Finding Grace: A Novel (40 page)

He reached over to put down his drink on the
end table. Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms as he let
out a deep sigh.

"We all went in to see the baby. Mama had
this look on her face. Not the kind of look a mother has when they
hold a new baby…all soft and glowing. But she had the kind of look
people have when they open a present, and it's something they don't
want."

Henry nodded. "So you came in and took
over.”

"No," Jack said quickly. "I didn't think
much of Gracie the first time I saw her. I saw her the way most
kids see babies. She was all red and squished up. She looked kind
of like a little turnip, and she was squalling at the top of her
lungs. But Granny was tickled pink about her. She paid more
attention to her than my Mama did…holding her all the time, talking
to her. She even named her. My folks didn't even have any girls
names picked, if you can believe that. And Granny got me interested
in her. She didn't look so bad to me after she got some regular
color, and filled out a little. I started to like her more and
more, sort of like a stray puppy I might have found. And pretty
soon, I was attached."

"So you adopted her, in a way.”

Jack shrugged. "If you want to put it that
way. The whole point is this. I've been taking care of her since
she was born. Alice was there to help when I met her, and Gracie
has learned to do all right by herself. But damn it all, women
aren't supposed to count on themselves. We're men. We're supposed
to take care of them, not the other way around. That's why God gave
us big shoulders."

Henry rose to his feet.
"I
will
take care
of her, if you'll give me the chance. When the time comes, she will
be my wife. I'm willing to wait, for her sake, but we will be
together. When we are married, I'll make her happy, I promise you
that. And as for that Charlie Hillard…"

Jack rose to his own feet, his face a new
mask of fury at the mention of the name. "That worthless piece of
gutter trash. First thing in the morning, I'm going to go out and
look for him. When I get my hands on him, I'll rearrange his
face."

"I'll give you a hand. If I meet you over
here in the morning, we can go together and find him out. Two heads
are better than one. And as for your sister, I'll make sure she's
never alone at the club. If he shows his face around my property,
it'll be the last thing he ever does."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Do I have your word
on that?"

Henry reached out to offer his hand, and
Jack firmly shook it.

"I swear it on my life," Henry declared.

"If you hurt her, it will be your life,"
Jack replied. "That's my promise."

Just giving a slight nod, Henry released the
handshake and went for his hat. He felt a slight weight lift from
his shoulders as he let himself out. He and John Langdon might
never again be the best of friends, but now at least, they had made
their peace with one another…and they were both on the same side.
With the same goal.

He silently berated himself again and again
as he made his way into the house, wishing he had just gone ahead
and stomped Charlie's guts while he'd had the chance. Instead he
had let the man go, and now this. What if he came around again,
when they had their guard down? Desperate men were so often
dangerous, and who knew what Charlie was capable of? It terrified
him to imagine Grace at the hands of anyone who might harm her, and
though he knew she had defended herself on that one occasion, what
if Charlie had become violent? Yes, she was strong, but not strong
enough to fend off a man driven to desperation. A momentary image
came to him, of Grace being struck down by Charlie's hand, and it
both frightened and infuriated him, so much so that he nearly left
right then and there to look for the bastard. But he stopped just
short of the door and took a deep breath, trying to calm his raging
feelings.

He had to remind himself…she was safe at
home now, and her brother would never let anything happen to
her.

* * * * *

A chaperone. That was what Jack now called
Henry. According to the sudden announcement he’d made at breakfast,
the two of them would be taking turns in watching over her. But she
balked at the term he’d chosen.

Chaperone my
foot
, she thought bitterly.
Warden would be a better word for
it
.

She knew their intentions were good. And in
all honesty, she knew there was a certain danger in not knowing
where Charlie was or what he might do. But still, she was not
happy. According to Jack, she wasn’t even allowed to take a simple
walk without having someone at her side. She found it very
difficult to accept her loss of freedom…and harder still was the
idea that Henry was in on the whole scheme. He would be escorting
her to work each day, driving instead of taking the streetcar. He
and Jack were convinced it was safer to use private transportation
instead of public means. But when Henry picked her up that morning,
she found it hard to even look at him, much less speak to him.
Upset with the entire situation, including him, she kept her eyes
away from him, staring silently out her passenger window. He tried
talking to her, maybe in the hopes of easing her temper. And she
listened to him…but she would not answer or look at him.

“
We went to his hotel early
this morning, and found out he checked out last night. He could be
anywhere, you know.”

There was a long pause, as if he was waiting
for her to say something back. Still she was silent, and he tried
again.

“
I know you think we’re
treating you like a child, but we’re not. Your brother and I only
want to do what’s best for you.”

They arrived at the club, parking at the
rear. Before he could come around to open her door she opened it
herself and got out, walking on ahead of him. She fully intended to
get to the club door before he did, wanting very much to leave him
behind. But he was too quick, stepping in front of her first. She
tried to turn away from him, but he wouldn’t allow it, holding her
chin firmly in his hand.

“
Please don’t give me the
cold shoulder.”

She pushed his hand away, narrowing her eyes
at him. “I don’t need a guard dog.” She moved past him towards the
door. “I shouldn’t have said anything to either of you.” She
reached to open the door, but he pushed it closed with his hand and
stood there, blocking her path.

“
Are you saying you would
rather not have my company?”

When he looked at her that way…his eyes so
soft, his tone so gentle…it was hard to stay upset with him. And
yet she could not let go of her anger altogether.

"How would you like to be told where to go
and what to do? How would you feel if you were watched every minute
of every day? You wouldn’t like it either, would you?”

He shook his head, his eyes lowered.

“
No, I wouldn’t like it.” He
took her hand, holding it gently in both his own. "But this is
different. And for my own peace of mind, will you let me do as your
brother asks?"

He paused, a look of fear flashing across
his face…fear for her, she realized.

"I couldn’t bear it if something happened to
you.”

Her heart swelled at his tender confession,
making her sigh as her defenses crumbled around her.

"All right then," she said with a defeated
tone. "If it makes you happy, I'll let it be. But you have to
promise me not to be silly about it. No following me every single
moment of the day. There are plenty of people around besides you,
and they can be on watch just as well as you can."

"Good," he said, starting to smile. "And
think of it this way. Having me as a chaperone, we can spend time
together without causing much suspicion. I would say that's a good
way to look at it, wouldn't you?"

She shrugged, trying hard not to smile. She
hadn’t really thought of things the way he’d just put them.

“
I suppose so,” she replied,
trying not to meet his eyes. But he moved his head so that she had
to look at him. He chuckled softly, probably quite pleased with
himself for defeating her. Then he kissed her softly, breaking down
the last of her defenses.

* * * * *

In the days that followed, the need for
worry seemed to wan. Charlie made no appearances, and though Jack
and Henry checked his hotel each day and made inquiries to other
establishments he might have been staying in, there seemed to be no
sign of him. They could only assume he had gone back home where he
belonged, though they remained constantly wary.

Despite the precautions, Grace found those
days to be some of the most pleasant she had ever known. Now that
Henry and Jack had declared peace, they, Alice, and she spent time
together as a little group, going on outings. They went golfing,
and though she found the sport itself rather dull, she enjoyed
walking along the greens and taking in the calm, quiet air. She
found baseball much more fun to watch. At least it was a game she
understood and could participate in, even it was only as a
spectator. She found a strange affection for Wrigley Field, with
its beautiful bright green grass and rusty red dirt…and its wild
horde of fans. Jack and Henry were among them, being bigger fools
than she’d ever seen. But in a good way.

When the weekend had passed, she immersed
herself in her work, rehearsing for her singing debut which was
only a few days away.

She knew her solo well now, and found she
was singing it to herself quite often. As well as her progress, she
discovered another pleasantry in her singing that she had not given
a thought to before, and that was her salary. When Henry handed her
a paycheck, she did not quite know what to say or do. She had never
seen a check before, and felt silly in not understanding what she
was to do with it. But as she knew he would be, he was generous and
patient in explaining the whole process of finance to her. Her
sharp mind caught on very quickly, as he helped her set up a bank
account in her own name, taught her how to write a check and make
withdrawals and deposits, and explained both the joys and pitfalls
of money. He cautioned her that a woman with her own means was not
always taken politely by society, but she brushed that thought
aside. All of her life she had been fighting those sorts of
backward ideals. What was one more to her now?

She’d always thought of herself as
independent, but now she felt a kind of power in herself like she’d
never known. She realized it was the power not just of financial
freedom, but of personal freedom. With her own money, she had the
freedom to go anywhere, do anything, and buy anything she pleased.
It was overwhelming to think of it, and if she had been a lesser
woman, with less strength of mind, she might have started imagining
all the ways she could spoil herself. But it was not herself she
thought of at all.

Sitting on the sofa one afternoon, waiting
for Henry to arrive for supper, she looked through the Sears and
Roebuck catalog as she had done so many times before in her life.
But this time, there was no sense of disappointment as she looked
through it, seeing things and knowing she would never have any of
it. Now, she had the chance to have whatever her salary could
bring. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she hardly heard the
knock on the front door, or heard the sound of Alice greeting Henry
as he came in. It wasn't until he came in and placed a kiss on top
of her head that she even looked up, and she smiled at him, and
then looked back to the catalog.

"What are you looking at?" he asked, and he
slid into the seat beside her.

"Sears and Roebuck," she replied, moving
closer to him. She pointed to the page before her. "Look at these
tractors. If my Daddy had one of these, he'd never have to hitch up
a mule to a plow again. And these washing machines. If Mama had a
washing machine, she'd never make her fingers bleed on a washboard
ever again."

"They sell generators too, for hooking up
all of those newfangled gadgets," he said, pointing to another
page. "But do you think your folks would even take such things?
Don't you think they might look at it as charity?"

She closed the catalog, thinking about what
he had said. "I didn't think about that.” She folded her hands on
top of the book, sighing. "I suppose it doesn't matter anyway right
now. It would take me a long time to save up the money for all
these things. I suppose I'll just have to be patient."

He reached out to touch her hand, gently
toying with her fingers.

"What about you? I'm sure you can afford to
treat yourself to something in this book."

She shook her head. "I don't need anything
for myself. I've got everything I need right now. Everything I
want." She leaned against him, resting her head against his side to
emphasize her words. He smiled.

"You think you have everything, do you?"

She sat up, looking at him curiously. She
saw the little smile that had formed on his face. "What are you up
to?" she asked.

He withdrew from her hold. "You'll have to
wait and see.” Standing up, he turned to her and told her to close
her eyes.

“
I don’t like surprises,”
she said.

To her protest, he gave her a stern
look.

"For once in your life, will you please just
humor me? Why must you always make everything a contest?"

Taking up a couch pillow he hit her over the
head with it. Laughing, she hit him back as a tussle ensued. But it
was brief, and in a moment he demanded that she be still and close
her eyes as he had asked. She sighed, and finally relented. A long
minute passed, and she felt something warm and soft put into her
hands…something that moved and squeaked, and a smile came across
her face before she had even seen what she held. She knew the feel,
the smell, of a dog.