A Nurse for Fallon Read online

  A Nurse for Fallon

  Adelaide ‘Addie’ Sherman - A star student at the nursing school is sent to Kansas at the request of Dr. Baker. His patient, a gambler named Fallon, is in a coma after having a fight with Charles Walker, a wealthy rancher’s son. If Fallon dies, Charlie could go to prison for life or be hung.

  Only if Fallon regains consciousness can he tell the real story about what happened and clear Charlie.

  Addie will fall in love with one of the men.

  A Nurse for Fallon

  Nursing the Heart Romance

  Book 11

  By

  Patricia PacJac Carroll

  A Nurse for Fallon Nursing the Heart Romance Book 11

  Copyright © August 2020

  Published by Patricia PacJac Carroll

  ALL rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, (except for inclusion in reviews), disseminated or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or audio. Including photocopying, recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system, or the Internet/World Wide Web without written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Cover Designer: Virginia McKevitt

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  A Nurse for Fallon

  Nursing the Heart Romance

  Book 11

  Chapter 1

  Adelaide, Addie, Sherman nervously clutched the telegram in her hand as she looked out the train window. She was about to disembark at Lawrence, Kansas. A Dr. Baker had sent a request to the nursing school in Baltimore, and her instructor, Nurse Harrow, had sent her in response.

  Addie was the school’s highest-scoring student. However, while she could answer any questions the instructors asked her, Addie lacked confidence when dealing with the patients. Although she hadn’t told anyone how nervous she was, and now it was too late.

  The telegram explained how she was going to be caring for a severely injured man with a head wound. How ironic, she thought to herself. Her fiancé, Robert, had died because of a head wound. She’d not told anyone about that either.

  That day, three years ago, she’d arrived at the hospital the same day they’d brought Robert in. She sat with him and talked to him, but he never regained consciousness. That was the day she decided to be a nurse, and as soon as the Baltimore nursing school opened, she joined to fulfill her desire to help others.

  The train blew its whistle, and then it slowed, swayed around a bend, and chugged into the depot.

  Addie looked out the window. The town appeared dusty and dry compared to Baltimore. “Please, God, help me. Let me serve this patient. In Jesus Name. Amen.” With her heart in her throat, she disembarked.

  A kind conductor retrieved her bag and handed it to her. “The hotel is across the street.”

  “Thank you.” Addie strode to the end of the platform and wondered where the doctor’s office might be as she thought she should check in with him first. Although she had wired him of her time of arrival.

  “Adelaide Sherman?”

  She turned.

  An older gentleman stood at the base of the platform. “I’m Dr. Baker. I’ve got a rig and will drive you to my office. Then I’ll take you to the hotel.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Baker?”

  He nodded. “You’re a bit younger than I expected, but they said you were the best.”

  She smiled. The doctor was a bit older than she expected. Addie was both relieved and wanted to be sick all at the same time. Yes, she scored the highest on the tests, but she was afraid to be alone around the patients, afraid to touch them, and, most of all, afraid she’d harm rather than help them.

  Dr. Baker helped her into the small buggy and put her bag in the back. “I can’t believe you got here so fast.”

  “I was visiting my aunt in St. Louis when I got the wire this morning. As it happened, there was a train to Lawrence, and here I am.”

  He flicked the reins and called out to the horse. The city was clean with brick and whitewashed buildings. Addie knew about the Quantrill raid, and how he had burned most of the buildings and killed the men of the town. The sad history was being replaced by men and women who wanted to rebuild.

  After only a few minutes, the doctor pulled the reins and stopped the horse. “Here’s the hotel. I can put you up here, or there is a boarding house if that would be more to your liking.”

  “Oh, yes. I think I’d like that.”

  “Good choice.” He picked up the reins and turned the buggy around and went down a side street. “It’s a few blocks away from my office, but not too far. Gretchen will take good care of you.”

  In minutes, they stopped in front of Gretchen’s Home. Addie liked it immediately. The house was freshly painted white with green trim and shutters. The yard was neatly kept while a rose bush full of red blossoms decorated one side of the porch.

  Dr. Baker stopped the buggy, climbed out, and then walked around it and helped her down. “I know Gretchen has a couple vacancies. She’ll be happy to have you.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Baker.” She opened the gate, walked to the porch, and then knocked on the door.

  A kindly-looking woman with brown hair sprinkled with gray opened the door. “Why, Dr. Baker, is this the nurse you sent for?”

  “Yes, it is. Gretchen Fields, meet Adelaide Sherman.”

  Addie held out her hand.

  Gretchen smiled. “I’m so pleased to have such a lovely new boarder. Where are you from?”

  “My people were in what is now West Virginia. I lost my brother in the war.” Addie left out her fiancé, it was still too painful to think about Robert. She sighed, wishing she’d not thought of him and her failure to help him.

  “I’m sorry about that. Seems we all lost a lot. It is time to put it behind us.” Gretchen chuckled. “Listen to me prattling on like an old woman when I’m the one that brought it up. Come on in, dear. I charge fifteen dollars a month if that will suit you? That’s for room and two meals a day.”

  “That sounds perfect, Mrs. Fields.”

  “No, no. None of that. Just Gretchen, like the sign, says. Come on in, and Doc can bring your trunk.”

  Addie followed her into the house and fell in love with the inside. It was as warm and inviting as the outside. A cozy fireplace and wooden mantle decorated one end of the room. While plush chairs and a divan offered inviting seating. All of it was decorated with a lovely quilt work. Gretchen had an
eye for color.

  “Your room is the first one up the stairs and to the right.” Gretchen wagged a finger at Dr. Baker, who was laboring to get the trunk through the door. “Just leave it there. I’ll get Joe to carry it up.” Gretchen smiled at Addie. “He’s my handyman.”

  Dr. Baker put a hand to his back. “Thank goodness for Joe. What do you have in there? Bricks?”

  Addie laughed. “Books. I love to read and study.”

  Shaking his head, Dr. Baker walked to the door. “Well, I worked up a powerful hunger dragging your books inside. If you’re ready, I’d like to take you to lunch and then show you the patient.”

  “Is he stable?”

  Dr. Baker nodded. “I’ve got a man watching him. If there’s any change, he’ll come and get me.”

  “Oh. Well, alright, then. I am hungry too.” Addie turned and waved to Gretchen. “Thank you. I look forward to staying in your lovely home.” Addie grabbed her wrap and reticule and followed the doctor out the door.

  Doc helped her in the buggy. “I suppose you want to know why we needed a nurse for this case.”

  Addie nodded as she had wondered all the way out here. “Yes.”

  “And to tell you the truth, it is a tangled case. I almost regret dragging such a pretty little thing like you into it.”

  Her curiosity piqued, Addie stared at him but waited for him to continue when he was ready.

  Doc flicked the reins and drove down the street and turned onto Main Street. “Whoa.” He stopped the horse in front of Callie’s Café. “Outside of Gretchen’s house, this place has the best meals. Remember, I’m treating.”

  Doc helped her down and then escorted her into the café. Once they were seated and had given their orders, Doc folded his hands and looked at her. “As for the case, I’ll tell you the facts. Fallon, a gambler from the Ace Saloon, was hit by Charlie Walker and fell. It looks like he must have hit his head when he fell from the initial blow. Now, he’s in a coma. I can’t wake him, and it’s been going on two days now.”

  From her books and from watching her fiancé, Allie knew a little about head injuries. “He could still wake up, although the longer he stays asleep, the worse the outlook.” Addie watched the doc and could tell he had more to say.

  With a frown, Doc sat back and looked at her. “The reason you’re here is because the man who hit Fallon is Charlie Walker. The son of a wealthy rancher. Jacob Walker has bailed his son out of trouble more times than I can remember. This time, Charlie could go to jail, or if Fallon dies, Charlie could hang.”

  “Oh, dear.”

  Doc nodded. “Yes, there are two lives on the line. We have a new sheriff, and he means to make an example out of Charlie.”

  Addie sipped her tea. “What about Fallon? Is he old or infirm in any other way?”

  “Fallon, oh, no. He’s about your age. Handsome and likable. He’s probably won money from most of the men from Lawrence. But he wins it with a smile. The people like him. Fallon is a good old boy with the men and a charmer with the ladies.”

  “I see.”

  Doc looked at her and grinned. “No, I doubt you do. Not until you meet him anyway.”

  “And Charlie?”

  “Charlie, he’s as obnoxious as Fallon is charming. Because of too much money thrown at a young man, he’s spoiled and irresponsible. But like Fallon, he’s about your age and handsome. With the right woman at his side, Charlie might become a decent man. His father, Jacob, is responsible for some of Charlie’s bad manners. But he’s paying for it now. His son might very well hang.”

  “Oh my. It’s such a critical case.”

  Doc looked at her. “Yes, it is. Jacob paid for the best nurse Fallon could have. You, my dear. And I must warn you that Jacob always expects results.”

  “I don’t know what to say. I’ll do my best.” Fear twisted her stomach, she’d already watched one man die of a head injury.

  Dr. Baker smiled at her. “I know you will. We both will.” He sighed. “I’m just not sure that will be enough.” He pointed to her steak. “Eat up. I’ll buy you a piece of pie for dessert.”

  Pushing aside the medical case, Addie enjoyed the meal and the company. Dr. Baker was a fascinating man and told her about one interesting patient after another. After dessert, he nodded at her. “Well, let’s go see the patient. Perhaps Fallon will surprise us and be awake.”

  She walked out of the café with the doc. She hoped Fallon would be awake. Addie wasn’t sure she could sit through another man dying. If she’d been brave, she would have told Dr. Baker that she couldn’t do it.

  But she wasn’t brave and followed him down the street to his office. The clinic was small. Three rooms, he’d told her. After walking in, she smelled the familiar smell of alcohol. That at least told her the doc was a clean man.

  Good. She was amazed at how many doctors still refused to wash down their tables and examination rooms.

  “He’s in here.” The doc held the door open. “Thanks, Carl, you can go now. The nurse is here.”

  Addie cringed at Doc’s words. He’d spoken as if she had come with answers to Fallon’s problems. Yes, it was true at the nursing school that Addie and the instructor had worked with patients with head injuries. But they’d only had one in a coma, and like Robert, he’d died.

  Doc went to the bed and checked the man’s pulse.

  Addie stood beside the doc and looked at Fallon. He was a handsome man. He had a small scar over his left eye, and for some reason, Addie found herself wondering how he had gotten it.

  Fallon was tall the way his feet rested over the edge of the bed, and muscular by the look of his bare shoulders.

  “The wound is on the back of his head.” The doc turned his head and showed her. You can change the bandage for me. Other than that, there’s not a thing wrong with him.”

  “I see.” She first washed her hands and then went to the cupboard and took down fresh bandages. After filling a tray with water, she poured a little alcohol and found a small pair of scissors.

  She cut away the bandage, noting that Fallon had dark hair, nearly black. Addie pulled away and saw the wound. It wasn’t significant. With a swab of cotton, she dipped it in the water and rubbed away the dried blood.

  Doc held the tray for her. “As you can see, it’s not a very deep wound. Makes me a bit suspicious as to why he hasn’t come to yet.”

  “I agree.” She finished cleaning it and then wrapped the bandage around his head.

  “I like your technique, young lady.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.” She found the chair in the room and pulled it close to Fallon. “I can watch over him.”

  Dr. Baker nodded. “I hate to make you work the first day, but I do need to go and see Mrs. Croniker. She’s due any at time.”

  “You go ahead. I’ll be fine here.” Addie watched him leave. Once she heard the door click shut, the old fears came back to her. Haunting memories of sitting with Robert, praying he’d live but then watching him die. Now, she felt like she was back to the beginning. How could she do this again?

  Chapter 2

  Addie woke to the sun cheerfully sneaking between the panels of her curtains. It was later than she thought, but a look at her watch showed she had plenty of time to get to the doctor’s clinic and still eat breakfast.

  She loved her room. Now that she saw it in the daylight, the colors of light blue and pink were comforting and soothing. In one day, she already felt as if she were home. Strange, but not totally unexpected.

  Ever since Robert’s death three years ago, her home had felt like a strange place where she didn’t fit in. Yes, her family and even his had tried to ease her pain, but without Robert, West Virginia held no place in her heart.

  Now, here she was in Kansas hired to look after a man with the same kind of trouble as her fiancé. And if things didn’t change quickly, she’d see the same slow death that she witnessed with Robert.

  As she dressed, she wondered what kind of man Fallon was. By his profession, she g
athered he didn’t have much of a good reputation. He was nice-looking, though. On a good day, he might have turned her head.

  She put a scarf around her neck and wondered where that thought had come from. Addie hadn’t thought of a man in that way since Robert had died. Yet, here she was nearly twenty-seven, and on the road to being a spinster. That was not how she’d thought her life would be.

  Dressed, she opened the door and nearly ran into a woman. “I’m sorry. I guess the food smells so good I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

  The woman grinned. “You must be the new boarder. The nurse.” She held out her hand. “Melissa Hudson, but you can call me Missy. Everyone else does.”

  Addie grinned as she shook hands. “Adelaide Sherman, and you can call me Addie.”

  “You will love Gretchen’s pancakes, and today is pancake day.” Missy nearly ran down the stairs, but at the bottom, she waited for Addie. “You can sit by me. I don’t bite, but I can’t say the same for Louisa.” Missy laughed and ran on ahead and pointed to a chair in the middle. “Have a seat Addie and prepare for the best breakfast east or west of the Mississippi.”

  Addie grinned. What a relief to have a friend.

  “Where are the others, Gretchen?”

  “Oh, you are the last two. I saved you pancakes, though. I had to slap Louisa’s hand away to save them, though. So, you owe me.” Gretchen laughed and then put out a plate of fluffy flapjacks with butter and syrup.

  “You’re right. If you slapped Louisa, then I’ll have to protect you tonight. Where did she go anyway?”

  “She mumbled something about going to town to get a new dress. Seems she saw a gray hair, and it scared her.”

  Missy laughed. “Well, the woman has to be over forty, she ought to be scared all right.”