Anna beamed brighter.
Vowing to make sure she had the best future he could give her going forward, he stood. “Good night, Anna.”
“Good night, Papa. And thank you for getting me a new mama.”
Emotion clogged his throat. “You’re welcome, honey. Sleep well.”
“You too.”
Chapter Five
Regan awakened the morning of her wedding day to the tangy smell of what she thought was bacon frying. Getting up, she dressed and went to find Spring, but there was nothing cooking in the kitchen and her hostess was nowhere to be seen. Stepping outside where the tantalizing smell seemed stronger, she followed it to the back of the barn where she found Spring tending a huge hog roasting on a spit.
“Morning, Regan.”
“Morning. Nice hog you have there.”
“Slaughtered him after you went to bed last night. Getting him ready for your wedding dinner.”
That left Regan slightly baffled. “I appreciate the gesture but that’s more meat than your brother and niece and I can eat in a month.”
“Then it’s a good thing other folks are coming over to help.”
“What do you mean?”
“I took it upon myself to make this wedding the celebration you deserve. Knowing Colton, he’ll say his vows and two minutes later head to his study to pore over the latest medical journal. That’s his idea of fun.”
“How many people are coming?”
“Not sure but folks around here jump at any chance to get together. Lacy’s heading up the rest of the food.”
“Lacy?”
“Lacy Miller. She’s a little White lady, runs the general store with her husband, Chauncey. She’s rounding up all the women willing to cook on such short notice, and she’s promised a cake.”
Regan was stunned. “Have you talked to your brother about this?”
“Of course not.” She turned the spit so the hog roasted evenly. “He’d never agree, but I wanted you to be able to smile when you looked back on your wedding day. We’ll have a few fiddlers, toss some horseshoes, eat, drink, raise some toasts, and have a good time.”
Regan didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t imagine Dr. Lee’s reaction to his sister turning what had originally been a short quiet parlor ceremony into what sounded like a full-blown hullabaloo. “Be sure to tell him you did this without consulting me.”
“Will do. Now, go open your trunks and find a gown to get married in that will send Colleen Enright screaming to the Klondike.”
That made Regan smile. She’d been missing her sister, Portia, so much, but now it appeared as if she might have gained an additional one. “Spring?”
She looked up from her basting. “Yes?”
“Thank you.”
Smiling, she tossed back a wink. “You’re welcome.”
Colt needed to conduct house calls before the wedding so after getting dressed, he paused for a moment in front of his wardrobe mirror. In his denims, boots, and black flannel shirt, he resembled a rancher rather than a physician, but he didn’t mind. The back East members of his profession could keep their fancy suits, vests, and pocket watches. He hadn’t studied from dawn to dusk and swept floors at the local hospital to pay for his classes just to appear prosperous. All he wanted in life was to help people heal. That he hadn’t been able to save his mother from her cancer or Adele from the complications of childbirth continued to haunt him, but he remained dedicated to his calling and proud to have attended Howard Medical School.
The school, founded in 1867 and named for Civil War General Oliver Otis Howard, changed his life. He began his medical studies there in 1870, and for a mountain boy who’d never been farther east than Cheyenne, the nation’s capital city of Washington, with its clanging horse-drawn trolleys and thousands of people had been daunting. He’d never been anywhere so noisy or where everyone seemed to be in such a hurry. It was also his first time seeing so many members of the race doing everything from riding the trolleys to working in storefront establishments to owning fine hotels and restaurants.
But the most life-changing event took place in his anatomy class. It was taught by Dr. Alexander T. Augusta, the first Colored man to be commissioned a major in the Union Army and the first man of the race to teach at a U.S. medical school. The first day of class, Colt was so busy staring with awe and pride, he forgot to take notes. He’d known men like him existed but he’d never seen a doctor of color before. Learning from him, being encouraged by him, and later training under him at Washington’s Freedmen’s Hospital reaffirmed his belief that medicine was indeed his calling.
Now, he was to be a husband to a woman so unconventional, she sometimes took his breath away. Had she really branded cattle? He’d done it, of course, but other than his sister, Spring, he knew few women able to accomplish such a task without succumbing to a fit of the vapors.
“Interesting times ahead,” he said to his reflection. “Interesting times.”
Downstairs he found Anna standing at the big dining room window looking out.
“Morning, Anna.”
“Morning, Papa.”
“What’s going on out there?”
“Granpa Ben and his friends are scything the grasses in the field.”
Curious, Colt walked to her side. Sure enough, his grandfather along with cronies Odell Waters, Manx Solomon, and Porter James were swinging their blades through the overgrowth.
Anna said, “They’re getting ready for the wedding.”
“Miss Carmichael and I are getting married in the parlor, honey.”
“I think the field is where all the food and eating’s going to be.”
Colt stilled. “Why do you think that?”
“When Granpa Ben was fixing my breakfast, he was grumbling about Aunt Spring, busybodies, a pig, and cake. Is that what you eat at a wedding? Pig and cake?”
Colt was outdone for a few moments. “I’m not sure. Let me go talk with Granpa Ben and see if I can get some answers.”
He headed for the door.
“What do you mean half the town’s coming?” he asked Ben impatiently.
His grandfather wiped the sweat from his brow on the sleeve of his shirt. “Your sister’s doing. Rode over before dawn, told me what she planned to do, and rode off towards town.”
“But I don’t want all this,” he said, indicating the cleared field.
Ben shrugged. “Too late. Spring thinks you and the Carmichael woman need to go all out, and you know how she is once she sets her mind on something.”
Colt blew out an exasperated breath. “This was supposed to be a small family gathering in the parlor.”
“Tell that to your sister. More than likely that woman you’re so set on marrying wanted something more highfalutin. Told you she’d be trouble.”
Colt wondered if Regan and Spring were coconspirators, but realized it didn’t matter. The horse was out of the barn and galloping across the county. In fact, he looked up to see a couple of wagons turning onto the property. One, driven by Lacy Miller, had its bed filled with chairs, trestle tables, and Lord knew what else. “I have house calls to make.”
“You eat breakfast?”
“Not hungry. Anna’s staying home from school today.”
“Why?”
“She and Spring are standing up with Regan at the wedding.”
His grandfather grumbled something unintelligible. “Okay. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“And I’d like for you to stand up with me.”
“Why can’t Whit do it?”
“Because he’s conducting the ceremony.”
“Oh all right.”
Buoyed by his grandfather’s enthusiasm, Colt went to the barn and saddled his horse. His injured shoulder was still tight and sore but felt better than it had the day before. Thankful for that at least, he rode away.
His first stop was to check in on nine-year-old Silas Taylor. A week ago, the boy and his black-and-white bull terrier, Lucky, had a run-in with an o
ld male cougar the locals had named One Eye because the cat only had one. Due to its advanced age and limited vision, the cougar probably saw the boy as an easy meal, but didn’t take into account the fearless Lucky coming to his master’s aid. The dog eventually ran