Winter Promise

by Martha Rogers

  The bell over the door jangled, and Kate stepped through. “Good morning. I’m on my way to meet Daniel for dinner at the hotel. I thought you might want to join us.”

  “Oh, that sounds lovely.” Abigail laughed and swept her hand to the side. “As you can see, I’m so busy I can’t find time to think.”

  Kate joined in the laughter. “Not that many people come to town during the week, and most of the men are hard at work on the ranches or over at the lumberyard.”

  “That I’ve learned this week.” She reached behind the counter and grabbed her handbag. “Eating with you two sounds much more interesting than sitting her and twiddling my thumbs until Jessica Miller brings over her charges.”

  “Let’s go then.” She reached over to open the door and raised an eyebrow. “I see a limp. Are you sure you’re OK without the crutches?”

  “Of course I am. Mother always said I healed faster than any child she ever knew. I’ll be fine.”

  After locking the door, she joined Kate to walk the two blocks to the hotel, mindful of her ankle every step of the way. They passed the saloon, and Kate frowned when they heard the tinny sound of the piano and the laughter of men. “Guess a few men decided to spend their noon hour in the saloon wasting their money on whiskey and those girls. Cory and Daniel should have run them all out of town after that business last year.”

  She marched by with her head high and shoulders back. A good four to five inches taller than Abigail, Kate created a picture of a no-nonsense, don’t-fool-with-me woman. Daniel had truly met his match when he married Kate Muldoon.

  When they passed the mercantile, Mr. Grayson stopped his sweeping and nodded to them. “Good day, ladies.” He leaned on the broom handle. “Miss Monroe, I finished that book I borrowed. I’ll send the missus down later to turn it in.”

  Then he wrinkled his brow. “On second thought, I just might come myself so’s I can check out another one.”

  “You do that, Mr. Grayson. I’m getting in more books every week. I’m sure you’ll find some to your liking,” Abigail replied.

  Kate led the way into the hotel, where Daniel waited for them. He lifted his eyebrows in surprise when he saw her. “I wasn’t expecting you, but it’s good to see you all the same.” He narrowed his eyes. “I thought you’d still be using your crutches. Are you sure it’s wise not to?”

  Before Abigail could respond, Kate said, “Don’t waste your breath. I’ve already scolded her, and I can see she’s cut from the same cloth you are with her stubbornness.”

  Daniel said nothing to that but grinned and bowed slightly. “After you, ladies.”

  Once they were seated and had ordered their meal, Abigail spread her napkin in her lap. “Kate, I’ve been meaning to ask you about James Lowell. He said he works on your pa’s ranch.”

  “He does, but he’s more than just a ranch hand. He’s my cousin from Dallas and is Pa’s sister’s son. He was hankering to work on a ranch, so Pa invited him to come here and be a cowboy. Jimmy loves it and won’t let us treat him like one of the family. He says he wants to be with the boys in the bunkhouse, so Pa and Ma leave him be except for special family occasions, and then they make him come to the house and help celebrate.”

  “So that’s why he looked so familiar. He has a resemblance to Donnie and Ian, and he writes so well and likes to read. Not that other cowboys don’t, but he just seemed different.” Add one more to the ever growing list of Muldoon family members. “I think the schoolmarm, Jessica Miller, may be sweet on him.”

  Daniel chuckled. “You’re as bad as Aunt Mae and Aunt Mabel. Let the poor boy and girl alone. If they’re meant for each other, they’ll find it out soon enough.”

  She didn’t intend to meddle, but if the opportunity presented itself, she most certainly would help things along with those two. They were both likeable people, and with women so scarce, Jimmy couldn’t find a better person to hitch up with. A smile tickled her lips. Now she was acting like Aunt Mae.

  They spent the rest of the meal in small talk about family and friends. After she finished her dessert, Abigail opened her handbag to leave some money for the meal, but Daniel stilled her hand.

  “It’s on me today. You’re bringing a lot of sunshine into this town, and I’m so glad you’re here.”

  Abigail grinned and stood. “I accept your generosity, dear brother. Now I have to get back to the library before Miss Miller arrives with her students. Wouldn’t do for the librarian to be late.”

  She left them still sitting at the table and headed back to her building. Five minutes after she reopened, Miss Miller and her students arrived. Abigail blinked twice when she saw them. A few of the boys were much bigger than she had thought, but their teacher seemed to have them in control.

  Miss Miller introduced her students each by name. Abigail recognized a few of the last names and a few of the faces from church. The fifteen boys and girls ranged in age from twelve to sixteen. They stood in a semi-circle in front of Abigail as she explained the workings of the library and the procedures for checking out books.

  “Your school is very fortunate to have the resources available here in the library. Places like this are just beginning to become a part of cities and towns across America. A man named Andrew Carnegie has donated thousands of dollars to establish libraries like this across our nation.”

  A boy raised his hand. “Miss Monroe, did he give you money for our library?”

  She recognized him as Pete Davis from church. “No, Pete, he didn’t. I’m very fortunate that my grandfather left me an inheritance, and I used it for our library here. Others have helped too, and you’ll soon see their names on a plaque we’ll hang in a prominent place.”

  Two boys, the Duncan twins she had seen about town, wore such bored expressions, she feared they might topple over any minute. She pointed to them. “I don’t know which one of you is which, but tell me what you’re interested in.”

  “Nuthin’ this here old library has to offer,” one answered. “Iffen you have books about horses, guns, and all that stuff, I might look at ‘em.”

  Jessica stepped to his side. “Why, Bobby, I didn’t know you had an interest in horses. I do believe Miss Monroe has some books like that. I’ll be sure to put a few on the reading list.”

  Bobby didn’t answer, and the bored look turned somewhat sullen. His brother, Billy, didn’t look much happier either. They were quite a few inches taller than Miss Miller, and Abigail surmised the teacher must have her hands full taking care of those two.

  Miss Miller moved to stand between the two boys until Abigail completed her talk. She then gave each one of them a permit form to fill out so they could check out books later. Three tables with six chairs each had been added in front of the shelves, so the students sat down and put their pens to work.

  Pink tinged Jessica’s face, and she spoke low so as not to attract the attention of her students. “I saw Mr. Lowell coming out of the library last Saturday. What kind of books did he check out?”

  “He likes books about the history of our country. The one last week was about the Revolutionary War, and this week he took one with short biographies of our presidents.” Maybe books would be the way she could bring Jessica and James Lowell together. “What types of books do you like?”

  “I . . . I love the novels, but I read a lot of other things to keep ahead of my students. I’m so thankful for your generosity and that of others in town. The library is really going to make my work with the students much more pleasant.”

  The students finished their applications, and Abigail collected them. “If you’d like to check out a book today, you may look through our selections for one you might like. The signs on the end of each shelf tell you what is located there.”

  In less than fifteen minutes, several of them made selections and wrote the name of their books on the checkout sheet. Jessica gathered them in a group. “We all want to thank you, Miss Monroe, for the work you’ve done to bring a library to our town. I’m sure you
will see us more often as we come in to check out books.”

  The students then filed out, and, except for the Duncan twins, the others thanked her as they left. However, she had taken note of the fact that Billy had checked out a book by James Fenimore Cooper. Abigail hid a smile. He’d like the story about Indians and the frontier.

  After they left, the library became quiet and almost lonesome, but since Abigail loved books, she’d decided she’d never be lonely as long she had stories to read. She headed for the little storeroom in the back where new boxes of books waited to be labeled. After unpacking several stacks, she noticed the ones that had been stored in the room. They were on the top shelves, so she retrieved the ladder Frank had made for her in order to reach the higher ones.

  If only she were taller she wouldn’t have to climb so high to put things away or take things down here in the storeroom. The box she wanted was in her hands when she heard the jingle-jangle of the bell over the front door.

  “Yoo-hoo, Abigail, where are you?” Rachel’s voice sounded from the library.

  “Back here in the storeroom.” Abigail held the box with her right arm and stepped down. Her ankle twinged then gave way and she collapsed to the floor, hitting both her head and her left wrist on the way to the floor.

  Pain shot through her wrist and pounded in her head. She shook it slightly to clear her vision.

  “Oh, my goodness, Abigail, what happened?” Rachel knelt down beside Abigail and helped her sit up.

  “I’m not sure.” She held up her left wrist, which had started to swell and didn’t look quite right. “I think it may be broken. I hit the edge of the shelf with it when I tried to grab hold, and then my head must have hit something because it hurts.”

  “You sit right there; I’m going for the doctor. I’ll be back in no time.”

  Abigail nodded then the pain in her wrist shot up her arm. She clamped her teeth together and bit down hard. She had to keep still, or it would be worse. How could she have been so clumsy?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ELLIOT EXTRACTED INSTRUMENTS from the autoclave and placed them on clean towels. He heard the door slam then someone hollered his name. Somebody was in trouble. He dried his hands and ran to the waiting area.

  Rachel Reed stood in the middle of the room with her hand to her chest. She gasped for breath and pointed across the street. “Doc Elliot, you have to come. Abigail fell, and I think she’s broken her wrist, and she hit her head too.”

  Elliot grabbed his bag and called out to his uncle, who was in the examining room with a patient. “I’ll be across the street seeing to Miss Monroe, Doc.” What in the world had that young woman gotten herself into now? He’d warned her about doing too much after discarding those crutches.

  He ran ahead of Rachel and burst through the door to the library, but he saw no one in the room. Maybe she had fallen between the shelves. Rachel hurried up behind him.

  “She’s in the storeroom.” She nodded toward a door in the middle of the back wall. When he stepped over the threshold, he spotted Abigail immediately. Her eyes were closed in her ashen face, and she held her wrist at an odd angle.

  He knelt beside her. “Where does it hurt besides your wrist?” He lifted the wrist with both hands to examine it. Definitely broken.

  Her eyes opened slowly. “All over, well, actually just my head and wrist. I went to step down when I heard Rachel come into the building and lost my footing.”

  “I see.” He glanced down at her feet peeking out from beneath her skirt. The injured ankle was encased in a lace-up shoe that looked somewhat tight to his discerning eye. “Are you sure that ankle didn’t give you trouble?” His fingers ran over the bump now forming on the side of her head.

  “No, I just . . . well, maybe it did. Oh, I don’t know. One minute I was on the ladder, and the next I was on the floor.”

  Elliot shook his head. She shouldn’t have been on that ladder in the first place, but knowing what he did of her, Abigail wasn’t about to ask anyone for help. He decided not to scold her for that now because her pain was obvious. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut as he placed a wrap around the wrist to hold it until he could get her across the street and into a room. He then unlaced her shoe and removed it.

  “OK, now. I’m going to pick you up and carry you over to the infirmary so we can treat that wrist. Just hold on around my neck with your right arm.” He scooped her up into his arms. How lightweight she was, almost like carrying a child.

  Rachel scurried ahead to open the doors for him. Once inside the infirmary, Elliot placed Abigail on a bed in an examining room. “Now lie back and let’s get a better look at that wrist.” Just as he figured, the ulna had fractured just above the area where it joined the hand. At least the break was smooth and even. He gently manipulated the wrist while Abigail sobbed in pain.

  “Looks like I’ll need to put a hand and lower arm cast on so as to keep the bone aligned properly. I’ll give you a bit of laudanum for the pain.”

  Kate rushed into the room. “I was with Doc Jensen when I heard Elliot bring you in. Rachel just told me what happened.” She grabbed Abigail’s right hand and held it. “I know you hurt something dreadful, but we’ll fix you up.” She turned to Elliot. “Do you want me to get the supplies ready for a cast?”

  “Yes, if you would do that, I’ll get her something for the pain.” He strode to the medicine cabinet for the bottle of laudanum. First her ankle and now her wrist. Either Abigail was the clumsiest girl alive or one with the most bad luck. He had grown accustomed to seeing people in pain from injuries, but for some reason Abigail’s scrunched-up face touched him in a way he didn’t want to acknowledge.

  After they finished applying the cast, Kate removed everything and began cleaning the area. Elliot inspected the cast that covered Abigail’s hand to the first knuckles of her fingers and thumb then up to the midpoint of her forearm. “I think that’ll about do it for now. I’m putting a sling around your neck for you to rest your arm because that cast, even as small as it is, will get heavy, and I don’t want you letting your arm hang loose for long periods of time.”

  He turned to Kate. “Is Mrs. Reed still out in the waiting room?” Having her best friend present might give Abigail some encouragement.

  “Yes, I’ll go get her.”

  A moment later, Rachel stepped into the room and over to the bedside. “I’m so sorry I caused you to fall.” She glanced down at the cast on Abigail’s wrist. “Oh, dear, that’s not going to help you get things done. I’m coming over every day and help. You are not to lift those books or climb any ladders.”

  Abigail shook her head. “It’s my fault for trying to do so much on my ankle, and besides, you shouldn’t be lifting and climbing either in your condition. Isn’t that right, Doctor Jensen?”

  Before he could answer, Rachel protested. “I’m fine and in the pink of health. It won’t hurt me at all to help you.”

  Elliot suppressed his smile. Now he had two stubborn women to handle, and neither one would likely pay much attention to what he had to say anyway. “Rachel is fine, and you could do with some help with those books and boxes I saw in the storeroom. It wouldn’t hurt to ask for assistance in lifting and carrying them to the other room if necessary.”

  Abigail looked down at her wrist. “I suppose you’re right. Daniel isn’t that far away at the courthouse, and he could come help me.”

  “Nathan can too since he’s just down the block.” Rachel turned to Elliot. “Don’t worry. We’ll be careful, I promise. I don’t want anything to happen to my baby, and Abigail wants her wrist to get well.”

  Elliot had to smile at that. Mrs. Reed had a good head on her. “I believe you.” He examined the cast again. “I suggest you go on back to the boardinghouse. It’s almost closing time for the library anyway.” He arranged a sling about her shoulder.

  Kate held out her hand. “If you’ll give me the key, I’ll lock up the library for you. Rachel can walk with you down to Aunt Mae’s, and don
’t be surprised if she hovers over you like a mother hen. Two injuries in two weeks is going to bring out all mothering techniques for sure.”

  Abigail extracted the key from her skirt pocket and handed it to Kate. “I appreciate that, and it’ll be nice to have Aunt Mae doting on me.” Then she turned her brown eyes to Elliot. They glistened in the light from the overhead fixture. “And thank you, Doctor Jensen, for taking care of me again. I promise to follow your orders this time.”

  Elliot grinned and helped her from the table. “Call me Doc Elliot. Doc Jensen is my uncle.”

  Rachel grabbed Abigail’s good arm. “Now let’s get you back where you belong so you can rest before supper. When that laudanum wears off, you’ll be hurting again.” She stood a good five inches taller than Abigail and had no problem supporting her friend as they headed out.

  When the door closed behind them, he turned to find Kate staring at him with a smile. “What’s the matter now?”

  “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how cute Abigail looks. She’s such a tiny thing.” Kate raised an eyebrow. “With all her energy and enthusiasm, she’d make some man a fine wife.”

  “Well, she’ll have plenty of opportunities to find one around this town. I’ve already seen a few men giving her the eye.” He picked up a tablet and headed out to his desk. He didn’t care to discuss Abigail Monroe now or anytime except as his patient.

  Kate followed him but said nothing more. However, he felt her gaze still on his back as he made notes to add to a file he’d begun for Abigail. Finally he turned around. “Can’t you find something to do? I can’t concentrate with you staring at me.”

  “Who’s staring at you? I’m getting ready to leave.” She untied her apron and tossed it into the basket to be taken to the laundry tomorrow. “I have to go over and lock up the library, and then I’ll head on home.”