by Kitty Parker
Chapter 15
Audra's head rested comfortably on Eli's chest, as it had every night for seventeen years. She smiled as he ran his gentle fingers through her hair. It had become a ritual for him to play with her hair before bed and it was her favorite time of day. While they lay quietly, she heard the floorboards groan outside of their bedroom. She knew from the uneven footsteps that it was Parker.
"Eli, what time is it?" she asked.
"It's nearly eleven o'clock. Do you think Park was in her room all this time?"
"It's possible. I was surprised when he didn't come back downstairs for dessert; you know how much he enjoys his sweets. I just figured he went to bed, or had something to do for the practice. Perhaps I should have a discussion with him about propriety," Audra said quickly.
Eli laughed softly, jostling her slightly with the unsteady rise and fall of his chest. "If I thought that were necessary, I would speak to him. You and I both know nothing happened. I trust our son, and even if I did not, her injuries would make even a hug impossible."
"But not a kiss!" Audra argued, suddenly worried about the relationship that could be taking place under her roof. It wasn't that she doubted her son; she knew he was an excellent boy. The trouble was, she knew that he was experiencing some new feelings.
Eli pulled Audra upward and forced her to look into his eyes. How she loved those eyes. "Parker would do no such thing. You are becoming quite hysterical," he teased, pressing a kiss to her brow. "Not only is he respectful, but he knows full well what put Tessa in that bed. He's talked to me several times about the image that remains in his head. He knows that Tessa is not ready for any relationship other than friendship."
Audra sighed a laugh, "I don't know what's come over me."
"Ah, my darling, I do," he smiled.
"Well please, enlighten me!"
"You don't want Parker to scare Tessa away. It's very obvious that you think highly of her."
"Not just her, the whole family. Eli, I adore our family. I've loved every moment of raising our children and growing with you. That's not to say I haven't missed working at Winchester. For the first time in years, I feel as though I'm doing some good."
"Audra, I've always known that you're remarkable. I knew it the first time I met you," he brushed a finger down her cheek. "It's comforting to know that I can still make you blush."
"Eli! You are making me forget my point!" she exclaimed with a playful smack, her cheeks still stained from her blushing.
He laughed, "I'm sorry, dearest, you were talking about doing something good."
"Right! They are a family that needs our help. I will be quite upset if they were to leave. They almost feel like part of our family now."
"They do, don't they."
"I know Tessa feels like she is a burden. I am also sure she's not ready for a declaration of love."
"And do you think Parker is ready to make one?"
"I don't know. He certainly cares for her; I don't know that he would use the word love quite yet." Audra snuggled back down beneath the covers, once again resting her head on Eli's chest. "I believe Tessa is a lot like me."
"Stubborn?" he asked, playfully.
"I was not stubborn, Eli! I just thought there was a higher calling for my life."
"Until you fell madly in love with me." The words were teasing, but he spoke them softly, right into her ear. His fingers stroked her arm lovingly as he coddled her. She flipped onto her stomach, now resting her chin on his chest, so she could see his eyes.
"Yes," she agreed. "I believe Tessa will only allow her own happiness when she experiences a similar feeling. If Park is quick to admit his own feelings..."
Eli kissed her, preventing the rest of the sentence. It was his way of telling her that he knew exactly what she was about to say. This was his most effective way of getting her to stop worrying. The sensation of his lips against her own usually caused thoughts to fall clear out of her head. "Go to sleep, my love. Tomorrow, we'll have a talk with Park, though I have a feeling we will merely be voicing something he is already fully aware of."
She nodded in agreement, finally feeling calm enough to sleep, "I love you, Eli Sullivan."
"And I love you, Audra Sullivan. Now go to sleep!"
Audra wriggled to make herself more comfortable and closed her eyes. Eli raked his hand through her hair again, as if she was a toddler in need of soothing before she could enter a dream filled sleep. He had become a true comfort to her. It seemed he was the only one in the world who could calm her down. There was no doubt in her mind that God had been wise to provide Eli for her. She smiled at the thought that she had almost been silly enough to let him go.
While working at Winchester had given her a purpose, it was Eli and her children that made her life complete. They had certainly gone through troubles as a family, but nothing was too great for them to overcome. As she thought about how proud she was of her own family, Audra's thoughts wandered to the family that had fallen into their laps. It was hard to imagine life without them now. Because of Tessa's injuries, the family would certainly stay for a few more weeks. Now, Audra needed to work on a way to keep the Evans' safely under her roof after Tessa was fully recovered. It was with that thought on her mind that sleep claimed her.
Chapter 16
Tessa spent more and more time downstairs once the wheelchair was fixed. Every morning, Parker came to pick her up. He carried her effortlessly downstairs and deposited her into the refurbished wheelchair. While she was still unable to wheel the chair herself because of the broken clavicle, it was easy for the Sullivans to transport her.
This morning, she was sitting in the parlor, enjoying the morning sun. There wasn't much she could do with only one good arm. Mending was impossible, knitting required both hands, she couldn't even braid Emma's hair. Sitting without anything to do was agonizing, so Parker brought some files from his office for her to work on. It felt good to be useful, and Parker sure did need the help.
Parker had a lot of qualities that Tessa admired, but organization and neatness were not among them. He had little notes written on tiny scraps of paper stuffed into the folders. Tessa put each note in chronological order, then worked on deciphering Parker's scrawled handwriting. When that was finished, she neatly copied the notes onto a single log sheet, or sheets, depending on the patient.
Tessa was copying notes carefully into Mrs. Patricia Fowler's file when Julia began squealing from her seat by the window. "He's here!" she chirped, tossing the mending she was working on back into the basket.
The pen Tessa gripped in her right hand hovered over the paper as she looked up in curiosity. "Who's here?" The question had barely lifted off her tongue when Mrs. Sullivan bustled into the room, a handsome young man by her side. He looked to be younger than Tessa; she would guess him to be about twenty-one. Short blonde hair looked as if it had been bleached by the sun, and tanned features made her believe he spent a great deal of time out of doors. Tessa's eyes swept back to Julia, whose eyes bulged at her, as if to say, "Don't say a word."
"Keith, this is Tessa Evans. She and her family have been staying with us. Tess, this is Keith, one of my sister Olivia's boys." Mrs. Sullivan said proudly, holding his arm tightly.
He walked further into the room, smiling brightly, "It's very nice to meet you, Miss Evans."
Tessa found his smile contagious and grinned back at him, "It's nice to meet you too."
"I was so excited to see you standing on the porch, I forgot to ask what you came for!" Mrs. Sullivan said quickly.
"Well, I was sent for blueberries. Someone in my house has a hankering for a blueberry pie, and our bush was picked clean about a week ago," Keith explained.
"Let me guess, Laura and Allie were the one's responsible for that bare bush?"
Keith laughed, a deep, masculine laugh, "You got that right! They were caught purple handed, and would have been in a whole lot of trouble if they hadn't gotten sick."
"I can just imagine Olivia's react
ion. Now, I think our bushes have enough for a pie or two, but you tell that sister of mine that she owes me."
Keith nodded, "I will, and thank you. I'll do the picking myself if you can show me where a bowl or basket is. I was instructed not to dawdle."
"Now I wonder why that is?" Mrs. Sullivan laughed.
"Probably because whenever I come, a simple errand takes most of the day!"
"Well, Parker isn't here today, which should make it less tempting to stay," Mrs. Sullivan laughed. "Come on, I'll get you that bowl."
"It was nice to meet you, Miss Evans," Keith said quickly. "Always good to see you, Julia." After a quick nod toward Julia, he ducked out of the room, following Mrs. Sullivan through the house.
Tessa turned to look at Julia, who was still following the young man with her green eyes. Tessa realized that she had never witnessed Julia so quiet. Her friend was usually boisterous and bubbly, asking questions and giving opinions. With Keith in the room, she didn't even mumble a hello! It was all very strange. Tessa decided not to mention it, putting her pen back to the page she was working on. When Julia remained quiet, Tessa looked up again. Julia's eyes were still on the spot where Keith must have disappeared from view.
"Julia?" The mention of her name snapped her back to the parlor. Her eyes flicked back and forth in confusion until they finally rested on Tessa, who was looking at her with a gleam in her own eyes.
"Oh! Don't say anything. Please, promise me you won't say anything."
"Why, Julia, I don't know what you're talking about," Tessa said sweetly, adding a southern drawl for fun.
"I'm absolutely ridiculous! I don't know what it is about him, but he makes me go completely...blank! I don't think I even remember my own name when he's around," she twittered.
"Probably not, especially because you couldn't remember how to say hello."
Julia threw her head against the pillow beside her, "Gosh, he must think I'm dumb! Or mute!"
"I'm sure that's not true, but, I do have a question. Don't think me insensitive, but isn't he your cousin?" Tessa asked, trying to satisfy her own curiosity without being cruel.
Julia laughed out loud, almost uncontrollably. "I wouldn't be in love with my cousin! I promise. He's not my aunt's son. My aunt and uncle run a home for older children. Keith is one of their oldest boys, he's been with them since he was twelve, and before that, he was at Winchester, where my mother and father used to volunteer. I've practically grown up with him, but we're not related."
"Well, now that you've cleared that up for me, tell me all about him."
Tessa was excited for the prospect of talk about something out of the ordinary. In the quiet, all she could think about was her situation. Being here at the Sullivan's was wonderful. She had a bed and three filling meals a day. And it was clear that the children were better off here. Lucas wore a constant smile these days, Emma was carefree as any three year old should be and Sadie was laughing again, a sound she hadn't heard since their mother died.
It wasn't just the physical comforts of this house that made staying so appealing, or the fact that her siblings were so well taken care of, but her own emotional well being. For the first time in three years, she had friends. Parker, Julia and even Mrs. Sullivan had been greater comforts than they would ever know. What Tessa spent most of her time thinking about was what she was going to do when she was back on her feet.
Luckily, Julia's current lovesick status would afford her a break from such strenuous thinking. "Truth is, I've barely spoken to him since I've turned fifteen," Julia admitted.
"What happened when you turned fifteen?"
"I've noticed that boys could make my heart flutter and my breathing becomes more difficult!"
Tessa laughed hard enough to feel a pinch in her shoulder, a pain that had become familiar. "Oh, Julia!"
"Tess, it's really not funny, it's ridiculous! I tell myself after I see him that I'm being ridiculous, but it doesn't help. The next time he comes over, or I go visit Aunt Olivia, I'm a bumbling idiot once again," Julia sighed, helplessly. She was now pulling at the tassels on the pillow that she had thrown her head against minutes before. Tessa wished she could get out of her wheelchair and wrap an arm around her, but in her present state, it just wasn't possible.
"I don't think it can be considered bumbling if you can't manage to get words out of your mouth."
"Uh, you're right! I just don't know how to fix it," her head fell against her chest. Suddenly it popped back up, a resilient sparkle in her eyes. "You can help me!"
"I don't see how," Tessa said, slightly confused. "Beside the obvious friendly coaching."
Julia lunged forward and up onto her knees. If it weren't for her blue eyes and mature features, Tessa would have thought Emma was sitting in front of her, ready to indulge in a sweet treat of some kind. "How do you talk to Parker?" The words came out of her mouth so quickly, it was all Tessa could do to keep them in order and make sense of them.
"Parker? I don't know what you're talking about."
"What I'm talking about," Julia said in drawn out speech, "is that you love Parker, and yet, you're able to talk to him like he's your friend. Teach me your secrets, so I can do the same with Keith."
Tessa couldn't manage to control her dropped jaw, which dangled open for more than a minute. Finally, she gathered her self control enough to add to her facial expression. "First of all, I'm not in love with Parker. Why would you think that?"
Julia stared back blankly, "I don't know, the way you talk to him? The way you smile at him? The way you talk to him about things you don't even tell me? I guess I just assumed."
"Do you think Parker thinks that?"
Tessa watched as Julia remained silent across the room. She was getting nervous as the silence continued. "What if he does think that? What would I do? I can't let him fall in love with me, it wouldn't be fair."
"We've never talked about it or anything," Julia admitted. "I know he likes you, it's obvious by the way he treats you. He's never been so attentive to any girl before. In fact, I rarely see him talking to girls he's not related to, he's always had too much on his mind."
"I like him too, Julia, but I'm not in love with him. It's possible that he thinks of me as a friend. We are friends, good friends, I like to think."
"I won't lie, Tess, I want you to fall in love with my brother, and I want him to fall in love with you. I've never met a girl more perfect for him, and I would love having you for a sister! That's not even mentioning everything he could do for you and the kids."
Tessa smiled at the girl who had been so kind to her. She could still remember the days she had come to visit at the shanty. In all honesty, Tessa didn't know if she would have visited someone in a shanty had her luck never put her there. Julia Sullivan was a remarkable young woman, and Tessa didn't want to hurt her feelings. But, the truth needed to be spoken, she wouldn't pretend like there was any chance for her and Parker just to appease his younger sister, her friend.
"Julia, I am touched that you think so highly of me. First, I think you know that marrying someone because of what they could provide financially, is not what I'm looking for. And, to be completely truthful, I'm not looking to marry at all. I don't think it would be fair to any man to ask him to manage the package I am traveling with. These are hard and difficult times, and I have nothing to offer. The burden of our livelihood would fall completely on his shoulders, and you know I would never leave my brother and sisters. Your brother is probably the best man I've ever known, but I assure you he can do far better than me. Don't get your hopes up Julia, I have no intention of falling in love."
Chapter 17
Parker had come home for lunch, and was headed into the parlor to get Tessa for lunch when he heard the last words that came out of her mouth, "I have no intention of falling in love." The words sat in his stomach like a stone. It wasn't that he was ready to profess intention toward Tessa, in fact, he and his father had talked about him giving Tessa time, and space. At the moment, he
was just happy to have her around. There were things about her presence that he didn't ever think he could forget. The way her simple smile lit up a room, the way her eyes crinkled when one of her siblings did something she didn't approve of, and the quiet way she let Sadie, Lucas and Emma know she loved them more than anything in the whole world. Then there was the way she talked to him.
Her voice was soft and delicate, and she always showed concern over the little things. Everything he said was important to her, when he was talking, she was always a captivated audience. It made him feel cared for, loved. Not that his family didn't make him feel loved, but it was different with Tessa. She wasn't the only one who listened. He did his best to pick up little pieces of conversations she had and hold on to them tightly. Her face always lit up when he remembered something she had said. The night when she had shared about her father was still vivid in his mind, but she had not been so bold with him since then. Her past seemed to be a closed topic, for now.
They had become good friends, which was enough for now. Parker knew deep down that eventually he wanted more. Just looking at Tessa sent his head into a dizzying spin. He saw her in white, he saw her bouncing to her toes and wrapping her slender arms around his neck before inviting him to plant a kiss on her delicate mouth, and he saw her with their children. Everything about it was a dream, but he knew it was what he wanted, some day. Tessa's pronouncement was almost like a punch to the stomach. What would he do if she didn't want to fall in love? What would he do if she would never love him?
Despite his intention to eat lunch with Tessa and the family, he couldn't bring himself to enter the parlor. Instead, he walked out to the back porch, which had always been a favorite spot of his parents. He could remember them spending nights on the porch during the summer, the two of them in their chairs beside each other. Saying nothing at all, simply looking out in the garden, hand in hand. Parker always knew that was where to find them when he couldn't fall asleep, or needed a glass of water after bedtime. He could never understand what was so exciting about sitting quietly on the porch, but now he would give anything to sit with Tessa beside him.
