by Jenna Brandt
June’s Remedy
Belles of Wyoming, Book 13
Jenna Brandt
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Locale and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events, or actual locations is purely coincidental. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email [email protected].
Text copyright © Jenna Brandt 2019.
Cover design by Virginia McKevitt
Praise for Jenna Brandt
I am always excited when I see a new book by Jenna Brandt.
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Jenna Brandt is, in my estimation, the most gifted author of Christian fiction in this generation!
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Ms. Brandt writes from the heart and you can feel it in every page turned.
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Books of the Belles of Wyoming
Belles of Wyoming Series Page
Christmas 2019 (Theme: Holiday)
Book 1, Christine Sterling, Wynter’s Bride
Book 2, Marianne Spitzer, Holly's Christmas Wish
Book 3, Cyndi Raye, A Tin Star for Christmas
Book 4, P. Creeden, A Pony for Christmas
Book 5, Julia Ridgmont, Natalie's Surprise Engagement
Spring 2019 (Theme: Renewal/Redemption)
Book 6, Christine Sterling, The Homecoming
Book 7, Ginny Sterling, Blessings of Love
Book 8, Cyndi Raye, Mercy’s Gift
Book 9, P. Creeden, Moments of Grace
Book 10, Julia Ridgmont, Emeline's Redemption
Summer 2019 (Theme: Summer Love /Barn raising)
Book 11, Ginny Sterling, Lightning Strikes Twice
Book 12, Julia Ridgmont, In the Nick of Time
Book 13, Jenna Brandt, June’s Remedy
Book 14, Lynn Donovan, The Wrong Bride
Book 15, Marisa Masterson, Grace for a Drifter
Book 16, Rose Castro, Lucy’s Luck
Book 17, P. Creeden, Steel Blue Bride
Book 18, Cyndi Raye, Stealing Her Heart
Book 19, Cheryl Wright, Eleanor’s Dilemma
Book 20, Jo Grafford, Wild Rose Summer
Book 21, Patricia PacJac Carroll, Summer’s Love
Book 22, Lisa M. Prysock, The Prairie Princess
Book 23, Marie Higgins, Whispers of Yesterday
Book 24, Amelia Adams, Butterfly Kisses
Book 25, Margaret Tanner, Flynn's Debt
Book 26, Mimi Milan, September’s Switch
Book 27, Julia Ridgmont, Daring to Love Again
Book 28, Christine Sterling, A Matter of Marriage
Book 29, Ginny Sterling, Change of Heart
Book 30, Christine Sterling, The Barn Raising
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
A Note from the Author
Also by Jenna Brandt
Join My Mailing List and Reader’s Group
Acknowledgments
About the Author
To my own second chance.
My husband and I decided to give it another try
after a breakup.
16 years later, we couldn’t be more happy.
Chapter One
Mid-June 1881
Wyoming Territory
The Main Street of Belle, hadn’t changed much since June Hillman had last been there, despite it being nearly two years since her parent’s funeral. The street of the 100-person town was lined with the boarding house, Belle Cafe, the mercantile/post office, Sweetwater Saloon, the livery, and the doctor’s office. Flashes of memories came flooding back, making her nostalgic for her youth. She never would have thought she would be a widow at only twenty-six, but life hadn’t turned out the way she hoped.
When she agreed to move to the neighboring town of Glenda, Wyoming, to be with her new husband, she had no idea how infrequently she would be able to travel home to visit. Though she had loved her husband dearly, the distance created from being a fifteen-mile wagon ride away from her hometown had been difficult. It didn’t help that she had found it nearly impossible to make friends in the larger town of Glenda, forcing her to spend her first years of marriage and pregnancy alone. She met people regularly at their family-run apothecary, but never made any tried and true friends.
Maybe it would have been different if she had time to travel home as often as she wished. Between being busy with the family business and three pregnancies (two failed and one successful), she had been able to travel home only twice before her parents died during an influenza outbreak. By the time she received the news of their sickness, it had been too late to visit, let alone try to help. The guilt of not being there when they passed still plagued June’s heart. Once the farm was sold, there was no reason for June to visit, at least that’s what she told herself until her husband died.
“Are you excited to return to Belle, Mrs. Hillman?” Paps Johnson, the elderly livery worker inquired from the front of the wagon.
“Paps, you’ve known me most of my life. You should call me June. As for how I’m feeling, I’m more nervous than excited. I haven’t been back in a long while. I don’t want us to be a nuisance for my uncle.”
“Oh, hogwash, Doc Roberts has been nothing but jubilant about your arrival, June. He’s been spending most of his time out at the cabin now, but he made sure to have Mabel have the house on Main Street ready for your arrival.”
“I’m very appreciative of him letting me stay in his home and setting up my apothecary there. If he hadn’t agreed to it, I don’t know what would have become of my son and I.”
“That’s what family is for. And though the rest of us in town may not be blood, we consider you as such. If you should need anything, all you need to do is ask.”
“Thank you, Paps, it means a great deal for you to say that.”
The sense of community was one of June’s favorite parts about Belle. The kinship had made her secure when she was young, and she hadn’t felt that in a very long time. She hoped as she settled back in, she would feel like she belonged once more.
“Here you are, Mrs. Hillman, Doc gave me the keys to give to you. He said he wished he could be here to greet you, but he’s been under the weather and doesn’t want to spread the sickness to your little one.”
“Is he all right? Should he be alone out there at the cabin?”
A wry smile formed on Paps lips as he shook his head. “He’s fine, June, and he’s not alone either. Mabel is often out there keeping him company.”
Mabel-she had been a constant in her uncle’s life as far back a
s she could remember. As his housekeeper, she had been privy to all of his happenings, but June had always suspected something more was between them. Now that her uncle was retired and she followed him out to the cabin, it confirmed even further that it must be true.
“That’s okay, I’m sure I’ll see him soon enough. I’ll be busy setting up the apothecary in the meantime.”
June had hoped to one day convince her husband to return to Belle to start an apothecary there. When he had been tragically killed during a bank robbery, she realized it would never happen. She struggled for half a year, raising their four-year-old son, Ben, and trying to keep their apothecary in Glenda running. When the bank refused to extend her loan, or come to new terms, she knew she had no other choice but to abandon the shop and forge ahead with a new plan.
Finally, she had written to her uncle, requesting a temporary place to stay until she could get on her feet. He had offered his home in Belle to her permanently, citing he much preferred the solitude of the cabin by and large.
Once she knew where she would be, she realized the next step was to find a way to support herself and Ben. Since she had learned what it took to run an apothecary, the answer was clear. She would set up a shop at the front of the house in Belle hoping everyone would accept her running a business on her own.
As she made her way inside the wooden, square structure, memories of sitting around the warm hearth at Christmas time, having birthday parties, and having her skinned knees bandaged after playing down at the creek came flooding back. She was glad to see nothing had changed since last she had been there. The house had everything she and her son needed.
She placed their bags to the side of the door before stepping further into the room, trying to decide what to do first.
Ben ran forward, brushing past her as he screamed, “We’re finally here, we’re finally here. Oh, boy, oh, boy!”
Paps brought in her first trunk and asked, “Where would you like it?”
“You can place it, along with the other one, in the bedroom. Thank you, Paps.”
“Of course, June, and remember my offer. You need anything, you let me know.”
Paps finished bringing in the last of her luggage before closing the door behind him, leaving June and Ben alone in the house.
“First things first, we need to put away our belongings, then I will make us supper.”
“Can we have biscuits and gravy?”
“That’s a breakfast dish, Ben. You may have that in the morning.”
“Please, Ma, it’s my favorite.”
She wanted to rebuff his plea, knowing that biscuits would take longer than she planned to spend on the meal. Seeing the hopeful look in her son’s blue eyes; however, made her immediately change her mind. “You know what, we can do whatever we want. Let’s have biscuits and gravy for supper. I can put our clothes and items away later.”
“Yippee!” Ben shrieked with glee, clapping his hands together as he ran around in circles.
Her son’s merriment rubbed off on June, causing her to temporarily forget why they were back in Belle, and all the trials they had gone through lately.
Chapter Two
The seeping wound on Daniel Wentworth’s leg throbbed beyond any pain he had ever known—physically that was—and he knew he needed to figure out something before it turned to gangrene and the limb had to be taken.
There was no future for a one-legged cowboy. He needed both his legs to be able to do the job, and needed it mended quickly so he didn’t miss the next cattle drive. If he couldn’t perform his duties as a hired cowboy, Mr. Turnpike would surely replace him. It had taken him a long time to settle in at the right ranch, and now that he had, he didn’t want to jeopardize his spot. Though he enjoyed his wandering cowboy ways, he also liked having a place to hang his hat in the bunkhouse when he wasn’t on a drive, or in town at the saloon.
As he made his way down Main Street, he hoped that Dr. Mason would be in his office. He didn’t know much about the new doctor, but if Doc Roberts approved of him, he must be good at his job.
He knocked on the door of the medical building, waited a few moments, then knocked again. No one answered.
Dr. Mason must be out for who knows how long, which meant Daniel needed to find another way to get his leg dealt with. Perhaps Doc Roberts was at his house. He was retired for the most part, but he’d taken care of Daniel and most of the people of Belle for their whole lives. He knew the man wouldn’t turn him away if he needed his help.
Daniel continued down Main Street until he reached Doc Roberts’ house. To his surprise, a sloppy, hand-painted sign reading Apothecary was hung above the porch. When did Doc Roberts start to run one of those? It seemed odd he would retire from doctoring to start an apothecary, but he supposed anything was possible. He hadn’t been back in Belle in months, being busy with back-to-back drives.
He climbed the steps of the front porch and stopped just in front of the door. Should he just go in? With the sign hung, should he treat it like any other storefront on Main Street? Somehow it felt odd, so instead he knocked, figuring it was better to be proper and wait for permission to enter.
“Come in,” a friendly and familiar voice said from the other side.
Daniel’s hand froze on the knob. He knew that voice instantly. June Roberts, or he supposed it was June Hillman now, his childhood sweetheart was on the other side of the door.
He hadn’t seen her since before she married, but he knew she had, and that she had a little boy, too. Belle was a small town and everyone talked about each other’s lives. He’d also heard she was widowed now, and part of him was surprised she returned to Belle, even though her uncle lived here.
The door swung open, revealing June’s smiling face. “Didn’t you hear me say come in, sir?” she asked, but as her eyes settled on Daniel’s face, they rounded in shocked recognition.
She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. She glanced around and then inquired further, “What are you doing here?”
June looked good, better than he remembered. He hadn’t seen her in years, but time had been good to her. Her skin was flawless, without a wrinkle in sight. Her brown hair was still as full and shiny as ever, and her eyes were the color of thick molasses.
“I was hoping your uncle was in. I went to see Dr. Mason first, but he wasn’t at his office.”
“He got called out to the Silver Aspen Ranch. There’s several ranch hands that are sick, and Mr. Stanton wants to make sure it doesn’t spread to anyone else.”
“That explains Dr. Mason’s absence.” Daniel looked past June to see if anyone else was there. “Is your uncle available to take a look at my leg?”
“He’s down at his cabin by the creek, like most days. Since I’ve returned to Belle, he’s let me stay with my son here at his house in town.”
“That’s mighty kind of him,” Daniel esteemed, running his hand through his sandy blond hair as he shifted his stance, trying to keep the pain from getting worse. “How long you planning on staying in Belle?”
“Permanently, as far as I can tell. This has always been home, and there’s nowhere else to go.” Stepping back, she gestured for him to come inside. “Why don’t you let me look at your leg? I’m no doctor or nurse, but between spending time with my uncle and running the apothecary in Glenda and now here, I’ve learned a thing or two.”
Daniel made his way into the front of the house, which had been turned into a makeshift storefront. There were containers of different lotions, medicines, and salves sprinkled on the dining table and a buffet table which had been brought towards the front of the area.
June went over and picked up a couple of bottles, then gestured with her head for him to follow her. “Come on, it will be more comfortable to examine your leg on the couch back here.”
They made their way to the back of the house where she had put the couch and a chair right before the entry of the small kitchen.
“Take a seat,” she ordered politely, heading to the kit
chen, he assumed to grab a clean cloth.
Daniel complied, then awkwardly rolled up his pant leg as he waited for her to kneel down in front of him to look at his injury.
“Your wound looks rather angry. See how red and swollen it is? Plus, it’s just starting to ooze, which means it’s on the verge of infecting. How did you manage to do this?” she asked, gently cleaning the area with the cloth.
“I got it caught on some barb wire, trying to keep a startled cow and her calf from getting tangled up in it. I managed to stop them from crashing into it, but got my own leg caught instead.”
“Well, you’re lucky, this could have been much worse. I’m glad you came here when you did. I’ve got the perfect salve for this after I stitch it up.”
Gently, June started to work on the leg, first by stitching up the wound, then by putting the medicine on after. It stung at first, then tingled a bit, before settling into a cooling ease. What bothered him more than the wound, was the feel of June’s soft touch on his skin. It brought back memories of holding hands and kissing down by the creek. Memories he didn’t want to be reminded of.
She handed him the container and said, “Make sure to apply this three times a day. Keep the wound dry and clean and change the bandage daily.”
Daniel nodded, trying to shake the memories of June from his mind. He stood to his feet, then placed some weight on the wounded leg. “Thank you, that feels much better. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get back to work.”