Doc Howard

Nicholas Howard looked nothing like his brother. He was slender, though Hope got the impression there was strength in his arms when he shook her hand. Without his hat, he was only an inch or two taller than her, and he had a friendly smile, the sort that put a person at ease almost immediately.
Hope found a gentleness in his nature from the moment he asked how her trip was. Seated on the settee in Mrs. Howard’s parlor, Doc, as the rest of the family called him, across from her in a chair, Hope found herself prattling on for quite some time about the train ride, and he listened and asked questions. She felt instantly comfortable and confided in him more than she had ever done so with a complete stranger.
Mrs. Howard brought them tea and settled on the other side of the room in a chair next to the window where she could better see to do her embroidery while Brady had simply dropped her at the side of the road and left. Hope got the impression the two brothers were not particularly close.
“I feel as if I’ve been talking for ages,” Hope said after giving a full description of her trip. “Tell me about your practice.”
Doc smoothed back his light brown hair and gave a humble shrug. “There’s not too much to tell, I suppose. I treat every sort of ailment you can imagine, from whooping cough to broken bones. Bein’ the only doctor for some twenty miles keeps me busy.”
“I can imagine. It sounds quite interesting to me.” Hope smiled and took a sip of her tea. “Are you on-call all hours of the day and night?”
“I’m afraid so,” Doc admitted. “It makes having a personal life difficult.”
“He even got called out to deliver a baby on Christmas Eve,” Nita mentioned, glancing up from her stitching.
“Is that so?” Hope couldn’t imagine having to leave her family in the middle of a holiday, but in an emergency, he would be the only one who could help.
“Yes, but it was all worth it when that tiny baby boy cried for the first time. It reminded me of Jesus’ birth.”
“I can imagine such an experience would be rather spiritual.” Hope stifled a yawn. As much as she enjoyed speaking to this Mr. Howard, she found her eyes heavy.
Nita took note. “Supper will be ready shortly. Do you think you can stay awake long enough to eat, or would you rather go lie down?”
“Oh, I’m sure I can manage….”
“Forgive me,” Doc said, leaning forward in his seat. “I didn’t think about how exhausted you must be from the train ride. And here I am asking you a hundred and one questions.”
“No, it’s fine,” Hope assured him. “It would be silly for me to try to lie down when supper is almost ready.”
“Mr. Howard should be home momentarily. I think he’s been working longer these past few days.” Mrs. Howard leaned forward so she could see out the window, and Hope turned as well, but there was no sign of him.
Looking at the road reminded Hope of her trip to the school with Brady. “Mrs. Howard, I forgot to mention, when Brady took me to the school, I noticed there were no books, not enough chalk, and no slates for the children. Are those items we will have available to us? It will make it much more difficult to teach without them.”
Mrs. Howard’s forehead puckered. “I’m not rightly sure,” she said, brushing loose hair back into her bun. “I reckon we oughtta check with Mr. Stewart.”
“Yes, that’s what I was thinking. It’s just… having never met the man, I wasn’t sure how to approach him.”
“We could go by the bank tomorrow and speak to him,” Nita suggested. “That way you can check to see if you have any news from your parents as well.”
“Good idea.” Hope felt slightly relieved. Knowing that Mrs. Howard would be with her, and that she was such an advocate for the school, made her feel much better about facing a gentlemen she did not know.
“If you’d like to stop by my office while you’re downtown, I’d be happy to give you a tour,” Doc offered. “It’s not much, but it’s near the pharmacy. I still make house calls, but I prefer to have one place where people can find me.” His smile was friendly and warm, and Hope noticed a tinge of pink in his cheeks, as if asking her to visit the office really meant something else entirely. She thought the idea of having his own office was revolutionary and wondered why other doctors didn’t run their practices that way.
“I think that would be lovely,” Hope said, fighting a blush in her own cheeks. Mrs. Howard made a small noise in the back of her throat, and Hope’s head turned immediately in her direction to see a smile creeping across the woman’s lips.
Before she could question what the look might be for, the front door flew open, and Nita shot out of her seat and into the adjoining foyer.
Startled, Hope leaned back on the settee, her hand clutched at her throat.
“That’s just my pa,” Nicholas said, rising. “He always seems to feel the need to make a grand entrance.”
Feeling a little silly, Hope said, “Oh, yes, of course.”
The doctor offered her his hand, and she took it. He pulled her up to standing, and then released her, but the warmth from his touch lingered even after they walked into the parlor. It was a sensation Hope wasn’t used to, but she found it pleasant. She also thought his cologne was nice. The scent of pine and spice mixed together, masking the faint scent of a chemical she didn’t recognize, though she thought it had to be medicinal.
Mr. Howard was tall and wide, much like Brady only larger. He had a loud laugh that echoed around the foyer, but since Hope wasn’t sure what was so funny, she stood smiling in the doorway.
“And then, I told them if they wanted to feed horse food to their cattle, that was none of my concern,” he continued, making his wife burst into a fit of laughter. Mr. Howard paused mid-story, his eyes having fallen on Hope. “Ah, the schoolteacher. How are you Miss Tucker?” He stepped around his wife and offered his hand, which Hope took. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to pick you up at the train station myself. I trust Brady was on time?”
Seeing no point in notifying his parents that Brady had been a few minutes late, Hope replied, “Yes, Brady was most helpful. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Howard. Thank you so much for allowing me to stay in your home.”
“The pleasure is all ours.” There was a twinkle in Mr. Howard’s eye that Hope couldn’t quite place, but she felt welcome just the same. “I see you’ve met Doc as well.”
Nicholas had moved out of the way as Bradford crossed the oak floor to shake Hope’s hand, and he only offered her a small smile now.
“Yes. We’ve had the most wonderful conversation. I forgot to mention that my mother trained as a nurse during the war.” She looked at Doc as she spoke and he nodded with interest. “I have always been fascinated by medicine, though I don’t know much about it.”
“Yet another reason for you to come by the office tomorrow.” Doc smiled at her, and Hope found herself returning the gesture.
“Well, I am half-starved!” Mr. Howard proclaimed, his hands on his bulging belly.
“We should head on into the kitchen,” Nita replied, leading the way. “The cornbread should’ve browned by now.”
Hope started to move in that direction, following Mr. Bradford, but Doc stepped directly in her path, as if he were headed out the door, and they sidestepped each other several times before he said, “I’ll stay still. You go.”
Giggling, Hope proceeded past him. “Aren’t you staying for supper?”
“Not tonight,” Doc replied. “I have some reports to write up and a few other matters to attend to.”
Disappointed, Hope only managed a small, “Oh.”
“But I do hope you’ll stop by tomorrow, Hope.” Noticing he’d said her name twice, he gave a small chuckle and turned a shade of pink again.
“I definitely hope to.” Most of the time saying her name in any other context was bothersome to her, but when he laughed at her attempt at humor, Hope couldn’t help but laugh as well.
“Have a good evening.” Doc stepped backward toward the door.
“You as well.” Giving a small wave, Hope headed on to the kitchen as Doc shouted his goodbyes to his parents who answered in turn.
The scent of freshly made cornbread wafted through the air, mingling with beans and ham, and Hope found herself placing a hand over her stomach to keep it from growling. Despite her earlier snack, she was famished, and everything smelled delightful. “Can I help with anything?” she asked upon entering the kitchen.
“Nope, all ready to go,” Mrs. Howard said, setting a final pot down in the middle of the round dining table. Hope thought it was nice and quaint to sit in the nook in the kitchen, rather than the formal dining room, and she imagined they mostly used the larger room for get-togethers. Mr. Howard did take up a bit more than his fair share of the table, but there was plenty of room, plenty of food, and plenty of friendly faces. Hope felt like perhaps she would get along just fine in McKinney, Texas, so long as her students had the supplies they needed, and she intended to take care of that the next day. After that, perhaps she’d have a few minutes to spend with a certain handsome doctor. Thoughts of boarding the next train back to Missouri began to dissipate as Mr. Howard launched into another anecdote, and Hope was thankful she’d decided to take a chance on this new adventure.