Lorna Seilstad - [Lake Manawa Summers 03]

by The Ride of Her Life

  Lilly touched his arm. “What else?”

  He sighed. “When I say bad, I mean worse than anything you can imagine. We were starving. They couldn’t afford to feed all ten of us, so they took the four oldest of us to an orphanage.”

  She gasped. “They sent you away? How could they? How old were you?”

  “I was twelve, and Lilly, you’ve got to understand, my parents were good, hardworking folks, but a storm was upon them.” He met her gaze. Her eyes filmed with tears. He drew in a deep breath. “When my parents took us there, I remember my father squeezing my shoulder and telling me I had to be strong for my younger brothers.”

  “And your mama?”

  “She kissed me and cried. She said she’d be back for us as soon as they could come.” His voice cracked. “I believed her that day, but soon the other orphans made it clear to me that parents never returned like they promised. I still remember seeing her walk away and turning to blow me a kiss. I held on to that memory and tried to recall it every night. I was afraid I’d forget what she looked like.” He stopped. He couldn’t tell her he’d cried himself to sleep every night for months—a twelve-year-old boy, crying like a baby for his mama. “Then one couple came and decided they wanted to adopt me.”

  “Oh no. What did you do?”

  “I pitched such a fit the couple changed their minds.” He chuckled. “After they left, the matron beat me.”

  “And that was your last chance at a home?” she whispered.

  He squeezed her hand. “No. After a year, my parents did come back.”

  “What a horrible thing for a child to go through. Not knowing if they’d return. Not knowing if you’d ever see them again. Nick, I’m so sorry.”

  “I only told you this so you’d believe me when I say I won’t let those people take your son from you. I know how much a boy needs his mother.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. “Now, I guess we’d better get you inside. I’ll be waiting right here to walk you home.”

  “You’ll be bored silly. I’m perfectly capable of walking back to the cottage.”

  “It’ll give me some time to pray.” He cupped her cheek, brushing the creamy softness with the pad of his thumb. “I have some people I’d like to talk to the Lord about.”

  The iron bed squeaked every time Lilly rolled over. Front, side, back—no position gave her body rest, let alone her thoughts. She could still taste Nick’s good-night kiss, his breath fresh from the clove-flavored Necco wafers Levi had shared with him. She could feel the cool touch of his calloused hand against her cheek, and after the story he’d shared with her about his childhood, she’d ached to comfort him in a tangible way.

  And he’d waited for her to finish her work.

  The thought sent another wave of emotion coursing through her. Better than that, he’d sat in the dark and prayed for her. Had Ben ever brought her name before the Lord? For that matter, when was the last time she’d prayed for Nick or anyone else?

  She scrunched the feather pillow beneath her head. What had Nick said about his parents? A storm was upon them?

  The wind sent a branch tapping on her cabin window. She jolted. Her heart pounding, she rolled over and sat up. Perhaps a glass of water would help her get back to sleep.

  After pulling on her wrap and slippers, she padded down the hall to the parlor. Carter’s snores echoed from the room he and Emily shared. She stopped when she found Emily sitting in the parlor, nursing Kate.

  “I thought I heard you.” Emily smiled and nodded toward the empty chair. “Can’t sleep?”

  “I was thinking about storms.”

  “I didn’t see a cloud in the sky today, but I can hear the wind picking up. Do you think we’re in for a storm?” Emily stroked Kate’s face with her thumb.

  “No. Nick was telling me about a storm his parents faced. They fell on hard times and sent him and three of his brothers to an orphanage to live.”

  “How horrible.”

  “I know. They did come back for them, but Nick didn’t know if they would. Can you imagine living with that uncertainty? Nick says they are good people, but—”

  “Lilly, we mustn’t judge them.”

  “I know.” Lilly understood storms—both the ones in nature and the ones in life. How a person dealt with them said a lot about him or her. Making a decision like that had to be the hardest thing Nick’s parents had ever done. She sighed. “I can’t help but wonder why his parents hadn’t given their storm to the Lord.”

  “Maybe they had. Maybe taking Nick to the orphanage was the answer God had given them.”

  “But how can God rip parents and their children apart?”

  “Or a wife and a husband?” Emily met Lilly’s gaze and held it. “Isn’t that what you really want to know?”

  “You think I blame God for Ben’s death?”

  “No, but I think you stopped trusting Him then.”

  Lilly stiffened. “I trust God. I have my whole life.”

  “You have in the past, but are you sure you trust Him now?”

  A prick of guilt stabbed Lilly’s heart. It was a good question, and one that had been in the back of her thoughts. What Emily didn’t understand was there were different kinds of trust. Before Ben died, Lilly had believed trust to be simple too. But now—well, she was more cautious. She had to be.

  “Emily, you’re becoming more like your grandma Kate every day.”

  “Thank you.”

  Lilly rolled her eyes and yawned. “I think I should go back to bed. Tomorrow’s a big day.”

  “Sleep well, my friend.” Emily shifted Katie to her other side to nurse. “And be sure to say a prayer about those storms.”

  Crowds circled the fence outside the roller coaster. It seemed that every person in Council Bluffs had taken the streetcar to Lake Manawa as soon as church services concluded.

  With powder-blue skies and a bright sun, opening day promised to be perfect. Nick shielded his eyes with his hand and glanced at the myriad of curious onlookers. When this roller coaster was up and running, there’d certainly be no shortage of patrons.

  “Forest,” Nick called, “help Sean get those sandbags in the cars. I need them to weigh as much as four people.”

  He turned and spotted all five feet nothing of Mr. Nash marching toward him. “Mr. Perrin, where have you been?”

  “At the tent church services.”

  “But it’s opening day.”

  Nick nodded. “And we need God’s blessing for that more than anything.”

  Mr. Nash flung his hand toward the ride. “Why isn’t this coaster running? Look at all those people. I told you it needed to be done today. I even advertised it in the newspaper.”

  “If guests are disappointed, that’s your problem. I told you it wouldn’t be ready. Today I have safety checks to do and adjustments to make accordingly.” Nick pointed to the sandbags. “First we check her out with sand. If everything goes okay, then I ride at least twenty times. The only person I’m taking any chances with is myself. Unless, of course, you care to join me.”

  Mr. Nash stepped backward. “No, that won’t be necessary. I hope you realize the investors will not be happy. They will be notifying Mr. Ingersoll.”

  “Neither the investors nor Mr. Ingersoll would be happy if someone got hurt.” Nick glanced around, and his gaze fell on Lilly and Levi. His chest swelled. After church, he’d told them the coaster would have its first trip at two o’clock, and now they’d made it to witness the occasion. “Mr. Nash, if you’ll excuse me, we’re about to make the inaugural run of Lake Manawa’s Velvet Roller Coaster.” He left Mr. Nash standing there, mouth gaping at the dismissal, and strode over to the fence. “Want to see things close-up, Levi?”

  “Yes!” Levi clapped his hands, and Lilly laughed.

  “Follow me then.” He led Levi and Lilly along the fence until they came to the turnstile. He motioned to Milt Hawkins to let them through. Scooping Levi into his arms, he said, “We’re going inside the loading station. Soon as we
get everything set, I’m going to let you pull the lever and start the whole thing.”

  Levi clapped again.

  “You spoil him.” Lilly laughed. “But I suppose everyone needs a little spoiling now and then.”

  “Does that include you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m much too practical for that.”

  “We’ll see.” He motioned for her to climb the steps into the loading station. “Patrons will give their tickets to the clerk here and then line up in that section.” They swung a half door open and passed through. Nick helped Lilly step down onto the track, cross it, and step back onto the other side where some of his men stood.

  Nick set Levi down and turned to Sean. “Let’s get a car on these tracks, Mr. McGready.”

  “I’d be honored.” Sean snapped his suspenders.

  “What’s he doing?” Levi tugged on Nick’s hand.

  Lilly drew him back. “Levi, Mr. Nick is busy.”

  “No, he’s fine.” Nick squatted down beside Levi. They watched as Sean flipped two latches on a six-foot section of track and pushed it beneath the walkway. “We have to have a way to change cars to do maintenance and to store them. That section of track is movable so we can wheel in our cart section.”

  Next, Sean pushed a second wheeled section of track down the walkway from the car storage area. Two more men assisted him in angling it into the open slot.

  “The section Mr. McGready is moving now is built on wheels. It slides right into the empty space. See?” Nick pointed to Sean’s area.

  “But how did the roller coaster car get on it?” Levi stood on tiptoe to see into the car storage area.

  “That special track section is the same height as the ones in the car shed. We can easily move cars onto it, wheel it in place, and slide them off. Watch.”

  Sean and two other workers pushed the section holding one of the two-seated red cars into the vacant slot. The newly arrived cars sported leather seats with yellow curlicue designs on the side panels and a safety bar inside for the rider to hold on to.

  Once the car-bearing track was in place, Forest and Lars helped Sean roll the car from the temporary track onto the regular one. Forest held it in place while Sean pulled the wheeled section away. Finally, he tugged the original track section from beneath the walkway and secured the latches on each end.

  “Impressive, isn’t it?” Nick beamed.

  “If it runs,” Mr. Nash said from behind them.

  “It’ll run.” Nick stood. “Okay, let’s get those sandbags loaded into the car. Percy, be prepared to push the car around to the chain lift when I say so.”

  Nick waited until the guys put the sandbags in the cars, then checked the placement of the bags. He patted the top one and turned to Levi. “Are you ready to make this work?”

  Levi nodded.

  “Okay, when I count to three, help me move this lever forward. One, two, three.”

  Levi’s face scrunched with effort as he pushed, but Nick still had to help. The motor began to crank the chain on the lift hill with a steady chinking sound. He watched it for several minutes. So far, so good.

  Nick waved to Percy, and the young man wheeled the sandbag-filled car around the loading station’s track until it reached the foot of the lift hill. The lift chain grabbed the chain dog beneath the car and began to carry the car up the first forty-two-foot climb.

  No one spoke. The crowd seemed to hold its breath.

  Nick squeezed Lilly’s hand.

  Please, God, let this work.

  28

  The car climbed the first hill, clacking as it passed over each anti-rollback board, ticking off the footage to the summit with clocklike precision. Lilly reminded herself to breathe, but when the car reached the summit, rolled around the first curve, and made its descent, her breath caught. She pressed her hand to her mouth.

  The crowd cheered.

  Lilly glanced at Nick. He kept his eyes on the car as it rose and dipped and clunked around each corner. By the time it made it back to the loading station, its speed had slowed considerably. Percy applied the brakes, and the car came to a rest.

  Nick’s crew clapped one another on the back, and several men shook Nick’s hand. Leaning to his right, he bent to speak into Lilly’s ear in order to be heard above the celebration. “If we weren’t in front of a couple hundred people, I’d kiss you senseless.”

  “And if you did, I’d send you on a roller coaster ride to the moon.”

  He chuckled. “Percy, let’s get some of these sandbags out. Time for me to go for a ride.”

  Lilly grabbed his arm. Fear jolted through her. “You’re going to ride now? But it’s only had one test run.”

  “And now it will have two—only this time I’ll be the passenger.”

  “But—”

  He covered her hand. “I’ll be fine. Trust me.”

  Trust you? Lilly stared as Nick climbed into the backseat of the roller coaster car. Her heart pounded like a drum against her rib cage. Trusting Nick wasn’t the issue. Trusting a contraption that could catapult him halfway across the Midway before he could blink concerned her.

  Percy pushed the car around the track to the base of the lift hill again. Nick waved to her and the crowd, but Lilly couldn’t look as the car began to climb. Still, the urge to see forced her to open her eyes. Each time the car passed one of the forest-green anti-rollback boards, she wanted to cheer. The car cleared the first curve, then plunged into the first dive and flew up the other side. Lilly sucked in her breath. The car continued on its path, twisting around the curves of the figure-eight layout and through the undulating dips and rises.

  Prior to reaching the next curve, the car came to an abrupt halt. Nick grabbed the safety bar in front of him and braced his arms. If he hadn’t, Lilly was certain he’d have been thrown from the car.

  Sean moaned.

  “Look, Mama!” Levi tugged on her skirt.

  With slow, deliberate movements, Nick climbed into the front seat. He tossed one of the sandbags into the back, then stood, holding on to the safety bar for balance.

  Lilly turned to Sean. “What’s he doing?”

  “If there’s somethin’ wrong with the car, he’ll have to push it all the way back. If the car slowed because of the track, he’ll have to push it to get it going again. Either way, I bet the lad will be tired when he gets back.”

  Nick stuck one foot out of the car and pushed off of the high sideboards along the track. The car began to move again. Did Nick do these things every day? What if he slipped and fell? He had to be over twenty feet in the air.

  As if he were running beside a sled, Nick continued to urge the car along. It picked up speed after rolling down the last hill but limped its way into the loading shed.

  After the car stopped, he stepped onto the boarded walkway. He looked at Forest and Lars. “We’ll need to smooth out the track before the number three curve. Can you two get on that right away?” He walked over to Lilly. “See, that wasn’t so bad.”

  “Standing here watching you almost kill yourself? No, that wasn’t bad at all.” She could scarcely speak over the lump in her throat. She grabbed her son’s hand. “Come on, Levi.” She strode from the platform. The crowds around the fence had begun to disperse, and except for Marguerite, Trip, Mark, Emily, and Carter, she recognized few remaining faces. “We need to get back before this crowd all decides the show’s over and wants to eat.”

  “Lilly, wait,” Nick called.

  She stopped on the loading station’s last step but didn’t turn. Tears burned her eyes. How dare he take those kinds of chances? What if Levi had seen him fall?

  Nick touched her arm. “I’m sorry I scared you. I think it looks worse than it is.”

  “Was it fun, Mr. Nick?” Levi tried to spin around to see the roller coaster again.

  “Yes, Levi, it was.” Nick tousled his hair. “I know what I’m doing, and I was perfectly safe the whole time.”

  “You couldn’t have been.” Her voice cam
e out pinched. “You were nearly thrown out of that thing.”

  “Lilly, it’s my job.” He tilted her head to see her face. “Are you crying?”

  She pulled free and cleared her throat. “As I said, I have work to do and so do you. I need to be on my way.”

  “I promise you I was not in any real danger.” Nick fell in step beside her. They reached the turnstile, and he caught her hand. “Let’s celebrate tonight. I already told the crew I was letting them leave early as a reward for all of their hard work in getting the coaster going, so you don’t need to make them dinner. We’ll have dinner at Louie’s French Restaurant, then go to the new vaudeville show.”

  “Vaudeville, Nick? I don’t know.” Besides, she wasn’t ready to stop being furious yet.

  “I checked. The poster says the show is family friendly.” He gave her a lilting smile and tipped his head toward the roller coaster. “Besides, don’t you think I deserve a little celebration?”

  Levi jumped up and down. “Please, Mama. Let’s go cell-break with Mr. Nick.”

  “Yeah, Lilly, cell-break with me.”

  The infectious sparkle in his eyes touched her, and her resolve to be angry at him for risking his life ebbed. Maybe she’d overreacted. He’d been doing this for a long time, and he didn’t seem to be careless in any other way. Besides, like he said, it was his job.

  He locked his hopeful gaze on her. Those cobalt eyes should be considered lethal weapons.

  She sighed. “I suppose you do deserve to celebrate. Your coaster is rather impressive—except for the almost killing yourself part.”

  “Remember, I told you I wasn’t in any danger.”

  She raised her eyebrows and gave him a cheeky grin. “But you will be if I see you doing anything dangerous like that again.”

  Customer after customer entered Thorton’s Lunch Counter. Lilly wiped a hand across her brow. If crowds continued like this all summer, they’d need more help. As it was, she’d not had a moment to breathe all afternoon.

  She opened the oven door, and the sweet scent of cherry pie tickled her taste buds. Before all the pie was gone, she’d save a piece for Nick for the evening. She imagined he’d be too busy to come get one for himself.