Dr. Brookston! I’ve been looking for you.” Judith Stafford closed the distance between them, gloved hand outstretched. “In fact, I just left your clinic.”
“Miss Stafford.” Rand took brief hold of her hand while managing a discreet step backward. “What a surprise.”
“Indeed! And a pleasant one at that.” Her soft laughter bubbled over. “I left word for you with . . .” She frowned as though trying to remember something.
“Angelo?” Rand supplied, guessing the reason for her hesitancy.
“Yes.” She smiled. “I left word with Angelo that I needed to see you.”
“You’re not ill, I trust.”
“No, I’m quite well. Thank you for asking.” Her eyes lit. “I stopped by your clinic because I’m concerned about two of my students—Benjamin and Paige Foster. They started coughing this morning and only worsened as the day went on. When I checked their foreheads this afternoon, they were both warm to the touch.” Her brows arched. “Knowing how swiftly sickness can spread, I thought it wise to dismiss a little early and . . . let you know about it.”
Catching the subtle change in her tone, Rand wished he’d made that small step backward a bit larger. As for the Foster siblings being ill, he knew most childhood fevers simply ran their course. But to be safe, he still wanted to examine the children. “Do you know if Benjamin and Paige went straight home?”
“I instructed them to do just that.”
“Thank you, Miss Stafford, for being so conscientious. I’ll call on the family this evening.” With a nod, he turned. But a touch on his arm drew him back.
“Perhaps you’d like for me to accompany you, Dr. Brookston? As the children’s teacher, I feel an obligation as well as a responsibility to—”
“That won’t be necessary, Miss Stafford. But thank you just the same.”
Disappointment clouded her expression. Her gaze lowered.
Realizing he’d come across as abrupt, Rand searched for something to say that would soften the rejection. He didn’t want to encourage Miss Stafford’s attentiveness, yet he didn’t want to be rude.
Mindful of other patrons in the bakery, he kept his voice low. “I appreciate your offer, but I wouldn’t want to risk your health, Miss Stafford . . . in the event that what the children have is infectious.”
Her features sharpened with concern, then smoothed as she exhaled a delicate sigh. “How thoughtful of you, Doctor.” She stepped closer. “While at your office earlier, I happened to see you’ve been enjoying the treat I left for you.”
Her voice took on a singsong quality that might have sounded sweet, even delightful, if his feelings for her were of a more tender nature. As it was, he found himself wishing he’d let Brandon Tolliver get ahold of him instead. “Yes . . . the cookies. Thank you, ma’am. They were delicious. As always.”
“And they’re your favorites.”
Nodding, he didn’t have the heart to tell her he’d only eaten one. Angelo and his sisters had polished off the rest.
“And . . . did you read my note?”
He swallowed. “Ah . . . yes, I did. Your sentiments were most . . . enlightening.” Enlightening hardly described them. What she’d written . . . He grew uncomfortable again just thinking about it.
Since moving to Timber Ridge, Judith Stafford had made no attempt to hide her interest in him, which was flattering in one sense. She was a bright, attractive woman. Intelligent, capable, well thought of in the community, and, from all accounts, a gifted teacher. She possessed many admirable qualities. The problem was, he simply didn’t return her . . .
The irony of his next thought stopped him cold.
Was this how Rachel Boyd felt about him? The realization stung, and put things into perspective for him with sharp-edged—and deflating—clarity. Eager to leave now more than ever, he made a show of checking his pocket watch. “If you’ll excuse me, Miss Stafford, I have an appointment to keep. I appreciate your concern and dedication to your students, and I’ll call on the Fosters later this—”
The young teacher glanced past him out the front window, frowning. At the same time, Rand heard someone calling his name. He turned to see a crowd gathering in the street, and when he spotted the man who was yelling for him, he rushed outside to the boardwalk. “Deputy!”
Deputy Willis searched the boardwalk, his focus quickly finding its mark. “Dr. Brookston! Sheriff needs you at the jail right away!”
Rand set out behind the deputy, running to keep up, his thoughts darting to the recent saloon shooting, then to the fatal coal mine explosion a month ago in which three miners were killed when an open flame ignited a pocket of flammable gas. The explosion brought the tunnel down.
Winded from the run, Rand reached the stairs to the sheriff ’s office two strides behind the deputy and followed him inside.
James McPherson met them at the door that led to the cells in the back. Concern weighted his expression. “It’s Rachel,” he said, and gestured for him to follow.
Rand rounded the corner and saw her lying on a cot in the first jail cell. She shivered despite the coat she wore, and her eyes were clenched tight. “What happened?” he breathed, then saw how she was clutching her leg.
“She’s hurting something awful where the heifer kicked her the other day.” McPherson nodded toward the deputy. “Thanks, Willis, for finding him for me.” McPherson waited until the young deputy returned to the front office and closed the door behind him. “I told her to come see you, Doc.” He bent and caressed the crown of his sister’s head. “But she thought it was just a bruise. She showed up here about ten minutes ago, all but passed out in the wagon.”
Rachel’s eyelids fluttered open. She started to rise. “I need to find the boys. . . .”
Rand gently touched her shoulder. “Your sons are fine, Mrs. Boyd.” He deposited his bag on the floor and shrugged off his duster. “They’re at the store with Ben and Lyda. I just left them.” He draped the long coat over Rachel’s body, and her eyes slipped closed.
She shuddered. “Th-thank you. . . .”
Outside the row of empty jail cells, at the far end of the hallway, Rand spotted a potbellied stove. “Can you get a fire going, Sheriff? We could use a little warmth in here.”
“Consider it done, Doc.”
Rand pressed the palm of his hand against Rachel’s forehead— she felt warm.
“Your hand is cold,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry.”
“No . . .” She shook her head, her chin quivering. “It feels good.”
He cupped her face and smiled when the gesture earned him a grateful sigh. “How long has your leg been hurting?”
She swallowed. “Since it happened, but . . . it’s gotten worse today.”
Rachel Boyd . . . He shook his head to himself, remembering the copy of The Handy-Book of Husbandry he’d seen in the barn stall the morning he’d delivered Lady’s calf. His estimation of her had only risen over time, especially in the past few days as he’d seen her interact with Ben and Lyda, and had spent more time in her company. But he wondered . . . Had she been this determined and willful before her husband died? Or was this part of how she’d learned to cope? To survive without him?
No question, she was a Southern woman through and through, and like a lot of Southern women, when push came to shove, she had a will of iron that cut straight through the sugar and sweetness. As his mother might have said, and proudly so, “She’s a woman to be reckoned with, son.” Rand sighed. What he wouldn’t do to have Rachel Boyd be open to a little reckoning with him.
His next question was absurd, but propriety demanded he ask. “Would you permit me to examine your injury, Mrs. Boyd?”
She looked up at him. “Yes, but . . .” She briefly glanced away. “I’m . . . wearing stockings.”
It took him a moment to understand what she was implying. She would need to remove her stockings in order for him to examine her—he glanced around—and a jail cell hardly afforded the privacy they needed.
Sheriff McPherson returned with an armful of wood, and Rand met him in the hallway and explained the situation, knowing Rachel would feel more comfortable with her brother carrying her than him. “So if you could help me move her to the clinic, Sheriff, I’d be obliged.”
Fifteen minutes later, James McPherson carried his sister into the clinic, and Rand directed him toward his bedroom as he retrieved a bottle and cup from the medicine shelf. James lowered her to the bed and Rachel sat down on the mattress.
Rand poured and held the cup to her lips. “It’s laudanum.”
She accepted without hesitance but made a slight face.
Rand commiserated. “Wish I could make it taste better.” He raised the cup again, but she turned away. “It will help ease the pain,” he encouraged. “I think you’ll be glad you took it.”
She shook her head, frowning. “I’ll be fine.”
Believing differently, he placed the bottle and cup aside. “Do you need help removing your undergarments?”
“No.” She glanced back at the bed. “May I lie down here?”
He’d planned on moving her to the examination table in the front room, where it was warmer, but this would do. “Yes, that’ll be fine. Whatever is easiest for you.”
She started unbuttoning her coat.
He motioned James toward the door and followed, pausing before he pulled it closed. “Would you like your brother to be present during the examination? He’s welcome to stay.”
“No, that’s all right,” she whispered, then looked at James. “But if you could get Mitch and Kurt from the store, and get my wagon from your office, I’d appreciate it.”
Her brother gave a mock salute. “Molly will take care of the boys. Don’t you worry about a thing.”
After James left, Rand stoked the fire in the hearth before retrieving the instruments he anticipated needing. He spotted the note Angelo had left him about Miss Stafford on the desk, which jarred another recollection loose—his appointment. He glanced at the clock on the—
A knock sounded on the door.
What timing. . . . He balanced the syringe, bandages, and fresh towels in the crook of his arm, mindful of the scalpel in his grip, and answered the door.
“Dr. Brookston, I’m sorry I’m late.” Elizabeth Ranslett attempted to cover an anxious expression with a smile, as did her husband behind her, but Rand knew them well enough to recognize the look of contrived hope. She glanced back at Daniel. “I hope you don’t mind me bringing a friend this time.”
Rand smiled. “Not at all, Elizabeth.” He nodded to Daniel. “Ranslett, it’s good to see you again. Come on in. That goes for Beau too.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Daniel snapped his fingers at the dog by his side, and the aging beagle trotted through the door and over to the hearth, where he sank down on the rug, eyes doleful but obedient.
Rand noticed Elizabeth eying the scalpel in his hand and hastened to reassure her. “These aren’t for your visit today, Elizabeth.” He indicated the bedroom door with a nod, fairly confident about the idea just now forming. “I have another patient here, and I’m—”
“Do we need to come back later?” she asked.
“Not at all. In fact . . . your timing is impeccable.”