Page 18 of A Groom for Heather
“I’m not a doctor. Although I can do many of the things a doctor can do, I specialize in childbirth.” She looked at Dalton once more. “Can you please help me?”
“You don’t ask for much, do you, Mrs. Barnes?”
“I ask for what I need. Nothing more.”
Dalton pulled the papers over towards him.Heather Barnes.Widow of Jackson Barnes. Her name was Heather. It was a perfect name.
Dalton scribbled his name on the papers. “I don’t want you to have to leave your house just yet. I can make my home in the barn. I’ve slept in worst places.”
“What’s worse than a barn?”
“In the desert on the hot sand with insects that give no warning before they strike.”
“How dreadful.”
“You don’t ever want to be bit by a scorpion, Mrs. Barnes.”
He pushed the papers towards Heather who scrawled her signature on the papers. She had a large loopy signature. Once they were done signing the papers, Mr. Cairn collected them and glanced them over.
“Mrs. Barnes, the money will be transferred to you once I file the deed. Shouldn’t be more than a day or two. I’ll draft up a lease for you both to review allowing Mrs. Barnes use of the house while she remains in Last Chance.”
“Thank you, Mr. Cairn.” Heather stood and gathered her bag. Draping her wrap around her shoulders, Dalton saw her freeze when the lawyer said his next words.
“Remember what we talked about earlier. It would help.”
Heather nodded. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. James. I hope you enjoy your new home.”
“I won’t until October, but I’ll enjoy what I have.”
Heather shifted uncomfortably. “Well then. I guess I’ll see you at the farm. I need to go get my children. Good day, Mr. James. Mr. Cairn.” She swooshed her skirt as she walked past Dalton to the door. As she went by, the scent of roses wafted in the air.
Dalton breathed deeply letting the floral scent fill his nostrils. It had been a long time since he had been near the scent of floral soap. His brother’s wife wore rosewater behind each ear. It was a comforting smell.
Maybe this arrangement might just work.
Chapter Six
Heather left the lawyer's office and held her head high as she walked down the alley. Once she was out of sight from the main road, she leaned her arm against the wall and dry heaved. How she got through the meeting she would never know.
The cowboy was buying her farm. He didn’t look like someone who knew a lot about farming, but he was right.Why should she be concerned?It was his property now. Fumbling around in her reticule for her handkerchief, Heather pulled out a square of linen cloth and wiped her mouth. She needed to get home and prepare supper. Arthur was probably complaining to Millie that he was starving. Heather was convinced her best friend thought Arthur was never fed.
She walked to the butcher shop and using a skeleton key she went inside. The shelves were empty, but the scent of smoke lightly filled the air. There was one barrel that still had cured pork buried beneath the salt. Heather might gift that to Mr. James. She gave a little laugh. It wasn’t hers to give anymore.
She opened the door where Jackson would cure pork. The sweet smoky scent of sugar-cured bacon still lingered. There was a note glued to the wall. Even though Heather had read it a thousand times, she read it once more.Be sure to check the smokers. Two-parts hardwood to one-part wet cottonwood. I love you. J.Heather traced the words lovingly before peeling the paper from the wall. She folded it and placed it in her pocket, giving it a little pat.
Those were the final instructions Jackson gave her before he left on the hunting trip. It was her job to make sure the smoker was smoking around the clock. Little did he know that she worked from dawn to well past dusk once the blizzard passed. Since so many animals died, the meat would have been wasted if it weren’t for being able to smoke it. Heather even went from farm to farm, showing the farms how to set up a smokehouse of their own.
She walked through the smoke room and unlocked the door leading into a small backyard. The buckets of cottonwood which were normally kept along the fence had long been moved. There were normally two flat wagons that Jackson used to prepare the meat for smoking. Those had been sold. The yard was bare apart from patches of grass and several dandelions giving a bit of color to the dull ground.
Heather felt her throat thicken as she wandered through the small store once more. Jackson introduced her to many of the people in town as they came through the shop. He was well respected, and the town welcomed her with open arms. Taking a deep breath, she locked the shop and put the key in her pocket with Jackson’s note. She’d give the key to Mr. James the next time she saw him.
As she walked down Stagecoach Road towards the livery, she spied Charity and Nathaniel coming out of the new doctor's office. Heather bit her lip. She should probably take a moment and introduce herself to the new physician, but it wouldn’t matter since she wasn’t going to be around too long.
“Charity!” Heather called, lifting her skirt and hopping across the ruts in the road. “Nathaniel. How are you doing?”
Charity was a pretty girl. A little ragged in appearances but having six children could do that to a woman. Heather was pretty ragged too and she only had two. Charity’s hair was a mousy brown and she had eyes to match. She wore her hair in a chignon with a little lace day cap over it. A little chubbier than most of the women in town, Heather could see the buttons strain over Charity’s ample bosom. As long as her friend was happy, that was all Heather cared about.
“Doc said Nate will be right as rain soon. He just needs to rest. The nightmares will eventually go away.” Charity patted her husband’s arm.
