CHAPTER 12
Mary came down from the coach, her back aching and her legs tired- even though she had not walked from New Hampshire. The stagecoach she took had encountered some fault along the way, severally, and the journey had taken longer than she expected.
All she wanted to do was find where the doctor lived, drop her bags, take a shower, and sleep for as long as possible. She knew it could present her as unprofessional, but she doubted that she could be of any use in the state she currently was. All she desired was rest- lots of it.
She had tried to sleep once or twice during the journey, but the coach's nose kept her awake. After bumping her head against the door, as she dozed off at intervals, she had pried her eyes open and waited the hours out in silence.
Thankfully, the driver had not attempted to engage her in small talk except when he had to apologise for stopping the coach. The last time she had taken a co
CHAPTER 13Joel stared at the woman standing before him, his eyes seeing but his mind refusing to admit. What was she doing here, in front of his house?He could not forget her, not even if a lot more years were to pass by. The thought of her brought pain and anger to him, reminded him of what he had loved and lost.He had tried so hard to move past it, wanted to let it go, but if she had done better, he would not have so much grief in his heart. She had caused his parents grief too, one they had not healed from.Her actions had created consequences that had changed his family forever. There was no way he could forgive her, ever. Sometimes he found himself thinking that if she had not gone, volunteered.“You,” he said again.“Yes, me,” she replied.“I don’t know what your business is here, but I’ll advise that you carry your bags and get the hell out of my front yard. Okay?” H
CHAPTER 14Mary walked outside the medical clinic down to the main road, dragging both bags, grumbling to herself. She was tired, and the bags felt twice as heavy as they did when she had gotten lost. At least, at that point, Mary still had a sliver of hope. She knew she had come to a place where she wanted to be, had a job she knew she loved, and would meet the doctor she so much admired. How could things have gone from a hundred to zero in the space of hours?Maybe getting lost should have been the first sign to her. Then the uproar should have been the second. Both things had not happened to her since she had returned home. But no, her mind had been fixed on an optimistic assumption. That she would get to his place, take a bath, sleep, and work would begin proper.Well, look at that turned out. A total nightmare! How could she not have figured it out? That she had applied for a job with the worst person? That she had gotten an appointment w
CHAPTER 15Sam paced up and down the space of his office, his mind churning. Why? Why did she have to come here? She was the last person he wanted to see- if he could put a thousand years between them, he would do it in an instant. If only he had known she was the nurse!The sight of her made him feel rage all over again. It made him feel his loss over and over again- all the things he did not want to feel. Her presence opened up wounds he had tried hard to close.Now he had to deal with the fact that she was stuck somewhere with no idea of where to stay the night, and she could be on in some form of trouble. It wasn’t his business, now, was it? She was a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions. It wasn’t his fault she had declined his offer and stormed off into the night.Even though he had not wanted any more of her, he had been prepared to allow her to stay the night, which was more than she deserved.If it were up to h
CHAPTER 16Mary walked behind Sam, keeping a fair distance between them. Not because she did think he would harm her- not after what he did, but because she had no idea what to say to him.When the men had walked away, leaving her standing alone, she had opened her mouth to thank him, but the look on his face stopped her from saying a word.He did not want her to talk to him. He had only said two words, "follow me," and she had followed meekly behind him.Why did he come to save her? She thought in her head over and over again. After the harsh words they had exchanged, she had expected him to be glad of her absence.Standing in the middle of the crowd, she had given up hope. There would be no one to save her, and these men- as many as they were, would be free to do whatever they wanted. Imagine her surprise when she had sighted him and a much larger surprise when he walked through the crowd.
CHAPTER 17Mary stood up from the bed as soon as she saw the sunrise on the horizon. After a long night of no sleep, she was tired and after trying to go back to sleep without any success. After standing outside for a while, looking at Joel, she had come back inside and had tried to sort out her thoughts. The hours that had passed by felt to her like a whole day.She had given to lying on the bed because it was more comfortable than the chairs.In any case, she needed food in her body- something to fill her stomach and also keep her awake. Coffee sounded like a good idea if there was any in the house. She walked into the kitchen, opening cupboards, drawers, rummaging around for she could eat.Finally, she found a tin of coffee and some eggs in a crate.In no time, the coffee was ready, and her sunny side scrambled eggs were on a plate. She inhaled the aroma and smiled, carrying the plate and cup of coffe
CHAPTER 18Joel walked as fast as he could to his office, his thoughts racing. He had been called from his home to his office a couple of times, but not with the frantic expression he had seen on the sheriff’s face. It was pure, unadulterated fear. What could be wrong that could scare him that much?And how could the accident have involved so many people that he told Mary to tag along? He thought about the worst-case scenarios he could come up with in a bid to prepare himself.Maybe a huge boulder had fallen, and some people had gotten severely injured- limbs that needed to be amputated and deep, gashing injuries.“How many patients are we talking about?” he asked Edwards. If he did not have room for them, treating them could constitute a problem.“I don’t know, Doc. I was called up to the mine, and I saw the mine supervisor bring out some of them. He told m
CHAPTER 19Mary waited for Joel to say something at the same time watching the patient.“We have to do something immediately,” she said, stating the obvious.“And that is trying to figure out where in his brain is clotting,” Joel said stubbornly.Mary looked at him and sighed. It was clear that he would not see things her way even though she knew that she was right. She would have to do it her way whether he liked it or not.So, she nodded. And moved closer to the man.“What the hell are you doing?” he barked out.“The plan of yours is not going to work, and you don’t want to see it my way. And since I know my way is right, I’ll do it by myself.”“No, you don’t dare,” Joel said but made no move to take control of the situation. He knew that any mistake he made would make the patient’s con
CHAPTER 20Joel sat in the buggy as it rode off into the night, with Mary, both of them silent. He turned to look at her and saw a curious expression on her face; her brows were furrowed and his expression serious, her expression serious.He was thinking about the whole day’s incident- something he had gone over and over again without much satisfaction.First of all, there was the fact that Mary had brought up why there had been so many men outside from an accident when it wasn’t as though the mine had caved.The second was the theory that it could be a widespread infection, something he had been contemplating over. He had been truthful to Mary when he said he hadn’t seen anything like this ever. If it was an infection, what kind were they dealing with, and what was the source? And why the cuts and gashes? Had they struggled to leave the mine in the throes of pain and had caused some form of secondary accident