by Natalie Dean
Cecilia was sitting on her wagon. She couldn't help but smirk as Doc offered his hand to Lottie as she climbed onto the wagon.
"Take care ladies. I'll talk to the undertaker," Doc said as he turned to walk away.
Cecilia called him back.
"Actually, Doc, why don't the two of you go? I'll talk to the undertaker. It might be better for you, Lottie, if Doc was by your side. He's a good shot, and if there's gold in Parsons, the vultures will be circling."
Doctor McLennon scratched his head. It made sense for him to go. Lottie looked at Cecilia and noticed Cecilia's smile. Lottie wasn't sure she liked the idea of being set up with the good doctor but they did have work to do, and it would be safer to go with him. Lottie wanted to search for any clues they may have missed when they were so focused on the body.
"If Miss Cahill doesn't mind, I'll take your place, Cecilia."
Before Lottie could say anything to the contrary, Doc was sitting beside her. Why did the doctor call Cecilia by her first name, yet addressed others by their titles? Bannack was a curious place. A man arrived with a wife, who disappeared and it's as if she never existed. The same man is murdered, and the Sheriff wasn't interested in solving the crime.
"See you kids later," Cecilia shouted as she waved them off.
Mrs. Lavery came to the door of her hotel. "I see you're matchmaking, Cecilia Aikens. I hope you know what you're doing," Mrs. Lavery smiled and walked Cecilia to her tea shop.
Lottie asked the doctor about his life before Bannack. It seemed he had turned his hand to many things, not quite sure that medicine was the life for him. His father had been a doctor, and he had very little say in his career choice. When the gold rush started, it was his way to escape and no longer be in his father's shadow. In Bannack he was his own man.
"One's past doesn't exist here. You can start again and people, for the most part, will take you as they find you. Mrs. Lavery welcomes newcomers."
"May I ask a question? Why have you and Cecilia never, you know…?"
"Didn't she say? She's quite the dark horse when the mood is upon her. We're cousins. Our fathers were brothers and both as bad as they could be. She wanted to leave the city. One of the men here wanted to marry, and Cecilia came to Bannack to marry him. He died a few months after they married,” Doc said.
Their familiarity made sense to Lottie now. She told him about Mr. Peabody's death.
"It makes sense that you wish to solve Frank's death. If you decide to stay, you can work for me if you wish. The women would like that." He turned and smiled at her as he talked.
Lottie's pulse raced. He would like her to stay. It seemed odd to have romantic thoughts at a time like this. But as she'd been told, love can happen when you least expect it. She hoped they'd discover what they were looking for.
"Here we are, Miss Cahill."
Doc jumped off the wagon and came around to her side. He raised his hands, and Lottie found herself leaning towards him. He took hold of her waist and gently lifted her down.
"You may call me Lottie if you wish. Miss Cahill reminds me of when I was being scolded by the nuns in the orphanage."
"Lottie," he whispered. He tucked her hair behind her ear. She had worn her hair down as Cecilia wore hers in this fashion. There was something freeing about not pulling her hair up into a tight bun.
Her cheeks flushed, and she stepped away. It wasn't the place for special moments.
"I'll look in the cabin, and you check the barn again," Lottie said taking charge. She strode towards the cabin door. It seemed more askew than yesterday. Or was it her imagination. As she entered, the table that had been upright yesterday was now overturned.
Hearing a noise, Lottie grabbed a pot which sat on the stove top as a weapon. She wanted to be brave. It might be some wild animal. She reached forward and grabbed some of the stacked bags in the corner.
A snake hissed at her, and she jumped back, grateful it wasn't a man with a gun. With her hand on her chest to calm her heart, she could hear herself breathing normally again. Then out of nowhere, a bang to the head caused her to drop to the ground. Lottie hadn't seen it coming.
The doctor was oblivious to Lottie's predicament. There was nothing to find in the barn. He walked outside to widen his search and heard the sound of horses galloping away.
"Lottie," he said to himself. The horses from the wagon were free.
"Lottie," he shouted. There was no reply. He ran to the cabin and saw Lottie lying on the floor. She was coming around, but the snake was so close to her that if she moved, it was liable to strike at her.
The doctor needed to stay calm, but it was hard to do when every fiber of his being wanted to race towards Lottie to protect the woman he was falling for.
"My head. Someone hit me." She tried to move, and the snake hissed at her, drawing her attention. She wanted to scream.
"Lottie, whatever you do, stay calm and still. If you move, it will bite you before I can shoot it. Be still."
Lottie screamed as the shot pierced her ears. The remains of the snake splattered the cabin and onto her. She was in shock but soon felt the warm embrace of the doctor.
“Oh Lottie, I don’t know what I’d have done if anything happened to you. Did you see who did it?”
Lottie shook her head.
Doc was pensive. “I think whoever hit you, put the snake in here. Someone unhooked our horses too. So we’re stuck for now.”
Lottie gasped.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure Cecilia will come looking for us. Let me check your head.”
The wound was bleeding, and the doctor cleaned it as best he could.
"Well, whoever hit you, must have killed Frank. It's the same mark as the one that was on Frank’s body, only not as deep."
Doc chided himself for not taking better care of Lottie. While she claimed the fault was hers for not calling to him.
"We're a right investigative pair, aren't we?" Doc said. Then noticing Lottie's body quiver, he said, "you're shivering. It's the shock. I'll light a fire and get you warmed up." He stood up, but Lottie grabbed his leg.
"Please don't leave me by myself," she said as she began to cry.
"It's okay Lottie, the firewood is out here. You can see me. Look."
Lottie nodded and released her hold of the doctor. With the fire soon burning, he helped Lottie up and sat her on a chair.
"What's that spot on the floor?" she said. There was a stain on the ground near where Lottie had fallen.
"Looks like chewing tobacco. Unfortunately, it doesn't help us out, Lottie. Many of the men chew tobacco around here."
"Who do you think killed Frank? Could it be that man Clem Palmer or the gang?" she asked as they sat in the little cabin.
"Before this attack, I was convinced it had to be one of those two. This seems like a lone wolf type of attack. While we wait for help to arrive, I'll see if I can find anything in Frank's possessions. You stay still. It's a nasty head injury you have, and I don't want you exerting yourself."
It was a long time since anyone had taken care of Lottie. She felt safe. The same feeling she had gotten when the doctor had carried her to his surgery. Was it only yesterday that she arrived in Bannack?
"If there was some coffee, we could have a nice hot drink. Doesn't seem like Frank bothered about these things," Doc said as he looked around at the meager belongings of the dead man. There was a box under the makeshift bed which he brought over to Lottie.
"Looks like he has some letters from New York. I can't make out the signature."
Lottie read the letters. They made her tear up. It seemed they were from Frank's brother.
"Oh my," Lottie gasped and put her hand to her mouth.
"Doc this is so sad. The brother's wife has died of consumption, and his chest is too weak for him to work in the factories. The children are going to have to go into care, and he wants Frank to take them and tells him he needs to marry. That’s why he sent for me. He was going to take his brother’s children.” Lo
ttie felt so emotional. The plight of the children was unknown. The letter she just read was the most recent one.
"I will try to find Frank's brother. If only we could figure out his name. The handwriting is so bad. This place, small as it is, could hold a family. The air here could help the man's lungs."
Doc was taken by surprise when Lottie stood up and went to him. She cried, and her body shook. He stroked her hair to comfort her. While she had never met Frank, she felt responsible for these children. Doc was falling in love with her all the more for her sentiment. He put his arms around her and held her tight. She needed him to be her rock. And he was more than happy to oblige.
Chapter Six
"Do you think we can bring the children here? Would someone care for them? Orphanages are horrendous places. I don't want them to go there. Especially when it was Frank's plan for us to raise them."
Lottie's crying had subsided as she tried to be practical. Doc reassured her that as soon as they got back to town, they would find a way to contact Frank's brother. The post office clerk might have a way to help. Lottie sat at the table and continued her search. She found a letter from a woman.
"What was his wife's name? Was it Annie?"
"Yes, Annie. What did you find?" Doc leaned over her shoulder.
"It's from Annie saying she's gone back to the city and wants nothing more to do with Frank. There's an address. But that means she owns the land. What about the children?" Lottie asked despondently. She knew nothing of the children, whether they were boys or girls, their ages or even the number of children. Yet she felt a connection to them.
"Lottie, don’t worry about the children. We'll find them, and whatever happens with Annie, we'll make it work." He rubbed her back as he spoke. Lottie couldn't help noticing how he said ‘we'll make it work.' Was he referring to the townsfolk or to her and him?
"If you're feeling better, Lottie, why don't we go and look for more clues. We've found what we needed in here."
As Lottie and Doc continued their search on the farm, Cecilia and Mrs. Lavery made their inquiries in Bannack. They were taking stock of the situation.
"Shouldn't they have been back by now?" Mrs. Lavery asked. Doc and Lottie had been gone a long time, and she was beginning to worry.
"I was thinking the same thing. Do you think we should go out there? What if Palmer and his ranch hands attacked them? Or, they could be falling in love, and we don't want to disturb that, now do we?" Cecilia smiled as she spoke.
"We'll bury Frank tomorrow, but what about his wife? Do you know anything about her?" Cecilia turned to more practical matters.
"Horace can get my wagon ready, and we'll go to Mossy Murphy's farm to see Biddy. She'll know more than I do about Frank's wife. And then we'll go by Parsons Place to check on the good doctor and Lottie." Mrs. Lavery didn't know why she felt concerned. There was just a gut feeling nagging at her, and she wanted to ensure they were safe.
Meanwhile back at Parsons Place, Lottie and Doc looked around the barn.
"Where are his horses?" Lottie asked, as though suddenly aware the animals were gone.
"Cecilia arranged for them to be brought to the livery and Mossy Murphy took the cows to milk them. He'll return them if Frank's wife or brother shows up. He's a good man. It doesn't seem like Frank knew what he was doing. Pity really. I always thought it was a nice size piece of land to get started with as one learned the ropes of farming. At least he had some hay for bedding, so the cows and horses weren't neglected." Doc looked at the small barn. It served its purpose.
"What's that smell?" Lottie asked. Her keen sense of smell picking up a familiar whiff.
"It's fire! Lottie, the barn is on fire!" Doc yelled as he saw smoke and flames. Instinctively, he pulled Lottie close to him. He grabbed her hand and began to run toward the barn doors, but the doors slammed shut. They were trapped.
"This has to have been the killer," he said as he felt Lottie quiver in his arms.
"Doc, the children! No one will know about them. We have to get out of here."
The fire was spreading quickly through the barn. Their lives were under threat. Doc leaned down and kissed her on the lips. There was no time to hold back. She needed to know that he loved her. Her lips were soft, and he could feel their hearts beating together.
As Lottie realized they were trapped, her only thought was for the children. They would never know how much they were loved, by a stranger. Then Doc kissed her, and it took her by surprise. It was her first kiss, and she could feel him envelop her. She never wanted him to stop. As the heat arose around them, so the heat rose within their bodies. Lottie was going to perish with the man she was quickly falling in love with. In her brief time in Bannack, she had achieved more than she had in a lifetime in the city.
Doc broke away from their kiss as Lottie began to cough and collapsed in his arms as the smoke overcame her. They didn't have long. The barn with its timber frame and hay content was a tinderbox. The roof was beginning to cave in.
"Not on my watch, Lottie. I've waited a lifetime for you, and we're not going to die in here." Doc remembered seeing an ax. If he could only find it but the smoke was making it difficult to see. With Lottie in his arms, he made his way to where he thought the ax was. He had to lay Lottie on the ground. He stretched his hands to feel for the ax. There it was. He picked it up and with a few blows to the timber wall, he made an opening. He kicked through the timber to make a bigger hole. But Lottie’s legs had been hit by falling debris. The air had never felt so sweet as he inhaled and turned to get Lottie. He carried her out and lay her on the ground.
Her face blackened from the smoke, her body was limp as he carried her. She wasn't breathing, and Doc screamed out as he held her in his arms.
"No, Lottie! I need you. Wake up!"
Laying on the ground, Doc thumped her chest to resuscitate her. He began to blow into her mouth, and she began to cough. She was back. As she opened her eyes, Doc's face was so close to hers. Lottie reached up and kissed him.
"You saved me," she said in a croaky voice.
"Don't try to speak. I'll get us some water. You're safe now." Doc didn't want to leave her, but she needed a drink. He looked around. There was no sign of anybody. As he wondered who could have started the fire, he looked over and saw that the cabin was alight now too. There was no need to concern Lottie with that information for now.
She watched the doctor walk away. They were safe. Lottie tried to sit up, but her legs hurt her. It was easier to lie back on the grass. What a relief.
Closing her eyes, she was so grateful to be alive although she was feeling very weak. She had put the letters in her pocket. God willing, they would find a way to bring the children here. Doc had promised her that. Lottie had no doubt now that Doc meant he was talking about the two of them. The sun was warm and felt good.
A shadow was cast over her and Lottie opened her eyes. She couldn't make out the face and assumed it was the Doc.
"You're in my light, Doc," she smiled as she joked, but the face moved closer. It was an old man with a shaggy beard, and he spat his tobacco beside her. She had seen him before.
"Yer not gettin' me gold. Ain't right, strangers taking my gold. It's mine," Willie Parsons spat in her face.
Had this little old man killed and destroyed this place for gold?
"I don't want your gold," Lottie said, not wanting to rile him up any more than he was.
"Git up," Old Willie was surprisingly strong and he caught Lottie by the hair and pulled her up off the ground. Lottie screamed out in pain. He warned her to be quiet, or he'd kill her. He raised his stick into the air and Lottie could see it was splintered. It looked like it was probably the weapon that had struck Frank and her.
"Interferin' in a man's business. Ain't right, I tell ya, ain't right. That gold is mine. All those years I looked for it, and then he goes and finds gold."
Lottie didn't answer. Willie Parsons wasn't talking to her, he was talking at her. The man was deranged, she could
see this.
"See him, I'm gonna kill him and then ya or maybe ya then him. Ain't no matter who I kill first. Ain't no greenhorn or city slicker taking what's mine."
Willie moved her to the other side of the burning barn. Willie was a wily old coot and pulled Lottie's hair more tightly as a warning to her not to make a sound. She couldn't let him hurt the man who had saved her life and come to her aid on more than one occasion. Willie had killed Frank, and he had to be punished.
As Willie shoved her to the ground, Lottie screamed out. Willie stuck his handkerchief into her mouth and kicked her burnt legs. He quickly bound her hands behind her back. The doc hadn't heard her. Willie knew what he was doing.
Lottie could do nothing as Willie crept up behind Doc who was leaning over the well and he clubbed him with his stick. She tried to scream as she watched Doc collapse to the ground. He didn't move. Willie went to the cabin which was in ruins by now, a few embers remaining. She was going to die here as she closed her eyes. The pain was overwhelming her. Willie was going to get away with murder again was her only thought. They had never even considered him as a suspect.
Lottie had to fight. She prayed for God to give her the strength to get up. She opened her eyes and glanced over to where Doc had been lying, but he was gone. Was he still alive? Did Willie move him? She sat up and looked around. There was no sign of Willie or Doc. If only she could get out of these binds. The sun was hot as it streamed on her. She couldn't breathe properly with the dirty gag in her mouth. Lottie was exhausted.
In her mind’s eye, Lottie could see her and the Doc running in the field. Five children ran around them. Everyone was laughing, and love abounded.
"That's all I ever wanted," Lottie thought, "to love and be loved."
"Lottie, wake up. Give me the water," Doc pulled the handkerchief from Lottie's mouth and doused her face with water.
"Will she ever recover?" Cecilia asked as she looked at the state of Lottie's face.