Hope and Stephen mostly avoided each other for the rest of the week. Each of them spoke mainly to Dr. Harvey, who then passed along the message to the other person. The only problem was the late afternoons, because Stephen often stayed late to study medical textbooks while Hope balanced the ledger and prepared for the next day.

On Thursday evening, just after Dr. Harvey had left for the day, Hope heard a furious pounding on the door. She got up and peered out the door. There were no more patients scheduled, and she normally kept the door locked while she completed her end-of-day tasks.

To her surprise, she saw her sister, Betsy, and Betsy’s husband, Charles, outside the door. In Charles’s arms was his younger brother, Matthew, clutching his leg. Charles’s parents had died a few years earlier, orphaning him and his four young siblings. When he and Betsy had fallen in love and married, she had become the children’s adoptive mother.

“Stephen, please come out here!” Hope called as she unlocked the door.

Stephen poked his head out of the exam room. “What’s going on?”

Hope held the door open and Charles rushed in first with Matthew. “We need to see Dr. Harvey. Matthew was climbing a tree in our yard and fell. I’m certain the bone is broken.” Betsy was close behind, looking a little green. Hope knew Betsy could get a little sick at the sight of blood or other injuries. Hope didn’t have that problem. Working at Dr. Harvey’s office meant she had seen a little bit of everything.

“Let’s take a look. Bring him into the exam room,” Stephen directed. Charles and Betsy stared at Stephen warily.

“Who are you?” Charles asked. “I don’t intend to be rude, but I’ve never seen you before in my life.”

“It really hurts!” Matthew piped up. Hope could see that Matthew’s eyes were streaked with red.

“I’m sorry.” Charles walked into the exam room and set Matthew down on the table. Hope, Betsy, and Stephen followed, all crowding into the small room.

“I’m Dr. Stephen Bennett, Dr. Harvey’s nephew. I’m here to apprentice with her. I’ve been through medical school just like Dr. Harvey. I can take care of your son.” Stephen stuck his hand out, and Charles shook it.

“I’m Charles Brooks. I appreciate your help. It’s odd to see a doctor outside of Dr. Harvey. She’s been our only town doctor for years. Oh, and this is my brother, Matthew. He’s not my son.”

“My apologies. Nice to meet you, Matthew. Let’s see if we can get you all sorted.” Stephen began gently pressing different parts of Matthew’s leg and seeing where it hurt.

“Ouch. Ouch. OUCH!” Matthew yelped. Hope could see that his leg was tilted at a frightening angle, but Stephen didn’t look fazed.

“Matthew, tell me a little about where you go to school,” Stephen said calmly.

Matthew stared at the doctor as if he were crazy. “What does that have to do with my leg?”

“I’d like to hear more about your favorite subject. I bet you’re very good at math. Is that right?” Stephen continued. Hope privately wondered what in the world Stephen was doing.

Matthew’s chest puffed out a little. “That’s right. Actually, I’m helping my younger—Hey!”

As Matthew was talking, Stephen had bent down and applied pressure to his entire leg, snapping it back into the correct position. Betsy turned away and buried her head into Charles’s chest. Hope stared at what Stephen was doing, fascinated.

“Sorry about that, Matthew. I was trying to distract you so it wouldn’t hurt too badly,” Stephen explained.

Matthew rubbed his leg in amazement. “It still hurts, but nowhere near as badly as before.”

“Thank you, Doctor!” Charles exclaimed.

“Well, there’s still work to be done. His leg isn’t dislocated anymore, but the bone is broken, and we need to set it. Matthew, you’ll need to stay off your feet for a few weeks,” Stephen said with a serious expression.

Matthew nodded grimly. “No more climbing trees.”

“No more climbing trees,” Betsy echoed sternly.

Charles ruffled Matthew’s hair. “I’m sure you’ll be back up there in no time.”

Betsy put her hands on her hips. “I’m not so sure about that!”

Stephen laughed. “Well, the hardest part is over. But maybe we could get a little more space in the room?”

Everyone just stared at him until Hope clapped her hands. “He’s trying to say that we’re crowding him. Charles and Betsy, let’s go wait in the front room or on the porch. Matthew, we’ll be right outside. Call out if you need us.” Hope took charge.

Betsy and Charles nodded. Charles squeezed Matthew’s shoulder. “Call if you need anything, okay?”

Matthew grinned. “I’ll be fine, Charles. Thanks, though.” He looked at Stephen with newfound respect. “I’m ready, Doctor.”

Hope led Betsy and Charles out onto the porch, where Charles took a seat and Betsy began pacing. “Oh, Hope, I’m so glad you and Dr. Bennett were here. We were so scared.”

“Yes. Dr. Bennett is new, but he doesn’t seem half-bad.” Hope took a seat next to Charles.

“Not half-bad!” Betsy cried. “Why, he was wonderful in there! Snapping Matthew’s leg back into place like it was nothing at all. Show a little more kindness, Hope!”

Hope knew Betsy must be very agitated, because she usually wasn’t so forward. “I’m sure Dr. Harvey would have done the same thing. It’s part of medical training.”

Charles was distracted. “I hope it’s not too painful in there. I’ve never broken a bone. Have either of you?”

“No. And neither have any of my sisters, which is remarkable, because some of them are quite clumsy,” Hope told him. Charles grinned. All of Betsy’s sisters had unique personality traits, and he found Hope’s complete and utter honesty refreshing.

Betsy hit Hope’s shoulder playfully. “Be careful what you say!”

“I’m not talking about you,” Hope replied truthfully. “You’re not clumsy. Except the one time when you accidentally took some of Edna Petunia’s ‘cough medicine’. Now, that was a story…” Hope recalled.

Betsy looked embarrassed. “No, Charles doesn’t need to hear about that! It was an honest mistake.”

Charles looked amused. “Please tell me more, Hope.”

“It was Christmas Eve, and Betsy was starting to come down with a cold—” Hope began.

Just then, Stephen pushed the front door open. “You can come back in now.”

“You’ll have to finish your story another time,” Charles told Hope as they followed the doctor back into the office. Matthew was still sitting on the exam table, his leg now set in a splint.

Betsy rushed to his side and put her hand on his shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

Matthew grinned. “I’m great. Dr. Bennett said I can’t do chores for six weeks!”

Betsy smiled and patted his head. “No wonder you’re smiling!”

“That’s right. Lots of rest, and come back to see me in six weeks’ time. Until then, avoid putting any pressure on your leg.” Stephen instructed.

“Thank you very much, Doctor.” Charles shook Stephen’s hand. Betsy gave him a hug.

Charles lifted Matthew up and Betsy held the front door open for them as they left for their house, which wasn’t too far from Dr. Harvey’s office.

“Goodbye, Dr. Bennett!” Matthew called over Charles’s shoulder.

Hope closed the door and locked it again. She looked around the room and found a file she hadn’t put away yet. She opened the filing cabinet and placed it in the correct spot.

Stephen finished cleaning up the exam room and putting away all the supplies he had used.

“I’m assuming you know the Brooks family and can make sure their account gets billed properly?” Stephen questioned.

Hope nodded. “Actually, Betsy’s one of my sisters.”

“Oh, wow. I didn’t realize that! You don’t look very much alike,” Stephen commented.

Hope realized that Stephen was one of the first people she had met since coming to Nowhere who didn’t know that she was one of the Orlan orphans. Ever since Edna Petunia and Cletus had taken the girls in several years ago, their reputation had spread quickly throughout town. Almost everyone had at least heard of the fifteen so-called bastard orphans the Sanders couple had adopted.

“That’s because we were both orphaned and adopted,” Hope explained.

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry.” Stephen’s face turned red.

“There’s no need to apologize. That’s like me saying, ‘I’m sorry you have dark hair.’” Hope looked around the room. “I think I’m done here for the day. Are you going to stay here for a while?”

“I think I’ll head out now, too. Let me grab my bag.” Stephen went back into the exam room and picked up his bag. Hope took the keys from their hook near her desk and went outside. Once Stephen had joined her on the porch, she pulled the heavy front door shut and locked it.

“I’m glad you were here to fix Matthew’s leg. I’m sure it would have been very painful if he’d had to wait until tomorrow,” Hope told Stephen as they set off for their respective houses.

“I’m glad I was here, too. It’s always nice to feel useful. From what I’ve seen of Nowhere so far, everyone really loves my aunt and isn’t interested in anyone new in town,” Stephen confided.

“That’s just the nature of it being a small town. I’m sure people will like you just fine once they get to know you,” Hope told him. She found herself enjoying talking to Stephen away from the office. She liked hearing what he had to say.

Hope and Stephen approached the main street of Nowhere. Hope usually turned left, and she knew Stephen normally turned right.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Hope told Stephen, but Stephen simply stood in place, frozen. “What’s wrong?”

“Hope, I feel we got off on the wrong foot earlier this week. May I walk you home?” Stephen asked nervously.

Hope laughed. “I don’t care one way or another. If you really want to walk me home, you can.”

Stephen breathed a sigh of relief and they continued walking. They passed by the mercantile, where Ruby was sweeping in the front of the store. Hope waved to her as she passed. Ruby waved back.

“Is that a friend?” Stephen asked.

“My sister,” Hope explained, and Stephen nodded. He assumed this sister had also been adopted, since the woman in the window looked nothing like Hope or Betsy.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Hope asked Stephen, and his face clouded.

“I do, and they’re all back in Seattle. I miss them a lot,” Stephen admitted.

“Why did you come here, then?” Hope inquired.

“I needed to find a doctor I could do my training under, and Aunt Iris is a family member. It seemed as good a place as any.” Stephen looked away, and Hope decided to change the subject.

“I’m glad you know what you’re doing. I was worried you weren’t going to be able to take care of Matthew, and we’d have to send for Dr. Harvey,” Hope told him.

Stephen recognized that this was likely the closest thing to a compliment he was going to get. “Thank you.”

They walked quietly for a few minutes. “You’re not like other girls, are you?”

“What do you mean by that?” Hope was perplexed.

“It’s just that many girls of your age are content to stay quiet and hide their true feelings. They don’t come right out and say what’s on their mind. You seem like you just say your true feelings.”

“I’ve always been this way. It gets on people’s nerves most of the time.” Hope laughed as she thought about it.

“Well, I suppose some people might take it the wrong way…” Stephen trailed off.

“That’s exactly right. But I don’t see a reason to lie or make things up just to make people feel better,” Hope tried to explain.

Stephen’s arm brushed Hope’s as they continued on their way. She felt the same jolt she’d felt earlier when their hands had touched. This was a new and unfamiliar sensation, and it wasn’t unpleasant. As they walked along, Hope found herself walking closer to him so their arms might briefly touch each other again.

When they arrived in front of the Sanders property, Stephen glanced up at the large home. “You live in a beautiful house.”

“Thank you. My adoptive father inherited it from his parents, and that’s the only way Edna Petunia and Cletus were able to adopt all of us orphans.” Hope looked at Stephen’s face again. He really was good-looking. Every time she looked at him, she felt a fluttering sensation in her stomach.

“How many orphans are there?” Stephen wondered out loud.

“There are fifteen of us in total.” Hope grinned as she saw Stephen’s eyes grow wide. “But some of my sisters have gotten married and moved out. There are only seven of us left now that live at home.”

“Are all of your sisters as special as you are?” Stephen imagined a house full of girls as fiery and opinionated as Hope.

“I don’t know. We’ve all got our own likes and dislikes, I suppose. But in other ways we’re just the same,” Hope answered truthfully. “Thank you for walking me home. I’ll see you at the office.”

“Good night, Hope.” Stephen waited as Hope opened the door and entered the house. “I have a feeling you are one of a kind,” Stephen whispered quietly into the night sky.