LOST – PART I

By: D.G. Fisher

FATED

Chapter 1

Doctor Theadora Westwood was having a typical day. As usual, the male physicians that populated Graylane hospital in Manhatten had left her the most simple, and frequently the most disgusting cases. She was leaning back in her desk chair when someone knocked on her office door.

“Come in,” she called and straightened up. The door was opened by a tall, rail-thin, blonde woman who came in and quickly seated herself in one of the two straight chairs that sat in front of Thea’s desk.

“Glory, my friend,” Thea said with a wry grin. “Have I, or have I not, treated every single case involving diarrhea, vomiting, or both that have come in during the past two months at least.”

The other woman couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s rueful expression. “Oh yes, and if I didn’t know better, I would think those men walk the streets in their spare time just to solicit cases!” The two women laughed and leaned back to prop their feet up on the desk.

“Have you heard anything about the head nurse position?” Thea asked and her heart sank when her friend’s expression fell. “Oh Glory, I’m so sorry,” she said quietly and the other woman shrugged.

“These things happen,” Glory said with a resigned tone to her voice.

Thea shook her head. “I told you sticking up for me and being my friend was going to hurt your chances. Why didn’t you listen?”

The other woman’s jaw clenched. “Nobody ever tells me who I can or cannot be friends with. I should have gotten that position based on whether or not I can do the job, not anything else.”

Sighing, Thea looked at the attractive older woman and silently thanked God for her friendship. She opened her mouth to commiserate with her friend some more when a man suddenly appeared in the doorway. Both women turned their heads in his direction.

“Theadora, three bodies have just been delivered to the morgue and I would consider it a personal favor to me if you would take care of the post mortems.”

Thea clenched her teeth, but smiled anyway. “I’d be happy to, Doctor Simon,” she said and tried to keep her voice as pleasant as possible.

“Thank you,” the rotund, white-haired man said with an insincere smile. “Believe me, I will not forget your kindness,” he said smoothly and disappeared.

The two women stared at the now empty doorway for a few moments and didn’t speak until they were sure the Chief Administrator of the hospital was out of earshot.

“Sure, he’ll never forget,” Thea grumbled, dropping her feet to the floor and shifting in her chair as she prepared to stand. Glory had just opened her mouth to offer her help when another man appeared in the doorway.

“Excuse me ladies, but I’m looking for a Doctor T. A. Westwood. Can you tell me where I might find him?”

Thea rolled her eyes. “I hate to disappoint you, but I’m Doctor Westwood.” Glory raised a hand to her mouth and muffled a laugh.

The man blinked, but gathered his wits together quickly. He moved forward holding out his right hand.

“I’m very pleased to meet you and to have the opportunity to work with you.”

She stared at his outstretched hand as though she had no idea what to do. Then she smiled and lifted her gaze to meet his as her fingers wrapped around his. He smiled back and she took stock of his thick, chestnut hair, light blue eyes, and pleasant features.

“I’ve read all of your articles that I’ve been able to find in the journals and I would love to have the chance to ask you some questions if you could spare the time for me.”

Thea cleared her throat, mainly as a warning to Glory to behave. The other woman was practically strangling, trying to hold back her laughter.

“I’d be happy to, but I’m afraid that right now I have three cadavers waiting for me in the morgue.”

“Oh,” the man said. “Well then, would you mind if I tagged along?”

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t mind at all. In fact I’d appreciate the company.”

“Good,” he said and stepped to the side as she came around the desk and headed toward the door. He followed her closely and neither doctor noticed Glory scrambling after them.

Thea strode briskly down the hallway and he shortened his stride so they were walking shoulder-to-shoulder. Neither spoke until they reached the entrance to the morgue. She pushed the wide, swinging doors open and they entered the huge, cavernous room together. The morgue attendant immediately appeared.

“Hey doc,” the small man said with a smile. Thea was just about the only doctor that didn’t treat him with barely veiled disdain.

“Hey Mack,” she answered with a wide smile. “What have you got for me tonight?”

Mack cocked his head to the side. “Let me guess,” he said with a chuckle, “Doctor Simon palmed these post mortems off on you again, didn’t he?”

Thea laughed as she nodded, and then followed him toward three tables that held sheet-covered forms.

“I already stripped ‘em down for you,” Mack said almost shyly. “I figured that old wind-bag would ask you to do ‘em again.”

She laughed again and gave him a grateful look, and then simply said, “Thank you.” The little man blushed.

“These two,” he indicated the tables on the right and on the left, “are pretty typical, but the one in the middle is an ungodly mess and the only John Doe.”

“What happened?”

“Well as near as they can figure the police think this is gang related.”

“Hmmm…” Thea said distractedly as she moved toward the middle table. The male doctor moved with her and she paused.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” she said apologetically as she turned to the young man who had accompanied her. “Mack, this is Doctor…I’m sorry, I forgot to ask your name.”

“Charles…David Charles,” he said and held his right hand out to the attendant. Mack also stared at his hand for a few moments, and then gently shook hands. They both turned quickly when they heard Thea gasp.

She was standing next to the table in the middle and had flung the sheet back. The long, muscular body was almost covered in blood, blood that had seeped from numerous knife wounds. The man’s face was a battered mess, and from the positions of the limbs it was apparent at first glance that both legs and one arm were badly broken.

“God,” she said in a choked voice. “How could anyone do something this vicious?”

Doctor Charles hurried to stand on the other side of the table. “Dear Lord,” he breathed as he stared. “Whoever they are, they deserve to hang for it,” he ground out, his throat tight with anger. Then he looked up quickly when he saw a drop of water splash on the man’s still face. Thea was crying, but her tears were tears of fury, not sadness.

“Hanging would be too good for them,” she said low as she continued to stare at the man’s face.

“Do you want to clean him up first?” The young man asked.

“Yes, I think that’s the least we can do.”

“I’ll go get what you need,” Mack volunteered and scuttled off.

Glory had followed them in and slowly came up to the foot of the table, her eyes huge in her thin face. She reached out to gently touch the man’s foot as she sobbed once at the pitiful sight of such a fine, physical specimen of the human form being so cruelly treated. Then she frowned when her hand encountered skin that was not cold.

Thea was still staring at his face and she gasped when she saw his eyes move once under the closed lids. “He’s still alive…” she said in disbelief as the man on the table opened his eyes to meet hers. She stared into their hazel depths and was surprised that his gaze was focused.

“Help me,” he tried to say, but no sound came out. Then his entire body tensed as his chest heaved to take in a deep breath, and he went limp.

“Damn it!” Thea said and quickly turned to Glory. “Go to my office and bring back my bag,” she barked at the other woman. Glory took off at top speed – she turned to David next.

“Stretch his arms over his head,” she ordered and he jumped to obey. She moved back from the table and swept her gaze around the floor. The step stool she was looking for was under the next table and she hurried to get it and bring it back to the right side of the middle. Dropping it to the floor, she stepped up and leaned over the now dead man. She ran her fingers over the right side of his chest until she found the right spot. Then she raised her fist and brought it down as hard as she could. His body jerked, but she paid no attention as she placed one hand on top of the other and began to push in and up rhythmically in the same spot.

David watched what she was doing and shook his head as he pumped the man’s arms. He had read about this technique in the accounts of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, but had never seen it done before. Glory burst back in a few moments later.

Thea nodded for Glory to take over and the two women quickly switched places. She pulled a metal syringe out of the bag and a small bottle of a murky, brown liquid. Quickly filling the syringe, she then moved around to the other side and paused – she looked directly into David’s eyes.

“Put his arms down and turn around,” she said firmly and he did as he was told, even as dozens of questions rose to his lips. But he remained silent.

“You can turn around now,” she said and he quickly did to see her take a bell-shaped stethoscope out of her bag. Glory stepped back as Thea placed the bell on the man’s chest and everyone held their breath.

“It’s beating,” Thea said with true joy in her voice. Both David and Glory smiled as she raised her head.

“I need suture trays, as many as you can scrounge up,” she said to the nurse and the other woman took off again. “You go with her David; she’ll need your help.” The young man opened his mouth to ask a question, but one look at Thea’s expression and he hurried off after the nurse as the morgue attendant reappeared.

Mack stared at the man on the table and his mouth fell open when he saw his chest rise and fall. Thea turned to him. “Mack, I need you to get as much boiled water together as you can. Make sure the buckets are clean.” He stared at her for a moment, and then hurried away again. “I need clean linen too!” she shouted after him and he nodded his head as he charged through a side door.

“Dear God,” she breathed as she reached out to gently touch his battered face. “Please guide my hand,” she prayed then started with surprise when his eyes opened again.

Meeting his gaze she leaned over him. “What is your name?” she asked as his face tightened and he clenched his jaw at the incredible pain.

“Adam,” he choked out and his eyes snapped shut as he began to shiver. She pulled the sheet up over him.

“What is your last name?” she asked, wanting to at least know what to put on a headstone if he didn’t make it. He opened his eyes again and she flinched at the hopelessness she saw there.

“I…don’t …know,” he said and bit his lip as a choked off scream tried to escape his throat and he passed out. She quickly used the stethoscope again and could hear that his heart was still beating. Then David, Mack, and Glory came back, running into the room at top speed. She bowed her head to pray once more, and then focused intently on the man lying in front of her. Death was going to have to fight it’s fiercest to wrench THIS one out of her hands.

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THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

Chapter 2

David quietly opened the door to Adam's private hospital room and slipped in. Glory was worried and had sought him out to tell him Thea hadn't left the room all night and for most of the day. He closed the door quietly when he saw she was asleep, curled up in the chair next to the bed.

Moving quietly toward her, his eyes ran over the long form of the man in the bed. He shook his head, marveling that Adam was still alive. Little could be seen of his face, it was covered with bandages, while his left arm and both legs were in full casts. Only the lower right arm had been fractured so he sported only a half-cast there.

Thea stirred, seeming to sense his presence so he stood there quietly, waiting for her to fully wake up. While he waited he considered this puzzle. The way she had focused on Adam made him think there was more than a doctor - patient relationship here. In a few moments, she opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"David," she said quietly, "I'm so glad you're here. Would you mind taking a look and giving me your opinion?" He smiled and nodded, while at the same time feeling a little disgruntled that she seemed to be able to consider nothing else but this man. Any doctor becoming that involved with a patient was always a dangerous situation.

He quickly completed his examination then sighed as he straightened up, reluctant to meet her eyes. But he forced himself to.

"Well?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry..." he said quietly.

"Sorry? About what?"

"Thea, you know as well I do that his brain is beginning to swell. And you know what the consequences of that are."

"Yes I do," she answered and surprised him by smiling. "You are correct about the brain swelling, but it's actually going down now. He has shown improvement."

David shook his head. "Even so, the chances are that he won't ever be normal. If he does wake up, he'll have suffered severe brain damage."

Thea was staring at Adam's face, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. "That is possible, certainly, but my instincts tell me he's going to pull through."

He had just opened his mouth to argue with her further when the door opened and Doctor Simon, the hospital administrator strode in. Ignoring Thea, he came up to David and held out his right hand.

"Just popped in to take a look at your patient Doctor Charles," he said with a huge, overly bright smile. "For a new staff member you certainly have made your mark already." He turned to her then. "I'm glad you are here Theadora. You could learn a great deal from this young man. We all could," he patted David on the shoulder. "Excellent work Doctor, we are very pleased and proud you have chosen to join our staff." The big man chuckled, and turned to leave as David opened his mouth to protest. But he stopped when he saw Thea shaking her head.

Doctor Simon opened the door then paused to look back at them. "Excellent work!" he repeated and stepped out, closing the door firmly behind him.

"Why did you stop me?" he demanded, upset at this turn of events.

Thea shook her head again and gave him a commiserating glance. "It wouldn't have done any good, David. That man only ever hears what he wants to hear. Knowing him, he would have thought you were just being gallant. He never would have believed any woman was capable of this."

"But it's the truth and that's not fair."

She gave him a knowing look. "Life is like that sometimes, isn't it?" Tipping her head to the side, she gave him a grin and he couldn't help but respond with a smile.

"Besides, that doesn't really matter. I've already made up my mind to resign."

"No!"

"Yes," she answered quietly, but firmly. "I'm leaving and I'm taking Adam with me." She reached down to touch his forehead, looking for any signs of fever. "He's going to need a great deal of care to recover from something this terrible and he certainly won't be getting that here."

"You're taking him home with you?" he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

She nodded. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Glory has decided to come and work for me.”

They heard a knock on the door and Thea turned her head to call out, "Come in."

The door was opened by a heavily muscled black man. "Am I interrupting anything?" he asked her with a charming grin.

"No, Abner, come on in and we'll get out of your way," Thea chuckled as the orderly came in and moved toward the bed.

"Any idea when you'll be moving him?" he asked.

"I would think in about a week," she answered. "Will that work out for you?"

"Yes ma'am," he said and gave her a pleased smile as she moved through the door. David followed closely, and when she started down the hall he touched her arm. She stopped and turned to look at him questioningly.

"May I speak to you in private?" he asked low, glancing around at the many people passing. She stared at him impassively for a moment before saying, "My office?"

He gave her a brief nod and the two hurried down to the basement level where Thea's office was. When she paused to unlock the door his eyebrows rose, and she gave him a rueful smile.

"I had to start locking my office during the day when 'specimens' started showing up in the oddest places."

David rolled his eyes in disgust as they entered and she moved behind her desk to sit down. He quickly seated himself in one of her visitor's chairs.

Thea raised her eyebrows and looked at him impassively again, waiting for him to speak first. He took a deep breath and just plunged in.

"No doubt this is none of my business, but have you lost your mind?"

Her lips twitched slightly, but her eyes remained remote. She didn't answer so he charged ahead, realizing he couldn't back down now.

"What on Earth has possessed you to leave your position here, take a complete stranger into your home, and spend the next year attempting to nurse that man back to health?"

Thea's brows snapped together and her lips tightened, but she still did not respond. His eyes narrowed as he stared at what he read as a furious expression. Then an outlandish thought occurred to him.

"Are you doing this because you've developed...feelings for him?"

Her lips twitched again and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly. Then all he could do was stare in disbelief when she burst out laughing.

"Dear Lord David," she finally managed to gasp, "Do you really think I'm that much of a fool? That I'm seeing this as some sort of fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty in reverse?" She raised a trembling hand to wipe away tears of laughter.

"I guess not," he said wryly.

"Of COURSE not," she answered. "But think about it, David. What a challenge and a once in a lifetime opportunity for any doctor."

His expression said he was still dubious so she shook her head in exasperation.

"Listen to me. This man is alone, devastated, and destitute. If I don't do this, he will no doubt end his days in some state run asylum and as a cripple. How can I let that happen when I know I can prevent it?" She smiled when she saw he was becoming interested in spite of himself.

"He is going to require extensive physical, emotional, and mental care. And I can't think of anything more worthy of spending my time and skill on." Thea stood to come around and perch on the edge of the desk right in front of him.

David," she said urgently, "I can learn more while just taking care of him than I've learned since I joined the staff here three years ago." She paused to let that sink in. "I have so many ideas about treatments and procedures I've seen in other countries that I want to try."

"He's a human being, Thea, not some lab experiment for you to tinker with."

"Oh I know, and that is why I will be doing everything I possibly can to make him whole and healthy again."

He shifted in his chair, still feeling he should try to discourage her. "Alright, let’s suppose for the sake of argument he does survive the brain swelling and doesn't wake up a human vegetable. What will you do if he doesn't want to cooperate?"

Grinning she said, "He will...once I've gained his trust."

"This still sounds insane."

"I know and that's the beauty of it. To think and act outside convention, but at the same time, take every care to see that he is not harmed." Leaning forward, her hazel gaze locked with his. "I can do this David," she said, then fell silent as they continued to stare into each other's eyes. He was the first to look away.

"I guess you've thought this out carefully and I have to assume you know what you are doing."

"Yes, I do know what I'm doing. And just think, if he remains a blank slate with no memory, he has the chance to make himself into whoever he wants to be. What an incredible, terrible gift to be given!"

He started laughing at her wide-eyed enthusiasm, recognizing she was telling the truth.

"Right now I'm starting to think he's the luckiest man in existence in both senses of the word - good and bad."

Slowly nodding her head, Thea smiled her widest smile. "I don't know how I know this, but you mark my words. My patient is a very special individual. His will to live is astounding and he will not only survive, but also go on to do much, much more if I have anything to say about it."

David sighed, "Oh I'm sure you will have PLENTY to say about it Thea. And God help that poor man."

"Yes," she said, perfectly serious. "God help him."

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THE UNKNOWN

Chapter 3

Adam opened his eyes. At first the sunlight streaming in the bow window he was laying near seemed to pierce right into his brain. His eyelids clamped down and his eyes watered for a moment. Then a cloud covered the sun and he opened them again.

For the first time in two weeks he was completely conscious, although still fuzzy around the edges from the morphine. His eyes swept around the room and he could see groupings of chairs and sofas and many pieces of what looked like medical equipment. He tried to sit up and was surprised when he didn't have the strength. Then he became aware of the casts on his legs and arms. The only one he could move was the right arm and it felt as though it weighed a hundred pounds. Pushing the covers off his chest, he looked down at the scars that were a dark red. He stared at them for some time and began to shake as his mind was flooded by the memories of the assault.

He could remember every blow but not the attackers, and every stab, but not the perpetrators. Cold sweat poured off of him and he couldn't seem to take in enough air. He fought with every ounce of his will to push those memories back into the darkest recesses of his mind and when he finally did he lay there completely limp, exhausted from the effort.

Closing his eyes, he rested and began to search for other memories, but found nothing except the face of a woman leaning over him. He went over her face, feature by feature, but had no idea who she was. All he could remember was her asking him questions and a deadly coldness gripping his body. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. Maybe something in the room would tell him who he was.

Sweeping his eyes around the room again, he realized nothing - not one thing - looked at all familiar. Then he wearily turned his head to look out the bow window. A riot of flowers were in bloom, some of them pressing on the other side of the glass. His brows rose when he saw the woman who had leaned over him come running down a path with a large gray and white sheepdog on her heels. She ran around to the back of an iron bench and the dog skidded to a stop in front. The woman feinted to her left and the dog went in that direction while she took off to the right. But her skirts were getting in her way and she fell to the grass. She turned over and started shrieking with laughter when the dog pounced on her and began vigorously licking her face.

He could hear her joyful laughter through the glass and suddenly felt a thousand years old. She pushed at the dog's chest and finally managed to get him to back off some so she could sit up. Reaching for the dog's head to scratch behind his ears, she glanced through the window and her mouth fell open when she saw Adam watching her.

She pushed the dog off, making him sit down abruptly and scrambled to her feet. Then she disappeared running again toward the other end of the house. He heard a door open and slam, voices, then the sound of running feet coming down the hallway toward the room where he lay.

He turned his head in that direction to see the dark-haired woman and a large black man try to come through the doorway at once. They almost got stuck, but a hard shove by a tall, blonde woman coming up behind them pushed them through. He vaguely realized that what he was seeing was funny, but had absolutely no urge to laugh. The three people rushed toward the bed, then abruptly stopped as a group and just stared at him for a few moments. He stared back mutely until the dark-haired woman took a deep breath and came closer. The black man hurried to bring a chair over so she could sit next to the bed. Thea glanced over her shoulder at Abner and Glory and the two retreated to the other side of the room. Then she turned her attention back to her patient.

Adam's eyes swept over her face again and she found herself starting to flush pink and couldn't understand why. So she mentally shrugged her shoulders and began to question him.

"Do you remember me?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," he answered flatly.

"Do you remember telling me your name is Adam?"

"Yes."

"And you still don't remember your last name?"

"No," he said tightly, the morphine was wearing off and his pain was increasing.

"Do you remember anything else? Anything at all?"

"I remember being dead," he answered and closed his eyes briefly as he winced.

She quickly stood and went to the other side of the room, but was back in a moment with a syringe. Abner had followed her to the bedside, and he quickly pulled the covers back and rolled Adam onto his right side, then rolled him back after Thea injected the morphine. He tucked the covers back in and automatically patted Adam's shoulder before going back to sit with Glory.

Adam's eyes were still closed, but she could tell the moment the morphine took effect when the tenseness of his muscles began to ease. He opened his eyes again.

"What happened to me," he said without looking at her.

"We aren't entirely sure. All I really know is I came to the morgue expecting three dead bodies, but found only two. You were not dead."

"I remember being dead," he repeated, still staring at the ceiling.

"Yes you were, but not for long."

He finally turned his head to look at her and her heart clenched at the dark pain she could see in his eyes.

"I was brought back." He was stating a fact, not asking a question.

"Yes," she said softly.

"And obviously YOU don't know who I am either."

"No, the police eventually identified the other two men, but couldn't find anything out about you," she answered and briefly thought about how little effort they had given to investigating this case.

"I see," he said and his eyes narrowed. She leaned toward him, pleased to see signs that his mind was working.

"Where am I?"

"In my home."

"And where is your home?"

"New York," she answered.

He remained silent for a moment. "Somehow I don't think I'm from around here," he finally said and her heart lifted, hoping his "somehow" feelings would eventually coalesce into memories.

"No, I don't think you are either."

"What happened? I mean physically. Or should I ask the doctor that question?"

"I AM your doctor," she said and tensed waiting for his reaction.

"Then you are the one that brought me back." She nodded then answered his previous question. "You suffered three compound fractures, one in each leg and your left arm. Two of your ribs are broken and as you can see, many of your fingers. Your right forearm has a greenstick fracture. You also suffered numerous stab wounds. I do not know how many, I could not bring myself to count them. None touched a major vein, artery, or vital organ, which is the reason you did not die by exsanguination. Your lesser injuries were many abrasions, contusions, and badly bruised and cracked knuckles. From what I can surmise, you did not go down without a fight."

"Well, isn't that good news," he murmured sardonically and she smiled at another sign that his brain had recovered well from the swelling.

"You also received several severe blows to the head which caused your brain to swell. I believe your amnesia is partially the result of that pressure on your brain, but not completely. The emotional and mental devastation you experienced has to be just as much at fault."

"Perfectly logical to think so," he said softly with an edge of anger in his voice, and she was surprised he was already moving into the next stage of reaction. He was well on his way to acceptance.

They were both silent for a while so Thea stood to ask, "Do you have any more questions?"

He turned his head to look at her again as he sarcastically said, "Just one DOCTOR." Suddenly his eyes opened wide and she went cold as she looked into their dark depths, burning with fury.

"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU LET ME STAY DEAD."

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CHOICES

Chapter 4

Adam's dark, furious words seemed to echo in the large room as Thea stood very still, staring at him. Then she blinked and green fire sparked in her hazel eyes. He almost drew back when she leaned over him.

"I did not let you stay dead because I took a vow to preserve life at all costs."

"So you brought me back...and for what? I HAVE nothing. I AM nothing." Thea started to shake her head and he made an impatient sound in the back of his throat.

"For God's sake, can't you understand? I don't even know who I am!"

Thea's eyes narrowed and she dropped into her chair, leaned back, and watched him carefully for a while. He returned her cool gaze.

The silence in the room lengthened, but the only people who seemed to feel uncomfortable were Abner and Glory.

Thea finally spoke. "So what are you going to do?" she said in a conversational tone.

Adam looked at her as though she was insane. "Do? What the hell are you talking about?"

She shrugged. "What are you going to do with the rest of your life?"

"Seemingly spend it as a destitute cripple with no name." His tone was sarcastic and his expression said that should have been obvious to anyone, even her.

She smiled, "You don't have to."

"I don't' have to what? Be a cripple?"

"No, you don't, and you don't have to be destitute either. Once you are out of that bed and have recovered your strength I'm sure you will be able to think of a way to make a living. And you DO have a name - Adam - and if you want a last name, pick one."

"That can't possibly be legal."

"Yes it is, I asked. As long as you are not consciously trying to avoid prosecution, jail time, or incurred debt, you can call yourself whatever you want. For a single court fee you can change your name to William Shakespeare if you like."

His expression was still hostile and she decided to go for broke. She needed to push him, and push hard to get him over this first hurdle. Leaning forward, she let her own annoyance at his attitude show.

"Look, Adam, you can lay there, do nothing, and die at a relatively young age. Or trust me and become well again, which will be difficult and painful, but possible."

"Just 'possible'?" he answered.

"Alright, more than possible, but less than certain. I can't give you any guarantees. All I can give you is my word that I will do everything I can and use every bit of experience and skill I possess to make you whole again." She kept her gaze locked with his and could see she almost had him. "So you have a choice to make, right here and right now. You have to decided whether or not you have the backbone for this uphill battle." Falling silent, she looked at him expectantly.

"What's in it for you?" he asked suspiciously and she smiled a very wide smile as her eyes lit up. "The challenge," was all the answer she would give.

"An experiment?" he asked tightly and she nodded, still smiling.

"You don't pull any punches, do you?"

"No, I don't have the time for that and neither do you."

He closed his eyes to think and a wave of weariness washed over him. His weakened condition coupled with the minimal dose of morphine was making his thought processes slow.

"You'll never stop pushing me to cooperate, will you?" he asked with his eyes still closed.

"No," she answered softly.

"So I really don't have a choice." He almost smiled. "You just wanted me to think I did."

She held back a laugh, happy his mind was so sharp, even with the morphine. "Possibly."

"Possibly?" he opened his eyes and their gazes locked again. She held her breath. He could almost feel her will touch him, prodding him to give in. He sighed and did.

"Alright then," he gave in and even though he knew it was the right and intelligent thing to do, it still left a sour taste in his mouth. Suddenly, he felt like laughing at himself, but didn't.

Then he was surprised when all she said was, "Good," gave Abner and Glory a significant look, stood, and quickly left the room.

Abner came over to the bed to tend to Adam's needs while Glory hurried after Thea. She found her friend and employer where she expected her to be - sitting at the kitchen table with her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of tea. The woman was shaking like a leaf, her eyes awash with unshed tears in reaction.

Thea raised a trembling hand to her mouth as the other woman sat down on the opposite side of the table. "Oh God, for a minute there I thought I'd lost him," Thea's breath hitched in her chest as she tried to calm down.

Glory reached out to take one of her hands. "That's funny, because it looked to me like you had him in the palm of your hand."

Thea shook her head. "Him? No never. There's never been a woman born who could do that."

Tipping her head to the side, Glory's expression said she was concerned. "I've never seen you cry over a patient before."

"That's right, you've never seen me. I usually don't let anyone see me cry." She paused to shudder, "But the pain, the anguish I saw in that man's eyes was enough to make even a rock weep."

Glory nodded and patted her hand, trying to comfort her.

With tears still spilling down her cheeks, Thea said, "Please...tell me I'm doing the right thing."

The blond woman smiled and met her friend's gaze steadily. "You ARE doing the right thing," she said firmly. Thea gave her a suddenly sharp look. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"Yes I do," Glory answered, and stood to pour herself some tea. Then she went to the cupboard to take down a bottle. When she came back to the table, she poured a generous amount of whiskey in each cup.

Suddenly laughing with tears still in her eyes, Thea said, "Thank you," and waited for the other woman to sit down again before speaking.

"I managed to bully him into cooperating, but that doesn't mean he won't change his mind. Now I think it will be best if I have as little contact with him as possible for a while. So you and Abner will have to do everything. But I want detailed reports every day and you bring anything that stands out even the tiniest bit to my attention immediately."

Glory smiled her agreement, happy to see Thea in control again. Both women took a deep drink of the whiskey-laced tea and Thea smiled back, but it quickly faded.

"I've told him the truth Glory. This will be a terrible uphill battle, we will all need to be behind him and pushing with everything we've got."

The other woman sat up and straightened her thin shoulders. "I'm ready!" she said brightly and Thea couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm.

"You would think the next month would be the hardest, but it won't be. The hardest period will be right after his casts are removed. Getting him up and walking again will be exhausting, painful, and frustrating."

She turned around when Abner's rich voice spoke from the doorway behind her. "Well, he's settled in for the afternoon. That battle of the wills with you wore him out."

"Come and have a seat Abner," Thea said and patted the empty place at the end of the table. Abner hesitated for a brief second then moved quietly across the kitchen to do as she asked. His expression was solemn as he shook his head.

"I can't believe how lucid he is. Dr. Charles didn't expect him to come out of it at all." Thea and Glory exchanged a knowing look and his eyes shifted back and forth between them. "What?" he simply asked, baffled.

Thea took a deep breath and explained. "Abner, you will find that I use unusual drugs and techniques in my practice, some things other doctors just laugh at or get highly insulted about. I have to have your word you won't say anything to anyone about this."

Abner nodded as his charming, white-toothed grin flashed. "I get ya," he said and was rewarded with smiles from the two women.

"Alright folks, now that we know just what we have to deal with I think we should put our heads together and come up with a course of treatment. I have a lot of ideas and I need your opinions before I can pick and choose." She paused to take another swallow of the tea while Abner rose and poured some for himself too.

"The whiskey is in the cupboard above you," Thea said absently and when he sat down again she started to outline her plans.

"Now I think we should begin with working on flexibility and here is what might be the best approach..."

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BATTLE LINES

Chapter 5

Thea's life and home settled down into a steady routine that completely revolved around the bitter man lying impatiently in the huge bed. His temper had steadily worsened during that four weeks, but he never once went back on his word. Even though he did everything reluctantly, he obeyed her instructions to the letter.

She would come to his room first thing in the morning to examine him. Then she would sit in a chair next to the bed and explain whatever treatment would be started or discontinued. She made sure her explanations were complete and she always asked if he had any questions. His answer would always be a flat "no" and he would turn his head away as though he couldn't bear to look at her anymore.

Glory and Abner noticed this of course and as time went on they found themselves becoming reluctantly irritated with Adam. They admired his strength and intelligence, but while they admired him, they loved Thea and felt he was being unfair. Neither knew what to do besides continue to give him the best care possible and hope he would come around eventually.

Matters came to a head a few days before he was to have his large casts removed. The finger splints and the half cast on his right arm were gone and he was in a fever of excitement to have his other three limbs freed.

Adam was having a bad day, the itch from the casts was driving him crazy and the pain in his back from being immobile for so long had been increasing all week. Thea had reduced the doses of morphine as far as she could, but didn't stop the injections - she knew he just could not handle the affects of the drug being withdrawn as well as his injuries yet.

The sun had just set and Adam was lying still while staring at the ceiling. Abner and Glory were both sitting by the fireplace and trying to be quiet so their patient wouldn't become disturbed or annoyed. So far that day he had snapped at Abner, barely eaten anything, and knocked a glass full of an herbal mixture on the floor when he pushed it away. Unfortunately, Thea chose this evening to make an unexpected visit.

Adam's head whipped to the side the second she walked in the door and his eyes narrowed when she only spared him a quick smile before walking over to Abner and Glory. The three people began to discuss their plans for removing the casts while Adam's irritation grew and bloomed into anger.

"I want you to take these damn casts off tonight!" he yelled across the room at Thea's back. She slowly turned around.

"What?"

"Wasn't I clear enough for you? Take these casts off right now."

"You have two more days before the six weeks is up," Thea said tightly while moving toward the bed.

"Look doctor, I'm the one living in here and I'm telling you the bones are knit. Take them off."

For the first time Thea's anger got the better of her. "No."

Adam's jaw clenched and his face tightened. "Then I'll do it myself," he said flatly and threw the covers back. Then she watched in horrified fascination when he made a fist with his right hand and slammed it down on the part of the cast covering his right thigh. The cast cracked. Without thinking, Thea darted to the right side of the bed and grabbed his arm just as he was about to slam his fist down on the cast again. He couldn't stop the movement quickly enough and she found herself thrown on her back, across his legs.

They stared at each other with wide eyes as Abner came running. Thea turned her head to give him a look that said, "Back off," then sat up with her hands still holding Adam's right arm. She quickly ran her hands over his forearm, worried he might have fractured it again then breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't.

Abner and Glory exchanged a knowing look when Thea didn't move. She just continued to sit on his legs while her hands slid over the warm skin of his right arm. Then she looked up startled, into Adam's face when he cleared his throat. Her face turned red and she scrambled off the bed.

She took a deep breath and tried to summon up a professional expression, but when she turned to see Abner and Glory's over bright, innocent smiles, she had to swallow back an embarrassed laugh.

"Well, you heard the man Abner - let's get these casts off!" Abner hurried off with a hand over his mouth to get the special cutters needed. Glory just stood there with her eyebrows raised and her lips folded in. Thea couldn't help but grin at her friend's expression, then crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out. Glory almost choked.

Taking another deep breath, Thea straightened her shoulders and turned back to the man lying in the bed. His eyes were hooded and she had to clench her teeth when she saw the half smile he was giving her. Mentally groaning, she resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and gestured for Glory to come over. The two women swung into action, stripping the top covers off the bed, then rolling Adam from one side of the bed to the other to spread a piece of canvas beneath him. They had just finished when Abner returned, carrying the long handled, angle-bladed cutters.

Thea put a hand on Adam's shoulder. "I'm going to give you a little more morphine just in case," she said and went to the other side of the room to prepare a syringe. She came quickly back, gave him the injection, and then nodded at Abner. The black man chose to start on the right leg, easily slipping the blades through the crack Adam had started. When he was finished cutting he slipped the fingers of both hands into the crack while Thea and Glory did the same on the other side. They pulled as hard as they could and suddenly the cast broke into two halves. Abner went to take hold of Adam's ankle and carefully lifted as the two women slid the remnants of the cast off the bed.

A quick examination showed the leg to be whole again and Thea grinned as she patted Adam's knee. "Let's move on, people," she said in a very pleased voice and they tackled the other leg, and then his left arm. All four of them breathed a sigh of relief and the three people standing grinned at each other for a few moments.

"Abner," Thea said quietly, "would you mind taking Adam into the bath now?"

Adam quickly turned his head to look at her and she was surprised at the first genuine smile she had seen on his face. She patted him on the shoulder, then stepped aside to let Abner pull Adam up into a sitting position. Then he took his patients ankles and slowly swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Thea mentally nodded when she saw him wince. Bending his knees would no doubt be rather painful for a while.

Glory had hurried to bring over a wheel chair and held it steady while Abner put his arms around Adam, lifted him to his feet, then swung him around to lower him into the chair. Then the black man knelt to put the other man's feet on the footrests before standing to meet Thea's happy gaze. She gave him a quick nod so he moved around behind the chair and pushed it carefully from the room.

When the two men finally returned Adam was completely exhausted, but deeply pleased at finally being free. The process of getting him out of bed and into the tub had shown him just how weak his legs were. He was already dreading what was coming - the painful process of getting back on his feet.

Abner had slipped him into a warm robe after his bath and the two women had changed his bed. He was surprised that he was actually looking forward to getting back in. He shook his head at himself then looked up when Thea appeared. She helped Abner get Adam up to sit on the edge of the bed before drawing him aside for a whispered consultation. Then the black man came back to swing Adam's legs up onto the bed, then rolled him over to lie on his stomach.

Adam was so tired he had almost nodded off, but was startled awake when Abner removed his robe, then spread a towel over his backside. He turned his head to give the black man a startled look.

"Just relax," Abner reassured him so Adam rested the side of his head on his forearms and waited.

He was almost asleep, but his eyes snapped open when he felt cool, thick liquid make contact with the skin of his right calf. Then strong, long fingers began to slide up and down, spreading the liquid and digging deeply into the muscle. He knew immediately the person touching him was not Abner and his head snapped up when he heard Thea's voice.

"This will help with the itching and the muscle cramps you will have the misfortune to experience for a while," she said quietly as her hands continued massaging up his leg and to the back of his thigh. Then she moved to the other side of the bed and started on his left leg.

Adam was clenching his teeth at this point and she was perfectly aware that the tension in his muscles was increasing instead of lessening. She smiled as she finished with his left leg and moved on to start on his back.

Thea couldn't help but wince at the mass of scars and her mouth tightened in a grim line, hating the men who had done this with every fiber of her being. Then she noticed Adam shift his hips uncomfortably and she smiled as she stepped back.

"Abner? Would you come and turn Adam over?" she said and almost laughed when she saw his entire body stiffen. "And do you think you can take over? My hands are starting to tire," she added and heard Adam breathe a sigh of relief.

The black man resisted his urge to laugh when his warm brown eyes met Thea's sparkling hazel. He knew what she had been up to and was aware of the reason why. He briefly thought that things would be much more interesting now that her self-imposed exile was over.

Thea bent down to look at Adam again. His eyes were closed, but she knew he wasn't asleep. "Get a good night's sleep," she said softly. "Tomorrow the real work begins."

She straightened up to hand the bottle of lotion over to Abner with a wink and a wide smile. Then she caught Glory's eyes and nodded at the door. The two women left together.

Glory had a hard time keeping her laughter in check until they reached the kitchen. Then she sat down and laughed until she cried.

"Oh God!" she gasped, "I can't believe you did that?"

"Did what?" Thea feigned ignorance as she moved around the kitchen, putting the kettle on and bringing a plate of cookies to the table.

"Come now," Glory was using her apron to dry her eyes. "You know exactly what kind of reaction you were getting from him. Don't deny it, I know you too well."

Thea sat down across from her friend. "Maybe I did, but you have to admit he deserved it."

"It was the look, right? That smug, arrogant, 'You can't resist me,' look."

The other woman's eyes darkened. "Exactly!" she said and stood when the kettle started to whistle.

"He IS very handsome, even with that beard."

"Yes he is and he knows it," Thea said sharply as she filled the teapot and brought it back with her. "If there is one thing I can't stand its arrogant, insufferable men," she continued.

"Mmm...hmmm," Glory murmured and tried to keep a straight face.

"I mean, who does he think he is? I'm his doctor, not some silly twit fresh out of the schoolroom."

"Right."

"He'll find out the hard way that I am not in the least bit interested in him."

Glory grabbed a cookie and crammed it into her mouth, hoping to keep from laughing and offending her friend.

"And he's not only arrogant, he's bad tempered, ungrateful, sarcastic, and a know-it-all."

The other woman sputtered slightly, spraying a few cookie crumbs on the table as she desperately grabbed her cup of tea and took a swallow. Tears sprang to her eyes; the tea had burned her tongue.

Thea looked at her with concern. "Are you alright?"

Glory stared back at her helplessly with tears rolling down her cheeks, and then nodded, not daring to open her mouth again for anything.

"You don't look alright," Thea persisted and her friend just couldn't take any more.

"I'm fine," she managed to choke out as she stood. "I think I'll turn in," she sputtered as she fled the room.

Thea watched her go, honestly puzzled about her friend's odd behavior and could only shake her head as she listened to Glory's retreating footsteps, a door slam, then muffled laughter.

Lifting her teacup to take a sip, Thea thought over her friend's odd behavior and groaned when she finally figured it out. Her eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched as she stared furiously at the opposite wall.

"Oh no you don't, Mr. Whoever you are. You are NOT going to get under my skin," she said softly to herself, and then stood to go back to Adam's room and discuss her plans for tomorrow with Abner. The battle had just begun.

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NEW LEAVES

Chapter 6

The sharp pain of his whole left leg cramping abruptly woke Adam around three o'clock in the morning. He sat up with a gasp and reached down to dig his fingers into the muscles and by the time the cramp had eased his forehead was damp with sweat from the effort.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he lay back down being careful to not move his leg. The muscles were still quivering and he was sure the cramp would bloom back to life if he didn't keep the leg still. He closed his eyes, hoping he would be able to go back to sleep, but at the same time knowing he wouldn't be able to. His body was weary, but his mind was wide-awake and he realized he was thinking clearly for the first time since he woke up in the morgue. So he decided he might as well take advantage of the quiet to do some serious thinking about his situation - some decisions needed to be made.

But first he found himself going over the events of that day. The memories of snapping at Abner and knocking the glass out of Glory's hand made him feel uncomfortable. Then he could feel his face turning red in embarrassment over losing his temper and smashing his fist into the cast the way he had. He mentally shook his head at his awful behavior and his difficult attitude. And yet, everything he had been throwing at these people had been taken with good grace. Never once had anyone treated him like the ungrateful bastard he had been.

Then he turned his thoughts to his situation. He had no name, no money, and no family. He was really completely alone even though Thea had taken him in and provided for his every need. Sighing, he finally understood that the anger he had been wallowing in was only a smoke screen for what he was really feeling - namely fear. Finally admitting this to himself was oddly having the affect of making him feel free. He didn't understand why, but dismissed that thought as being unimportant. The important thing was deciding what he was going to do with the rest of his life. He smiled when his mind flashed back to Thea asking him that same question.

Even though he really couldn't be sure, he somehow knew he had never met a woman like her before. He smiled again, remembering her grabbing his arm and ending up being flung almost into his lap. Then he remembered how her immediate concern had not been for herself, it had been for him only and he closed his eyes to feel her hands on his arm again. He couldn't explain it, but her touch right then had seemed familiar. Almost like something remembered and longed for again. And he had gotten much more when she had started massaging his leg later. His physical reaction had been instant and embarrassing.

He knew she had done that to him on purpose to pay him back for the smug look he had given her earlier and he couldn't help but admire her tactics. Laughing softly at the horror he had felt when she had asked Abner to turn him over, he admitted to himself that she had won on the field of battle that day, even though he had gotten what he wanted. She had walked away victorious by not arguing or wasting time bringing him to task for his outrageous behavior. Instead, she had assessed the situation intelligently, bowed to the inevitable, and enthusiastically participated in taking the casts off. Then she had fallen back to regroup and plan her revenge.

Laughing softly again, he realized he was intrigued - he had to get to know her better. No doubt he would get the chance because he knew she would be deeply involved in the next stage of his recovery, and for the first time he was looking forward to it.

In the mean time, he had to concentrate on getting back on his feet and recovering his strength. Then he would have to find work of some kind to not only support himself, but to also pay Thea back. He had just turned his thoughts to considering what kind of work when he heard an odd ticking sound coming down the hallway.

He turned his head and smiled when he saw a sheepdog-shaped shadow appear in the doorway. "Chester," he said softly, knowing the dog's name from having heard Thea calling him. The two usually played for a while in the garden every day and he remembered how frustrated he had felt every time he watched them.

The dog padded up to him when the man said his name and he stood there resting his chin on the bed. Suddenly feeling a pang of loneliness, Adam patted the mattress as he carefully slid to the other side. The bed creaked when the big dog jumped up, but held to support their combined weights. Chester stretched out next to him, put his head on Adam's right knee and heaved a deep sigh.

Adam chuckled as he reached down with both hands and started absently scratching the dog behind his ears.

"Well Chester, at least I haven't messed things up with you," he said quietly. "Well, not yet anyway."

He sighed then continued to think his situation through and by the time he fell asleep sometime later he was satisfied with what tentative plans he had been able to come up with. Both man and dog were still deeply asleep when Thea was the first to come in early that morning. Adam was lying on his right side, so was Chester, and the man had his left arm lying across the dog's middle.

Thea stood there for some time, staring at the two and thinking deeply, her expression unreadable and her greenish hazel eyes shining.

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The next time Adam opened his eyes it was to see Glory standing next to the bed. Chester was still sleeping next to him and she was grinning with amusement. He blinked a few times, coming fully awake, then grinned back at her.

"Good morning, Glory," he said and his grin widened as he looked down at the huge dog.

"Good morning," she answered cheerfully. "Looks like you've got a new best friend there and I have to say I'm surprised. Chester doesn't usually let anyone get near him except Thea."

"Maybe he feels sorry for me."

Glory laughed. "Maybe..." she said dubiously, and then turned toward the door when Thea and Abner walked in.

Thea came to stand next to Glory and reached down to pat the dog on the head. "Chester, come on boy, wake up."

The dog immediately opened his eyes and stood to jump down off the bed. Then he leaned into Thea while lifting his muzzle to look up at her.

"Did he disturb you?" she said to Adam as she crouched down to hug the huge dog around the neck.

"No," Adam said softly while watching her. Chester gave a small chuff of a bark and began to lick her face. Thea laughed and let him for a little while before pushing up with one hand on his broad back to stand up.

"I'll be right back," she said and snapped her fingers for the dog to follow as she left the room.

Glory started for the door too. "And I'll go see about making breakfast."

Abner smiled down at the man in the bed. "Why don't we get you up and dressed?" he said and went to get the wheelchair, while Adam smiled. Getting up and dressed had never sounded more appealing to him before.

He did everything he could to help Abner, and was almost limp with exhaustion by the time they were finished. But he recovered his smile when the black man wheeled him through the bedroom door and down the hallway toward the kitchen.

When they entered he could see a long kitchen table and Abner wheeled him up to the end then set the brake.

Adam watched the three of them move around the kitchen like a well-trained team, preparing the meal. Thea was at the stove doing the cooking while Abner quickly set the table with everything but the plates. In a few minutes, Thea began to fill the plates and Glory brought them to the table, serving Adam first, and then Abner. She set a plate down on the table for herself and the other woman while Thea brought the coffee pot and filled the cups.

Abner stood and held Glory's chair, and then came around the table to do the same for Thea. When he had returned to his own seat, Thea turned to Adam with a smile while the other two began eating.

"How are you feeling this morning?" she asked with her fork poised over her plate, as though she had forgotten what to do with it.

"Very, very tired," he answered with a smile. "But ready to get started," he hastily added when her eyes narrowed with concern.

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Thea surprised herself by asking.

"Very sure," Adam said as he picked his coffee up and took a deep swallow, glad to finally be out of bed.

She stared at him with that narrow gaze for a few moments more then smiled and began to eat.

They were silent for a little while until Thea spoke again. "Abner, have you finished memorizing the bones of the hand yet?"

"Yes ma'am," he answered.

"Good, then we can go over that this evening and move on."

"It's amazing how many there are," Glory offered while Abner nodded.

"Seems like it's taking forever to get the skeleton down," he said ruefully.

"Well, you need to get the anatomy firmly in your memory before we can do anything else," Thea said while giving the black man an encouraging smile. "I know it's tedious, but if you want to be a doctor you have to grin and bear it."

"Yes ma'am. And I really do appreciate your help. When I was working on this by myself it seemed like I wasn't getting anywhere."

"I know what you mean. I started assisting Doc in surgery when I was twelve, but he wouldn't let me do that until I had memorized everything. I swear I started dreaming about it after a while."

"You started assisting in surgery when you were twelve?" Adam gave her an incredulous look. She laughed at his expression.

"Yes I did. I've wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember and after the first few surgeries I knew I wanted to do that too."

"Was Doc your father?"

Thea's face tightened. "No, he was my guardian," she said and turned away as though she didn't want to discuss that subject again. She smiled at Glory.

"When is Nate coming back?" she asked and Adam was interested to see the older woman blush slightly.

"Next week," she said shyly as Thea laughed.

"I've missed him being underfoot all the time. And I'm sure he'll be glad to be back, I know he wasn't happy about traveling all that distance for his uncle's funeral since he never even met the man."

Glory just nodded, looking down at her now empty plate while Thea and Abner exchanged a knowing look. Adam continued to listen to the conversation with interest.

"He did it to please his mother," Abner offered as Thea stood to take the coffee pot around and refilled the cups.

"He's a good man, and I really DO miss him," she said then sat down again, grinning as Glory's face turned a deeper pink.

Adam decided to get into the conversation. "Who is Nate?" he asked with an innocent look and Thea rewarded him with a big smile.

"He lives in the boarding house next door and he's Glory's beau."

Glory's head snapped up. "He is not! I'm old enough to be his mother!"

Abner snorted with laughter while Thea chuckled. "You are NOT old enough to be his mother, and he IS sweet on you," Thea teased her.

"Well, I'm at least old enough to be his aunt!" Glory protested and that set the other two off laughing again.

"Glory," Thea finally choked out, "there's nothing wrong with seeing a younger man. It's not like he's twenty and you're sixty, for goodness sake."

"I guess not, but he's still not my beau!" Glory insisted and the other two let the subject drop as Thea turned to Adam.

"Did you have enough to eat?" she asked with a wide smile and he found himself smiling back as he nodded.

"Yes ma'am," he echoed Abner's words and she gave a surprised laugh.

"Good, I think we should get started," she said. Everyone but Adam stood. Glory started the clearing up from breakfast while Abner came to unlatch the brake and started pushing the chair toward the back door.

"We're going outside?" he asked, hoping they were.

Thea hurried over to open the door. "Yes sir!" was all she said in answer and his heart lifted when Abner pushed him through the door, across the back porch, and down a short ramp that looked newly constructed.

Adam sat back and relaxed, just enjoying the garden, the fresh air, and the sunshine as Abner rolled the chair down a brick path and through a gap in a long line of tall hedges. On the other side was a long, narrow building with windows set high up in the walls. Another ramp had been built to cover the steps and Thea hurried ahead to unlock the door and open it.

Abner wheeled the chair up and through the door then stopped to let Adam take a good look at the huge room. There were mats on the hardwood floor and curious pieces of equipment scattered around. But the one thing that caught his eye was what looked like two rails set parallel to each other. He thought he knew what they were for.

Thea slid past them and came around to stand in front of his chair. "Welcome to the torture chamber, Adam," she said with a big grin. "You'll be spending a lot of time here."

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ON YOUR MARK

Chapter 7

Adam found himself grinning back at Thea in spite of the ominous welcome she had just given him. She laughed softly and said, "Good, I can see nothing here intimidates you so there is no reason why we can't get started."

Turning, she walked toward the center of the room where a large, thick mat was spread out on the floor. Abner quickly pushed him up to it, set the brake on the chair, and then came around to lift him up and settle him on his back on the floor.

Thea startled him by dropping gracefully to sit next to him with her legs folded under her. "Now, I know you want to get your hands on those parallel bars and start walking, but believe me that can do more harm than good. The tendons in your limbs will have started to shorten, which always happens when arms and legs are kept immobile for long periods of time. Yours will not have shortened that much in just six weeks, but we have to be careful and stretch them back to normal gradually. We don't want any tearing to occur, we just don't have the ability to repair tendons yet."

Adam was looking up at her animated face and realized he was nodding in agreement with her, even though every fiber of his being wanted to be up and walking right then.

She smiled down into his face again before looking up at Abner and nodding. The black man came to kneel next to Adam's left leg. Then he reached out to take Adam's ankle in his right hand and used his left hand to help the knee bend. The pressure was gentle and he stopped when the knee had bent as far as it would easily.

Thea was watching this carefully and when Abner looked at her questioningly she nodded again. The black man increased the pressure on the knee by small amounts, gradually bending it further. By the time he finished, beads of sweat were standing out on Adam's forehead, but he hadn't made a single sound.

Pulling a handkerchief from a pocket, Thea blotted the sweat away, and then switched places with Abner. She started kneading the muscles of his left leg while Abner repeated the procedure on his right. Again, Adam made no sound indicating how much the stretching was hurting him and Thea couldn't help but be impressed with his control, something she had a great deal of herself.

When Abner finished, she moved around to massage the other leg while the black man moved on to Adam's left arm. His arms were in much better shape and Abner motioned for Thea to come around and test it.

"Just let your arm go limp," she said to the prone man while taking hold of his wrist and upper arm with her strong, long-fingered hands. She looked off into the distance and began moving his arm through its normal range of motion. Moving to the other side she did the same with his right arm. Gently laying the arm back down on the mat, she smiled a wide smile as she looked down into his face.

"This is wonderful, I only felt the slightest resistance in your left elbow. That means we can start working on getting your strength back in your arms right now." She seemed to be extremely pleased and rubbed her hands together before turning to Abner.

"Would you please bring the trapeze over?" she asked and he rose to his feet, hurried across the room, and quickly returned with something that looked like a sawhorse with two short pieces of rope tied to it. The ends of the rope had been threaded through holes near the ends of a round, wooden bar. He placed it over Adam's chest and he automatically reached up to grasp the bar in both hands.

"We're going to use your own body weight to build up your arms for a little while, then we'll move on to heavier weights." She reached out to take his hands off the bar, and then turned them over. "Hold the bar like this and pull yourself up if you can," she instructed and watched as he pulled himself up until his chin met the bar.

"Oh good," she chortled with delight. "Now do that nine more times and be sure to lift and lower yourself slowly," she instructed him and by the time he was finished sweat was soaking through his shirt. He was surprised that little amount of effort had left him wrung out and his muscles quivering.

"I know you feel about as weak as a kitten right now, but I'm quite sure you'll recover more quickly than you expect." She rose to her feet and moved the trapeze away herself so Abner could lift him up and settle him in the wheelchair again.

Adam sighed, disappointed and impatient with the little he had managed to do. Thea patted him on the shoulder.

"That's all we are going to do today and we will continue to come out here once a day for the rest of this week. After that, we'll be coming out here in the morning AND the afternoon. Then we will continue that schedule, but the sessions will get longer as time goes on. You'll be up and on your feet in no time!" she reassured him, her voice ringing with the authority of past experience. Adam's heart lightened at her words and he resolved to throw every bit of effort he could into getting moving again.

They left the building and returned to the house where Thea insisted that he lie down and rest for what was left of the morning. But he found it easier to accept when she told Abner to help him onto the couch instead of the bed.

She slipped a pillow under his head, patted him on the shoulder again, and moved to the chair opposite to sit down. Then she gave him a warm smile.

"You don't have to go to sleep Adam, I just want you to rest. Muscles have to be given time to recover or damage can occur." She picked up a book. "Would you like something to read?"

Adam had been dreading this question and didn't answer, he just kept looking at her with eyes that had darkened.

"What's wrong?" she was quick to ask and he grimaced before reluctantly speaking.

"I can't read."

He appreciated the fact that she didn't react by saying "what?" or staring at him in surprise. Instead her eyes narrowed and she slowly nodded her head.

"I am sure you used to be able to read, and I was afraid something like that might happen. Frequently with brain swelling, skills can be lost and need to be learned all over again."

She bit her lip as she stared off into the distance for a moment. Then she surprised him by standing and coming over. Putting the book down on the low table in front of the couch, she bent over, slid her hands under his shoulder blades and pushed him into a sitting position. Then she quickly sat down cross-legged on that end of the couch, facing in the same direction he was.

She put the pillow in her lap before putting her hands on his shoulders to tug him back down. When his head and shoulders were propped up against her, she reached out to pick up the book then opened it to the first page while holding it upright with the bottom edge resting on his chest.

"How does this feel? Are you comfortable?" she said and all he could do was nod. He was deeply aware of her closeness and the warmth of her body that he could feel through her dress where the top of his head was touching. Then he realized he was having that same intense reaction to her again, but didn't care. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his nerves, but instead reacted even more strongly to the faint, flowery scent she was wearing. "Lilly of the Valley," he thought and smiled, thinking the perfume suited her.

She interrupted his musings when she cleared her throat and shifted slightly. Staring at the printing blankly for a moment, he clenched his teeth and tried to concentrate as she started to read out loud.

An hour later when she stopped he was smiling with relief. He still couldn't really read, but letters and words had started standing out and he was certain he would remember.

Thea set the book down on the low table and was about to ask him if anything had looked familiar when she realized he had fallen asleep. She sat there with his head in her lap for some time, even though her legs were now numb. For some reason, she just could not bring herself to disturb him by moving.

He was sleeping deeply, completely relaxed and she could tell when he started dreaming and when the dream turned into a nightmare. Drawing in a sharp breath, his brow furrowed and his entire body tensed as his eyes moved swiftly under his closed lids, as though looking for escape. Sweat was starting to bead his forehead when Thea cradled his face in her hands and leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"It's alright Adam, you're safe. You're only dreaming..." She continued to whisper in his ear and was pleased to see him begin to relax, the tension in his muscles easing and his expression clearing. But he didn't wake up and she smiled with satisfaction when he moved on to the next and deeper stage of sleep.

Smoothing the damp hair off his forehead with a gentle hand she sat back as she considered the assault he had endured. As a doctor, she knew exactly what had been done to him and for the first time in her life felt the urge to kill as true fury burst to life in her heart.

The intensity of that feeling shocked her deeply and she carefully lifted his head to slip off the couch. She stood there for a moment, her legs shaking from more than being in one position for too long and stared down at him. He was a stranger to everyone, even himself, and she shook her head as she began backing away. She had no intention of giving her heart to anyone, firmly believing that a heart not given could not be broken, and she had promised herself that no one would ever have that kind of power over her again.

Still shaking her head, she did what she had never, ever done before - she ran away.

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IN THE SMALL HOURS

Chapter 8

A week had gone by and Adam's optimistic attitude was starting to wear thin. He kept reasoning with himself, saying Thea knew what she was doing, but his dissatisfaction at how slowly he was progressing grew. So at the end of the week he decided to do something about it.

Every night after that he would wake up in the small hours of the morning, get out of bed, and walk. At first he used the crutches that had been standing in the corner waiting for him. By the end of the next week, he had started using a cane.

Three days later he was doing as he usually did, making circuits of the room, stopping after each one to listen carefully for any sounds of someone coming. He was just about to complete his fourth trip around the room when a voice seemed to fly at him from the doorway.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing?" Thea almost screeched, startling Adam badly. One foot slid out from under him and the next thing he new he was on his back on the floor.

"Damn it!" he heard her shout and he winced when a sharp pain shot from his lower back and down his leg when he tried to sit up.

A match scratched, then flared into light as Thea lit the nearest lamp and came hurrying over. She knelt next to him, peering into his face with wide, anxious eyes and saw him wince again as he shifted slightly.

"Where is the pain?"

"My lower back."

"On one side or the center?"

"The left side," he clenched his teeth as she slid one hand under him.

"Is it here?" she asked and he nodded.

"Does it move?"

He nodded again, grinding his teeth.

"Where? Down your leg?"

"Yes," he gasped and she started to stand.

"I'll get the morphine," she said and was about to take a step away when his hand closed around her ankle.

"No!"

She looked down at him puzzled. "Adam, you need it."

"No I don't, this will pass. The usual amount you give me every day is enough. I can't stand any more, it's turning my brain to mush."

He let go of her ankle when she knelt next to him again. "This wouldn't have happened if you had listened to me...it's too soon for you to be walking."

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't snuck up on me shrieking like a banshee!" he ground out, his jaw muscles working.

"I was shocked! I couldn't help it!"

"I HAVE to get back on my feet! How the hell else will I ever be able to get out of here and find out who I am?" he raged as he slowly sat up.

"How on earth are you going to do that? The only ones who probably knew anything about you are dead! The police couldn't find out anything, how do you think you will?"

He shifted toward her, pulling his uninjured leg underneath him as he clamped his hands on her upper arms. "God, don't you understand! I have to try. I'll never be able to live with myself if I don't. And I can't stay here, dependent on you for the rest of my life. No man could!"

She stared at him with her mouth open. "You hate it here that much?"

"Yes!" he said then shook his head when he saw her eyes take on a wounded look. "I'm sorry, but you just don't understand. I'm grateful to you, but I have to stand on my own two feet. I'm a man, damn it!"

His dark, furious eyes bore into hers and she instinctively reached up with both hands to cradle his face. He grabbed her wrists to pull her hands away.

"Stop that! Do you have any idea what that does to me? I'm not a pet or a child...a pat on the head won't make everything all right!"

She was still staring at him, trying to take in and understand what he was saying.

Adam sighed. "You can't soothe this pain away, Thea. And that is not what I want from you."

Trying to swallow with a throat that had suddenly gone dry, she finally managed to speak. "What DO you want from me then?" she shocked herself by asking. Then she squeaked in surprise when his hard hands circled her waist and he pulled her forward, right up against his hard chest.

"This," he said in a dark, silky voice as he bent his head and captured her mouth with his own.

Thea's brain ceased to function as every nerve ending in her body sang. His hands let go of her waist as he slipped one arm around her. He pressed that hand in the small of her back to mold her body more firmly to his while the other hand cupped her chin, his long fingers caressing her jaw.

Reluctantly dragging his mouth away from hers, he brushed his lips down her neck. "God, the things you do to me," he breathed in her ear. She shuddered and cried out in protest when he backed away.

When she started to slide toward him, he put up a hand to ward her off. "Don't, I may not be able to stop myself if you touch me again, and you deserve better than this."

She tipped her head to the side. "Better than what?" she said, honestly not understanding what he meant.

"Me, a man with nothing, and a quick tumble on the floor. I can't stand the thought of doing that to you and it's best that I not be tempted."

They both slowly got to their feet and Adam took a few steps back to lean against a chair. "Go back to bed, Theadora."

"But your leg..." she started to say, but he cut her off.

"I'll be fine. Just go, please," he said quietly and she turned away, but paused in the doorway to look back at him.

"Please Theadora...go," he said tightly and she slipped through, closing the door behind her.

Adam sighed deeply as he used the cane and limped toward the bed, a sharp, shooting pain making his left knee shake. He sat on the edge of the bed, letting the cane fall to the floor, and slowly dragged himself up until his head was on the pillow. Rubbing a hand across his forehead, he whispered, "Idiot," to himself as he closed his eyes.

Instantly, he could taste the sweetness of her mouth, and feel her warmth envelop him again. The way her body felt so right and fitting, that sense of something known before and longed for again. He ground his teeth in frustration.

"I can't stay!" he insisted to himself while his heart laughed in response. Sighing, he clenched his fists as he shifted his aching leg into a more comfortable position. "Damn it Theadora," he whispered into the dark, "how the hell did you get under my skin?"

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GOSSIP

Chapter 9

Adam was taking a very slow, but much appreciated stroll through Thea's gardens on a bright, sunny, Saturday afternoon. He was still using a cane, but was not nearly as dependent on it for support as he had been a week before.

He stopped to sit down on a bench under a weeping willow tree and sighed as he stretched his legs out and crossed them at the ankle. Then he leaned back with his hands clasped loosely in his lap and closed his eyes. He had almost fallen asleep when he heard a voice speaking behind the hedge that bordered Thea's property.

"Did you miss me?" a pleasant male voice said.

"Of course," Adam heard Glory answer.

He opened his eyes, sat up and reached for his cane, preparing to leave and give the couple some privacy. But when he heard the man say Thea's name, he froze.

"Has Thea noticed the neighbors trying to give her the cold shoulder yet?"

"I don't think so, you know she never pays any attention to things like that."

"Yeah I know, but she deserves some respect from these damn people. Who was it that pulled Mrs. Simpson's youngest through pneumonia? Who was it that talked that snooty doctor from Boston into taking Mrs. McGuire's boy on because of his clubfoot? And yet I heard those two women at the apothecary yesterday, going on and on about how shameful Thea's behavior is. 'There MUST be something going on with that man she brought home,'" he quoted in a good imitation of a middle-aged woman's indignant tones. Glory couldn't help but laugh at that.

"They're jealous Nate," Glory said quietly. "Thea is everything they aren't - young, beautiful, independent, and well-to-do."

"I guess so, but you'd think they would at least be a little grateful..." Glory laughed softly again.

"You don't really understand anything about their kind, do you Nate?"

"I understand you."

"But I'm not like them."

"I know, and thank God for that," he answered with laughter in his voice. "Now tell me about this man, what's his name?"

"Adam."

"Alright, tell me about Adam. Do you think he's trying to take advantage of Thea? Is he after her fortune?"

Adam's brows rose - this was the first time he had heard anything about Thea being wealthy.

Glory burst out laughing. "Good Lord no! But it IS the funniest thing I've ever seen Nate. You know anytime some man tried to pursue Thea, she would give him the sharp edge of her tongue and he'd run away with his tail between his legs!"

"But not this one?"

"Oh my...you just won't believe it. I have NEVER seen Thea act this way before, and it's like the two of them are fencing. One attacks, and the other retreats. She's also becoming extremely irritable. I think he's gotten to her and she can't stand it."

"I wish I could say I'm happy to hear that, but I'm not. Thea's always been like a sister to me and I want to meet him. Somebody has to protect her."

Glory cleared her throat. "Ah Nate...I'd be very careful if I were you. I don't think Thea will take it very kindly if you were to be...um... unfriendly to him."

"Is it that bad?"

"I think so. I could be wrong, but I think I know Thea better than anyone. And I also know she's never met a man who was her match before. At least her intellectual match."

"This just keeps sounding worse and worse."

"Why? Just because he doesn't know who he is?"

"Of course! He could already be married with six kids. Or he could be a criminal. Didn't the police say they believed his attackers were part of a gang? Maybe he really does know who he is and is just lying low for now, taking advantage of Thea's compassionate nature. Didn't you even think of these things?"

"No I didn't," Glory said quietly. "But I just can't believe that about Adam. I think you'll understand what I mean once you meet him."

"I hope you're right, but if he hurts her, if he breaks her heart I'll take it out of his hide!"

Adam couldn't help but smile, glad to know at least one man was trying to protect Thea, even while his temper sparked at the other man's threats.

Glory laughed again. "Right now you probably could, but I kind of doubt you'll be able to once he's recovered."

"Tough guy, huh?"

"Yes. He's bound and determined to get his strength back and with the way Thea is pushing him now he's going to do much more than that."

"Then I'll shoot him."

"Nate! You wouldn't!"

"Yes I would! I'm sick and tired of people taking advantage of and hurting her. I can't shoot Mrs. Simpson, or Mrs. McGuire, but I can at least wing HIM if necessary."

"Nate, that is so sweet!"

"It is?"

"Yes it is," Glory answered and the couple fell silent then.

Adam continued to sit there going over everything he had heard, surprised that he hadn't even thought of what their living situation must look like to outsiders. Shaking his head, he stood and quietly walked away - he needed to find Thea.

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An hour later his mood had worsened when Thea came home. He was waiting for her in the kitchen and went to stand when she entered. She gestured for him to stay seated, pulled the chair opposite out and plopped down with an exasperated sigh.

Adam took in her slightly red face, grim mouth, and the annoyed gleam in her eyes and briefly considered not bringing up the subject of the neighborhood gossip. But he decided to plunge ahead to get it over with.

"I heard we're the subject of some nasty neighborhood gossip," he said simply and waited for her reaction.

Thea's brows rose as she eyed him testily. "Worried about what they're saying, eh? Well don't, I'll do the honorable thing and marry you since your reputation has been compromised."

Adam's mouth almost fell open. Of all the reactions he had expected, THIS was not one of them. His lips began to twitch and he tried not to let his amusement at her sarcasm show.

"Thea, you know MY reputation is not what I'm concerned about," he said, trying to be serious.

"Of course not," she spat out, her eyes turning greener with her anger. "MEN don't have to be concerned about such things, damn it!"

"Doesn't seem fair, does it?" he found himself saying and couldn't understand why he was stirring up the fire of her anger.

She gave him a disgusted look. "Tell me something I DON'T know."

Adam suddenly realized he was enjoying this acerbic, sarcastic part of her character and firmly reined in his sense of humor.

"Thea...do you want me to leave?" he asked quietly.

Her eyes narrowed, and she stared at him almost coldly for a moment before abruptly standing. The backs of her knees shoved against her chair and it toppled over with a loud clatter. She slammed both palms flat on the table and leaned forward as far as she could to look him right in the eye.

"Don't you DARE!" she practically shouted right into his face. "No one tells me how to live my life, not those nasty minded people out there, not my friends, and not you either!" Her mouth suddenly snapped shut and he watched her struggling, trying to get her fury under control.

He bit his lip hard to keep himself from laughing - he had never seen anyone literally hopping mad before. Her eyes were almost glowing green now with her rage and he was struggling just as hard to keep a straight face.

She ducked her head, closed her eyes, and took several deep breaths. Then she straightened up and calmly walked around the table and behind him. He turned in his chair to watch her go. She paused in the doorway to the hall with her back to him.

"Don't you dare," she repeated in a hard voice he had never heard from her before, and then was gone.

Adam's eyebrows rose and he softly whistled, not quite sure what to think of what he had just seen. His eyes narrowed as he went over everything she had said, and he slowly smiled.

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A SIGNIFICANT FRIEND

Chapter 10

Almost a week later Adam was working through the long list of exercises Thea had assigned for that day when he said, "Abner, talk to me."

"What?" Abner responded, startled.

"Talk to me, I'm so bored I could scream," Adam answered while rapidly laying back and sitting up, his torso slick with sweat.

The black man holding his ankles smiled. "Talk about what?"

"Anything...anybody," Adam gasped increasing the tempo of his movements.

"Alright, how about Thea? I know she never talks about herself and you must have a hundred questions."

Adam actually chuckled, never missing a beat. "More like a thousand."

"I'll tell you what I know, which isn't much," Abner laughed. "Now let me see...she was born in Philadelphia and according to what her 'guardian' said her mother died before she could be identified. No one ever came to claim her and her mother, so he took Thea with him when he left."

Finished with that exercise, Adam lay back for a few moments, breathing hard and thinking about that. "So what you're telling me is that we have more in common than I thought. Neither of us really knows who we are."

"Right," Abner said as they stood and moved toward a long bar that hung from the ceiling. Adam jumped up to grab it with both hands and began pulling himself up while Abner watched carefully, ready to catch him if his grip should fail.

"Do you know any more?"

"Some...she's always wanted to be a doctor and a surgeon and she's learned a lot of unorthodox methods and treatments traveling the world with Doc. And I can tell from what she has said about him that he was an extremely cold man. She tries to put a good face on the situation by telling people it was a marvelous thing for a nobleman to take in a poor orphan, but I don't think even she believes it."

"I wonder why he did it then..."

"I don't know, but I have a feeling there's more to that story than even Thea knows."

"I'll bet," Adam said, thinking deeply about what he had just learned. In a few minutes he felt Abner tap him on the foot and he let go of the bar, landing lightly on his feet.

Abner grinned, "Looks like your legs are just about to catch up with the rest of you," he said extremely pleased.

"Thank God and thank YOU for helping me talk her into stepping up the program. It just doesn't work for me if I don't feel challenged."

"Seemingly not..." Abner was saying when the door opened and a tall, wiry, blonde man walked in. The black man smiled a big smile saying, "Nate! Where the heck have you been? You came home a week ago."

"Oh here and there, checking a few things out," Nate answered, his eyes giving Adam an appraising glance as he watched him going through the next leg-strengthening exercise.

Adam was holding a heavily weighted barbell across his shoulders as he stepped up a set up double stairs, then down the other side. When he turned around Nate could see the man's face was tight from the effort and was streaming with sweat from the pain. He almost winced himself - the sight was hard to see. But Adam never stumbled once, and Nate thought he was so completely focused on the exercise that he hadn't even noticed him come in.

"Nice to finally meet you Nate," Adam said from a tight throat. "I've heard a lot about you from Glory."

Nate's brows rose in surprise. "Glad to meet you too," he said and smiled. His estimation of Adam went up a few notches from his previously negative opinion.

Adam continued until he had completed and gone beyond the number of repetitions Thea had assigned to this exercise. He raised the barbell over his head and carefully put it down, but it still thumped against the floor heavily. Then he grabbed a towel to dry off his hands as he moved toward Nate.

The blonde man carefully watched him come and could see that Adam's knees were shaking slightly, although he was doing his best to control them. His opinion of the man rose another notch as they shook hands.

"What's next Ab?" Adam asked, and the black man consulted a list.

"Only one more and it's your favorite," he said with a grin as Adam winced.

"I think she puts that one at the end on purpose, figuring I'll never go on if it's earlier in the line-up," he grumbled.

Abner laughed. "Probably, I can see her thinking that way."

"Not only that, but I think it's her way of punishing me for complaining we weren't moving fast enough." All three men laughed at that and Adam sighed as he moved across the room. "What weight, Ab?" he asked.

"We're going for a hundred and seventy five this time," Abner answered. "Did you do something else to make her mad?"

"I must have, but I can't think of what it could be," Adam said and began lifting the correct number of weights onto a metal shelf that was attached to what looked like runners on the wall. The shelf had two padded bars that stuck straight out and he stepped in between them as Abner came to hit the release and helped lower them carefully onto Adam's shoulders.

Bracing his feet shoulder width apart Adam bent his knees until his thighs were parallel with the floor. Then he pushed up to stand.

"I bet that hurts," Nate said quietly to Abner, but Adam answered him saying, "Like you wouldn't believe!"

Nate shook his head, thinking that Thea could, and had, given him this painful assignment on purpose. "When you're finished, do you think I could try that? I want to see what it's like."

"Sure," Adam ground out and kept going until Abner said, "That's enough, any more and you'll pop a knee."

Adam stood still until Abner came to help hold the shelf up. "Well, come on if you really want to try this," Adam said to Nate and the blonde man hurried over.

He stepped in between the two arms and braced his feet the way he had seen Adam do. Then the two men slowly lowered the shelf until the padded arms were on his shoulders. "Grab the extensions, Nate," Adam instructed him, "It helps keep you steady." The blonde man grabbed the parts of the arms that extended past his shoulders. Then Adam and Abner let go.

Nate's eyebrows rose and a startled grunt escaped his straining throat as he was slowly pressed down into a crouching position. He actually started laughing and choked out "Help!"

Adam and Abner quickly reached out to push the shelf up as Nate toppled forward to fall on his face. He started roaring with laughter as soon as he could breathe.

"Oh my God!" he sputtered. "I've lifted a hundred and seventy five pounds before! What happened?"

Adam burst out laughing as Abner explained. "You forgot the weight of the shelf and the bars. You were actually trying to lift about two-fifty."

"You could have warned me!" Nate complained good-naturedly as he rolled over and Adam held out a hand to help him up.

"What would have been the fun in that?" Adam answered, grinning into Nate's eyes and the blonde man burst out laughing again.

"I think we'd better head into the house, you don't want to make Thea any madder by being late for lunch," Abner broke in, smiling a very wide smile to see the two men take to each other.

"Good Lord no!" Adam said with an exaggerated shiver and he hurried to towel off and shrug into his shirt. "Come on Nate! Something tells me the ladies will be expecting you too," he said with a sharp smile and Nate was still laughing as the three of them filed out the door.

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A HELPING HAND

Chapter 11

When the three smiling men trooped through the kitchen door Glory and Thea exchanged pleased smiles. Nate was never one who could keep what he was feeling from showing on his face, and he was grinning as he harassed Adam and Abner, claiming they tried to crush him.

Glory turned around quickly and looked Nate over with anxious eyes. Nate actually blushed a little when her gaze seemed to linger, so Adam couldn't resist pinching his cheek as he walked by, making the other man start to choke trying to hold back startled laughter.

Glory and Abner didn't even try to hold theirs back at his expression, and then laughed even harder when Nate turned beet red. Adam was chuckling as he stood at the sink washing his hands and forearms, aware of the reason for all the noise going on behind him. Only Thea was oblivious.

Adam glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and saw her stretching one arm up, trying to grab the edge of a platter that was just beyond her reach.

"Let me get that for you," he said as he stepped over to stand behind her. But just as he did, she turned around, her eyes mere inches from the open collar of the red shirt he was wearing. He pulled the dish off the shelf easily then quickly glanced down at her when he felt her press up against him.

His mouth almost fell open to see her tip her head forward, her nose almost touching his chest as she inhaled deeply.

He froze, waiting to see if she would shrink away from the earthy smell of his sweat. When she did it again, this time with her eyes closed, he knew he should step back, but couldn't. He was fascinated by her pleased expression, the first solid evidence of the sensual nature he thought she had.

Leaning back slowly, he said her name softly and when she raised her heavy lidded eyes to his he clenched his teeth in a vain attempt to not react.

He cleared his throat and looked down at the platter in his hands, not sure of what to do. But when he looked down, she looked down too and he watched her hands slowly rise to take the dish from him.

"Thank you," she said softly and gave him a languid smile before she turned to place it on the counter, completely unaware of the affect she had on him. Stepping back, he took a deep breath, suddenly feeling like the temperature in the room had risen twenty degrees.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and he quickly wiped them away before turning around. Then he rolled his eyes in exasperation to see Glory, Abner, and Nate all giving him knowing smiles.

Thea stepped around him then, carrying the platter, which she had just filled with various types of sandwiches. "Come on, everybody sit down," she said, still oblivious and gave Adam her usual smile to thank him for holding her chair.

As he sat down beside her and directly across from Nate, Adam was horrified to see everything the man was thinking written plainly on his face. Nate opened his mouth, no doubt to tease Thea, so Adam quickly stretched out one long leg and kicked him in the shin under the table.

The blonde man let out a startled "Ow!" and when Glory turned to him in concern, Nate merely said, "Uh...leg cramp." But for the rest of the meal he occasionally gave Adam a quick grin that promised verbal retaliation when he was out of the other man's reach.

While Adam was amused by Nate's grins he was also deeply aware of Thea sitting next to him. With every breath, he took in the light, evocative perfume she wore, and felt her barely brush against him when she moved. He knew she was leaning slightly toward him and by the end of the meal he was so incredibly tense he was seriously considering going back and running through the entire list of exercises again.

When everyone was finished eating, Thea said his name twice before he heard her and he almost choked on a mouthful of water when he realized what she was saying.

"I think we better test your flexibility this afternoon. You're running through the strengthening exercises at such a fast pace I want to make sure you're not sacrificing one for the other."

Swallowing hard to try and clear his throat Adam croaked, "Now?"

"No time like the present!" she answered and stood as Nate spoke up.

"Mind if I tag along?" he said to Thea who nodded while Adam gave him a dark, warning look.

Abner started to help Glory with the clearing up, knowing that Thea had taken over the "hands on" part of assessing Adam's progress. When the other three left the room he and Glory grinned at each other and began to hurry with their tasks. They didn't want to miss this assessment either.

Thea led the way down the hall with Adam right behind her. Nate, however, wisely stayed back and out of reach.

When the three entered the room where Adam still slept, he automatically went to a new piece of furniture that had been added - a padded table. He hopped up and looked at Thea for instructions. Nate was already grinning in anticipation as he leaned against the back of a low, overstuffed chair.

Adam was surprised when Thea came to kneel and pulled off the soft leather shoes he wore when exercising. Then she removed his socks before placing one hand under the ball of his right foot to press upward. As she increased the pressure she used her other hand to firmly grip the Achilles tendon right above his heel.

"Good!" she murmured when she felt the tendon stretching easily and moved to the other foot to do the same thing. With a pleased nod, she stood saying, "Sit on the end of the table here, please." She patted the end and he swung around.

"Now I need you to lay back and bring this knee up as far as you can," she said, tapping his right knee. When his leg was bent she stepped closer to place his foot against her abdomen. "Now push slowly against me."

When he did, he was surprised at how strong she was. He had to put real effort into moving her back. Then she slid her hands up his leg, firmly gripping his thigh and he almost stopped, startled, but didn't.

"Very good!" he heard her say when his leg was stretched out to full length. "Now pull this knee up again." This time she gripped his calf muscles as he pushed against her. Then she moved over to his left leg and did the same, not noticing Glory and Abner entering the room.

"Alright, please sit up again," she asked and he did, breathing a sigh of relief, hoping she hadn't noticed the slight quivering of his muscles he hadn't been able to completely control. She knelt again and placed her hands flat on the top of his feet. "Flex your foot up," she said and he did. "Now don't let me push them back down."

Again he was surprised how strong she was, but managed to keep her from pushing them down. "Very, very good!" was her next pleased comment and he couldn't help but smile at how genuinely happy she was with his progress.

She was grinning widely when she stood and stepped to the side. Taking his left ankle in one hand and slipping the other behind his knee, she lifted his leg saying, "Just let your leg go limp." Nodding at the ease of motion in the joints, she tested his right leg and found the same result. Then she asked him to move up the table and lie down on his back again.

While Adam was happy she was so pleased with his progress, he was also relieved that she was finished putting her hands on his legs. He had been incredibly tense before, but now felt as taut as a bowstring.

Holding his right arm by the wrist and elbow, she moved it through the normal range of motion quickly. Testing his left arm went just as quickly and he was hoping they were finished. But she asked him to sit up again and began to test his arm strength. He had actually started to relax a little when she stepped closer to stand in between his knees and slid her strong, long-fingered hands behind his neck.

"Push slowly back against my hands," she said and he heard a muffled snicker from Nate when his face began to flush red in reaction to her closeness. He pushed back and she laughed when he pulled so strongly she rose up on her toes in spite of her best efforts to hold him still.

Adam was clenching his teeth at this point, desperately wanting to escape this torture, while at the same time savoring her closeness. He closed his eyes and sighed, wondering what part of his body she'd be putting her hands on next. Then his eyes popped open when he realized she was unbuttoning his shirt. He quickly grabbed her wrists.

"I think I can do that myself," he said with a slight edge of irritation in his voice. Thea merely gave him a slightly puzzled look before stepping back, shrugging her shoulders, and moving around the table to stand behind him.

When he shrugged out of his shirt and felt her hands sliding up his spine he ground his teeth and had to suppress a shiver. Hearing another muffled snicker from Nate, he shot a furious look at the blonde man. Then he gasped when she slid one cool hand around to press against his abdomen as she dug her fingers into his spine.

"Hmmm..." he heard her murmur, and then suddenly her hands were gone. "Well that's it, and I have to say you've passed with flying colors," she said with a happy laugh as she walked around to stand next to him.

Adam had already pulled his shirt back on so she bent down to pick up his socks and shoes. He practically snatched them from her hands, mumbled a quick "thank you," and then hopped down from the table. She watched him hurry from the room and turn left down the hallway toward the kitchen.

She was still standing there trying to figure out what was wrong with him when they all heard the back door open and bang closed. Then she watched him running at full speed through the garden, seemingly heading for the barn.

Hearing odd noises coming from the group of three that had been watching, she turned to them with a baffled expression.

"Now what on earth is the matter with him?" she said and her face turned red when they burst out laughing and obviously at HER.

"What?"

Nate was hanging onto Abner weakly and Glory had tears running down her face.

"Thea!" Abner managed to choke out. "Good God woman, can't you see what you've been doing to that poor man ever since he came in!" He took a deep breath and seemed to calm down somewhat.

Thea quickly understood what he was referring to, turned bright red, and wanted to kick herself. Nate was still giggling helplessly and Glory was using her apron to dry her face when Thea said, "Dear Lord, I never even thought of that. What the hell is the matter with me? I'm not usually this dense!"

Her three friends stared at her incredulous for a moment until Nate broke up again and slid to the floor, taking Abner down with him. The two men sat there, howling with laughter so they didn't see the hurt look Thea was giving them. Glory firmly bit back her own urge to howl too and came to put an arm around the other woman's shoulders.

"Don't pay any attention to those two idiots," she said kindly and smiled down into her friend's face when Thea looked up.

"Hon, think about it and be honest with yourself. You're in love, that's what's wrong with you."

Thea stared up into Glory's face with a blank look. The other woman's brow furrowed. "Haven't you ever been in love before?"

Still staring, Thea opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Then she snapped her mouth shut as she stuck her chin out and shook her head. "No, I never have been and I'm not NOW," she stated firmly and the other woman gave her a kind smile.

"How do you know you aren't if you haven't been before?" Glory asked reasonably. "You're showing all the signs. You've been distracted and moody, you watch him all the time, and touch him every chance you get."

"I don't believe it," Thea insisted, a shadow of doubt showing in her eyes.

"Believe it," Glory said quietly and hugged her when she cried out, "But I don't WANT to be!"

"That's usually when we fall in love. When we don't want to, or the timing couldn't possibly be worse. And especially when the person is completely unacceptable. The heart doesn't care about those things."

"That's stupid," Thea sniffed, her head against Glory's shoulder as she cried a few tears in frustration.

"That's love."

"It's still stupid," she persisted and Glory just could not hold back a chuckle.

"This isn't funny!" Thea said as she stepped back. "Alright, you're so sure I've fallen IN love so I guess I'll just have to fall OUT of love." she almost shouted and gave the other woman an exasperated look before rushing from the room.

The two men had gotten to their feet and Nate came to put an arm around Glory.

"She isn't really mad at you," he said and Glory nodded.

"Oh I know that. I just wish I knew why she's always been so bound and determined to not let any man into her heart."

"Seems to me she's afraid."

"Thea? Afraid?"

Nate chuckled quietly. "Yes, afraid. Thea just can't stand the thought of anyone having that kind of power over her."

"Oh..." Glory breathed and shook her head. "The poor thing, it's far too late."

"Poor Adam. It's far too late for him, too. Only he doesn't know it yet either."

Abner came to stand next to Nate. "I hope you realize they are both going to be extremely irritable for a while. Or at least until they give in." The other two nodded, but were smiling.

Nate chuckled again. "It's going to be very entertaining watching those two."

"That's easy for you to say," Glory answered, "you don't have to live with them!"

"Too true!" he laughed. "I swear I've never seen two people more alike before in my life. I thought opposites were supposed to attract."

"Most of the time," Abner agreed. "But it's as plain as the nose on your face those two are meant to be together."

"God," Glory breathed as Nate nodded. "I wonder how long this is going to take?"

"I don't know. But if it gets intolerable we'll just lock them in a room until it's settled."

"That shouldn't take long then, I've never seen two people more physically attracted to each other before," Abner chuckled. "Let's just hope none of us gets wounded in the crossfire."

The three people stood there silently for a moment until Nate spoke. "You know," he said his gaze narrowing. "It might be a good idea to think about ways we can...ah...help these two accept the inevitable." Glory's brows rose and Abner grinned.

"Let's go to the kitchen, have some coffee, and bounce some ideas around." Nate suggested and the three started for the door. As they passed into the hall he said, "Now I think Adam is going to be the harder nut to crack..."

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THE FINAL HURDLE

Chapter 12

Adam didn't stop running until he reached the dim coolness of the square brick building that stood beyond the barn. He bent over with his hands braced on his knees and tried to catch his breath. When he finally did he started laughing at himself. Although he couldn't be absolutely sure, he was pretty certain he had never run from a female before. But then he was also sure Thea was unlike any other woman he had ever known.

Straightening up he realized he was standing in an unused smithy - a blacksmith shop. His eyes narrowed as they swept the interior and he was only vaguely aware of the names of most of the tools rising up in his mind. He stepped up to the anvil that was fastened to a large elm block by bands of iron around the four "feet." Running his hand across the steel face, the terms "pricking hole" and "hardie hole" floated up and he found a small memory of punching holes in horseshoes over the "pricking hole" and he could plainly see the hot punch that was used.

Moving around the rest of the brick interior he found that every tool was familiar. He softly spoke some of the names to himself and found another small memory of setting an "anvil flatter" in the "hardie hole" and the corresponding "flatter" that was used to place over the "anvil flatter" to work the hot metal in between. Ball peen hammers of many different weights hung from the elm block that held the anvil, and tongs for holding the hot metal were scattered all over the shop.

A cat's head hammer, hoof parer, shoeing hammer, and a hoof cleaning knife were a few of the tools he found for shoeing, as well as rasps used for the final stage of shaping. He smiled when he saw a tripod to support a horse's hoof, as well as vices, including one that still held an ox shoe to his surprise.

He even saw a collection of tools used for fine, decorative work - scroll wrenches, a leaf hammer, crimping tools, and many others. Whoever set up and worked this shop before was definitely a fine craftsman and he wondered what happened to make him abandon this place. And why hadn't Thea done anything with it either.

Shaking his head, he left the shop and slowly began walking back, being careful to let his mind have free rein to dig up any other memories. He was seeing the process of making a link in an iron chain when he was almost at the house. In his mind's eye he watched the two ends of the wrought iron being brought to white-hot heat, then the forceful hammering needed to bring the ends together quickly enough to make the weld.

He was still standing there with his head down, his hands stacked together behind his back when he sensed someone watching him and he looked up. Thea was standing on the back porch, right in front of the steps and watching him with a worried expression. Carefully keeping his own expression neutral, Adam quickly decided to keep these memories to himself, tucking away that regained knowledge as a possible means of making a living eventually.

The two continued to stare at each other for a while until Adam smiled a smile Thea had never seen before. Her heart instantly skipped a beat and she found herself smiling shyly back, even though that was the last thing she had intended to do.

He slowly walked down the brick path and climbed the steps until they were eye to eye. To his amazed satisfaction she actually broke the eye contact first, looked down, and blushed. She turned around when he stepped up onto the porch and as he walked past her he deliberately made sure to pass as close as possible without touching. Then he opened the door and stood there holding it for her.

Without looking up or saying a word, she hurried through the doorway and he paused to wipe the grin off his face before slowly following her inside.

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Two days later Thea gave Adam his morning injection of the minimal dose of morphine and the two were discussing moving him to one of the upstairs bedrooms when he suddenly gave her an odd, unfocused look.

"Adam, what's wrong?" she said as she quickly reached out to steady him when he swayed slightly.

He broke out into a cold sweat. "I don't know."

"Oh God," Thea breathed and yelled for Abner who came running. The man just made it into the room when Adam's knees buckled and he slid to the floor with Thea under him.

"What happened?" Abner asked as he bent down, picked Adam up and carried him over to the bed.

Getting to her feet, Thea answered, "I'm not sure," and hurried over to grasp his wrist. "Dear Lord, his pulse is racing," she said and pushed one of his eyelids up. Alarmed to see his pupils were constricting, she frantically tried to come up with an explanation for the symptoms she was seeing. The next thing she knew she was on the floor again, knocked down by Adam's arm when his back arced and he began to violently seize.

"Damn it!" she said as she jumped up and threw herself on top of Adam to keep him from falling off the bed. Abner ran across the room for a set of leather straps to hold him down. Once the straps were in place, he carefully helped Thea to slide off. When she was standing he could see she had taken a heavy blow to her right eye and it was already starting to swell. Before he could say anything she was already turning away, hurrying to retrieve the bottle of morphine and the syringe from the last injection.

Opening the bottle she waved it under her nose, and then shook her head when she didn't detect any smell that would mean the batch was "off." Then she took the syringe apart, looking for any signs of a foreign substance that might explain his reaction.

Abner stayed next to Adam, keeping a close eye on him to be sure he didn't manage to injure himself as his body continued to shake violently. Thea hurried back with another metal syringe and handed it to Abner.

Automatically taking it, he gave her a blank look when she held out her arm with the leather thong already in place to get a vein to rise. "There's only one way to tell if the batch is bad," she said and he shook his head when he understood what she wanted him to do.

"Do it, Abner. We need to know what we're dealing with here," she ordered so he carefully gave her the injection. Then they waited for a few minutes, but she showed no other reaction than what would be expected.

Thea made an exasperated sound in the back of her throat. "Dear Lord, this means he's having some kind of allergic reaction to morphine now," she said and clenched her hands into fists as she watched the man strapped to the bed convulse.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Abner asked "Maybe laudanum?"

"No, laudanum is another opiate and it could make things worse. And he's not having a normal allergic reaction. There's no edema or labored breathing..." she shook her head, furious at feeling so helpless. "I've never seen this kind before."

She was still frantically searching her memory when she thought she could see a slight lessening of Adam's frantic movements. Staring intently, she moved closer to the bed and in a few moments was sure he was coming out of it, but slowly.

When Adam finally lay still, the two breathed a sigh of relief as they removed the straps, and then they worked together silently to make him comfortable. Abner left the room to get some ice for Thea's black eye, and she dragged a chair over next to the bed.

Thea spent the next two hours in that chair holding pieces of ice wrapped in a thin towel to her eye. Every time he moved she jumped nervously, afraid he was starting to seize again, and then sat back in relief when he didn't.

The pain from being knocked down was blooming into a white-hot headache when he finally opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling in confusion at first, almost expecting to feel the full casts on his limbs again. Then he blinked and his recent memories came back. Turning his head carefully he saw Thea standing next to the bed, her right eye swollen almost shut.

"What happened?" he said and frowned when he thought the words didn't sound quite right.

Thea bent down to get a closer look at his eyes and was not happy to see that some of the small vessels were broken, bleeding red patches into the white sclera. "What is your name?" she asked apprehensively and couldn't help but smile at his answer.

"Adam, and no I don't remember my last name." This time he was sure he wasn't speaking clearly. He tried again, "What happened?"

Putting a hand on his shoulder, she cleared her throat before speaking. "You developed some sort of allergic reaction to the morphine. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I AM sure the batch of morphine was all right."

His eyes narrowed and his tongue felt thick when he spoke. "How do you know?"

"I had Abner inject me with some of it..." she was saying when he abruptly tried to sit up.

"What?" he said in a furious voice that was much stronger and clearer. "Have you lost your mind?" He tried to sit up again and this time made it. His arms felt incredibly heavy, but he reached out to grab her anyway.

"Don't you EVER do something that stupid again!"

Surprised, she hurried to explain. "Adam, it was necessary to know. There are things I could have done if the batch was off."

"I don't care!" he persisted, his mental acuity and control of his speech increasing along with his anger. "Promise me you won't do that again." He gave her a small shake. "Promise me!"

"Alright, I promise!" she blurted out and mentally shook her head at herself for giving in so quickly.

"Good," he said and as his anger ebbed so did his energy. He let go of her upper arms and lay back down. "What happened to your eye?"

"Just an accident."

"I did that, didn't I?"

"Yes, but you couldn't help it. You started to seize so quickly I couldn't get out of the way in time."

Shaking his head, he sighed deeply. "When is this ever going to end?"

Thea reached to take one of his hands in both of hers and clenched her teeth. "Not for a while," she answered and he looked up at her questioningly.

"Oh Adam," she said, "this means that I can't wean you off the morphine. And I don't dare use any other opiate either." He went cold, instantly understanding what she was saying.

"What will happen?" he asked quietly but firmly, demanding an honest answer.

Thea took a deep breath. "Sweats, chills, fevers, nausea, and pain. All these symptoms I can help alleviate somewhat, but it's going to be very hard for you. In the most severe cases hallucinations and delirium are also possible."

He tightened his grip on her hand. "You're leaving something out, aren't you?"

She looked down at their joined hands. "More seizures are also a possibility," she answered reluctantly.

"Are you keeping anything else back?"

"No."

They fell silent for a while until Adam felt something drop on his hand. Thea was crying her furious tears again and he suddenly remembered her doing that in the morgue. He tugged on her hand.

"Thea look at me," he said quietly and when she raised her head to meet his gaze he smiled. "You've pulled me through too much so far to let this defeat us. I know I'm in for another long stretch of hell, but I WILL make it as long as you never let go. I'm depending on you for that."

Her expression instantly changed and became hard, her eyes snapping with the force of her will even as her furious tears dried on her face. "Never," she said with a sharp edge to her voice. "Nothing and no one will EVER force me to let go."

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HELL WEEK

Chapter 13

Adam was right - during the following days he descended into his own personal hell. His withdrawal from the morphine started mildly enough, but soon the chills and fevers set in, alternating in torturing him while the nausea became a constant presence. He lay in his bed, tossing and turning in pain and throwing up almost everything Thea managed to get him to take in. As the days went by she thought she could actually SEE him becoming thinner by the hour and she searched desperately through her memory and her medical diaries to find something that would help. But nothing she tried did.

She very seldom left his side and her three friends were experiencing their own heartache in watching her become pale and significantly thinner herself. Glory constantly kept after her, urging her to eat and to rest until finally one day she lost her temper.

"Thea, you have to eat. You can't keep going on like this," she said impatiently standing next to the chair Thea had been huddled in for the past six days.

"Leave me alone."

"No, I'm not going to leave you alone..." Glory was saying when the other woman suddenly jumped up. She put her hands out to steady Thea when she swayed, but the shorter woman shook them off.

"You don't understand! I promised him I'd never let go and I'm NOT going to! Can't you get that through your thick head and LEAVE ME ALONE!" Thea shouted, looking at the other woman with what seemed like true hatred.

Glory took a step back and her face went white, stricken to the heart by Thea's furious words. Then her face flushed red and she reached out to slap her in the face. The two women stood there, staring at each other in shock until Thea's face crumpled and she burst into tears. She threw herself into Glory's arms, almost knocking the other woman down.

"Oh God! I'm so sorry!" Thea sobbed almost hysterically and Glory breathed a sigh of relief, glad she had taken the calculated risk. She hugged the shorter woman tightly while she began to calm down.

"I didn't mean it, Glory, I swear I didn't," Thea choked in a broken whisper.

"I know and I AM sorry I slapped you, but I had to," Glory said softly and began patting Thea on the back.

"Thank you," Thea said with a watery chuckle. "You know, I don't think I've ever thanked someone for hitting me before," she said and Glory let out a shaky laugh.

"You're welcome," she said and Thea chuckled again.

"Lord, I wish this was over with. And I KNOW it will be over eventually, but right now it feels like it's never going to end. I just can't stand to see him suffering like this." Her voice broke on the last words and she started to tremble.

Glory stepped back, but kept a firm grip on Thea's shoulders. "I know this is awful for you, but don't break down on us now." She used one hand to tip her friend's face up and almost flinched at how terrible she looked. "YOU are going to go take a bath while Abner sits with Adam and I make you something to eat."

Thea started to protest, but Glory gave her a small shake. "No back-talk from you young lady! After you're more yourself again we can talk about an idea I have that just might help." When she saw the other woman's gaze sharpen and she opened her mouth Glory turned her around and gave her a push toward the door.

"Go! I'm not going to discuss it with you until you get cleaned up and some food in you." To her surprise, Thea nodded and slowly left the room. Glory waited until she heard Thea in the bath down the hall to hurry out in search of Abner.

When Thea came into the kitchen some time later, Glory was very encouraged to see how much better her friend looked. She hurried to fill a bowl with soup and set it down on the table. Giving Thea a stern look she nodded toward the table and tried to not smile when the other woman slowly sat down. She hurried to collect a spoon, napkin, and a bowl of crackers.

She sat down opposite Thea who gave her a questioning look. "Oh no, not until you've actually eaten some of that." Sighing, Thea picked up the spoon and poised it over the bowl.

"I swear to you I will eat this whole bowl of soup if you will just tell me right now."

Thinking about that for a few moments, Glory nodded saying, "Fair enough." Giving her a grateful smile, Thea began to eat.

"I can't remember what country you were in, but I DO remember you telling me about a man who was having a terrible time going dry. His problem was alcohol, but the symptoms are very similar to what Adam is going through. Do you remember what you told me the local herbalist treated it with?"

Thea's brow furrowed and her eyes closed as she tried to dredge up that memory. When she did her eyes popped open and she dropped the spoon into the bowl of soup, splashing it on the table.

"Canabis?!" she gasped and looked at Glory, incredulous.

"Yes Canabis."

Thea was still staring at the other woman with her mouth hanging open, but in a few seconds something clicked behind her eyes and she closed her mouth. Her eyes narrowed as she finally seemed to be thinking and then she smiled.

"Glory, I must have gone suddenly stupid to be shocked by your sensible suggestion," she said and her eyes began to sparkle. "Do you think Nate might be home?"

"Nate?"

"Yes, Nate. You and I can't go looking for it and we can't ask Abner either. Nate's the only one of us who can."

"Why do you think Nate would know where to find it?"

"I don't, but I'm betting he knows someone who DOES." She laughed. "So, do you think he's home?"

"I think so," Glory answered and stood.

"If he is, please tell him I need him, but that's all. I think I should be the one to ask him, not you."

Nodding, Glory started for the back door.

"Besides, I'd hate to see anything frighten off your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Glory protested automatically, but then smiled when Thea laughed. "I'll bring him right back," she said and hurried out the door.

As soon as she was gone Thea looked down at the now barely warm soup with distaste, but picked the spoon up again anyway. After all, a promise was something Thea always kept.

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"WHAT!" Nate almost shouted when Thea made her request and she quickly shushed him, glancing at Adam who was having a rare period of quiet. The two were standing near the grouping of furniture in front of the fireplace when she saw him start to shake his head.

Grabbing him by the hand she dragged him over to the bed. "Look at him, damn it! I don't know how much more of this he can take!" she fiercely whispered then watched his expression carefully as he stared at the man in the bed. She held her breath.

"God, he looks awful," Nate said softly, his kind heart hurting for the man he knew little about, but already considered to be a friend.

"Please Nate," Thea whispered and her heart lifted when he briefly nodded. Without another word he left the room and a few seconds later Glory came in, a worried look on her face.

"Do you think he can do it?" Thea asked anxiously and the other woman nodded.

"I know he can, but I think you don't understand just how hard that decision was for him."

Tipping her head to the side, Thea waited for the explanation she knew was coming.

"Do you know why Nate continues to work at that men's club as a bartender? Even though there are so many other things he could be doing?"

Blinking at this unexpected question, Thea shook her head.

"It's because all the Pinkerton detectives spend a lot of their free time there. He figures working there might help him get in. He's wanted to be one of them for a long time now."

"No! You mean if he does this for me, he'll ruin his chances?"

"No, not ruin them, but it certainly won't help if anyone finds out and he gets a reputation."

"Damn it! I wish I'd known that. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I know you wouldn't have asked him then, and you'd have gone yourself." Glory sighed, "Nate's a very smart man and I don't have any doubts he'll get it for you. YOU might have ended up in jail or something."

"Oh Glory," Thea said softly, feeling both grateful and regretful at the same time.

"Besides, friends are chosen family and we care a great deal about you." She glanced at the man in the bed. "And we care about Adam now too."

"'Friends are chosen family'" Thea repeated the phrase and suddenly felt like crying again. Instead, she hurried to wrap the taller woman tightly in her arms.

Glory quickly hugged her back, but then pushed her away. "Now stop that or you'll have me crying, and you know how much I hate to." She turned away quickly, but not before Thea spotted one tear spilling down her cheek. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," she said with a tight throat and hurried out of the room.

Thea stood there staring after her friend as she blinked tears away, and then walked slowly toward the bed. Sitting down in the easy chair, she reached out to take Adam's hand. "Did you hear that Adam? Glory's right, friends ARE chosen family. Just remember that and know you're not alone. No matter what, you'll never be alone again."

She couldn't be sure, but she thought the deep lines of exhaustion and pain on his face eased somewhat. Smiling, she leaned forward and rested the side of her head on the back of his hand. When Nate returned a few hours later with another man she was still there, sound asleep.

"How long has he been like this?" Doctor Charles asked Nate in a low voice. He didn't want to wake Thea.

"For six days now."

"You weren't kidding, he looks like he's at death's door now."

"I know, that's why I went to you first. You're the only one at the hospital I dared talk to. Glory told me about you trying to stick up for Thea."

"I'm glad you did." He looked down at her, noting how exhausted she looked. "Do you think you can carry her over to the couch without waking her up?"

Nate smiled. "Look at her! The cavalry could troop through here and it wouldn't even make her stir." He carefully picked her up, carried her over to the sofa, and gently laid her down. Then he came back to the bed after covering her with an afghan.

"Well, let's get started," Doctor Charles said briskly. "The sooner we ease his suffering and get some food into him the better."

"You'll have to tell me what to do, I have no idea how to do this."

The other man laughed quietly. "I'm sure you know how this works normally."

"Sure, but how are we going to get the smoke into him?"

David Charles was having a hard time controlling his sense of humor. "Think about it Nate. He obviously is not capable of smoking it himself."

"But then..." Nate started to say and the answer suddenly occurred to him. "You don't mean…" he stared at the young doctor, shocked.

"Uh huh. Someone has to breathe the smoke into his lungs for him, and quite frankly, you know him better than I do."

"You have GOT to be kidding!" Nate was staring at him now as though he had gone insane.

"I guess we can ask Glory to do it," David said, knowing what Nate's reaction would be.

"No, not Glory!"

"Then we can wake Thea, I'm sure she'd do it in a heartbeat." He tried his best to keep from laughing at Nate's horrified expression.

"No, Glory would bite my head off if I woke her up."

"Alright, then who?"

"You're the doctor, isn't this sort of thing covered by that oath you took?"

David shook his head. "Not for Hippocrates himself," he answered, bluffing and hoping Nate would be naïve enough to believe him.

"All right!" Nate said in a furious whisper as his face turned bright red. "But only on one condition. You have to swear you'll never tell anyone, and I mean ANYONE!"

Practically choking on suppressed laughter, the other man merely nodded as he pulled a pipe and a paper bag out of his pocket and held them out to Nate.

Giving the other man a furious but resigned look Nate reluctantly took them. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Tell me what to do, damn it!"

Firmly tamping down his amusement, David smiled and began to instruct Nate on what to do.

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HEALING LAUGHTER

Chapter 14

Almost a week after his unique "treatment" Adam was lying in his bed, looking out the bow window at the flowers in Thea's garden again. Just like he had done so many weeks before. But this time he was not despairing over his situation. Instead, he was feeling thankful that everyone had pulled together to help him through his withdrawal from the morphine.

He knew something had been done that caused him to turn the corner and recover, but Nate and Dr. Charles were refusing to discuss it. After one look at Nate's horrified expression and David's barely veiled amusement, he decided that maybe it was best if he didn't know...at least for now.

He was still smiling about that when the bushes to the left of the open space began to shake violently. Slowly sitting up, he leaned over as far as he could to see when Nate suddenly popped out. The tall, wiry man trotted to the center of the open space and stood there with a solemn expression for a second, then bowed. When he straightened up he held his left hand out and to the side with a sweeping gesture. Adam's smile widened.

Thea emerged out of the same bushes and came skipping up to him. She was dressed in boy's clothing and Adam's gaze sharpened wondering what the hell the two of them were up to. After she took Nate's hand, they bowed to Adam together. Then they separated, turned sideways and each one backed up, widening the distance between.

They stood there for a moment then Nate clapped his hands. Thea ran right at him and when she was a few feet away, she launched herself into the air, slapped her hands down on his shoulders, and flipped over his head. She landed lightly on her feet behind. Adam's mouth fell open.

The two jumped around a bit, bowing to Adam and then to each other, making grand gestures as though inviting applause for the other person. Their captive audience burst out laughing at how ridiculously dramatic they were being.

"Glory!" he shouted shaking helplessly with laughter. "Come here! You've got to see this!" She came running into the room, her expression anxious until he gestured toward the window. He was gasping for breath.

Nate smiled to see Glory standing there then turned back to Thea when she slapped him lightly on the shoulder. He went down on one knee, his side toward the window and held a hand out to her. She took his hand, stepped up on his bent knee, then up onto his shoulders. He wrapped his hands around her ankles as she slowly straightened up. Then he very carefully stood. Glory was laughing by this time too.

When Nate was standing, he widened his stance for stability then carefully let go of her ankles. The two people watching held their breath, waiting to see what she would do. Then they gasped when she suddenly bent her knees and launched herself up into a double flip.

Both Adam and Glory started applauding then burst out laughing when the two of them suddenly went down on one knee and threw their arms out wide. They could see and almost hear them calling out "Tadaaaa!"

They both quickly stood and Nate stepped back while Thea trotted off to the left. Nate was watching her carefully when she came running and did a cartwheel. Then they returned to their original positions. This time she did a one-handed cartwheel, with Nate hurrying to stay close to catch her if she started to fall. She didn't. When they took those positions again, Adam and Glory glanced at each other wondering what was next.

Thea had backed off a little further than before and this time she came running fast to do a "no hands" cartwheel. But this time Nate must have been a little too close and it looked like she clipped in the head with a foot. He went down and Thea dropped to her knees next to him. Glory gasped and stepped toward the window with one hand over her mouth.

Nate sat up and shook his head while Thea seemed to be checking him out carefully. In a moment she stood, holding a hand out to him. He took it and she pulled as hard as she could to help him to his feet. He swayed for a moment then suddenly smiled a huge smile at the people on the other side of window before throwing himself back down on the ground in a perfectly executed pratfall.

Thea turned her head to look at Glory then threw herself down on the ground too, and began to roll around shaking with laughter. The kick in the head and his fall had all been part of the act. Glory and Adam were laughing so hard they were leaning into each other weakly as the two in the garden rolled to their feet and dashed off into the bushes to the left.

"Something tells me the show's over," Adam gasped, then burst out laughing again when Thea came running past the window at full speed with Chester close on her heels. Then the two came running back with Thea chasing the dog this time. The three of them kept running back and forth with the line-up changing each time, until the final dash with Thea chasing both Chester AND Nate until the dog stopped abruptly and Nate tripped over him. She stumbled over and dropped to the grass next to the dog, laughing helplessly.

The two in the garden lay on the ground for a while breathing heavily and getting their faces licked in turn while Adam and Glory tried to stop laughing.

"Glory," he finally managed to ask, "where the hell did she learn how to do that?"

She was drying her face with her apron when she fell into another short burst of giggles. "I'm not sure," she gasped, "but I think it was while they were living in China."

Shaking his head, Adam fell back wearily against the pillows. "Good Lord, what the hell will she come up with next to try and cheer me up? And the funniest part is I don't NEED cheering up."

"I know," Glory said breathlessly, still sitting on the edge of his bed. "But your recovery is all up to you and Mother Nature now. This just lets her feel like she's doing something to help."

"I see," he said and chuckled one more time before they heard Nate and Thea coming. When the two entered the room, Adam and Glory applauded enthusiastically until Nate darted forward to grab Glory around the waist and began to dance with her around the room.

Adam was watching them when Thea suddenly plopped herself down on the edge of the bed. He turned to look at her and his smile widened at the way her fine hazel eyes were sparkling. Neither one noticed when Nate and Glory danced out the door.

"I'm very impressed," he said quietly as he took her hand and she blushed. "What else do I not know about you?"

Thea shook her head. "I'm not telling. You'll just have to find that out for yourself," she teased.

"Ah! A challenge," he teased back, giving her his wicked grin. "I hope you realize what you're letting yourself in for," he continued and her smile slowly faded as she met his eyes with her own intense stare.

"Oh, I think I do," she said softly.

Adam's eyes narrowed and their gazes locked. Then he moved over to give her room to stretch out on her side next to him. He slid one arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

They stayed that way for a long time, talking about everything and nothing until the bright afternoon sunlight left the room and twilight slipped in.

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Nate was sitting on the double steps in the gymnasium in back of the gardens a few weeks later. Somehow, Adam had talked him into going through the exercises with him every day and the blonde man was worn out. He just couldn't keep up with the grueling pace Adam set for himself. He shook his head - just watching was making him feel even more tired.

Finally Adam finished and he came to throw himself down on the floor in front of Nate, and began to towel off his sweaty, heaving chest.

Nate sat there carefully considering his heavily breathing friend.

"What?" Adam asked.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" the blonde man asked, feeling the time was right to get a few things out in the open. The situation with Adam and Thea was getting on everyone's nerves.

When his breathing was close to normal Adam responded. "I have to get on my feet and find a way to pay Thea back."

Nate blinked in surprise, "Pay her back? For what?"

Adam rolled his eyes. "For everything she's done for me."

"You know that's not necessary and will be a moot point eventually anyway."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Yes you do."

"No I don't," Adam stubbornly insisted and gave his friend a dark look when he laughed.

"Adam, she's in love with you."

"I know."

"And...?"

"And what?!" he was starting to get irritated now.

"Sweet Jesus, save me! YOU are in love with HER."

Adam looked away and his jaw clenched.

"Come on, admit it," Nate prodded then started laughing when Adam still refused to respond. "You're just cranky because you've realized you can't leave now!"

Adam made an exasperated sound in the back of his throat. "Alright! Yes, I can't leave now!" he burst out with and fell back to lie on the floor. "What the hell am I going to do, Nate?"

Holding back another laugh, Nate tried to be matter-of-fact. "You're going to marry that woman and then the two of you will stop irritating the hell out of the rest of us."

"We're irritating?" Adam said with true surprise as he sat up again.

Nate had to resist the urge to throw himself on the floor and laugh hysterically. "Good Lord yes! The tension and the arguing between you two is driving us all nuts. Even Abner, and he's the most easy-going person I've ever met."

Adam chuckled slightly. "I wasn't aware we were annoying everyone."

"Well, you are. Both of you - equally."

The two men fell silent for a while. Adam was still staring down at the floor when he finally spoke again.

"What makes you so sure she'll say 'yes'?"

"She probably won't at first," Nate said seriously and the man on the floor sighed.

"That's what I thought."

"But I can't see you as someone who would take 'no' for an answer and give up."

"Why do YOU think she'll say 'no' at first?"

The blonde man smiled. "Because I know Thea and how independent she is. You'll have to convince her. AND I've heard some of the things you've shouted at her during some of your arguments. Of course, I've also heard some of the things she's yelled at you."

Adam winced. "This is true."

"But I've also noticed she’s doing most of the yelling now."

Nodding, Adam sighed. "How can I ask her to marry me, Nate? I have absolutely nothing to offer her. Not even a last name."

"You could always take hers..." Nate said and waited for the explosion at his outrageous suggestion.

"Have you lost your mind!" Adam was glaring at him until the other man burst out laughing. "Oh, very funny."

When he was over his laughing fit, Nate's expression became serious. "Then it would seem to me that the first order of business is for you to find some way of making a living."

"I've been thinking about that," Adam answered. "I just wish I knew what I used to do." He paused, "I know I've done some blacksmithing."

"How do you know?"

"That brick building beyond the barn is a smithy and I remembered so many details of doing that kind of work I must have done it in the past."

Nate sat there thinking for a minute, and then cleared his throat. "That would take some time to build up wouldn't it?" Adam nodded.

Deciding he might as well forge ahead, Nate asked, "In the meantime I've been wondering if you would consider working down at the men's club with me."

Adam's eyes narrowed as he leaned forward. "Men's club?"

Smiling, Nate nodded. "It's really a bar, but you have to have a membership to get in. Most of the Pinkerton detectives spend a lot of their free time there. Especially the older ones."

"Do you think they'd hire a man without a last name?"

Nate laughed. "They'd hire a man with one eye and wooden leg if he was honest. And I know YOU are."

"Thanks," Adam answered and laughed himself. "Well, at least it would be a good start."

"I think so," Nate answered as they both stood. "Besides, who knows, we could both end up being Pinkerton detectives some day."

Adam laughed again, "Oh sure, I can see that happening!"

"Look on the bright side. If that DOES happen you can hire yourself to find out who you are."

Still laughing Adam opened the door. "I think I've been spending too much time with you Nate. That actually made sense to me, and I find that to be deeply disturbing..."

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BEGINNINGS

Chapter 15

A few days later Adam accompanied Nate down to the club to meet the owner, Pat Herrity and was hired on the spot. The owner was extremely pleased with his new employee, but was also aware he would be moving on to bigger and better things eventually. But in the meantime was glad to have someone besides Nate he could trust. The two men worked from four in the afternoon until one in the morning when the club shut down, six days a week.

Their friendship deepened as the weeks passed and Pat found himself thinking about the contrast between the two men one rainy afternoon as he sat in his office, putting off working on the books. Nate was wiry and blonde, while Adam was dark and muscular. One was naturally good humored while the other rather brooding and reserved. They seemed to have absolutely nothing in common, but got along famously.

He was shaking his head and eyeing the ledgers with distaste when someone knocked on his office door. Smiling, he called out, "Come in," knowing who was knocking. The door opened and his smile widened when Adam stepped in, and grinned in response at the white-haired man sitting behind the huge desk.

Pat's almost black eyes swept over the younger man from the feet up, and he wondered again where his family was and if his father was still alive. He sighed, sure that Adam's family must be heartbroken from their loss.

You're thinking too much again, Pat," he heard Adam say as he came into the room to drop into a deep, low-backed chair in front of the desk. His employer laughed.

“Don't tell me, you two have finished the inventory already?"

Adam chuckled as he nodded, and then answered the question he knew Pat would ask. "Nate and I put our heads together and came up with a better system so it took a lot less time."

Pat laughed again while mentally shaking his head, knowing that Adam was mostly responsible, but insisted on sharing the credit with his friend. His gaze fell to the desktop where the despised account books lay when a glimmer of an idea sparked and began to grow.

Remaining silent, Adam watched the older man carefully, wondering what was weighing so heavily on his mind. And his brows rose when Pat suddenly looked up to pin him with a narrow-eyed, intense stare.

“What do you know about business?" he said abruptly and the younger man blinked in surprise.

“As far as I can tell, not much," Adam answered.

“Good! That will make things easier," Pat said cryptically and fell silent and just stared for a while. "How would you like to learn?"

Adam straightened in his chair and returned his employer's intense stare. "I would like that very much."

“Good!" Pat said again, and then leaned back to look at the ceiling. "Did I ever tell you this club was my first business?"

“No. I thought this was your only business."

Pat chuckled. "Oh no, I currently have dozens of irons in the fire. And it's getting too big for one person to handle," he grinned. "And that's where you come in."

“Me?"

“Yes, you. I need someone trustworthy to help manage my holdings and I would like that person to be you."

Relaxing back in his chair, he gave the older man a half smile. "Tell me more."

The white-haired man stood and moved around the desk to half sit on the edge in front of Adam before he continued.

“First, have you ever heard the term, 'silent partner'..."

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Adam's days were now extremely full. He spent his mornings three days a week traveling all over the city, checking on Pat's interests in various businesses. The other two mornings were spent keeping the books, something he now knew he had done before.

He still worked at the club with Nate and Thea began to worry that Adam was spreading himself too thin. And then she started wondering where he disappeared to every Sunday afternoon. When she asked him about it, he just patted her on the head; something he knew always sparked her temper, and told her not to worry. She ground her teeth and stubbornly didn't bring that subject up again, although she was dying to know what he was up to.

This particular Sunday afternoon she had been even more irritable than usual and was snapping at everyone. Nate, Glory, and Abner seemed to have had enough.

Thea was standing at the sink in the kitchen looking out the window when the three trooped in. She turned around to meet their disgruntled expressions and felt a pang of guilt for treating them so badly. When she opened her mouth to apologize, Nate cut her off.

“We're going out for a while and I think you know why," he said grimly and Thea flushed red and ducked her head. "And you would be doing us a HUGE favor by going out to the barn while we're gone," he finished cryptically, and she just stood there with her mouth open as they all turned and filed out the front door.

“The barn?" she said to herself, completely baffled, and then jumped when the front door loudly slammed shut. She turned back around, trying to figure out what Nate had been talking about when she made an impatient sound in the back of her throat and hurried out the back door.

She quickly followed the brick path and soon had the barn in sight. But she abruptly stopped for a moment when she heard a deep, silky voice singing and the sound of metal ringing on metal. And the sound was not coming from the barn. Her eyes opened wide when she realized that was Adam's voice she was hearing and she slowly moved toward it. When she was near the door of the square, redbrick building she slowed down and silently crept over to peek in. Her mouth dropped open and she had to stifle a gasp.

Adam had his bare back to her and she could see the heavy sheen of sweat glistening on the hard planes of his long, strong back and shoulders. He stood in the nimbus of the red firelight from the forge and had a thick, long iron bar in one hand and she watched fascinated as he thrust one end of it into the red-hot coals.

He kept turning the iron bar and took a small step back and turned slightly sideways. After swiping one sweaty forearm across his forehead, he rested that hand on his hip as he stretched, leaning back as far as he could, then straightened up to twist from side to side as he rolled his head. Thea's mouth went dry and she almost forgot to breathe when he turned around and stepped up to the anvil.

Carefully placing the white-hot end of the iron bar on the anvil face, he reached down to pluck a hot set hammer from its peg at the base of the anvil. He straightened up and turned until she was seeing him in profile. A few drops of sweat fell from his forehead and sizzled on the hot metal as he began to slam the hammer down in a steady rhythm. She took a tiny step closer.

He began to sing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," and the sound seemed to reach out and take her by the heart, slowly drawing her into the room. She was still just inside the door when he stopped hammering, but kept singing softly as he straightened up to plunge the still hot metal into the large wooden bucket next to the anvil.

A huge cloud of steam enveloped him and he stopped singing as he held the rod with one end in the bucket and the huge hammer dangled from his other hand. He sighed and the steam swirled around his head as he rolled his shoulders, his dark skin sliding easily over the bunching muscles of his arms and chest. Thea moved a little closer, then nearly jumped out of her skin when he spoke.

“So you finally caught me," he said quietly as he carefully set the hammer down on the face of the anvil and pulled the still hot end of the iron bar from the bucket. He stepped up to the forge and thrust that end of the bar into the red-hot coals again.

“What are you doing?" she asked and winced at the stupid question.

Adam laughed softly and turned toward her, but didn't answer. Her eyes fastened on the sweat-dampened curls that thickly covered his chest, almost obscuring the mass of now white scars. She ran her eyes up his torso, strong neck, and closely clipped black beard to meet his hooded, dark eyes. He smiled his half smile and watched her while still turning the iron bar, his long fingered hand opening and closing, the muscles in that arm flexing.

She couldn't look away and when her eyelids closed halfway and her pink tongue poked out to lick her full lips he abruptly pulled the bar from the coals and set it to the side. The next thing she knew she was in his arms, her hands sliding up his sweat-slicked back, and her fingers twined in the damp curls at the nape of his neck.

Breathing deeply, she took in the male-musky smell of his sweat and her knees began to shake. He pressed against the small of her back with one hand while the other pressed against the back of her head as he took her mouth in a demanding kiss. She gasped and surprised him by trying to press closer. He would have smiled if he could.

The tip of his tongue gently traced the line where her lips met and she responded instantly by opening her mouth. But he held himself back and only tangled his fingers in her hair to tip her head to the side. His burning lips caressed hers and she was gasping for breath when he trailed kisses along her jaw line until his firm lips grazed her ear.

“Dear God Thea," he breathed, "marry me."

She wrenched her self back out of his arms and nearly fell down. He reached out to help her and she held one hand up to ward him off while the other covered her mouth. Her eyes welled up with tears.

“I'm sorry...I can't," she choked out and took off running as though her life depended on it.

Adam stood there for a moment staring at the door she had disappeared through and then sighed as he turned back toward the forge. He had just pushed the end of the bar back into the coals when he heard the back door to the smithy open. Nate slipped in.

“Did it work?" he asked and the other man shook his head.

“No."

“I didn't think so. Damn, I thought you had her there for a minute!"

“I did too," Adam said ruefully and Nate couldn't help but laugh.

“Well, I told you this would happen, but don't worry. You'll wear her down."

“I don't know; she can be even more stubborn than I am. And now I have to think of another tactic."

“Another one?"

“Yes, you don't really think she'll fall for this again, do you?"

“No, I guess not...but I'm sure you'll think of something."

“I will, and by the way, just how long were you watching us?"

Nate turned slightly red. "Uh...not long?" he offered and Adam shook his head at his friend's embarrassed expression.

“You know, there's a name for people like you. And it's not a very flattering one." He chuckled saying, "Just wait until I tell Glory you're a peeping Tom."

The words had no sooner left his mouth than the back door opened slightly and Glory slipped in. Adam's brows rose, then rose even higher when Abner slipped in too. He burst out laughing at their sheepish expressions.

"Good God, I'm living with a trio of perverted people!" he joked and his friends finally relaxed. "All right, the show is over so why don't you go and try to find something constructive to do while I finish this," he continued and the three glanced at each other before slowly moving toward the door.

“And if any of you get any ideas don't hesitate to sing out!" he called after them and had to burst out laughing again when the three linked arms and started to sing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," as they marched out the door.

He was still laughing as he turned back to his task, and then softly said, "If you think saying 'no' is going to make me go away you have another think coming lady." Then his eyes narrowed as he automatically continued his task, already sorting through several ideas in the back of his mind. He did not intend on ever giving up.

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HELPLESS

Chapter 16

Thea desperately tried to keep her distance from Adam in the following weeks, and she found it harder and harder to do each day. Especially when it seemed like every time she looked up, his dark, hooded eyes were watching her. She was becoming a nervous wreck.

Late one Sunday afternoon, everyone was gathered in what was the sitting room again, now that Adam had moved into a downstairs bedroom. Thea was watching him out of the corner of her eye, looking for something in particular.

Adam was sitting opposite Abner and had a medical text open in his lap, quizzing the other man on anatomy. The two were laughing over the same sounding terms, "oral" and "aural."

"I guess there IS a big difference!" Abner was saying when Adam flexed his fingers, and began rubbing them, as though they were aching.

Thea quietly stood and came to sit on the low table in between the two men. Adam had seen her coming, but didn't look up until she reached to take his right hand in both of hers.

"What's wrong?" she asked without meeting his dark gaze.

"I don't really know; they just seem to have become stiff lately."

"Ah..." she murmured, pressing on and prodding at his hand.

He had to hold back a smile when her face flushed a deep pink, something that seemed to happen every time she touched him now.

"What do you think is wrong?" he asked her quietly as she dropped that hand and took his left.

"Well, the stiffness seems to be uniform, so I think it's just a matter of neglecting flexibility. The muscles are very well developed and I don't feel any swelling that would indicate rheumatism."

"Oh," he was smiling down at the top of her head, but wiped the smile away when she looked up. "So what do you suggest we do about it?"

Her eyes seemed unusually green, a reflection of the green silk dress she was wearing. He could feel his mind about to wander as he stared in her eyes, and he firmly dragged his attention back.

Thea smiled, the first real smile he had gotten from her since he proposed to her in the smithy. "How would you like to learn how to play the piano?"

"Play the piano?" he echoed blankly, not expecting a suggestion like that.

"Yes," she was nodding her head emphatically. "I have to warn you though, this will be painful at first, but well worth it I think."

"I'm sure it will be," Adam said softly as he looked down at their joined hands. Thea laughed, relaxed while close to him for a change.

"Which? The painful part of the well worth it part?"

"Both, I'm sure," he said low and lifted his gaze to lock with hers.

Her mouth went dry. "Um...I have a friend who teaches piano and I'm sure she'd take you on as a pupil right away."

He smiled into her eyes. "Thank you," he said quietly, and she abruptly stood then stumbled over his feet as she hurried to escape his hot, demanding stare.

"You're welcome," she mumbled as she fled, and Abner shook his head at Adam when he finally turned back to the other man.

"You are just awful," the black man said with a pleased grin. "And don't ever give up, you'll get her eventually."

Adam smiled his arrogant smile. "Yes," he said firmly, "yes I will..."

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The first piano lesson had to wait until the next Sunday; Adam didn't have much in the way of free time until then. His duties working with Pat Herrity and at the club kept his time well occupied.

Thea's close friend, Olivia Stanford arrived early, hoping to have a private chat with Thea about her new pupil. She was lucky and caught her friend in the kitchen, taking her irritable mood out on bread dough.

"Liv!" she called out, her face lighting up when the other woman stepped up on the back porch and peered in through the screen door. "Come on in!"

Olivia quickly did and took a seat at the table across from Thea, who was standing and pounding her fists into the dough on a breadboard. She knew her friend preferred to work at the table since the counter was a little high for her petite frame.

Smiling, Olivia said, "Haven't you punished that poor thing enough?"

Thea grinned and slammed both fists into the huge glob of dough again. "I guess you're right, but God that feels good!" She laughed as she began to divide the dough into equal portions. Then she moved over to the counter for the loaf pans. In a few moments the pans each held the same amount of dough and were lined up on the warming shelf over the stove to rise.

"There!" she crowed with satisfaction, hurried to wash the breadboard, her hands, and the utensils from the mixing process that were piled up in the sink. Thea brought the teapot and cups with her when she came to sit down across from her tall, dark-haired, brown-eyed friend.

Olivia couldn't help but grin at Thea's pink-flushed face and sparkling eyes. For some reason the woman seemed to gain just as much satisfaction out of a domestic chore as she did performing her duties as a doctor.

"What?" Thea asked, unable to read her friend's expression as she poured the tea.

"You like doing things like that, don't you?"

"Yes I do," Thea laughed. "You know me Liv, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't do it."

The other woman nodded her head. "But what I don't understand is why you insist that you'll never get married. You should have children; you would be a wonderful wife and mother." She paused, waiting for Thea to emphatically reaffirm her conviction. But the other woman remained silent, staring down into her cup, her face turning even redder by the second.

"Oh Lord!" Olivia gasped, finally understanding. "He asked you to marry him, didn't he?"

"Yes," Thea answered, speaking so low the other woman barely heard her.

"And you told him 'no' right?"

"Yes...I mean no...I mean I told him I couldn't."

"But you love him!"

"No I don't!" Thea raised her gaze to meet Olivia's and the other woman had to keep from smiling at the stubborn glint in her eyes.

"Yes you do. Everyone can see it, why are you being so stubborn?"

"Because I can't!" Thea ground out through clenched teeth.

"You can't what? Can't marry him?"

"No..." Thea was shaking her head, confusion and fear showing in her expression. "I can't give my heart to anyone, damn it. I can't…trust anyone…let anyone do that to me again."

"Oh I see, because of Doc."

"Yes." Thea turned her head to look out the window while Olivia sat back in her chair.

"It's not the same thing," Olivia began to argue.

"Yes it is," Thea insisted.

"No it's not," her friend continued patiently. "Just because the man who adopted you was cold and unfeeling doesn't mean that Adam will ever do the same thing. From everything you've told me about him, it seems to me they couldn't possibly be less alike."

Thea's mouth tightened into a grim line, her eyes narrowing in ill temper. "I can't trust anyone, Liv. Why can't you understand that? And what would marriage be without trust?"

Olivia mentally sighed and decided a different tactic was needed. "So what you're telling me is that because Doc never returned the love you felt for him you're going to wallow in that misery for the rest of your life. Never giving yourself the chance to find happiness with anyone." She shook her head, "I've never thought of you as a coward."

"Coward? Wallow?" Thea almost shouted, pinning her friend with an angry stare.

"Yes," Olivia continued calmly. "Where is your backbone woman? How can you just sit in the corner nursing your wounds and let life pass you by?"

Furious, Thea struggled to get words out, but couldn't. Then her eyes rose to look over the other woman's head.

"Am I interrupting something?" Adam said from the doorway and Olivia turned in her chair toward him. Her brows rose.

"No," she said quietly, not looking at Thea again on purpose. "I think this discussion is over." She stood and held out her hand as Adam came toward her. He took her hand in his and bent his head to lightly brush the back with his lips. She smiled when he straightened up and their gazes met.

"I'm pleased to meet you Adam," she said with laughter in her voice as he smiled back. "And I think it's time for your first piano lesson. Are you ready?"

Adam nodded, glanced at Thea out of the corner of his eye, and then offered Olivia his arm to escort her down the hall and into the sitting room. Neither one heard Thea slamming things in the kitchen, venting her fury on inanimate objects during the hour-long lesson. Nor were they aware of her pacing up and down in the hallway while listening carefully.

When the lesson was over the two came out of the sitting room, discussing what Adam needed to practice until the next Sunday afternoon. Halfway down the hall, she paused to put a hand on his arm.

"You don't need to see me out. I want to talk to Thea a little more before I leave."

Adam smiled down into her eyes saying, "Till next Sunday, then," and went back to the sitting room.

Olivia watched him go, sighed, and then turned to enter the kitchen. Thea was sitting at the table again, having just managed to get down the hallway before they saw her. She was staring at her clasped hands that were resting on the table and didn't look up when the other woman was standing directly opposite.

Smiling at the top of Thea's dark head, Olivia only paused long enough to say, "You are out of your mind telling that man 'no'." Her tone was firm and she didn't wait for a response, knowing there wouldn't be one, and left the house quickly through the back door.

She was almost home when she heard running footsteps coming up behind her. Turning around quickly she was almost knocked down when Thea threw her arms around her, giving her a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," was all her friend said before letting her go and hurrying away.

Olivia stayed where she was until the petite woman was out of sight, and then smiled a very big smile. Now she knew Nate was right. Working together, they'd all wear Thea down eventually.

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PROGRESS

Chapter 17

Adam was extremely pleased at Thea's angry reaction to seeing him flirt with another woman. That had been his own idea and the group, now known among themselves as "The Ball-And-Chain Gang," was working on more tactics to try.

Their membership recently grew from four to six when Olivia and David Charles joined and the fresh ideas they contributed encouraged everyone. However, Adam continued to caution them that Thea was not stupid and whatever they decided on had to be subtle enough to not arouse her naturally suspicious tendencies. Especially now that SHE had started watching HIM and never left him alone for a second with Olivia during the weekly piano lessons.

Both Adam and Olivia spent the hour trying to conceal their amusement at her watching from the corner of her eye. She usually had a book with her and tried to give the impression she was intently reading, but Adam could have told her that wouldn't work when she kept forgetting to occasionally turn a page. One time he could have sworn she was holding the book upside down for the first half hour. And then his impression was confirmed when she started slightly and casually turned it around the right way. Her face flushing a deep red anytime they laughed together over a small joke or mistake further hampered the believability of her pose.

His playing advanced by leaps and bounds, making him certain he had played some sort of musical instrument before, and the stretching exercise of playing was working the stiffness out of his hands. He practiced as often as he could and when he finally played a slightly difficult piece through without a mistake one Sunday afternoon both Olivia and Thea applauded enthusiastically.

Smiling a wide smile he stood and stepped away from the bench to bow. "Thank you, you are too kind," he murmured as he made another sweeping bow. When he straightened up he had to laugh when Olivia jumped to her feet and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Thea's face went white with rage as the other woman whispered, "Is she furious?" in his ear.

"Oh yes," Adam whispered in answer, stepped back out of her embrace and walked over to drop down on the sofa next to Thea. He shifted slightly on the seat to look into her face.

"I feel like celebrating...would you do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner at Le Coeur de la Maison tomorrow night?"

Her gaze shifted toward Olivia for a moment, then returned to meet his smiling eyes. "The heart of the home," she said quietly, translating the French into English. "Yes I would," she found herself saying emphatically and almost let a groan escape, wondering why she had agreed. Thea almost panicked at the idea of spending the entire evening with him alone then firmly took hold of her unruly emotions and smiled.

That smile made his heart skip a beat and he definitely did not want her to see the affect she was having on him. So he quickly stood saying, "Come on Livvy, I'll walk you home."

Thea was only barely aware of the two leaving, arm-in-arm. She was too busy trying to figure out how she would make it through the evening. And, of course, what she was going to wear.

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Adam wisely kept away from Thea for the rest of that day after asking her to be ready at seven. He was working for most of the next day, but came home early to change into his best suit. She had been ready for hours and was now sitting in her room, nervously glancing at the clock every few minutes.

He came out of his room to stand at the bottom of the staircase to wait for her. When the grandfather clock in the hall began to chime the hour of seven, he heard her bedroom door open, the faint rustle of silk skirts, and tapping of heels as she moved toward the stairs. She came to an abrupt halt at the top when she looked down to see him waiting, he whistled softly in appreciation.

Thea was dressed up to the teeth in a tissue of silk dress the color of deep rose. The dress was simple with elegant lines and the skirt fell almost straight down in the front. A drape of the same silk was pleated around the neckline, emphasizing her ample endowment while another pleated drape around her hips made her waist look impossibly small.

The back of the skirt was box pleated and extended slightly, giving the impression of a train, and her arms would have been bare if not for the long silk gloves in the same shade of rose that extended halfway up her upper arms. Adam's eyes opened wide as she began to come down the stairs slowly. At first he thought she had cut all her hair short, but quickly realized only the front part had been cut and a cloud of dark curls framed her pixie-like face. The rest of her hair had been braided and dressed high on her head, making her seem taller.

Thea hated hats, so thumbing her nose at convention she did not wear one, instead choosing to create the illusion of one by braiding rose-colored ribbons in her hair. When she was closer his eyes caught the glimmer of small pink diamonds set in white gold at her throat and dangling from her ears. She carried a shawl and reticule knitted in stripes of rose and white and she paused near the bottom to fling the shawl around her shoulders.

Adam stepped back as she came down the last few steps and swept his eyes up her elegant form, starting at the toes of the rose silk slippers she wore and stopping when he met her greenish-hazel eyes. Satisfaction at his reaction shone from her fine eyes and her high cheekbones were stained with the same rose hue when she blushed.

She looked down and found herself doing the same thing, taking in the details of his black boots shining with a high gloss, the straight, dark blue, close-fitting trousers that hugged the sleek muscles of his thighs, the pale blue brocade vest, his sparkling white shirt, and the dark blue suit coat that fit smoothly across his broad shoulders and down his muscular arms. His flat-crowned hat and string tie were the same dark blue of his suit and when she met his eyes again he was smiling that smile he seemed to give only to her.

Shifting the hat from his right hand to his left, he turned sideway and offered her his arm. She slowly tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow and they moved down the hallway, out the front door, and down the brick path to the waiting buggy. Nate was waiting there holding the horses still and grinning from ear to ear, surveying the two as though they were his star pupils.

Adam carefully helped her up, making sure her skirts weren't dangling out of the buggy, then walked around to climb up next to her. She moved slightly closer, making contact with his arm and leg and he took in a deep breath before picking up the reins.

Nate let go and stepped back saying, "Have a good time kids," with laughter in his voice.

Giving him a dark look, Adam reached into his vest pocket, and then flicked a fifty-cent piece at him. The coin arced as it tumbled through the air and Nate managed to catch it, even as he cracked up laughing at his friend's non-verbal sarcasm.

He continued to stand there watching until the buggy disappeared into the twilight, heading toward the city.

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The evening breeze was warm and fragrant as the buggy sped along and Thea realized she was becoming more and more tense as each minute passed. She frantically searched her brain for something to say that wouldn't sound idiotic when Adam spoke first.

"You know, one of the things I admire about you the most is you don't feel the need to chatter constantly. Sometimes just being with someone is enough," he said quietly, watching her out of the corner of his eye. When he felt the incredible tension ease where she was pressed up against him, he allowed the corners of his mouth to lift slightly.

By the time they reached the restaurant and he pulled the buggy up in front she was leaning back against the seat. But when she got a good look at the elegant building and the glittering people entering she began to tense again. Mentally shaking her head, she tried to calm down, reminding herself she had dined with nobility and royalty in other countries many times. But Adam's unadulterated maleness, the strength and power he exuded made her feel like a bumbling schoolgirl.

When he reached up to help her down, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she quickly stepped down. A heel caught on something and she almost fell, but he caught her and set her upright so fast no one noticed her stumble.

Tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow, he carefully led her toward the door. The doorman almost jumped to open it for them, nodding as he said, "Good to see you again, sir."

"Thank you Charles," Adam responded, removed his hat, and shot a fast sideways glance at Thea's face. Her eyes had narrowed, her cheeks turning a deeper pink, and he was sure she was thinking he had been here many times before, and no doubt escorting other women. He grinned.

The lobby was filled with people, but Adam paid no attention to them as they moved through the crowd toward the host. The man's face lit up, pleased when he spotted Adam coming.

"Good evening!" he enthused, reaching out to shake hands with Adam, and then risked a quick look at Thea. His eyes widened slightly when he met her hostile gaze, but he was still smiling as he turned his attention back to the tall man in dark blue.

"This way please," he said and turned to lead the way to a private table for two. Adam held Thea's chair for her, biting back a chuckle at her tight face. He gave the host a significant look.

"Thank you Jean," he said quietly and the man hurried away after nodding slightly in acknowledgement of Adam's message. Thea opened her mouth to question him when three waiters appeared almost like magic. One set a stand with a silver bucket next to Adam and began to open the wine. Another quickly set a basket of baguettes and a dish with molded pats of butter on the table, while the last one set wine glasses in front of them and lit the tall candles. Then they all disappeared in a split second.

Adam pulled the bottle out of the bucket and filled her wineglass halfway with the white wine, then did the same for himself. Breathing in the faintly sharp, almost flowery fragrance of the fine wine, Thea realized she hadn't eaten all day, due to being a bundle of nerves. The delicious aroma almost made her mouth water.

She quickly lifted the tulip-shaped glass and took a deep swallow. The potent French wine flowed warmly down her throat and she smiled at the welcome sensation. She took another drink then noticed Adam watching her intently.

"What's wrong?" he asked, holding on to his serious expression as he waited for the angry response he knew was coming.

"You've been here before?" she said in a tone that strained to sound conversational.

"Yes, many times."

Her brows rose at his easy answer and her eyes darkened. "Many times?"

"Of course. This is one of the businesses I help Pat manage," he was biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as her face turned red.

"Oh," was all she managed to say and took another swallow of the wine.

"No Theadora," he said quietly and she gave him a startled look.

"No what?"

"No, I'm not the sort of man who would ask one woman to marry him while seeing someone else."

"Oh," she said again, her response sounding lame to her own ears. Frantically trying to gather her scattered wits together, she stared down into her empty wine glass then set it down on the table carefully. She was about to ask for more when Adam filled it halfway again. Jean suddenly appeared at Adam's side and the two men had a quick, whispered discussion as she drank half of the wine in one gulp. The host straightened up, bestowing an admiring smile on Thea, and hurried away again.

"I hope you don't mind, but I ordered for the both of us earlier today. Duck ala Orange is the chef's specialty."

"Oh how thoughtful of you! I haven't had that dish since we lived in Paris for a while." She was smiling at him warmly and his eyes narrowed while he considered the possibility that she was drunk.

"But on only one glass of wine?" he said under his breath as he watched her empty her wineglass again. He almost jumped when she abruptly stood up and leaned over the table to reach for the bottle. She grabbed it and filled her glass before he could react then set it on the table to her right.

Gracing him with another warm smile, she sat back down, almost missing her chair. Giggling softly, she bent her head down and pursed her lips as she touched them to the surface of the wine that threatened to spill over the edges of the glass.

Adam reached across the table to grasp the stem of her glass before sliding it away. "I think you've had enough of this," he said seriously.

Looking at him with wide eyes she shook her head. "I'm fine...it's just so delicious and I'm thirsty."

"Uh huh," he responded dubiously and couldn't help but smile when she softly giggled again.

"You forgot the bottle," she said with a sly gleam in her eye and managed to grab it before he could. Raising the bottle to her lips, she tipped it up and took a deep drink.

"God," he said softly and started to stand when she tried to set the bottle down on the table. It teetered for a second then fell over, liberally dousing the tablecloth before rolling off and thudding to the floor. Adam breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't shatter.

Blinking slowly she picked up her napkin to wipe at the wetness, managing to knock over both glasses and the candles with one uncontrolled sweep of her arm. The tablecloth immediately caught fire.

Adam calmly stood, picked up the bucket full of half melted ice, and dumped it on the table, putting the fire out instantly.

Sighing, he sat back down as the three waiters descended on them. One gathered up the tablecloth with the glasses, candles, and table settings inside. He hurried away. Another produced a towel to wipe the table dry, while the third came with another tablecloth. He spread the cloth, centering it expertly, and the first waiter came back to replace everything on the table. Then the three men took off quickly in different directions.

Thea had been staring down at her clasped hands in her lap while they cleaned up the mess, but now glanced at Adam through her upper lashes. The shock of the table catching fire had sobered her up slightly.

He was sitting slightly sideways with his legs crossed and one hand over his face. She flinched, thinking he was mortified with embarrassment at her outrageous behavior. Then she realized his shoulders were shaking with silent laughter.

"Adam!" she hissed sharply and he dropped his hand. Her mouth fell open when he brushed tears of laughter away and tried to get a hold on himself. He was gasping for breath with one hand to his chest as he turned his head, looking for Jean. The host hurried toward them to have another whispered conversation with Adam. She heard him chuckle as he moved quickly away.

Thea opened her mouth to apologize, but he held up a hand to stop her, his head still turned sideways, as though he was listening for something. That something turned out to be one of the waiters seemingly tripping over his own feet and tossing a tray into the air as he fell. The cake he had been carrying and the tray separated and another waiter deftly caught the cake as the tray hit the floor with a resounding clatter.

As soon as the noise started and everyone's attention was focused at the far end of the room Adam stood, came around the table to pull her to her feet, and lifted her off the floor with one arm around her waist as they escaped through the kitchen door.

Once they were on the other side of the door, he set her down and shifted his arm to wrap around her shoulders. Then he began to guide her down the busy center aisle, deftly avoiding getting in the way. Many voices called out to him, saying goodnight and he didn't even try to stop a burst of laughter when Thea began to respond cheerfully with her own goodnights.

He opened the back door, nudged her through with a hand in the small of her back, and then stepped out to close it firmly on the noisy confusion. Thea was standing at the head of the back steps, swaying slightly.

Chuckling softly, he wrapped her in his arms and just stood there, holding her tightly until the buggy came around the corner to stop in front of them. Carefully helping her down the stairs, he picked her up by the waist to set her on the buggy seat before climbing in himself. The man who had brought the buggy had already slipped away into the darkness and Adam wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her up against his side.

Shivering in the cool night air, she rested her cheek against his hard upper chest, slipped one arm around his waist, and closed her eyes.

Laughing softly one more time, he flicked the horses' backs with the reins and pulled away from the brightly lit, imposingly elegant restaurant.

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TOGETHERNESS

Chapter 18

Adam took his time driving home, believing that Thea had fallen asleep. So he was startled when she abruptly sat up and pressed more firmly up against his side. Quickly glancing at her face, he saw that her eyes were still closed. She seemed to be hovering in the twilight between being asleep and awake. He drove on in silence for a while then decided it might be a good time to get some questions answered.

“Thea,” he said low and she rested her chin on his shoulder to murmur, “Hmmm…?”

He shivered slightly at her warm breath caressing his ear, then firmly reined in his attention. “Tell me about Doc.”

“I loved him, but he hated me,” she answered promptly in a tone that was both hurt and puzzled..

“Hated you?” he echoed in surprise.

“Oh yes, he did,” she assured him softly with conviction.

Adam went cold, in spite of the warmth of the night, so this was the reason why she kept pushing him away. He swallowed hard against his tightening throat.

“Theadora, what did he do to you?” his voice deepened with his anger. He glanced at her again and she opened her eyes halfway. Her expression didn’t reflect any of the pain he could hear in her voice and he was puzzled by that for a moment.

“What did he do?” he repeated, determined to get an answer to that question.

She leaned back, away from his side, her heavy lidded eyes taking in his furious expression. “Nothing physical…I mean he didn’t beat me or anything like that. He just treated me like I was beneath notice.” Emphatically nodding her head she leaned into him again. “He never touched me…never, ever touched me…in any way.”

He clenched his teeth, reading the world of hurt in her simple words. “Then who took care of you? You were with him since you were born, right?”

“Yes, since I was born…he hired a long string of nannies. Very few of them stayed for long and I think that most of them left because they feared him.”

Adam winced, appalled at the picture she was painting, but aware he wasn’t hearing a bit of self-pity in her voice or words.

“When I was little I tried to hug him occasionally, or take his hand, but he would always push me away. Sometimes he was furious and sometimes he was cold, but I learned quickly not to try anymore.” She paused for a moment to sigh tiredly. “It could have been a lot worse Adam. I was fed, clothed, and given an excellent education. And when I finally began to assist him in surgery he actually started talking to me, but only about medical things and I learned so much from him.” She fell silent then and her eyes closed again, but he knew she wasn’t asleep yet.

He was also silent, unable to speak, his heart aching for the little girl she had been, being brought up in a world as cold as charity. Shaking his head, he sighed deeply with regret for the heartache she carried daily without complaint.

“Thank you,” she said softly into his ear, understanding his sigh, and he tightened his arm around her. In a moment, he felt her body relax in sleep and he spent the rest of the ride home wondering how on earth she had developed into the loving, fiery, compassionate, and strong woman she was.

When they reached the house, he tried to wake her up, but couldn’t. So he pulled the buggy around to the barn and carefully backed out, lowering her upper body to the seat. The combination of nervous tension and wine had her sleeping very deeply.

He quickly took care of the horses, climbed back into the buggy to take her in his arms, and then carried her into the house. Trying to move quietly was difficult as he climbed the stairs, and he hoped he hadn’t woken anybody up. She stirred in his arms as he went down the upper hallway to her room and he knew she was half awake again when he opened the door and went in.

Gently laying her on the bed, he lit the lamp and turned it down as far as it could go. Then he took his hat off and set it down on her bedside table. He stood there looking down at her, wondering what the hell he should do now, when her eyes opened to stare back. Leaning over her, he was about to ask if she needed Glory to get undressed when she reached up to lock her hands together behind his neck and yanked him onto the bed.

“Thea let go,” he said as firmly as he could without raising his voice.

“No,” she said and pouted, her former even mood disappearing.

“Theadora let go,” he repeated reaching up to try and pull her hands apart, but quickly let go when she said, “Ow!” then grinned up into his face.

“What are you gonna do?” she said softly while trying to tug his head down.

Adam sighed with exasperation. “Dear Lord!” he grumbled and tried to slide off the bed backward, but she quickly shifted her strong arms around his waist and locked her hands together again.

“Nuh uh, you’re not going anywhere mister,” she whispered in his ear and he surprised himself by laughing at the absurd situation.

“Thea,” he started to say but she stopped his words with her mouth. He gasped when her full lips parted and she touched his bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. For a moment he caressed her lips with his own and it took every bit of his strength of will to drag his mouth away.

“Now stop that. I told you before I will NOT treat you as something cheap. It’s all or nothing with me, Thea. You know that, damn it.”

She pouted again and opened her mouth to argue, but he put a hand over her mouth. “I asked you once and I’m going to ask you again. Theadora, will you marry me?” he said low and took his hand away.

Her lower lip pouched out further. “Why do you have to go and spoil everything like that?” she said irritably and he almost laughed again.

“I’ll take that as another ‘no’,” he said with amusement in his voice, and then startled her by taking her mouth in a hot demanding kiss. His tactic worked – she became so lost in the kiss, she forgot to keep her tight grip on him and he easily slipped away.

He took a step back from the bed when she sat up to grab at him again, and grinned at her annoyed expression.

“That wasn’t fair.” she insisted. “You cheat!”

“No I don’t,” he said reasonably. “You’re just angry because you lost this wrestling match,” his eyes were sparkling with humor in the dim light and she grinned.

“I gave it a good try though, didn’t I?” she giggled, and then flopped back on the bed. “Oh Lord, I’m sooo tired,” she breathed, and seemed to fall asleep as soon as the words left her mouth. He cautiously moved closer, suspecting another trick, but she didn’t move and her deep, even breathing told him she really was out.

Sighing again, he bit back a chuckle and debated about what to do. He felt he just couldn’t leave her fully, and no doubt uncomfortably, dressed for the rest of the night. And he really didn’t want to have to explain to Glory what had happened. Taking a deep breath, he gritted his teeth and quickly removed her slippers then began removing her clothes, stopping when she was still in her chemise and bottom petticoat.

He stood there for a few moments, watching her sleep, her chest rising and falling underneath the white silk. Then he noticed the sparking of the pink diamonds and reached down to remove her necklace and earrings. Placing them carefully on her dressing table, he stiffened his spine and slid his hands up one leg to release the garter that held her stockings up. He smoothed the stocking down her leg and she giggled in her sleep when his hands touched her bare foot. Grinning, he touched her foot again. This time she laughed and rolled over onto her stomach while kicking that foot against the mattress. His eyebrows rose with amusement as he noted she had very sensitive feet.

Quickly removing the other stocking he breathed a sigh of relief and began to slide the covers out from underneath, and soon was able to pull them over her. He was about to leave when he noticed the heavy braids pinned up on top of her head.

Sighing again, he turned her over, and slid one arm under her shoulders to push her torso up and sat carefully up against the headboard with one leg folded, his foot behind the knee of his other leg. He slowly let her fall back against his chest and started removing the pins. He was so intent on his task, he didn’t realize she was awake until the last braid was undone and he gathered her long, silky black hair together and draped it over her shoulder.

She reached up to take his hand and pressed it to her cheek. “Why did Doc hate me like that Adam? Why did he hurt me like that?” she said in a small voice and his heart almost broke when he felt her tears wet his hand.

Slipping his arms around her, he slid down a little further to rest his cheek on the top of her head. Rocking her slightly he held her in a fierce grip as he murmured soft words of comfort until she fell asleep again.

Adam waited for a while, intending to leave when she was sleeping her deepest, and let his head lean back against the wall. He was still there holding her tightly in his arms when the first rays of dawn touched his eyelids with warmth, and gently woke him up.

His eyes popped open and he held back a groan as he slid awkwardly out from under her and settled her head on the pillow. Slowly straightening up, he heard cracking from his spine, and he had to put most of his weight on one leg. The other one was asleep from being folded underneath him all night long.

He carefully started moving toward the door and smiled wryly when he saw his hunchbacked shadow on the wall. Then he limped as quickly as he could out into the hall and down the stairs, just making it into his room before Glory’s door across the hall opened.

Leaning back against his bedroom door he put a hand over his mouth to muffle a chuckle then softly said to himself, “And a good time was had by all.”

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Thea woke up a few hours later, rolled onto her side, and was instantly sorry she had. She groaned softly, knowing that any sound over a whisper would result in more pain. Groaning quietly a second time, she opened her eyes for a brief second and snapped them shut. The sunlight pouring into the room seemed to lance right through her pupils and into her brain.

Lying completely still, she breathed shallow breaths, and desperately tried to remember the evening before. But she couldn’t remember anything clearly past drinking two half glasses of the white wine. Gritting her teeth, she tried harder and only came up with vague impressions, none of which made any sense to her. She saw a huge white candle being lit, a cake being held by two black-vested waiters as they flew through the air, and Adam driving her home in the buggy with Doc sitting in between them.

She was about to give up when later memories came marching across her mind’s eye and she gasped in horror. The gasp made her head start to throb, and wincing from the pain she remembered yanking Adam onto the bed and refusing to let him go. Then she recalled his second proposal, her irritable, flippant answer, and hearing him laugh. Those clear memories stopped when she had fallen asleep for the first time.

Sighing, she opened her eyes again to see something large and dark blue on her bedside table. She had to squint to bring it into focus and she immediately recognized Adam’s hat. Frowning, she delved deeper and remembered the feel of large, strong hands removing her clothing, smoothing her stockings off, and tickling her foot.

Raising one hand to rub her forehead, she stared at his hat and wondered just what HAD happened later in the night. She tried to take stock of herself physically, but she ached all over and couldn’t tell which aches were caused by what.

“Oh God,” she almost whimpered, not sure if Adam had eventually given in to her persistent demands. He WAS a man after all, and she had shamelessly thrown herself at him, more than once.

Pushing the covers slowly to the side, she carefully sat up and had to clutch at the edge of the mattress with both hands when the room tipped alarmingly. She slammed her eyes shut and held on until the buzzing in her head receded.

She opened her eyes again and was glad that the room seemed to be steady now. Wincing again, she pushed herself to her feet and began the painful process of trying to make herself look presentable.

As soon as she was ready, she left her room and went in search of Adam, but after an hour of creeping slowly around the house, she still hadn’t found him. Carefully making her way to the kitchen, she sank down into one of the chairs, propped her elbows on the table, closed her eyes, and dropped her aching head into her hands.

She was just thinking about trying to make some tea when she felt hands grip her shoulders firmly and gently squeeze. She opened her eyes and saw a cup of tea being set in front of her, and then a cold, wet cloth was pressed to her forehead. Glory sat down across the table while Thea held the cloth in place with one hand, and picked up the teacup with the other to take a sip.

Clenching her teeth when the tea hit her stomach, she waited to see if it would come back up, and was thankful when it didn’t. Then she lifted her red-rimmed eyes to look at Glory’s gentle smile, and kind eyes.

“What happened?” her friend asked. Thea carefully shook her head.

“I have no idea.”

“You drank wine, didn’t you? Thea, you know what that does to your system, and to make it worse, your stomach was empty.”

“I know…” the other woman almost moaned and took another cautious sip of the tea. “What’s in this?”

Glory laughed softly, “Some honey and a little bit of ginger.”

“Oh,” Thea took another sip and tried to sit up straighter. “Where’s Adam?”

“He went back to that restaurant. What’s it called? Le Coeur de la Maison?” Thea nodded her head slowly and was about to ask why when they heard the front door open.

“That’s probably him now, Nate’s working at the club,” Glory offered.

“Glory,” Thea leaned forward to whisper. “If it is, would you mind leaving me alone with him for a bit? Please?”

Adam appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, Thea’s shawl and her reticule in his hands. Glory stood, gave him a quick smile, and hurried from the room. He slowly walked over to the table, set the shawl and reticule in front of her, and then sat down. She looked up to meet his sympathetic gaze.

“Thank you for going back for these,” she said low, afraid to speak any louder.

“You’re welcome,” he said quietly, his dark eyes smiling into hers. Her gaze dropped to the table.

“Adam…did we…I mean did I…oh God I can’t say it,” she choked on the last words.

“Did we what?” he asked, not understanding what she was talking about at first, and then bit his lip when he did. He waited, highly amused, for her to answer his question.

She winced, and he wasn’t sure if that was from pain or embarrassment. “You were in my room last night, right?”

“Yes I was.”

“And were you,” she paused to choose her words carefully, “in bed with me?”

“Yes,” he answered simply and she winced again.

“Dear Lord, then it’s true. We spent the night together,” she sounded both shocked and appalled, still staring down at the table.

“I suppose you could say that,” Adam responded and she finally heard the amused tone in his voice. She looked up to see him grinning.

“This isn’t funny Adam! How could you take advantage of me that way?”

He chuckled at her outraged expression. “Whoa, hold it right there. I didn’t DO anything, and if you can remember, YOU dragged me down on the bed and wouldn’t let go.” Her eyes widened in surprise.

“You mean we didn’t…?”

Laughing, he shook his head. “Of course not! I TOLD you Theadora. It’s all or nothing I want from you, and throwing yourself at me is not going to change my mind.”

“Oh thank God!” she answered, sounding so relieved he laughed harder. Her face quickly turned bright red when she realized how that sounded.

Still laughing, Adam stood, came around behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Leaning down he whispered, “All or nothing, my love,” in her ear then was gone.

Thea continued to sit there for some time, concentrating on remembering everything she could from the night before. The more she remembered, the lighter her heart began to feel, and the clearer her thoughts became. She considered the kindness he had shown her by asking the staff to create a diversion so he could whisk her away out the back. Saving her from being embarrassed.

She drank the rest of her now cold tea and remembered the drive home and his empathetic response to her description of her childhood. Then she recalled him trying to get out of her clutches without hurting her. Shaking her head, she felt truly embarrassed by throwing herself at him, and then sighed softly at the memory of his gentle hands undressing her carefully.

Adam had been a perfect gentleman the entire evening and night, no matter how outrageous her behavior had been. No matter what she had done he had treated her like a lady, and for the first time she felt her life-long defenses against the thought of marriage start to crumble. That feeling took her by surprise and she tensed, waiting for the usual heart-pounding fear to wash over her, but it didn’t.

She smiled.

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DEPARTURES

Chapter 19

For the next couple of weeks Thea spent every evening working with Abner, helping him prepare for the entrance exam to medical school. He would be leaving at the end of the month for London, carrying letters of introduction and recommendation from Thea to her contacts at the school.

Adam and Nate were seldom home, the two men were still working evenings at the club. But Thea was always still up when Adam got home in the small hours of the morning. She was usually in the sitting room at her desk, supposedly deeply involved with working on materials for Abner to study while making the crossing.

Every night Adam would come in quietly and stop in the sitting room doorway to say, “Good night,” before going to his room. And every night he could hear her going up the stairs to her own room only a few minutes later so he was certain she stayed up just to be sure he made it home.

He could sense that things had changed somehow between them and he wasn’t exactly sure what had made the difference, but she seemed to be more relaxed whenever they had the chance to spend any time together. Her suspicious attitude toward Olivia had disappeared and everyone was thankful she was less irritable too.

One Sunday afternoon Adam came back to the house from the smithy, carrying a new iron hinge for one of the doors on the sideboard in the sitting room. Thea was at her desk, bent over a ledger, with her chin propped up on one hand and tugging on a lock of hair with the other.

Adam knelt in front of the sideboard to put the hinge back in place and kept glancing at her, noting her pained expression. She didn’t seem to be aware he was in the room at all. When he was finished, he stood and casually walked a circuit of the room until he was standing directly behind her.

He looked over her shoulder and almost laughed at the incredible mess he was seeing. Papers were spread all over the large desktop and the ledger was almost illegible with numbers crossed out and others squeezed into too small spaces. He leaned down to get a closer look saying, “Having a little trouble?”

Thea jerked upright, narrowly missing hitting him in the chin with the back of her head as he quickly pulled back. She gave him an annoyed look over her shoulder.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that!” she grumbled and he gave her a wide smile.

“I repeat, having a little trouble?”

She sighed with exasperation. “Yes! I can’t get this damn thing to reconcile.”

“Is the difference an odd or an even number?”

“Uh…an even number,” she answered, surprised by his question.

“Then you’ve probably transposed two numbers somewhere.”

“You know how to do this?” she asked and gave him a sharp look. Adam nodded.

“Obviously,” he answered. “Would you like me to take a look at it for you?”

“Would you?” she asked hopefully and he laughed.

“Sure.”

“Dear Lord, thank you!” she said gratefully and gladly got up to let him sit down at the desk. “I’ve never had the patience for this and I’m hopeless when it comes to working with numbers.”

Adam laughed again and bent intently over the ledger. “I’ll see what I can do.”

She watched him for a few moments then said, “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go to the kitchen and start dinner.” He only nodded and murmured, “Fine,” as she hurried from the room.

Three hours later she went quietly down the hallway and cautiously peeked into the sitting room to see him leaning back in her desk chair with his legs stretched out and his arms folded across his chest. She glanced at the desktop and her brows rose to see all the papers in neat stacks and the ledger book closed.

Adam’s gaze rose to meet hers as she stepped into the doorway. He shook his head.

“Theadora,” he said in an admonishing tone and she stiffened. “I just can not believe the ungodly mess your finances are in.”

Clasping her hands behind her back, she slowly moved to stand in front of the desk with her head down. “I told you I’m completely hopeless with numbers.”

“Hopeless doesn’t even begin to describe this!” he rolled his eyes. “Good God woman, you’re not even aware that you’re being cheated!”

Thea’s head snapped up and her face tightened. “Cheated? Who’s cheating me?”

Adam sighed, “Only just about everybody.” He shook his head again. “The bank has to be the worst offender, and who is this James Compton?”

“Oh, he’s my trustee…you know, he administers the funds from my inheritance.”

“Well, he’s not going to anymore. Did you know that he’s increased the fees for his services every month for the past year without fail?”

She blinked, surprised. “Um…no. I must not have noticed.”

“You didn’t notice,” he stated while his eyes darkened with anger. “What did you do, just automatically sign anything he put in front of you?”

Nodding, she hung her head to stare at the floor again as Adam angrily pushed the chair back and stood. “I just can’t believe that someone as intelligent as you would do something that foolish.”

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, and then wondered why she was apologizing. After all, the money in question was hers.

“Don’t apologize to me, and I’m not angry with you. I’m angry with the people who have been taking advantage of you like this.”

She looked up to meet his dark gaze. “Oh,” was all she could think of to say.

He came around the desk as she turned toward him. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he bent his head down to look her right in the eye.

“Tomorrow morning WE are going to visit the bank and all the merchants who have been padding their bills. They will have to deal with me from now on, I’m taking over control of your finances,” he stated in a no-nonsense tone. Then he quickly kissed her on the lips and turned to leave the room, still shaking his head.

Thea watched him go and realized she trusted him to have control of her money without any reservations. Tipping her head to the side, she thought about that for a little while, and then smiled. She was looking forward to seeing how Adam would deal with those people in the morning.

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Adam chose to visit the bank first the next morning right after they opened at eight o’clock. The bank was housed in a huge, imposing marble building but Adam was too angry to be impressed. His expression was anything but friendly as he opened the front door and ushered Thea inside.

He glanced around the lobby as he took his hat off, taking in the expensive furnishings, and then looked down when Thea spoke.

“Compton’s office is over there,” she said quietly and indicated a railed off area to their right. Adam patted the gloved hand she had tucked in the crook of his elbow and led her over to the desk that was sitting in front of the man’s office. A young, male clerk looked up from his account books when they approached.

“May I help you?” he asked in a pleasant voice and Adam gave Thea’s hand a squeeze, silently telling her to let him do the talking.

“Tell Mr. Compton that Dr. Westwood is here to see him,” Adam answered and his eyes narrowed when the young man swept his gaze over Thea’s elegantly dressed figure.

“Is he expecting you?” the clerk reluctantly dragged his gaze away from Thea and his eyes widened when he met Adam’s furious stare.

“No,” Adam said and the young man quickly stood, hurried to the office door, knocked and went in, closing the door behind him. He was back in only a few seconds saying, “Please go in, Mr. Compton will see you now.”

Adam swung open the gate in the railing and guided Thea through with a hand in the small of her back. He glanced at the clerk out of the corner of his eye and the young man took a step back as they passed.

A tall, painfully thin man with pale blue eyes and thinning brown hair stood and came around his desk as they entered.

“Theadora, this is a pleasant surprise!” he said in a smooth voice and took her hand to lead her to a chair in front of his desk. When she was seated, the man turned his attention to Adam who had moved forward to stand behind her chair.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” the trustee said and held his right hand out.

“No we have not,” Adam answered shortly and ignored the hand being held out to him.

Compton blinked a few times, his face paled, and his smile faded before he let his hand drop and turned away to move behind his desk. He kept his gaze fastened on Thea as he sat down, “And how may I help you today?”

“You may help Dr. Westwood by issuing a cashier’s check for the entire amount in her accounts,” Adam said tightly while Thea gave the man a hard stare as she nodded.

The trustee’s eyes widened in shock. “I don’t understand…” he said and almost flinched when he raised his eyes to meet Adam’s cold gaze.

“What don’t you understand?” Adam continued. “Dr. Westwood is not happy with the service you have provided and would rather just withdraw her funds instead of filing charges against you for malfeasance.”

“Charges?” Compton gasped and pulled back when Adam stepped forward to lean across the desk.

“Yes charges,” he said in a softly ominous voice, “and you know exactly what I’m talking about, so don’t try to deny it.”

Staring in horror, the man actually nodded before he could stop himself and Adam straightened up without breaking eye contact.

“Now, are you going to cooperate, or will I be forced to speak to your superiors?”

Compton gasped again, truly terrified now and shook his head vigorously.

Adam smiled coldly. “Good choice,” he said quietly as he pulled a folded sheet of paper from an inside suit pocket. “Here is the address of the bank and the name of the official you will have the check delivered to by the close of business today.” He dropped the paper on the desktop and turned to hold his hand out to Thea who was desperately holding on to her grim expression. She stood and took his arm while biting the inside of her cheek to hold back her amusement as Compton scrambled to his feet.

“By the close of business today,” Adam repeated, giving him one last hard stare before turning and escorting Thea through the office door.

They were in the buggy and had just turned onto a quiet side street when Thea finally lost control. She burst out laughing and Adam couldn’t help but smile as she leaned weakly back in the seat.

“Oh God,” she finally managed to gasp. “I think that man thought his life was about to be snuffed out.”

“Would have served him right,” Adam growled and his eyes flashed with fury again as she shifted closer to him on the seat.

“Thank you for understanding about not filing charges against him. After all, I DID sign the papers so it’s as much my fault as it is his.”

“No it’s not!” Adam insisted and she laughed again as she shook her head.

“Yes it is,” she said firmly and he made an exasperated sound in the back of his throat. “You yourself, said it was a foolish thing to do.”

He gave her a dark, sideways look. “Theadora, doing something foolish is a mistake. What he did may not be illegal, but it certainly isn’t ethical.”

“I know,” she said hastily, not wanting to argue the point anymore. Then she turned her head to look at him in surprise when he chuckled and grinned wickedly.

“Filing charges against him is a moot point anyway. Mr. Compton will soon find himself the target of a bank audit.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

He shrugged. “Nothing much, just talked to someone I knew would be very interested in this information.”

She tugged on his arm. “Who?”

“Pat.”

Her brows rose. “Pat Herrity?” she asked and he nodded. “How could Pat bring about a bank audit?”

Adam shook his head. “Theadora, you just don’t understand. Pat happens to be one of the richest men in New York.”

“He is?” she asked. “That nice old man you work for?”

“Good Lord yes.” Adam laughed at her astonished expression. “Pat also happens to be on the board of directors of the bank your money is being transferred to.” He shook his head again. “Thea, the man owns property and has partnerships all over this city. He just prefers to keep that from being public knowledge.”

“Oh,” she said quietly, still finding it hard to believe.

“Don’t worry about it, and for God’s sake don’t treat Pat any differently now. Just be glad that Mr. Compton will be getting what he deserves for betraying your trust.”

Thea fell silent then and he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, unable to read her expression. She didn’t speak again until they pulled up across the street from the first store on his list of merchants who had been padding their bills.

When he came around to help her down she looked up at him solemnly. “What’s wrong?” he asked as they stood there with his hands around her waist and her hands on his shoulders.

“I haven’t thanked you for doing this for me, have I?” she asked and his brows rose in surprise at her question.

“No, but it’s not necessary,” he said and chuckled. “Besides, I enjoyed scaring the hell out of that thief.”

“I know,” she said softly. “But thank you anyway.”

“You’re welcome,” he responded and his expression became serious too.

“Just remember this Thea. I have made up my mind that from this point on I will never forget and never forgive. If anyone does anything to me or mine I will not give up until they pay, even if it takes years to get them. And I will never be at anyone’s mercy again.”

She stared intently into his dark eyes and saw how firm this conviction of his was and she understood the painful reasons for it. Her heart ached for the pain he had endured and the pain she knew he still felt, having had his identity in effect beaten out of him.

He didn’t move as she slowly rose up on her toes to press her lips gently to his, and he wrapped her in his arms for a few seconds to kiss her back. Then he backed up and offered her his arm with a wicked smile, anticipating terrorizing their next quarry. Taking his arm, Thea couldn’t help but laugh, and the two briskly crossed the street and entered the store.

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A PLAN

Chapter 20

Adam and Nate were hard at work in the storeroom at the club organizing the inventory more efficiently while a part-time bartender was working out front. The two men were chatting about a story Adam had heard from an older Pinkerton detective the day before. Nate was laughing so hard at one point, he set his side of a crate down too quickly, causing the other side to slip out of Adam’s hands and bang down on his foot.

“Damn it!” Adam growled at his friend as he quickly lifted his side just far enough to get his foot out. Then he hopped over to lean against the wall and pull his boot off. He slid down to sit and carefully felt his foot, looking for broken bones. Nate was trying to stop laughing, but couldn’t, not even when the other man gave him one of his darkest looks.

“I’m sorry!” Nate sputtered and came over to sit next to Adam, still choking on laughter.

“I know you’re sorry, but would you PLEASE try to be a little more careful? The last thing I need is any more broken bones!”

Nate instantly sobered and frowned. “Are you all right?” he asked and his friend nodded.

“Yes, nothing’s broken. But it sure as hell felt like something did.”

“You better have Thea take a look at your foot when you get home,” Nate offered.

Adam nodded as he pulled his boot on and was about to speak again when they heard two male voices approaching. They glanced at each other, narrowly. No one but employees were supposed to be in the back hallway.

“I’m telling you Mike, it’s a stupid idea.” The first voice sounded young and mild.

“Come on Johnny, don’t be such a chicken. Do you have any idea the kind of money we’d get from the bounties? Pritchard has a thousand on his head alone!” The second voice was deeper with a faint Irish lilt.

“Look, you’re talking about going down south, infiltrating a gang, and somehow gathering them all up. And that final point is the one you’re not being very clear on. How the hell do we turn them over to the law? Seems to me that’s the most important part, not to mention the most dangerous!”

“Well I don’t know how we’re going to bring them in yet, but trust me. I’ll think of something.”

“Let me put it this way,” the young voice said patiently. “I’m not going anywhere or doing a damn thing until you come up with that last part. And it better be damn good, too!”

“Alright, alright!” the deeper voice grumbled. “Instead of nit-picking you could try to come up with an idea of your own, you know.” The man sighed. “I just don’t want to pass up this opportunity. Do you realize we’d be splitting close to seven thousand dollars?”

Adam and Nate glanced at each other again, surprised. That was a hell of a lot of money.

“I know, and do YOU realize you’re talking about bringing in fifteen men?”

Mike made a frustrated sound. “Yeah, that’s true.” The two started moving away down the hall. “But it seems such a shame not to at least try.”

“I swear, sometimes it seems like you have a death wish Mike,” John was saying with laughter in his tone as they moved out of earshot.

The two men in the storeroom sat there in silence for a while until Adam took a deep breath and turned his head to look at Nate. He was smiling widely and his eyes were shining with a strange light.

Nate stared back and his heart sank, reasonably sure of what the other man was going to say.

“Nathan,” Adam said low while meeting his friend’s eyes with an intense stare. “I have a plan…”

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The next afternoon Nate, Adam, Glory and Thea were gathered in the sitting room, tired from being up incredibly early to see Abner off to England. The parting had been particularly difficult for Thea. She had quickly become extremely fond of the strong, intelligent, easy-going man. He had become family to her and her heart was heavy, as though she had waved goodbye to a brother. She could tell by the solemn expressions the others were wearing that they felt the same way. And she finally acknowledged to herself that they would probably never see Abner again.

Sighing, she turned her thoughts to Olivia, who had left on the train the day before with her aunt. They had gone to visit relatives in Connecticut and expected to be gone for at least a month. Thea shivered in spite of the warmth of the evening and wondered why she had a feeling that things would never be the same again - that the departure of Abner and Olivia was just the beginning.

She looked up to see Adam and Nate intently discussing something with Glory. And judging by the other woman’s expression, she was not happy about the subject. Thea sat up straighter and her heart began to beat faster when all three turned their heads to look at her, their expressions unreadable.

Nate and Glory came to sit on either side of her on the sofa while Adam came to sit on the low table in front of her. He reached out to take her hands in his. She swallowed hard against the lump that suddenly formed in her throat.

“Thea,” Adam said quietly, “Nate and I will be leaving town for a while.” She stared at him silently, unable to breathe for a few moments.

“Why?” she finally managed to say from an incredibly tight throat.

“An opportunity came our way to make a great deal of money in a short time and we both feel it would be stupid not to take advantage of it.”

“What kind of an opportunity?” she asked as her eyes narrowed.

“Well, we hope to bring in a group of wanted men to collect the rewards.”

Her eyes went wide with fury and disbelief. “Bounty hunting? You’re talking about going bounty hunting?”

“You can call it bounty hunting, but it won’t be like that. We have a good, solid plan about how to do this and it won’t be as dangerous as you think.”

“Oh really?” she said, her voice sharp with sarcasm. “How many men?”

Adam glanced at Nate, who quickly shifted over to sit beside him. “Fifteen,” the blonde man answered her question.

“FIFTEEN!” she nearly shrieked and both men winced at the sharp sound. Nate hurried to reassure her.

“Thea, I was dubious about it at first too, but I think Adam knows what he’s doing. The plan is simple enough to be foolproof.”

She jerked her hands out of Adam’s grasp and fisted them in her lap. “You think so, huh? Well what about you two fools?”

Glory gasped at Thea’s harsh words and caught Nate’s eye. She jerked her head toward the door and the two stood to leave and give them privacy to fight this out. Adam watched them go, and then turned his attention back to her.

“I know you’re upset, but you have to learn to trust me.” She took a deep breath and let it out angrily.

“Trust you? How can I trust you when you’re sitting there talking about leaving me?” Her face was bright red with her anger and he suddenly realized there was much more to her reaction than he had thought.

“I’m not leaving you, Theadora. I give you my word that I will come back,” he said patiently.

“Sure you will,” she spat at him and his eyes widened at the venom in her tone.

“I will,” he answered her firmly, but she shook her head.

“You know, you almost had me believing in you, but it looks like you’re no different than all the rest.”

“What ARE you talking about?” he said with some heat, his temper sparking at her disbelief.

“Men. I’m talking about men. All of you do the same thing, you worm your way into a woman’s heart and then disappear when you lose interest.”

“WHAT?” he almost shouted and suddenly they were both standing and glaring at each other. “I ASKED you to marry me, damn it! You’re the one that won’t make a commitment!”

“How can I!” she shouted back, “I’m already married!”

Adam gasped and stared at her, his face going completely white at first, and then the deepest shade of red she had ever seen.

“What did you say?” he demanded, his voice deep and dark with fury.

Thea’s face had gone white too and she hastily tried to explain. “I WAS married. When I was seventeen. Doc signed me over to an older man – I didn’t have any say in the matter.”

“Then where is he?” Adam ground out through clenched teeth.

“He’s dead,” she answered and abruptly sat back down, her knees were shaking uncontrollably.

Adam started to relax and took a deep breath before seating himself on the low table again. “What happened?” he asked her wearily and she hung her head to look at her hands clasped in her lap.

“The man was a fortune hunter and fixed his sights on me when I ‘came out’.”

“Came out?”

“Yes, that’s what they call it when a young woman comes out in society for the first time. I wasn’t interested in doing that, but Doc insisted and asked a friend of the family to sponsor me.” She paused to take a few deep breaths to steady her voice.

“I was lucky that he chose Millie, Lady Millicent Danvers, because she understood why I wasn’t interested in joining the social whirl and hunting for a husband.” The corners of her mouth lifted slightly as she remembered her friend.

“So we would show up at the beginning of each social function and then leave incredibly early. Doc didn’t really pay any attention once he turned me over to her, so we were able to get away with that for almost the whole season. But one night Millie was cornered by an old friend and couldn’t get away. I couldn’t leave by myself so I had to join in. That’s when Hugh made his move.”

She reached up to rub her temples as a splitting headache began to bloom behind her eyes. “I almost refused his invitation to dance, but he seemed so mild-mannered that I thought it wouldn’t do any harm. The next thing I knew he had dragged me out into the garden and attacked me.”

Adam found himself becoming furious again at the scene she was describing so he ground his teeth and tamped down his anger. She glanced up at him through her lashes and he realized she was horribly embarrassed by this story, but was determined to tell him all.

“We were caught in what is politely called a ‘compromising position’. Then he told Doc that he ‘had’ to marry me and put on an act, playing the part of the innocent man who had been roped into marriage. God I hated him so much! But Doc wouldn’t listen to anything I said, he just dragged me home to the family seat and arranged for the marriage to take place there the next day. He even locked me in my room.”

She paused again to glance up at him, so he carefully kept the rage that was burning in his heart from showing on his face.

“Hugh dragged me upstairs, right after the ceremony and attacked me again! So I did the only thing I could think of to do. I grabbed the nearest thing I could reach and bashed him in the head. Then I ran, and I ran to the only person I knew would help me.”

“Millie?” he asked quietly and she nodded.

“We figured the wisest course of action was to leave the country. So we came here to New York and it took Doc about four years to find me and when he did, he told me Hugh was dead. So I was free of Hugh and of an age where Doc couldn’t do anything like that to me again, so I went back to England with him. I guess that’s why when he died I came back and have lived here ever since.”

She finally tipped her face up toward him and saw he was shaking his head. “I can’t be absolutely positive, but I think that man is the first person I’ve hated that I’ve never met.” Thea stared at him blankly for a moment, and then gave him a trembling smile.

“I’m sorry,” she said earnestly. “I didn’t really mean what I was saying…”

“I know,” he answered and moved to sit next to her on the sofa. He put his arm around her shoulders and she let her head fall back against him.

“This may not be the best time to say this, but I feel I have to. Theadora, I want you to think long and carefully about marrying me.” She stiffened.

“I don’t think I can…” she was saying reluctantly when he sighed.

“I’ll take that as another ‘no’, but I still want you to think about it while I’m gone.”

“When are you leaving?” she asked and a quick sheen of tears came to her eyes when he said, “Tomorrow.”

“Do you have to leave so soon?”

“Yes we do. Timing is a very big part of the plan, so we have no choice. But understand I mean what I say. I WILL come back.” Sighing, Thea nodded and finally let herself relax against him.

Adam tightened his hold on her. “You know, the more I hear about Doc the more I wish he was still alive so I could kill him.” That startled a quick laugh out of her and he smiled, having made that outrageous statement hoping amusement would be her reaction.

They stayed on the sofa for a long time, talking about whatever other subjects that came to mind, comfortable in their solitude, not needing anyone else.

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ABSENCE

Chapter 21

Everyone went to their rooms early that night and when Thea still wasn’t able to sleep close to midnight she sighed with exasperation and got out of bed. She went to the window and stared unseeing out at the moonless night.

Even though she kept telling herself Adam would keep his word, her heart continued to ache with the certainly she would never see him again. She stood at the window for a long time, remembering everything from the moment she had pulled the sheet off his still form and saw his face for the first time.

Her jaw clenched and her eyes flashed with fury as she saw his devastating injuries again in her mind’s eye. A few furious tears welled up and she impatiently brushed them away as she turned from the window and hurried on silent bare feet out into the hall.

Moving quietly and quickly before she lost her nerve, she sped down the hall and hurried down the stairs. When she reached his bedroom door, she paused for a moment to let her breathing slow down, and then carefully took hold of the doorknob.

The door opened silently and she could just barely make out his long form, asleep on his left side. She crept up to the side of his bed, slowly lifted the covers, and carefully slipped in. He was facing away from her, and she cautiously scooted forward until she was pressed up against him from behind. Then her breath caught in her throat when she realized he was not wearing a nightshirt – he wasn’t wearing anything at all.

Her mouth went dry and she couldn’t stop her hands from sliding all over his warm skin. She tipped her head forward to breath in his male scent and he stirred slightly, sighing in his sleep. Encouraged, she lightly pressed her lips to one hard shoulder, and then gasped when he suddenly turned over to take her in his arms.

She couldn’t tell in the darkness if he was awake or still asleep as he pressed against the small of her back to mold her body to his. His mouth found hers and she moaned in the back of her throat when one hand slid down to pull her nightgown up. The slightly rough skin of his palm rasped as his hand slid up her smooth thigh and his other hand tangled in her hair to tip her head back. When his hand reached the top of her thigh she gasped into his mouth and he suddenly stiffened.

“What the…?” he said, his voice still thick with sleep. “Thea?” he gasped, incredulous and pushed away from her so hard he almost fell out of the bed. She felt the mattress dip as he got to his feet, and then felt him yank the top blanket off the bed. Then she heard a match scratch as she squinted against the yellow light when he lit the lamp.

He had the blanket wrapped around his waist, holding it in place with one hand while he stared down at her, his face tight with anger.

“Theadora, you HAVE to stop doing things like this, it’s really starting to get on my nerves!” he ground out through clenched teeth and she sat up to watch him look around for something. He finally spotted his robe that had slipped off the end of the bed and he snatched it up before turning his back to her and shrugging into it. Then he dropped the blanket before kicking it away.

“Why?” he said, his voice deepened by annoyance and she didn’t offer an excuse or even a reply as she stared at him with all the love and longing she felt for him shining in her eyes. He sighed.

“You still think I’m not coming back, don’t you?” he said patiently and she nodded as her gaze fell away from his hot stare.

Taking a deep breath he cautiously came to sit on the bed, one leg folded under him as he reached for her hands. He held them tightly as he said, “And you figured if I slept with you tonight I would have to come back, right?”

Her face reddened slightly and she shrugged one shoulder before nodding reluctantly.

“God help me, you’re going to drive me insane,” he said low and she almost smiled at his helpless tone.

Then she looked up when he gave her hands a small shake. “Is that what you really want? Do you really want to wonder all your life if I would have come back without being forced to? Think about it Thea, that’s no way to start a life together. That question would bother you forever.”

Her eyes narrowed as she stared into his intently and nodded, knowing he was telling her the truth. He smiled at her while tightening his grip. “I think you better go back to your room now,” he said quietly, and then frowned when she shook her head.

“Please let me stay…I swear I won’t touch you again. I just don’t want to be alone tonight,” she pleaded and he started to shake his head, but stopped.

“Get under the covers,” he said and she hurried to obey as he spread the blanket out again. Then he took the extra blanket that was folded over the footboard and spread that over the bed too. She stared up at him, not understanding what he was doing. He just chuckled at her expression as he lay down next to her, and then reached over to pull the other side of the top blanket over himself.

She started laughing as he turned toward her on his side. “Well, you can’t sew me into a bundling sack so this will just have to do,” he said with laughter in his voice and she shook her head remembering the practice as a time-honored tradition in New England. She scooted closer and he rolled onto his back and put his arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulder.

“Now behave yourself,” he said firmly, yawned, and closed his eyes.

“What about the lamp?” she said and he reached to turn it down almost the whole way.

“I’m not putting it out, something tells me I need to be able to see you to protect my virtue,” he chuckled and she sighed with contentment as she pressed closer and closed her eyes. In a moment she was fast asleep.

“Besides,” he said to himself under his breath, “I’M going to be awake for the rest of the night, no doubt.” He chuckled quietly one more time, wondering how much longer he was going to be able to resist her. Then he turned his agile mind to tackle the problem again of how to get her to say “yes.”

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Adam shook Thea awake and shooed her out of his room when the sun rose and before Glory was up. Then he wearily got dressed, picked up his bag, and made his way to the kitchen.

Glory took one look at him and hurried to pour him a cup of coffee. “Thank you,” he said quietly and sat down at the table. She kept glancing at him as she bustled around preparing breakfast and opened her mouth to say something, several times. But she didn’t, every line of his posture told her he was in a testy mood.

When she had breakfast on, she poured a cup of coffee for herself and came to sit across from him. She stared at his bowed head for a while, waiting for him to look up which he finally did. Her eyes opened wide when she got a good look at his face and saw the fine lines of weariness that etched his cheeks.

“Didn’t you get any sleep at all?” she asked automatically and tensed as she waited for his response.

“Some, but not much,” he answered in a reasonable tone of voice and she relaxed, but only slightly.

“Thea went to your room last night, didn’t she?’ she asked in a rush, and was surprised when he laughed softly.

“Yes. How did you know?”

“I know her,” Glory said simply and he laughed softly again.

“I thought I did, but I obviously don’t know her as well as you do.”

Glory reached out and put a hand on his forearm. “You will Adam, because I can’t see this ending in any other way but marriage between you two.”

He tipped his head to the side, giving her an intense look with narrowed eyes. Then his expression cleared and he smiled his most charming smile. She smiled back, even as her breath caught in her throat, struck again by how handsome he was.

Patting the hand she still had on his forearm, he made her blush by saying, “I certainly hope Nate knows how lucky he is. When are YOU going to make an honest man out of him.”

She cleared her throat and pulled her hand back as she stood. “Now we’re talking about you and Thea, not me,” she said firmly and moved toward the stove.

He watched her for a few moments before speaking again. “Glory, you didn’t ask what happened. Why is that?”

This time she laughed. “I know exactly what happened.”

“You do?”

“Yes sir, I do. Absolutely nothing happened,” she answered and he laughed louder this time.

“I take it then that you know me too?”

She turned away from the stove only long enough to give him an admonishing look. “Oh yes…I know you too.”

He shook his head and stared down into his now empty coffee cup, thinking. When her hand suddenly appeared to take the cup from him he started slightly then raised his eyes to watch her fill it again. “You know,” he mused quietly, “I wonder if I will ever get used to discussing things like this so openly.”

Glory gave him a quick smile then turned away to put the pot back on the stove. “You’ll find that those of us in the medical field are different from most people. Our lives are centered on caring for and healing the human body, so we have a tendency to think and speak in more practical terms. Or do I mean more ‘matter of fact’ about it?”

Adam laughed again and gave her another smile when she glanced at him over her shoulder. Then his expression sobered. “Nate told you all about our plan, didn’t he?”

She nodded, not turning to look at him. He stared at her back for a while before speaking again.

“Glory,” he said quietly and she stiffened. “Nate will be coming back to you, I promise you that. Neither one of us is going to get killed.”

“How can you know that? How can you make such a promise?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but I just know. I can’t tell you whether or not I had these…feelings…before, but maybe it has something to do with having been dead. I don’t know, but my gut instinct tells me this plan is going to come off without a hitch.”

“Are you really that sure?” she asked as she turned quickly toward him, her face creased with worry.

Adam nodded. “Now I can’t choose what I have these feelings about, they just spring up sometimes. But on this one I have no doubt.” He was glad to see her relax.

“But please don’t say anything to Thea about the plan. She’d go crazy if she knew we’re going to knock out the whole gang with doctored whiskey and then load them into a locked boxcar.”

Glory shook her head. “How on earth did you ever come up with such a crazy idea,” she said and started moving pans from the stovetop to the warming shelf.

“Actually, it’s not really my idea, I just changed it slightly. One of the older Pinkerton detectives told me how they captured a southern scouting party by knocking them out with gas grenades, then just picking them up after they passed out. Worked like a charm.”

She smiled as she transferred the last pan and was about to comment when Thea appeared in the doorway to the inner hall.

Adam saw her eyes go over his head and he stood, correctly assuming she was looking at Thea. She gave him a wan smile and he shook his head as he opened his arms to her. He braced himself, wondering again how such a small woman could almost knock him off his feet, as she rushed to him and hugged him tightly.

No one ate very much and Adam held her hand the whole way through the meal until Nate showed up at the back door. Then he gave her hand one last hard squeeze before standing and picking up his bag.

Nate came in to hug Glory and kiss her cheek while Adam bent down to kiss Thea on the lips. As soon as his lips touched hers, she stood to throw her arms around his shoulders and fiercely kissed him back until he had to pull away.

He smiled down into her huge eyes, gently stroked her cheek with his knuckles, and then nodded at Nate. The two men quickly went down the front hall and out the front door, closing it firmly behind them. They hurried down the brick walk and then down the street, heading for the train station and didn’t speak until they boarded and settled into two seats.

Adam sighed as he leaned back and tipped his hat over his face. Nate couldn’t help but grin.

“Rough night last night?” he asked, knowing the other man hadn’t heard Glory whisper to him about Thea’s late night visit to his room.

“You have no idea…”

“Oh I think I do. Thea showed up, right?”

His partner abruptly sat up, caught his hat as it fell, and stared at his friend in surprise for a few seconds. Then he figured it out. “Glory told you,” he said, disgusted with himself for falling for it.

“Yeah,” Nate laughed as the other man leaned back again. He stayed silent for a while, musing about the strange situation his friend seemed to find himself in frequently.

“And nothing happened?” he asked and Adam lifted his hat to give him a dark look.

“Of course not,” he said firmly, then covered his face again. “Now shut up, I need to get at least a little sleep.”

“OK,” his friend agreed with his usual good humor. “I just don’t know how you did that.”

“I don’t either,” Adam answered in an annoyed tone. “But I CAN tell you she better say ‘yes’ soon. This is definitely getting on my nerves.”

Nate tried to hold back his laughter, but couldn’t until the older man lifted his hat again to give him another dark look.

“Oh shut up, will you?” he almost barked and Nate firmly reined in his sense of humor, but continued to struggle against his laughter for a while even as the train pulled out and they were on their way.

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ALONE AGAIN

Chapter 22

Floorboards creaking in the hall outside her room woke Glory abruptly from a light sleep. She wearily turned over to look toward the door and saw faint, flickering light slipping in underneath. Sighing as that light faded, she wondered again how much longer Thea would be able to stand the strain of not being able to sleep.

Adam and Nate had left two weeks ago and Thea was becoming a mere shadow of her former self. The joy and enthusiasm that had been such a large part of her personality were almost gone. And Glory’s heart clenched painfully whenever Thea’s control slipped and her eyes filled with the deep pain she was trying so hard to hide.

Glory rolled over and tossed the sheet back, suddenly feeling too warm, and hoped that she would fall back asleep while at the same time knowing she wouldn’t. Neither woman had been getting much sleep, even though they had been working from sunup to sundown almost non-stop every day. So far they had cleaned the house from top to bottom, with the exception of Adam’s bedroom. The two avoided going in there in unspoken agreement. They had tackled the barn next and when they finished there, they started in the garden.

Groaning from stiff and sore muscles, she slid out of bed and quietly left her room. She padded down the hallway on silent bare feet and crept down the stairs. Halfway down she stopped in surprise – Adam’s bedroom door was open and dim light spilled out. She hurried down the rest of the way when the sound of Thea’s sobbing reached her ears.

She slowly moved into the room and carefully sat down on the edge of the bed where Thea was laying face down, crying her heart out into Adam’s pillow. Tears filled her own eyes as she reached out and began rubbing the other woman’s back with a gentle hand, her heart aching for her friend and for herself.

“Oh God Glory, what am I going to do if he doesn’t come back!” Thea choked out as she turned over and sat up to throw her arms around her friend.

“He IS coming back,” she answered quietly and Thea leaned back, her reddened eyes peering into Glory’s intently.

“Do you really believe that?”

Glory nodded her head and closed her eyes in a vain attempt to keep her tears from overflowing. “I HAVE to believe that – I have to believe that BOTH of them will be coming back.”

Thea’s eyes opened wide as she stared at the other woman in dismay for a few moments. “Glory! I’m so sorry! Here I’ve been so wrapped up in my own troubles I never thought once about how you feel.” She hugged her friend tightly and the two women cried on each other’s shoulder for a while.

When they had both calmed down Thea took a deep breath and leaned back to look Glory steadily in the eye. “Thank you for putting up with me these last three weeks, but I think I’ve been acting like a twit long enough, don’t you?” Glory just nodded, giving the other woman a weak smile.

Thea’s expression became solemn as she peered closely into her friend’s eyes. “You really do love Nate, don’t you?” she said and was almost knocked over when Glory burst into tears again and threw her arms around the smaller woman.

“Yes I do! God help me I do,” she gasped out in despair as Thea hugged her tightly. When Glory had calmed down somewhat she drew back again.

“Why did you say ‘God help me’? You know Nate loves you too.”

Glory let go and wiped at her eyes with both hands as she laughed a short, bitter laugh. “You know I can’t ever marry Nate, I’m six years older than he is!”

“Six years isn’t that big of a difference…” Thea was saying in answer when the other woman cut her off.

“Damn it, I can’t marry Nate because I can’t have children!” she almost shouted and pressed a hand to her mouth to muffle a sob as fresh tears flowed down her cheeks.

Thea stared at her blankly for a moment. “Surgery?” she asked with a very tight throat and Glory nodded.

“And you’ve never told Nate?”

“No, I’ve been a coward.” Glory sniffed and wiped at her eyes again. “I should have told him a long time ago, but I just couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.”

“Aren’t you being unfair to Nate? Maybe that won’t matter to him.”

“Thea, you know how much Nate loves children,” Glory said impatiently. “You’ve seen how he is with the kids in the neighborhood. He’s ‘Uncle Nate’ to every single one of them.”

“Well…yes…but doesn’t he have a right to know? To make a decision like that for himself?”

“No, you don’t understand. Nate would ask me to marry him anyway…” her face flushed a deep red. “Things have gone too far between us for him to walk away now.”

“What?” Thea said without thinking, badly startled. “You mean…”

Nodding, Glory’s face turned an even deeper red.

“Oh Glory!” was all Thea could think to say as she wrapped her arms around her friend again, fiercely holding her tight. “Why didn’t you tell me all this before?”

“I just couldn’t,” Glory said weakly. “I just couldn’t face the thought of life without Nate, but when we went too far I realized the truth. I can’t let Nate marry me out of a sense of obligation. He would come to resent me for it eventually.”

“But Nate loves you…” Thea started to argue.

“Yes he does right now,” the other woman said emphatically while shaking her head. “But you know how easily love can turn to hate.”

Nodding reluctantly, she watched her friend with deep concern as she pushed Thea’s arms away and stood. “We both better try to get some sleep. Morning isn’t that far off now,” she said tightly and hurried from the room.

Thea opened her mouth, intending to call her back when she realized there was nothing more she could say. No other argument she could give that would change the other woman’s mind. She lay down on her back and stared at the ceiling, becoming aware for the first time how incredibly lucky she was. Lucky to know Adam still wanted to marry her, in spite of what she viewed as severe flaws in her personality.

Sighing, she sat up to blow the lamp out, and flopped back down against the pillows. She expected to be awake for some time while mentally wrestling with these huge problems, but fell deeply asleep in seconds.

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The two women took it easy the next few days and Glory was glad when her friend seemed to regain a good deal of her former animation. But she could still occasionally see Thea’s deep fear overshadow her smiling expression and her own heart would ache for Nate in response.

So the two continued with the daily tasks of living and by the time the men had been gone for three weeks they were feeling restless and needed to get out of the house for a while. The next day was Saturday and they decided to spend the day in town shopping, hoping to distract themselves from their constant, nagging worry.

The day turned out to be quite a success and the two women were pleasantly tired on the long walk home. They were both giggling helplessly as they came up the front walk, laughing over a hideously ugly hat Glory had bought for next to nothing. The hat was made of dark orange felt, and studded with silk roses in a shrieking yellow. It was banded with black velvet ribbons that formed the strings for tying under the chin.

Glory had pounced on it at first sight, gleefully explaining to Thea that she intended to wear it when Nate came home. She was looking forward to watching his expressions, knowing he would find it very difficult to keep his horror from showing on his open face.

“I swear I’m telling you the truth! One look at that thing made my stomach roil,” Thea was saying to the other woman over her shoulder as they reached the front door. Then her amused smile faded when she saw Glory flinch and turn white.

“What’s wrong…” she quickly asked, and then turned her head toward the door to see what her friend was staring at. A buff envelope, easily recognizable as a telegram had been slipped into the crack where the door and frame met, and it was fluttering in the slight breeze.

Thea stared at it blankly for what seemed like a very long time until a stifled sob from Glory startled her and she slowly reached out to pull it from the door as her heart rose in the throat. She turned toward the other woman and held it out with a shaking hand.

“It’s addressed to you,” she managed to say from a throat so tight it was difficult to breathe.

Glory dropped the packages she was holding and took the envelope, her normally pale blue eyes dark and wide with fear. Swallowing hard, she slowly ripped it open, her fingers feeling stiff and clumsy as she struggled to pull the flimsy paper out.

She read the few lines and a deep sob escaped when she opened her mouth to speak. “It’s from my mother…my father’s dead,” she whispered and closed her eyes as tears sprang up and raced down her pale cheeks.

“Oh Glory,” Thea moaned, dropping her own packages as she reached out for her friend. The tall woman stumbled into her arms and they both went down.

Thea landed on the front stoop on her bottom with Glory still clasped tightly in her arms and she held her close, murmuring soft words of empathy in her ear. Huge sobs shook the thin woman’s frame as she cried out her grief over her father and her worry over Nate.

When she finally quieted down, she leaned back to look around vaguely as she said, “I think I have to go home.”

“Yes you do,” Thea answered calmly and firmly as she wiped at her wet eyes with shaking fingers, and then rose to her feet before reaching down to help her friend up.

Glory stood there, her head down and her arms wrapped around her middle as Thea hurried to gather up the abandoned packages, carried them into the front hall to set them on the table there, then came back out to pull the stunned woman inside by the hand.

Thea took her to the kitchen and left her sitting at the table there to hurry next door and ask her neighbor’s son to find Dr. Charles at the hospital and ask him to come. Then she came back to coax Glory into drinking a cup of hot tea laced with whiskey as she gently questioned her about what needed to be done. She looked up in surprise a short time later when David suddenly appeared at the back door, so she hurried out, and after a quick discussion he took off for the train station.

When he returned less than an hour later, she was still sitting next to her friend, holding her hand and listening to her talk about her father. He quietly came in the back door and was glad to see Glory look up. She was starting to come out of her shocked state, and when he approached she stood and turned toward him.

His sympathetic heart clenched at the lines of grief etched on her face and he hugged her, something his natural reserve would normally have kept him from doing.

Thea gave him a grateful smile and hurried off when he nodded, knowing he was telling her he would stay with Glory and not to worry, setting her free to attend to the many things that needed done before morning.

By the time the sun finally set, she had everything Glory would need packed and every other detail taken care of. She made her way back to the kitchen to find it empty, but could see dim light spilling into the hall from the doorway of the sitting room.

She smiled when she entered, thankful to see David settled in a chair next to the sofa where Glory was lying sound asleep, a blanket carefully tucked around her. He looked up from the book in his lap and returned her smile as she sat down on the long, low table in front of him.

“Did you give her something to get her to sleep?” she asked low.

“Believe it or not, no I didn’t. She pretty much just talked herself out and from everything she said it’s clear she was very close to her father.” Thea nodded in agreement.

“Yes she was, and to her mother too. Glory wrote to them every week without fail.” They both glanced at the sleeping woman.

“She’s been just about the best friend I’ve ever had and the finest person I’ve ever known,” Thea said softly, her eyes dark with worry. “Why is it that the worst things seem to happen to the nicest people?” she asked and he just shook his head. They both knew there would never be a definitive answer to that ancient question and they fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Well,” David finally said, “you should go get some sleep. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on her.” He was surprised when she didn’t argue with him. She just nodded as she stood and then leaned down to brush his cheek with her lips.

“Thank you,” she said softly and smiled when he flushed slightly red.

“You’re welcome,” he answered and dropped his eyes to the book in his lap as she turned and hurried out.

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RETURNED

Chapter 23

Thea slowly opened the front door and stepped into the hall after seeing Glory off on the train the next morning. She sighed with weariness as she pushed the door shut, and then noticed an envelope with Nate’s name scrawled across the front sitting on the small table there.

Realizing it must be a letter to him from Glory, she frowned slightly before turning away and moving down the front hall to the kitchen. She stood there for a while listening to the ringing silence and then jumped when she heard something thud against the back door. Smiling slightly at her nervous reaction she hurried to open the door and let Chester in, wondering where the dog had been for the past few days.

The sheepdog looked up at her and gave a small huffing bark in greeting, and then trotted over to his water dish in the far corner. He looked back at her expectantly and she dropped her reticule on the table as she hurried to give him water and then filled another dish with food.

She patted the big dog on the head after putting both dishes down in front of him and he nudged her in the abdomen with his nose before turning his attention to his food. Laughing softly she put her hand on his broad back to steady herself as she stood and walked across the kitchen toward the middle hall, only pausing long enough to pick up her reticule. She made her way down the hall, into the sitting room, and then went to her desk.

Sighing again as she sat down in her desk chair, she opened a drawer to put her reticule away when her eyes fell on the green cloth bound ledger. She took that out of the drawer, dropped her reticule in, and then pushed it shut. Putting the ledger down on the blotter in front of her, she began flipping through the pages, smiling at the incredible mess she was seeing until she reached the pages after Adam took over.

The neat columns of numbers and his precise handwriting made her eyes begin to sting and she clenched her teeth, firmly resisting the urge to cry. She was about to close the book when a notation caught her eye and her gaze sharpened.

Her breath caught in her throat as she turned the pages, seeing that same notation over and over again. She shook her head and tears did well up when she realized Adam must have been putting almost every penny he had been making for some time into her account.

A corner of a loose page protruded near the back of the book and she pulled the folded paper out, and then smoothed it open. There he had recorded every expenditure she had made for his care, and he had even worked out a fair estimate of what she would have been paid for her services as a doctor. A running total of Glory’s and Abner’s salaries had been written down too.

She smiled even as a few tears flowed down her cheeks and she refolded the page, put it back where she had found it, and then closed the ledger as she stood. Her eyes automatically began surveying the room and it seemed that everywhere she looked there was more evidence of the strength of Adam’s character.

Her eyes went to the repaired iron hinge on the sideboard door, and then to the new firedogs in the fireplace. She moved around the room, pausing to touch the side table by the sofa that didn’t wobble anymore. Then she stopped in front of the bow window, standing on the floorboards that no longer creaked.

Moving out into the middle hall, she made her way down to the kitchen. She opened the back door and the now well-oiled hinges didn’t squeal. The drawer full of dishtowels opened without sticking, and the handle on the water pump at the sink didn’t clatter loosely anymore.

Slowly sinking down into her usual chair at the kitchen table, she sat there remembering the first time he had asked her to marry him and closed her eyes. She could feel his strong arms pulling her to him again and tasted the sweetness of his kiss.

Her heart ached with loneliness and the silence of the house seemed to press in on her as she folded her arms on top of the table and lowered her head to rest on them. She cried for her fear, for her foolishness, and prayed she would get the chance to correct the biggest mistake she had ever made.

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Dark shadows were starting to spread across the deep green grass of the backyard when Thea awoke. Her neck was sore from sitting hunched over the table for hours. Her nose was stuffy from crying, her eyes gritty, and her face stiff from dried tears.

She arched her back to stretch her tired muscles and turned in her chair, preparing to stand, but then froze. Adam was standing in the kitchen doorway watching her with that special smile he reserved for her alone. Her heart began to race as she stared at him, not sure if she was dreaming and praying she was not.

“You came back,” she breathed, one hand rising to her throat that was tightening with a riot of emotions. He shook his head at her and one dark brow rose.

“I told you I would come back Theadora. Haven’t you learned yet that I always keep my word?”

Nodding slowly, she continued to stare. Her knees were shaking so badly she almost didn’t make it to her feet. But she did and Adam braced himself when she burst into tears and ran, stumbling across the kitchen to throw herself into his arms.

Smiling, he pressed her up against him with one arm around her back and smoothed her hair down with his free hand. He let her cry against his chest without saying a word until she calmed down. Then he picked her up by the waist to sit her on the kitchen counter. Putting one hand under her chin to tip her face up, he pulled out a handkerchief and dried her face, standing in between her knees.

When her face was dry, he held the handkerchief out to her. The corners of her mouth lifted as she took the damp fabric. He tapped the tip of one finger on the end of her nose and she flushed pink with embarrassment, but blew her nose anyway.

Adam laughed and put his arms around her. “Everybody has to do that eventually Thea,” he teased and she buried her face in his chest for a moment. Then she leaned back to look up into his face.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have doubted your word that you’d come back,” she said quietly and his gaze suddenly sharpened when he saw something in her eyes he hadn’t seen before.

“Apology accepted, and yes you shouldn’t have doubted me.” He said firmly. “But I understand why you did.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I’m glad, but I’m still sorry.”

He tipped his head to the side, a little surprised by her apology, and wondering just what had happened while he was gone. She seemed different somehow – his eyes narrowed even more as he thought about it.

“So you’ll believe me when I tell you something now?”

“Oh yes, absolutely,” she answered while nodding vigorously. He smiled down into her eyes as his heart began to beat faster and his stare intensified.

“What are you doing?” she asked when he picked her up by the waist again and set her on her feet. Then he went down on one knee in front of her.

“You know what I’m doing,” he said reasonably. “Theadora, will you FINALLY allow me the honor of being your husband? Will you marry me?” he tensed, hoping his instincts were right and was astounded when she burst into tears again, then tipped forward into his arms.

“YES!” she almost shouted and began to rain kisses all over his face. “I don’t care if I’m scared, I don’t care about anything else, I just know I can’t stand the thought of living the rest of my life without you!” Tears were still running down her cheeks as she murmured, “I love you,” in his ear over and over again while she held him in a fierce grip.

“Thea,” he said and had to repeat her name three times before she heard him. “Look at me,” he said quietly and she finally loosened her grip and leaned back. Her arms were still around him and he tugged on them until he could take both her hands in his. He bent his head until their eyes were only inches apart.

“Listen to me and remember. I will never, ever leave you and I will never, ever be unfaithful. You have my heart, my soul, my mind, and my body. I belong to you now, just as you belong to me, and I will never, ever break your heart.” He touched her lips gently with his and her mouth opened as his arms slipped around her. “I love you,” he breathed into her mouth as she straightened up on her knees to press herself against him as hard as she could.

They were still there, kneeling while holding each other tightly when they heard someone clearing their throat. Nate was standing in the doorway, his blue eyes shining with happiness in the weakening light.

“Hi kids! What’s going on?” he said with a wide smile.

“She said ‘yes’,” Adam answered as they both managed to stand without letting go of each other.

“Well, praise the Lord and hallelujah!” he shouted, striding forward to put his arms around them. “I couldn’t be happier if you’d told me I inherited ten thousand dollars!”

Thea laughed softly and stretched up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. “We love you too Nate,” she said and Adam’s heart skipped a beat at her using the word “we.”

“Aw shucks ma’am,” Nate drawled as he grinned. “I’m powerful fond of y’all too!”

Adam laughed and his eyes gleamed wickedly as he let go of Thea and turned to his friend. “I guess I have to kiss you now too,” he said and Nate took a quick step back, laughing.

“Now cut that out!” he protested as he backed away and Adam followed closely.

“Come on Nate, it wouldn’t be the first time,” he said with raised eyebrows as he deftly began to herd the blonde man into a corner and Thea almost collapsed with laughter.

“Who told you?!” Nate was desperately looking for an escape route when he got the idea of using Thea as a shield. He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up as Adam moved closer. But the top of her head was still below his chin.

“Uh oh,” he said when the other man stepped up against them.

“Don’t fight it,” he said as he reached up to put a hand on either side of the blonde man’s head. Nate stared in horrified fascination as Adam’s face slowly came closer and closer. Just as their lips were about to meet, Nate squeezed his eyes tightly shut and was startled when Adam suddenly turned his head sideways and kissed him on the cheek.

Thea was gasping for air when Adam stepped back and Nate dropped her to wipe at his cheek with both hands. “Ew…ick!” he complained unconvincingly and had to laugh when Adam gave him a wicked grin.

“Who told you?” he repeated.

“Nobody. I remembered,” Adam answered. “And thank you, Nate. I’ll never forget what you did for me.”

Nate turned bright red, mumbled a hardly audible, “You’re welcome,” and ducked his head to stare at the floor.

Adam laughed then suddenly remembered someone was missing. “Hey, where’s Glory?” he asked and his smile faded when Thea’s did.

“Oh God, I can’t believe I forgot!” She turned to Nate with a solemn expression. “I’m sorry Nate, she had to go home. Her father died.”

“Damn it! And I wasn’t here for her,” Nate groaned and closed his eyes as Thea hurried into the front hall to pick up the letter from the stand near the door.

“Glory left this for you,” she said, holding the envelope out to him. Nate stared at it for a moment before slowly taking it and tearing it open. Thea moved to put her arms around Adam’s waist as the blonde man unfolded the letter and started reading.

Adam bent his head to drop a kiss on the top of her head and she sighed with contentment. Then they both looked up, startled by an anguished sound coming from Nate.

“What?” Adam asked, alarmed by his friends white face and staring eyes when he raised his head to look at them.

“She’s not coming back,” Nate said, stunned.

“No!” Thea protested and he held the letter out to her.

“Here, you read it.”

She took the piece of paper and Adam looked over her shoulder to read it at the same time. When they finished, she let her arm fall limply and the paper fluttered to the floor.

“I’m so sorry,” she choked and stepped forward to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug with Adam right behind her. They stood there for some time in the dark kitchen, holding their friend as he shook with the pain of a breaking heart, tempering their own joy in each other with the undeniable knowledge that nothing lasts forever.

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