The Prairie Doctor's Bride by Kathryn Albright

Author:Kathryn Albright
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-10-05T17:46:50+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

He was in shock. That was all there was to it. With no training, no preparation other than having had a baby herself, Sylvia had known instinctively what to do for Mrs. Blackwell.

Beside him walked the best assistant he’d come across. And, surprisingly, after a Sunday afternoon of games at her house, someone he considered a friend.

Two weeks ago, he would have scoffed at the idea. The difference in their social standing would have made friendship unlikely, if not impossible. Most people wouldn’t look beyond the fact that Sylvia was a poor, unwed mother. They might have even considered her dangerous, since one of his first meetings with her involved her waving a firearm. To that, Nelson now had to add that she was intelligent, hardworking, kind and even fun.

They stopped at the Whites’ home and he informed both Teddy and Hannah of the changes at the Blackwells’. That done, he and Sylvia continued to his office. He left her outside while he retrieved the crutches that he’d had Jackson make for Tommy. He carried them down his front steps and handed them to her.

“I’d hoped to get these to you sooner. However, my mother arrived and I couldn’t get away.”

Her eyes grew big as she turned one over in her hands. “It’s mighty nice of you, but I can’t accept these.”

He’d been afraid of this. “Why not?”

“I can’t pay for them.”

“I’m not asking you to. They are a loan. When Tommy is done with them, you must bring them back to me. There will be other children who will need crutches in the future.”

“Well...”

“Sylvia. He’ll go farther using these. One day, he’ll realize he doesn’t need them anymore and then you can bring them back. Now, where is your wagon? At the livery?” He started that way.

She hurried to keep up with him. “In case you forgot, he’s my son. I’m the one who decides things for him!”

“I’m his doctor. That trumps.”

He knew his strides were too long for her, but the day had been an eye-opener for him in more ways than one. What he thought he knew about her had been challenged time and again since their first meeting. She surprised him. Over and over.

Besides being weary of her stubbornness just now, he had also been in the mercantile with his mother and witnessed her embarrassment. He was angry at himself for not saying something, for not standing up for her, but he’d fully expected her to stand up for herself the way she always did with him. Instead, she had let Mrs. Gallagher cow her. After seeing that and then to be confronted with her efficiency and calmness as she took charge at Mrs. Blackwell’s delivery of her baby—well, the whole of her simply equaled more than any of the parts taken separately. People had misjudged her.

He cared about her. And he didn’t like others belittling or judging her. She deserved a chance at life that wasn’t just about existing. She was smart and full of common sense.

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