“I didn’t realize he had a house.” Dannan found it so easy to talk to her.
“Yes, it’s right on the green, about five doors down from the bank. Mrs. Peterson bought it with him in mind after he came to work with Eli. No one’s in it right now, and it probably needs a bit of paint and freshening up. Finn’s not in any hurry to move from here, so for now we’ll stay as we are.”
“Big changes can be hard.”
“It’s the small changes I worry about,” Scottie admitted and then caught herself. She hadn’t realized before how easy it was to talk to Dannan MacKay. She looked up at him, a bit surprised, and since Dannan noticed everything about her, he mentioned it.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, but I just realized I must be keeping you.”
Dannan shook his head. “I’m just glad to know you’re doing well. I’ll be praying that it gets easier instead of harder.”
Scottie nodded, and Dannan noticed that she glanced up the open stairway and hall to Eli’s closed door. Dannan didn’t know what to say. His own heart was very affected by all of this, and it was all too easy to imagine how Scottie must be feeling.
“If you want another book,” Scottie offered, brightening, “I hope you’ll come and choose one.”
“Thank you. I would enjoy that. Maybe not right now, but sometime.”
“Finn could take you up,” Scottie said, her eyes growing a bit guarded, and Dannan knew that she wasn’t ready to enter Eli’s room.
“I’ll just plan on that in the future.”
“Do you read often?”
“Always. Anything I can get my hands on.”
“You could go now,” Scottie began, but Dannan stopped her.
“After our book discussion from a few weeks ago, Mr. Peterson sent Gulliver’s Travels with me. I’m still working on that.”
“I’d forgotten about that. Have you gotten to the part where he’s in the farmer’s house and describes the cat as looking three times larger than an ox? I don’t know why, but that scene is very real to me.”
“I’m just past that,” Dannan admitted, realizing for the first time that she probably read as much as Eli did. Dannan didn’t let himself speculate too long but plunged ahead with his next thought.
“I don’t wish to overstep, but since you’ve read it, maybe we could discuss it when I’m done.”
“I would enjoy that,” Scottie replied, completely unaware of her effect on this man. “You could join us for dinner. Iris and Finn would enjoy it as well.”
Dannan had all he could do not to smile in delight. Instead, he gave a calm nod with his head.
“I’ll let you know when I’m done.”
Scottie said they would plan on it, and Dannan made his exit. Scottie went immediately about the business of working on the dress she planned to make for Corina, glad she still had that to do.
Dannan walked on a cloud all the way back to town, telling himself to go very slow but not listening all that well.
Fourteen
Scottie had barely started the third page of the book when Corina’s head fell against her arm; the little girl was fast asleep. Scottie shifted her so she could be comfortable on the sofa and then studied the child’s beautiful face, wishing her own sleep would come as easily.
Eli had been dead for six days. He had filled Scottie’s mind and thoughts all day and at any time she could not sleep in the night. She hadn’t expected this but now recognized that she should have. Her days had been built around him and now he was missing.
Even Finn was out of place. He had not spent every waking moment in Eli’s room but certainly much of his time. To have him in the kitchen, parlor, and garden so often only served to remind Scottie all the more that her husband was gone.
She wanted to cry again. She had done little else in the last six days. Scottie let her head fall back against the sofa, tears making her throat ache.
Maybe Corina has the right idea, she thought to herself. Maybe I just need a nap.
“How is she?” Finn asked from his place at the worktable. Iris came back from peeking out the kitchen door to report.
“They’re both asleep.”
“Good,” Finn said. “Scottie’s pale these days, and she has shadows under her eyes.”
“She cries when she doesn’t think we see.”
Finn only grunted, thinking he’d done the same thing. Eli’s closed door was a constant reminder. And it wasn’t as if he could avoid the upstairs. His room was right next door, the first one at the top of the stairs. Eli’s was next, with marvelous windows that had allowed him to see out into a world that was no longer his. Old Mrs. Peterson’s room was next, and then a very small bedroom. The last one on the landing was Scottie’s.
Finn’s new routine was difficult as well. He had his chickens and the cow and pig to see to, but where in the past he’d always rushed to get his chores done and get back to Eli, he now found they took little time at all. He tried to stretch them out, making them last as long as he could, but the milking and feeding took only so long.
“More tea?” Iris asked, and Finn pushed his cup that way.
“Thank you,” he said quietly, but Iris didn’t answer. She was in her own world of pain, feeling that things were never going to be normal again. Taking care of Eli had been the focus of her life for years. She hadn’t doubted Finn and Scottie’s abilities, but she took great pride in knowing how Eli liked his food and what all of his favorites were.
Crying didn’t come easily to her, and she thought the constant headache that recently plagued her might be rooted in that. Finn had mentioned that Scottie was looking pale. Iris’ own mirror told her she was in no better condition.
“Go ahead and cry,” Finn suddenly ordered, getting to his feet. “I’m going to check on the animals.”
Iris didn’t reply and neither did she cry, but she appreciated his words. Not a demonstrative man, Finn still knew she was hurting—even without the tears—and that meant a great deal to her.
Dannan thought he would see so much of Scottie. He was going to finish the book and then have dinner at the house to discuss it. He didn’t reckon on being so busy that he didn’t have time to read or the fact that he would come and go to get his daughter but see no sign of the mistress of the house.
On top of that, he missed Eli Peterson. He’d not known that gentleman for very long, but his presence had had a profound effect on Dannan’s life. He wanted to speak to Eli again, not just about the things he’d said concerning Scottie, but also about books and the life he’d known. A case like his was fascinating to a doctor, but Dannan’s interest was beyond medical. From the first time he’d met Eli, he was impressed with his attitude toward his situation. Eli was not bitter or angry about being in that bed. Dannan was certain that from a spiritual standpoint, he could have learned much from that man.
Having just left Corina at the Peterson house a week after Eli’s death, Dannan’s heart was a bit heavy as he walked away. He had some ointment he needed to prepare and at least two patients to check on, so he tried to get his mind back on work, but all the time he wondered what the next days would look like.
Dannan was in his workroom preparing medicine. At a time when the practice of purging, puking, and bleeding was much too common, Dannan had been trained to use specific medicines for specific needs, hoping to move away from mineral remedies that often brought such harmful effects.
Dannan had known some success with salves to cleanse wounds. The ointments helped fend off infection, but not all of his patients would listen or agree. A book on United States flora had been very helpful, and Dannan had started a small garden as soon as he’d taken over the house, also growing things in the window of the workroom.
He enjoyed the experimental side of medicine but at times missed Dr. Collier’s input. That man had great experience in this area, and Dannan had learned much from him. In the midst of his work, Dannan had an idea. He wrote down the ingredients for a mixture he thought mi
ght be used to treat burns.
Dannan didn’t have two of the plants needed to make it. Rather than try to obtain them, he opted to write to Dr. Collier and get his opinion. Dannan was in the midst of this letter when someone came looking for him.
For a moment Dannan understood why some doctors only studied treatments. Interruptions at times like this could be frustrating. But the little boy—less than five years old—who had almost severed a finger—got Dannan’s mind back on track. He would never want to leave his life of helping people who needed his skills as a physician.
“You look tired,” Conner commented to Dannan when he arrived for dinner. He’d been tempted to go to the Petersons’ but didn’t follow his heart.
“I am a little.”
“Busy schedule or busy thoughts?”
Dannan looked up into Conner’s knowing eyes. “Both, I think.”
Conner didn’t comment, but he’d certainly been praying for the other man. He still remembered Reese’s reaction to the news and knew that her face mirrored his own response when Dannan had shared with him.
“Eli told Dannan he was the one for Scottie?” Reese clarified, her mouth open a bit. “He said those very words?”
“Yes. Dannan thought he’d misunderstood, but Eli brought it up again before he died.”
“Poor Dannan.” Reese’s face was filled with compassion. “It must have been dreadfully awkward.”
“Yes, and I assume Eli was desperate. Here came Dannan on the scene, perfect in Eli’s eyes, and at a time when he felt like he was slipping away.”
“And he was,” Reese whispered, looking distressed.
Conner wished he’d kept his mouth shut.
“We’ll pray for him,” Conner encouraged. “He’s thinking well about it, and who knows, when all is said and done, maybe Scottie will agree with Eli.”
Reese nodded in agreement, liking this idea, her face showing her thoughts.
“What are you thinking?” Conner asked.
“Just that they would be perfect for each other,” Reese admitted.
“Reese Kingsley.” Conner tried to sound stern with his whisper. “We are not going to get involved.”
Reese tried to look innocent, but she liked the idea so much—Dannan and Scottie—that it was hard to pretend she felt otherwise.
“I have to get some sleep,” she told her husband as she began to brush out her hair.
Conner would have pushed the point, if only to tease her, but he knew she wouldn’t do anything rash. At least he hoped she wouldn’t.
“Are you coming in?” Reese was suddenly in the hall, looking for her husband and Dannan. “Dinner is on the table.”
“We’re coming right now,” Conner assured her, only just realizing that he’d been standing there in deep thought, Dannan staring at him.
“You’ll have to tell me what that look was about,” Dannan remarked to his host as they moved to the dining room.
Conner nodded, knowing it was only fair. “Just as soon as I get a chance,” the banker promised, and the men went in to dinner.
“Come in,” Douglas called quietly to whoever was knocking on his study door, his handkerchief in his fist.
“Papa?” 14-year-old Joshua ventured as he opened the door.
“Hi, Josh,” Douglas said thickly, and the young man came all the way inside and shut the door. He walked until he stood opposite his father’s desk.
“You look like you’ve been crying,” Joshua said quietly.
“I have been,” Douglas admitted.
“Mr. Peterson?” the pastor’s son guessed.
Douglas nodded, his heart squeezing some. He had not been prepared to lose Eli, and although they usually had only one visit a week, it was a precious time for Douglas. His week now felt incomplete without it.
“It was so fast,” Joshua reflected.
“I think so too. I wish I had stayed a little longer that night. He didn’t wake up, but I would have wanted to be there had I realized how swiftly he was going downhill.”
“Do you think about him in heaven?”
“A little. I can’t picture heaven, so that’s hard to get my mind around, but I’m thinking of him standing before he kneels at Christ’s feet.” Douglas smiled a little. “That makes me envy him.”
Joshua laughed a little, and Douglas asked if he needed something.
“Mama wants to know if you’re hungry. She said you didn’t eat much dinner.”
“I am a little, but I’ll wait for tea. Thanks, Josh.”
“I’ll go tell her and come back.”
“Why will you do that?” Douglas asked.
“Because you need someone with you right now,” the young man said simply.
Douglas could only nod, needing his handkerchief again.
Dannan found Corina on the sofa next to Scottie. Scottie was reading to her. It was a scene that was bittersweet to his heart. He had come to the kitchen door and into the house that way, thanking Iris and telling her he would see himself out.
“Hello,” Dannan said quietly when Scottie came to the end of the page. “This looks fun.”
“It is,” Scottie said, closing the book and smiling down at Corina.
To the adults’ surprise, that little girl frowned up at her.
“Corina.” Dannan’s voice was firm. “I want you to thank Scottie.”
A mutinous expression crossed her face, and Dannan’s brows rose in warning, a warning Corina didn’t heed. Corina climbed from the sofa, frowning first at Scottie and then at Dannan.
“I apologize,” Dannan told his hostess. “Clearly Corina and I have something to discuss when we get home.”
“It’s all right,” Scottie said swiftly, coming to her feet. “I think she’s tired.”
“If that’s the reason, it’s not all right at all,” Dannan countered quietly.
Scottie blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Only that fatigue is not an excuse for treating someone poorly.”
Scottie stared at him, not sure what to say.
“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Dannan said, not really taking in Scottie’s reaction in his need to get Corina out the door and home. This was not acceptable behavior from her, and he was already trying to figure out just how he would explain that.
“You were not thankful to Scottie,” Dannan said, wasting no time but starting the conversation the moment they were in their kitchen. “You were cross with her.” From his kneeling position on the floor, Dannan stopped and studied the child’s face. “Do you know what I’m talking about?”
Her lip was beginning to quiver, but she still said, “Sottie read boos.”
“Do not cry,” Dannan said firmly, and even though tears clung to Corina’s lower lids, she did not weep. “Yes, Scottie does read books to you, and when I asked you to say thank you, you would not do it.”
Corina’s eyes could have swallowed her face as she looked into Dannan’s disapproving countenance.
“I want you to be thankful. Do you understand?”
Corina nodded.
“So the next time I ask you to thank Scottie, what are you going to say?”
“San you.”
“That’s right. You will not act like that again.”
The eyes were almost more than Dannan could take, but he remembered Grant and didn’t soften.
“Why are we thankful, Corina?” Dannan asked, his voice losing some of its firm edge.
Corina didn’t answer.
“We have such a great God.” Dannan told her, knowing it would be some time before she knew that for herself. “We need to be thankful to Him all the time and also to those He puts in our lives. Like Scottie.”
“Sottie read boos,” Corina repeated, and Dannan looked at her lost little face and wondered if he’d made any ground at all.
“Come here,” Dannan sat down on the floor, and Corina wasted no time climbing into his lap. Dannan hated having to scold her, and he wished he knew why she’d reacted the way she did,
but he couldn’t wait to address the issue until he figured that out.
“Are you hungry?” Dannan asked after pressing a kiss to her small, round cheek.
The little head bobbed against him, and Dannan realized he was proud of her. She hadn’t burst into tears, and even when she hadn’t answered his question, she hadn’t done it with a rebellious look on her face. He didn’t know how much had actually gotten through, but he hoped they were off to a good start.
Corina was asleep before Dannan remembered the letters he’d picked up from Doyle. He settled in the parlor, shifting the candle close so he could read, and settled back to hear from his family. He started with the one from his mother.
Do you have any idea how much I pray for you? I think that you and Corina are on my heart constantly. Do you remember those first years of poor health? I fought against God for a time, so sure He would want me up and around and then so angry to learn that He had another plan. I still wish I could do my own laundry and paint the house, but in truth my schedule leaves much more time for thought, and you just about fill mine.
I will not overburden you with questions, but do write soon and tell us how you are both doing and if Corina is still enjoying Iris.
Dannan put the letter down for a moment and thought about what a blessing Corina was in his life, and what an equal blessing it was to have Iris. Iris had been wonderful for Corina. And it hadn’t been that long. So much had happened in the last month, but the stability Iris offered was a constant source of comfort.
Dannan finished his mother’s letter and then read the one from his uncle. They both had much the same words, so Dannan wrote only one letter back. He was able to be honest about how he was feeling and all the changes that had gone on and wrote of his appreciation for their prayers.
He ended the letter with a special word of thanks to his uncle, who had sent him to Iris. Dannan knew he would not have been able to manage without her.