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THE NEXT MORNING, ALICE couldn’t stop thinking about Harry’s implied threat. She drank the last of her coffee standing over the kitchen sink and rinsed her cup. Would he really call off the wedding if she didn’t give up nursing? There was a time when all she ever wanted was to be his wife, to be the mother of his children, but now she was beginning to wonder why she couldn’t be a nurse at the same time.
“Doc’s here,” Jack called through the screen door, stamping his boots clean on the grass by the back steps.
“Oh, dear. Where did the time go?” Alice grabbed her hat and shawl from the table. “I’m not ready. I haven’t fed the chickens yet. I was planning to do that next.”
“Already done.” He smiled and held the door open for her to pass.
“You did it?”
“No. I put that lazy barn cat to work. I found yet another hole chewed in the bottom of the feed bag. I told her if she wasn’t going to earn her keep mousing, I’d put her to work feeding the chickens.”
Alice laughed and slapped him on the arm. “You did not. You’re teasing me.”
“I am not. You should have seen her pushing the pail of chicken feed out to the yard then running to hide in the hay loft when those hens went after her like a battalion of Huns ambushing the French army. It was quite a sight.”
She’d forgotten how good it felt to laugh.
“I’m serious. I don’t think I can get her to do it again tomorrow, though. Maybe she can do the milking, and I’ll feed the chickens.”
“Oh, but Jack, she’d drink all our profits.”
He rubbed his chin and scrunched his brow. “Good point.” He waved a finger at her. “You always were the smart one. I’ll have to find something else for that lazy cat to do.”
Doc appeared around the front of the house. “Good morning, you two. I was about to knock when I thought I heard laughter. You must be feeling better, Alice.”
“Fit as a fiddle.”
“Are you ready to go?”
“I am. Well, Jack, you think on it, and we’ll talk more at dinner tonight.”
“Pick you up later.” Jack waved and headed to the barn.
“What was that all about?” Doc steered the buggy out onto the road to town. “Is there a problem?”
“No problem.” She smiled to herself, hesitating to say more, but then added, “Jack said the cat isn’t pulling her weight. He wants to add some chores to her mousing duty, and apparently feeding the chickens wasn’t a good fit.”
“I would think not.” Their shared laughter made the trip to town more enjoyable.
* * *
DOC PULLED HIS TEAM to a stop in front of the stables. Seth Jorgensen rushed out to greet them, tying his mask in place before taking the reins.
“Doc.” He nodded a muffled greeting. “Miss Armstrong, let me say how really sad I was to hear about your folks’ passing, but I’m sure happy to see you up and about again.”
“Thank you.” Alice accepted Doc’s hand stepping down.
He retrieved his bag from the buggy floor. “We’ll be at the school, Seth, should you need us for anything.”
“Help! Someone! Help her!”
A man stumbled toward them, a woman hanging limp in his arms. A second woman followed close behind.
“It’s Fin.” Alice ran to meet him, dropping her shawl in the dirt. The unconscious woman in his arms was Lizzie. Betty stopped next to him and struggled to catch her breath.
“I went to check on her this morning. Found her like this on the kitchen floor.”
Alice brushed Lizzie’s damp hair out of her eyes. Her skin was flushed and burned hotter than the August sun. Her lips were tinged an ominous blue. A labored wheezing rumbled deep in her chest. When a coughing spell gripped her, Lizzie woke briefly then collapsed against Fin’s chest, mumbling something incoherent.
“Get her inside.” Doc led Fin and Lizzie into the school.
Betty grabbed Alice’s arm and pulled her back. “Promise me Lizzie won’t die.” Her eyes were wide with panic. “Promise me!” she shouted.
More than anything, Alice wanted to be able to make such a promise. After all, not everyone died. She’d been sick and didn’t die. But many did, and there was no way to say for sure who would live, and who would not.
“We’ll do everything we can,” was the best she could offer.
“But you did. You got well again.”
“Yes, but my parents died. Lizzie’s mother died. So many others have died. Doc will do everything he can.”
“What can I do? I have to do something. Tell me, Alice. What can I do?”
“Pray,” she whispered, clutching Betty’s hands.
“There has to be something more. Whatever you need, just tell me.”
Alice shook her head. “There isn’t. You shouldn’t even be out here, especially without your mask. Go home. Go home and pray as if your life depended on it. Lizzie’s might.”
* * *
FIN SET LIZZIE DOWN on the first empty cot they came to and paced at the end of the bed. Doc listened to Lizzie’s heart rate, her breathing. Alice slipped an arm around Fin’s waist and pulled him close, trying to keep him still. All his fussing was making her nervous.
“We spent hours talking about the wedding after you left yesterday.” He never took his eyes off Lizzie’s face. “She told me about the flowers and cake she wants. Mums and vanilla cake with her mother’s raspberry preserve for a filling. Did you know she already has her wedding dress?”
“Yes.” Alice leaned her head on his arm and gave him a squeeze. “She’d been saving her pennies since your first date. She told me the next day she was going to marry you. Ordered it from the Sears, Roebuck Catalogue right after you left for France. Ivory satin and flowery lace. Cap sleeves and just a tease of ankle showing. Her mother made the veil. Lizzie modeled it for us—her mother, Betty and me. She’ll be the most beautiful bride Pine Lake has ever seen when—”
“If—” he interrupted.
“No—when—she walks down the aisle.”
Lizzie opened her eyes and reached for him. “Fin?” He fell to his knees and took her hand in his, softly kissing her palm, pressing it to his face.
Doc leaned over her. “How are you feeling, Miss Hudson?”
“Am I going to die?” A tear ran down the side of her face.
He stood. “Not if I can help it. Now get some rest.” Before walking away, he turned to Fin. “You, too. Go home and get some rest.”
“I’m not leaving her side. So, tell me, what can I do to help?”
“Alice, please show Fin the ropes.” Doc made his way to the next occupied cot. Alice recognized the school librarian. She appeared to be one of the lucky ones who would live to return to her family.
Alice slipped an arm around Fin’s waist. “Come with me. I’ll show you where to find supplies.”
Fin nodded toward the gymnasium door. Betty held a handkerchief over her mouth and nose. Her tear-filled eyes scanned the rows of cots.
Alice walked over. “I told you to go home.”
Betty set her shoulders in defiance. “I can’t just sit at home praying and wondering what’s happening.”
Alice pulled a mask from her pocket and handed it to her. “Here, take mine.”
Betty tied the mask behind her head. “I had no idea it was this bad. I always thought they were exaggerating, Doc and Mayor Iverson.” Her resolve crumbled and she began to cry. “All I thought about was myself and how I was missing the new Pickford picture.” Her voice caught. “All I thought about was me while people were dying.”
Alice sighed. “None of us thought it would be this bad or thought it would make it all the way here to our little town.”
Betty took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. She squared her shoulders again. “Tell me what to do.”
“Go home. Stay safe inside.”
“What about Fin?”
“A team of horses couldn’t pull him away from Lizzie right now. And he’s already spent so much time with her I doubt it would make any difference. He’s already been exposed.”
Betty nodded. “I guess you’re right.”
“And he might be the best medicine for her right now. Reminds her what she’s living for.”
The two watched Fin return with a basin of water and gently wipe Lizzie’s face, neck, and arms. She smiled weakly up at him.
Betty sighed. “I’d be happy if I found a man who loved me half as much as Fin loves Lizzie.”
“You will,” Alice assured her. “Now, go. Doc and I have this covered. Believe it or not, he told me there was a time when people were sleeping on the floor, and now you can see half the cots are empty.”
“It’s almost over?” A glint of hope lit Betty’s eyes, her voice. She turned to leave then stopped. “Let me know how she’s doing.”
“I will.”
* * *
ALICE HAD BROUGHT A fresh glass of water and Fin was trying to get Lizzie to drink a little when Jack arrived. She met him at the door.
“Lizzie? When?”
“This morning. Fin brought her in as Doc and I were arriving.”
“Will she be all right?”
“Doc doesn’t know if she’ll make it through the night. That’s why I can’t leave them.” She’d prepared herself for an argument and was surprised when she didn’t get one.
“Poor Fin.”
The tough exterior Alice had fought so hard to maintain fell apart in great gulping sobs. She stepped out into the hall so Fin couldn’t see. “Oh, Jack. I can’t lose her, too.”
He took her in his arms. “I’ll stay with you.”
She stepped back, let out a slow breath, and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Maybe you can get Fin to take a break. He hasn’t eaten anything all morning. He should at least take a few minutes to stretch his legs, get some fresh air.”
“That I can handle.”