Free Kansas Courtship by Victoria Bylin

replied. “Do you think Mrs. Jennings would let me use a room here?”
    “We’re full to the rafters.”
    “Is there space at the church?”
    “I don’t think so,” Rebecca replied. “Why don’t you do what my grandmother did. People didn’t come to her. She went to them.”
    The idea had merit. She’d see where people lived and get to know their families. Her patients wouldn’t have privacy, but the plan would give her a start.
    “I’ll do it,” she declared. “I’ll visit every person in High Plains.” Everyone except Zeb Garrison.
    Rebecca raised her cup in a toast. “To you, Dr. Mitchell. May God bless your efforts.”
    “Please, call me Nora.” She lifted her teacup in a salute to the future. She’d knock on every door. She’d call on every family. She wouldn’t skip anyone. Like Joshua circling Jericho, she’d walk circles around High Plains, seven times if that’s what it took to win the town’s trust. Zeb Garrison wouldn’t run her out of High Plains. She wouldn’t allow it.
    “To success!” she said.
    As the women toasted with their cups, Nora felt blessed. Surely the Lord would guide her steps.

Chapter Six
    “C assandra, don’t.”
    “You can’t tell me what to do,” his sister replied. “If I want to see Percival, I will.”
    Zeb pushed back from the breakfast table. Thanks to his sister, he had indigestion in spite of Mrs. Wright’s perfectly fried bacon. The woman had been with the wagon train, traveling West with her husband and grown son. The men had died in the storm, leaving her as alone as a woman could be. Zeb hired her to cook and clean. With Cassandra busy getting ready for the school year, he needed the help.
    What he didn’t need was his sister’s interest in Percival Walker. An attorney by trade, Percy had been hired by the New England Emigrant Aid Society to keep an eye on their investment. The man came from Boston money and it showed. Zeb disliked him, not because he had money but because of the way he threw his weight around.
    The way you did with Dr. Mitchell.
    He stifled a groan. Why wouldn’t his conscience shut up? Four days had passed since her arrival, and he’d awoken each morning with a sense of guilt. He’d been a brute. He knew it.He owed her an apology, but he wasn’t about to seek out the woman who kept winking at him in his dreams. What had she meant by that wink? He didn’t know and he refused to care. Right now, he had to deal with Cassandra, who’d just announced she’d be “lunching” with Percy. People in Boston “lunched.” People in High Plains broke bread. Zeb preferred breaking bread.
    He looked down at his sister, still seated and defiantly sipping tea from a porcelain cup. Cassandra set the cup down with a plink, then looked up at him. “I don’t understand. Why don’t you like Percy?”
    “He’s a dandy.”
    “He’s a businessman,” she insisted. “Like you.”
    “He’s nothing like me.” Zeb paced to the window. Turning his back, he rubbed his eye to stop it from twitching. He’d downed four cups of coffee, but the hot brew couldn’t replace a good night’s sleep. He’d been awake long past midnight, working on plans for the mill. As soon as High Plains was strong again, he planned to change the saw blades into millstones.
    He didn’t have time to waste arguing with his sister, especially when his opinion didn’t matter. If it had, she’d have already married Clint Fuller. Zeb liked the cowboy. The man worked hard on Will’s ranch, then came to town to help at the mill. Zeb knew he had his eyes on Cassandra because the cowboy had asked for permission to court her as soon as he had some money saved. Percy hadn’t shown that courtesy. Just like a Boston bigwig, he’d presumed his attentions would be welcome. Unfortunately, from Cassandra’s perspective, he’d been right.
    Zeb turned away from the window. “I have to get to the mill.”
    His sister pouted. “Suit yourself.”
    Her tone irked him.