People can Change
Ch. 2
Victoria, Audra, and Jarrod were sitting in the front room. Their thoughts were on the brother missing from the picture and the brothers they were waiting for. Gene had written to them that he loved being a doctor in Europe and while he missed them he loved where he was. Gene also wrote to them about a lady he had started courting about a month ago. He'd sent them a wire saying that they would be arriving today. Nick and Heath had gone into meet the stage, but with the storm they all doubted Gene would be home today. So, when the door was swung open they all jumped when they saw Nick and Heath walking in carrying an unconscious and wounded man. All three were soaking wet.
All three of them gasped out loud when they saw who it was. No one knew what to think, but Victoria knew Scott needed a doctor and to be out of his wet clothes. She sent Audra to get Silas while Jarrod offered to brave the storm to go get the doctor. Since the rain had let up, the offer was not turned down.
Nor did Audra hesitate to fetch Silas, though she was trying to figure out what to think about Scott being back in the house. She no longer hated him. If anything, she'd prayed he'd found some degree of true happiness and peace.
Back in the parlor, Victoria told her sons to take Mr. Breckenridge to the guest room and strip him bare of his wet clothes and rewrap his wound until the doctor got there. Nick and Heath did as she asked. Soon they had Scott in the bed and began to take his clothes off. When the shirt came, Scott automatically rolled over on his stomach causing some old scars on his back to be exposed. That shocked both brothers even further. Still Heath hurried to remove what little cloth was covering the fresh wound and began to put new bandages on it.
Once they had Scott taken care of Heath looked at his brother and asked, "How do you think he got all those scars?"
Nick looked at his brother with a look that said "You are asking me why?" causing his brother just to shrug his shoulders. Then Nick spoke up, "None of us have seen him for a number of years now. Maybe it was someone who didn't want to pay a loan back."
"I am sure glad that my wife and children are visiting her relatives in Nevada right now. They don't need to deal with this right now." Heath said as he thought on his wife and twins sons.
Nick thought on his own wife and young daughter. They too were visiting relatives, but they were in Colorado. "I know what you mean." He said as their mother walked in holding some pants in her hands; she'd found them in a trunk in the attic. She laid them over a chair as she saw no reason to have her sons put them on their wounded guest until after the doctor looked at him.
Audra who had not been far behind Victoria, started to enter the room, but Nick told his mom that he didn't feel his sister needed to be in the room before the doctor looked at Scott. Victoria agreed and sent Audra out. The whole time Nick was muttering that the doctor better hurry up. Silas arrived with a bowl of hot water and swabs, knowing the doctor would need them, he too hoped that the good doctor would be here soon.
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Juliet laid down on her bed holding her sleeping son and allowed her mind turn to her husband. They married in secret, though they both had wished it otherwise, but how could they with that uncle of his threatening them the way he had? She was certain that if he knew where she was living, the man would not hesitate to kill her. She shivered when thought of her children; maybe he would even go after the children. Juliet couldn't understand why Hank had let his dislike of Scott turn to such hatred.
Juliet's bedroom door opened interrupting her thoughts. Catalan, who had just had her fourth birthday, stood holding the teddy bear her daddy had bought her when she was born. The bear's ear was hanging to the side. Juliet had to fix that teddy more than once and it looked like she would have to do it again.
"What is it, honey?" Juliet asked.
"I want my daddy." Catalan said quietly.
Juliet smiled as she motioned for her daughter to climb up on the bed. Catalan didn't waste any time as she jumped onto the bed. As much as people disliked the way Juliet was raising Catalan she knew that her daughter would act like a lady when Juliet asked her to. Juliet wasn't about to try and change her daughter in any way.
Catalan curled up next to her mommy as she looked up and asked, "Is daddy going to come back?"
"I hope so, darling." Juliet thought, but only nodded as she said, "He will be back."
Catalan closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep while Juliet let tears roll down on her face. She prayed that Scott would get word to her, it didn't matter if she had to travel to get to his side; she was tired of being alone. The man she married had told her about what he had been like; she'd heard the stories and even asked around. Since Scott had not lied about his past, she had no reason to doubt the change she saw in him was anything but real. She closed her eyes as she drifted off to sleep to dream about her man.