The Doctor's Newfound Family Read Free

pit of hopelessness and despair.
    No longer wanting to see or hear anything that was transpiring around her, she closed her eyes and let go of a reality too painful to acknowledge.
    She was only vaguely aware of someone’s strong arms catching her as she sank blissfully into the welcome void of unconsciousness.

Chapter Two
    D r. Taylor Hayward’s boots clumped up the creaky wooden steps as he carried the unconscious young woman into Warner’s Cobweb Palace.
    He laid her atop the bar rather than lower her onto the dusty floor. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be offended when she awoke to find herself the center of interest in the old saloon. In his opinion the bar was the cleanest area in the entire building and therefore the best choice as a makeshift fainting couch.
    He didn’t think the girl was ill or would be in need of his services once she regained consciousness. She had simply received a shock when she had stumbled upon the grisly scene and would surely come around soon without medical intervention.Still, he planned to stay close to her until she was in possession of her full faculties and to offer smelling salts if need be.
    Suddenly, there was a high-pitched shout and a sharp pain in his ankle. He looked down to see a reddish-haired boy of about eight drawing back to give his shin another whack. Before the child had a chance to kick him again, Taylor lifted him by the back of his coat collar and held him at arm’s length.
    “Whoa, son. Take it easy.”
    The wiry boy wriggled and swung his fists in the man’s direction even though his arms were far too short to reach his intended victim. “What’d you do to my sister?” he screeched.
    “This young lady? Nothing. She fainted and I caught her so she wouldn’t fall and hurt herself. That’s all. What’s your name?”
    Still struggling and obviously intent on doing more bodily harm, the boy ignored the question. Looking past him, Taylor saw a slightly older child holding a toddler and standing next to the proprietor. Since none of the children was familiar to him, he called out, “Hey, Abe. Do you know this little rascal who’s tryin’ to take me apart?”
    The old man nodded as he laid a hand on Luke’s head and stroked his hair. “Aye. That’s MathiasReese, Miss Sara Beth’s brother. So are these young gentlemen. This is Luke and the baby’s Josiah.”
    “Then suppose you tell them I’m an innocent doctor, not a mugger?”
    Mathias started to relax but his eyes looked suspiciously moist. “You’re a doctor?”
    Taylor lowered him carefully to the floor at his feet and released him before crouching to speak with him on his level. “That’s right. And it’s a good thing, too, because I think my ankle will need medical attention.”
    The child glanced out the door to where the crowd was still milling around the recently deceased threesome. “Can you fix my mama?”
    Taylor’s breath caught. Ah, so that was why the girl had fainted. Little wonder. She and the boys were apparently part of a family that had just been devastated in a matter of minutes.
    He laid a hand of consolation on the boy’s thin shoulder before he said, “I’m sorry, son. I got here too late to help her.”
    “Papa?” Mathias whispered. His lower lip was trembling and he was clearly fighting to keep from weeping.
    Instead of answering, Taylor swept the grieving child up in his arms and motioned to Abe to join him rather than leave the unconscious girl unattended.
    “Both their parents?” Taylor asked quietly aside.
    The old man nodded again. “Afraid so. I don’t know what these poor little tykes’ll do now.”
    “What about the other man. Who was he?”
    “Can’t say. I think I’ve seen him around but I never did catch his name. He’s one of the regular dock workers is all I know. I didn’t see everything that happened but I do know that Mrs. Reese managed to shoot their attacker before she fell, too.”
    “I suppose it was a robbery gone terribly wrong,” the