He’d barely turned away before he called, “Rose! Kathleen is here for the kids.”
A woman came to the door, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Oh, Kathleen, how is Colleen?”
“They say she’ll be fine, but she doesn’t look it. She’s badly bruised, and you know she was shot, don’t you? And...” Kathleen paused and swallowed hard. “She lost the baby.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Rose reached out and put a hand on Kathleen’s shoulder.
“She insisted I come see about the children and I knew she wouldn’t have any peace until I did. Nor would I.”
“I tried to get them to eat, but they only pushed their food around on their plates. They are welcome to stay here until you can make arrangements—”
“No, thank you, but I need to see them, please.” Kathleen’s voice broke and Luke could only imagine how she felt. It’d been a while since she’d seen the nephews she loved so much.
Rose nodded. “Let me get them for you.”
“Thank you, Rose.”
It was only a moment before two little boys came running. “Aunt Kathleen!”
Luke heard Kathleen’s stifled sob as she dropped to the floor and gathered the two little boys into her arms. They began talking over each other, telling her about their mama and papa arguing and papa hitting mama and all the blood, sobbing as she gathered them closer and rocked them back and forth.
“I’m here now. And Mama’s going to be all right in time. It’s going to be all right.”
They clung to each other and Luke looked away as his emotions threatened to get away from him. He saw Violet put a hand to her mouth and tears gather in her eyes as Michael pulled her closer to him. Evidently they were touched just as much.
Kathleen stood and looked at her neighbor. “Thank you, Rose. I—”
“No need, Kathleen. I’ll keep them tomorrow while you go see about Colleen. Just bring them over when you get ready. And I’ll help out when she gets home. A woman shouldn’t be treated the way Clancy treated her. She’ll be better off without him.”
Kathleen only nodded. “Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
From there, they formed a little caravan, with Kathleen and her nephews in front, Luke behind her and Violet and Michael in the rear. She stopped at a corner apartment and unlocked the door. The children clung to her as Kathleen turned to him and Michael and Violet.
“Thank you for bringing me home. I appreciate it more than I can say, but we’ll be all right. I’ll arrange to get my things in a few days—”
Luke’s chest tightened. She intended to stay here.
“Nonsense,” Violet said. “We’ll get your things to you and we aren’t leaving now. I’m going to see if you need help in cleaning up...” She swallowed hard and pushed her way inside.
“Violet, I can do it.” Kathleen followed her and Luke could hear the relief as it whooshed from her chest.
He looked around but there was no evidence of a gunfight in the room they were in. Someone, probably Rose, had cleaned up what must have been a horrid sight and Luke was thankful for all their sakes. “You do have some good neighbors, Kathleen.”
She nodded as she looked around. “Even better than I thought. Thank you for seeing us home. Please, everyone, your evening has been taken up—”
“Kathleen, stop talking like that. You are our friend and we care about you,” Violet said. “Let’s light a lamp or two. It will be better for the children.”
Luke and Michael did as she suggested, quite certain that Violet was going nowhere until she was convinced Kathleen and the children would be all right.
“Do you think the children would eat if I make something?”
“Thank you, Violet, but I doubt it. I’ll make them something if they get hungry later.”
“I’d be glad to make you all something.” She looked around and Luke could see the disgust she was trying to hide from Kathleen that anyone had to live in these conditions. There were only three very small rooms in the apartment and no bathroom. It appeared they had to share one down the hall, or maybe even on another floor. The kitchen, if it could be called that, was in a corner. It consisted of a small sink, a tiny range and a small icebox.
The blood might have been cleaned up, and it appeared that Kathleen’s sister tried to keep the apartment clean best she could, but the overall squalor of the building and the neighborhood couldn’t be fixed so easily.
“Kathleen, why don’t you go back to Heaton House with us? You know the children would be welcome.”
“No, Michael, but I thank you. I can’t impose on your mother any more than I already have.”
“Please come back with us, Kathleen,” Luke said. “The boys can share my room.”
Kathleen shook her head. “Thank you for the offer, Luke. But I can’t. I’m not being stubborn. I’m doing what is best. If we were to go back to the boardinghouse, that would show the children a side of life they can’t live in forever and it would make it harder for them to come back here. We’ll get out of here one day, but until then we must accept that this is our life. It won’t be forever, I assure you.”
“But it doesn’t have to be now, either.”
“Yes, Violet, it does. My sister will come home, Rose will help her and watch the children while I work and we’ll get on our feet. It will be easier without—”
She looked down at the two boys who still clung to her skirts. “We will be all right. And I will be in touch. Don’t worry.”
Luke could only watch as Violet looked at the children and swallowed hard. She turned back to Kathleen. “All right. We’ll get your things to you.”
“Thank you.” Kathleen reached out an arm to hug Violet. “Your friendship means more to me than I can say.”
She turned to Michael. “As does yours and your mother’s. Please tell her I will be in contact and thank her for all she’s done for me. Now, please go so that I can explain things to the children and comfort them.”
Luke saw the resolve in Kathleen’s eyes. She needed them to leave. But he wasn’t going just yet.
“You two go on. I’ll be along shortly,” Luke said in a quiet voice, looking Michael in the eye, trying to convey his need to talk to Kathleen alone.
“All right.”
Even Violet seemed to be more at ease knowing Luke wasn’t leaving just yet.
“We’ll be checking on you.”
Kathleen nodded and Luke had a feeling that she was just trying to appease Violet so that she would leave.
“Come, Violet. I’ll bring you back,” Michael said.
Violet nodded and followed him out the door.
Kathleen turned to him. “Thank you again for being with me once more in my time of need, Luke.”
“Kathleen, let me help you get the boys to bed. And then I’ll go. Please.”
He thought she was going to turn him down, but she nodded instead. “This is Mr. Patterson, Collin and Brody. He’s a friend of mine.”
Collin nodded. “I ’member him. He helped you and Mama at the park that day.”
Luke remembered the way they’d clung to their mother’s skirts that day, hiding behind her in fear and yet begging Kathleen not to send their papa to jail.
He bent down to their level and looked the one called Collin in the eyes. “It’s good to meet you again, Collin. I remember you, too.”
Luke held out a hand and the young boy looked at him for a moment before slipping his smaller hand into Luke’s. Luke gave it a shake and then turned to the younger boy. “And you’re Brody?”
He nodded and sidled closer to Kathleen.
“I’m pleased to meet you, too. Your aunt has missed you very much.”
Tears welled up in both boys’ eyes.
“We missed her, too,” Collin said.
Brody stuck a finger in his mouth and nodded. Luke picked him up and looked at Kathleen. “Tell me what to do.”
Brody put a hand on Luke’s cheek and turned his face to look at him. “Didn’t your mama teach you how to wash for bed? Ya put water in a bowl, get a clean rag and scrub your face and hands and then yer feet.”
Luke chuckled and even Kathleen joined in as they set about getting her nephews ready for bed.
* * *
Much as she’d wanted everyone to leave, Kathleen had to admit Luke was a great help and his presence comforted her.
But once the boys were ready to be tucked in, she turned to him. “Thank you for helping me, Luke. But it’s getting late and I need to make sure they go to sleep assured their mama is coming home.”
“I understand, but I still wish you’d take them back to Heaton House, Kathleen. It’s not too late and we’ll all help out with them.”
“But, Luke, they can’t stay there and it would be so much more difficult for them to have to come back here again.” She knew firsthand how hard it would be.
Luke only nodded. “Go on and tuck them in, then. I’ll be here when you get through. I know how to make myself a cup of tea.”
“But you can’t—”
“I’ll only stay until you have them asleep and I know you are all right.”
There was a glint in his eye that told her she might have won the battle over her staying here with the boys, but he wasn’t going anywhere until he spoke to her again.
She gave a brief nod and headed to the room she’d shared with her nephews. They were both sitting on their pallets waiting for her.
She gathered them close and rocked back and forth, thankful they were all right and she was with them again. But talking to them about their mama and papa was the hardest thing she’d ever done—after seeing Colleen in that hospital bed, her face black-and-blue, all bandaged up and knowing she’d lost the baby. She had to keep reminding herself that the doctor and nurse said she would be fine...eventually. But her sweet sister certainly didn’t look like she’d be all back to normal anytime soon.
“Mama’s going to be all right, Aunt Kathleen?” Collin asked as she’d cuddled them and tried to assure them. “She’s not going to die, is she?”
“Oh, no, Collin, your mama isn’t going to die. She’ll have to stay in the hospital for a little while, but she’s going to be all right. And you’ll have to be good boys and help her some. But I know you’ll do that.”
“Oh, we will,” Collin said, his eyes big and overly bright. She wasn’t sure if he was going to cry or not. He looked at his little brother. “Won’t we, Brody?”
Brody solemnly moved his head up and down and cuddled closer to Kathleen.
“But your papa won’t be coming home.” Kathleen held her breath waiting for them to ask why.
Instead, Collin only asked, “Never again?”
“Never again.” Kathleen felt guilty for the surge of relief that washed over her at the realization that her brother-in-law would never be able to hurt her sister again. That he was gone for good and that he got what he deserved. Lord, please forgive me. I know I should feel sad for him, but right now all I can feel is relief that he won’t hurt anyone again. That I can be part of my family’s life again.
Whether the boys realized their papa was dead or not, she didn’t know. They didn’t ask. Nor did they cry. Collin had only said, “He won’t be able to hurt Mama or you again.”
“He won’t be able to hurt anyone.” Kathleen didn’t tell them about the baby, she’d let Colleen do that or at least ask her if she should when she saw her again. For now, the boys had heard enough bad news. She looked down on the innocent faces and thanked the Lord for answering her prayers and for letting Colleen be alive, for letting the boys be unharmed.
After saying their prayers with them and kissing them good-night, she slipped out of the room, leaving the door cracked so she could hear them if they needed her.
Then she went out to find Luke standing at the window, waiting for her. She joined him there.
“Are they asleep?” he asked.
“Not yet, but it’s been a tiring day for them. I’m sure they will be soon.”
“I can see why you’ve missed them so much.”
Kathleen drew a ragged breath and nodded. She tried to blink back the tears that fought to be let loose.
Luke reached out to brush a tear and she flinched. His hand stilled. This was Luke, she reminded herself. Not Clancy. He only wanted to comfort her. At that knowledge she leaned her cheek into his hand and sighed.
Luke pulled her into his arms and for the first time in a very long time, Kathleen gave herself over to the emotion. Her breath released on a sob and she let the tears come. He rocked her back and forth and rubbed her back with one hand until her tears were spent. Then he raised her chin so that he could look into her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’ve got your shirt all wet and—”
Luke stopped her words with his fingertips on her lips. “It will dry. You needed to cry it out.”
She nodded but didn’t know what to say next. She didn’t want him to go and yet, she knew she must send him away.
“Thank you for being here. I—”
“And you need some rest. I don’t want to leave you, but I’ll check on you tomorrow. There is a telephone in this building somewhere, isn’t there?”
She nodded. “The landlady on the first floor has one.”
“If you need me for anything, you telephone me.”
“I will.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
His arms were still wrapped loosely around her and he placed his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry about your sister, Kathleen. But I’m so glad you weren’t here when it happened. You might have ended up in the hospital, too. Or worse. And I...” He pulled back slightly and raised her chin. He shook his head and sighed. “You lock up good. I won’t leave until I hear all these locks click.”
“All right.”
“The kettle is hot. Make some tea and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She nodded.
He went through the doorway and pulled the door shut behind him. “Lock up now.”
Kathleen did as he said, turning the three locks.
“Good night,” Luke said from the other side of the door.
“Good night.” Kathleen heard his footsteps fade before she turned and then hurried to the window. She pulled the thin curtain back and glanced down just as Luke left the building and looked up. She didn’t know if he saw her or not but she waved, just in case. He waved back and she touched the windowpane, as if she could touch this man who’d begun to mean so much to her.
Once he was out of sight, she went to check on the boys and found them fast asleep. She pulled the covers up over them and kissed their cheeks.
She pulled the kettle from the back of the stove and poured it over tea she’d placed in a small pot, then went to look out the windows while she waited for it to steep.
The view was the same as it was when she left. Buildings, just like the one they lived in, lined up across and down the street. So many people living in squalor. Such an extreme difference in the way she’d been able to live these past weeks.
She’d been relieved when Violet and Michael left. They were wonderful friends, but she hated for them to see the conditions she’d lived in before she’d come to Mrs. Heaton’s home. Hated that they had to know the ugliness that happened in the tenements at times. Hated that they knew it had happened in her family. And yet she knew they cared. They would treat her and her family the same as they had from the day they took her in and she would always be grat
eful to them.
Still, it had hurt to see Luke go, knowing that she wasn’t going back to Heaton House anytime soon, if ever. At that thought her heart tightened as if it were being squeezed by a vise and she swallowed around the knot in her throat. She’d known it was too good to be true.
Would she see her friends again? Or would they go on about their lives? She certainly couldn’t expect them to come here. And with Colleen in the shape she was, it’d be up to her to take care of her sister and the boys. They were all the family she had and she loved them. At least Clancy couldn’t hurt any of them again.
But, oh, how she longed to be back at Heaton House, longed to have gone with Luke and taken the boys with her. Still, she had to do what was best for the boys.
She looked around the apartment and saw a mouse come out of hiding and skitter across the floor. It was a sight she’d seen often but it still sent a shiver down her back.
Living here was horrible, especially after living at Heaton House. But now she was more determined than ever to get her family out of the tenements and into something they could call home. And one day she would.
Chapter Eight
Luke let himself in Heaton House with a heavy heart. One of the hardest things he’d ever done was to leave Kathleen and her nephews in that apartment. And when he’d looked up to see her looking out her window, he’d almost rushed back in to insist she come with him.
But she had a stubborn streak and he couldn’t really argue with her reasoning. It would be hard on those boys to live at Heaton House and then have to go back. They’d be dealing with enough in the weeks to come. And Kathleen—how hard must it be for her to have lived here and then have to return to that apartment?
“Luke? We’re in the parlor,” Mrs. Heaton called. “Please come join us.”
Luke was a bit surprised to find Violet and Michael had come back there and were waiting for him to return. They were in the parlor with the others and had filled them in on what they knew of the evening.
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