LAURIE

Laurie walked through the barroom with a tray laden with plates of steak, eggs, large slices of bread, apples, and a pot of coffee. The few men present in the barroom held guns in one hand, and a beer in the other. Since the attacks the night before, the town was incensed, and the men had given chase to the dark figure that disappeared into the night. Laurie's apologetic look was met more than once with an assuring smile or a, "We'll get him, Mrs. Bolt, don't you worry." It was a relief to escape upstairs to tend to the doctor's patients.

She knocked on the door, and on the affirmative sounds from the male voices within, opened it to carry the tray to the table. Only then did she glance up and blanch.

Joshua sat in his bed with his shirt off, the doctor standing over him while he finished dressing his arm. His left leg had already been propped up in a cast. Aaron lay on another bed, his eyes barely open in slits. His chest was bare as well, the doctor's wrappings looking like they were holding his ribs in place.

"How bad?" Laurie whispered, walking toward them.

"Aaron's got a cracked rib for being a hero," Joshua said for the doctor. "I'm doing alright. I'll heal."'

"You seem calm for a man whose doctor just set his bone less than an hour ago," she told him, remembering the pain her brother-in-law had been in. The doctor had focused on Aaron first, stating he preferred Joshua to get his pain under control before he worked on him. Laurie had been grateful they had gotten the bleeding to stop from the knife wound before the doctor got there, but was even more grateful for the doctor's assignment to make sure the men got a hearty breakfast. She hated she couldn't do much for Joshua except try to make him comfortable and fail.

"Laudanum," Aaron explained to Laurie. "The doctor gave him a healthy dose."

"He didn't hit anything major," the doctor told her, nodding toward the knife wound. "But Mr. Bolt needs to go easy with it. It's a good thing you broke your leg," he said to Joshua, "So you won't be tempted to go back to work. Using that arm to hold yourself two stories up didn't do you any favors."

Finding the doctor's logic odd, Laurie wasn't sure what to say after that. She smoothed the skirt of her pink morning dress and gestured back to the table. "I brought some breakfast in. Aaron, would you like me to bring you a plate? I'll take care of you when the doctor is done," she added to Joshua.

"Got some coffee?" Aaron asked, groaning while he sat up.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, how do you like it?"

"Black."

Laurie walked back to the table and began assembling Aaron's breakfast when another knock sounded at the door. Upon opening it she found Biddie outside, fairly bursting with her blue Sunday dress on, a black ribbon adorning her curled brunette hair. She carried a basket that suspiciously smelled like muffins and set it next to Laurie's tray.

"For Aaron?" Laurie guessed needlessly.

"Yes, and Joshua. You too if you want some. Oh! I worried about him all night! Aaron! Are you all right?" she asked, hurrying to her beau's side. Laurie noted he attempted to cover himself a little more with the blanket. "Goodness, everyone's over at the church praying for you and Joshua, and Laurie... Franny and the baby... Oh, she's in a frightful state, just frightful."

"Kinda surprised you're not over there," Aaron said with his discomfort from moving showing in his voice. "Thought you'd be with the prayer circle."

"Oh, well, I was for a while, but a woman's place is beside her man, don't you know." She giggled nervously. Aaron's eyes grew soft and touched her arm. Biddie grew serious. "Is he really going to be all right?" she asked the doctor.

"He's got a cracked rib, Miss," the doctor said, eyeing her with a frown. "No sudden movements."

"Or kissing," Joshua added, grinning ear to ear.

Aaron gave him a scathing glare and Biddie looked scandalized. With an awkward clearing of her throat, she shook her head at Joshua. Laurie had to turn away to keep from laughing. Her throat was still raw enough that it hurt too much to laugh.

"Next time, Joshua," said Aaron with his eyebrows raised. "I think I'll let you fall."

"Aaron, did I say thank you for trying to catch me? Only a true friend would do that."

"Yeah, or a stupid one. You didn't look that far up."

"Well, I'm glad you did," Laurie told him, serving him his breakfast along with one of Biddie's blueberry muffins. "I thought I'd lost him." The tone in her voice made the room go quiet. Laurie quickly went back to the table to pour another cup of coffee. "Doctor, would you like some breakfast too?"

"Thank you, no," the doctor said, finishing Joshua's bandage and coming closer to her. "Time to look at you."

Laurie flinched and caught the arm he extended to touch her. With wide eyes, she asked, "I beg your pardon? Look at what?"

"Mrs. Bolt, it's barely morning. Some very agitated men roused me out of bed before daylight in Tacoma. On the way here one of them said you'd been in a fire and later attacked. Now, you may be fine, but I'm not willing to face that man outside without looking you over."

Laurie peeked around the doctor to stare at Joshua, who looking very amused and doe-eyed, shrugged. "Jason said to take care of you, and Jeremy can be pretty persuasive."

"That's true," Biddie said from Aaron's side. "Jeremy's even changed Jason's mind a time or two, and he's stubborner than Mr. Thurman's dog. Why, did you know that once that animal decided Corky was a big raccoon? He grabbed Corky by his britches and just wouldn't let go! It was the funniest thing... It's a shame she died before she could have her pups¬"

"Biddie, I could use some more coffee, please?"

Biddie's attention immediately fell back on Aaron. "Oh, why of course! Whatever you want, Aaron." She hurried to refill his cup.

Laurie shifted her attention back to the doctor and closed her eyes. "Fine. Whatever you have to do."

"Well, if you like we could go into another room?"

"No. I don't want to be alone."

The doctor cleared his throat. Laurie could just imagine the looks being exchanged between Joshua, Aaron, and Biddie. She felt the doctor touch her throat and flinched again.

"Painful?" he asked.

"A little," she admitted, opening her eyes to stare into his brown ones. He was a smaller man, his grey receding hairline his most prominent feature, although she thought his brown suit gave him a little more posture than the common country doctor.

"Breathe in a lot of smoke?"

"Some."

"Any trouble breathing? Coughing?"

"I coughed a bit. I seem to be better though."

"Is that why you didn't sleep well last night?"

Laurie felt a flutter in her gut. She pressed her hand to her stomach and said, "What?"

"Those circles under your eyes. I'm guessing you coughed all night?"

"No, just a little. Between the fire and the attack, it was hard to sleep."

"Hmm."

After a little more prodding he stood back and gestured to her chest. "Alright, Mrs. Bolt. Let me see that burn and we'll be finished—"

"It's fine," she said in a flat voice.

"Laurie got burned?" Biddie asked Aaron in hushed tones. "I thought she got out of the fire in time."

"Mrs. Bolt..."

"No," she answered the doctor, her hand protecting the area on her chest. "I won't let you."

"You know it's what Jason would want," Joshua said, his voice pleading.

Laurie shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"And if it gets infected?" the doctor asked.

"It won't. I know exactly what to do."

The doctor eyed her curiously and stepped closer. "I understand he used a cigar."

"And?" she asked, her eyes straying to Joshua.

"And you've had a cigar burn before?"

Joshua, Aaron, and Biddie watched her with unmasked curiosity. She bit her lip, trying to decide what to say. She tried to tell herself it was okay, Jason knew about the scars. He had even stroked his thumb over them, tenderness in the wake of violence. She knew he had added it to the list of her late husband's cruel acts against her. It should be him she told the truth to first.

And how did they know, anyway? She stared hard at Joshua, but he met her gaze with wide-eyed astonishment. It was Aaron that cleared his throat.

"Your nightgown was torn last night," he said, hesitantly. "I saw the marks when you were helping me into the bed and noticed you were in pain, so I told Jeremy before he left. I... well, I guessed it was a cigar because I smoke them, neat circle and all. I'm sorry, Laurie, I only meant to inform. I didn't know I was intruding."

"Well, of course, you were only trying to help, but really Aaron, noticing a thing like that!"

"It wasn't his fault." All the eyes in the room fell on Laurie, and she felt a lump rise in her throat. "I... I didn't realize... I wasn't thinking clearly last night. I should have covered better, put on a robe or something. Aaron is only being a friend."

"Laurie, no one was thinking about those things last night."

"Joshua's right," said Biddie. "The last thing on your mind was something like that. Everyone understands."

Laurie nodded and shifted her attention back to the doctor, hoping her friends didn't notice the tears in her eyes. The doctor raised his hand to open her blouse, and a tremor rippled through her body. The idea of another man besides Jason touching her made her nauseous. Still, she was determined to make Jason proud. After all, it was Aaron who saved Joshua, and she owed it to him to show her gratitude.

"Mrs. Bolt, I swear you're green."

"I'll be honest with you, doctor," she whispered as she stepped closer, hoping the others couldn't hear. "I honestly can't stand for any man to touch me, except my husband."

"Anywhere?" he asked, his eyes kind but his voice firm.

"No, I can handle a handshake. A dance. But... it's just I haven't had good experiences with men. I wish to heaven you were a woman."

The doctor's eyebrows shot up, and Joshua laughed outright.

"We had a lady doctor once," said Biddie. "And she did a wonderful job, although not everyone would let her work on them."

"Yeah, a little too good," added Aaron. "She went to help some trappers and caught mountain fever."

"Hazards of the profession, I'm afraid," said the doctor. He cleared his throat to show he was ready to get down to business. "I have to ask this, but from what you already said I suspect I know the answer. Is your husband one of those men to have given you bad experiences?"

Biddie's, "Absolutely not!" blended with Aaron's, "Now wait a minute..." filled the air. Joshua just laughed.

Laudanum.

The doctor held his hand up at their protests, studying Laurie carefully. "You're not the first woman to have a problem with such things. Are they right? He doesn't hurt you?"

Laurie's eyes were spilling over with tears. She shook her head and chewed her lip. "No. My current husband is kind."

"Current husband? I see. You've been married before."

Memories started flooding her mind. She had worked so hard to push them away, to not let them bother her or Jason, and poor Gracie's floppy form popped in Laurie's head and she shuddered.

Sherman.

"Only once before," she whispered, willing the sting in her eyes to go away. It was one thing to know she shouldn't be humiliated, but she felt that way just the same. "He liked to hurt me. A lot."

With a glance toward the others, the doctor's eyes softened. "I understand. Thank you for being honest, it helps me understand how to help you better. Most women aren't that frank. You're a brave woman. Well, how about this: you unbutton your collar so I can look at the wound, and I won't touch you unless it's necessary. I assumed it was in a place I didn't need to worry about privacy, but if this is traumatic for you..."

"No, I can do that much," Laurie said, wiping the tears away angrily. Joshua would tell Jason, and Jason would worry. Wasn't there enough to worry about? Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on her dress, grateful for the lower neckline, and pulled the material to one side, the doctor kindly blocking her from Joshua, Aaron, and Biddie's view.

"Is she all right, doctor?" Biddie asked when the silence dragged on.

The doctor's eyes lifted to Laurie's.

She swallowed.

"So your first husband made those marks on you?" he asked, pointing to the almost invisible scars.

"Please don't ask me that," she said. "That's my husband's business."

"But someone has burned you in the same place, marking you in the same way. They're smaller though. Rolled plugs, maybe?" He met her eyes again, and she gave him a barely perceptible nod. "Three times," he murmured, as though talking to himself. "Are you divorced?"

She shook her head slowly, feeling herself detach from the situation. A familiar floaty feeling swept over her. "No."

"Her first husband is dead," Joshua supplied. Laurie thought he sounded irritated, which surprised her, given his current condition. "You sure are asking a lot of questions. What's going on? Laurie, you okay?"

"Joshua, you hush up. The doctor is just examining her," said Biddie. "Doctor, do you need some help?"

"How could that man know about the burns?" the doctor asked in a low voice. "That's personal..." He glanced at her face and straightened. "Well, it looks to me like you're healing nicely," he said brightly. "I'll mix up a salve and send it with your brother-in-law when he takes me back to Tacoma. That should minimize the scarring."

"Thank you," she said, buttoning her dress.

"One more thing. You need to tell your husband about this. When they came to me last night, I thought this tied into all those murders and women disappearing in the area. Counting the woman kidnapped last night, that's fourteen women from Port Angeles to Olympia. Do you know anything about that?"

"Oh my, is it that many?" Biddie said next to Aaron, who shushed her a little too fast and grabbed at his bandaged ribs again.

"Yes ma'am," the doctor responded to Biddie. "I thought it was about time Seattle got hit. After all, you're near all the other towns... close enough for a day's ride, if you push your horse fast enough."

"Your point, doctor?" Aaron asked.

The doctor looked back at Laurie. It was strange to feel like she was somewhere above her body, not quite feeling her heartbeat at the back of her ribs, her palms sweating.

"That mark is personal. I've seen the like before, usually men teaching their women a lesson. Someone is torturing you."

Laurie blinked.

"Laurie?" Joshua asked.

"I don't know," she whispered.

"Mrs. Bolt—"

"I don't know!" she yelled at them, and ran out of the room, forgetting to shut the door. She stood a second in the hall, trying to catch her breath, and started toward the stairs.

"Oh, hey, Laurie," said Jeremy, emerging from the stairwell. "You-you-you don't look so good."

"I'm not," she whispered, pushing past him. "I need some air."

"Well, hey, you can't just go running around! We haven't caught the guy yet—"

Laurie didn't wait to hear the rest. She tore down the stairs, past a bunch of astonished boozers in the barroom and into the street. No, she didn't feel right, her body and her soul still weren't in sync. The tornado in her brain made it impossible to decide where to go.

In her hesitancy, Brodie approached her. "Mrs. Bolt?"

"I'm sorry, Brodie. I—I don't think I'm myself today," she murmured, her eyes still darting around the town as she absently twisted her wedding ring on her finger. There wasn't anywhere for her to go.

"No ma'am," he said, the worry crinkling the areas around his youthful eyes. "But you'll feel better when Mr. Bolt comes back."

She glanced at him and flushed when she saw what she was doing. Laurie dropped her hands. She was out-of-sorts and needed to rest. People were flooding out of the church, and several men anxiously clamored out of the saloon, stopping when they eyeballed her.

"Yes," she answered him. "I need to go someplace where I can think."

"I'd be pleased to escort you," Brodie said, sticking his arm out like a gentleman. "I know a place."

Laurie took it. Standing a few inches taller than when she had first met him, he grinned.

"Good," she said, almost losing her carefully crafted expression of nonchalance. "Take me there?"

Brodie escorted her down Seattle Square and led her away from the crowds. No one said anything, but there were plenty of people watching. She could feel their eyes stalking their every step.

They strolled a little way out of town, Laurie feeling every bit on edge like she was sleeping on a bed of needles. In short order, Brodie led her off the path to a little patch of mossy green under some Washington Pines. He helped her sit, tucking her dress under her legs to where only her shoes peeked out from under her skirt.

"You'll be safe here," he said to her. "I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you, Brodie," she said, slumping back against a tree. "I'm embarrassed, but this is perfect. Too much is happening all at once."

"Sure," he said, and with a rueful smile added, "It's okay to cry if you want to. I won't watch." With that said, the young man promptly left her side to stand at the road, as if he were her own private centennial.

Laurie laid her head back and stared up at the sky and prayed. She needed to feel normal. That floaty feeling was an old habit, and she hated it. She couldn't focus and she got headaches when she was in that state. Jason was coming home, and he deserved a wife in her right mind.

Please, please, I can't lose my mind. Not now. Please.

The tears came just as Brodie predicted, flowing until she cried them all out. It wasn't until late afternoon that he came to fetch her with Jeremy by his side. She was stiff and sore, but a scripture had penetrated the fog. The one Sister Agnes had quoted over and over and over.

Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands.

It was time to tell Jason everything.

JASON

"Mr. Bolt! That you, sir?"

Jason paused at the ramp to the Shamus O'Flynn. Doreen was calling to him, waving frantically from a buggy. Clancey glanced up and swore.

"You've only got a few minutes, bucko."

"Alright, Clancey. I'll make it quick."

"Quick don't mean the same to you as it does to me, Jason."

He grinned at the old sea captain and he handed him Laurie's packages he had bought two days before. After he threw his bag on board the boat, he jumped off the pier and closed the distance from the ship to the buggy with a quick trot, glad he had sent a telegram to Doreen to say goodbye. As he approached, he gave a surprised smile to Jenny sitting next to Doreen. "Well, hello."

"Hello," said Jenny with a shy smile. "Thank you for telling us when you were leaving."

"She wants to say goodbye. Her mama thinks we be headed to the church."

"That's a good place to be on the Sabbath," Jason said with a wink. "Well, Jenny. Is there anything you'd like me to say to Lau—uh, your mother when I get home?" The girl looked up at Jason, her childish smile as beautiful as a thousand suns. It always made his heart happy to see someone's spirits lift.

"Tell her I miss her, and someday I hope she comes back so she can sing to me again."

Jason felt his heartstrings pull. "I'll tell her."

"And I can write to her if she'd like me to."

"I'm sure she'd enjoy that. Doreen knows where to send your letters."

"I hope all that digging around Miss Laurie's past be worth it," Doreen said, meeting his eyes.

"It was worth it," he assured Doreen. "Although, I still have questions. I think I remember Laurie saying her brother visited her in Louisiana?"

"Yes, sir. Once, before the war."

"Then he knew about how terrible it was for her. Why didn't he step in?"

"I don't know about that. Miss Laurie never say nothing about him to me."

"No?"

"No, sir. She never wanted to talk about him nor the past. She always says it be the future you need to concern yourself with. 'Course she always was fretting about some folks in her past. I suppose a body can't help themselves."

"And she and Mama Kenna had fights about my granddad."

"Hush, child!"

"Jason!"

Jason waved to the flustered captain. "I'm coming, Clancey!"

He turned back to Doreen and shook his head. "It's all right. I know there's something dark there too. Jenny?"

She gave him a wide-eyed stare.

"Why did your mothers fight about your grandfather?"

"I don't know. Except, Mama Kenna blamed my mama for them coming to America. It sounded like Mama Kenna missed my granddad more, but Mama was crying harder. Only that can't be right, can it?"

Add another layer to the mystery. He bent to touch Jenny's hand. "I'm sure they were only quarreling over something silly, like, ah, like who got to go visit him first."

"Jason, I'm going to miss the tide if ya don't get your landlubber carcass..."

"I have to go," he said, recognizing the same sentiment he had spoken to Laurie. Maybe long goodbyes were customary in the South. "Thank you, Jenny, Doreen. You've both been very kind. And don't worry about your mother," he added. "I'll take good care of her."

"You have a safe trip now. Tell Miss Laurie we be praying for her every day."

Jason smiled at Doreen and said, "Thank you. Keep them up, because I'm sure they're working."

"Tell her we love her too," said Jenny, and fell back into the cushioned seat, as if her declaration had taken all the energy out of her little body.

"That's it! Jason, I'm leaving ya!"

"Oh, keep your hat on, you cantankerous old rum pot!" Jason yelled over his shoulder. He shook his head and smiled. "She loves you too. By the way," he added, a sudden idea coming to him. He reached into his shirt pocket and drew out the brooch Kenna had refused. "Perhaps you would like to have this? It's your mother's."

Doreen watched a trembling Jenny take the piece of jewelry from Jason's hand and smiled. "It belonged to Miss Laurie's mama, child, it supposed to bring you luck, protecting you from evil. Miss Kenna says she done with it. He be doing you a kindness."

Jenny's eyes slowly met Jason's. "But what if Mama needs good luck? What if my Papa is still haunting her? He hurts her real bad sometimes."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," said Jason, smiling. "She doesn't need luck anymore, she has me."

"That's a pretty tall responsibility," Doreen said, looking as solemn as Jenny.

"Well, I chase his ghost away every night," he said confidently. "She's safe. I know it will make her happy that you have it, so keep it for her, for now. When she comes to visit, you can give it back. Or maybe your uncle will bring you to visit her. Now how does that sound?"

"Oh!" Jenny clutched the brooch close to her chest, her countenance brightening. "I'll keep it safe for her. I can't wait to have a visit! Thank you!"

"You're welcome. Well, goodbye." He backed away from the buggy and gave a brief wave they returned. He bounded back up the pier and boarded the ship, a grumbling Clancey pulling in the ramp the moment Jason's feet touched his beloved ship.

"Thought maybe you were thinking of putting down roots, here, eh?"

"No Clancey, not here. You know my heart's in Seattle."

Swearing and barked orders sailed through the air and within moments the Shamus O'Flynn was pulling away from the shore. Jason saw the two figures still in the buggy waving, and he waved back wearing the biggest grin he'd ever worn.

He was headed home.