Chapter 2

Timothy’s heart pounded with shame as he lifted his daughter into his arms. He quickly carried her to a patch of grass at the side of the station and set her down just as she vomited again. The awful stench filled his nose as his heart pounded with fear. Lord, please help my Lily. He needed to give her some medicine, maybe some ginger for her upset stomach. After Lily had stopped vomiting, he focused on Deborah, who stood right beside him. He vividly recalled her calm, quiet nature with little ones. She touched his shoulder. “There’s a water pump out back. Let’s take her there.” The command flowed from her mouth softly, like a cool dose of spring rain. Beside himself, he needed someone to tell him what to do. Yes, he was a doctor, but when it came to his daughter, he found the dread of worry overshadowing him.

He didn’t want to make a mistake when treating his daughter like he’d done with Eve. He still blamed himself every day for the sudden death of his wife. Guilt raged deep within him. He’d tried to pray away the worry and fear that consumed his entire being, but to no avail. And now with Lily sick, he had no way of knowing what would happen next.

He threw the unwelcome thought from his mind as he focused on Deborah again. He needed to clean up Lily. Deborah could help him. Finally, in the midst of this sudden emergency, he managed to find his voice. “Lily, can you walk?”

Lily nodded. She clutched her stomach while Deborah held her shoulder, and they made their way over to the water pump. Deborah repeatedly pumped the handle until water gushed from the spigot. He removed his handkerchief from his pocket and together they cleaned off Lily’s dress. Deborah removed her own shoes and held them under the spigot. She washed off the awful stench of Lily’s sickness, and then she lifted first one stockinged foot, then the other, under the flow of water. He focused on her slim ankles and slender feet. Their eyes briefly met and he winced, embarrassed that she’d caught him staring at her ankles. Well, no harm done. He was just a bit beside himself with Lily being sick and all.

After she’d cleaned up and placed her drenched shoes back on her feet, she tapped Lily’s shoulder. “Hold out your hands.” The girl cupped her hands under the spigot and Lily pumped water into them. “Drink some water, but don’t drink too fast.” His daughter’s mouth quivered as she sipped water from her cupped hands. She cupped her hands again for more water. Deborah shook her head. “No, just wait a bit.” She offered her a vial. “This will make you feel better.”

Memories, sweet as candy, swept through Timothy’s mind. He recalled how Deborah used to make peppermint oil in the wooden shed behind her pa’s barn. The time they’d spent together years ago, talking about plants, reading books … He couldn’t stop the next word that popped out of his mouth. “Peppermint.”

“Oil.”

“Heals colds and stomach pains.” As they spoke the sentence together, his heart skipped. Back before he’d started dating Eve, he’d spent a lot of time with Deborah. They’d been good friends. He’d loaned her several books about science and plants, and she’d once confided that he was one of the few men whom she’d befriended in her life who didn’t bore her to tears. They’d had a game where they’d memorize herbs and how they were used as remedies. They always started their game by reciting the use of peppermint, probably because they used it so much in their small town. He recalled that after he and Eve married and moved away, Eve told him that Deborah had started selling her peppermint oil to the townsfolk.

“Daddy, I want to go home.”

“We’ll be home soon, Lily. We’ll be riding in Deborah’s wagon to your grandparents’ house.”

Lily shook her head. “No, I want to get back on the train and go home.”

Well, he couldn’t argue with her. Since he’d announced that he’d be taking old Doc Smith’s place and they’d be moving to Eve’s hometown, his daughter had been moody and upset. She was simply too young to understand that she needed a ma. Eve was gone, and he was sure that Eve’s mother, whom he fondly called Mama June, along with Deborah, would be a strong female influence in Lily’s life. He didn’t know how to be both mother and father to his daughter, and he hoped that Lily would thrive on the extra attention that her female relatives would bestow on her.

After Deborah directed them to her horses, he found an old blanket in the back of the wagon. He made a bed for Lily and helped her up into the wagon bed. “Lily, I want you to lie down.” He kept his voice gentle as he pointed to the blanket. He then opened up his medicine bag and pulled out his stethoscope. He plugged the device into his ears and placed the base of the stethoscope to Lily’s heart. Her strong heartbeat sounded fine. He removed the device and felt her forehead. Burning hot. He focused on Deborah. “She has a fever. I’m worried.”

“I have a canteen with me. I’ll fill it with water and give her some more peppermint oil later. She can rest while we journey back to my house.” Deborah was always so practical and smart. He’d always admired that about her and had missed the camaraderie they used to share.

He felt Lily’s forehead again, then spoke to Deborah. “When we arrive at your home, you or your ma can give Lily a hot bath if her fever hasn’t broken.”

“You want her to sweat, right?”

“Yes. If she starts sweating, that proves her fever has broken.” After Deborah filled her canteen with water and returned to the wagon, he gestured toward his daughter. “Please stay here with her while I tend to our baggage.” He jumped down from the wagon and quickly found two young, dark-skinned porters. They hoisted the baggage onto the back of Deborah’s wagon. They didn’t have much to bring with them, except for his doctoring supplies and a few clothes. The community here had a small pharmacy downtown as well as a mercantile. He’d have to order the supplies he needed based upon his new patients’ health concerns. He’d not needed to bring a lot of his household supplies with him. Mama June had assured him that Doc Smith had left his furniture and cooking utensils in the cabin. He’d sold or given away most of their belongings before he and Lily moved.

He got into the driver’s seat of the wagon and eyed Lily, who’d fallen asleep. The child looked so much like her ma that his heart tugged. He missed Eve. If she hadn’t died, they wouldn’t have had to make such a drastic change in their lives. If only he’d known what to do to save her. Her death was all his fault.

“Are you all right?” Deborah touched his shoulder, her cool fingers making his heated skin feel good. She’d removed her wet shoes and now sat in her wet stocking feet. The faint scent of peppermint surrounded her, again bringing to mind the times they used to share together, studying herbs.

“Yes, I’m all right.” He gestured toward Lily. “Just worried about her is all. I don’t want her to get sick during the trip home.” He took a deep breath. “What if she’s seriously ill?”

Deborah’s eyes widened. “Of course she’ll be all right. You of all people should know how children get sick sometimes.”

“Not Lily.”

She tilted her head, staring at him behind her spectacles. “What do you mean?”

“Since the day my daughter’s been born, she’s never been ill.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Never?” The disbelief was evident in her voice.

“Never. She’s the healthiest child I’ve ever known in my entire life.” He again glanced at Lily. “Her sudden sickness makes me wonder if the Lord’s trying to tell me something.”

Folks bustled around them, hoisting baggage into nearby wagons and carriages. A gentle breeze blew as a loud bird squawked from the sky. He looked up and spotted an eagle swooping through the clouds. He focused on Deborah again. She seemed to be thinking as she toyed with the strings of her bonnet. Memories, sweet as honey, again filled his mind. He recalled Deborah’s kind and compassionate nature. She was one to think and measure her words. She never wanted to hurt another person’s feelings. Now, Eve, she was completely different. Deborah’s twin could prove to be conniving, often thinking of herself before others. Yes, he’d loved his wife, still grieved for her. But he needed to be honest with himself. He knew Eve had a few faults—faults he’d often mention to her when they had one of their spats.

“What do you think the Lord’s trying to tell you?”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have moved back here. Lily is sick for the first time in her life, right after we’ve moved. Don’t you think the Lord may be telling me that I should not have returned?” He looked at her, the ache to know her opinion burning in his gut like a strong fire. Deborah had always been intelligent; with her strong mind and gentle spirit, he figured she’d tell him if she agreed with him.

Heaven help her, she couldn’t believe that Timothy was asking her opinion about such a huge change in his life. Of course the Lord was not trying to tell him that he should not have moved. Didn’t he realize that? He stared down at the reins he clutched in his hands. His full, comely lips were mashed together in apparent anger. He appeared to be carrying the weight of the world on his broad shoulders, and the urge to make him feel better swept through her like a strong wind. He was so handsome, a right nice-looking young man. Since he was thirty, and the town’s doctor, she imagined he’d be courting an attractive female within weeks. Eve had been dead for a year, so it would be proper for him to remarry now.

She knew he wanted her and Ma to help with Lily, but once he got married again, she wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to move away and become a doctor somewhere else. No, that wouldn’t surprise her one bit. But he’d asked her a question, and she had an answer for him. He was being downright silly. She needed to voice her opinion. “Look, Timothy, the Lord is not trying to tell you anything. Lily is obviously upset. You’ve taken her away from the only home she’s ever known. She’s not used to living here.”

His brown eyes pierced her with a long look. Gracious, she could stare into his long-lashed, intense eyes for a good long while. His skin reddened, and he looked away. Goodness, she had been staring at him. She didn’t want him to think that she actually enjoyed looking at him. She cleared her throat. “Folks get sick riding on a train sometimes, especially if, like Lily, they’re not used to it. She’s going through an upsetting emotional time right now, and she just needs us to be patient and kind. Eve always told me that Lily was a good child, so we just need to give her some time to get used to her new home.” There, she’d said what she could to make him feel better. He appeared to be feeling guilty about moving here, and he shouldn’t feel that way at all.

“All right, I trust your judgment.” He trusted her judgment? Was her opinion really that important to him? He touched her hand and her skin sizzled from his brief touch. She swallowed, ashamed that she enjoyed sitting here in a wagon with him. Ashamed, because he was her dead sister’s husband. “Thank you, Deborah.”

Before she could even speak, he flicked the reins and started their journey home.