Chapter 3

On the drive home Timothy kept eyeing Deborah while Lily snoozed in the back of the wagon. His daughter had always been a hard sleeper, and the bumps on the path didn’t seem to disturb her slumber. Deborah’s wet shoes still sat on the floorboards and he found himself peeking at her slim ankles. Tall and slim, with that bright red bonnet covering her dark curls, she’d been easy to spot at the station. He’d initially hesitated before approaching her, since her eyes had been closed. She looked lovely. He recalled a few of the gents at the station eyeing Deborah.

He’d always wondered why sweet, kind Deborah had never married. The few times he’d asked Eve this, she’d gotten angry. Why, he never could understand. He’d always sensed that Deborah had a bit of a brooding nature and that she needed a certain sort of man as a husband. Right now she appeared to be looking at the plants at the side of the road. Again, he recalled the time they used to spend together. He’d caught her staring at him right before they left the station. But since they’d started their journey, as far as he could tell, she’d not looked at him even once. “I noticed you had an entire satchel full of peppermint oil back there. I could smell it.”

Her stiff shoulders softened and she looked at him. “I was going to try and sell it to folks at the train station, but I didn’t have time.”

“I see. So what do you do with the money you earn from selling your peppermint oil? I figure with your teaching salary and your earnings from your oil, well, you must have quite a stash, since you live on the farm with your folks.”

She pushed her spectacles up on her nose and her shoulders stiffened again. “What I do with my money is my affair.”

The irritated tone of her voice startled him. He’d obviously offended her. He hadn’t meant to do that. Well, if he was going to be living right across the field from her, sharing meals with her family each day, it wouldn’t be wise to put her on edge. She had to understand that he wasn’t the enemy. He was simply curious. He stopped the wagon. She frowned. “What are you doing? We’re almost home.”

“Look, Deborah, I just don’t want you mad at me is all. You’re angry because of my question. I obviously asked you something that was none of my business. Can you forgive me?”

She looked at him with her wise, pretty eyes. Her hands were pressed together, almost as if she were nervous. She was probably just anxious to get home to do whatever it was she needed to do. “I forgive you.”

He decided traveling alone with him must be a bit awkward for her, since they weren’t actually a couple. Deborah probably wasn’t used to taking such a long journey alone with a man other than her pa.

He regripped the reins and thought of his new living quarters, right near Deborah’s home. Mama June had written to him, stating that he and Lily were to share meals with them each day since he didn’t have anybody to cook for him.

As he continued to drive the horses, memories exploded in his mind. He recalled when he’d first come to this town to study medicine under Doc Smith. He’d lived with the elderly, widowed doctor. After church one day, he’d spotted Deborah. A lot of the womenfolk had broken off into groups, talking about … well, whatever womenfolk talk about. Deborah, however, had gone off by herself. Apparently she’d been waiting for her ma, pa, and Eve to finish their conversations. He’d approached her, wondering what she was looking at in the bushes. She’d been excited about finding some goldenseal and had excitedly shown him the plant with healing properties.

She was the first woman he’d met in this town who knew more about plants than just the basics. Once he’d discovered her interest in them, he’d offered to loan her some of the botany books he had on his shelf. Her bright smile and sparkling eyes were evidence that he’d excited her. She’d started asking him questions and sharing how fascinated she was with what she was learning. She’d even showed him how she dried the plants she found and sometimes used for cooking as well as curing simple illnesses. His vivid memories continued as they pulled up to the familiar house, right where he used to spend time with Deborah and Eve.

It had been a few years since he’d visited, and just seeing the house where Eve grew up comforted him. A bench as well as two wooden chairs crowded the small porch. He remembered sitting on that porch drinking tin cups of cold water.

“It sure took you all long enough to get back from the train station.” Eve’s mother, June, and father, Daniel, came out of the house. Mama June peeked into the wagon. “That child looks plumb tuckered out.”

He got out of the wagon and was about to go and assist Deborah, but she scampered out of the wagon so fast he didn’t have a chance to help her down. She looked away from him toward the house. She was acting downright skittish. He needed to let her know how much he appreciated her help. “Lily got sick at the train station. Deborah helped clean her up and gave her some peppermint oil. Having Deborah’s help today was a real blessing.”

Her pretty eyes widened at his compliment. “Thank you, Timothy.”

“You’re welcome.” He carried Lily from the wagon. He felt his daughter’s sweaty forehead. Her fever was gone, and he sighed with relief. But even though she didn’t have a fever now, he wanted to be sure that he watched her all night, just in case something else ailed her.

“Come bring Lily back here.” Mama June beckoned him toward the spare room in the rear of the house. He laid Lily on the bed and Mama June covered her with a quilt. She also removed Lily’s shoes.

They returned to the kitchen and he shook hands with Deborah’s father. “Good to see you again, Papa Daniel.”

The bald old man grinned before pulling him into a hug. “Lily looks just like Eve. I felt like I was looking at my little girl all over again.” His voice wavered and he took a deep breath before wiping his suddenly wet eyes. “I still miss her.”

Timothy touched Papa Daniel’s shoulder. “So do I. I think about her every day, especially when I see Lily.”

Deborah stood to the side, watching them, but she didn’t say a word. She finally gestured toward the kitchen. “Dinner’s ready. Ma wants you to come and eat.” The scent of cooked meat and herbs filled the air. The table was laden with all kinds of food. He spotted the roast beef, swimming in gravy. Mashed potatoes filled a large bowl, and biscuits were piled high on a plate. There were also bowls of vegetables as well as a small crock of butter. He eyed the plate of Mama June’s apple hand pies for dessert.

He eased into a chair and Deborah sat to his right. As soon as Deborah’s parents were seated, they joined hands. It was a tradition in Eve’s family. Deborah’s hand felt warm and soft, and the light scent of peppermint wafted toward him.

Papa Daniel cleared his throat. “Lord, thanks so much for this lovely day. Thank You also for this wonderful food to nourish our bodies. Also, Lord, I want to thank You for allowing Timothy and Lily a safe journey. We’ve missed our family, and we’re oh so happy for the blessing of seeing them again. Please help Lily heal from her illness. Please be with Timothy as he becomes acclimated as the town’s doctor. Amen.”

“Amen.” Everybody uttered the word before they started to eat. When Timothy tasted the rich, tender meat and the creamy whipped potatoes, he felt like he was eating a slice of heaven. “This is delicious, Mama June.”

“Thank you, Timothy.”

He eyed his father-in-law as he spread apple butter onto a biscuit. “How have you been, Papa Daniel?”

“Humph. Busy. Apples are about ready for harvest. I’ve a lot of chores to do. I might hire a couple of folks to help pick the apples.” He glanced at Mama June. “June will be storing lots of apples in our root cellar, and she’ll be making applesauce and apple butter.”

“Sounds like your farm is doing well. I’m glad to hear that you’re having such a plentiful season.”

After they’d eaten their dinner, Timothy stood up. “If it’s okay with you, Mama June and Papa Daniel, I want Lily to stay in the spare room here tonight. I don’t want to move her home. I’m going to sit up with her.”

Deborah looked at him. “Lily is fine. Why don’t you go to your new home, and Ma and I will stay up with her?”

He shook his head. “No, I want to sit up with her. I can’t … I can’t leave her, not when she’s sick.” He refused to allow them to argue with him.

Lily had a simple stomach upset. Why was Timothy acting as if she had some kind of dreaded disease? She’d probably be fine in the morning. These thoughts twirled through Deborah’s mind like leaves scattered in the wind. It had been two hours since dinnertime, and Pa had gone up the road to Doc Smith’s cabin, which was now Timothy and Lily’s cabin. Timothy wanted Pa to bring back the box of medical notes for all of Doc Smith’s patients. He had explained that he needed to start his doctoring duties right away, so he wanted to go through the files while he sat up with Lily.

He had pen and inkwell in the room too. He’d set up a workstation, claiming he’d start making trips to his patients the following morning, and that he also needed to go downtown to the pharmacy. Eve had been dead for a year. Perhaps it had been awhile since a woman had given him advice. She pulled a chair into the room where he worked. Lily continued to sleep, her soft snores filling the small space. Deborah plopped into the chair as Timothy mumbled to himself, reading through the files. “Timothy.”

“Hmmm?” He didn’t even look up from his task.

“Why don’t you get some rest tonight? We have a mattress we can bring in here so that you can keep an eye on Lily.”

He still didn’t look at her, just kept looking through his files. “No, I have to get started making patient visits tomorrow.” He speared her with one of his intense looks. “I told you that earlier.”

“But you’re tired. Lily is sick. You’ve had a long journey. Some of the neighbors probably saw us when we were driving home. I figure everybody knows you’re back in town, so they know where to find you if they need you.”

He shook his head. Stubborn, that’s what he was. Would it hurt to lie down and get some rest for a few hours? Well, she wasn’t going to sit and try to reason with him. Perhaps Ma or Pa could talk some sense into him. “Why is it so important for you to do this now? You can always do this tomorrow.”

He speared her with another look, his lips mashed together. He sighed and finally put his pen aside. “Deborah, the answer is obvious. I don’t want anybody to die.”