Moving from Maryland

by Christine Sterling

  Gracie stood up straight. The hairs on the back of her neck started to tickle and she rubbed it with the palm of her hand trying to find relief. “I think Mr. Wright and his children can make their own decisions.”

  Louisa leaned in closer. Gracie felt small under her glare. Her arms were crossed, and she gave an arrogant laugh. “I came out all this way to this God-forsaken town and I’m going to marry Barrett. I don’t need a little chit like you distracting him.”

  Chit? She thought Gracie was a chit?

  Gracie leaned forward, her nose practically touching Louisa’s chin. “First, I resent you using that word with me. You would think as an educated lady you’d have a bigger vocabulary. Second, if you are so convinced that Mr. Wright is going to marry you, then what do you have to be concerned about with the likes of me?”

  Louisa looked nervous. She pulled back allowing space between them. “Just stay away from him, you hear me? He was married to my sister, and now he’ll be married to me.”

  Gracie didn’t say anything. She thought plenty in her mind but bit her tongue to stay mute.

  Louisa flipped her hair and turned around in a huff. Gracie watched her walk back towards the mercantile. She recognized Barrett’s buckboard in front of the store.

  Just as she was turning around, she saw John jump from the wooden walk to the dirt road. He saw her and waved before running in her direction.

  Louisa called him back, but he ignored her and ran until he reached Gracie, wrapping his small arms around her legs. “I missed you, Gracie. You left without saying goodbye.”

  She smoothed the boy’s hair. “I am sorry about that. Next time I promise I won’t run off.”

  She looked up to see Barrett come out of the store with packages in his hands. She had never seen anyone shop as much as Louisa Abernathy enjoyed shopping. She guessed the mercantile was happy to have her business. The only concern, there wasn’t enough left for everyone else in town.

  Barrett dropped the packages over the side of the buckboard as Louisa was talking excitedly. Gracie couldn’t make out the words, but Louisa’s hands were waving in the air. She must have mentioned Gracie, because suddenly Barrett looked up and his eyes met hers.

  Gracie felt every breath leave her body. Perhaps Louisa was right – she needed to stay away from Barrett. The man invaded her thoughts and just seeing him made her realize how much time she really did spend thinking about him.

  She saw Barrett nod to Louisa and head in her direction. She didn’t want to watch him, but she couldn’t break eye contact either.

  Gracie gave John a pat on the back without looking at him. “You probably need to get back to your father.”

  “Will you come visit us this weekend?” John asked. Barrett was getting closer.

  “I… uhm… I’m going to be busy this weekend. I’ll see you when school starts again. I’ll bring Bonesy back to the classroom.”

  John kicked the ground, a small cloud of dust flying up around him. “I miss Bonesy.”

  “It is only a few days. I need to get back to the clinic.” She ruffled John’s hair. “Say hello to your brothers for me.”

  Barrett was very close now. Gracie turned to head back to the clinic when she heard her name come out as a harsh bark. “Gracie!”

  Gracie turned and waited for him to catch up to her. “Running away from me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “No,” she lied. “I just need to get back to the clinic.”

  Barrett didn’t look at his son. “John, head back to the wagon.” John looked from Barrett to Gracie. He gave her a quick hug and ran back to the wagon. “What’s at the clinic, Gracie Rose, that you need to rush back there? Do you need to polish your skeleton?”

  “I’ll have you know that Mr. Bonesy appreciates me keeping the dust off of him.”

  Barrett laughed. “You are an enigma, Dr. Pickett.” He removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair before placing it back on his head. Gracie noticed that he had a habit of doing that. He probably didn’t even realize he did it.

  Gracie saw that his hair was sticking straight out from the brim of his hat. She wanted to reach out and press it down, but she kept her hands firmly on the handle of her doctoring bag.

  She started to silently recite bone names in hopes she wouldn’t blurt out her true feelings for Barrett. She started at the toes.

  Phalanges. Metatarsals. Tarsals.

  “The boys were disappointed you left so quickly.” He looked at her intently. “I was disappointed you left so quickly.”

  Fibula. Tibia. Patella. Femur.

  Barrett looked saddened. “Don’t you have anything to say?”

  Gracie was nervous. She twisted from side to side, her skirt wrapping around her legs. “I didn’t need to stay,” she said. “Jasper just went to get changed after his soaking in the creek, so he took me home.”

  “I was going to take you home, Gracie Rose.”

  Gracie shrugged. “You were busy consoling Louisa.”

  He gave a little laugh. “You almost sound jealous.”

  “Why would I be jealous? I have no claim on you or the boys.” She hated that he could see right through her.

  “Don’t you, Gracie Rose?” His eyes stared at her with such intensity it was making her feel uncomfortable. She shifted and turned away.

  “I was just in the way. The picnic was over.”

  “Is that the only reason?”

  Gracie couldn’t lie to him. She looked at Louisa standing next to the wagon with the boys. “You probably need to get back to your family.”

  “Is that what you want, Gracie Rose?”

  “Don’t call me that,” she whispered. The plea was barely audible over the sound of wagons passing them.

  “Tell me to go away and I will.”

  Tears started to fill up in her eyes. Even though it broke her heart, she took a deep breath and looked at him. “Go away, Barrett.”

  A look passed across his face. It was so quick, Gracie almost missed it. He nodded. “That is the first time you’ve called me by my name.” He turned on his heel and walked back to the wagon, leaving Gracie alone on the street.

  She watched the wagon begin to move out of town for just a moment. Then she ran back to the clinic, locking herself inside.

  Gracie was cleaning up the clinic. She was only open for emergencies on Saturday and Sunday, but given she couldn’t rest, she decided it would be a good day to clean the waiting area from top to bottom.

  She was dusting Bonesy when she heard George’s voice outside. She hadn’t seen the children since the run in with Louisa two weeks prior. It broke her heart, but there wasn’t any reason for them to stop by the clinic or for her to go to the ranch.

  She did see Jasper in town, and he was non-committal when she asked how everyone was.

  He fulfilled his promise of helping her pick out a horse from the livery. There were a few older animals there for sale, one of which suited Gracie just fine. It was an older painted pony – caramel with white patches. The horse was in the pen rolling in the dirt. Gracie had never seen a horse do that, before.

  She decided to call him Chesapeake, or Chessie for short, to remind her of home. Chessie was in the lean-to, happily munching hay.

  She had just finished dusting the skeleton and was about to start rearranging the books when she heard George’s voice outside the clinic.

  “Gracie! Gracie!” she heard him cry. “We need a doctor at the ranch!”

  She ran to the door just as George was dismounting his horse. “Oh my, George. What happened? Is one of your brothers hurt?” She took in the flushed cheeks and scared eyes as George ran into the clinic.

  “No,” he said trying to catch his breath. He leaned over with his hands on his knees. “It’s Pa. He got thrown from his horse. They were moving the cattle back out to pasture. He fell off his horse and it started a stampede.”

  Gracie took a step back, raising her hand to her lips. Cold came out of nowhere and enveloped her.
She rubbed her arms as if warding off the chill.

  Not Barrett, her heart cried.

  Even though she told him to go away that day, she would never want any harm to come to him.

  She felt as though she might retch, but she knew she needed to keep her emotions together for the sake of the children.

  She wiped her hands on her skirt and blinked several times at George before coming out of her trance. She took a few shaky breaths and then quickly gathered George up in a hug.

  “It will be alright. I’ll make sure.” She didn’t know if she could make such a promise, but if God let Barrett live and recover, she would fight for him and those children. Louisa be hanged.

  If he didn’t… well, she didn’t want to think about that.

  “Let me get my bag and we’ll head right out there.” Her voice was shaky. “Can you hitch up Chessie and bring the wagon around?”

  George nodded and disappeared towards the lean-to. Gracie went into the examination room and pulled out her leather satchel. She normally kept it ready if she needed to visit someone at home. However, she had unpacked it a few days prior and hadn’t gotten around to filling it again.

  She placed the bag on the table and looked at it. A tear broke free, followed by many more and soon Gracie was leaning against the table with her palms pressed against the cool metal. She sobbed with all the force of a helpless baby.

  She let everything come out. From her first days in town to Louisa’s confrontation and now realizing the man she loved might be fatally injured. She finally stopped when the crying turned to hiccups. Pressing her hand to her chest, she tried to calm down the rapid beating of her heart.

  She heard George open the door to the lean-to, which meant he’d be around front any minute. She quickly gathered a linen cloth and dipped it in the bucket of water she kept in the room. She wiped her face, trying to remove some of the redness.

  She had to pack the bag.

  Her hands were shaking as she tried to gather up all the materials she might need. If Barrett fell off a horse and was trampled in the stampede, she might be dealing with everything from simple bruises to spinal injury.

  She gave a little sob as she thought of him hurt, so she wasted no time in gathering up linens and splints, balm base, several tins of herbs, empty tins, and her medical instruments – stethoscope, tubing, scalpel, morphine, syringes. She couldn’t think of what else she might need.

  Finally, she just grabbed everything within arm’s reach and dropped it in the basket. Better to have too much than too little.

  Grabbing her wrap, she scribbled out a note to inform visitors or patients that she would be gone indefinitely and where they could find her. She was just locking up the clinic and placing the note in the glass window of the door, as George pulled around from the lean-to and stopped in front of the porch.

  Gracie placed her bag and basket of supplies in the back of the wagon and climbed in as George hopped out. She saw him tie his horse to the back of the wagon, then climbed up in the seat next to her.

  With a slap of the reins they were headed to the Wright ranch. Gracie held on as George urged the horse to go faster. The dust the beast was kicking up was choking. Gracie was afraid the buckboard might tip over, but George and Chessie appeared to have everything under control. Even the horse tied to the wagon kept the pace.

  They pulled into the ranch and Gracie could see people milling around in the front yard. Many she recognized from the picnic. They must be all the ranch hands.

  George pulled the reins causing the horse to stop in front of the house. Gracie didn’t wait to see what he did next, as she jumped down from the wagon before grabbing her bag and basket filled with herbs.

  “Where is he?” she asked.

  “We carried him to the bedroom,” one of the men said, pointing to the house. Gracie nodded and picked up her skirt. Her boots thumped against the wooden floor. How different than the last time she was here!

  She would give anything to hear Louisa shriek over a critter in her bed and to see Barrett standing there trying to figure out what to do. Ida Parker came out from the kitchen, a bucket of water and several rags in her hand.

  “How is he?” she asked.

  Mrs. Parker shook her head and a sob escaped. “I don’t know, Gracie. He hasn’t moved since Jasper brought him home.”

  Jasper must have heard her arrival, as he came out of the room and met her in the hallway. His eyes were red, as if he had been crying. He looked as though he had aged decades since the last time she saw him.

  He was covered in dust from head to toe. His shirt was torn in a few places, giving Gracie a glimpse of some scratches on his chest and arm.

  “I told George to go get you as quickly as possible.” He let out a sob. “I don’t know what I’m going to do if anything happens to him. Oh Gracie, I’m afraid it is bad.”

  Gracie tried to hold her own tears at bay. A single one escaped and rolled down her cheek. She could taste the salt when it hit her lips. She didn’t want to start crying again. She was here in an official capacity. She could cry at home.

  Gracie gave Jasper a quick hug, trying to provide some comfort to him. She released him and then patted him on his uninjured arm and said, “I’m here now. Tell me what happened.”

  Jasper took her basket and led Gracie into the room. Barrett was laying in the middle of a large wooden sleigh bed. His tall frame looked extremely small in the middle and he looked pale. So pale.

  His face and neck were covered in abrasions and she could see blood in his hair.

  “How far did he fall?”

  “I dunno. He was riding Poe,” Jasper offered.

  “The big black horse?” Gracie asked.

  Jasper nodded. “His horse spooked. I think it was a rattlesnake. He fell off when the horse reared. But it was the noise from the horse that set off the cattle and they started to stampede. Barrett got caught under their hooves until I could pull him out.”

  “How long do you think he was trampled?” Gracie asked, sitting on the bed next to him.

  “Not very long. I took my horse in there and stood over him until most of the cattle had passed. Then I was able to reach him. It looks like it was mostly his arms and legs.”

  Gracie nodded. That made sense. If Jasper had his horse towering over Barrett trying to protect him, the only areas that would have been outside of the protection would be his arms and legs.

  “We couldn’t get his boots off.”

  “We can cut them off if necessary,” Gracie seemed much calmer than she felt. “Did you see any bones protruding from the skin?”

  “No, but I didn’t look either. We just carried him in here and dropped him in the bed.”

  Gracie leaned over Barrett and touched his forehead. She then placed two fingers against his neck and started counting. When she was done, she looked at Jasper. “Has he opened his eyes or responded at all?”

  “No. He’s been unconscious the entire time.”

  “That isn’t good. I’m worried about a brain injury. Do you have a match?”

  “In the kitchen above the stove.”

  “I’ll go, Gracie.” It was Sam. Gracie didn’t see the children standing in the corner. She could tell that they had been crying. Louisa sat on a settee next to them, her face blotchy and her eyes swollen.

  “Will he be alright, Gracie?” John asked softly.

  Gracie pulled her doctoring bag onto her lap and pulled out several items to place on the table next to the bed. “I don’t know yet, John. I won’t be able to tell until I get him properly assessed.”

  “You won’t let him die, will you?” Louisa spoke. Her hands trembled as she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. Gracie could see the initials BW embroidered on the corner.

  “It isn’t up to me. That is in God’s hands. But I will do everything I can to care for him.” Sam came back with a match safe and handed it to Gracie. She lit a small candle she pulled out of her bag.

  Moving closer to Barrett sh
e lifted his eyelid and looked to see if he responded to the candle being waved in front of him. She did the same with the other eye and then extinguished the candle.

  “He’s responding, which is a good sign.”

  She picked up the stethoscope and placed the two end pieces in her ears. The cone at the end of the rubber tubing she held against his chest.

  Gracie listened to the rise and fall of Barrett’s chest. She didn’t hear any crackling, which meant he hadn’t punctured a lung. “I’ll need ice if you have any and as much cold water and towels as you can find. I know Mrs. Parker brought some in, but we are going to need more.”

  “Mrs. Parker and I will see what we can find in the kitchen,” Louisa said.

  “Ask Blue to bring up some ice from the spring house,” Jasper volunteered.

  Louisa nodded and took both boys by the hands. “You can help me get what is needed for your Pa.”

  “I want to stay,” John protested.

  “It’s okay, honey,” Gracie said softly. “You can come back. I just need everyone to leave for now, because I need to examine his ribs and back.” Louisa started to say something, but Gracie gave her a look that dared her not to leave.

  She took both children by the hand and walked out of the room.

  Gracie called after her. “Soap, I’m going to need some soap as well.” She looked at Jasper, who was also getting ready to leave. “I’ll need you to stay, Jasper. I need help getting him undressed.”

  Jasper nodded. “Just tell me what to do.”

  “See if you can find a small blanket. There has to be one somewhere.” Jasper found one on the chest at the end of the bed. He handed it to her, but Gracie signaled for him to keep it. He laid it on the bed next to Barrett and took his place across from Gracie.

  “Okay, let’s start with his shirt. The blanket is for when you remove his pants.”

  “Me?” Jasper pointed to his chest.

  “Well, I’m not going to do it. I may be a doctor, but I do have a sense of decorum. I would rather you do that part.”

  “Okay, so we start with his shirt.”

  Gracie unbuttoned Barrett’s shirt and pulled it over his shoulders as Jasper rolled him back and forth so she could remove it. Barrett’s chest was a patchwork of red and blue marks. Gracie could actually see the imprint of the hooves on his skin.