Staring at his bent head, Alice prodded for more details. “Why do you say that? Has Doctor MacKenzie left town?”
He looked up again, briefly, showing worried blue eyes. Once he again faced his feet, the boy muttered, “I guess you could say that.”
His aunt had had enough of him sidestepping Alice’s questions. “Well, speak up, Thad! The lady asked you a question. Be polite enough to give her a straight answer.”
At the woman’s tone, the boy lifted his head and squared his shoulders. “Yes, Auntie.”
Taking a gulp of air, he rushed out his explanation. “The doctor died a few days ago. Preacher Potter saw to his burying today.”
No job. No home. No hope.
A feeling of falling down a deep hole swamped Alice at Thad’s words. Doctor MacKenzie dead! Why would God bring her all this way only to rob her of a future?
Even as she thought that, Miss Steele was speaking with her head bent close to Alice’s much shorter frame. “God is still on His throne. Remember that when a trouble overwhelms you. He isn’t distant, and He’s not weak.”
As if a small voice inside Alice was guiding her, she calmly asked, “Is there any doctor still living at the deceased man’s home?”
Thad nodded, a lock of short hair bobbing against his forehead. “There is a doctor of sorts there. Another Doctor MacKenzie. Niall.”
Alice exchanged a look with Miss Steele, who only gave a small shrug. Not seeing any outward discouragement from her new friend and rescuer, she decided on a plan.
“Thad, will you please retrieve my trunk and carpetbag? I’ll need a ride to the doctor’s house.”
Chapter 2
Alice banged her gloved fist against the oak door. No one answered, so she sat on her trunk to consider her next step.
Miss Steele objected vehemently when Alice had insisted they leave both her and the luggage in front of the house. “But you don’t know that he’ll let you stay!”
Alice remained firm. “He’s more likely to allow me to if you’re gone. If you’re here, he can easily tell us to move on. But, with a trunk sitting on his porch, he’ll see it as already decided.”
That idea would have worked, if only Alice could find Niall MacKenzie. With her jaw clenched, Alice rose from the trunk and headed to the nearby window. With hands on each side of her face, Alice peered into what looked like a front parlor.
It was empty!
No matter. She’d peek in each window to see if the man was home. Doing that would also give Alice a tour of her new home. At least, sort of a tour.
As she stared into what appeared to be a back bedroom, Alice heard a throat being cleared discreetly behind her. Startled, she too quickly straightened out of a half crouch and lost her balance. Falling, her hands grabbed for anything nearby and found hard, muscled forearms to steady her.
Unable to resist the ridiculous urge, she squeezed them. Then, as if he’d called to her, she looked up into icy blue eyes. Unusually light colored for someone with auburn hair.
And wasn’t that a random thought considering the glare he sent her way.
“Who are you? Why are you snooping around my house?”
HIs deep voice should sound mellow and warm. Alice felt a chill go through her instead as he spoke. The words were hung with icicles, so chilly was his tone.
She tried to explain while righting her balance. “I--I, uh, was looking for you.”
He stood silently taking her measure. Whatever he saw didn’t alarm him since his body seemed to relax.
“Well, here I am. What do you want?”
His eyes stared at her with cold regard, causing the lump in Alice’s throat to grow. She blurted out the first words that came to mind and then cringed after speaking them.
“I’m your caretaker and nurse.”
Auburn brows flew upward above rounded eyes. At least those eyes were no longer icy. No, they gleamed with surprise.
“Do I look mentally unstable that I would need a caretaker? And I’m not infirm so I don’t need a nurse.”
Alice struggled to control the blush that easily stained her cheeks. She had come a long way and wasn’t going to blush and retreat. No, he had to let her stay!
Changing the conversation, she asked, “Are you a doctor?”
“Yeees.” Reluctant to answer, he stretched out the word. His eyes narrowed as he said it.
“Well, good enough then. Please help me inside with my trunk.”
The man didn’t move. Instead, he scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. Obviously, he didn’t appreciate the logic of the what she’d just proved.
Alice sighed. A loud, long sound in the quiet of the late May day. “Don’t you see? I am the assistant your father sent for. You’re a doctor, and I am your nurse.” She paused before adding, “And caretaker. Of the home, I think.”
Inside, Alice quivered. She controlled it well, she thought. Standing still with her shoulders squared and head up, she smiled confidently at Niall MacKenzie.
For once, she wouldn’t be a plain brown mouse. That’s what the boys at school had called her, and she knew they’d been right. Today, she started a new life.
And the strain it placed on her was worth it. His scowl disappeared. The man tapped his chin with a forefinger and studied her.
“Alright. You can stay as a housekeeper and cook. There’s no one to do that now.”
“What about my job as a nurse? I’ve just graduated from nursing school.”
He shook his head, the scowl fixed on his face again. “There’s no way on God’s green earth that I’d doctor anyone in Kilbourne City.”
When Alice opened her mouth to protest, Niall held up a hand. “Stay and wait
