Victoria Bylin – Kansas Courtship (страница 9)

The chirping intensified into a symphony of sorts. Nora whispered a prayer. “I need Your help, Lord.”

Peering up the stairs, she made a decision. If she could cover the hole with a tarpaulin, she’d stay. If it was beyond repair, she’d consider going back with the Crandalls.

She climbed the stairs slowly, gripping the railing because she didn’t trust the steps. She reached the first landing and looked up into darkness. A good sign, she decided. If the roof had been gaping, there’d be light. She climbed the second flight. It ended at a closed door that explained the darkness.

With a prayer on her lips, she opened the door and saw a shaft of light. A hundred birds took flight, funneling upward through a hole the size of a bathtub. The fluttering wings stole her breath, her dreams, and she burst into tears. She couldn’t do it. She could scrub and clean, but she couldn’t fix the roof.

She slid to her knees and wept. Zeb Garrison had won. Unless something happened, she’d be leaving High Plains with the Crandalls. With her face buried in her hands, she cried out in groans beyond words.

Why, Lord? Why did you bring me here?

Something birdlike touched her shoulder. Startled, she looked up and saw a girl with white-blond hair. She guessed her to be fifteen years old, a girl on the cusp of womanhood. The child didn’t speak, but her blue eyes shimmered with intelligence. In that silent exchange, Nora received more compassion than she’d experienced in months. Her tears didn’t shame her. This child understood and wanted to help her. Then the danger of their situation struck home, and Nora gasped. There were on the upper level of a storm-damaged building, standing on a floor that had been compromised further by water from a leaky roof. They needed to leave straightaway before one—or both—of them fell right through the floor. Nora took a deep breath and reminded herself to stay calm and not spook the girl.

Nora wiped her eyes. “Hi. I’m Dr. Nora.”

The girl nodded but didn’t speak. Perhaps she was deaf. Nora’s feet were tingling from a lack of blood, so she slid to a sitting position. “What’s your name?”

The girl didn’t answer.

“Can you hear me, or do you read lips?” Nora tried again.

The girl opened her mouth, then clamped it shut. She looked down at the floor then looked up at the sound of a bird chirping on the roof. Well, that answered that question.

“That’s good,” Nora said, encouraging her. “You can hear pretty sounds, like music and birds.”

The girl smiled at that, then tipped her head, as if to ask a question. Why are you here?

Instead of answering, Nora did a cursory assessment. The girl could hear, and seemed to want to speak. If she’d been born mute, the instinct to open her mouth to reply to a question wouldn’t be there. Her neck showed no sign of injury, an indication her vocal cords hadn’t been damaged. Without an apparent physical cause, Nora suspected her muteness had hysterical origins, perhaps related to the tornado. The pieces clicked into place. This was the girl the Crandalls had told her about.

“You’re Bess,” Nora said. “Bess Carter.” The girl—Bess—nodded.

“Are you in town with your sister?” The Crandalls had said that Bess’s sister Emmeline had married town cofounder Will Logan, and that they all lived on the Circle-L ranch, outside of town.

“I’d like to meet her.”

The girl shrugged as if to say okay, then pushed to her feet. Nora stood, too. “I’ll follow you.” And do her best to make sure Bess wasn’t injured on her way out of the rickety building.

As the girl led the way down the stairs, Nora took in her appearance. She was so slight the risers didn’t creak. Blonde and pale, she had a serenity that reminded Nora of a painting she’d seen at medical college. The artist had depicted angels guarding a surgery from above. Bess had the same expression.

The realization blasted through her like Gideon’s trumpet. God had sent a child—a damaged child—to keep her in High Plains. Bess needed help. No way could Nora leave. She couldn’t work in this building, but surely the Lord would provide a place for her. As she followed Bess to the first floor, Nora nearly danced with joy. She belonged here. She had a purpose.

A woman’s voice drifted in from the street. “Bess! Where are you?”

The girl scampered outside. As Nora came down the last step, Bess dragged a dark-haired woman through the door.

“Bess!” the woman scolded. “You shouldn’t be in there. It’s dangerous!”

“I agree,” Nora called from the stairs. “Let’s talk outside.”

The woman peered into the gloom. When she saw Nora, her eyes widened with curiosity. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“I’m Dr. Nora Mitchell. I just arrived, and you’re right. This building isn’t fit for pigs.” As she crossed the room, Nora brushed the dust from her skirt. “You must be Bess’s sister.”

“I am.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Nora smiled, but Emmeline didn’t see it. She’d turned to her sister and was tipping up Bess’s chin with her index finger, forcing the girl to look into her eyes, as if she couldn’t understand any other way. “You scared me, Bess. Don’t run off, okay?”

The girl pulled back and turned to Nora. Her eyes told a story, but Nora couldn’t read it. She only knew Bess had something buried in her psyche. Nora had never been shy, particularly when it came to children.

“What were you doing in there, anyway?” Emmeline asked Bess, though she clearly didn’t expect an answer.

“That would be my fault,” Nora replied. “I went upstairs to check the roof. She followed me.”

The woman looked at Nora as if seeing her for the first time. “You’re the new doctor, the one Zeb’s been bragging about.”

“He’s not bragging anymore.” Nora indicated her dress. “He wasn’t expecting a woman.”

Emmeline laughed. “I wish I could have seen his face! I like Zeb. He’s my husband’s best friend, but he’s got some wrong ideas, especially about women.”

Nora wanted to hug Emmeline Logan. For the first time, she felt welcome in High Plains. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Logan.”

“Call me Emmeline.”

“Then I’m Nora.”

The brunette patted her sister’s arm. “I want to talk to Dr. Mitchell. Go find Will, all right?”

Bess turned to go, then looked back at Nora as if they had a secret. Nora supposed they did. Bess had seen her at her weakest point since leaving New York. That moment made them friends. Nora waggled her fingers. “Bye, Bess. I’ll see you later.”

After waving back, the girl scurried through the door. Emmeline followed her with her eyes, then turned back to Nora. Her eyes glistened with the desperation Nora saw every time she tended an ailing child.

“Please, Dr. Mitchell,” she said quietly. “Will you help my sister?”

Nora’s doubts about staying had already burned to cinders. Emmeline’s plea blew away the ash. “I’ll do my best. How long has she been mute?”

“Just since the storm.”

“Was she injured?”

“Not exactly,” Emmeline replied. “Doc Dempsey examined her, but he didn’t find anything wrong. I keep wondering if it’s in her head, or if she’s hurt and can’t tell us. Maybe she—”

Nora interrupted. “Can she cough?”

“Yes.” Emmeline’s brows collided. “What does that mean?”

“Coughing indicates functional vocal cords. I suspect Bess’s problem is psychological, and that it’s related to the trauma of the tornado.”

Emmeline bit her lip, then spoke in a low, frightened tone. “Do you think she’s gone crazy?”

“Far from it.” Nora had seen the girl’s intelligence, her compassion. “In some ways, her reaction is logical. Not speaking keeps the memories of the tornado from surfacing. Do you know what happened to Bess during the storm?”

Emmeline bit her lip. “I can barely talk about it myself.”

Nora hated to push, but she needed Emmeline’s help. So did Bess. “I know about the twins.”

“Mikey and Missy have been missing for weeks now.” Emmeline turned to the open door. Sunlight silhouetted her upswept hair and the slope of her shoulders. She spoke to the sky to keep from looking at the damage still evident on the street. “The twins are orphans. My parents took them in for the trip to Oregon. We think Bess saw the twins get snatched.”

Nora pictured flying bodies and shivered. “I see.”

“We were headed to Oregon with a wagon train, but we’d separated from the rest of the group when they stopped to wait out the storm while we pushed on ahead. When the storm flipped our wagon, my father was crushed under an ox. After that, we saw Kansa warriors—” She bent her neck. “I just want to forget.”

“So does Bess,” Nora said gently. “But she won’t recover until she lets herself remember.”

Emmeline shuddered.

Nora stepped to her side. “I have a colleague in New York who’s an expert in problems like Bess’s. With your permission, I’d like to write to Dr. Zeiss about your sister.”

Tears welled in Emmeline’s eyes. “I’d be grateful if you would, but I’m afraid to hope.”

“I’m not.” Nora thought of her little brother. “What scares me is doing nothing.”

Emmeline turned back to the inside of the building. Instead of focusing on Nora, she scanned the glass on the floor and the dirty walls. “Zeb doesn’t expect you to practice here, does he?”

Nora looked at the mess with Emmeline. “He doesn’t expect me to practice anywhere. If he has his way, I’ll leave tomorrow with the Crandalls.”