Love Inspired Historical November 2015

by Linda Ford

  Millicent sent up a silent prayer that Matt would be home soon and that he and his men were safe as Mrs. Heaton poured their tea. The women tried to ignore the gusts that rattled the windowpanes and pounded against the door.

  Suddenly, the door flew open and they ran out into the foyer to find Matt pushing it shut. When he turned around, it was obvious that something had happened. He was pale and looked almost dazed.

  “Matt, you look— Is something wrong?” Mrs. Heaton asked.

  “I’m afraid there is. They told us to leave early but to secure things before we left. The winds had gotten worse and we were trying to tie everything down best we could when—” Matt shook his head, closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

  “One of my men…” He cleared his throat before continuing in a husky tone, “Tom O’Riley lost his balance and fell… He died.”

  Millicent hurried over to him and placed a hand on his arm. “Oh, Matt, I’m so very sorry.”

  Mrs. Heaton and Georgia were right behind her, murmuring their condolences, as well.

  “But we’re thankful you got off safely,” Mrs. Heaton said. “I’ll get some coffee for you.”

  She was already down the hall when Matt said, “Thank you. I’ll just hang up my jacket and—”

  He seemed very shaken and Millicent’s heart twisted in pain for how he must feel. “Here, let me help you off with your jacket. I’m so very sorry about Tom. He seemed a very nice man.”

  As Matt just stood in the entry, Georgia took his coat from Millicent and hung it up, while Millicent put her hand through his arm. “Come on into the parlor. Mrs. Heaton will be back with the coffee in a few minutes.”

  Matt only nodded as she led him into the parlor. How devastated he must feel that one of his men had died in such a way.

  He sat down on the sofa and Millicent took a seat beside him. She wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk about it or not. All she knew was that she wanted to be there for him.

  Mrs. Heaton came in just then and poured him a cup of coffee while Gretchen brought in a pot of tea and freshened up the ladies’ cups.

  “I’m sorry to hear about your coworker, Mr. Matt.”

  “Thank you, Gretchen.”

  The maid quickly left them and quiet fell on the parlor as Matt took a sip from his cup.

  Then he finally spoke. “He was one of my best men. I rarely had to tell him what to do—he just knew.”

  “Did he have a family? Was he single?” Mrs. Heaton asked.

  “He was married and had two small children. He spoke of them often. I know the boss was going to let them know, and we’ll be taking up a collection for them, but I need to visit his family. In fact that is what I should be doing now!”

  He jumped up and Millicent stood, too. “Would you like me to go with you?”

  “I— Would you mind? I’m not sure—”

  “I don’t mind at all,” Millicent said. She couldn’t let him go alone. “I need to go upstairs and gather up some things, but I’ll be right back down.”

  “Thank you, Millicent.”

  She rushed to her room and quickly went through the photos she’d taken of Matt’s men. She ruffled through them until she found the two she wanted and tucked them into her purse. Then she hurried back down.

  Matt had evidently gone downstairs and changed because he was coming up as she reached the first floor.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.

  “I don’t want you to have to go alone.”

  His gaze met hers for a moment. “Thank you. I don’t want to go alone.”

  Mrs. Heaton came out of the kitchen just then. “I arranged for a hack to pick you two up. It’s far too windy to be going by foot or standing at the trolley stop waiting for it to arrive.”

  “Thank you,” Matt said. He put his jacket back on and turned to Millicent.

  “I brought some photographs I’d taken and I’d like to give them to Mrs. O’Riley, if you think she might want them,” she said. “Or I can give them to her later if you think that would be best?”

  “Bring them and we’ll see how things go. It might be better to wait. I just don’t know. But you’ll have them just in case.”

  This was a side of Matt she’d never seen—one who seemed unsure and needed someone to lean on, if only for now. Once again Millicent slipped her hand through his arm as he opened the door and they went out to the hack. She’d never seen him like this and all she wanted to do was help. But how?

  *

  Matt gave the driver the address to take them to and helped Millicent into the hack, thankful that she’d offered to go with him. This wasn’t something he wanted to do. In fact, if he had his way, he would have run down to his room and locked himself in for the rest of the day and night.

  But he was a man and that kind of action was something only a boy would do. Still, he’d never dreaded anything more than having to face a wife and kids he’d heard so much about in their time of grief. But he had to do it. He still couldn’t get the vision of Tom disappearing over the side of the building out of his head. His heart had seemed to stop beating even as his feet had begun to run to the elevator with the other men.

  The ride down to the ground floor had seemed to take forever, and when the door opened, they’d hurried out to find their coworker and friend covered with a tarp and heard the bells of the ambulance as it made its way toward them.

  Matt’s first instinct had been to see how bad it was, but one of the men who worked on the lower floors, and had evidently covered Joe, grasped his arm and shook his head. “You don’t want to see. If it’s any comfort to you at all, he died on impact.”

  It’d been no comfort and Matt knew it was only by sheer will and prayer that he hadn’t lost his lunch right then and there.

  The ambulance had arrived and taken Joe away, and the owner of the Park Row Building gathered everyone together inside. Matt couldn’t remember all of what he’d said before he sent them home, only that he looked as shaken as the rest of them.

  I need to go back up and make sure it’s all secure, Matt had said.

  I’ll go with you, his supervisor had replied and together they, along with the other men who normally worked on the top floors, had gone up and made sure nothing would be flying off to hurt anyone below. Then they took the elevator down and he’d taken a trolley to Heaton House.

  Millicent’s hand squeezed his arm, bringing him back to the present. “Matt, I think we’re here.”

  Only then did he realize the hack had stopped in front of a modest house in an older neighborhood. He helped Millicent out and started to pay the driver, but the man shook his head. “No, sir. Mrs. Heaton put it on her account.”

  Matt nodded and felt the sting of tears behind his eyes at the kindness he’d been shown by the women at Heaton House, including the woman beside him, who clutched his arm as he turned to her.

  They made their way up the walk and Millicent was the one who knocked on the door.

  Matt had only seen Tom’s wife once. She’d been a pretty woman, happy and glowing as she’d looked up at her husband that day. One could tell she loved him and was very proud of him. But the only word that came to mind now as she opened the door to them today was…devastated.

  “Oh… Mr. Sterling, how kind of you to come. I— Please come in.”

  Matt and Millicent stepped into her home, small but clean and well cared for. It was full of family and friends and for that Matt was extremely thankful as he took her hands in his.

  “Mrs. O’Riley, there are no words to tell you how very sorry I am about your loss. It happened so fast, there was no time for any of us to get to him in time and I—”

  “It’s not your fault, Mr. Sterling. It was a horrible accident. But Tom died doing what he loved and I… I’ve been told that he died instantly. I am glad he didn’t suffer long.” She seemed to stifle a sob and Matt squeezed her hands once more. He felt like an interloper and didn’t know what to say next.

  “Mr
s. O’Riley. I’m Millicent Faircloud and I’ve been taking photographs of the building of Park Row. I…I took a few of your husband and I wondered if you might want them.”

  Tom’s wife didn’t hesitate for a moment. “Oh, yes! Please.”

  Millicent took the photos out of her pocketbook and handed them to Tom’s widow.

  She looked at the first one and then the others, smiling as tears flowed down her cheeks. “This is my Joe. Smiling, laughing, the way I knew him. I don’t have any photographs like these. Thank you so very much, Miss Faircloud.”

  “I am so very sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you both for coming. And for bringing these. It means more to me than I can say,” Mrs. O’Riley said. She wiped at her tears and smiled once more as she held the photographs close to her heart.

  Only then did the tightness in Matt’s chest begin to break up. Dear Lord, thank You for Millicent. Why was he only now realizing that while Millicent might be more independent minded than any woman he’d ever known, she was also one of the kindest and most humble women he’d ever met.

  “You’re more than welcome. Please know that you and your family are in our hearts and prayers,” Millicent said and then quickly gave the woman a hug before they left.

  It was nearly dark out and Matt was glad the hack had waited for them—probably at Mrs. Heaton’s request—because he hadn’t thought of it. He helped Millicent in and then took his seat beside her. They both released a big breath at the same time and only then did Matt realize it must have been as difficult for Millicent as it had been for him.

  As the driver made his way through end-of-day traffic and the wind gusts that shook the vehicle, Matt turned to the woman by his side. “I can’t thank you enough for coming with me. And for speaking when I didn’t know what to say next, Millie.”

  “I’m glad I came with you. I didn’t want you to have to come alone and it’s never easy to know what to say at times like this, Matt.”

  “And the photographs. Your instinct to bring them was perfect. I think somehow those comforted her in a way I don’t think I could have.”

  “I’m so glad I caught some images of her husband that somehow seemed to bring her comfort.”

  Matt looked at Millicent as they passed by a street lamp and her eyes looked watery, while his stung as he thought about his friend and coworker’s family and the loss they’d suffered.

  When Millicent slipped her hand through his arm, Matt had a feeling she knew he was having a hard time keeping his emotions in check. He looked down at her and she smiled at him. Then, suddenly, those emotions moved him to cup her chin in his hand and tip her face up. He murmured, “Thank you for being here for me, Millie.”

  And then he did what he’d wanted to for weeks—what he couldn’t keep from doing now. He lowered his head and simply kissed her. Lightly and for only a few brief moments, but long enough to know her lips were sweeter than he’d ever imagined.

  *

  Millicent wasn’t sure what to do or say as Matt’s lips left hers and he raised his head. First, the tone in his voice as he thanked her and called her Millie had made her realize that not only did it not bother her for him to shorten her name any longer—it made her feel special when he did. And then he’d kissed her. Softly and long enough to take her breath away—something she was having a hard time getting back. And why had he kissed her?

  But as she got her breathing under control, she told herself that he’d thanked her just before his lips found hers, and she could only assume that was all the kiss meant, a thank-you for being there for him. There was no need to make too much of it, although her pulse raced and her heart hammered deep inside. And yet, he shouldn’t have kissed her at all! But he wasn’t himself today. He’d just witnessed a horrific accident and she had a feeling he was still in shock because of it.

  “I—probably shouldn’t have done that, Millicent. But I—”

  Oh! She didn’t want him to say he was sorry! “Matt, I understand. You’ve been through a lot today and I’m glad I could be of some help. We’ll forget this ever happened and go on from here.”

  “I don’t—” The hack jerked as the driver pulled up and stopped at Heaton House, leaving Millicent to wonder what he’d been going to say. But as Matt tipped the driver and helped her out, she thought it might be best if she didn’t know.

  *

  True to her word, Mrs. Heaton had dinner waiting for them when they arrived back at Heaton House. The other boarders had been told what happened and as they expressed their sorrow about it all, Matt was relieved that he didn’t have to tell everything all over again. All he wanted was to block out thoughts of seeing his friend go off the side of that building.

  He forced the memory out of his mind as everyone filed into the dining room, and he pulled out Millicent’s chair for her and took his own seat beside her. She’d requested they forget the kiss he’d given her and go on from there. But how did one forget something so sweet? Or the fact that for a brief moment he’d felt the pressure of her lips as she kissed him back. Or had he imagined that she’d responded? No. Surely not. It wasn’t as if he’d never kissed a woman before. He knew what a response felt like, even if it had been light as a feather.

  “Joe, would you say the blessing, please?” Mrs. Heaton asked.

  “Of course. Please bow with me.” He waited a brief minute before continuing, “Dear Lord, we thank You for our many blessings and for this day, but we are sorrowful tonight for the O’Riley family and their loss. Please give them the comfort only You can. Please be with Matt as he deals with losing his friend and coworker, and please show us how to help. And Lord, please be with those who are in the path of the storms that grow ever closer. Please keep them safe and we pray the damage is minimal. Thank you for this food and for the close friendship we all share around this table. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.”

  “Amen.” Matt added his to everyone else’s and hoped he could get through the meal. All he really wanted to do was go to his room and try to get a grip on all that had happened that day, but everyone had gone out of their way to make him feel better and the least he could do was stay through the meal Mrs. Heaton had put off until he and Millicent got back.

  But Mrs. Heaton was a very intuitive woman, and she swiftly began a new conversation as Maida and Gretchen began to serve one of his favorite meals of roast beef with rich gravy, potatoes, green beans and rolls. It’d always been a comfort meal to him and the fact that she seemed to know touched his heart.

  “I’m so looking forward for this weather to move out so we can get back to our normal autumn weather. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. If there are any special dishes any of you might like, please let me know.”

  The thought of spending the holidays here with these people—especially Millicent, who’d been there for him so solidly that day—gave Matt something to think about and look forward to in the coming days.

  By the end of the meal, Matt felt somewhat better, although when he thought of Mrs. O’Riley and her children, his heart ached for them and he wasn’t sure how he felt about going back to work. But as a gust of wind hit the window in the dining room, he had a feeling it wouldn’t be tomorrow. Still, it didn’t matter when it would be. He’d still have to deal with the loss of Tom and working in the very place where he lost his balance and fell.

  Matt swallowed around a knot in his throat as he glanced at Millicent. Would she ever go back up? He certainly couldn’t blame her if she didn’t. And he wasn’t sure he even wanted her to. His heart twisted at the thought of something happening to her up there. Maybe, after this, his boss would put an end to them coming up on top. There were still many floors to go and Matt had a feeling Millicent would be there for each floor, even if she was afraid after what happened today. She had grit, that woman did. And…she had the softest, sweetest lips he’d ever kissed.

  He forced his gaze off those lips and watched a warm pink color flood her cheeks as his gaze captured hers. Could sh
e be remembering, too?

  Chapter Fifteen

  The weather was some of the worst anyone at Heaton House could remember having that time of year in a very long time. But thankfully, it proved to be better than they all first feared. There seemed to be a collective sigh as the winds finally died down and weather seemed to revert to their normal autumn.

  Matt and his men had attended O’Riley’s funeral together and Millicent was relieved to know he could soon start healing from that loss. There was still sadness in his eyes that tugged at her heart and all she wanted was to see them sparkle with orneriness once again.

  He was back at work by the end of the week and Millicent was almost relieved when John telephoned and let her know that they were asked to put off going back until further notice.

  Yet she might as well be at the Park Row, for she couldn’t get Matt out of her mind, and she prayed off and on all day that the Lord would watch over him and bring him home safely. She couldn’t imagine how difficult it must be for Matt and his men to go back to work as if nothing had happened.

  She began to watch for him to come home an hour before he usually did, one minute worrying about him, the next telling herself to quit thinking of him. For when he was in her thoughts for more than a few minutes, they inevitably strayed to the kiss she’d suggested they forget ever happened.

  Something she hadn’t been able to do—something she’d relived all day and night since it’d happened. How had she possibly believed she could forget the sweet gentleness of Matt’s lips and put the kiss behind them?

  Every time she looked at him it was all she could do to keep her gaze from landing on his lips. They’d been soft but firm on hers, sending an electric shock straight to her heart.

  No! She had to quit doing this. Matt had only been thanking her for going with him, for being there to support him that day. It meant nothing more to him than that and she had to accept it.

  After all, he hadn’t brought it up again and if it’d meant more to him, surely he would have, wouldn’t he?