by Holly Blake
Brides of Wyldewood: Volume One
©2016 Holly Blake
Prairie Wind Publishing
All Rights Reserved
There’s always something brewin’ at Prairie Wind Publishing!
See What We’re Up to Now
Brides of Wyldewood: Volume One
Table of Contents
Book One: Ivy and Cade
Book Two: Anna and Brody
Book Three: Esther and James
Further Reading
The Brides of Wyldewood: Volume One
Book One
Ivy and Cade
Ivy and Cade
Chapter One
It had been three long weeks of ups and downs. Ivy sat at the bedside looking down at the beautiful little face that was so peaceful in sleep. Cassandra Cummings was certainly a fighter. Even when she struggled with unbearable pain, she fought to keep smiling, charming everyone she came in contact with and winning the hearts of all the medical staff, especially Ivy Sullivan’s.
“Come on baby girl,” Ivy whispered. “Open your eyes, please.” Ivy sighed. She rolled her shoulders in an effort to work out some of the stiffness. But she refused to leave the girl’s side. Closing her eyes, she ran through the tests and procedures that she had already tried. Was there anything else she could do? She had asked herself that question at least a hundred times. But try as she might, she couldn’t think of anything. She simply couldn’t find a way to treat the disease that had taken such a death grip on the tiny, fragile body.
The latest round of medication had seemed to help for a while and for a few days Cassandra turned bright and cheerful. Everyone’s hopes started to rise, and Cassandra’s mother, Isabel had been elated. But last night Cassandra suddenly took a turn for the worse and now Ivy was at a loss.
Isabel would be returning shortly from a brief trip home to rest and get a change of clothing. She had gone under protest, but Ivy had assured her that things were looking fairly stable. And now the fever had come back with a vengeance.
“Come on, Cassie,” Ivy pleaded once again, softly stroking the girl’s limp hand. “You want to wake up for your Mama, don’t you?” But the tiny hand didn’t move; the small thin fingers lay limp in Ivy’s palm.
The door to the room creaked open and a somewhat refreshed Isabel walked in. One look at Ivy’s face told her everything she needed to know. Ivy met her eyes and slowly shook her head. For a long moment Isabel stood frozen in the doorway, almost as if she considered going out and coming back in again in hopes that better news would await her the second time. Finally, she let the door slip closed as she approached Cassie’s bedside.
Just as Ivy had done, she took the little hand in her own and raised it to her cheek. She kissed each of the very small fingers, remembering how Cassie would laugh with delight whenever she had done that to her as a baby. Now the tiny fingers were still and the beautiful sound of her laughter silenced.
After a few moments Ivy noticed Isabel’s posture suddenly change. She folded Cassie’s hands across her chest and pulled the thin blanket up to her chin. Then she stood, straight and rigid and fired a red hot stare directly at Ivy.
“You have to do something. You’re a doctor. It’s your job to make her well.”
Somewhat surprised by the sudden outburst, Ivy tried to find some words of solace. “I know how hard this is, and believe me, there is nothing I want more than to make Cassie well. But I’ve tried everything I can think of. There’s nothing more I can do. She’s in God’s hands now.”
But Isabel was not going to be placated. Her grief was too raw. “So is that how you justify your failure? Just pass it all off to God? Wash your hands of things when you don’t get results?”
Ivy was shocked. “I tried my best, but sometimes medicine just fails us. I’ve done all I, or anyone else could do.”
“Hah!” Isabel snarled. “I really wonder about that. I‘ll bet if Dr. Muldrew was still here, things would have been different. I know I should have never trusted a lady doctor.”
Ivy tried to protest. “Isabel, please. You’re not thinking straight. Let’s just be with Cassie now. We can discuss this all later.”
“I don’t care to discuss anything with you. I want you to leave us alone, Doctor Ivy Sullivan.” She all but spat out the word doctor and Ivy felt her cheeks redden at the insult. She was at a loss for words. Slowly, she returned various items to her medical bag and quietly left the room.
She knew it would only be a matter of time before Cassie took her last breath. She would have hoped that Isabel would turn to her for comfort, but that was certainly not going to be the case now. But the woman couldn’t just be left alone. On her way past the chapel, Ivy stopped in and found Father Greene. Without explaining all that had happened, she asked the priest to go to Cassie’s room to provide support to the grieving mother. Then, with steps that felt as heavy as lead, she started walking home.
Her thoughts drifted back to the first day she had met Isabel and Cassandra. They had arrived at children’s hospital as patients of Dr. Benjamin Muldrew who had delivered the tiny premature baby right here in this hospital. But Dr. Muldrew himself had taken suddenly ill and had retired to convalesce at home. Cassandra’s case had been assigned to Ivy.
At their first meeting, Isabel had been extremely disappointed that “Dr. Ben” as Cassandra called him would not be seeing them. She was also very apprehensive about having a woman doctor take his place. And now with Cassandra so ill, she had even more resentment towards Ivy. Ivy felt her heart breaking in a million pieces as she listened to the grieving mother’s words.
She managed to hold back the tears until she was out of the door and well on her way away from the hospital. She kept hearing Isabel’s accusations ringing in her head. “You’ve let my Cassandra die.”
Ivy tried to tell herself that it was just the woman’s grief talking, that she would eventually come around and understand that Ivy had done all she could….all anybody, man or woman could have done to stop the illness that had ravaged poor Cassandra’s tiny body. There was nothing more anybody could do.
And then Ivy felt all the doubts start to creep in. Was there something else she could have done? Was there a new procedure or medication available that she had not heard about? Could she have called in another doctor for consultation? As much as she believed in her abilities, the voices of the naysayers were always there. “Women don’t belong in medicine.”
Ivy let the tears fall. She let the icy March wind sting her face along with her tears. It felt like penance somehow. “Oh, God,” she cried. “How could you take such a beautiful little creature? Why didn’t you show me a way to save her?”
Ivy had lost patients before. It was impossible not to in these early days of medicine, but she had never lost one as precious as this. This loss shook her to her very core, crushing all of her confidence and making her question her life choices. Maybe she wasn’t cut out to be a doctor. Maybe she didn’t have a thick enough skin. Maybe the naysayers were right after all. Maybe it was time for a new beginning.
And so it was, after a very lengthy soul searching that she decided to put her career aside. She needed time to think, time to decide what she really wanted out of life, time to search her soul for answers.
In the end, that answer came in the form of a letter. She had answered an ad for a mail order bride written by a man named Cade Montgomery. He was a farmer way out in Wyoming territory, in a little railroad town named Wyldewood. Ivy had fallen in love with his description of life in
the west, and through their letters, she believed she had fallen in love with the man as well.
They corresponded for several months, and in that time Ivy’s heart had started to heal from the loss of Cassandra Cummings and the other patients like her that Ivy hadn’t been able to save. She was now looking forward to a fresh start and a new life.
She wasn’t at all put off by the demands that might well come from life in such a wild a place as Wyoming. In fact she was ready to embrace the challenge. Medicine would always have a place in her heart, and she told herself that there may come a day when she would once again venture down that road. But for now she was looking forward to becoming a bride, and who knew what kinds of doors that journey might open.
For a while she let herself daydream about a life that was yet to be experienced. She envisioned herself as a loving wife and then a devoted mother with a brood of children underfoot. What better background than medicine for raising a family in a country where life was undoubtedly fraught with hazards and risks. She would tend to their ills and their accidents with a loving, knowledgeable hand. And that, she told herself, would be a way to keep her passion for doctoring in her life.
If only she had been able to convince her parents as well. Her mother was saddened by her choice to leave the east and live so far away. But her father was devastated. He couldn’t accept that she would just turn her back on the one thing that she had wanted most in life, the one thing that she had worked so hard to achieve.
He had stood by her through all her struggles, defending her abilities and dedication whenever anyone dared to bring them into question. And once she started practicing, he built himself a dream where the two of them worked together until one day she would step into his shoes. Now she was tearing that dream apart, and he told her as much. Ivy was distraught by his anger, and leaving with such bad feelings between them was the hardest thing she had ever done.
But now it was time to get ready. Her bag was all packed and she was set to board the evening train out of the city at seven o’clock. Cade had insisted on sending her a paid ticket although she had tried to dissuade him, claiming she had the funds to pay her own way. At his persistence, however, she had given in and saved his male pride by accepting his offer.
She didn’t want to push the issue too hard in case he asked how she had become so financially secure. He knew only that she was from Boston, and was the daughter of a prominent practicing physician there. Ivy had no intention of him ever finding out that she herself was a doctor. That was a secret she planned to keep to herself. At least for now.
Chapter Two
Cade Montgomery looked out over the fields of his farm. He could see the valley that cradled the small town of Wyldewood, Wyoming and the Laramie Mountain Range from his front porch. The clouds were low and dark today; snow was coming. Cade hated winter. The cold air made his eyes water and the frozen ground meant he had to go into to the lumber mill to work. He would much rather be plowing his fields and planting seeds.
“Just a few weeks more and we’ll be back at it,” he said to his faithful dog Rex who sat on the step beside him. He looked down smiling at the big dog and patted his head. Rex was half wolf and half shepherd. The dog whined in agreement and nuzzled into Cade’s hand.
“Let’s get into town and see if Miss Ivy has sent us another letter. She’ll be here in a couple of weeks and then you’ll have someone to keep you company while I’m away,” Cade said to the panting dog. Rex seemed to smile, and then he barked and set off running. He jumped up on the seat of the wagon and looked back at Cade.
“Wait for me boy!” Cade laughed as he finished pulling on his good boots and headed for the wagon himself. “You’d think you were the one getting married.” He patted the dog again as he pulled up the reins of the horses and started off for town. “You do know that when she gets here it will be Ivy sitting beside me on the seat and not you?” Cade looked at the big brown eyes of the dog. Rex barked again and jumped down to sit beside Cade’s feet on the floor of the wagon. Cade laughed again. “You really are a smart one aren’t you?” The dog nuzzled up to Cades leg panting happily.
Cade had taken the day off so that he could take care of some business and pick up a few things in town in anticipation of his bride’s arrival. Ivy wouldn’t arrive for a couple of weeks but Cade was determined to make the house he built five years ago a bit more homey. He had already cleaned the house from top to bottom and replaced the threadbare furnishings with new. Today he would pick up the curtains that Anna had made for the cabin and get the final measurements taken for his wedding suit that she was also making. He wanted to look smart for his wedding. Ivy was from Boston and would expect a certain presentation, he told himself. He had only been to the bigger cities a few times in his life and knew that things were done differently there. He hoped that when Ivy arrived she wouldn’t be disappointed in him.
The first place Cade stopped in town was the mercantile store for his mail. The cozy country store seemed to have everything a man could want, and he loved to simply browse whenever he could. When he entered the store John Barnaby, the owner, was busy with Martha Garvey, the town teacher’s new wife. She had arrived eight months ago, a mail order bride, and already was heavy with their first child. Cade decided to look around the store and see what else he might pick up while he waited.
“How are you doing stranger?” Peggy Barnaby asked, sidling up to Cade with a sly grin on her face. Cade had been in the store so much lately that he was anything but a stranger.
“Very well indeed Mrs. Barnaby, how are you today?” Cade smiled and tipped his hat to the shop keeper’s lovely wife. Peggy Barnaby was the kind of woman that would melt any man’s heart. She was smart, charming and pretty as a picture. And she just happened to be Cade’s sister.
“I am just fine thank you, Mr. Montgomery,” she joked, enjoying their camaraderie. “And I am about to make your day!” Peggy pulled a white envelope out of her apron pocket and waved it in the air in front of Cade, smiling broadly.
“This will cost you one dance at the next church social!” She grinned. Cade knew that John Barnaby didn’t like to dance but, his wife loved it. They had come to an agreement that Mrs. Barnaby could dance with any respectable man she chose so long as Mr. Barnaby would not be expected to be one of them.
“I would love to dance with you Mrs. Barnaby and I’ll give you two dances just because you asked so nicely.” Cade laughed. Peggy hit him playfully in the arm and handed him the letter.
“What does she say, Cade?” Peggy begged as he opened the letter.
“I haven’t even read it yet!” Cade laughed, slowly removing the single sheet from its envelope. He wanted to rip it open but, he couldn’t resist teasing his sister.
“Hurry up Cade.” Peggy chided. He had seen how excited she was for Cade to get married. After their parents died eight years ago they had only had each other. Then Peggy married John Barnaby and Cade, being only fifteen at the time moved in with them.
He had worked in the shop and at the lumber mill which John also owned since then. Eventually he bought his own farm and built a house with an eye for the future, only the future hadn’t turned out the way he had hoped.
There weren’t a lot of women in Wyoming so finding a wife had proven more difficult than Cade expected. Inspired by Jack Garvey’s success and pushed by his sister, Cade placed an ad in the matrimonial papers and hoped for at least one reply. To his surprise he got dozens.
Peggy helped him sort through them and chose three for him to consider, but something about Ivy Sullivan stood out. Cade was an avid reader and he found reading Ivy’s letters reminded him of reading good books. The way she put words together made him believe that she must be well read herself and that would give them something to share.
“Dear Cade,” He read the letter out-loud to Peggy as he had all the letters before. “I write you today to let you know that I will be departing here on the train tomorrow afternoon. I trust you will check my exact
arrival date at your end, and meet me at the station. I look forward to meeting all the wonderful people you have written so vividly about. I can hardly wait to meet your sister, brother-in-law, and your niece and nephews. I also look forward to meeting Rex and seeing the beautiful mountains and valleys you spoke of so eloquently. It sounds like paradise. My trip will seem endless as I will be thinking of you and our future together the whole way. Love, Ivy.” Cade looked at his sister and grinned.
“That’s the first time she’s ended the letter with love.” Peggy looked dreamily at Cade.
Cade smiled and nodded, a tear forming in the corner of his eye. He didn’t expect to be so overwhelmed with emotion over one word in a letter. “I must be coming down with melancholy!” he announced shaking his head. Peggy noticed the tear and gave Cade a hug.
“Little brother, I am so happy for you I could just burst!”
Suddenly a gruff voice interrupted their sentimental moment. “I suppose he’s read the letter,” John said frowning as he approached the siblings.
“Of course he has John; why else would we be acting so silly!” Peggy said shaking her head at her husband.
John was a soft hearted man but, few people knew it. He hardly ever smiled and always spoke in matter-of-fact tones. He had been a Unionist soldier during the war and had seen things that no man should have to endure.
He wandered west after the war, eventually settling in Wyldewood, Wyoming where he met and married young Peggy Montgomery, opening his home and heart to both her and her younger brother.
As well as his lumber business and the mercantile, John filled in as the town’s unofficial doctor, relying on his experience as a medic during the war. He built a small clinic beside the mercantile and was actively seeking a real doctor to come and work it so that he would no longer have to.
“The new water wheel arrived today,” John said to Cade, ignoring his wife’s foolishness. “Will you have time next week to help with the replacement?”