Leave a Candle Burning Read Online Free PDF Page B

arm. “I’ll get him right now.”
    It wasn’t two minutes before Dannan was leaving with Eli’s man. They stopped briefly at Dannan’s house so he could get his bag. The two walked swiftly back down the green and then west to the Peterson house. Beyond a brief explanation of what was needed, Finn had not spoken. His legs were not long, but his stride was swift, his heart hoping things had not grown worse in his absence.

     
    “He’s better,” Scottie was waiting to tell Finn the moment he arrived. She glanced at the doctor, but her eyes were mainly on Finn. “He began to feel better just after you left, but thank you for going.”
    “Of course,” Finn assured her.
    “Maybe I’ll just take a look anyway,” Dannan put in, not sure he was comfortable with what Finn had told him.
    “Come this way,” Finn said, starting toward the stairs. Dannan followed. Scottie held her place in the parlor. She had never been a part of her husband’s medical exams, always waiting for Finn to summon her when Eli’s clothing and bed covers were back in place.
    She took a seat, her eyes going up the open staircase to the upstairs hall and resting on her husband’s closed bedroom door. She wasn’t anxious, but neither did she want to be out of sight when Finn came looking for her.

     
    “Your pulse is good,” Dannan announced, still bent over Eli. Having checked his eyes and listened to his heart, he put the stethoscope away, having also summed up the fact that the man in the bed knew more about his condition than any doctor ever would.
    “It came on suddenly,” Eli supplied as he buttoned his shirt and Finn adjusted the covers, “and went away just as suddenly.”
    “Is that normal?” Dannan asked. “You’ve had that happen before?”
    “Not quite so sudden, but shortness of breath is sometimes a problem.”
    Dannan was vaguely aware of Finn exiting the room, but he was mostly concentrating on the man in the bed. It was obvious that he had not been up and around for many years, if ever, but that he was also at peace with his situation. Dannan also didn’t miss the fact that this man possessed a keen mind. Dannan found him fascinating.
    However, almost all thoughts of the man flew out of his head when the small, redheaded woman from downstairs came in the open door. Dannan had forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand, but now that he could see that Eli Peterson was breathing well, his mind made an immediate shift to the redhead, especially when she stopped short and looked at him in surprise.
    “I stabbed you in the head!” Scottie exclaimed, her eyes looking at Dannan and then at her husband.
    “This is the man you hit with the rake handle?” Eli confirmed.
    Scottie’s eyes were very round as she nodded in the affirmative.
    “Our new doctor?” Eli added, not having pictured anyone like this when his wife told her story.
    “Well,” Scottie reasoned quietly, “at least he’s a doctor.”
    Eli’s slim fingers came to his mouth, but they would not hide the smile.
    “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” Scottie said as she tried to recover, looking between the men and then back at her husband.
    “Dr. MacKay,” Eli began, a full-blown smile now covering his mouth.
    “Everyone calls me Dannan,” that man said, offering a smile of his own.
    “Dannan,” Eli said, starting over. “Please meet my wife, Scottie, and trust me when I tell you she is not a violent person.”
    Dannan’s smile froze a little, but he still managed to offer his hand to Scottie, who shook it and apologized.
    “Please don’t give it another thought,” Dannan told her, the oddest mix of emotions running through him.
    “Did it hurt or bleed very much?”
    “No,” Dannan answered.
    Scottie looked unconvinced. She felt terrible about what she had done, and even the things she’d said today.
    “I’m fine,” Dannan assured her again, not wanting her to trouble over the point and also wanting to exit as soon as