One Step Away (Hazel Green Book 2)

by Cindy Kirk

  “My parents had a lot of friends in this neighborhood,” Leo murmured, almost to himself.

  Nell had seen the couple from a distance the few times they’d been back in Hazel Green, but had kept her distance.

  “My mother and Jocelyn’s mom were very close when we were younger.” A distant look filled Leo’s eyes. “In the summer, the kids would run back and forth between each other’s houses. It was an open-door policy. No knocking required.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  Though Gloria had a couple of women she called friends, they weren’t really her friends, merely weaker women she could manipulate and use for her own gain.

  Even if their constantly moving lifestyle would have allowed it, Nell and Dixon had been encouraged to keep their distance from other kids. Unless, of course, Gloria saw some purpose in a relationship.

  “I hope their friends will stand by my dad.” Leo looked away, but not before she saw the worry in his eyes. “Everything might be different now.”

  “I’m sure it will be fine,” Nell said with more certainty than she felt. “After all, it wasn’t your father who broke the law.”

  A muscle in Leo’s jaw jumped. “No. It wasn’t. It was someone he trusted.”

  Nell placed a hand on his arm. “How about we check out the Pavilion?”

  “Speaking of the Pavilion. My parents get into town on the thirtieth. My father has been asked to speak. It’s a political thing, but mostly a way for them to greet old friends and meet new. I’d like you to come with me.”

  Nell mentally checked her calendar. “Is the thirtieth this Saturday?”

  Leo nodded.

  “I was already planning to attend. I’ve been invited to say a few words as Hazel Green.”

  “Can you do that?” Leo arched a brow. “I thought Hazel Green was apolitical.”

  “Hazel spoke a lot about honor and integrity. I’ll be giving one of those speeches.”

  “Great. We can go together.” Leo reached out and took her hand. “You can meet my parents.”

  Nell told herself to pull her hand back, to put some distance between them. The problem was, Leo was hurting. Steve’s duplicity had hit him hard. Nell knew what it was like to need a friend.

  “Normally, Hazel never attends a function with a date.” Nell reached up and kissed his cheek. “She’ll make an exception for you.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “You and Leo came together.” Abby kept her voice low. She appeared to be making a concerted effort not to smile. “You never come to events like these with a date.”

  Nell—or, really, she needed to think of herself as Hazel this evening—resisted the urge to squirm. “Leo asked, and I didn’t see what it would hurt.”

  “Has he introduced you to his parents yet?” Abby picked up a flute of champagne off the silver tray held out by a passing waiter.

  Nell lifted her gloved hand and waved the waiter off with an elegant gesture. “I’m here as Hazel.”

  “You’re here with their son.” Abby’s determined expression told Nell she was unlikely to back off.

  Still, Nell had to try. “What do you think of my new dress?”

  For tonight’s event, Nell wore a silk dress with chemise detailing. The ivory silk and embroidered fringe shawl provided a nice contrast to the dark blue of the dress. A large hat with ostrich feathers rested on her dark wig.

  “It’s gorgeous.” Abby’s jaw set in a firm tilt. “You and Leo are exclusive.”

  It was more statement than question.

  Nell nodded. She saw no need to mention she had no desire not to be. She could barely juggle one man, let alone more.

  “You only want to date him, nothing more.”

  Nell smiled at a passing couple, hoping they’d stop to chat and distract Abby. But after a wave of acknowledgment, they continued on.

  “I know what it’s like to want someone you’re not sure you should want.” Abby’s dark eyes met Nell’s. “It does no good to run from the issue.”

  “There is no issue—”

  “Is it because his father is—”

  “It doesn’t have a thing to do with his father’s current situation.” Nell spoke firmly.

  “Then why don’t you want to get serious? It’s obvious, at least to me, how much you like Leo.”

  Nell resisted the urge to sigh. Being evasive with her friends was the part of the new life she’d built that she hated the most.

  “Can’t you tell me, Nell?” Abby’s soft voice and pleading expression wrapped around Nell’s heart.

  Maybe it was time, Nell thought, to not only be honest with Leo, but with her close friends, as well. “My childhood was a mess, Abby, filled with turmoil and chaos. There were things I did in my adolescence that I very much regret.”

  Even as her heart twisted, Nell kept her expression serene. She knew anyone looking at her would likely think they were discussing fashion or the weather, or something else equally inane.

  “You don’t think you’re good enough for him.”

  “I’m not.” Though it hurt Nell to admit she was lacking, it felt good to be honest.

  Abby inclined her head. “Have you told Leo about your teenage escapades?”

  “Not yet.” Nell swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat, desperately wishing she’d taken the glass of champagne. What she’d done back then went far beyond escapades.

  “Before you cut him loose—” Abby met her gaze. “Don’t give me that look. I know that’s exactly what you’ve been considering. Before you just walk away, tell Leo all your secrets, then decide.”

  Nell hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

  Abby put a hand on her gloved forearm. “Promise me. Say the words.”

  “I promise.” Nell lifted her arm and Abby released her grip. “I need to get ready for my speech. We’ll talk later.”

  As Nell hurried away, she let the Hazel Green persona settle over her. Apparently, people found her more approachable when she was alone. Every few steps, someone stopped her, either to discuss something related to town history or to take a photo with her.

  Nell didn’t mind these pictures making their way onto the internet. The expert use of stage makeup had added nearly a decade to her face. Specialty putty changed the shape of her nose, and a mouthpiece transformed her lower jaw. Emerald-green contacts completed the transformation. Nell was confident she wouldn’t set off any facial-recognition alarms.

  Was this why, she wondered, she felt more comfortable in Hazel’s skin than she did in her own? Perhaps, she thought, as she posed for another selfie, it was because she didn’t have to worry about keeping secrets. Hazel’s life was an open book.

  Nell thought of Hazel’s diary. If she was home, she’d be reading it now.

  Later, she promised herself. Once she gave her speech, she could leave.

  When an older man and his granddaughter stopped her, Nell realized she was as much an attraction as the senator and his wife. Leo’s parents stood across the large Pavilion, where they’d been greeting friends and constituents for the past hour.

  Wells was beside his parents, along with Sophie. Leo was there, too. She didn’t see Matt. Up until now, Nell had done her best to steer clear of the area. Eventually, Leo would introduce her, but tonight it would be as Hazel Green, not Nell Ambrose.

  Several minutes later, she was signaled to move closer to the stage. Senator Pomeroy would say a few words. Then Nell, or rather, Hazel, would take the platform.

  Once on stage, Hazel would speak on her efforts to help women secure the right to vote in the early-twentieth century and mention the connection between the Chautauqua movement and the feminist movement.

  The speech she planned to give was one Nell had composed herself, taking bits and pieces from several speeches Hazel had given prior to Congress ratifying the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. She was immensely proud of the women of that time, women who had fought for what was right and just.

  Women who had been everything
her mother was not. Nell, who’d once been headed down that same path, wondered if she’d have stayed if not for the Britten incident.

  “Ms. Ambrose.”

  There was authority in the deep voice. It was a voice that commanded, rather than requested.

  Nell slowly turned and found herself face-to-face with Leo’s father.

  Timothy Pomeroy was a fit, striking man in his late fifties with thick, sandy-brown hair peppered with gray. He reminded her of an older version of Wells.

  Tim’s warm smile, well, that reminded Nell so much of Leo that she found herself offering a genuine smile back.

  She extended her hand. “Hazel Green. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Senator.”

  Surprise flickered momentarily in his eyes before the senator took her hand in a firm grip.

  “When Nell attends an event as Hazel Green, it’s total immersion.” Admiration ran through Leo’s words.

  “Mr. Mayor.”

  “Please.” Before she realized what he meant to do, Leo had taken her gloved hand and brought it to his lips. “I think we know each other well enough for you to call me Leo.”

  The senator’s gaze grew sharp and assessing.

  It was a good thing, Nell thought, she’d never been a woman who blushed. If she were, her cheeks would be bright pink.

  “Mayor Pomeroy.” Nell added a hint of chiding to the cadence favored by Hazel in several audio recordings she’d studied. “You know Richard prefers me to address gentlemen of my acquaintance in more formal terms.”

  Leo burst into laughter, drawing the attention of those nearby.

  A startled look crossed the senator’s face before he brought his expression under control. “I’m confused.”

  “She’s speaking of Richard Green.” Leo’s laughing eyes had her relaxing. God, he was gorgeous.

  “You’re referring to the architect who founded this town.”

  “We’re speaking of my husband, the world-renowned architect,” Nell clarified, then saw that the senator was being called to the stage. “Again, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir.”

  “You as well, Mrs. Green.” The senator climbed the steps to the dais with a self-assuredness that was undoubtedly second nature.

  Leo stepped closer. “You confused him. That doesn’t happen often.”

  Nell simply smiled.

  “He’ll remember you.”

  Likely, the comment was meant as a compliment, but Nell cringed inside. She hoped if the senator from Illinois remembered her, it would be as Hazel Green.

  Though the scent of Leo’s citrus cologne was distracting, Nell kept her attention on the stage. She liked to study other speakers, especially the experienced ones.

  The senator waited for the audience to quiet, his gaze sweeping the crowd. He began his speech with an anecdote that had the crowd laughing.

  As the senator continued, he kept his message clear and simple. He was proud to represent the citizens of Illinois and to do what he could to make their lives better. A thread running through the talk was he’d never forgotten his roots.

  “In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom tells Huck, ‘Everybody does it that way.’ What does Huck say?” Tim paused for dramatic effect. “‘I am not everybody.’ Like Huck, I am not everybody. If a fellow politician or someone in my office chooses to go down a wrong path, that doesn’t mean Tim Pomeroy will follow along.”

  The senator placed his hands on either side of the lectern and leaned slightly forward, his gaze panning the audience. “I am my own man. I follow my own path. I am not everybody. I am myself. You are why I do this job. I will do my best for you. I am not everybody.”

  “There’s the sound bite.” Nell spoke softly, the words for Leo’s ears only.

  The immediate and enthusiastic applause had the senator waving to the crowd.

  Beside her, Leo said nothing. She hated the concern in his eyes, but didn’t have time to ask if there had been more news on the Steve front before she was called to the stage.

  Like the senator, she was a pro at giving speeches. Sometimes, she wondered how she’d been lucky enough to land the role of Hazel. As herself, she could have never stood in the public eye. Portraying Hazel afforded her the opportunity to speak on a variety of topics that interested her.

  Once the introduction had been completed, Nell stepped to the microphone.

  “It’s lovely to listen to a fine orator who speaks from the heart.” She gestured with one gloved hand toward the senator, and the crowd cheered again.

  Nell realized she’d nearly given the man an endorsement, something she hadn’t done before. But Hazel had supported fellow platform speaker William Jennings Bryan during his various runs for the presidency. There was precedent. Besides, Tim was Leo’s father, and she would do what she could to ease Leo’s worries.

  “I’m going to speak from the heart today, too.” Though Nell had planned to use an amusing anecdote to kick off her speech, Tim had used that tactic and also taken some of her time, so she got straight to the point. “As Independence Day approaches, we need to consider that since 1848, women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony have fought for the rights of women to vote.”

  Nell continued, doing as the senator had done, keeping her message simple. She thanked the good people of Illinois, which had been one of the first states to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.

  Applause followed, as it always did after she’d spoken. She noticed Liz taking pictures, undoubtedly doing freelance work for the Hazel Green Chronicle. Nell smiled broadly, feeling secure in her disguise.

  Liz could take as many pictures as she wanted, could interview and quote her. The one thing Nell never allowed was for her name to be mentioned in any of the articles.

  She was representing Hazel Green, that was the story. Focusing on who was behind the woman was another story altogether, and a not very interesting one.

  Nell stepped from the stage. Instead of being grateful the speech was over, she felt exhilarated. Being in front of an audience was a far more potent upper than any drug.

  “Mrs. Green.” Leo was waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. “If you have a moment, I’d like to introduce you to my mother.”

  Nell was struck again by how strange it was that until today she’d never met either of Leo’s parents. While his father was a handsome man with a commanding presence, Leo’s mother could be described in one word—average. Average height. Average weight. Average looks.

  Her straight, dark brown hair brushed her shoulders in a stylish bob. Her features were pleasant but nondescript. But her eyes…

  The blue was quite extraordinary. It wasn’t just the color that drew Nell’s attention, it was the warmth residing there. The woman radiated kindness and acceptance.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Green.” Leo’s mother’s lips quirked upward. “May I call you Hazel?”

  Nell took the woman’s outstretched hand. “I’d like that.”

  “And you may call me Marty.”

  “Well, Marty,” Nell said, a genuine smile lifting her lips, “what did you think of the speech?”

  “Yours?” Marty lifted a brow, good humor dancing in her eyes. “Or my husband’s?”

  “Mine, of course.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Nell saw Leo’s gaze shift between her and his mother, a look of puzzlement on his face. If he didn’t expect her to converse with his mother, why introduce them?

  “Leo,” Wells called out. “Do you have a minute?”

  Leo lifted a hand, acknowledging his brother before turning back to Nell. His easy smile had her relaxing. “I won’t be long.”

  “Take all the time you need.” Nell gestured to Marty. “I’ll keep your mother company.”

  “My son likes you.” Marty spoke softly as Leo headed toward his brother.

  “Leo is a great guy.”

  “Yes, he is.” Marty looped her arm through Nell’s. “Let’s take a little walk, and you can tell me abou
t all the work you’ve been doing for disadvantaged children.”

  “That’s Nell Ambrose’s work,” Nell insisted, but let herself be drawn through the crowd, with Marty scattering smiles like fairy dust over the crowd.

  “I imagine it can be difficult to know where Hazel’s life ends and your own begins.” Marty’s tone was conversational, but thankfully, the woman didn’t appear to expect an answer.

  While they strolled, Nell realized Marty had done her homework on Cornelia Ambrose. Leo’s mother was familiar with most of the child-advocacy work Nell had done in the past.

  As the crowd around them thinned and they entered the streets of Gingerbread Village, the slight tightness around the woman’s mouth relaxed.

  Nell realized suddenly that while Marty presented a good front, she wasn’t completely comfortable in the public eye even after all these years.

  “How long have you and my son been seeing each other?”

  “We’ve known each other since I moved to Hazel Green five years ago.” Nell smiled, remembering the first time she’d seen Leo. He’d been striding down the sidewalk toward her, and their eyes had met. “Since then, Leo and I have become good friends.”

  “Just good friends?” Marty simply continued to walk, not speaking again for several long moments. “Is that because you don’t feel my son is the right man for you?”

  There were plenty of ways to answer the question, but Nell chose the most direct and the most honest. “Leo has a brilliant political future in front of him. I’m not sure I’m the right woman for him. I’m sure that doesn’t make sense, but—”

  “On the contrary, I can very much identify with your feelings.” Marty gestured to her cottage. “Let’s sit on the porch. We can enjoy the quiet and this beautiful day for a few minutes.”

  “We’ll have to go back.” Even as she spoke, Nell took a seat in one of the rockers.

  “Of course, but not for a little while.” Marty leaned her head against the back of the rocker and sighed. “I’ve always loved the relaxing pace of Hazel Green, but Tim wanted more.”