Frontier Medicine - Part 26 – What Goes Around, Comes Around... and it's a-Comin'!

I reckon 3 or 4 more chapters to wrap up!

Kara was waiting across the street from the Rocky Road City saloon, watching the doors swing in and out as patrons came and went. She was waiting for the stagecoach, slight nervous and unsure of what to expect from her surprise visitor.

She smiled as Alex sauntered toward her, munching on some chocolate. It was a new kind Winn had gotten in that had cookie pieces in it. It was the rancher's new favorite. She had a hammer looped through her tool belt and her pockets were heavy with the nails she'd just picked up from Jon. She looked more relaxed that Kara had seen her in a while.

"Got everything you need?" the doctor asked as she stole a nibble of the candy.

"Sure did," Alex replied with a bright smile. "I reckon two more weeks to finish up the furniture and we'll be ready to move in." She put her arm around Kara and kissed her temple. It was well known by now that they were a couple and very few people batted an eyelid at it at this point.

The doctor nodded happily and looked back down the street as she heard the rumble of wheels. The stagecoach trundled wildly up the street and then skidded to a halt, horses snorting and stomping their hooves on the dirt. The driver climbed down to open the door while his younger companion climbed up top to throw down the bags.

Everything was covered in dust and the first of two passengers on board coughed a little as she took the driver's hand to step down to the ground.

"Karabells! Alex!" Shirley exclaimed, holding out her arms to both women with a big smile. Kara and Alex hugged her heartily. "Lord, it's so good to see you both!"

Another smaller, blonde lady had climbed down and was standing close to them, looking a little shell-shocked. "And may I present, my dear friend, Evangeline Teschmacher. Eve, please meet my sister, Kara and her friend, Alex Danvers."

"A pleasure," Kara greeted with a big smile as she shook the woman's hand.

"Howdy," Alex nodded, tipping her hat and winking.

"The pleasure is mine," Eve replied shyly. "I've heard so many wonderful things about you both." Her eyes, a pretty blue-green glinted in the sun. "Shirley talks about you all the time."

"That's so nice," the doctor smiled. "Let's get on, shall we, the sun is only going to get hotter. Alex, could you bring the wagon around please, Love?"

"Of course, be right back," the rancher replied and headed around back of the saloon.

"How was the trip?" Kara asked, as they sorted out the bags and stacked them neatly.

"Better than I expected," Shirley replied. She rolled her eyes then. "Except maybe for the last stagecoach part. I thought we might come off the road a few times."

"Well, the city certainly earned its name," Eve giggled and Kara found herself instantly liking the young woman. Not to mention the fact that her sister seemed happy. She wondered if there might be more than just friendship between them but decided to wait for Shirley to tell her.

"That's what I thought when I first moved to Rocky Road too," Kara laughed. Just then Alex pulled up with the wagon and jumped down to put the bags in the back and then help the ladies onboard. "So we're going to stay at the homestead with Matty for the next two weeks and then we'll move over to the new house. Alex is putting the finishing touches on everything at the moment."

"Yes, Ma'am," Alex agreed. "Just some furniture to build and place in there."

Shirley nodded. "I'm sorry to arrive before you were ready but I needed to see you, Kara. I needed to talk to you in person... about everything." She looked down. "And to apologize."

Kara took her sister's hand and shook her head. "You have nothing to apologize for. You didn't shoot me."

The words hung heavy in the air for a long moment.

"Still," Shirley added. "I needed to see you." She offered a watery smile to Eve, who had taken her hand and squeezed it gently.

The doctor nodded in reply. "Let's talk about it later."

Xx

"I'm so sorry you ladies have to share," Matty said with a shake of her head. "We have a full house at the moment."

"We appreciate your hospitality," Eve replied with a wide smile. "Shirley and I will be fine."

Kara coughed behind her hand to stifle a grin and Shirley shot her a murderous look. The evidence was mounting in favor of her sister having a new lover and she was thrilled.

"Well, I'll leave y'all to unpack then," Matty said. "Let me know if you need anything. Any family of Doctor Zee's is family of mine."

"Thank you," Shirley replied. Then she looked at her sister. "Kara, can we talk now?"

"Of course," the doctor replied. "Why don't we ride up to the new house and take a look? We can talk there."

Shirley nodded and turned to Eve. "Will you be ok here?"

"Of course, I'll be ok. I'll unpack us and get cleaned up."

"We'll be back for dinner," Kara added. "Oh and the pastures are wonderful if you want to take a walk. Just avoid the one with the bull."

"Ok," Eve chuckled. "I'll remember."

A short while later, Kara and Shirley were mounted and headed for the new house. Kara knew that Alex was finishing off their bedroom dresser in the barn so she knew that she and her sister would have some time alone to talk. She stole a look at Shirley, a smile touching her lips.

"I know you want to ask, so ask," the darker woman said.

Kara chuckled. "I was hoping you'd tell me actually."

Shirley smiled and twisted her reins through her fingers. "I didn't know it was possible to love someone as much as I love Eve," she said. "Now I understand how you feel about Alex." They exchanged a knowing smile. "I met Eve eight months ago, shortly after you and Alex left New York. She was a guest at a party I attended and was introduced to me by Lena Luthor. We immediately became friends and spent some time together, having tea at the new coffee shops in town, taking the air in Central Park and, the more time we spent together, the more time I wanted with her." Her smile broadened. "And Rachel loves her. They get along so well."

"And how did you come to an understanding?" Kara asked, leaning down to pat Darwin's neck as she gently stepped around a pothole.

Shirley's eyes grew slightly unfocused. "We were having tea at my house and just talking about my ex-marriage. Eve asked me if I'd ever marry again and I said an emphatic no. I told her I was finished with men." Her eyes moved back to Kara's. "Then she took an incredible risk and said 'And what about women? I'd be honored if you'd consider me.'"

"Wow," Kara replied softly. "That was brave."

Shirley nodded and her smile grew. "I took her hand and just looked into her eyes. I didn't know what to say or how to explain my feelings for her but..."

"You think she already knew," the doctor said.

"Yes, I think she did and when we kissed, it was like my heart had grown three sizes and just soared away." The older woman chuckled to herself. "It was terrifying at first, even though I knew that being with a woman was what I wanted, but Eve had made it so easy. She hadn't asked for anything public and was always very discreet in her interactions with me. She still is."

Kara cocked her head, her eyebrow raised. "So, no one knows about your relationship?"

Shirley's face fell. "They didn't... but we had the worst luck," she said. "And this is where I need to apologize to you, My Darling Sister. It was my stupidity that got you hurt."

They arrived at the new house and dismounted to walk up onto the porch and take a seat on the porch swing. "I'll give you a tour of the house when we've finished the story," Kara said with a smile.

Her older sister nodded, fingers clasped anxiously in her lap. "Eve and I were walking in Central Park one early morning. We both like that time of the day because there are fewer people around the lake and it's cooler. We thought we were alone. We were being careful, honestly, but we got carried away a little and didn't realize that someone was close enough to see us kissing. It turns out that it was a co-worker of Joe's cutting through the park to get to work and he recognized me."

She frowned then and shook her head ruing the bad luck.

"What I hadn't known is that Joe failed to mention to any of his colleagues that we're no longer together... to save face, I assume... so the man immediately went to him to tell him, as a good and faithful friend, that his wife was having an affair... with a woman no less!"

"Well, shit," Kara said succinctly.

Shirley raised an eyebrow but merely agreed. "Correct."

"What happened then?"

"Well, Joe was enraged and came to the house ranting and raving like a lunatic. He said that it was yours and Alex's fault that I'd ended up this way, abominations... blah blah... but I had a retort for all of that. BUT when he threatened to take Rachel and never let me see her again, I calmly fetched Father's gun and told him I would happily shoot him dead if he touched my child."

Kara grinned proudly. "Epic!"

Shirley shrugged and fiddled with the tassels on her shawl. "At that point he left and I came to assume it was almost if not completely over. I hadn't heard anything from him in a couple of weeks and things seemed to have calmed down. And then Father got your wire." Tears rose in the older sister's eyes and she took Kara's hands, holding them tightly. "I've never seen Father so angry, Karabells. We got in the carriage, went to the rooms where Joe was staying and I watched him punch the slimy rat to within an inch of his life."

"Father really did that?" Kara said, wide-eyed with awe.

"Yes... and when Joe threatened to call the police on him, he said he'd be happy to spend the rest of his life in prison if he knew Joe would never walk again."

The doctor sat back in the swing, breath whooshing out of her. "My Lord. So, the family knows about you and Eve now."

"Yes. Father has been very supportive. He just wants us to be happy. Our brothers are less than pleased but have been supportive in their own way. Actually, Father had Joe agree to a very good divorce settlement. A good portion of our wealth as a couple has gone into a trust for Rachel. She and I will continue to live in our house until it's sold and then we're moving back into Mother and Father's house."

Kara nodded. "That's wonderful. So what about Joe? Where is he now?"

Shirley grinned at that. "Father had a friend of his bring charges against him for attempted murder of you and Alex. But a trial will be difficult without more evidence than we have now. Sheriff Lane is obviously a good witness but unless the lawyer can track down the middleman, Hank Henshaw, we're not sure what will happen. The shooter has clammed up."

The doctor thought about that for a moment. "I'm just glad he's standing trial. Even if we can't get a conviction, his reputation will be publicly ruined."

"Damn right. Kara, I love you so much," Shirley said. "And I'm so glad that you've met Eve."

"Me too," Kara replied as she drew her sister into a tight hug. "You're always welcome here, Sis."

Just then, footsteps sounded on the stairs. "Hi, I'm not interruptin', am I?" Alex was smiling widely. "I was sent to getcha for dinner."

"Let's save the house tour for when Eve is with us," Kara said, squeezing her sister's hands. Then she shot a grin at her lover. "Shirley's in love," she said.

"Well, that wasn't hard to spot," the rancher chuckled as she wiped her handkerchief across her brow under her hat. "Reckon Eve has it bad too. Lovely woman, by the way. Sweet as pie."

"Let's hope," the older woman added with a sweet, loving smile. "And yes, she's amazing."

Kara now knew what she probably looked like when she spoke about Alex.

And it felt so much more than sweet.