Mail Order Compromise (Kansas Brides Series #5)

by Barbara Goss

  All the way into town, Brock spoke softly to Sarah even though he knew she couldn’t hear him. When he reached town, he hailed down Sam Monroe who was passing by to take Sarah until he could get down from his horse. Sam complied eagerly.

  “What happened to her?” he asked as he held her carefully.

  Brock slid down from his horse and reclaimed his wife. “Pete’ll be by in a minute and he’ll tell you. I have to get her to Doc’s right away.”

  He climbed the steps to Doc’s house as quickly as he could, and then pounded on the door at the top of the stairs. His wife answered, and gasped when she saw Sarah. “Come right in,” she said.

  Mrs. Hall led them to a room Doc used to treat patients, and Brock laid her down on the bed.

  “I’ll get my husband, he’s in the other room,” she said.

  Moments later Doc Hall came rushing in. “What happened?” he said as he gazed at Sarah.

  “It’s a long story, but some bandits held her hostage and threw her down. She landed on the threshold of the kitchen, and hasn’t gained consciousness yet. I’m scared, Doc.”

  Doc Hall leaned over Sarah and examined her wound. “That’s a nasty gash. I’ll have to stitch that up,” he said as his wife came into the room with a pan of water and clean rags.

  “Get the whiskey, Thelma,” he said. “I have some sewing to do.”

  The doctor dipped the cloth into the warm water and cleaned her wound. Brock, who hadn’t seen the gash through all the blood, gasped when he saw the deep gouge. He felt his stomach quiver at the sight, and he felt a bit dizzy.

  “Will she be all right, Doc?”

  “I can fix the gash, but I can’t predict the outcome of the head injury. She could be fine or she could…well,” he said, “no use speculating.”

  Chapter 11

  Doc Hall shooed Brock from the room so he could stitch Sarah’s wound. Mrs. Hall stayed to assist her husband. Brock thought he must have looked too pale for the doctor to ask for his assistance. He sat down and held his queasy stomach. He was more frightened than he’d ever been in his life. Two things scared him, losing Sarah, and losing her before he’d had a chance to bring her to God.

  Why had he put off trying to tell her more about Jesus? Why didn’t he try to persuade her, by compromise if necessary, to seek out Reverend Flannery?

  Brock got down on his knees before the sofa and prayed, begged, and made God all sorts of promises if he’d just spare Sarah.

  He got up from his knees and paced until Mrs. Hall came out. She must have noticed his worried look and said, “All went well.”

  “Is she awake?” he asked.

  “No, but her wound looked good and Doc cleaned it well, and stitched it up. He had to shave a patch of her hair though.”

  “It scares me that she hasn’t awakened yet.”

  “I’ve seen people stay unconscious for days. Try not to worry. Would you like some tea?” she asked.

  Brock’s hand went to his stomach. “I couldn’t ingest a thing.”

  “Doc will be out in a minute to speak with you.”

  Just then Doc came out, took off his glasses, and wiped them with his handkerchief.

  “If you’d like to stay the night, we have a cot we can roll into her room,” Doc said.

  “That would be wonderful. I can’t imagine leaving her.

  “Can I go in now?” he asked.

  “Yes. There’s a pitcher of water on the stand. You can wet her lips periodically but I wouldn’t try making her drink until she’s awake, she might choke,” Doc said.

  As Brock lay on the cot, the moonlight shined directly on Sarah and he watched her chest moving up and down as she breathed. He couldn’t close his eyes. He wanted to be sure her chest kept moving.

  Finally, despite his steadfast vigil, he fell asleep and didn’t awaken until he heard a groan.

  He sat up in a flash and looked at Sarah through the dim light of dawn. Her eyes were open. Quickly he ran to her bedside.

  Taking her hand he said, “You’re awake! How do you feel?”

  She gave him a distant look; one like a stranger might give him, and said hoarsely, “Who are you?”

  Brock was too shocked to speak.

  She gazed about the room. “Where am I?”

  “Try not to move too much. You’ve an injury from a sort of fall,” Brock said.

  “Are you my doctor?”

  “No,” Brock answered. He studied her face intently in the hopes of getting her to look at him with recognition. “I’m your husband.”

  “Husband?” She pulled her hand from his grasp. “But I don’t know you.”

  Brock took her left hand and lifted it to show her the rings. “See, you’re married to me.”

  “My head hurts,” she said, “and I feel like I’m going to throw up!”

  Brock grabbed the basin of water and brought it to her. He helped her to sit, and noticed how pale she’d become. She gasped a few times, and then threw up a bit. Of course, she hadn’t eaten in so long, there hadn’t been much in her stomach to come up. Then she started with the dry heaves and he patted her back until she calmed down.

  “Would you like some water?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  He held the glass for her so she could sip the water. “Better?”

  Again she nodded, but then cringed. “My head hurts. What happened to me?”

  “What is the last thing you remember?” Brock asked.

  Sarah lay her head back down on the pillow. “Let me think. I remember…” then tears ran down her cheeks, and her breath caught in a pathetic sob. “I don’t remember…anything.”

  Brock’s heart nearly broke to see her sobbing so, and not having any memory at all would surely be frightening.

  “Don’t worry about a thing, sweetheart.” He took her hand. “I’ll take care of you. You’ve nothing to fear. We’ll make all new memories.”

  This time she allowed him to hold her hand.

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Brock VanSickle. Do you remember your name?”

  “I’m…I’m,” then she began to sob again. “I don’t even know my own name.”

  Brock couldn’t contain himself. Reaching out, he hugged her the best he could, with her still reclining on the pillow. He kissed her bandaged forehead.

  “Your name is Sarah VanSickle, and before we married you were Sarah Decker from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio,” he said. “Does that jog any memories for you?”

  “No.”

  Brock could hear dishes clattering and the voices of the Halls somewhere in the house.

  “I’ll be right back, Sarah. I need to speak to the doctor.” He backed out of the room and hated the look of fear he saw on her pale face.

  “Doc, she’s awake, but she remembers nothing. Is that normal? Will that last?” Brock asked Doc who had just sat down to a steaming cup of coffee.

  “Sometimes it returns. It depends. I don’t have a lot of experience with head injuries. If she doesn’t start remembering in a week or two, I’d call in a specialist,” he said. “Coffee?”

  “No, thanks. I want to stay with Sarah. She’s so frightened.”

  “Has she vomited yet?”

  “Yes, but how did you know?”

  “It usually follows a severe concussion,” Doc said.

  “Brock,” Mrs. Hall said, “you need to eat something or you’ll be no good to your wife.”

  “Can you bring me in a little something? I don’t want to leave her for too long. She’s so frightened.”

  “Certainly,” Mrs. Hall said. “I’ll bring some juice for Sarah, too.”

  When Brock returned to the room, Sarah was asleep. He sat down on the cot and prayed. As he was praying a thought struck him. God has a purpose for everything, and he knew God was listening to all his prayers. If Sarah had no memory of her atrocious past, then she wouldn’t be so sour on God, or be forced to remember her horrible home life. It would be like a fresh start. Could it be possible
that this injury to Sarah would save her in the end?

  Brock stayed at Doc’s with Sarah for another day and night, then Doc helped him transfer Sarah home to the mansion. At least he’d have plenty of servants to help him nurse her back to health.

  Brock tucked her onto the chaise lounge in his study so he’d be close to her as he worked on his estate papers and bank work. She seemed to be warming up to him, since he knew she depended on him solely, and that was a good thing. Sarah seemed to get frightened when he wasn’t near. While he loved that he brought her comfort, he knew it wasn’t normal for her to be like that.

  Doc Hall had promised that he’d find a good doctor in one of the large cities in Kansas who specialized in head trauma. In the meantime, Brock did what he could, but he knew tomorrow he’d have to go to work. He decided to reintroduce her to Edith and perhaps they could form a bond, and he could leave her tomorrow.

  When his butler, Ivan, stopped to bring his mail, Brock asked him to send Edith down to the study.

  When Edith arrived Brock introduced her to Sarah. Edith looked puzzled, but went along with it. He had supposed one of the servants might have mentioned her accident.

  “Sarah, this is your maid, Edith. She takes care of you. She fixes your hair, takes care of your clothes and sees to your welfare. You can feel safe with Edith.”

  While Sarah looked Edith over from head to toe, Edith patted her hand and smiled at her. “Welcome home, Mrs. Vee.”

  Sarah smiled back. Brock was pleased. It was a start.

  Brock called Edith over to a far corner of the room on the pretense of finding a book for Sarah. It suddenly occurred to him that it would be a good idea, if she read to Sarah. He pulled a book out, Pride and Prejudice, and handed it to Edith.

  “Edith, Sarah’s been in an accident and has received a serious head injury and has lost her memory. I need you to take care of her, and let the other servants know too. I have to work tomorrow, and I want to be able to leave her in good hands.”

  Edith nodded. “I can do that.”

  “Do you know how to read?” he asked, knowing that some of the servants had never learned.

  “Oh, yes. I read very well. My mum taught me, and I went to school for a while.”

  “Good. I’d like you to read to Sarah every day. You can start today. I want you to build a close relationship with her so she’ll trust you enough to let me leave her side. She becomes frightened when I leave her.”

  “I will, Mr. Vee.”

  Edith took the book, pulled a chair up beside Sarah, and began to read to her.

  Ivan walked in soon after, and announced that Brock had a visitor.

  “Who is it?” Brock asked, a bit irritated to be disturbed when he had so much paperwork to catch up on, and Edith and Sarah were doing so well nearby.

  “It’s Mr. Van,” he said.

  Brock stood. “Show him in!” What a relief. Maybe now he wouldn’t be needed at the bank as much. His father was finally home.

  When Brock’s father came in the room, he greeted his son loudly. Sarah reacted by screaming and covering her ears, and then bursting out in tears.

  Chapter 12

  Brock ran to comfort Sarah.

  Lee VanSickle stood looking confused. “Who’s this?” he asked. “What happened?”

  Brock rushed to settle Sarah down before answering his father. Edith tried to help.

  “It’s all right Sarah, it’s just my father, Lee VanSickle. He’s your father-in-law. He wants to meet you,” Brock said as he hugged her to his chest. He kissed her forehead and then wiped away her tears. Edith helped by holding her hand and smiling.

  “Who might this be?” Lee asked again in a softer voice.

  Brock turned to face his father. “I’d like you to meet my wife, Sarah.”

  Lee’s eyes widened, but he said nothing. He simply gave Sarah a quick smile and nodded at her. Then he gave his son a questioning look.

  “It’s a long story, Father, but briefly, she and I are deeply in love, she was in an accident and has lost her memory. We’re hoping it’s temporary. For some reason, she’s frightened of everyone except me.”

  “I did come in rather loudly. I apologize. I didn’t know,” he said. “She’s very beautiful. I hope she fully recovers.”

  “My current problem is that I can’t leave her. I’ve already missed two days from the bank, but Joseph said all was well there. I just can’t leave her yet,” Brock explained.

  “Take a few more days then. I’ll take over at the bank. I may bring you some paperwork if that’s all right,” Lee said.

  “Certainly. I’m trying to catch up on some now.” He glanced over at Sarah. Edith had begun reading to her again, and she seemed fine.

  After dinner, as Brock and Sarah sat drinking tea in the sitting room, Ivan again announced visitors.

  Pete and Elaina burst into the room, and Sarah nearly dropped her teacup. Brock caught her hand and steadied it, and at the same time whispered, “It’s okay.”

  Elaina knelt down to eye level with Sarah. “It’s me, Sarah, Elaina.”

  Sarah stared blankly at her. She looked up at Brock and shrugged.

  Elaina’s eyes began to tear, and Pete helped her up and steadied her against him.

  “I had to bring Elaina. She couldn’t believe that Sarah wouldn’t know her,” Pete said.

  “We are trying to get a specialist to see her, but so far Doc hasn’t come up with one,” Brock said.

  “I feel guilty,” Pete blurted. “Those men were after me, not her.”

  “No, darling, they were after me, not Sarah,” Elaina said.

  “They’d gone into Rusty’s and then came right back out,” Pete said. “I think they asked for directions to the Mullins place, but I don’t think Rusty knew we’d moved.”

  “What was Sarah like while the man was holding her and backing out the door? Brock asked. “I was behind the house and couldn’t see much.”

  “When we first got there, she wasn’t conscious—I believe one of the men said she’d fainted. By the time you came, she’d come around, but just stared at us with a distant look. I think she was stunned or something. She didn’t seem to recognize us. I don’t think anyone harmed her because one of the scumbags was complaining because she’d fainted, and no one had a chance to torture her.”

  Sarah gasped. Brock pulled her closer. “Do you remember any of that?” he asked her.

  She shivered and shook her head.

  At night, Brock and Sarah slept in the same bed, but he hadn’t tried to make love to her, as he still worried about her head injury and her mental status. She cuddled up to him each night, and he was glad his love for her was stronger than his own needs. So far he’d kissed her forehead, and held her, but that was all. She clung to him day and night.

  He felt her condition was a test of his love for her, because while it was flattering to have her trust no one else, it was confining as well. She seemed afraid of everyone. He was thankful she liked and trusted Edith. After two days, he was finally able to go back to the bank to work. Sarah stayed with Edith without too much of a problem. She’d cried when he left, Edith said, but soon got over his leaving.

  Edith seemed good for Sarah, maybe because she was another woman. Little by little she started to come back to life, but still had no memory of anything before she woke up at Doc’s.

  Sarah opened her eyes to the bright morning sun and felt the other side of the bed. Frowning, she discovered it empty. Brock was up already. Swinging her legs out of bed, she slid her feet into her house slippers, and threw on her robe. She had to get downstairs to see Brock off for the day. She hurried down the stairs in time to see Brock getting up from the breakfast table.

  “Brock,” she said, “I don’t want to miss seeing you off in the morning. Why didn’t you wake me?”

  He walked over and kissed her forehead. “Because you were sleeping so soundly, and looked so beautiful, I hadn’t the heart to awaken you.”

  “I would like
to see you off in the mornings,” she said.

  “And I love you seeing me off. I just thought a bit of extra sleep might be good for you,” he said.

  “Brock,” she said and then hesitated. “How long have we been married?”

  “Three weeks, four days and,” he took out his pocket watch, “and twenty hours.”

  Sarah walked him to the door and helped him into his overcoat. “Have we ever kissed?”

  Brock gave her a curious look. “Many times.”

  “Why don’t we kiss anymore?” she asked as she peered up at him.

  “I didn’t want to do anything to hurt your recovery. You had a serious injury, my dear.”

  “Will you kiss me goodbye, today?” she asked coyly.

  “Of course, if you’re sure you’re ready for it.”

  “I need to feel that we’re more than friends. I see our cook kissing Ivan sometimes, and they seem to like it. Edith said people kiss when they love each other,” she said.

  Brock pulled her into his arms. “Don’t ever doubt my love for you. I’ll give you all the kisses you can handle once I’m sure you’ve recuperated.” Brock kissed her briefly on the lips. She smiled at him. “I love you very much, Sarah.”

  “I’m not sure I know what love is, I don’t remember. But I feel drawn to you and when you look at me and smile, I get a fluttering right here.” Sarah touched her chest.

  “You do love me,” he said with a grin. “You’ve shown me in so many ways before the accident. And when you couldn’t remember afterwards, you didn’t fear me at all. Once I told you I was your husband, you clung to me. So maybe your brain has forgotten, but your heart remembers.”

  He gave her another quick peck on the lips. “Maybe later I’ll try giving you a real kiss,” he said. “Right now I have to get to the bank and open the vault or no one will be able to deposit or withdraw money today.”

  She waved to him as he walked to the stable.