Page 48 of Montana Lawman Rescuer
Doc considered her answer for a moment. “Unfortunately, I can’t give you anything to help you remember, but I can suggest a few things you can do.”
Jesse caught his breath and heard Emily do the same as they waited for Doc’s recommendations.
“First, realize your fears might be false. Our brains can do strange things to us. So can our hearts. The Bible says, ‘The heart is deceitful above all thingsand desperately wicked.’ In part, that means what we tell ourselves is not always true. Second, stop trying to remember. Go out, visit people, do fun things. Live as normal a life as you can. I believe doing so will make your brain relax. And last, but by far not least, trust the good Lord.” He came around the desk and patted Emily’s shoulder. “He has good things planned for you.”
Emily nodded. “I feel like that man in the Bible who said, ‘I do believe; help my unbelief.’”
“Keep praying that, and you’ll do just fine.”
“Will my memory ever return?” she asked.
“I can’t say. But I know you can’t wish it back or force it back.” He patted her shoulder again.
She slowly got to her feet. “Thank you, Doctor.”
“I wish I could be of more help.”
Jesse led the way out of the doctor’s office. They fell in side by side. He guessed she was as unsettled by the doctor’s words as he. Trusting God wasn’t always easy. And relaxing when it was the last thing one wanted to do was nigh unto impossible. He decided right then and there that it was up to him to help her do both.
“Do you want to see my office?” he asked, suspecting she wasn’t ready to return to the house.
“I’d like that.” They passed the schoolhouse, now silent as the children spent the summer with their parents, helping withfarmwork and gardening and tending younger siblings. They reached the town square.
“It was Grandfather Marshall’s idea to have a little park in the center of town, a place that invited friends and neighbors to exchange greetings and visit for a bit.” The benches and flowers added to the inviting atmosphere.
Emily glanced around. “It’s a nice place.”
He understood her distraction. They angled across the street to his office, which was next to one corner of the park. He occasionally sat a spell on the bench closest to his office to watch the activities of the town. From his open window, he could enjoy the scent of the flowers.
He held the door and let her precede him into his domain.
She circled the small room and paused to examine the likenesses on the wanted posters. “I wish I’d seen their faces.”
He knew she meant the men who’d held up the stagecoach.
She continued on to the small cell. “This get used often?”
“Oftenis a relative term. It would suit me fine if it never got used.”
She looked at the rifles racked on the wall and came full circle to face him.
He leaned on the front of the desk. “What do you want to do for fun?”
The way she blinked, he knew she hadn’t taken the doctor’s orders to heart. A teasing light flashed through her eyes.
“Perhaps I could challenge someone to a horse race.”
He eyed her. “Do you ride?”
She shrugged. “If I don’t, there’s no time like the present to learn.” The teasing ended abruptly. “I hoped he could fix me.” She flung away to press her forehead against the front window.
While she sorted her thoughts, he went through the unopened mail on his desk, looking for anything concerningEmily and Mikey. He found nothing and shoved aside the mail to deal with later.
“Would you like to come with me to find Clarence? I have an errand for him.”
She looked ready to say yes, then shook her head. “Do you mind if I stay here a few minutes? I need to think about what I’m going to do.”
He didn’t like to leave her and certainly didn’t want her wandering about on her own. “On the condition you stay here until I get back.”
