Chapter Thirty-nine

 

The clan elders were thrilled to have a shaman who would stay with the clan, and an earth elemental. They wanted to throw a celebration, but Doc explained that he’d be leaving the next day to stay ahead of the church. It wasn’t what they wanted, but they understood that his job was far from done.

 

As Doc was leaving, Becker was making plans to announce Greta as the shaman, and start to find a new elder to fill in her now-vacant seat. Doc smiled as he took Rosa’s hand when they left the elder’s hall.

 

“You are happy she is stepping into the role,” Rosa murmured.

 

“She’ll do good for them, and it’s not like I’ll be here. I should have Jesamin nominate a member of the tribe to be raised up, too,” Doc said.

 

“No. You are the shaman of the Treeheart tribe,” Rosa said. “Lia would be upset if you tried to set down that mantle. She is thrilled to have you carry it. Jesamin would not find anyone before you plan to leave, either.”

 

“Jesamin isn’t expecting me to marry her, is she?” Doc asked softly as they left the clan hall behind.

 

“No. She has spoken to Lia about it. In a decade or two, she will take a husband, but for now, she will be content to just raise her son without another beside her. All of your friends will be helping her, so it’s not like she will be without help.”

 

“Okay…” Doc sighed. “We should swing by to see Nicole.”

 

“She will be pleased that you did so. I have seen enough of the town to know that everyone who thinks of her does so positively.”

 

“Good. If we had the time, I’d take a tour of everything, but that isn’t going to happen this time.”

 

“The town is happy. Many think of Luck, thanking her for what you set up before you left. There is a single doctor here now, but most see Posy, if they can. The doctor is fine with that, as he only has so much energy to work with.”

 

“But with Greta stepping in for the dwarves, I’d bet that helps, too.”

 

“Yes, it will,” Rosa smiled, happy that he hadn’t let go of her hand.

 

Doc knew passersby were shocked to see people holding hands, but he didn’t care. When they saw Rosa’s hair, they knew she was a dryad, but most didn’t know Doc on sight, leaving them curious as to who he was.

 

~*~*~

 

Doc did take a small detour to see Clay Digger. The gravedigger had been surprised to see him, then overjoyed when Doc explained why he’d stopped by. Crying from the pain and joy, Clay promised to repay Doc one day. Doc just asked for him to pray to Luck before leaving with Rosa beside him.

 

Getting to Nicole’s home and office, he saw the open sign on the door and went in. The front room was set up like an office, and even had a receptionist, a half-elf, sitting behind the desk. Seeing them come in, he smiled politely, but as soon as he realized who it was, he shot to his feet.

 

“Shaman,” the half-elf said. “How can I help you?”

 

It took Doc a moment, but he recognized the man. “Evard, right?”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“I didn’t know you were working as her secretary. I was hoping to speak with Nicole, please.”

 

“One moment, Shaman,” Evard said before rushing into the hall beside his desk.

 

“He is very happy with his position. Jesamin recommended him to Nicole when he got here. He’s the only one from the half-elves you healed in Furden who came to Deep Gulch. The rest are in Heartwood’s Tears,” Rosa murmured.

 

“He had a rough time of it. I’m glad he has a job.”

 

Evard came rushing back a minute later. “Shaman, if you’ll follow me?”

 

“I’m right behind you.”

 

They were led to a room at the end of the hall where Nicole was standing behind a large desk. Her smile grew wide when she saw him. “Doc, I had no idea you were coming.”

 

“I leave tomorrow,” Doc said. He stepped in to give Nicole a hug after she’d come around her desk. “Ayla’s at the house if you want to go bother her a little.”

 

“Oh, I will. If she thinks she can skip out without seeing me, she’ll learn her lesson.”

 

Doc laughed as he took a seat. “To be fair, I wasn’t going to stop, either, but then I thought, ‘I should see if she regrets me putting her in as mayor.’”

 

A bright smile filled her face and Nicole shook her head. “No. I love this. Helping the town grow has been a life’s dream. Everyone has been so supportive, too. I think I’ll be elected in a few months. To win an election on my own… it makes me so giddy.”

 

“Is anyone running against you?”

 

“No. No one,” Nicole laughed.

 

“Good. Is there anything that I should know about?”

 

“Nothing bad,” Nicole said. “All the public works you wanted are done or nearing completion, currently.”

 

Doc grinned. “One of the most modern towns in Emerita, then, especially out in the middle of nowhere. A jewel of the west that will be known in time.”

 

“Like Aurora?” Nicole snickered. “Posy talked all about it when she came home.”

 

“Yeah, that just kind of happened,” Doc shrugged. “Is the manager you found for the business doing okay?”

 

“Assistant manager. I’m still acting head. I couldn’t just hand everything off, not with all you did for me. Having help did cut down my work by well over half.”

 

“That’s fine. I trust you to keep an eye on things.”

 

~*~*~

 

Doc and Nicole chatted a little longer before Doc excused himself. Nicole went to close up for the day, planning to go track down Ayla, which meant Doc got home first to find Elta and Lita talking with Sophia.

 

“Ladies, how are you both?” Doc asked, hanging his hat on the hat rack by the door.

 

Elta got to her feet, quickly closing the distance to him. “You are a good man, Doc.” She hugged him, which surprised Doc, but he patted her back.

 

“Thanks, Mom,” Doc murmured, returning the hug. “Your daughter has been a blessing.” He gave Sophia a bright smile. “I can’t thank you enough for letting me marry her.”

 

“She’s happy, and that means everything to me,” Elta sniffled. She suddenly pushed him back to look into his eyes. “Where are my grandchildren?”

 

Sophia groaned, covering her face.

 

Doc laughed. “We’ll have them, Mom. I promise we will. Just not this year.”

 

“Fine. I’ll be waiting to hear about it,” Elta said firmly, then took his hand to bring him to the table. “You remember my niece, Lita.”

 

“Lawyer for Luck’s Holdings here in town, last I heard,” Doc said, shaking Lita’s hand.

 

“Still am,” Lita smiled. “The clerks we have are fine. They’re not Sagesses, but they do the job. I have a second cousin coming this way to step in as head clerk. The town is growing, and we’ll need a dedicated, trusted person to handle everything.”

 

“I’ll agree to that,” Doc said as he took a seat, then looked over at Ayla. “By the way, Nicole’s on her way over.”

 

“Thank you. I was trying to figure out when I was going to go see her,” Ayla said.

 

“We were mostly catching up with family news,” Sophia said. “Though we did cover business a little, too.”

 

“There’s some surplus in the account for the town,” Lita said. “As the attorney, I’ve worked hand-in-hand with Nicole about where and when it’s being used. You should let her know what else you’d like to have done with it.”

 

“Ayla, can you handle that when she gets here?” Doc asked. “Whatever you think best works for me.”

 

“I’ll cover it,” Ayla smiled, happy that he deferred to her judgment about money matters.

 

“We’ll be having a big dinner cooked by Daf tonight,” Lia said from the kitchen. “She’ll be over in an hour or two to start on it. Our friends and family will all be here for it.”

 

“That sounds wonderful. Thank you, Lia.”

 

“With us heading out tomorrow morning, it’s best to have a goodbye tonight.”

 

“I’ll be heading back out shortly; I was going to see Gretchen. I’m just not sure where she’d be during this time of the day.”

 

“She was taking the year away from work to make sure her son was healthy,” Lita told him. “I’ve seen the contracts and checked in with all of them. She should be at her home. I can give you the address.”

 

~*~*~

 

Doc approached the modest home with slow steps— he was about to see the last of his children. Gretchen had a son… If Sonya has a boy, it’ll be half boys and half girls, Doc thought.

 

Rosa squeezed his hand. “You will love them all, regardless, Doc. You are still melancholy over the fact you aren’t here for them.”

 

“True… Seeing them hurts, but I can’t not see them, either. That would be terrible.”

 

Knocking on the door, they waited a minute before it opened. “How can I…?” Gretchen trailed off as she stared at Doc.

 

“Gretchen, may I come in?” Doc asked softly.

 

“Yes, of course, Shaman,” Gretchen said, quickly stepping aside. She looked past him. “Sonya isn’t with you?”

 

“She’s in Furden with Fiala. She’s carrying our child.”

 

Gretchen’s smile bloomed. “Good. I knew she wouldn’t wait too long to ask.”

 

“She is very happy,” Rosa smiled.

 

Ushering them into the sitting room, Gretchen rushed off to get drinks for them before Doc could stop her. Since she was out of earshot, Doc leaned in toward Rosa, “She’s married?”

 

“Yes,” Rosa replied. “Her husband has been very supportive. He’s a fellow smelter and loves her working with him. They’re both waiting for the year to pass; that’s when she plans to go back to work. They’ve had multiple offers to help watch their child by his mother.”

 

Doc chuckled. “All mothers want to be grandmothers, it feels like.”

 

“Of course. It makes them happy to see their children have families of their own.”

 

Gretchen came back in with two mugs and a cup. “I didn’t know if Rosa drank ale.”

 

“Water will be fine,” Rosa smiled. “Thank you.”

 

Once the drinks were handed out, Gretchen gave Doc a smile. “I didn’t expect you. When you left last year, I thought you’d never be back.”

 

“I leave tomorrow morning,” Doc said. “I’m being selfish, considering what we agreed on before, but I… want to see him.”

 

Gretchen took a drink, then set her mug down. It only took her a minute to come back with a sleeping baby in her arms. “Doc, this is my son, Benedict. I was blessed by the shaman’s words to be able to work, then to be fertile enough to have a child. He is a blessing from Luck.”

 

Doc choked up as he looked at his sleeping boy. As with all the others he’d seen, Benedict looked like he’d taken after his mother. “Hello, Benedict…” Doc whispered.

 

Gretchen moved closer. “If you’d like to hold him?”

 

Doc took the child, tears slipping free as he held the tiny life in his arms.

 

“Derrick is supportive of Benedict, Doc,” Gretchen said softly. “He knows, but has sworn to never tell another. I couldn’t have him thinking otherwise. We plan to have a child of our own in three years.”

 

Doc held Benedict back out to her. “I’m glad you found a good man, Gretchen.”

 

Taking her son back, Gretchen went to put him into his crib before returning. “I did, all because of you, Doc. I see the pain you feel, but Benedict will have a good family. He’ll never be told who his father is until he is old enough to understand why it was kept from him. Is that alright?”

 

Doc nodded jerkily. “It is. Please… explain…?” He couldn’t express himself clearly as he wiped at his eyes.

 

Gretchen hugged him tightly, standing in front of him. “I will, Doc. Derrick and I will. You will always have my deepest thanks for giving me so much.” Tears started to fall from her eyes. “So much…”

 

Rosa got up, hugging them both. Doc felt both better and worse about having come to visit. Gretchen was happy that Doc had but was upset that he was hurting. Rosa would tell him later when they were gone from the home— it would help him heal the wounds he inflicted upon himself.