Healing Hearts (Easton Series #2) Read Online Free

pies as payment. You’ll be well fed here, Miss , I mean
Doc.” He walked over to the stove and wrapped his hands around a cast iron pot.
“There’s warm water in here. You can use it to wash up.” He picked up his hat turned
it in his hands. “If there’s anything else you need, come down to my office and
knock three times, hard, to wake me.” He smiled, revealing white and perfect
teeth.
       “You’re very kind, Mr. Easton.
Thank you.”
       The lawman shoved his hat onto his
head and moved to the door. “Goodnight, Doctor Sutton.”
        “Goodbye, Sheriff.”
       Then he was gone. Hannah ladled
warm water from the large pot into a bowl she found on the dry sink. Soap and
cloths had been laid out; she stripped down and washed the trail dirt off as
best she could. It wasn’t a proper bath, but the water on her skin was a great
comfort. Water was safe. Water soothed. Water gave life and chased away danger.
       Then Hannah stuffed her clothes
into her bag, and carried it in one hand as she held the lamp in the other, She
tiptoed through the healing temple, and noted the clinic was clean and stock
was organized on shelves set against the stark white-washed walls. She was
pleased to see the signs of a disciplined practice. Even though she hadn’t met
him yet, Doctor Rutherford made a good first impression.

 
 
       
    Chapter 3

       “ Y ou’re a woman!”
       He decided
it must be another of Roy Easton’s pranks. A cruel joke was the last thing Jed
needed in the wee hours of the morning. He’d hauled his exhausted body home to
find a lump in his bed. An unmistakably soft, curved womanly form lay under the
wool army blanket.
       The slumbering body startled,
opened her eyes, and squinted up at Jed.
       “And you’re a man.” Her voice
croaked. “Nature is indeed a wonder, sir.”
       The woman sat up, cleared her
throat, and stretched her naked white arms. The blanket fell away, and, through
a thin sleeveless nightgown, Jed could see the outline of full breasts. Thick
dark hair flowed to her perfect small waist. Her eyes were large and
almond-shaped, but he couldn’t determine the color in the dusty-dimness of the
small room.
       He groaned, but he wasn’t entirely
sure it was from disappointment.
       “Hello. Doctor Rutherford, I presume?”
       He leveled furious eyes on her. “I
told Cole to send me a doctor! Not a nurse!”
       She rested on one elbow and peered
up at the scowling face. “Doctor Hannah Sutton, at your service.” Leaning
forward, she held out a small hand. The nightgown gapped open at the neck, and
he caught a view of soft hills down to a perfect, flat valley.
       “You’re a woman!”
        “Yes, you said that already.
Excellent call, sir. Your powers of clinical observation are laudable.” She
arched one lovely eyebrow and smiled.
       Jed staggered back against the
bureau and barely suppressed a second groan. This time it definitely wasn’t
disappointment talking.
       Yet the woman ignored what she
perceived to be his theatrics. “While the sexual function differs between us,
in this moment it appears I am your superior in brain and emotional stability,”
she proudly proclaimed. “Cross my heart, Doctor, I won’t hold your natural deficits
against you, sir.” Her smile grew.
      The woman’s sweet voice enveloped him
like warm water in a relaxing bath. No !
Rutherford’s palm hit his forehead. “No . . . no. This won’t do. It will not
work.” He paced the floor like a caged animal in front of her. The woman was
too pretty and frail for Montana life. Besides, no woman could tolerate life
under the cloud of his cruel disposition and eccentricities. A woman simply wouldn’t
do.
       “What do you mean no? I’m a
doctor. Isn’t that what you sent for?”
       “You’re a nurse. Women aren’t
doctors.”
       She glared. “Surely you’ve heard
of Mary Walker, the war surgeon.”
       “Of course, of course, but