Harlequin Historical May 2021--Box Set 2 of 2

by Elizabeth Rolls

  Jenny’s eyes and throat burned and her heart was twisting inside her chest. “No, we don’t.”

  “He got the railroad tracks fixed.”

  Jenny rolled her eyes. “That just took a load of gravel.”

  “I know, but it was something we’d been asking for, and never received.”

  Her back teeth chomped together as she sucked in air. Damn him. He’d woven himself back into her life whether she liked it or not.

  Gretchen pushed on her shoulders, forcing Jenny to sit down on a stack of crates. “Naomi said the home was locked down tighter than Fort Knox, that guards are stationed at every door and the girls aren’t even allowed outside during the day. That’s our fault. What we did by rescuing Meg and Tina made things worse than ever. Connor can make people listen to the girls, hear their stories and do something about it. We can’t.”

  “We can contact the senator ourselves, without Connor.”

  “We’ve tried that. Just like we’d tried to get gravel.” Sitting down on another crate, Gretchen sighed heavily. “I know you’re still fighting your feelings for him, and—”

  “I don’t have feelings for Connor.” She might be able to believe that, if the memories of how she’d instantly responded to his kiss the other day would go away.

  “Denying them won’t make them disappear, not until you face them.” Gretchen’s eyes filled with compassion. “I wish you didn’t have feelings for him, then you would be able to see how badly we need his help, and to trust him.”

  It was as if a fist had hold of her heart and just kept squeezing it harder and harder. She knew the girls needed help, but there had to be someone else besides Connor. That day, seeing him with Emily, when he gave her the stuffed bear—the very bear that hadn’t been out of her sight since he’d given it to her—changed something.

  Jenny had to swallow in order to breathe because the change that had happened that day had been deep, very deep, inside her. It scared her, too. She did have feelings for Connor, and they had grown that day. Or maybe they’d just fully come to the surface where she could no longer keep them hidden, even from herself.

  She’d been young and so honored to have his attention years ago, and that was something that had truly frightened her when she’d seen how quickly Emily had taken to him. That was Connor; his charm was impossible to ignore. She couldn’t let Emily be hurt by him.

  Not only couldn’t.

  She wouldn’t. Emily was already so attached to the teddy bear that it even went to school with her.

  “I saw his car at the Bird’s Inn this morning, and if you don’t feel you can do it, I’ll go talk to him this evening,” Gretchen said. “We don’t have much time before the session ends this year, and can’t afford to wait another year.”

  “Connor’s help won’t guarantee new rules and regulations,” Jenny said.

  “No, but it gives us far more hope that it could than we’ve ever had before. The McCormick name alone holds weight.” Gretchen stood and walked out of the greenhouse.

  Jenny rubbed her forehead as she hung her head. After the things she’d said to him, Connor had no reason to help. He’d had no reason to help her when she’d asked before, either. Nor when she would ask again.

  The air that left her lungs was so heavy she coughed, and shook her head.

  She had to ask for his help for the girls, no matter how damaging it was going to be to her and her heart. Hers. Not Emily’s. She’d set down a solid set of rules there. No more presents.

  Drawing in a fortifying breath, she left the greenhouse. Gretchen was still unloading the truck, and Jenny barely slowed her steps as she said, “I have to meet the school bus.”

  Life would have been so much easier if Connor had never reappeared in hers. Then, again, her life didn’t have a history of being easy. There was no reason to think it could magically become otherwise.

  However, she had learned a lot over the years, and was no longer desperate for attention, like she once had been. Not from Connor or anyone else. As for trust, she trusted in herself, and no one else.

  She was in charge, in control of her life, and Emily’s, and it was a good life.

  Emily leaped off the school bus practically before the wheels had stopped turning. “Mommy! Mommy! Guess what?”

  “It was an exciting day at school,” Mr. Whipple shouted out the window.

  “It must have been!” Jenny waved at him and held out her hand for Emily. The excitement on her daughter’s face thrilled her, and proved that her daughter had everything she needed to be happy.

  So excited she was jumping up and down as they walked up the driveway, Emily said, “Mr. McCormick was at school today!”

  Jenny’s heart stalled in her chest.

  “And he brought telephones for all of us to see! Oh, Mommy! They were so pretty! And he made one ring so we could hear it!” Emily spun around to walk backward as she continued, “And he showed us how to dial the numbers! That’s what you do when you call someone. Dial the numbers. And we got to pretend to talk in the phones and answer them. Oh, Mommy, it was so fun, and then, and then... Guess what? Mr. McCormick gave us each a candy bar! They were so good! Mrs. Whipple let us eat them after lunch. It was the best candy bar, ever! Oh, and guess what? He left the telephones at school so we can practice using them! When we get our own telephone, I’ll know how to answer it and dial and everything!”

  A little more than two hours later, Jenny pulled Gretchen’s truck in front of the inn in Twin Pines. Connor’s car was nowhere in sight. He must be out, selling more telephone lines. Or giving children candy bars. She’d have to wait, which might give her time to calm her insides.

  That was doubtful. If he thought he could gain good graces by being nice to her daughter, he...

  She slapped the steering wheel. She really had to get over him. Completely. Including the kiss they’d shared. Why would he have done that? Why would she have done that? It made her angry that she hadn’t tried to stop it.

  Jenny lifted her gaze as a car approached from the opposite direction. It wasn’t Connor’s, but Alice Dillon.

  The doctor pulled up next to the truck. “What are you doing in town?” she asked through the open windows on both vehicles.

  Jenny attempted to smile and act normally as she explained, “I’m waiting for Connor. I need to speak with him.”

  Alice shut off her car so they didn’t need to shout over the engine. “Well, you’re going to be waiting a long time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He went back to Rochester earlier today,” Alice said. “Shortly after he visited the school. Margaret Whipple had asked if he could bring a telephone in to show the students. I hear it was a big hit.”

  Jenny’s stomach sank at hearing he’d been invited to the school. She’d thought otherwise. “Did he say how long he’d be gone?”

  “I didn’t talk to him. While fueling my automobile earlier today, Howard told me about the school visit and that Connor had gone back to Rochester.” Alice shrugged. “Maybe he’s done with his sales. I really don’t know, but I’m going to Rochester and could get a message to him for you.”

  “When are you going to Rochester?”

  “Tomorrow morning. I need to replenish supplies, but would have time to contact him, tell him that you need to talk to him.”

  Jenny’s heart not only sank deeper, her stomach met it somewhere near the floorboard of the truck. A message wouldn’t guarantee that he’d come back to Twin Pines, not after the way she’d told him to leave and never come back.

  “Or you could ride with me to Rochester,” Alice said. “Talk to him yourself. I’d enjoy the company.”

  Goose bumps pimpled Jenny’s skin. She hadn’t been to Rochester since the night her mother and stepfather drove her to Albany and had no desire to ever go back.

  “I’ll be leaving first thin
g in the morning and could pick you up, however, I will be meeting a friend while in town, so won’t return until late evening,” Alice said. “It would be good for you to get away for the day, Jenny. You’d be welcome to join my friend and me for dinner.”

  No, it wouldn’t be good for her to get away. Nor would it be good for her to see Connor again. She wasn’t sure if she was falling in love with Connor again or had never fallen out of love with him, but either way wasn’t good. At the same time, what Alice offered was her only option. Other than to drive herself, which wasn’t really an option. The truck would be needed tomorrow to deliver flowers. Joyce would be able to make the delivery by herself, along with the help of Meg or Tina, and Gretchen could remain home in case Lora went into labor.

  Furthermore, after listening to Tina’s story of how she’d been treed by the dogs while attempting to run away previously to the night she and Connor had gone to Albany, Jenny knew something had to be done, and soon.

  “You truly wouldn’t mind?” she asked Alice, hoping for a reason that what Alice offered wouldn’t work. Which was selfish. Her fear of seeing Connor again shouldn’t override just how desperately his help was needed.

  “I’d love it,” Alice said, smiling brightly. “I’ll pick you up around seven tomorrow morning, and wear your best dress—we’ll be going out for dinner. You’ll have a wonderful time! We both will.”

  Jenny highly doubted that, but agreed, and was waiting at the door when Alice drove into the driveway the next morning. She had chosen her best dress. One she’d sewn and wore to church for the christenings of the babies she’d delivered. Made of satin-backed crepe in a soft orange color, it had a dropped waist, with a long bow attached above her left hip, and a boat neckline highlighted with delicate white lace. Her crocheted white hat sported a bow made from the orange satin material, and she’d also used tiny scraps of the same material for the miniature bows attached to the tops of her white dress shoes.

  Two strands of white pearls, one longer and one shorter, along with matching ear fobs and a bracelet completed her outfit. She’d tried hard to quell her wonderings if Connor would like her outfit while dressing this morning, which had included help from Emily. Her daughter had gushed, insisting she looked more beautiful than even Mrs. Whipple. A true compliment considering Emily loved her teacher, even more now that Mrs. Whipple had read the teddy bear book to the entire class and allowed the bear to sit on her desk during the school day.

  The entire household shared Emily’s proclamations of how pretty she looked, and assured her that all would be fine while she was gone.

  Jenny wasn’t.

  Connor could refuse to see her, and she didn’t know what she’d do if that happened.

  Call it nerves or the fact that Alice would be interested, Jenny explained her reason for needing to see Connor as they began their two-hour drive to Rochester.

  “Bee’s knees! He’s already spoken to a senator?” Alice asked.

  “Evidently,” Jenny answered.

  “After you brought home Meg and Tina, I’d told him about contacting lawmakers, but how my letters fell on deaf ears, and about the home in Massachusetts. I never dreamed he’d follow up on it so quickly.”

  Jenny’s stomach fell at how she’d accused him of sticking his nose in places where it didn’t belong. “You told him about the home in Massachusetts?”

  “Yes, and how there need to be lasting changes to the home in Albany. His help could do exactly that, Jenny! This is so exciting!”

  Alice was elated, while Jenny was filled with regret at jumping to conclusions again as far as Connor was concerned.

  Upon arriving in town, Alice stopped at a fueling station and was told that Connor’s house was only a few blocks away. Therefore, long before Jenny was prepared to face him, they were pulling into a brick driveway next to a large home.

  It wasn’t the brick house that she remembered belonging to his parents. This one was painted white, with black shutters, dormer windows on the second floor and a large porch that had high, solid white side rails.

  “I’ll wait here, make sure he’s home,” Alice said.

  Jenny nodded and with her palms sweating inside her white gloves, she opened the car door. The sound of her heels clicking against the brick driveway and then the concrete sidewalk echoed in her ears. So did how they clacked against the wooden steps and then over the painted floorboards of the porch.

  She felt as if she was about to knock on the door of a haunted house, one full of ghosts of the past that were sure to change her life as much as they had for Ebenezer Scrooge. His had been for the better. Hers wouldn’t be.

  Forcing herself not to turn around and barrel back down the steps, she raised a hand and knocked on the frame of the screen door.

  After what might have only been a minute, but felt like an hour, she lifted her hand and knocked again.

  There was no sound or movement from within the house, and not sure what to do now, she turned away from the door.

  She’d taken one step when the rattle of a lock, the screech of hinges, had her turning back around.

  “Sorry I—Jenny?”

  Her heart slammed so hard against her ribs she was sure one had cracked. Bruised for sure.

  “Jenny?” he repeated.

  She wasn’t sure which was more shocking. The look on his face, or the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt, exposing just how broad his shoulders were, how his chest and stomach were rippled with muscles.

  It took all she had to pull her eyes back up to his face and stay upright.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Connor had been stunned a few days ago by the news that Mick was getting married, the very reason he’d returned to Rochester, but Jenny on his porch was even more unexpected than his brother falling in love. Seeing her had his heart flopping like a fish out of water.

  “I—I need to speak with you, Connor,” she said.

  His ears heard her, but his eyes were still taking in the sight of her. Whoa, but she was gorgeous. The pale shade of her orange dress gave her a golden glow, like an encompassing halo around an angel in a storybook.

  She lifted a white-gloved hand and nervously touched the back of her head, where her hair was pinned up beneath an adorable, floppy white hat. “It shouldn’t take long.”

  Catching his wits before the last one flew away, he pushed open the screen door. “Sure, yeah, that’s fine. Come in.”

  “Alice Dillon gave me a ride,” she said, pointing to the car in his driveway. “She’ll be back in an hour to get me, if that’s all right.”

  “Of course.” He waved at the doctor who shouted a hello, and then stepped onto the porch to stand in front of the open screen door. “Come in.”

  She waved to Dr. Dillon and then walked past him. A subtle scent of flowers drifted in her wake, and he practically sniffed the air like a hound as he followed her inside. He’d gotten a whiff of flowers several times since the last time he’d seen her, and each time he’d been reminded of her.

  Then again, everything reminded him of her.

  “I’m sorry for disturbing you so early,” she said, not turning around to look at him.

  He pulled the screen door closed and shut the house door. “I was upstairs, just got out of the bathtub.” Realizing he’d only taken time to pull on his pants when he’d heard the knock on the front door, he quickly added, “Let me go get dressed.” His manners kicked in as he turned to walk toward the stairway. He spun back around. “There’s coffee in the kitchen—can I get you a cup while you wait?”

  “No, no, thank you, I’m fine.”

  She sounded as nervous as he felt, which was odd. They’d argued, they’d laughed, but they’d never been nervous around each other before. Gesturing toward the scrolled-wood-and-tan-upholstered sofa, he said, “Make yourself at home. I’ll only be a moment.”

  He shot up the s
teps, down the hall and into his bedroom, where he’d already laid out the suit he’d wear to Mick’s wedding. There he pulled on socks and an undershirt. It was enough to make himself presentable. If he took the time to put on more than that, she might be gone.

  She wasn’t, but she was perched on the edge of his sofa like a cat sitting on a fence, ready to leap off and run at any moment.

  He didn’t want that to happen. “Are you sure I can’t get you some coffee? I could make tea.”

  “No, I’m fine, but thank you.” She fiddled with the handle of the white purse sitting upon her knees. “I’m here to apologize.” She closed her eyes briefly. “I wasn’t aware that Alice had told you about contacting lawmakers, and having them not listen.”

  “I’m sorry, too. I guess I have a history of not telling you things.” He shook his head. There was no excuse for it. “Once again, I was afraid. This time that you’d deny my help.”

  “Which I did.”

  “I should have asked you first.” He shrugged. “I’m just not used to that.” There was more to it than that. She’d made him realize that. “As a kid, I got so used to wanting to please everyone, that when I see something that needs to be done, I just do it.”

  A faint smile curled her lips for a second. “Yes, you do, and I should have remembered that. How you helped me with the scene boards, without me asking for it.” She grimaced slightly. “That’s also why I’m here. To ask for your help.”

  “I see.” He didn’t, but the given response was the most he could come up with as he walked around one of the matching armchairs and sat down opposite her. “Help with what?” Please don’t let her say another trip to the home to rescue more girls. He would take her, though, because it was Jenny. He’d never gotten her out of his system and if the past week was any indication of his future, he never would.

  “With the senator you know.” Chin up, she continued, “Things have become worse at the home in Albany.” An array of emotions flittered across her face as she looked everywhere except at him. “There are guards at all the doors and the girls aren’t allowed to go outside even during the day.”