A Convenient Wife

So it was she came to be sitting at the small desk in his waiting room an hour later, talking to a young mother who held one sick child while Ellie amused another. Win’s brow rose and a grin curved his mouth as he caught her eye. “Send my first patient in, will you, Miss Mitchum?”

“Yes, sir,” she said agreeably, rising to settle the small girl on her chair as she picked up her list. “Mr. Taylor, you can go in now.”

The room held only three remaining patients as Win leaned through the office door more than an hour later. “I can finish up now, if you need to see to supper,” he told her quietly. And Ellie escaped thankfully to the kitchen, aware of the curious eyes that had watched her for the whole of the afternoon. No one had questioned her, yet all had paid her mind, and she felt she’d been on display, sitting behind the desk, calling out names, and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

The potatoes were ready for the oven and she placed them around the piece of beef she’d put in the roasting pan earlier. Carrots swam in the broth, and two onions sent a savory aroma upward as she opened the oven door. By the time the table was set, the last patient had taken his leave, and Win joined her in the kitchen.

“You were a big help, Ellie,” he told her, washing at the sink, his shirtsleeves rolled above his elbows. “I don’t usually have so many patients in an afternoon. I think they made up for yesterday.” He peered over her shoulder as she stirred flour and water into the pan, watching as it thickened into gravy. “You’ll have me spoiled.”

She felt a warmth take hold of her, and she turned her head to look up at him. “I think it would be a joy to spoil you, Dr. Gray.” And then she looked away, flustered at the words she’d spoken without forethought.

A flush crawled up his jaw and centered on his cheekbones. “Thank you. That’s probably the nicest thing anyone’s said to me in a long time.” He turned away and sat at the table. “I saw the girl at the saloon, Ellie. I thought seriously about bringing her here for you to tend, but she didn’t want to leave her friends there.” He glanced up at her. “I didn’t know if it would be the right thing to do, anyway. I wouldn’t want folks to talk about having her here with you.”

“What would they say?” she asked, dishing up the meat and vegetables with ease. Placing the platter before him, she poured the gravy into a deep bowl. “If a woman’s been hurt, what does it matter who she is? If she needs taking care of, I reckon I can do it.”

“I thought you’d feel that way,” he said, dishing up food onto his plate. “But Cilla said she’d be all right, and the other girls will look out for her. I told Sheriff Kincaid about the ranch hand who hurt her, and I believe he’ll handle it. Not that most folks would think much of it.”

“What can he do?” Ellie asked, sitting down across the table from him.

Win shrugged. “Not an awful lot. Just warn him to behave himself. I don’t think Cam will let the fella in the place again anyway.”

Ellie took up her fork. “Did he hit her?”

“It wasn’t so much that, Ellie,” Win said slowly. “Billy’s set on stealing money that’s hidden in the foundation of the addition to the saloon. He made the mistake of telling Cilla about it, and then decided he’d better convince her not to spill the beans about his plan to anyone else.” His mouth was taut as he paused, as if he chose his words carefully. “Don’t repeat what I just told you, Ellie. Cilla told me in confidence and I probably shouldn’t have repeated it, but I’m certain I can trust you.”

His head bent as he spoke and Ellie remembered Tess’s words. There’s men who don’t care how they use a woman. What Tess had meant, Ellie wasn’t sure, but good sense prevented her from asking Win. Maybe it was like when Tommy had hurt her, that day in the barn. She’d bled, and ached something awful for a couple of days, as if there was something all torn up way inside of her.

“Do any of those women have babies?” she asked quietly.

“Babies?” Win sounded surprised. “I doubt it, Ellie. At least, not that I’ve ever heard about. Those girls pretty much know how to prevent such things from happening.”

And wasn’t that a puzzle. If Tommy had given her a baby from his shenanigans that day, it made sense that… She halted that line of thought and bent low over her plate. There were things she needed to be asking Tess, that was for sure, and one of these days, she’d get up the nerve.

For the first time in months, Winston Gray went to bed with a full stomach and the sure knowledge that a good breakfast would be awaiting him in the morning. He grinned to himself as he lay in the center of the big bed, his hands stacked beneath his head. Ellie was working out well. His house was clean, his pantry organized, and she was planning on using a scrub board to do his clothes, first thing tomorrow.

She’d washed her hair in the new bucket after supper, out on the back porch where she couldn’t be seen by those who might pass the house, and he’d watched from the doorway as she dried it with his newest towel. Her hands had been adept, brushing the length of soft, brown silken strands, then braiding them in a simple plait that hung down her back.

The sight bothered him, setting up a yearning he tried his best to dismiss. A woman was the last thing he needed in his life right now, what with his practice taking up all his time.

But, Ellie was proving to be a complication. She felt grateful to him, trying her best to make his life an easier path, and his very masculine self could not help but wallow in the attention she gave.

That her soft eyes rested on him often was a fact he tried diligently to ignore. That his own gaze focused on her at times was to be expected. She was a lovely woman, a girl really, he decided. Pregnant though she was, she projected an aura of innocence that brought forth his male urge to protect and cherish.

And those thoughts needed to be banished, he decided abruptly, rising from the bed to stalk to the window. Ellie Mitchum was his housekeeper, and he’d do well to look upon her as a servant. His snort of laughter was swallowed as amusement followed that thought. She was like no servant he’d ever come in contact with, and there’d been plenty of them in his life.

None of them had followed him to bed at night, as had the woman who slept overhead. Not in physical form, certainly, but in his mind. And she’d only been here for two days. He shifted restlessly, stretching one long arm to rest against the window frame.

Taking Ellie Mitchum into his home had been a hasty decision. Taking her into his life would surely follow. Already, she was keeping him awake and on the edge of arousal.

His mind spun as he considered the state of his body. Damn. Having a woman in his bed was the last thing he needed to be thinking of.

Visiting the saloon today had given him access to several women, any of whom would welcome him into their presence. All but poor Cilla, that victim of a cowhand whose idea of persuasion involved brutality.

Ellie was another victim. Not as was Cilla, but certainly worthy of his care. And for all of her innocence and eagerness to please, she was a woman. A warm, needy female, sleeping in his house. And if Dr. Winston Gray knew what was good for himself, he’d get her youthful beauty out of his mind.

Otherwise, he was going to spend a sleepless night.

Chapter Four

“You think you’ve fallen into a soft bed, don’t you, girl?”

George Mitchum’s words were harsh and accusing, piercing Ellie’s thoughts. Startled, she dropped the shirt she held into the dirt; then, gathering her courage to face the man behind her, she bent to pick it up.

“Drat,” she whispered, aggravated at the mud that stained both the shirtfront and one sleeve. Carefully, she placed it beside the wash basket, then turned to look at her father.

“I’m working for my keep,” she said quietly. “Same as I did at home.”

“Does he know you’ve got a bastard under your skirts?”

Scornfully, he tossed the query in her direction, his eyes raking her figure with a scalding look, then seeking her face. With every speck of courage she possessed, Ellie met the gaze he turned on her.

“Doc Gray knows I’m going to have a baby, yes.” Pain swept through her, that her own father could be so cruel. Yet, what had she expected? That he would come to visit, seeking her out to ask forgiveness for his brutal actions?

Not likely, she thought, her lips tight as she fought the trembling that seized her. “I didn’t get this way all by myself,” she said curtly, wary of the clenched fists hanging against George’s thighs.

“You flaunted yourself, just like all women, looking for—”

“Is there a problem here?” Win’s voice was stiffly polite, his words reeking of a courteous inquiry as he spoke from the back door. Long strides brought him to Ellie’s side and she straightened her spine, lest she be tempted to lean against his stalwart strength.

“This is my daughter,” George said sharply. “I don’t need you interfering. Seems like you’ve already stuck your nose in where it doesn’t belong.”

“All I’ve done is hire Ellie to be my housekeeper and tend to my kitchen,” Win said quietly. “You’re trespassing, Mr. Mitchum, and causing Ellie to be upset. I don’t think you need to say any more to her.”

“Well, well,” George drawled, rocking back on his heels. “Looks like you got yourself a champion, girl. At least he won’t have to worry about getting you in the family way, will he? Since you’ve managed to do that already.”

Ellie shot a look at Win, noting the crimson streaks that lined his cheekbones. “He’s my employer, Pa. Nothing else.”

“You just keep tellin’ folks that, girl. Not that anybody’s gonna believe you.”

“They’ll believe her, Mr. Mitchum,” Win said forcefully. “The truth always manages to win out in the end. And Ellie is being honest with you.”

“I doubt you’ll have much of a practice left when folks realize you’re harboring a woman like Ellie under your roof,” George sneered. “And I’ll see to it that they know what’s goin’ on here.”

“Why’d you come here, Pa?” Ellie asked in a small voice. “Haven’t you already done enough damage?”

He shook his head, his eyes sweeping over her face. “Not near as much as you deserve, shaming me the way you have.”

From the other side of the yard, near the sheriff’s back door, a woman spoke. “Good morning, Doc. Does James need to walk on over there?”