Chapter 7 #2
“That sounds terrible,” Diane said earnestly. “Where are your friends now?”
“They live in a nearby town,” he said. “I’m going to go there once I work out the best strategy. See, if the spy finds me, then there will be trouble for everyone. I’m a lot safer here, but they’ll need me there. It’s complicated, and I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”
He looked so sad and confused that Diane wished she could help him. It was all very specific but also very vague. She knew no more about him now than she had a little while earlier. He was clearly in distress and that worried her.
“Are you staying close by?” she asked after a short silence had slid between them.
“Ah yes, I am,” he said. “I got a room at the saloon. It’s safe enough.”
“Good,” Diane said. She was relieved that he wasn’t destitute and living on the street. He seemed like a nice man.
“So, you’re a nurse? Where are you working?” he asked.
“A little town near here,” she said. “It’s called Unity.”
A complicated expression crossed his face. There was recognition, but also fear and something else she couldn’t place.
“You know it?” she asked.
He nodded. “Everyone here does. How are the bandit attacks faring?”
“We were ambushed on the way here, but otherwise it’s been quiet,” she said. “I guess everyone knows about those too.”
“Yup,” he said, sipping his coffee.” Everyone knows.” He looked around as though nervous again suddenly.
“Diane!”
Looking around, she spotted Ethan and Ben coming toward them.
“Hi,” she said, smiling. “Ethan, Ben, this is Douglas. He’s a local who was kind enough to show me where this place was. Douglas, these are my friends.”
Douglas looked up at them. “Good to meet you.”
Ethan’s expression had been one of annoyed surprise at finding her at a table with another man. However, now that he was standing face-to-face with Douglas, his expression changed. He smiled and shook Douglas’s hand. “I’m glad you could help her.”
“Join us,” Diane said.
Ethan shook his head. “Shouldn’t we get back to Matt?”
Feeling torn and a little off-kilter, Diane realized that in her concern for Douglas and his mental state, she had momentarily forgotten about Matt. Too many people needed her. She sighed. “Well, this was fun. Thank you, Douglas. I hope you find your friends.”
He nodded. “I have too many enemies,” he said again and looked down at his mug, seeming to drift off into his own world once more.
Diane hesitated. Should she leave Douglas alone? Would he be okay? He had had perfectly lucid moments while she was with him. There was every indication that he was capable of looking after himself, but for how long? That was the real question, but not one she could answer then.
Making up her mind that she couldn’t really help Douglas more than she had, she stood up and left with Ben and Ethan, saying a prayer for Douglas’s safety and healing.
Ben looked concerned. “Is he okay?”
Diane shook her head. “I think he’s suffering from some sort of shock that he’s not processing. He keeps talking about enemies on every corner, but other than that, he’s quite lucid.”
Ethan smiled and took her hand in his as they walked out of the coffee shop to the buckboard. “You’re always trying to help everyone, aren’t you?”
“I guess so.”
“Where are all the things you bought from the apothecary?” Ben asked, frowning at her.
“They’re at the store. It was too much for me to carry,” she said.
They rode back up the street to the store. Trevor was very happy to help them load everything, especially when Diane emphasized again how grateful Julie would be, and then they were on their way back to the inn.
Dinner that evening was roast lamb, vegetables, and rice, and Matt felt well enough to join them.
He was still in pain, but the rest had done him good.
Diane decided they could risk the journey home in the morning.
Ethan and Ben had been talking and said they would be taking the long way for safety’s sake.
“So, we’ll have to leave early, or we’ll lose the better part of the day,” Ethan said.
They all agreed and enjoyed their dinner. At one point Mr. Sparks, who worked behind the bar, began to sing to the accompaniment of a fiddle, and the whole place took on a festive air.
Ethan held out his hand to Diane. “Fancy a dance? I did promise.”
She grinned. “I didn’t know you could.”
He bowed. “Let’s find out.”
Luckily, they weren’t the only couple who took advantage of the music. There were several others. At first, Diane was worried. She’d been to a lot of dances in her time, and often the men she’d been partnered with had two left feet.
However, as Ethan led her around the dance floor in a waltz and then a polka and into a promenade, she realized that description didn’t fit him.
He was light on his feet, agile, and a good partner.
It was the most fun she’d had in ages. She never wanted it to end.
Being in Ethan’s embrace, swirling around the floor to the fiddle music, she couldn’t think of a better way to spend an evening.
Ethan was full of surprises, and Diane was so glad she had come out to Texas. She imagined that living with Ethan as his wife would be quite an adventure in itself. There were so many facets to him, she could spend a lifetime finding out all of his quirks.