A Place of Refuge

by Janet Lee Barton

  “I promise you that we will do all we can to be worthy of all of this.” Kathleen knew she’d be on her knees for a very long time that night. That the Lord had seen fit to have them helped in such a way was most humbling to her.

  “Kathleen, you’ve always been worthy of help, dear. I’m just glad you came to us. But you know, the Lord has had a plan all along. We’ve just been a part of it.”

  “To my way of thinking you’ve been the best part of it.”

  “Kathleen, do you know where Colleen might want these things?” Elizabeth asked, a big box of clothing in her arms. Julia had shown up after her half day of work and was right behind her with two smaller boxes.

  “I think those go upstairs.” Kathleen took the top box from Elizabeth. “Come on and I’ll show you where to put them. Or at least where I think Colleen might want them.”

  “I’ll go get some more boxes,” Violet said.

  “No.” Elizabeth turned to her. “Michael said for us just to help put it all up. He and the men will bring the rest of it in.”

  “All right. It will probably go faster that way.”

  “Well, I’m going to go get Colleen some tea and help Gretchen get lunch together,” Mrs. Heaton said. She’d sent Gretchen over earlier to stock up the kitchen and prepare a lunch for everyone.

  Luke came in just then with Kathleen’s two nephews right behind him. They each held a couple of items he’d handed them. “The boys think these go in their room. Do you know which one it is?”

  “I do. Follow me, boys. I’ll show you your new room.” Kathleen was glad to get to work on getting her nephews settled in their new room.

  “Is this really our new home, Aunt Kathleen?” Collin asked, looking up at the stairs. “Do we have an apartment here?”

  “This house is your new home, Collin. The whole house. Do you think you’ll like it?”

  He looked as dazed as his mother as he followed Kathleen up the stairs. “Oh, yes, I do.”

  Brody scampered up beside him. “Me, too. I like it lots.”

  “Well, let’s go find your room.” Kathleen glanced back to see Luke looking at them. Her chest felt a little funny when he smiled at her and Kathleen turned to hurry up the stairs. As she topped the landing she didn’t know if it was the climb or Luke’s smile that had her feeling all breathless and fluttery inside.

  Chapter Eleven

  Luke and Michael had helped Ida get her things upstairs when she arrived later that afternoon. By then nearly everything had at least been put into the rooms they belonged in, and everyone began to go their separate ways.

  It’d been a tiring day and once most of the work was done, Michael and Luke took off to return the wagons back to the livery, and brought back a hack to get them home. Michael took his mother and wife home and Luke stayed behind to bring Kathleen back to Heaton House when she was ready.

  He didn’t rush her, as he knew it wouldn’t be easy for her to leave her sister after all they’d been through. Just as he’d figured she wasn’t ready to go until she helped Colleen get the boys in bed.

  But she came back downstairs with a smile on her face. “Brody fell asleep in the middle of saying his prayers and Collin is barely holding on until he says ‘Amen.’”

  “I’m sure they’re tuckered out. They worked hard today carrying boxes up the stairs and putting things away,” Luke said. He’d come to care for her nephews a great deal. “They’re good boys.”

  “They are.”

  Her tone sounded a little wistful to him. “Are they upset that you’re leaving?”

  Kathleen shook her head. “Not too much. We’ve been preparing them for it and they know we can see each other whenever we want now, so they’re happy about that. And I promised them I’d see them tomorrow.”

  But Luke saw a hint of sadness in her eyes. “How about you? Are you wishing you were staying here, too?”

  “I have mixed feelings about it all. But I know it’s for the best for us all.”

  “It is,” Colleen said as she came up behind them. “The boys are fast asleep.”

  “I didn’t think it would take long. I hope you all sleep well in your new home, Colleen,” Kathleen said.

  “I believe we will. But what you were saying about things being for the best—they are, you know. You’d only begun to have a life of your own and start to enjoy it when Clancy—” Colleen stopped and took a deep breath. “When I ended up in the hospital. I don’t want you feeling you’re responsible for me any longer, Kathleen. We’ve been truly blessed by Mrs. Heaton and the others’ efforts. And we’re going to make them proud.”

  “Yes, we are,” Kathleen said.

  “You go on now. I’m going to lock up, make Ida and me some tea and help her finish getting settled in.”

  “I know you must be quite exhausted,” Kathleen said. “Are you sure—”

  “I am. And the tired I feel is the best tired I’ve ever been. I know I’ll sleep well tonight and I hope you do the same back in Heaton House.”

  “I think everyone will sleep well tonight,” Luke added.

  “I believe you’re right, Luke. Go on, now, take my sister back to her other home.”

  “Kathleen?” He nudged her elbow. “Are you ready?”

  She turned to him, her eyes filled with an emotion he couldn’t name. “I am. Or at least my sister is ready for me to go. She thinks I spoil the boys too much, you know. She’s ready to get me out of her hair.”

  “Now you know that’s not so,” Colleen said, shaking her head.

  Kathleen kissed her sister on the cheek and gave her a hug. “I do. I love you, Colleen. You do have a telephone, you know.”

  “I didn’t. Where is it?”

  Kathleen led her to a small table tucked under the staircase. “Right here. And the Heaton House number is right there beside it. If you need anything—”

  Colleen turned her around and gave her a little push. “I’ll be sure to telephone you if I need you. I promise.”

  Luke wondered if Kathleen realized her sister was walking her to the door as she spoke.

  “Lock up tight,” Kathleen said.

  “I will. See you tomorrow.”

  There was nothing more to do but walk outside. The door shut right behind them and they heard the lock turn.

  Kathleen turned to Luke. “I think she was ready to get rid of me.”

  He chuckled. “It did seem that way, but perhaps she’s just wanting to relax and she couldn’t do it with me there.”

  Kathleen laughed and shook her head. “Oh, no, that’s not it. I know my sister. I think she’s ready to start this new life she’s been given without me having to protect her from Clancy.”

  “And it sounds as if she wants you to be able to start your new life without having to worry about him.”

  “I’m sure she wants the best for me, just as I do her.”

  They reached the walk and Luke helped her into the hack he’d called to pick them up, then he got in himself.

  “Where to? Are you hungry?”

  “A little bit. But you must be starved after all you’ve done today. I’m sorry, I should have left earlier.”

  “It’s all right. I understood you wanted to see the boys settled down for the night. But I am a little hungry. How about we stop for supper on the way home?” He pulled out his pocket watch and looked at it. “It’s getting late and I’m sure they’ve already eaten at Heaton House.”

  At Kathleen’s hesitation, he added, “Mrs. Heaton will fuss over us if we haven’t eaten.”

  “You’re right. She’s fussed over others long enough for one day. I’ll be glad to have supper with you, Luke.”

  He leaned toward the driver and gave him directions to a restaurant he liked and then settled back in his seat and looked at K
athleen. “It will do you good to have a time to relax, too, and I know just the place. You’ve been busy taking care of Colleen and the boys for weeks now, not to mention packing and getting ready for this day, and then getting Colleen and her family settled in. You’ve got to be exhausted.”

  “Well, it wasn’t only me. You did your part, too. And so many others helped to make it possible.”

  They arrived at a restaurant that was still quite busy, as Luke knew it would be, but they didn’t have to wait and were quickly whisked into the dining room and shown to a table facing a courtyard.

  Kathleen ordered only a bowl of clam chowder, but Michael ordered a full meal and shrugged when the waiter left the table. “I suppose it was lugging all those boxes downstairs from the apartment building and then upstairs at the house, but I’m ravenous.”

  Kathleen’s smile made him glad he’d brought her here. “As well you should be after all that work. Thank you for getting the actual moving organized for us, Luke.”

  “You’re welcome. I was glad to do it. Those boys of Colleen’s made the day for me. I doubt they’ll have trouble sleeping in the new place after all the traipsing up and down stairs they did today.”

  Kathleen let out a deep breath. “I’m just glad you were there to catch Brody when he slid down the banister.”

  “So am I. That was too close for comfort. But I think I frightened him enough with what could have happened that he won’t be trying it again too soon.”

  “I certainly hope so.” Kathleen put a hand to her heart and shook her head. “I thought for sure he was going to go flying across the room. My, but weren’t they happy with their room, though?”

  “And that they each had a real bed to sleep in. I think that touched me about as much as anything.”

  Luke couldn’t get the look of wonder in their eyes out of his head.

  “I know. It touched me the same way. For so long they’ve slept together on a mat on the floor. They both looked really happy today. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see that look rather than the one of worry they usually have,” Kathleen said.

  “Now I can understand why you didn’t want to bring them to the boardinghouse the night Colleen was shot,” Luke said.

  Kathleen bit her bottom lip and for a moment, Luke wondered if she might cry. But she only said, “You don’t know how badly I wanted to. I am just so thankful that they’ll never have to live in those conditions again. To see them smile so readily now...” Her expression suddenly darkened. “Still, I’ll never forget that night.”

  “Neither will I.” For more reasons than one. Luke’s thoughts strayed from the horror of the shooting to a bittersweetness he’d never experienced before when he’d held Kathleen in his arms and she’d sobbed on his shoulder. He’d wanted to kiss her so much that night. And yet he’d been afraid she’d fly right out of his arms had he done so.

  Luke’s gaze traveled from Kathleen’s eyes to her lips and lingered there. When he managed to pull his glance away, it was to see color flooding her cheeks. She ducked her head. Was she remembering, too? He hoped so. He reached across the table and—

  The waiter brought their supper just then and Kathleen quickly pulled her gaze from his. Luke sighed. His timing seemed to be atrocious where Kathleen was concerned. Once the man departed, Luke said a blessing, thanking the Lord for letting them be a small part of helping Colleen and her family be able to have a fresh start.

  Fearing Kathleen had been embarrassed when the waiter came to the table, Luke tried to keep the conversation on impersonal matters while they ate. This woman had worked her way into his heart and he didn’t have the faintest idea what to do about it.

  * * *

  The look in Luke’s eyes sent Kathleen’s thoughts back to the night he’d held her in his arms and sent her heart pounding like crazy. Something had changed between them since the night her sister had been shot by Clancy. Before then he’d been her hero, her rescuer—the person who’d protected her from Clancy. Then he’d become her friend.

  But she wasn’t ready for him to become what her heart seemed to want him to be. He was a wonderful man. But she’d seen the dreams of her sister and those of her coworkers disappear when the love they’d felt for the men they’d married turned to fear and insecurity. She couldn’t—didn’t dare let herself—begin to think of him as anything more than a very good friend. And be thankful to call him that.

  She tried to concentrate on her dinner and prayed that the heat she felt in her face was due to the hot soup she’d been served and not the attraction she was fighting toward Luke.

  “Are you excited about starting your new position as liaison for the day care homes?” Luke asked.

  Kathleen breathed an inward sigh of relief at his change of subject. Did he know how uncomfortable she’d been remembering that night he’d held her in his arms and let her cry? Could he possibly know that she hadn’t wanted him to let go? That she’d wanted— Kathleen squashed the thought and quickly pulled her attention back to his question.

  “Excited? I am. I’m also a little nervous about it. I have a meeting on Monday where my duties will be explained more clearly and hopefully, after that, I’ll feel better about it all.”

  “I’m sure you will. And remember I’d like to accompany you to the tenements.”

  “Luke, there is no need to—”

  “We’ve already had this discussion, Kate. I know you know your way around, but you haven’t been in every tenement in your neighborhood. Let me go with you until we know you are safe traveling in and out of the buildings. Please.”

  “I don’t need—” She’d started to insist that she didn’t need his protection, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. She had needed his protection several times already. And he knew it as well as she did. “Maybe for the first few times.”

  Luke grinned across the table at her. “Thank you. That will put Mrs. Heaton’s mind at rest, as well as mine. Besides, it’s a good place for me to do research.”

  “What kind of research?”

  “For my writing.”

  Kathleen wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “Isn’t that taking advantage of those less fortunate?”

  “I don’t see how it could be, if it’s meant to help them, similar to Jacob Riis’s book.”

  The name was vaguely familiar to Kathleen, but she’d never read anything by him...or Luke either, for that matter. Exhausted as she was by the end of the day the only book she managed to read was her Bible.

  And she didn’t know how writing dime novels could possibly help the people she knew, but she knew firsthand that Luke’s heart was good and he was probably just using his writing as an excuse to get her to think she wasn’t wasting his time while he was accompanying her.

  This time it was she who changed the subject. “I still can’t believe how my and Colleen’s lives have changed so suddenly. I’m so happy to be going back to Heaton House. I’ve missed everyone.”

  “And we’ve all missed you. I think we’re going to have another boarder or two soon to add to the mix,” Luke said.

  “Really? Have you met them?”

  He shook his head. “No. But I heard from John that Mrs. Heaton said a new man might be moving in next week. Michael’s old room is free now that he married Violet. And while you have her room there is still one more on your floor. I did hear that she’d interviewed a young woman yesterday. So we may have a full house again soon.”

  Kathleen smiled. “Anyone who moves into Heaton House is very fortunate to be there. I don’t think all boardinghouses are run the way Mrs. Heaton runs hers.”

  “I doubt it.” Luke leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Mrs. Heaton’s house is not just a boardinghouse to me. It’s home. Has been for several years now. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather live at the moment.”

  �
�She has a way of making everyone feel they’re part of her family,” Kathleen said. “I know I do.”

  “There’ve been a couple of boarders who didn’t seem to fit in since I’ve been there, but they’re few and far between.”

  The waiter returned to the table just then and asked if they wanted dessert. Luke looked at Kathleen. “Would you like something?”

  She shook her head. “No, I’m fine, thank you.”

  Luke settled up with the waiter and they started back to Heaton House. “Want to walk or ride?”

  They weren’t far and Kathleen didn’t want him spending more money on her than he already had. It wasn’t too cool out and it was a bright starlit night.

  “Let’s walk.”

  Luke crooked his arm and she slipped her hand through, resting it on his forearm. His pace was just right. Not too fast or too slow.

  “I love the city lights at night,” Kathleen said. “Especially in this part of town. But in the tenements, I wish there were more. It’s never light enough there at night. Still, it always gave me comfort to look out the windows and see a light on here or there in the apartments across the way.”

  “I can see how it would. We’ll have to go to Gramercy Park one evening. I love it there where you can see lights on in all the homes surrounding it.” Luke looked up at the sky. “But it’s a nice night out tonight with that full moon and so many stars.”

  “Yes, it is.” Kathleen had heard mention of Gramercy Park and hoped she would get to see it one day, but she was enjoying her time alone with Luke too much to say it to him. She should have told him not to come with her to the tenements. It probably wasn’t wise to spend much time with him—it only made her want to see him more.

  It didn’t take long to get to Heaton House and seeing lights in its windows made her feel happy and warm.

  “I can’t tell you how glad I am you’re back here, Kathleen,” Luke said. “It hasn’t felt quite the same with you gone.”

  “Why, thank you, Luke.”

  “I mean it. You’ve made a place for yourself here. You do fit in and it’s not just me who thinks so.”