The Librarian of Boone's Hollow - Kim Vogel Sawyer Page 0,71
bad hurting in her belly, he’d stopped in her doorway and stared at her in her bed for a long time before taking his leave. Bettina’d never forgot it. If the doc left so easy now, he must not be too worried about Miz West.
Bettina’s worry faded fast away, and she turned to the librarian. “Who’s gonna take Addie around today? We’re late settin’ out. Folks’ll be lookin’ for us.”
Miz West gave Bettina a stern look. She was real good at those stern looks. But this one seemed a little sad around the edges. “You’ll set out when I send you.” She sighed one of her usual sighs and put her head down. “I’m afraid I have some unsettling news.”
Addie moved in closer and put her hand on the librarian’s shoulder. “Are you dreadfully ill, Miss West?”
Bettina almost rolled her eyes. Doc had left, hadn’t he? Sure, Miz West had a spell that morning, but she was fine now.
“I’m afraid I’m more ill than I’d realized.”
Bettina sat up.
“Apparently, the pollens in the mountains are different from those in the city. I’ve always had a few attacks during the fall, especially when the goldenrod is blooming, but managed fairly well the other seasons of the year. That hasn’t been the case since I arrived in Boone’s Hollow, though. Doctor Faulkner believes tree pollen is to blame for today’s attack, which was particularly severe.”
Glory nodded so hard her frizzy hair bounced. “Like to scared the stuffin’ out o’ me to see you all laid out that way. I thought you was a goner, for certain sure.”
Miz West squeezed Glory’s hand. “I’m sorry to have frightened you. To be honest, it frightened me, too. I feared I might die then and there.”
The girls gasped. Alba wrung her hands, leaning in. “That ain’t gonna happen again, is it? Now that the doc seen you an’ told you what to do, you’ll be all right, won’t you?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Bettina nodded, her chest pinching like somebody had wrapped a rope around it and pulled. The doc coming didn’t mean things got fixed. Maw being in the ground proved it.
“Doctor Faulkner has advised me to leave the mountain for the sake of my health. I told him I would make arrangements. I should be gone by the end of the week.”
Glory and Alba grabbed each other in a hug, and Addie blinked fast, the way folks did when they were trying not to cry. Bettina gritted her teeth real hard. If Miz West left, there’d be no more book routes. Bettina was losing her job, losing the money. Pap would have a conniption fit when he found out. But at least this book gal who’d gone to college with Emmett would get herself out of Boone’s Holler. Bettina didn’t wish ill on Miz West, but she wouldn’t be sad to see Addie Cowherd go away.
Lynch
Emmett
THE GLOVES HELPED. Emmett scooped another shovelful of coal and flung it into the cart. Without his hands slipping up and down the length of wood, he developed a steady rhythm of scoop, fling, scoop, fling.
After his supper last night, Maw had dropped a handful of wintergreen leaves into a tub of hot water and made him soak for a good long while. Then this morning, she rubbed wintergreen oil all over his shoulders and back. Emmett had massaged the oil into his leg and arm muscles, too. Maw claimed it would help ease the pain and stiffness. When he asked where she’d gotten the medicine, she put her finger on her lips and shook her head. That told him all he needed to know.
Every muscle in his body still ached like a stubbed toe, but maybe the oil had helped more than he realized because he could swing the shovel in spite of the pain. And he sure smelled good. When he’d gotten on the wagon that morning, the other fellows asked if he was going courting. Even Shay joked with him about it, and Emmett had begun his day laughing. A good start.
Scoop, fling, scoop, fling…
The dust was awful, so thick it blurred his vision and made him sneeze. But if he kept his pace and held his position, he rarely let so much as a single chunk of coal bounce over the edge.
Stead ambled up and watched Emmett for several seconds, tapping his leg with his ever-present clipboard. “You got a good aim, Tharp. Keep goin’ like you’re doin’ now, an’ you’ll have a full cart by midmornin’.”