Charming the Caregiver

by Marianne Spitzer

  “That’s no way for a lady to ride a horse,” Logan told her as he opened the stall door and stood next to the mare. He lifted Susanna up and placed her on the horse’s back, so her legs hung down one side.

  “This is better,” the precocious four-year-old said.

  “This is the way a young lady should ride unless you have special riding clothes.”

  “Can I please have special clothes, Mama?” Susanna asked.

  Kat remained transfixed, staring at her daughter.

  “Maybe you should get down,” Logan told Susanna, and he lifted her off the horse.

  Before he set her on the ground, Susanna whispered, “Mama doesn’t like horses. She’s afraid of them. A bad horse hurt my daddy, and he went to heaven.”

  Kat grabbed Susanna’s hand and pulled her from the stable with Delia and Logan close behind them.

  Kat fought back tears of relief that Susanna was safe as she chided herself for her fear. Logan wished her and Susanna a good day. She turned quickly, did her best to smile, and returned the sentiment.

  When Delia suggested they return to the house to enjoy another cup of tea, Kat was pleased to accept. Susanna returned to her spot on the settee while Kat and Delia sat at the kitchen table.

  “I’m sorry for my behavior,” Kat said. “I wasn’t trying to be rude.”

  “Nonsense,” Delia answered. “You were just worried about your daughter.”

  “I’m sorry if I appeared a bit out of character when I saw Susanna on the back of that horse,” Kat said. “I should explain. My husband and I met when we were small children. I’ve known I wanted to marry him since I was seven. After I returned from nursing school, I began working with the doctor in our town. We married shortly afterward and moved in with my father on his farm since he was too old and too ill from consumption to work the farm any longer. My husband would often ride to his father’s farm—which is adjacent to my family’s farm—and visit his mother or offer to help his pa with any work he needed. One morning he left, and two hours later, my father-in-law was standing on our front porch with a tragic look on his face. I instantly knew something was wrong. Evidently, on the way to help his pa, my husband’s horse threw him and somehow stomped him to death. I was stunned and had no idea what I was going to do. My new husband was dead, my father was dying, and my brother and sister-in-law were nearly forty miles away.”

  “I’m sorry to hear you had such a tragedy so early in your marriage, but people here are friendly and understanding. I think you’ll be happy you decided to move,” Delia offered as she stirred her tea.

  Kat nodded and continued, “A few weeks later, I realized I was pregnant and wouldn’t be able to work for the local doctor much longer. A week later, my father passed. Not wishing to have a child alone, I moved to Milwaukee to be with my brother and sister-in-law. That’s another story in itself and better saved for another time. I don’t want to bore you with all the tribulations of my life. While growing up, I loved to ride my horse in the fields, but ever since my beloved husband was killed by his sweet and gentle horse, I’m somehow terrified whenever I’m close to a horse. Seeing Susanna on the back of that horse nearly stopped my heart. I’m afraid I was rude to Mister O’Leary, and I made a bit of a fool of myself.” Kat took another sip of her tea to help calm her shaking hands.

  “Not at all,” Delia said. “We all have fears, and I can understand yours. However, living in Creede, you might need to battle that fear. There aren’t many places you can go without riding a horse unless you stay close to the town center. Once winter hits, riding a horse is much safer and faster than walking. Besides, you’ll need to get to work and bring Susanna here for me to watch.”

  Kat nodded. “I’ll do my best. I know I must make peace with what happened to my husband and stop fearing horses. I don’t want to influence Susanna’s love for horses with my own fear. Are you sure you still want to watch her after her antics this afternoon?”

  Delia laughed., “She’s adventuresome, not bad. She is a lot like I was at that age.”

  “If you think it will be all right, that takes a large worry off my mind. When I took this job, I didn’t think about who would watch Susanna until we were on the train.

  “We should be going. I am trying to get Susanna used to a schedule in our new home.”

  Delia hugged Kat and told her not to worry. Life had a way of working everything out for the better with God’s help.

  Kat agreed. She took Susanna’s hand and walked back down Mountain Road toward home.

  Miss Josephine followed.

  Chapter 7

  “Please, stop staring out the window, sit back down, and eat your oatmeal before it gets cold,” Kat told Susanna.

  “But Mama,” Susanna whined, “there’s a beautiful butterfly outside.”

  “You can look at the butterfly after you finish your oatmeal. Please, don’t dawdle. I need to go to town and buy some things from the general store. If you’re good, I might buy you a piece a penny candy.”

  “Yes, Mama,” Susanna answered, but her head kept turning toward the window, her short, golden braids bouncing on her shoulders.

  Kat walked into the bedroom to finish dressing for the day and give Susanna time to finish her oatmeal. When she returned, the partially eaten bowl of oatmeal was still on the kitchen table, the back door was open, and there was no sign of Susanna.

  She stepped out the back door to look at the vast field behind the cabin, but she didn’t see Susanna anywhere. Kat ran around the perimeter of the cabin, calling Susanna’s name. When her daughter didn’t reply, she began to panic.

  Kat had no idea which direction Susanna had gone, but she knew she needed help, and she started running down the dirt road in front of the cabin. Logan saw her running and came to meet her.

  “What’s wrong? Is there something I can do to help?” Logan asked.

  “I can’t find Susanna,” Kat gasped. “She was finishing her breakfast while I was getting dressed, and when I came back out, she was gone. I think she went after the butterfly she saw out the window, but I called her name, and she didn’t answer.”

  Logan said, “I’ll look for her. Why don’t you go over to where they’re working on the new storage building at the hospital and ask my brother and his friends if they’ll come to help me look for Susanna?”

  Kat nodded and took off running.

  Logan went to the back of the cabin to see if he could find any sign of Susanna. He walked around the outside of the cabin looking at the field of wildflowers and grasses, hoping to figure out where Susanna had gone. He saw a small area of flattened plants and walked toward it. If Susanna had run through the field into the forested area, she would be harder to find. Unfortunately, Logan realized that was exactly where the crushed plants were leading him.

  Logan noticed that Susanna’s footsteps were spaced farther apart then if she was just strolling across the open field. He assumed she was running after the butterfly, and he quickly covered the distance with his long strides.

  He soon realized that Susanna must have entered the forest, but he couldn’t tell exactly where. Logan saw a deer trail but knowing that butterflies don’t follow trails, he wasn’t sure of exactly where he should search. He called her name loudly, heard no response, and decided the best thing he could do was to follow the deer trail, periodically calling her name to see if she would answer.

  Logan doubted Susanna would get very far off the path through the tangled weeds and branches. He knew there was a small pond about a half a mile into the forested area and hoped Susanna hadn’t followed the butterfly to the pond and fallen into the water.

  He stopped after several yards and called Susanna’s name. When she didn’t answer, he walked further and stopped once again.

  “Susanna,” Logan called loudly, but there was still no answer. He continued walking and stopped to call her name once more. He thought he heard a faint cry and hurried forward, still calling her name.

  He stopped to listen,
and faintly heard her call, “I’m down here.”

  Logan walked to the edge of the path and looked down into a small ravine about ten feet below where he was standing. He caught glimpses of a blue fabric and heard Susanna’s voice answer once again, “I’m here. I’m down here.”

  Logan called loudly, “Susanna! It’s me, Logan. I’m going to come down to get you. Don’t move.”

  He looked around for a safe place to climb down into the ravine. The drop seemed not as steep several yards away. Logan climbed down to the bottom of the ravine and hurried back to where he had seen the blue fabric of Susanna’s dress to see the little girl, lying on the ground between a rock and a fallen tree.

  He rushed to her side, knelt on one knee, and asked her, “Are you hurt?”

  “Only my foot,” Susanna answered. “The pretty pink lady helped me slide down the hill.”

  Logan told Susanna to move her arms. He asked if she was hurt anywhere. When she shook her head no, he helped her sit.

  “Does your back hurt? What about your head?” Logan asked, concern for Susanna after her strange comment about the pink lady.

  “No, only my foot,” Susanna answered.

  “All right,” Logan said. “How did you get down there?”

  Susanna explained, “I was following the pretty yellow butterfly, and she flew away into the trees. I wanted to find her, and I fell down the hill. When I got to the bottom, my foot hit the tree. It hurt, and I couldn’t get up.”

  Logan said, “Your mother is worried about you. I can carry you back up and take you home. Are you sure your arms and back don’t hurt so I won’t hurt you when I pick you up?”

  “No,” Susanna answered. “It’s only my foot. I’m happy you came to find me. Is my mama very angry?”

  Logan answered, “I’m not sure, but I know she’s very worried.”

  Logan lifted Susanna who held onto him tightly around the neck.

  “You rescued me. That makes you a hero like in the storybooks Mama reads to me. All the heroes in the books are knights on horses. You don’t have a horse, but you can still be Sir Logan. I’ll tell Mama that we should call you Sir Logan instead of Mister Logan.”

  Logan couldn’t help but chuckle at the girl’s bright spirit. “I’m not sure your mama would be happy to call me a hero.”

  Susanna frowned when she asked, “Do you think Mama will punish me for chasing the butterfly?”

  Logan responded, “I don’t know, but you be sure to tell her that you will never ever run off again.”

  “I promise,” Susanna said, “but I hope she doesn’t punish me the way Uncle Horace used to.”

  Her statement confused and concerned Logan. “Did your uncle hurt you?”

  “Only sometimes, when he would grab my arm or my hair and make me sit in the dark closet when I made him mad.”

  Susanna hugged him tighter and said, “I’m happy it was you that found me, Sir Logan. I don’t think you would ever hurt me.”

  “No—and that is something I can promise you. I would never hurt you, and I will make sure no one ever hurts you when I’m around.”

  Logan carried the little girl, who had already stolen his heart, through the forest toward the field, saying a prayer that no one would ever harm her again. If only her mother would see him as more than a construction worker and realize that he would love and care for the both of them as long as he lived…

  As Logan stepped from the forest back into the field, he saw his brother and their co-worker, Leroy, running toward them. Further behind, Kat was doing her best to get through the high grasses in her dress.

  When Leer and Leroy met Logan, Leer said, “Thank God you found her. Her mother was close to tears when she came to the building site. Is she hurt?”

  “Only my foot,” Susanna said as the three men walked back toward the cabin. Midway through the field, Kat caught up to them and reached out to take her daughter from Logan’s arms.

  “Don’t you ever run off by yourself and scare me like that again,” Kat scolded Susanna while kissing her cheek. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, Mama. I’m sorry I ran off. I wanted to see where the butterfly lived, but I fell down a hill and hurt my foot. Sir Logan found me.”

  “Sir Logan?” Kat said.

  “Yes, Mama. He’s a hero like in the book about the kings and queens you read to me. He’s a knight now, and we can call him Sir Logan,” Susanna explained. “He promised to keep me safe and never let anyone hurt me, not even Uncle Horace.”

  Kat’s shocked expression let Logan know she was not pleased that Susanna had shared what must have been a family secret. She looked at Logan and stammered, “Thank you for finding her. I was terribly worried. I can never thank you enough. I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to her.”

  “I was happy to help, and nothing will happen to her if I can help it. You should get her home and see to her injured foot. She might have bumped her head. She mentioned being helped down the hill by a pretty pink lady.

  "Susanna is a special little girl, and I hope for his sake that her Uncle Horace never visits while I’m around.” He tipped his hat and left with Leer and Leroy.

  Kat stared after Logan as she walked back to the cabin to tend to Susanna’s foot, wondering if she had used the qualities of the men in her past to judge Logan instead of seeing him as the man he truly was.

  She drew a bath for Susanna to wash off the dirt she had accumulated on her journey following the butterfly. Kat could tell her ankle was not broken, but she wrapped it to help reduce the swelling.

  Susanna promised never to run off after butterflies again, and Kat wondered how long she would keep the promise.

  A knock sounded at the front door. Susanna tried to jump up to answer it, but she fell. Kat picked her up and put her back on the chair. “Remember: you can’t put weight on that ankle.”

  Kat opened the door to find a smiling Logan standing there, hat in hand. “Hello, Missus Kat. I know today was rather frightening for you, but I wondered if you might allow me to take you and Miss Susanna to supper at the hotel. I can carry Susanna without any problems, or I can get a wagon from the work site, and we can all ride.”

  She heard Susanna call, “Say yes, Mama. I’d like to eat supper with a Knight.”

  Kat laughed and said, “Thank you, Mister O’Leary. Susanna and I would be delighted to have supper with you.”

  “Logan, please.”

  “All right, then, you should call me Kat.”

  Chapter 8

  Kat looked down at her soiled dress and said, “Would you allow me a few minutes to change? It appears my dress has acquired some of the mud from Susanna's outing.”

  Logan smiled. “Please take your time. On second thought, a lady should always ride in a chariot. I’ll head over to the construction site and bring a wagon back for you and Susanna. We can’t have little princess Susanna carried through town like a sack of potatoes.” He left in the direction of the hospital, humming a happy tune. He rounded the building's corner and nearly ran into his brother, Leer.

  “Hey, slow down, brother,” Leer said. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

  Logan grinned and said, “Kat has agreed to have supper with me. Susanna thinks I’m some sort of hero because I found her in the woods, and she keeps calling me her knight. I’m going to borrow a wagon and drive them to supper. I told Susanna that a princess shouldn’t walk.”

  Leer laughed. “You certainly are putting on the charm, little brother. Are you trying to charm the mother or the child?”

  Logan shook his head and said, “I’ll never win the mother's heart if her daughter doesn’t like me, too.”

  “Whoa,” Leer answered. “I had no idea you were trying to win the nurse’s heart. I thought you were just having supper.”

  Logan smiled again, “Of course, we’re just having supper tonight. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but there's something about Kat that I can’t get out of my mind. Susanna has already w
rapped her little hand around my heart, and if her mother does the same, I may decide that being a bachelor isn't the right path for me. Coming to Creede might have been the best thing I’ve ever done. Finding the perfect woman and living near my brother sounds like a good life to me.”

  Leer clapped his brother on the back and laughed. “Well, you certainly sound a lot different than when you first arrived in town. I’m happy to see you've left that other woman’s memory behind you and are getting on with your life.”

  “That I am, brother. That I am,” Logan said. He turned to hitch the horse to the wagon.

  Logan arrived back at Kat’s cabin a short time later. Susanna and Kat stepped out onto the porch to greet him. Kat was dressed in a deep blue dress that matched her eyes and nearly took Logan’s breath away. He climbed down from the wagon to assist Susanna onto the wagon. She promptly scooted to the middle of the bench seat. Logan was tempted to reach around Kat’s waist to lift her onto the wagon but thought better of it and offered her his hand. Once she'd been seated, he headed around to the other side of the wagon, climbed on, and headed for town.

  There were quite a few customers in the Hearth and Home’s dining room, but the waitress seated Kat, Logan, and Susanna at a quiet table in the back of the restaurant. She smiled at them and said, “Our specials tonight are fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, or steak. Would you care for something to drink before you order?”

  Excited to be having supper in the restaurant, Susanna giggled and said, “Mama, can I have fried chicken and a glass of milk?”

  “Of course,” Kat replied. “I can’t imagine you eating anything else when fried chicken is available.”

  Logan said, “I agree with Miss Susanna—fried chicken sounds great.”

  Susanna looked at the waitress and asked, “Do you have mashed potatoes that I can have with my fried chicken?”

  The waitress smiled at the sweet little girl and answered, “Yes, we do. And they come with gravy. And you can have either green beans or corn and a biscuit with honey.”