to the front of him. “We are here to ask about a building we hear you have the title to.”

  “Oh, which building?” Mr. Smith asked.

  “The one next to the baker’s.” Beatrice met his eyes and was pleased that he didn’t look away and back to Elias.

  “Of course. Let me find the file for that.” Mr. Smith pulled out a drawer to the side of his desk and looked through some papers. “Ah, here it is.” He looked up, this time meeting Elias’ eyes again. “What are your plans for it?”

  Beatrice bit back the annoyance and spoke as calmly as ever. “I am a doctor and I want to set up a practice here.”

  “Oh?” Mr. Smith looked at the sheriff again then back to her. “Oh, that’s right. I did hear you had gotten married to the woman who patched you up. She must have been quite the nurse.”

  “She is a talented professional, Mr. Smith,” Elias said. “She is an incredible doctor who will be an asset for Birch Creek.”

  It was a good thing Elias had spoken before she did. The way the banker had said nurse had riled her up and she’d fought hard to keep from giving him a piece of her mind. Elias’ emphasis on the word doctor had made the banker’s eyes widen and he’d had the sense to look embarrassed at his comment.