In six short days, April would come to a close. He closed his eyes against the inevitable.

Bells tinkled above his office door. He turned, surprised to see Isabella. Black piping adorned her fawn-colored wool suit. Black buttons marched along the edge of her asymmetrical jacket. Stark lines emphasized her feminine figure.

“Dr. Pattison.” He rose, delighted by the surprise visit. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I believe I left my kit in your wagon last Monday morning.”

“My apologies. Yes.” He’d forgotten it—but not her. “Your dental kit.”

She held the instruments in gloved hands. Tassels on her reticule swayed. “Am I interrupting?”

“No, ma’am. I’ve been reading.” The Chieftain lay open on his desk, the promising advertisements circled with red pencil.

Her scrutiny touched the paper.

Maybe she wouldn’t see the neat stack of unpaid bills, nor the tell-tale newsprint.

Especially if he misdirected. “Did you see the article about the progress of our pavilion, built under the direction of the Council of City Professionals? Our city engineer and county bridge builder have done fine work, according to The Chieftain.”

“I did see that notice.”

“Very good. I understand they’re on schedule to complete with plenty of time to spare before the celebration events scheduled there.”

She nodded, evidently willing to allow the topic to conclude. Confidence squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I’ve a matter I’d like to discuss.”

Sweet, dainty violets teased his senses. The fragrance suited her.

“Will you sit?” He gestured to chairs once used for waiting customers.

“I thought we might walk, enjoy the fresh air, and discuss my proposal over a meal.”

On cue, his belly grumbled.

She chuckled. “I see your stomach approves.”

“I have a box lunch Mrs. Linden sent.”

“Your landlady.”

“Yes. You know the Lindens?” Had they defected to the sunny lady dentist?

“Can’t say I do.” She watched him for a second or two. “Dr. Merritt, you are an enigma.”

“You unearthed my greatest secret. What more could there be?”

“I suspect you hide many more layers.” Delight winked in her eyes. “You board with the Lindens, four blocks from here. Mr. Linden is employed by Union Pacific, and they rent a small home.”

She’d graciously avoided mentioning the poor rent district and the undesirable neighborhood. “True.”

“I’m curious to comprehend why you spend a large portion of your income for Almy residents. I’ve thought of little else.”

She’d thought of him, all week? Should this please him or cause him anxiety?

“Perhaps it’s time I state my business.”

“Yes.” He could handle business.

“Our shared experiences these past Sundays have brought another joint venture to mind. Are you aware of the newly finished rooms above Davidson’s Drugs?”

He’d seen the ad, but immediately passed by. He managed a nod.

“I visited that sunlit, airy space—too large for me, alone. I considered . . . Will you join me?”

“Join—” his heart bolted—“you?” Lightheaded, he grasped the back of a chair. “Please, sit.”

She perched on the front edge of a chair.

He spun his chair to face her, ensuring several inches between them.

“We’ll maintain our own businesses,” she said, “within the same room. We’ll enjoy working side by side.”

Her words sketched an appealing scene.

“You truly would be a great help.”

That made no sense, and he nearly told her so. Manners, Henry. “To be blunt, Dr. Pattison, I can no longer afford these accommodations.” The admission stung his pride. “If I cannot afford this, how will I afford fifty percent of the most attractive retail space in Evanston?”

She scooted closer to the edge of the chair. “I have more patients than I can comfortably see. I’m hoping that by bringing a second dentist into my—no, I’ve misspoken. Separate businesses—” she waved a gloved hand, as if to erase her words—“same office.”

“Many of my former patients, I believe, now see you. They’ve made their choice.”

“Allow me to speak freely.” Her cheeks pinked, and for the first time, uncertainty flitted through her expressive eyes. “Women and their children have flocked to me, and that can be explained. My problem lies in the single men, of which this town has an excess—”

The picture came into sharp focus.

“—who assume familiarities. Their behavior has become wholly inappropriate, as they recline in the dental chair and I lean near.” She trembled. “As required of a dentist.”

His desire to protect her warred with his determination to protect himself.

She straightened her spine. “If we worked alongside one another, you might take some of those men as your patients. If they remain mine, I doubt they’ll make inappropriate remarks in your presence.”

Simpler solutions existed. “Why not hire a secretary with a firm hand to safeguard you? He’d prevent inappropriate behavior.”

“Why, indeed?” She held his eye for several long moments, and seemed to debate revealing more.

Had she endured something so significant that she’d invite more gossip?

She twisted her reticule cords. “I couldn’t find a single dentist in Los Angeles who would accept me as a partner in their practice. Or in San Francisco. Or Salt Lake City.”

Her pain pierced his conflicted heart.

“Nor would any, not even newcomers to our profession, consider working in the same building—keeping our accounts and businesses wholly apart.”

Precisely the arrangement she’d offered him.

Like so many others, he’d declined.

The awareness brought shame in wagon loads. “A man has his pride.”

“Perhaps. But you’re not like the others.”

Her compliment added to his guilt. Wouldn’t a gentleman have been quick to help, rather than hold fast to selfish reasons to keep his distance? “I believe I’m quite common.”

“You’re most uncommon, Dr. Merritt. I suspect I’ve discovered your motivation for providing a dental dispensary.”

“Oh? Let’s see how close you come to the truth.”

“You grew up in a mining town. You witnessed depravity and how few hours miners have outside their shifts, and determined to bring dentistry to them.”

True, he never charged for his services. Or materials. Or medicines.

“You’re partly correct.” He’d grown accustomed to hiding his past. Why did he want to confide in Dr. Pattison?

Cocooned as they were in his little storefront, the outside noises of passing wagons and a train whistle in the distance seemed muted.

She waited, curiosity lustrous in her eyes. She leaned nearer. “Oh?”

“I’m descended from a long line of coal miners, first in England, then in the United States.”

He’d disclosed less to Lenora, and she’d immediately silenced him.

Instead of disgust, Dr. Pattison nodded with certainty. “You help because you know.”

Partly. His reasons ran deep. “Dad enlisted, alongside every patriotic man in Penn. I was born while he fought for the Union.” Still, no balking. “He lost his dominant arm, but he returned to the mines after the war.”

“Your father is a fine man.”

“Was.”

She nodded. Gentleness filled her expression. “Please continue.”

How much did he trust Isabella Pattison?

“My mother worked herself into an early grave. She cleaned houses for the rich, gardened every inch of soil possible, took in laundry . . .”

Sweet understanding shone in her eyes.

No pity, or he’d have halted.

He leaned his elbows upon his knees and his face in his hands. “My brother was killed in a cave-in at age fourteen.” He managed to avoid emotion.

To acknowledge his heritage, and his brother, felt . . . freeing. Lenora hadn’t allowed him to remember with her.

In sharp contrast, Dr. Pattison waited, showing no glimmer of discomfort.

“Dad determined I’d make something of myself. He sent me to Philly to dental college, where I worked the docks every minute I wasn’t in lectures. I found a willing supporter or two. I repaid every dime.”

“Your dad?”

“Crushed by falling rock six months before commencement.”

One, two, three counts to the inhale. Slow exhale.

Years had passed. Would more time heal the pain?

Fabric rustled as she leaned nearer, bringing the scent of springtime and violets. Her hand settled on his shoulder and soothed. He hesitated to move, for fear she’d come to herself and pull away.

“Your father’s greatest wish was to free you from the mines. He succeeded.”

“Yes.” His voice cracked.

“I assumed wrong,” she said, after moments passed. “Your motivation for donating so much in Almy is far more honorable.”

He shrugged.

“Your work honors your parents’ and brother’s memory. They would be proud of you, Henry Merritt.” She whispered, her words intimate. “I am proud of you.”

Those five little words tiptoed past his defenses and settled dangerously close to his heart.

He’d needed the reminder. The story of who he’d been, where he’d come from, and all he’d overcome made him a man engulfed by acute loneliness. And a plan to ensure he’d fill that greatest desire in the right way, and at the right time.

Years ago, he’d made a grab for a real home and a place to belong. The try had ended badly. He’d come to understand that the best way to honor his parents’ sacrifice would be to ensure his own children were raised in a real home, with a mother who wasn’t forced to sacrifice everything . . .

Who but Isabella Pattison could have shown him the honor in his past?

Slowly, he scrubbed his eyes, relieved to find them dry, and sat back.

“Forgive my selfishness.” Her voice returned to normal volume. “I simply must insist. I need to work with you on Sundays in Almy, and I need you to work with me in Evanston.”

How could he refuse her, after all she’d confessed?

“As you provide transportation to Almy, I will pay our rent.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Consider it payment for your protection.”

“That’s absurd.”

Her expression hardened.

He far preferred her smiles, vivacious conversations, and secrets she told no one else.

“Forgive me, Dr. Pattison. I misspoke.”

Did he dare risk working beside this woman nearly every day of the week?

“No offense taken.” Her countenance filled his heart with light. “Come with me. I’m anxious to show you our new office.”

“I’m of the solid opinion,” Isabella stated, her tone ripe with aggravation, “that The Chieftain is not worth the paper it’s printed on.”

Henry looked up from sweeping the floor. Late afternoon sunlight streamed through the open, southwest facing windows, kissing her curls.

Sunshine burnished the gray-green of her costume into the hue of Pennsylvania, like home. The breeze teased her hair, bobbing it this way, then that.

Focus. On anything but Isabella’s person. Or Isabella and home in the same sentence.

Heat.

Windows.

Yes. See how quickly he’d interrupted the inappropriate train of thought.

Windows. Summertime.

They’d need blinds before the full heat of summer, or this upstairs location would be an oven. But the past two weeks since moving in, they’d enjoyed the pleasant breeze and springtime temperatures.

He opened a hand, silently asking for the paper.

She passed it over. For such a little thing, she was a bundle of energy. “That Thomas Fisher is a troublemaker. I swan, he stirs up sediment, with the express purpose of causing a sensation.”

“Well said.” He found the notice she referenced on page two. Dr. Pattison, Dr. Merritt Join Forces.

He skimmed the “news”—the fact they’d both removed their respective dental practices to this singular address.

Anyone with sufficient eyesight and the ability to read could’ve discovered this for themselves. Precise gold and black paint adorned second-story windows and a street-level door. Dr. H. M. Merritt, DDS, and Dr. I. M. Pattison, DDS. Modern & Painless Dentistry.

He skimmed Fisher’s article. Dr. Pattison and Dr. Merritt combined two dental practices into one.

Inaccurate and false. But not enough to upset her.

The next two paragraphs hinted at a long list of improprieties, unchaperoned as they were at moments such as this.

The accusations didn’t stop there. According to Fisher, they’d abandoned all decorum, discarded every rule, and caused a Wyoming-sized scandal.

The “news” of their indecent behavior stank of retaliation.

“You know the old adage, ‘Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.’ I fear I used flawed judgment. Again, I ask forgiveness.” Would he forever say and do the wrong thing around this woman? “If I’d not agreed to the interview, if I’d not pressured the man to retract—”

“Stop.” She seemed far more weary than angry. “No apology necessary.”

How could he not admire a woman who accepted apologies easily and seemed incapable of holding a grudge? The novelty endeared her to him.

Yet the angelic quality of ready forgiveness wasn’t the same thing as tolerating a fool.

“For the record,” he dropped the paper on her dental chair, “I never liked Fisher.”

He grabbed the broom and resumed sweeping, expecting Isabella to wear the topic to shreds. She had every right to be agitated. Some people believed everything The Chieftain printed.

“Neither have I.”

He braced for the storm.

She picked up the paper, folded it in half, and in half once again. Determination radiated from her posture and the set of her jaw.

Here it came.

“I’m pleased mornings remain chilly.” She pushed today’s Chieftain into the corner of the well-stocked kindling box. “Tomorrow morning, when I start the fire, Fisher’s gibberish will be reduced to ash.” She dusted her palms against each other. “Most rewarding.”

Surprise tickled through him. What? No long-winded rant? No hysterical bout of tears?

No, of course not. Why did he assume all lady dentists behaved like Lenora Baily?

He laughed in delight.

She winked.

From the moment she’d peeked beneath the canvas covering his wagon bed, she’d been one pleasant surprise after another. She’d exceeded his expectations in the best of ways.

What a remarkable woman. If Lenora had been like her . . .

“I’ll strike a bargain with you, Dr. Pattison.”

“Such as?”

“Let’s discredit Thomas Fisher by showing ourselves a capable team of professionals in our visits to Almy and by the way all townsfolk see us interact here.”

“Fine idea.”

“Whether we’re seen at meetings of the Council of City Professionals or taking fresh air as we circle the block, residents of Evanston will see nothing but utmost cooperation and decorum.”

She offered her hand to shake on it. “It’s a deal.”