Page 3 of Whispers of Fortune (Golden State Treasure Book #1)

T HREE

The meal was ready. There’d been chicken for lunch and plenty of it. Three extra men for a snack hadn’t dented the supply.

Gretel had a mountain of mashed potatoes and creamy chicken gravy, while the garden had supplied them with peas and baby carrots and lettuce. There was corn bread instead of the usual biscuits or baked loaves, with molasses to pour over it. And Gretel had made three pies, which were just now coming out of the oven. She’d baked two to leave here, it seemed, because she made up a basket and took food away with her, along with two little children.

It appeared that the Harts cleaned up their own kitchen.

Brody didn’t like to admit it, but he’d been starving more often than not for months. Paying the rent on their tiny apartment had taken almost everything he had.

The bit he had extra he’d spent sparingly, thinking of what it might take to find his brothers. As it was, he’d known the boys would head for California, using the journal as a guide. Beyond that, Brody didn’t know much, and he had almost no money. He’d hidden in a few baggage cars, and after getting tossed from one by a heavy-fisted conductor, had ridden shotgun on three stagecoaches. That had been a nerve-racking job because he was no hand with a gun.

He’d had to stop in some little town just as he’d crossed into California because there was no stagecoach, and no way to sneak on the train. He’d found work at the general store, prying open wooden crates and stocking shelves. He’d carried heavy loads to wagons and sometimes carried things home for elderly ladies.

He’d been at it two weeks, with very little food, asking questions about his brothers before he knew two boys matching his brothers’ descriptions had been seen around town, then headed out west. Finally, he scraped together the price of a train ticket to San Francisco. Every second of his trip west he’d been increasingly frantic about his missing brothers. Then in San Francisco, he’d been hunting high and low for his brothers until he’d found the Child of God Mission. And that pointed him right here.

In short, the growling of his stomach embarrassed him, and he tried to wait patiently while Josh said the mealtime prayer. Then Brody passed the food like a civilized man, even as he wanted to dive headfirst into the bowl of steaming whipped potatoes with the melting butter in its center.

Josh was at the head of the table just like when Brody had arrived. This time Ellie was on his left, with Annie at the end with her little girl Brody heard called Caroline. Brody sat directly across from Lock, while Ellie faced Thayne.

“We aren’t going to be able to let you leave with the boys, Brody.” Ellie said it quietly while Brody had his mouth full of potatoes.

That was no coincidence.

As he struggled to swallow, his brothers cheered.

“You can stay here with us, Brody,” Lock said, almost buzzing with excitement. “The school is always looking for teachers.”

Finally, his mouth empty so he wouldn’t choke, and hurt by his traitorous little brothers, he said, “I’m not a teacher. And you are leaving here with me.”

“The thing is, Brody,” Ellie began, “when we—”

“My brothers are mine . I am taking them away with me. You have no right and no authority to tell me no.” His eyes zeroed in on Lock. “Nor do you.” Brody went on. “We’ll set up a home, and I’ll—”

“We do have that right, Brody.” Ellie glared at Josh, who seemed content to eat while his sister did the talking.

Annie had her young daughter, maybe four or five years old, and kept busy feeding her.

Brody decided, since Ellie was doing all the talking, that he’d just glare right at her. “You do not.”

“We don’t just sweep children up off the street as if we think they’re trash, as you put it earlier. We work with an orphanage in San Francisco. They insist we sign papers, identify which children are coming, gain the agreement of those children, and that their names are properly registered. We’re granted guardianship of the boys. In exchange we offer good food, shelter, education, and job training in a field that interests them. And we keep them safe because there are cruel people who abuse street children, and there are those who ignore them and treat them like they’re a nuisance. We make sure they find kindness here and loving care. And although it’s never happened before, we don’t just let them go when someone, however deserving, asks for them. Not even a brother. A brother who somehow let them get all the way across the country without missing them. They’ve been here for two months, Brody. Where have you been?”

Brody knew that was true about the registry because it was how he’d found his brothers.

He was all set to start yelling, demanding, grabbing his brothers and running off. Instead, he felt ashamed. “What do you want me to do to prove I’m fit to take them?”

Ellie was braced for his anger, it seemed, for she almost toppled over when he responded rationally.

To keep up with the behavior, he started to eat again. He noticed his brothers were on their third piece of chicken, judging by the pile of bones.

Through a mouthful of chicken, Thayne said, “Be a teacher here, Brody. Or be a doctor.”

Josh had a forkful of lettuce halfway to his mouth. Ellie was serving the boys more potatoes. Annie was wiping her daughter’s chin. They all froze and turned to stare at him.

Ellie recovered from the freeze. “You’re a doctor?”

Brody felt a strange squirm of embarrassment as they all stared at him. “That’s where I was when the boys ran away. Pa was a drunk who threw them out of the house. Ma was dead, but I didn’t know it. She hadn’t written, but she was never regular about it. “I’d just graduated in May from Harvard Medical School. I went home to—”

“Harvard?” It was Annie’s turn to squawk. “You’re a graduate of Harvard Medical School? When you talked about setting up somewhere and working, you meant as a doctor?”

He wasn’t sure just why they were all acting so strangely.

Josh cleared it up. “We’ve been trying to persuade a doctor to come and set up at the ranch since we started the school. We’ve even built a doctor’s office and a small facility for patients. There are rooms upstairs—the three of you would fit comfortably in there. We have a lot of people here on the Two Harts Ranch. Ten of our cowhands are now married men, some have children. That’s besides the orphans and our family. Michelle has mentioned many times we should consider applying for status as a town and seeing if we could get a post office and bank. She single-handedly got a telegraph wire out here and got the rail line to come to Dorada Rio.”

“I saw houses out back, but a town?”

“The Two Harts isn’t like a usual ranch with a bunkhouse and a couple dozen cowhands,” Ellie said. “Cowhands are often wanderers. We have encouraged our cowhands to think of the Two Harts as their home. We build houses for any of our hands that marry. We include their children in our schools. And we aren’t just a ranch. We’ve got farmland, too. It takes a lot of help to keep it all running smoothly.”

“Gretel and her family have children,” said Annie. “Zane and Michelle are expecting a child. Right now, Michelle is the closest we’ve got to a doctor, and she’d tell you she’s not close at all.”

Ellie nodded. “Brody, say you’ll stay. Stay here and be our doctor. You’d be an answer to our prayers. Anyway, you have to stay for a while, until we agree to let the boys leave with you. At least be a doctor for us until then.”

“I-I don’t know if—”

Thudding boots turned their attention to the back door. A fist hammered until the door rattled.

It reminded Brody a little of how he’d come here this afternoon.

“Someone, come quick. Sally Jo is having the baby.”

Brody didn’t even think. He just leapt to his feet and rushed to the door, even as Annie rose to open it. He beat her there, thrust the door open, and said to the frantic young man, “I’m a doctor. Lead the way.”

He’d left his doctor bag on his rented horse. Where in the world had it gone? Looking over his shoulder, he saw Annie busy with her child, and Josh, not even a remote possibility to help deliver a child. “Ellie, come with me. Josh, find my horse and bring my doctor bag.”

Brody then ran after the footsteps that were tearing away into the night.

Pete Trainor held the door open for Brody. “So you’re a real doctor? What luck. Michelle has served as a midwife, but she’s gone now.”

Brody didn’t ask him to lead the way. There was screaming, and it led him right to a woman in distress. He went to her side and took her hand. The hollering cut off, but he thought the contraction was ending so he didn’t give himself too much credit.

“I just finished with medical school. I worked at a hospital in Boston back east and probably delivered two dozen babies. What’s your name?” Brody had heard the name Sally Jo, but he wanted to treat her with kindness and respect.

“S-Sally Jo Trainor.” Her forehead was soaked in sweat. She had dark blond hair that was pulled into a disheveled braid.

“Well, Mrs. Trainor, having a baby is one of the most noble things a woman can do. I’m here to help you, and I’m trained in all the most modern methods, but honestly, the baby will just come on its own. I’m just here to encourage you and take care of the details.” He noticed a little boy as he peeked up over the edge of the bed, his eyes awash in tears. Probably scared to death by the commotion. “And what’s your name, son?”

“I’m Jamie. My ma is having a baby, she said, but she’s d-dying, isn’t she?” The tears broke into wails of fear.

Brody looked at Ellie, who’d entered the room. “Why don’t you go get my brothers? They can help keep Jamie from worrying. Then come on back in here.” He darted a glance at her that, despite his calm demeanor, told her to hurry.

She must’ve read his expression or his mind or his tone, or maybe she was just scared because Ellie then dashed away.

Mr. Trainor rounded the bed and picked his son up. At first he clung to the bed as if he were being ripped from his mother’s arms forever. Then in a sudden shift, he threw his arms around his father’s neck and held on like ivy on a pine tree.

“Mr. Trainor, why don’t you take Jamie on out.” And fast, Brody hoped, because Sally Jo had started to tighten her grip on his hand, which meant another contraction was coming.

As Pete walked out, Brody shifted his attention to Sally Jo. “I can see that the labor pain is coming again. This time start breathing slow but hard as the pain increases. Don’t fight it. It hurts because it’s the hardest work you’ll ever do.”

He knew he had a soothing voice. One doctor he worked with called him a crooner, another called him a whisperer, as if with his voice he could reach past fears and pain to the patient’s inner self and calm them.

“Now breathe, slow and calm. We’re going to get through this real soon. It isn’t going to take long at all.”

He’d’ve probably said that anyway, but she had her second contraction fast after the first. He rested one of his hands with utmost gentleness on her stomach, rigid with the muscles from pushing the baby.

Sally Jo had her eyes fastened on him and never blinked. She breathed as he talked to her, encouraged her. She whimpered but didn’t scream, not like before. The contraction went on for a long time. They were definitely near the end.

Finally, she relaxed.

“When did your pains start?” He felt blood circulating again in his fingers.

Blowing out a deep breath of relief, she managed a smile. “Probably the middle of the afternoon. They weren’t bad, though, and Jamie took all day and night. I didn’t want to go to bed right away, so I made supper and got us fed and hoped I could get Jamie to sleep before I had to settle in to birth the new one, but it’s hard, Doc. Hard.” Her voice grew louder. “It’s not like last time. If I have pains like this all day and night—Doc, I can’t bear the thought.” Her face reddened as fear laced her voice.

“It’s not going to last that long.” He sure hoped anyway. “A second little one often comes much faster than the first. In fact, I think we’ll have this baby here with us in an hour or so. Definitely not all day and night.”

Her blue eyes went wide as if he’d begun singing an angel chorus. “Really?”

“Yes, really. I don’t want to intrude on your modesty until Ellie ... I mean, Miss Hart, comes back. A woman should be here with you.” He tried to distract her for the next hour or so. “Michelle—that is, Mrs. Hart, your boss’s wife—delivered the first baby?”

His effort to divert her attention ended when her hand tightened on his. Brody remained calm outwardly while inside he was urging Ellie to hurry. He needed some help. Judging by the speed of this latest contraction and the power of it, this baby was coming soon. He needed both hands free.

He was crooning to Sally Jo, using his free hand to press a cool, wet cloth on her forehead, encouraging her to breathe rather than scream. The contraction was done as Ellie came back in. She had his doctor bag, so Josh must’ve found it.

“Your brothers are here,” Ellie said, trying, he thought, to match his soothing tone of voice. “Josh is in the front room with Pete and your son.” Ellie took the cloth, all her moves easy and graceful.

“Doc, something is happening.”

Brody did his best not to startle Sally Jo as he adjusted things and was just barely in time to deliver a plump, wriggling baby. With a smile, he said, “Miss Hart, can you find a pair of scissors in my doctor bag?”

“Michelle had me steril ... uh, starry, I mean she had me soak them in boiling water.”

Sally Jo jerked her head up, eyes riveted on the new baby, tears mixing with the rivulets of sweat pouring from her forehead.

Brody saw the basin of water beside the one he’d been using to soak the cloth. “Ellie, hand me the sterilized scissors, please.”

Before Brody could give the little tyke a swat on the backside to get him breathing, a strong cry broke from the baby. Grinning, Brody met Sally Jo’s eyes. “Your son has strong lungs. He’s a healthy, good-sized boy.”

He soon had the baby wrapped in a soft blanket Sally Jo had ready, and he rested the baby against her chest, then tended to the last part of delivering a baby. As he restored Sally Jo to modesty, a knock sounded at the door. A response to the crying by the fretful father.

Brody’s eyes met Ellie’s. They were awash in tears, and a smile beamed so bright it could’ve lit up the room.

“I’m going to let Papa in. Are you ready to introduce your son, Mrs. Trainor?”

Sally Jo took a quick swipe of her eyes with the blanket Ellie had pulled higher. The little boy was cradled in Sally Jo’s left arm, close against her. She gave Brody a firm nod.

Brody stepped to the door, swung it open, and was nearly trampled by the worried and excited Mr. Trainor.

“It’s a boy, Pete,” Sally Jo said. “We have another son.”

The dreamy joy in Sally Jo’s words made Brody feel like an intruder. His eyes again met Ellie’s, and he nodded toward the door. She smiled and followed him out of the room, closing the door behind her. The two of them paused, looked at each other and grinned.

“I’ve never helped bring a baby before,” Ellie said. “You knew just what to do, and you kept her calm. Thank you for your help.” She cleared her throat rather delicately and added, “We have five more pregnant women on this ranch. And about ten other children, besides the twenty-four orphans. About thirty cowhands, ten with wives, and the Hart family. We could really use your help. We can discuss your pay. You’d definitely earn money besides having a home provided. I’d like you to at least give it a try. You can see if working here suits you.”

Brody knew how helping deliver a baby affected him. It was like being part of a miracle. He was always a bit awestruck, and he shouldn’t make a decision when he was in such a state. But he couldn’t resist the idea of having everything settled, being with his brothers again—who didn’t want to leave anyway. But he couldn’t do it. He’d made promises to Dr. Tibbles. The man had been so kind and generous, Brody couldn’t betray his trust. Right now, though, at least until Ellie agreed to letting the boys go with him, he could stop his travels for a while.

He smiled, admiring her pretty pink cheeks, caused no doubt by all the excitement. Her bright blue eyes looked tear-washed by happiness. “I can stay for a while, but—”

Then he got hit with two tornadoes.

“Brody! Great! Thank you!” His little brothers, bursting in and shouting over each other, were thrilled that he’d agreed to stay.

It annoyed him some because the little scamps just wanted to run off and hunt treasure. Yet he was so glad they were alive and well, he wrapped his arms around them and held them, just held on tight to his family.

His eyes rose to meet Ellie’s again. She was smiling at the happy little huddle of MacKenzie men, her hands folded at her waist.