The Ride of Her Life (9 page)

They passed the Grand Pavilion and waved to the men putting a fresh coat of white paint on the large building. Further down, she saw a gardener clearing a planter of dried leaves. In another month, the whole park would be teeming with patrons. Most likely, even more people would visit than last year because of the roller coaster.

Guilt tugged on her heart at the thought of the coaster. She’d had another reason to leave this afternoon. Every day about this time, Nick came by, offering to take Levi to finish his snake cage. Even on Sunday, when she’d crossed paths with Nick following church services, he’d asked if Levi could spend some time with him, but Lilly had made a lame excuse to keep her son with her. She hated seeing the two deep lines that had formed between Nick’s brows when he frowned.

“Lilly!” Emily waved from a park bench in front of the Rowing Club and stood with Katie in her arms. “I saw you two coming and thought I’d wait and walk the rest of the way with you.” She turned to Levi. “So, are you excited about your uncle Trip taking you on a boat ride?”

He kicked a stone with the toe of his shoe. “I’d rather be working with Mr. Nick.”

“Levi, you silly boy, you’re gonna love sailing.” Lilly ruffled his hair.

His lower lip protruded. “But I wanted to finish my snake cage.”

“Remember, I told you Mr. Nick is a busy man.”

“But he asked me to go, Mama. You aren’t never gonna let me go, are you?”

“Levi, we’ll talk about this later.” She squeezed his shoulder. “Now, run ahead and let Aunt Emily and me talk.”

He shuffled off with a frown on his face, but spotting several geese, he seemed to forget about being upset and began honking at them to get their attention.

“What was that all about? It sounds like Levi’s grown quite attached to Nick Perrin.”

“Levi is attached to the snake cage, not the man. Mr. Perrin is only helping him construct it. You know how Levi is with anything having to do with slimy, slithering creatures.”

Emily lowered Katie into the wicker baby carriage and tucked the soft wool blanket around her. “I heard you two talking last week when he brought you home. I didn’t say anything then, but I’ve been dying to ask what that means.”

“It doesn’t mean a thing,” Lilly said more forcefully than she intended.

“Okay, don’t get upset.” The wheels of the baby carriage clacked on the boardwalk, and its fringed, cardinal-red parasol swung back and forth with the beat. “So, how did Nick Perrin come to be carrying your son home?”

“It’s a long story.”

Emily grinned. “In that case, hold on to the story until we get to Marguerite’s, because I know she’ll want to hear it too.”

“You’re so thoughtful.” Lilly gave her a fake smile.

“I’m only thinking of you. I’d hate for you to have to tell the same story twice.” Emily giggled.

Lilly tipped her chin in the air. “Maybe I won’t tell either of you.”

“You will.”

“How do you know?”

“If you don’t, you’ll imply there’s something going on that we should know about, and even if there isn’t, you wouldn’t want us to think that, so you’ll have to explain.”

Lilly sighed. So much for her relaxing time away.

When they reached the front of the boat shop, Marguerite met them. As soon as Trip Andrews and a couple of his crew had corralled the children, they took off for the sailboat. The ladies then departed for the yard behind the Yacht Club to enjoy a bit of croquet.

After taking one look at the croquet mallet Marguerite offered her, Emily held up her hand. “I think Kate and I will sit this out. Remember the last time I played croquet?”

Lilly grinned. Even though Emily had overcome a great deal of her clumsiness, last summer had proven the tendency was still there. During a match between Emily and her husband, Carter, Emily had tripped over a wicket and sent her mallet through one of the Yacht Club’s windows. Good-natured Carter had kissed his wife and said he’d replace the window by nightfall.

“How about we play Poison? You can sit out the first game, but whoever wins gets to hold Katie while you play in the second.” Lilly fished a nickel from her pocket for the coin toss.

“If I have to.” Emily sank onto the park bench and propped Kate on her shoulder.

From the wooden box containing the equipment, Lilly selected a red-striped ball, and Marguerite, a blue one. Lilly passed Emily the coin. Marguerite won the toss and placed her ball midway between the stake and the first wicket. She gave it a soft strike with the mallet, and the ball landed inches short of the wicket.

“Well, Lilly, I’m ready.” Emily patted Katie’s back, a telling smile on her face.

“Ready for what?” Marguerite looked up from her disappointing shot and scowled. “Did I miss something?”

“No, you didn’t miss a thing except Emily’s overactive imagination.” Lilly nudged Marguerite to the side and set her own ball on the ground. Her swing sent the ball through the first wicket. “I believe the first point goes to me.”

“Well done!” Emily adjusted the blanket around Katie. “And now you can tell us why Levi suddenly prefers Nick Perrin’s company over sailing and how that same gentleman came to escort you home the other night.”

“At night? You have been keeping secrets.” Marguerite’s ball tapped Lilly’s after going through the wicket. She held up two fingers, indicating the points she received for the shot.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Lilly sighed. “If you two magpies promise not to make this more than it is, I’ll tell you what happened.”

As she and Marguerite took turns throughout the course, she explained how Nick had taken an interest in Levi. Doing her best to downplay any significance, she told them matter-of-factly how he and Levi had become so engrossed in the snake-cage construction that they’d missed dinner. “Since I had to heat a plate for Levi, I figured I might as well make one for Mr. Perrin as well. After all, he’d been kind to Levi.”

“So how did he come to carry Levi back to the cottage?” Emily asked, her green eyes alight with a twinkle.

Lilly crouched to get a good look at the post at the end of the course. If she hit it, her ball would be poison, and hitting Marguerite’s ball would mean eliminating her friend from the competition. “Levi fell asleep while Nick and I were washing the dishes.”

“Nick?” Marguerite tented her eyebrows.

“He washed dishes?” Emily giggled. “My, my, my.”

“You two are as bad as Emily’s meddling aunts. The whole thing meant nothing.” Lilly whacked her ball hard, and it sailed beyond the striped post at the end of the course. “See, you made me miss my shot.”

“Oh.” Marguerite grinned. “I think you’ve still got a shot, but you simply refuse to admit it.”

9

Spring was measured in flowers. It might not be manly, but Nick knew it was the truth. First the crocuses and hyacinths bloomed, then the daffodils, a flower to which he was particularly partial because his mother had loved them. Now the bright blooms of tulips lifted their faces to the sky, and soon the air would be filled with the scent of lilacs. He smiled at the thought as he made his way to Thorton’s Lunch Counter.

Nick glanced at one of the Lake Manawa gardeners carefully sprinkling seeds from a packet into one of the Midway’s large, round flower planters. If Iowa didn’t get a late snow as he’d been told sometimes happens, those seeds should be in bloom by June. By then, folks would be enjoying both his roller coaster and a planter filled with marigolds.

Sean had once pointed out that the Lord used a lot of references to sowing and reaping when he taught. Nick found it was Jesus as a carpenter’s son, however, that he thought of most often. The sweet smell of sawdust, the grain of wood, and the feel of a hammer would not have been foreign to the Lord. Jesus would have known what it felt like to make something with your own hands, to see it take shape, and to see it finished. He would understand the joy of doing one’s best, and Nick felt a kinship to that. But most of all, Jesus would have known what it was like to take a rough piece of wood, smooth its edges, and make it into something usable.

Just as the Lord had done with him.

His musings came to a halt when he spotted Mr. Thorton heading to the lunch counter. Nick flagged him down. God had worked this out perfectly. The last thing he wanted was for Lilly to see him talking to her employer.

The heavyset man met him on the Midway paving. “What can I do for you, Mr. Perrin? Everything okay with your meals?”

“Absolutely, sir. This arrangement has been stellar. Mrs. Hart is an excellent cook, and as I told you, good food makes for good workers.”

Mr. Thorton patted his round belly. “We men do like our food.”

Nick chuckled and reached for his wallet tucked in his jacket pocket. “But I’d like to pay you extra to see to it Mrs. Hart and her son are both given meals.”

“You don’t need to pay me. Their meals are included.” A deep scowl marred Mr. Thorton’s usually jovial face. “You don’t think I’d do otherwise, do you?”

“I didn’t mean to imply you wouldn’t take care of them. Mrs. Hart said three meals a day are included in her salary.”

“That’s right, and I expect her to eat them.”

“What about her son?”

“Well, of course, I thought she’d feed him. I said she could keep him there with her, and she isn’t going to let him starve.”

Nick shook his head. “No, she’d starve herself before she’d keep her son from eating.”

“Are you saying . . . ?”

“I don’t know anything for sure, but I’ve noticed her not eating on a few occasions, and Levi shared a couple of other things that had me thinking. I believe she’s a proud woman and an honest one. If you told her three meals, she’d take no more. At least my own mother wouldn’t, and I think Mrs. Hart may be a lot like her.” Nick opened his wallet. “So I want to pay you for Levi’s meals. You shouldn’t have to bear the burden.”

“That’s generous of you, but not necessary. She’s the best cook I’ve ever had. I’ll treat her right.” Mr. Thorton rubbed his hand over his beard. “Tell you what. I’ll make it clear to her today that both her and her son’s meals are included in her salary.”

“But you won’t mention I spoke to you?”

“It’ll be our secret.” Mr. Thorton held out his hand.

Nick shook it. “Thank you, Mr. Thorton. My men would be mighty upset if she fainted dead away from malnutrition.”

A chuckle rumbled from Mr. Thorton. “And what about you, Mr. Perrin?”

“Naturally, so would I.”
Even if she is treating me like yesterday’s wash water.

“Levi!” Lilly stood on the stoop of the lunch counter, shielding her eyes from the afternoon sun. After she’d washed up the dishes from the noon meal, Levi had helped her mix some cookies. She’d promised him one when they came out of the oven. “Levi! I’ve got your cookie.”

She waited, but he didn’t appear. Scanning the area, she spotted the cast-iron hook and ladder wagon toy he’d been playing with lying overturned near the crate where he kept Flower. Stepping closer, she eased the board off Flower’s crate and peeked inside to see if the snake still remained. The only thing visible was one of the diner’s checkered napkins. Would Levi have covered Flower up? He had been worried about how cold the snake was at night.

Not wanting to check but afraid not to, Lilly leaned forward and took hold of the corner of the napkin. She lifted it an inch, but no hiss greeted her. She eased the cloth back. Relief washed over her. No Flower.

As quickly as the relief came, it vanished, replaced by growing fear. Where had Levi taken the snake? He’d never wandered beyond hearing distance before, but he had this time.

She glanced around at the Midway surrounding them. A long row of ghostly booths sat under wide-arched entrances. Still absent of wares and hawkers since the season had yet to begin, they almost begged to be explored. Perhaps he’d gone to do that.

The roller skating rink, shooting gallery, and bowling alley were open on the weekends, but not today. Even the carousel horses had yet to begin their endless circle of trotting. Levi might find any of these places a fascinating adventure.

Why hadn’t she checked on him earlier?

She opened the lunch counter’s screen door. “Eugenia, I can’t find Levi. I need to go look for him.”

Eugenia hurried out. “I know he was out here ten minutes ago when I came out to hang up the wet dish towels in back.”

“Then he can’t have gone far.” Lilly called for him again. No answer. A lump the size of a dumpling formed in her throat, panic making it grow more each minute. “Why don’t you check in the Midway, and I’ll check that grove of trees he’s so fond of?”

The girl nodded, and Lilly hurried off. She wound her way through the grove of cottonwoods and oaks, calling his name over and over. She crossed the top of a fallen log and snagged her dress. Yanking it free, she paused to stick her finger through the tear in the calico print. One more thing to mend.

“Levi!” Scanning the woods, she tried to think like him. Where had Levi said he found the snake? Maybe he’d returned Flower home so she could visit her family.

Home.

Flower’s new home.

The snake cage.

Nick.

She hiked up her skirt and ran. Her ankle twisted on a root, but she didn’t fall or let the pain stop her. Finally she reached the path leading to the roller coaster. She pressed her hand to the stitch in her side, trying to fight off the fear threatening to consume her.
Please, Lord, let him be safe. Let Nick have him.