Wedded for the Baby by Dorothy Clark

Author:Dorothy Clark
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Love Inspired Historicals
Published: 2017-09-05T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Trace blotted and folded the paper, put it into an envelope, added the direction and placed it with the others ready to take to the station upon leaving the shop. His stomach knotted. It was almost time to leave for dinner at the Latherops’.

He jerked his mind from thoughts of the torture of Katherine sitting beside him at the small table. It had been over a week now and every day it became more agonizing to spend that time alone with her. Sitting there pretending to feel nothing when in truth—in truth nothing!

He let out a growl and picked up the pen to write out another order. He was running low on the supplies he needed to compound his fever and headache pills. Many of the people riding the trains from the east were ill. And he had noticed Asa Marsh coughing and sneezing when he went to the station to pick up his mail yesterday. If the stationmaster took the flu—

The jingle of the bell on his shop door stopped his dire thoughts. He splashed some alcohol on his hands and stepped out of the back room. John Ferndale was leaning over the counter, peering at the bottles on the shelves behind it. “Good afternoon, Mr. Ferndale. Is there something you need?”

“Good afternoon, Trace. Dora sent me for some of your headache pills. And a restorative.”

Trace stiffened, studied John Ferndale for signs of illness. “If you tell me what complaints Mrs. Ferndale is suffering, I can better choose the correct medication.”

The portly man opened a tin and popped a peppermint candy in his mouth. “She says she has a headache and a fever. And she’s tired. She wants something to give her some strength.”

“Has she any physical discomfort?”

“Says she aches all over.”

Headache, fever and aches, fatigue... Trace silently clicked off the list of symptoms. The thing he’d been fearing had happened. The flu, manifested by the symptoms exhibited by the people on the trains, had come to Whisper Creek. “I believe these products will give her the most relief.” He placed a bottle of Blandiff’s Vegetable Antidote for Ague in a bag and added a box of his own fever and headache pills. “Please tell Mrs. Ferndale the pills will work better and her illness will improve faster if she drinks a lot of water. Tell her to add three spoonsful of apple-cider vinegar to each glass. It is especially effective to stop any stomach upset.” He handed John Ferndale his change and pushed the bag toward him. “It will also strengthen her to eat a lot of soup—chicken soup is the most beneficial.”

“I’ll tell her. But she’s not been eating much.” The older man dropped his change into a small leather purse and picked up the bag. “We are fortunate to have you in Whisper Creek, Trace. You’re the closest thing to a doctor we’ve got. I’ve tried to interest several doctors in coming to our village but they’re more interested in going where there are more people.

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