Love Inspired Historical February 2016 Box Set

by Karen Kirst

  “Oh.” She lifted a brow and tilted her head. “You mean somewhere other than alleyways and coat closets?”

  “Hey, there was only one coat closet and I got us out of there pretty quickly.”

  “I remember.” Her gaze turned thoughtful. It seemed to lower to his mouth before meeting his again. “Whatever happened with that Britta situation?”

  It took a moment for her words to process because he was too busy thinking about how he’d managed to cheat himself out of a kiss. That truly had been the worst party in the history of parties. He shook his head and forced himself to refocus. “My parents are going to deal with it. I don’t want to talk about her, though. I want to talk about you and me spending time together.”

  “All right. What did you have in mind?”

  In his best attempt at being graceful, Chris swept a hand toward the hotel down the street. “Supper in the hotel garden at sunset.”

  Her eyes widened. “That sounds so romantic.”

  “Good. I hope it will be. I talked to Mr. Bradley. He’ll let us have the garden to ourselves if we go on a day that isn’t usually busy. How does Tuesday evening sound?”

  “Perfect. Should I dress formally?”

  Chris paused beside the mercantile window knowing that his family would want to chat with Adelaide as soon as they entered the store. “We could if you’d like. Otherwise, we don’t have to.”

  “I always hated having to wear an evening gown for society parties. It felt so pretentious. For this, however, I think it might be fun.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do. Now, we’d better get the ladder and go back to your folks before they send a search party after us.”

  It didn’t take long to put the sign in place once Chris returned with the ladder. They all lingered on the sidewalk to admire it for a good while before finally going inside the office. Chris was amazed to see how much progress had been made on the building since Everett had initially shown it to them. What had originally been a dark, dusty and outdated interior was now light, airy and welcoming. New damask wallpaper covered the walls with blue and cream. For the next hour, Chris and Everett had the privilege of arranging and rearranging each and every piece of furniture in the room according to Adelaide and Rose’s directions. There were four mahogany desks in a variety of sizes for the office portion of the room. The waiting area near the door consisted of a small cream settee, gold chair, wooden bench and a low-slung table.

  Once the women finally deemed the setup acceptable, Rose clasped her hands together. “Now, let’s move on to the drapes and the paintings.”

  Everett waved her off. “That’s where I draw the line. You know I can’t stomach all this decorating. It’s an office not a parlor. I appreciate your help, but we don’t need all of this.”

  “You are going to spend as much time here as you do at home. It should look nice. Even if you don’t want all of this for yourself, think about Adelaide. Don’t you want her to be comfortable when she’s working here?”

  “She has her own writing to do. She’ll only be here a few hours a week. I’m sure she’d be fine.”

  They looked to Adelaide for her reaction. She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Drapes are kind of a basic necessity, Pa. Especially if you plan on working late nights here on deadline.”

  Everett gave a long-suffering sigh. “Fine, but I want to go through those paintings first because I’m not letting you put up any flowery ones.”

  Rose gave an offended little huff. Chris hid a grin and settled onto the settee to watch them go through the paintings. Shaking her head at her parents, Adelaide joined him. “This may take a while.”

  “That’s all right.” He tilted his head. “I didn’t know you were going to be working here.”

  “I’m going to fill in as a reporter until Pa can hire someone else.”

  Chris frowned. “You know how to…” Remembering how adamant Everett had been about teaching him to be a journalist when he hadn’t half the writing talent of Adelaide, Chris shook his head and grinned. “Never mind. Of course you do.”

  Everett must have overheard them for he said, “I’d love for you to come aboard, too, Chris—with whatever time you can spare from the mercantile. I’m hoping to start you off as a reporter. I’d be happy to teach you whatever you need to know. I need a man like you—someone who has his finger on the pulse of this town. You have connections here that I don’t. In news, connections—or as we call them, sources—are everything.”

  Chris shrugged. “Adelaide is from here. She has connections.”

  “I’ve been gone for five years, Chris. So much has changed. I wouldn’t be nearly as helpful as you.”

  He gave into the temptation to capture Adelaide’s gaze. “You think I can do this?”

  “Absolutely.”

  The certainty in her voice made his decision a simple one. “Count me in.”

  Everett grinned. “Welcome to the staff. Your first assignment would be a story on the fire engine you told me so much about. I’ll have you interview Sheriff Sean O’Brien and that fellow whose house burned down. His name’s Rhett Granger, isn’t it? I’ve heard they’re going to make him the volunteer fire chief. I have an interview with Judge Hendricks for another story in a little while, but I think we have time to come up with some questions for your story first. Ladies, I’m sorry. We’ll have to finish all of this another day.”

  Even Chris had to laugh at Everett’s obvious attempt to shoo the ladies away. Rose shook her head. “Oh, no. We’ll finish this today. Don’t worry about that. You and Chris go right ahead with your work. Adelaide and I won’t bother y’all a bit.”

  Adelaide patted Chris’s knee and stood. “That’s my cue.”

  While Adelaide and Rose quietly hung curtains, Everett helped Chris came up with a myriad of questions to ask Sean and Rhett. Everett allowed Chris to sit in on his interview with Judge Hendricks to see how an interview should go. Once that was done, Chris visited the smithy to arrange a time to interview Rhett. Sean, on the other hand, didn’t bother to set up another meeting. He simply pushed the paperwork he’d been filling out aside and encouraged Chris to ask him whatever he wanted. Chris took down the sheriff’s answers, then hurried back to the Herald to tell Everett about the unexpected first interview.

  Adelaide was the only one in the office. She glanced up from when he entered. Not wanting to break her concentration, he waited until she finished writing to speak. “I just did my first interview.”

  “Well, that’s exciting. Who was it with? How did it go?” She gave the chair beside her desk a push so that it rolled toward him.

  He sat in it, then slid back across the floor toward her. “I think it went pretty well. It was with Sean. He wrote down the questions he didn’t have answers for and promised to get back to me.”

  “That’s good. We’re not in a big rush since Everett hasn’t set the date for the first deadline. He’s still waiting on the paper and ink to arrive. He’s sending a telegram about it now. I’m sure he’ll be back soon. In the meantime, I could teach you some of the basics of newswriting if you want. It will be like old times when we studied together.”

  “I’d like that.” He wanted to ask her if she knew how crazy he’d been about her back then. She hadn’t given him any indication that she’d returned his romantic feelings until that first fateful kiss. He’d been too afraid to ask to court her until then. That kiss had buoyed him up so completely that he’d gone straight for a marriage proposal.

  Once she’d broken off their proposal he’d buried those memories deep out of self-preservation. Now that his bitterness had eased, he could recognize how sweet those times had been. He wanted to dig those memories up and examine them one by one. Most of all, he wanted to build a happy future—a new beginning for them. He could only pray that it wouldn’t end in the same old heartbreak.

  *

  Embarrassment warmed Adelaide’s cheeks as she led her parents down the church aisle and into one of the back pews.
They were just as tardy this week as they had been last week and the week before. She’d like to say they’d really tried to be on time but that wouldn’t be the least bit true. All three of them had dragged their feet. While she feared her parents did so out of lack of interest, Adelaide couldn’t quite explain her reluctance. She shouldn’t have any—especially since Chris and Sophia had been so sweet as to pray for her reconnection with God not so long ago. Truth be told, she hadn’t really felt much of a difference in her faith since then. That hadn’t stopped God from answering the portion of the prayer concerning her hopes to stay in Peppin, so she had to assume she hadn’t been doing her part. It was for that reason that she’d finally taken charge and hastened everyone out of the house.

  Now that they had arrived, she was struck again by how different this church was from the one they’d attended in Houston. It wasn’t just the style of music or the friendliness of the people. It went deeper than that. The very atmosphere felt richer and more intimate as though God Himself was present and endeavoring to draw them closer—draw her closer. It created such a strange feeling inside her, almost as if a battle was raging within her. Part of her wanted to lean into that tug. The other part wanted to escape it.

  Pastor Brightly was a dynamic speaker whose style reminded her of the tent revivalist they’d run across when she was a child. Hiram had whipped the horses into a lather in an effort to get past the open field where the service was being held. The preacher’s voice had chased them far down the road before it faded into stillness.

  There was no silencing the Word of God today as Adelaide dutifully opened her Bible to follow along with the reading of the scripture. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us…”

  Adelaide was able to remain relatively unmoved until the sermon seemed to be nearing a close. The dark-haired pastor grasped either side of the pulpit while his penetrating yet caring gaze scanned the room. “This verse doesn’t say let us walk. It doesn’t say let us mosey or wander or start and stop or sit on our hands. It says let us run. I believe Paul purposefully chose this word because he knew that you can’t run if you’re constantly looking over your shoulder at your past. That’s why he tells us to lay aside the weights and the sins that entangle us.”

  He closed his Bible and stepped from behind the podium, a sure sign the message was coming to a close. “Finally, you can’t run unless you are committed to the course God has set before you. Commitment…” He paused, and for some reason she had a feeling that what he said next was not entirely planned. Perhaps that was because there was no practiced air to it. Rather, his words were slow and gentle as though they were coming to him one by one in that moment. “That can be such a hard thing to do, especially not knowing what lies ahead. We want to know the answers, minimize risks and protect ourselves. Yet, God often calls us to run our race on a course filled with questions and risks and dangers of one kind or another. That doesn’t make it any less worthy of running.”

  He glanced back at the podium where she’d seen him place his pocket watch. “I’ll have to go into that more next week. Right now, there’s something else I need to say. When I attended college back east, I ran track and field. I learned that before you can begin your race, you have to prepare yourself. You have to get into position. Do you know what position that is?” He knelt with one leg slightly in front of the other. “It’s right here. It’s on your knees. That’s where some of you need to start your race today—in prayer, committing or recommitting your life to Christ.”

  He led the congregation in a prayer, but Adelaide couldn’t seem to utter a word. Everett didn’t seem to have that problem, for he spoke the words with a conviction that made Adelaide smile even as she threaded her fingers together in an effort to control their slight trembling. Once the service was over, she did her best to shake off her disquiet before joining Chris on the drive he’d promised her.

  He stopped the buggy deep in the woods and tied off the horses before escorting her down a winding trail. Just when her curiosity began to get the best of her, the trail opened up to reveal a rolling meadow blanketed in bluebonnets. Losing her breath, Adelaide shook her head in awe. “Chris, this is absolutely stunning.”

  “And secluded.”

  Eyebrows lifting, she glanced over her shoulder to meet his dark blue gaze.

  “So…”

  She stilled as he stepped up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist.

  “We won’t be interrupted while you tell me what’s had you holding back tears this entire trip.”

  “Oh.” She leaned back against his chest and sighed even as tears filled her eyes again. “Chris, we don’t have to…”

  He silenced her protests with a look as he stepped past her to lay his coat on one of the few sections of the ground not covered in bluebonnets. He patted the coat to indicate she should sit on it. After a second of hesitation, she did so. He settled across from her, close enough that their knees almost touched. He captured her gaze. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”

  For a moment, she couldn’t say a word. And this time, her silence was solely due to the man in front of her. The color of his eyes seemed to envelope her in shades so deep and vibrant that it put the blossoms surrounding them to shame. His complete concentration focused on her only intensified his gaze. Her attention drifted to the rest of his classically handsome features. However, it wasn’t only his attractiveness that caught her attention, but the caring and concern she found there.

  He lifted a dark-gold eyebrow to prod an answer from her. She forced herself to glance away. Internally chided herself for thinking about Chris instead of staying focused on things of a more spiritual nature, she lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I feel a little silly about it now, but Pastor Brightly’s sermon really got to me.”

  “That isn’t silly at all. What was it specifically that affected you so much?”

  “I… I didn’t say the prayer.”

  Chris’s confusion lasted only for a moment. “But you wanted to, is that it?”

  Adelaide bit her lip in indecision. Remembered what Pastor Brightly had just said about committing to faith, she nodded. “Yes.”

  Chris smiled. “Would you like to now?”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Whatever’s in your heart.”

  Adelaide nodded, then bowed her head. “God, You know this isn’t easy for me, but I want to come back to You. I want to be close to You. I want to… I want to be Your daughter again. Be my Lord, my Savior and my Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

  “Amen.” Chris took her hand and pressed a kiss to her fingers. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Sharing that moment with me. It means a lot.”

  Realizing there was more that she hadn’t shared, Adelaide put aside her misgivings to do so. “Chris, I had a talk with my mother a while ago, and it got me thinking.”

  Caution filled his eyes. “About what?”

  “The future. She told me I’d always have a home with her and Everett.”

  “What does that mean?” Chris stood, guiding her to her feet along with him. A hint of indignation crept into his voice. “Was she planning on throwing you out?”

  “What? No,” she said with a laugh. “She would never have done that… I don’t think. I suppose what she meant is that she won’t be matchmaking anymore.”

  “Why would she be matchmaking if you and I are courting?”

  “She wasn’t. She was simply saying she wouldn’t in the future, either.” She picked up his jacket and shook off the dried grass that clung to it. “All I’m saying is that she helped me realize that our situations have changed. I’m free to write and stay at home without having to worry about my mother’s desperate attempts at matchmaking. You don’t have to marry Britta. Your father is doing better. He isn’t trying to match you wit
h anyone else, either. We both have what we wanted.”

  He took hold of the coat she offered him and used it to tug her closer. “That was what we wanted. Was. We want something different now. Or, at least, I thought we did. Is this…are you…breaking up with me?”

  Her breath caught in her throat. “No, Chris.”

  His jaw tightened. Shaking his head, his knowing gaze captured her. “You mean, not yet.”

  She stiffened. “I didn’t say that.”

  He was a little bit right, though. She knew that. If the distrustful look he gave her was any indication, so did he.

  Adelaide covered her face with her hands, then slid her fingers through her hair. This conversation was not going at all as she had hoped it would. She’d only intended to share her troubles. She’d also wanted to get an idea of exactly how serious Chris was about their relationship. Now, she was beginning to wish she’d never brought it up. The tension radiating from Chris told her that he was probably wishing the same thing. Unfortunately, forging on was likely the only way to straighten out the mess she’d unintentionally made. She just wasn’t sure how to continue.

  Chris didn’t wait for her to figure it out before squaring his shoulder. “You know what? No. If you’d wanted to break up, you wouldn’t be this indecisive about it. You would have already done it. I know that from last time.”

  “Hey, that’s rude.”

  “That’s a fact. You want this as much as I do, Adelaide.” He shook his head and searched her eyes. “Why are you so intent on pushing me away?”

  “I’m not…” She bit her lip, realizing he was right. She crossed her arm about her waist. “I don’t know. Instinct?”

  “Instinct?”

  She glanced away, trying to hide the fact that she was every bit as surprised as he was by her response. She had a lot of good reasons for pushing him away. Several of them were women—specifically all the women he’d proposed to other than her. Why couldn’t she have picked one of those? Perhaps because deep down inside she knew her reservations went beyond that.