Quarryman's Bride, The by Tracie Peterson

Author:Tracie Peterson [Peterson, Tracie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯)
ISBN: 0764206206
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Published: 2013-06-01T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

“You must be the doctor,” Tavin said as Jason Williams descended the stairs.

“I am.” The man smiled and extended his hand.

Tavin shook it and introduced himself. “Tavin MacLachlan.”

The smile faded a bit, and the doctor studied Tavin for a moment. “You’re the newly returned son.”

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Tavin nodded. “The prodigal son and all that goes with it.” Williams continued sizing him up for a moment, making Tavin feel even more out of place. “How’s my sister doing?”

“The same, I’m afraid. I’ve encouraged your mother to let me find a place for her. Perhaps you can help to convince her.”

“A place? You mean an institution? Lock Fenella up somewhere? She’s a human being, you know.” Tavin couldn’t contain his fury at the idea.

“Yes, but she’s a danger to herself and to those around her. Did you see the bruising on your mother’s arms? You may not know this yet, but there have also been incidents in the past when she’s hurt the children.”

Tavin shook his head slowly. “I had heard about the children, but didn’t realize Fenella had hurt my mother.”

“Unfortunately, she did.” The doctor and Tavin faced each other at the bottom of the stairs. “Fenella hit your mother multiple times when she was trying to clean her up. Your mother is worn out, Mr. MacLachlan. Besides the physical and emotional burden of your sister’s care, she is raising those two young boys at the time in her life when she should simply be enjoying her role as a grandmother. I fear before much longer I’ll be making visits out here to see to your mother, too.”

Tavin regretted his earlier outburst. “Maybe Mother needs to have my father or me take part in helping her.”

“That is a gracious offer but would probably be most difficult and at times inappropriate, Tavin. When your sister has physical needs or has torn off her clothing, it wouldn’t do to have her brother or father caring for her. In fact, the job is quickly becoming one for properly trained attendants. Your sister often needs to be sedated, and although your mother tries to get her to take her medicine, it isn’t always easy.”

“But we get by” came his mother’s voice from the top of the stairs. The men turned to face her as she made her way down. “I know that the guid doctor is tryin’ to convince you that we should send Fenella away.”

“He is,” Tavin admitted. “But why didn’t you tell me she’s hurt you?”

His mother shrugged. “If I mentioned it every time, we widnae speak of much else.”

“It’s that bad?” Tavin asked, shocked anew. For some reason he had presumed that Fenella’s spells were few and far between. He’d heard her screaming and throwing herself around the room, but he’d not once considered that she might be causing harm to their mother.

“As I was saying,” Dr. Williams continued, “there are some good places—some alternatives to large institutions. Some private hospitals have sprung up in various areas for the purpose of treating the mentally ill.

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