Janet didn’t waste the opportunity. She’d seen Adam’s coat hanging along the back wall in the storeroom and before she thought twice, she raced in, shoved the fourth note into the pocket, and ran back out to stand in the corner amid the toys and games.
By the time Adam returned, her breathing was back to normal.
He stood beside her. “I have a rocking horse on order.”
Her pulse galloped. He was conversing with her of his own accord. “Any child would love that. I see lots of toys for boys, but I don’t see a tea set.”
“It’s in the display case behind you.”
She turned to admire it. “Oh, yes. It’s very pretty.”
“Pretty things for girls of all ages.”
Was he flirting with her? She angled her head to gauge his expression while basking under his attention. “I can imagine Santa Claus sitting here entertaining the children with tales of his reindeer. Or even you, reading that poem, ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas.’”
“Me? Why me?”
“It’s your store,” she bantered.
Two young women crossed the threshold, their eyes alight with merriment. Janet’s enjoyment fled as she recognized Diana Webb and Doris Orson.
“Janet! Isn’t this grand?” Diana held her arms out like a pastor reaching out to his flock.
Doris zipped from one display case to the other. “I want to see the hair combs. Where are they?”
Adam dipped his head to Janet. “If you’ll excuse me, Miss Smith.”
For several moments she stood there, going over their conversation, wishing he hadn’t left. When Diana and Doris started throwing glances full of questions her way, she pretended interest in the merchandise without losing sight of Adam. Then Diana said something too low for Janet to hear and he bantered back. Diana giggled. Doris blushed.
Janet’s heart ached. This was a new Adam, charming and attentive to everyone who walked through his door. Perhaps, like the Lowell brothers, he was a twin and had changed places with the Adam she’d pined after. It only proved that she knew less than nothing about him.
Was she foolish to pursue a man in such a way? To declare her love when he hadn’t given a reason to show he cared for her any more than an item in his store?
Adam removed a silver floral hair comb from his display case and handed it to Doris.
Janet eyed the distance from Adam to the storeroom, wishing she could take back the fourth note.
The thought dissolved as Adam led Diana to a mirror on the wall beside the storeroom door, opposite the toy corner. With her hat off, and holding a hand mirror, Diana turned this way and that, preening, while Adam waited by her side.
Janet ran from the stifling room. Outside, with her hand on her bodice, she forced herself to breathe deep. Had the change from general store to emporium changed the man she’d fallen in love with into one she couldn’t look at without seeing heartache?
Chapter 4
Adam drew on an extra reserve of patience as he assisted the two young ladies who seemed to know Janet and yet hadn’t acknowledged her other than the initial greeting.
“Do you think the comb complements my hair, Mr. Hazelton?”
With Janet waiting on the side, Adam tried to hurry his customers along. “Yes, it looks lovely.”
“Aren’t you the gallant one.”
Her attempt to bat her eyes was so ludicrous, he grinned. He felt a warm hand on his arm and turned to find the second young lady, also hatless, standing very close.
“I want to try on the sapphire pendant.” She stared into his eyes.
Sweat poured into Adam’s hands. The lady stood too close for propriety. He backed away slowly as if any sudden movement would spark them into action. “I’ll just go get it.”
He turned to plead with Janet for help, but she was gone. How could she leave him like this? He sighed and headed to the jewelry case. Footsteps echoed his from the other side of the counter, pausing when he stopped to retrieve the piece and continuing as he walked back to the wall mirror. He held out the red velvet–lined tray with the pendant, hoping the young lady, or her friend, would take it.
Instead, she faced the mirror and rested her fingertips on the hollow of her throat. “I want it right here.”
Her friend lounged against the trunk wearing a mischievous, telling smile.
Adam didn’t like being the brunt of their wiles, but in his position, the best thing was for him to bear it and try to avoid them in the future.
He fitted the pendant around her neck. “It’s not fair that you know my name and I don’t know yours.”
She peered up at him in the mirror. “I’m Diana Webb, and she’s Doris Orson. We’re not married, but we’re old enough.”
He coughed into his hand. “I see.” He gestured to the mirror. “Well, what do you think, Miss Webb?”
After they left with their purchases, Adam escaped to the water closet to wash the sweat off his face and hands. He hadn’t planned on catering to little vixens—they hadn’t even entered his mind when he’d changed the direction of the store. What would he do if they came back?
Still shuddering, he pulled his drawer open and retrieved his journal. He had started writing notations about what his customers liked, or didn’t like, and somewhere along the way he’d started listening to everything they had to say. Instead of blocking out their chatter like before, he strained to hear their small talk. Nothing had changed. They still spoke of the weather, their neighbors, and politics, and these observances filled the pages of his journal, but they also included who was sick, or visiting from the east, or who was sweet on whom.
On a fresh page, he added the names of Miss Diana Webb, Miss Doris Orson, and their purchases. He didn’t need to write anything further because he was sure he’d remember them for the rest of his life.
The idea crossed his mind that he could hire an assistant to take care of any customers he didn’t wish to deal with, but he tossed the thought away. It was the nature of his business to handle all sorts of people, and he wouldn’t shirk that duty, regardless of his past, or their nature.
After church on Sunday morning, Emily Dundas blocked Janet from leaving her pew. “I know you don’t have the patience for ladies groups and tea parties, but the Ladies Social Club needs your help.”
“No, Emily.” Janet lowered her voice, mindful of lingering parishioners. “I always feel like they’re judging me.”
“Nonsense. They know you lack certain”—she twirled her hand elegantly—“social graces on account of being raised without the benefit of a mother. If anything, they look on you with pity, not judgment.”
Janet dipped her head at Emily’s brutal honesty.
Emily drew her into the aisle, her arm around Janet’s shoulders. “Besides, you’re mixing us up with the Ladies Home Society. The Ladies Social Club has one purpose only, and it has nothing to do with society.”
“Emily, I refuse to take any more lessons on deportment. It’s time wasted when I have so many other things to do.”
“No, it’s nothing like that. We need your advice on men.”
Janet jerked back. “What on earth?” Was everyone mad? First Neil wanted her advice on women, now Emily on men.
“You live with four brothers, all of marriageable age. The ladies would like to know more about them before putting them on the list.”
“What list?”
“The list for eligible bachelors, silly. There are far too many men compared to women out here, and sometimes it’s hard to tell the good ones from the not so nice. So, we’re making a list.”
Janet shook her head. “I can’t be part of this. You’re making judgment calls.”
“No, we’re not. We’re trying to save women from being ruined by men of questionable character by introducing them to upstanding men in our community. Churchgoing men with good morals.”
“I don’t know…”
“Well, I do. I’m getting older by the minute and want a husband and babies, and so do the
others. We’ll all have a better choice if we know who’s available, and whether you help us or not, your brothers are going on the list.”
With that, Emily marched toward a group of women and said something out of Janet’s range.
Janet headed home, confused by their furtive peeks in her direction.
“You took your time getting home,” Jack said as she walked in the door. He handed her a plate of the previous night’s stew.
She sat at the table, around which Pa, Ben, and Neil were already eating.
Jack sat down beside her. “What were you and Emily talking about?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Maybe not, but with the gaggle of girls watching you two, it was entertaining.”
“She has a dumb idea and wanted my help.”
Jack dipped his day-old biscuit into his stew. “Oh?”
The inflection he put on that one word caught her attention.
He dipped his biscuit again. “Emily’s a smart girl. Are you sure her idea doesn’t have merit?”
“Well, yes and no.” Since she didn’t see any harm, she explained what Emily had said about the Ladies Social Club. “What I can’t agree with is that men will be judged on what we know of them, in other words, hearsay.”
Pa cleared his throat. “A man’s reputation is generally who he is.”
“Not always.”
“I said, generally. Seems to me that the ladies are trying to protect themselves, especially the ones who are alone.”
Jack dipped his biscuit again. “So Emily’s looking for a husband?”
Janet glared at him, but the effect was lost as he continued to eat.
“I wouldn’t mind being on the list,” Ben said.
Humbled, Janet bent her head. Ben’s wife had been such a sweet girl. When she’d died from the fever after only eighteen months of marriage, Ben had lost his exuberance for life.
Neil leaned forward in his chair. “Count me in.”
“What about Molly?” Janet and Pa chimed in together.
“I’m a teamster, not a ranch hand. Anyways, it’s hard to get to know someone you never see.”
“Son, if you want to take a job there, I’ll understand.”
“No, Pa. I’ve been doing some praying, and if Molly and I are meant to be, we’ll find each other.”
Neil’s nod at Janet told her she’d had a part to play in his decision. Thinking back, however, she wondered if it hadn’t been more of Adam’s influence than hers.
“Janet, I think you should join this Ladies Social thing.” Pa looked at his sons for signs of dissention before continuing. “Just to get things rolling, the boys will fill you in on whatever the ladies want to know.”
Janet looked at her brothers with new eyes. They shared a home and she thought she knew them, but did she really? This was a very interesting turn of events. “Well, then. If I was looking for a husband, I’d want to know what he liked, and what he couldn’t stand. What he considers his skills, strengths, and even his shortcomings. Also, his relationship with God.”
While cleaning the dishes, she considered how Adam might answer her questions. What was his relationship with God? He didn’t attend her church, but he could be a member of one of the others in the city. Or he may not go to church at all.
She almost dropped a dish at the thought of how little she knew of the man she professed to love.
Adam paused his dusting at the sound of boots clumping on his sidewalk.
“Howdy, Hazelton.” Neil entered with a small crate in his arms.
Adam used his duster to point to his stool behind the counter. “You can set it right there, Neil. I suspect it’s that shipment of watches I ordered.”
“Uh-huh.” Neil set it down gingerly before coming back around to stand in front of a display case. Bracing himself against the glass counter, he looked down at the assortment of egg cups.
Adam hid his duster on a low shelf. “Anything I can help you with?”
“Yeah. Remember the last time I was here, a week ago? When we hung the sign?”
“Sure I do.”
He offered his right hand. “I appreciate what you told me even though I wasn’t too happy at the time.”
Adam hoped his surprise didn’t show as he shook Neil’s hand. “You’re welcome.”
Neil drummed his fingers on the glass.
It was plain he had something to say but didn’t know how to say it. Since Neil had opened up to him about his personal life once before, Adam felt it wasn’t untoward to cross the bridge once more. “What’s on your mind?”
Had Neil come to claim his love notes? Adam had set them out as a trap for a few days and then changed his mind. He reached into the drawer for them.
“The Ladies Social Club wants to know if they can add your name to their list.”
Adam dropped the notes back into the drawer. “You have me at a disadvantage, Neil. What’s this all about?”
“It’s a list of bachelors for the ladies. So they’ll know who’s in the running.”
Sweat broke out in Adam’s hands. “Not me.” He backed away as if Neil was going to lunge at him and drag him out of there.
“Yeah, that’s what my sister said, but she said the other ladies insisted I ask you.”
“Janet said not to put my name on a bachelor’s list?” Adam’s mind raced. Why? Not that he wanted to be on the list, but why didn’t she think he should be on it? “Did she give a reason why I shouldn’t be on it?”
Neil threw him a curious look. “The ladies want God-fearing men of good morals and temperament.” He shrugged. “Maybe she doesn’t think you qualify.”
Adam didn’t know what to say. Whether he attended church or not wasn’t anyone’s business. If he allowed them to question that, then what would they want to know next?
“She’s right,” he snapped. “I don’t want to be on the list.”
“Why not?”
Adam crossed his arms in defiance. “Because this is a matchmaking scheme, and I want no part of it.”
Neil straightened. “That’s interesting.”
“It’s also democratic. What’s the use of having a democracy if there are no dissenting votes?”
“Look, Hazelton, I don’t know what got your spurs sharpened, but I’ll tell the ladies you’re not interested.”
“You can’t tell me you’re on it.”
“I am, and believe me, with all the men out there looking for women, there are plenty who are fighting to get on this list. The problem is that some of them aren’t the type innocent church ladies should be matched up with, if you get my meaning.”
Clouds moved across the sun as he spoke, dimming the showroom. By the time he stomped out the door, a wall of rain obliterated the view of the park across the street.
Adam’s mood darkened along with the light level at the thought that he’d been the object of the women’s discussion, never mind that they had decided whether he was suitable to marry one of them. It wasn’t anyone’s business if he married or why he didn’t, because his personal life wasn’t open for discussion.
He paced the showroom floor. Who decided whether the ladies were suitable for decent men? Why, those two vixens who had cornered him awhile back were probably members of this social club, although calling them ladies was stretching it. If there were so many men looking for women, why hadn’t they been picked?
And why didn’t Janet think he should be on the list? Everything she knew about him was based on what she saw of him in the store, and that wasn’t enough to judge his character.
Just because he didn’t go to church didn’t mean he wasn’t a God-fearing man. His fear of God’s retaliation is what kept him away from church.
He stopped at the door and faced the street, now a slimy sheet of mud. Had she heard something about his past from her brothers? In their transport business, they were always on the road, talking to someone somewhere. But why would his name come up?
His new wall clock bon
ged five times. After ensuring the back door was locked, he reached for his coat, which he hadn’t worn in two weeks due to the dog days of summer. But with the rain pounding down, he took it off its peg.
His gaze fell on the parlor safe tucked under a small worktable. He’d been so preoccupied with the thought of being talked about, he’d forgotten to lock up the cash. Still wearing his coat, he locked the day’s intake in the safe.
As he reached the front door, the room lit up from a flash of lightning. A moment later, thunder rumbled above his head. He didn’t mind walking in the rain, but a thunderstorm was something else.
He secured the door and then walked back to his stool where he shoved his hands into his pockets. His left knuckles scraped across a paper fold. Without thought, he pulled out another sheet of floral notepaper.
The white dazzled him with brilliance as lightning flashed through the windows, followed in an instant by a thunderous boom. He tossed the note in the drawer and slammed it shut. Why read words of gentle love when he needed the feel of heaven’s wrath pounding on his soul?
Chapter 5
Janet squeezed the crumbly dough together in her hands. Her thoughts wandered to Neil, who should’ve been back already with Adam’s answer, but he was probably riding out the storm somewhere. If Adam joined the Ladies Social Club, she could lose him to the girls who were trained to be ladies. She slammed the dough on the table.
“I thought we were having biscuits,” Jack said from the doorway.
“We are.” She picked up the dough and then slammed it down again.
Jack put aside the towel he’d used to dry his hands. “How about I take over before you turn them into rocks.”
“What?” She stared at the fragile biscuit dough. “Oh, dear.”
Leaving him to salvage what he could, she poured hot water into the basin and washed her hands. Little clumps of dough floated in the water like the thoughts hovering in her mind.
What if Adam didn’t want to be on the list? Did that mean he already had someone in mind, or did it mean he didn’t want to get married at all?
She’d left him four notes expressing her love, and other than putting them back where he found them, he hadn’t given her a single indication that he had read them. Had he even mentioned them to anyone? Had he tried to deduce who they were from? A bit of investigative work would have pointed to her before too long, especially when her brothers admitted her penchant for poetry.
The Secret Admirer Romance Collection Page 22
