She reached the doctor’s house and glanced back to see Sawyer looking about. His gaze found her and when he saw she held Jill, he handed the calming horses to another man and trotted in Carly’s direction. She didn’t wait for him but carried Jill inside to the examining room.
Kate brought a basin of warm water. “I need to see what’s under the dirt.”
“I’ll do it.” Carly took the wet cloth and gently washed Jill’s face. All the while, Jill watched her solemnly. Carly smiled. “Tell me if I hurt you.”
“It don’t.”
Kate stood beside Carly.
“Kate, this is Jill. She’s eight years old.” She smiled at the child. She was quite lovely with all the dirt removed. “Jill, this is Mrs. Marshall.” Kate had married Conner Marshall, one of the three sons of the Marshall family who had built the town. “She’s a nurse. She’ll see if you’re hurt.”
Carly stepped back to allow Kate more space.
The door banged open and Sawyer strode through, jerking off his worn hat but not slowing until he was at his sister’s side. “That was a foolish thing to do. You could have been killed.”
Jill’s eyes went from hungry to angry. “I’m not even hurt.”
“I was about to see if that is so or not,” Kate said.
Carly introduced Kate to Sawyer.
Kate waited for Sawyer to realize he needed to step back. “Can you tell me what happened?” She examined Jill as she talked.
Sawyer answered though Carly wondered if Kate had directed the question at Jill. “She ran full speed into the street without looking to see if it was safe. The horses saw her and reared in fright. If she hadn’t tripped and fallen, she would have been kicked.” He spoke in a flat tone.
Carly wondered if he was as unfeeling about seeing his sister in such dire straits as he sounded.
Kate stepped aside. “Apart from the goose egg on her forehead, she seems unhurt. I suggest you keep her awake for the next eight or twelve hours to make certain she’s okay.”
Now was the time for Carly to speak her mind. “Kate, can you watch her for a minute?”
Kate nodded, her brows raised in curiosity.
Carly turned to Sawyer. “May I speak to you in private?” Not waiting for him to agree or otherwise, she headed for the door that led to the doctor’s living quarters. With Sawyer on her heels, she crossed the front room and entered the kitchen, sparing a quick glance around.
Last spring, Kate, her friend Isabelle and Sadie, the teacher, had all arrived in town, along with Dr. Baker. The doctor and teacher were to replace those who had left after the devastating fire that had leveled a block of buildings in Bella Creek. Now the three female newcomers were married—all to Marshall men. And Annie Marshall, Carly’s best friend, had recently married Preacher Hugh Arness. Carly had never thought to be joining them in wedlock but her father had left her little choice.
She reached the outer door, was about to grab the handle and head outside, then changed her mind. It would be much harder for him to escape her demands with her back pressed to the closest exit. “Did you offer to marry me only to mock my need?”
He sank back on his heels. “Did you not say there would be a problem in getting married?”
“Nope. Sure didn’t. Said it might be a problem getting the preacher to agree to marry us.”
His eyebrows lifted marginally. Barely enough for her to guess that he wondered what she meant.
“That woman you saw me with earlier is my best friend, Annie. She’s one of the Marshalls. Of course that means little to you at this point but you’ll soon learn that the Marshall family is pretty much in charge of Bella Creek.”
His eyebrows remained arched in question.
“Grandfather Marshall started the town so people would have a safe place to live. Until then, Wolf Hollow was the only town in the vicinity and it’s a rough mining town.”
He nodded, though she wondered if anything she said was making sense to him.
She continued, “Annie married the preacher. Preacher Hugh Arness. Likely they’ll have an opinion about my decision to marry a stranger.” She considered the alternatives and could come up with nothing but asking Hugh to marry them. There was no other preacher nearby and the judge wouldn’t be around until who knew when.
Of course, it might not be a problem if Sawyer had changed his mind. “That is if you were serious about marrying me.” Life had come to a pretty pass when she had to beg a complete stranger to agree to a marriage...or rather, a pretend marriage.
“I’m serious about getting a home for Jill.”
They studied each other.
Carly wasn’t sure what she expected from him but after a moment of silent study, one of the other, she realized he’d said all he meant to say on the matter. “Then we are agreed?”
“I’d say so.”
“Then let’s get Jill and go find the preacher.” She pretended she didn’t feel an uncomfortable tremor in the pit of her stomach. This marriage would change nothing except to have a man in the little bedroom and a child chasing after butterflies.
They returned to the examining room where Kate waited with Jill who now sat cross-legged on the gurney. They both watched Carly and Sawyer step back into the room; both wore curiosity-filled expressions. Carly knew that Kate must wonder what Carly needed to say in private to a stranger, and Jill likely wondered how their conversation would affect her.
“She’s fit to go,” Kate said. “Bring her to Father if you have any concerns.”
“How much?” Sawyer asked.
Kate named a sum and Sawyer pulled the coins from his pocket and gave them to her.
Carly watched Jill. What they planned to do was partly on behalf of this child. Didn’t she need to be informed?
“Let’s go,” Sawyer said.
Jill jumped down and headed for the outer door.
Sawyer caught her arm. “No more running into the street.”
They exited into the empty waiting room.
“Wait,” Carly said.
Sawyer stopped and gave her a hard look. “You’re changing your mind again?”
“I never changed my mind before and I don’t plan to now. But I think we should tell Jill our plans.”
His gaze went to his sister. “Why?”
Annoyance colored her voice. “Because it concerns her.”
Sawyer and Jill both looked at her, one as silently demanding as the other. Carly sucked in air. Fine. She’d be the one to tell the news.
She sat on the bench so she’d be face-level with Jill. “I’m very sorry about your mama and papa. You must miss them very much.”
Jill blinked twice and then grew impassive.
Carly glanced at Sawyer. His expression matched Jill’s. The child had already learned to hide her feelings, had learned it well from someone who admitted to being very good at it.
“Sawyer—” She stumbled a bit at using his name so freely, but seeing as they were to be married... “Well, he wants you to have a home where you’ll always belong.”
Jill’s eyes darted toward her brother. “He’s gonna leave me here, isn’t he?”
“No, sweetie. That isn’t what he has in mind at all. You see I have a very nice home