Authors: Terri Grace
Crippled Mail Order Bride For A Faithful Frontier Cowboy: Clean Christian Short Reads Western Romance (Destined For Love Mail Order Brides Book Book 2) (7 page)
ANOTHER Book In the Destined For Love Series…
Burned But Beautiful Mail Order Bride for a Pioneer Doctor
CHAPTER 1
A Chance Meeting
Samuel was tired.
It had been a long few months since this town had started seeing the first signs of smallpox, and he had been tending to the people endlessly for weeks.
He was the only doctor within miles of Jamestown, and he was stretched to his limits.
Thank God the epidemic has subsided, Samuel thought, as he travelled back East and clear his mind of the recent horrors.
Every family was mourning, and not one person he knew was untouched in some way by the outbreak.
The handsome young doctor had decided to travel back east to visit his family and try and recover from the stresses that his profession had recently piled upon him. As he descended from the train, he ran his fingers through his wavy black hair and straightened the sleeves on his jacket.
It felt nice to be surrounded by the life of a city again. Frontier living could be achingly lonely at times, especially as a single man, with so little time, or much hope of finding a wife out there.
Thoughts of not heading back out west had crossed his mind several times.
It was hard being relied upon by so many people.
He cared so much, and when his skills were not enough, he felt as though he had failed the town in so many ways.
The epidemic had begun to taper off, so he left the townsfolk in the care of his nurse and planned to go and see his parents for a few weeks.
The train station was practically deserted.
This was a little odd for the city, but he attributed it to the fact that there wasn’t another train due to leave for a few hours. For this silence, he was grateful, because he could get lost in his thoughts. In his position as Doc in the frontier town everyone knew him, and always stopped to greet and talk to him. It was a pleasant change to be a stranger and not feel pressed to put on a good face.
It was late fall, and the afternoon sky was dark with clouds.
It would be snowing soon, so this would be one of the last times he could get East until after the winter had subsided.
A break was well needed and deserved, and the town’s people saw him off with their blessings.
The cool breeze wrapped around him as he made his way toward the ticket office.
He had just gotten off the train and was gathering his bags so that he could meet his father and go to his family home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In his heart, Samuel continued to ponder his future. Life in the west was difficult at the best of times, and as a doctor with too few limited resources, he felt as though he was pulled every direction.
He was unsure how much longer he could continue without someone by his side to share the burden. The people who had come to live in the Jamestown area were strong and hearty, but with such a large population to one doctor, he felt weary and ready to return to the city.
He would consider it more during these two weeks away from the frontier.
Samuel had his head down, lost in his thoughts, as he made his way around the side of the ticket booth.
He felt the collision before he saw the person.
Around him, books began to fly, and a feminine squeal of surprise filled the quiet fall air.
If only he had been paying attention…
“My apologies.
I’m so clumsy, and my mind was elsewhere,” Samuel blurted out as he bent down and began to pick up the books strewn across the wooden deck.
He was too embarrassed by this mishap to look up at the woman he had just bowled over.
Maybe he could redeem his clumsiness by helping pick up the mess.
“It’s quite all right, sir.
I wasn’t paying much attention myself,” she said as she knelt to pick up her books together with him.
She was a fair young woman with a full figure and a kind look upon her face.
It was clear that she was embarrassed by the encounter as well, but didn’t care to mention it.
Her hair was slipping out of the bun at the back of her neck as she bent forward to gather the last few books that had flown from her arms.
As Samuel lifted one book after another, he realized that they were medical texts.
How odd.
Women usually didn’t read medical books.
That was a man’s field.
What could this young woman possibly be doing studying medicine?
Samuel was at once intrigued and impressed.
“Your books…it is rare thing to find a woman with such an interesting library,” Samuel said nervously as he handed the books back to this fascinating lady.
For the first time, he noticed the deep brown of her eyes and the kind smile on her lips.
His heart began to pound faster.
Something about her took his breath away. "Is your husband a doctor?" He asked.
“Oh no, sir, I'm not married," I’m studying to be a nurse.
It has been a dream of mine since I was a child," she replied with a quiet confidence in her voice.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, I am a doctor myself, so your desire to become a nurse intrigues me. Why do want to be a nurse?" The long journey had left Samuel starved of conversation, and his curiosity got the better of him.
Before he knew it, a heartbreaking history poured from her soft lips, "When I was twelve, our family home caught fire.
I made it out and realized that no one else was there.
At that moment, I knew I had to save my family.
I ran back inside and rescued my little brother and baby sister.
As we were making our way out, a burning ceiling plank fell on me, and Ma and Pa were trapped inside.
We all made it out eventually, but my brother and I were both burned pretty badly.
Ever since that day, I have felt the Lord’s call to rescue folks from their suffering. Nursing seemed like a natural path to take.”
Samuel then saw the scars running down her face, throat, and upper chest.
The wounds obviously went further, but they disappeared beneath the bodice of her dress. Samuel had not even noticed, but the skin on one side of her face was furrowed in vicious rivulets, snaking down her neck and below her neckline.
Samuel’s heart burst with compassion for the young woman.
He wanted to know more about her and the circumstances that propelled her calling to the medical practice, but he could see that the memories still pained the young lady. Maybe this was why such an intelligent, and otherwise beautiful young woman was still not married? Samuel did the best to turn attention away from the girl to himself, in an attempt to relieve her embarrassment.
“What a sad story.
I am grateful you got out alive.
I don’t know many people who would take an event like that and make such a wonderful legacy from it. I am the doctor myself, quite a way from here.
Sadly enough, we have just come out of a smallpox epidemic.
It has been a tough time for everyone there for several months, but by God's grace the worst is now behind us.
Being the only doctor around there, I am in need of a break.
I am heading east to visit family,” Samuel explained with a slight bow.
He felt as though he rambled, but he couldn’t think of what else to say after this young woman had divulged such a personal story to him. He was so flustered, he did not even remember to tell her his name.
“A doctor?
I know they are scarce out there. I wish you well, sir, and will pray that your break will be refreshing, body and soul.”
She paused for a moment, suddenly looking extremely uncomfortable.
“I must go, but it was a pleasure to meet you!”
Eliza smiled and turned away without waiting for a reply.
Her reddish-brown hair flowed behind her as she walked away.
Her step was as determined as her disposition.
Samuel then spotted his father walking across the station, waving enthusiastically and calling to his son. Turning to acknowledge him, Samuel’s attention shifted from Eliza, and, grabbing his bags, he hurried across to greet his father and the young lady was forgotten.
Eliza was quite shaken by the encounter with the handsome young doctor at the train station.
She usually didn’t tell many people about the fire. Why had she been so candid with a complete stranger? Flashbacks of the horrible fire that were driving her choices today crept into her mind and brought her back to that horrible night just eight years before.
She had been sleeping soundly when she awoke to the crackling sounds.
Curious, she sat up in bed.
That as when she smelled the smoke.
She knew she had to get out of the house quickly.
Making her way downstairs and out the front door, she expected to see the rest of her family within moments.
No one emerged.
Her heart pounded with panic.
She needed her family.
They were her world.
Without another thought, she bravely ran into the burning house once more and scrambled to the second floor.
Her parents’ room was next to hers, so she went in and shook them awake.
Once she was assured that they were aware of what was happening, she made her way down the hall to the baby’s room.
She wrapped her baby sister in her arms.
Her mother met her running down the hallway. Eliza threw the baby into her mother’s arms, and ran to grab her little brother from his bed.
Jacob was groggy and confused when she entered the bedroom to help him out.
His eyes widened when he saw Eliza.
She grabbed his small hand and urged him to follow her out of the house.
As they made their way to the first floor, the ceiling was ablaze above them.
They were just a few feet from the door when a plank fell from the ceiling.
The pain was unreal, and Eliza and Jacob screamed in terror.
Their father pulled them the rest of the way out.
However, both siblings were badly burned and needed immediate medical attention.
In the painful weeks that followed, as she and Jacob recovered from their severe burns, she realized how much she truly wanted to rescue people, just like she had rescued her family that horrible night.
Despite her own injuries, she cared for Jacob through those gruelling days, and the call of God on her life was birthed through her suffering. Eliza was always amazed at how her Father in Heaven could redeem any situation, however bad and bring something beautiful from it.
Once she had recovered completely, she knew that caring for others was what she was meant to do with her life.
At twelve years of age, she knew she was called to be a nurse.
The blast of cool fall air shook her out of her memories, and Eliza hurried toward her destination.
NEVER MISS ANOTHER GREAT STORY
Latest Releases From Clean Christian Romance
To receive news about new releases, giveaways, and other treats from Terri Grace, sign up for her newsletter: