Debra Ullrick (20 page)

During the sermon, Abby barely heard a word Pastor Wells said. She couldn’t take her eyes off the back of Harrison’s head. Question after question swarmed through her brain, making her dizzy. Why after all this time, had Harrison finally decided to come to church? Where were Josiah and Graham? Were they with Staimes? If not, then whom?

She wondered about the woman he’d planned to marry. Who was she? Where did she live? What was she like? Would she love Josiah and Graham and Harrison as much as Abby did? The very idea of Harrison getting married and the boys having someone else for a mother other than herself gnawed a hole in Abby’s heart. This was not the place to be thinking about those things, and yet she was powerless to control her turbulent thoughts.

When the congregation stood to sing the last song, Abby slipped out of the church and took her time as she made her way back to her property. Broken branches crunched under her feet. Moist leaves and the scent of forest floor, along with sweet flower aromas and pine, filtered through her nostrils.

By the riverbank, she sat on the same log she and Harrison had occupied the other day, and closed her eyes.

Water rushed right on by to only who knew where. Birds chirped in the trees surrounding her, and the chipmunks’ tweeting, clucking noise all filled the silence. Normally those sounds soothed whatever troubled her, but not today. Nothing could ever soothe or take away the unease tearing at her heart over the thought of Harrison getting married. Not even God.

“There you are.”

Abby’s eyes bolted open. A shadow towered over her, blocking the bright morning sun from her view. “Harrison? What are you doing here?” She peered around him, looking for what, she didn’t know exactly.

“When I didn’t see you in church, I went to your house. Veronique said she didn’t know where you were. I thought perhaps you might have come down here.”

“Why would you think that?” She wanted to ask him what he was doing in church as he’d never gone before since his arrival, but she didn’t want to embarrass him. She’d already done that before when she’d made the mistake of asking him to pray in front of everyone the day of her get-together picnic. She refused to make that mistake again.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. It just seemed like something you would do.”

How would he know what she would do?
Only because he’s spent the past several weeks with you, you silly goose.

“Mind if I join you?”

“No, of course not. Please, sit down.” She scooted over. It was then she noticed he was carrying a basket. “What do you have there?” She pointed to it.

Harrison lowered his broad-shouldered frame beside her and faced her. “Well, I didn’t know if you’d eaten yet, so I asked Veronique if she could throw something together. Hope you don’t mind me asking her to do that.” His eyes searched hers.

“No, not at all. Actually, I’m glad you did. I didn’t have time to eat breakfast this morning and I’m famished.”

“Shall we go sit in the shade? On my way out the door, I snatched one of the blankets that you used on the Fourth. Hope that’s okay, too.”

“Of course it is. That was so sweet of you to think of it.”

He stood and offered her a hand up. She placed her hand in his and allowed him to do just that. Except when she was on her feet, he didn’t let go. Instead, he looped her arm through his and led her to the same spot where she and her small group had picnicked before.

Abby reached for the blanket so she could spread it out, but he shifted it out of her way.

“Allow me. You just stand there a moment while I spread it out.”

“I can help.”

“I know you can. But please, allow me.”

She spiked a shoulder. “If you insist.”

“I do.” He snapped the blanket and let it fall to the ground, straightening it afterward. “Have a seat, Miss Abby.”

“Miss Abby, huh?” She sat down with her legs off to one side.

Harrison sat next to her and opened the lid of the basket. He reached in and pulled out two roast beef sandwiches. He handed her one and set the other on a napkin in front of himself. Next, he pulled out a bowl filled with thin-sliced, deep-fried crispy potatoes, two red apples, several slices of hard cheese and a plate holding two large pieces of pecan pie and set them on the blanket in front of them.

“That’s everything. Shall we eat?”

As was her custom, Abby bowed her head. “Father, thank You for this food. May it nourish our bodies the way You intended it to. Bless Harrison for this thoughtful act. Amen.”

“Amen.”

Abby cut a peek over at Harrison. She had never heard him say amen until now. His head was bowed and his eyes were closed. That wasn’t something she’d seen him do before, either. She quickly yanked her gaze away before he caught her watching him, and picked up her sandwich. “Where’s Josiah and Graham? Is Staimes watching them?” She took a bite of her roast beef.

“No. Miss Wright is.”

Miss Wright? Abby didn’t know a Miss Wright. Was she the woman Harrison planned on marrying? If so, what was he doing picnicking with Abby?

She set her sandwich down and gazed out at the river.

“Is something wrong, Abby?”

Her mind scrambled for an answer. One that wouldn’t reveal anything about how she was feeling.

“Is something wrong with your sandwich?”

Now that, she could answer. “No.” To keep him from inquiring about things any further, she snatched up her sandwich and forced herself to take a bite. Unable to handle the suspense, she nonchalantly said, “Is Miss Wright from around here?” She picked up a chip and popped it into her mouth. The crunch echoed in her ears.

“No. She’s from Boston.”

The roast beef turned to stone in Abby’s stomach. She didn’t want to know any more. She couldn’t bear to hear if Miss Wright was the woman he’d referred to when he said if things worked out the way he wanted them to, that he would have brothers and sisters, too. Did she come from a large family? Could she give him the children he wanted? It was back to that again.

If only things were different.

If only she could make her dream become a reality. Her once beautiful dreams were fading quickly before her eyes, being replaced at a rapid pace with her worst nightmares. And at the top of that list was saying goodbye to Harrison and his precious sons forever.

Chapter Sixteen

F
or the past two weeks since their picnic together, Harrison had made several more attempts to spend time alone with Abby. But each time, either something or someone had interrupted them. If it wasn’t one of the actresses or actors who had arrived two weeks ago, it was someone else on Abby’s staff, or she was instructing the new hired help on how to wait on the tables and how to address their guests. Times when it appeared there might be a moment to talk with her, he’d been pulled away to attend to his own business matters. Business matters that were definitely looking up.

Now, in less than an hour, the Royal Grand Theater would start their grand opening, a completely sold-out affair.

Harrison had been impressed with Fletcher and his men. As he walked through the mansion just before the guests arrived, he had to admit they had done a phenomenal job of getting everything ready, and much faster than Fletcher originally figured it would take.

Delicious aromas drifted from the kitchen. Veronique’s French cuisine was sure to be a huge hit. He was amazed by how proud he was of all of it. Sure it was Abby’s, but everywhere he looked, he could see his handiwork, as well. They definitely made a good pair.

The theater was buzzing with last-minute preparations. Maids, waitresses and waiters, dressed in white and black, neatly pressed uniforms ran around making sure the place settings were arranged on each table. The others had a tray of finger foods in hand, ready for the guests to enjoy. Footmen and ushers, dressed in black tails with white, starched shirts, donned their pristine white gloves. Two ticket ladies stood by the door, ready to receive tickets for the night’s performance and to hand out the playbills. Musicians tuned their violins, cellos and violas to the sound of the flute.

Such an amazing group of talents they all represented.

Miss Elsa, the mayor’s former receptionist, had done a fine job of finding the suitable help Abby needed. Abby had seen to it that the elderly lady’s tasks were tailored so she didn’t have to walk much on her bad leg. Miss Elsa had turned out to be a valuable asset to their little team. The mayor had been sorry to see her go, but his ruffled feathers had been soothed by the fact that Miss Elsa had a niece who was an experienced secretary and that she could start right away. Otherwise, the mayor may have made things even more difficult for Abby.

Abby didn’t deserve what the mayor and his cronies had doled out to her. Long before Harrison had arrived, the woman had every minuscule detail planned out. She had deserved the men’s respect and assistance rather than the derision she got.

Thinking of Abby, Harrison glanced in the direction of her chambers. A little over an hour before, after she made sure everyone was lined up and knew what they were supposed to do, she’d left him in charge so that she could ready herself for the grand opening. He couldn’t wait to see her, to share this moment that meant so much to her with her. And when the festivities were over to have his long-past-due talk with her.

* * *

Abby took one last look in the mirror. The light pink, soft silk bustle gown with burgundy stripes and butterfly lace hung tastefully over her shoulders. Her blond hair hung down her back in one long twisted curl, except for the sides. They were gathered on top of her head and pinned with pink and burgundy dangling beaded combs.

Pleased with her appearance, she picked up her lacy burgundy-and-pink-striped fan and headed down the stairs. Her insides and her knees were shaking so she held onto the handrail for support. Her burgundy silk shoes peeked out from under her dress with each step. Halfway down the stairs she noticed Harrison across the room, talking to one of the hired men.

What a striking figure Harrison made standing there in his finely tailored, gray suit. His light blue shirt was pressed to perfection. A silk, striped tie, in three different shades of blue, along with a matching pocket-square handkerchief sticking out of his suit jacket pocket, and shiny black polished shoes finished his ensemble quite handsomely. Even his beautiful hair was combed to perfection. Hair she’d dreamed of running her fingers through.

Abby! Shame on you. Stop it! No more daydreams where Harrison is concerned. He’s taken, remember?
Boy, did she remember. With excruciating pain in her chest, she remembered.

She had no right admiring another woman’s man. Before he caught her staring at him, she yanked her gaze away from him.

During the past two weeks, she had been extremely grateful that she had been so busy that she hadn’t even had time to think about Harrison with another woman. Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. She had thought about it often, and every time she had, she had to force her mind to take a turn in another direction. One that didn’t include Harrison.

Each step she took down the stairs, her legs got weaker and her insides shook even harder. This was it. Tonight was her grand opening. The day she had dreamed of for so long.

By the time she reached the third step from the bottom, Harrison was there, offering his hand to assist her down the last few steps. She thought nothing of his offer. After all, many a time he had assisted Miss Elsa, Veronique, Zoé and Colette. He was just being who he was, a perfect gentleman. At least that’s what she told herself when she laid her gloved hand in his.

At the bottom of the steps he leaned close to her and whispered, “You look very lovely this evening, Abby.”

“Thank you, Harrison. You look very nice yourself.”

His aftershave, a combination of orange mint, lemon, rosewater, lavender and some other scent she thought to be rosemary, floated around him, swirling her senses. She wanted to draw in a deep breath, to enjoy how masculine Harrison smelled, but she didn’t. Instead, she mentally shook her brain to clear it of any romantic notions.

“Are you ready for this?” He looped her arm through his.

She wondered what he was doing until she reminded herself he was only doing what gentlemen did. “To be perfectly honest, I’m extremely nervous. I just hope everything goes well. People have bought tickets from as far as twenty miles away.”

“The mayor’s happy about that. The hotels are full and people are lavishly spending money at his spa, at the stores, the restaurants and the hotels. Even Fletcher said he’s sold a lot more furniture and has enough orders to keep him busy all winter and then some.”

“I’m so glad. Not only am I getting to fulfill my dream, but it’s blessing others in this town, as well. And you.” She gazed up at him. “I have your bank draft ready. Remind me to give it to you later, okay?”

“Bank draft?” Harrison looked genuinely confused. Had he so quickly forgotten that after the grand opening, their business arrangement would come to an end?

“Yes, silly. Remember? The money I promised you when you became my partner? Your original investment, plus the profit I promised you when this arrangement was over?”

“Oh, but you are mistaken, Abby. It isn’t over. It’s only just begun.”

Abby didn’t know what to make of Harrison’s words or the penetrating look in his eyes. She never got the chance to ask him or to ponder it any further as their first patrons of the evening had arrived. “I see Mayor Prinker and the town committee members have arrived. We’d better go greet them.” Holding her head up high, she strolled toward them.

Harrison tugged her back to him before she got too far away. “After everyone leaves this evening, I need to talk to you.”

Abby gave a quick nod, wondering what he needed to talk to her about and then strode forward, a perfect lady heading into a perfect evening. “Gentlemen, it’s so nice you could come.”

Later on, Abby and Harrison stood at the entrance door, saying goodbye to her patrons. Everything had gone off without a hitch. The exquisite French cuisine had been a sheer delight, the play had been perfectly performed with only one minor glitch, but nothing that anyone other than Abby and the performers ever knew happened, and the guests had left smiling with the promise to return with their friends. Some of the ladies had even asked Abby when her women’s spa would open. How they’d gotten wind that she was considering opening one, she didn’t know. The one thing she did know was, she was definitely going to build one since the interest in it was already so great.

The last patrons to leave were the mayor and his wife, along with the committee members and their spouses.

Abby held her breath as they headed toward her and Harrison.

“Miss Bowen. Mr. Kingsley. I want to congratulate you both on a job well done.”

“Abby is the one who deserves all the credit, Mr. Mayor. She had all this planned long before I arrived.” Harrison smiled down at her.

Abby beamed under Harrison’s praise. “That’s not entirely accurate, Mr. Kingsley. You were a huge help.”

“You’re being too modest, Miss Bowen. I am a man who believes that credit should go where the credit is due. And that credit belongs solely to you.” He stepped back. Facing her, he clapped his hands. Within seconds, everyone else joined him.

Heat flooded up Abby’s neck and cheeks, flaming all the way into her ears.

As soon as their applause ended, Mayor Prinker’s gaze honed in on Abby. “I owe you an apology, Miss Bowen. You have done an amazing job here. All of us—” he spanned his hand to include every one of the committee members “—are all very impressed with what you have done and what you have accomplished. The food was excellent. The play was exquisite and done in extremely fine taste. There is nothing here that would shame our town or damage its reputation in the least. Quite the contrary, actually.

“You have brought culture to our town, Miss Bowen. And I know I speak for everyone here when I say how grateful we are to you and how proud we are of you. You have proven yourself to be a fine, upstanding businesswoman and a fine asset to our community. Therefore, as long as you continue on as you have this evening, there will be no revoking of your business license. You may continue to run your establishment with or without a male business partner.”

Joy lit through her, but it was doused almost instantly with fear. Now there was nothing to keep Harrison here.

The mayor and his men along with their wives filed outside to their awaiting carriages.

Abby turned to Harrison with a fake smile in her heart and on her lips, prepared to tell him thank you for all he had done. “Harrison...”

“
Mademoiselle!
” Veronique called from the back of the main room near the kitchen and came running.

Abby spun toward her. “Veronique, what’s wrong?”

“
Mademoiselle,
the raccoon, he is back, and he is making a huge mess in the kitchen. Come quickly. I don’t know what to do!”

Abby sighed. What else could go wrong?

* * *

The next morning, Harrison woke early. He couldn’t wait to see Abby today. Before she got too busy preparing for this evening’s performance, he needed to talk to her. There would be no more delaying this conversation, especially after hearing the mayor’s words that she no longer needed a business partner. He’d intended to talk to Abby after everyone had finally left the theater, but then everything turned to chaos, trying to catch the raccoon and then cleaning up the mess the critter had made. It was late, and everyone was exhausted, so he and Abby had agreed to meet at seven a.m.

Harrison rushed through getting dressed, kissed his boys goodbye with the promise of seeing them later, then hurried to Abby’s place.

His stomach leaped into his throat the instant he saw her sitting in her usual morning spot at the table on the mansion’s front porch. He hopped out and jogged up the stairs. “Morning,” he said with a chipper voice.

“Morning.” Her greeting lacked its usual luster and sounded rather formal.

His joy evaporated like the morning fog from the river. He stood and took a seat next to her. “You tired?”

“A little.” She poured him a cup of coffee and handed it and a plate of leftover French pastries to him.

“Thank you.”

She nodded and said nothing more, wouldn’t even look at him.

He picked up the finger-size pastry and popped it into his mouth, then followed it with a drink of hot coffee.

Awkward didn’t begin to describe the silence stretching between them. This wasn’t quite the atmosphere he had in mind when he decided to propose to her. Even so, he wouldn’t let that deter him, but he would start out with something else less life-altering and ease his way into it.

“Abby, I want to share something with you that I found out a few weeks ago.”

She looked over at him. The light in her smiling eyes was nonexistent today. “What’s that?” she asked with very little interest.

“My butler overheard a conversation between my father’s lawyer and a colleague. He was apparently bragging about how much money he had made off my father to enforce the stipulations in his will—stipulations it appears that no court or judge would ever enforce.” That caught her attention. “When I found out, I fired my father’s lawyer and hired a new one. Mr. Wilkins informed me that the judge reviewed the stipulations in my father’s will and declared them unenforceable. Therefore, they will be releasing all my father’s assets and money, my full inheritance, next week. I’m telling you this because I want you to know that I could have walked away from this business arrangement of ours a few weeks ago, but I chose not to.”

She frowned. “I don’t understand. Why did you stay if you didn’t have to?”

“For several reasons.” He held her gaze tenderly, praying she wouldn’t throw him off the porch and out of her life. “One, I wanted to finish what I started. Two. I wanted to make sure your dreams came true, and I wanted to help make that happen. And Three. Because I needed time to figure out a way to make this work between us. To make us work.”

“What do you mean ‘make us work’? I don’t understand.” She frowned again.

He raked his hand through his hair. He wasn’t going about this very well. “Let me try to explain it this way. I’ve had the pleasure of being your business partner these several weeks, but that isn’t enough for me anymore. I want to be your lifelong partner. I love you, Abby.”