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Outside, Sully was standing on the porch of the clinic, watching Hank and Horace fighting in the street. He knew he should break it up, but he also knew that the sooner they got it over with, the sooner they could all get on with their lives. A crowd was starting to form again, and the reverend walked up to stand beside Sully. “You should do something.” “There’s nothin’ I can do, reverend. This is somethin’ they’ve gotta work out on their own. If I get in the middle, it’ll always be that way.” “What’s this all about, anyway?” “Why don’t you ask them? It ain’t my place to say,” Sully replied, walking off to tend to his traps. *~* “Everything’s fine, Myra,” Dr. Mike assured her patient. Myra sat up and sighed with relief. “Thank goodness.” She shook her head. “I don’t see why Hank just can’t let me outta my contract early. He ain’t makin’ a profit off of me anyway.” “Maybe I can talk to him.” “It won’t do any good,” Myra replied. Dr. Mike looked out the window and turned back to Myra. “It appears that the reverend talked some sense into Hank and Horace. They’re walking off in opposite directions.” Myra breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I hate seein’ them fightin’. Hank’s not the nicest person in the world, but he did give me food and shelter when I needed it. Sometimes I feel like I owe him, ya know?” “Well, if I were you Myra, I’d be thinking about my unborn baby’s safety above anyone else’s. I know you love Horace, and you feel like you owe Hank, but what you really need to focus on is you and your baby right now.” “I can’t do that ‘til I’m free from Hank.” “Well, you go upstairs and rest. I’ll go over to Hank’s before the storm starts. I’ll try to reason with him.” “It ain’t gonna work, Dr. Mike.” “Well, it won’t hurt to try, will it?” Dr. Mike gave her friend a reassuring smile and left the clinic to talk to Hank. *~* Loren Bray and Jake Slicker, two of townsmen who stood against Dr. Mike with Hank most of the time, were seated at the bar of the saloon, drinking back shots of whiskey. Hank was puffing on one of his cigars, whispering something into one of his girls’ ears and chuckling as she headed toward the back of the saloon. Dr. Mike usually had to hold her breath when she walked into the filthy bar, but today, most of the poker tables were empty, and only the town’s heaviest drinkers were faithfully seated in their usual seats. The only smoke rolling was the smoke from Hank’s cigar. As soon as Hank saw her face, he stood straight up and walked out from behind the counter. “What are you doin’ here?” “I see that business is slow today,” Dr. Mike replied. “No thanks to that no good whore and her lover boy.” “Well, maybe it’s that, or maybe it’s the storm. But I’m certain that many people are staying away because of the way you treated Myra. I’m sure most of the town has heard about how you knocked a pregnant woman to the ground.” “Now hold on a minute,” Hank warned. “You claim that you’re going to marry Myra and raise that baby, Hank. But she deserves so much better than you if you think you can treat her like one of your girls. Myra is pregnant, and she does not deserve to be manhandled. No woman does. Nor does any woman deserve to have a man force his way into her bed.” Dr. Mike turned to walk away. “I never forced my way into her bed,” Hank replied angrily in a hushed whisper. Dr. Mike turned back to face him. “She never complained.” “She was probably too afraid to complain, Hank. She works for you, Hank. That’s all.” Dr. Mike left the saloon, and Hank looked at Loren and Jake. They looked away, took a last shot of whiskey, and left before the storm hit. Hank walked over to stand by the swinging doors. He saw Myra greet Dr. Mike at the door, glance over his way, and disappear back inside the clinic with the doctor. “Everybody get out,” he said, pointing toward the doors. The men pulled a few dollars out of their pockets and put them down on a table for Hank before they left. Hank closed the outside doors before he disappeared back inside of his saloon. He poured a drink into a shot glass and sat at the bar, staring into the russet-colored liquid. One of the girls named Beth came out of the back with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. “You closed up, Hank?” “What’s it look like?” “The girls and I were talkin’ and decided somethin’.” “Oh? What’s that?” Hank asked with an amused smirk. “We think you ought to let Myra out of her contract.” “Oh you do, huh?” “Yeah,” Beth replied with a nod. “She’s expectin’, and it ain’t right to keep her here.” “She’s expectin’ my baby,” Hank replied. “She’s stayin’ with me.” “I sure wish you’d reconsider. She deserves to raise her baby some place good. She shouldn’t have to work and take care of a baby at the same time.” “She ain’t gonna work, Beth. She’s gonna be my wife.” “That might be what you want, but you should think about what she wants too.” *~* That evening, Dr. Mike, Sully, Colleen, Matthew, and Brian were sitting around the dinner table at the homestead. “That was awful nice of you to let Myra stay at the clinic for awhile,” Sully mentioned. “Yeah ma,” Brian replied. “Is she gonna stay there for good?” “For a while,” Dr. Mike responded. “She could come stay with us. Miss Myra’s real nice.” “Brian, we ain’t got no room. Plus, Myra’s gonna have a baby, so we’d have to give it your bed.” Brian’s eyes went wide as he looked at his big sister. “No!” Brian exclaimed. Dr. Mike and Sully smiled at each other. “Excuse me. I’m gonna go to bed. I’ve got to be at the ranch early tomorrow mornin’,” Matthew said, standing up from the table. “Okay. Good night.” “Night,” Matthew replied. He left the house and Colleen and Brian got up. “Ma, can I stay up and play outside with the puppy?” “No Brian. You have school tomorrow.” “I know,” he grumbled. Colleen took her brother’s hand and pulled him towards his bed. Sully stood and helped Dr. Mike clear the dinner table. Dr. Mike was quiet with a look of concentration on her face. “What are you thinkin’ about?” “I’m thinking about how Hank could be so cruel.” “That’s the way he is. That’s the way he’s always gonna be.” “That’s unfortunate for Myra. I want to help her, but she’s determined to stay and make a life for her and her baby. How does she expect to do that with Hank around?” Dr. Mike walked out to stand on the porch of the homestead. She rested her hands on the rail and leaned into the wind. The storm had passed and left behind a cool but pretty strong breeze. Sully pulled his arms around Dr. Mike, holding her close to him. She leaned into his chest, and he heaved a heavy sigh. “I feel so lucky, Sully. I have three beautiful children, my clinic and my practice, my wonderful friends . . . and you.” She turned into his arms and he smiled down at her. “Myra could have had a good life too. If it wasn’t for Hank, she could have been a teacher like her mother wanted her to be.” “Things happen for reasons nobody knows about.” “You’re saying Myra’s life turned out like this for a reason?” “Maybe. It’s possible. I’m just glad that your life turned out the way it did. It brought you to me.” “Sully,” Dr. Mike whispered. Sully leaned down and kissed her softly upon the lips. When they parted, their arms wrapped around one another, protecting each other from the cold wind, but at the same time, both were feeling grateful that they had one another. *~* Myra was sitting in a rocking chair out on the balcony at the clinic. She was looking over the town as everything winded down for the night. The sun had set and all that was left in the town was the faint sound of horses in the distance, the cries of babies in nearby homes, and Loren’s bickering down the street at the mercantile. A light was on in Horace’s bedroom window, and Myra wondered if he couldn’t sleep because of her. What if he was in pain because of the beating Hank gave him earlier? She wanted to go see if he was alright, but she knew that if she did, Hank would find out and have a fit. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Myra confessed in a whisper. She put her hand on her stomach. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I feel like you’re the only person in the world that I’ve got. Sure Dr. Mike is my friend and all, but she ain’t never had to deal with what I’m going through right now. I feel like I’m drownin’ and I can’t stop. I want to get ya out of here someday. Maybe we’ll go find some of my family. We could go to St. Louis or to Boston like Dr. Mike. I hear it’s real pretty.” Myra looked out toward the mountain when she heard a coyote howling. The moon was rising big and bright over Pike’s Peak, and it gave Myra a sense of security. “When I was little, my ma and pa didn’t have a lot of money. I was sick a lot, but every time I got to feelin’ poorly, I’d look up at the moon, make a wish, and the next morning, I’d feel better. Maybe someday, you and me will sit out on our own porch and look up at the moon together.” She smiled a little. “I’ll try to be a good ma to ya. I’ll love ya no matter what happens.” The cold was starting to get the better of Myra as she started to shiver. She got up and went back inside the clinic, shutting the door to the balcony behind her. She crawled into the big, comfortable bed and pulled the covers up around her. Before she had the chance to doze off to sleep, she heard banging coming from downstairs. She pulled a robe around her tightly and hurried down the stairs. She threw open the door and saw Hank standing there with a bottle of whisky in his hand. “Hank, you’re drunk,” Myra automatically assumed. “I ain’t had a drink,” he replied. He handed her the full bottle. “Hank, what are you doin’ here?” “What am I doin’ here? The question should be, ‘what are you doin’ here, Hank?’” “You know what I’m doin’ here.” “You belong to me, Myra. That contract ain’t expired yet.” “I don’t care. You can have me arrested if you want. I’m not coming back to the saloon. My baby ain’t gonna grow up around that kinda life.” “You want our baby to be born in a jailhouse?” Hank asked. “You wouldn’t dare have me arrested. And stop sayin’ ‘our baby.’ It’s my baby, Hank.” “It takes two people, Myra. That baby is just as much mine as it is yours.” “What would you do with a baby, Hank? You can’t be a pa and run a saloon.” Tears began to form in Myra’s eyes. “Please don’t hold this contract over my head. I just want to have a family with Horace and my baby.” “Hell will freeze over before I let Horace be a pa to my kid.” “Hank, you don’t have a say in this. Not if you’re gonna act like this.” Myra went to shut the door, but Hank put his foot in the way. “Hank! I mean it! Go home!” She managed to close the door and lock it while Hank banged on it. “You ain’t gonna marry him, Myra! He ain’t good enough for you!” “I know I ain’t good enough for him, Hank. He deserves much better than me, but he chose me. I love him, and we’re gonna get married. You’ll be a good pa someday when ya get some sense in ya, Hank. Just not to my baby.” Myra rushed upstairs and shut the door to her room, hoping to get some sleep before the sun came up. The only thing she couldn’t get off her mind was her baby and what was best for it. She knew Horace could give her a good life, but was it really right to keep Hank away from his own child? *~* Dr. Mike entered the clinic the next morning to find Myra dusting the cabinets with a feather duster. “Myra?” Dr. Mike asked with a smile. “What are you doing?” “Oh, I figured that since you were kind enough to let me stay here last night, I’d clean up a bit for ya.” “That was very nice, thank you. But you didn’t have to do that.” “I needed to keep my mind off of Hank and Horace anyway.” “I understand,” Dr. Mike replied with a nod. “Myra, why don’t you go over to Grace’s and eat something? You need to keep your strength up.” “I think I will,” Myra answered. She put down the duster and headed outside. She saw that Hank hadn’t opened the saloon yet. She could faintly see through the window of the telegraph office, and Horace was sitting at his desk, paying close attention to the telegraph he was receiving. She wanted to go over and talk with him, but she knew that things were going to be tense for a few days. She caught the stares of several of the townspeople. As Jake Slicker swept the dust and dirt off of the barbershop’s porch, he looked at her coldly, practically blaming her for the situation she was in. It wasn’t her fault. At least it wasn’t all her fault. She passed Robert E. who tipped his hat to her. She smiled at him and walked over to Grace’s. Grace smiled pleasantly at Myra, who was dressed in a dress Dr. Mike brought over for her when she helped her settle in the day before. “Mornin’, Myra,” Grace said with a nod. “What can I get for you?” “I’ll just take a cup of tea and some gravy.” “Comin’ right up,” Grace replied. She walked off to fill Myra’s order. Myra took a seat at an empty table. It was still early, so Grace’s customers hadn’t left their homes for breakfast yet. Myra realized that most of the families sitting around were families with only a pa. She recognized some of them as men and families who had lost their wives and mothers. Seeing the quiet, solemn families made her wonder what would happen to her child if she died while he or she was still young. “Mind if I sit down?” came a voice from behind. Myra turned to see Hank standing there. She sighed heavily. “Hank, I don’t . . .” “Myra, I just wanna talk.” “Alright then.” Hank took a seat across from Myra. He had a paper in his hands. “What’s that?” “It’s your contract,” he replied. Myra didn’t know what Hank was trying to pull. She didn’t answer him, so she simply nodded slowly. After a few moments of silence, she decided she had better speak up. “What are you doin’ with it, Hank?” “I’m offerin’ to give it to you.” “What?” Myra asked, caught off guard. “You heard me.” “You’re givin’ me my contract?” “On one condition,” he replied. Myra knew it had been too good to be true. “What condition?” Hank paused for a minute and took a puff on his cigar. “If I give you this contract, you gotta to swear that you won’t marry Horace.” Myra closed her eyes and shook her head. “And if I won’t?” “Then you’ll work for me until the contract is paid off.” “If I gotta pick between the two, I’d rather work than be without Horace.” Hank slammed the contract down on the table. “When are you gonna understand, Myra? I’m tryin’ to make the best out of a bad situation.” “No, Hank. You’re only tryin’ to get your way. It ain’t gonna happen. I told you before. You can have me arrested. I don’t care. I’d rather be arrested than be without Horace. To tell you the truth, I’d rather be arrested than work for you ever again.” “Suit yourself,” Hank replied. “I’ll wire the authorities.” He stood up and stalked off toward the telegraph office. Myra didn’t move. She waited on Grace to bring her food, ate quickly, left a bit of money, and hurried off to talk to Dr. Mike. *~* Hank walked into the telegraph where Horace was sorting the mail. “I wanna send a telegram,” he said quickly. “Where to?” Horace asked reluctantly. “I want to wire a sheriff.” “For what?” “For what? That’s none of your business.” “It is my business if I’m sendin’ for a sheriff. Plus, I have to know what you want the sheriff to know, so I can put it in the telegram.” “Fine,” Hank replied. Horace began to write as Hank spoke. “Have it say: Sheriff needed. Whore broke contract. Come immediately.” Horace looked up at Hank. “I ain’t sendin’ it,” he said crumpling the paper he had started to write on. “Ya gotta send it, Horace. It’s the law.” “What would you know about the law? Now, if you wanna send a telegram, you’ll have to find some other way to do it. I sure ain’t gonna help you.” Hank glared at Horace, but he knew there was nothing he could do. He sure couldn’t send the telegram by himself. He didn’t even know how to read. “Fine, Horace. I’ll find a way to get a sheriff here. I’ll have her locked up even if I have to drag her to Denver to be brought to justice myself.” Hank turned and stalked out of the telegraph office. “You won’t touch her, Hank!” Horace called after him. As soon as he saw Hank heading to saddle up his horse, he knew he had to warn Myra. “Hey Uncle Horace,” Lewis greeted his uncle as he walked into the telegraph office. Horace jumped up. “Lewis, can you take over the telegraph until I get back?” “Sure, what do you need me to do?” “Just run the place. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Horace grabbed his hat and ran to the clinic as soon as he saw that Hank had gone inside the saloon. He knew Hank was getting ready to take Myra away, and Horace couldn’t let that happen. He hurried across the street to the clinic and burst in. Dr. Mike was sitting at her desk and was completely surprised when she saw Horace rush in. “Horace? Is everything alright?” “Is Myra here?” “Yes, she’s resting upstairs.” “I have to get her out of here.” “What?” “Hank’s gonna take her off to Denver, ‘cause she won’t work for him.” “That can’t be . . .” “It’s true. I have to get her out of here, Dr. Mike.” “If you do that, he’ll send a posse out for you too, Horace.” “I don’t care. I love Myra, and I’ll take care of her.” Myra, having heard the commotion, opened the door and saw Horace. “Horace?” “Come on, Myra. I’m gonna get you out of here.” “Why? What’s goin’ on?” “Hank’s gonna try to take you off to Denver.” “What?” Myra asked, her voice shaking slightly. “He’s gonna take you to Denver for breakin’ your contract. He says that since I won’t send the telegram, he’ll take you by himself.” Myra glanced at Dr. Mike and then back at Horace. “Horace, you actually want to run off with me?” “I’d do anythin’ for you, Myra. I love you, and I’ll be a good pa to your baby.” Tears formed in Myra’s eyes. “I love you too,” she whispered. Horace leaned down and kissed Myra gently. Dr. Mike sighed and looked out the window. “You can use the back door. Hank’s coming,” she replied quietly. “Go to the homestead and wait there. I’ll bring you some food from Grace’s before you leave.” “Thank you, Dr. Mike,” Myra whispered. “Horace, we’re comin’ back, right?” “As soon as your contract is up, we’re comin’ home.” He turned to Dr. Mike. “Thank you, Dr. Mike. I didn’t mean to drag you into this, but I had no choice.” “It’s alright. I understand. Sully and I would do the same thing for each other if we were in trouble.” Myra hurried over to hug Dr. Mike before taking Horace’s hand and hurrying out the back of the clinic with him. *~* “You’ll be careful?” Dr. Mike asked Myra as she and Horace prepared to head out into the woods. “I’ll take good care of her, Dr. Mike,” Horace promised. “I don’t like the thought of you two going out there all alone. Maybe I should have Sully go with you for awhile.” “That won’t be necessary,” Horace responded. “As soon as Myra’s contract is up, we’ll come home.” “That’s not until shortly before the baby’s born, Horace,” Dr. Mike explained. “We’re gonna be alright, Dr. Mike,” Myra whispered with a nervous nod. “Horace is gonna take good care of my baby and me. We’re gonna have a good life as soon as my contract’s up.” “Don’t you think Hank’s still going to come after you both once the contract is up?” “I don’t know,” Myra replied. “But at least I won’t have to worry myself before the baby’s born. You said yourself that worryin’ is bad for the baby.” Dr. Mike nodded and shrugged her shoulders. She looked up at her friends and took a deep breath. “Be safe?” “We will,” Horace promised. He and Myra took off on one of Matthew’s horses. Sully, who had been in the barn, came walking out. Dr. Mike looked at him and he pulled her into his arms. “Do you really think they’ll be alright?” “I think they’re doin’ what they think is best.” “I hope it is best, Sully,” Dr. Mike replied. “I hope for their sake it’s best.” *~* |