Under a Falling Star (5 page)

CHAPTER EIGHT

S
usanna stood near the front door of the infirmary, listening to instructions from Dr. Thorn, a man of endless energy. The thirty-two-year-old bachelor had methodically worked his way through the patients, most suffering from minor injuries like lacerations and bumps on the head. Miss Taylor lay in a liquor-induced sleep, moaning from time to time.

Disbelief at seeing Dalton Babcock had pushed away all of Susanna’s fatigue. His sister had been the bane of Susanna’s existence, but Dalton had always been shy, hardly saying a word to her. Seeing his face here in Logan Meadows had brought a surge of bad memories—and a bushel of worries about what Dalton might tell someone about her past.

“It’s time for you to go home and get some rest, Susanna,” Dr. Thorn said. The doctor’s usually combed, light-brown hair was mussed, and his intense green eyes that by now could easily be filled with exhaustion, burned with purpose. “You’ve been a huge help.” He glanced across the room to the bandstand where Brenna and Mrs. Hollyhock were slumped in their chairs. With her eyes clamped closed, Mrs. Hollyhock’s soft snores floated through the air.

An affectionate gleam lit his eyes. “You’ve
all
been wonderful. Widow Brown is on her way here to take over for you.”

“I can’t leave,” Susanna whispered. “I want to be here when Julia wakes up. She’s bound to feel horrible from the whiskey, let alone the pain from her broken arm. I’m not going anywhere.”

His brow arched.

“I’m not.” She firmed her mouth. “You can talk until you’re blue in the face, Doctor, but I plan to stay all night.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Some women are more stubborn than . . .” He snapped his mouth closed at her threatening look. “Fine then. At least take a break and get something to eat. How about I send the others home, and in the morning they can come back and relieve you?”

“Yes, that’s perfect. I can—”

At that moment, Albert stepped through the door, cutting off her sentence. His concerned expression sent a surge of pleasure through her. He took one look and pulled her into an embrace. “You’re exhausted,” he said next to her ear. His warm breath sent tingles dancing down her neck. He leaned back and looked around the dimly lit room. “You’re working her to death, John. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this tuckered out.”

Dr. Thorn pointed to the others. “They’ve all worked themselves to death, but it couldn’t be helped. And they aren’t finished yet. Susanna has just offered to stay here all night.”

When Albert opened his mouth to protest, Dr. Thorn went on. “I’m needed at my office, Albert, and I really do need someone here. She’s good with the patients. I performed two surgeries that I must monitor. Now that I’ve seen to these patients, most just require nursing. Get her something to eat, and see that she gets off her feet for a good hour.” The doctor glanced at Susanna, then back at Albert. “Go on, now.”

“That’s an excellent idea,” Albert said. “The Silky Hen is closed, but you have the key. I’ll fix you a plate of leftovers.”

With Albert looking at her like that, and the doctor’s expression of gratitude, heat crept into Susanna’s face. “First, I want to take Mrs. Hollyhock home and tuck her in. If I don’t, she’ll get sidetracked helping someone else and forget about her own needs.” She gave Albert a beseeching gaze. “Can we do that?”

“We can. Afterward, I’ll get some warm food into you and tuck you in.”

“Albert!”

He chuckled. “I’m just teasing. Go on and round her up, and Brenna too, if she’s also coming. I’ll find a buggy to borrow. There’re so many sitting around town I’ll have my choice. I’ll be back in five minutes expecting you to be ready to leave.”

Within a half hour, Susanna and Albert had dropped Brenna at her home and Mrs. Hollyhock at the Red Rooster. The minute they’d walked through the door of the inn, Beth Fairington had pounced on Mrs. Hollyhock with a hundred complaints and issues, as if she’d been waiting for the tired old woman to come home and solve all her problems.

Now, alone in the buggy, sitting close enough that their knees rubbed whenever they went over a bump, Susanna felt dizzy with happiness. Albert had come for her, to check on her, make sure she’d had something to eat. The Silky Hen was their next stop, and her empty stomach wouldn’t let her forget she’d worked up an appetite indeed. Pulling the buggy to a halt, Albert helped her to the ground. She fished for the restaurant key in her reticule.

“Poor Brenna,” Susanna said as she handed the key over to Albert’s outstretched hand. He unlocked the door after a bit of a struggle, then stood back, letting her enter before him. “First her wedding, and now her honeymoon night. She and Greg had planned to stay at his rental since he has it until the end of the month and let Penny watch the children across the street. Now, with all the confusion, she’s afraid the little ones might be frightened. She’s staying at home and Gregory is at his place.”

“That
is
a real shame. Everyone has been looking forward to them finally tying the knot. I’m sure they must be disappointed.”

They walked through the quiet restaurant. Hannah and Daisy must have been swamped. The place, although straightened up, needed a good cleaning.

In the kitchen, Albert lit a lantern and glanced around, his bemused expression so unlike him. “Lord Almighty! Looks like a tornado went through here. I’ve never seen this place look such a shambles.”

“Albert,” she got out on a half laugh, her tone scolding. He knew exactly how to cheer her up. “But you’re right. They’ll need help tomorrow when there’re more mouths to feed than plates to serve them on. I’m worried about running out of supplies, not just here but all over town. How on earth can we feed all these people?”

Albert turned her into his arms, his face alight with emotion. “That’s not your concern, Susanna. You can’t do everything. If you keep up at this pace, you’ll make yourself sick, then you won’t be any help to anyone.” The tender look in his eyes belied his stern tone. It was then, in the quiet room with shadowy light, that the weight of his hands on her shoulders made her insides turn to mush. The shape of his lips curled up at the corners had the power to chase every coherent thought from her head. She’d never dared let herself imagine what being in love would be like. She couldn’t, and shouldn’t, be the one to speak her feelings first. She remembered her mother’s cautionary words.

They’ll love you and leave you as sure as there’s a sun in the sky, Susanna. As soon as they know they have you, they’ll throw you away. Don’t repeat my mistake. Doing and caring for a husband, only to have him break your heart with someone else is something you’ll never get over.

Susanna may have been just a girl, but she’d been smart enough to know most of the men her mother had told her to address as “pa” weren’t married to her mother at all. And it seemed her mother had gotten over each abandonment quick enough to take up with someone else. Susanna remembered their wolf-like eyes following her every move whenever her mother wasn’t around. She couldn’t even remember her real father’s face in the blur of men that had paraded through their shanty.

Men don’t mean to, but they crave what’s on the other side of the pasture, Susanna. Mark my words or else you’ll end up exactly like me, penniless and alone, alone, alone . . .

“Susanna?” Albert gave her a gentle shake. His gaze dropped to her mouth, making her insides feel feathery light. “You’re asleep on your feet.” He led her over to the small table in the corner and pulled out a chair. “You’re going to sit down here and not say a word until I have some food in front of you.” He gave her a stern look. “Understand?”

She didn’t want to sit. She wanted him to kiss her—
finally
—to put an end to her wondering what it would be like. Seeing all this misery made her realize how fragile life could be—and just how fast things could change. Maybe her mother was wrong, and she should tell Albert how she felt about him.

“Susanna?”

She nodded, then lowered her aching body onto the cane-backed chair. She set her chin in the palm of her hand and watched as Albert marched to the cold box in the next room and brought out tonight’s leftovers, a platter with a half-eaten roast. Setting it on the counter, he opened the oven and stuck in his hand. “Still hot.” He sliced off several chunks of beef and set them on a plate, and then into the oven. Opening the stove’s small lower door, he added some wood and stirred the coals.

“Albert, I can—”

“Nope!” He held up his finger. “I’m doing this all on my own. Now close your eyes and rest.”

She did. And it felt good. The sounds of him clanging and banging around the kitchen brought a tiny smile to her lips. Even after two years of knowing Albert, she’d never seen him cook. Time passed and she sensed herself drifting in and out of sleep.

“All right,” he said softly, close to her face. “You can open your eyes.”

His voice was low, and the sincerity of his tone felt like a caress. An enticing aroma wafted up into her nose.

She opened her eyes. A plate of roast beef, a scoop of beans in sweet sauce, a slice of bread with butter, and a large pickle.

He gave her a sad look. “It was the best I could do on such short notice. And it’s barely warm, but I figured it’d do. You must be famished.”

She lifted her fork. “This will be delicious. I know, I made the beans myself yesterday.” It didn’t matter what was on her plate—she
was
hungry. The fact that Albert sat across from her, taking care of her, was more than she deserved.

He sat back, letting her eat for several minutes.

“There’s something important I’ve been meaning to speak to you about for a long time, Susanna,” he said, “but the time never seems right.”

Susanna chewed quickly, then swallowed. She’d just contemplated telling him her own feelings, but now an overwhelming fright squeezed her throat so hard it hurt. She didn’t want to lose him. She loved him too much.
Don’t go there, don’t go there.

His smile wobbled. “Today’s train wreck has me thinking. We don’t know how long we have and—”

She gripped her forehead in her palm, ashamed for the small falsehood she was about to say. “Albert, the stress of today has my head pounding something fierce. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”

He looked taken aback. His eyes roamed her face, and something passed briefly in their depths, as if maybe he didn’t believe her. “Can we? You never mentioned that your head hurt.”

She cut a few more pieces of meat into smaller portions as she nodded. “Yes, of course, tomorrow. I never mentioned the headache because I didn’t want you to fret.” She smiled and held up a bite of the meat on her fork, trying to distract him. “This is good, Albert, thank you for taking the time out of your evening. You must be incredibly busy with everyone pulling you every which way.”

“Never too busy for you, Susanna.” Again, the look. He seemed undecided about something.

Once they know they gotcha, honey, they move on. You remember my words or you’ll end up like me, like me, like me . . .

The same week her mother had passed away, one of her mother’s male friends had come calling on her doorstep, expecting Susanna to take up where her mother had left off. She’d kept her wits about her long enough to send him packing and then stuffed the few items she owned into one little bag. Digging up the wages she’d saved from her earnings at the laundry house, she’d bought a ticket for the stage and never looked back. When she’d gone as far as her money would take her, she hired on someplace until she had more funds to keep going. She wasn’t proud. She’d cleaned rooms, cooked for an army unit, even served whiskey in a couple of saloons. She kept moving, propelled by an emotion that demanded she put as much time and distance between her and the town she called home as possible. And now Dalton could spoil everything.

Albert made a sound in his throat. “I guess you’re even more tired than I first thought. You keep slipping away to somewhere else. If there’s something on your mind, tell me.”

She brought her gaze to his, still lost in memories of arriving in Logan Meadows. She’d walked into a busy restaurant to find Hannah struggling to cook and serve at the same time. When Susanna offered to help, Hannah had almost swooned with happiness. They’d worked together ever since.