Kansas Courtship

by Victoria Bylin

  As Carolina lowered the duster, Nora put on her brown felt hat. “I’m going to buy sugar for cookies. Do we need anything else?”

  “Not a thing,” the nurse replied.

  “Would you watch Alex?”

  Carolina smiled. “The boy’s climbing the walls. Zeb did well to bring him that toy horse.”

  Nora said nothing.

  “It’s none of my business,” the nurse said, “but what happened between you two?”

  “Nothing important.”

  “It doesn’t look that way to me.” She flicked the duster over a shelf. “When it comes to Zeb, you’ve been as quiet as Bess.”

  Nora decided to change the subject. “Maybe I’ll hear from Dr. Zeiss today.”

  “I hope so,” Carolina replied. “That girl has me worried.”

  “Me, too.” The longer Bess went without speaking, the deeper the mental scars. “No one really understands mutism, but Dr. Zeiss might have some insight.”

  “It’s like her mind’s bruised,” Carolina said.

  “Exactly.”

  After they traded worried looks, the nurse put the books back on the shelf and Nora left for the mercantile. With a smile plastered to her face, she ambled down Main Street. Children were playing in the meadow by the schoolhouse, and she saw women talking as they strolled past newly opened shops. In the distance she heard hammers as men pounded nails at the town hall. She thought of Zeb and felt bleak.

  “Dr. Nora!”

  She turned back to the mercantile and saw Will shouldering a sack of floor. He heaved it into a wagon, then tipped his hat to her. “It’s good to see you, Doc. How are you doing?”

  “Fine, thank you.”

  He indicated the door to the mercantile. “Emmeline’s inside. I’m sure she’d like to say hello.”

  Nora welcomed the friendship. “I’d like that.”

  Will lowered his voice. “We appreciate what you’re doing for Bess.”

  Nora saw the girl frequently, but she hadn’t been out to the Circle-L since her first visit. “How is she at home?”

  “She hasn’t spoken, but I think she wants to.” He told her about Bess moving her mouth in front of a mirror. “It looks strange, but it’s a start.”

  “I hope so.” Nora didn’t mean to sound despondent, but she had a heavy heart today.

  Will looked at her thoughtfully. “Stay strong, Doc. Before you arrived, Bess didn’t even want to speak. She’s going to talk again, and it’s because of you. You’re a good doctor. Don’t ever doubt it.”

  “I wish others felt that way.” She thought of Zeb and the splinter.

  Will kept his voice low. “Still no patients?”

  “A few.” She tried to sound hopeful. “Alex is living with me now.”

  “He’s a good kid.” The rancher’s expression turned grim. “Kids shouldn’t suffer. I wish we could find the twins.”

  “Me, too.” Nora’s heart broke for Mikey and Missy. “Any sign of them?”

  “Not a one.”

  Their disappearance haunted everyone in High Plains but especially Bess. Finding the twins—even if it meant burying bones—would help the girl recover. Nora hadn’t seen her for a few days and wanted to say hello. “Is Bess with you?”

  Will pointed down the street to a group of girls. Bess stood among them. “She just listens, but it’s something.”

  The door to the mercantile opened and Emmeline came down the steps. “Dr. Nora! It’s nice to see you.” She walked forward and held out her hand.

  Nora took it in both of hers. “I’m glad to see you, too. Your husband’s been telling me about Bess.”

  Emmeline’s eyes clouded. “We’re doing what you said. We treat her as if everything’s perfectly normal. It’s just so—”

  A scream cut off her next words.

  Emmeline gasped. “That’s Bess!”

  A second scream filled the air. Longer and more determined, it sent shivers down Nora’s spine. Some people ran from danger. Nora didn’t run from anything, especially not a cry of pain. As she hiked up her skirts to run, so did Emmeline. Will grabbed them both by their elbows. “Stay here,” he ordered. “It could be an Indian attack.”

  “I can’t!” Nora insisted. “Someone could be hurt.”

  Emmeline pulled from his grip. “That was Bess! I know it.”

  Will knew better than to try to stop two determined women. “All right,” he said. “But stay behind me.”

  He grabbed his shotgun from under the seat of the wagon. With the weapon loose and ready in his hand, he strode down the street with Nora and Emmeline following in a cloud of dust. Pete Benjamin emerged from between two buildings. He had a shotgun that matched Will’s and the look of a man who’d use it. The two men met in the middle of the street. Shoulder to shoulder, they neared the town hall where Zeb, holding a matching weapon, fell into line. Briefly his eyes clashed with hers, the first time since the kiss, and she knew he hadn’t forgotten.

  As the men strode forward, Nora looked in the direction of Beth’s shrieking. The cries were panicky now, long and full and rich with terror. A crowd had gathered in a half circle. The armed men shouldered through the throng. Nora and Emmeline followed until they saw an Indian woman mounted on a buckskin mare. In her lap sat a little girl with blond hair, feverish cheeks and blue-tinged lips.

  Behind the woman sat a boy with the same blond hair but healthy coloring. With his arms tight around the woman’s waist, he leaned to the side to look around. On the corner stood Bess, her hands pressed to her face as she screamed yet again.

  “Mikey!” she wailed. “Missy!”

  The shriek had turned to words. Hunching forward, she shook her head over and over as if she was reliving the tornado. As Nora ran to help her, Bess fainted. With Emmeline in her wake, Nora dropped to her knees at the girl’s side, checked her pulse and felt a steady heartbeat. Bess had fainted from shock. She’d be fine when she woke up, but would she speak again?

  “Dr. Mitchell!”

  Will had called out to her. As Nora stood, Rebecca pushed through the crowd and crouched next to Emmeline. “Go! It’s the twins! I’ll stay with Bess.”

  As Nora and Emmeline moved into the circle, the boy slid off the horse’s rump. His sister lay limp in the Indian woman’s arms. Her eyes, glazed and unfocused, had rolled back in her head. Each breath rasped as the girl struggled to get enough air. Nora suspected an asthma attack, the disease that had killed Ben. Or maybe quinsy, a swelling of the tonsils that blocked the airway. Quinsy had killed a man as formidable as George Washington. Missy didn’t stand a chance without help.

  The Indian woman searched the crowd. Even with shotguns aimed at her chest, she showed no fear. When her gaze landed on Emmeline, she said something in Kansa to Mikey.

  “That’s her!” the boy cried. “That’s Emmeline!”

  Emmeline raced to the horse’s side, her arms outstretched to take Missy. The Indian woman kissed the girl’s cheek, then handed her to Emmeline with a few soft words in the Kansa tongue.

  Emmeline sagged beneath Missy’s weight, but she didn’t stumble. “Thank you,” she said in full voice. “Thank you for saving them.”

  The woman said something to Emmeline, then eyed the men and their guns with a stoic expression. Will lowered his weapon first, then Zeb. Pete lowered his shotgun last. The woman looked at Mikey with a tender smile. When he reached up to hug her goodbye, she leaned down and kissed the top of his head. After a final nod, she turned her horse and rode out of town.

  The crowd erupted in shouts of joy. Nora hurried to Emmeline’s side and touched Missy’s forehead. “She’s burning up.”

  A terrible rasping came from Missy’s throat. Emmeline gasped. “She can hardly breathe!”

  Nora opened the girl’s slack jaw with her fingers. In the back of her throat she saw a pustule the size of a walnut. “It’s quinsy.”

  “She’ll die!” Emmeline wailed.

  “Not if I can help it.” Nora sounded calmer than she
felt. “We need to get her to my office. The abscess has to be lanced now.”

  Emmeline turned and ran with the child in her arms. Will pushed out of the crowd. “Give her to me!”

  Emmeline handed over Missy and they all ran to the wagon in front of the town hall. Zeb leaped up to the seat and lifted the reins. The women vaulted into the back with petticoats flashing and no thought of modesty. Will laid Missy in Emmeline’s lap, then climbed up next to her. Pete and Rebecca ran up behind Will. Pete was carrying Bess’s limp body in his arms, and Rebecca had Mikey by the hand. Will gripped Bess’s shoulders and hauled her into the wagon. Mikey jumped into the back on his own.

  “Go!” Nora cried. “We don’t have much time!”

  Zeb shouted “Ya!” and the horses bolted. The wagon jerked violently and Emmeline toppled into Nora. Nora hit her head on the side of the wagon. Ignoring the pain, she tore off her glove and felt Missy’s forehead. A feverish heat penetrated her palm. Missy opened her mouth wide to clear the airway, but it did no good. Each breath was weaker than the last.

  Mikey started to sob. “She’s going to die and it’s my fault!”

  Emmeline touched his cheek. “Don’t say that, Mikey. Dr. Nora will fix her. You’ll see.”

  The boy turned to Nora. “Are you really a doctor?”

  “I am.”

  “But you’re a lady.”

  Under less dire circumstances, Nora would have laughed at his baffled expression. Right now the boy needed reassurance. “I’ve been to school and everything.”

  Wide-eyed, he stared at her. “Can you fix Missy?”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  She knew not to make promises only God could keep. She’d watched helplessly when Ben died of asthma. He’d turned blue just like Missy. Her father had summoned a physician in the middle of the night. The man had done his best, but he couldn’t save Ben.

  To honor her brother, Nora had studied breathing ailments with particular interest. Most of the time, quinsy could be treated with rest, good food and herbal teas that helped the patient fight the infection. When those treatments failed and an abscess formed in the throat, the pustule had to be opened with a lancet and drained. The surgery itself posed little danger, but Missy had only minutes before her airway was blocked completely. When that happened, she’d be beyond help.

  The wagon careened up the street to her house. Zeb reined the horses to a halt and jumped down from the seat. Carolina burst through the door. “What happened?”

  “It’s Missy,” Nora shouted. “She has quinsy.”

  “I’ll lay out your instruments!”

  Carolina hurried inside, leaving the door open for them. Zeb raced to the back of the wagon and scooped up Bess. She was closest to the tailgate and blocking the way.

  “Where do you want her?” he said to Nora.

  “On the divan for now.” She had one examination table.

  As he left with Bess, Will lifted Missy and raced up the steps with Emmeline and Mikey behind him. Nora brought up the rear, praying for God’s mercy for them all. Missy’s life was on the line. In a way, so was Nora’s. If the child died, no one would trust her. It wouldn’t be her fault, but people would consider her a failure. She had no control over the final outcome. Only God could give and take life, and she knew Missy’s symptoms were dire.

  “It’s in your hands, Lord,” she said out loud. With the prayer still alive on her lips, Nora walked into the exam room to perform the surgery.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zeb lowered Bess to the divan, then looked around for help. Nora and Carolina were with Missy, the more seriously ill of the two patients. Emmeline had followed Will into the surgery, leaving Zeb alone with the unconscious girl.

  He felt as helpless as a babe.

  Nora would know what to do. From the moment he’d seen her running to the commotion, he’d been aware of her confidence. Emmeline had been trembling with fear. Nora had stayed steady, though he wondered if she’d get the shakes when the crisis ended. That happened to him sometimes. It had happened three days ago when he’d kissed her. He’d been matter-of-fact about her attitude until he’d put his head on his pillow, then he’d realized what he’d done. He’d opened a floodgate of feelings. He didn’t want them. Neither could he stop them.

  Right now, he didn’t have time for such thoughts. He needed help with Bess. As he considered what to do, the curtain blocking the exam room fluttered open. Emmeline emerged holding Mikey’s hand. Alex came next, with Will bringing up the rear. Zeb hadn’t seen his friend this grim since the tornado.

  “How’s Missy?” he asked.

  No one answered.

  Emmeline, still clinging to Mikey, dropped to her knees at Bess’s side. The girl looked at peace, as if she were sleeping. Emmeline turned to Alex. “Would you get a damp towel for me?”

  “Sure,” he answered.

  “Take Mikey with you,” she said, sounding calm.

  As soon as the boys left, Zeb looked to Will for news about Missy. After two months of searching, finding the twins should have filled them all with joy. The thought of losing Missy now felt like a slap in the face. Zeb had thought a lot about God since last Sunday. He saw God in the big things like rivers and storms, but he had to wonder if he cared about the small things like a man’s broken heart and one sick child.

  Will planted his feet and crossed his arms. To Zeb’s surprise, his friend gave him the hardest look they’d ever shared. “I’m sure glad we have a doctor in town.”

  Zeb said nothing.

  Will’s voice went deep and low. “Missy wouldn’t have a chance without Dr. Nora. If you’d chased her off, the little girl would already be dead.”

  Emmeline looked up from Bess. “Stop it, Will.”

  “No!”

  “This isn’t the time.” The words hissed off her tongue. “We have to pray—”

  “Yes, we do,” he said calmly. “But Zeb needs to hear the facts. That woman—” he aimed his thumb at the curtain “—is doing something you can’t do, something I can’t do. When are you going to wise up and give her a little help?”

  If he trusted Nora as a doctor, he’d have no reason left to keep her at a distance. He’d start to love her. He’d worry about her leaving High Plains and taking his heart with her. The thought chilled his blood. Questioning her medical skills kept a wall between them. It also saved his pride. Zeb didn’t like eating crow. That’s why he still had the splinter in his thumb.

  Alex and Mikey came back with a damp rag. As Alex handed it to Emmeline, Mikey looked at Bess. “Is she dead?”

  “She’s just sleeping.” Emmeline looked over her shoulder at Will. “I’ll stay with Bess. Take the boys outside, okay?”

  Will glared at Zeb, daring him to continue the talk out of the children’s earshot. Zeb had no desire to fight with his friend, but he knew Will. The man was a dog with a bone when it came to right and wrong. Zeb motioned for the door. “Let’s go.”

  As he turned the knob, Bess moaned. He froze in midstep. So did Will and Alex. Mikey ran to her side. “Bess!”

  Her eyes fluttered open. The moment of truth had come. Bess would speak or return to her silent world. She looked at Mikey, blinked once, again, then gasped. “It’s really you!” Her voice sounded rusty, like an unused gate, but she’d spoken. She ran her hands over Mikey’s face and down his arms. She gripped his hands, squeezed, then playfully chucked him under the chin. “You’re alive,” she murmured. “I was so scared.”

  “Me, too,” the boy said.

  Bess looked around the room. Confusion clouded her eyes. “I saw Missy. She’s sick.”

  Mikey nodded solemnly. “The lady doctor’s going to fix her.”

  “Yes,” Bess answered. “She will. I know it.”

  Zeb envied the girl’s trust in Nora. If he’d been able to share it, he wouldn’t still have a sore thumb.

  As Emmeline stroked her sister’s hair, Will stepped behind his wife. “Hi, Bess.”

  “Hi, Will
.” She smiled timidly. “I’m glad you married my sister.”

  “Me, too.”

  It was the first time Will and Bess had exchanged words. How long had the girl wanted to voice her thoughts? How long had she fought the urge? Zeb thought of his reluctance to speak with Nora when she first arrived. Silence made a thick wall, but love could climb over it. The Logans had that kind of love for Bess, and Nora had it for her patients. Zeb didn’t want to think too much about love right now. He felt safer behind his wall.

  Footsteps tapped behind the curtain and they all turned. Nora stepped into the parlor with a smile that lit up the room. “Missy’s going to be fine.”

  Emmeline closed her eyes. “Thank You, Lord Jesus!”

  Mikey hugged Nora’s knees.

  Alex grinned.

  Will clasped her hand and shook it hard. “Thank you, Dr. Nora. We’re in your debt.”

  “Not at all.” Her gaze skipped Zeb and went to Bess.

  The girl grinned. “Hi, Dr. Nora.”

  “Bess!” Nora crossed the room and hugged the girl hard. “It’s so good to hear you!”

  Tears welled in every eye in the room, including Zeb’s. Looking at Nora with Bess, he felt the tug he’d felt at the river and wondered how things might be between them. He didn’t wonder about kissing her. They were good together. He wondered about trusting her as his wife, the mother of his children. The thought terrified him.

  Emmeline touched Nora’s shoulder. “Tell us about Missy.”

  “She has quinsy.” The lady doctor described the throat infection in simple terms, then explained how she’d lanced and drained the pustule. “As soon as the swelling went down, she took a deep breath and her color came back.”

  Mikey looked forlorn. “But she’s still sick, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, she is.” Nora spoke to the boy with the respect she’d have given an adult. “She needs rest, nutritious food and lots of love. If we all help, I think she’ll be fine. She’s sleeping right now, but you can see her later, okay?”

  “Okay.” Visibly relieved, Mikey sagged against Emmeline.