CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Hank, Myra and Samantha arrived in Colorado Springs on the ten o'clock train from Denver. Few people were on the platform other than Horace, with just one or two others who seemed to be waiting for passengers. Hank picked up the two pieces of luggage and Myra followed him down the corridor to the exit door, gripping Samantha's hand tightly.
Hank jumped down onto the platform and placed the bags at his feet, then reached up to take Samantha. He scooped her off the top step and held her in one arm while he offered his free hand to Myra to assist her down the steps. She stopped suddenly, gripping the safety rail with both hands and closing her eyes briefly.
"I don't feel well," she said. She had looked fairly pale since they changed trains in Denver and had barely eaten anything on the journey, but now she was completely colourless.
"Hell," muttered Hank, turning briefly and lowering Samantha to her feet. "Horace! Over here!"
Horace turned and strode towards them, his face both astonished and delighted as Samantha began to run to him, crying out, "Papa!" at the top of her voice.
"What's goin' on? Is that Myra?" he asked now.
Hank ignored him and turned back, just in time to catch Myra as she fainted, her feet slipping from the step and pitching her into his arms.
"She'll be fine," he said to Horace, trying to convince himself of that. "I'll take her to Michaela."
"I'll put yer bags in the telegraph office," Horace said. "Samantha can stay with me."
Hank nodded and began to head quickly for the clinic, hoping that Michaela would be there. He banged loudly on the door with his foot and it was opened a second later by Sully. Michaela waited a few paces behind him.
"It's Myra," Hank said, barging past Sully into the clinic. "She fainted gettin' off the train." He lowered her carefully onto the examination table now. "She ain't been so good for a coupla days."
Michaela's eyes widened as she looked down at Myra. "She must be visiting Horace," she said under her breath. "Hank, will you go outside, please? I need to examine her."
"I'm stayin'," Hank said. "She ain't visitin' Horace, she's with me."
Both Michaela and Sully looked at him in surprise, but neither questioned him for the moment.
"I still need you to go outside and give her some privacy," Michaela repeated.
"Come on," Sully added, beginning to propel Hank towards the door.
"Take yer hands off me!" growled Hank suddenly, shoving Sully away from him. "I'm stayin'! She's my wife!"
Michaela looked up from Myra again, her eyes wide. Sully's jaw dropped.
"We got married Friday," added Hank, holding up his left hand to show them his ring and pushing the door closed with his foot.
"You got married?" echoed Sully.
"Yeah. So what? You did," Hank said, grinning briefly. Then he looked over at Michaela. "Ya gonna see to her, then?"
"I'm sorry, Hank, it was a bit of a surprise," Michaela said. "I didn't even know you and Myra had seen each other."
"Thought ya knew about Christmas," said Hank. "She was lookin' after me when I'd been shot."
"Well, then, congratulations," Michaela said, smiling briefly before she turned her attention back to Myra. She was just opening her eyes and seemed puzzled as to her location.
"Dr Mike?" she said weakly. "Where's Hank?"
"I'm here." He hurried to her side at once and grasped her hand, earning further surprised glances from Michaela and Sully. Sully then backed towards the door.
"Guess I'll leave ya to it," he said and let himself out.
"What happened?" asked Myra now. "Where's Samantha?"
"It seems you fainted," Michaela said.
"Horace has got her," Hank added.
"I've been feeling a bit poorly for a few days," Myra said. "I thought it was the wine."
"I hear congratulations are in order," said Michaela as she took Myra's pulse.
"Thanks. I bet you're surprised," said Myra, smiling now.
"You could say that. As I said to Hank, I didn't realise you'd seen much of each other."
"I suppose we didn't need to, we just did a lot of thinking," Myra said.
"Well, I'm glad for you," Michaela said, touching her face now. "You don't seem to have a fever. Have you been eating properly?"
"Yes, fine until we left St Louis."
"Umm...there are one or two others things I should ask you," Michaela said, glancing awkwardly at Hank now.
"Don't worry about him," Myra said. "I doubt you could embarrass him."
Hank grinned.
"I was thinking more of you," Michaela said, although her face betrayed her own discomfort.
"Well, don't worry about me either. Can I sit up?"
"Of course, if the faintness has passed."
Myra sat up slowly, helped by Hank, and slid her legs off the side of the table.
"So what did you want to ask me?" she prompted.
"When was your last monthly?" Michaela asked, her face averted.
"You think I'm pregnant?" gasped Myra.
"It's a possibility."
Hank squeezed Myra's hand tighter and grinned wider. Her face was anxious, but she relaxed as Hank continued smiling at her.
"It was...I can't remember. I haven't had one this year," Myra said. "I think it was a couple of weeks before Christmas."
"Then I'd say there's a good chance you're in the early stages of pregnancy," Michaela said. "Lie back again please, so I can examine your abdomen."
A few minutes later, Michaela confirmed that Myra appeared to be a little under two months pregnant and she sat up again, straightening her clothes.
"It must have happened at Christmas," she said, looking up at Hank.
"I'm gonna be a pa again?" Hank beamed from ear to ear. "You are pleased...?" he added.
"Of course I'm pleased." Myra reached out to hug him. "I always wanted a little brother or sister for Samantha."
"Can we go?" Hank asked Michaela.
She nodded. "Just try to get plenty of rest and you must start eating again, little and often, even if you feel unwell. Congratulations, again," she said with a smile.
Hank helped Myra down from the table and held her hand tightly as they slowly left the clinic. Sully was sitting outside on the bench and he got to his feet now, nodded at them and went back inside.
"We should probably pick up Samantha," Myra said.
"I'll get her later when I fetch the bags," said Hank. "Let's go home first. You oughta put yer feet up."
"Alright. I do feel a bit weak."
They began to walk slowly across to the Gold Nugget, but were stopped outside by a number of people, Loren and Jake being the first to reach them.
"Myra?" Loren said, astonished at the sight of her holding onto Hank and looking happy about it.
"Hello, Loren. Jake," she said with a smile.
"What're you doin' back?" Jake asked.
"I've come home," said Myra.
"Ain't considerin' work for him again, are ya?" Loren said with a frown, glancing at Hank.
"I suppose I am, if you count making his supper once in a while," Myra giggled.
"Only once in a while? Thought I'd be entitled to more than that now," teased Hank.
Loren gaped wider as he looked from one to the other.
"Come on, Hank, what ya been up to?" Jake prompted.
"Why don't I just introduce ya proper?" smirked Hank. "I want ya to meet Myra Lawson - my wife."
"Wife?" echoed Jake. "Ya serious?"
"Yeah, tied the knot on Friday," Hank said, continuing to grin. "Asked her at Christmas."
"Why'd ya keep it a secret?" asked Loren.
Hank shrugged. "Ain't never been one to tell folks my business, ya know that, Loren."
"But this deserves a celebration!" the old man exclaimed. "Ya can't get married and not at least have a toast."
"Yeah, least ya can do is let us toast ya on the house," put in Jake.
"Later." Hank waved them away now. "Myra needs to rest a while."
"I must say, ya look a bit pale," Loren observed. "Been poorly, have ya?"
"A little," Myra nodded.
"She's pregnant!" blurted out Hank, unable to contain himself on that point. Much as he usually preferred to keep his business to himself, at that moment he felt like climbing up on the roof of the Gold Nugget and bellowing out to the whole town that he was going to be a father. He was going to make sure he did a good job of it this time too.
"Pregnant?" echoed Jake. "Ya mean we gotta congratulate ya twice?"
Hank grinned. "Forget drinks on the house, you should be buyin' 'em for us. I'll take a couple of yer best cigars an' all, Loren." He began to lead Myra to the door of the hotel now, but paused as Jake shouted after him.
"Ya know, Hank, that's awful fast work if ya just got married three days ago!"
Hank snorted but said nothing in reply. He wouldn't be surprised if Loren went running over to the Gazette office now to ask Dorothy to put an announcement in the next edition. However, he suddenly wondered if Myra would have preferred to let the townsfolk think they had got married first and the baby was just early when it was born.
"Sorry," he said. "Couldn't keep that one to myself."
"It's alright. I'm dying to tell everyone too," she smiled.
"Hey, just promise me one thing," Hank said suddenly. "That ya won't start sleep-walkin' and kissin' fellas in the bar."
Myra giggled. "I'll try not to."
Hank now spent a few minutes introducing her to his manager and the latest bunch of girls, none of whom she knew. Suzie appeared more than a little uncomfortable and looked down at her feet until they left the room.
Hank took Myra upstairs to the room he used with its own private bathroom and suggested she rest for a while until he had fetched her things from the telegraph office. She sat down on the bed gratefully and leaned back against the pillows.
"Who's that blonde girl?" she asked suddenly. "The one that looked as if she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her."
"Suzie," Hank said with a slight grimace.
"Do you two have history?" Myra did her best to sound casual, but her eyes looked a tiny bit hurt.
"No," Hank said honestly. "No more than any of them. Ain't been with none of them since before ya wrote askin' me to visit."
Myra smiled again. "She just looked a little...I don't know...upset or something."
"Right after I got back here last time she crept in my room," Hank admitted. "I was missin' ya..."
Myra's face fell at this point.
"Hey, I ain't finished. I threw her half across the room, told her to get out. Hurt her pride more than anythin' else. Didn't tell her why neither, so I guess she just realised it was 'cause I only wanted you."
Myra smiled again now. "I hope you're still saying that in a year," she said. "Or ten years."
"I'll be sayin' it fifty years," Hank grinned, bending to give her a kiss. "Assumin' I'm still alive!" He took his coat off now and hung it up on the peg on the back of the door. "This all happened so quick, I never thought about how much room we were gonna need."
"This is fine, it's a big room," Myra said.
"Not for three, it ain't, or four soon enough. Samantha should have her own room anyhow, she's gettin' big enough. 'Sides, you oughta have a proper house. I'm gonna look around, see what there is to rent. I don't need to be livin' here, the manager stays at night."
"You've always lived here," said Myra.
"Don't mean I wanna stay here. I'll rent somewhere temporarily and look at gettin' a house built just for us later."
"I have to admit, I'd love to have my own house," Myra told him. "Suzannah's was lovely, but so cold, the children were almost afraid to touch anything."
"Ours ain't gonna be like that," Hank said with a grin. "They sure ain't gonna get in trouble for talkin' at supper. Reminded me of when I was a kid. How ya feelin' now?"
"Much better, just tired. I think I'll stay here for a while if you don't mind."
"'Course I don't mind. I'll go pick up our bags. Ya want me to tell Horace to keep Samantha for a bit? Let ya rest?"
Myra nodded. He left her there lying on the bed and went out. By the time he reached the telegraph office, four different people had stopped him to offer congratulations on his marriage and expected baby and he guessed Loren and Jake must be telling everyone they came across. The only one who didn't know anything appeared to be Horace, who was alone in his office when Hank arrived, except for Samantha who was playing on the floor with a carved horse and wagon which had been one of her Christmas presents.
"How's Myra?" he asked when Hank walked in.
"Fine. Just fainted, is all."
Samantha looked up from her game at Hank's voice and beamed. "Hey, Pa!" she exclaimed.
Horace frowned slightly, but said nothing. "Did Dr Mike have any idea of what caused it?" he asked.
"Yeah she's..." Hank hesitated briefly. The last thing he wanted at that moment was an argument with anyone, least of all Horace. "...pregnant," he added eventually.
"Oh!" Horace's eyebrows rose and then lowered as he eyed Hank's left hand resting on the counter. "Ya got married, then?"
"Yeah. Friday."
"I hope ya make her happy," Horace said.
"I intend to."
The telegraph operator nodded. "Well, then. I guess ya'll be wantin' yer bags."
"Thanks."
Horace picked up the two bags from a corner of the office and passed them over the counter.
"Don't look like much," he commented.
"Myra's sister's sendin' the rest of her things in the next day or two," Hank said. "Just holler when they arrive and I'll come get them."
"Sure. Myra want ya to take Samantha back now too?" Horace asked.
"No, she thought ya might wanna watch her for a while longer, she's restin'."
"How about I keep her here overnight, then?" Horace turned to look at Samantha. "Honey, how'd ya like to stay the night with Papa?"
"Yeah!" agreed Samantha enthusiastically. "But need wabbit!"
Horace glanced back at Hank and frowned.
"Pink rabbit," Hank said with a grin. "She won't sleep without it." He unfastened Myra's bag and delved into it, finding the rabbit stuffed into a corner. He held it out over the counter and Samantha got up and grabbed it immediately.
"Fanks, Pa!"
Hank grinned. "I'll leave ya to it." He picked up the two bags and returned to the Gold Nugget. Myra was sleeping when he looked in on her, so he crept out again and left her in peace, going back to the bar to spend a few hours catching up on the gossip and fielding the endless questions from the regulars who had flocked in once they heard his news.