Harlequin Historical May 2021--Box Set 2 of 2

by Elizabeth Rolls

“This is Meg and Tina,” she whispered, gesturing toward the two girls who kept their eyes downcast. “Tina fell and hurt her leg,” Jenny continued, “but we have to hurry. Cheryl says the police used dogs to find them the last time they ran away.”

  “Can you walk?” Connor asked the one she’d pointed to as Tina.

  The girl nodded.

  “All right. I’m just going to hold your arm, to help you because we have to move fast. The car isn’t too far away.”

  She nodded again.

  “Stay right behind us,” he told Jenny as he grasped the girl’s arm to lead her through the woods.

  By the time they arrived at the last house, where it was only a mowed lawn between them and the motel parking lot, the sound of barking dogs filtered the air. “We are going to have to run to the car,” he told Jenny, then scooped Tina into his arms. She’d been limping too much to run.

  They reached the car, climbed in and as he pulled the car out of the parking lot, the barking noise was closer. “I’m sure they are watching the road. We have to take another way back to the highway.”

  Jenny nodded. “Cheryl was going to keep walking around in the woods, hoping they’d follow her and not us.”

  He found a road that would take them east, then another north, and after winding around and through neighborhoods, finally connected to the highway that would take them to Syracuse. He still didn’t let out a sigh of relief. Instead, he said to Jenny, “This must be how bootleggers feel.”

  She shook her head at him, but then grinned and nodded.

  He winked at her then glanced toward the backseat. The two girls hadn’t so much as mumbled a word since they’d climbed in the car. “Are you two all right back there?”

  “Yes, sir,” one said and was quickly echoed by the other.

  “How is your leg feeling, Tina?” He felt bad for both girls, for what they’d been through, for what they still faced. This was all foreign to him, but deep down, knowing he’d helped these girls, helped Jenny find them, he felt good.

  “It’s fine,” Tina answered softly.

  “Maybe you should take a look at it,” he told Jenny. “There’s a toolbox underneath the seat, with a flashlight in it.”

  She dug out the toolbox, and the flashlight from inside it, then twisted around and climbed up on her knees to lean over the seat.

  A jolt shot through him and he forced himself to stare straight ahead, at the road, and not even glance at her enticing behind. It was right there, though, out of the corner of his eye. Spending the last several hours with her had reignited all those long-ago feelings he’d had toward her, and several more.

  Using the flashlight, she leaned farther over the seat and accidently brushed against his shoulder. “Sorry.”

  “It’s all right,” he said, looking straight ahead.

  She talked to the girls, but he didn’t have a clue as to what she was saying; he was too busy telling himself to keep both eyes on the road.

  It was after five o’clock in the morning when they drove through Twin Pines. Both of the girls in the backseat were sleeping, and though she’d been yawning for miles, Jenny was still awake. They’d spoken little during the long drive, but his mind hadn’t been silent. It was speeding along, wondering if there was more that he could do to help her. Help these girls.

  “Thank you so much for your help tonight,” Jenny said as he pulled the car up next to her house, where Gretchen was already walking down the steps.

  “You’re welcome,” he said, shutting off the engine. “I’ll help you get the girls inside.”

  “No, Gretchen will help. You need to get some sleep.”

  Sleep? Tired or not, that wasn’t going to happen. The sun had yet to rise, but the sky was already pinkening, signaling that old glory would soon rise up over the horizon. “So do you.”

  She’d twisted in her seat to waken the girls and gave him a slight nod while turning back around and opening her door. “Thank you, again.”

  He opened his door, climbed out and opened the back door for Tina to step out. She winced and he helped her out and walked her to the front of the car, where Gretchen stood.

  “Thank you for your assistance, Mr. McCormick,” Gretchen said, taking Tina’s other arm.

  “Any time,” he said.

  Jenny was already helping Meg up the steps and he waited until the girl entered the house before he laid a hand on Jenny’s shoulder.

  The light from inside the house shone on her face. She was tired; he could see that in her eyes. He could also see her beauty. Words escaped him. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “Thank you for asking me to help you tonight.”

  Closing her eyes, she nodded.

  “I’ll see you later.” He walked down the steps, to his car, climbed in and drove away. All the while knowing something inside him had changed tonight. He wasn’t exactly sure what, but he felt different.

  He could smell coffee when he walked in the front door of the hotel and climbed the stairs to his room. There, he lay down, convinced he wouldn’t sleep, but did, because the next thing he knew, it was after ten in the morning.

  After using the bathroom at the end of the hallway, he put on a clean shirt and left the hotel. The doctor’s office was a short walk, and he found Alice Dillon in the outer room as he entered.

  Fully prepared to tell her that she needed to go to Jenny’s house, he was surprised to learn she’d already been there and had given both Meg and Tina complete exams. The school bus driver, Mr. Whipple, had delivered her a message to visit the house this morning, after picking Emily up for school. She also confirmed that Jenny had told her that he’d been the one to drive her to Albany last night and not to worry, that she wouldn’t tell anyone of his involvement.

  It wasn’t his involvement that he was worried about. He accepted the cup of coffee she offered him, because even though he didn’t want to betray Jenny, what they’d experienced last night was too dangerous, and was sure to get worse. “It’s only going to get harder for those girls to continue to run away,” he said. “Something has to be done.”

  “I agree and I’ve reported my concerns about that facility to others. I’d hoped a new director would change things, but it appears it’s only changed it in the wrong direction.”

  “Isn’t what they are doing, forcing these girls to give their babies up for adoption, illegal?”

  “Unfortunately, no.”

  He couldn’t stop his disgust. “The government made it illegal to sell booze, but not babies?”

  “Yes, and I wish others shared your frustration over that,” Alice said. “The service that homes for unwed mothers provide is needed. There are girls who believe adoption is the best choice for their babies, and there are people who desperately want to adopt children, especially babies.” She was sitting across from him, behind her desk, and took a drink of coffee from her cup. “There are homes for unwed mothers across the nation, and some are truly wonderful. They help the girls get settled in new lives with career training, education in motherhood and many other services. They believe women have the right to raise their fatherless children without being scorned or shunned from society. The one in Albany just isn’t like that.”

  His frustration continued to grow. “Jenny is going to want to go rescue more girls and could end up arrested or something.”

  The doctor nodded. “I agree with you, but she’s very committed to helping these girls. Has been for a long time. I wish I knew of something that could be done, but I don’t. I’ve contacted everyone I can think to contact, but just can’t seem to get any traction for changes.”

  “There has to be a way to help.”

  “A telephone at their house would be a great help,” she said.

  That was already a given, but it wouldn’t stop Jenny. “They’ll have a phone.” He set his coffee cup and saucer on the des
k and stood. “Thanks for the coffee, and the information.”

  “You’re welcome, and thank you again for all your help last night. It made a difference.” She grinned. “Who knows—maybe phone calls will do more help than letter writing.”

  He acknowledged her statement with a nod, even while knowing a phone wouldn’t be enough. With a heavy weight bearing down on his shoulders, he walked to the door. A fleeting thought made him pause. “What do you mean phone calls instead of letter writing?”

  “The people I’ve contacted. State senators and representatives.” She shrugged. “Once I have a phone, maybe my calls won’t fall on deaf ears like my letters have.”

  An idea struck hard then. “These other homes you spoke of, is there one near here?”

  “It’s not close, but there is one run by a group of women in Springfield, Massachusetts, that I’ve heard very, very good things about.”

  Springfield was close to three hundred miles away, and he wasn’t sure that would give him any answers, but he had to do something. Figure out something.

  Nodding, he thanked her for the coffee again and left. Drove to Jenny’s place.

  She walked out the front door as he turned off the engine and the hitch that happened in the center of his chest was enough to warn him to tread carefully. His mission had been to get her out of his heart, not back into it.

  The yellow-and-white dress she wore made her look as bright as the sunshine, but he saw the circles around her eyes. “You haven’t had any sleep, have you?” he asked as they met near the front of his car.

  “Have you?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  She grinned. “It couldn’t have been much.”

  “More than you.”

  She shook her head and sighed.

  He touched her chin, lifted it so she had to look at him. “I only argue with stubborn people, too.”

  Her smile made her eyes shine. “What are you doing here?”

  “I have to be gone for a couple of days and I’d like to ask a favor.”

  “Oh? What’s that?”

  “That you won’t go to Albany to save more girls while I’m gone.”

  Her face fell. “Why? Where are you going? You can’t tell anyone—”

  “I’m not going to tell anyone about our escapade last night.” He rubbed her upper arm. “I just don’t want you going there again by yourself. It’s too dangerous. I won’t be gone long, and if we need to make another run when I get back, we will.”

  She let out a sigh and shook her head. “Another trip won’t be needed for a while. They’ll be guarding everyone even more closely after last night.”

  He was certain of that. Just like he was certain that he needed to go to Massachusetts. He wanted to ask her to come with him, to see the home there, but was afraid that she’d say it was none of his business. If he’d learned anything about her last night, it was that she wasn’t the same Jenny he’d known years ago. She was not only older, more mature, she was committed to helping these girls. He was proud of her for that. How she was using her own experience to help others, and he didn’t want to undermine all she’d done. He just knew there had to be a way to help all the girls, not just a few.

  He glanced at the house. “How are the girls? All of them?”

  “Fine. Everyone is fine.”

  “Like it or not, within a couple of weeks, a phone line will be installed, so you need to decide which wall you want your telephone mounted on.”

  “We don’t need—”

  He touched the end of her nose. “Don’t argue. We both know who’s being stubborn about that, and it’s not me.”

  She pinched her lips together.

  He grinned, and winked at her. “An outside wall would work best.” Before she could argue again, he said, “I have to leave, but I’ll be back in a couple of days.”

  * * *

  Jenny knew the right thing to say would be that he didn’t need to be back in a couple of days, he didn’t need to come back at all, but for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to say that, so instead, she said goodbye, waved and watched him drive away. And for the next four days, she found herself staring down the driveway more than she ever had in her entire life. He’d said a couple of days, and it had already been four. She didn’t know if she should be worried, or thankful.

  Meg and Tina were settling in, Lora still hadn’t gone into labor and there was plenty to do with the flowers, but Jenny still found time to dwell on him. She was no longer focused on believing he’d lied to her about going to New York. She believed he had gone, and that she’d convicted him without ever trying to find out the truth. The whole truth. It was clear what had happened, and how everything could have been different.

  But it wasn’t. Knowing the truth couldn’t change the past. Nothing could.

  She had to think about Emily. No, she didn’t have to, she was thinking about Emily. All the time. She would never do to her daughter what her mother had done to her. No man would ever be more important than her daughter.

  Hearing someone say something, Jenny turned from where she stood at the sink. “Excuse me?”

  “Would you like me to walk down and meet the bus?” Lora asked. “It should be here any minute.”

  Jenny realized then that she’d come in from planting gladioli bulbs to wash her hands in order to go meet the bus. Her thoughts just kept stealing her attention. “Thank you, but no. I’m on my way right now.”

  She hurried out the door and down the driveway. As she walked around the curve, and the road came into view, her heart leaped so fast and hard that she nearly tripped over her own feet.

  A red-and-black car—a Packard Phaeton—was pulling in the driveway.

  Horsefeathers! He was back.

  He was back!

  She closed her eyes at the excitement filling her, and then in the next instant, tried to tell herself that she wasn’t happy that he was back.

  But failed.

  How could she not be when he pulled up next to her and flashed her a smile that sent her heart leaping all over again? She’d missed him. Although she hadn’t wanted to miss him. Hadn’t wanted to ever miss him again.

  She had.

  “Missed me so much you walked down to meet me, did you?” he teased.

  “N-no. I’m walking down to meet the bus.”

  He laughed. “I know. It’s about a mile behind me. Wait here!”

  She opened her mouth, but he was already driving the car up the driveway, around the corner. A moment later, she heard the door slam shut and he appeared, jogging down the driveway toward her. He looked so handsome in his short-sleeved white-and-blue shirt. It showed how broad his shoulders were and how—she stopped her mind right there. “What are you doing?”

  “Walking to the road with you, to meet the bus.”

  She shook her head. “No. No. Emily doesn’t know you.”

  “I know, but I bought her a present.” He held up a brown paper shopping bag by the twine handles. “Two presents actually.”

  “Why?” Jenny shook her head at her own statement. “You can’t be buying her presents.”

  “It’s just a little something I saw in a store window.” He shrugged. “I bought one for William, too, and Rachael’s new baby and three more for the other babies when they are born.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I wanted to.”

  “Connor, you—”

  “I don’t know much about kids, but Riley, the boy that lives next door to my mother, likes when I bring him gifts, so I thought the kids here would, too.” He grasped her hand and tugged her forward. “Here comes the bus.”

  The heat that raced up her arm from his touch went straight to her heart.

  To her utter dismay, even before he’d stopped the bus completely, Mr. Whipple was shouting out the window.
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br />   “Hello, Mr. McCormick! Glad to see you again! How’s that telephone line coming?”

  “Right on schedule,” Connor answered as the bus came to a stop. “Within a couple of weeks, the line will be all through the town and telephones will start being installed.”

  “Can’t wait!” Mr. Whipple leaned farther out the window. “The town council is so excited they said your telephone poles could go right down the center of the road.”

  Jenny walked toward where Emily was climbing out of the back of the bus as Connor’s laughter floated on the air. Her hand was still tingling and her heart still pounding.

  “Who is that, Mommy?” Emily asked. “He sounds happy.”

  “He does sound happy,” Jenny agreed, while fighting hard to not feel a touch of happiness herself. Merely because he was here. She shouldn’t be happy about that. Not now. Not ever. “That is Mr. McCormick—he works for the telephone company—”

  “That’s the telephone man? All the kids are talking about him and his telephones! Are we getting one, too? Can we, please?” Emily’s braids bobbed as she jumped up and down. “Mr. Whipple says when we are sick, we can call him so he won’t have to drive all the way to our houses, and Teddy says he’ll be able to talk to his grandma on the telephone. Hear her voice and everything!”

  Jenny stopped trying to get a word in edgewise and took her daughter’s lunch pail from her hand as Emily continued.

  “Mrs. Whipple says the school will have a telephone, too, and she showed us pictures of them and showed us where we’ll talk into them and how we’ll listen, and that they’ll ring, Mommy. Ring like a bell. Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling.”

  “Do I hear a telephone ringing?” Connor asked.

  Emily giggled. “No, it’s just me, pretending to be a telephone. I’m Emily.”

  Something soft and warm curled around Jenny’s heart as Connor knelt down in front of Emily.

  “Well, Emily, you sure fooled me. I thought you were a telephone. You sounded just like one.” He held out his hand. “I’m Connor.”

  “M—” Jenny had to clear her throat. “Mr. McCormick, and we need to move off the road so Mr. Whipple can drive away.”