Albert shoved his hands in his pocket. “We’ve . . . uh . . . got some possibilities.”
Her smile slid away, and her brow creased. “Now, boys, I try to be understanding, but I do need the rent as soon as possible. All right?”
The Henderson brothers both gave her a halfhearted agreement, then turned to leave, but Reese didn’t budge. “Gentlemen, let’s sit on the porch and have a chat about those possibilities. Maybe I can help.”
Mrs. Baxter clapped her hands together. “Wonderful! If anyone can help you secure a position, it will be Reese. I’ll let you boys be so you can have a nice chat.”
As soon as she’d gone, Reese pointed to the two rocking chairs. “Have a seat.”
Albert and Clem glared at him and then sat down. “Say your piece, King. We have places to go.”
“Oh, I know what kind of places you are going to, and they can certainly wait.”
Albert stood, took off his hat, and hit it against his leg before putting it back on. “Is that all?”
“No.” Reese crossed his arms over his chest. “Mrs. Baxter may not send you packing, but I wouldn’t hesitate to do it, so I suggest you stop frequenting those places you mentioned and put your money toward rent instead.”
“And?” Anger sparked in Albert’s eyes.
“If you do want a job, I can talk to Mr. Nussbaumer.” He tried to soften his tone. They wouldn’t hear a word if he continued down this path. The Henderson brothers might be young men, but they were still men, and he needed to treat them with as much respect as he could muster. “With the summer coming, he’ll need some men to do general maintenance. You know, keep things looking neat.”
Clem’s eyes widened. “You want us to pick up trash?”
“That might be part of your job, but not all of it.” Reese sat on the section of the railing he’d yet to paint and leaned against the newel post. “It’s honest work, and it will keep a roof over your head.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. We’ll find our own work.”
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged. “But if you don’t have Mrs. Baxter’s money by next week, you’d better pack your bags or I’ll pack them for you. Do I make myself clear?”
“Abundantly,” Albert growled.
Clem followed Albert to the porch steps. “What happened to all that Christian charity you and Mrs. Baxter are always preaching about?”
“The Bible says if a man isn’t willing to work, he shouldn’t eat.” And they’d certainly done their fair share of the latter at Mrs. Baxter’s table. “My dad always said that without hard work, nothing grows but weeds.”
Shoes pounding against the sidewalk, Tessa steamed past the storefronts toward Edward’s parked automobile.
“Tessa, wait!”
She ignored Edward’s pleas. Didn’t the man realize she needed some time to cool off?
He caught her arm. “Why did you leave like that?”
She whirled toward him. “Why? You don’t know?”
“It was a business deal, Tessa. That’s all.”
“That’s all it is to you, but to the Walkers, it’s their dream.”
“It’s my dream too. If Joe and I can make a go of this, I won’t have to get my parents’ blessing to marry Eve. They’ll never approve of her, so I know they’ll cut me off when I tell them I want to marry her.”
Tessa wasn’t ready to let her ire soften. A few other patrons on the street turned to watch them, but thankfully continued on their way. “Do you realize what an awkward position you put me in?”
“I’m sorry.” He dipped his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“Is this why you befriended me and offered to help me? Because you wanted to use me to get to my aunt’s money?”
“No!”
Tessa refused to let it go. She’d sensed no romantic sparks between them, so that couldn’t be it. “Then why?”
He lowered his voice. “Well, maybe your aunt’s money was part of it, but you have to hear me out.”
She tapped her foot. “I’m listening.”
“You were the most unconventional young lady I’d met. I knew the motorcycles were certainly something not everyone could appreciate, especially my parents, but I thought you would understand my desire to be part of something like this. It’s new. It’s different. It’s not predictable like the law.”
“Go on.”
“I also knew that I couldn’t go to anyone my parents might know to secure the financing or it would get back to them. You were a safe person to go to.”
“So, let me get this straight. You used me because, one”—she counted off the number on her gloved fingers—“my aunt has money, two, because I’m unconventional, and three, because you’re too cowardly to tell your parents about your fascination with motorcycles or about this girl you want to marry. That sure makes you a stellar individual, Edward.”
“Tessa, let me explain.”
“I’m done with your explanations.” She started for the motorcar again.
“Then let me apologize.” His voice was soft, genuine.
She turned. “I want the truth.”
“Okay, yes, at first I may have befriended you with the intention of getting your aunt to invest in this business. After all, she is even more unconventional than you. But as I got to know you, I truly wanted to help you. There’s another big society thing on Memorial Day, and you should be there. I’d already planned to ask you.” He held his hands out, palms upward. “What can I do to make it up to you?”
Tessa studied him. He did seem genuinely contrite now, but her own anger had barely ebbed. Make it up to her? He had to be kidding. What would make her forget an experience like this?
On the other hand, one thing might.
Her lips began to curl. “Are you serious about making this up to me?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes, anything.”
“Then teach me how to ride your motorcycle.”
Laughter, loud and hard, rumbled from his chest. After a few seconds, he looked at her and suddenly stopped. “You mean it. You want me to teach you how to ride a motorcycle.”
“I do.” She’d obviously caught him off guard. “A lot of adventurous women have tried them.”
“But not the proper young ladies of society. If any of them saw you—”
“Then we won’t let them see me.”
“What would your aunt say?”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Really? That’s the best you can do to dissuade me?”
“No, I mean yes.” He took her elbow and directed her toward the automobile. “Even if she applauded you, I doubt Lincoln would appreciate it.” He gave an exasperated sigh. “Tessa, this is crazy.”
“But you’ll do it?”
“Do I have a choice?” He opened her car door. “But this is going to make us more than even, Tessa. If I do this, you’re going to have to help me get that financing.”
Stepping onto the running board, she said, “I won’t ask my aunt.”
“I know, but if I need your assistance in some other way, you have to do what I ask. Agreed?”
Excitement zinged through her. She was going to learn to ride a motorcycle.
She nodded to Edward. “It’s a deal.”
With her suffrage sash draped across her cycling outfit, Sam mounted the steps to the meetinghouse. Charlotte and Hannah walked beside her. It was too bad Tessa had to miss today’s meeting. She’d have liked her youngest niece to be there.
Once inside, they paused to let their eyes adjust, then hurried to join the others. Sam led them toward her dear friend Clara Ueland. The Minnesota Women’s Suffrage Association was lucky to have a vivacious, up-and-coming leader like Clara, and Sam had vowed to encourage the woman any way that she could.
After a minute of general greetings, it was time to get to work. Sam turned to Clara. “Do you have any ideas of what our next step should be?”
Clara pulled out a clipping from her pocket. “Have you seen this?” She passed it to Sa
m, then tucked an errant strand of white-blonde hair behind her ear. “Last year, a suffragette army marched from New York City to Albany, led by Rosalie Jones. They spoke to people along the way from a yellow wagon. What do you think? Should we try something similar?”
Sam skimmed the clipping and passed it to Charlotte. “The article says they had great success in reaching the women of New York.”
Clara’s eyes lit up. “I know. I find that so many people think suffrage is a terrible thing when it’s not. Perhaps if they could see all of the women already supporting it, we could bring suffrage home to those who really don’t understand why it’s so important.”
“So back to what you’re thinking.” Hannah returned the clipping to Clara. “What is it?”
“I’ve been thinking that we need a huge march from Minneapolis to Saint Paul. You know, thousands of women. That would get everyone’s attention. What do you think?”
Sam nodded. “Excellent idea, but it will take time for you to organize.”
“Me?”
“Who else? It’s your idea.” Sam smiled at the young woman, a few years older than her nieces. Did Clara realize that her new ideas were exactly what the Minnesota Women’s Suffrage Association needed? “A march like that would make lawmakers see our commitment to the cause too. Not to mention it would show them we’re capable of organizing an army, as you said, and we intend to continue this fight as long as necessary.”
“I don’t think I could get it organized this summer.”
Sam shrugged. “Then why not next summer? This has been a long fight, and while I’d love to see women receive the right to vote tomorrow, I fear we still have a ways to go.”
The president hammered her gavel against the podium. “Ladies, will you please take a seat?”
Sam, Clara, Hannah, and Charlotte sat down in nearby chairs, and the chatter in the room died down.
“Ladies, it gives me great pleasure today to introduce our speaker, Samantha Phillips.” The president’s gaze swept over the audience until she found where Sam was seated. “Mrs. Phillips has been a tireless leader in our suffrage fight. For twenty-five years, she has been instrumental in helping the cause in Minnesota. So let’s give a warm welcome to our suffrage sister, Samantha Phillips.”
Sam came to the podium and splayed the pages of her speech across the surface. She’d worked on the speech most of the week, but now that she was here, she realized it wasn’t what these ladies needed to hear. They already knew suffrage was inevitable for any democratic society. They knew that their country was founded on the principle of “government by the people, for the people,” and that logically women were people. They knew women across the country had been granted the right to vote in many states, but what they didn’t know was why they needed to stay the course.
Squaring her shoulders, Sam looked at her nieces. This fight was for them. It was for their future. As long as women didn’t have the right to vote, they had no voice. They could be overlooked or, worse, treated as a man’s doll.
“Ladies,” she began, “many have grown indifferent to the cause of suffrage. The novelty of the topic has worn off, and many already believe they’ve taken their position either for or against it, but I’m here to tell you that your voice is needed in this world—now more than ever.”
The audience applauded, and Sam went on to explain how there was great power in educating the public that women’s suffrage was a fundamental right of a republic. She conceded that at times she too had wanted to give up, but when she was sorely tempted to do so, her dear husband had told her the Lord said, “It is not good for man to be alone.”
“Ladies, that’s why we are here tonight. Man should not stand alone in governing this great country. When our progress grows slow, we mustn’t tire. Women are needed everywhere human problems need to be solved—in homes, in schools, in businesses, and in government.” She looked at Hannah and Charlotte. “And who knows, perhaps someday we’ll be casting our vote for one of you.”
Apparently buoyed by Sam’s speech, Clara stood and presented her idea for a march next summer, and it was enthusiastically received.
Sam closed her eyes and said a prayer of thanks. Women’s suffrage would come sooner or later as long as people like Clara Ueland, Hannah, Charlotte, and Tessa were fighting for it.
Now, if she could get a certain stubborn senator to see things her way. If she didn’t, there could never be anything more than friendship between them.
18
Three dresses and four hats later, Tessa descended the staircase of her aunt’s home, where Reese waited. In the end, she’d chosen a buttercup-colored dress. It wasn’t too fussy, but its narrow skirt, broached satin belt, and lacy bodice accentuated her feminine side. She did not want Reese to think of her as a boy today—or even as a friend. She wanted him to see her as a lady offering him her heart.
She took a deep breath. Over the years, Aunt Sam had often cautioned her to be careful and to guard her heart. Reese was kind. It was his nature, and even though it seemed like he wanted more, he might not.
Friends. They were friends.
Dressed in a fine pinstriped outing suit, Reese looked up at her as she reached the last steps and smiled. He gripped the straw boater beneath his arm like a lifeline.
“Has Aunt Sam been pressing you with questions?” She hurried down the last two steps. “I’m sorry I’m running a bit late.”
“The wait was worth it.” He met her gaze and swallowed. “You look . . . beautiful.”
Chills enveloped her. Surely he meant that. This wasn’t her imagination. He was here for her.
Aunt Sam cleared her throat from the doorway, where Henry held the door for her. “You two had better go if you intend to get to church on time.”
They both chuckled and hurried out the front door. Less than a half hour later, they arrived at the church building and soon were seated side by side, singing “Tell Me the Story of Jesus.”
She did not miss the covert glances sent in their direction from a number of young ladies in the congregation. Apparently Reese, the most handsome bachelor in the building, had caught the attention of more than one of them.
“You okay?” His breath fanned her cheek.
She smiled up at him from beneath the wide brim of her hat and nodded. “Perfect.”
After the congregation celebrated communion together, the minister stepped to the pulpit. If Tessa were quizzed on what the man said later, she’d probably fail, but she heard bits and pieces about having faith the size of a mustard seed.
She’d seen mustard seeds, and like many other seeds, they were tiny. One could fit on the tip of her finger. She also knew mustard germinated rapidly, and the black mustard plant grown in Bible lands grew into a large, shrub-sized plant.
But Jesus hadn’t said they needed faith the size of a four-foot shrub. He’d said if they had faith the size of that tiny seed, they could move mountains. She had a few mountains she’d like moved—like the stubborn one in Mr. Nussbaumer’s heart keeping her from working at Como.
The minister’s voice grew soft. “The apostles asked for more faith, but Jesus said a little faith was sufficient to do great things. A small amount of genuine faith is enough to produce great hope.” He stepped in front of the pulpit. “Brothers and sisters, the burden is not on Christians to muster faith, but to have enough faith to focus on the One who has the power to perform whatever needs to be done.”
As soon as the services concluded, several church members came up to greet Reese and her. Reese introduced her as his friend, and she politely met each of them. The older ladies gushed over Reese’s attributes—“He’s such a nice young man.” “He works so hard.” “You can always depend on Reese if you need something.” Then they started to question her, asking how she and Reese knew each other or where they met.
“I feel like a circus novelty,” Tessa whispered to Reese when they were finally alone.
“I thought you liked being on stage.” Reese grinned and
took her hand. “But let’s get out of here.”
Outside, a matronly woman flagged them down. “Reese!”
He stopped. “Do you need something, Mrs. Baxter?”
“No, no. I wanted to make sure you were bringing your lovely guest home for Sunday dinner today. It will be such a treat to have another lady around.”
He glanced at Tessa. She mouthed, “Home?”
“Mrs. Baxter, this is my friend Tessa Gregory. Tessa, this is Mrs. Baxter—she owns the boardinghouse where I live. She’s a wonderful cook, and I usually have Sunday dinner with her and the renters, but—”
“That sounds delightful.” Tessa smiled at Reese, then the elderly woman. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Mrs. Baxter clapped her hands together. “Perfect. I’ll meet you at home.”
She turned to leave, but Tessa elbowed Reese and nodded her head in Mrs. Baxter’s direction. “We can take her home, right?”
Reese rolled his eyes. “Mrs. Baxter, wait. You can ride home with the two of us.” He then turned to Tessa and took her elbow. “This is not what I had planned.”
“So we improvise. Life is full of surprises.”
Tessa took the backseat of the Model T so that Mrs. Baxter could ride up front with Reese. It gave her an excellent vantage point to watch their interaction. Clearly the older woman had come to think of Reese as a son, and he treated her with dignity and respect.
Reese opened the front door, and a wrinkled bloodhound barreled toward him. “Easy, Lafayette.” He gave the dog a rubdown and turned to Tessa. “This fine fellow is Lafayette. He belongs to Mrs. Baxter, but we sort of both claim him now.”
“Can I pet him?”
“Sure.”
Tessa squatted in front of the dog and held out her hand. She missed having pets. On the farm, she’d had a slew of them growing up. So, like her father had taught her, she waited for the dog to make the first move. Lafayette sniffed her hand and then allowed Tessa to pet him. “I think he likes me.”
“He has good taste.” Reese motioned to the other room. “Shall we wash up? It’s time for dinner.”
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