Texas Christmas Page 8

  “Then you are staying at the hotel right now? Are they treating you well?”

  “He’s staying with us,” Gabby spoke up, hoping that she, too, could lighten the mood. “The children love him, and he’s so wonderful with Olivia.”

  Ma Kerrigan looked at her with a strange expression. “But you are the healer. You are the midwife. I don’t understand...”

  “I’m helping her,” Luke said instantly. “She is teaching me some of her healing methods.”

  “And I am learning some of his ways, as well,” Gabby rushed to say.

  The two looked at each other and shrugged. “A healer and a doctor working together. Will wonders never cease?” Ma pondered.

  “Well, now, surely you’ve come here for more than just to gossip with us, though we do have so many questions. Doctor, I can tell you aren’t from here by your accent—are you from the Northeast?”

  Luke chuckled and shook his head. “No, I’m from London.”

  “All the way from across the pond. I’ll be,” Mr. Kerrigan pondered.

  “All right, enough of all the fuss,” Ma proclaimed, clapping her hands quickly. “What can we help you with? What supplies do you need?”

  As they moved through the mercantile, Gabby pointed out multiple items that were needed for the clinic, as well as a few cleaning supplies. Then she ordered the new windows and also purchased some of the varnish they had on hand. Luke followed them through the store, his hands behind his back, watching Gabby closely, but his expression was unreadable.

  When they came to the counter, Gabby told them to charge everything to the Sheriff’s account. Luke began to protest but Gabby turned on him with the fire of determination in her eyes. “Cade promised they were going to take care of the repairs to the facility. He’s simply going to charge it to the City. You have nothing to worry about.”

  Luke frowned deeply for several moments, then nodded in agreement. “I’ll agree to it as long as Cade agrees. I’ll pay him back any differences I owe.”

  The owner smiled at him. “A doctor with good ethics. You just may do well here, sir. You may be what we’ve needed.”

  “Of course he is,” Gabby said with enthusiasm. “He studied at London University. He’s one of the most qualified doctors we’ve ever had. We just need to be sure to keep him happy enough to stay.”

  “I’m sure a wife will help with that. And then to raise a few little ones... That will make him want to stay for sure.” Mrs. Kerrigan was looking directly at Gabby.

  Gabby could feel her face turning beet red and gathered a basket of their supplies while Luke gathered two more baskets. “We’ll be back to see you soon,” Gabby said cheerfully, though she wanted nothing more than to get out of the store before there was any more talk of marriage. She was already facing a destiny she loathed to think about. The last thing she wanted to talk about was marriage.

  “Thank you,” Luke said softly as they walked back to the clinic in the frigid air.

  Gabby looked up at him in surprise. “For what?”

  “For praising me. For supporting me. I must admit for a moment there I thought you had come over to my way of thinking and truly believed doctors are good people.”

  She smiled and looked away from him. “I never said I thought doctors were bad people. I just believe some doctors have no idea how to really treat someone who is ill or injured other than to cut something off.”

  “But you don’t believe that of me?”

  “I don’t know yet. But I’ve seen how you are with Olivia. Your hands are gentle, and your manners are soothing. That is something I’ve never seen in a doctor. And you don’t come across as though you are smarter and superior to all the people around you. That’s the way most doctors are.”

  “It would seem you’ve been around some of the worst of my profession. I’ve met some doctors like that, but we’re not all that way.”

  She glanced at him sideways, smiling. “Obviously.”

  He chuckled and wanted nothing more than to press a kiss to her cold cheek. But he needed to slow down. He was moving far too fast with her. So fast that he was at risk of having his heart crushed. Gabby was a fine catch for any man, and he was an outsider. He had lived a life that she might frown upon, or look at it with disdain. He certainly wouldn’t blame her. He looked at it that way himself.

  They arrived at the clinic, and the first thing Gabby did was pull a can out of one of the baskets and apply oil to the hinges of the door. “We don’t want your patients to be scared when they enter through a creaking old door to meet the mean doctor with all the needles and frightening tools.”

  He smiled at her. “Good thinking. Now, what else do you have planned for us in here?”

  For the next hour they spent their time polishing the wood throughout the clinic. Gabby tenderly cared for the desk and it was back in its shining glory quickly. She took one of the baskets and emptied it, then went to her medical bag and began to carefully arrange gauze, medical tape, scissors, and wound packing.

  “Gabby, that is yours. I cannot—”

  “Yes, it is mine, and I’ll do what I please with it. And that is to help set you up for your practice to open.”

  She finished arranging the basket and looked back at him with a bright smile on her face. “I do believe you are almost ready for patients. We have the bed and mattress on order, we have sheets and blankets already, and of course you’ll need whatever odd concoctions of medication you use.”

  “Odd concoctions?” He shook his head at her. “So this is where we become divided. My belief in medication and your belief in herbal treatments—is that right?”

  “Mostly.”

  “I’m fairly certain we could compare the benefits of the two and find that mine is slightly superior to yours.”

  “Hah!” Gabby laughed sarcastically. “You medicine simply makes a person numb to all the horrific things you do to them!”

  Suddenly there was a pounding on the door. “Doctor? Is there a doctor here?” came a desperate plea.

  Luke and Gabby exchanged glances before he rushed to open the door. A man stood there, holding a boy who was only about eight years of age. At first Luke didn’t see the problem. Then, as his eyes traveled down the boy’s body, he saw the massive fracture to his arm, with the bone protruding from his forearm and blood dripping on the floor. He had his first patient.

  Chapter Nine

  Gabby moved quickly, grabbing the chair from behind the desk as well as one of the towels they had just purchased at the mercantile. “Bring him in, quickly,” Luke said to the man. The boy looked terrified, but he also looked lethargic, telling Luke that the boy had already lost too much blood.

  Gabby held the towel to his arm as they carried him in and set him in the chair. The boy whimpered, but didn’t cry out in pain. “What’s your name, sweetie?” Gabby asked smiling at the boy as Luke began to examine the injury.

  “Elijah,” he said softly. “Pa, please don’t be mad at me. It was an accident, honest!”

  “I know it was, son, I know it was. I’m not mad at you.” The father kneeled down and looked at Luke in desperation. “How bad is it? Please tell me you can save his arm. Please.”

  Gabby’s eyes collided with his and he stepped back slowly, showing Gabby the injury. Gabby searched around the wound, holding her breath. She let it out slowly, and Luke felt she had probably come to the same conclusion he had. She tilted her head and looked up at him, her eyes questioning what he was going to do.

  “We need to set his arm,” he said firmly, and he saw a spark of approval in her eyes.

  She went to her medical bag quickly and pulled out a small vial with a milky substance in it. She tilted the bottle slightly and got a small drop on her finger. “Here, Elijah,” she said gently, “open your mouth and take this.” He obeyed her, and very quickly his eyes became droopy.

  “What did you just give him?” Luke demanded, fighting back the irritated anger that was beginning to bubble within him.

>   “A small drop of milk of poppy. It will help him not feel anything.”

  “You should have asked me first.”

  “Isn’t it what you would have given him?” she asked, her face surprised.

  “I would have given him something, yes. And probably a derivative of the poppy seed.” She was right. He didn’t need to get angry with her—she was doing what was best for the patient.

  “We must wash our hands before we touch his wound,” he said softly to her, and again she flashed him the look of approval. He didn’t like how good it made him feel to get her approval.

  Fortunately, there was a basin of water that she had brought in earlier in the day and they washed their hands quickly and efficiently, before moving back to Elijah. The father was practically in tears.

  “Why isn’t he answering me? I know he bled a lot... Is he going to die?”

  “No, no. We simply gave him something so that he won’t feel the pain when we put his bones back in place. It would be quite difficult on him if he wasn’t numbed to it. That’s why he isn’t responding,” Gabby soothed the worried man.

  “Together?” Luke looked at Gabby, hoping she would say yes. He wanted to work with her.

  “Together,” she agreed. She placed her hands on the top of the boy’s arm, while Luke grabbed his forearm.

  “Now,” Luke said, and they both pulled at the same time. The boy moaned low as they carefully moved his arm, and there was the sickening sound of the bones shifting into place and muscles sliding around the bones. Luke focused intently on the wound and lining the boy’s arm up as straight as possible.

  Very slowly he released his arm and Gabby slid her arm under the boy’s to hold it steady. Luke went to the old medicine cabinet and dug through it until coming out victorious with an arm brace. Gently he slid it under Elijah’s arm and Gabby settled it on the chair.

  “We need to stitch up the wound,” Luke said softly and headed back to the medicine cabinet.

  “He needs a poultice first,” she replied just as softly.

  “What kind of poultice?” he asked skeptically.

  “It’s a comfrey poultice, made as a paste. It helps—”

  “Stop the bleeding,” he said, nodding in approval. “And it should help the wound heal faster. Perfect.”

  “You know of comfrey poultice?” she asked, her face expressing startled surprise.

  “Of course.” He winked at her, then headed back to the cabinet to get needle and horse hair to stitch up the wound.

  Gabby dug the jar of poultice out of her bag and pressed it against the wound. The boy stirred slightly as the poppy was beginning to wear off. “We might want to get through the stitches quickly, Lu—Doctor Davenport.”

  He approached quickly with the needle, but before he could thread it, Gabby grabbed and wiped it clean with a damp cloth, then handed it back to him. He smiled at her. “Stitches have never quite been my expertise.”

  She smiled back at him, and her expression made it obvious that she knew he was doing it for her benefit. She turned to the boy and quickly stitched him up in small, even stitches. As she snipped the horse thread loose, Luke began to wrap his arm tightly with the gauze Gabby had provided. They had just finished when the boy began to wake up and his eyes met Gabby’s.

  She smiled at him gently. “You’re going to be just fine,” she whispered to him.

  His eyes darted over to Luke, who nodded at him, then to his father, and his eyes grew wide with fear. “Pa, I’m sorry. I was just trying to move the hay in the loft. I didn’t know how close I was to the edge...”

  The father shook his head and pulled the boy into his arms, careful not to touch the wrapped arm. “It’s fine, son. It’s fine. I’m so glad you’re okay. Just be more careful next time, please?”

  The boy hugged his father tightly. The father raised his eyes to Luke. “I can’t thank you enough, Doctor. How much do I need to pay you? Is there a way for me to make payments over time? Or, I have livestock I can bring to you. Chickens? Eggs?”

  Luke shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything. Take your son home and bring him back in about a week so we can check his wound. And, young man,” he said, directing his attention to the boy, “no more tossing hay for you for a little while.”

  The boy nodded, holding his arm delicately away from his side. “Thank you,” he said softly, nodding to both Luke and Gabby. The boy and father left, pausing to give a quick wave goodbye.

  As the door closed, Gabby turned to cleaning up the area they had worked in, picking up the bloody towel and taking the needle to the basin of water to clean it and replace it in the medicine cabinet. Luke watched her, his heart pounding hard in his chest. They had been the perfect team. It had been almost as if they had worked together for years.

  As she came past him to put up her vials of medicine, he caught her around the waist and turned her towards him. “Luke, what—”

  “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you for believing in me. For trusting me. And for being here with me.” He lowered his head and pressed a gentle kiss against her cheek, then released her and took a step back.

  She looked flustered as she returned her medicine vials to her bag. “I don’t think you need to thank me for anything. You did a terrific job. I believe I may have misjudged you, Doctor Davenport.”

  “I certainly misjudged you. We work quite well together, wouldn’t you say?”

  She was smiling when she turned back to him. “Yes. Very well together. And given that we still have a few hours of sunlight left, let’s go take a look at your living quarters. I want to see what kind of disaster we have to work with up there.”

  “If it is as I remember, there isn’t much to see.”

  “All the more opportunity to improve,” she said as she turned to the stairs. Her hips swayed in front of him and he paused to count to ten. God, give me strength. Because this woman is making me lose my mind.

  It was even worse than he had remembered. As soon as they reached the second floor they were struck by the cold wind blowing in from the gap in the roof where a tree limb had gone through it. Debris was everywhere in the humble living quarters. The porcelain pitcher that had been near the water basin was shattered on the floor. The bed had been knocked askew by the tree branch and was lying on its side in the corner.

  The space was small, so there were few furnishings in the room. But it did have a large window that looked out onto Main Plaza. “Come look at your view!” Gabby said, reaching out for his hand.

  He took her hand with a smile, enjoying her excitement. It seemed she could always look past the worst and find the positive somehow, someway. He’d never known anyone like her, and doubted he ever would again.

  He stepped towards her, over the broken pitcher, and looked out the window. It was a terrific view. He could see everything that was going on in the Plaza, the Market, and even the nearby streets. He leaned closer and looked in other directions, and that was when he saw it—the Alamo.

  “What was it like?” he asked solemnly, remembering the stories he had heard in London. “Was it truly a massacre as the stories have claimed?”

  Gabby’s eyes turned in the direction his were looking and a shudder rippled through her. “Yes. It was terrible. I wasn’t here, then, but Angie told me all about it. She thought she had lost Lorenzo, because he was supposed to be fighting in the Alamo the morning of the attack. We all thought he was gone. But she held on to a small thread of hope. And he had gotten out before the battle to send a missive to General Houston. God must truly be watching over him.”

  Luke watched her face as she spoke, seeing the variety of emotions that went through her. “Was your family safe during the Revolution?”

  Gabby turned and gave him a weak smile. “I lost my father in the Revolution. He died as a member of Fannin’s troops that were executed on Santa Anna’s orders. That man has a black heart. I feel haunted by him to this day. Not much later my mother became ill. She fought it, and she was a strong w
oman. But each day she grew weaker. I think she died of a broken heart.”

  “That isn’t possible,” Luke replied, his medical mind trying to process what she had said.

  “Someday, Luke, I hope that you find a woman who you love so deeply, the thought of being without her would be as if someone had ripped your heart from your chest. That is true love. And that is what my parents had. It’s what I pray to have some day as well. To not experience that feeling would truly be a miserable existence, I’m sure.”

  Luke watched her closely as she turned from the window and began to evaluate the room. To have that kind of love would require you to give all of yourself to the relationship. And he didn’t think he could ever allow himself to be vulnerable like that.

  “Of course, I do come from the Torres family, and my mother’s side of the family, the Iglesiases, weren’t very timid characters either. So she and I both followed the path of Santa Anna to aid the fallen and injured until we finally arrived at the Battle of San Jacinto. It was there that we were able to save Olivia’s life.”

  “You couldn’t have been more than a child! How could your mother take you...?”

  “Ah, remember, I’m an old maid. I was already fifteen, almost sixteen when this happened. I was able to help my mother, and I also witnessed the brutality of those doctors.”

  “Oh, yes, of course. That’s where your loathing for doctors developed.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. “‘Loathing for doctors?’ I’d say I’ve been pretty kind to you, wouldn’t you agree?” There was the glimmer of a tease in her eyes.

  “Yes, you’ve shown me some generosity,” he said, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smile. She smiled at him in return, then refocused on the room.

  “I wish we had checked up here before we left the mercantile. We need to get you a new pitcher, and I’m certain you’ll need a new mattress as well. This mattress has become exposed to the elements, and who knows if it got wet or damaged somehow.”