Authors: Linda Bridey
In Lakota he said, “Yes. You’ve done great. I’m very proud of you and so is Claire.”
She smiled. “I’m proud of you, too.”
Hannah looked around her parlor at all of the nice things in it. She smiled as she remembered the surprise housewarming party that had been thrown for her the past weekend. Sammi and Mitch had gotten together with several different parties and the word had spread about the party. Owl had provided information for Sammi about what Hannah might need. His answer had been simple; everything.
Her apartment in Cleveland had been completely furnished so she’d had no furniture to ship to Dawson. She’d arrived in town with mainly her clothing and few incidentals. Hannah had been shocked when a bunch of people descended on her home that Sunday afternoon. She hadn’t moved in yet, so she didn’t know how they’d known she’d be there. Then she’d looked at Owl’s smiling face and he’d confessed that he’d gotten her there at a prearranged time.
Several of the women got together and furnished her with tea towels and other cooking equipment. Maddie had been asked to make curtains and between her and Sadie, Dean’s daughter, they’d produced enough white eyelet curtains for all of her windows. Hannah had already bought dishes and coffee cups, but Tessa and Jamie gave her serving dishes and utensils.
While the women had set food out that they’d brought, the men put up the curtains under Maddie’s watchful eye. Owl had watched everything with great interest and had also been pressed into service.
Seth had said, “If we gotta do this, so do you. She’s your woman so jump in here.”
Owl didn’t know the first thing about putting a home together, but he got a quick education. As they were laughing and teasing each other, they heard a large wagon pull up to the house. Dean looked out the window and saw Joe Dwyer’s magnificent Clydesdale team stop by the front door.
Like he did everything, Joe had gone big. He and Lacey came in the house and he shouted, “All right, where’s my favorite nurse?”
Hannah had come out of the kitchen wondering what was going on now. Joe had taken her outside to the wagon. It was loaded with beautiful furniture. Everything from a kitchen table, parlor furniture, and a small four-poster bed sat on the wagon. And that was just what she could see.
Joe ran back in the house and rounded up the men to unload the wagon. Hannah stood with her hands over her mouth at first. Then she’d started to protest, telling Joe that it was too much.
“It must have cost a fortune,” Hannah said.
Joe said, “Not a dime. This is furniture that I’ve been storing. Ya’ll are doing me a favor by takin’ it off my hands. Why should it just sit around when you can put it to good use? I think it was fate and it was just waitin’ on you to get here.”
She’d hugged him and thanked him profusely. Jack had bought her good baking dishes and given her a bunch of his recipes. A fine set of rocking chairs for the front porch had been made for her by Seth and Luke. Dean’s gift was of a slightly different nature. He’d held up a brand new toolbox and Hannah wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with it.
He said, “You should have a toolbox in case you need to fix something. I don’t know if Lakota number two over here knows how to swing a hammer, so sometime this week, I’ll give you some lessons on the tools and how to fix some basic stuff.”
Owl had given him an aggravated look, but Dean had just smiled at him and said, “Prepare to learn to rope, Owl, because that pony is comin’ along just fine.”
Owl’s gifts to Hannah had included some beautifully woven rugs for the kitchen and parlor and a dream catcher for over her bed. He’d also given her a finely crafted pair of moccasins to wear at night to ease any foot pain she might have from working long hours.
Sammi had said, “Those are for the nights you’re not around to give her a foot massage, huh?”
Owl could have wrung his friend’s neck as good-natured ribbing of him ensued. Hannah had gotten teary-eyed as she thanked everyone for all of their contributions towards making her little house a home. It astounded her how quickly she’d gained so many friends.
Now looking around her home, Hannah felt a sense of belonging that she’d never really experienced before. Owl watched her and said, “You’re happy here, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am. I can’t believe how much my life has changed,” she said.
“I’m glad that it’s for the better,” Owl said. He shifted a little on the sofa. Owl had to admit that the furniture was very comfortable. The high back of the sofa and the wing-backed chairs gave his shoulder extra support that helped ease his discomfort.
Hannah looked at him and said, “It’s definitely for the better. You’re the main reason for that, Owl.”
“I am?”
She said, “You have to know that.”
Owl’s heart did a little skip. He said, “It’s that connection we had from the beginning. I feel the same way.” Owl knew they were perched on the edge of somewhere they couldn’t come back from if they went over the precipice.
Hannah sensed it, too, and backed away from that place when she said, “It makes me happy to know that.”
Owl was secretly irritated with the situation, but didn’t let on. Hannah snuggled up to him and said, “Thank you for your help tonight. It was fun.”
He smiled. “It was fun and I showed you that I can swing a hammer,” he said referring to Dean’s gibe from that weekend. He’d hung several pictures that she’d bought. It had been easier for him to do it than her having to use a stepstool to hang them.
Hannah chuckled. “Yes, you did.”
It was late and she had work the next morning so Owl bid her goodnight and left. That night both of them realized that the fulfillment they were looking for was out of reach at the moment.
Marcus heard the knock on the door of the hotel room he’d rented and flung the door open. Claire threw herself into his arms and the husband and wife shared a passionate embrace. The rest of his family had decided to check into their rooms and give them some private time together. Everything within Marcus screamed at him to make love to his wife right then, but it wasn’t the right time.
It was apparent that Claire felt the same way because she couldn’t stop kissing him. Seeing him and being able to hold him in her arms again made Claire realized how desperately she’d missed her husband over the past three and a half months.
“I can’t tell you how good it is to kiss you and see you smile,” Marcus said. “You’re more beautiful than ever.”
“So are you,” she said with tear-filled eyes. “You can never go away again. I don’t think I could stand it. It’s been so lonely without you.”
Marcus held her tightly and said, “I’ll never leave home like that again. I couldn’t take it, either. I need and love you and the kids too much. The same goes for everyone else. If it hadn’t been so important, I would have never left.”
Claire nodded against his shoulder. “I know.” She squeezed him even tighter and he grunted. She looked up at him and said, “I’m so proud of you!”
His familiar grin filled her with joy. “Thanks. That means so much to me. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here. So, are you prepared to be married to a doctor?”
She put a hand on his handsome face and said, “Marcus, I’ve been married to a doctor since the day of our wedding. I’ve always been proud to be your wife.”
Marcus blinked back tears now. “I’ve always wanted to make you proud. I’m certainly proud of you and all you’ve accomplished with the school.”
“I love you so much,” Claire said.
“I love you, too. How’d everyone make the trip?” he asked.
Claire laughed. “I think Dean is in shock. He’s barely made a peep since we got into the city.”
“I can just imagine. He’s not used to big cities. Of course, neither was I. I kept getting lost all the time. Thank God for Chase,” Marcus said. “He showed me around so I knew where I was going.”
“I can’t wait to meet him,” Claire said.
There was another knock on the door and Marcus hurried to answer it. He was instantly mobbed by the rest of his family. Each of them hugged him in turn, but when Seth got a hold on him, Marcus thought he was going to squeeze the life out of him. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as they were reunited with Marcus.
Then Dean said, “There’s someone else who came with us.”
Marcus’ gave him a sharp look. “Who?”
The family parted and Marcus looked into the eyes of his mentor and friend. Marcus was so stunned that he couldn’t move for a moment and then he enveloped Doc in a hard hug. More tears flowed from his eyes as he hugged the older man. Doc returned the embrace and thumped Marcus on the back.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Marcus said as he released Doc. “How? I mean, who? The clinic?”
Doc laughed at Marcus’ disjointed sentences. He’d missed Marcus’ boisterous behavior. “Hannah told me that if I didn’t come to your graduation, she was gonna quit, so here I am. We can’t afford to lose her. If I didn’t think she was competent, I would have stayed home, son,” Doc assured him. “Besides, I’ll be heading back tomorrow after the ceremony, so she won’t be left alone too awful long.”
“She sounds like quite a woman,” Marcus said.
“She is,” Doc said. “She’s been a great blessing to me and our town.”
“I’m sure,” Marcus said. “Are you guys hungry? There’s somewhere I want to take you.”
An hour later, they all sat in a pizzeria eating the delicious dish. Seth ended up eating almost a whole pie by himself while everyone looked on and laughed. Marcus had become addicted to the food and planned on having Jack make it back home.
Seth eyed Tessa’s plate. She had a half-eaten slice on it. “You gonna eat that?” he asked.
“No,” Tessa said. “I’m too full.”
Seth snatched it off her plate and put half of it in his mouth. Maddie admonished him, but he ignored her. He was enjoying it too much to care. Marcus sat watching them and listening to their familiar banter he felt sentimental. He had been so lonely and being with them all again was a balm to his soul.
At dawn the next day, Marcus and Claire lay entwined in their bed. They’d made up for lost time and were content just to be near each other. Claire felt Marcus start to laugh and looked down at him. “What is it?’ she asked.
Still laughing he said, “I sure missed having you pull my hair.”
She laughed with him and then started a tickling match that ended with them falling off the bed onto the floor.
As Marcus walked across the stage to collect his diploma, he could hear his family cheering for him and he had a huge grin on his face as he collected his diploma and went back to his seat. He found them in the crowd and waved at them. He blew a kiss to Claire, not caring who saw. There were a few chuckles from the audience and Claire thought it was just like him to clown around at a formal affair. After all, he’d done the same thing at their wedding. Why should his graduation ceremony be any different?
As Marcus sat through the rest of the ceremony, he felt as though things had come full circle for him and that while his scholastic career was ending, his lifelong mission was just really beginning. Marcus knew how blessed he was and vowed to never take all his good fortune for granted.
He was sad to see Doc leave early, but knew he’d see his mentor again soon. Marcus watched Doc’s cab drive off and then turned back to his family. They were going sightseeing and out to dinner to celebrate. Two days later they were on their way back home again. However, this time it was with Dr. Marcus Samuels in their midst.
While Doc was gone, Hannah was kept busy, but fortunately the ailments were minor. She stitched up cuts and treated colds and sprains. She and Owl didn’t see each other very much because she was busy at the clinic and he had offered to help with chores at the Samuels ranch since Dean and Seth were away. He did everything from clean stalls to helping Jamie watch Mikey and the twins. Aiyana and Anthony were with their Lakota family while their parents were in Chicago.
When they were together, they made the most of every moment and went on rides together or spent time at the camp. The Friday before Marcus and company were due home, they went out to the Watering Hole. Hannah got to see Jamie and Joe in action and was as enthralled as everyone else by their performance.
Sammi had her hands full with rowdy poker players and Hannah was shocked to see Sammi go head to head with a man and throw him out. Sammi finished with him and came back to their table.
Hannah said, “How do you do that?”
“Lots of practice,” she said.
“No wonder everyone says no one should mess with you,” Hannah said. “I think I would like to know how to do some of that.”
Sammi said, “I can teach you. No problem.”
“Would you?” Hannah said.
“Sure. You never know when it might come in handy,” Sammi said.
“Great,” Hannah said.
Owl had no objection to Sammi teaching Hannah, but he hoped she’d never have to use the knowledge. He would do his best to always protect her. Then he thought
how can I protect her if I’m not here?
Then she was taking his hand under the table and the look in her eyes as she smiled at him made him forget his troubling thoughts.