Chapter 5

Timothy strolled toward Deborah’s house, holding Lily’s hand. He’d managed to get settled into his cabin that day and Lily had made a full recovery from her stomach illness. It was suppertime, and he and Lily were on their way to Mama June and Papa Daniel’s for their meal. As they continued toward the house, he thought about his first day back in town. He’d gone through all of the patient files that Doc Smith had left behind and even visited a few of his elderly patients.

He’d been thorough as he questioned his new patients, making sure he understood the full breadth of their illnesses. He was determined to make this town as healthy as possible. Smells of apples and cooked meat filled the air. His mouth watered as they approached the door and opened it. Mama June had mentioned to him earlier that he was family and did not need to knock when coming over for supper.

Mama June and Deborah barely spoke to them as they bustled around the kitchen. They set the food on the table, but he noticed that Papa Daniel wasn’t around. “Where’s Papa Daniel?”

Mama June grunted as she set a bowl of potatoes on the table. “He’s sick. I think he got that stomach illness from Lily.”

Timothy’s mouth dropped open. “Why didn’t you come get me?” Fear seeped into his gut. What if Papa Daniel were seriously ill?

Mama June shooed away his concern. “We know he’ll be fine come tomorrow morning. He couldn’t do the barn chores, so Deborah and I will have to do them after supper.”

Timothy left Lily in the middle of the kitchen and rushed back to his home. He returned with his medical bag and rushed into Papa Daniel and Mama June’s room. “Papa Daniel?”

The older man slowly opened his eyes. Sweat beaded his brow. “Hello, Timothy.”

“Mama June said you’re sick. I’m going to examine you.”

Timothy removed his stethoscope and checked the older man’s heartbeat. He then checked his eyes and made him open his mouth. “Are you thirsty?”

“Yes.”

A pitcher of water rested on the table. Timothy poured a cupful and the old man took a few sips. Timothy nodded. “That’s right. Drink it slowly. You don’t have a fever. I figure you’ll be fine tomorrow or the day after that. If you need me, just send Mama June to come get me.”

“Thank you,” the older man grunted before falling back to sleep. Timothy touched his shoulder, then squeezed his hand. Lord, please help Papa Daniel to heal. Amen. He loved both Papa Daniel and Mama June. They were like a second set of parents to him. He’d lost both of his parents to illness when he’d been barely a teen, and that was when the desire to become a doctor bloomed within him. His folks had been wealthy, so he’d used his inheritance to attend college and study medicine. When he moved to this town and was mentored by Doc Smith, he’d gotten to know and respect Eve’s parents. If they ever needed his help for anything, he wanted them to be sure they could ask him.

He finally entered the kitchen again, and his mouth watered when he eyed the food. As they sat for supper, he glanced at Deborah. Something was wrong with her. Her pretty mouth drooped and her shoulders were tense. She barely spoke during the entire meal. He needed to find out what was wrong. Perhaps there was something he could do to help. Today was the first day of the school term, so he wondered if the children had misbehaved. After supper he stood up and focused directly on Mama June. “Mama June, I’m going to leave Lily here with you to help clean up the supper dishes. Deborah, I’ll help you do the chores, since your pa is sick.”

“Thank you, Timothy.” She didn’t look at him or speak to him during their quick trek to the barn. After he carried the water to the house so that Mama June and Lily could start the dishes, he focused on the barn chores. He helped Deborah feed the horses, stealing glances at her the entire time. She then milked the cow and fed the chickens. She barely paid him any attention as they fetched water for the horses. While he’d visited patients around town that morning, he’d heard talk that Deborah had been selling a lot of her peppermint oil. He took a deep breath, anxious to figure out what was making her so sad this evening.

“Deborah, what’s wrong?” He set his pitchfork against the wall and focused on her.

She bristled. “What makes you think something is wrong?”

“I can tell by the way you look. You’re upset. Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong? Maybe I can help.”

She shook her head as she set her watering pail on the ground. “I’m not sick, so I doubt there’s anything you can do to help me.”

Stubborn woman. He figured she just didn’t want to tell him what was wrong. From what he’d been able to gather on his first day back, it appeared that Deborah was still a loner. He’d not heard of any of the female folk in town being close friends with her. Her ma was fussing about that earlier in the day while he’d been at her house. She said Deborah spent too much time by herself and that’s why she’d never gotten married.

“I know you’re not sick. Deborah, we used to be friends back before I—”

“Before you married Eve?” The words tumbled from her mouth like hard pebbles. She sounded angry, and for the life of him, he couldn’t understand why.

“Yes, before I married Eve.” He paused and looked directly at her. “Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong? Did something happen at school today?”

Her mouth dropped open as she pushed her spectacles up on her nose. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was probably praying, wondering if she could trust him. She finally opened her eyes and beckoned him over to the adjoining room. He recalled that was where she kept her peppermint oil. She pulled out a couple of wooden crates. She touched his hand. “I’m sorry, Timothy. I’m very upset right now. I’m acting angry toward you and you’re just trying to help. Please forgive me.”

“I forgive you. But it might help if you tell me what’s wrong.”

“All right.” She gestured toward the crates. “Please sit down.” Her voice sounded tired and weary. He sat on an empty crate, and the old wood creaked beneath his weight. She eased onto the crate beside him. A black cat scurried into the room. “Come here, Susie.” The cat scampered onto her lap, and she stroked the cat’s shiny dark fur. The animal’s gentle purr sounded soothing. He stared at her long, slim, gentle-looking hands while she petted her cat. “Remember when you were asking me what I did with my teaching salary and with the money I was making from my peppermint oil?”

“Yes?”

She sighed. The urge to take her hand bubbled within him. No, he couldn’t do that. He reached over and scratched the cat’s neck, and the animal purred even louder. Maybe if he showed some kindness to her cat, she’d confide in him. Deborah smiled, just a little bit, when he touched her pet. “I’ve been saving my money for a while now. I want to go to the women’s college and get a certificate in botany.”

“Deborah, that’s wonderful.” She was one of the smartest women he’d ever known.

“Do you really think so?” She actually grinned, as if pleased that he agreed with her ambition.

“Yes. I know some men are against women learning at college, but not me. I think you’ll do well there.”

“Oh Timothy!” The joy in her voice filled the small room. She jumped up, forcing the cat to scamper away, and hugged him.

Have mercy, she couldn’t believe she’d hugged Timothy. His muscled arms were hard as rocks, and when he hugged her back … It was the first time a man had ever hugged her, besides Pa. Wait, she couldn’t make a fool of herself. She didn’t want Timothy to know she still found him attractive after all these years. She quickly plopped back onto the wooden crate and folded her hands.

He touched her shoulder, apparently wanting to put her at ease. “Deborah, it’s all right that you hugged me. I can tell you’re excited about going to the women’s college.” Every time Timothy spoke in his deep, strong voice, her insides turned to mush. She figured she didn’t have the same effect on him, but that was all right. She needed a friend in whom to confide right now, and if that person happened to be Timothy, then so be it. Perhaps that was why the Lord placed him in her path at this time. “I don’t understand. Why does your going to the women’s college make you upset?”

Oh, just being around this man was hampering her ability to think clearly. She’d failed to tell him what had happened in her classroom earlier that day. “One of my students stole my botany book for the exam. I need it to study.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure somebody stole it?”

Was she sure? What kind of question was that? Sure, she’d been a bit on edge since Timothy and Lily arrived, but she knew for a fact she’d taken the book with her to school that morning, and she needed Timothy to understand that.

She pulled her crate from underneath the table, removed the loose hay from the top, and lifted a thin book from it. “This is the study manual for the women’s college. It outlines what I need to review for the exam. Most of the science that I need to know is in my botany book. I usually keep the book in this crate and study out here. I find it nice and peaceful, being out here while I study about plants. I took the botany book with me to school this morning and left it in the top drawer of my desk.” She put the book back in the crate. “I know when my students have been up to mischief.” She paused and licked her lips. “I talked to them about the value of honesty and truthfulness this afternoon. I told them that Jesus doesn’t take kindly to stealing, even if it’s a prank. Hopefully what I said will have some impact on them, and the guilty person who took my book will return it.”

“So when do you think one of your students could’ve taken the book?”

She pressed her hands together. She’d been thinking about this since dinnertime, and she had a good theory as to what had happened. “Did Abigail come see you earlier?”

“You’re talking about the little girl with the bee sting? She sure did. You did an excellent job of removing the stinger from her arm. I smelled the basil on her skin. I gave her some ointment before sending her home. Lily was here, and she started chatting with Abigail.” He paused before looking directly at her with his kind brown eyes. “I haven’t heard Lily talk so much since Eve died. She seemed quite taken with Abigail.” He shrugged. “Hopefully they can become friends in school.”

“That’d be a blessing for sure.” She paused. “The reason I mentioned the bee sting is I was thinking that one of my pupils may have taken my book as a prank while I was tending to Abigail. Most of the class was focused on helping Abigail, as was I. It would have been easy for someone to take the book then.”

“Deborah, let me help you. I can talk to your class—”

Was he serious? “Timothy, I appreciate your offer to help. Honestly I do, but I can handle my own classroom. I’ve been teaching school for years, and I know how to make the culprit come forward soon enough.” At least she hoped her book would turn up soon.

“What’s the matter? You’re frowning again.”

“I don’t want to fall behind. I feel like this is my calling, deep in my gut. As clear as the sun shines in the sky and the birds sing from the trees, I think the Lord wants me to attend the women’s college. Not having my book is affecting my calling, and that bothers me.”

“I understand. Let me help you study. Remember how we used to spend time together, looking at my books about the healing power of plants, and then we’d go look at the plants in the fields? You have a quick, active mind, and we work well together.”

She winced. Now how in the world would she manage to do that? If she started spending time with Timothy, studying plants, well … she’d probably end up falling in love with him all over again, and she just didn’t think that was a good idea, not at all. He’d never fall for a plain woman like herself. Sure, she was probably a great match for him as a study partner. She could probably even help him while he tended patients sometimes, just like she used to help Doc Smith occasionally, but she couldn’t imagine spending time with him without getting emotionally involved … or could she?

He lifted the study manual out of the crate and flipped through it. “This is a good women’s college, and since it’s only a few miles away, you wouldn’t need to leave home to attend.” He took a deep breath. “I know some of the professors over there. One of my old classmates teaches there. I think I may have a good idea what the exam will be like. Let me help you study, Deborah.”

Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into now? “Let me think about it, all right?”

His mouth drooped and he narrowed his eyes. He was upset that she hadn’t accepted his offer. Did he really want to study with her that badly? He stood up and gestured toward her house. “All right. I need to fetch Lily. It’s getting late, and she needs to go to bed.”

They were quiet as they walked together toward the house. He barely skimmed his fingers on her back as he opened the door for her and let her enter the house first. Her skin burned from the brief contact of his fingers. Lily sat at the kitchen table, reading one of the primers Deborah used to teach her younger students. Her ma was putting away the clean dishes. “About time the two of you got back from doing the chores. Lily should be ready to go to bed soon.”

Timothy smiled at Lily before focusing on Ma. “I was just trying to convince Deborah to allow me to help her study for the entrance exam for the women’s college.”

Deborah whipped her head around to glare at Timothy just as her Ma dropped a dish. It clattered to the floor. She dropped her head into her hands. How awful. She’d been so enamored of spending time with Timothy that she’d completely forgotten to tell him that her ma and pa didn’t know about her future plans. Her ma would probably do everything she could to prevent her from attending college.

She just couldn’t stay in this room right now. She opened the door and rushed outside.

“Deborah.” Ma called her name so loudly Deborah reckoned just about half the town could hear her. She ignored it. She just didn’t feel like talking to Ma tonight about her dream of attending college. Hard footsteps pounded behind her. Someone grabbed her arm and she whipped around and looked into Timothy’s gorgeous eyes. He reached for her hand.

“Why didn’t you tell me your ma didn’t know?”

She couldn’t tell him that being alone with him in the barn, just seeing his handsome face and caring nature, made her forget her common sense. “I forgot to tell you it was a secret.” Heaven help her, she wished that this one time she hadn’t been so infatuated with Timothy’s nearness that she lost her presence of mind. If being around Timothy made her forget to tell him about the secret she’d hidden from her ma and pa, then maybe studying with him for the exam was a bad idea. What if she was so distracted by his handsome face that she couldn’t memorize the information?

“Deborah, I’m sorry. If there’s anything I can do …” He frowned as he finally released her hand.

Her hand felt warm, and she didn’t want him to let it go. She blew air through her lips. This just wouldn’t work, not at all. “Timothy, I’ve made up my mind. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to help me study. This is something I need to do on my own.”