Faith didn’t reply. She turned away.
Reese closed the door. He could hear her sobbing into her pillow, calling for someone. The sound tore at his heart. Her words were muffled, he couldn’t make out the name, but he knew who she needed. He went down to his study and wrote out a telegram.
He would ride into Cheyenne first thing in the morning.
Chapter Twenty-two
Reese rode out at dawn, headed for Cheyenne. After spending a miserable night on the leather sofa in his study, he had chosen to skip the family breakfast. There would be plenty of time for questions later. First, he had to send for help. Faith needed someone with her and until Reese was certain he could trust himself, he couldn’t be that someone. He nudged his horse into a canter, determined to set a new time record for the trip into town.
Reese was waiting for the clerk when the telegraph office opened at half-past eight. He wrote out the telegram, then handed it to the clerk along with several coins.
“I want you to notify me as soon as you get a reply. I’ll be across the street having breakfast.” Reese touched the brim of his hat, then exited the telegraph office.
* * *
Doctor Kevin McMurphy tied his black medical bag to the back of his saddle, mounted up, and trotted his Arabian mare briskly out of Cheyenne. He was headed on his daily rounds. There were several patients he had promised to check on this morning, a child with a sprained ankle a mile outside town, the gunshot wound on the Jackson spread, and Faith Jordan at the Trail T. He kicked his mare into a faster gait. If he made good time, he could make it to the Trail T in time for a late breakfast.
“Good morning,” Kevin said as he opened the door to Faith’s bedroom. “Sarah said you were awake. May I come in?” He sounded very cheerful, his voice very Irish.
Faith sat up, propping herself against the pillows. “Yes, please.”
The doctor walked to the bed and studied her face. The dark circles under her eyes were very pronounced, her nose was red, and those big gray eyes red-rimmed and swollen. “Spent the night crying, didn’t you?”
Faith nodded.
He flipped back
the covers and gave her a quick, but thorough examination. “The swelling in your ankles is down. Very good.” He studied his patient. “You stayed off your feet.” He smiled down at her.
She smiled back.
Kevin froze. Faith’s smile stunned him. He looked past the woman on the bed, seeing the face he’d dreamed about for so many years. She had smiled at him like that—a small, tremulous smile that had knocked the breath right out of him. He shook his head. There was a resemblance in the eyes, the clear gray color of them, the slope of the nose, her mouth. But his love had been blessed with glorious, auburn hair and a sprinkling of freckles. He remembered her so vividly. A sixteen-year-old beauty. Mother of God, but it frightened him to think how much he still loved her after all these years!
“Doctor?” Faith’s eyes were puzzled. “Is something wrong?”
He shook his head again. Faith could see the sprinkle of silver in his black hair. “No, lass,” His eyes creased at the corners as he pulled his mouth into a sad smile. “You reminded me of someone. Someone I knew a long time ago.”
“In Ireland?” Faith blurted out her thoughts.
“No, in America. I met her just after I arrived. I was thinking you resemble her.”
“I’m flattered you think so,” Faith said softly.
Kevin looked down at the woman on the bed. She was twenty-five and married to one of his closest friends. He was forty-eight and acting like an old fool. He knew it, but couldn’t help it. There was something about Faith Jordan that made him think about love again. He pushed aside the thoughts, then cleared his throat. “That’s enough Irish melancholy for today.”
“How did you meet Reese?” Faith asked.
So, that was the way the wind blew, Kevin thought. Served an old fool right for having thoughts he shouldn’t have. This young woman was in love with her husband.
Kevin sat down on the edge of the bed. “I met Reese during the war. I patched him up a couple of times, and David, too, once. The last time was at Gettysburg when he took a saber cut across the hip. Nasty business. It took him several months to recover. We became friends and talked quite a bit. I brought him books, art supplies, that sort of thing. After the war, we kept in touch. I was in Washington for a while, then briefly in Petersburg. I ran into Reese in Washington. Cheyenne needed a doctor. He asked me to come out here.”
Faith studied the doctor as he spoke. He was a mystery. There was something about him. Something she couldn’t put her finger on. Her brain nagged at her. He reminded her of someone. The phrase, ‘black Irish’ crept into her mind each time she saw him. She wasn’t attracted to him, though he was a handsome man, but she couldn’t deny her inexplicable curiosity.
“My home was in Richmond.” Faith volunteered. “I met Reese in Washington. I was there…visiting. And here I am.”
“About to have a baby.” Kevin was all doctor once again. “If you continue to follow orders, I think we’ll be able to keep him safe.” He stood up, gathering his black bag. “I’ll check back again later,” he promised, before closing the door behind him.
* * *