Depending on the Doctor (Nevada Bounty Book 2) (4 page)

BOOK: Depending on the Doctor (Nevada Bounty Book 2)
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“But it’s so soon,” she said.

“There’s no reason to dawdle. I’d just as soon get this duty dispatched. We can both move on once it’s done.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Lydia said.

I stood from the table and straightened my jacket. “Good. I’ll return for you in the morning.”

I headed for the door, fetching my coat from the hook where Lydia had hung it earlier.

“Hold up,” Wyatt said. He stood, sending his chair scraping backwards. “I’ll ride back to town with you.”

I didn’t really want company, especially not the sheriff, but I couldn’t very well tell him he couldn’t ride back to town just now, so I waited.

Everyone else stood to say their goodbyes. Watching the scene was uncomfortably personal and left me with the sense of being on the outside watching something I had no right to watch.

Wyatt shook both his brothers’ hands, then hugged Beth and kissed her cheek. He thanked her for supper and she smiled her pleasure at his appreciation. He hugged Daisy, who winked at him, and he grinned—the first time I’d seen anything other than a scowl on his face all evening. He ruffled Shiye’s hair, and nodded at Nellie. When he got to Lydia, he held her shoulders at arm’s length and gave her a serious look.

“You be careful, Lydia, and come back soon. You’ll be missed.” When he hugged her, she blushed.

By the time he’d finished his goodbyes I was ready to be on the way. I shrugged into my coat and opened the door, holding it for Wyatt to exit ahead of me.

I glanced back at Lydia before I left. “I’ll be back first thing in the morning. Be ready.”

I accompanied the sheriff back to Palmer, and he took his time before beginning conversation. I figured he had some sort of motivation, so I waited for him. I wasn’t really in the mood for conversation anyway, so I welcomed the silence.

“What does Lydia’s brother really want with her?” Wyatt asked.

Of all the questions he could have asked, that was the easiest to answer.

“I have no idea. He asked me to deliver the letter, then escort her back. That’s all I know. And believe me, I’m anxious to get it over and done. I don’t like being indebted.”

He nodded like he understood having debt hanging over his head.

“If you were to venture a guess…”

I looked at him and let my impatience show. “The only way I’ll know is to take her to him. Randall and I aren’t friends, we aren’t colleagues, and he didn’t see fit to share his plans with me. Whatever he wants with her is between the two of them.”

He seemed to accept my answer, so we rode in blessed silence for a while longer. I burrowed deeper into my coat, shielding myself from the cold. My horse knew the way back to his stable, so I let him find it.

“You know,” Wyatt broke the quiet again. “Palmer’s looking for a doctor.”

I hadn’t expected the conversation to go in that direction. “Didn’t Isaac mention a Doctor Brown?”

Wyatt waved his hand, apparently dismissing Doctor Brown. “He’s old and drinks too much. I wouldn’t trust anyone I wanted to live to his care.”

“So why tell me?”

“You’re a doctor.”

“I was once.”

“What happened?”

That was where I suspected he actually meant the conversation to go. For a man who projected a gruff, scowling, hard-nosed image, he excelled at asking questions.

“It’s a long story.”

“So you said. Turns out, we’ve got some time.”

“Why does it matter to you?”

“I care about Lydia. We all do. I want to know what sort of man we’re trusting her with.”

“The kind of man who honors his debts.”

He nodded. “Fair enough.”

I hoped that would be the end of it, but I doubted it would be. He didn’t seem like the kind of man to let things go that easily, and the last thing I needed was for a small town sheriff to start digging into my past. These were the kinds of snarls that resulted from getting too involved, from getting too mixed up in other people’s lives. Another reason why traveling and the solitary life suited me just fine.

By the time we could see the lights of town, my mind had wandered to travel plans for tomorrow. The stage left town at eight, so I wanted to make sure I arrived at the ranch to pick up Lydia fairly early.

“Well, when you bring Lydia back home, give that job some thought,” Wyatt said, reining his horse to a halt and turning to head for the other end of town.

I stopped my horse in its tracks and considered Wyatt in the light of the moon. I couldn’t read his expression. “What are you up to, sheriff?”

He chuckled and tipped his hat. “Have a good evening, Emmett, and if I don’t see you before the stage leaves in the morning, safe travels. Take good care of Lydia, and bring her back to us.”

He nudged his horse and headed off toward town.

“I won’t be back, sheriff. And if Lydia wants to come back, she’ll have to do it on her own,” I called after him.

He didn’t say a word, or even turn to acknowledge me, just gave me a salute and continued on his way.

I arose before the sun to pack and pace while I waited for Emmett to show up and take me away. To be fair, I’d never really gone to bed. After Emmett and Wyatt left, Beth and Daisy wanted to talk, but I needed to be alone so I’d excused myself and gone to my room. I’d spent the rest of the night wrestling with my thoughts, and struggling not to give free rein to my emotions. I couldn’t win that battle, and it didn’t matter anyway because the decision was already made, regardless of how I felt about it. I’d deal with the feelings along the way.

Shortly before the sun came up I reached the limit of my patience and I needed to move. Now that my plans were made, I just wanted to leave, but short of taking off walking, hauling my suitcase with me, in hopes of meeting Emmett along the way, I didn’t have much choice than to wait. Unfortunately, by waiting, I guaranteed an extended and involved goodbye, which would only be painful and confuse me even further.

I tiptoed downstairs carrying my valise and sneaked out the front door to wait on the porch.

I found Isaac sitting in his favorite chair, wrapped in a warm coat and smoking a cigar.

“Mornin’ Lydia. Trying to sneak out of here without saying goodbye?”

“No. If you’re up, I’m sure Beth is, too. I know they won’t let me leave without goodbyes.”

“You don’t have to leave at all.”

I put my suitcase down and went to the railing to look out over the yard between the house and the barns. A layer of frost covered all the surfaces not already buried in the few inches of snow, and the very first hint of dawn lurked just outside the shadows. “I think I do. I don’t belong here.”

“Why would you say that? You belong here as much as any of the rest of us.”

I turned to face him, leaning back against the railing and pulling the fur collar of my coat closer against the early chill. “I miss the homestead, and I miss it being just the four of us. I’ll never be able to make up for what I did to you. I can see it in Beth’s eyes every time she looks at me. I broke our relationship, so I owe it to her to remove myself.”

“For my part, I don’t blame you. You did what you thought was right, protecting your family. I understand that. Of course I’m glad things turned out the way they did, but if I’d been in your shoes I might have done the same thing. Beth can be a might impetuous.”

I laughed. “You can say that again. But I think she feels I betrayed her, and I can’t stand the uneasiness between us. We aren’t the same anymore. We need some distance.”

“Maybe you just need to talk about it.”

“Perhaps, but I don’t see how words will change how she feels. What I did was inexcusable. We both know it, and it hurt her.”

The muted pounding of hooves on the trail caught my attention, just before Emmett pulled into the yard, right on time.

Isaac shrugged in a way that said he didn’t agree with me, but figured he couldn’t do much about it. “You know Wyatt was right when he said you can go and come back. You’ll always have a home here.”

He held up a hand to stop me before I could tell him how pointless the conversation was. “Your relationship with Beth can be fixed if you both want it enough.”

I looked down at my feet, not inclined to argue with him about it any longer. “You’ll be sure my letter of resignation gets to the town council?”

“I’ll take it myself.”

“I gave Sam my lesson plans. He was very generous to volunteer to fill in for me until the town can replace me.”

Isaac grinned. “They’ll never replace you, Lydia. But Sam can finally put his fancy college education to better use than working as a ranch hand.”

The first pink of sunrise had begun to color the horizon as Emmett pulled a horse and buggy into the yard. I truly wished I could just pick up my suitcase, descend the porch steps, climb into the buggy, and be gone. I didn’t look forward to an emotional farewell.

“Don’t even think about it,” Isaac said as he rose from his seat. “I’ll go get the girls.”

“Are you ready?” Emmett called.

“Almost. I need to say goodbye.”

Sunlight stretched across the landscape and the ranch came to life as men began to go about their jobs.

Daisy burst out the door before Emmett could express any irritation at me for taking so long. Beth, Nellie, and Isaac followed behind her.

Daisy threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck. If the railing hadn’t been behind me, I would have toppled to the ground.

“I never thought I’d say this, but I’ll miss you, Lydia.”

I huffed a short laugh into her ear. “I never thought I’d hear it. You’ll just miss having a butt for all your jokes.”

She held me at arm’s length. “Maybe. But I’ll miss your sad little face around here. I hope you find something on this trip to make you smile.”

She kissed my cheek, then stepped back to give Beth space.

Beth hugged me, a reserved embrace compared to Daisy’s. When she pulled back, she said, “You be careful, Lydia, and please come home.”

I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat. Leaving had turned out to be harder than I’d anticipated, but I needed the distance to sort out my thoughts. At least that’s what I told myself.

Nellie stepped close and leaned her forehead to mine. “Find your heart, then come home to us.”

“Miss Templeton? We need to get moving if we’re going to make the stage,” Emmett said.

Isaac picked up my suitcase and descended the steps ahead of me, securing my case in the back of the buggy. He pulled me into a quick hug before giving me a hand up into the seat beside Emmett.

“Travel safely,” he said to me. Then to Emmett, he added, “Take care of her. And bring her back if you can.”

Emmett tipped his hat, then snapped the reins across the horses’ rumps. They took off at a trot and we headed out of the yard and back toward town. I turned in my seat to find everyone lined up against the railing, waving me off on my journey. Even Juanita had bundled up and taken a few minutes away from breakfast preparation to see me off.

I watched until we turned the corner of the house and I couldn’t see them anymore, then I faced forward and settled into my seat beside Emmett.

I hoped leaving wasn’t a mistake. I didn’t have the best record of making good decisions. Choosing to turn Isaac in was just the latest example of my poor choices.

We made the twenty-minute buggy ride to town in silence, which was fine with me since I spent most of it trying not to notice the length of Emmett’s thigh against the length of mine. Despite layers of clothing between us, my awareness of him seemed focused down to how snug his leg fit against mine, and the friction of our legs against one another as the buggy bounced on the trail. By the time we reached town my heart raced and I was warm enough to presume it was July rather than November.

I had no idea what his thoughts were, since he didn’t see fit to share them, and thankfully he didn’t ask after mine.

BOOK: Depending on the Doctor (Nevada Bounty Book 2)
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