“Yes…but you didn’t know that, so it was the safe thing to do to take me with you.”
Sinead nodded. “Now will you stop sending my friends to pretend they’re sick?”
Matthew sighed. “I’m sorry I did that. I should have just trusted you to know what was happening and stay inside.”
“Yes, you should have. Deceiving me is never the answer to anything.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You should.”
They walked together the rest of the way to the cabin, getting there to find the other brides and Miss Hazel gathered. “Are we on duty or are we not on duty, Constable?” Miss Hazel asked Matthew as soon as they walked up.
“You are not on duty. You may spend the day with my wife as her friend, but she no longer needs keepers. Dr. Porter’s medical beliefs seem to align quite well with Sinead’s, and she will start working out of an office at the institute on Monday. He will make certain to send her any patients he doesn’t think the hot springs will help.”
Molly grinned, rushing forward to hug Sinead. “You’re going to have your own practice!”
“I am. And I’ll make sure I tell all of my pregnant ladies about you. Together, we’ll make everything right in Cougar Springs.”
“You’re the best friend a girl could have.”
“And the best wife a Mountie could have!” Matthew put in.
Sinead looked over at Matthew. “Are you trying to get yourself out of trouble still? I forgive you. Move on with your life!”
He laughed. “I’ll do that.”
*****
When Sinead went to work Monday morning, she was unsure of what she’d find, but there was a steady stream of patients all day. Most were guests of the sanitarium that Dr. Porter had deemed her better qualified to help.
When a woman in late stages of pregnancy came in, she frowned. “Did you come all the way here to give birth in the springs?”
The woman nodded. “I did. I was told that the springs would help my baby survive. I had a still birth a year ago, and I can’t bear for that to happen again.” Her eyes were filled with tears as she talked about the baby she’d lost.
“The springs won’t help you, but I have a friend who is an experienced midwife. Between the two of us, we’d have a much better chance of your baby being born alive than sitting in the hot springs would give you.”
The woman sighed heavily. “Where is Dr. Jenkins? He assured me that if I came here from Toronto, he would make sure the springs kept my baby alive.”
“Mr. Jenkins was a fraud, I’m afraid. He was never a doctor. He told people everything would be cured by the springs, but they don’t have the ability to heal. They can ease aches and pains, but they are not going to do more than that.”
“I see. But you’ll help me?”
“I’d be happy to.”
“Thank you.”
Sinead immediately sent off a message to have Molly join her at her office. Working together, they felt strongly they could help the woman. This was why Sinead had become a doctor. She wanted to help people.
*****
It was the end of Sinead’s second week in Cougar Springs when Matthew came home from work, expecting supper to be on the table, but Sinead had once again been called out for an emergency. All Matthew had thought he wanted in a wife was someone who would cook, clean, and keep his house perfect. The woman he’d had in his mind was a paragon of domestic perfection, and Sinead was anything but that.
He set about making his own supper, and when she came in just in time to collapse in a chair and eat what he’d made, he realized that no matter what he’d thought he wanted, Sinead was the woman he needed.
“Emergency?” he asked.
She nodded wearily. “The Butler boy got into his family’s pig pen again, but this time he wasn’t so lucky. The mother pig trampled him.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “He lost three teeth, has four broken bones, and one of his ribs was actually protruding. I put him back together, and as soon as his bones are healed enough, Dr. Porter is going to take over his care.”
“Sounds like your day was hard.”
“I know yours was, too.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry I wasn’t home to make supper for you.”
Matthew shrugged. “When I asked for a mail order bride, I was sure that someone who would make every meal for me, who would clean and do the laundry, was exactly what I needed.”
Sinead looked down at her plate, biting her lip. “I’m sorry that’s not who I am. I love what I do, and I just can’t make myself be happy staying home.” She fought back the tears that wanted to fall, but she was too strong to let them. Instead she gave him her best smile. “I wish I could be who you wanted.” Because he was exactly what she wanted and needed.
“Sinead, that’s not—”
“Just stop there,” she said with a frown. “I’m doing my best every single day to be as close to what you want me to be as I can. I can’t quit my practice for you.” She stood up and started washing the dishes, unable to take any more of his criticism. She’d known since the day she arrived that she wasn’t what he was looking for in a wife. Why did he have to bring it up and make her feel worse about it?
After a moment, Matthew tried one more time, walking up behind her and putting his hand on her shoulder. “Stop, please. I’m not ready for any more criticism. I worked too hard today, and I just can’t take it.” She continued washing dishes, and he shook his head, sitting down at the table.
How was he supposed to tell her he loved her when she was in this kind of mood? He’d wanted to tell her that he’d been wrong about what she needed, but she hadn’t allowed it. Surely there was a better way of making her understand.
Chapter Ten
Sinead wrapped the gift she’d painstakingly made for Matthew for Christmas. It was the wee hours of the morning on Christmas Day, and she’d been called out for an emergency. Again. She’d had no idea if she would even make it home on time.
Now that she was there, she tiptoed through the cabin, making sure everything was just so for Christmas morning. There were a few presents scattered around, and she’d carefully decorated a tree for her and Matthew’s first Christmas together.
Since she didn’t have to work the next day, it didn’t make sense for her to sleep. Matthew would be up in an hour or two, so she might as well make breakfast. She’d sleep afterward.
She threw together the only breakfast she made well—pancakes and bacon—knowing the smell of the bacon would be like a magnet drawing him to the kitchen. No one liked bacon quite as much as Matthew did.
He crept into the kitchen behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against him. “Merry Christmas.”
Sinead grinned, turning around to wrap her arms around his neck. “Merry Christmas! I didn’t see a point in sleeping for just an hour, so I made breakfast instead.”
“Wonderful! I was just lying there in bed feeling all lonely anyway.”
She laughed, resting her head on his shoulder. “When I walked in the door, you were snoring like a mad man!”
“How do you know that mad men snore? Is that something they teach you in medical school?”
She rolled her eyes, going up on tiptoes for a morning kiss. “I hate it when our hours are crossed and we don’t get to sleep together.”
“Me too.” He wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek on top of her head. “Did everything turn out all right?” She hadn’t told him what her emergency was, but he knew it had to be serious for her to leave in the middle of the night the way she had.
She nodded. “Yes. I’m tired, but crisis averted.” She walked over and picked up the gift she’d made him. It had taken everything she had inside her to learn to crochet, with Molly very patiently guiding her. She’d crocheted a scarf for him for the cold winter days. “Open it!” She couldn’t wait to see his face when he took it out of the wrapping, and she told him she’d made it herself.
“Wha
t about your gifts?” he asked, watching as she put the pancakes and bacon onto two plates and carried them to the table.
“You first. I worked hard on that.”
He felt the package, squishing it softly between his hands. “I can’t believe you made me something. You don’t make things other than splints and pancakes.”
She laughed. “I did this time. I learned to do something new so you would have something special for Christmas.” Sitting at the table, she watched him still turning the package. “Open it already!”
He laughed, carefully untying the string she’d used and opening the paper. “It’s beautiful.” He put the scarf around his neck and smiled. “I feel warmer already. And it’s black, so it will go great with my uniform.”
He rushed to the tree and picked up a present. “That’s for you.”
She frowned down at it, wondering what he possibly could have gotten her. She opened it and smiled. “A new stethoscope!”
“You said your other one was stomped on by a mule a few weeks ago. I couldn’t imagine how a doctor could work without a stethoscope.”
“Thank you.” She felt tears welling up in her eyes. He’d gotten her something that would not only make her happy and be useful, but it was something for her career. A career he hated. Did that mean he was starting to accept the fact that she was a doctor, and not a woman who wanted to stay home?
“Why did that make you cry? I wanted it to make you happy!”
“It does! That’s why I’m crying.” She was very aware that her voice had pitched into a wail at that point.
“Was there something else you wanted? What should I have gotten for you instead?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.” The tears were coming faster and harder now. She couldn’t catch her breath.
He hurried around the table and put his arm around her, trying to find a way to get her to stop. “What is it? What did I do?”
She sucked in a breath, her whole body wracked with sobs. “You got me something for the career you hate.”
“I don’t hate your career. I tried to tell you, but I didn’t know how.”
Her big brown eyes met his green. “I don’t understand.”
“I know, sweetheart. I thought what I wanted was someone who would cook for me. But that’s not what I needed. Miss Hazel knew what was best for me all along. I needed a doctor who would fight for her patients. And who would fight for patients that would never be hers. I needed someone who was strong and independent—not someone who would sit home and spend all her time worrying that I would be hurt in a shoot-out or something.”
She shrugged at that. “If you got shot, I’d just dig the bullet out and sew you back up.”
“That’s what I’m saying. Miss Hazel found the woman I needed to spend the rest of my life with, even though you’re nothing like what I thought I wanted.”
“Are you saying you were wrong?” She was so confused.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. I knew the instant that you stepped off that train that you were the one I wanted as my bride. Not one of the other ladies. It had to be you. And when you came home with me that night and had to run off and deliver a baby like it was nothing…well, I think I started falling in love with you right then.”
His words started fresh tears coursing. “No, you can only love a woman who will stay home and cook meals and do the laundry.” She started sobbing all over again. Her friends had done a lot to help her keep up with the housework, and she was seriously considering just hiring someone to take care of things while she worked. She knew it wasn’t what his dream woman would do, but she didn’t have time to do more.”
He sighed. “That’s not true. I’ve known I was in love with you for weeks now.”
“You would have told me!” She buried her face in his shoulder, convinced he was just telling her what she wanted to hear. He didn’t love her. He loved a dream woman who would never really exist.
“I tried to tell you.” Matthew wasn’t sure why she was suddenly so emotional when she never had been before. She wasn’t the Sinead he was used to. He was sure she must be overtired from working all night. “Let’s talk after you sleep. I think you’re too tired to comprehend what I’m saying to you.”
She shrugged, brushing away another tear. “We should finish breakfast.” Or start it, as the case may be.
He sat down across from her, watching her carefully. The tears had been unexpected, and like most men, he had no idea what he was supposed to do when they started. “After breakfast, you go to sleep. We’ll finish Christmas after you wake up.” He still needed her to believe that he loved her. Why was she being so stubborn about it? He knew that she wanted him to accept her for who she was, and now that he did, she didn’t seem to want it anymore. She was confusing him.
After breakfast, he promised to do the dishes, and she went to bed. He came in behind her and rubbed her back, talking to her softly until she fell asleep. Starting to worry about her, he wondered if he should get Molly and see if she had any idea what sort of creature had taken over his Sinead and turned her into the crying mess on the bed.
Whatever sort of mess she was, he still loved her. There was no doubt about it.
*****
When Sinead woke many hours later, her eyes were gummed shut from crying so much. She felt like an absolute fool. Matthew had given her a present she was happy with, and her response had been to cry hysterically. She wasn’t sure how that had worked, but she was determined not to let it happen again.
She walked into the kitchen to see him cooking again. “I can help you with that if you’d like.”
He shook his head. “No, you sit. I’ll finish up.” He turned and looked at her, smiling slightly. “I thought about making a turkey, but I can’t imagine the two of us would be able to eat enough of it for it to be worth the effort, so I made a soup instead. I hope that’s all right.”
She nodded. “I don’t need to feast on holidays.” She didn’t add that she didn’t really think anyone should feast on holidays. It wasn’t healthful.
“You should get the other present under the tree for you,” he said softly.
“All right.” She walked over and picked up the present from where it lay on the floor. There were a few other presents there from friends, but she’d open this one for now.
“Open it,” he urged, turning from the stove to watch her.
When she did, she stared down at the object in her hands. It was a picture frame with a poem. “I haven’t read this poem before. Who wrote it?”
Matthew flushed a bit. “Actually, I did.”
As she read over it, she smiled. It was all about spending your whole life thinking you have a dream and finding out that your dream wasn’t what you really wanted after all. The last bit of the poem said, “I prayed, and God answered by sending the opposite of what I prayed for, but what I needed so badly. He sent me you.”
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, feeling her eyes well up with tears again. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. I never cry.”
“Sometimes tears are good.” He walked over to her and took her hand, pulling her to her feet. “Sinead Montgomery, all of my dreams of what a perfect woman for me would be were silly and wrong. Miss Hazel found my perfect woman, and she sent her to me. You are exactly what I wanted, and everything I need. You are the fulfillment of every dream I’ve ever had. I love you with everything inside me, and if we weren’t already married, I’d beg you to be my bride.”
“You really love me? Even though I don’t know how to cook, or clean, or do laundry or…I need to stop before I convince you that I’m not good enough to be your wife!”
He laughed. “You’re perfect for me in every way. I need you in my life like I’ve never needed anything else. If I was told I could have you or bacon every day for the rest of my life, but never both, I would still choose you.”
She grinned. “Well, I know it’s true love if you choose me over bacon! I wasn’t sure th
at was even possible.”
“I don’t even care if you never return my love. I know you came here to be a doctor, not to be a wife, and I understand that. Being a doctor is the most important thing in your life.”
She frowned at him. “It’s not the most important thing. You are. I did come here to be a doctor, but when I got off that train, I was given so much more. A man who accepts me for who I am…and I love him with my whole heart. If I had to, I’d give up medicine for you.” She hoped he wouldn’t ask for it, because it would feel as if she’d cut off her right arm, but if that was what he needed from her, she’d do it. She said a silent prayer he wouldn’t need it.
He shook his head at her. “When I used to imagine being married, and I thought about the woman I’d marry and how she’d wait at home for me, I always pictured someone who needed my protection. You came along so strong and independent, but I realized I prefer your feisty attitude to any of my friends’ wives. No, you’re perfect just the way you are.”
She breathed a sigh of relief at his words. “Well, I love you, and you love me. Now what?”
He laughed. “I think this is the part of the story where we both live happily ever after.”
“I could use that. Could we sleep for a few days straight too? Just so we can catch up?”
“Absolutely.” He folded his arms around her, stroking her back.
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Bride for Matthew Page 9