Somewhere to Call Home (Love Inspired Historical) (17 page)

Violet shook her head. “There is no way I compare to your mother, although I would love to help others as she does. And don’t for a moment think that Lila’s attitude doesn’t get as tiresome to me as it does to you.”

“And yet you still want to help her.”

“I feel sorry for her at times. I can’t help it. It’s just hard for me to believe that anyone would want to be moody and hard to get along with, and—”

“Hard to like? I’m sorry, Violet. I don’t mean to hinder your willingness to try to be her friend.”

“I know you don’t.”

Michael wanted to explain. He had a bad feeling about Lila’s intentions. He couldn’t believe that she really wanted to be friends with Violet—much less good friends. He’d seen the way she looked at Violet when she thought no one was watching. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Color flooded her cheeks as his gaze locked on hers. “Thank you, Michael. It means a lot to know that you want the best for me. I don’t really expect to be great friends with Lila. If I’m honest, I don’t want to be. We don’t have much in common. But I do feel the Lord wants me to try to get along with her, to try to be a friend. We’ll see if she truly wants to be friends or not. The first test will be when I tell her I’ve been offered a new position.”

“We’ll see if she will celebrate with you or not.”

“Yes. We will.”

* * *

Michael stood in his mother’s study waiting for Violet and Lila to return home from work the next afternoon. He hoped she’d had a good day because he had some disappointing news to report to her. Earlier in the day, he’d received a long-distance call from Atwood that it was taking a little longer than they’d expected to get access to the records he and the judge needed. Plus he was trying not to let Black know he was even back in town. Michael sighed. He wanted this to be over with for Violet’s sake—and for his own.

He heard the front door open and several of the boarders arriving back home at the same time. Michael hurried out of the study and down the hall to the foyer just as the door opened once more and Violet and Lila entered. He could see the storm clouds in Lila’s eyes, but she managed a smile to all who were in the foyer.

“Guess what, everyone? We have another celebration to look forward to. Violet received another promotion! She’s been made assistant supervisor over the sewing room. It’s a brand-new position made just for her!”

Her voice sounded loud and a little brittle to Michael’s ears, but at least she didn’t run upstairs claiming to have a migraine like the last time. Of course, she’d taken the moment from Violet, but Violet didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he was sure she didn’t. Violet didn’t feel as comfortable being the center of attention as Lila did.

“Congratulations, Violet. Mother has dinner going as we speak.”

“I love celebrations.” Julia gave Violet a hug. “I am so happy for you! I know you will make a wonderful supervisor.”

Michael wished he felt free to give Violet a hug. It’d been much too long since he’d held her close, and he wondered if she even remembered that he had. But as her eyes met his, color flooded her cheeks and his chest tightened. Maybe she did. Of course that could be wishful thinking on his part, but he hoped he was right.

Violet was swept upstairs with the other girls wanting to know all about her new position and he was left to go let his mother know that Violet had officially been promoted. He’d tell her about the conversation from Atwood later when he could talk to her privately. The prospect of having a few minutes alone with Violet put a spring in his step as he went to find his mother.

Chapter Seventeen

L
ila did join them for dinner, but Violet couldn’t say she celebrated with her. Still it was more than she’d expected and everyone else made up for Lila’s broodiness.

When dinner was over and everyone went their own way—Lila heading up to her room for a change—Violet thanked Mrs. Heaton for the trouble she’d gone to.

“I loved doing it, dear,” she said. “I can’t tell you how happy I am about your promotion and that you’ve given me so many things to celebrate since you’ve been with us.”

Violet leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You are so dear to me. I will never be able to thank you enough for all you’ve done for me. I can’t think of anyone my mother would want me to have turned to than you.”

“Oh, my—”

“Excuse me, ladies,” Michael interrupted. “But, Violet, I’ve heard from Atwood today and I’ve been hoping for a chance to talk to you without fear of interruption.”

“Of course. Where would you like to talk?”

“Why don’t we go to the park?”

“I’d love to.”

“You children go on. Enjoy the evening. It’s a beautiful one,” his mother said, waving them away and heading toward the kitchen.

They slipped out the door unnoticed and with relief on Violet’s part that Lila wasn’t watching every move they made.

Once at Gramercy Park, they strolled to the bench she’d secretly come to think of as “theirs.” Michael waited until Violet sat down before joining her. She missed his hand when he removed it from her elbow as she sat down, but when he joined her on the bench, she caught her breath at his nearness.

Trying to ignore the rapid beating of her heart, she asked, “What did Mr. Atwood have to say? Have they been able to find any records that could free up my property?”

“No, not yet. Evidently, it’s been a little harder than they thought it would be to get in without Black finding out. And it’s not been easy for Atwood to keep undercover so that Black doesn’t know he’s in town.”

“I can see how that would be a problem. I’m sure that Mr. Atwood has clients who want to speak to him as much as I did.”

“Well, it’s going to take a bit longer that he thought, but he says it will get done. He’s staying with the judge—that’s where he telephoned me from. His wife and the judge’s are good friends and so no one is the wiser when she comes to visit him. She came in early to get the house and office cleaned and ready for him while he came here. Now everyone is asking when he’ll be home and she’s had to tell them that they’ll know when she does. So far everyone seems to accept that he’ll be there before long.”

“That’s good, I suppose?” Violet asked.

Michael nodded. “We hope so. But evidently Mrs. Atwood has had several visits from Black wondering when Mr. Atwood will be home and that tells them that they need to come up with the records as soon as possible before he does something with them. My agent has heard from Black, too, and he wants an immediate accounting of what he’s found out about you. Things will be happening fairly fast once Mr. Atwood and the judge get hold of the bank records, but until then, all we can do is wait.”

“Well, if not for your quick work in finding Mr. Atwood, we still wouldn’t be this far along. I’ll just need to pray for patience,” Violet said. But, oh, how she wanted it all settled.

The bells on a nearby church rang the hour, and Michael stood up and gave her his hand. “I suppose we should be getting back to the house.”

“I suppose we should.” Although she hated to go back—she really had begun to think of Gramercy Park as
their
place and she loved being there with Michael. Violet rose a bit too fast and lost her balance. Michael’s arms circled her to try to steady her and she caught her breath at his closeness. “Thank you. I—”

“I must have tugged you too hard. I’m sorry.” Michael took the blame for her clumsiness.

“No, I just—”

He reached out and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear, looked into her eyes and smiled. “One day soon, Violet, we’re going to talk about something other than Harlan Black or Lila. One day soon we’re going to talk about us.”

Violet’s pulse quickened at the tender look in his eyes, but she was caught off guard by his words and didn’t know what to say. She only knew that she couldn’t wait for that day to come. She managed a nod and Michael pulled her hand through his arm once more, covered it with his own and escorted her home.

* * *

The boarders decided to continue celebrating Violet’s promotion by going to Central Park on Sunday. This time they were taking the trolley and Michael intended to sit by Violet, if one of the other men didn’t beat him to it, and he was going to make sure they didn’t. It had taken all the willpower he had not to kiss her the other night in the park. And it was getting increasingly hard not to tell her how he was feeling, what he was thinking. Ever since his mother had mentioned it was time he made a life of his own he’d been thinking about what it would be like to be married to Violet, to call her his wife.

Since Amanda, he’d never thought that way about any other woman. Never let himself because he wasn’t sure he could trust his heart to another one—not after his failed relationship with Amanda. And yet Michael knew Violet was nothing like his ex-fiancée. He’d come to realize that his relationship with Amanda wasn’t what it should have been from the beginning. Neither of them had loved each other enough. Truth was, he hadn’t been the same since he kissed Violet. And what had been meant to comfort her—at least that’s what he’d told himself—had brought him nothing but turmoil. Every time he saw her, he thought of the kiss and how it had felt to hold her.

“Are you ready?” Violet asked, interrupting his thoughts as she came down the stairs.

“I am. Did you sleep well?” Michael held his arm out to her and they joined the others as they headed out the door to catch the trolley.

“I did, thank you.”

As the group made their way to the trolley stop, Michael was glad he’d made sure that he would be sitting beside Violet. He’d not been quick enough last time, but this time he dropped right down beside her and felt a cocky sense of pleasure when Luke frowned in his direction before grinning, shrugging his shoulders and taking a seat beside Julia.

Michael had a feeling Luke suspected he cared a lot for Violet from some of the remarks he’d made lately, and he saw no reason to let him think otherwise.

John sat by Elizabeth and Ben had no choice but to sit beside Lila. It was just the eight of them today. His mother had decided to stay home and rest after her busy day on Saturday, promising them a good meal when they got back.

It promised to be a beautiful day, with the sun high in the sky and a light breeze to cool the heat. Once at the park they all discussed what they wanted to do. Michael only knew he wanted to be able to talk to Violet in private and rowing on the lake seemed to be the best way to accomplish that.

“Our boating time got interrupted last time. Want to go out again?” he asked Violet. She looked beautiful in her summery outfit of yellow-and-white lawn.

“I’d love that.”

“Well, I want to go cycling,” Lila said. “Anyone up for that?”

The rest of the group agreed to rent bicycles and they set a time to meet back up before heading home. Michael caught the look Lila gave him and Violet before she linked arms with Ben and he hoped that Violet didn’t see it. Lila was not happy and her anger seemed aimed at Violet.

Oh, he had a feeling it was partly because of him. He’d have to be blind not to know that Lila had hoped he cared about her—even before Violet got there. But he’d made sure not to give her, or any of the other women boarding with his mother, any indication that he was interested in them. More for his mother’s sake than his, but he truly hadn’t been interested in any woman romantically...until recently. And in spite of his determination not to care about another woman, Violet had captivated him from the beginning and he could no longer deny that his feelings for her had been growing since the day she came to stay with them.

He felt bad that he hadn’t been able to hide his attraction for Violet as well as he’d thought he had and had caused Lila to dislike Violet. And yet, he didn’t think Violet had any idea how he felt about her. And he certainly didn’t know how she felt about him. But it was becoming more important each day for him to find out. Only he didn’t know how to go about it.

For now, he’d enjoy his time with Violet and hope that by the end of the afternoon, he’d have an inkling of how she felt about him. She seemed happy that he’d sat beside her and pleased that he asked to take her rowing.

Now, as they headed out to the middle of the lake, she looked more relaxed than he’d seen her since the last time they were out on the lake together. He loved looking at her watching the people on the shore, those who gathered at the plaza, those who were strolling along the lake and others out on the lake just as they were.

“You seem deep in thought.” Michael smiled as he dipped the oars in the water. “What are you thinking?”

“Oh, about how nice it is out here in the middle of the lake. It’s so beautiful and peaceful.”

“What else?” He smiled as he rowed the boat across the water.

“How glad I am I accepted your mother’s invitation to come to the city. I can’t think of anywhere better to be than here, today. To see the sky and feel the space. I do love coming to Central Park.”

So did he. And he could think of nowhere he’d rather be than in that rowboat with Violet.

“I’m glad you like something about the city.” He was more than glad. If she could begin to think of New York City as home, perhaps she’d want to stay even after she got her house back.

“Oh, I like many things about it. In fact it sometimes surprises me how I’ve come to love this city—in spite of how much I wish there wasn’t a need for the tenements and that life wasn’t so hard for the people living in them.”

“I know that feeling well,” Michael agreed. “I hope that one day we’ll see life get better for those who are living in the tenements. I know there are many trying to make life better for the poor. I pray that we’ll see the children there now grow up to become respectable citizens helping things get better for those less fortunate than they are and that it will continue that way.”

“Oh, Michael, that would be wonderful. But do you really think—”

“Sadly, no. I know better. There will always be tenements here. There will always be the destitute among us. I just hope there are less of them in time.”

“Yes, so do I. And I pray about it. I just wish there was something more I could do to help.”

As she’d actually admitted that she loved the city he thought maybe now he might add one more thing. “You know, I realize that your goal is to get your home back free and clear, but I hope you consider keeping it as a summer home and staying here in New York. Mother is going to feel lost without you.”

Violet looked sad, and Michael changed the subject as he picked up the oars and dipped them in the water, down, up and down again. “Enough talk about things we don’t have control over. We can pray about all that and do what we can to help. But for now, let’s enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Fall will be here before we know it. I think you will like it here then, too. And after that there is winter and ice-skating and sledding and sleigh rides.”

“It all sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to see the seasons change. There is still so much of the city I haven’t seen yet, but every day I seem to find out something new.”

“I was thinking you might enjoy going to Carnegie Hall to a concert one night. Would you like to?” He felt the need to introduce her to other things to love in the city.

“I’ve never been—we talked about it, remember? But we never planned anything. I’d love to go, Michael.”

“Good. I’ll find out who’s performing and when and we’ll try to set a date.” He could think of nothing he’d enjoy more than to spend an evening out in Violet’s company.

“Wonderful. I look forward to it.” Her smile dove right into Michael’s heart. He cared about this woman. Could she begin to have feelings for him, too?

* * *

Violet’s heart did a funny little dive and she tried to ignore her racing pulse at the knowledge that Michael seemed to want to spend more time with her. Could she begin to hope that he had feelings for her, too?

When he’d said he was glad there were some things she liked in the city, she’d realized that there was much she liked about the city and that there were people she’d come to care deeply about. Mrs. Heaton was like family to her, and she was so thankful the Lord had nudged her to suggest Violet to come to New York after her mother passed away.

She also had come to care about most of the boarders and she liked being around them. She hadn’t really realized how lonely she was and how much she could enjoy being in others’ company until she’d moved here. Life was never boring at Heaton House.

But what she’d also come to realize she could no longer deny to herself was that she cared deeply for Michael Heaton. And that caused her some amount of turmoil. He’d never found anyone after Amanda. Did that mean he’d never gotten over her? They had shared a kiss, but she was sure it was only to comfort her, and there’d not been another.

And he’d only told her that his mother would be lost without her here. Nothing about how he might feel. Maybe he only felt brotherly toward her?

And that was the last thing she wanted. Yet he’d said they needed to talk about them one day soon. Could he care for her the way she cared for him? And even if he did—after her experiences with Nick and Harlan, she still wasn’t sure she could trust her heart to him or any other man. But she wanted to. With all her heart.

She told herself she couldn’t even think about it until after things were settled with Harlan Black. When she’d come to New York, her goal had been to get the mortgage paid off on her home and get it back free and clear. And she’d intended to go back to Virginia.

And do what? Get a job, if she could find one? Hope for a beau to come along—although he’d have to be a stranger moving to town for she knew the others and most were already married and starting families. And those that weren’t, well, she couldn’t see herself with any of them.