"Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other."
~Romans 12:9-10
Chapter Three
The day finally arrived! Christy had been a bundle of nerves, between excitement and impatience, waiting to see Dr. MacNeill again. Today was the day he had promised to come and give the history lecture to the children. Reverend Grantland was teaching Bible and Math in the morning and then, unless there was a medical emergency, Dr. MacNeill would arrive before lunch. She had told the students a surprise was coming that day, but not what. She knew the children loved the doctor; he was so good with them. Over and over again Christy had marveled at the care, concern and most of all the patience Dr. MacNeill continually showed the little ones in Cutter Gap.
As she helped with Math, she caught herself constantly looking out the door or listening for the hoofbeats of Dr. MacNeill's horse, Charlie. David eyed her with concern, and even asked her twice if she was worried about something. She just shook her head and kept trying to stay focused on what she was working on with the students. David was still prickly about Dr. MacNeill and his disinterest in the mission and the work they were trying to accomplish with the people of Cutter Gap. Christy was fairly certain Dr. MacNeill had a heart for Jesus, he just needed a gentle push, a reminder of the wonderful work only the Lord lead.
When she heard Dr. MacNeill coming, her breath caught in the back of her throat and she felt herself flush with excitement. It was silly, really, that he caused that reaction from her. She tried to pretend she had not heard him, and after some deep breaths to calm her racing heart, she was able to focus once again on helping Sam Houston and Creed with their times tables.
Heavy boots steps reverberated from the door of the church schoolhouse. By the time he reached the top step and stopped, everyone's attention had shifted to him. His smile was wide, and when he met her eyes, he winked, causing her cheeks to warm.
He had worn a tab-collar shirt she had not seen him wear before, along with what looked like a suede or leather vest under his usual jacket. His pants were nicely pressed and even his russet-potato- colored hair was tamed. She thought he may have even gotten a trim since she last saw him. He was too handsome for his own good, or maybe for her own heart.
"Doctor MacNeill, what brings you here today?" David asked him, slamming closed the book he was using to instruct the upper-level math students.
He shifted his gaze from Christy to David. "Miss Huddleston asked me to visit."
"We ain't gonna get no medicine, are we?" Sam Houston asked, a whine in his voice.
"No medicine today, but I am going to fill you up… but with information!" Dr. MacNeill turned from Sam Houston's rapt face to David. "Reverend Grantland, have you concluded your math lesson?"
David shrugged. Having obviously lost the interest of the children, he gave way to Dr. MacNeill with a frown and a wave.
"Today, ladies and gentlemen we are going to learn about our heritage."
"What's heritage, Doc?" Creed asked.
"Our history, our families. We all come from the same place. Some families have been here longer in the mountains than others, but we all have the same background from Scotland. My parents told me wonderful stories over the years and Miss Huddleston has asked me to tell you some of them!"
"I reckon we should know about that, Doc," Rob Allen said. "I know I wanna know where my family came from."
"Rob, with your writing skills you might especially be interested, but Miss Huddleston and I think it is important that all of you know our strong and proud history."
David tipped his head toward Christy as he left the schoolroom and she moved to the back of the room, to listen to Dr. MacNeill's tale. In scant moments the whole class, and she, too, were enthralled, as Dr. MacNeill wove a tale of bravery, deception, treachery and rivalry. He spoke of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the hero of the Scots, a leader who most Scottish Highlanders wanted to follow, and at the end, after an hour, but what seemed more like fifteen minutes, the children remained silent, watching and waiting for more. Rob asked two questions about Scotland and Creed could not quite understand why no one turned in Charlie for the reward money.
"Creed, if your Pa were in trouble, would you turn him into the lawmen?"
"Heck no, Doc."
"Then you have your answer. The Scots looked at Prince Charlie as their leader. They had to protect him."
Lulu shyly raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Spencer?" Dr. MacNeill asked in a very gentle tone.
"Is that why you named your horse Charlie?" she whispered, but loud enough for all to hear.
"Yes, it is, Lulu. What better name for a horse as fine as mine?"
There were sighs and comments between the students. They were mostly amazed by what Dr. MacNeill had told them. The questions continued for quite sometime until Rob asked, "Will you come back again and tell us more? Maybe about the move our people made to Ireland to escape the English?"
"Yes, I can, if Miss Huddleston chooses to invite me." His smile was flirty, warm and so darn enchanting.
She grinned back at him and then turned toward her students. "What do you think, students? Shall we have him back again?"
A resounding yell of, "Yes," permeated the school room.
She laughed at their exuberance. "Well, Doctor, I believe you have your answer!"
"Very well. I will be pleased to return soon. Now, is it time for lunch, Miss Huddleston?" He rose his brows, questioning.
The time had flown by so quickly, she could hardly believe he had spoken for over an hour.
"Yes, it is," she answered. Smiling at him, she joined him at the front of the room and turned back to face her students. "Please thank Dr. MacNeill for his time today, class."
In unison their childish voice said, "Thank you, Dr. MacNeill."
"Alright, children. Go to your lunch break now."
They all went rushing out the door, pails and baskets in their hands. Once they were gone, Dr. MacNeill bent over, meeting her eyes.
"So?" he asked, a bit shyly.
She smiled broadly. "You were absolutely inspiring." She shook her head, fascinated by his story.
"Do you mean it?"
"Yes, I definitely do!" She nodded. "Could you not see how spellbound they all were?"
"But, did you enjoy it? Did you learn something new?"
"I did! Just wait a moment." She rushed to her desk and grabbed her journal. She ruffled through the pages and found the notes she had written after reading the book about the history of the Ulster-Scots. "There was a woman you did not mention in your lecture. I had hoped you would because of Zady." She thumbed through her small, leather bound book. "Oh, here, Flora McDonald," Christy showed him where she had written the woman's name.
"You think she was important?" he raised her brows.
"I do," she argued. She was prepared to explain to him why, too. "Can you stay for lunch? Ida packed extra for you."
"She did?"
"Yes." Christy nodded. "I asked her to, hoping you would stay." She felt her cheeks flush again, so she looked away from his intense hazel eyes.
A small smile crossed his face. "I would be glad to eat lunch with you, Miss Huddleston."
"Christy," she whispered, looking up, wide-eyed.
"Christy," he repeated, his lips twitching.
"Go find a spot on the log," she pointed, "and I will fetch the pail and meet you."
She really needed a minute to regain her composure. Why did he always make her stomach flutter? He was just a man. She almost snorted. No other man had ever affected her the way he did. He could be charming, gentle one minute, but prickly and stand-offish the next. Some day she would understand him. She hoped he was willing to want to understand her, too.
And his scent… Had he worn a different aftershave that day? He would not have done that to impress the children. Would he? Could he have done it for her? She remembered him holding her hand when she went to see him. Maybe he did like her. She grinned before grabbing lunch.
She jogged down on the school steps and joined him on the log. Her girls, Mountie and Lulu, sat on either side of them. Lulu was chewing on her cornbread. Christy pulled out the sandwiches from the pail and handed one to Dr. MacNeill, along with some carrots.
"Mountie, sweetheart, do you still have that peppermint you won this morning?" Christy asked.
"Yes," she said shyly.
"I bet Doctor MacNeill will be willing to trade part of his sandwich for that mint."
He bent sideways and whispered in her ear, "Do I need a mint for my breath?"
She laughed and shook her head. Mountie pulled the peppermint from her pocket and Dr. MacNeill quickly gave Mountie half his sandwich. Slyly, behind Mountie's back, Christy slid half of her own sandwich to him. She pretended to be interested in what Lulu was saying, while chewing on her own crisp carrots.
"You seem to like carrots, Miss Huddleston," he said grinning.
"I do. I was glad these were still so crisp after being in storage."
"Shall we talk about Flora now?" he asked.
"Sure. Do you want some water?" She had two glasses in her hand
"Please." He nodded.
She walked away; somehow aware he was watching her walk. What was with her? Why was he suddenly all she could think of? She was so excited to just be talking with him about something he was so passionate about. She filled their glasses from the water barrel, and handed him his glass as she returned to sit on the log.
Once the girls were done eating, Lulu said, "Come on, Mountie." She grabbed Mountie's hand and off they went to play.
He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "All alone with the teacher. Am I on the punishment log?"
Her mouth fell open. He was teasing her, of course. "Are you saying it is a punishment to be in my company? Doctor, I am surprised at you. I brought you lunch and even fetched you nice, cold water."
He laughed. "It is a privilege to have a moment alone with you, Christy."
"Much better," she said, smiling. "I will say the same. Now then… Flora." She opened her journal. "I was hoping you would talk about the woman's courage to help Prince Charles. How faithful she was to her leader, despite going against the majority, and maybe even suggest that even a mere woman could make a difference."
He laughed. "Perhaps you can pick up where I left off?"
She shook her head, frowning. "No, don't you see Dr. MacNeill? Having a man talk about a strong woman is far more meaningful than me talking about her. The boys would say I spoke about her just because she was a girl, not because she had done anything exceptional."
"I see what you mean." He took a loud bite of a carrot. "Perhaps next time?"
"You will come another time, then?" She was thrilled. She had hoped she could convince him to begin with weekly science lessons.
"I would be pleased to," he said. "The children are very well behaved, even with all of them confined in such a small space. You have done a fine job with them, Christy."
"I would say thank you, except Lundy is not here. If he were, it might have ended differently."
"Do you believe that? Do you believe he would have dared to challenge me?"
"You are larger than he is," she acknowledged. "He might have been disruptive just to challenge you."
"As he does to you?"
She nodded, sadly.
"I have thought of a way for you to speak with Mr. Taylor, if you still wish to?"
Her eyes widened and excitement and hope crept in her heart. "Yes! How?"
He chuckled. "I think you are the only person who would ever be excited to encounter Birdseye Taylor."
"Quit." She elbowed him in the side. "Tell me."
"I told my Aunt Hattie I would be bringing you to meet her. It seems many people have told her about you, so I thought it was time you met her. Birdseye has a soft spot for Hattie, and I thought if you met him on neutral territory, it might end better than if you went to see him at his cabin."
"That is brilliant!" She smiled. "I would like very much to meet your aunt. Do you have many family members here in the Cove?"
"No. Just Aunt Hattie. She is my father's baby sister." He chewed another carrot. "She married Ben McCabe and had three children. All were lost in a typhoid epidemic many years ago, long before I became a doctor. To make matters worse, she is blind from an eye disease called Trachoma."
"Blind?" In the mountains? "Does she live alone?"
"Aye, she does."
"Oh my. Alone in the mountains and not being able to see?"
He looked away, watching the children play tag. "She would not want your, pity."
"It's not pity, Dr. MacNeill, more like awe. I struggle as I am, but to be blind? She must be quite an amazing woman."
He leaned closer. "If you insist that I call you Christy, you must agree to call me Neil or I shall revert to Miss Huddleston."
She flushed again. How awful he always did that to her. Finally, she nodded. "If you insist."
"I do." He stood. After finishing his water, he handed her the empty glass. "She is an amazing woman, full of wonderful stories, even better than mine, and has a beautiful musical voice. You will like each other. So," he sighed, "I will come get you after school today, if you please? I have a few people to check on this afternoon, but I will be here by four o'clock. We will go see my aunt and hopefully Birdseye will cooperate and you can have a civil discussion with him."
She stood, too. "Thank you for coming today. I know the children enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you also for helping me with Lundy."
"I cannot guarantee anything, of course, but at least we will try. Thank you for lunch." He laughed. "And the mint." He winked at her, and then turned toward his horse.
She watched him walk toward Charlie, waving to the children before he climbed on top of the horse and rode away. She glanced at the watch she wore at her waist and decided the children could play a few more minutes before she called them back inside. She needed a few minutes to calm her quickly beating heart.
~#~
Neil was back just before four o'clock as promised. He had made three calls and was pleased with the health of his patients. All three were older, one, that went by the nickname of Bones, was becoming more and more confused each day. Neil worried that man would end up wandering into the river or getting lost somewhere in the mountains. Although his son was nearby, as well as several grandchildren, Neil tried to check on the man weekly. He was monitoring the progress of his dementia, in hopes of using the information should another of his patients decline in their mental health.
Ida was hanging laundry, and called out to welcome him. Inwardly he cringed, but he wanted to be polite so he paused for a moment to greet her.
"Miss Grantland." He tipped his head. "A good day for laundry?"
She smiled. Not an unattractive woman, she was plain. Neil did not judge people on looks, living here in the depths of poverty, he learned early to judge people based on their personality and character. He had decided after their first short conversation, almost six months earlier, she was not a woman he wanted to know better, even if she was the most gorgeous woman, he had ever seen. They had struggled to come up with even the simplest of topics.
"Any day without rain is a good day for laundry," she answered.
"I appreciate the extra lunch you packed for Miss Huddleston and myself," he said. "I enjoyed talking to the children today and worked up quite an appetite."
"I often wonder what the purpose of the school is," she said, frowning. She balled her hands on her hips. "With all the feuding and evils in the mountains, even if Miss Huddleston were a saint, she could not make much of a difference in their lives."
He disagreed with her, of course. He thought Christy was doing a very fine job. "Remember I come from these mountains, Miss Grantland, and was able to get through medical school. We must keep hope some of the children will follow my example, and chase their dreams for a better life." He tipped his head and rode back toward the schoolhouse.
Closed minded people. He shook his head. There were already plenty of those in these hills, but someone as sour as Ida Grantland had no business being at a Christian mission. He was hardly one to judge another person's faith, but Ida just rubbed him the wrong way, all the time.
Once he hopped off Charlie and tied him up, Neil waited on the log where they had sat on for lunch, and smoked his pipe. He had enjoyed being in the classroom with the children that day. What he had said to Christy about their behavior had been honest. She had done a wonderful job with them. If she heard Ida complaining every day, Christy was probably questioning herself, and that was probably why she came to him for guidance rather than Reverend Grantland.
He hoped he would be able to get Birdseye to talk to Christy, at least that way she could have her concerns aired. Even if he did not agree with her, or follow through with what she might ask of him, at least she would have her side heard. Neil would be with her as well, so if Birdseye turned ugly, Christy would have his support- physical and emotional, if needed.
Soon enough, the children were fleeing the school house, ready to enjoy their two days off of school. He thought that many of them might just prefer to be at school every day, instead of home, the O'Teales for example. Christy had made so much progress with Mountie, and it was obvious that they were quite attached to each other.
He caught sight of her on the stairs and waved. She smiled and skipped down the stairs, just like one of her students. Was she looking forward to their visit to his aunt as much as he was? It was not so much the visit to Hattie, but more the time he would get to spend with Christy that made him excited.
"Hello!"
He stood from the log as she neared.
She stopped less than a foot away and looked up at him. "Are we walking or riding?"
"Riding," he answered. He stared at her smiling, flushed face and wanted to bend down and kiss her.
"I'll go saddle Buttons."
"I already did." He pointed to where Charlie was standing. Buttons was happily right next to him.
"Thank you." She smiled wider.
He took her hand, even threaded his fingers with hers, pleased by her tight grip, and led her toward their horses. Once she was settled atop Buttons, he climbed on Charlie and briefly explained where they were going. He kicked his mount into motion and off they went. He knew she was not a confident horsewoman, but he had watched her improve since her arrival.
"Did you tell Ida you would not be back for supper?" He called over his shoulder.
"I asked Ruby Mae to tell her," Christy called to him.
He planned to keep her with him as late as he could tonight. It was a Friday evening, after all, and she had no reason, he supposed, to be home early. Hattie could entertain them both for quite some time, and he knew for a fact his aunt was making them supper.
"Careful now," he called back. "It is steeper through here than it looks."
"Alright," she answered.
He slowed Charlie so she could keep up. When the path widened enough for them to ride side by side, he waved her next to him.
"It's just up ahead." He pointed. "She'll have heard us coming already. When a person loses one of their senses, sight, hearing, smell, the others seem to become heightened. Aunt Hattie would know me by my footsteps, even if she did not already know we were coming. If you start coming to see her, she will learn yours, also."
"That's incredible," Christy said.
"Can you smell the stew?" he asked.
"Yes." Christy smiled.
"She is a very good cook, even without her eyesight. You will see everything in her house has a particular place, and purpose. She keeps very little clutter inside or outside." He was about to urge Charlie on, but then stopped. "And her house is very clean, too."
Christy chuckled and they were off again. He liked that she stayed next to him as they arrived, and after tethering their horses, she took his offered hand without the slightest hesitation.
"Aunt Hattie?" he called out.
"In here, Neil. Have you brought Miss Huddleston with you?"
Neil led Christy inside the small cabin. It was not the cabin she had raised her children in, but a smaller place he had helped other men build for her. The smaller the cabin, the easier for her to manage with her lack of sight.
"I have." He smiled down at Christy. He led Christy to where Hattie was sitting in front of the fire. "Christy Huddleston, this is my Aunt Hattie McCabe."
Neil took Christy's hand and placed it in his aunt's. Christy squeezed it. "I am very glad to meet you."
"I have heard so much about you, Miss Huddleston," Aunt Hattie's beautiful smile lit up her face. "I am so happy to have you share dinner with me."
"Call me Christy, please? I wish I had met you sooner, Miss Hattie but Dr. MacNeill tells me you stay rather close to home."
Neil pulled out a chair next to the fireplace for Christy to sit near his aunt. She sat down, facing Hattie.
"I am most comfortable here in the area," Hattie agreed, "but I do occasionally come to the mission. When Miss Alice has a sewing circle, I like to go visit with the ladies. Even if I cannot see what they are working on, I love to feel the fabric and listen to the explanation of who they are making the quilt for. Sometimes, when there is a singing after church, when it gets a little warmer, I'll be spending more time around the mission and church."
"Aunt Hattie has a beautiful voice, everyone loves to hear her sing," Neil said. "Hattie, I am going to go fetch Birdseye now. Miss Huddleston will help you fix dinner for us." He winked at Christy just before leaving the two women to visit.
