Epilogue

Doc had waited until Hollis was nearly ready to pull out before he visited the fort's store. He didn't favor crowded spaces, but there was nothing for it now. He needed more medicines to refill his store, badly depleted after the epidemic.

And as he glanced at the shelf of tonics and tinctures on the wall behind the counter, he found himself sorely disappointed. He wouldn't find what he needed here.

His throat soured. Without access to the right medicines, he would be limited in ways to help the pioneers in Hollis's wagon train.

"And this, please." The familiar feminine voice came from his left side, farther down the shop's counter.

Maddie.

She hadn't seen him yet. From where he stood, a pile of items on the counter partially blocked his view, but there was no mistaking the fiery head of hair.

It took a moment, but he realized that the haphazard pile of children's shoes, fabric, pots, and foodstuffs belonged to her. That she meant to purchase it. What was she doing?

The shopkeeper bustled out from behind the counter and into the store proper as she waited. A couple of men in soldier's uniforms entered and began to browse.

He should leave. Doc doubted the shopkeeper had any other store of medicines. But he couldn't make himself go without asking, and the man was tied up with Maddie.

Her gaze idly skimmed her purchases—and then bypassed them and landed on Doc.

He saw the flash of recognition. And the immediate turn of her head in the opposite direction.

She doesn't know what she's doing. She'll put the travelers in your company in more danger.

He'd said the words to Owen, not knowing she was near enough to hear. It was only after he'd seen her stricken expression that he realized his voice had carried.

Now he needed to do the right thing. His feet carried him to stand next to her pile of things on the counter. "I'd like to apologize."

Before the wagon train had split, he'd worked in close quarters with her. I'm sorr y, he'd heard a man groan when Maddie cleaned away his shirt covered with vomit. A woman had sobbed the words when Maddie, with an arm around her, guided her into the woods to urgently relieve herself.

In both instances, Maddie had been compassionate and kind, her patient bedside manner and smile unwavering. He understood why the travelers in Hollis's company respected and leaned on her so much.

But at his own apology, he did not receive one of her smiles. She kept her face averted completely. "That isn't necessary," she mumbled.

"Yes, it is. I'm sorry for what I said." He caught sight of her reflection in the wavy mirror behind the counter.

Her lips pinched with displeasure. "You may be sorry for saying the words aloud, but we both know that you meant them."

Her cool tone covered a show of temper. He was certain of it. He'd heard the same in Marie's voice on the rare occasions they'd quarreled.

But she was right, though not for the reasons she probably thought.

She was a fine nurse, just not a doctor with a doctor's knowledge.

She was also a distraction that he desperately didn't need.

He was opening his mouth to speak when she turned the full force of her hazel eyes on him. "The prairie is a big place. There's plenty of room in Hollis's company for both of us. I see no reason why we need to speak again."

He should be grateful for the words and their implications. She'd stay away from him if he stayed away from her. But her dismissive manner—and perhaps the idea of never speaking to her again—sparked his own temper.

The proprietor approached her from this side of the counter, catching Maddie's attention. "Is there anyone who can help me cart these purchases to my wagon?" Her warm smile was engaging.

"I'd be happy to, miss." The young soldier doffed his hat with an eager smile and an attentive manner.

"Is all this for your family, then?" the soldier asked.

"Yes." Maddie had turned her warm smile on him and Doc saw how the young man's shoulders straightened. The twinkle that lit in his eye.

"Your husband didn't come along to help you?"

"I don't have a husband," Maddie said sweetly.

She hadn't looked at Doc once since she'd spoken to the soldier.

The young man's face brightened.

Something ugly twisted low inside Doc's belly.

"I'll need just a moment to complete my purchase," she said.

But the proprietor had been distracted by a more mature soldier, pulled to the other side of the room where they spoke in low voices.

"I don't believe those shoes will fit your sister," Doc said. Maddie had two adult sisters and those were obviously a pair of children's shoes.

"Who is all of this really for?" he pushed when she ignored him.

"My children," she said coolly. "I've taken charge of Alex, Paul, and Jenny."

Surely she couldn't mean she was taking them on permanently. My children , she'd said.

"You can't." He regretted the hastily spoken words when her eyes flashed at him.

"They've no one else." She ground out the words.

He stood for a moment as the thought of young, unmarried Maddie taking on responsibility for three young children settled.

It wasn't right. Surely there was a family among Hollis's company that would take them.

Doc was aware of the handsome soldier hovering nearby, listening to their conversation.

He couldn't seem to look away from Maddie, just like he couldn't seem to stop himself from arguing with her. "You can't mean?—"

"I assure you, I do." She turned her face to him, finally, her chin set in a stubborn way he'd come to recognize.

"It's foolhardy."

That was definitely a spark of temper in her eyes. "It's none of your business."

Of course it wasn't. But she was going to ruin her life in this foolish endeavor. "You cannot possibly handle three young children. How will you feed them?"

At that, a flash of uncertainty passed through her expression, quickly masked. "We'll make do."

"What about when you reach Oregon? How will you provide a shelter over their heads?" he pushed.

"We'll make do," she said stubbornly. "I love them."

As if that simple fact meant anything in such a cruel world. She was naive and misguided.

She put him out of sorts.

"You are the most infuriating person I have ever met." The words escaped before he'd thought them through.

She stared at him through narrowed eyes—he hadn't realized they now stood almost nose to nose. Surely he hadn't been the one to lean in.

A string of tension tightened between them. For a breathless moment it all seemed to hover in the air. The inappropriate attraction he couldn't seem to drown, her naivety, the hopeful spirit that life hadn't sucked away. So why did part of him want to take her in his arms and protect her from all of it?

A throat clearing broke the antagonizing moment frozen between them. The proprietor moved behind the counter. "Can I help you, sir?" he asked Doc.

Who'd turned toward him instinctively, shaken by the fractured moment of closeness.

It took a prolonged minute to steady his voice. "Do you have any other medicines?" he gestured to the shelf behind the man, who shook his head.

Fine.

What a worthless endeavor. Just like attempting to convince a stubborn young woman not to ruin her life.

As he turned away, Maddie stared straight ahead. But he still heard her murmured words. "Perhaps it is too much to hope that I never see you again."

Doc strode through the store and out into the evening air. Her parting sentiment hit him like a blow.

What had he done? He'd meant to make a simple apology, but somehow she'd tied him up in knots and he—he hadn't meant to devolve into that argument.

She was right. What business of his was it if she ruined her life by taking charge of those children?

Being around her wasn't healthy for him. His racing heart and the anger still coursing through his veins was enough evidence of that.

He'd abide by her wish. He'd stay as far away from her as possible.

Thank you for reading A RUGGED BEAUTY. I hope you loved Hollis and Abigail's romance. You'll see them again in LOVE'S HEALING PATH…

Maddie Fairfax may be young, but on this Oregon-bound wagon train, the pioneers welcome help from the self-trained nurse. Until Dr. Jason Goodwin joins up with their company. The doctor portrays a frosty exterior, but Maddie may be the only one who sees the profound loneliness that haunts him.

After losing his wife and children in a terrible accident, Jason has vowed not to open his heart again. But when Maddie takes on the care of three young orphans, Jason finds himself entangled in the lives of the makeshift family. And as their journey west continues, Maddie's radiant compassion begins to light up the darkest corners of his heart.

Until the unthinkable happens. Will Jason's guarded heart and Maddie's untamed spirit pull them apart?