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“You do that well,” he said, sounding pleased. “This idea is gaining ground.” He peered past her to the stove. “Is that coffee I smell?”
Ellie nodded and found a cup for him. “If you have something you need to do, I’ll start the eggs in a few minutes. The biscuits won’t take long.”
He chuckled. “I’m enjoying this, Ellie. No one’s cooked for me since I left home, and that was a long time ago.” He sipped from the cup and placed it on the table. “Did you sleep well?”
“How could anyone not sleep, all cozied up in a feather tick?” she asked. And then remembered the neighbors in their bedroom. “Who lives on the other side of you, the house I see out my window?”
“That’s the sheriff, James Kincaid, and his wife, Kate. She’s been teaching school for a little over a year now. They say she’s a crackerjack. Keeps the big boys in line. The kids all seem to like her. Word is she’s a good teacher.”
“And they’re going to let her keep on teaching after the baby’s born?”
“Yeah, I understand the town council has given permission for her to take the baby to school with her unless she’s decided to get someone to watch it. They’ve really gone overboard to keep the sheriff happy. In fact, school was in session early this year. They figure to let the students out for a couple of weeks when Kate delivers.”
The biscuits were golden and tender, the eggs scrambled and waiting, and Ellie poured a second cup of coffee for Win as he picked up his fork. “Aren’t you eating with me?” he asked. “Get yourself a plate, Ellie. You cooked enough for both of us.”
The intimacy of sitting at a breakfast table with a man was unsettling, Ellie thought. Her father had insisted on her staying by the stove to serve him while he took his meals, and she was left with whatever he chose not to eat. She’d taken to standing at the window with a plate or pot in her hand as a result, and decided quickly that the pleasure of sharing a meal was something she could get used to in a hurry.
“I’m going out on house calls,” Win told her, placing his plate in the dishpan. “I should be back a little after noon. Maybe you can find something in the pantry for a sandwich for me.”
He waved a farewell and vanished through the kitchen door into the long hallway that divided the lower floor into his offices and dwelling place. And then the front door closed and he was gone.
Ellie looked around the kitchen, then walked to the back door to look out upon the sadly neglected grass and flowers in Win’s backyard. She smiled as she considered the joy of plucking back the dead growth, of watering and watching the flowers flourish, of tending the soil. Stepping out onto the stoop, she lifted her face to the morning sun and inhaled deeply, tasting the scent of freedom.
“Is Doc around?” Tess Dillard called through the back screen door and opened it at the same time. “Ellie? Are you here?”
Ellie clattered down the stairway, then hurried through the hallway to the kitchen, almost colliding with Tess in the doorway. “He’s gone on house calls,” she said. “Is something wrong?”
“Cam from over at the saloon asked me to locate Doc. Said one of his girls needs to be patched up.” Tess grimaced. “I think a customer got rough with her. Cam said she’s bleeding.”
“Is she cut?” Ellie asked.
Tess shook her head. “I don’t think that’s what he meant.” She looked past Ellie toward the door leading into the other side of the house, where the office was located. “Did he say how long he’d be?”
“No.” With a shake of her head, Ellie walked into the kitchen. “He’s been gone quite a while. Left right after breakfast. He didn’t say where.”
“Well,” Tess said with a sigh, “I don’t think an hour or so longer will make an awful lot of difference anyway. Just tell him Cilla needs to be looked at.”
“Will he know where to go?” The thought of Winston Gray tending to a saloon girl didn’t appeal to her for some reason, and Ellie swallowed her distaste. “Does he get called over there often?” she asked hesitantly.
“They’re pretty sturdy females,” Tess said with a chuckle. “They take care of themselves most of the time. But once in a while…” She pursed her lips and eyed Ellie thoughtfully. “There’s men who don’t care how they use a woman,” she said.
And whatever that was supposed to mean, Ellie assumed it didn’t bode well for the ailing Cilla. “I’ll tell him when he gets back. He said to have something ready for him to eat at noontime, and the sun’s about overhead already.”
“Are you getting along all right?” Tess asked, looking around the tidy kitchen. “I planned on bringing you a grocery order this morning, but I clean forgot when I set out to find Doc. If you can think of anything you need, write a list for me to take back.”
“He likes eggs, I think. At least he ate three of them for breakfast. And I’ll need some meat to cook for his supper. I don’t know where I should go to get it.”
“There’s a side of beef hanging out back in the shed behind the store,” Tess said. “I’ll have John cut you off a piece for a roast and bring it over. You’ll want some potatoes, and maybe beans or carrots to go with it. John can use the wagon and bring you a burlap sack of spuds and a bucket of carrots. I’ll add everything to Doc’s account.”
“I know how to put stuff up if Doc has canning jars,” Ellie offered. She crossed to the pantry and looked in the lower shelves. “Do you suppose there’s some in the cellar?”
“This place was picked clean when the Chambers family moved out last year,” Tess told her. “I doubt there’s anything left. I’ll scout up some jars and lids and rubber rings for you and send them along.”
“I saw some onions going to seed by the side of the house this morning,” Ellie said. “Maybe they’re still good.”
Tess sat down at the table. “Let’s just make a list. I think this is going to be a long, drawn-out project we got going here.”
Ellie found a tablet Win had left on the kitchen buffet and located a pencil. Her heart raced as she considered the task ahead. “I may have more to do than I thought at first,” she told Tess with a grin. “Here I was, thinking I’d just have to keep things redd up and put meals together. I think I’ll be starting from scratch, won’t I?”
“You’ve run a house before, haven’t you?” Tess asked, scribbling one item after another in a rapid fashion. “Your pa never had a housekeeper, did he?”
Ellie shook her head. “No, and I’ll bet he’s up to his neck in dirty dishes by now. He was never much of a hand at cleaning up behind himself.”
“You wouldn’t go back out there, would you, girl?” Tess’s hand stilled as she looked up, and her eyes narrowed as she waited for Ellie’s reply.
It was quick in coming, a single word uttered with no chance of mistake. “No.” Ellie shivered as she stood abruptly and wrapped her arms around herself. Her jaw was set, her shoulders squared as she paced to the back door and looked out onto the ragged patches of grass. “I’ll never set foot on the place, not so long as I live. If I have to take off down the road and live in a cave up in the mountains, I’ll do just that, rather than let him touch me again.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen. I’ve got a notion Doc talked to Sheriff Kincaid about you. I doubt your pa would stand a chance of making you go back home.”
“He said I was his property, just like his livestock, and I had to do whatever he said.” She grinned suddenly. “First time I ever enjoyed taking orders was when he said I had to leave by morning. I figured anyplace else was better than living there.”
She turned back toward Tess and approached the table. “I’m going to do a good job for Dr. Gray. He won’t be sorry he took me on.”
“He’s a kind man, Ellie. And you don’t have to worry about him ever taking advantage.” Tess looked down at her list, then nodded briskly. “I think this will do it.” She rose and pushed her chair beneath the edge of the table. “I’ll run on over to the store and get things together. You’re gonna need some clothesline and pins, too. I’ll warrant Doc’s got wash piled up.”
She was gone in a moment, and Ellie took a deep breath. There was so much to consider, things she’d taken for granted, like a scrub board and washtub to be located, and a supply of dish towels to be made. It was almost like having a home of her own, she decided. Almost.
“Eat your dinner first,” Ellie said as Win picked up his bag from the table. It had barely touched its surface when she delivered the news about the saloon girl, Cilla, and his hand had reached for it without pause. “I made you a pot of potato soup. Tess sent over a slab of bacon and I flavored it with that and a good big onion.”
Win hesitated, one hand rubbing his stomach in a distracted motion. “Maybe I’d better,” he said. “It’s hard to say how long I’ll be over at the saloon. And there’ll be folks coming in for afternoon office hours before long.”
He replaced his bag and turned to the sink. “I’ll just wash quick while you dish me up some soup, Ellie.”
She had it on the table in moments, slicing bread to go with it as he sat down and picked up his spoon. “Won’t you eat with me?” he asked, watching as fragrant steam rose from his bowl. His spoon dipped in and he blew on the creamy broth, then bit down on a chunk of potato. His eyes widened as he chewed and swallowed, then dipped again. “You got some secret recipe?” he asked. “This is wonderful.”
She shook her head. “I just scraped a little carrot in it, and thickened it up.” Pleased by his response, she dished up a portion in a second bowl and joined him. “You don’t mind if I eat with you?”
He glanced up, his brow furrowing at her words. “Of course not. I told you at breakfast time to sit down with me.” He ate silently for a moment, watching her. “Didn’t you share meals with your father?”
“He said it was a woman’s place to wait on menfolk.”
“He was wrong, Ellie, and don’t you forget it.” His tone was mild, but the look he bent in her direction was stern. His hand touched her arm, a gentle nudge that made her look up. “Women may get the short end of the stick when it comes to keeping a house in order and providing for the needs of her family, but it’s a man’s obligation to make her life as easy as he can. And that includes those to whom he pays a wage.”
And wasn’t that a different way of looking at things? Ellie thought with a start. That a man should be concerned about a woman’s well-being was a concept she’d never heard voiced. And yet, that seemed to be what Winston Gray was talking about.
She washed up the dinner things after he left for the saloon, his final words of instruction spoken as he walked out the door.
“Prop open the kitchen door and listen for the front door, Ellie. If patients come in, tell them I’ll be back directly. They can wait in the outer office for me.” He stuck his head back in the door. “If you have time, make a list of them as they come in and I’ll take them in order.”
So it was she came to be sitting at the small desk in his waiting room an hour later, talking to a young mother who held one sick child while Ellie amused another. Win’s brow rose and a grin curved his mouth as he caught her eye. “Send my first patient in, will you, Miss Mitchum?”
“Yes, sir,” she said agreeably, rising to settle the small girl on her chair as she picked up her list. “Mr. Taylor, you can go in now.”
The room held only three remaining patients as Win leaned through the office door more than an hour later. “I can finish up now, if you need to see to supper,” he told her quietly. And Ellie escaped thankfully to the kitchen, aware of the curious eyes that had watched her for the whole of the afternoon. No one had questioned her, yet all had paid her mind, and she felt she’d been on display, sitting behind the desk, calling out names, and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
The potatoes were ready for the oven and she placed them around the piece of beef she’d put in the roasting pan earlier. Carrots swam in the broth, and two onions sent a savory aroma upward as she opened the oven door. By the time the table was set, the last patient had taken his leave, and Win joined her in the kitchen.
“You were a big help, Ellie,” he told her, washing at the sink, his shirtsleeves rolled above his elbows. “I don’t usually have so many patients in an afternoon. I think they made up for yesterday.” He peered over her shoulder as she stirred flour and water into the pan, watching as it thickened into gravy. “You’ll have me spoiled.”
She felt a warmth take hold of her, and she turned her head to look up at him. “I think it would be a joy to spoil you, Dr. Gray.” And then she looked away, flustered at the words she’d spoken without forethought.
A flush crawled up his jaw and centered on his cheekbones. “Thank you. That’s probably the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long time.” He turned away and sat at the table. “I saw the girl at the saloon, Ellie. I thought seriously about bringing her here for you to tend, but she didn’t want to leave her friends there.” He glanced up at her. “I didn’t know if it would be the right thing to do, anyway. I wouldn’t want folks to talk about having her here with you.”
“What would they say?” she asked, dishing up the meat and vegetables with ease. Placing the platter before him, she poured the gravy into a deep bowl. “If a woman’s been hurt, what does it matter who she is? If she needs taking care of, I reckon I can do it.”
“I thought you’d feel that way,” he said, dishing up food onto his plate. “But Cilla said she’d be all right, and the other girls will look out for her. I told Sheriff Kincaid about the ranch hand who hurt her, and I believe he’ll handle it. Not that most folks would think much of it.”
“What can he do?” Ellie asked, sitting down across the table from him.
Win shrugged. “Not an awful lot. Just warn him to behave himself. I don’t think Cam will let the fella in the place again anyway.”
Ellie took up her fork. “Did he hit her?”
“It wasn’t so much that, Ellie,” Win said slowly. “Billy’s set on stealing money that’s hidden in the foundation of the addition to the saloon. He made the mistake of telling Cilla about it, and then decided he’d better convince her not to spill the beans about his plan to anyone else.” His mouth was taut as he paused, as if he chose his words carefully. “Don’t repeat what I just told you, Ellie. Cilla told me in confidence and I probably shouldn’t have repeated it, but I’m certain I can trust you.”
His head bent as he spoke and Ellie remembered Tess’s words. There’s men who don’t care how they use a woman. What Tess had meant, Ellie wasn’t sure, but good sense prevented her from asking Win. Maybe it was like when Tommy had hurt her, that day in the barn. She’d bled, and ached something awful for a couple of days, as if there was something all torn up way inside of her.
“Do any of those women have babies?” she asked quietly.
“Babies?” Win sounded surprised. “I doubt it, Ellie. At least, not that I’ve ever heard about. Those girls pretty much know how to prevent such things from happening.”
And wasn’t that a puzzle. If Tommy had given her a baby from his shenanigans that day, it made sense that… She halted that line of thought and bent low over her plate. There were things she needed to be asking Tess, that was for sure, and one of these days, she’d get up the nerve.
For the first time in months, Winston Gray went to bed with a full stomach and the sure knowledge that a good breakfast would be awaiting him in the morning. He grinned to himself as he lay in the center of the big bed, his hands stacked beneath his head. Ellie was working out well. His house was clean, his pantry organized, and she was planning on using a scrub board to do his clothes, first thing tomorrow.
She’d washed her hair in the new bucket after supper, out on the back porch where she couldn’t be seen by those who might pass the house, and he’d watched from the doorway as she dried it with his newest towel. Her hands had been adept, brushing the length of soft, brown silken strands, then braiding them in a simple plait that hung down her back.
The sight bothered him, setting up a yearning he tried his best to dismiss. A woman was the last thing he needed in his life right now, what with his practice taking up all his time.
But, Ellie was proving to be a complication. She felt grateful to him, trying her best to make his life an easier path, and his very masculine self could not help but wallow in the attention she gave.
That her soft eyes rested on him often was a fact he tried diligently to ignore. That his own gaze focused on her at times was to be expected. She was a lovely woman, a girl really, he decided. Pregnant though she was, she projected an aura of innocence that brought forth his male urge to protect and cherish.
And those thoughts needed to be banished, he decided abruptly, rising from the bed to stalk to the window. Ellie Mitchum was his housekeeper, and he’d do well to look upon her as a servant. His snort of laughter was swallowed as amusement followed that thought. She was like no servant he’d ever come in contact with, and there’d been plenty of them in his life.
None of them had followed him to bed at night, as had the woman who slept overhead. Not in physical form, certainly, but in his mind. And she’d only been here for two days. He shifted restlessly, stretching one long arm to rest against the window frame.
Taking Ellie Mitchum into his home had been a hasty decision. Taking her into his life would surely follow. Already, she was keeping him awake and on the edge of arousal.
His mind spun as he considered the state of his body. Damn. Having a woman in his bed was the last thing he needed to be thinking of.
Visiting the saloon today had given him access to several women, any of whom would welcome him into their presence. All but poor Cilla, that victim of a cowhand whose idea of persuasion involved brutality.
Ellie was another victim. Not as was Cilla, but certainly worthy of his care. And for all of her innocence and eagerness to please, she was a woman. A warm, needy female, sleeping in his house. And if Dr. Winston Gray knew what was good for himself, he’d get her youthful beauty out of his mind.
Otherwise, he was going to spend a sleepless night.
Chapter Four
“You think you’ve fallen into a soft bed, don’t you, girl?”
George Mitchum’s words were harsh and accusing, piercing Ellie’s thoughts. Startled, she dropped the shirt she held into the dirt; then, gathering her courage to face the man behind her, she bent to pick it up.
“Drat,” she whispered, aggravated at the mud that stained both the shirtfront and one sleeve. Carefully, she placed it beside the wash basket, then turned to look at her father.
“I’m working for my keep,” she said quietly. “Same as I did at home.”
“Does he know you’ve got a bastard under your skirts?”
Scornfully, he tossed the query in her direction, his eyes raking her figure with a scalding look, then seeking her face. With every speck of courage she possessed, Ellie met the gaze he turned on her.
“Doc Gray knows I’m going to have a baby, yes.” Pain swept through her, that her own father could be so cruel. Yet, what had she expected? That he would come to visit, seeking her out to ask forgiveness for his brutal actions?
Not likely, she thought, her lips tight as she fought the trembling that seized her. “I didn’t get this way all by myself,” she said curtly, wary of the clenched fists hanging against George’s thighs.
“You flaunted yourself, just like all women, looking for—”
“Is there a problem here?” Win’s voice was stiffly polite, his words reeking of a courteous inquiry as he spoke from the back door. Long strides brought him to Ellie’s side and she straightened her spine, lest she be tempted to lean against his stalwart strength.
“This is my daughter,” George said sharply. “I don’t need you interfering. Seems like you’ve already stuck your nose in where it doesn’t belong.”
“All I’ve done is hire Ellie to be my housekeeper and tend to my kitchen,” Win said quietly. “You’re trespassing, Mr. Mitchum, and causing Ellie to be upset. I don’t think you need to say any more to her.”
“Well, well,” George drawled, rocking back on his heels. “Looks like you got yourself a champion, girl. At least he won’t have to worry about getting you in the family way, will he? Since you’ve managed to do that already.”
Ellie shot a look at Win, noting the crimson streaks that lined his cheekbones. “He’s my employer, Pa. Nothing else.”
“You just keep tellin’ folks that, girl. Not that anybody’s gonna believe you.”
“They’ll believe her, Mr. Mitchum,” Win said forcefully. “The truth always manages to win out in the end. And Ellie is being honest with you.”
“I doubt you’ll have much of a practice left when folks realize you’re harboring a woman like Ellie under your roof,” George sneered. “And I’ll see to it that they know what’s goin’ on here.”
“Why’d you come here, Pa?” Ellie asked in a small voice. “Haven’t you already done enough damage?”
He shook his head, his eyes sweeping over her face. “Not near as much as you deserve, shaming me the way you have.”
From the other side of the yard, near the sheriff’s back door, a woman spoke. “Good morning, Doc. Does James need to walk on over there?”
