"What are you doing?" the Rafferty woman croaked. "Time's wasting."

"Hush, woman," Tucker said, "I'm praying; then I'm crossing. You got any complaints about that, you take it up with the good Lord."

She held silent and still while he finished his prayer and set across. Midway across the stream, Tucker stopped to readjust the slight weight he carried over his shoulder. To his surprise, she neither moved nor spoke.

Three steps later, however, she squealed and grasped handfuls of his shirt when his foot slipped. Tucker righted himself and made the rest of the trip across in short order. As soon as he set her feet on the ground, Fiona began running.

When she reached the fallen man, she dropped to her knees and began to examine him. A half hour later, she had Mr. Abrams trussed up and ready to transport. While Fiona waited with the patient, Tucker raced back to the cabin. Ian and Meredith were in the middle of an animated discussion.

"It's Abrams," he called as he reached the clearing. "Fiona's got him situated, but he's not waking up. She says he needs to see the doc over in Goose Chase."

As quickly as possible, the men used the pulleys and ropes to swing the bridge out across the river until it came to rest on the opposite bank. Ian followed Tucker back over to where Fiona waited.

"Any luck in reviving him?" Ian asked.

Fiona shook her head. "His pulse is slow but regular, and his pupils are even, but he's completely nonreactive. I'm afraid there might be swelling on the brain that can only be relieved in an operating room."

Neither Tucker nor Ian moved. Other than the nasty b.u.mp rising on Mr. Abrams's head, he looked as if he might be taking a nap rather than fighting for his life.

Fiona jumped to her feet. "What are you waiting for? This man could die if we don't get him help!"

Ian spoke first. "Fiona, honey, I don't think you realize what it would take to get him to town. You're not in Oregon anymore. It's a half-day's walk, not a ride on a train or a buggy."

Tucker watched while the redhead's expression changed from worried to determined.

"Then we walk. Which of you will go with me?"

Before he realized what he'd said, Tucker agreed to the trip. Ian slapped him on the back and wished them well, then helped Tucker get Mr. Abrams situated in the umiak. Meredith insisted on packing a meal for the trip.

Fiona, however, was only concerned for her patient. She did, however, agree to take a letter from Meredith to the post office in Goose Chase. After all, she had a pair of letters to mail, too.

Fiona set her bag and Meredith's pail of food into the vessel beside the patient, straightened her traveling hat, then reached for the rope. The sooner they left, the faster they would get there.

"What are you doing?" Tucker gestured to the umiak. "Get in and ride. This is no place for a lady to be walking."

Her jaw set in a determined line, she ignored him and tugged on the boat's line. It barely moved. Tucker let her work at it a moment longer; then he reached past her to take the rope away.

"If you want to get him to town in time, you're going to need to cooperate with me. Which one of us has been here longer?"

She looked up, and for the first time, he noticed the up-turned tilt to her nose. He could tell from her expression that she didn't like the answer to his question.

"You," she finally said.

"Then would you let me lead?" He took her hand and met her gaze. "Please," he added in deference to her pride.

"If it will get Mr. Abrams to the doctor sooner, I will do as you ask." She slipped her hand from his and stepped into the umiak. Tucker pretended not to notice how the boat rocked as its newest pa.s.senger landed unceremoniously on her posterior. There would be plenty of time for teasing once they reached Goose Chase.

In the meantime, he would keep his peace, and she hoped she would, as well. If only she knew how badly he wanted to start by asking her just what fit of insanity she'd been in when she purchased that ridiculous hat.

Fiona sat stock-still while the vessel slid over the sparkling water. They confronted the crisp wind head-on, and waves lapped up the sides. On occasion, the breeze tried to lift her hat off her head, but the hat pin held it tight and close.

At regular intervals, Fiona dipped her handkerchief in the water and bathed Mr. Abrams's face. Once she thought she saw him blink, but other than that, the old man remained unresponsive.

By the time they reached Goose Chase, Fiona had begun to wonder if the injured man would ever regain consciousness. Tucker pulled the boat ash.o.r.e and helped Fiona stand.

Fiona's legs complained as she tried to coax them to cooperate. Tucker refused to let her slip from his grasp as they made their way to solid ground. "You wait here, and I'll go fetch Mr. Abrams."

"Wait," she called. "Don't move him yet. How far is the doctor's office from here?"

"Just over there. It's the one with the white porch rail out front," he said, pointing to a wood-frame building several blocks away. "Best I can tell, the only way to get him there is to carry him."

Fiona considered the statement a minute and then nodded slowly. "It's not so far that he'd be injured any further, but, please, be careful."

Tucker went back to the boat and gently lifted the unconscious pa.s.senger. Fiona marveled as the miner made carrying the older man look easy.

Racing to keep up with Tucker's long strides, she was nearly out of breath by the time they reached the building with the white porch railing. The sign above the door said R. KILLBONE, Physician. Directly beneath that, a hand-lettered note urged prospective patients to knock and come straight in. Bill collectors, the sign went on to state, should knock twice, and then wait for the doctor to answer.

Fiona knocked and then tugged the door open and held it wide until Tucker disappeared inside. She followed the path Tucker took. A neat living area gave way to a room that looked as if it had once served as a bedroom. A worktable stood in the center of the room and a small bed in the corner.

"Doc, you here?" Tucker called.

"That you, Tucker Smith?"

"Yes, sir. I've got a patient for you. It's Mr. Abrams. He fell out of a tree."

A spry man with a shock of dark hair and a pair of wire spectacles came around the corner. "What do we have here?" He noticed Fiona and nodded. "Who're you?"

"She's a Rafferty, Doc. Ian and Braden's sister."

Fiona offered her hand, and he shook it. "Fiona Rafferty, Doctor. Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise, I'm sure." The doctor studied her a moment before turning his attention to Tucker's nosy neighbor. Fiona watched him begin his examination of the older man.

"His pupils are reactive to light," she offered. "There's been no change since this morning."

Doc Killbone looked at Fiona over his spectacles. "You got formal doctor training, miss?"

"No, sir, not yet, but I'm hoping to remedy that soon." She avoided Tucker's gaze. "I did what I could to stabilize the gentleman, but he's not come out of this since he fell. I'm a little concerned about the contusion on his forehead."

"Hmm, yes." The doctor turned his back on Fiona and completed his examination.

While the doctor worked, Fiona snuck a glance over at Tucker only to find him already staring at her. She looked away quickly and then chastised herself for acting like a schoolgirl.

"Is there anything I can do to help, Dr. Killbone?" she asked.

"You say you know your way around an operating room?" When she nodded, he started barking instructions. Before she knew it, Fiona was a.s.sisting the doctor in treating the older man.

"If you two don't need me, I'm going to go see if the things I ordered came in at the mercantile. I'll meet you back here in a while."

"All right by me, Tucker," the doctor said.

Fiona watched Tucker disappear down the hall before turning her attention back to the patient.

At one point, the doctor paused to nod his approval. "You're a natural, miss," he said. "You ought to go ahead with that training as soon as you can. I won't be doctoring around here forever, so I'll need someone to take over my practice."

Rather than explain to him that she'd never return to Alaska once she made good on her escape, Fiona concentrated on the compliments about her doctoring skills that he paid her. When the doctor completed his work, he stepped away to wash his hands in the corner basin. As he toweled dry, he turned to appraise Fiona.

"I don't think I've ever said this to anyone, so you listen close to me, you hear?"

"Yes, sir."

"I've seen a lot of doctoring in my life, but what you did for that man most likely saved his life." He let the towel drop into the basin. "Where are you set to study at?"

Fiona patted the letter in her pocket. "Oregon, sir. I've been accepted into the medical college there."

The doctor rocked back on his heels and studied her again. "That's a fine school, young lady. You ought to do well there. When do you start?"

Emboldened by his praise, she pulled the letter from her pocket. "If this letter reaches the school in time, I plan to start with the new term."

"I'm going to do something to help that along," the doctor said. "My nephew's headed back to Washington State two days from now. What if I were to have him take the letter as far as Seattle? From there, he can see it gets put in the mail. That way, the letter will reach its destination a whole lot faster and a mite safer."

Her heart and her hopes soared. "Would you? That would be...wonderful."

The doctor's eyes narrowed. "Now, I'm going to ask a favor of my own." He paused. "I was serious when I said I wanted to know I'd have someone to take over for me if ever I couldn't do my job. You willing to do that, Miss Rafferty?"

Would she? Leaving Alaska for good had always been her plan. Still, what were the odds that the doctor would actually want her to return? And if he did, the Lord would handle the details.

Fiona took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Oh yes, sir."

"All right. One more question. Do you have your pa.s.sage set for Oregon?" When she didn't immediately respond, he gave her a knowing look. "You were going to decide on that when the time came?"

She nodded. "I suppose so."

"You leave that to me. I want you back here one week before the term starts. I'll have your ticket ready." He adjusted his gla.s.ses. "And lessen you think I've got designs on you, plan to travel alone."

Fiona released the breath she'd been holding and smiled. "Thank you."

Dr. Killbone shook his head. "You just hold off on those thanks. You may want to wring my neck when I call in this favor and ask you to come up here and take over for me."

Chapter 6.

Tucker walked into the mercantile like a man on a mission. Bypa.s.sing the usual departments, he stepped cautiously into the women's section.

"Merry needing something?"

Tucker turned to see the proprietor of Benson's Mercantile heading his way. "Well, not exactly." He filled the older gentleman in on what he wanted.

"You'll be needing to speak with Mrs. Benson," he said. "Oh, and before you leave, don't forget to pick up those things you ordered last time you were here."

A half hour later, Tucker returned from his errand to find Doc and Miss Rafferty still in the room with Mr. Abrams. He excused himself, retraced his steps, and waited outside the doctor's office as long as he could before he started pacing.

While he walked, he let his thoughts churn. The woman in the office right now was not the one he thought he'd met at the Rafferty cabin. This person was cool and confident, a woman at home in a place where medicine was practiced.

The silly sister of Ian and Braden did not exist there. Rather, she looked to be in her perfect environment.

Why, then, was Tucker so disappointed to figure this out? He'd only just met the girl.

The door opened, and the object of his thoughts appeared, closely followed by Doc Killbone.

Tucker stopped his pacing to shake the doctor's hand. "How's my neighbor?"

"The next few hours are crucial. Like as not he'll wake up tomorrow with a nasty headache and a strong regret that he climbed the tree in the first place."

"I'll sit with him tonight so Doc can get some sleep." Fiona reached into her handbag and pulled out three letters, then handed one to the doctor. "I'm going to go mail these; then I'll serve up whatever Merry sent. How's that?"

"I'd say that sounds like a good plan."

She nodded and took two steps away, then turned on her fashionable heels. "You do have coffee, don't you, Doc?" When he nodded, she looked relieved. "Good. I can put up with just about anything...." She looked at Tucker and then back at the doctor. "But I'm not fit to be around if I miss my coffee."

The men shared a chuckle as Fiona resumed her walk across Main Street.

Tucker turned to the doctor. "I'd best get down to the boardinghouse and make my arrangements before Widow Callen runs out of beds."

"No, need, son," the doctor said. "I've got plenty of s.p.a.ce upstairs." He gave Tucker a sideways look. "My boy and me will be here to chaperone, and Miss Rafferty will likely not leave the exam room all night, so I don't see anything improper in the arrangement, do you?"

Tucker studied the subject of their conversation a moment. "No, sir," he finally said. "I can't see anything wrong with the arrangement. Besides, Miss Rafferty's practically family."

"Be that as it may, she's still a fine woman," the doctor said after Fiona disappeared into the postal office. "And one of these days, she'll be a fine doctor." He clapped his hand onto Tucker's shoulder. "You got designs on her, Tucker?"

"Designs? On that one?" He tried to look casual. "Do I look crazy?"

"No," the doctor said. "That's why I'm asking."

The next morning, Tucker was still thinking about the doctor's question. Finally, he had an answer. While he did admit she was a pretty little thing, even with the silly hat, and she'd stood up to the challenge of keeping nosy Mr. Abrams alive, she wasn't the type to settle down and have a family.

So, much as he hated it, the answer to the doctor's question was no.

He knew this for sure as he watched Fiona climb into the umiak. He questioned it only for a moment when they stopped to let her climb out and walk a spell. She hadn't asked about the package he had deposited at her feet, which earned her high marks.

Last thing he could abide was a nosy female.