Then she let go of him completely when they entered the mercantile. Not willing to let her get away with that, he stood right beside her so that the flair of her skirt touched his leg.
After a quick summary of how wonderful Elizabeth was from Beatrice, Mrs. Howard once again brought up the subject of a wedding celebration.
Beatrice shook her head. “We really don’t need a gathering of the townsfolk to celebrate. I don’t want to inconvenience anyone.”
“It won’t be an inconvenience in the slightest. Everyone wants this. Besides, it will give everyone a chance to get to know you,” Mrs. Howard insisted.
“I just feel so awkward thinking about being the center of attention.” Beatrice glanced over at Elias then back to Mrs. Howard when she laughed.
“You will already be the center of attention. Word is spreading about you two marrying and now that the building for your clinic has been purchased, that talk is spreading too. Might as well just take care of all of it at once. One evening of meeting everyone and then it’s over. Otherwise, you can spread it out and be the talk of the town for longer. Besides, once they meet you, you can feel comfortable offering your services as a doctor. They’ll be more likely to come to you for treatment if they know you. Everyone will be expecting it, and you don’t want to disappoint potential patients do you?”
Elias had to bite his inner lip to keep from chuckling at the way Mrs. Howard had managed to overpower this self assured doctor.
“Fine,” Beatrice practically huffed. “But I don’t want it to be this grandiose thing. I’d like to just have a mild type get together.”
“No grandiose for sure, but this won’t be mild. It will be just right. Birch Creek is great at welcoming new citizens and the celebration of a wedding is even better. I’ve been asked more than a dozen times when we’d be getting together with you and the sheriff.”
Beatrice looked at him as if for help and he just shrugged. “I can’t do anything to stop it. Mrs. Howard isn’t breaking any laws, and none of the townsfolk will either.” He reached out and squeezed her hand. “And she’s right. Everyone will want to meet you in a way that feels friendly and comfortable. Then when they find they need some medical attention, they’ll come see you without any concerns.”
“I suppose you are right,” Beatrice said. “So when will we do it?”
“Tomorrow evening,” Mrs. Howard said. “We’ve got to spread the news.”
“What do I need to bring?” Beatrice asked.
“Not a thing” Mrs. Howard said. “Just yourself and the sheriff, but not in official capacity.” She shook her head. “There better not be anyone misbehaving or breaking the law. The two of you still need lots of time together.”
Elias couldn’t agree more.
“Now, let’s get the supplies taken to your clinic and you can start putting things up how you like them,” Mrs. Howard said. “I’ll have Colten deliver the crates to the building and help you unload them.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Beatrice woke the next morning surprised that Elias was already gone. She knew she had over worked him throughout the day. They had unloaded the crates from the mercantile and placed them on the built in shelves at the clinic, then since she was so eager to have things up and running as soon as possible, Elias had stayed to help her scrub the kitchen. While she had mopped the floor on her hands and knees, he had made sure the fireplace and the cook stove were in good working order.
It was late by the time they got to the boarding house, and as soon as they had eaten, the two had dragged themselves upstairs and gone to sleep on their separate beds without so much as a kiss.
He must have headed down to the parlor for breakfast and then to the jail. Though he hadn’t said anything specific as they had worked together at her clinic, she could tell he was concerned that Hicks hadn’t sent any news about the men who had stopped the stagecoach.
If she had her preference, she would never hear anything about them ever again. Of course, it would be comforting to know they were never going to hurt another person or rob another coach. She still didn’t have her ring and her locket that had been taken, and while the loss of her parent’s pictures was hard, she did have a larger copy of both of them in her trunks.
Beatrice set about dressing for the day and wondered which things she should take to the clinic and what she should leave here.
The clothes and personal items would be best here until they could get the house part of the building set up.
But without a bed and a chest of drawers, it wouldn’t make sense to head over there. The good news was that Susan had mentioned a place in Boise that sold furniture like that. With the woodworker here in town making her items for the clinic and an order from Boise, she could have her house set up in no time.
Then she could have Mrs. Howard order the dishes and utensils she would need to set up her kitchen and with a letter to Mr. Carson. She could get some of the medicines and ingredients she’d need to blend some of her own tonics.
Things were going rather well.
If only she didn’t have to endure the plans for this evening. She couldn’t deny it really made sense to just meet the entire town all at once, but that didn’t mean she had to like the idea of it. She rarely came off as a crowd favorite when she’d attended large events before.
Beatrice walked down the stairs and though part of her had hoped she would see Elias there at the breakfast table, she wasn’t surprised that it was only Mr. and Mrs. Clark and their two children, a toddler and a baby.”
“Good morning, Beatrice,” Susan said. “How are you this fine day?”
“I’m doing well,” Beatrice said. “Thank you for asking. Did Elias head out early?”
“I didn’t see him,” Susan said. “He didn’t slip in for any breakfast.” Susan looked at her husband and he shook his head.
“I’m sure he’ll be back in soon. In the meantime, have some breakfast before you rush back to your clinic.” Susan gave her a wink and Beatrice smiled.
“I’m just so excited I actually have a place of my own. I want to get it up and running as soon as possible.”
“I understand completely,” Susan said. “This boarding house seemed to take forever to come together. Now that its all set up, I still can hardly believe it worked out.”
Michael Clark chuckled. “She didn’t let up for a moment once she got the idea in her head to start this place.”
“It’s been a good thing, though, you have to admit.” Susan met her husband’s eyes.
“That it has. I’m just pleased we managed to survive your extra enthusiasm for this project.”
Susan laughed. “It wasn’t that bad.”
Michael just shook his head and took another bite of his food, a move Beatrice understood to be a smart choice on his part. Too many men got in trouble with their wives when they kept talking more than they should have.
But so far, she had experienced the opposite. She felt as if there was too much Elias and she didn’t say to each other. They had spent most of the day together, but had skirted the issue of a lot of the important things while focusing on the superficial and household things.
They just needed to get the house part of the building done as soon as possible so they could set up their own home and not have to worry about being in either a brothel or a boarding house.
***
Elias shook his head as he examined the items still inside his run down house that he’d taken Beatrice to the first day they’d arrived before he wisely realized this was no place to start a home. Especially with someone like Beatrice. He had hoped that the bed might be something he could salvage and take to their new place, but the frame was small, and the mattress would be no good.
The chair and the trunk he had would work. He had a few small odds and ends that he could take to the new place and let her decide what would work. His pot and the water kettle would most likely be useful.
He took them out to the small wagon he’d purchased i
n Cassia then headed back to town. He pulled the wagon to the back of the building and unloaded his things into the kitchen then walked over to the bakery since he’d skipped breakfast at the boarding house. In his eagerness to get things set up at the place here, he had overestimated the state of his possessions. The bed at the jail was much better, but he couldn’t take that.
No, they would have to wait until the furniture arrived from Boise. Part of him had considered building one, but with his arm still mostly useless, he knew that wouldn’t happen.
The boarding house would be just fine.
With a loaf of bread and a small pastry in his hands he stepped out of the bakery just as Beatrice was taking the first step up to the door of the clinic.
“Elias!” she said, her face brightening at the sight of him. “There you are.”
Elias joined her and wished he wasn’t holding the bread anymore.
“I wanted to check your shoulder today. It’s probably time to change the bandage.”
Disappointment washed over him for a brief moment that she was only thinking about him as a patient, but the look in her eyes as she continued to watch him helped change the disappointment to hope.
“Let’s head inside and I can treat you as my first patient here in the clinic. Make it official.”
And once again, his hopes were dashed. He followed her inside and took the loaf of bread into the kitchen and set it on the counter. By the time he’d taken the last bite of the pastry, Beatrice had passed him in the kitchen and gone out to the water pump to fill up a bucket of water. He watched as she washed her hands in the flow of water then she brought in the bucket and poured half of it into a basin then carried that into the front part of the building.
“The light is better out here. You’ll need to remove the shirt so perhaps we should go into the side room.”
He tried to hide the smile that crept out but didn’t do a very good job of it and Beatrice rolled her eyes, but her face blushed beautifully.
She wasn’t completely immune to him. That was nice.
“Would you like me to remove it myself, or do you need to help?”
Beatrice raised an eyebrow. “I’ve already helped you undress before. I’m fine if you do it. Besides, it will help me see how much pain you’re in.”
Elias placed his good hand on his heart. “I’m feeling quite a lot of pain right here after that.”
Beatrice smiled and moved closer. She placed her two fingers against her lips and kissed them, then pressed them against his chest. “Did that make it better?”
Elias took her hand in his and kept it pressed against his chest. “Almost. Though I think a full application of the treatment would help more.”
Beatrice smiled wickedly as she leaned closer just a little. Instead of lifting her chin to accept his kiss, she placed a kiss against his breastbone then stepped back. “How about now?”
Elias couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up from the place she’d kissed him.
“I suppose that will do for now. Though it wasn’t what I meant.”
“Well,” Beatrice said. “I’m the doctor, and I’ll decide what kind of treatment is best.”
“Whatever you say, Doc.”
Elias unbuttoned his jacket and then worked one handed on the buttons of his shirt. It had been easy enough to dress this morning, and placing the sling on his arm had worked out all right as well on his own, but with her there right now, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to make her get tired of waiting for him, or if he needed to make this just as tortuous for her as it had been for him.
He pulled the sling off, then took the shirt sleeve off his good arm and let the back of the shirt fall off then lifted the collar of the shirt away from his shoulder so the bandage underneath was visible.
Elias met her eyes, expecting them to be either looking at the shoulder or looking at his face, but instead, she seemed to be caught off guard looking at his chest.
“So there’s hope?” Elias asked out loud, surprising both of them.
“Hope?” Beatrice asked.
He debated for a moment on making light of it, and mentioning his injury, but he needed to know the truth. “Hope for us? For our marriage?”
Beatrice took a step forward and brought her hand to his chest where she’d kissed it before. She placed her palm against it then she placed her other hand on her own chest right above her heart. “There is definitely hope, and I believe a lot more.”
Those words were enough for him. This time, she didn’t deny him the kiss he’d hinted at before.
***
Beatrice was in deep. She no longer wanted to work on setting up her practice. All she wanted was to be with Elias and explore the kisses he was so good at. Even with his bad shoulder, she felt his strong arms wrap around her and she never wanted him to let go.
Beatrice had never relied on a man for anything. Even her father’s guidance had changed then eventually come to an end when she’d decided to pursue the medical field. She had fought hard to earn everything on her own and to take nothing from a man, but Elias made her want to change her mind.
She wanted to share her life with him and the fact that she had consulted him about the purchase of this place, and where to order the supplies and furnishings for the house as well as the clinic surprised her.
Now here she was spending her time kissing him instead of making sure his arm was healing well.
She struggled to gain control of her willpower and eventually managed to turn her face to the side and whisper that they should stop as he kissed her cheek and moved down to her jawline then neck.
“I really do need to make sure your arm is healing well,” Beatrice said.
“I don’t feel a hint of pain,” Elias said. “Your treatment really is doing its job.”
“But this kind of treatment only works for a moment.” Beatrice sighed as a shiver ran down her back. “I want to make sure you don’t develop a fever or anything.”
Elias eased up on his kisses, then placed his forehead against hers. “If you insist,” he said after a moment.
Beatrice took his hands in hers and led him to the chair that was against the wall near the window. She pushed him gently down to the seat then began to unwind the bandage.
The skin right near the wound was still red, but not in a dangerous way. The minor oozing looked good as well, no sign of infection or putrefaction.
“It is looking better every day.” Beatrice met his eyes which were focused on her.
“That’s because I have the care of an incredible doctor.”
“I’m just glad I was there when it happened.” Her eyes watered against her will and memories of the stage coach robbery hit her out of no where. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be crying. It’s just those men frightened me so. I suppose I haven’t dealt with it very well.”
Elias didn’t say a word, just pulled her onto his lap and held her close while she quietly fell to pieces. The shock and fear she’d felt at the attack had quickly been replaced with her need to be strong and to heal his injury. She had thought she’d gotten past it with that small response before, but now as she cried in his arms, she knew it had been harder on her than she’d realized. Having Elias there to lead her through the trauma was exactly what she needed.
CHAPTER NINE
Beatrice normally would have been incredibly embarrassed to know a man had seen her break down completely, but this was so different. She had finally come to an end of her tears and pulled the mantle of doctor back onto her shoulders then re-bandaged Elias’ arm.
They had then worked quietly on unpacking a few more things, before going to the boarding house with the wagon from out back to bring her trunk with books and her medical supplies.
“I think we could have this all done and ready for actual patients tomorrow,” Beatrice said when she placed the lid back down on her now empty trunk.
“Wait,” Elias turned to her and cocked his head to the side. “I thought I was your first patient.”
“No,” Beatrice said with a smile. “You’re my husband.”
“Ah, I like to hear that.”
The door of the clinic opened before they could say anything else and Beatrice looked hopefully to see if someone needed her services.
“Sheriff,” the man in a telegraph station uniform said. “This just arrived.”
Elias held his hand out and took the telegram and thanked the man. “How much do I owe you for bringing it by?”
“Nothing,” the man said. “Important things like this need a quick delivery. It’s part of the job.”
“Thank you.”
The man walked out of the building as Elias read the telegram. His face went from interest to concern, then seemed to go blank for a moment.
“Bad news?” Beatrice asked gently.
“No, good news actually. Or part good news. Hicks captured one of the men. The one the coach driver hit. Guess he didn’t have as good a doctor helping him as I did.”
“So two have been captured?”
“Yes. Hicks got a lead on where the other two might be. For now, they are still on the run.” Elias tucked the telegram into his pocket. “I’ll need to go record this at the jail. Do you need anything more here?”
“No,” Beatrice said. “I’m finished and should probably go over and see if Mrs. Howard needs any help with this thing she’s insisting on holding tonight.”
“Sounds good. I”ll meet you at the clearing a little later then.”
“Don’t be late,” Beatrice said. “If I have to endure this large social gathering to celebrate our union, then you had better be right there by my side.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Elias said. He gave her a quick kiss, still obviously distracted and then walked out the door and up the street toward the sheriff’s office.
He was keeping something from her, but she didn’t know what. They would have to work on their communication. She didn’t need to know all the details of his job, but she didn’t want him to think he had to keep everything from her. She wanted to be there to support him in every way she could.
The Sheriff's Bride: A Golden Valley Story (Brides of Birch Creek Book 5) Page 9