Ginny Aiken (32 page)

Prince’s clip-clopping hooves marked time as she traveled to Eric’s place. The closer she came, the less possible it became to keep him from her thoughts. She wondered if he’d be there when she arrived. Had he stayed at the office to keep working? Or was he resting the leg? Would he reverse the progress he’d made by pushing himself too soon?

Oh well, the man was just that: a man. A grown man. And she had no right to hover over him.

As usual, she stopped Prince by the barn. Steven spotted her first. “Hey, Doc! Watch me.”

When Letty realized what he was up to, her innards tangled in knots. The scamp hung by his knees in the air, swinging from the limb of a gnarled cottonwood tree.

“Oh, Steven, even I can’t put you back together if you fall from up there. Please come down, and be careful, now.”

Steven wrinkled his nose but obeyed. Each time he responded so readily, Letty wondered what he might have been like if normal discipline had been present in his life. He was thriving in the atmosphere of routine and attention.

He wiped his hands against the seat of his trousers and said, “ ’M really good at it, ain’t I, Doc?”

“That you are, Steven, but that’s the only head you have. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Where are the girls?”

“Caroline an’ ’Melia are inside. Suzannah’s in the barn.”

Suzannah had blossomed through her love for animals. The chickens had been the first to catch her attention. Then Marmie’s kittens had stolen her heart. Even the ornery Heidi made her giggle. Life on the ranch had done wonders for the love-starved child.

“Here,” Letty said, handing Steven her satchel. “Please take this inside for me. I’ll find Suzannah and bring her with me.”

With a two-fingered salute, Steven grabbed the bag and ran to the house. His gesture reminded Letty of the day she’d arrived in Hartville when Eric’s mares had narrowly missed trampling the boy. She shuddered to think what might have happened.

She went after Suzannah. At the barn door, Eric’s words brought her up short. “You put your hands like so, Suzie.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Letty tiptoed in, unwilling to disturb them but dying of curiosity. Eric sat on a stool next to the goat, and Suzannah watched as he taught her the mechanics of milking. “You wrap your fingers around Heidi’s teat. See?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Now comes the hard part. When you hold tight, you have to pull and squeeze all at the same time. Watch.”

The stream of milk hit the tin pail Eric held with his feet, and Suzannah chortled with pure pleasure. “Me now?” she asked.

“Watch me again.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Another trickle hit the bucket, and Suzannah’s laughter brightened the barn. Emotions swelled in Letty’s heart when Eric stood and knelt behind his stool.

“Sit here,” he said. “I’ll hold you so you don’t fall off. This is hard work, you know.”

“Mm-hmm.” Nodding her blond braids, Suzannah sat in the shelter of Eric’s arms. She reached her hands out to Heidi’s udder and wrapped her little fingers around the teats. She turned to Eric and whispered, “Like so?”

“Just so,” he answered, pressing his cheek to her head.

The tears that had been so close to the surface all day poured down Letty’s cheeks. This meant the world to her. Here was everything she’d ever wanted: that man, that child, and the four in the kitchen.

Lord Jesus, have I asked for too much? Am I selfish to love Eric and the children and want them to be mine? To love and cherish and coddle and train them?
Her heart urged her forward; her love brought her to Eric’s side.

Unable to resist, she touched his shoulder. He turned and met her gaze. The love in his eyes stole what reason she had left. She pressed the muscle under her hand, enjoying its strength.

Brown eyes clung to gray. Unspoken messages came and went as their lonely hearts spoke as if with the same voice. Letty smiled.

Eric turned to the little girl in his arms. She’d stolen his heart, just as the woman behind him had.

He prayed silently,
Father in heaven, what should I do about it?

16

Letty entered the house quietly. She almost regretted inviting Daisy to stay, since she needed time to collect herself.

She would never forget those last few moments in the barn. What she had seen in Eric’s eyes moved her more than any gesture could have. There’d been longing and resignation in the depths, something so sad she refused to think what it might mean.

She went to the kitchen but stopped at the threshold. Caught up in a kiss, Daisy and Ford held each other tightly near the back door.

When the young man lifted his head, Letty saw Daisy’s tears, and her protective instincts awoke.

“I understand,” Ford murmured as he stroked silky blond curls from Daisy’s brow. “I know how frightened you were, but now that you don’t depend on her, you can tell me what you know. He must be stopped, and I’m going to help you.”

Daisy rubbed her cheek against Ford’s shoulder. “I know he must be stopped,” she whispered. “I’m afraid of what he might do to you.”

Ford gazed into Daisy’s eyes, and Letty witnessed another kiss. She debated interrupting, but intuition told her she would learn more if she remained unnoticed.

When Ford regained his composure, he whispered against Daisy’s lips, “You are sweet. But you needn’t fear for me. I can take care of myself. And now I can care for you as well.”

Daisy blushed. Letty found it hard to believe this was the same girl who had “taken care of” many men in town. The child had clearly been forced to submit. Ford’s tenderness seemed to salve the soul-deep wounds the others had inflicted.

“He’s awfully powerful,” Daisy said.

“So is the newspaper,” Ford countered.

“Bessie will come after me. She knows I know what’s going on.”

“That’s why you wouldn’t leave when Dr. Morgan first doctored you, isn’t it?”

“Bessie swore they’d kill me if I left or told.”

“Don’t worry. Plenty will happen but none of it to you.”

Daisy shuddered. “Bessie’s horrible. She’s purely evil.”

“He’s worse,” Ford retorted, making Letty want to shake him by the ears. Who were they discussing? And what had “he” done?

“He hit me, you know. With that cow stick of his.”

Medford! Letty knew only one such obscenity, and the surgeon owned it. Now, if the two in the kitchen would just blurt out what Medford and Bessie were up to—

No. A chill shot down her spine. It couldn’t be. Dread sank into Letty’s stomach and filled her heart. Daisy and Bessie’s argument had been about the Patterson children. Now the girl had told Ford something about Medford and Bessie, something dangerous.

Letty thought back to the day Slosh died. Matters began to grow clearer. Bessie and Medford had something to do with Slosh’s death, and she meant to find out what.

She would need Eric’s help, but in order to put a stop to Bessie and Medford’s crimes, he would have to confront the vice that had destroyed his family. Considering what she’d be asking of him, she hesitated.

“Father God,” she whispered, “please sustain me. Give me the words and soften Eric’s heart to receive them.” She paused and shivered. “Lord, he needs You. Please draw him back to Your loving arms, and please, please, don’t let me be a stumbling block to him. He needs to truly understand that Your Son already paid the price for his sins if he’ll only accept that ultimate sacrifice on his behalf.”

Opting for a noisy entrance, she marched into the kitchen, making Ford and Daisy blush and jump apart. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, “but you both know how important this is. Daisy, tell me every last detail. Ford, please fetch Eric.”

Four eyes focused on Letty. “Come, now,” she urged. “We must get to work.”

Like knitting at the mercy of a cat’s claws, the story unraveled before Letty. Dr. Medford had set Bessie in “business” shortly after his arrival in town. Two years later, he had an exclusive claim on her attentions, while his wife languished at home.

When Hart hit the new, rich silver vein last year, the surgeon tried to buy into the boom. Achieving no results through legitimate means, he’d sought out the shady element he’d met at Bessie’s, allying himself with the Swartleys. The three men had agreed on a plan: Medford wanted silver but didn’t care to soil his hands with the work required to extract it. The brothers wanted money to sustain their vices and had no trouble carrying out his dirty work, that of the mining operation as well as the swindling of unfortunate folks.

As Eric had suspected, power and money backed the Swartleys—Dr. Medford’s power and money.

As soon as Ford and Eric arrived, they set their plan in motion. Daisy shared details of Bessie’s and Medford’s routines, and Eric and Ford, with Daisy in tow, soon went for the newspaper’s camera. Then they headed to the brothel.

“I may not be able to end prostitution altogether,” Eric said, “but I can and will stop this criminal wave.”

Before leaving, Eric admonished Letty to stay safely at home.

His words only served to reinforce her determination. Once they left, Letty ran to the alley behind Bessie’s Barn. Again seeking the cover of the shrub, she came right up to the house and was glad for the open windows on the second floor.

Inside, she heard footsteps followed by a knock.

“Yeah?” Bessie called.

“Can I come back to work?” Daisy asked.

“No more high’n mighty lady doctor for ya, eh?”

“I need the money.”

“Ya gonna sass me again?”

“I have to work for you, don’t I?”

Bessie laughed. “Yeah, and ya know now better’n to go spoutin’ off at me.”

“I understand.”

“ ’Spose ya brought a man with ya.”

“He’s waiting for me.”

“Git goin’, then.”

“Mm-hmm.”

The door closed, footsteps crossed the width of the building, and another door opened. “He’s with her,” Daisy said. “Smirking and drinking—”

The closing door cut off Daisy’s words, but Letty didn’t have long to wait. Her heart sped up, and she bit her lip.

She ran to the front, determined to miss nothing. And she heard plenty: Medford howled, Bessie wailed, Eric yelled, and Ford answered in kind.

After what felt like hours but could only have been ten or fifteen minutes at most, Daisy parted the swinging doors to the sordid emporium. Bessie followed, hands tied with red and black suspenders, Ford prodding her on. She wore a magenta peignoir trimmed in exotic white feathers that quivered with her every step. Her brassy hair stood on end, giving her the oddest look of lunacy.

Behind her came Medford, missing his suspenders. The surgeon’s hands were also tied, but, lacking his suspenders, he had to clutch the waist of his trousers so as not to parade in yet more scandalous attire.

“What are you doing here?!” Eric roared the moment he saw Letty.

She lifted her chin. “I have every right to help bring these two to justice.” Not to mention satisfy her curiosity.

Shame had brought on Medford’s confession, and after Medford implicated her in the scheme, Bessie crumbled, admitting her complicity. With his hold tight on Medford’s upper arm, Eric led the strange company to the sherrif’s office, pausing every so often to give the surgeon the chance to hitch up his pants. Bessie’s ludicrous feathers fluttered in the breeze, but at least she was covered. With an arm around Daisy’s waist, Ford kept the madam in line, and Letty brought up the rear of the parade.

She was glad to have played a part—no matter how small—in exposing the culprits.

After the sheriff took their statements, Eric and Letty returned to Eric’s office. In the lamplight, she noted the strain on his face. He must have relived every moment of his parents’ tragedies.

“You have all my respect and admiration,” she said. “I don’t know if I could have faced what you did tonight.”

His jaw tightened and his mustache twitched. “I had no choice, did I?”

“Of course you did. You could have said no.”

“I had to take care of this matter, especially since you seemed intent on doing so yourself.” The corners of his mustache danced. “Didn’t do so well there, did I?”

Letty had the grace to blush. “You know me well enough. Did you really think you could keep me away?”

“I can always hope for change in your mule-headed ways.”

“Me? Mule headed? How about you?”

A weary smile lightened his demeanor. “Merely determined, Dr. Morgan.”

“Pshaw! Stubborn and ornery.” Letty paused. “I meant what I said. I admire your courage and your strength of character. You confronted your ghosts head on.”

She hoped he’d leaned on God for that strength, but she doubted he had.

“Oh, I don’t know, but I thank you for the kind words.” He blew out the lamps and held the door for her. “May I see you home?”

“Of course.”

In the following days, Hartville went into shock followed by a voracious uproar. The outcry against the bordellos reached fever pitch. Although Medford’s swindles no longer posed a threat, Letty’s insistence in helping the youngsters in the cathouses became, if possible, less popular than before. Dr. Medford’s vehemence had done its damage before his downfall, and her presence outside Bessie’s place at the time of his comeuppance had done her no good.