Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"So, tell me all about him," Tiffany said as she and Tara sat down at a table at Benson's Coffee Emporium the next morning.

"Well, he's… lovely," Tara said, blushing. Tiffany raised her eyebrows.

"Just lovely? There must be more to it than that. Gina was full of it when she came home yesterday," she replied.

Tara smiled. She could just imagine what Gina had said, and the opinion she had had. Tara had tried not to overthink the matter, or to dwell on any possible jealousy. She wanted Gina to be happy, but she wasn't about to downplay her own happiness just to make her friend feel better.

"Is Gina all right? All this business with Randy Lynn was upsetting her terribly," Tara said.

Tiffany rolled her eyes. "It's not even guaranteed he's leaving. There's talk of the schoolhouse closing, but he could get another job. She's smitten with him, and I know he likes her, but… well, let's just say I think the tracks go farther on her side than his."

Tara nodded. What would be would be, and there was no point in worrying over something that was yet to happen. If Randy truly loved Gina as she loved him, a proposal would be forthcoming. If not, they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

"She was very upset," Tara said.

"But I want to hear about Kyle. Is he how you thought he'd be?" Tiffany asked, changing the subject.

Chloe had just brought their coffees, and Tara smiled as she took the first sip, thinking of Kyle, who had arrived first thing that morning to help with the animals.

"Well, that's just the thing. I didn't really know what he'd be like. I had his letters, of course, and I pictured him in my mind, but as for what he was really like… oh, but Tiffany, I think he's wonderful," she swooned.

Tara knew she was getting ahead of herself—caught up in the romance of Kyle's arrival—but it was hard to be reasonable when faced with such an overwhelming sense of happiness. Tara had never felt this way. She had never been in love, and she now felt certain she was.

Tiffany smiled. "I'm glad to see you happy, Tara. Lord knows you deserve it after everything you've been through. I was cautious at the thought of your writing to this man, but if you're happy, that's all that matters," she said.

"I am happy, yes. I didn't think I ever could be again, not after my father died. But I was wondering… you and Thomas. What's it like? I mean, once you've been married for a few years, does the spark go out?" she asked.

Tara knew she was growing ever more besotted by Kyle—it felt like she was riding on a runaway wagon—and yet she felt certain such feelings could not last forever. Tiffany took a sip of coffee and smiled.

"Not if he's the one for you, no. I love Thomas more with every passing day. We have our arguments, of course—what couple doesn't?—but we always find a way to make it up to one another. But it's still early for you and Kyle. You barely know one another yet," Tiffany said.

But Tara felt differently. She did know Kyle. They had been writing to one another for months, and his arrival had come with no surprises—apart from its timing. Kyle was just the man he had been in his letters, and though it was true to say they had not spent a great deal of time together, Tara felt certain she had judged his character correctly.

"Oh, but we do. Know each other, I mean. He's just perfect. You should've tasted the stew he made for us last night. And he baked bread, too. It was delicious. And he'd tidied the house, and… well, even Maisy seemed happy."

Tiffany took another sip of coffee and smiled.

"All I want is for you and Gina to be happy, Tara. Marriage can do that, but romance can also break your heart. Look at Gina and how much she's agonizing over Randy. Love can be the most wonderful of things, and also the hardest of things. It can soar you to heights and sink you to depths. Just… take it slowly," she cautioned.

But Tara didn't want to take it slowly. She was caught up in the romance of the situation, of the overwhelming excitement she felt at the prospect that this was the man she was to spend the rest of her life with. From the first letter they had exchanged, Tara had felt a spark, and that feeling had only grown stronger with every letter received. Now that Kyle had arrived, he was everything she had dared to hope for and more.

"And if he asks me to marry him straightaway? What am I to say? Am I to tell him no?" she asked.

Tiffany sighed. "You need to follow your heart, Tara. But you've got a rational head on you, don't you? You're a nurse, for goodness' sake. Just think sensibly about things for a moment. There's no harm in holding back. Love grows if it's meant to, and that's what you've got to remember."

Tara nodded. Perhaps Tiffany didn't understand love at first sight, or the romance of being swept up in such an overwhelming feeling of certainty. Tara wanted to tell the whole town she was in love, but she was willing to hold back, if only for Kyle's sake. It was his decision, too, and he had risked far more than her by coming to Freemont.

And that was the very reason she felt so certain about him. He had left everything behind for her; he was willing to embrace a new way of life for her, not asking her to give up anything, but instead, to gain so much.

"You need to meet him, Tiffany. All of you. He's just such a wonderful man. I can't describe it. He fought off robbers who attacked the mail coach he was traveling in. What do you think of that?" she said.

Tiffany looked skeptical. "Well… a man can say anything. How do you know it's true?"

Tara sighed. She was getting annoyed now. First Gina's jealousy, not Tiffany's skepticism. Why couldn't her friends—the closest thing she had to a family—just be happy for her?

"I don't, but why would he lie? There's no advantage for him. He told me he didn't take any reward for it, even though the sheriff in Murphy's Canyon wanted him to be hailed as a hero," Tara replied. "But you need to meet him before you judge him."

The clock on the wall indicated it was close to eleven, and Tara was due at the clinic by quarter past. She finished her coffee, thanking Tiffany for the talk and promising not to get carried away by the arrival of her mail-order groom.

"We'll look forward to meeting him. Bring him over for dinner tomorrow night, or the night after," Tiffany said as they said their goodbyes.

But just as they were leaving, a woman dressed in a peach-colored bonnet and a matching dress hurried up to them.

"Nurse Culden? I just wanted to ask about the man at the clinic, the stranger who can't remember anything. Is it true he's really forgotten everything?" she asked.

Tara had been so caught up in talking about Kyle she had quite forgotten John and his loss of memory, but she wasn't surprised a rumor had already spread through the town.

"I can't talk too much about it. There's such a thing as patient privacy, you realize. But you're right, he's lost his memory. We hope he'll soon recover. And if anyone knows anything, they're to let Sheriff Fenton or Doctor Reardon know. We think he's come to Freemont to visit a friend or relative, and that means he's known by someone," she explained.

The woman nodded. "I just think it's so strange. Can you imagine forgetting everything about yourself? He could be anyone."

"Well, he's someone, and that's the mystery we have to solve," Tara said, and she wished the woman a good day.

Outside, as she walked in the direction of the clinic, her thoughts turned to John and whether he would ever recover his memory. She felt sorry for him and whoever he had left behind. Was there someone who loved him? A wife, a betrothed? How would it be for them to discover the man they loved no longer even recognized them?

How terrible for the poor woman, Tara thought, making her way across the snow-covered yard to the clinic.

"Good morning, Nurse Culden," Peter said as Tara hurried up the steps into the clinic. He was shoveling the snow, and he removed his cap, pausing as Tara approached.

"Was it a quiet night?" Tara asked, and Peter smiled.

"We had one patient shouting the whole time. Doctor Reardon gave him an opiate to settle him, but he's lost his mind," he said.

Tara looked at him in surprise. "You don't mean John, do you?" she exclaimed, feeling an unexpected surge of panic.

Peter smiled and shook his head. "No, his mind was already gone. But he's had quite a night, too," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I should go in and see him."

"He's been asking about you," Peter said.

Tara blushed, and now she felt guilty for having thought so little of John since she had left the clinic the day before.

"Has he? I'm sure he's just searching for the familiar," she replied.

But now her thoughts were on John. Trying her best to put Kyle and the outside world out of her mind, she set to her duties, mindful of Doctor Reardon's words about growing too close to the patients—even as John's bedside was the first she went to.