All Roads Lead Home
All Roads Lead Home
Christine Johnson
She Broke His Heart.Now She Needs His Help. Hendrick Simmons despises her. Mariah Meeks doesn’t blame him—not after she rejected the handsome mechanic’s proposal two years ago. She’s certain she’s not meant for marriage. All Mariah’s energy goes to one purpose—her work as an agent of the Orphaned Children’s Society.Now a prodigal father’s return threatens a boy under Mariah’s care. Mariah insists on approving the lad’s future home for herself, even though it requires a cross-country drive that’s too dangerous to take on her own. For the child’s sake, Hendrick agrees to join her. Can a journey of 2,000 miles bridge the distance between them… and reveal where Mariah truly belongs?
She broke his heart. Now she needs his help.
Hendrick Simmons despises her. Mariah Meeks doesn’t blame him—not after she rejected the handsome mechanic’s proposal two years ago. She’s certain she’s not meant for marriage. All Mariah’s energy goes to one purpose—her work as an agent of the Orphaned Children’s Society.
Now a prodigal father’s return threatens a boy under Mariah’s care. Mariah insists on approving the lad’s future home for herself, even though it requires a cross-country drive that’s too dangerous to take on her own. For the child’s sake, Hendrick agrees to join her. Can a journey of 2,000 miles bridge the distance between them…and reveal where Mariah truly belongs?
“We can’t relive the past. Do you understand that?”
Hendrick set his jaw. “I’m not asking to go back in time, Mariah. I’m talking about getting you safely to Montana so you can help Luke.”
She breathed deep, squared her shoulders and turned to face him. “I owe you an explanation, about last time. Why I left. I shouldn’t have run off.”
He couldn’t agree more, but he had the sense not to say that. Instead, he waited for her.
“It’s my work,” she finally said. “Helping the orphans is my calling. I couldn’t leave them. I’ll never stop helping them. Please understand. It’s not that I don’t care for you. You’re a wonderful…friend.”
Did he imagine that hesitation? Hope crept into his heart.
She shook her head, as if she knew what he was thinking. “It wouldn’t work. If we’re going to survive this trip to Montana, you need to understand that there can’t be anything between us beyond friendship. Ever.”
The sliver of hope turned to cold steel.
CHRISTINE JOHNSON
is a small-town Michigan girl who has lived in every corner of the state’s Lower Peninsula. After trying her hand at music and art, she returned to her first love—story. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in library studies from the University of Michigan. She feels blessed to write for Love Inspired and is thrilled to be twice named a finalist for Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® award. When not at the computer keyboard, she loves to hike and explore God’s majestic creation with the love of her life, her husband. She participates in her church’s healing prayer ministry and has experienced firsthand the power of prayer. These days, she and her husband, a Great Lakes ship pilot, split their time between northern Michigan and the Florida Keys.
All Roads Lead Home
Christine Johnson
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Love Inspired!
2012 is a very special year for us. It marks the fifteenth anniversary of Love Inspired Books. Hard to believe that fifteen years ago, we first began publishing our warm and wonderful inspirational romances.
Back in 1997, we offered readers three books a month. Since then we’ve expanded quite a bit! In addition to the heartwarming contemporary romances of Love Inspired, we have the exciting romantic suspenses of Love Inspired Suspense, and the adventurous historical romances of Love Inspired Historical. Whatever your reading preference, we’ve got fourteen books a month for you to choose from now!
Throughout the year we’ll be celebrating in several different ways. Look for books by bestselling authors who’ve been writing for us since the beginning, stories by brand-new authors you won’t want to miss, special miniseries in all three lines, reissues of top authors, and much, much more.
This is our way of thanking you for reading Love Inspired books. We know our uplifting stories of hope, faith and love touch your hearts as much as they touch ours.
Join us in celebrating fifteen amazing years of inspirational romance!
Blessings,
Melissa Endlich and Tina James
Senior Editors of Love Inspired Books
To Jenna and Kathy
This long journey has been all the more worthwhile because of you.
Special thanks to the Love Inspired editors, especially Emily Rodmell, whose guidance has been invaluable.
You’re the best!
* * *
For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; For man looketh on the outward appearance, But the Lord looketh on the heart.
—1 Samuel 16:7
Contents
Chapter One (#uc5edfefd-8643-50e5-944a-b1c48447a09f)
Chapter Two (#ud453ccf3-2f4d-59a3-99a7-e5d23987de5f)
Chapter Three (#uc8586789-ebb9-5709-8411-f31f50fcddbf)
Chapter Four (#u6a1d1d01-f231-54de-886a-69a67be8f8f5)
Chapter Five (#u6e83f250-13e9-5814-84e0-296ed09b7203)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Dear Reader (#litres_trial_promo)
Questions for Discussion (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
Pearlman, Michigan
July 1922
“Don’t die here,” Mariah pleaded.
But her motorcar threatened to do just that as it coughed and slowed to a crawl. She depressed the accelerator to the floor, and the car lurched forward a few feet before slowing again.
“Just one more block.” She gripped the wheel and as an afterthought added, “Please.”
Mariah Meeks, agent for the Orphaned Children’s Society of New York, didn’t ordinarily talk to automobiles, but she had to get to her brother’s church before he left for the day, and she had to do so without anyone noticing she’d returned to Pearlman. That mission died along with her car in the worst possible place—at Simmons Motor Garage.
As the car rolled to an ignoble stop, her pulse rocketed. Had Hendrick seen her? Surely he had. She hazarded a glance at the gleaming whitewashed garage, but no one had come out yet. Maybe he was still angry at her. Her brother Gabe said Hendrick hadn’t dated anyone since she left town two Octobers ago.
Her fingers curled around the wheel. Hendrick Simmons. Did he look the same? The same strong loping stride, the same warm brown eyes, the same lock of hair across his brow that she’d always wanted to push away? Her palms sweated. She couldn’t breathe. Memories swirled like a summer cyclone.
She tugged at a lock of her dark, springy hair, resisting the urge to tuck it into her mouth. What a mess she’d made of things that October. Her brother Gabe’s wedding was supposed to be a joyous time. But then she’d caught the bouquet by accident and saw the look on Hendrick’s face. Hope. Desire. Love? But they could never be more than friends. She’d panicked, had left town the next day without telling him why she could never marry. Coward.
He must despise her.
He wouldn’t want to fix her car. She tried and tried to restart it, but the engine simply wouldn’t turn over. What would she do? She could walk to her brother’s church, but she had to have a car to get to Montana. A child’s future depended on her getting there soon, and the trains weren’t running, thanks to the nationwide rail strike.
Why, God? She looked to the heavens, but He didn’t answer.
Gabe would know what to do. Her brother would figure out a way to get her to Montana. She plopped the stifling rolled-brim hat on her head and gathered her handbag.
“Miss Mariah?”
She jumped so high she crushed the crown of her hat on the roof.
“Peter,” she gasped at the sight of the grinning teenage boy. “You’ve grown.”
The orphan had always been a beanpole, but he must have shot up six inches in the two years since the Society placed him with the Simmons family.
“Yes’m, almost a foot,” he said with obvious pride.
She squinted. What was that? A few straggling hairs on his upper lip? She rapidly calculated his age. Goodness, he must be nearly seventeen now.
“What brings you to town?” he asked. “I ain’t seen you practically since I come to Pearlman.”
She stifled the urge to correct his grammar. “I’m just here for a brief visit.” She started to open her door, but Peter finished the job and helped her from the car. Clearly, Mrs. Simmons had taught him manners. Judging by his broad grin, he was happy, exactly what she hoped to ensure for all the children she placed—especially Luke, the foster boy her brother Gabe had taken in. That was why she had to talk to Gabe right now. That’s why she needed to get to Montana.
She glanced again at the garage. Still no Hendrick. “Are you helping Mr. Simmons at the garage?”
“More’n that. Mr. Hendrick taught me everything about engines. I’m practically running the place now.”
“Running it?” She frowned. “Just for the summer, correct? You still plan to finish high school.”
“Yes’m, but Mr. Hendrick’s so busy at the airfield that he lets me take over here.”
The airfield. Of course. She breathed a sigh of relief. That explained why he hadn’t come out to greet her. Hendrick had worked on Jack Hunter’s aeroplanes from the moment Jack landed in Pearlman. According to Gabe, the two were collaborating to build bigger and better engines for a foolhardy attempt at flying to the North Pole.
“I’m sure he’d wanna see ya,” Peter said. “He’ll be back anytime now.”
Then she must hurry. She darted a glance down the street in the direction of the airfield. No one in sight yet. “Thank you, Peter, but I need to see my brother. Will you look after my car? I think it’s burnt a valve.”
“I’ll take good care of her, Miss Mariah.” He tipped a finger to his grimy cap.
“Thank you, Peter. If you need to reach me, I’ll be at the church for an hour or so and then at the parsonage.”
He knew that, of course. In tiny Pearlman, everyone knew where everyone stayed, who their relations were and what they were doing. Everyone in town doubtless already knew she was here. Her reappearance would make tongues wag with speculation that the romance between Hendrick and her was back on.
They could talk all they wanted. Romance was out of the question. In fact, she didn’t even need to see Hendrick. She’d ask Gabe to talk to him about fixing her car. Hendrick wouldn’t be able to refuse his pastor.
She squared her shoulders, quite pleased with her solution, and hurried toward her brother’s church, intent on defusing a much more pressing crisis.
The heavy twin-engine plane landed without a hitch and lumbered down the runway.
“Sounds good,” Hendrick Simmons said with relief. He’d never understand why Jack Hunter, the plane’s owner, allowed his wife to fly test flights. Hendrick would never let his wife face that kind of danger. If he ever got a wife, which hardly seemed likely after Mariah made it clear they could never be more than friends. For now, he was married to his work. He’d developed the high horsepower, air-cooled engines Hunter needed for his new plane.
“Your engines sound better than good.” The suave aviator followed the plane’s progress down the graded runway. “They’ll take Darcy and me to the North Pole.”
Hendrick scowled. “You’re taking Darcy? After what happened on your transatlantic attempt, I’d think you’d want to stick with the flight school.”
Jack Hunter didn’t look fazed by the reminder of the failed flight. “Darcy wouldn’t have it any other way. You know her.”
Hendrick did know Jack’s wife, Darcy. They’d been friends since childhood. “I wouldn’t want my wife doing something that dangerous.”
Jack laughed. “Wait until you meet the right woman. She’ll change your mind. You’ll do anything to make her happy.”
“Even risk her life?” Hendrick shook his head. “No woman is going to change my mind. I’m looking for someone nice and quiet. The headstrong ones are too much trouble.”
“That they are, but worth every minute. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Darcy.”
“Do you ever miss being a test pilot for Curtiss Aeroplane and living the bachelor life?”
Hunter shook his head. “Not for one second. And after this flight, we’re going to start a family.” He looked wistfully toward the plane’s cockpit, where his wife sat.
Hendrick swallowed hard. Darcy was his age, Jack only a little older. “I’d sure like that someday.”
Hunter clapped Hendrick on the shoulder. “Keep the faith, pal. There’s someone out there for you.”
Mariah. Only, she didn’t want him. And he couldn’t see marrying anyone else in Pearlman. Hendrick squinted into the afternoon sun. “Lately I’ve been thinking I need to get away from Pearlman, try my hand at something else.”
“Is that so?” Hunter patted the pockets of his leather jacket. “Then I might have just the opportunity for you.” He pulled out a letter, folded and refolded until the seams had worn thin. “Remember Dick Burrows from Curtiss Aeroplane?”
How could he forget? Burrows used to be Jack’s mechanic out East, and he’d inspected every repair Hendrick had made to Jack’s plane two years ago. The arrogant aeronautical engineer thought he knew everything there was to know about engines, but he couldn’t find a single thing wrong with Hendrick’s work.
“He’s still with Curtiss,” Jack said. “A while back he wrote asking if I knew anyone working on air-cooled engines. It looks like Wright Aeronautical might get Lawrance’s air-cooled radial motor, and Curtiss wants to build something to rival them, something like your engine.”
“My engine?” Excitement bolted through Hendrick. A big-time aviation company wanted his invention to battle their rivals at Wright Aeronautical. They wanted him. He wouldn’t be a lowly mechanic anymore. He’d be an aeronautical engineer. He swallowed and tried to sound calm. “What’re they offering?”
Jack shrugged. “You’ll have to talk to them. I can cable Burrows to set up an appointment. You’ll need to bring some sketches of your engine to Garden City and explain how it works.”
“Garden City’s in New York?” Hendrick vaguely recalled Jack came from there.
“Yep. Long Island.”
Long Island, New York. Hendrick had never left Pearlman. He’d never had that chance. After Pa’s death, he’d supported his mother and kid sister and come to the conclusion that dreams belonged to other men. He’d put his on hold. Maybe now he could dare to try something new. His sister was out of high school, and he’d earn enough at Curtiss to support the family. Real wages, not the ups and downs of running a small-town business.
Hunter was grinning. “Pretty near someone you know.”
Mariah. Hendrick’s gut knotted up. Like Burrows, it was clear that she thought he was beneath her. Oh, she’d picnicked with him and joined him at church suppers, but when it came to anything serious, he wasn’t good enough. She didn’t say it right out, but that had to be the reason she’d snubbed him. She was wealthy and college-educated. He was just a mechanic. Well, he’d show her he was much more than that. His engine would bring fame and fortune, enough to impress anyone, even Mariah Meeks. He’d show her exactly what she’d missed out on.
“Send the cable,” he said. “Let Burrows know I’m interested.”
“Will do.” Jack grinned as his wife climbed out of the cockpit. “Gotta run, pal.”
Hendrick nodded and watched Hunter hurry across the airfield. Darcy raced toward him, arms opened wide. Their embrace and the way he swung her in a circle tore Hendrick to pieces. Everyone his age was getting married and having children. He wanted a family so bad it hurt.
He couldn’t stand to watch any longer so he hopped on his motorbike and tore toward town in a cloud of dust. The wind against his face made him feel free. No responsibilities. No worries. No business to run or family to support. And most of all, for one moment, he could forget the aching emptiness.
Then he saw it: a green-and-black automobile parked beside his garage. He pulled his motorbike to a stop alongside the Overland. That knot in his gut wrenched tighter. It couldn’t be. But even before he saw her gloves on the front seat, he knew the car was hers.
Mariah was back.
News travels fast in small towns. Gabe met Mariah before she reached the church. Her little brother looked the same, perhaps a bit filled out in the midsection, but his dark curls still flopped wildly and he still disdained a suit jacket in the summer. Neither the ministry nor marriage had changed him one bit.
“Sis.” He enveloped her in a big hug. “Heard you were in town. What brings you here?”
She squeezed tightly, relishing this last moment before she broke the bad news. “I missed you, little brother.”
“Then you shouldn’t have stayed away so long.” He stepped away and assessed her. “You should have let us know you were coming. Felicity will blame me for not telling her in time to set up the guestroom.”
“I’m sorry for being so thoughtless.” Mariah brushed the dirt from her duster. “I don’t want to put you out, especially with Felicity so close to her due date. I’ll stay at Terchie’s.”
Naturally he refused to let her stay in a boardinghouse. “We have five extra rooms. You’re staying with us. Did you leave your car there?”
She crossed her arms, pretending to be vexed at his assumption. “How do you know I drove?”
He shook his head. “Even if the trains were running, you’d drive that car of yours.” He glanced up and down the street. “Where is it?”
“At the garage,” she admitted.
“The garage?” he snorted, unable to hide his mirth. “How’s Hendrick?”
“I didn’t see him. Peter looked happy, though. He’s grown so tall, and I think I saw the beginnings of a mustache.”
Gabe chuckled. “Luke asks every day when his will start to grow. They’re good friends, you see. I have to give Peter credit for letting a ten-year-old hang around him so much.”
Mariah’s heart ached at Gabe’s words. Two years ago Mariah had facilitated the placement of five Society orphans in Pearlman. Peter and Luke had been the last chosen and had apparently formed a deep bond from that day forward. Normally that would be good, but it would also make any separation that much harder. She sucked in a shuddering breath.
Gabe’s brow creased. “You still haven’t told me why you’re here. Mom is coming in two weeks. You could have joined her if you wanted to be here when the baby’s born.” He drew a sharp breath. “It’s business, isn’t it? I didn’t think the Society sent agents on follow-up anymore, especially when the reports are all good.”
She swallowed hard. “It is Society business, in a way.” But she couldn’t say more because one Pearlman matron after another stopped to greet her. This was not the place to tell him the bad news. When she had a moment’s break from the greetings, she asked if they might talk in private.
He nodded. “Let’s go to the church. Florabelle will be gone by now.”
Mariah was relieved to hear that. The church secretary was notorious for her gossiping, and this was the sort of news that Florabelle would love to spread.
Gabe extended an arm, always the gentleman, but she preferred to walk on her own. He set an easy pace. They were of a similar middling height, their strides equal. It wasn’t like walking with Hendrick. He’d always had to slow down to match her shorter stride.
After a dozen more greetings, they were alone again on the sidewalk. Gabe buried his hands in his pockets, brow furrowed, looking very much like a little boy. She wished she could reassure him, but her news would only bring more worry.
“Lovely day,” she said to break the tension.
He mumbled a reply but didn’t look up until they reached the church, its solid oaken door darkened from all the hands that had touched it through the years. She reached for the handle, but Gabe stopped her hand.
“Is this about Luke?” he whispered.
She couldn’t answer. Not yet. “Let’s go inside.”
He nodded and pulled open the door. “Whatever it is, God will see us through.”
She wished she had that much confidence. Until now, she thought she’d placed total reliance on the Lord, but this news had shaken her. It would devastate Gabe.
Once they’d settled into their respective chairs, Gabe behind his desk and Mariah taking the seat opposite him, he waited expectantly, hands clenched, as if clinging to his new family.
Mariah blinked back tears and tried to dislodge the lump in her throat. The last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt her beloved little brother. She’d always looked after him, mothered him. Then two years ago, he came to Pearlman for his first pastoral appointment and fell in love with Felicity. Their romance had been rocky, for she barely gave him the time of day at first, but Felicity had a tender soul, and Gabe was one of the few people who saw it.
Shortly after, Mariah arrived to arrange the placement of five orphans into foster homes. All had been snapped up except Luke, whose darker coloring challenged deeply rooted prejudice. Gabe took in the traumatized little boy, and Mariah raised him for three months until Gabe and Felicity married. In that time she lost her heart to the little boy, and that’s what made this news so difficult to bear.
She squeezed her hands together to stop the shaking and took a deep breath. “There’s a little problem concerning Luke.”
Gabe frowned. “We haven’t gotten far in the adoption process. I thought that was due to the paperwork and investigations. Have you heard something else?” He leaned forward. “I’ll do anything to make Luke my legal son.”
“It’s not about the adoption.”
“Then what is it?”
She fought the bile rising in her throat. How she wished she didn’t have to tell him this, but there was no way around it. “Luke’s father has returned.” The words fell between them like stones. “He wants Luke back.”
All the life went out of Gabe. “His father?”
She tried to temper the pain. “Perhaps I should say that a man who claims to be Luke’s father wants him back.”
“Claims?” Gabe pressed his hands against the top of the desk. “Is he Luke’s father or not?”
“That’s what I intend to find out, and that’s why I have to go to Montana.”
“Montana? What on earth does Montana have to do with this?”
“The man who says he’s Luke’s father lives in Montana.”
Gabe paused, processing what she was trying to tell him. “Why do you think he isn’t who he says he is?”
She traced the wood grain of the chair’s arm with her fingernail. “His name doesn’t quite match the records. The old Detroit office listed the father as Francesco Guillardo. The man says he’s Frank Gillard. He claims he anglicized his name.”
He sat back heavily. “People do change their names to avoid prejudice. Remember how Luke was received when people heard his full name was Luciano?”
She nodded. How could she forget the gasps of shock, the slurs against the boy’s dark skin?
Gabe’s long sigh weighed heavily on the hot summer air. “Where in Montana?”
“The western part. A town called Brunley.”
He stared off into space. “So far.”
Mariah ached for him, for Felicity and even for herself. During those three months she’d stayed with Luke, she’d spent every moment of the day with him, had heard his first words, had wiped his tears after the nightmares. Luke was the closest she would ever get to having a son. “I won’t let Frank Gillard take him.”
“Mariah! That’s kidnapping.”
“Is that any worse than abandoning a child?” She stood, too agitated to sit. “That’s what Luke’s father did two-and-a-half years ago. And whatever happened before they got to the asylum made Luke so afraid of his father that he stopped talking. I’m not about to let that man touch him.”
Gabe frowned. “You’re making a lot of assumptions.”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t come to the same conclusion.”
“That he was abandoned, yes. That’s on the record, but you don’t know what made Luke stop talking.”
She held his gaze. “Did Luke ever tell you anything about that time?”
Gabe shook his head. “He got so upset any time I tried to talk about his parents that I stopped trying. I figured he’d be ours soon, and it wouldn’t matter.”
“Do we dare ask him again?”
He shook his head. “He can’t know a thing. Promise me you won’t say a word.”
“If you promise to fight.” She felt the hot tears rise. “We’ll find a way to keep Luke here. We have to.”
He stared into space a long time, thinking. At last he hit on something. “Didn’t Frank Gillard sign away his parental rights when he left Luke at the orphanage? That is the usual procedure.”
Mariah squirmed under the horrible truth. “The termination-of-rights paperwork wasn’t done correctly. The agent must have mixed up Luke’s paperwork with someone else’s because the signature doesn’t match the name. Instead of Francesco Guillardo or even Frank Gillard, it’s signed Desmond Corliss.”
“What?” Gabe shook his head in bewilderment. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know.” She bit her lip. Mistakes seldom happened, and, when they did, they hadn’t mattered. Until now.
He strode back to the desk. “Show it to me.”
She drew the papers from her handbag and laid them on the desk. He pulled them close and sat down, jaw taut as he scanned the pages.
After agonizing minutes, he raised hopeless eyes to her. “You’re right.”
She couldn’t stand to see his despair. “I’m going to do everything in my power to stop him. Everything.”
“How?” His voice sounded hollow. Defeated. “We have no proof of wrongdoing other than a child’s refusal to talk. That could mean anything, and in a court’s eyes, it’s useless. You know as well as I that the birth parents have every right to reclaim their children, as long as they haven’t signed that right away. We have no way to stop this man from taking Luke.”
She couldn’t allow it. She wasn’t going to let Gabe or Luke down. “I’m going to Montana, and I’ll get Mr. Gillard to sign new termination-of-rights papers.” She pressed her hand over his. “I promise you I will not rest until Luke is safe.”
Gabe slowly shook his head. “I don’t see how you can convince a man who has already asked for his son to sign away his parental rights. I wouldn’t sign them if I were in his shoes.”
“That’s you. You’re a good, loving father. You would never have abandoned Luke in the first place. Frank Gillard is another matter. Something’s not right about this, Gabe, and I intend to find out what it is. Come with me. Together we can find a way to save Luke.”
He sank back in his chair. “I can’t go to Montana. Felicity—” He rubbed his eyes to hide the tears, but he couldn’t hide the quiver in his voice. “She doesn’t want anyone to know, but the pregnancy has been difficult. She started bleeding last week. It stopped, but—”
Mariah gasped and pressed a hand to her mouth.
Gabe stared off into space. “Doc Stevens wants her to carry the baby as long as possible. I’m supposed to ensure that nothing upsets her. Hearing this would be the worst thing for her and the baby. If I left with you, she’d know something was afoot.” He turned worried eyes on her. “Promise you won’t say a word.”
Mariah nodded. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Did you plan to take Luke with you?”
She shook her head. “Of course not.” She gripped her brother’s hand. “It’ll turn out all right, Gabe. I promise.”
He smiled weakly. “First you have to get to Montana. The trains aren’t running right now, but you’re welcome to stay until they are.”
She didn’t have the luxury of waiting. “I’m driving my car.”
“Your car?” he said incredulously. “The one that’s broken down?”
She nodded.
“By yourself? That must be two thousand miles. You can’t drive that far alone.”
She would not be dissuaded. “I will do whatever it takes to stop that man from uprooting Luke.”
Gabe shook his head, signaling he knew when he was defeated—and when his goal matched hers. “I don’t know how you’re going to manage.”
“With God’s help.”
He let one corner of his mouth lift, just for an instant. “Promise me you’ll take someone with you, preferably a mechanic.”
She knew exactly whom he had in mind. “Gabriel John, you know full well that I can’t travel two thousand miles with a man who’s not a relative. I will drive to Montana myself.” She whisked the papers into her bag and left his office.
He followed on her heels. “Then take a woman along, but don’t go alone.”
Her hand stilled on the door handle. A woman might be acceptable. “I’d love to bring a female mechanic. Whom do you suggest?”
He didn’t answer, of course. He had no more idea than she did.
“Just what I thought.” She yanked open the door and stepped into none other than Hendrick Simmons.
With a gasp, she jerked backward, losing her balance. Hendrick steadied her with a hand to her shoulder, and the touch sent electricity zinging to her toes. No, no, no. It couldn’t be. The time apart was supposed to erase those crazy feelings.
He quickly pulled his hand away, and she retreated a step to recover her senses.
“Miss Meeks,” he said dryly, the tone telling her he was just as unhappy to see her.
She swallowed hard, but the pain wouldn’t go away. “What are you doing here?”
He lifted her valise. “Bringing your luggage.” But instead of handing it to her, he set it down while his gaze drifted to her face.
She gulped when his warm brown eyes met hers. Why did he still affect her so? His commanding height took her breath away. The sculpted features and strong jaw made her heart flutter. His brown hair curled just a bit at the temple, and she had to resist raising a hand to brush that one stray lock off his brow.
“Hendrick.” Gabe ducked around her. “It’s good to see you.”
Hendrick ripped his gaze away from her. “You, too, Pastor.” He pointed to the valise. “Well, I’ve delivered your sister’s bag, so I’ll be going.”
Mariah couldn’t help noticing that Hendrick’s speech was more polished and that he’d worn his Sunday-best shirt and trousers. Odd. Peter said he’d been working on Jack Hunter’s aeroplane engines.
Gabe cornered Hendrick on the edge of the church steps. Though her brother couldn’t drape an arm around the taller man’s shoulders, he didn’t hesitate to leverage Hendrick by the elbow. “I’ve got a project I’d like to discuss with you. Why don’t you come to supper at the parsonage tonight?” He briefly glanced her way. “Bring your sister along.”
“Gabe,” Mariah warned. She knew exactly what he was up to, and it was not going to work. Under no circumstances would she drive to Montana with Hendrick Simmons.
“I, um.” Hendrick looked from Gabe to her with obvious discomfort. “Supper?”
“And your mother, too. Bring everyone,” Gabe added a bit too cheerfully.
The whole Simmons clan? What was her brother up to? He couldn’t suggest that Hendrick travel to Montana with her in front of his mother and sister—not to mention Felicity. There’d be too many questions. But to all appearances, that was exactly what he planned to do. Mariah folded her arms and tapped her foot. She couldn’t be any clearer that this was a bad idea, but Hendrick actually looked like he was considering the invitation. She had to put a stop to this crazy idea right now.
“I don’t think Mr. Simmons would care to dine with us tonight,” she stated. There, she’d given him a way out. Alas, her effort produced the opposite effect.
With a look of defiance, Hendrick turned to Gabe. “I’ll be there.”
Chapter Two
What had he been thinking? Hendrick sure didn’t want to spend the evening with Mariah, but she’d goaded him into accepting the pastor’s invitation when she said he wouldn’t want to come. No one told Hendrick Simmons what he did or didn’t want.
Her jaw had dropped, and that made him feel good for a moment, but then she’d clapped her mouth shut and shot a glare at her brother. She did not want to see him, even for a couple of hours. The realization hurt as much as it had a year and a half ago.
Still, even though he knew it would only hurt more, he couldn’t stop looking at her. That wild mossy scent hung about her, not exactly perfume, just entirely her. The curly dark hair, the way her hazel eyes turned greenish in the sunlight and the determined tilt of her chin still turned him inside out. He couldn’t look away.
“Everything’s settled, then,” said Pastor Gabriel. “I’d better get home to tell Felicity we’re having guests, or there’ll be trouble.”
Mariah didn’t say a thing, but judging by the set of her mouth, she wasn’t pleased.
Gabriel pointed to Mariah’s valise. “That your bag, sis? I’ll take it so you can stay to chat with Hendrick.”
“Why on earth would we need to chat?”
Pastor Gabriel picked up her bag. “Oh, something about your broken car.”
She wrestled the valise from her brother. “I can carry my own luggage.” She added a glare at Hendrick, as if he somehow had finagled this invitation. “How long will it take to fix my car? I have important business that can’t be delayed.”
“Me, too,” Hendrick countered with equal vigor. “It’s not like I don’t have important things to do.” Like a future with Curtiss Aeroplane.
A flicker of worry crossed her face, and her voice softened. “But you can fix it? I—I don’t have much time.”
The hint of vulnerability almost made him feel bad for her. Almost. But any sympathy passed the moment she offered to pay extra for speedy repairs.
She had to bring up money. She knew he could never compete with her there. The Meekses were wealthy New Yorkers at the top of society. They hobnobbed with Astors and Vanderbilts. They attended the opera and ballet. He could afford only one good suit and shirt, a shirt that needed pressing if he was to look respectable tonight.
“I won’t charge one dime more than I’d charge anyone else. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready for dinner.” He tipped his cap and retreated down the church steps. His sole consolation was the glint of terror that crossed her face when he mentioned supper. At least this meal was going to be as painful for her as it would be for him.
Mariah was going to kill Gabe.
She sat on the bed in one of the parsonage’s guestrooms and yanked a comb through her knotted hair, trying to get it into a semblance of order. The dust and wind on the drive had left it a mess, and there was no time to wash it. She’d changed her gown, but the hair would have to do.
Why she should care was beyond her. Hendrick Simmons shouldn’t mean anything to her anymore, but the man still somehow sent her calm, stable world spinning out of control. Even though he despised her.
To be honest, she deserved it after the way she’d treated him. She owed him more of an explanation, and she’d give it, but not at dinner. Above all, she couldn’t upset Felicity. Gabe had made that clear.
So why had he invited the Simmons family? The stress of hosting a dinner party couldn’t help Felicity’s nerves, but when Mariah insisted on cooking, Felicity had coyly informed her that Gabe had hired a housekeeper. Mariah never thought she’d see the day when her brother hired help. For years, he’d decried their family’s social status and insisted on living without the trappings of wealth. That’s why he’d accepted the pastorate in small town Pearlman. Hiring help must have wounded his pride. Thankfully Felicity had talked some sense into him.
“Luke’s home,” Felicity called up the stairs.
Mariah smoothed her wrinkled skirt, though the boy wouldn’t care one bit what she looked like. Little Luke had spent the day with the Highbottoms, who had a farm and five very energetic children, including one of the orphans Mariah had brought here. After all that running around, he’d be tired and cranky.
She rose and set the comb on the vanity. Would he remember her? She’d never forget their three months together, but he’d been so young, a terrified little boy who would only speak to Gabe’s dog.
Mariah dabbed away a tear with her handkerchief. This emotion was silly. She had to put on a cheerful face for Luke. He couldn’t suspect that danger lurked in his future.
Before descending, she offered up a prayer, asking the Lord to watch over and protect Luke. As always, prayer calmed her. Somehow God would see this through. He always did.
She took one last glance in the mirror and headed downstairs. Before she reached the bottom step, a war whoop rang out from the kitchen, and the door banged open as Luke barreled into the living room.
“Aunt Mariah, Aunt Mariah.” Dressed like a member of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show with his child-size Indian headdress, he jumped up and down, waving his toy tomahawk. “I’m Geronimo.”
“I see that. And what a fierce chief you are,” she said as she gave the boy a hug.
He submitted for a few seconds, but quickly squirmed free, and she had to remember that he was ten now and too old for hugging and kissing.
“My, you’ve grown tall,” she said.
“Five whole inches just this year,” he confirmed proudly. “Daddy says it’s the most anyone in the family ever grew in half a year.”
Oh, dear. He called Gabe Daddy. That would make the transition harder if she failed.
She forced a smile. “I’m sure he’s right.”
“It’s time to change your clothes for dinner,” Felicity urged, pointing Luke toward the stairs. “Neither Geronimo nor Buffalo Bill are invited tonight. And do wash off the war paint.”
“Aw, Mom,” Luke protested.
Arguing with a child couldn’t be good for Felicity. Mariah motioned Felicity to sit down while she addressed Luke at eye level. “It’s a special pow-wow tonight, and Geronimo will want to look his best.”
His eyes lit up. “A pow-wow?”
She nodded.
Convinced, he tromped off to his room to change.
“You’re good with children,” Felicity said after Mariah sat beside her. “One day you’ll have some of your own.”
Mariah couldn’t tell Felicity that was beyond even prayer, and she certainly didn’t want to discuss it, so she diverted the conversation. “Luke is doing so well.”
“He gets a little more independent every day.” Felicity sighed. “And he’s so bright, especially with his letters. He’s reading Tom Sawyer all by himself.”
“How does he feel about getting a new brother or sister?”
Felicity smiled softly and rubbed her large belly. “I’m not sure he understands, but he trusts us.” She laughed. “He thinks we’re going to pick one out, like at the store.”
Mariah chuckled, though part of her ached.
“I can’t wait for the adoption to come through. Then we’ll be a whole family, the way it was meant to be. And I owe it all to you.” She squeezed Mariah’s hand.
“Me?” Mariah tried to hide her alarm behind a smile.
“Yes, you’re the one who brought Luke here. You’re the one who showered him with love. He wouldn’t be the wonderful little boy he is today without you. I’m so glad you decided to visit.”
Mariah felt sick. What if she failed? What if Frank Gillard took Luke away from this safe and loving home into a life of terror? She couldn’t live with herself.
“Mariah?” Felicity looked concerned. “Are you all right? You look pale.”
“I’m fine,” Mariah assured her. “Just a bit tired after the drive. I think I’ll go outside and get some fresh air.”
She hurried onto the porch and tried to shut the door on the tangle of her emotions. Tears wouldn’t help Luke. Neither would worry. She needed to act, and quickly, but Gabe was right. She needed someone to go with her to Montana. It just couldn’t be Hendrick Simmons.
Lord, send courage. And a good mechanic.
After the awkwardness with Hendrick at the church, Mariah should have realized that dinner would be no better. Normally, she had nerves of steel, but tonight her stomach tumbled and rolled. She tried not to look at him, but that could hardly be avoided since Felicity had placed him directly across the table from her. His sister Anna’s presence did little to alleviate the tension. Their mother had declined the invitation, which removed only one matchmaker from the mix. Gabe and Felicity kept the conversation centered on Hendrick.
“I understand you’ve developed a new aeroplane motor for Jack Hunter,” Felicity said pleasantly. “Isn’t that wonderful?”
Though her remark was directed toward Hendrick, her smile was meant for Mariah. No doubt she intended to call attention to Hendrick’s good points, but Mariah was already all too aware of them. How handsome he looked in his suit and freshly pressed shirt! His damp hair still smelled of soap, and the little curls at his temple sprang loose from his neatly combed locks. He sat pallbearer stiff, so uncomfortable that she could have giggled if she wasn’t worried that she’d inadvertently say something that would alert Felicity to her Montana mission.
Speaking of her sister-in-law, she was staring at Mariah as if she expected her to say something. What had Felicity been talking about? Mariah combed her memory. Oh, yes, something about engines.
“A new motor?” Mariah hazarded.
Hendrick shifted in his chair and ran a finger underneath his collar. “Yep…uh, yes,” he corrected, “two motors, actually.” His eyes darted ever so quickly toward Mariah and just as quickly away. “For their North Pole flight.”
Mariah heard the displeasure in his voice. In this case, she happened to agree with him. The risk had to be outweighed by gain. “I can’t imagine what they hope to accomplish.”
Anna perked up. “They’re going to be the first to fly across the Pole. Won’t it be grand? I wish I was going along.”
“You’re not going to go anywhere near the North Pole,” Hendrick stated emphatically.
Mariah smothered a smile. His grammar might have improved since the last time she’d seen him, but he was just as protective.
“You’re no fun at all,” Anna whined. “You’re worse than Ma.” She tossed her mousy brown hair, which was mercifully no longer pulled into tight braids. “I want to do things, like Mariah.”
“Me?” Mariah was startled by Anna’s observation. She’d never considered herself particularly adventurous.
“Yes, you drive anywhere you want, whenever you want.” Anna’s eyes shone.
“That’s not quite true,” Mariah cautioned. “I only drive when I have a purpose.”
“But you drove here,” Anna insisted, “and that’s just for a visit.”
Mariah bit her tongue when she realized how close she’d come to giving away the secret. She tried to recover. “True, but visiting my brother and sister-in-law is a wonderful purpose.”
“I agree.” Felicity lifted her water glass. “To safe travels.”
Gabe quickly seconded his wife’s toast, clinked her glass with his and followed that with a kiss. “My wife is uncommonly beautiful tonight.”
Felicity blushed. “Now, is that any way for a pastor to talk at the dinner table?”
Gabe didn’t back down. “It is when he loves her as much as I love you.”
Mariah smiled to herself as they kissed again. Two years had not dimmed their love. As she turned again to her dinner plate, she noticed Hendrick watching her, an odd expression on his face, but the minute he realized she’d seen him he looked away.
Gabe looked only at Felicity. “And I love you even more for giving me a baby.”
Luke, who hadn’t followed most of the adult conversation, suddenly picked up that one word. “Where is it?” He wiggled around in his chair as if expecting to see a baby behind him. “At the pow-wow?”
Mariah stifled a laugh. “A pow-wow is a gathering of family and friends. No baby.”
“Oh.” Luke turned back around. “Is that all?” He picked up his fork and resumed mashing his peas before turning his questions on her. “Do you have a baby, Aunt Mariah?”
She started. “No, I don’t. I’m not married.”
“Luke,” Felicity scolded, “it’s not polite to ask personal questions. Remember our rules for the dining room table.”
He hung his head. “Yes, Mom.”
“I’m sorry, dear,” Felicity said, her expression so concerned that it was almost as if Gabe had told her Mariah couldn’t have children. But she knew she could trust her brother to keep her secret.
“That’s all right,” Mariah said, though she couldn’t suppress the waves of embarrassment. “Children can’t help being curious.”
Felicity heaved a sigh. “I suppose you’re right. Children can be a challenge. Pets, too. What do you think, Gabe?” She looked to her husband, who gave his blessing. “Mariah, dear, we wanted to talk to you about the home I’m starting.”
Mariah blinked. “Home?”
“An animal haven for abandoned and unwanted pets,” Felicity explained. “I wanted to have it here in the parsonage, but the church trustees put their foot down.” She sighed. “I think Daddy had a lot to do with that. He and Mother are not much for pets.” She looked at Gabe, who smiled his agreement.
The simple gesture raised an uncontrollable envy deep in Mariah’s heart. Mom and Dad were like that, so closely allied in their minds and hearts that they could communicate with just a gesture, and now Gabe and Felicity appeared to be the same. Her older brothers had married happily as well. Only she walked alone.
Felicity bubbled on, “Remember my idea to start a home for orphans? I’d like to combine that with the animal haven, but we’d need a large house. The Elder house, behind the church, just came on the market. It would make the perfect parsonage, and then this house could be the orphanage.”
Mariah did recall that Felicity had proposed an orphanage two summers ago, but she’d thought that idea had passed. Clearly not. Felicity looked so pleased that Mariah couldn’t bring herself to explain how difficult it would be to start a private orphanage.
“All the paperwork has been approved, and now we’re ready to hire a director,” Felicity said pointedly. “Someone who loves children and animals. Think how perfect it would be. The children would learn the responsibility of caring for a pet and in return would receive unconditional love. But we need a director, and with the baby coming soon—” she sighed “—I can’t take it on.”
As if Mariah didn’t understand the offer, Gabe reaffirmed it. “What do you think, sis? You’d be perfect.”
Mariah concentrated on the china pattern with its delicate roses and gilded edge. She couldn’t leave her job. The orphans depended on her. She also couldn’t live so close to Hendrick. Yet Felicity had such hope that she’d accept. Mariah didn’t want to upset her.
“God has called me to the Society,” she said carefully, “but I’ll give it prayerful consideration.”
“You would still be working with orphans,” Felicity argued.
Mariah could see she wasn’t going to get out of this easily. “It’s not a decision to be made lightly.”
“I know.” Felicity sighed. “But it would set my mind at ease to have someone in charge before the baby arrives.”
Mariah knew when she’d been backed into a corner. She wasn’t as certain how to get out of it.
Luckily, Luke came to her rescue. “Is the deliveryman going to bring my baby brother?”
All the adults chuckled.
“No, Luke.” Felicity leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “I promise the baby will arrive soon, but not before dessert.”
“Dessert?” He squealed with delight when the housekeeper brought out chocolate cake, and the business with the baby was forgotten. “My favorite.” He pulled himself tight to the table as a slice of cake was placed before him.
Everyone was distracted for long, precious minutes, but after the last bite was eaten, the adults settled in the parlor with its brocaded wingback chairs and polished wood floors. Luke went outside to play with the dog, and conversation inevitably turned to adult topics.
“Tell me, Mariah,” Gabe began from his perch beside Felicity on the sofa, “how is Mr. Isaacs?”
Mariah shifted so she wouldn’t see Hendrick in the other wingback chair. Naturally, Gabe would inquire about his dear friend and director of the Orphaned Children’s Society, but this conversation was likely headed back to the job offer Mariah couldn’t possibly accept.
“A bit weary of government interference, I’m afraid,” she said, hoping the hint would dissuade Felicity.
“That hasn’t changed, then.”
“I’m afraid it’s gotten worse. It’s difficult to keep a private agency running these days.”
Instead of discouraging Felicity, her remark had just the opposite effect. “Then you should come here. You’d be the perfect director for our home.”
“Am I being railroaded?” Mariah shook her head with a laugh. “The truth is, I love my work. It’s where I belong.” And though she liked Pearlman, with its cozy streets and tight-knit community, the town had one big problem, currently seated in the other wingback chair.
“How many children does the Society handle each month now?” Gabe asked.
Mariah hesitated. That’s why the Detroit office had closed. “A handful.”
“Exactly. It used to be dozens.” Gabe’s brow puckered. “I can’t believe there are fewer children in need. They must be going to the state institutions.”
“Children belong with their families,” Hendrick stated.
Mariah was so surprised by the passion in his voice that she couldn’t think of a thing to say.
“Agreed,” Gabe said. “That’s why Mariah’s going to Montana, to protect a child.”
Mariah’s jaw dropped. The room got deathly quiet. Hendrick, Anna and Felicity all looked stunned. Why had Gabe said that when he’d made her promise not to tell Felicity? She stared at her brother until she realized that he hadn’t mentioned Luke. His statement had been vague. She could be going to help any child.
Felicity recovered first. “I didn’t realize the Society placed children that far west.”
Mariah knew her cheeks were glowing but she hoped Felicity would just think she was warm. “They’ve sent children to many Western states.” That was true, though none had gone that far west in years.
Hendrick looked like he was gagging. He kept pulling at his collar until he managed to ask in a strangled voice, “You’re driving to Montana by yourself?”
“She might think she’s going by herself,” said Gabe, “but as her brother, I insist she take someone with her.”
“I’ll go,” Anna instantly volunteered.
“Wait,” Mariah cried. This was rapidly spinning out of control.
No one paid her the slightest attention.
Hendrick glared at his sister. “Mariah doesn’t need to look after a girl.”
“I’m not a girl,” Anna said hotly. “I’m nineteen.”
“And know nothing about the world,” he added.
A thought crept into Mariah’s head. Perhaps taking Anna along would satisfy Gabe. She did enjoy the girl’s company. How much trouble could she be? Certainly less than Hendrick.
“I think it’s a splendid idea,” Mariah said.
Anna beamed. “See?”
“That’s solved,” said Gabe. “Now all you need is a mechanic.” He looked right at Hendrick. “I can think of no one better.”
Hendrick gulped. “The garage—”
“That’s right.” Mariah capitalized on his excuse. “He has a business to run.”
“It’ll be in fine hands with Peter,” Gabe said.
Hendrick shook his head. “He’s a boy.”
Felicity glowed with the thrill of matchmaking. “He did a wonderful job fixing Daddy’s car. I’m sure he can handle anything that would come up while you’re gone. I think it’s the perfect combination.” She smiled broadly at each of them.
Mariah cringed. “But it will take at least two weeks to get there, and another two weeks back. Surely Hendrick can’t be gone that long.”
Felicity waved a hand. “The trains will be running by the time you’re ready to come back.”
Gabe increased the pressure. “What do you say, Hendrick?”
Mariah fumed. Apparently, she had no say in this. “He’s busy.”
Hendrick opened his mouth as if to protest, glanced at her and then changed his mind. “If Ma says Anna can go, then I’ll have to go, too. I can’t let anything happen to my only sister.” He emphasized the point by glaring at Mariah.
No. No. No. She couldn’t spend all that time with Hendrick, talking to him, seeing him, sitting an arm’s length apart. It would be intolerable.
Felicity clapped her hands. “It’s the perfect solution. Just perfect. Hendrick can make any repairs and ensure that you arrive safely. Well, then, it’s settled.”
It was not. But Mariah couldn’t say a word to change their minds. Anna bounced around the room like a rubber ball. Felicity and Gabe looked so pleased. Luke could come into the house at any moment. All she could do for now was accept that she would be driving west with Hendrick and Anna Simmons.
Until she figured out a way to get out of this little mess.
Chapter Three
Hendrick cornered his sister the moment they’d walked out of sight of the parsonage. “Why did you volunteer to go on that trip?”
Anna tossed her head and wormed past him. “It’s time I got out of this town and saw the world. Pearlman is so limited. I want more. I want to experience everything.”
What had gotten into Anna? She’d always been the quiet and shy type, until… “Did Mariah put you up to this?”
Anna laughed so loudly that everyone else on the street looked to see what was so humorous. “That’s what’s bothering you, isn’t it? That it’s Mariah.”
Hendrick choked back more than a little irritation. “That has nothing to do with it. I wouldn’t let you make a trip like that with any woman.”
Anna skipped ahead. “Well, you don’t have the final say, do you? It’s up to Ma. You said so yourself.”
Hendrick charged after her. She scooted along, face lifted to the sun, and only by virtue of his long legs did he catch her. “Ma won’t give her permission.”
“Yes, she will.”
It felt like they were kids again, sparring over a toy or a game. Then Pa died, and Hendrick had taken over as head of the family. Anna had listened and obeyed him for years—until Mariah set foot in Pearlman.
“Ma wants me to be happy,” Anna was saying, “and seeing the world will make me happy. I certainly don’t need you along, and neither does Mariah.”
Hendrick felt the slap of those words, but he refused to let her childish emotions change his mind. “Anyone driving that far needs a mechanic along. Two thousand miles on bad roads will break apart an automobile. Neither one of you can do more than change a tire.”
Anna huffed. “Then we’ll find someone who does, but the last thing I need is an overprotective big brother tagging along. We’ll find someone else. Even Peter.”
“Peter? He’s too young for a trip like that.” Hendrick wasn’t about to entrust his only sister to a sixteen-year-old. “Besides, I thought you hated him.” They’d reached the house. The sun hung low, just above the trees. Ma would be reading her Bible and saying her prayers. Peter was probably building something with the Erector Set that Hendrick had given him last Christmas.
“I don’t hate him. I just don’t love him.” She wrinkled her nose. “He’s two years younger than me.” Anna stopped in the front doorway. “Promise you won’t go?”
He set his jaw. No way would he let Mariah—or any woman—drive west alone. “Let’s see first if Ma gives you permission.”
The door opened, and Ma stepped outside. “Give you permission for what?” Her cheeks rounded above her embracing smile. Ma was the most optimistic person Hendrick knew, despite losing Pa.
Hendrick didn’t wait for Anna to wrap Ma around her little finger. “Mariah Meeks is driving her car to Montana, and Anna wants to go along. I say it’s a foolish idea.”
Of course Anna disagreed. “No, it’s not. It’ll be such fun, Ma. I’ll see the world. Oh, please, let me go.”
Hendrick hated to disappoint his sister, but he had to stick a pin in her plan. “It’s dangerous. The car will break down. If they’re far from a town, they could die of thirst before they get help.”
“We’ll bring water,” Anna countered.
“There could be wolves or bears or cougars,” he added.
“Then we’ll bring a rifle.”
Ma looked from one to the other as he brought up every possible catastrophe and Anna refuted each one.
“You might run into outlaws and rumrunners,” he pleaded. “It’s not safe for two women.” He nearly choked calling his kid sister a woman.
Ma smiled softly and touched his arm. “It’s good of you to worry about your sister’s welfare, but she’s grown up now and needs to spread her wings.”
“But Ma.”
Anna grinned in triumph.
Ma clucked softly. “We can’t protect our loved ones from everything.”
Her eyes misted, and he knew she was thinking of Pa. A lump rose in his throat as he recalled finding his father crushed beneath a truck, his spilled blood already dark. He’d been dead for hours, and none of them knew. For years Hendrick wished he’d come home from school earlier, that he’d skipped classes that day, that he’d listened to his pa’s advice to quit school after he graduated from the eighth grade. If he had, he might have been there. He might have saved his father. At least Pa wouldn’t have died alone.
“I have to protect Anna from unnecessary risk,” he countered.
Ma nodded. “That’s why you must go, too.”
“But—”
“The garage will be in fine hands with Peter. Plus Mr. Thompson said he’d help out anytime you wanted to take a holiday.”
Hendrick recalled Pa’s working partner, now retired, extending that offer. “I think he meant he’d help for a couple days. This could be a month.”
Ma patted his arm. “Everything will be fine, Hendrick. Go, with my blessing.”
Had all the women in his life gone crazy? Suddenly they wanted to run all over the country and thought nothing of the risk.
“But what if something happens?” he said, not quite able to spell out the possibility that they could be killed in a wreck. “We’re all you have. Except Peter, of course, but that’s not quite the same.” Peter was just a foster son. He could leave at any time. Hendrick and Anna were blood. Nothing could break blood ties. That’s why a man needed his own children.
“Peter will take good care of me.” Ma patted his arm again. “You two will be in the Lord’s care, and that’s all the assurance any of us have. Wherever you go, I know God will be with you.”
Ma’s words reminded Hendrick that he hadn’t told her about the possible job with Curtiss Aeroplane. Rather than escort two women to Montana, he should be headed to New York to present his engine design to a company that could pay a lot of money for the right to produce it. If ever he had a way out of this foolish trip to Montana, this was it.
He licked his lips. “What if I go to New York?”
“New York?” Ma’s brows puckered. “I thought you wanted to help Mariah drive to Montana.”
He struggled not to show any emotion at the mention of Mariah’s name. Ma still harbored hope they’d get back together, no matter how many times he told her it was over. “I’ve got a chance to sell my engine design to Curtiss Aeroplane. Jack Hunter is having his old mechanic put in a word for me, but I need to go to New York to present the plans to their engineers.”
“Is that what you truly want, Hendrick?”
He did. Or at least he thought he did. “Yes, Ma.”
She bit her lip, and her eyes filled with tears. “Then pursue your dream, dear. Don’t let anyone stop you.”
“I’ll take care of you, Ma. They’ll pay more than I earn here at the garage, and Peter can help out around the house.”
“I understand.”
Anna caught her breath. “Does that mean you’re not going with us to Montana?”
Hendrick felt the tug of responsibility. Judging by her muted reaction, Ma didn’t want him to take the Curtiss job, but doing so would ensure that Anna stayed safely at home. She would hate him, but she’d be safe. “That means I need you to stay here with Ma.”
“Stay here?” Anna’s eyes filled with angry tears. “How could you? You did this just to ruin my life. I hate you. I hate you.” Then she ran inside and slammed her bedroom door.
Hendrick watched in silence, his gut a tangled knot.
Ma touched his arm. “Don’t fret, dear. She doesn’t mean it.”
“I know.” And he did know, but it still hurt. “It’s tough being the one in charge.”
Ma softly murmured a protest. “God’s the one who’s in charge. Pray on your decision, Hendrick. He’ll give you the guidance you need.”
Trouble was, Hendrick couldn’t hear the answers above the din of everyone’s conflicting needs.
“I’m going to take a walk,” he grumbled and headed out to find some peace.
Mariah held her tongue until Felicity took Luke upstairs for bed.
“I’d like to see the river,” she announced to her brother, rising from her chair. “Will you show me the way?”
Of course she remembered how to get to the river, but she needed to talk to Gabe away from the parsonage.
She silently followed him across the expansive backyard. Any wind had vanished, and the evening descended with a golden haze and the croak of bullfrogs. Once Gabe closed the backyard gate behind them, she let loose. “How could you? You know Hendrick and I had a falling-out. Traveling with me for a month is the last thing he’d want to do.”
Gabriel whistled a few notes. “Seems to me he said he’d go.”
“Naturally he did, once you forced him. What could he say? You certainly manipulated that little scenario your way.” Every word only made her angrier. The air was thick and cloying. The last bit of daylight barely filtered through the trees. She felt trapped.
“I manipulated him?” He tsked audibly. “Seems to me Hendrick Simmons is a grown man with a mind of his own. He made a decision. The fact that I happen to agree with him doesn’t make me manipulative.”
Normally, Mariah kept her emotions in check, but Gabe and Hendrick had sent them catapulting out of control. “Why can’t you accept that I can do this myself? The fewer people involved, the better. You said so yourself.”
“Hendrick’s a good, honest man. You can’t deny that.”
She couldn’t.
“I trust him to keep the secret.”
“And Anna?” Mariah pointed out. “Do you feel the same way about her?” Even as she said the words, she recalled that Anna had been infatuated with Gabe when he first arrived. A shy girl then, she’d pined for him and must have suffered when Gabe chose Felicity.
“She’s a good girl,” Gabe said softly, “and has grown up a lot since you last saw her. Yes, I have faith in her.”
Mariah sighed. He was not going to let her out of this. “You know how difficult this will be.”
“I know, sis, but you’ll manage. You always do.”
They’d reached the river, flowing gently at this season. To the left, mostly out of sight, a footbridge crossed to the other side. In the low light, the water below looked black and endless, but once they’d climbed down to the water’s edge, it turned silky green.
“I’m afraid, Gabe,” she whispered as they made their way to the rocky sandbar that was exposed this time of year. She wasn’t just afraid for Luke or all the problems that might happen on the trip, but for her heart. The old longing had returned with a fierceness she hadn’t expected, but a life with Hendrick could never be. One impossible obstacle still loomed between them, and his remarks tonight confirmed that it was still there. He wanted children of his own. Children she could never give him.
Gabe hugged her shoulders. “I know.”
Her shoes scrunched against the stones, sinking in slightly as they made their way to the center of the sandbar. They both looked downstream. For years she’d watched over Gabe, making sure he was all right. Now their roles were reversed. He was trying to take care of her. She bit her lip to stem the tide of emotion.
“It’ll turn out all right,” Gabe said with another brisk hug. “It always does for those who love the Lord.”
The corner of her mouth twitched at that reminder. “Are you preaching to me?”
He bent and picked up a stone. “I’ve been teaching Luke how to skip stones. He can beat me now.” He let the stone fly. It bounced once, twice, three times before sinking beneath the surface. “Are we stones that sink to the bottom or twigs that float on the surface? Do we succumb to trouble or are we carried wherever the water flows?”
“I’d like to think we’re boats, able to navigate treacherous waters.” Mariah was used to her brother’s philosophical musings, but this one deeply touched her soul. “You’re afraid, too.”
He bowed his head. “Of course. Losing Luke would break my heart, but knowing he’d be beaten down by someone who’s supposed to love him would kill me.”
He swiped at his face, and she knew he’d lost control of his emotions. She hugged him around the shoulders, as she used to when he was a boy.
“I won’t let that happen,” she said, softly at first but with growing firmness. “God won’t let Frank Gillard take Luke.”
“I hope you’re right,” he gasped, his shoulders shuddering as he gave in to tears.
Behind them, a plank of the bridge creaked, telling her that they were not alone. She turned.
Hendrick Simmons was watching.
“Mariah. Pastor.” Hendrick knew she’d seen him.
He’d come to the bridge to think, to let the steady flow of water help him sort things out. Instead, he’d heard the real reason for Mariah’s trip west. That changed everything. Someone had threatened to harm Luke, and she was going to Montana to stop him. Now he had to go with her.
“Hendrick,” called out Gabriel. “Wait there.” He led his reluctant sister up the riverbank, and in minutes they appeared on the bridge. “Nice night, isn’t it?”
Mariah hung back.
Hendrick didn’t know if he should tell them he’d overheard their conversation. It had been so personal that he felt as if he’d been eavesdropping. He decided to pretend he hadn’t.
“Needed to get some air.” Hendrick leaned against the rail and watched the river flow. “Water’s down for this time of year. Hope we don’t have a drought.”
“That’s something to pray for,” Pastor Gabriel said softly. “I’m glad you’re going to Montana with my sister.”
Mariah didn’t say a word. She stood on the other side of her brother, staring straight ahead.
“Ma gave Anna permission to go.” He didn’t bother saying that he’d thrown a wrench into the plan, since he wouldn’t be going to New York now.
“Good,” Gabriel said. “Then you two have a lot to talk about. See you at the parsonage, sis.”
“Gabe,” she cried. “I’ll go with you. I might get lost.”
Pastor Gabriel laughed and shook his head. “Hendrick knows these woods better than I do. Get her home safely, okay?”
That’s precisely what Hendrick intended to do, after he got her to Montana.
The pastor hiked up the path and vanished into the woods, leaving Hendrick alone with Mariah, who watched her brother’s departure before turning to him.
“How much did you hear?”
Hendrick heard the accusation in her words. “Enough.”
She swallowed, looking more like a frightened girl than the confident woman he was used to seeing. “Please don’t tell anyone.” She clutched her arms around her midsection. “Felicity can’t know.” Her eyes looked haunted, desperate. “Please.”
He nodded. “I promise.”
Relieved, she collapsed against the bridge railing, and he thought for a moment that she was going to cry. Instinctively, he reached to comfort her, but she flinched, and he backed away, confused.
“I just wanted to say it’s all right,” he said, struggling to find the right words. “I’ll help you all I can.”
“I know.” She lowered her face so it fell in the shadows. “But we can’t relive the past. Do you understand that?”
He set his jaw. “I’m not asking to go back in time, Mariah. I’m talking about getting you safely to Montana so you can help Luke.”
She shushed him. “Don’t say his name.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.”
They stood in silence for long moments, each staring downstream, headed in the same direction yet miles apart.
He licked his lips. “What can you tell me?”
She continued to watch the river. “We’re going to Brunley, near the Rocky Mountains. The rest I’ll tell you once we leave Pearlman.”
He understood. She couldn’t take a chance that anyone would overhear.
She breathed deep, squared her shoulders and turned to face him. “I owe you an explanation.”
He frowned. Hadn’t she just said she couldn’t tell him anything until they were on the road?
“Not about our trip,” she clarified, “about last time. Why I left. I shouldn’t have run off.”
He couldn’t agree more, but he had the sense not to say that. Instead, he waited for her.
“It’s my work,” she finally said. “Helping the orphans is my calling. I couldn’t leave them. I’ll never stop helping them. Do you understand?”
He didn’t. Didn’t all women want their own children? Others would step up to help the orphans, but she couldn’t let it go.
“It’s not that I don’t care for you. You’re a wonderful…friend.”
He steeled his jaw. “You, too.” He’d never let her know how much she affected him. “Besides, I have a chance to work at Curtiss Aeroplane. I’ll be heading to Garden City as soon as we return.”
“Good.” She drew a shaky breath. “That is, congratulations.”
Did he imagine that hesitation in her voice?
She shook her head, as if she knew what he was thinking. “I’m glad you realize that there can’t be anything between us beyond friendship.” She stuck out her hand.
He reluctantly grasped it. “Yeah, friends.” Her hand felt like cold steel.
Chapter Four
Not because of her. Hendrick recited that over and over as he fixed Mariah’s car. He wasn’t going on this trip because of some misguided romantic nonsense. He was going to help a little boy. Period.
He repaired the car in a day. Putting the interview with Curtiss Aeroplane on hold wasn’t quite that easy.
Jack Hunter gave him a sharp look. “Dick told me the engineers are eager to see your design. If you wait too long, they’ll change their minds or find another designer, and the opportunity will be gone.”
Hendrick couldn’t tell him why he had to go to Montana. He’d promised, and Hendrick never broke his promises. “It’s just a few weeks.”
Jack’s wife, Darcy, who had been silent until then, chimed in. “Of course Hendrick has to go with Mariah. Jack, you’d do the same. After all, you followed me here rather than start up that Buffalo flight school.”
Jack groused, “That’s not the same thing.”
“It’s exactly the same. A woman has a way of convincing the man who loves her.”
Hendrick felt the heat creep up his neck. “This has nothing to do with Mariah. I need to take care of my sister. That’s all.”
“If you say so.” Darcy laughed as she leaned against the lower wing of the plane.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Show me a woman who isn’t a matchmaker. Sorry about that.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, Darcy, but we’ve already decided to stay friends.”
She shrugged, as if his revelation meant nothing. “You can’t blame me for trying.”
Jack sighed. “I’ll ask Dick to see if they’ll delay the interview a month. No guarantees.”
“Understood.” Hendrick knew the cost. He would lose his one chance to strike out on his own.
“Don’t worry,” Darcy said sympathetically, “if Curtiss wants the engine badly enough, they’ll wait.”
He hoped she was right.
On Friday morning, Mariah paced in front of the parlor windows, waiting for her car to arrive. Maybe she should have gone to the garage and gotten it herself, but Hendrick assured Gabe he’d drive it to the parsonage.
“Do you think he’s forgotten?” she asked Felicity, after checking the time. “They’re ten minutes late.”
Felicity chuckled. “I’m sure he hasn’t. Give them time.”
“I hope you’re right.” Mariah tugged on a lock of hair.
The fact that Felicity couldn’t know the reason for her trip made this parting more difficult. Mariah had to bury any misgivings and pretend the drive would progress without a hitch, but she knew Gabe was right. A host of problems could derail her effort.
By the time Hendrick parked the Overland in front of the parsonage, her anxiety level had escalated. It got even worse when he unfolded his lean frame from the driver’s seat. The sun accentuated his broad shoulders and muscular arms. She would have to be close to that, to him, every day for the next month.
“Doesn’t Hendrick look handsome?” Felicity said.
Mariah did not need her sister-in-law’s observations. The sight of him made her tremble. “He’s changed.”
Felicity nodded, a knowing smile on her lips. “He studied the last two years and received his high school diploma. Jack Hunter taught him drafting so he could make blueprints for his engine designs. Jack says he’s brilliant and could go far.”
Mariah couldn’t take another minute of Felicity’s glowing accolades. She grabbed her valise. “It’s time to go.”
“I’ll fetch Gabe and Luke.” Felicity headed for the kitchen.
Mariah wished she could leave without the heart-tugging farewells, but Felicity would have none of it. While her sister-in-law vanished into the kitchen, Mariah carried her valise onto the porch.
“Mariah, Mariah!” Anna leaned out the backseat window. “Can you believe we’re actually going? I can hardly wait. Will we see Lake Michigan? And Chicago? Hendrick says it’s a huge city with buildings so tall you can’t see the tops.”
Anna rattled off her questions so quickly that Mariah had no hope of answering, so she nodded and smiled and let Hendrick take her valise. Their hands brushed, and the same electricity coursed through her. Hopefully, he didn’t notice.
“Sis.” Gabe hefted a small crate down the porch steps. “Thought you’d sneak away, did you?”
“What on earth are you carrying?”
“Provisions. Tins of food, matches, a hatchet, everything you’ll need for camping.”
“But I already have supplies and a tent.” Mariah pointed to the half-full backseat. “There’s no room for more.”
“I’ll make it fit.” Hendrick lifted the heavy crate from Gabe’s arms like it weighed no more than a sheet of paper.
My, he was strong. Mariah fanned her suddenly hot face.
Hendrick unpacked the crate and somehow wedged the contents into the backseat without forcing Anna out.
Meanwhile, Gabe pulled her aside. “My prayers go with you.” He held her face in his hands. “Find the truth.”
His eyes looked tired, and the lines around his mouth had deepened.
She hugged him. “I won’t fail you.”
The dreaded round of farewells began when Felicity and Luke joined them in the yard. Mariah managed to say goodbye without shedding a tear.
“When are you coming back, Aunt Mariah?” Luke solemnly asked.
“Soon,” she said, praying that her return would not be to take him west.
Gabe gave her a bear hug. “Godspeed, sis. May He guide your every step.” Though he didn’t say more, both knew where they wanted the Lord to guide her.
“I’ll let you know where you can reach us when we arrive.” She pretended to smile even while choking back tears. “Call or cable if the baby comes early.”
“Of course.”
Then she had to walk away. How she loved them all. They stood together, Gabe’s hand on Luke’s shoulder, confirming to the world that Luke was his son. Felicity waved, and Mariah lifted a hand in response before heading to the driver’s-side door.
She reached for the handle at the same time as Hendrick. Their hands met, generating another jolt of electricity.
“Thank you,” she said stiffly, “but it’s not necessary to open the door for me.”
He flushed. “Uh, I thought…that is, I assumed…”
“Thought what?”
Felicity laughed and motioned her to the passenger seat. Apparently, she wasn’t supposed to drive. But this was her car. She always drove. Why must she turn over control simply because a man was in the car? She started to protest but then decided, in the interest of peace, to relinquish the wheel.
“For now,” she explained. “We will share driving.”
Before Hendrick could protest, she walked around the car to the passenger side, but he’d scrambled to get there before her and, by virtue of his long legs, managed to pull the door open just before she arrived.
Anna groaned. “I hope you’re not going to be like this the whole way.”
“I can’t imagine what you mean.” Mariah took her seat with regal formality.
“Goodbye,” Felicity called out again as Hendrick got into the car.
At last they were ready to go. Hendrick set the spark and throttle levers in preparation for starting the car.
Mariah pushed the throttle back a bit. “It doesn’t need that much.”
Hendrick glared at her. “I think I know how to start a car.”
She crossed her arms. “I think I know my car better than anyone else.”
Anna groaned again. “What is wrong with you two?”
Neither of them bothered to answer the preposterous question. Hendrick started the car, and Mariah stared straight ahead. His elbow practically butted into her side. No more than six inches separated them on the seat. She couldn’t last two thousand miles that way. At the next stop, she’d drive and insist that Hendrick sit in the back.
She plastered herself against the door and kept her gaze straight ahead while they drove through Pearlman and past Hendrick’s garage. Mrs. Simmons waved to them from her yard.
“Goodbye, Mama,” Anna called out.
“God be with you,” she called back, and Mariah hoped she didn’t know the true reason for their trip.
She glanced at Hendrick. “Does she…?”
He must have understood, because he shook his head.
Soon they left town, driving up the little rise before passing through a tunnel of ancient maples that had somehow missed the lumberman’s ax. On this warm July morning, the dappled shade created an oasis of coolness in the midst of the hot fields.
“Isn’t this wonderful?” Anna mused, her chin on the back of the front seat between Mariah and Hendrick. “Hendrick comes here all the time. It’s his favorite spot in the whole world.”
Anna pointed out every barn and unusual tree. Ordinarily the chatter would have driven Mariah to tears, but today it passed the miles and ensured that she didn’t have to talk to Hendrick. Though they couldn’t go much over thirty miles an hour on the rutted road, within a couple hours they reached the West Michigan Pike, the highway that ran along the shore of Lake Michigan.
“Can we stop to see the lake?” Anna queried from the backseat.
“May we,” Hendrick corrected.
Mariah lifted an eyebrow. Hendrick Simmons correcting grammar?
“May we stop?” Anna sighed.
Mariah hated to waste time on sightseeing, but she couldn’t deny Anna this little pleasure. She asked Hendrick to pull over at the first place he could park. When he finally stopped the car on a grassy spot alongside the beach, the view startled her. Lake Michigan wasn’t like any lake she’d ever seen. Why, it stretched unbroken to the horizon, exactly like the ocean.
“It doesn’t smell like the ocean, though.” She sniffed the air. “No salty odor.”
No one listened to her musings. Anna raced to the shore, where she peeled off her shoes and stockings. Within seconds, she’d waded into the crashing surf. The waves rolled over her feet and dampened the hem of her skirt.
“You’re getting wet,” Mariah called out, but Anna either didn’t hear or didn’t care.
“Sounds good to me.” Hendrick kicked off his shoes and socks and followed his sister.
Anna laughed, running out when each wave ebbed and racing back to shore when the next one arrived. Her giggles were infectious, and, since everyone else was taking a break, Mariah removed her shoes and stockings, too.
The sand blazed beneath her feet, and she gingerly hopped to the water’s edge. The wet sand cooled her blistered soles. When a wave rolled over her feet, the icy water made her shriek. “It’s freezing.”
“It’s wonderful.” Anna ran down the shore, splashing water with every step.
Within minutes, Mariah grew accustomed to the chill water—or perhaps numb to it. She walked a few steps, but the sand gave way beneath her feet, making her stagger. The wash of the waves tugged at her feet, burying them deeper in the soft, pebbly sand.
“It’s like quicksand,” she exclaimed.
Hendrick bent over laughing.
“It’s not funny. My feet keep sinking, and my skirt is getting wet. I can hardly walk.”
“Hold still.” In an instant he swept her off her feet and into his arms. “There, you’re safe now.”
Safe? He was holding her. Holding her. Goodness, he’d lifted her as easily as if she were a child. His heart thudded against her side. His shoulders loomed at eye level. He smelled so masculine that she couldn’t think straight. She wanted to lay her head on his shoulder, to sink into his arms and stay there forever.
“Put me down,” she squawked, terrified at the rush of emotion. She couldn’t fall for him again. She couldn’t.
He didn’t listen. Instead of setting her on her feet, he carried her toward the car.
“What are you doing?” she cried. “I told you to put me down.”
But he didn’t. He just kept walking, carrying her away from the shore. She had no choice but to hold on.
“I know how to walk.”
“I know, but the sand’s hot,” he explained when they reached her abandoned shoes. He gently set her down and smoothed the collar of her middy shirt before turning to call for his sister. “Anna, it’s time to go.”
Mariah sat, embarrassed by her reaction to him. “I could have walked.”
He sat beside her. “I didn’t want you to burn your feet.”
She grabbed a stocking. “How could they burn when they’re blocks of ice?” To demonstrate that she hadn’t been affected by the way he held her, she tried to pull the stocking over one of her damp, sandy feet. It went nowhere.
“Here, let me help.” He scrunched up the other stocking so it would fit easily over her toes. “Brush off the sand, and I’ll slip this on.”
She yanked it away from him. “I think I can put on my own stockings.” But the gritty sand clung to her feet as if it had been glued on.
“I’d be glad to help,” he said again.
“I don’t need help.” She yanked on the stockings, even though they bunched in the wrong places and she hadn’t gotten all the sand off her feet. She shoved on her shoes and stood. “There, see?” She strode toward the car, the sand rubbing against her toes with every step.
Hendrick hurried after her. “Let me get the door.”
She’d had quite enough of his help. She was an independent, fully capable woman, not an invalid.
“I’m driving,” she stated, whipping open the driver’s-side door.
He halted, either surprised or dismayed.
She didn’t care. They’d had a deal. No romance. He’d broken it. This was the last time she’d let down her guard around Hendrick Simmons.
Didn’t she feel a thing? Hendrick watched Mariah, confused by her reaction. When he first picked her up, she’d clung to him and even laid her head against his shoulder, but then she’d tensed, as if she realized she wasn’t supposed to enjoy being carried by him. Then she got all defensive when he was just trying to help and stomped off to the car, insisting she had to drive. She didn’t even wait for him to open the door.
He would never understand women.
They ate lunch in silence and reached Chicago that afternoon. Anna hung her head out the window and gawked at the buildings.
“That one has ten stories,” Anna cried out as they entered downtown. “And that one, oh, my.” She drank in the traffic signs and policemen at the street corners, the elevated railway and the crowds of people. “Thousands must live here. How do they know each other?”
“They don’t,” Hendrick said. “Cities have lots of people, but they’re all strangers. I’d rather live where everyone knows each other.”
“Like Pearlman,” Mariah said tartly as she slowed the car for an intersection.
“What’s wrong with Pearlman?” Though he planned to move to Garden City if his interview with Curtiss went well, he rose to his hometown’s defense.
“I didn’t say anything was wrong. Pearlman’s a lovely town. Gabe adores living there.”
“It’s a good place to raise a family,” Hendrick said softly.
She visibly tensed.
So that was it. The woman who helped place orphans didn’t want children of her own. Of course. That’s what she’d tried to tell him at the bridge, that her career came first. What a shame. She’d be a wonderful mother. He’d seen her with Luke, especially, but also with Peter and the other orphans she’d placed. She was a natural parent. Maybe she didn’t want children now, but given time, was there any hope she might change her mind?
He’d test his theory. “I definitely want children.”
She hesitated long enough that he knew he’d struck a nerve. “Children are a blessing, but I’m busy with the Society. Those are the children in my life.”
“I want to wait, too,” Anna chimed in.
He’d forgotten that his sister was there or he would never have brought up such a personal subject.
“First I’m going to see the world,” Anna babbled on. “Look at these buildings. They’re monstrous. Now I can tell everyone I’ve been to Chicago. Is New York like this?”
“It is, only bigger,” Mariah said quickly, apparently eager to change the topic.
“Bigger?” Anna cried. “I want to go there.”
Mariah launched into descriptions of streets and buildings and department stores until he wished they’d be quiet.
“Do you go to parties and dances?” Anna asked Mariah.
“Some, but my college studies took most of my time.”
College. Hendrick stewed. Only the rich could afford college. Anna could never attend, so why bring it up?
“What did you study?” Anna said. “I’d do something exciting like classics and explore Greek ruins.”
He gritted his teeth. Maybe, if Curtiss offered enough for his engine design, he could afford to send her to teacher’s college, but no point in a degree for something frivolous, like classics.
“We should fill the fuel tank and get oil before leaving the city,” he said to change the topic.
Some blocks later, Mariah pulled the car into a filling station. The hulking attendant smirked when he saw Mariah in the driver’s seat. Humiliation coiled in Hendrick’s gut and spread quickly to his fists. Just because he wasn’t driving didn’t make him less of a man.
“Please fill the tank,” Mariah told the attendant, oblivious to the slight.
“Yes, ma’am.” The man spoke politely to her, but he snickered when he stepped to the fuel pump.
Hendrick sprang out of the car, unable to take any more of this. “I’ll check the oil.” He slammed the door and whipped the hood open.
“What’s wrong with you?” Mariah followed him. “The attendant can do that.”
He would not dignify her question with a reply. “You’re low a quart.”
“You don’t have to snap at me.”
She didn’t understand. For a woman who worked with people all the time, she should realize that a man needed to be a man. Instead, she always had to be in charge. He grabbed a rag from the car and wiped his hands.
“I’m a mechanic,” he stated to the smirking attendant.
Mariah followed his gaze, and her confident smile fell. “Oh, I see,” said the attendant.
Her demeanor softened, became more open, the way she’d been at the Founder’s Day picnic two years ago. That day she’d laughed and chattered and eagerly taken in every word he said. That day he’d thought she cared for him. They grew closer and closer over the following months until the day of Felicity and Gabriel’s wedding. Then suddenly, a wall went up between them and she only wanted to be friends.
Apparently, that’s all she’d ever want.
He reached for the passenger-side door, but she stopped him with an electric touch to the arm.
“Thank you, Hendrick, for letting me practice driving, but I think you’d better take over now.”
The knot in his gut loosened when he spotted the attendant and realized she’d said that for his sake. Maybe, somewhere deep, deep inside, she still cared for him.
She rummaged in her bag and shoved a roll of bills into his hand. He stared at the thick wad. It must total fifty dollars.
“Take it,” she whispered as the attendant approached.
He didn’t have time to protest.
“That’s $1.40.” The burly attendant looked from him to Mariah.
She smiled and returned to the passenger seat.
Fine, rather than make a fuss, he’d pay, but not from her funds. He withdrew the $1.40 from his wallet, leaving a little over $15 for the trip. Once the attendant left, he stuck Mariah’s bills into his pants pocket where they couldn’t fall out. As soon as they were alone, he’d give it back.
Chapter Five
Tourist parks proved few and far between on their route, so Hendrick selected a flat, grassy spot between cornfields to camp. The women weren’t sure the area afforded enough privacy, since the corn wasn’t yet waist high, but a little exploration of the area yielded a more secluded spot where a creek trickled under drooping willows.
“This will do,” Mariah stated.
Hendrick eyed the terrain. He’d maneuvered the car between the cultivated fields on a rutted old path, but there wasn’t room to turn the car around. He’d have to back it out.
“Hope it doesn’t rain,” he said as he put down the top.
“Me, too.” Mariah grabbed the topmost bag from the backseat. “I haven’t tested the tent for watertightness.”
She strained under the weight of the canvas bag, so Hendrick tried to relieve her of the burden. “I’ll unload. You ladies rest.”
“Rest?” Mariah refused to let go. “All we’ve done is rest.” She carried the bag to the tree and set it down. “Where’s Anna?”
Hendrick heaved a sigh. “I’d better go find her.” It was just like his sister to run off when there was work to be done.
Mariah’s throaty chuckle eased the tension. “Give her some time. It’s not as if she could go that far.”
True, but the cornfields and hayfields weren’t tall enough to hide someone. The only place to disappear was down by the creek. “She should have told us where she was going.”
Mariah smiled softly. “She’s just excited to be on her first trip away from home.”
It was his first trip, too, but he didn’t go running off at the first opportunity. Besides, Anna was his responsibility. If anything happened, Ma would never recover. She doted on Anna. Since they couldn’t afford new clothes very often, Ma got the old fabric and scraps of lace from Mrs. Fox’s dressmaking shop to make Anna’s dresses. In his opinion, his sister was spoiled, but Ma said she deserved a few niceties in life.
Money. It all came down to that. If he sold his engine design to Curtiss and became an aeronautical engineer, he’d be able to afford anything his mother and sister desired. He’d have as much money as…as Mariah. Hendrick stuck a hand in his pocket and encountered the roll of bills. Her bills. He should have given the money back right after they left the filling station. He’d do so now.
Naturally, she refused to take it. “Use it to pay for fuel and oil.”
“But I should be paying.”
She waved that idea away. “I’m on agency business. The Society is paying.”
“Not for Anna and me.”
“You’re here at my request. If you don’t want to handle the money, I will, but I’d prefer you do it.”
She trusted him. Despite their differences, she had faith in him. He ran a thumb over the edge of the bills before sticking them back in his pocket.
Meanwhile, she’d grabbed another bag from the car.
“I’ll take that,” he offered.
She strode past him with a laugh. “Get your own.”
Her joy was infectious, and he smiled as he hefted the next bag onto his shoulder. It rattled and clanked. Must be the pans and tins of food she’d packed. It weighed plenty, more than she could lift. He paraded past her with a grin of triumph.
“Set that one under the tree closest to the stream,” she commanded as she tugged the canvas tent out of its sack.
“Yes, ma’am.” He snapped to attention, imitating the salute used by soldiers who’d returned from the Great War. He’d tried to enlist, but the local board denied his application, saying he had to support his mother and sister.
Mariah waited until he set down the last sack before instructing him to put the car’s roof back up. “It does look like rain.”
Other than a couple puffy clouds, the sky was clear. Apparently, she wanted to keep him busy, and he, the foot soldier, was at her command.
While he refastened the roof, she spread the tent in a nice grassy dip in the ground. If it did rain, he thought, they’d be soaked.
“You might want to pick a different spot.”
“What’s wrong with here?” she snapped, her breathing heavy. She tugged the canvas over the pole. “I happen to like a soft, grassy place to lie down. I suppose you prefer rocks?”
“Fine. Suit yourself.” If the rain arrived, as she suspected, she’d be sorry.
He finished raising the car roof, and she was still struggling with the tent. Only one end would stay up. She’d set one pole, leave it balancing and then race to the other side. By then, the first pole would topple over.
“I can help,” he said.
“Don’t need it.”
Yet over and over her efforts yielded the same result. The scene looked like it came from a Charlie Chaplin film. Hendrick bit his lip to stifle a laugh, but he couldn’t hold back the guffaw forever. When both poles fell down and the whole thing caved in, the laughter erupted, each wave making his sides ache even more.
“Do you think you can do any better?” She threw a pole to the ground in disgust. Hands on hips, she positively glared, but he couldn’t stop laughing. “Well, you’re no help. Where is Anna? Maybe she can hold herself together long enough to get this tent up.”
His sister dropped from the nearby willow and took one of the poles. “What do I do?”
Instead of answering Anna, Mariah focused her wrath on him. “Hendrick, stop laughing and hold up the other pole. I’ll start pounding in the stakes.”
My, she was bossy. He’d always considered her directness a virtue. She knew what needed to be done and did it. But sometimes she could be wrong. The ground outside her little patch of green grass was rock hard. She’d have some time of it trying to pound in those stakes.
Nonetheless, he obediently took up his pole and watched while she pulled the corner line taut and attempted to hammer the stake into the ground. It pierced the soil no more than half an inch when she gave up and moved to the next one. But as soon as she pulled the line tight, the first stake came loose. With a growl of frustration, she mopped her brow with the back of her hand.
“The ground’s so hard,” she muttered. “I can’t get it in.”
Hendrick wanted to help. Perspiration ran down her forehead, and her hair curled around her face in damp little tendrils that begged to be touched. But she would only yell at him and insist that she didn’t need his help. So he watched her try and try without success.
Finally, he couldn’t stand it anymore. “I’d be glad to give it a go.”
Naturally she scowled at him. “Did I ask for your help?”
He wanted to rip the mallet from her hands and get the job done. Why did she have to be so stubborn?
Then Anna giggled. She tried to hold back, so it came out in a snort, but she couldn’t maintain control for long and a second later burst out laughing.
Mariah frowned, but apparently Anna’s laughter didn’t irk her as much as his because before long she started to giggle, too. Her prickly-porcupine attitude eased, and she handed him the mallet. “See if you can make any headway.”
They traded places, and in minutes he had the tent up and ready for their blankets and clothing.
“Which bag has the other tent?” he asked.
Mariah swiped damp hair from her brow. “I, uh, didn’t count on company.”
No second tent. He couldn’t very well sleep with the women. That left only one option.
“I’ll take the car.” He’d have to sleep sitting up or curled into a ball, but it was the only option that kept him out of the weather.
Mariah’s lips formed a perfect rosebud. Her cheeks glowed from the exertion. “I’m sorry I didn’t think to bring another tent. Thank you.” She tugged at a curl, the hat long ago discarded and her bobbed hair flying out in every direction. “We can take turns.”
But of course they couldn’t. He wouldn’t let the women get all cramped in the car.
“We’ll get another tent at the first outfitter,” she said.
“Don’t waste your money.” He was still too aware of the wad of bills in his pocket, not to mention the hole in his heart. “The car will be fine.”
After supper, Mariah conscripted Anna to help her scrub the dirty dishes in the creek while Hendrick checked the car’s tires. Camping reminded her of family trips to the Catskills. Dad would rent a cabin for a couple weeks each summer. He wanted his children to know how to survive in the wilderness, so he took them out on short expeditions, teaching them how to build a fire, how to tell which plants were edible and how to fish. Gabe loved it, but she whined about the damp and the dirt and finally talked Dad into letting her skip the trips. Now she wished she’d stuck with it.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Anna exclaimed after handing Mariah the last pan. She stretched and spun around to take it all in.
Mariah didn’t consider an Illinois roadside beautiful. High clouds streaked the sky, but the grass and corn didn’t provide much of a view. Forty feet away, Hendrick bent over the rear tire on the far side of the car. He couldn’t possibly hear what they were saying. That gave her a chance to ask Anna something that had been bothering her since they left, something that the girl’s disappearance that afternoon had highlighted.
“Anna?” Mariah touched the girl’s arm to capture her attention. “Could I ask a favor of you?”
The girl stopped spinning. “Of me?”
There was no easy way to say this. “I don’t have anything against your brother. He’s a fine and honorable man. It’s purely about propriety. As a single woman…” She let her voice trail off for emphasis. “I shouldn’t be alone with an unmarried man, especially after dark. Could you ensure we’re never alone together?”
Anna shrugged her shoulders. “If you want.”
“Thank you,” Mariah breathed, relieved that Anna had agreed so readily. There’d be no repeat of the episode at the beach, no teasing of her emotions and no chance he’d fall in love with her again.
With that worry gone, she could enjoy the sunset. Mariah stacked the dried dishes and carried them back to the campsite where Anna helped her put them back in the canvas bag. Then the three of them settled on the grass. At first they chatted about what they’d seen that day, but as the sun streaked the undersides of the clouds pink, all conversation stopped. Anna swatted at a cloud of gnats while Hendrick pulled out a stalk of wheatlike grass and nibbled on the end. Mariah remembered doing that as a child. How long had it been since she saw the world with fresh eyes? Even while caring for Luke two summers ago, she’d bustled about doing chores, never stopping to experience his world.
She plucked a stalk of grass and tasted its tender, sweet end, rich with the promise of summer. God’s golden sunlight had seeped into the earth where the plants drank it up. Tonight that light shimmered in the air and streaked the sky in hues of pink and red and violet.
“Nothing can top the Lord’s paintbrush,” she said softly.
Anna murmured agreement, but Hendrick gave her a look that swept over her like gale-driven waves. Both pain and longing and something else. Was it hope or despair?
This trip must be difficult for him. His presence certainly upset her composure. Suddenly, she had to consider his feelings. It wasn’t just what she wanted. He was there, always there, within arm’s reach. And his thoughts were so transparent. She hoped he didn’t read her so easily.
He tossed away his stalk of grass. “What are you going to do once we get to Montana?”
“Get Mr. Gillard to sign the termination-of-parental-rights papers.” The memory of Luke playing Geronimo made her voice catch. “I can’t risk Luke’s happiness.”
Anna rolled onto her stomach, chin propped on her hands. “Who is Mr. Gillard, and what does he have to do with Luke?”
Mariah realized that she’d never filled in Anna and Hendrick. They were far from Felicity and Luke now. She took a deep breath. “Frank Gillard claims he’s Luke’s father, and says he wants his son back.”
Her eyes widened, the pupils black in the declining light. “You don’t think he really is Luke’s father?”
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Christine Johnson
She Broke His Heart.Now She Needs His Help. Hendrick Simmons despises her. Mariah Meeks doesn’t blame him—not after she rejected the handsome mechanic’s proposal two years ago. She’s certain she’s not meant for marriage. All Mariah’s energy goes to one purpose—her work as an agent of the Orphaned Children’s Society.Now a prodigal father’s return threatens a boy under Mariah’s care. Mariah insists on approving the lad’s future home for herself, even though it requires a cross-country drive that’s too dangerous to take on her own. For the child’s sake, Hendrick agrees to join her. Can a journey of 2,000 miles bridge the distance between them… and reveal where Mariah truly belongs?
She broke his heart. Now she needs his help.
Hendrick Simmons despises her. Mariah Meeks doesn’t blame him—not after she rejected the handsome mechanic’s proposal two years ago. She’s certain she’s not meant for marriage. All Mariah’s energy goes to one purpose—her work as an agent of the Orphaned Children’s Society.
Now a prodigal father’s return threatens a boy under Mariah’s care. Mariah insists on approving the lad’s future home for herself, even though it requires a cross-country drive that’s too dangerous to take on her own. For the child’s sake, Hendrick agrees to join her. Can a journey of 2,000 miles bridge the distance between them…and reveal where Mariah truly belongs?
“We can’t relive the past. Do you understand that?”
Hendrick set his jaw. “I’m not asking to go back in time, Mariah. I’m talking about getting you safely to Montana so you can help Luke.”
She breathed deep, squared her shoulders and turned to face him. “I owe you an explanation, about last time. Why I left. I shouldn’t have run off.”
He couldn’t agree more, but he had the sense not to say that. Instead, he waited for her.
“It’s my work,” she finally said. “Helping the orphans is my calling. I couldn’t leave them. I’ll never stop helping them. Please understand. It’s not that I don’t care for you. You’re a wonderful…friend.”
Did he imagine that hesitation? Hope crept into his heart.
She shook her head, as if she knew what he was thinking. “It wouldn’t work. If we’re going to survive this trip to Montana, you need to understand that there can’t be anything between us beyond friendship. Ever.”
The sliver of hope turned to cold steel.
CHRISTINE JOHNSON
is a small-town Michigan girl who has lived in every corner of the state’s Lower Peninsula. After trying her hand at music and art, she returned to her first love—story. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in library studies from the University of Michigan. She feels blessed to write for Love Inspired and is thrilled to be twice named a finalist for Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® award. When not at the computer keyboard, she loves to hike and explore God’s majestic creation with the love of her life, her husband. She participates in her church’s healing prayer ministry and has experienced firsthand the power of prayer. These days, she and her husband, a Great Lakes ship pilot, split their time between northern Michigan and the Florida Keys.
All Roads Lead Home
Christine Johnson
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Love Inspired!
2012 is a very special year for us. It marks the fifteenth anniversary of Love Inspired Books. Hard to believe that fifteen years ago, we first began publishing our warm and wonderful inspirational romances.
Back in 1997, we offered readers three books a month. Since then we’ve expanded quite a bit! In addition to the heartwarming contemporary romances of Love Inspired, we have the exciting romantic suspenses of Love Inspired Suspense, and the adventurous historical romances of Love Inspired Historical. Whatever your reading preference, we’ve got fourteen books a month for you to choose from now!
Throughout the year we’ll be celebrating in several different ways. Look for books by bestselling authors who’ve been writing for us since the beginning, stories by brand-new authors you won’t want to miss, special miniseries in all three lines, reissues of top authors, and much, much more.
This is our way of thanking you for reading Love Inspired books. We know our uplifting stories of hope, faith and love touch your hearts as much as they touch ours.
Join us in celebrating fifteen amazing years of inspirational romance!
Blessings,
Melissa Endlich and Tina James
Senior Editors of Love Inspired Books
To Jenna and Kathy
This long journey has been all the more worthwhile because of you.
Special thanks to the Love Inspired editors, especially Emily Rodmell, whose guidance has been invaluable.
You’re the best!
* * *
For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; For man looketh on the outward appearance, But the Lord looketh on the heart.
—1 Samuel 16:7
Contents
Chapter One (#uc5edfefd-8643-50e5-944a-b1c48447a09f)
Chapter Two (#ud453ccf3-2f4d-59a3-99a7-e5d23987de5f)
Chapter Three (#uc8586789-ebb9-5709-8411-f31f50fcddbf)
Chapter Four (#u6a1d1d01-f231-54de-886a-69a67be8f8f5)
Chapter Five (#u6e83f250-13e9-5814-84e0-296ed09b7203)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Dear Reader (#litres_trial_promo)
Questions for Discussion (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
Pearlman, Michigan
July 1922
“Don’t die here,” Mariah pleaded.
But her motorcar threatened to do just that as it coughed and slowed to a crawl. She depressed the accelerator to the floor, and the car lurched forward a few feet before slowing again.
“Just one more block.” She gripped the wheel and as an afterthought added, “Please.”
Mariah Meeks, agent for the Orphaned Children’s Society of New York, didn’t ordinarily talk to automobiles, but she had to get to her brother’s church before he left for the day, and she had to do so without anyone noticing she’d returned to Pearlman. That mission died along with her car in the worst possible place—at Simmons Motor Garage.
As the car rolled to an ignoble stop, her pulse rocketed. Had Hendrick seen her? Surely he had. She hazarded a glance at the gleaming whitewashed garage, but no one had come out yet. Maybe he was still angry at her. Her brother Gabe said Hendrick hadn’t dated anyone since she left town two Octobers ago.
Her fingers curled around the wheel. Hendrick Simmons. Did he look the same? The same strong loping stride, the same warm brown eyes, the same lock of hair across his brow that she’d always wanted to push away? Her palms sweated. She couldn’t breathe. Memories swirled like a summer cyclone.
She tugged at a lock of her dark, springy hair, resisting the urge to tuck it into her mouth. What a mess she’d made of things that October. Her brother Gabe’s wedding was supposed to be a joyous time. But then she’d caught the bouquet by accident and saw the look on Hendrick’s face. Hope. Desire. Love? But they could never be more than friends. She’d panicked, had left town the next day without telling him why she could never marry. Coward.
He must despise her.
He wouldn’t want to fix her car. She tried and tried to restart it, but the engine simply wouldn’t turn over. What would she do? She could walk to her brother’s church, but she had to have a car to get to Montana. A child’s future depended on her getting there soon, and the trains weren’t running, thanks to the nationwide rail strike.
Why, God? She looked to the heavens, but He didn’t answer.
Gabe would know what to do. Her brother would figure out a way to get her to Montana. She plopped the stifling rolled-brim hat on her head and gathered her handbag.
“Miss Mariah?”
She jumped so high she crushed the crown of her hat on the roof.
“Peter,” she gasped at the sight of the grinning teenage boy. “You’ve grown.”
The orphan had always been a beanpole, but he must have shot up six inches in the two years since the Society placed him with the Simmons family.
“Yes’m, almost a foot,” he said with obvious pride.
She squinted. What was that? A few straggling hairs on his upper lip? She rapidly calculated his age. Goodness, he must be nearly seventeen now.
“What brings you to town?” he asked. “I ain’t seen you practically since I come to Pearlman.”
She stifled the urge to correct his grammar. “I’m just here for a brief visit.” She started to open her door, but Peter finished the job and helped her from the car. Clearly, Mrs. Simmons had taught him manners. Judging by his broad grin, he was happy, exactly what she hoped to ensure for all the children she placed—especially Luke, the foster boy her brother Gabe had taken in. That was why she had to talk to Gabe right now. That’s why she needed to get to Montana.
She glanced again at the garage. Still no Hendrick. “Are you helping Mr. Simmons at the garage?”
“More’n that. Mr. Hendrick taught me everything about engines. I’m practically running the place now.”
“Running it?” She frowned. “Just for the summer, correct? You still plan to finish high school.”
“Yes’m, but Mr. Hendrick’s so busy at the airfield that he lets me take over here.”
The airfield. Of course. She breathed a sigh of relief. That explained why he hadn’t come out to greet her. Hendrick had worked on Jack Hunter’s aeroplanes from the moment Jack landed in Pearlman. According to Gabe, the two were collaborating to build bigger and better engines for a foolhardy attempt at flying to the North Pole.
“I’m sure he’d wanna see ya,” Peter said. “He’ll be back anytime now.”
Then she must hurry. She darted a glance down the street in the direction of the airfield. No one in sight yet. “Thank you, Peter, but I need to see my brother. Will you look after my car? I think it’s burnt a valve.”
“I’ll take good care of her, Miss Mariah.” He tipped a finger to his grimy cap.
“Thank you, Peter. If you need to reach me, I’ll be at the church for an hour or so and then at the parsonage.”
He knew that, of course. In tiny Pearlman, everyone knew where everyone stayed, who their relations were and what they were doing. Everyone in town doubtless already knew she was here. Her reappearance would make tongues wag with speculation that the romance between Hendrick and her was back on.
They could talk all they wanted. Romance was out of the question. In fact, she didn’t even need to see Hendrick. She’d ask Gabe to talk to him about fixing her car. Hendrick wouldn’t be able to refuse his pastor.
She squared her shoulders, quite pleased with her solution, and hurried toward her brother’s church, intent on defusing a much more pressing crisis.
The heavy twin-engine plane landed without a hitch and lumbered down the runway.
“Sounds good,” Hendrick Simmons said with relief. He’d never understand why Jack Hunter, the plane’s owner, allowed his wife to fly test flights. Hendrick would never let his wife face that kind of danger. If he ever got a wife, which hardly seemed likely after Mariah made it clear they could never be more than friends. For now, he was married to his work. He’d developed the high horsepower, air-cooled engines Hunter needed for his new plane.
“Your engines sound better than good.” The suave aviator followed the plane’s progress down the graded runway. “They’ll take Darcy and me to the North Pole.”
Hendrick scowled. “You’re taking Darcy? After what happened on your transatlantic attempt, I’d think you’d want to stick with the flight school.”
Jack Hunter didn’t look fazed by the reminder of the failed flight. “Darcy wouldn’t have it any other way. You know her.”
Hendrick did know Jack’s wife, Darcy. They’d been friends since childhood. “I wouldn’t want my wife doing something that dangerous.”
Jack laughed. “Wait until you meet the right woman. She’ll change your mind. You’ll do anything to make her happy.”
“Even risk her life?” Hendrick shook his head. “No woman is going to change my mind. I’m looking for someone nice and quiet. The headstrong ones are too much trouble.”
“That they are, but worth every minute. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Darcy.”
“Do you ever miss being a test pilot for Curtiss Aeroplane and living the bachelor life?”
Hunter shook his head. “Not for one second. And after this flight, we’re going to start a family.” He looked wistfully toward the plane’s cockpit, where his wife sat.
Hendrick swallowed hard. Darcy was his age, Jack only a little older. “I’d sure like that someday.”
Hunter clapped Hendrick on the shoulder. “Keep the faith, pal. There’s someone out there for you.”
Mariah. Only, she didn’t want him. And he couldn’t see marrying anyone else in Pearlman. Hendrick squinted into the afternoon sun. “Lately I’ve been thinking I need to get away from Pearlman, try my hand at something else.”
“Is that so?” Hunter patted the pockets of his leather jacket. “Then I might have just the opportunity for you.” He pulled out a letter, folded and refolded until the seams had worn thin. “Remember Dick Burrows from Curtiss Aeroplane?”
How could he forget? Burrows used to be Jack’s mechanic out East, and he’d inspected every repair Hendrick had made to Jack’s plane two years ago. The arrogant aeronautical engineer thought he knew everything there was to know about engines, but he couldn’t find a single thing wrong with Hendrick’s work.
“He’s still with Curtiss,” Jack said. “A while back he wrote asking if I knew anyone working on air-cooled engines. It looks like Wright Aeronautical might get Lawrance’s air-cooled radial motor, and Curtiss wants to build something to rival them, something like your engine.”
“My engine?” Excitement bolted through Hendrick. A big-time aviation company wanted his invention to battle their rivals at Wright Aeronautical. They wanted him. He wouldn’t be a lowly mechanic anymore. He’d be an aeronautical engineer. He swallowed and tried to sound calm. “What’re they offering?”
Jack shrugged. “You’ll have to talk to them. I can cable Burrows to set up an appointment. You’ll need to bring some sketches of your engine to Garden City and explain how it works.”
“Garden City’s in New York?” Hendrick vaguely recalled Jack came from there.
“Yep. Long Island.”
Long Island, New York. Hendrick had never left Pearlman. He’d never had that chance. After Pa’s death, he’d supported his mother and kid sister and come to the conclusion that dreams belonged to other men. He’d put his on hold. Maybe now he could dare to try something new. His sister was out of high school, and he’d earn enough at Curtiss to support the family. Real wages, not the ups and downs of running a small-town business.
Hunter was grinning. “Pretty near someone you know.”
Mariah. Hendrick’s gut knotted up. Like Burrows, it was clear that she thought he was beneath her. Oh, she’d picnicked with him and joined him at church suppers, but when it came to anything serious, he wasn’t good enough. She didn’t say it right out, but that had to be the reason she’d snubbed him. She was wealthy and college-educated. He was just a mechanic. Well, he’d show her he was much more than that. His engine would bring fame and fortune, enough to impress anyone, even Mariah Meeks. He’d show her exactly what she’d missed out on.
“Send the cable,” he said. “Let Burrows know I’m interested.”
“Will do.” Jack grinned as his wife climbed out of the cockpit. “Gotta run, pal.”
Hendrick nodded and watched Hunter hurry across the airfield. Darcy raced toward him, arms opened wide. Their embrace and the way he swung her in a circle tore Hendrick to pieces. Everyone his age was getting married and having children. He wanted a family so bad it hurt.
He couldn’t stand to watch any longer so he hopped on his motorbike and tore toward town in a cloud of dust. The wind against his face made him feel free. No responsibilities. No worries. No business to run or family to support. And most of all, for one moment, he could forget the aching emptiness.
Then he saw it: a green-and-black automobile parked beside his garage. He pulled his motorbike to a stop alongside the Overland. That knot in his gut wrenched tighter. It couldn’t be. But even before he saw her gloves on the front seat, he knew the car was hers.
Mariah was back.
News travels fast in small towns. Gabe met Mariah before she reached the church. Her little brother looked the same, perhaps a bit filled out in the midsection, but his dark curls still flopped wildly and he still disdained a suit jacket in the summer. Neither the ministry nor marriage had changed him one bit.
“Sis.” He enveloped her in a big hug. “Heard you were in town. What brings you here?”
She squeezed tightly, relishing this last moment before she broke the bad news. “I missed you, little brother.”
“Then you shouldn’t have stayed away so long.” He stepped away and assessed her. “You should have let us know you were coming. Felicity will blame me for not telling her in time to set up the guestroom.”
“I’m sorry for being so thoughtless.” Mariah brushed the dirt from her duster. “I don’t want to put you out, especially with Felicity so close to her due date. I’ll stay at Terchie’s.”
Naturally he refused to let her stay in a boardinghouse. “We have five extra rooms. You’re staying with us. Did you leave your car there?”
She crossed her arms, pretending to be vexed at his assumption. “How do you know I drove?”
He shook his head. “Even if the trains were running, you’d drive that car of yours.” He glanced up and down the street. “Where is it?”
“At the garage,” she admitted.
“The garage?” he snorted, unable to hide his mirth. “How’s Hendrick?”
“I didn’t see him. Peter looked happy, though. He’s grown so tall, and I think I saw the beginnings of a mustache.”
Gabe chuckled. “Luke asks every day when his will start to grow. They’re good friends, you see. I have to give Peter credit for letting a ten-year-old hang around him so much.”
Mariah’s heart ached at Gabe’s words. Two years ago Mariah had facilitated the placement of five Society orphans in Pearlman. Peter and Luke had been the last chosen and had apparently formed a deep bond from that day forward. Normally that would be good, but it would also make any separation that much harder. She sucked in a shuddering breath.
Gabe’s brow creased. “You still haven’t told me why you’re here. Mom is coming in two weeks. You could have joined her if you wanted to be here when the baby’s born.” He drew a sharp breath. “It’s business, isn’t it? I didn’t think the Society sent agents on follow-up anymore, especially when the reports are all good.”
She swallowed hard. “It is Society business, in a way.” But she couldn’t say more because one Pearlman matron after another stopped to greet her. This was not the place to tell him the bad news. When she had a moment’s break from the greetings, she asked if they might talk in private.
He nodded. “Let’s go to the church. Florabelle will be gone by now.”
Mariah was relieved to hear that. The church secretary was notorious for her gossiping, and this was the sort of news that Florabelle would love to spread.
Gabe extended an arm, always the gentleman, but she preferred to walk on her own. He set an easy pace. They were of a similar middling height, their strides equal. It wasn’t like walking with Hendrick. He’d always had to slow down to match her shorter stride.
After a dozen more greetings, they were alone again on the sidewalk. Gabe buried his hands in his pockets, brow furrowed, looking very much like a little boy. She wished she could reassure him, but her news would only bring more worry.
“Lovely day,” she said to break the tension.
He mumbled a reply but didn’t look up until they reached the church, its solid oaken door darkened from all the hands that had touched it through the years. She reached for the handle, but Gabe stopped her hand.
“Is this about Luke?” he whispered.
She couldn’t answer. Not yet. “Let’s go inside.”
He nodded and pulled open the door. “Whatever it is, God will see us through.”
She wished she had that much confidence. Until now, she thought she’d placed total reliance on the Lord, but this news had shaken her. It would devastate Gabe.
Once they’d settled into their respective chairs, Gabe behind his desk and Mariah taking the seat opposite him, he waited expectantly, hands clenched, as if clinging to his new family.
Mariah blinked back tears and tried to dislodge the lump in her throat. The last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt her beloved little brother. She’d always looked after him, mothered him. Then two years ago, he came to Pearlman for his first pastoral appointment and fell in love with Felicity. Their romance had been rocky, for she barely gave him the time of day at first, but Felicity had a tender soul, and Gabe was one of the few people who saw it.
Shortly after, Mariah arrived to arrange the placement of five orphans into foster homes. All had been snapped up except Luke, whose darker coloring challenged deeply rooted prejudice. Gabe took in the traumatized little boy, and Mariah raised him for three months until Gabe and Felicity married. In that time she lost her heart to the little boy, and that’s what made this news so difficult to bear.
She squeezed her hands together to stop the shaking and took a deep breath. “There’s a little problem concerning Luke.”
Gabe frowned. “We haven’t gotten far in the adoption process. I thought that was due to the paperwork and investigations. Have you heard something else?” He leaned forward. “I’ll do anything to make Luke my legal son.”
“It’s not about the adoption.”
“Then what is it?”
She fought the bile rising in her throat. How she wished she didn’t have to tell him this, but there was no way around it. “Luke’s father has returned.” The words fell between them like stones. “He wants Luke back.”
All the life went out of Gabe. “His father?”
She tried to temper the pain. “Perhaps I should say that a man who claims to be Luke’s father wants him back.”
“Claims?” Gabe pressed his hands against the top of the desk. “Is he Luke’s father or not?”
“That’s what I intend to find out, and that’s why I have to go to Montana.”
“Montana? What on earth does Montana have to do with this?”
“The man who says he’s Luke’s father lives in Montana.”
Gabe paused, processing what she was trying to tell him. “Why do you think he isn’t who he says he is?”
She traced the wood grain of the chair’s arm with her fingernail. “His name doesn’t quite match the records. The old Detroit office listed the father as Francesco Guillardo. The man says he’s Frank Gillard. He claims he anglicized his name.”
He sat back heavily. “People do change their names to avoid prejudice. Remember how Luke was received when people heard his full name was Luciano?”
She nodded. How could she forget the gasps of shock, the slurs against the boy’s dark skin?
Gabe’s long sigh weighed heavily on the hot summer air. “Where in Montana?”
“The western part. A town called Brunley.”
He stared off into space. “So far.”
Mariah ached for him, for Felicity and even for herself. During those three months she’d stayed with Luke, she’d spent every moment of the day with him, had heard his first words, had wiped his tears after the nightmares. Luke was the closest she would ever get to having a son. “I won’t let Frank Gillard take him.”
“Mariah! That’s kidnapping.”
“Is that any worse than abandoning a child?” She stood, too agitated to sit. “That’s what Luke’s father did two-and-a-half years ago. And whatever happened before they got to the asylum made Luke so afraid of his father that he stopped talking. I’m not about to let that man touch him.”
Gabe frowned. “You’re making a lot of assumptions.”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t come to the same conclusion.”
“That he was abandoned, yes. That’s on the record, but you don’t know what made Luke stop talking.”
She held his gaze. “Did Luke ever tell you anything about that time?”
Gabe shook his head. “He got so upset any time I tried to talk about his parents that I stopped trying. I figured he’d be ours soon, and it wouldn’t matter.”
“Do we dare ask him again?”
He shook his head. “He can’t know a thing. Promise me you won’t say a word.”
“If you promise to fight.” She felt the hot tears rise. “We’ll find a way to keep Luke here. We have to.”
He stared into space a long time, thinking. At last he hit on something. “Didn’t Frank Gillard sign away his parental rights when he left Luke at the orphanage? That is the usual procedure.”
Mariah squirmed under the horrible truth. “The termination-of-rights paperwork wasn’t done correctly. The agent must have mixed up Luke’s paperwork with someone else’s because the signature doesn’t match the name. Instead of Francesco Guillardo or even Frank Gillard, it’s signed Desmond Corliss.”
“What?” Gabe shook his head in bewilderment. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know.” She bit her lip. Mistakes seldom happened, and, when they did, they hadn’t mattered. Until now.
He strode back to the desk. “Show it to me.”
She drew the papers from her handbag and laid them on the desk. He pulled them close and sat down, jaw taut as he scanned the pages.
After agonizing minutes, he raised hopeless eyes to her. “You’re right.”
She couldn’t stand to see his despair. “I’m going to do everything in my power to stop him. Everything.”
“How?” His voice sounded hollow. Defeated. “We have no proof of wrongdoing other than a child’s refusal to talk. That could mean anything, and in a court’s eyes, it’s useless. You know as well as I that the birth parents have every right to reclaim their children, as long as they haven’t signed that right away. We have no way to stop this man from taking Luke.”
She couldn’t allow it. She wasn’t going to let Gabe or Luke down. “I’m going to Montana, and I’ll get Mr. Gillard to sign new termination-of-rights papers.” She pressed her hand over his. “I promise you I will not rest until Luke is safe.”
Gabe slowly shook his head. “I don’t see how you can convince a man who has already asked for his son to sign away his parental rights. I wouldn’t sign them if I were in his shoes.”
“That’s you. You’re a good, loving father. You would never have abandoned Luke in the first place. Frank Gillard is another matter. Something’s not right about this, Gabe, and I intend to find out what it is. Come with me. Together we can find a way to save Luke.”
He sank back in his chair. “I can’t go to Montana. Felicity—” He rubbed his eyes to hide the tears, but he couldn’t hide the quiver in his voice. “She doesn’t want anyone to know, but the pregnancy has been difficult. She started bleeding last week. It stopped, but—”
Mariah gasped and pressed a hand to her mouth.
Gabe stared off into space. “Doc Stevens wants her to carry the baby as long as possible. I’m supposed to ensure that nothing upsets her. Hearing this would be the worst thing for her and the baby. If I left with you, she’d know something was afoot.” He turned worried eyes on her. “Promise you won’t say a word.”
Mariah nodded. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Did you plan to take Luke with you?”
She shook her head. “Of course not.” She gripped her brother’s hand. “It’ll turn out all right, Gabe. I promise.”
He smiled weakly. “First you have to get to Montana. The trains aren’t running right now, but you’re welcome to stay until they are.”
She didn’t have the luxury of waiting. “I’m driving my car.”
“Your car?” he said incredulously. “The one that’s broken down?”
She nodded.
“By yourself? That must be two thousand miles. You can’t drive that far alone.”
She would not be dissuaded. “I will do whatever it takes to stop that man from uprooting Luke.”
Gabe shook his head, signaling he knew when he was defeated—and when his goal matched hers. “I don’t know how you’re going to manage.”
“With God’s help.”
He let one corner of his mouth lift, just for an instant. “Promise me you’ll take someone with you, preferably a mechanic.”
She knew exactly whom he had in mind. “Gabriel John, you know full well that I can’t travel two thousand miles with a man who’s not a relative. I will drive to Montana myself.” She whisked the papers into her bag and left his office.
He followed on her heels. “Then take a woman along, but don’t go alone.”
Her hand stilled on the door handle. A woman might be acceptable. “I’d love to bring a female mechanic. Whom do you suggest?”
He didn’t answer, of course. He had no more idea than she did.
“Just what I thought.” She yanked open the door and stepped into none other than Hendrick Simmons.
With a gasp, she jerked backward, losing her balance. Hendrick steadied her with a hand to her shoulder, and the touch sent electricity zinging to her toes. No, no, no. It couldn’t be. The time apart was supposed to erase those crazy feelings.
He quickly pulled his hand away, and she retreated a step to recover her senses.
“Miss Meeks,” he said dryly, the tone telling her he was just as unhappy to see her.
She swallowed hard, but the pain wouldn’t go away. “What are you doing here?”
He lifted her valise. “Bringing your luggage.” But instead of handing it to her, he set it down while his gaze drifted to her face.
She gulped when his warm brown eyes met hers. Why did he still affect her so? His commanding height took her breath away. The sculpted features and strong jaw made her heart flutter. His brown hair curled just a bit at the temple, and she had to resist raising a hand to brush that one stray lock off his brow.
“Hendrick.” Gabe ducked around her. “It’s good to see you.”
Hendrick ripped his gaze away from her. “You, too, Pastor.” He pointed to the valise. “Well, I’ve delivered your sister’s bag, so I’ll be going.”
Mariah couldn’t help noticing that Hendrick’s speech was more polished and that he’d worn his Sunday-best shirt and trousers. Odd. Peter said he’d been working on Jack Hunter’s aeroplane engines.
Gabe cornered Hendrick on the edge of the church steps. Though her brother couldn’t drape an arm around the taller man’s shoulders, he didn’t hesitate to leverage Hendrick by the elbow. “I’ve got a project I’d like to discuss with you. Why don’t you come to supper at the parsonage tonight?” He briefly glanced her way. “Bring your sister along.”
“Gabe,” Mariah warned. She knew exactly what he was up to, and it was not going to work. Under no circumstances would she drive to Montana with Hendrick Simmons.
“I, um.” Hendrick looked from Gabe to her with obvious discomfort. “Supper?”
“And your mother, too. Bring everyone,” Gabe added a bit too cheerfully.
The whole Simmons clan? What was her brother up to? He couldn’t suggest that Hendrick travel to Montana with her in front of his mother and sister—not to mention Felicity. There’d be too many questions. But to all appearances, that was exactly what he planned to do. Mariah folded her arms and tapped her foot. She couldn’t be any clearer that this was a bad idea, but Hendrick actually looked like he was considering the invitation. She had to put a stop to this crazy idea right now.
“I don’t think Mr. Simmons would care to dine with us tonight,” she stated. There, she’d given him a way out. Alas, her effort produced the opposite effect.
With a look of defiance, Hendrick turned to Gabe. “I’ll be there.”
Chapter Two
What had he been thinking? Hendrick sure didn’t want to spend the evening with Mariah, but she’d goaded him into accepting the pastor’s invitation when she said he wouldn’t want to come. No one told Hendrick Simmons what he did or didn’t want.
Her jaw had dropped, and that made him feel good for a moment, but then she’d clapped her mouth shut and shot a glare at her brother. She did not want to see him, even for a couple of hours. The realization hurt as much as it had a year and a half ago.
Still, even though he knew it would only hurt more, he couldn’t stop looking at her. That wild mossy scent hung about her, not exactly perfume, just entirely her. The curly dark hair, the way her hazel eyes turned greenish in the sunlight and the determined tilt of her chin still turned him inside out. He couldn’t look away.
“Everything’s settled, then,” said Pastor Gabriel. “I’d better get home to tell Felicity we’re having guests, or there’ll be trouble.”
Mariah didn’t say a thing, but judging by the set of her mouth, she wasn’t pleased.
Gabriel pointed to Mariah’s valise. “That your bag, sis? I’ll take it so you can stay to chat with Hendrick.”
“Why on earth would we need to chat?”
Pastor Gabriel picked up her bag. “Oh, something about your broken car.”
She wrestled the valise from her brother. “I can carry my own luggage.” She added a glare at Hendrick, as if he somehow had finagled this invitation. “How long will it take to fix my car? I have important business that can’t be delayed.”
“Me, too,” Hendrick countered with equal vigor. “It’s not like I don’t have important things to do.” Like a future with Curtiss Aeroplane.
A flicker of worry crossed her face, and her voice softened. “But you can fix it? I—I don’t have much time.”
The hint of vulnerability almost made him feel bad for her. Almost. But any sympathy passed the moment she offered to pay extra for speedy repairs.
She had to bring up money. She knew he could never compete with her there. The Meekses were wealthy New Yorkers at the top of society. They hobnobbed with Astors and Vanderbilts. They attended the opera and ballet. He could afford only one good suit and shirt, a shirt that needed pressing if he was to look respectable tonight.
“I won’t charge one dime more than I’d charge anyone else. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready for dinner.” He tipped his cap and retreated down the church steps. His sole consolation was the glint of terror that crossed her face when he mentioned supper. At least this meal was going to be as painful for her as it would be for him.
Mariah was going to kill Gabe.
She sat on the bed in one of the parsonage’s guestrooms and yanked a comb through her knotted hair, trying to get it into a semblance of order. The dust and wind on the drive had left it a mess, and there was no time to wash it. She’d changed her gown, but the hair would have to do.
Why she should care was beyond her. Hendrick Simmons shouldn’t mean anything to her anymore, but the man still somehow sent her calm, stable world spinning out of control. Even though he despised her.
To be honest, she deserved it after the way she’d treated him. She owed him more of an explanation, and she’d give it, but not at dinner. Above all, she couldn’t upset Felicity. Gabe had made that clear.
So why had he invited the Simmons family? The stress of hosting a dinner party couldn’t help Felicity’s nerves, but when Mariah insisted on cooking, Felicity had coyly informed her that Gabe had hired a housekeeper. Mariah never thought she’d see the day when her brother hired help. For years, he’d decried their family’s social status and insisted on living without the trappings of wealth. That’s why he’d accepted the pastorate in small town Pearlman. Hiring help must have wounded his pride. Thankfully Felicity had talked some sense into him.
“Luke’s home,” Felicity called up the stairs.
Mariah smoothed her wrinkled skirt, though the boy wouldn’t care one bit what she looked like. Little Luke had spent the day with the Highbottoms, who had a farm and five very energetic children, including one of the orphans Mariah had brought here. After all that running around, he’d be tired and cranky.
She rose and set the comb on the vanity. Would he remember her? She’d never forget their three months together, but he’d been so young, a terrified little boy who would only speak to Gabe’s dog.
Mariah dabbed away a tear with her handkerchief. This emotion was silly. She had to put on a cheerful face for Luke. He couldn’t suspect that danger lurked in his future.
Before descending, she offered up a prayer, asking the Lord to watch over and protect Luke. As always, prayer calmed her. Somehow God would see this through. He always did.
She took one last glance in the mirror and headed downstairs. Before she reached the bottom step, a war whoop rang out from the kitchen, and the door banged open as Luke barreled into the living room.
“Aunt Mariah, Aunt Mariah.” Dressed like a member of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show with his child-size Indian headdress, he jumped up and down, waving his toy tomahawk. “I’m Geronimo.”
“I see that. And what a fierce chief you are,” she said as she gave the boy a hug.
He submitted for a few seconds, but quickly squirmed free, and she had to remember that he was ten now and too old for hugging and kissing.
“My, you’ve grown tall,” she said.
“Five whole inches just this year,” he confirmed proudly. “Daddy says it’s the most anyone in the family ever grew in half a year.”
Oh, dear. He called Gabe Daddy. That would make the transition harder if she failed.
She forced a smile. “I’m sure he’s right.”
“It’s time to change your clothes for dinner,” Felicity urged, pointing Luke toward the stairs. “Neither Geronimo nor Buffalo Bill are invited tonight. And do wash off the war paint.”
“Aw, Mom,” Luke protested.
Arguing with a child couldn’t be good for Felicity. Mariah motioned Felicity to sit down while she addressed Luke at eye level. “It’s a special pow-wow tonight, and Geronimo will want to look his best.”
His eyes lit up. “A pow-wow?”
She nodded.
Convinced, he tromped off to his room to change.
“You’re good with children,” Felicity said after Mariah sat beside her. “One day you’ll have some of your own.”
Mariah couldn’t tell Felicity that was beyond even prayer, and she certainly didn’t want to discuss it, so she diverted the conversation. “Luke is doing so well.”
“He gets a little more independent every day.” Felicity sighed. “And he’s so bright, especially with his letters. He’s reading Tom Sawyer all by himself.”
“How does he feel about getting a new brother or sister?”
Felicity smiled softly and rubbed her large belly. “I’m not sure he understands, but he trusts us.” She laughed. “He thinks we’re going to pick one out, like at the store.”
Mariah chuckled, though part of her ached.
“I can’t wait for the adoption to come through. Then we’ll be a whole family, the way it was meant to be. And I owe it all to you.” She squeezed Mariah’s hand.
“Me?” Mariah tried to hide her alarm behind a smile.
“Yes, you’re the one who brought Luke here. You’re the one who showered him with love. He wouldn’t be the wonderful little boy he is today without you. I’m so glad you decided to visit.”
Mariah felt sick. What if she failed? What if Frank Gillard took Luke away from this safe and loving home into a life of terror? She couldn’t live with herself.
“Mariah?” Felicity looked concerned. “Are you all right? You look pale.”
“I’m fine,” Mariah assured her. “Just a bit tired after the drive. I think I’ll go outside and get some fresh air.”
She hurried onto the porch and tried to shut the door on the tangle of her emotions. Tears wouldn’t help Luke. Neither would worry. She needed to act, and quickly, but Gabe was right. She needed someone to go with her to Montana. It just couldn’t be Hendrick Simmons.
Lord, send courage. And a good mechanic.
After the awkwardness with Hendrick at the church, Mariah should have realized that dinner would be no better. Normally, she had nerves of steel, but tonight her stomach tumbled and rolled. She tried not to look at him, but that could hardly be avoided since Felicity had placed him directly across the table from her. His sister Anna’s presence did little to alleviate the tension. Their mother had declined the invitation, which removed only one matchmaker from the mix. Gabe and Felicity kept the conversation centered on Hendrick.
“I understand you’ve developed a new aeroplane motor for Jack Hunter,” Felicity said pleasantly. “Isn’t that wonderful?”
Though her remark was directed toward Hendrick, her smile was meant for Mariah. No doubt she intended to call attention to Hendrick’s good points, but Mariah was already all too aware of them. How handsome he looked in his suit and freshly pressed shirt! His damp hair still smelled of soap, and the little curls at his temple sprang loose from his neatly combed locks. He sat pallbearer stiff, so uncomfortable that she could have giggled if she wasn’t worried that she’d inadvertently say something that would alert Felicity to her Montana mission.
Speaking of her sister-in-law, she was staring at Mariah as if she expected her to say something. What had Felicity been talking about? Mariah combed her memory. Oh, yes, something about engines.
“A new motor?” Mariah hazarded.
Hendrick shifted in his chair and ran a finger underneath his collar. “Yep…uh, yes,” he corrected, “two motors, actually.” His eyes darted ever so quickly toward Mariah and just as quickly away. “For their North Pole flight.”
Mariah heard the displeasure in his voice. In this case, she happened to agree with him. The risk had to be outweighed by gain. “I can’t imagine what they hope to accomplish.”
Anna perked up. “They’re going to be the first to fly across the Pole. Won’t it be grand? I wish I was going along.”
“You’re not going to go anywhere near the North Pole,” Hendrick stated emphatically.
Mariah smothered a smile. His grammar might have improved since the last time she’d seen him, but he was just as protective.
“You’re no fun at all,” Anna whined. “You’re worse than Ma.” She tossed her mousy brown hair, which was mercifully no longer pulled into tight braids. “I want to do things, like Mariah.”
“Me?” Mariah was startled by Anna’s observation. She’d never considered herself particularly adventurous.
“Yes, you drive anywhere you want, whenever you want.” Anna’s eyes shone.
“That’s not quite true,” Mariah cautioned. “I only drive when I have a purpose.”
“But you drove here,” Anna insisted, “and that’s just for a visit.”
Mariah bit her tongue when she realized how close she’d come to giving away the secret. She tried to recover. “True, but visiting my brother and sister-in-law is a wonderful purpose.”
“I agree.” Felicity lifted her water glass. “To safe travels.”
Gabe quickly seconded his wife’s toast, clinked her glass with his and followed that with a kiss. “My wife is uncommonly beautiful tonight.”
Felicity blushed. “Now, is that any way for a pastor to talk at the dinner table?”
Gabe didn’t back down. “It is when he loves her as much as I love you.”
Mariah smiled to herself as they kissed again. Two years had not dimmed their love. As she turned again to her dinner plate, she noticed Hendrick watching her, an odd expression on his face, but the minute he realized she’d seen him he looked away.
Gabe looked only at Felicity. “And I love you even more for giving me a baby.”
Luke, who hadn’t followed most of the adult conversation, suddenly picked up that one word. “Where is it?” He wiggled around in his chair as if expecting to see a baby behind him. “At the pow-wow?”
Mariah stifled a laugh. “A pow-wow is a gathering of family and friends. No baby.”
“Oh.” Luke turned back around. “Is that all?” He picked up his fork and resumed mashing his peas before turning his questions on her. “Do you have a baby, Aunt Mariah?”
She started. “No, I don’t. I’m not married.”
“Luke,” Felicity scolded, “it’s not polite to ask personal questions. Remember our rules for the dining room table.”
He hung his head. “Yes, Mom.”
“I’m sorry, dear,” Felicity said, her expression so concerned that it was almost as if Gabe had told her Mariah couldn’t have children. But she knew she could trust her brother to keep her secret.
“That’s all right,” Mariah said, though she couldn’t suppress the waves of embarrassment. “Children can’t help being curious.”
Felicity heaved a sigh. “I suppose you’re right. Children can be a challenge. Pets, too. What do you think, Gabe?” She looked to her husband, who gave his blessing. “Mariah, dear, we wanted to talk to you about the home I’m starting.”
Mariah blinked. “Home?”
“An animal haven for abandoned and unwanted pets,” Felicity explained. “I wanted to have it here in the parsonage, but the church trustees put their foot down.” She sighed. “I think Daddy had a lot to do with that. He and Mother are not much for pets.” She looked at Gabe, who smiled his agreement.
The simple gesture raised an uncontrollable envy deep in Mariah’s heart. Mom and Dad were like that, so closely allied in their minds and hearts that they could communicate with just a gesture, and now Gabe and Felicity appeared to be the same. Her older brothers had married happily as well. Only she walked alone.
Felicity bubbled on, “Remember my idea to start a home for orphans? I’d like to combine that with the animal haven, but we’d need a large house. The Elder house, behind the church, just came on the market. It would make the perfect parsonage, and then this house could be the orphanage.”
Mariah did recall that Felicity had proposed an orphanage two summers ago, but she’d thought that idea had passed. Clearly not. Felicity looked so pleased that Mariah couldn’t bring herself to explain how difficult it would be to start a private orphanage.
“All the paperwork has been approved, and now we’re ready to hire a director,” Felicity said pointedly. “Someone who loves children and animals. Think how perfect it would be. The children would learn the responsibility of caring for a pet and in return would receive unconditional love. But we need a director, and with the baby coming soon—” she sighed “—I can’t take it on.”
As if Mariah didn’t understand the offer, Gabe reaffirmed it. “What do you think, sis? You’d be perfect.”
Mariah concentrated on the china pattern with its delicate roses and gilded edge. She couldn’t leave her job. The orphans depended on her. She also couldn’t live so close to Hendrick. Yet Felicity had such hope that she’d accept. Mariah didn’t want to upset her.
“God has called me to the Society,” she said carefully, “but I’ll give it prayerful consideration.”
“You would still be working with orphans,” Felicity argued.
Mariah could see she wasn’t going to get out of this easily. “It’s not a decision to be made lightly.”
“I know.” Felicity sighed. “But it would set my mind at ease to have someone in charge before the baby arrives.”
Mariah knew when she’d been backed into a corner. She wasn’t as certain how to get out of it.
Luckily, Luke came to her rescue. “Is the deliveryman going to bring my baby brother?”
All the adults chuckled.
“No, Luke.” Felicity leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “I promise the baby will arrive soon, but not before dessert.”
“Dessert?” He squealed with delight when the housekeeper brought out chocolate cake, and the business with the baby was forgotten. “My favorite.” He pulled himself tight to the table as a slice of cake was placed before him.
Everyone was distracted for long, precious minutes, but after the last bite was eaten, the adults settled in the parlor with its brocaded wingback chairs and polished wood floors. Luke went outside to play with the dog, and conversation inevitably turned to adult topics.
“Tell me, Mariah,” Gabe began from his perch beside Felicity on the sofa, “how is Mr. Isaacs?”
Mariah shifted so she wouldn’t see Hendrick in the other wingback chair. Naturally, Gabe would inquire about his dear friend and director of the Orphaned Children’s Society, but this conversation was likely headed back to the job offer Mariah couldn’t possibly accept.
“A bit weary of government interference, I’m afraid,” she said, hoping the hint would dissuade Felicity.
“That hasn’t changed, then.”
“I’m afraid it’s gotten worse. It’s difficult to keep a private agency running these days.”
Instead of discouraging Felicity, her remark had just the opposite effect. “Then you should come here. You’d be the perfect director for our home.”
“Am I being railroaded?” Mariah shook her head with a laugh. “The truth is, I love my work. It’s where I belong.” And though she liked Pearlman, with its cozy streets and tight-knit community, the town had one big problem, currently seated in the other wingback chair.
“How many children does the Society handle each month now?” Gabe asked.
Mariah hesitated. That’s why the Detroit office had closed. “A handful.”
“Exactly. It used to be dozens.” Gabe’s brow puckered. “I can’t believe there are fewer children in need. They must be going to the state institutions.”
“Children belong with their families,” Hendrick stated.
Mariah was so surprised by the passion in his voice that she couldn’t think of a thing to say.
“Agreed,” Gabe said. “That’s why Mariah’s going to Montana, to protect a child.”
Mariah’s jaw dropped. The room got deathly quiet. Hendrick, Anna and Felicity all looked stunned. Why had Gabe said that when he’d made her promise not to tell Felicity? She stared at her brother until she realized that he hadn’t mentioned Luke. His statement had been vague. She could be going to help any child.
Felicity recovered first. “I didn’t realize the Society placed children that far west.”
Mariah knew her cheeks were glowing but she hoped Felicity would just think she was warm. “They’ve sent children to many Western states.” That was true, though none had gone that far west in years.
Hendrick looked like he was gagging. He kept pulling at his collar until he managed to ask in a strangled voice, “You’re driving to Montana by yourself?”
“She might think she’s going by herself,” said Gabe, “but as her brother, I insist she take someone with her.”
“I’ll go,” Anna instantly volunteered.
“Wait,” Mariah cried. This was rapidly spinning out of control.
No one paid her the slightest attention.
Hendrick glared at his sister. “Mariah doesn’t need to look after a girl.”
“I’m not a girl,” Anna said hotly. “I’m nineteen.”
“And know nothing about the world,” he added.
A thought crept into Mariah’s head. Perhaps taking Anna along would satisfy Gabe. She did enjoy the girl’s company. How much trouble could she be? Certainly less than Hendrick.
“I think it’s a splendid idea,” Mariah said.
Anna beamed. “See?”
“That’s solved,” said Gabe. “Now all you need is a mechanic.” He looked right at Hendrick. “I can think of no one better.”
Hendrick gulped. “The garage—”
“That’s right.” Mariah capitalized on his excuse. “He has a business to run.”
“It’ll be in fine hands with Peter,” Gabe said.
Hendrick shook his head. “He’s a boy.”
Felicity glowed with the thrill of matchmaking. “He did a wonderful job fixing Daddy’s car. I’m sure he can handle anything that would come up while you’re gone. I think it’s the perfect combination.” She smiled broadly at each of them.
Mariah cringed. “But it will take at least two weeks to get there, and another two weeks back. Surely Hendrick can’t be gone that long.”
Felicity waved a hand. “The trains will be running by the time you’re ready to come back.”
Gabe increased the pressure. “What do you say, Hendrick?”
Mariah fumed. Apparently, she had no say in this. “He’s busy.”
Hendrick opened his mouth as if to protest, glanced at her and then changed his mind. “If Ma says Anna can go, then I’ll have to go, too. I can’t let anything happen to my only sister.” He emphasized the point by glaring at Mariah.
No. No. No. She couldn’t spend all that time with Hendrick, talking to him, seeing him, sitting an arm’s length apart. It would be intolerable.
Felicity clapped her hands. “It’s the perfect solution. Just perfect. Hendrick can make any repairs and ensure that you arrive safely. Well, then, it’s settled.”
It was not. But Mariah couldn’t say a word to change their minds. Anna bounced around the room like a rubber ball. Felicity and Gabe looked so pleased. Luke could come into the house at any moment. All she could do for now was accept that she would be driving west with Hendrick and Anna Simmons.
Until she figured out a way to get out of this little mess.
Chapter Three
Hendrick cornered his sister the moment they’d walked out of sight of the parsonage. “Why did you volunteer to go on that trip?”
Anna tossed her head and wormed past him. “It’s time I got out of this town and saw the world. Pearlman is so limited. I want more. I want to experience everything.”
What had gotten into Anna? She’d always been the quiet and shy type, until… “Did Mariah put you up to this?”
Anna laughed so loudly that everyone else on the street looked to see what was so humorous. “That’s what’s bothering you, isn’t it? That it’s Mariah.”
Hendrick choked back more than a little irritation. “That has nothing to do with it. I wouldn’t let you make a trip like that with any woman.”
Anna skipped ahead. “Well, you don’t have the final say, do you? It’s up to Ma. You said so yourself.”
Hendrick charged after her. She scooted along, face lifted to the sun, and only by virtue of his long legs did he catch her. “Ma won’t give her permission.”
“Yes, she will.”
It felt like they were kids again, sparring over a toy or a game. Then Pa died, and Hendrick had taken over as head of the family. Anna had listened and obeyed him for years—until Mariah set foot in Pearlman.
“Ma wants me to be happy,” Anna was saying, “and seeing the world will make me happy. I certainly don’t need you along, and neither does Mariah.”
Hendrick felt the slap of those words, but he refused to let her childish emotions change his mind. “Anyone driving that far needs a mechanic along. Two thousand miles on bad roads will break apart an automobile. Neither one of you can do more than change a tire.”
Anna huffed. “Then we’ll find someone who does, but the last thing I need is an overprotective big brother tagging along. We’ll find someone else. Even Peter.”
“Peter? He’s too young for a trip like that.” Hendrick wasn’t about to entrust his only sister to a sixteen-year-old. “Besides, I thought you hated him.” They’d reached the house. The sun hung low, just above the trees. Ma would be reading her Bible and saying her prayers. Peter was probably building something with the Erector Set that Hendrick had given him last Christmas.
“I don’t hate him. I just don’t love him.” She wrinkled her nose. “He’s two years younger than me.” Anna stopped in the front doorway. “Promise you won’t go?”
He set his jaw. No way would he let Mariah—or any woman—drive west alone. “Let’s see first if Ma gives you permission.”
The door opened, and Ma stepped outside. “Give you permission for what?” Her cheeks rounded above her embracing smile. Ma was the most optimistic person Hendrick knew, despite losing Pa.
Hendrick didn’t wait for Anna to wrap Ma around her little finger. “Mariah Meeks is driving her car to Montana, and Anna wants to go along. I say it’s a foolish idea.”
Of course Anna disagreed. “No, it’s not. It’ll be such fun, Ma. I’ll see the world. Oh, please, let me go.”
Hendrick hated to disappoint his sister, but he had to stick a pin in her plan. “It’s dangerous. The car will break down. If they’re far from a town, they could die of thirst before they get help.”
“We’ll bring water,” Anna countered.
“There could be wolves or bears or cougars,” he added.
“Then we’ll bring a rifle.”
Ma looked from one to the other as he brought up every possible catastrophe and Anna refuted each one.
“You might run into outlaws and rumrunners,” he pleaded. “It’s not safe for two women.” He nearly choked calling his kid sister a woman.
Ma smiled softly and touched his arm. “It’s good of you to worry about your sister’s welfare, but she’s grown up now and needs to spread her wings.”
“But Ma.”
Anna grinned in triumph.
Ma clucked softly. “We can’t protect our loved ones from everything.”
Her eyes misted, and he knew she was thinking of Pa. A lump rose in his throat as he recalled finding his father crushed beneath a truck, his spilled blood already dark. He’d been dead for hours, and none of them knew. For years Hendrick wished he’d come home from school earlier, that he’d skipped classes that day, that he’d listened to his pa’s advice to quit school after he graduated from the eighth grade. If he had, he might have been there. He might have saved his father. At least Pa wouldn’t have died alone.
“I have to protect Anna from unnecessary risk,” he countered.
Ma nodded. “That’s why you must go, too.”
“But—”
“The garage will be in fine hands with Peter. Plus Mr. Thompson said he’d help out anytime you wanted to take a holiday.”
Hendrick recalled Pa’s working partner, now retired, extending that offer. “I think he meant he’d help for a couple days. This could be a month.”
Ma patted his arm. “Everything will be fine, Hendrick. Go, with my blessing.”
Had all the women in his life gone crazy? Suddenly they wanted to run all over the country and thought nothing of the risk.
“But what if something happens?” he said, not quite able to spell out the possibility that they could be killed in a wreck. “We’re all you have. Except Peter, of course, but that’s not quite the same.” Peter was just a foster son. He could leave at any time. Hendrick and Anna were blood. Nothing could break blood ties. That’s why a man needed his own children.
“Peter will take good care of me.” Ma patted his arm again. “You two will be in the Lord’s care, and that’s all the assurance any of us have. Wherever you go, I know God will be with you.”
Ma’s words reminded Hendrick that he hadn’t told her about the possible job with Curtiss Aeroplane. Rather than escort two women to Montana, he should be headed to New York to present his engine design to a company that could pay a lot of money for the right to produce it. If ever he had a way out of this foolish trip to Montana, this was it.
He licked his lips. “What if I go to New York?”
“New York?” Ma’s brows puckered. “I thought you wanted to help Mariah drive to Montana.”
He struggled not to show any emotion at the mention of Mariah’s name. Ma still harbored hope they’d get back together, no matter how many times he told her it was over. “I’ve got a chance to sell my engine design to Curtiss Aeroplane. Jack Hunter is having his old mechanic put in a word for me, but I need to go to New York to present the plans to their engineers.”
“Is that what you truly want, Hendrick?”
He did. Or at least he thought he did. “Yes, Ma.”
She bit her lip, and her eyes filled with tears. “Then pursue your dream, dear. Don’t let anyone stop you.”
“I’ll take care of you, Ma. They’ll pay more than I earn here at the garage, and Peter can help out around the house.”
“I understand.”
Anna caught her breath. “Does that mean you’re not going with us to Montana?”
Hendrick felt the tug of responsibility. Judging by her muted reaction, Ma didn’t want him to take the Curtiss job, but doing so would ensure that Anna stayed safely at home. She would hate him, but she’d be safe. “That means I need you to stay here with Ma.”
“Stay here?” Anna’s eyes filled with angry tears. “How could you? You did this just to ruin my life. I hate you. I hate you.” Then she ran inside and slammed her bedroom door.
Hendrick watched in silence, his gut a tangled knot.
Ma touched his arm. “Don’t fret, dear. She doesn’t mean it.”
“I know.” And he did know, but it still hurt. “It’s tough being the one in charge.”
Ma softly murmured a protest. “God’s the one who’s in charge. Pray on your decision, Hendrick. He’ll give you the guidance you need.”
Trouble was, Hendrick couldn’t hear the answers above the din of everyone’s conflicting needs.
“I’m going to take a walk,” he grumbled and headed out to find some peace.
Mariah held her tongue until Felicity took Luke upstairs for bed.
“I’d like to see the river,” she announced to her brother, rising from her chair. “Will you show me the way?”
Of course she remembered how to get to the river, but she needed to talk to Gabe away from the parsonage.
She silently followed him across the expansive backyard. Any wind had vanished, and the evening descended with a golden haze and the croak of bullfrogs. Once Gabe closed the backyard gate behind them, she let loose. “How could you? You know Hendrick and I had a falling-out. Traveling with me for a month is the last thing he’d want to do.”
Gabriel whistled a few notes. “Seems to me he said he’d go.”
“Naturally he did, once you forced him. What could he say? You certainly manipulated that little scenario your way.” Every word only made her angrier. The air was thick and cloying. The last bit of daylight barely filtered through the trees. She felt trapped.
“I manipulated him?” He tsked audibly. “Seems to me Hendrick Simmons is a grown man with a mind of his own. He made a decision. The fact that I happen to agree with him doesn’t make me manipulative.”
Normally, Mariah kept her emotions in check, but Gabe and Hendrick had sent them catapulting out of control. “Why can’t you accept that I can do this myself? The fewer people involved, the better. You said so yourself.”
“Hendrick’s a good, honest man. You can’t deny that.”
She couldn’t.
“I trust him to keep the secret.”
“And Anna?” Mariah pointed out. “Do you feel the same way about her?” Even as she said the words, she recalled that Anna had been infatuated with Gabe when he first arrived. A shy girl then, she’d pined for him and must have suffered when Gabe chose Felicity.
“She’s a good girl,” Gabe said softly, “and has grown up a lot since you last saw her. Yes, I have faith in her.”
Mariah sighed. He was not going to let her out of this. “You know how difficult this will be.”
“I know, sis, but you’ll manage. You always do.”
They’d reached the river, flowing gently at this season. To the left, mostly out of sight, a footbridge crossed to the other side. In the low light, the water below looked black and endless, but once they’d climbed down to the water’s edge, it turned silky green.
“I’m afraid, Gabe,” she whispered as they made their way to the rocky sandbar that was exposed this time of year. She wasn’t just afraid for Luke or all the problems that might happen on the trip, but for her heart. The old longing had returned with a fierceness she hadn’t expected, but a life with Hendrick could never be. One impossible obstacle still loomed between them, and his remarks tonight confirmed that it was still there. He wanted children of his own. Children she could never give him.
Gabe hugged her shoulders. “I know.”
Her shoes scrunched against the stones, sinking in slightly as they made their way to the center of the sandbar. They both looked downstream. For years she’d watched over Gabe, making sure he was all right. Now their roles were reversed. He was trying to take care of her. She bit her lip to stem the tide of emotion.
“It’ll turn out all right,” Gabe said with another brisk hug. “It always does for those who love the Lord.”
The corner of her mouth twitched at that reminder. “Are you preaching to me?”
He bent and picked up a stone. “I’ve been teaching Luke how to skip stones. He can beat me now.” He let the stone fly. It bounced once, twice, three times before sinking beneath the surface. “Are we stones that sink to the bottom or twigs that float on the surface? Do we succumb to trouble or are we carried wherever the water flows?”
“I’d like to think we’re boats, able to navigate treacherous waters.” Mariah was used to her brother’s philosophical musings, but this one deeply touched her soul. “You’re afraid, too.”
He bowed his head. “Of course. Losing Luke would break my heart, but knowing he’d be beaten down by someone who’s supposed to love him would kill me.”
He swiped at his face, and she knew he’d lost control of his emotions. She hugged him around the shoulders, as she used to when he was a boy.
“I won’t let that happen,” she said, softly at first but with growing firmness. “God won’t let Frank Gillard take Luke.”
“I hope you’re right,” he gasped, his shoulders shuddering as he gave in to tears.
Behind them, a plank of the bridge creaked, telling her that they were not alone. She turned.
Hendrick Simmons was watching.
“Mariah. Pastor.” Hendrick knew she’d seen him.
He’d come to the bridge to think, to let the steady flow of water help him sort things out. Instead, he’d heard the real reason for Mariah’s trip west. That changed everything. Someone had threatened to harm Luke, and she was going to Montana to stop him. Now he had to go with her.
“Hendrick,” called out Gabriel. “Wait there.” He led his reluctant sister up the riverbank, and in minutes they appeared on the bridge. “Nice night, isn’t it?”
Mariah hung back.
Hendrick didn’t know if he should tell them he’d overheard their conversation. It had been so personal that he felt as if he’d been eavesdropping. He decided to pretend he hadn’t.
“Needed to get some air.” Hendrick leaned against the rail and watched the river flow. “Water’s down for this time of year. Hope we don’t have a drought.”
“That’s something to pray for,” Pastor Gabriel said softly. “I’m glad you’re going to Montana with my sister.”
Mariah didn’t say a word. She stood on the other side of her brother, staring straight ahead.
“Ma gave Anna permission to go.” He didn’t bother saying that he’d thrown a wrench into the plan, since he wouldn’t be going to New York now.
“Good,” Gabriel said. “Then you two have a lot to talk about. See you at the parsonage, sis.”
“Gabe,” she cried. “I’ll go with you. I might get lost.”
Pastor Gabriel laughed and shook his head. “Hendrick knows these woods better than I do. Get her home safely, okay?”
That’s precisely what Hendrick intended to do, after he got her to Montana.
The pastor hiked up the path and vanished into the woods, leaving Hendrick alone with Mariah, who watched her brother’s departure before turning to him.
“How much did you hear?”
Hendrick heard the accusation in her words. “Enough.”
She swallowed, looking more like a frightened girl than the confident woman he was used to seeing. “Please don’t tell anyone.” She clutched her arms around her midsection. “Felicity can’t know.” Her eyes looked haunted, desperate. “Please.”
He nodded. “I promise.”
Relieved, she collapsed against the bridge railing, and he thought for a moment that she was going to cry. Instinctively, he reached to comfort her, but she flinched, and he backed away, confused.
“I just wanted to say it’s all right,” he said, struggling to find the right words. “I’ll help you all I can.”
“I know.” She lowered her face so it fell in the shadows. “But we can’t relive the past. Do you understand that?”
He set his jaw. “I’m not asking to go back in time, Mariah. I’m talking about getting you safely to Montana so you can help Luke.”
She shushed him. “Don’t say his name.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.”
They stood in silence for long moments, each staring downstream, headed in the same direction yet miles apart.
He licked his lips. “What can you tell me?”
She continued to watch the river. “We’re going to Brunley, near the Rocky Mountains. The rest I’ll tell you once we leave Pearlman.”
He understood. She couldn’t take a chance that anyone would overhear.
She breathed deep, squared her shoulders and turned to face him. “I owe you an explanation.”
He frowned. Hadn’t she just said she couldn’t tell him anything until they were on the road?
“Not about our trip,” she clarified, “about last time. Why I left. I shouldn’t have run off.”
He couldn’t agree more, but he had the sense not to say that. Instead, he waited for her.
“It’s my work,” she finally said. “Helping the orphans is my calling. I couldn’t leave them. I’ll never stop helping them. Do you understand?”
He didn’t. Didn’t all women want their own children? Others would step up to help the orphans, but she couldn’t let it go.
“It’s not that I don’t care for you. You’re a wonderful…friend.”
He steeled his jaw. “You, too.” He’d never let her know how much she affected him. “Besides, I have a chance to work at Curtiss Aeroplane. I’ll be heading to Garden City as soon as we return.”
“Good.” She drew a shaky breath. “That is, congratulations.”
Did he imagine that hesitation in her voice?
She shook her head, as if she knew what he was thinking. “I’m glad you realize that there can’t be anything between us beyond friendship.” She stuck out her hand.
He reluctantly grasped it. “Yeah, friends.” Her hand felt like cold steel.
Chapter Four
Not because of her. Hendrick recited that over and over as he fixed Mariah’s car. He wasn’t going on this trip because of some misguided romantic nonsense. He was going to help a little boy. Period.
He repaired the car in a day. Putting the interview with Curtiss Aeroplane on hold wasn’t quite that easy.
Jack Hunter gave him a sharp look. “Dick told me the engineers are eager to see your design. If you wait too long, they’ll change their minds or find another designer, and the opportunity will be gone.”
Hendrick couldn’t tell him why he had to go to Montana. He’d promised, and Hendrick never broke his promises. “It’s just a few weeks.”
Jack’s wife, Darcy, who had been silent until then, chimed in. “Of course Hendrick has to go with Mariah. Jack, you’d do the same. After all, you followed me here rather than start up that Buffalo flight school.”
Jack groused, “That’s not the same thing.”
“It’s exactly the same. A woman has a way of convincing the man who loves her.”
Hendrick felt the heat creep up his neck. “This has nothing to do with Mariah. I need to take care of my sister. That’s all.”
“If you say so.” Darcy laughed as she leaned against the lower wing of the plane.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Show me a woman who isn’t a matchmaker. Sorry about that.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, Darcy, but we’ve already decided to stay friends.”
She shrugged, as if his revelation meant nothing. “You can’t blame me for trying.”
Jack sighed. “I’ll ask Dick to see if they’ll delay the interview a month. No guarantees.”
“Understood.” Hendrick knew the cost. He would lose his one chance to strike out on his own.
“Don’t worry,” Darcy said sympathetically, “if Curtiss wants the engine badly enough, they’ll wait.”
He hoped she was right.
On Friday morning, Mariah paced in front of the parlor windows, waiting for her car to arrive. Maybe she should have gone to the garage and gotten it herself, but Hendrick assured Gabe he’d drive it to the parsonage.
“Do you think he’s forgotten?” she asked Felicity, after checking the time. “They’re ten minutes late.”
Felicity chuckled. “I’m sure he hasn’t. Give them time.”
“I hope you’re right.” Mariah tugged on a lock of hair.
The fact that Felicity couldn’t know the reason for her trip made this parting more difficult. Mariah had to bury any misgivings and pretend the drive would progress without a hitch, but she knew Gabe was right. A host of problems could derail her effort.
By the time Hendrick parked the Overland in front of the parsonage, her anxiety level had escalated. It got even worse when he unfolded his lean frame from the driver’s seat. The sun accentuated his broad shoulders and muscular arms. She would have to be close to that, to him, every day for the next month.
“Doesn’t Hendrick look handsome?” Felicity said.
Mariah did not need her sister-in-law’s observations. The sight of him made her tremble. “He’s changed.”
Felicity nodded, a knowing smile on her lips. “He studied the last two years and received his high school diploma. Jack Hunter taught him drafting so he could make blueprints for his engine designs. Jack says he’s brilliant and could go far.”
Mariah couldn’t take another minute of Felicity’s glowing accolades. She grabbed her valise. “It’s time to go.”
“I’ll fetch Gabe and Luke.” Felicity headed for the kitchen.
Mariah wished she could leave without the heart-tugging farewells, but Felicity would have none of it. While her sister-in-law vanished into the kitchen, Mariah carried her valise onto the porch.
“Mariah, Mariah!” Anna leaned out the backseat window. “Can you believe we’re actually going? I can hardly wait. Will we see Lake Michigan? And Chicago? Hendrick says it’s a huge city with buildings so tall you can’t see the tops.”
Anna rattled off her questions so quickly that Mariah had no hope of answering, so she nodded and smiled and let Hendrick take her valise. Their hands brushed, and the same electricity coursed through her. Hopefully, he didn’t notice.
“Sis.” Gabe hefted a small crate down the porch steps. “Thought you’d sneak away, did you?”
“What on earth are you carrying?”
“Provisions. Tins of food, matches, a hatchet, everything you’ll need for camping.”
“But I already have supplies and a tent.” Mariah pointed to the half-full backseat. “There’s no room for more.”
“I’ll make it fit.” Hendrick lifted the heavy crate from Gabe’s arms like it weighed no more than a sheet of paper.
My, he was strong. Mariah fanned her suddenly hot face.
Hendrick unpacked the crate and somehow wedged the contents into the backseat without forcing Anna out.
Meanwhile, Gabe pulled her aside. “My prayers go with you.” He held her face in his hands. “Find the truth.”
His eyes looked tired, and the lines around his mouth had deepened.
She hugged him. “I won’t fail you.”
The dreaded round of farewells began when Felicity and Luke joined them in the yard. Mariah managed to say goodbye without shedding a tear.
“When are you coming back, Aunt Mariah?” Luke solemnly asked.
“Soon,” she said, praying that her return would not be to take him west.
Gabe gave her a bear hug. “Godspeed, sis. May He guide your every step.” Though he didn’t say more, both knew where they wanted the Lord to guide her.
“I’ll let you know where you can reach us when we arrive.” She pretended to smile even while choking back tears. “Call or cable if the baby comes early.”
“Of course.”
Then she had to walk away. How she loved them all. They stood together, Gabe’s hand on Luke’s shoulder, confirming to the world that Luke was his son. Felicity waved, and Mariah lifted a hand in response before heading to the driver’s-side door.
She reached for the handle at the same time as Hendrick. Their hands met, generating another jolt of electricity.
“Thank you,” she said stiffly, “but it’s not necessary to open the door for me.”
He flushed. “Uh, I thought…that is, I assumed…”
“Thought what?”
Felicity laughed and motioned her to the passenger seat. Apparently, she wasn’t supposed to drive. But this was her car. She always drove. Why must she turn over control simply because a man was in the car? She started to protest but then decided, in the interest of peace, to relinquish the wheel.
“For now,” she explained. “We will share driving.”
Before Hendrick could protest, she walked around the car to the passenger side, but he’d scrambled to get there before her and, by virtue of his long legs, managed to pull the door open just before she arrived.
Anna groaned. “I hope you’re not going to be like this the whole way.”
“I can’t imagine what you mean.” Mariah took her seat with regal formality.
“Goodbye,” Felicity called out again as Hendrick got into the car.
At last they were ready to go. Hendrick set the spark and throttle levers in preparation for starting the car.
Mariah pushed the throttle back a bit. “It doesn’t need that much.”
Hendrick glared at her. “I think I know how to start a car.”
She crossed her arms. “I think I know my car better than anyone else.”
Anna groaned again. “What is wrong with you two?”
Neither of them bothered to answer the preposterous question. Hendrick started the car, and Mariah stared straight ahead. His elbow practically butted into her side. No more than six inches separated them on the seat. She couldn’t last two thousand miles that way. At the next stop, she’d drive and insist that Hendrick sit in the back.
She plastered herself against the door and kept her gaze straight ahead while they drove through Pearlman and past Hendrick’s garage. Mrs. Simmons waved to them from her yard.
“Goodbye, Mama,” Anna called out.
“God be with you,” she called back, and Mariah hoped she didn’t know the true reason for their trip.
She glanced at Hendrick. “Does she…?”
He must have understood, because he shook his head.
Soon they left town, driving up the little rise before passing through a tunnel of ancient maples that had somehow missed the lumberman’s ax. On this warm July morning, the dappled shade created an oasis of coolness in the midst of the hot fields.
“Isn’t this wonderful?” Anna mused, her chin on the back of the front seat between Mariah and Hendrick. “Hendrick comes here all the time. It’s his favorite spot in the whole world.”
Anna pointed out every barn and unusual tree. Ordinarily the chatter would have driven Mariah to tears, but today it passed the miles and ensured that she didn’t have to talk to Hendrick. Though they couldn’t go much over thirty miles an hour on the rutted road, within a couple hours they reached the West Michigan Pike, the highway that ran along the shore of Lake Michigan.
“Can we stop to see the lake?” Anna queried from the backseat.
“May we,” Hendrick corrected.
Mariah lifted an eyebrow. Hendrick Simmons correcting grammar?
“May we stop?” Anna sighed.
Mariah hated to waste time on sightseeing, but she couldn’t deny Anna this little pleasure. She asked Hendrick to pull over at the first place he could park. When he finally stopped the car on a grassy spot alongside the beach, the view startled her. Lake Michigan wasn’t like any lake she’d ever seen. Why, it stretched unbroken to the horizon, exactly like the ocean.
“It doesn’t smell like the ocean, though.” She sniffed the air. “No salty odor.”
No one listened to her musings. Anna raced to the shore, where she peeled off her shoes and stockings. Within seconds, she’d waded into the crashing surf. The waves rolled over her feet and dampened the hem of her skirt.
“You’re getting wet,” Mariah called out, but Anna either didn’t hear or didn’t care.
“Sounds good to me.” Hendrick kicked off his shoes and socks and followed his sister.
Anna laughed, running out when each wave ebbed and racing back to shore when the next one arrived. Her giggles were infectious, and, since everyone else was taking a break, Mariah removed her shoes and stockings, too.
The sand blazed beneath her feet, and she gingerly hopped to the water’s edge. The wet sand cooled her blistered soles. When a wave rolled over her feet, the icy water made her shriek. “It’s freezing.”
“It’s wonderful.” Anna ran down the shore, splashing water with every step.
Within minutes, Mariah grew accustomed to the chill water—or perhaps numb to it. She walked a few steps, but the sand gave way beneath her feet, making her stagger. The wash of the waves tugged at her feet, burying them deeper in the soft, pebbly sand.
“It’s like quicksand,” she exclaimed.
Hendrick bent over laughing.
“It’s not funny. My feet keep sinking, and my skirt is getting wet. I can hardly walk.”
“Hold still.” In an instant he swept her off her feet and into his arms. “There, you’re safe now.”
Safe? He was holding her. Holding her. Goodness, he’d lifted her as easily as if she were a child. His heart thudded against her side. His shoulders loomed at eye level. He smelled so masculine that she couldn’t think straight. She wanted to lay her head on his shoulder, to sink into his arms and stay there forever.
“Put me down,” she squawked, terrified at the rush of emotion. She couldn’t fall for him again. She couldn’t.
He didn’t listen. Instead of setting her on her feet, he carried her toward the car.
“What are you doing?” she cried. “I told you to put me down.”
But he didn’t. He just kept walking, carrying her away from the shore. She had no choice but to hold on.
“I know how to walk.”
“I know, but the sand’s hot,” he explained when they reached her abandoned shoes. He gently set her down and smoothed the collar of her middy shirt before turning to call for his sister. “Anna, it’s time to go.”
Mariah sat, embarrassed by her reaction to him. “I could have walked.”
He sat beside her. “I didn’t want you to burn your feet.”
She grabbed a stocking. “How could they burn when they’re blocks of ice?” To demonstrate that she hadn’t been affected by the way he held her, she tried to pull the stocking over one of her damp, sandy feet. It went nowhere.
“Here, let me help.” He scrunched up the other stocking so it would fit easily over her toes. “Brush off the sand, and I’ll slip this on.”
She yanked it away from him. “I think I can put on my own stockings.” But the gritty sand clung to her feet as if it had been glued on.
“I’d be glad to help,” he said again.
“I don’t need help.” She yanked on the stockings, even though they bunched in the wrong places and she hadn’t gotten all the sand off her feet. She shoved on her shoes and stood. “There, see?” She strode toward the car, the sand rubbing against her toes with every step.
Hendrick hurried after her. “Let me get the door.”
She’d had quite enough of his help. She was an independent, fully capable woman, not an invalid.
“I’m driving,” she stated, whipping open the driver’s-side door.
He halted, either surprised or dismayed.
She didn’t care. They’d had a deal. No romance. He’d broken it. This was the last time she’d let down her guard around Hendrick Simmons.
Didn’t she feel a thing? Hendrick watched Mariah, confused by her reaction. When he first picked her up, she’d clung to him and even laid her head against his shoulder, but then she’d tensed, as if she realized she wasn’t supposed to enjoy being carried by him. Then she got all defensive when he was just trying to help and stomped off to the car, insisting she had to drive. She didn’t even wait for him to open the door.
He would never understand women.
They ate lunch in silence and reached Chicago that afternoon. Anna hung her head out the window and gawked at the buildings.
“That one has ten stories,” Anna cried out as they entered downtown. “And that one, oh, my.” She drank in the traffic signs and policemen at the street corners, the elevated railway and the crowds of people. “Thousands must live here. How do they know each other?”
“They don’t,” Hendrick said. “Cities have lots of people, but they’re all strangers. I’d rather live where everyone knows each other.”
“Like Pearlman,” Mariah said tartly as she slowed the car for an intersection.
“What’s wrong with Pearlman?” Though he planned to move to Garden City if his interview with Curtiss went well, he rose to his hometown’s defense.
“I didn’t say anything was wrong. Pearlman’s a lovely town. Gabe adores living there.”
“It’s a good place to raise a family,” Hendrick said softly.
She visibly tensed.
So that was it. The woman who helped place orphans didn’t want children of her own. Of course. That’s what she’d tried to tell him at the bridge, that her career came first. What a shame. She’d be a wonderful mother. He’d seen her with Luke, especially, but also with Peter and the other orphans she’d placed. She was a natural parent. Maybe she didn’t want children now, but given time, was there any hope she might change her mind?
He’d test his theory. “I definitely want children.”
She hesitated long enough that he knew he’d struck a nerve. “Children are a blessing, but I’m busy with the Society. Those are the children in my life.”
“I want to wait, too,” Anna chimed in.
He’d forgotten that his sister was there or he would never have brought up such a personal subject.
“First I’m going to see the world,” Anna babbled on. “Look at these buildings. They’re monstrous. Now I can tell everyone I’ve been to Chicago. Is New York like this?”
“It is, only bigger,” Mariah said quickly, apparently eager to change the topic.
“Bigger?” Anna cried. “I want to go there.”
Mariah launched into descriptions of streets and buildings and department stores until he wished they’d be quiet.
“Do you go to parties and dances?” Anna asked Mariah.
“Some, but my college studies took most of my time.”
College. Hendrick stewed. Only the rich could afford college. Anna could never attend, so why bring it up?
“What did you study?” Anna said. “I’d do something exciting like classics and explore Greek ruins.”
He gritted his teeth. Maybe, if Curtiss offered enough for his engine design, he could afford to send her to teacher’s college, but no point in a degree for something frivolous, like classics.
“We should fill the fuel tank and get oil before leaving the city,” he said to change the topic.
Some blocks later, Mariah pulled the car into a filling station. The hulking attendant smirked when he saw Mariah in the driver’s seat. Humiliation coiled in Hendrick’s gut and spread quickly to his fists. Just because he wasn’t driving didn’t make him less of a man.
“Please fill the tank,” Mariah told the attendant, oblivious to the slight.
“Yes, ma’am.” The man spoke politely to her, but he snickered when he stepped to the fuel pump.
Hendrick sprang out of the car, unable to take any more of this. “I’ll check the oil.” He slammed the door and whipped the hood open.
“What’s wrong with you?” Mariah followed him. “The attendant can do that.”
He would not dignify her question with a reply. “You’re low a quart.”
“You don’t have to snap at me.”
She didn’t understand. For a woman who worked with people all the time, she should realize that a man needed to be a man. Instead, she always had to be in charge. He grabbed a rag from the car and wiped his hands.
“I’m a mechanic,” he stated to the smirking attendant.
Mariah followed his gaze, and her confident smile fell. “Oh, I see,” said the attendant.
Her demeanor softened, became more open, the way she’d been at the Founder’s Day picnic two years ago. That day she’d laughed and chattered and eagerly taken in every word he said. That day he’d thought she cared for him. They grew closer and closer over the following months until the day of Felicity and Gabriel’s wedding. Then suddenly, a wall went up between them and she only wanted to be friends.
Apparently, that’s all she’d ever want.
He reached for the passenger-side door, but she stopped him with an electric touch to the arm.
“Thank you, Hendrick, for letting me practice driving, but I think you’d better take over now.”
The knot in his gut loosened when he spotted the attendant and realized she’d said that for his sake. Maybe, somewhere deep, deep inside, she still cared for him.
She rummaged in her bag and shoved a roll of bills into his hand. He stared at the thick wad. It must total fifty dollars.
“Take it,” she whispered as the attendant approached.
He didn’t have time to protest.
“That’s $1.40.” The burly attendant looked from him to Mariah.
She smiled and returned to the passenger seat.
Fine, rather than make a fuss, he’d pay, but not from her funds. He withdrew the $1.40 from his wallet, leaving a little over $15 for the trip. Once the attendant left, he stuck Mariah’s bills into his pants pocket where they couldn’t fall out. As soon as they were alone, he’d give it back.
Chapter Five
Tourist parks proved few and far between on their route, so Hendrick selected a flat, grassy spot between cornfields to camp. The women weren’t sure the area afforded enough privacy, since the corn wasn’t yet waist high, but a little exploration of the area yielded a more secluded spot where a creek trickled under drooping willows.
“This will do,” Mariah stated.
Hendrick eyed the terrain. He’d maneuvered the car between the cultivated fields on a rutted old path, but there wasn’t room to turn the car around. He’d have to back it out.
“Hope it doesn’t rain,” he said as he put down the top.
“Me, too.” Mariah grabbed the topmost bag from the backseat. “I haven’t tested the tent for watertightness.”
She strained under the weight of the canvas bag, so Hendrick tried to relieve her of the burden. “I’ll unload. You ladies rest.”
“Rest?” Mariah refused to let go. “All we’ve done is rest.” She carried the bag to the tree and set it down. “Where’s Anna?”
Hendrick heaved a sigh. “I’d better go find her.” It was just like his sister to run off when there was work to be done.
Mariah’s throaty chuckle eased the tension. “Give her some time. It’s not as if she could go that far.”
True, but the cornfields and hayfields weren’t tall enough to hide someone. The only place to disappear was down by the creek. “She should have told us where she was going.”
Mariah smiled softly. “She’s just excited to be on her first trip away from home.”
It was his first trip, too, but he didn’t go running off at the first opportunity. Besides, Anna was his responsibility. If anything happened, Ma would never recover. She doted on Anna. Since they couldn’t afford new clothes very often, Ma got the old fabric and scraps of lace from Mrs. Fox’s dressmaking shop to make Anna’s dresses. In his opinion, his sister was spoiled, but Ma said she deserved a few niceties in life.
Money. It all came down to that. If he sold his engine design to Curtiss and became an aeronautical engineer, he’d be able to afford anything his mother and sister desired. He’d have as much money as…as Mariah. Hendrick stuck a hand in his pocket and encountered the roll of bills. Her bills. He should have given the money back right after they left the filling station. He’d do so now.
Naturally, she refused to take it. “Use it to pay for fuel and oil.”
“But I should be paying.”
She waved that idea away. “I’m on agency business. The Society is paying.”
“Not for Anna and me.”
“You’re here at my request. If you don’t want to handle the money, I will, but I’d prefer you do it.”
She trusted him. Despite their differences, she had faith in him. He ran a thumb over the edge of the bills before sticking them back in his pocket.
Meanwhile, she’d grabbed another bag from the car.
“I’ll take that,” he offered.
She strode past him with a laugh. “Get your own.”
Her joy was infectious, and he smiled as he hefted the next bag onto his shoulder. It rattled and clanked. Must be the pans and tins of food she’d packed. It weighed plenty, more than she could lift. He paraded past her with a grin of triumph.
“Set that one under the tree closest to the stream,” she commanded as she tugged the canvas tent out of its sack.
“Yes, ma’am.” He snapped to attention, imitating the salute used by soldiers who’d returned from the Great War. He’d tried to enlist, but the local board denied his application, saying he had to support his mother and sister.
Mariah waited until he set down the last sack before instructing him to put the car’s roof back up. “It does look like rain.”
Other than a couple puffy clouds, the sky was clear. Apparently, she wanted to keep him busy, and he, the foot soldier, was at her command.
While he refastened the roof, she spread the tent in a nice grassy dip in the ground. If it did rain, he thought, they’d be soaked.
“You might want to pick a different spot.”
“What’s wrong with here?” she snapped, her breathing heavy. She tugged the canvas over the pole. “I happen to like a soft, grassy place to lie down. I suppose you prefer rocks?”
“Fine. Suit yourself.” If the rain arrived, as she suspected, she’d be sorry.
He finished raising the car roof, and she was still struggling with the tent. Only one end would stay up. She’d set one pole, leave it balancing and then race to the other side. By then, the first pole would topple over.
“I can help,” he said.
“Don’t need it.”
Yet over and over her efforts yielded the same result. The scene looked like it came from a Charlie Chaplin film. Hendrick bit his lip to stifle a laugh, but he couldn’t hold back the guffaw forever. When both poles fell down and the whole thing caved in, the laughter erupted, each wave making his sides ache even more.
“Do you think you can do any better?” She threw a pole to the ground in disgust. Hands on hips, she positively glared, but he couldn’t stop laughing. “Well, you’re no help. Where is Anna? Maybe she can hold herself together long enough to get this tent up.”
His sister dropped from the nearby willow and took one of the poles. “What do I do?”
Instead of answering Anna, Mariah focused her wrath on him. “Hendrick, stop laughing and hold up the other pole. I’ll start pounding in the stakes.”
My, she was bossy. He’d always considered her directness a virtue. She knew what needed to be done and did it. But sometimes she could be wrong. The ground outside her little patch of green grass was rock hard. She’d have some time of it trying to pound in those stakes.
Nonetheless, he obediently took up his pole and watched while she pulled the corner line taut and attempted to hammer the stake into the ground. It pierced the soil no more than half an inch when she gave up and moved to the next one. But as soon as she pulled the line tight, the first stake came loose. With a growl of frustration, she mopped her brow with the back of her hand.
“The ground’s so hard,” she muttered. “I can’t get it in.”
Hendrick wanted to help. Perspiration ran down her forehead, and her hair curled around her face in damp little tendrils that begged to be touched. But she would only yell at him and insist that she didn’t need his help. So he watched her try and try without success.
Finally, he couldn’t stand it anymore. “I’d be glad to give it a go.”
Naturally she scowled at him. “Did I ask for your help?”
He wanted to rip the mallet from her hands and get the job done. Why did she have to be so stubborn?
Then Anna giggled. She tried to hold back, so it came out in a snort, but she couldn’t maintain control for long and a second later burst out laughing.
Mariah frowned, but apparently Anna’s laughter didn’t irk her as much as his because before long she started to giggle, too. Her prickly-porcupine attitude eased, and she handed him the mallet. “See if you can make any headway.”
They traded places, and in minutes he had the tent up and ready for their blankets and clothing.
“Which bag has the other tent?” he asked.
Mariah swiped damp hair from her brow. “I, uh, didn’t count on company.”
No second tent. He couldn’t very well sleep with the women. That left only one option.
“I’ll take the car.” He’d have to sleep sitting up or curled into a ball, but it was the only option that kept him out of the weather.
Mariah’s lips formed a perfect rosebud. Her cheeks glowed from the exertion. “I’m sorry I didn’t think to bring another tent. Thank you.” She tugged at a curl, the hat long ago discarded and her bobbed hair flying out in every direction. “We can take turns.”
But of course they couldn’t. He wouldn’t let the women get all cramped in the car.
“We’ll get another tent at the first outfitter,” she said.
“Don’t waste your money.” He was still too aware of the wad of bills in his pocket, not to mention the hole in his heart. “The car will be fine.”
After supper, Mariah conscripted Anna to help her scrub the dirty dishes in the creek while Hendrick checked the car’s tires. Camping reminded her of family trips to the Catskills. Dad would rent a cabin for a couple weeks each summer. He wanted his children to know how to survive in the wilderness, so he took them out on short expeditions, teaching them how to build a fire, how to tell which plants were edible and how to fish. Gabe loved it, but she whined about the damp and the dirt and finally talked Dad into letting her skip the trips. Now she wished she’d stuck with it.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Anna exclaimed after handing Mariah the last pan. She stretched and spun around to take it all in.
Mariah didn’t consider an Illinois roadside beautiful. High clouds streaked the sky, but the grass and corn didn’t provide much of a view. Forty feet away, Hendrick bent over the rear tire on the far side of the car. He couldn’t possibly hear what they were saying. That gave her a chance to ask Anna something that had been bothering her since they left, something that the girl’s disappearance that afternoon had highlighted.
“Anna?” Mariah touched the girl’s arm to capture her attention. “Could I ask a favor of you?”
The girl stopped spinning. “Of me?”
There was no easy way to say this. “I don’t have anything against your brother. He’s a fine and honorable man. It’s purely about propriety. As a single woman…” She let her voice trail off for emphasis. “I shouldn’t be alone with an unmarried man, especially after dark. Could you ensure we’re never alone together?”
Anna shrugged her shoulders. “If you want.”
“Thank you,” Mariah breathed, relieved that Anna had agreed so readily. There’d be no repeat of the episode at the beach, no teasing of her emotions and no chance he’d fall in love with her again.
With that worry gone, she could enjoy the sunset. Mariah stacked the dried dishes and carried them back to the campsite where Anna helped her put them back in the canvas bag. Then the three of them settled on the grass. At first they chatted about what they’d seen that day, but as the sun streaked the undersides of the clouds pink, all conversation stopped. Anna swatted at a cloud of gnats while Hendrick pulled out a stalk of wheatlike grass and nibbled on the end. Mariah remembered doing that as a child. How long had it been since she saw the world with fresh eyes? Even while caring for Luke two summers ago, she’d bustled about doing chores, never stopping to experience his world.
She plucked a stalk of grass and tasted its tender, sweet end, rich with the promise of summer. God’s golden sunlight had seeped into the earth where the plants drank it up. Tonight that light shimmered in the air and streaked the sky in hues of pink and red and violet.
“Nothing can top the Lord’s paintbrush,” she said softly.
Anna murmured agreement, but Hendrick gave her a look that swept over her like gale-driven waves. Both pain and longing and something else. Was it hope or despair?
This trip must be difficult for him. His presence certainly upset her composure. Suddenly, she had to consider his feelings. It wasn’t just what she wanted. He was there, always there, within arm’s reach. And his thoughts were so transparent. She hoped he didn’t read her so easily.
He tossed away his stalk of grass. “What are you going to do once we get to Montana?”
“Get Mr. Gillard to sign the termination-of-parental-rights papers.” The memory of Luke playing Geronimo made her voice catch. “I can’t risk Luke’s happiness.”
Anna rolled onto her stomach, chin propped on her hands. “Who is Mr. Gillard, and what does he have to do with Luke?”
Mariah realized that she’d never filled in Anna and Hendrick. They were far from Felicity and Luke now. She took a deep breath. “Frank Gillard claims he’s Luke’s father, and says he wants his son back.”
Her eyes widened, the pupils black in the declining light. “You don’t think he really is Luke’s father?”
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Christine Johnson
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: She Broke His Heart.Now She Needs His Help. Hendrick Simmons despises her. Mariah Meeks doesn’t blame him—not after she rejected the handsome mechanic’s proposal two years ago. She’s certain she’s not meant for marriage. All Mariah’s energy goes to one purpose—her work as an agent of the Orphaned Children’s Society.Now a prodigal father’s return threatens a boy under Mariah’s care. Mariah insists on approving the lad’s future home for herself, even though it requires a cross-country drive that’s too dangerous to take on her own. For the child’s sake, Hendrick agrees to join her. Can a journey of 2,000 miles bridge the distance between them… and reveal where Mariah truly belongs?