Read Online Brides of Texas by Cathy Marie Hake - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Cathy Marie Hake
Ads: Link
could return tonight and reclaim her kit?”
“It is possible but not probable. When mothers and their babies are set apart, they don’t come back together again.” She turned to look at the doctor. “What you read told you how stinky a skunk is, but they are shy creatures. They only protect themselves if they feel threatened.”
“Why do you think three grown men are whispering and tiptoeing around?”
Mercy smothered a smile. “He isn’t old enough to be completely weaned.” She paused a moment and decided to tease him. “Spotty. You should name him Spotty.”
“There’s no need to name something when it’s not staying.”
“Hey, Rob,” Christopher’s subtle-as-an-ox whisper drifted out to them. “I’ve never been happier that you’re the doctor.”
“Why?”
“I just read something.” Chris stuck his head out the door. “You can operate and take out the stink glands. Yep. You’re the doc.” Just as quickly, Chris disappeared again.
“There’s no need to be hasty,” the doctor said.
Mercy grimaced. “Actually, after four weeks, they start to practice spraying. By six or eight weeks—”
“We’re not keeping it around that long!”
“If the mother took him out at night, he’s about six weeks.”
Looking thoroughly disgruntled, the doctor announced, “His mother will come get him tonight.”
Suddenly the humor of the situation evaporated. Mercy averted her gaze. “Just because you want something does not make it happen.”
Dr. Gregor sat on the wooden plank veranda beside her. “ ’Tis a harsh truth you just spoke.”
Mercy tried to rise, but he stopped her. “Dinna run, lass. You needn’t speak a word a-tall. I plan to do a bit of talking.” For good measure, he scooped a kitten from the box and tucked it into her hands.
“I have chores to do at home.”
“A woman’s work is ne’er done. Or so my ma always said, God rest her soul.” The corners of his bright blue eyes crinkled. “I canna be certain whether she’s finally resting in heaven, or if she’s still bustling about with a broom, trying to make the streets of gold gleam brighter.”
The image coaxed a twitch of a smile from her.
“I oughtn’t cast stones. My brothers taunt me about my tidy ways.”
“Your patients would develop infections if you were slovenly.”
He inclined his head as an acknowledgment. “Aye. But I also remind them cleanliness is next to godliness.” He glanced over his shoulder, then whispered, “Betwixt thee and me, ’tisna always the case. Times when my soul’s been the most troubled, I’ve tried to busy my hands so as to keep from thinking or praying.”
Her breath caught.
“My da—he passed on to Jesus just a day before we reached America.”
“I—I’m sorry.”
“I still grieve for him, but ’tis only my selfishness that causes me to. He was ailing for a long while, and now he’s whole once again and in heaven. A mining accident took his arm several years back—†twas the guilt money they settled on him that paid for my medical training. He claimed God took a bad situation and used it for good.”
Anger flashed through her.
He’d better not tell me it’s all for the good that I’m with child and Otto has abandoned me
.
Unaware of her reaction, the doctor kept talking. “But ’twasna until his last hour that Da pointed out something that was right before me for years. I cared for Da—leastways, for the needs of his ailing body. But Duncan—he’s a man with a knack for wrapping quiet comfort like a blanket about others whose hearts and souls are aching. Chris—well, he manages to scowl others into behaving so peace is maintained.”
Mercy concentrated on tracing the soft stripes in the kitten’s fur. The doctor was right: the Gregor men were vastly different in their strengths and personalities.
“None of us is good at everything. We have strengths and weaknesses. God created us that way so we’d rely on Him and on our brothers and
“It is possible but not probable. When mothers and their babies are set apart, they don’t come back together again.” She turned to look at the doctor. “What you read told you how stinky a skunk is, but they are shy creatures. They only protect themselves if they feel threatened.”
“Why do you think three grown men are whispering and tiptoeing around?”
Mercy smothered a smile. “He isn’t old enough to be completely weaned.” She paused a moment and decided to tease him. “Spotty. You should name him Spotty.”
“There’s no need to name something when it’s not staying.”
“Hey, Rob,” Christopher’s subtle-as-an-ox whisper drifted out to them. “I’ve never been happier that you’re the doctor.”
“Why?”
“I just read something.” Chris stuck his head out the door. “You can operate and take out the stink glands. Yep. You’re the doc.” Just as quickly, Chris disappeared again.
“There’s no need to be hasty,” the doctor said.
Mercy grimaced. “Actually, after four weeks, they start to practice spraying. By six or eight weeks—”
“We’re not keeping it around that long!”
“If the mother took him out at night, he’s about six weeks.”
Looking thoroughly disgruntled, the doctor announced, “His mother will come get him tonight.”
Suddenly the humor of the situation evaporated. Mercy averted her gaze. “Just because you want something does not make it happen.”
Dr. Gregor sat on the wooden plank veranda beside her. “ ’Tis a harsh truth you just spoke.”
Mercy tried to rise, but he stopped her. “Dinna run, lass. You needn’t speak a word a-tall. I plan to do a bit of talking.” For good measure, he scooped a kitten from the box and tucked it into her hands.
“I have chores to do at home.”
“A woman’s work is ne’er done. Or so my ma always said, God rest her soul.” The corners of his bright blue eyes crinkled. “I canna be certain whether she’s finally resting in heaven, or if she’s still bustling about with a broom, trying to make the streets of gold gleam brighter.”
The image coaxed a twitch of a smile from her.
“I oughtn’t cast stones. My brothers taunt me about my tidy ways.”
“Your patients would develop infections if you were slovenly.”
He inclined his head as an acknowledgment. “Aye. But I also remind them cleanliness is next to godliness.” He glanced over his shoulder, then whispered, “Betwixt thee and me, ’tisna always the case. Times when my soul’s been the most troubled, I’ve tried to busy my hands so as to keep from thinking or praying.”
Her breath caught.
“My da—he passed on to Jesus just a day before we reached America.”
“I—I’m sorry.”
“I still grieve for him, but ’tis only my selfishness that causes me to. He was ailing for a long while, and now he’s whole once again and in heaven. A mining accident took his arm several years back—†twas the guilt money they settled on him that paid for my medical training. He claimed God took a bad situation and used it for good.”
Anger flashed through her.
He’d better not tell me it’s all for the good that I’m with child and Otto has abandoned me
.
Unaware of her reaction, the doctor kept talking. “But ’twasna until his last hour that Da pointed out something that was right before me for years. I cared for Da—leastways, for the needs of his ailing body. But Duncan—he’s a man with a knack for wrapping quiet comfort like a blanket about others whose hearts and souls are aching. Chris—well, he manages to scowl others into behaving so peace is maintained.”
Mercy concentrated on tracing the soft stripes in the kitten’s fur. The doctor was right: the Gregor men were vastly different in their strengths and personalities.
“None of us is good at everything. We have strengths and weaknesses. God created us that way so we’d rely on Him and on our brothers and
Similar Books
