"One spoonful with breakfast every day for the next month should help rebuild her strength after that scarlet fever. " "Thank you, doctor. " Eliza tucked the bottle carefully into her bag. "How much do I owe you? " "Nothing," Doc Morrison said. "Consider it payment for the excellent nursing you provided. Not many folks could have brought that child through what you did. You've got a gift, Mrs.
Thatcher. It's just Eliza, please. Or mama, if you ask the children. She smiled at that, still getting used to the title. Mama suits you, the doctor said with a rare smile of his own.
Now get those boys home before they cause any more scenes. I already heard about the confrontation at Henderson's. News travels fast in a small town. Of course it did. Eliza ushered the boys back to the wagon, eager to be away from Ash Ridge and back to the safety of the ranch.
But as they passed the town square, that cursed square where she'd stood on a platform 6 weeks ago, someone called her name. Eliza. Eliza, wait. She turned to see her brother Thomas running toward them, his 16-year-old frame all awkward angles in earnest desperation. She hadn't seen him since the day of her sail, and the sight of him now brought a complicated rush of emotions.
"Thomas," she said, pulling the wagon to a stop. Her brother skidded to a halt beside them, breathing hard. I heard you were in town. I've been hoping. I wanted to see you.
To apologize. For what? For not stopping P. For not standing up for you when he sold you like Thomas's voice cracked. I should have done something.
I should have protected you. Eliza climbed down from the wagon, leaving the boys watching with intense curiosity. She approached her little brother, not so little anymore, and saw the guilt eating him alive. Thomas, you were 15 years old. What could you have done?
Something, anything. I could have told P I wouldn't let him do it. I could have made a scene, brought attention to how wrong it was. I could have, he stopped, swallowing hard. You're my sister, Eliza.
I loved you. I still love you, and I let them sell you. You didn't let them do anything, Eliza said gently. P made his choice, and Ma supported it, and that was that. You couldn't have stopped them any more than I could have.