Elias was completely different. He was a good strong man of course, but he didn’t seem intimated by her strong personality. She just hoped as time went by that things would continue to go well. If he began to dislike her later, or want her to stop working in medicine, that would devastate her.
She turned to look at him, and the way he watched her from the distance made her heart swell.
Elias Mills was not going to be anything like those other men. In fact, the only thing she would have to worry about was making sure he stayed healthy and strong himself. If he were to be put in harms way again, she wasn’t sure what she would do. He had jokingly said he needed a wife to inherit his earthly possession, but none of that would matter in the slightest if she were to lose him.
Throughout the next few hours, Elias and Beatrice came together, and were pulled apart in the different groups they visited with.
Not everyone had arrived at the same time, many had to travel to and from, others were taking care of chores before showing up, but after the sun had set, Beatrice was almost certain she’d met most everyone in Birch Creek. She hoped she could remember their names when they came to her clinic over the next while. She was confident the people had accepted her well enough.
As more and more people bade their farewells and gathered their dishes and baskets they’d brought filled with food to share and worked their way back home, Elias and Beatrice found themselves sitting on a bench under one of the trees not far from the church.
“What did you think?” Elias asked.
Beatrice leaned her arm against his good arm and rested her head on his good shoulder. “This was nice. I will need to tell Mrs. Howard I appreciated it.”
“Not so bad, huh?”
“Exhausting,” Beatrice said. “But not bad. It was nice that everyone was just happy to visit with everyone else. I worried at first I’d have to entertain everyone, but they were great.”
“Agreed,” Elias said. “I hadn’t met all of the townsfolk yet since I haven’t been sheriff here long. This was a good chance to get to know people.”
“Did you have a lot of people asking about legal issues? I heard someone talking to you about their property and some cattle grazing their land.”
“Yes, the cattlemen and the sheep herders can get a little ornery with each other. I had worked with him and the cattleman before and he was saying things were holding up all right between them.”
“That’s good to hear. I’d hate for you to have to go out and solve a bunch of problems. Hopefully you can stay here with me all the time.”
Elias took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “That would be wonderful. With a town as good as Birch Creek and the people here as neighborly as they can be, there shouldn’t be much to deal with. As long as we can keep any drifters and others who try to take advantage of the nice folk out of here, we’ll be just fine.”
“Do you think Willard and Benny will come back around this area?” Beatrice asked.
She felt him tighten his hold on her hand just a little,then it seemed as if he was trying to calm himself right away. “I don’t know. They’ve lost two of their party, so that might make them less likely to do anything.”
“I hope I never see them again,” Beatrice said. “Not sure I want to relive any of those memories.”
“Hicks is good at his job. He’ll find them.” Elias turned to face her. “We should probably see what needs to be done here to help clean up and then get back to the boarding house. Tomorrow will likely be a busy day again.”
“You’re probably right. The man we’d talked to about the shelves said he might come to the clinic and check out what it would take to build that exam table I want.”
Elias stood first then held out his hand to help her rise. He didn’t let go of her hand, just adjusted his hold and the two walked together over to the remaining group. Mrs. Howard was still there overseeing things and when they asked what they should do to help, she just shooed them away.
“Don’t worry about it at all,” Mrs. Howard said “Everyone will take their own things back. The tables and chairs that don’t belong to someone will be taken back into the church. You two go on and head home.”
Beatrice looked at Elias. “I promised Grace some ointment, and it’s over at the office. Do you mind if we walk over there first before we head to Susan and Michael’s?”
Elias turned with her and the two walked down the quiet street to her office. Though it wasn’t quite home yet, she thought it would be good to slip there for a few minutes of privacy and relive a bit more of those sweet kisses they’d shared.
Her mind was so wrapped up in how his kisses would feel that she didn’t notice at first how Elias’ steps had changed then slowed completely.
“Something’s wrong,” he whispered.
***
Elias kept a tight hold on Beatrice’s hand as she tried to move to the door of her building. He should have kept quiet and tried to distract her or send her somewhere else so he could look into this on his own, but he knew she wouldn’t go for that.
“The door looks like it’s been opened.”
“I locked it when we left,” Beatrice said, speaking softly as well.
“Don’t move.” He placed his hand on his revolver that rested on his gun belt. He was glad he hadn’t decided to leave it back in his room when he attended the evening’s events. He just hoped he wouldn’t have to use it now.
Elias looked at Beatrice to be sure she understood and when she remained still, he pulled out his gun and moved closer to the building. The glass window was fine, but the door frame around the handle was damaged.
He peered into the dim interior but could see very little with the minimal remaining light now that the sun had set. It wasn’t completely dark out, but there was no way to tell what was inside the building without going inside.
Elias pushed the door open and waited, listening closely to see if he could make out any movement inside.
“Do you have a lantern and match box in there?”
“Yes,” Beatrice said. “On the shelf in the exam room.” She stepped closer to him and peered inside. “Oh my.” The pain of a victim was foremost in her voice, but then it was quickly followed by anger. “What happened?”
From the little he could see, her carefully placed items she’d purchased at the mercantile as well as the things she’d unpacked from her trunks holding her medical supplies and books had been thrown around and knocked off the shelves as if someone had been searching for something.
“Be careful,” Elias said. “I think there’s broken glass all over. Let me see if I can get to the lantern.”
As he cautiously felt his way over the things strewn all over the floor he could hear the anger and ache in her voice as she mumbled to herself questioning who could have possibly done such a thing.
Elias found the lantern rather quickly, but the box of matches took a bit longer. When he finally managed to light the wick and return to Beatrice, he found her bent down to sort through the remains of her things while she cried. “I thought the people here were all right with me. That they would accept a woman doctor.”
After a quick look to be sure there was no immediate danger, Elias moved over to her and helped her stand then wrapped her in a hug, the lantern resting on a stable surface. “I doubt it was anyone from here.”
“Who could it have been?” Beatrice looked up.
“I don’t know for certain, but the telegram I got from Hicks indicated that Willard and Benny were headed north toward us again.”
“Do you think they could have come here? Would they have ransacked my place?” Beatrice shook her head. “Why would they do this?”
“I don’t know that it was them, but I think you ought to be extra careful. We should get over to the boarding house right away. I’ll see if I can find someone to help me search the town and ask around if anyone saw some strangers here. I don’t want to panic anyone, but if they are here, we need to know. If it was someone from town,
I want to find out who.”
“But…” Beatrice just looked at the destruction of her place.
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s too dark to do anything in here right now. I want you safe. If they are upset at you for any reason and are coming to cause problems, I don’t want you here alone. As much as I want to stay right here with you, I need to find out what I can before the trail goes cold.”
Beatrice placed her forehead against Elias’ chest and he could feel her fighting her anger and frustration as well as fear. When she raised her head, she didn’t say anything, just nodded and turned around.
“I need to see if there is any of my ointment or if the jar it was in was broken. Might as well help Grace tonight if I’m able.”
Elias held the lantern up for her while she looked in the area where her items had been carefully placed just hours ago. She picked up a jar and smiled briefly, then straighted her dress and looked right at him. “All right. Let’s go.”
She walked out the door and marched briskly down the street to where Elias had to scramble to catch up after extinguishing the lantern and closing the door of her building.
He scanned the area as they walked, searching for any sign of anyone or anything out of place. No one was out on the streets, and the lights inside the houses looked normal as if people were preparing for bed.
Even the outside chores and checking on animals seem to have been completed by those here in the main part of town. When they reached the church, only a few people remained as they carried the few chairs still out under the trees back into the building.
Elias moved over to the men there while Beatrice found Mrs. Howard. He hoped she wouldn’t give too much away and that Mrs. Howard would remain calm. They didn’t want to panic anyone here and cause them to rush about making the culprit do anything stupid.
“Mr. Clark,” Elias said. “Can I speak with you a moment?”
***
Beatrice glanced at Elias who was talking with Michael Clark. Another man joined them and in the dimness she thought it was probably Colten Howard and his father soon followed.
“I need to tell you something,” Beatrice said, “but you have to remain calm.”
Mrs. Howard looked around, instinctively seeming to sense Beatrice’s concern. “What’s happened, child?”
“My place was broken into and things were damaged. It looked as if they were searching for something because nothing was completely destroyed. Thank heavens the building itself is still fine.”
“Oh my,” Mrs. Howard said. “How awful.”
“I have to ask. Did you notice anyone missing tonight? Or know of anyone who might be upset at me moving in and setting up a place?”
“No, not at all. I saw most everyone here at one time or another. Those that came and went were just like normal. In groups of families and going about their business like they always do when we have a gathering like this. Some can come early and have to leave early to get back to their animals.”
“Did you see anyone that didn’t look like they belonged here?”
“No. Who would have done this?”
Beatrice shook her head. “I don’t know. Elias almost thinks it could have been those men that robbed the stage coach.”
“How terrible.” Mrs. Howard brought her hand to her chest.
“I think we should encourage everyone to head home as soon as possible. I don’t want to worry anyone, but I don’t know if it would be best to tell people to keep their eyes open or what.”
“I think we should let the sheriff take care of that. You need to get home and inside as soon as possible.”
“Did you see if Grace and Jed and the children went to Susan’s? She said they planned to stay there the night.”
“I believe they headed that way.” Mrs. Howard turned at the approach of her husband and son.
Mr. Howard took her arm in his and whispered. She nodded and looked at Beatrice. “Now don’t you worry too much, Beatrice. You just get home and inside. We’ll do the same and tomorrow we’ll find out what happened to your place and help you get it all fixed up.”
Elias stepped up beside Beatrice and placed his arm around her waist. “My thoughts exactly. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Howard. This was a wonderful get together.”
“I’m just sorry this other thing had to happen. We’ll figure it out. Get on home now, you two.”
Elias chuckled softly under his breath and Beatrice smiled at the way Mrs. Howard just bossed him around. They parted ways and Elias kept a careful watch as they walked the distance to the bed and breakfast. Michael had already headed home before them and when Elias and Beatrice entered the front door it was obvious he had told his wife about the damage.
“Goodness, Beatrice. I’m so sorry. I can’t believe someone would do something like that.”
“Thank you,” Beatrice said. “I don’t want to think about it right now though, is Grace still up or do you know if she’s gone to bed. I have some ointment for her.”
“I understand completely.” Susan turned to walk up the stairs to the floors where the guest rooms were. “Let’s go see if they are still awake. They haven’t been here long, so chances are good.”
Beatrice held the jar of ointment tightly as she tried to push out the images of her ruined things. It had been too hard to tell in the darkness how much damage had been done or if much had been taken. All her items had been thrown around so much she couldn’t say for sure.
When Grace opened the door, Beatrice put on a professional smile, hoping to hide the heartache and anger at what had happened while she became a doctor once more.
Susan had slipped away quietly, allowing Beatrice to pretend for a moment that nothing was wrong. Beatrice gave herself permission to let Grace’s happy personality and sweet family distract her from her worries for a moment.
When Elias walked up the stairs and met her in the hallway as she finished her instructions to Grace, Beatrice eagerly turned to him for comfort. Grace quietly closed the door to give them privacy and Elias wrapped her in his arms.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Elias wished he could solve her problem right this minute, but after speaking with the other men they had decided it was best to get everyone inside and make a plan to go searching for who had done this in the morning.
No one had noticed anyone out of place there at the event, but with so many people milling around and visiting with everyone coming by, it was possible someone could have slipped away and bothered the doctor’s office. He shouldn’t have even mentioned Willard or Benny. The likelihood of it being them was slim. Though who else would have wanted to do that kind of damage?
“You should get some rest,” Elias said softly as he held her.
“I don’t know if my mind can calm down enough to.”
“We’ll figure this out,” Elias promised. “Tomorrow morning, Colten and Michael will come with me to look things over. Mr. Howard is going to ask around with people who come into the mercantile. We will also talk to Mr. Peterson and ask if he knows anything since it happened right next door to his bakery. Maybe he saw something.”
“Can I start the clean up first thing tomorrow?” Beatrice asked. “I want to salvage anything I can. I need to find out if anything was stolen.”
“Yes,” Elias said. “I’ll come with you to your place and look for any clues there when it’s light enough to see.” He put his hand on her back and pushed her gently toward where their room was. He needed her to get some rest and to stop fretting about what had happened. It was a good thing that no one had been there. It worried him to think that someone would have enough anger at his wife that they would do something like this.
He would have to keep a close watch over her. Even though they’d only been together a short while, he knew he would never survive without her in his life. He had come to love her spunk and determination as well as her overarching love and concern for people around her.
Beatrice turned the handle to the door and pushed it open then walke
d in slowly as if unsure she wanted to be there. She stared at the room for a moment then turned slowly to him.
“I hate feeling so helpless.”
Elias pulled her close again. “You, my dear, are anything but helpless. You’ve had a wrong done to you, and it is only natural that you would be out of sorts because of it. Let yourself deal with it however works for you. I’m here for you however you need me.”
Thank you, Elias.” Beatrice hugged him tight then looked up at him when he shifted slightly. “I know your shoulder is still giving you pain. What can I do to help you?”
“I just need rest. Same as you.”
Beatrice hung her head. She turned around slowly and moved to her side of the room. She unfastened the buttons on her bodice then slipped behind the dividing privacy wall. He removed his jacket as well, then unhooked the gun belt and placed it on the chair to the side of the trunk holding her things.
After a few minutes she stepped out from behind the privacy wall dressed in her night dress and looked at him.
“I was…” She took a breath and looked at him. “I wondered if you might hold me tonight?”
“Of course,” Elias said. His heart pounded with multiple emotions but he forced himself to stay focused on her. He was almost certain she wasn’t inviting him to join her in bed as her husband, but just needed the comfort another human could give. That he could do. He would give her whatever it was she needed.
He sat on the edge of the bed and removed his boots, then lay on his side and motioned for her to take the spot in front of him. She pulled the quilt off the other bed and slipped if over the two of them while settling in place.
She glanced behind her just enough to allow him to see her face. “If this hurts your shoulder, let me know. I’ll move if you need me to.”
The Sheriff's Bride: A Golden Valley Story (Brides of Birch Creek Book 5) Page 11