The Doctor's Newfound Family by Valerie Hansen Read Free Book Online Page B

charge.” Coleman raised his hands, palms out, as if prepared to physically defend himself. “I know, I know. Scannell bought the office for a whole lot more than he’ll ever earn legally. That’s common knowledge. But it doesn’t change anything. We can’t wrest control of the whole city from the hands of those criminals unless we’re sure of major citizen support. That’s all there is to it.”
    “What will it take to gain that?”
    “I don’t know,” the obviously weary and worried businessman said. “But we can’t continue this way for long. When the time is right, we will act, I promise you.”
    “What if it’s too late for the Reese children?”
    “That can’t be helped.” Coleman ran a slimfinger beneath his starched collar as if his cravat were choking him. “I’m not looking forward to the bloodshed that may result.”
    “Neither am I,” Taylor said soberly. “But someone has to do something before we’re all slapped in jail or hanged for choosing the side of honor and justice.”
    “This Reese incident has really gotten you fired up, hasn’t it, Doc? How did you get involved in the first place?”
    “I was called to minister to the murder victims.”
    “And you didn’t save them. I see. That is unfortunate. But it still doesn’t explain why you’re so adamant about the real estate.”
    “There were children left homeless,” Taylor said. “I delivered them to the Ladies’ Protection and Relief Society. They don’t belong there. They belong in the house Scannell is guarding.”
    “They’re better off with Mrs. McNeil. Children couldn’t manage alone, anyway.”
    It was the doctor’s turn to loosen his tight collar. “There’s—there’s an older daughter to look after the little ones,” he explained. “She seems quite capable.”
    “Ah.” Coleman smiled. “And pretty, too?”
    “That’s beside the point.”
    “On the contrary, that is exactly the point, as Isee it. You have developed some kind of connection to this young, helpless damsel and you’re expecting me and my men to assist you in impressing her.”
    “Nonsense.” With a deep, settling breath, Taylor had given up, bid his friend goodbye and left the office building.
    In retrospect, he had known denial of his feelings was futile. He did care for Sara Beth Reese. And he could see no good reason for that reaction. There had been and still were, many other comely women in his acquaintance, so why was this one becoming so important to him? Was it her emerald eyes or that long, reddish hair that was so appealing? He had no earthly idea.
    Later that day, as he closed his own office and started home to the What Cheer House, where he rented a room, he was still troubled. There had to be more to his burgeoning interest in that young woman and her kin. They had gotten under his skin so quickly it was truly astounding. He supposed Sara Beth’s plight, having all those siblings to care for as well as herself, had touched a chord in his heart.
    This was not the first time he had found himself caring too much about the welfare of his patients. According to his instructors at Massachusetts General, becoming overly involved in the lives of others was a flaw in his character that he needed to overcome in order to do his job efficiently.
    Taylor’s real problem, as he saw it, was that he didn’t want to lose that touch of compassion that made him who he was. If it interfered with his medical practice, then so be it. He was not about to chastise himself for having feelings for the suffering and downtrodden.
    And those poor Reese children were that, and more. For all he knew, they were the victims of the same greed and corruption that already poisoned much of San Francisco politics. If that was the case, they would be fortunate to reclaim anything that had once, by rights, been theirs.
    Taylor clenched his fists as he walked, his boots clomping hollowly on the boarded walkway, their thuds lost among the other noises of the