Mail Order Bride: A Bride for the Doctor (Bozeman Brides Book 4) (5 page)

BOOK: Mail Order Bride: A Bride for the Doctor (Bozeman Brides Book 4)
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She prayed.

Chapter 8

G
eoff arrived early
at the surgery the next morning with a speech that he’d spent all night rehearsing. He knew beyond any doubt that God had brought Kate to Bozeman to be with him. He would spend his time wooing her and convincing her, for the rest of his days if need be.

However, when she pushed the door open, his heart constricted in his chest. Kate’s eyes bore shadows of sleeplessness, and they were slightly swollen as though she’d cried the whole night through. All his fine words of love froze in his mouth. How could he burden her further? She was still aching over her past.

And yet, as his eyes met hers, he saw something there, something that he hadn’t seen before. There was a light shining that radiated peace.

“Geoff,” she began hesitantly, “I have something to tell you. I—I was reading the Bible you gave me last night. I read the book of John and I felt God’s presence. It was like a warm blanket, wrapping me up and comforting me from the inside out. I know that He’s real now, Geoff, just like you said.”

A feeling of joy so strong welled up in his chest that he couldn’t help smiling broadly. “And now…you feel released from your past?”

Her eyes dimmed slightly. “In one sense, yes, but I’m still not sure when or if I can move on. I think I need to time to find out for myself what God’s plans are for my life.”

He wanted to argue with her, to plead and beg, but he knew that she was right. He couldn’t force her. She did have to find out for herself. He’d just prayed that the time would come before too long.

They worked together peacefully throughout the rest of the day. In tandem, they met the needs of the citizens who were now coming in easily and frequently. But he was careful to keep his distance from her, and only approach her as a friend.

At the end of the day, when they exited the surgery, he asked if he could walk her home.

She hesitated. “I don’t want to lead you on, Geoff,” she said softly. “My heart is changing, and I can see that God’s love makes things different, but it will take time. I still don’t know if marriage is for me. My scars run so deep and so wide that I don’t know if I’m even capable of being a good wife. There is too much of my parents in me.”

“But what’s holding you back, do you think?” He chose his words carefully. The fear of scaring her off was very strong.

She shook her head. “I just don’t know if I can be strong enough in a marriage to prevent the bitterness from arising if something were to go very wrong. I would hate to ruin your…a man’s life with the poison that runs in my veins.”

“But you can change your legacy,” he insisted gently, taking her hand in his. “You are not your mother.”

“Yes, but…” She didn’t finish her sentence. Two people came rushing down the street, the taller one was carrying someone small.

As the couple came closer, he saw that they were Theo and Margie and in Theo’s arms was Robert, their young son.

“Geoff!” Margie cried. “Oh, Geoff, please help!”

“What is it?” he replied, feeling Robert’s forehead and looking over his small form. There was something off, but he couldn’t quite see what in the fading light. “Bring him in.”

The four of them rushed into the surgery, and Theo laid Robert on the table.

“What happened?” Kate asked calmly as she put her apron back on over her dress.

“He…I don’t know how…but Robert ran out into the street. The children were playing in the front yard and I think he went after a ball. Oh! Geoff! He was run over by a horse!” Margie began to weep uncontrollably, and Theo pulled her into his arms.

Geoff began an examination and saw immediately that the boy’s head had been trampled, but there were no signs of external bleeding.

“Robert?” he called, opening the boy’s eyes one at a time and peering into them. The pupils were unnaturally large, indicating severe trauma. Before he could speak a word, the boy’s body began to tremble wildly, and Margie shrieked in alarm. Theo held her closer and hid her face in his shoulder.

Just as suddenly as the seizure had begun, it stopped. The faint rise and fall of his chest ceased. Geoff stood helplessly over the body. Kate moved in and took the boy’s wrist and then pressed two fingers to his throat. They looked at each other, and she shook her head slightly.

Geoff swallowed hard and fought for breath. What words could he say?

“Theo, Margie, I’m—I’m so sorry,” he whispered in a broken voice. “But he’s gone.”

“Nooo!” Margie wailed as she crumpled to the floor. Theo knelt down beside his wife, tears streaming down his face.

“Oh, my boy,” he whispered hoarsely as he clung to his wife. “My boy, my boy.”

The two of them stayed there for a long time. Kate covered the body with a sheet and wiped at her own eyes. Geoff watched the entire scene unfold as though it were a dream. How could this be?

Now Kate crouched near the couple and whispered some soothing words. Slowly, they stood and she led them to the waiting room chairs. Theo was grief-stricken, but Margie was nearly catatonic. Going to the medicine cabinet, Kate retrieved a glass of brandy and gently compelled Margie to take a small sip. The effect was immediate. She shuddered and began to cry on her husband’s broad shoulder.

Geoff walked over stiffly and sat beside them. He had no words and could think of nothing that would bring them even the slightest bit of relief, so he did the only think he could think of.

He prayed.

L
ate that night
after the Jeffersons went home, Kate crawled into her bed, shaken and weary. The scene was too much like the one she’d witnessed when she was a child. The wailing, the crying, and the shock all reminded her of her parents’ behavior after they’d lost their young son. Although her little brother had died slowly of an infection, the end result was the same. The grief and horror of losing a beloved child presided over everything else and slowly consumed them and any love they had shared.

And now that would happen to Margie and Theo. There was no alternative. How could they go on as they had before with such a huge hole in their lives? Nothing would be the same.

The warmth of God that had felt so present in her life just one day before was still there despite the grief. She knew as she prayed that He hadn’t left, and she poured out her heart to Him. A prayer for Margie and Theo came awkwardly out of her mouth, but she also prayed for herself and for Geoff who had witnessed the passing of the small, sweet boy. This would affect them all for a long time to come. How they would all deal with it, only time would tell.

T
he following days
and weeks passed by in a slow blur. Eventually the shock wore off and was replaced by a numbness that no one could deny. Patients came and went, and Kate and Geoff attended them with as much care as before, but their days were filled with silent heartache.

“How can we go on like this?” Geoff asked her sadly one day after the last patient had left.

“We go on because we must,” Kate replied, her voice resolute. In her own grief, she’d turned to the Bible every single night. She devoured most of the New Testament and stumbled through Revelation. Now she was partway through Genesis. She had so many questions, but didn’t know who to ask. “The Bible tells us that Jesus prepared a place for us, for the believers, right? Is Robert with Jesus now?”

Geoff looked at her and blinked. “I…I believe so, yes.”

“Then…can we take some comfort in that? It’s hard for us, of course, and much harder for Theo and Margie, but he’s in a good place, right? I mean, Heaven is better than Earth.”

A small, sad smile worked its way onto his face. “Yes, I suppose we can, but it’s natural for us to grieve. Separation from the ones we love is the hardest thing we’ll experience.”

She thought about that for a moment. “So, it must have been really hard on God when Adam and Eve sinned because that separated them from Him, right?”

His eyes filled with wonder. “You just started reading the Bible for the first time, right? And you understood that?”

Heat filled her face and she didn’t know what to say. “I don’t know if it’s right, but who can I ask? I also have questions of a more…personal nature, things that I wouldn’t feel I could ask you.”

She waited while he appeared to consider her dilemma and finally said. “I think you should ask Margie. She’s one of the wisest women I know, especially when it comes to the Bible.”

“Oh, no,” she protested. “I wouldn’t want to bother her. She has enough to deal with.”

Geoff shook his head. “I don’t agree. I think this is exactly what she needs. Tomorrow is your half-day, so go over in the afternoon and just talk to her. God will guide you in what to say.”

She shook her head. “I couldn’t just go over there unannounced. That would be terribly rude!”

“No, it wouldn’t. She’ll understand and unless I’m really off, I think she’ll be very glad to see you.”

Kate chewed her lip while she considered his words. Would it be the right time to approach Margie? She could just go on the pretext of checking up on her, and then see what happened. If she was too distraught, she would leave quickly.

“If you’re sure, then I will.”

He reached over to pat her hand. It was a sweet gesture, but nothing remotely romantic as what they had shared a few weeks before.

“I’ll pray for the both of you. Somehow I think this is right. Just go, and see what happens.”

She nodded and gathered her things. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon at one o’clock then.”

They bid each other good night and she headed back to the boarding house. She still felt uneasy about her plans for the next morning, but as she prayed, she sensed that this was God’s will, so she would listen. Over the weeks of reading the Bible and uncertain prayers, she’d felt God’s presence drawing her closer and closer, but she felt she needed someone to help her navigate the harder parts of her newfound faith and the Bible itself.

She prayed that Margie might be the one to help her, and that somehow, the older woman would find healing for herself in the process. But she would have to tread lightly. She also prayed that the tragedy which had befallen the Jeffersons wouldn’t drive a huge rift between them, but she didn’t have much hope in that prayer. Losing a child was probably the worst thing that could ever happen to a person, and that was the number one reason that she was still quite sure she could never marry. Although, she had to admit that her resolve was a little less firm than it had been a month or so before. She was somewhat less ready to admit that a certain handsome doctor might be the reason why.

Chapter 9


S
he said
for you to come right in, Miss Buchanan,” an unassuming young housemaid informed Kate upon her arrival at the Jefferson house the next morning. She hadn’t wanted to come around too early, and she hoped that ten thirty was an appropriate hour to call.

“Good morning, Kate,” a rather subdued Margie greeted her with a small smile, rising from her chair where she apparently had been embroidering something. “This is a lovely surprise.”

“I hope it is, lovely I mean. I would hate to think that I’m disturbing you in any way.” Kate fidgeted in the middle of the room, not wanting to presume anything by taking a seat.

“You’re not disturbing me in the slightest, my dear. I quite welcome the distraction. Please, sit and we’ll have some tea.”

Kate perched on the edge of a chair and leaned forward anxiously. The heat of the day was already on them, as might be expected in the summer months, but she surmised that the sweat trickling from her brow had as much to do with nerves as the weather.

“I, uh, just wanted to check in on you. I haven’t seen you since…for a few weeks.”

A fleeting shadow of grief passed over Margie’s countenance, but she bestowed a kind, if somewhat forced smile on Kate. “That’s very sweet of you. I have my good days and bad days, but I find great joy in small moments with my children and husband.”

“You do?” Kate didn’t mean to sound so surprised, but she’d expected to find a woman overcome with grief, not this mild, peaceful person.

Margie nodded. “Life is for the living, my dear, and I expect that Robert, little as he was, would not want his mother to give up on life. He was too full of joy for that.”

“But…you’re not angry with God for allowing it to happen?” She moved even further forward on her seat. Another inch and she would be right on the floor.

“Angry? Well, not really. I’m sad and hurt of course, but God understands that. He lost his own Son for a much greater and harder purpose. He knows my pain and comforts me. Without Him, I don’t know what I’d do.”

Kate considered this. At that moment, the same housemaid brought in some tea and biscuits.

“Will that be all ma’am?’ she asked politely.

“Yes, thank you, Sarah.”

As she accepted the tea from Margie’s hand, Kate realized that under the sorrow and sadness, there was great strength. She may not smile as broadly or be as cheerful as when they first met, but there was definite peace in Margie’s overall bearing.

“So, your faith is…holding you together then?” Kate asked, hoping she wouldn’t sound too intrusive. “You see, I’m rather new to the whole thing, and I don’t know quite how it all works.”

“You’re new to…?”

“Believing in God,” Kate admitted shyly, but smiled nonetheless. “Geoff gave me a Bible and as I was reading through it, I felt God become real to me. I finally gave up my pride and anger and admitted that I don’t know how to run my own life.”

“That’s a good start,” Margie said softly. “When we do that, there is great freedom.”

“Yes, but it’s hard to accept many things in the Bible, don’t you think?” Kate watched her carefully. Whether or not she could move forward with her other questions largely depended on Margie’s response.

The older woman didn’t reply right away. She set down her cup and folded her hands in her lap. Her face took on a pensive look. “God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and neither are His ways our ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways and his thoughts than our thoughts.”

“Is that from the Bible?” Kate asked eagerly. “It sounds like it, but I haven’t read that much yet.”

“It’s from Isaiah,” Margie replied.

Kate nodded. “I’ve only gotten through the New Testament and part of the Old Testament. I haven’t read any of Isaiah yet.” She hesitated a moment and then asked gently. “What does it mean?”

Margie smiled a real smile. “It means that God sees things differently. He allows things to happen to us even though they may hurt us. He has a great and wonderful plan for our lives, and sometimes hard things happen along the way, but there is one thing we can be very sure of.”

“What’s that?”

“He will never leave us, nor forsake us. He will be right there with us the whole way.” A beautiful smile now lit Margie’s whole face, and the truth of the statement penetrated Kate’s fears and worries.

“I’ve never known that kind of love, that kind of loyalty,” she admitted quietly. “My life has been full of hard things, but I didn’t have anyone to share them with.”

The front door opened, and Margie sat up a little straighter and a look anticipation came over her. Within a few moments, Theo entered the room and walked straight over to his wife. He gave her a soft kiss before turning his attention to Kate.

“Hello, Kate. Nice to see you here. Am I early, my dear?” He pulled out his pocket watch and flipped it open.

“No, not at all. Kate, would you join us for lunch?” Margie asked, her eyes still on Theo.

Kate’s gaze flickered from one person to the other. She was amazed at the love that she witnessed there. Margie tucked her hand into her husband’s, and he smiled down at her tenderly.

“Uh, no thank you. I should be on my way.”

“Alright then,” Theo replied. “I’ll just wait for you in the dining room then.”

After he was well out of earshot, Kate couldn’t resist asking, “He comes home for lunch? Does he do that every day?”

Margie tilted her head to one side, her face glowing with sweet affection. “He just started to. He used to come home occasionally, but since the accident, he comes home every day. There is great solace found in the love of a spouse after such a tragedy.”

This was in complete opposition to what Kate had long believed.

“But you…don’t blame each other?”

Margie drew back in surprise. “What would be the point in that? We both loved Robert to distraction and did everything we could to provide for him. But the fact is that God loves him more. He allowed this to happen, and we could spend the rest of our lives in bitterness, but we chose to love each other more instead.”

“How is that possible?” Kate leaned forward even more, putting herself in serious danger of falling off her seat. Her ears ached to hear the answer, the one that could set all things right.

Margie reached across and took Kate’s hand. “With God, my dear, all things are possible. We chose to include Him in our marriage, and He keeps us strong. A strand of three chords is not easily broken. As long as we remember to keep Him in our lives, we will be strong.”

A hug fog lifted from her vision and suddenly Kate saw everything clearly. Her parents never had any time for God or church and merely lived their lives from day to day. They had loved each other, but when that love was tested, it failed. Now it all made sense to her. Her whole life had been shadowed by a lie, the lie that said people were left to flail about on their own. The truth was that God was real and present and loved them. Suddenly, she was aware of a mistake that needed rectifying.

“Uh, Margie, if you’ll excuse me?” She jumped up from her seat. “I need to go…see someone.”

“Certainly, dear. And Kate?” Kate turned around and met her eyes. “I’ll be praying for you.”

The younger woman blinked a few times and then smiled tremulously. “Thank you. I’ll need it.”

She rushed out the door and nearly ran down the street toward the surgery. Although there wasn’t really any hurry, she couldn’t talk herself out of running. When she arrived, she burst in, startling both Geoff and his current patient, a noticeably pregnant Mrs. Lewis.

The young woman was just in the process of leaving, and for that, Kate was immensely thankful.

“Have a good day, Mrs. Lewis. You are well on your way to delivering a very healthy baby. I expect we’ll be placing him or her in your arms in a few short months.”

The woman smiled gratefully and extended her hand to him.

“You’re a real blessing to Bozeman, Dr. Wilson. I’m sure glad you’re here.”

At the exact moment Mrs. Lewis left, Kate all but flung herself at Geoff. Startled, but pleased nonetheless, Geoff wrapped his arms around her and smiled in delight.

“Well, I think I should send you to Margie’s house more often if this is the result.” Without another word, Kate pulled his head down and kissed him soundly. His response wasn’t slow in coming. Oblivious to their surroundings, Geoff reciprocated wholeheartedly. When they broke apart, a grin spread over his bewildered but happy face. “Whatever did she say to you?”

“I’ll tell you all about it later,” Kate murmured as she nestled against him. “But I realized one very important thing. The future is in God’s hands, and if I keep Him in my life, things will turn out exactly as they are supposed to.”

Instead of being surprised, Geoff looked satisfied. “In His time and in His ways,” he responded. “Some things may take longer than others, but the things worth having are well worth the wait.”

Before she could ask him what he meant, he tipped her head back and captured her lips once again.

In that kiss, she knew that everything Margie had said about loving a man was true, and she couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life with this one.

BOOK: Mail Order Bride: A Bride for the Doctor (Bozeman Brides Book 4)
9.48Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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