Orphan Train Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 26

  “I’m Matt. Can you help them? Please don’t let them die.”

  “I’ll do my best, Matt. How old are you?”

  “I’m ten.”

  “That’s great. That means you’re a big boy, right?”

  He finally tore his eyes away from staring at Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell and looked at Katie. He stood a little straighter as he nodded agreement.

  “Excellent. Now, I need you to go find the doctor. Don’t get too close to anyone while you’re going through town, just in case it is the flu. You’re one of the boys we brought on the train, aren’t you?”

  Matt nodded before his eyes skittered back to looking at Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell. “I don’t want to lose them. I just got here.”

  Katie’s heart squeezed with the thought of what this boy had already endured in his young life. She needed him to be brave just a little bit more. She offered him an encouraging smile.

  “I know, Matt, we’re going to do our very best. Somehow, you and I got lucky and we don’t get this particular sickness. So we’ll be able to help them if that is what they have. Now, go find the doctor so he can help us.”

  She couldn’t believe she was voluntarily sending for the doctor, but she knew she couldn’t face this on her own. And Katie was fairly certain the doctor would want to be involved in preventing the spread of the dreadful disease in this town. Her stomach turned over as she wondered if the train passengers had brought this terrible thing with them. She shook herself out of her momentary inertia. While she wanted to run away, she had a neighborly obligation to do the best she could for the Mitchells. She didn’t know if she would be able to deal with any more death from this dreadful disease on an emotional level, but there wasn’t much she could do about that now. She was involved. It just had to be dealt with. At least she didn’t have to fear that she would bring it home to Annie. It would seem the child was also immune, since she had survived what had wiped out her family.

  Katie set herself in motion, hoping Matt was able to return quickly with the doctor or some other responsible adult in tow. Her fears were besetting her. She had to shake it off and do what she could for the Mitchells.

  She was in the midst of spooning lukewarm broth into Mrs. Mitchell’s mouth when she finally heard the arrival of Doctor Jeffries and Matt. Katie felt a sigh of relief leave her before her anxieties returned once more. On top of her concerns for the Mitchells, she now had to cope with the uncomfortable presence of the doctor. Even though she had requested his help, she dreaded being around him.

  “Katie?” the doctor questioned informally before quickly asking, “Are you all right, Mrs. Carter?”

  With a tight smile, she nodded at him. There was a beat of silence before she responded. “Thanks for coming. I’m sorry for needing to involve you in this, but I can’t face it completely on my own. I would actually rather not deal with this at all, but I could not walk away when I realized Matt was here on his own. I’m afraid it is as he suspected, the flu. They both have the rash, and they’re burning up with fever.”

  While the doctor absorbed this information, Katie turned to the boy, who had followed the doctor into the room. “Were you able to get the doctor without getting too close to anyone else?”

  The boy nodded vigorously. “Very good, Matt. Thank you. If you would, I have another task for you to perform. Could you take a note for me to my house?”

  Poor Matt looked thrilled at the thought of not needing to stay in the room with his ill adoptive parents. He quickly ran to find a piece of paper and a pencil for Katie to write her note.

  “Tell me what you have done so far,” the doctor demanded, getting down to business.

  “I set a pot on the stove. While that was heating up I bathed their faces and chests and then changed their bedding.” Katie forced herself to be as stoic as possible, but she could still feel heat climbing in her cheeks with embarrassment over performing the very personal task for two people she barely knew. “I have since been trying to get as much of the broth into them as I could. From my experience, that’s all that can be done for the fever. I really hope you have some other ideas.”

  “You have done well. Unfortunately, if this is the flu, there isn’t much else that can be done. We can just keep doing what you’ve started. Keeping fluids in them will be the most gruelling task,” he pointed out as Mrs. Mitchell threw up all that Katie had managed to get into her so far. It hadn’t been much, and Katie had had the foresight to put a towel around the woman’s neck, so all her efforts of cleaning the woman hadn’t come undone.

  Mrs. Mitchell moaned softly, but Katie just murmured gently to her. The older woman quieted and drifted deeper into sleep.

  “Sleep and fluids will be what will save them.”

  Katie quickly wrote a note to Melanie, letting her know where she was and asking that she look after Annie for the foreseeable future. I have no idea how long I will have to remain here, she wrote. I would rather not be here, but someone has to do it. Don’t come by, and don’t let Annie visit. She survived it once — I don’t want to take any chances, nor do I want her to be frightened. Try to satisfy her by telling her I’m helping out some friends. I dearly hope I won’t be too long.

  “How well do you know the Mitchells, doctor?” Katie asked after she had sent Matt off with her note.

  “Fairly well,” he answered. “It’s a small town. Most everyone knows everything about everyone. Why do you ask?”

  “Do they have any family we should send for to care for them?”

  “Would you want to risk others?” He was incredulous.

  “No, of course not, but I cannot remain here for too long.”

  “Why not?”

  Katie started to feel frustrated with him. “For one thing, I don’t think being in your company is going to be pure pleasure, and for another, I have a child to take care of. A fact that you have been repeatedly reminding me of, if you’ll recall. And I did my duty with my own family with this dreadful disease. I’m not sure if my mind and heart can bear up under doing it again.”

  The doctor was grinning over her words when she first started talking, as though her show of spirit amused him, but he sobered at her reminder of what she had lost to the dreadful disease.

  “Of course, I understand. We’ll have a good idea in the next few hours what the future will hold for these two, so we’ll have more answers as to whether or not we’ll need help. As it stands, I would rather not involve anyone else. I will be able to remain even if you cannot do so.”

  Katie didn’t appreciate his condescending tone even as he professed to understand her reasons for not wanting to be there. But there was little she could do. Even though she wanted to be anywhere but there, she knew in her heart, she could never abandon the Mitchells. She would much rather pass their care off to a family member, but she understood the doctor not wanting to risk anyone else’s health. She just hoped her surprising immunity to the dreadful disease held. Katie offered him a tight smile and without a word left the room to go boil more water.

  ~~~

  Wyatt watched through the window as Katie struggled to get the heavy bedding over the line to dry. He shouldn’t be referring to her so familiarly, even in his head, since she had not given him leave to do so, but he couldn’t help himself. It had now been twenty-four hours that they had been here together, watching over poor Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell. And poor Matt. The boy was trying to hide his fears, but it was obvious that he was terrified. Wyatt couldn’t blame him. He now realized that Matt’s entire family had been wiped out as the plague of influenza had swept through New York. That was how he wound up an orphan on the train out to Missouri. The same was true of Mrs. Carter. It was interesting to watch the two bond over their shared losses.

  His attention had been wandering, but his focus was brought back to Katie as she snapped another sheet in the breeze before tossing it over the line. Wyatt wouldn’t have thought it possible, but the small woman was even more beautiful today, with tendrils of hair flying wildly
about her head after having escaped her tight hair style.

  The doctor was amazed that she had remained. He knew she didn’t want to be there. But she hadn’t wavered in her care of the Mitchells. Wyatt knew it was his job, as the doctor, to care for people. Katie was only doing it out of neighborly duty. She barely even knew the Mitchells. He was deeply impressed with her diligence.

  Despite his previous declaration that women should stay home and tend the family fires, there was no arguing with the fact that he would have been seriously challenged to handle this medical case on his own. Two seriously ill patients and a terrified boy would have been beyond his abilities, he was man enough to admit. But he suspected that even if he wasn’t there, the brave little widow would have managed on her own. He didn’t want to respect her, and he most certainly didn’t want to have feelings for her, but he could feel his heart rate picking up as he stood there, watching her doing something so pragmatic as hanging the laundry out to dry. For the briefest moment, he allowed himself to picture her doing such a task at his own house. He quickly shut the idea down. He doubted she would consider it and, he reminded himself, he didn’t want such an independent soul as his mate.

  But he had a welcoming smile on his lips when she returned to the house. It turned to amusement as she cast him a suspicious glare.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” she demanded, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb the others in the house, but conveying her discomfort quite clearly as she set aside the basket she had been carrying. “I know I’m not the prettiest picture, but you are quite aware of what I have been experiencing in the last day besides not sleeping, so you needn’t look at me so.”

  He protested. “I swear to you, I was not looking at you in judgement of any sort. Quite the contrary, in fact. I was just thinking that I would not have been able to handle this situation without you.”

  The look of surprise that swept across her features made him want to laugh out loud, but he managed to restrain the impulse, realizing that it would cause her to leave the house in anger.

  “Well, thank you,” she answered grudgingly. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it alone, either,” she admitted. There was a pause while she couldn’t meet his gaze before she continued. “To be honest, I think if I had been left alone here, while I wouldn’t want to abandon them to their fate, I’m not sure if I would have been able to handle it. My fears would have overwhelmed me. I think of how it was when I was on my own with Mrs. Jenkins after she fainted. And that was just a few days ago. I don’t think I could have borne it again so soon. Even having Matt here wouldn’t have been enough to keep me grounded, since the poor boy is struggling so hard to control his own fears. Having a real doctor present is keeping him comforted. If he had only me, I don’t think the two of us would fare well.”

  Wyatt chuckled, which brought a glare from her, and hot color flooded her cheeks. It only subsided as he soothed, “I, on the other hand, think you would have fared as well as was needed. You seem to be one of those remarkable people who manage to do whatever needs to be done. You managed just fine with Mrs. Jenkins, and you’re doing wonderfully here.”

  He admired her beauty as her cheeks remained a light pink but this time out of embarrassment as she turned bashful. “Thank you, Doctor Jeffries, that’s kind of you to say. But while I have an aversion to doctors out of principle, I have to say I’m in the same camp as Matt. Having someone present who has actually been formally educated in the art of medicine is a comfort in this situation. In New York, when the plague was running rampant, there were far too many patients and not nearly enough doctors. And when your pockets were to let, there was no hope for you. You had to muddle through as best you could with only prayer and hot water on your side. And clean water was even hard to come by. That is one beautiful luxury out here in Missouri. It doesn’t seem that anyone is concerned about water.”

  She stopped talking for a moment, but Wyatt didn’t comment. Despite having worked side by side now on two occasions, this was the most the independent woman had shared in one sitting. He hoped she would continue. He was finding it singularly fascinating. And he was bored silly from watching their two patients sleep. His patience was rewarded when she offered him a small, sheepish smile.

  “Do you know, I awaken each morning in such a thankful frame of mind as I drink a large cup of the sweet water that comes from the well behind our little house. Melanie does the same thing. Neither of us can quite believe how much water is around. And it’s so clean. And sweet. Of course, I still love my tea, but it feels almost decadent to be able to drink fresh, cool water and not fear that it might make you sick if you don’t boil it first. Thankfully, Annie is too young to have been filled with the fears we had. I think her parents must have done a wonderful job of keeping most things from her. The poor little dear has enough fears as it is.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Wyatt interjected with a wry grin.

  The color rose in her cheeks once again making his heart feel like it was turning over within his chest. “I’m sorry she hasn’t been very friendly toward you. She sees doctors only as a source of bad news or who attend you when you’re sick or injured.”

  “Most would be happy to have someone attend you when you’ve been injured,” he pointed out.

  “But the bad news overpowers any help you might have to offer, I’m afraid. I personally haven’t had many dealings with doctors, previously. But my impression has been that doctors consider themselves to be gods sent to help those with the deepest pockets.”

  “That’s terrible. And inaccurate of most doctors,” Wyatt insisted, growing disappointed with the direction of the conversation.

  She shrugged. “By saying it’s inaccurate of most, you are admitting that it’s not inaccurate of all doctors.”

  He grudgingly nodded. “Maybe not.”

  She smiled, apparently pleased with his honesty. “Perhaps, if we manage to help the Mitchells pull through, I’ll invite you for dinner and you can tell Annie all about our success here. It might help her if she can see you as a bearer of glad tidings.”

  “Since I’ve had the pleasure of a sample of your good cooking here for the Mitchells, I will gladly accept,” he replied with a chuckle.

  He looked at her carefully and didn’t much like what he saw at that moment. She was, of course, still beautiful, but he could see that the only color on her face was from her bashfulness over his compliment. Her eyes looked strained, and her mouth turned down at the edges when she wasn’t smiling.

  “Mrs. Carter, you really must take a break and get some sleep. I am feeling more confident that Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell are going to pull through this illness. It won’t do for you to collapse as they are improving. You must take some rest.”

  For a brief moment, she looked as though she were going to be mulish and refuse, but then she offered him a sheepish smile. “Are you certain you’ll be able to remain awake if I lie down for a bit?”

  “I’ll keep Matt with me, and we’ll watch over them while you sleep. Then you can take a turn after you’ve rested a bit.”

  Her face filled with relief as she accepted his offer. “You’re probably right. I won’t be any good for Annie when this is over either, if I go and get sick myself. Thank you, doctor.”

  Wyatt watched as she slipped from the room. She was so slender she almost floated, he thought whimsically. He shook his head and derided himself. You’re a fool, he thought, you don’t want her, but you can’t stop thinking about her. Make up your mind, man. Then he had to push all thoughts of her from his mind as he became fully occupied with keeping Matt reassured while the two of them cared for his adoptive parents.

  A couple hours later, Katie slipped quietly into the room and startled them when she spoke up from the doorway.

  “How are you two holding up? I never meant to sleep for so long. You must be nearly falling over with exhaustion.”

  “I’m not tired at all, Mrs. Carter. I slept all night, remember?”


  The smile Katie offered to Matt nearly took Wyatt’s breath away, but he managed to answer her calmly. “I haven’t fallen over quite yet, but if my checker skills are anything to go by, my mind is not functioning at its best.”

  “Have you eaten? Would you like me to make you something before you go to sleep, or would you rather wait until you get back up?”

  “Thank you for your kindness, Mrs. Carter. Matt and I have managed to look after ourselves fairly well. I think sleep is my priority at the moment.”

  She nodded her acceptance but had one more question. “Have you fed them?” she nodded quietly toward their patients.

  “We gave them some tea about an hour ago. If you could get them to take some broth, that would be great.” He was already leaving the room when he answered her. He was barely conscious as he climbed the stairs and collapsed on Matt’s bed in the attic of the small house.

  Chapter Twelve

  A fter the doctor left, Katie struggled against feeling disappointed. She didn’t want to enjoy his company and definitely didn’t want to find him attractive. But she did have eyes in her head, she thought with a small smile. It couldn’t be avoided that the man was good looking. And watching him care for his patients held a certain appeal. His patience with Matt had seemed endless. She admired his calm in the face of the various emergencies she had witnessed with him.

  But the fact was that since she had met him, she had encountered three medical emergencies. Katie tried to be reasonable and pointed out to herself that with or without the doctor Mrs. Jenkins would have fainted, Annie would have knocked herself out, and the Mitchells would have gotten sick. Having the doctor there had helped, she had to admit. Well, maybe not with Annie, she protested silently. He did very little to help there. In fact, his lectures had only served to anger her and did nothing to aid the patient. But with Althea and here with the Mitchells he was invaluable.

  While she didn’t really want to be the one playing nurse, she was in agreement with the doctor that since she had already been exposed, it wouldn’t serve to risk anyone else. She was just grateful that she was still feeling fit. Tired, yes, but still healthy. But she had been deeply relieved when Melanie had stopped at the gate that morning. Katie thought back to their brief conversation, smiling that it had been conducted with an entire yard between them.