Ana Seymour by A Family For Carter Jones Page A

she’ll get it,” Lyle said firmly.
    “You mean we need to make an appointment with that special doctor you were taking about?” Jennie asked.
    Dr. Millard leaned against the banister and looked from Jennie to Lyle, then back to Jennie. “Do you want to talk about this with Lyle here?” he asked.
    The question took Jennie aback. She hadn’t been thinking about the propriety of discussing her sister’s condition with an unrelated male present. But looking at Lyle’s determined face, she had the feeling that he wouldn’t leave without protest. And, anyway, she and Kate could use a friend. She’d thought Carter would prove to be one, but that illusion had been thoroughly smashed tonight. “Lyle’s concerned about Kate,” she answered finally. “You can speak in front of him.”
    Dr. Millard nodded. “Kate admitted to me that she’s had the bleeding again.”
    “She didn’t tell me.” Jennie threw an agonized glance up the stairs.
    “I know.” The doctor’s eyes were warm. “She said you had enough to worry about, keeping the house running for everyone and trying to work out the finances. But she’s in serious danger of losing herbaby, which at this stage could put her own life at risk. She’s going to need constant care.”
    “I can do it,” Jennie said. “Barnaby and I will take turns with her. And I’ll get the miners to do more of the cooking…why, they all helped out tonight…and…”
    Dr. Millard gently grasped her shoulder. “No, Jennie, you can’t do it this time. You have all the will in the world…and all the love. But right now Kate needs medical skill.”
    Jennie looked down at the hall carpet. It was threadbare in spots. Mother had been talking about ordering a new one from back East. “What do we have to do?” she whispered without raising her head.
    “There’s a hospital in Virginia City with a maternity ward. She needs to be there.”
    “For how long?” Jennie asked, scuffing her good patent leather shoe against the side of the stair.
    “Until the birth most likely.”
    Jennie swallowed. “Two more months?”
    Dr. Millard nodded. “If it goes full term.”
    She let out a long breath. “Can I stay with her?”
    Dr. Millard pursed his lips. “Well, now. I don’t know. I don’t think they’d let you stay right there in the hospital for two months, but I suppose you could find a boardinghouse nearby. I hate to think of you in a strange city by yourself…”
    His words drifted off and there was silence as all three considered the ramifications of the move.
    Finally Jennie said, “And what about my own boardinghouse in the meantime? Who takes care ofthat? How do I pay my bills?” A sudden thought hit her. “Will this hospital be expensive?”
    “I’m afraid so, Jennie. But you have no other choice. I could help you out with some of the bill—”
    Lyle interrupted, “The money is unimportant. If Kate needs the care, she’ll get it. I’ll pay for it.”
    Dr. Millard raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. As far as Jennie knew, Lyle had no funds of his own. He’d just begun to work for his father at the bank.
    “Kate and I pay our own way,” Jennie said, finally lifting her head and looking at first Lyle, then the doctor with a strong gaze. “I’ll find the money. We can always sell this house.”
    “And live where?” Dr. Millard asked. “That baby’s going to need a place to come home to once it’s born.”
    Jennie’s head had begun to pound. “Kate’s sleeping now, right? We won’t be doing anything until morning?”
    Dr. Millard nodded.
    “Then if you don’t mind, gentlemen, I still have a kitchen full of dishes to clean. Tomorrow we’ll work this out. Whatever it is that Kate needs, I’ll see that it’s done.”
    Jennie thought she’d cried every tear in her head when her parents died, but by the time she was halfway back to Vermillion after leaving Kate in that sterile room in Virginia City, she realized that she must have an endless