A Mother for Christmas by Christine Sterling

Author:Christine Sterling [Sterling, Christine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-17T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

“What are you going to do?” Minnie asked.

The doctor was examining Roscoe in the Grant’s sitting room. Agnes was with her husband and Meg was sitting at the table entertaining the children. Frank and Jack were hanging onto her every word, as she bounced Luella on her knee.

Cole looked at Meg. She was everything Minnie described. She was beautiful, intelligent and appeared to have the patience of a saint with the millions of questions the children were asking her. Mostly their questions were about the train ride and the horses who pulled the stagecoach.

She lifted her eyes and caught Cole staring at her. She had the prettiest eyes, surrounded by long lashes. She looked down demurely. Jack said something to her, and she laughed.

“I don’t know, Minnie. I was expecting one person. Not three.”

“Well, there is nowhere in town for them.”

“I know. They are her family. I can’t just leave them here.”

“Her plan was to get them situated in a hotel and then build a house for them.” Minnie rubbed her hands against her apron. “It doesn’t sound like she planned on them going home with you.”

“I know.” Cole ran his hand down his face. “I’m sorry to bring this to your door, Minnie.”

“You act as though we’ve never had guests before,” Oskar said, coming up behind them. “It will work out.”

“The driver said that wolves tried to attack the horses on the drive into town.”

“They are getting more aggressive. I pray they don’t come into town.”

“Me too. Might want to tell everyone to be extra careful and not go out alone or after dark.”

The doctor came into the room. Meg stood at the table, Luella on her hip. She looked like she had been holding Luella since she was born.

“Is he going to be alright?” Meg asked.

The doctor placed his bag on the table. “I didn’t hear anything in his lungs, but the cough may get worse before it gets better. We just have to make sure that it doesn’t turn into pneumonia.”

“What do we need to do?” Cole asked.

“He’s going to need plenty of rest and to keep as warm as possible. He probably won’t have much of an appetite, but you want to keep his strength up.” The doctor pulled a tin from his bag. “This is willow bark. It should help contain the fever.” He put the tin down and pulled a glass bottle from the bag. “This is laudanum. Give him a draft in the morning and one again in the evening. It should ease his chest. If he gets worse, just come get me.”

Cole noticed Meg’s brow furrowed. “How long will it take for him to recover?”

“He should be better within two weeks.”

“Doc,” Cole said stepping forward. “The snows are coming and pretty soon we won’t be able to get down to town anymore. Do you think it would be safe to transport him?”

“To the mountain?” Cole nodded. “Well, he’s traveled this far. I would bundle him with extra blankets and bricks. When you get home, you might need to give him a bath to warm him up.

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