Debra Ullrick (13 page)

“So hire as many workers as you need to. Just please make sure of the men you hire that their quality of work is equal to that of yours. Plus, we prefer that you yourself build the stage and the props and everything to do with the theater and have your men work on the repairs.” She hoped she wasn’t being too presumptuous, so she looked to Harrison for his approval.

He sent her a discreet nod. She returned her focus back to Fletcher. “Will that work for you?”
Please say yes.
The idea of her grand opening being set back didn’t bode too well with her. Then again, she stopped fidgeting, knowing everything would work out just fine because God would work everything out as He always did.

“I already planned on doing that. I’ll hire more men tomorrow, and we’ll get started on the theater right away.”

“Wonderful.” Abby clasped her hands and pressed them to her chest. “I can hardly wait to see what it’s going to look like when you get finished.” She closed her eyes and laid her head back. Contentment wrapped around her that her dream was quickly on its way to becoming a reality. Well, one of them, anyway. The other would remain a dream only.

Chapter Ten

T
wo hours later, the small party started to break up and go their separate ways. Staimes had asked if Harrison minded if he went back to the house with everyone else. Harrison smiled. He knew that everyone else had meant Veronique especially. It brought him great joy to see his valet relaxed and enjoying another’s companionship.

Zoé had asked Harrison if she could take his sons with her because she had something she wanted to show them—a bug collection or something like that. Julie had been invited, too, but the little girl wrinkled her nose and shook her head. Harrison agreed with her. Why anyone would want to see bugs was beyond him, but his boys did, so he had let them go, knowing they were dead bugs mounted on boards. It amazed him a woman collected such a thing. Seemed all the women in Abby’s household, including Abby, did things he wasn’t used to seeing. Boston women didn’t do those things. At least not the women in his society. Truth be known, he enjoyed these people’s good society much more.

Harrison lingered behind in hopes of walking Abby back to the house. He hadn’t gotten over how the woman had responded to the news about her chimneys. Nothing about it fazed her and it should have. Therefore, he didn’t think she truly understood the magnitude of just how much more it was going to cost her to fix those chimneys or to hire those extra men. To make sure she did, he wanted to discuss the matter with her, only he didn’t want to do it in front of Fletcher or anyone else.

Minutes later, Fletcher and his daughter left. They were the last ones to leave the picnic area.

Harrison turned toward Abby and froze at the sight. A hummingbird hovered over her, pecking at the flowers in the ribbon around the crown of her hat. Abby sat statue still. They’re eyes connected, then hers drifted upward to where the hummingbird still hovered before returning to his. Her disbelieving, exuberant smile and bright eyes reminded him of a child opening a birthday present.

Caught up in the captivating moment, he watched the fluorescent-orange bird, a rufous, the locals called it, test several more flowers before it flitted off.

“Did you see that? I can’t believe it was that close to me.” Abby clasped her hands in front of her and yanked them to her chest. “Aren’t they the sweetest little things ever? That one was a rufous hummingbird. Odd how they look brown until you see them in the sun. Then the orange on their bodies and the red under their beak turns a brilliant fluorescent color, don’t you think?” Again she gave him no time to answer as she started to rise immediately after her question.

Harrison rushed to help her up. Every time her hand settled in his, the warmth of her touch went straight to his heart and its effect resided there; this time was no different. Not wanting to feel the effects because of its implication, he let go of her hand.

“Thank you.” She looked around. “Well, I suppose I ought to head to the house. I really hate to leave this place. I love the sound of the water lapping over the rocks. It’s so soothing and comforting. Don’t you agree?” She turned those smiling eyes up at him.

“I do.” Not wanting their time to end and still needing to talk to her, he asked, “Would you like to sit a bit longer? There’s something I’d like to talk with you about.”

She tilted her head. “What about?”

“Let’s go sit down over there.” He pointed to a felled log near the wide river’s edge.

They made their way there and sat down.

Abby crossed her knees in his direction and draped one hand loosely over the other.

“Earlier, when Fletcher mentioned the chimneys, you didn’t seem the least bit upset about it. I just wanted to make sure you understand that the repairs are going to be quite costly. Not so much the rebuilding supplies, but the wages will be extreme as it will take many hours for the men to rebuild them.”

“Oh. I see. Well, as we discussed earlier, you do not have to contribute any more funds. I will handle it.”

Huh? This wasn’t about him at all. “I wasn’t thinking about me, Abby. I was thinking about you. I just wanted to make sure you understood just how much money this was going to take.”

“That’s very sweet of you. But don’t you worry about that. Whatever it takes, I will pay. Nothing is going to stop me from my dream. Besides, God will take care of it.”

There she was saying God would take care of it again. Was she really that naive? Didn’t she know that God didn’t care about people? Especially their problems? His heart ached that she believed all of that malarkey. He knew a man who trusted God to restore his business, and when God didn’t come through, the man had become so bitter and angry that he not only lost his business but his wife and family, too. Harrison hoped the same thing didn’t happen to Abby.

At one point in his life, Harrison himself had prayed. One time, he had asked God to heal his best friend’s mother, and she had died, anyway. Another time he’d prayed, even pleaded with God that his father would love him. That prayer was never answered, either. The last time he’d prayed was when he’d asked God to bring his wife back to him. Look how that turned out. His twins were motherless. So as far as Harrison was concerned, God wouldn’t take care of it as Abby seemed to think. Poor woman was delusional in her thinking. Didn’t she know that if something needed done, a person had to take care of it themselves? Well, even if she didn’t. He did. Therefore, he would do whatever he could to help her to make her dream come true. Even if it meant spending his last dime.

“Thank you for allowing me to teach you and your sons to fish. I had a great time.” Abby’s words pulled Harrison from his thoughts. The smile she sent his way was contagious.

“No. Thank
you.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve had so much fun. Seeing my boys like that, squealing and jumping up and down when they caught their first fish. There’s no greater joy. It made me wish I had several more little ones running around. Someday, if I ever find the right woman, my dream of filling my house with my own offspring will come true.” Too bad Abby wasn’t that woman. But she had her dreams and he had his, and the two didn’t mesh.

* * *

Hearing Harrison’s words about wanting a houseful of children,
if
he ever found the right woman, felt like a slap to her. His words hurt her more than she wanted them to. It was just another painful reminder that her ex-fiancé was right. Men wanted children of their own. And lots of them.

“Are you all right, Abby?”

No. But how could she tell him she wasn’t? Then she would have to explain to him about her not being able to bear children. For some reason, she couldn’t stomach the thought of him looking at her with the same disgust David and his friends had. “Yes, I’m fine, thank you.” She plastered on a smile, one she didn’t feel. “When you get back to Boston, I hope your dream of having a houseful of children comes true for you, and that you find the right woman for you there, as well.”

“What about you? Do you want children?”

Did she want children? Yes! More than anything else in this world. Even more than her theater. But that wasn’t ever going to happen and she didn’t want Harrison to know that for the same reason she thought of only moments ago.
God, help me get out of this.

“Forgive me, Abby. That was rather forward of me to ask such a personal question. Your private life is none of my business.” He stood. “Speaking of children, I need to go rescue Zoé from mine.” He smiled.

Abby relaxed.
Thank You, Lord.
“Yes. I need to get back, too. Tomorrow’s going to be another long day.” They headed toward her house.

“I meant to tell you, I found a nanny for the boys. That was the business I had to tend to yesterday. So I won’t have to worry about bothering Zoé or having them underfoot while we conduct business.”

So it was back to that again. Business. She had wondered what pressing business he had to tend to the other day, and now she knew. One would think she’d be happy knowing she wouldn’t be around the little darlings so much and risk getting too attached to them. The emptiness that always accompanied their departure hurt. Even still, his news disappointed her. “I want you to know that Zoé didn’t mind taking care of them. In fact, she enjoyed it. But I know how much it bothered you, so I’m so happy that you found someone. Has he or she met the twins yet?”

He rubbed his fingers across his wrinkled forehead. “No.”

“Well, when she does, she will love them.”

The worry lines on his forehead let up, but only slightly. “You think so? I told you the issue I’ve had with other nannies quitting.”

“Well, if they don’t, then they don’t know what they’re missing.” She sure did.

“I hope you’re right.”

She did, too. For his sake as well as his sons’. They deserved no less.

They reached the gardens. Lilacs in full bloom sweetened the air with soft, fragrant scents. A bumblebee hovered around her face. She swept it away with her hand, careful not to anger it so it wouldn’t sting her. Many blooming flowers filled the garden, a temptation for any bee. Abby marveled at how much Samuel had gotten done already. One could actually see the blooms now instead of the tall weeds that hid the beautiful petals from view. While there was still a long way to go, just trimming the bushes and eliminating most of the weeds had already made a huge difference.

The sound of children’s laughter floated on the breeze that brushed over them. How she loved the sound of children’s laughter. It was music to her ears. “Sounds like someone is having fun.”

“Either that or they’re doing something they shouldn’t be doing.”

“Oh, I doubt that. Zoé knows how to handle children. She’s very good with them.”

“I didn’t mean to imply that Zoé wasn’t capable of handling them—I just know my boys.”

That she could grin at.

They rounded the tall hedge that blocked their view of what was happening on the other side.

When they did, Harrison gasped, and Abby covered her smiling mouth with her hand.

The boys had a net on the outdoor table that they were trying to remove a giant bug from.

Stacked boxes of Zoé’s bug collection and jars containing several insects and even a frog or two covered the majority of the table.

“Don’t touch that!” Harrison’s voice was filled with panic as he sprinted toward them.

Zoé and the twins turned wide eyes up at him and the insect took that opportunity to escape.

“That thing could bite you.”

At the look of horror on Harrison’s face, Abby couldn’t help but giggle.

His frowning gaze turned and zeroed in on her.

It was meant to silence her, of that she was sure, but it didn’t. All it succeeded in doing was making her laugh outright. Through that laughter she managed to say, “It’s okay, Harrison. It’s only a locust. They don’t bite.” She snatched up the net and hurried after the insect. A couple of tries later, she managed to capture the little beast. Unsnagging the insect’s legs from the net, she held it up by its back legs for Harrison’s inspection. “See?”

One glance of repulsion at the locust and he stared at her as if she was daft. Hadn’t the man ever held a bug before? Probably not. After all, he was a city boy. She decided to show him some mercy, so she freed the insect, and then turned to Zoé. “Zoé, perhaps we should let them go now.” She sent a knowing wink her friend’s way. Zoé captured it immediately, so Abby continued, “Boys, you’ve got to watch them long enough. We wouldn’t want them to die or anything now, would we? So why don’t we set them free now?” Abby hoped her suggestion worked.

They pouted at first, but it only took seconds before they nodded.

One by one they opened the lids and dumped the living contents on the ground. Various species of insects scampered or flew off.

Only three toads remained.

“Do we gotta let these ones go?” Josiah asked, looking up at Abby and his father. “I like this one.” He pointed to the largest toad inside the gallon jar. “Please? Can we keep them?”

“Please, can we?” Graham added.

“We’ll take good care of them. We promise.” He crossed his little fingers over his chest, and so did Graham.

Zoé and Abby both looked over at Harrison.

If it were up to Abby, seeing those blue puppy-dog eyes and hearing their pleading voices, she’d cave in and say yes. But it wasn’t up to her to make that decision. It was Harrison’s. He was the boys’ parent. Not her.

Despite his horror, the lines around his eyes softened. “Only if they stay here.”

The twins squealed. Apparently, he was a sucker for those cute little beseeching faces, as well.

“Wait. We didn’t ask Miss Abby if it’s okay.”

Hopeful faces turned her way. No way would she say no to them. And yet she had to think of the frogs’ welfare, too, and show the boys the lesson in that. “If we can figure out something to keep them alive, then I say yes. But if not, we have to let them go. Like I said before, we don’t want them to die now, do we?”

They both shook their heads.

“Okay. Let’s go look in the shed to see if there’s something out there we can use.” Abby took each boy’s hand in hers and led them to the shed. Inside the building, she and the boys searched until she came across an old slatted, wooden crate with a lid. Upon inspection, she decided it would work. The slats were too narrow for the toads to escape.

She and the boys gathered grass and a medium-size rock and put them in the bottom of the crate. They used an old bowl she’d found in the shed, filled it with water, and settled it next to the rock. “Okay. You ready to release them?”

The twins nodded.

Abby removed the lid and reached her hand inside the jar.

“Are you going to touch those things?” Harrison asked from behind her.

Without removing her hand from inside the jar, she peered over her shoulder. “I am.” Unfazed by the curling of his hiked eyebrows, she pulled the largest toad out. It legs dangled loosely.

“Did your sister-in-law teach you that, too?” The dismay on his face had her almost laughing again.

“Yes, she sure did. Selina taught all of us to enjoy God’s creatures and how there was beauty and treasures just waiting to be found. That a person just had to look for them. And she was right. Take this toad, for example.” She held it up to where everyone could see it. “To someone, this creature might be ugly, but to another who knows what to look for, it isn’t. Look at the intricate markings on it. God took the time to make each one unique.” To prove her point she retrieved the other one with her free hand and now held two of them in front of her.