Doctor Right

“I’ll tell them you’re a brave soldier,” Maryann said as she walked over to the phone.

Alex imagined she would say those very words to them, too. No one could accuse her of not caring about everyone who stumbled across her path. She was generous to a fault and that was the only reason he could think of for her to have sat in the diner last night talking with her cousin about matching him up with someone. Not that either one of the women had shown an over-abundance of caring when Maryann had called him The Ice Man. Wait until that nickname made the rounds of Treasure Creek. He wasn’t the kind of person who talked about himself to everyone he met, but he’d helped enough children in this town to have some friends among the parents. He’d been warned about last night’s conversation by two sources already.

He watched Maryann as she held the phone to her ear and talked to Timmy’s parents. He couldn’t hear the words she was saying, but he could hear the soft tones of her voice.

He supposed the matchmaking had been inevitable. Maryann was the kind of woman who’d bring home stray cats. He knew that when he hired her, but he’d had no other choice. Women like her just couldn’t accept that some men—like some animals—were better off alone. She must have sensed the sadness in him and decided marriage was the solution.

He’d meant to tell her today that he was fine with the single life, but he hadn’t quite figured out the right words. Usually, he’d just blurt it out. He didn’t know why he was hesitating. As near as he could figure, he didn’t want to make her feel bad for caring that he was alone. Also, it bothered him that she thought of him as an ice man, and part of him wanted to prove her wrong.

He must be going soft from living in Treasure Creek. People around here wanted to be connected. They weren’t content with just loving their neighbor, they wanted to know where the guy was going for Sunday dinner, and if he needed help defrosting anything. Maybe it was some primitive emotional throwback to the freezing winters of old when people relied on their tribes for a safe existence. People needed other people then. And at least in this small town, that feeling seemed to still hold true.

He hadn’t thought much about that until one day when people came from miles around for a simple funeral. Even if people didn’t know the old man who’d died, they knew someone who knew someone who knew him. So they mourned the loss of those connections. The tribe had been lessened.

And then every year there was a Christmas pageant at the church that attracted the whole community. Even though he hadn’t been going to church, he’d always been drawn to the pageant.

He wasn’t used to a place like this. He envied the people here their connections, but he didn’t belong.

He should head south for Los Angeles as soon as he could. He’d been saving his money for years so he could open a clinic there. No one would be inviting him to any Christmas pageant down in L.A.

Not that he had time to think about that now, when it looked like Timmy had a fractured bone in his leg as well as the bump on his head. What had the boy been doing out on the pass, anyway?

Maryann hung up the phone and turned back to them. Alex could see why Timmy had been confused enough to think she was some celestial being. Her pink cheeks made her glow. She looked sweet. He had a hard time believing she had talked so openly about his personal life in front of everyone. If she knew anything about the tour guides of Treasure Creek, she’d know they would be making jokes at his expense from now until he left here. In fact, they’d be making jokes about it long after he was gone.

But seeing her in front of him, he couldn’t convince himself she’d meant any harm. Maybe the gossips had it wrong and it had been her cousin who had said those things about him. That thought made him feel better, although he didn’t dare ask himself why he cared which woman had spoken what.

Chapter Two

Maryann put another cool cloth on Timmy’s head. His breathing was still ragged, and Alex had given him a shot to help with the pain in his leg. Alex planned to put a splint on the injured limb as soon as the boy’s parents came, so he’d gone into the back room to pick out what he needed from the supply cabinet. Ordinarily, Maryann would have done that, but Timmy had asked her to stay with him and Alex had nodded his agreement.

“You’ve got to pray for me,” Timmy whispered to Maryann as soon as Alex left the room. He was still lying on the gurney and she had pulled a sheet over his legs. “Times are dire.”

“Dire?” She was surprised he even knew the word at his age.

But he nodded. “Bad. Real bad.”

“You know I’m not really an angel, don’t you?” She reached under the gurney to find another pillow. “I can pray for you, but I have no special powers.”

Timmy nodded. “It’s just for when my parents come in. Look like you’re praying for me. And do you have a Bible? They never yell when there’s a Bible around.”

She stopped, the pillow still in her hands, to look at the boy. “Your parents don’t hit you, do they?”

She’d only seen the Fields in passing. They must be Christians, if Timmy wanted a Bible. On the other hand, she knew some people took the Bible and twisted what it had to say. She had no idea why Timmy would be so intent on reminding his parents of their faith, unless he was afraid of them.

“They yell a lot,” Timmy admitted. “And my mom cries some.”

“But do they hit you?”

Timmy shook his head. “You’re still going to pray though, aren’t you?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Maryann set the pillow on the end of the gurney where Timmy’s legs didn’t reach. Then she walked over to the drawer where she kept her belongings. She carried a small Bible with her. She’d been going to the church here with her cousin, and re-connecting with her childhood faith. It had been a long time since she had regularly read a Bible like she was doing nowadays. Her turbulent adolescence, as she played referee to her parents’ arguments and subsequent new loves, had caused her to drift far away from God, like it was His fault in some way that she had to endure it. She was glad to be back. Her restored belief centered her; she should have never stopped going to church and praying. Even those bad years would have been better.

She held the white Bible up for Timmy to see. “You can borrow this if you want to read something.”

“Put it in my hands like I’m dead.” Timmy crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes.

“I most certainly will not.” Maryann walked back to the gurney with the book in her hand. “Your parents are worried enough as it is.” Then she thought a moment. “Besides, it’s a girl’s Bible. You’d look too sweet in your casket if you were holding it. You could as well be holding a bouquet of lilies.”

“Oh.” Timmy opened his eyes and frowned at the Bible. “I don’t want to hold no girl’s Bible.”

“I didn’t think so,” Maryann said as she laid the Bible beside him. “But it won’t hurt to have it close, just in case. Like you’re alive and reading it. You might try a psalm.”

“Maybe you could put a ninja sticker on it.” Timmy cautiously took hold of the Bible. “Then it’d be okay for boys.” Maryann smiled.

She heard more footsteps on the porch and turned to the door. “I bet that’s your parents.”

Maryann walked over to greet the Fields as they opened the door and stepped inside.

“Where is he?” Mrs. Fields asked breathlessly, even as her eyes came to rest on the gurney. She was a slight woman with a harried expression on her face, and she was wearing a stained sweatshirt. Maryann remembered that there were a couple of children younger than Timmy in the family. They were all due for shots and Alex had them on the list for her to call.

“What kind of a fool thing were you doing, boy?” Mr. Fields asked as he followed his wife into the room. He was overweight and puffing hard, but he zeroed in on Timmy right away. “You know better than taking off like that.”

Maryann saw Timmy’s face crumple in misery.

She stepped back to the gurney. “I was just going to say a prayer for Timmy. Would you both join me?”

“Oh.” Mrs. Fields looked up in surprise.

“I—” Mr. Fields started to say something, then stopped.

Maryann walked closer to Timmy and winked at him. She had a moment’s hesitation. It had been a long time since she’d prayed in public and she wasn’t sure if it was the right thing for her to do now since it was all for show. Of course, it was for Timmy’s benefit and God loved children, so it would likely be all right with Him. She bowed her head and started.

“God of all the beings on earth and in heaven,” she began. She thought Timmy would like that since he seemed preoccupied with death and angels. “Timmy here is hurting, and we ask that you make him comfortable. He feels bad for what he did and he asks You to help him do better next time. Amen.”

“Amen,” the Fields both muttered.

When Maryann opened her eyes, she saw that Timmy had been right. His parents did look subdued. They moved over to their son and each gave him a pat on his head before moving back and looking at Maryann, as though waiting for further direction. She nodded approvingly at them, and smoothed the sheets on the gurney. She heard them walk away from the gurney and stop by the door.

They had started talking to each other, thinking she couldn’t hear them. If everything else hadn’t been so quiet, they would have been right, she admitted to herself.

“You were supposed to be watching him,” Mr. Fields hissed at his wife.

“Me? You should have been watching him,” Mrs. Fields said, her voice low and tense. “It’s not like you’re working anymore. You should at least help with the kids.”

“It’s not my fault I can’t find work. These are hard times and you know it. Besides, you’re his mother. Don’t lay it all on me.”

Maryann looked down at Timmy. He could hear his parents, too, and embarrassment covered his face. She remembered what it felt like when her parents were arguing. If someone outside her family heard them, she’d wanted to disappear.

“The doctor will be here in a minute,” Maryann said in her most professional voice. Maybe the couple wouldn’t know she had heard them. If she was calm enough, she might even fool Timmy. “In fact, I think I hear him now.”