Colorado Dawn (30 page)

Sam put his big hand on Tick’s shoulder. “Hey kid. The doctor says he’s got just what you need, some medicine to help your heart. Trick is he has to watch the dosage pretty close to get it just right, so he wants you to spend the night in the hospital so he can keep an eye on you. I told him you were a brave kid, and a night or two in the hospital wouldn’t bother you a bit.”

Even though Sam was talking to Tick, he was looking at Eldora, sending her the message that she needed to be brave, too. His strength and surety that they were doing the right thing strengthened Eldora’s resolve. She squatted beside Tick and smiled. “Just think, when you have the right medicine you won’t be keeling over. Phin won’t have to sock you in the chest anymore.”

Phin studied the doctor, shoving his hands in his pockets and staring under his hat brim. “Only a night or two?”

“That’s right. I just want to keep an eye on him. You’re Phin, right?” The doctor held out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, young man. Your quick thinking saved Tick’s life, and from what I hear, on more than one occasion. You’re to be commended. Perhaps someday you’ll be a physician yourself. You’ve got the instincts.”

Phin shook the man’s hand, his cheeks flushing. He toed the carpet and shrugged. Eldora hid a smile at his embarrassment. Few people praised Phin.

“Now, I’ll take Tick with me. The hospital is just down the street here on Santa Fe. There’s a hotel next door, good clean rooms and a restaurant.” Dr. O’Kelly shrugged into his coat and put his hat on.

Eldora tried not to feel as if she were abandoning her responsibilities as they parted ways at the hospital door. The look Tick gave her over his shoulder formed a lump in her throat. She stuck her hand into her pocket and gripped the two silver dollars there, the only money she had.

Sam took Eldora’s elbow and Celeste’s hand and escorted them across the muddy side street to the hotel porch. Phin trotted beside him, the valise bumping his legs. For the tenth time that day Sam asked himself how he got saddled with a woman and three kids. And yet, he couldn’t say he really minded. There was something about Eldora that intrigued him, brought out all his protectiveness. Those expressive eyes, her bird-delicate features, the way she handled the children, with affection but authority, too. So different from Yvette. Yvette took everything he gave her as her due, as his homage to her beauty. Eldora asked for nothing, was even surprised when he provided for her and the children. Her lack of acquisitiveness appealed to him.

And who could help falling for Celeste with her ravaged little face? The world had been unkind to her because of her deformity, but she retained a sweet nature that sought only to be invisible. Not to mention Tick, brave, weak as water, flying to the defense of anyone he thought needed help.

They reached the porch, and Phin thumped the valise down on the boards. The blanket from the train dangled over his shoulder, and he hitched it higher. He appraised the restaurant through the window before him, his eyes sparkling with a lean, hungry look. Sam appreciated his spunk. The boy was extremely loyal to those he considered his family.

They each had their challenges, but each had strengths, too. How did Korbin sleep at night knowing he’d all but cast them out on the street?

“Let’s go.” Sam set Celeste down and opened the door. Warmth and light and the smell of roasting meat greeted them. His mouth watered, and he sniffed the air. He passed the dining room door and stopped at the desk. With little trouble, Sam procured two rooms and had the bag sent up. He handed Eldora a key.

Lamplight played across her face, revealing her pale skin and the shadows under her eyes. She moistened her lips, and a little sigh escaped her. “I’m not sure the orphanage will reimburse you. We weren’t supposed to be stopping at all. Mr. Korbin surely won’t pay you back for the hotel.” She took the key, but the worry lines on her face only deepened. “And there’s the hospital and Tick’s medicine…”

He wanted to comfort her somehow, to wipe the worry from her face. Though he could do nothing about her concern over Korbin’s reaction, nor totally erase anxiety over Tick, at least he could ease her mind about her immediate future. “We’ll talk about that later. Right now you need some food and some sleep, and so do the kids. Let’s go on up. Phin and I can eat in the dining room, and I’ll have a tray sent up for you and Celeste so you can eat in private, all right?” He winked at the little girl and cupped the back of her head to direct her to the stairs.

Her eyes crinkled above her scarf, rewarding him for remembering she didn’t like to eat in public.

The hotel rooms were nothing to speak of, but at least they were clean. “Phin and I are next door. I’ll have that food sent up as soon as I can.”

She looked worn out, and who could blame her after the day they’d had? When he left, she was helping Celeste out of her shabby coat and yawning.

Sam and Phin entered the dining room and found a table near the front window. Consulting the menu, he ordered a tray sent up for the girls and the special of the day for himself and Phin.

Conversation flowed around them in the crowded room. China and glass clinked.

Phin’s eyes never quit moving, taking in the patrons, the décor, the table service. He picked up his spoon and looked at his reflection in the back of it. “Steel. Guess you’re used to silver, eh?”

Sam took a drink of water, noting the accusatory set of Phin’s jaw. The boy was spoiling for a fight, as usual. “My family owns a silver mine. We do have silverware, but when I’m working up at the mine, I have a tin plate and a steel fork like everybody else.”

A man at a nearby table dropped his wallet, and several coins rolled onto the carpet.

“Bet there are some good pickings in this lot.” Phin took out his poker chip and walked it through his fingers, tilting his head at the customers. “I bet I could live for a couple months on the loose change alone.”

“Who taught you to steal?” Sam leaned back as the waiter set a basket of bread on the table. Then he lifted it toward Phin to help himself first.

Phin’s lips curved. “My Uncle Myatt. He said I was the best naturalborn thief he’d ever seen. Didn’t take me but a couple of days to master the seven bells. I was only six at the time.”

“Seven bells?”

“Yep, Uncle Myatt tied seven little bells all over a coat and hung it on a tree. If I could get the wallet out of any of the pockets without ringing a single bell, then he knew I was ready to take to the train station or the fair or the market.”

What kind of man taught his nephew to steal? Not only taught him but also boasted about the boy’s ability? “You do know that stealing is wrong, even if you are good at it?” Sam tore open a roll and spread it with butter.

Phin scoffed. “So’s beating orphans and giving them skimpy rations and not letting them see a doctor when they’re sick. It’s wrong to throw kids out just because their hearts don’t work right or they were born with twisted lips. It was wrong for that rich lady to throw Eldora out on the street just because she wouldn’t let the son of the house put his filthy paws on her. There’s plenty of wrong in the world. I don’t steal stuff to get rich. I steal to survive, to get food for the kids, or to make things easier for them.” He crammed the bread into his mouth and reached for another. “You’re sure,” he spoke with his mouth full, “that Tick’s gonna get fed in that hospital?” His eyebrows took a guilty tilt.

If Sam hadn’t been watching closely, he never would’ve seen Phin slip a dinner roll into his pocket. “Tick’s being fed, and so are the girls.” He pursed his lips. “Go back to what you said about Eldora. She got thrown out?”

Phin shrugged. “Sure, more than once. The oldest orphans are farmed out to work wherever they can. Korbin placed her as a maid in three different houses, and every time something happened that got her sent back. The last place, one of the gents that lived there wanted to get fresh with her, and she slugged him for it.” Phin shook his head. “There’s those in this world that believe they can treat poor people any way they want to, and the poor people just have to take it, but that’s wrong. Eldora has the right not to be bothered by the likes of him. Wish I’d have been there. I’d have done more than slap his face, I can tell you.” His hands fisted on the edge of the table. “Eldora’s tough, but she deserves to be protected.” Phin directed his glittery black glare at Sam. “Don’t you get any funny ideas about her either, or you’ll have to deal with me.”

Sam blinked, both amused and irritated at the boy’s declaration. “I have no notion of getting embroiled with another female. I just slipped my neck out of that noose. My motives in helping you all are pure. As a favor to my aunt, who is a new board member at the orphanage, I’m just looking out for you on the trip, that’s all.” And based upon the information he’d gathered from the kids so far, he had a long letter to write to Aunt Tabitha about what happened at the orphanage. She couldn’t possibly be aware of the plight of the children, or she would do something about it and Mr. Korbin. “Eldora said she was almost twenty. Sometimes she doesn’t seem much older than you.”

“By rights she shouldn’t have come back to the orphanage at all when she got fired, since she’s too old now, but she didn’t have any place else to go. I guess Korbin figured he’d get rid of her and us three all at the same time.”

The waiter brought their food, and Phin ate as if it might be his last meal.

Sam toyed with his fork. How many times had the boy missed a meal or gone without so Tick and Celeste could have more? How often had he wondered where his next meal would come from?

“What did the doc say was wrong with Tick, and how long does he have to stay in the hospital?” Phin managed the questions between huge bites of potatoes and peas.

Sam, eating more slowly, explained what he understood about the diagnosis. “Doctor says he needs some medicine called digitalis, and that he’ll need watching to make sure the dose is right. Might take a couple of days.”

“Will the medicine cure him?”

“I don’t know that there is a cure, but the medicine will help him out. It’s something he’s going to need for the rest of his life, I gather.”

An arrow formed between Phin’s black brows, and his chewing slowed. “Is it expensive?”

“I don’t know. Some medicine can be very costly. I didn’t ask about the stuff Tick needs.”

When Phin couldn’t possibly eat another bite, Sam sent him upstairs. “I’m going to check on Tick, and I’ll be back soon.” He lowered his head to stare Phin right in the eye. “Don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone.”

The hospital windows were mostly dark when Sam arrived. Only a faint glow showed here and there. A nurse led Sam up the stairs to the ward.

Tick lay in a high cot, half in shadow with the lamp turned down low beside him. Rain pattered on the windows, and the strong smells of carbolic and vinegar hung in the air. Tick opened his eyes when Sam drew near.

“Hey there, Tick. How’re you feeling? Did they feed you?” Sam eased onto the chair. Tick’s bed was so high they were almost eye-to-eye. “No, don’t try to sit up. Lie still.”

“They fed me oatmeal.” Tick made a face. His freckles stood out in his thin face like flecks of black pepper. But he had a little color to his cheeks, and his eyes were brighter. Perhaps the medicine was working already.

“You don’t like oatmeal?”

He shook his head on the pillow. “You wouldn’t either if you got it twice a day, every day.”

“Twice a day?”

“Yep. Morning and noon. And salt-pork for supper.” He stuck out his tongue. “The candy from the doctor was nice today. I like Dr. O’Kelly. But I don’t like the medicine much. It doesn’t taste so good.”

“I don’t imagine it does, but it appears to be helping you.”

“It is.” The doctor’s voice surprised them both, and Sam turned in his chair. Dr. O’Kelly, wearing a white coat, stepped out of the shadows by the door. “I’ve come to check on you again, young man. Then you need to get to sleep.”

Sam rose and backed up to give the doctor room.

After listening to the boy’s heart for what seemed a very long time, the doctor straightened and smiled, rubbing Tick’s head. “Better. Much better. Now, you snuggle down and sleep.” He held the blanket up for Tick to wriggle farther under and tucked it in beneath his chin. “If you need anything, the nurse’s desk is just outside the door.”

“See you in the morning, Tick.” Sam followed the doctor out the door and down to the first floor. “Doc, is he really better?”

“Yes, his heart rate has slowed, and his pulse is stronger. I’m going to increase the dosage in the morning by a few grains and see what effect that has. I’m very pleased with his reaction to the medicine so far. I’d like to see him get some meat on his bones though. Wherever you’re headed, make sure he stays under a doctor’s care. The dosage will have to be regulated as he grows and his activity levels change.”

How likely was it that Tick would be under a doctor’s care at an orphanage in Denver? The muscles in the back of Sam’s neck tightened, but he nodded that he understood. “There’s something else I wanted to ask you about.” A nurse bustled by with an armload of linens. “In private.”