The Traherns #1 (43 page)

“Boys, build a shelter for Mickey, to keep some of the sun off
him. It’s going to be a long wait for the doctor.”

They cut the top off some poles and used the narrow tops to form
a teepee shape, set it over where he lay and then fastened some empty burlap
grain sacks on it. He lay right where we were putting up the barn, so I told
the men to go get some more poles we could use to make the walls, while we
waited for the doctor.

I gave him some water, trickling it into his mouth. I couldn’t
tell how hurt he was, but I did know better than to move him.

I heard a horse running in, and looked up.
It was way too
soon for the doctor
.

It was Sam. She pulled that horse into a sliding stop, jumped
off, and hurried over to where I stood.

“Pete is on his way to the doctor,” she said. “I’ve had
experience with busted ribs, so came back to check on Mickey.” She walked over
and knelt down beside him.

Opening his shirt she felt of his rib cage. “Busted. Busted.
This one might be cracked. Okay from here on up.” She stood up. “It looks like
two badly busted ribs and a cracked one. We’ll need to strap the busted ones so
they won’t poke his lungs. And he won’t be able to work until they heal. Also,
I think he cracked both bones in his arm. I can’t tell, but they feel that way.
He should avoid using it for a month. Give it time to heal.”

“How can you tell he hasn’t already punctured his lungs?”

“Listen to him breathe. It’s a normal sound. There’s no blood in
his nose or mouth. What saved him was that you all had been digging here,
leveling the ground. The soil was soft.”

She looked at Mickey’s ribs. “I’ll bind those up, then you wait
for the doctor to come check you over. You’re going to be mighty bruised, come
tomorrow, and useless for a few weeks.”

I helped hold him while she wrapped up his ribs, and put a light
splint on his arm. Then we got him into the bunkhouse where he could lie down
comfortable.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Glad to help. Just make sure he doesn’t try to work too soon.
He’ll feel good, and want to get going, but heed the doctor’s advice. He’ll
heal quicker in the long run.”

She led her horse over to the water trough, which I’d hewn out
of a large log, and let him drink. Then she checked her cinch.

I realized she was getting ready to leave. "Aren't you
going to stay and finish with Mickey?"

"Not this time. The regular doctor can check him out. I
expect he will be here shortly. If he can't, send for me. I'll come back.”

“Wait. You should stay for lunch,” I said. “That’s a long way to
town on an empty stomach.”

She looked at me, her dark eyes flashing. “I’ve no need to eat.
I make do on little.” She gave me a nod and swung into the saddle. Bear jumped
up, ready to go.

“What if the doctor doesn’t make it?” I asked, wanting her to
stay.

“Keep Mickey quiet. He’ll heal. And he’ll live. He just had all
the stuffin’ knocked out of him.”

She nudged her horse and rode away. I stood there wondering why
I’d fired her. Was it for her, or for me? Or was it that I didn’t want anyone
taking Becky’s place?

I felt empty as I watched Sam ride away. I was now like the men.
I wanted to keep her.

The doctor came back with Pete the next day, explaining he had
been on the far side of the valley, delivering a baby. He checked Mickey over,
asked me why I’d sent for him, charged me ten dollars and left. He didn’t even
remove the bandages Sam had put on.

I wove Mickey’s bed for him, mainly to get him out of mine.

“The barn’s next,” I told Joe.

“We need to get those cattle moved further away. They’re eating
all the grass close by.”

“Yes, but with Mickey laid up, I hardly have enough hands to put
up the barn, much less herd the cows.”

“Bear could do it by himself. You need to get Sam back here.
Why’d you let her leave?”

“She got on her horse and rode away. Besides, I won’t have a
single woman out here, bunking with the men.”

“I’ll move into the bunk house.”

“It still don’t look right.”

“Then marry her. We need her.”

I looked at Joe. “I hardly know her.”

“That hasn’t stopped a lot of people from tying the knot. What
more do you need to know? She doesn’t clobber you when you yell at her, she’s
good with people and animals. And she cooks a mean batch of flapjacks. And
apple pies. She’s got the respect of the whole valley and can doctor you up
when you’re hurt. I’d grab her myself, but I’m too old. It’s you she looks at
with those liquid eyes.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You don’t think she tried to stay here on my account, do
you?”

“It’s too soon. I’ve just lost Becky.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t love someone else.”

I stared at him. “I don’t want to forget Becky.”

“A man with a passel of kids loves each one. He doesn’t not love
the others, just because he loves the first one born. Nor does he forget one
he’s lost. Love grows, Barnabas. Sam won’t ever take Becky’s place in your
heart, she’ll just build herself a place of her own.”

“What makes you the expert?”

“I lost three wives. The first one soon after we were married.
The second one in childbirth. And the third to Cholera. I had a small ranch of
my own, but after I lost my third wife, I drifted. I had no children. No one to
build for. Ended up here.”

“You never told me any of this.”

“You never asked. But that gal isn’t going to stay single very
long.”

I thought about it all night and into the next morning. I could
get out the buckboard and drive Mickey back to his home in town, if he had one.
Then I’d go courting.

Maybe.

I looked at what I was building. I had built the house for
Becky. I had put in a loft, so our kids could have a warm place to sleep.

Now I was without her. No chance for kids unless I took a
different wife. I’d end up lonely like Joe.

After breakfast, I walked in to where Mickey rested in the
bunkhouse.

“Do you have any family in the valley? Anywhere you’d like to go
while you get well?”

“Not really. Just living in a boarding house, boss. This is a
lot better than there.”

“You stay here, then. Tell Joe I’m going to town for more
supplies.”

I hitched the team to the buckboard and drove to town. The
closer I got, the more I wanted to see Sam.

I didn’t know where she lived, but the storekeeper knew. I
pulled up, hopped down, and walked inside.

Old Wylie Gunther looked up from dusting a shelf, and smiled.

“Hello, Barnabas. Needing something?”

“Yes. I need more flour. And bandages. Butter. Here’s my list.”

“Heard Mickey got hurt. Good thing Sam was there to wrap him up.
Doc said he couldn’t have done better.”

“Why did you send a woman out to my place, Wylie? You knew there
were just men there. You trying to ruin her reputation?”

“Couldn’t ruin it. She’s gold. Had suitors lined up for years
and sent them all away.”

My spirits sunk. It didn’t sound like I had much of a chance
then, after sending her away from me. Demanding she leave. And not offering her
anything for coming back and doctoring Mickey.

Wylie gave the shelf a final wipe and stepped away from it. “She
needed money. Her pa has been out of work, all busted up like. Being a doctor
he’s to the stage where he can take care of himself, but they needed food on
the table. She came in yesterday and bought some flour and some sugar.”

I felt like a heel. “Where does she live?”

“You go south on this road for a mile. You’ll see a red mailbox
with a white cross painted on it. That’s the doctor’s box. Go down that lane
and you’ll find the house.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll have your order ready when you get back.”

I nodded. Turned to leave.

“You need a woman out there, you know. And not just working for
you. You need a wife.”

What was it in the air in this part of Oregon? Everyone trying
to marry me off?

“Was that why you sent her?” I asked.

“Mainly. Her pa is the son of Charlie Web. I knew Charlie, years
ago. He led a wagon train over the Oregon trail. I was only seven and he was
the biggest thing in my life. If I can help his son or granddaughter, I’ll do
it any day.”

“Thank you.”

“She’s the stubbornest girl in the valley, but she’d make you a
fine wife,” he said. "She finishes what she starts."

I smiled and walked outside. A young boy rode up, leading two pack
animals behind him. I nodded to him and climbed into my buckboard.

So Samantha Web was a hard catch. And would make a fine wife.

I had planned on just driving up and telling her that I’d like
for her to come back to the ranch, as my wife. But that didn’t sound so
effective any more. I had figured if she told me, “No,” it wasn’t a big loss.
But if she was in the habit of sending suitors away, I had better rethink my
approach.

I clicked up the team to a good trot down the road, found the
mailbox Wylie had told me about, and turned in. The doctor had a small house at
the end of the lane, with several sheds and corrals next to it. There were
different animals in the corrals, sheep, goats, and cattle.

I pulled up and stopped next to a tall, three-wheeled vehicle. It
had two large, wide, cleated metal wheels in the back and one slightly smaller
metal wheel in the front. It looked like it could go through mud and snow and
crawl over any obstacle. I’d never seen such a contraption. My team hadn’t
either, and stood snorting and acting like they wanted to run away.

A middle-aged man hobbled out of the house.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hello.”

“Do you need a doctor?”

“No, I’ve come to see Samantha. I’m Barnabas Trahern.”

“She’s up in the mountains with a sick cow, right now, needing
to bring her back. I’m getting ready to go there. Sure could use your help. My
leg’s still not strong enough for what we might have to do.”

“Of course. Do you want to ride with me?”

He shook his head. “No. I need to take the stock wagon. Put your
team in the holding corral over there. They’ll be all right until we get back.”

I unhitched them, then joined him by a flatbed wagon with stock
racks on it.

“Back that tractor over here,” he said, pointing at the
three-wheeled monster. “We’ll hitch up and get going.”

“I’ve never driven a tractor,” I said. “Maybe you should drive.”

“Hard for me. Hurts my leg to push on the pedals for any length
of time. It’s a tractor that thinks it’s a truck. I use it when I have to go on
vet calls. Sometimes an animal has to be transported. So I take this, with the
wagon hitched to it.”

“And you think I can drive that?”

“Yes. It drives like a truck. Pulls anything. Goes anywhere. I
got it from a freighter. I sometimes get in with the sick animal while Sam
drives us back here. My clinic is out behind the house.”

I walked over and climbed up into the driver’s seat and looked
at the row of four pedals on the floor. I named them off to myself, remembering
the order. Clutch, brake, gas, and starter. They were made of metal and worn
smooth from use.

It had a standard “H” gear shift. I found the throttle and
pulled it all the way out, then turned the key. I put my right foot on the
brake and gas pedal and the left one on the clutch. Then I shifted my right
foot over enough to reach the starter and pressed down on it.

The engine turned over, then quit, so I tried again.

“Just give it half throttle,” the doctor called.

I pushed the throttle halfway in and tried again. The third time
the motor started, and I shoved the throttle all the way in. I put it in first
gear, but let the clutch out too fast, jerked it several times, and killed the
motor.

I put the clutch back in and started it again, this time waiting
for the motor to warm up a little bit, while I tried to remember how to drive.
I’d learned when I bought my car, but it was many years newer than this truck,
and easier to operate.

As I eased off the clutch, I needed to shift my foot from the
brake to the gas. I just had to do it all at the same time.

“It sounds like you have it in second gear,” the doctor said.
“First is over and up. Just don’t go too far over, cause that’s reverse.”

I rabbit-jumped it several times before I got it to run
smoothly. Then I drove the contraption over to him.

“Turn it around and back it up here.”

I did so, remembering where he had said reverse was on the
gearshift.

He lifted the wagon tongue and I aimed for that, coming pretty
close. He seemed either brave or foolish, expecting me to not run him over,
going backwards. I managed to get fairly close, then put it in neutral and set
the brake.