Whispers in the Wind (40 page)

In coach number two, Dr. Logan and Naomi talked in low tones together for about twenty minutes, then the doctor said, “All right, sweetheart, I’ll go get Dane so we can talk to him about it.”

Less than five minutes had passed when Dr. Logan returned with Dane, who sat down in the empty seat ahead of them. “I’m ready to talk. What’s this about?”

The doctor took hold of Naomi’s hand, and Dane could tell that whatever was about to be discussed had both people very excited.

Dr. Logan took a deep breath. “Dane, Naomi and I have been talking and praying about something very important these past few days.”

“Yes, sir?”

“The Lord has given you a special place in our hearts since we met you in Chicago, and—well, we want to take you into our home in Cheyenne and legally adopt you as our son.”

Dane’s heart thundered in his chest. His face was a sudden mask of pleasant shock. He said breathlessly, “You mean it? You really mean it?”

Naomi reached toward him and patted his cheek. “We really mean it, sweet boy.”

The doctor tweaked Dane’s ear. “We sure do.” A sly grin was on his lips. “Well? What about it?”

“Yes! Oh yes!”

Other passengers heard Dane’s outburst and turned to look at him. When they saw that he was smiling broadly, they went back to what they were doing.

“All right!” said the doctor. “Dane, we will see to it that you finish high school, and then we’ll send you to Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago.”

Overwhelmed, Dane felt tears fill his eyes. He raised his eyes heavenward as the Logans looked on. “Thank You, dear Lord, for Your wonderful guidance and for answered prayer!”

People were watching again as both the doctor and his wife stood up, bent over, and embraced Dane, telling him how happy they were that God had sent him into their lives.

Before sitting back down, Naomi kissed Dane’s cheek. “I love you, son.”

He grinned and wiped tears. “I love you too, Mama. And I love you too, Papa.”

Dr. Logan chuckled happily. “And I love you, son.”

When the train arrived in Cheyenne some three hours late, all the prospective foster parents were there—as were Mike and Julie Ross, who had come to pick up Kenny Atwood.

They all stood in a group while the sponsors came to question them before the children were brought off the train.

Mike Ross stepped up to Gifford and Derek as they drew up to the group. “Gentlemen, I’m Mike Ross and this is my wife, Julie.”

Both stopped. “Oh, sure,” said Gifford. “We were on the train when you took your first orphan.”

“Right. I recognized both of you. It’s been a while.”

“Yes, it has,” said Derek. “Tell you what, folks. I’ll take you to the boys’ coach and we’ll get Kenny off for you right away.”

“Sure!” said Julie. “The sooner the better.”

When they drew up to the boys’ coach Derek said, “There’s a teenage boy who’s been taking care of Kenny since we left New York. His name’s Dane Weston. I’ll get the wheelchair off while Dane carries Kenny. Be right back.”

Mike and Julie held hands while waiting. They noticed several boys looking at them through the windows of the coach.

A moment later, they saw a dark-haired boy lift a small boy off the seat, then caught a glimpse of Derek standing in the aisle talking to them.

Mike led Julie by the hand to the front platform of the coach, and at the same time, Dane came out with Kenny in his arms.

Since Derek had already told them the Rosses were waiting outside the coach for Kenny, Dane smiled at them. “There they are, Kenny!”

Kenny’s eyes danced with glee as Dane carried him down the metal steps of the platform and the Rosses moved up.

Kenny looked at Mike, then set his eyes on Julie. The very instant Julie’s
eyes
captured those of Kenny Atwood, she lost her heart to him.

“Hello, Kenny,” Mike said with a warm smile. “I’m your new papa and this is your new mama.”

Derek came down the steps with the wheelchair and set it on the platform.

Kenny reached for both of them, arms wide. “Papa! Mama!” Mike took him from Dane, and both the Rosses embraced the little boy, each kissing a cheek.

Tears misted Julie’s eyes and love for Kenny filled her heart. “Welcome, son. We’re so glad to have you!”

“We sure are!” said Mike. “We’re so happy and blessed to have
you as part of our family. Welcome home!”

All trepidation immediately left Kenny. He gave his new parents his lopsided grin. “Thank you. I’m glad to be home.”

Dane pushed the wheelchair up close.

Mike saw it. “Well, Mama, we’d better let our boy sit in his wheelchair.”

As Mike eased the boy into the wheelchair, Kenny looked up at Dane. “You were right, you know.”

Dane smiled. “Right about what?”

“When you said that I would have a special caring family to take care of me. They’re wonderful!”

Julie laughed. “We think
you’re
wonderful, honey.”

Kenny flashed her another lopsided grin. “This is my friend, Dane Weston. He took real good care of me all the way here.”

Mike playfully clipped Dane’s chin. “Good for you, Dane. Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you,” said Julie.

A serious look captured Kenny’s face. “Dane, I’m gonna miss you.” Then he said to his new parents: “Dane is being ’dopted by Dr. and Mrs. Logan. They live here in Cheyenne.”

“It’s already settled, Dane?” asked Julie.

“Yes, ma’am. We met them just before they got on the train in Chicago. During the rest of the trip, they decided they wanted to adopt me, so Cheyenne will be my new home.”

“Papa?” said Kenny.

“Yes, son?”

“How far is it from here to Denver?”

“Almost exactly a hundred miles.”

“That isn’t real far, is it?”

“Not really. Why?”

“’Cause I want to see Dane when I can.”

“Well, that isn’t beyond possibility, son.”

“Of course not,” said Julie.

“Good! Dane, will you come see me?”

“I can’t say how often, little pal, but one way or another, we’ll get together once in a while. But in the meantime, I’ll write to you.”

“Oh, boy!”

Dane turned to Mike. “Mr. Ross, would you have something you could write your address on for me?”

“Sure,” said Mike, pulling a sales receipt from a shirt pocket. “I’ll put it on here. Julie, you have a pencil in your purse, don’t your

Julie produced the pencil, Mike wrote the address on the back of the receipt, and handed it to Dane. “There you go, Dane. And if you make it down to Denver, please come see us.”

“I sure will.”

“Stay in touch, and maybe we can bring Kenny here to see you sometime.”

“Sure enough.”

Kenny saw Dr. and Mrs. Logan coming toward them as all the other orphans began filing off the train to form their usual line. He raised his arms toward Dane, who bent over and embraced him tightly. “Bye for now, Kenny. I love you, little buddy.”

“Bye. I love you too, big buddy.”

Derek came out of the boys’ coach again and handed Dane his medical bag and small stack of books. “Thought you might need these.”

Dane smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Conlan. It’s been nice knowing you.”

When Derek was hurrying toward the spot where the line was forming, Dane put the medical bag down, laid the books on it, looked at his new parents, and introduced them to Mr. and Mrs. Ross. The adults chatted for a minute or so, then the Rosses excused themselves, saying they had to hurry and catch the next train for Denver.

Dane hugged his little friend one more time, and Kenny was
still waving back at him when they passed from view.

Dane picked up his books and medical bag. “Guess we can go now.”

Both Logans put their arms around their new son and Jacob said, “All right, Mama, let’s take our boy home.”

When they stepped outside at the front of the depot, a soft wind was blowing. Dr. Logan motioned to the driver of a hired buggy.

Soon Dane was sitting between his new parents on the buggy seat behind the driver, and as it moved out onto the street, the wind seemed to kiss Dane’s face. He thought of the little song the orphans sang on the train—which was first read to him by Mona Baxter so many months ago.

As they moved along Cheyenne’s main thoroughfare the soft whispers in the wind were saying in his ears, “Welcome, Dane. Welcome to the West! You will be very happy here!”

I
t was the third week of May, 1878. At Mile High Hospital in Denver, Tharyn Myers Tabor—now twenty years of age—walked up to the door of the hospital’s chief administrator, Dr. Matthew Carroll, in her white uniform and cap.

The door was standing open, and from behind his desk, Dr. Carroll spotted her, rose to his feet and said, “Come in, Tharyn.”

A bit nervous as she approached the desk, the nurse smiled. “Breanna said you wanted to see me, Doctor.”

Dr. Carroll nodded with a pleasant look on his face. “Yes. Please sit down.”

When she had eased onto one of the chairs in front of the desk, Carroll sat down, put his elbows on the desktop, and folded his hands. “Tharyn, since you graduated from the Denver School of Nursing and came to work here at the hospital two years ago, you have done a marvelous job for us. You are admired by everyone on the hospital staff.”

Tharyn’s face tinted slightly. “I’m glad, sir.”

“You are aware that my sister-in-law is asking to work even fewer hours than she has been since her second child, Ginny, was born four years ago. That’s when she quit working also for the
Goodwin Clinic. She wants and needs more time at home with both Ginny and six-year-old Paul.”

“Yes, sir. She told me about it just recently.”

Tharyn knew that Dr. Carroll’s wife, Dottie, was Breanna’s sister, and because they all belonged to the same church, Tharyn had gotten to know the Carrolls and the Brockmans quite well. She was very fond of them. Especially Breanna, who had helped her and encouraged her in her pursuit of the nursing profession ever since she came to Denver and was adopted by David and Kitty Tabor.

Dr. Carroll proceeded. “You know Breanna, Tharyn, so you understand that even though she needs to be home with her children more, she still can’t quite let go of her nursing career.”

Tharyn smiled. “Yes, Doctor. And I can understand that.”

“Well, since Breanna is cutting back her working hours even more, I want to give you a promotion which will put you in the spot she has held ever since the hospital opened, except that you will be full-time. Of course, along with the promotion will come a substantial raise in salary.”

Overwhelmed by this unexpected turn of events, Tharyn’s mind flashed back over the years—back to her childhood home with her mother and father in Manhattan. She thought of the horrible day when the team of startled horses pulling the wagon loaded with building supplies ran them down and took their lives, leaving her an orphan. She knew her parents would be proud of her for becoming a nurse.

She thought of Dane Weston, who had saved her life and helped her to survive as a homeless street urchin. Dane had been so glad when she told him through the prison bars that she was going to pursue a nurse’s career.

Her mind then went to the long train ride from New York to Denver six years ago, and her best friend, Leanne, whom she still saw in church every Sunday, and quite often between Sundays.
With these thoughts came the sweet memory of the eventful day when David and Kitty Tabor met her at the railroad station and chose her to be their daughter.

She reminisced of her days in nurse’s training and how she reveled in every one of them, chomping at the bit to finish so she could put into practice what she had learned. Now this exceptional offer had come to her.

“Oh! Dr. Carroll, I’m sorry. I sort of got caught up in memories. Nothing would make me happier than to accept this position being vacated by Breanna.”

Carroll’s eyes brightened. “Wonderful! Then the job is yours.”

“Thank you, Dr. Carroll. However, filling Breanna’s shoes is a formidable undertaking, for sure! She’s the best in the business. Why do I have the feeling that she had something to do with recommending me to replace her?”

“Well, she did strongly suggest that I consider you, but I already had you in mind.”

“I figured she had put in a word for me. Doctor, I—I’m humbly grateful that you’ve chosen me. There are several other nurses you could have chosen.”

“I feel confident, Tharyn, that if anyone can fill Breanna’s shoes, it is you. Just be yourself, let God guide you, and you will do fine.”

“Yes, sir. I will.”

“May I ask you a personal question?”

“Why, of course.”

“Is there a young man in your life? I haven’t seen you with one at church.”

“There isn’t, sir. I thought maybe things would work out with a Christian young man named Russell Mims, whom I met in New York when both of us lived on the streets. We even came west on the same orphan train in 1871, but after we exchanged a couple of letters, he wrote to tell me that he had fallen in love
with a girl in his church in San Francisco and they were planning to get married.”

Tharyn’s mind went to Dane Weston again and how she had written to him at the prison in Manhattan several times, but never once received a reply. She had decided that the boy she called her big brother had elected not to keep contact with her since it seemed that he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Carroll smiled. “Well, Tharyn, there are some nice young men in our church. Maybe one of these days something will click between you and one of them.”

Tharyn bestowed her gentle smile on her boss. “I’m leaving that up to the Lord, Dr. Carroll. I’m sure He has a young man all picked out for me and
me
all picked out for him. When it is time, the Lord will bring the two of us together. In the meantime, you are looking at one happy girl who has realized her dream of becoming a nurse. And now, with this promotion, I’m even happier!”

In that same third week of May, 1878, at Northwestern University’s Medical School, Dr. and Mrs. Jacob Logan were sitting in the auditorium on graduation night, proudly watching their adopted son, Dane, on the platform as he received three special honors for his scholastic achievements while studying medicine for the past four years.