Wooing the Widow

by Sara Jolene

  The livery was close. It was cold, though, so Nora wrapped herself as tightly as possible in her shawl. Examining herself as she shivered and walked, she realized that her skirt was even worse off than she’d thought. Seeing it now, out in the open where others could see it too, made her want to hide herself. She’d never had aspirations of being rich, but she’d always taken care of her things. Time had not been good to her, or their things, as the months she’d spent buried under the darkness stretched on.

  Nora felt even more self-conscious when Sophia stepped off the porch to greet her. Sophia was a beauty, the likes of which weren’t seen around Creede often. Her skin was a creamy olive and her hair, jet black and curly, lay down the back of a lovely purple dress. It was all Nora could do not to let her mouth slack open before she was able to greet her.

  “I’m so glad you could come, Nora. Otto is too. The house is in shambles. I’m afraid I’m not much of a housekeeper.” Sophia locked an arm with one of Nora’s and led her into the house. “I’ve been trying real hard to keep up on things, but I’m afraid it isn’t going well. Beatrice has got me cooking some.” Sophia seemed to almost bounce on her toes. “Otto was real excited about that. Having more than two things that I can make without filling the house with smoke is a wonderful blessing. I’ve even been able to sew a little bit, but I’m terribly slow and can’t do anything fancy. I can put a button on a shirt or mend a hole in a pair of trousers, though.”

  Nora wasn’t sure what to say. Sophia talked very fast. She seemed excited. Nora hadn’t felt like that in so long it seemed foreign to her. She smiled as Sophia dropped Nora’s arm and went to shuffling around the kitchen. She hadn’t been exaggerating. The house really was in shambles. There was dust everywhere, and the kitchen? Well, it looked just as if someone inexperienced had been cooking in it.

  “I haven’t gotten around to the cleaning part yet. I could do small things and keep up when we were at the cabin and it was just Mrs. Sanderson and myself, but that’s all changed now.”

  Nora wasn’t sure what Sophia was going on about. “Mrs. Sanderson?” The name sounded vaguely familiar, but Nora couldn’t place it.

  “Yes. Oh yes, Mrs. Sanderson. I’m not sure you’d have met her yet. She was sort of a mystery to the people in town before she came to live here with Otto and me. She used to live out in the cabin between Bachelor and Creede. When Otto and I married, we brought her here to live with us. Don’t worry about her, though. She takes care of herself mostly. She often goes out and wanders town in the afternoon if it isn’t too cold. Sometimes I find her lurking in the windows of the dry goods store or chatting with the folks at the bank. Everyone sort of … watches out for her.”

  Nora nodded once again. She knew who the old woman was now. The kids used to tell tales about her and what happened to her husband. Some of them would say that he left, and others said worse. It wasn’t for Nora to meddle into other people’s affairs. She was there to work for Sophia and do what needed doing so she could make some money to feed her children. She’d really love it if Bekka, and maybe even Willie, could go to school at some point.

  She’d met Julianne, the schoolteacher, at Reverend Bing’s church in Bachelor. They’d hit it off right away, each recognizing the other as a kindred soul based on their similarly-colored reddish hair. Julianne had told her all about how she had started a school for the children in both towns. The children didn’t always go every day, but Julianne was there waiting to teach them if they showed up. Nora would love to have her children become pupils at the school. They could learn to read and write, and then Willie wouldn’t end up working in the mines like his daddy. As Nora had learned the hard way, working in the mines was too dangerous.

  JT had patched up more drunks since he’d been in Creede than all of his time in Philadelphia. The men there seemed more inclined to tip the bottle than the ones that lived in the city. He had some thoughts on why, but tried not to examine it too thoroughly. Patients were patients. Caring and healing were his goals and he’d been accomplishing them. Hannah had been the best of help. She actually enjoyed the part of medicine that terrified JT: women and childbirth. That was something he hadn’t trained a whole lot for. Hannah, however, was a master. He’d seen her save lives that would have surely been lost without her intervention. Not to mention how much she helped the girls at The Nugget, even to her own peril. JT was very thankful for both Marshal Wheeler and Bob, Hannah’s chicken. Without them, she wouldn’t be with them anymore.

  JT wasn’t sure why he was listening to a stranger that popped in and out at will, but he was on his way to the Tent City nonetheless. The man had been so convincing, almost desperate. The ride wasn’t too long, but it was cold. The higher up the mountain, the less coverage from the wind there was. By the time the sea of canvas came into view, the doctor was almost frozen to his mount.

  He wove his way through the small paths between tents. JT had grown up far from places like this. His childhood home had many floors, fireplaces, running water, footmen and maids. It was hard for him to imagine someone enduring the harsh winters of Colorado in a tent. He assumed the close proximity was in hopes of keeping as much wind out and as much heat in as possible. The closeness did have its downfalls. Sickness spread like wildfire, and the moment he’d turned down the first path, his gut had told him something was terribly wrong.

  Smoke was whirling from worn pipes from the tops of the tents; broken and thick, it filled the air but couldn’t quite cover the stench of sick as it permeated the hillside. JT dismounted, and his boots crunched in the dry snow. The first place he stopped, he introduced himself and moved on. The folks in that tent had managed to stay well. The next few were the same, but when he got to the end of the row and heard the wailing of a small child, he knew that tent would be different.

  He pulled back the heavy flap. The smell, the source of which had been evading him, was pulled from the tent by the force of the clean air rushing in. JT coughed into his elbow before attempting to introduce himself over the ear-piercing cries of the baby.

  A small girl, no more than twelve, was bouncing the baby on her hip, holding a dirty cloth to its forehead. “Shhhhhh, Tommy. The doctor man is here to look at you.” The girl looked up at JT with wide, hopeful eyes. “Can you help him, sir?”

  JT wasn’t feeling very confident. He could tell even from a distance that the baby’s skin was rosy, and he assumed by the cloth that he’d be warm as well. But when the child handed him her brother, a pit formed in his stomach. The baby wasn’t just warm, he was hot. And his skin wasn’t just rosy, it was pink and covered in faint tiny spots. The girl had told him her name was Bekka as she passed the small boy off to him. Two other little ones clung to her legs.

  JT rocked the boy in his arms, trying to hide the fact that he was slowly undressing the child. “And who might you little beauties be?”

  Bekka responded for them. “This one here is Vicky,” she said, touching the top of the head of the girl on her right. She then touched the girl on her left. “And this is Joy.”

  JT nodded to each of them. “And have you both been helping your sister care for your brother? Are you both feeling well?”

  Bekka smiled. “We’re all okay, it’s just Tommy won’t stop crying. The folks around us are probably right sick of hearing it.”

  JT held the now-naked baby out so he could examine his belly and legs—sure enough, they were also covered with spots. “Bekka, I’m sure you’ve done all you can to calm your brother, and I’m also sure the folks around you know you’re doing all you can.” He started to rewrap the baby in his filthy blanket. “Are your ma and pa close by?”

  The girl shook her head. “No, sir. Ma’s in town working for Mrs. Clay, and Pa died a long while ago.”

  JT had a feeling when he’d asked the question that the answer wasn’t going to be pleasant. The state those kids were in was enough to tell anyone that whoever was attempting to care for them had been having a rough go of it. He made a snap decision. “W
ell, Bekka, I think it would be best if we brought your brother to my cabin. I have a lady there that cares for babies, and I think she’ll be able to help me help your brother.” Bekka’s face fell. JT could see her fear. He put a hand on the little girl’s shoulder. “Why don’t you and your sisters come with me? I’ll send someone into Creede to let your ma know where you’re at.”

  Though her eyes were big and she was obviously terrified, Bekka knelt down and whispered to her sisters. The two little ones then ran off and returned seconds later with worn and tattered cloaks that they wrapped around themselves. JT handed the baby back to his sister. “Let me just see if Mr. Allen will allow me to use his wagon.”

  Bekka nodded and followed JT out of the tent.

  Nora had been working on scrubbing pots when there was a knock at the door. She wasn’t sure if she should answer it; after all, she didn’t live there and no one that did was there at that moment. But then whoever it was started to holler through the door. “Mrs. Meeks? Mrs. Meeks!”

  Nora went to the door and peered out the window. There was a man in a thick gray wool coat and short black hat at the door. He was cleaner than any man she’d seen in a long while. His mustache and beard were neatly trimmed, without all the straggling pieces that were often found on most miners. His breeches didn’t have patches, and his hands didn’t have a trace of mining on them. She was intrigued, so she opened the door a small crack.

  “Can I help you, sir?”

  The man removed his hat, “Are you Mrs. Nora Meeks?”

  She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “Ma’am. I’m the new physician in town, James Thomas. Folks like to call me JT. I’ve come to let you know I brought your young ones into the clinic today. Seems the little one, Tommy, has scarlet fever.”

  Nora had been slowly opening the door as he spoke. A man that was a doctor couldn’t be harmful. Then he finished saying what he’d come to say, and Nora realized that while she was physically safe from the stranger, he had the ability to tear her to shreds without ever touching her. Her hand flew to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes.

  “Is he …?” She tried to ask, but wasn’t able to get the words out.

  “Yes, ma’am. He’s all right. I’ve taken him and the girls to the clinic down the road. Hannah, she’s a nurse and midwife that works from the clinic. She’s great with babies so she’s there looking after them all.”

  Nora tried to gather herself, but as she stood in the open doorway she felt the darkness start to overtake her. She started to shake with rage. She could not, would not allow it to take her this time. Her babies needed her, even more so than they had the last few months. She’d allowed the darkness to steal her from them before. She would be strong and not let it happen again. Her chest hurt, burned like someone had lit her heart on fire. She gasped and teetered as the doctor held out an arm, catching her before she hit the doorframe.

  Chapter Three

  The moment she walked through the door, the girls flew at her. Their cheeks were stained with murky tear tracks. Trying not to pay attention to the stab of embarrassment that stole her breath, she went to Tommy’s bedside. He was sitting up, chewing on a biscuit; a lady with two long braids was sitting beside him. The woman stood as Nora went to lift the baby off the bed. The woman stayed close by and watched carefully as Nora cradled Tommy to her chest.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you both so much.” Tommy’s little body was too warm in her arms. His fever must have been very high.

  Nora looked at the woman standing beside her. “Is he going to be alright?”

  She nodded. “I think so. His fever was really high when JT brought him in, but I think we’ve gotten it under control.” She moved her eyes from Tommy’s face to Nora’s. “I’m Hannah, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Nora smiled, or tried to … and then she noticed the rooster that seemed to be puffing his chest out at her, standing beside the woman’s feet.

  Hannah looked down. “Oh, and this is Bob. He’s a different sort of chicken.”

  Nora shook her head trying to understand, but instead returned her focus to the baby in her arms. Now that she had her babies with her and had been assured that Tommy would be all right, the embarrassment she’d been feeling but had stamped down was beginning to come back. Her stomach felt sick, and she had the overwhelming sensation of wanting to grab all of her children and bolt out the door. She knew that wasn’t what was best for Tommy, though, so she held her ground.

  She let the stabs of pain assault her. She realized in that moment that all she’d been feeling in the last few months—the darkness that had been holding her down, drowning her in her own bed—it was comprised of all the pain she’d not been willing to feel. She inhaled sharply as the pain radiated down from her chest into her toes. She let out the breath slowly as she set Tommy back on the bed.

  She gathered herself while making sure her baby was settled, so when she stood, she was able to turn and face the doctor.

  “How did you know?”

  Nora watched as the doctor’s face changed. His face had been smooth and thoughtful as she’d been holding Tommy and talking with Hannah. Now, there was a deep line across his forehead. It aged him, but also made him look wise.

  “I didn’t. I went to the Tent City because it seemed like it was time to check in. I found Bekka with Tommy and the others trying to calm him. It was easier to treat him here, so I brought them all to town.”

  Nora nodded. Tears welled in her eyes. She was holding it together, but just so. She could feel the weight of the day putting pressure on the spots that had been so badly bruised by the onslaught of her emotions.

  “I’ll pay you as soon as I can.” She started to move around the space, looking for the girl’s things and gathering them. “We’ll be on our way now. Night is coming, and it would be best that we not walk in the dark.”

  Nora almost shrieked when a hand came down on her shoulder. She spun around quickly. Unable to hold the tears back at that point, they ran down her cheeks. She was face to face with JT.

  “You’ll all stay here tonight. Tommy isn’t well enough to leave.”

  Nora shook her head. “Oh no. We couldn’t. It’s too much. You’ve done too much already.”

  “I insist.” JT was still holding her arm. He held her eyes as well. Nora thought she saw a challenge in them. It stirred something inside her. Her inner rebel. She’d thought she’d lost that girl when the mine took her husband, but there she was, twitching in the pit of Nora’s belly, wanting to jump out and have a go at the good doctor. Nora didn’t fight the smile that spread across her face as she willed that rebel part of her to settle down—but not disappear.

  “You should smile more.” JT dropped her arm and her gaze.

  And just like that, she deflated. She’d been ready to pounce. She’d gotten a surge of her gumption back and she’d been excited to use it, but then he caught her off guard. She’d let the walls fall in order to let those buried parts of herself wiggle free, and he’d snuck past them, too. Nora sank onto the bed beside her now sleeping baby, the girls sitting on the floor beside her feet.

  Hannah had drawn baths for the three girls, and even found them some nightshirts to wear for sleep so that their clothes could be washed. Once the girls had been bathed and their hair washed and brushed, Nora and Hannah had sat with them, braiding their hair. Nora had explained to Hannah about Willie and how he’d need to know where they were. Hannah promised she’d stop into the mercantile on her way through town and let them know to send Willie there for the night. The girls had been giddy and silly, bouncing from cot to cot, excited that they had new braids the same as Hannah’s.

  Nora had finally gotten them settled in, but now it was way past dark and she was worried about Willie. The girls and even Tommy were fast asleep, but Willie still hadn’t arrived.

  Nora really liked Hannah. She was sweet, and the girls loved her. It hadn’t escaped her notice, the way she was looking over the girl�
��s clothes as they rinsed them in the bath water before boiling new pots and washing them thoroughly. Nora knew what they looked like. She knew what people thought. She’d even heard a few of them talking when they thought she couldn’t hear them several rows ahead of them at church. She tried not to think about those things, though. Each time she did, the darkness swirled, eager to consume her. She knew the dark shadows she saw weren’t actually there, but visualizing them made it easier to fight whatever it was that threatened to swallow her and her world, because that was how the darkness was. Insatiably hungry.

  Nora tried to rest, but knew she wouldn’t until she saw her son’s face. A noise made her sit up from her place beside Tommy. It wasn’t fully dark in the cabin. She’d left several lamps burning so that Willie would know they were waiting. She suspected the doctor had gone to bed, because she hadn’t seen him since he’d told her to smile more. Even when Hannah had made him a sandwich of cold bacon, he’d eaten it in his quarters. Nora stood and went to the window. There was a lamp sitting on a stand right in front. She looked out, hoping to see her son in front of the door, but no one was there.

  “I’m sure he’s alright. Deliveries were probably in Topaz or somewhere further today. Maybe out at the Circle C. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

  Nora jumped. She couldn’t help it. She felt foolish afterward and knew her face must be red as she turned around, her hand on her chest in a fruitless attempt to slow her heart from outside her chest. All it did was draw her notice to just how much the doctor’s closeness was affecting her.

  “You startled me!”

  “My apologies. I came out for some water and found you fretting here. I thought I’d try to offer some comfort.”

  Nora tried not to smile, but failed. She looked at the floor. “Thank you.”

  JT stepped a step closer to her. He reached up … Nora thought he was going to touch her face, or maybe her hair. She held her breath as her heart hammered in her chest. Her mouth was dry. She was nervous. Nervous was an emotion she could identify easily. He leaned forward a bit, and just as she started to close her eyes, she saw him move the curtain to the side. He smiled at her and nudged his head toward the window.