Moving from Maryland

by Christine Sterling

  “Good enough.” He turned back to Gracie. “Ma’am,” he said again before heading back out the door.

  Gracie watched him leave and turned back to the woman behind the counter. “Now, Mrs. Handley, I do believe you were going to gather up those items for me. The items with the stars, the city is paying for, so I will need a detailed receipt to submit to Mr. Winthrop.”

  “Detailed receipt, eh? This is a list of medical supplies. No average folk needing these items.”

  Gracie took a deep breath. “I am restocking the clinic. Those are the bare minimum supplies to replace what has been used.”

  Mrs. Handley looked at her with a piercing gaze. “And why would you do that?”

  “Because, Mrs. Handley, I’m the new doctor.”

  Chapter 4

  Gracie took a bit of satisfaction in watching Mrs. Handley’s mouth open and close like a fish.

  “Now,” Gracie said, lifting one eyebrow, “may I have my order?”

  “O-o-of course,” Mrs. Handley said, shaking the paper. “Let me get this added up properly for you.” She placed items on the counter and wrote the amount next to the description on Gracie’s list.

  She gave Mrs. Handley the full amount owed, even though it left her purse a lot lighter. Gracie wasn’t going to give the woman the satisfaction of thinking she couldn’t take care of the clinic if need be.

  “That will be $6.47 for everything.” She gave the list back to Gracie. “I’ve never met a woman doctor before.”

  Gracie fished a ten-dollar coin from her purse and handed it to Mrs. Handley. “We are a rare commodity. I think there were 8 of us all together in my graduating class.”

  “There are more of you?”

  Gracie laughed. “Well not here; but yes. There are more of us.”

  “Did you go to the same school as the men? I know the doctor before Doc Wicks didn’t have any fancy schooling.”

  “I went to an all-female medical college in Pennsylvania.” She looked at the items on the counter. “Do you have someone who might be able to deliver these to the clinic for me?”

  Mrs. Handley nodded. “George stops by after school for gumdrops. I’ll have him run it over.”

  Gracie said her goodbyes and headed back outside. It was already warm for a June morning and the sun wasn’t even high in the sky yet. She adjusted her hat and decided to take a walk through the town to get the lay of the land.

  Since no one was expecting her until today, there probably wouldn’t be anyone stopping by the clinic. Gracie headed up the main street, avoiding the ruts made in the dirt from the wagons traveling back and forth.

  She passed City Hall and the sheriff’s office. She quickly crossed to the other side as she approached the saloon. She didn’t want to invite trouble. Her father always told her that men and drinking do not mix well.

  She turned left and continued down Hill Street back towards her office. The bank sat on the corner and her office next to that, followed by the newspaper office.

  In between the buildings there was a common area with a few benches. It reminded her of the parks back home, but instead of the lush grass they had in Maryland, this was scrawny, almost brush-like.

  The schoolhouse sat across from her office, but she could only see the side of it as the front faced the main street. She could hear the children playing in the side yard. The sound of their laughter mixed with the birds sitting in the trees.

  Across from the schoolhouse sat a bakery. Gracie remembered the cookies that Daisy brought over the night before and made a note to stop by later.

  She kept walking and was soon greeted by the smell of the stables at the corner of town. She saw the man she ran into at the mercantile, talking with one of the men near the alley. He looked up and saw her and Gracie shifted under his gaze. She was about to head back to the clinic when she heard a scream coming from the side yard of the school.

  That was the second time he had seen her.

  Barrett didn’t recognize her as one of the townsfolk, so she must be visiting or passing through. Why she would be walking on the dusty road was beyond him.

  Her dark skirt was covered in the dust kicked up by horses and wagons. When he first saw her in the store, he thought she was pretty. Now, seeing her in the sunshine, he could see she was beautiful.

  She had long dark hair flowing down her back, that she captured in a ribbon. Her skin was lightly tanned and flawless. Her lips stood out against her skin and reminded Barrett of the wild strawberries that were about to ripen by the creek. And her eyes – he expected them to be dark, but instead, they were the color of a summer sky.

  He hadn’t had such an attraction to a woman since Eliza.

  “Are you even listening to me, Wright?”

  Barrett looked back at Luddington, the livery owner. They were discussing the purchase of a horse Barrett needed for the ranch when his eye had caught the lovely miss in the middle of the road.

  “No,” Barrett said sheepishly. “I guess I’m not.”

  Before Luddington could say another word, the sound of a scream filled the air. Barrett’s heart dropped to the bottom of his belly.

  That sounded like Sam!

  He saw the dark-haired stranger run towards the school. Did she have a child there too?

  Without a word to Tom, Barrett took off towards the school as well. He ran into the side yard where the children were standing around in a circle watching Sam writhe on the ground.

  The lovely lady was kneeling over Sam. He pushed through the children so he could get to his son. “What happened, boy?” Barrett asked Sam who was wiping tears away from his cheeks. He could see Sam holding his arm against his body at an odd angle.

  The lady chimed in, “We need to get him to the medical clinic. His arm looks broken.”

  Broken?

  Daisy placed her hand on Barrett’s arm. “He fell out of the tree.”

  “What was he doing in the tree?” Barrett roared. “Weren’t you watching the children?”

  He saw Daisy recoil at his words. He dragged his hand down his face. The dark-haired lady with the blue eyes tapped him on the hand. “Hey, I need to get him to the clinic. Can you carry him there for me?”

  “Doc Wicks isn’t there.”

  “I know,” she replied. “But there will be supplies at the clinic.”

  Barrett nodded. He picked up the sniffling Sam and held him close to his chest. He appeared much smaller curled up in Barrett’s arms. He heard Daisy call the children over while Barrett followed the woman out of the side yard.

  John came running over. “Is he going to be alright?”

  The woman looked at him. “Of course, he will. He just didn’t estimate the distance properly when he jumped. We will get him as good as new.”

  John nodded and ran back to the school children as Daisy shuffled them inside the school building.

  Barrett saw that Sam was holding the lady’s hand as they walked towards the clinic.

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “S-s-Samuel.”

  “Okay, Samuel. I’m Gracie. We are going to get you fixed up. Want to tell me what happened?”

  Sam looked at Barrett and he nodded. Sam’s gaze returned to Gracie. “We were climbing the tree and went to sit on the branch. We were going to throw acorns on George and Ellie Mae. They were sitting under the tree reading poetry.” Gracie nodded, encouraging him to continue. “Poetry is gross.”

  Gracie laughed and it sounded so musical that Barrett forgot to breathe for moment. He thought he was in the presence of angels.

  “I’m sure you’ll appreciate it when you are older.”

  “I went out on the branch first. Then Whitey followed behind me. Once he scooted over, the branch fell.”

  “Why didn’t Whitey get hurt?” Barrett asked.

  “Because he fell on top of me!” Sam grabbed his shoulder. “It really hurts!”

  “I know it does, honey.” Gracie’s voice was smooth and calming. “I want to make
sure you’ve not broken anything first and then we’ll get you all fixed up.”

  She opened the door and walked in like she had been there before. Which was odd, because Barrett couldn’t place her anywhere in town.

  She guided Barrett and Sam to the examination room on the side. “Let’s get in here and we’ll get you looked at. I don’t know where Doc Wicks put everything, so it may take a few minutes.”

  Sam recoiled when he saw the jar of leeches on the counter in the examination room. “Are you going to use those on me?” he asked.

  Gracie’s forehead creased and she pursed her lips. “Why would I use leeches on you?”

  “’Cause Doc Wicks used them for everything.”

  She looked at Barrett. He simply shrugged. “It’s true. He really did. Went out every Saturday morning to replenish his supply from the watering hole.”

  Gracie shivered. “Well remind me not to go swimming there.” Sam gave a little laugh. “See, you are already getting better.” She looked at Barrett with those soft blue eyes and he was lost. He forgot he was holding Sam until he heard the boy protest from being squeezed.

  “Why don’t you put him on the exam table there?”

  Barrett complied and sat back in the chair along the wall watching her tend to his son. She moved her fingers along the arm that wasn’t injured, talking softly to Sam while she worked. Barrett watched as Sam nodded and then she’d repeat the procedure along another part of his body.

  She took a deep breath and Sam followed, mimicking the doctor. Her cheeks were puffed out and he could tell she was holding her breath. Sam did the same, puffing his chest out.

  She touched his hurt arm and ran her fingers along the bones. She shook her head and Sam giggled, releasing his breath. Barrett hadn’t seen Sam laugh like that in a while. Even being hurt, he was smitten with the dark-haired lady.

  Once she touched Sam’s shoulder, his boy let out a wail and Barrett jumped from his chair. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t think there are any broken bones. He can move all his fingers. I do think, however, when he fell he knocked his shoulder out of place.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that it isn’t where it is supposed to be and I’m going to need to put it back in place. The relief will be instantaneous.”

  Barrett nodded. “What do we need to do?”

  Sam was sniffling on the table. “It hurts where she touched it.”

  Gracie smoothed back Sam’s hair. “I know, but you really knocked yourself when you fell.” She turned to Barrett, leaving her hand along Sam’s back. “I want you to walk over there and get me the jar of leeches.”

  “What?” Barrett and Sam said in unison.

  “Just do it, please.”

  Barrett turned to go get the jar, wondering at why she would go from not using them to using them.

  It was over before he even knew what happened. As Sam watched him walk around the examination table, there was a loud pop and Sam gave another cry.

  “All better?” Gracie asked.

  Sam lifted his arm. “Hey, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

  “You’ll be plenty sore later on. I’ll give you a bit of willow bark for that,” she told him. “Let me fashion you a sling and you’ll be the envy of everyone in the school yard.”

  “You distracted him?”

  “I needed to,” she replied, going to the cabinet and digging in the drawer. “If I said hold still and relax, he would have been tighter than Aunt May’s corset.”

  Barrett gave a little laugh. She was definitely smart. She knew exactly how to get Sam to take his mind off his shoulder.

  Gracie returned with some linen strips from the drawer. She had to root around a bit for the scissors, but once she was done, Sam was beaming with his arm in the sling.

  Barrett thought it was more from the attention he was getting, than the actual sling.

  “I want you to rest tonight and no climbing trees for a while. You were lucky you didn’t break anything.”

  Sam nodded and Gracie helped him off the table. “Thanks, Gracie,” he said, running into the waiting area.

  “Thank you,” Barrett said.

  “My pleasure.” She handed him a small tin. “Make him some tea every few hours for the pain. And you can use cool compresses on the area as well.”

  Barrett nodded. “I appreciate you taking care of him.”

  “I’m glad I was there.”

  He shifted from foot to foot. He hadn’t been this nervous, since… well he didn’t remember. “I didn’t catch your name.”

  “Gracie Pickett,” she replied as she started cleaning up the leftovers from Sam’s sling.

  Barrett stopped short. “That’s funny … we have a Doc Pick…” suddenly he stopped and looked at her. “You aren’t related to him by chance?”

  “No,” Gracie smiled. “Not related. I am.”

  Barrett felt the blood rush to his face, and he wanted to roar. His hand clenched and unclenched. “You can’t be.”

  “Dr. Gracie Rose Pickett at your service.” She held her hand out. “I didn’t catch your name.”

  Barrett ignored her hand. “Gracie Rose? G. R.? You applied as G. R. Pickett?”

  “That is my name.”

  “But you are a woman!”

  She looked from her feet to her hands. “I guess I am. Is that a problem?”

  “I absolutely refuse to have a woman doctor in this town.”

  “You had no problem when I treated your son.”

  “I thought you might be a nurse. Or a healer. Or someone who was coming before the real… but never a doctor.”

  “The real doctor? Is that what you were going to say?” Barrett didn’t have time to respond before she continued. “I will have you know I am a real doctor. Your town wouldn’t have invited me out here if my credentials didn’t suit.”

  He poked his finger towards her. “You lied. You pretended to be something you aren’t.”

  She pointed back to him. “What would that be?”

  “You pretended to be a man.”

  Gracie gave a short laugh. “I never did. You just assumed I was one.”

  “Pa?” Sam called from the doorway. “George and John are here. Can we go home?”

  Barrett turned to his son. “I’ll be right there.”

  “Is that the George that will be taking care of my horse?”

  “That’s my son. He would do it for Doc Wicks, but I’m not going to have him do it for you.”

  Gracie stared at him intently for a moment. He met her stare, until he felt the need to look away. “You don’t need to tell me your name. Let me guess who you are! Mr. Wright?” She placed her hands on her hips and tapped her shoe as if growing impatient with him.

  “I’ll be bringing this up to the Town Council. Don’t get too comfortable, lady. You don’t have what it takes to survive out here.”

  “Watch me,” she countered.

  With a growl, Barrett placed his hat on his head and walked to the waiting room. His three boys were there, and they had heard every single word.

  “Are you going to make her leave?” George asked.

  “Son, let’s go home.”

  “I like her, Pa!” Sam said.

  “I said, let’s go home.”

  “She’s very pretty,” John said.

  “Home! Now!” Barrett roared and headed out of the office.

  Chapter 5

  Barrett was still fuming. The Town Council agreed to uphold the offer to Doctor G. R. Pickett as the town doctor.

  Barrett was sure it was because she had been charming her way through the town for the past month. Everyone seemed smitten with the pretty doctor. Even Barrett thought she was pretty, and it rankled him to no end.

  Each conversation he had with the lady doc was the model of politeness. No matter how hard he pushed her to leave, she politely informed him he wasn’t going to get rid of her so easily.

  Even his boys were enamored with her. Inste
ad of going to the mercantile after school and coming home, they would stop by and see Gracie.. She even found out that gumdrops were their favorite sweets!

  What infuriated him the most of all, is when she was called to meet everyone on the council, Moss Stewart had the audacity to ask her out to dinner. As if that man didn’t already own a portion of Rattlesnake Ridge. Now he was placing claims on the lady doc.

  Barrett tried to shake the thoughts of the pretty doctor, especially since today was the day Louisa was arriving from Florence. He was waiting on the steps of the freight station for the stage to come in.

  Her last letter said she would be arriving today. That was the only communication he had since sending her train fare in June.

  He could see the clouds of dust in the distance as the stage moved across the parched ground. The boys were at the mercantile. Barrett gave them a penny each so they could get some gumdrops or sugar sticks. At least this way he knew where they were.

  The stage driver slowed down as he approached the freight yard.

  “You headed out tonight, Rick?” Barrett asked the driver as he pulled the horses to a halt.

  Rick jumped down and reached for the stool underneath his seat. “Nah, it is still early yet. Just going to let everyone have a break for a bit and grab some supper.” Barrett watched him put the step underneath the door and open it to let the people out.

  Travelers disembarked, their clothes covered with dust from the ride. Barrett had made the ride to Reno before, and no matter how tightly you tried to close the windows on the stage, dust and dirt always found a way to creep in.

  Four passengers exited the coach and made their way down the road towards town. Barrett popped his head into the coach and spied Louisa sitting in the shadows. “Louisa,” he called, offering his hand to her.

  “Oh, Barrett,” she cried, launching herself into his arms. “I’ve had the most terrible trip. It is so good to finally be here.”

  Barrett patted her on the back, before releasing her to the ground. Louisa didn’t move from his embrace, instead, she kept her hands on his arms.

  “We will get you settled quickly enough. Where are your bags?”