American Frontier - Chapter 12

Parker sat in a hard wooden chair next to the small bed in the patient recovery room of the small medical building. The building belonged to Doc Jones, but the good doctor had given Parker a spare key and permission to use the building for any medical needs he had when the doctor wasn't in town.

The walk from the woods to the medical office carrying Missy's prone form had seemed to take forever. Thankfully, she was light and he was in good shape.

Examining the woman he cared so deeply for but hardly knew for injuries had been one of the most torturous experiences of his life. He had been forced to invade her privacy in a way that, on any other patient, would not have bothered him. But unbuttoning her dress and unfastening her corset to examine her bruised ribs had felt terribly intimate.

He had questioned himself the whole time, making sure that he was doing only what was necessary. And then, he had had to face the horror of seeing the bruises and lacerations of what was clearly a savage beating marking her fair skin.

When he had finally finished binding her ribs, cleaning her small cuts, and applying soothing medicines to her bruises, it had been all he could do to clean up before he sank into the chair and watched her.

Though he knew none of her injuries were actually life-threatening, he couldn't help thinking that he might have lost her. If she hadn't found help in time, if her father (whom Parker felt was the likely perpetrator) had come back for another round, if she had passed out elsewhere and hit her head on something. . . the horrific 'what ifs' played through his mind, tormenting him until a knock on the door interrupted his vigil.

Parker left the small recovery room and opened the main door in the large office and supply room. He found Mrs. Gardiner standing there, a basket over her arm.

"Hello, dear boy," she said, stepping past him and setting the basket on the front desk. "I noticed that you missed dinner and Mr. Fredricks mentioned that he saw a light on over here. I figured you could probably use some sustenance."

"Thank you," Parker said with a half-hearted smile.

"Now you don't have to tell me if you can't, but who is the poor soul keeping you from your bed tonight?"

Parker shook his head. He knew he could trust Mrs. Gardiner to be discreet, he just couldn't speak. Instead, he walked to the recovery room, motioning for her to follow. She peeked in at Missy's pale face, illuminated by one small lamp.

"Oh, poor dear," Mrs. Gardiner said, shaking her head sadly. "And it couldn't have happened to a sweeter girl. Her father?"

Parker shrugged. "I didn't see what happened," he said in a rough voice. "I'm just lucky she found me before she lost consciousness."

Missy stirred restlessly and Mrs. Gardiner moved towards the front door. "Well, you take good care of her. Was she hurt badly?"

"Mostly scrapes and bruises. She should be fully healed in a few weeks."

"That's a relief. Don't worry, my boy. She'll come around. I'm sure you did a good job getting her fixed up. You don't need to doubt yourself."

"It's more than that," he said, running a hand through his already messy hair. "We just started courting."

"Oh!" Mrs. Gardiner held a hand to her cheek and smiled. "I'm so happy for you both! I'm sure you make the most beautiful couple. Congratulations!"

Parker wanted to shake the cheerful, pleasant woman. She seemed to have already forgotten that Missy had been beaten into unconsciousness by her father, with whom she STILL LIVED! That was of far greater import than the fact that he and Missy were courting.

"She needs to move," Parker said bluntly. "Do you have any rooms in the boarding house available?"

Mrs. Gardiner frowned. "Nothing is open at the moment. But I have someone moving out at the end of the week. Would you like me to save the room for her?"

Parker growled in frustration, then nodded. It wasn't ideal, but Mrs. Gardiner's place was the only boarding house in town. He would find somewhere else for Missy to stay until the room was free. At least he didn't have to worry until Monday. He would keep her here in the medical office through Sunday night to make sure that she was well on the road to recovery.

"I'll do that then." Mrs. Gardiner came back across the room to grab his hands. "It will all come right, my boy, don't you fret." She gave his hands a comforting squeeze, then left.

He was about to open the basket and see what food she had brought when he heard a quiet groan from the recovery room. Hurrying in, he found Missy trying to sit up, blinking against the dim light of the lamp.

When she saw Parker, her beautiful blue eyes lit with relief. "Where am I?" she asked, relaxing back against the pillows. "What happened?"

"What is the last thing you remember?" he asked, sitting in the chair by her bedside and taking her hands in his.

She spoke slowly, pausing often to gather her thoughts. "I went to visit Emmaline. When I got home, Father was waiting. We talked. He. . . wanted me to start paying rent. But I told him I would have to go to the boarding house." She paused and looked up from their hands and the sorrowful expression in her eyes pierced his heart.

"I can't afford to pay rent and buy all the food and still have clothes and shoes to wear," she whispered. "But Father was angry. He. . ." She paused for a moment, then shook her head. "He hit me, over and over. He's never hit me so much before. Usually. . ." Again she paused, this time looking at Parker with a stricken look, as though she didn't mean to give away so much.

When she didn't continue, he squeezed her hands. "I already suspected that this was not the first time, darling. Please continue."

She blushed and looked down again. "Usually he only hits me once or twice, but this time was worse. I think I passed out for a while. When I came to, I could hardly walk. I vaguely remember leaving the house. I just kept thinking that I had to get to you, that everything would be alright as long as I could get to you." She stopped and squeezed his hands. "But I have no memory of actually reaching you."

Parker nodded. "That is no surprise. You lost consciousness shortly after you found me."

"I'm sorry to ruin your evening and our dinner," she said.

"I am only glad that I was close enough to catch you," he said, leaning over the bed and putting his arms carefully around her. "I could not bear to lose you now."