Fiona’s penchant for neatness kept her up half the night; thus she’d slept well past dawn. Or at least past the time dawn would have broken in Seattle.
Her breakfast, therefore, had become a midmorning snack, and her early morning visit with Doc Killbone had been postponed until after lunch. She found plenty to busy herself with, however, starting with putting away the last of her personal effects.
Only one trunk had remained unpacked last night, and she opened it now. She quickly hung the clothing it contained in the armoire and then removed the paper separating the clothing from her weakness: an extensive collection of shoes. There atop the matched rows of footwear purchased at the likes of Nordstrom’s and the Bon Marche sat a hideous pair of eighteen-year-old sealskin boots.
She lifted one out and gingerly examined it. Considering its age and the heavy use it had taken during that one memorable Alaskan summer, the boot had held together remarkably well.
“How many times have I tried to give these away?” Fiona sighed. “More times than I could count. Come winter, I might be glad I saved them.”
Fiona removed its mate and set the pair together in the back of the armoire, then began arranging the other shoes around them until the trunk was empty. With the last trunk set on the back porch for Douglas to retrieve that evening, Fiona ran out of busywork. Only her visit to the clinic remained undone.
Forgoing a lunch that likely wouldn’t settle well on her nervous stomach, Fiona decided to drive, then at the last minute chose to walk the short distance. She bypassed Doc Killbone’s office to browse through the offerings at the Goose Chase Mercantile. While it would in no way be mistaken for Nordstrom’s, the mercantile did give the local Sears and Roebuck some serious competition.
She’d walked through departments containing outerwear, underwear, and footwear, when she came to the section reserved for the extreme cold of the Alaskan winter. Not surprisingly, it was the largest department.
A bald-headed fellow in clothing that looked as if it came off the racks from that very department called to her as he emerged from the back of the store. “Need anything, you let me know, miss.”
“Thank you,” she responded. “I’ll do that.”
But she wasn’t shopping, just looking. It was something to do to pass the time until she collected her wits and retraced the steps of her past to the front door of the medical clinic.
Fiona had almost decided she was ready when she stumbled upon a shelf containing sealskin boots. Front and center were a pair of boots identical to the ones hiding in the back of her closet.
She ran her hand over the soft fur and closed her eyes. The smell of fresh air and freshly cleaned fish assaulted her nose and made her smile. Sunday afternoons at the river rolled past in quick succession.
When the action stopped on the day she first saw Elizabeth’s face, she opened her eyes. To her shock, there stood Elizabeth herself. Her heart jumped into her throat, and Fiona gasped.
“I’m sorry, Dr. Rafferty. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
The young woman from yesterday leaned against a pile of blankets, not some ghost from eighteen years past. Fiona shook her head and let out a long breath.
“How are you, Grace?” Fiona glanced up at the Regulator clock situated over the handguns and ammunition counter. “Shouldn’t you be at school?”
“I am furthering my education,” she said a bit too defensively. “I came to see if you’re willing to take me on as a student.”
Fiona took the girl’s elbow and led her away from the memories. “Whatever are you talking about?” she asked when they stepped out into the sunshine.
“Douglas said he heard tell your papa wanted to marry you off, too.” Blue eyes stared down from a superior height and begged honesty of Fiona.
“That’s true,” she said, “and I assume my nephew heard this from his father.” When Grace shrugged, Fiona continued. “My father thought I would have a much easier life should I choose to find a husband and bring babies into the world.” Strangers were beginning to take notice of Fiona, so she linked arms with Grace and set out walking.
“That’s funny,” Grace said. “You do bring babies into the world. Many more than if you’d had them yourself.”
“Yes, I do.” Fiona chose her words carefully. “But if I was to be completely honest, my father was right. To have chosen marriage and a family, well, that would definitely have been the easier life.” She paused to let the girl think about her words then pressed on. “How old are you, Grace?”
“Seventeen,” she said.
“When will you be eighteen?”
Grace smiled. “Eleven months and two days.”
They walked along in silence until Grace stopped short. “I don’t know which I want, to tell you the truth. I wonder if you might help me decide.”
Fiona shook her head. “Whatever do you mean?”
“Simple.” She offered Fiona a broad smile, and the absurd feeling of familiarity returned. “I’m not asking for a job, because that would be defying my papa, which would be wrong.”
“Yes, it would.”
“But if you were to let me come over to the clinic sometimes, just to watch you and see what you do…” She paused. “Well, I mean if I’m not working and you’re not paying me, then it can’t be a job, right?”
Thankfully, Doc Killbone saved Fiona from having to respond. He stepped out onto his porch and called to her. “I wondered when you two would stop circling.”
Fiona embraced the doctor, older now but no less spry. He peered at Grace over the tops of his spectacles. “Well, now, isn’t this interesting? Shouldn’t you be in school, Lizzie Grace?”
“I got out early today,” she said. “Finished up at lunch.”
“Does your teacher know that?”
Grace squared her shoulders and affected a serious look. “I’m almost done with school, Dr. Killbone. If I didn’t feel so bad that Douglas is still working on his studies, I would’ve already completed mine.”
“She’s a good girl,” the doctor said. “Always looking out for her—”
“Fiona Rafferty, is that you?”
Fiona whirled around to see an older woman crossing the street toward her. “Yes, I’m Fiona Rafferty. Do I know you?”
“Afternoon, Miz Minter,” Doc Killbone said. “Pleasure to see you this afternoon. How’s the reverend?”
“Strong, fit, and ready to dance a jig, thanks to your good care,” she said.
“Now, now. No dancing for another month or so. Seriously, though, is he staying off that leg?”
Mrs. Minter nodded. “The elders met last night to divide up his duties so that he can follow your orders.”
She touched a blue-veined hand to the old doctor’s sleeve. “He and I are in your debt.”
“You pay that debt every time you say a prayer for me. I am willing to guess it’s me who owes you and the reverend by now.”
She smiled. “Whatever will we do when you leave?”
Doc Killbone smiled. “Well, now, I’m glad you asked. Meet my temporary replacement, Fiona Rafferty.”
“Dr. Fiona Rafferty,” Grace said.
“Dr. Rafferty,” the woman echoed. “Oh, my, then it’s true.” Her eyes misted. “I thought I’d never see you again to tell you how sorry I am. And now it’s twice as sweet because I can congratulate you on making your dream come true.”
“Sorry?” She looked from Doc Killbone back to Mrs. Minter. “Do we know one another?”
“Seattle to Skagway, 1899,” she said. “Although I actually met you over corn bread at your daddy’s table in Oregon.”
“The preacher’s wife.” Fiona shook her head. “Oh, my, I was awful to you. Just awful.” She reached for the older woman’s hand. “Will you ever forgive me?”
“No, dear, it’s I who must ask for your forgiveness. Yes, you were young.” She chuckled. “And you were quite brash, if I might be so bold to say.”
Fiona flushed and ducked her head. Her cheeks burned with shame at the remembrance of things she’d said to this poor woman.
“No, don’t be ashamed, dear,” the pastor’s wife said. “In truth, your words have chased me for some years. At first I was mad. Really mad.”
“For good reason,” Fiona said. “I should never have—”
“Oh, no, dear, don’t you see? You asked an important question, one that I had to search long and hard to answer.” She smiled at the doctor, then squeezed Fiona’s hand. “Do you remember asking that question?”
Fiona nodded and met Grace’s questioning gaze. “I’m ashamed to say that I asked this dear lady what she did. I treated her horribly. If I remember correctly, I made you cry.”
“Oh, no, Fiona. No.” Mrs. Minter shook her head. “I’d say we were even. How did you like the accommodations I arranged for your first trip to Goose Chase?” She looked over at the doctor. “I sent her here on my uncle Boris’s trawler, and I made sure she didn’t sail out until he had a boatload of the nasty stuff.”
Fiona giggled. “I still remember the smell of that fish.”
The quartet shared a laugh. Then Mrs. Minter reached for Grace’s hand. “You’re the future, Lizzie Grace. Be bold like Fiona here. Don’t be afraid to ask, ‘What do I do?’To think she’s a doctor now.”
“Yes, well, that’s a pretty speech, Miz Minter, but if you will excuse us, I’m going to steal Fiona away so we can go over some details before I turn this clinic over to her.”
“Come, Lizzie Grace,” Mrs. Minter said, “I’ll walk you back to school.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary.”
Mrs. Minter released her grasp on Fiona and latched on to Grace. “Oh, I think it is. Of course, I could just walk you home. Is your father there, dear?”
Doc Killbone chuckled as he watched the pair walk away. “Did you really ask her that?”
Fiona ducked her head. “I’m afraid so.”
The doctor looked as if he were about to comment, then thought better of it. “Shall we go inside? I’m anxious to talk to you about all those years we’ve been apart.”
“Now, now,” she said as she stepped inside, “I did write.”
He chuckled as the door closed behind them. “Yes, you did, and this old man saved every letter. Now, what say I put on a pot of fresh coffee while we go over clinic procedures?”
“Coffee?” Fiona smiled. “Doc, you read my mind.”
“No, I didn’t. Your brother told me that the way to your heart was through your coffee cup. I know we said you would start next week, but I’m itching to leave, so I was hoping you’d take one sip of my coffee and agree to start tomorrow.” He paused. “I’m hoping I can get you to agree to a year of work here instead of six months.”
“Doc,” Fiona said slowly as she caught the first wonderful whiff of coffee brewing, “that had better be some exceptional coffee, because my present obligation is to return to teaching at the university at the end of my six months here.”
The doctor smiled. “Well, let’s just see, shall we?”