Carolyn Davidson - A Convenient Wife

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.