Debra Ullrick (19 page)

“But what if he doesn’t?”

“He’ll love it. Trust me.”

* * *

The following Tuesday, July eleventh, Harrison waited in Abby’s parlor with her. Over the past week, they had worked night and day preparing the place for the town committee’s arrival.

Despite how tired they were, Abby managed to look refreshed. Instead of the casual attire the little beauty normally wore around the mansion, today she had on an off-white bustle gown sprinkled with forest-green, long-stemmed roses with a ring of forest-green garden flowers six inches from the bottom of her skirt. Dainty red roses and lace lined the modest neckline, the short puffy sleeves and the gathered material at her side. Even her hat matched.

Harrison understood why she had dressed so elegantly. Mayor Prinker and the committee members would be arriving any minute. Harrison couldn’t wait to see their faces when they saw just how elegant the theater, dining area and really the whole house actually was. The extra men Fletcher had hired were making great progress. In fact, things were progressing more quickly than Harrison had imagined. To be honest, there were still some kinks that needed to be worked out, but if things kept going the way they were, the grand opening would be much sooner than scheduled.

“The fireworks display was beautiful, don’t you think? There’s nothing more lovely than seeing those glittering waterfalls and sparkling colored lights exploding against the pitch darkness.”

Oh, but there was something more beautiful. And she was sitting next to him.

Abby turned toward him until her knees were almost touching his. “They probably weren’t that great to you considering you come from the big city. The fireworks are probably much grander there, I imagine.”

“They are. But I enjoyed the Hot Mineral Springs display much better. And it had nothing to do with the fireworks.”

“Oh?” Her dainty brows met in the middle of her pretty face. “What do you mean?”

“
Mademoiselle,
I am sorry to interrupt you.” Colette breezed into the room. “Mayor Prinker and the town committee members are here to see you. I saw them into the formal parlor as you instructed me to.”

“Wonderful. Thank you, Colette.” She stood and quickly ran her hands down the front of her dress, tucked a blond curl that had escaped from her chignon back into place and straightened her hat.

“You look fine, Abby. No, make that beautiful.”

Abby’s gaze shot to his. “Beau-beautiful? Th-thank you,” she stuttered while blinking those smiling eyes of hers. Quick as a flash, she squared her shoulders and scurried toward the door.

Harrison caught up with her, wishing they wouldn’t have been disrupted. He wanted to tell her how much he’d been enjoying his time with her and how special it had been. He really wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but until he knew how she felt about him, he wouldn’t. Besides, now wasn’t the right time for that discussion. There would be time later to tell her. Right now, they needed to make a good impression on the mayor.

“Would you please welcome them, Harrison? My mother taught me to welcome people into my home, but I would feel so phony welcoming those people who have made my life miserable.”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it. I’ll take care of it. You just relax and smile. Can you do that?”

“Like this?” She smiled cheekily at him.

“No, Abby. A genuine smile.”

“I know. I know. I was just being silly.”

They stepped into the expansive parlor. The men stood.

“Good morning, gentlemen. So glad you could come. Would you care for something to drink before we show you around?”

“No, thank you, Mr. Kingsley. We have a meeting to attend in twenty minutes, so we would just like you to take us on a tour. That is, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Harrison was surprised the mayor had added the last part. His sweet-talking had softened the man.

“Good morning, Miss Bowen. I hope you are well.” Mayor Prinker’s smile appeared to be genuine, which is more than he could say for Abby’s.

Harrison nudged her, hoping she would get the message to be nice.

“Good morning, Mayor. I am very well, thank you.” She gave a nod to each of the committee members. “Gentlemen, good morning.”

Harrison was proud of her. She was doing very well considering how much she loathed these men.

“Shall we go, gentlemen?” She turned her attention to Harrison. “Would you please lead the way, Mr. Kingsley?”

Harrison led them out into the massive hall.

“This doesn’t even look like the same place,” one of the committee members said.

“Sure doesn’t,” another added.

Harrison wondered if Abby heard them. He cut a sideways glance at her and met her fleeting look with a quick wink. They continued on with the tour.

“Those dark blue-and-gold carpet runners up the stairs look very nice, Miss Bowen.” Mayor Prinker shocked Harrison with his compliment, and obviously Abby, too, because her eyebrows spiked before turning into a skeptical frown.

“Thank you, Mayor.” She hadn’t said it like she meant it.

Harrison nudged her again, and she nudged him back, narrowing her eyes at him in the process.

He and Abby led them up the stairs where the shield-back-style Chippendale chairs with gold, padded seats and matching Chippendale tables were situated. Kerosene lamps with white globes with dainty blue flowers on them and gold filigreed stands centered each white tablecloth with a blue, lace tablecloth over it.

Harrison studied the men’s faces. Each appeared very pleased, nodding and smiling.

“Very nice.” Mayor Prinker’s jowls wiggled as he nodded. “So far what we’ve seen, you’ve done a spectacular job, Miss Bowen, of making this an elegant establishment.”

“Thank you.”

Harrison knew how hard it was for her to say that a second time. “Shall we go to the theater now, gentlemen?” Harrison motioned them toward the stairs.

He and Abby followed the small group of eight men.

Walking along her left side, Abby placed her fingers along the right side of her mouth and for his ears only said, “I can’t believe the mayor actually paid me a compliment. Not just one, but two. I didn’t know the man had it in him.”

Harrison chuckled.

The mayor stopped and gazed up at them. “What’s so funny, Mr. Kingsley.”

“Nothing you would find interesting.”

The mayor seemed satisfied with his answer. Everyone made their way to the theater. When they stepped inside, gasps emitted from the committee members and the mayor.

Rows upon rows of royal-blue chairs filled the audience section. Carpet runners patterned with several shades of blues and grays lined the two aisles. Filigreed gold lamps, like the ones in the dining room, lined the stark-white walls. Various pictures hung on the walls, and heavy light blue drapes with navy swags graced all twelve of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The completed, polished wood stage sparkled. A dark blue curtain hung off to the side, ready to be pulled shut during curtain calls or change of scenes, and the front of the stage had a light blue swag curtain draped across the front. Abby had done an amazing job. Even in Boston there wasn’t anything this grand.

When they said nothing for several moments, Abby gazed up at him. Her mouth cringed, and she raised a shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Abby. They love it. Just look at their faces.”

Her attention swiveled from him to them. They were talking, waving their hands animatedly, and smiling.

The wrinkles around Abby’s eyes disappeared.

“Miss Bowen, Mr. Kingsley, you have done quite a fabulous job here.”

“Miss Bowen is responsible for all of this, gentlemen. She had all of this designed before I ever showed up.”

“Yes, well, I’m sure you had a hand in it, so stop being so modest.”

“I’m not being modest, sir. I speak the truth.”

“Yes, well.” The mayor loosened his tie. “Just make sure your plays are in as fine a taste as the decorum is.”

Even though the mayor had paid her a roundabout compliment, Abby’s eyes narrowed. Harrison knew she was about to blast him, so he quickly intervened. “They will be. Of that, I can assure you.”

“Well, they’d better be.” The mayor pulled out his watch, clicked it open, and snapped it shut. “Gentlemen, we need to be leaving now if we’re going to make that meeting on time.”

He strode from the room and the men followed after him like a bunch of baby ducks waddling after their mother.

They bid their good-days, and Abby closed the door and leaned against it with her eyes closed. “Am I ever glad that’s over.” She opened her eyes and pushed herself away from the door. “I need a drink.” The way she said it, Harrison laughed.

“I meant tea, Harrison. Nothing else.”

“I know, but it sounded funny. When one of the nannies who raised me used to have a stressful day, they would say it in the same tone you did, only they meant they needed a strong drink of spirits.”

“Eww. I don’t know how anyone could drink that nasty-tasting stuff.”

“And just how would you know if it tastes nasty or not, Miss Abigail Bowen?” He waggled his eyebrows.

Her cheeks and ears turned a dark shade of red.

“Ah-ha. So you have tasted it, then. I knew it.”

“Only once. When I was little. My brothers brought all of us a drink of water one time. Only mine and my sister’s wasn’t water. They snuck some of my mother’s medicinal alcohol and put it into my and Leah’s cups. Unfortunately, I was so thirsty that I drank a huge gulp of it and swallowed it before I realized it. My throat burned so bad, and I was sick the rest of the day. My only consolation was that my brothers had to clean up the messes me and Leah made and they had to do our chores for two full weeks.”

“Did you get along with your siblings? I mean, other than that incident.”

“Yes. We’ve always been very close. We still are. And even though they loved us, they pulled pranks on us like that all the time. But we got even with them enough times.”

“I’m sure you did. You were fortunate to have brothers and sisters. I wish I did. And very soon, if things go as planned, I just may.” Brothers and sisters by marriage that is. His heart smiled at the thought.

Chapter Fifteen

T
he rest of the morning, Harrison’s comment drenched Abby’s mind like the raging thunderstorm dumping bucketfuls of rain outside. He was an only child, so his comment about having brothers and sisters soon if things went as planned didn’t make any sense unless...

Was Harrison getting married?

If so, to whom?

She hadn’t really seen him with a woman, and she knew he didn’t mean her. Did he have someone in mind back in Boston?

She slammed her hands over her ears, trying to squeeze out the disturbing thoughts as the whole thing was driving her crazy.

For the umpteenth time, she tried to concentrate on what else needed to be finished before their grand opening, which was going to happen much sooner than expected. Unable to stop from thinking about Harrison’s comment, she gave up and chose to go into the theater instead and act out lines from one of the Jane Austen novels that had been converted into a play she’d starred in back home in Paradise Haven. Acting had a way of easing the tension in her.

Setting her pen and paper on her office desk, she made her way to the theater, marveling at how much Fletcher and his men had accomplished. Because of the fifteen extra men he’d brought in from all over the county they were nearly finished. All that remained were a few repairs, a few odds-and-ends jobs and the stage props that needed to be built and painted.

All the food had been ordered, and the dishes and flatware were arriving this afternoon. Brochures and tickets were ready, the plays were printed, as were the newspaper advertisements announcing their first play, which was an adaptation of
Emma
by Jane Austen.

Her stepfather had sent a telegraph that his crew was happy to help her out and that they would arrive within a week by train, costumes and all.

Abby figured she could have her grand opening within the next three weeks. A month ahead of schedule. She should have been ecstatic about the whole thing, but she wasn’t because shortly after opening night, Harrison and his precious sons would vanish from her life. Forever. She knew beforehand that she would get attached to them and that it would hurt when they left, but she didn’t realize just how much it would until this moment.

Making sure she was alone, she sat on a chair in the theater as tears pooled in her eyes. “Oh, Lord, why did I have to go and fall in love with them? I know You have Your reasons, but I still don’t understand why You brought such an amazing, wonderful man into my life. One with two darling children, something You know I can never have.” Abby placed her face into her hands and let the dam burst.

Her heart wept tears of grief for the children she would never bear, and for the boys she would soon lose along with a certain wonderful man.

How desperately she wished she could bear children. If she could, she would be so bold as to tell Harrison how she felt, even if he rejected her. But to have him reject her because she wasn’t woman enough, because she was a failure as a woman, that she couldn’t bear.

When her tears finally subsided, she snuck out of the theater and made her way to her room. A quick glance in the mirror and she sighed. Her eyes were red and her face was blotchy. She poured water into her wash basin and splashed it on her face. She flopped her body across her bed and closed her eyes. For ten minutes, she told herself. Ten minutes only.

“Abby? Are you in there?”

Abby blinked and scanned her bedroom.

Three loud knocks on her door yanked her attention in that direction. “Abby? It’s me, Harrison. Are you in there?”

Harrison? What was he doing here? He said he wouldn’t be back this afternoon. That he had business issues that needed his attention. His lawyer in Boston had sent papers for him to go over or something like that.

Her eyes felt as if someone had scraped sandpaper across them, so she rubbed them lightly.

What time was it, anyway?

One glance at the clock and her eyes bounced open. 3:45 in the afternoon. Oh, no, she groaned. She’d only meant to close her eyes for a moment. Instead, she’d fallen asleep for almost two hours. “Yes. I’m here.” Her voice sounded groggy.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but we have a problem.”

“A problem?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of problem?”

“Abby, can you come to the door? I need to talk to you.”

“Give me a minute, okay? I’ll be right there.”

Abby leaped off the bed and did a quick glance in the mirror. Even though her face was no longer blotchy and her eyes weren’t red, her blond hair stuck out like a scarecrow’s. “Oh, dear me. That won’t do.” She quickly put her hair to rights, ran her hand over the wrinkles in her dress, strode to the door and swung it open. “What are you doing here? I thought you had work to do.” Abby stepped into the hallway.

“I do, but Fletcher came to see me.”

Abby frowned. “Why would he come to see you?”

“Well, he wanted me to be the one to break the bad news to you.”

“What bad news? And why wouldn’t he tell me himself?”

“He didn’t know how to tell you, and he thought you would need my support when you heard it.”

“I’m not fragile or made of glass. I won’t break if I hear some bad news. I can handle it.” Most of the time, anyway. The only time she had completely broken down was the day she had received the devastating news that she couldn’t...
No! I refuse to think about that now.

“That’s what I told him, but he insisted I be the one to tell you.”

Harrison’s comment blessed the corset right off her. He obviously saw her as a strong woman. Something she prided herself in.

“The wind last night tore some of the shingles off the roof, causing it to leak in a few places.”

“Oh, is that all?” Abby waved her hand at the minuscule problem. “Well, we’ll just have him repair the roof when it dries.”

“That’s not what he’s concerned about.” Wrinkles formed around Harrison’s eyes, alerting her that something else was terribly wrong.

The muscle in her neck tensed. “Oh. What’s that?”

“The leak soiled some of the theater chairs.”

“How many is some?” And why hadn’t she noticed them or the leak? They must have been on the opposite side of where she’d been sitting earlier. And her mind
was
on other things.

“Ten or so as far as we can tell.”

“Oh.” Her neck relaxed. “That’s not too bad. I’ll just wipe them down and air them out. I’m sure we can get the water mark out if there is one. And if that doesn’t work, perhaps Fletcher can recover them.”

“That’s not the worst of it.”

“What?”

When he hesitated, Abby said it again, only with less patience. “What? Just tell me, Harrison.” She wished he’d just say whatever it was and stop prolonging it.

“When Fletcher went to check the attic for leaks, he had an encounter with a raccoon. He got the animal out, but the raccoon made a mess of things up there. It’s obviously been living up there for quite some time and has soiled the floor. He fears the smell will eventually make its way to the theater. Therefore, the floor will have to be torn out and replaced sooner rather than later. Plus, we’re going to have to figure out a way to keep that raccoon from coming back. Fletcher says once they’ve made their home somewhere, it’s hard to get rid of them.”

Abby seated herself on the beautifully carved oak lion’s-head French bench seat situated in the hallway outside her bedroom door. She absentmindedly ran her fingers over the white material with the elegant needlework flowers.

Harrison joined her.

“Did he say how the raccoon was getting in?”

“Yes, through the window.”

“I see. Well... God saw this coming.” However, she did let one sigh escape. So many, many problems and obstacles. She hoped that wouldn’t always be the case. “It’s not a surprise to Him. He’ll take care of it. He’ll show us what to do.” She tapped her lips and silently prayed for God’s direction and wisdom. “Did Fletcher say if there was anything he could do about this?”

“Yes, he has an idea to keep the raccoon away, but he’s more concerned about replacing the floor and the delay that it will take along with the added expense.”

“How much of a delay are we talking about?”

“Two. Possibly three weeks.”

“Is that over and above the time it will take to complete the other projects?”

“No, that’s everything.”

“Oh, okay.” She pulled her lip under her teeth. “I just remembered that the tickets have dates on them. So that means that the show will have to go on one way or another. Well, with God’s help, I’ll figure something out. In the meantime, we need to find Fletcher and tell him to do whatever it takes and to buy whatever material he needs to complete the job.” Abby’s mind began going through her dwindling funds. With all of the things she had not planned on, the accounts were getting much lower than she had anticipated. She rose, hoping to keep her concerns from being obvious, but before she could take a step, Harrison clutched her hand.

“Abby.” He stood and let go of her hand. “I know we had an agreement, but I’d like to help you.”

She tilted her head. “Help me. I don’t understand. In what way?”

“With the extra funds it’s going to take.”

If only her father hadn’t set it up to where a certain amount of money would be dispersed each year, then she’d be fine. Right now, she had enough funds to take care of the added expenses and to live on until her business took off, but she just didn’t have enough to handle too many more problems. All that aside, she had confidence that God would take care of it. He’d never let her down yet. Well, maybe once.

* * *

Harrison studied Abby’s face. While his finances were stretched tight at the moment, he hated the fact that the cost of the repairs and the items that were stored in the attic would be substantial. He hadn’t even told her yet about the two trunks of costumes the animal had destroyed. He didn’t have the heart. Yet, he knew he needed to. Now was as good a time as any to tell her. “Abby, I know you believe God will take care of this, but there’s something else you don’t know.”

“What’s that?”

“The raccoon also destroyed two of the seven trunks of costumes you had up there.”

Her mouth fell open, then it quickly closed. She dragged in a breath and let it out. “God will take care of that, too.” She smiled.

The woman smiled. How could she when so much expense was before her. And how could she have such confidence that God would take care of it? Since starting this business, one thing after another had gone wrong, and yet with each problem, Abby had confidently said that God would take care of it. As much as it pained him to say it, the truth was, God had.

As he stood there, for the first time in Harrison’s life, he wanted to know God. The God she knew, that she trusted so implicitly. Harrison wanted to really know Him. The same way Abby did.

It was time to re-read the note his mother had left for him, the one explaining how to have a personal relationship with God. Harrison wasn’t quite sure how it went. It had been a very long time since he had read it, but he was going to find out. Abby had convinced him that God did indeed care about their lives. She was living proof of that by the peace she exhibited and the confidence she had in God even in the midst of complete disasters. Therefore, when he got home this evening, he would take his mother’s letter out and follow its instructions.

That evening, after his sons had gone to sleep, Harrison took out his mother’s Bible. Though he’d never read it, he kept it with him always. It was one of the few things he had of his mother’s. Harrison had been told that before she’d drawn her last breath, against the doctor’s wishes and even his father’s, she used what little strength she had left to write a note to Harrison.

He opened the Bible and removed his mother’s note. Many times before he had read through the parts about how much she loved him and how sorry she was that she had to leave this earth and leave him behind. Knowing she soon would, she wanted to leave him with the best gift anyone could ever give to another. The way to salvation. For years, Harrison believed his mother to be delusional, but now, as he re-read them, he cherished those words, words he was ready to read with a hungry heart and an open mind.

At first, he had a hard time finding the scriptures she mentioned until he noticed she had underlined them in her Bible. That made them easier to spot. The first one he read was in the book of John chapter three, verse sixteen. Next he followed her note to Romans chapter ten, verses nine and ten. After that, he read even more scriptures, devouring them like a thirst-deprived man who had just found a river flowing with fresh water.

Three hours later, touched by the love and the truth he found in those pages, he fell to his knees. He asked God to forgive Him and to be the Lord of his life. Immediately, a peaceful sensation, better than anything he’d ever experienced before poured over him and through him. The only way to describe what he was feeling was liquid love. A love so powerful, Harrison bowed his head in reverential awe. The next thing he knew, he was talking to God, pouring out his love to Him and thanking Him for cleansing every inch of him. Harrison now had the loving Father he’d always dreamed of having. It came not in the form of his own father, but someone even better. Someone who loved him unconditionally.

Drained, yet happier than he’d ever been before, he crawled under his sheets and closed his eyes. Tonight he would sleep better than he ever had before because he’d just made the greatest, most important decision of his life.

The next one would be when he asked Abby to become his wife.

* * *

The next morning, Abby hurried about, trying to get herself ready for church. For the first time ever, she was running late, so she’d told the Denis sisters to go on ahead without her. Twenty minutes later, she arrived at the white clapboard building with the stained-glass windows, large church bell and white cross.

As she neared the door, she heard the members singing. She stepped inside, slipped into the back pew, grabbed a hymnal, and soon her voice mingled with the rest of the congregation. When the singing ended, she sat down and slid her gaze forward toward the pastor, but it never made it that far. Instead, it froze on a familiar head of light brown hair seven pews ahead of her. Harrison?