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Baker Publishing Group - Amanda Cabot

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157 pages

English

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Elizabeth Harding arrives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to establish her medical practice thanks to the wooing of her two older sisters who extolled the beauty of the land. She's certain she'll have a line of patients eager for her expertise and gentle bedside manner. However, she soon discovers the town and its older doctor may not welcome a new physician. Even more frustrating, the handsome young attorney next door may not be ready for the idea of a woman doctor. For his part, Jason Nordling has nothing against women, but he's promised himself that the woman he marries will be a full-time mother.Despite their firm principles, Elizabeth and Jason find that mutual attraction--and disdain from the community--is drawing them ever closer. And when the two find themselves working to save the life and tattered reputation of a local woman, they'll have to decide how far they're willing to go to find justice--and true love.

Sujets

Historical fiction

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	21 janvier 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441236777
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0259€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2014 by Amanda Cabot
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www . revellbooks .com
Ebook edition created 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-3677-7
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Praise for Amanda Cabot’s Novels
Christmas Roses
“Cabot writes a beautiful love story with a little mystery, the magic of Christmas, and the hope of a miracle.”
— RT Book Reviews , 4 stars
—— WESTWARD WINDS SERIES ——
Summer of Promise
“This story is packed with faith, danger, mystery, romance, and plenty of drama!”
—fivestarbooksandmore.blogspot.com
“This is a lovely and romantic read that I highly recommend!”
—thelibrariansbookshelf.blogspot.com
“In Cabot’s Westward Winds series starter, readers will enjoy reading through the story’s twists and turns. The characters are an interesting bunch; some of them are quirky, some are serious, but all have a story to share. With each book, Cabot writes something new and fresh.”
— RT Book Reviews , 4 stars
Waiting for Spring
“The second book of the Westward Winds series has memorable characters who have what it takes to survive in the wilds of Wyoming Territory in the late 1800s. The storyline flows smoothly throughout, and there are a few surprises for readers to discover. Cabot’s historicals are her shining stars, and this one belongs on fans’ keeper shelves.”
— RT Book Reviews , 4 stars
“From the first page I found myself rooting for the young widow. Amanda Cabot offers a delightful read, and as I turned the pages I was swept away with a story of love, courage, and sacrifice. Recommended!”
—Tricia Goyer, bestselling author of 32 books, including Beyond Hope ’ s Valley
“One thing I know to expect when I open an Amanda Cabot novel is heart. She creates characters that tug at my heartstrings, storylines that make my heart smile, and a spiritual lesson that does my heart good. Her stories are like the first sweet scents of spring—pure pleasure.”
—Kim Vogel Sawyer, bestselling author of My Heart Remembers
For Judith B. Stumpf, my sister, my friend, and a woman who, like the fictional Elizabeth, is kindhearted and a skilled healer.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Praise for Amanda Cabot’s Novels
Dedication
Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory 1887
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Epilogue
Dear Reader
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover

1
J UNE 1887 C HEYENNE , W YOMING T ERRITORY
A t last! Elizabeth Harding grinned as she hung the sign in the window. Thirteen black letters. Four words. A simple message. If passersby noticed the wooden placard, and she hoped they would, they would have no way of knowing what those words meant to her, that they represented the culmination of a dream that had begun when she was only seven. They didn’t need to know. All they needed was the message the sign imparted.
Once she was certain the board was perfectly straight, Elizabeth took a step back, then twirled around. It was silly perhaps, and some might call it undignified to be so excited, yet she couldn’t help it. Today was the first day of her new life.
Yielding to impulse, she hurried outside and studied the sign. “The doctor is in.” Yes, indeed she was. And soon she’d be treating her first patient. The advertisements she had placed in the newspaper had alerted the city’s residents to her impending arrival, and today’s paper announced the official opening of her medical practice. It would be only a matter of minutes before the front doorbell tinkled, signaling the presence of someone needing her care. Everything was ready. Or was it?
Assailed by the fear that she might have forgotten something, Elizabeth hurried back indoors and began studying the rooms that comprised her office. The waiting room, with its two benches and four chairs, was spotless. The potted plant that her sister had somehow kept alive through the long Cheyenne winter was carefully placed on the low table, and though sun did not yet stream through the westward-facing window, the room was bright and cheerful. There was nothing amiss here.
Elizabeth moved slowly into the room that would serve as a combination office and examination room. Although it did not boast the fancy equipment she’d seen in Eastern hospitals, it was well-appointed. She had a cleverly constructed examining table with braces that allowed her to raise either the head or the foot. She’d even asked the carpenter to build a small stool so that shorter patients or children would be able to climb onto the table. The desk and chairs were new and matched the glass-fronted cupboard that held the supply of medicines that had been delivered only yesterday. She needed nothing more here.
A quick study of the modest infirmary on the opposite side of the hallway told her everything was in place. Though she hoped few patients would need to avail themselves of it, its presence meant that Elizabeth could tend even the most seriously ill patient, and the small kitchen behind it would ensure that her basic needs as well as those of her patients would be satisfied.
Returning to the main room and sinking into the chair behind her desk, Elizabeth smiled. The sign was perfect. The office was perfect. Soon everything would be perfect, for soon she would have proof that the years of studying, of practicing, of enduring the snide remarks and blatant jeers of her male classmates were all worthwhile. Soon she would have her first patient, and then she—and the world—would know that Elizabeth Harding was a doctor, a real doctor.
Five minutes later, unable to remain seated, she wandered back to the waiting room and gazed outside, her eyes moving from bustling Central Avenue to the sky. Her sisters hadn’t exaggerated when they’d claimed there was nothing that compared to the Wyoming sky. Though initially Abigail hadn’t been impressed with much about the territory, even she had liked the sky, and Charlotte had been so in love with her first husband that she had declared everything about Wyoming beautiful.
Deep blue with only a tiny puff of a cumulus cloud floating by, the sky was magnificent, but even if it had been dismal and gray all the time, Elizabeth would still have chosen Cheyenne for her new home. Though it had yet to achieve statehood, Wyoming was a progressive territory. Not only had it been the first to grant women the vote, it even had women bailiffs and jury members.
Elizabeth’s smile broadened as she thought of all that Wyoming had to offer. It wasn’t simply the fact that both her sisters had settled here that had brought her to Cheyenne, though she was counting the months until they’d be reunited. Even more important was the knowledge that she would face no old-fashioned prejudices about women’s roles. Cheyenne wasn’t like the East, where Elizabeth would have had to battle for acceptance. No one here would declare that she was nothing but a glorified midwife.
She cringed at the memory of one of her classmates making that very proclamation the day they’d both graduated, Elizabeth second in her class, the scoffing classmate close to the bottom. He had been offered partnerships with several successful physicians. She had received no such offers. Instead, she’d been advised to seek a position as a midwife.
Cheyenne was different. She’d be accepted for her skills. Central Avenue, one of the city’s primary north-south streets, was busy. Women strolled by, intent on their purchases. Though on another day, Elizabeth might have made a game of guessing which of them were clad in gowns Charlotte had designed, she had no interest in games today. Men walked more briskly than the women, but while a few appeared to be headed toward her office, they detoured to the office next door, frowning when they saw that it was closed. Apparently the men of Cheyenne had a greater need for an attorney than they did for a doctor.
“It’s the perfect location,” Charlotte had written as she described the building she’d chosen for Elizabeth’s office. Her oldest sister had been living in Cheyenne, serving as one of the city’s premier dressmakers, when Elizabeth had announced her intention of moving West as soon as she finished school. In typical big sister fashion, Charlotte had volunteered to select an office for her. “It’ll save you time,” she had declared, pointing out how long the renovations to her new husband’s store were taking. “I’ll have everything ready before you arrive.”
The logic had been unassailable. More than most people, Charlotte knew how eager Elizabeth was to open her practice. That was why she and her husband had lent Elizabeth the money to outfit the office. Elizabeth’s other sister Abigail had contributed a portion of her teacher’s salary to pay for her schooling.
“There are two offices in the building,” Charlotte’s letter continued. “A young attorney has the other one. The best part is, he lives above his office, so you’ll never be completely alone, even if you work late.”
Though Elizabeth had hoped to have her residence above the office, Charlotte had been adamant that she live in Charlotte’s former apartment with widow Gwen Amos and her child, at least until Charlotte and her husband returned from their extended trip East. “It’ll be ideal,” Charlotte insisted when she and Barrett had stopped in New York for a brief visit with E