The Runaway Bride (4 page)

Chapter Four

L
orelei pushed the long strips of bacon around her plate with a fork, then glanced up at her parents. Her father sat across from her, hidden behind a copy of the Austin newspaper he’d managed to snag on his last trip to the city. Occasionally, his hand would slip from behind it in search of food. Her mother sat to her right unconcernedly drinking her morning tea as she planned out the day on a piece of notebook paper.

The silence was broken by the crinkle of newspaper. Lorelei tensed as her father folded the paper and set it aside. She braced herself when his gaze met hers. His blue eyes soon dropped to his coffee cup, which he carefully blew on before taking a long drink. She felt her shoulders relax. She lifted the bacon to her lips but could not force herself to eat it. She glanced up once more, feeling tempted to glare at her parents.

It was horrible what they were doing. They hadn’t mentioned her running away once since she’d gotten home yesterday. At first, she’d assumed they merely wanted to give her time to rest after her journey. With breakfast nearly over and her father due at the bank in less than a half hour, there’d still been no mention of her actions. She knew that they were of such a magnitude that her parents couldn’t and wouldn’t leave the subject untouched. Why were they drawing it out? They must know the suspense was killing her.

“Lorelei,” her mother began.

Her head shot up, and she prepared herself for battle.

Caroline smiled. “Would you pass me the salt, please?”

“Yes, Mama.”

“Thank you, dear.”

“You’re welcome,” Lorelei replied quietly.

Coffee cup drained, Richard stood. “Well, I suppose it’s time I get over to the bank.”

She watched dumbfounded as her father gathered his dishes and placed them in the sink before returning to the table to kiss her mother goodbye. “Have a wonderful day, you two.”

“Shall I send Lorelei with your lunch?”

“That would be nice, if you don’t mind, Lorelei,” her father said, then leaned across the table to kiss Lorelei on the forehead. His beard and mustache tickled her skin in a familiar sensation.

“I don’t mind.” Tears pricked her eyes as she watched him turn away and grab his hat. She blinked them away resolutely. He couldn’t leave without talking to her. Surely she deserved a lecture or something. She stood. “Papa, where are you going?”

He turned with a perplexed look on his face. “I’m going to the bank.”

She gave an exasperated sigh. “I know that. What I mean is…well, I know you two want to talk to me. I’d rather you just say what you need to say now rather than drag it out by waiting until later.”

He seemed confused. “What is it you wanted to discuss, Lorelei?”

Her mouth fell opened then closed. “I ran away.”

“Yes,” he agreed.

“Isn’t that something you want to discuss?” she asked.

“Not particularly,” her father said.

Lorelei looked to her mother for help, but the woman lifted her delicate brows in confusion. “Well, what would you like us to say, dear?”

She sat down in disbelief. “This is ridiculous. Don’t you want to tell me how impractically and irresponsibly I behaved? How dangerous it was for me to travel alone as I did? How flighty it made me appear to everyone? How awful it was of me to leave you two wondering and worrying?”

Her mother took a sip of tea. “Is it necessary?”

She glanced to her husband who looked down at Lorelei thoughtfully. “I don’t think so. She seems to have learned her lesson.”

Lorelei looked from her mother to her father and back again. With a groan, she buried her face in her hands. “Did I just give myself a lecture?”

“I’m afraid so,” her father said with amusement in his voice.

She frowned at him. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

He smiled. “Goodbye, Lorelei.”

As the door closed behind him, her mother smiled. “Dear, we spared you the lecture because we know you. We know you’ve already recognized what you did was wrong because you’re here. You came back to us. Don’t think for a moment we weren’t worried or upset while you were gone, because we were both of those things and more.”

“I really am sorry.”

“We know that.” She reached over to place her hand over Lorelei’s. “Why did you leave? What happened that day?”

She sighed. “There I was in a beautiful white dress with one of the best men in the world standing beside me at the altar, and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t—even after I spent all that time convincing myself that I could. I knew it wasn’t right.” She paused to take a deep breath. “It all was my fault because my whole life I was foolish enough to fancy myself in love with the one man who has never cared I existed.”

“Sean O’Brien,” her mother said softly.

Lorelei stared at her. “You knew. This whole time you knew?”

Her mother laughed. “Of course, I knew. You’re my daughter. How could I not know?”

She froze. “Does Papa know?”

At her mother’s nod, Lorelei groaned and buried her face in her hands.

Her mother pulled at her hands. “Come now, it isn’t that bad.”

Lorelei dropped her hands to the table. “That’s what I’m afraid of. That everyone knows how I felt about him.”
Including Sean.

“I don’t think that’s the case. It’s common knowledge that you had a crush on him as a girl, but then Lawson began courting you and everyone assumed you let it go.”

“I almost convinced myself I had until that day. Suddenly, I realized I couldn’t do that to Lawson. I couldn’t go into our marriage halfhearted, knowing I couldn’t love him as he deserved to be loved. It wouldn’t have been right.”

“I hope you know how proud I am of you for doing that. It would have been much easier to let things continue as you’d planned,” her mother said. “But why did you run away?”

Lorelei shrugged. “I just hated the thought of having to deal with all the gossiping, the speculation, the people whispering behind my back—or saying to my face—that I’m a silly flirt who broke Lawson’s heart.”

Her mother looked surprised. “Did someone actually say that?”

A long time ago,
she thought to herself, and glanced away. “Never mind that. But all of it made the prospect of getting away for a while and starting fresh somewhere new seem awfully tempting. I had everything already packed and ready to go. It…” She smiled weakly. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

The smile quickly faded as she continued. “But if I thought I could run away from being judged, then I was wrong. Sean tracked me down, and ever since I’ve had to live with his constant disapproval day in and day out. That’s when I realized how foolish I’d been, and decided to come home.”

Her mother nodded, then asked, “So where does that leave your feelings toward Sean now?”

Lorelei shook her head. “If I learned anything while I was gone, it’s that I’m done with Sean O’Brien. I’m finished waiting for him to look at me with anything more than a frown on his face. I think I’ve allowed his dislike of me to shape who I’ve become. That’s part of the reason I wanted a new beginning away from here and him.”

“I see.” Her mother took a sip of her tea thoughtfully. “Perhaps what you are searching for is a new perspective, dear, not an entirely new life.”

“Maybe so.” Lorelei sighed.

It wouldn’t hurt to try, and it was much more practical than any step she’d taken so far. She smiled. A new perspective… That sounded perfect. She had no idea what perspective she needed but whatever it ended up being would be better than the one she had.

* * *

Lorelei smiled a greeting at the bank tellers as she breezed through the lobby with her father’s lunch basket in tow. Her steps faltered as she neared the open door of the manager’s office. Gathering her courage, she knocked lightly. Lawson glanced up from the box he was packing. He paused in surprise at the sight of her before giving her a welcoming smile. “Come on in.”

She surveyed him carefully. He didn’t seem to be upset with her, but she hadn’t seen him since the wedding. She decided to tread lightly as she stepped inside. She placed the basket on his desk, then turned in a slow circle to survey the moderately sized room. The room had been stripped almost completely of his personal items. She turned to face him as the weight of guilt settled on her shoulders. “You’re leaving the bank?”

“I resigned a few days after the wedding.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” he asked curiously.

She crossed her arms and leaned her hip against the desk. “Well, it’s my fault you’re leaving, isn’t it?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m just ready to move on, that’s all. I’ve been inquiring about a few other jobs. Most of them are out of Peppin.”

“I still feel responsible.”

“Don’t.” He closed the box, then met her gaze seriously. “While we’re at it, let’s get something else straight. You already apologized to me about what happened at the wedding. I’ll admit I was hurt but not as deeply as you might have thought because you were right. I didn’t love you the way I should have. I knew something was wrong, but I’d made a commitment and I didn’t want to be the one to walk away from it. I’m glad you did. It was the right thing for both of us.”

She stared at him. “You mean it?”

He nodded. “I hope we can go back to being friends now and that you know if you ever need anything you can call on me.”

“Thank you, Lawson. Hearing you say that means so much to me. I hated thinking that I might have hurt you. You’ve been such a wonderful friend. I wouldn’t want to lose that.”

“Well, you aren’t. You’re stuck being my friend so you may as well like it,” he teased. Then, looking at her closely, he offered her his handkerchief. “No tears in my office and it’s still my office until I take this box out.”

She smiled and dabbed her watery eyes before handing it back with her thanks. “I’d better bring Papa his lunch. I guess I’ll see you around.”

“I’m sure you will for a little while at least.”

“Are you all right?” her father asked a few moments later as he cleared his desk to make room for the food. She told him about her conversation with Lawson, and he shook his head. “He’s a good man and a good manager. I wonder what sort of work he’ll go into next.”

“That reminds me,” she said as she laid out a plate with her mother’s baked chicken, green-bean casserole and corn. “On my way here I stopped to talk to Mrs. Cummings at the millinery shop across the street.”

He stared at her in confusion. “How did what I say remind you of hats?”

“She was looking for someone to come in a few hours a week to help her, and I told her I’d like to take the job. Isn’t that wonderful, Papa?”

Richard frowned up at her from his dark leather chair. “No, it is not. Why should you want a job, Lorelei? What will my customers think if my own daughter has to work outside the home? I’ll tell you what they’ll think. They’ll think their money isn’t safe here.”

She lifted an eyebrow and closed the basket. “As if they had anywhere else in town to put it.”

He waved his fork. “That is beside the point.”

“Well, I don’t see why they’d care one way or the other,” she reasoned. “Besides, I need something to do besides embroider with Mother.”

Hope sprang within her when her father quieted for a moment. “If it’s work you want, you are always welcome to work here.”

She almost laughed. “Doing what?”

“Why, you could be a teller.”

“Papa, I don’t want to be a teller.”

“I’d much rather you work here.”

She grimaced. “I’d much rather not.”

“It’s a perfectly respectable place. I can watch you,” he rationalized.

“It’s a perfectly boring place and I don’t need to be watched.”

He looked at her in wavering contemplation, and she gave him her best and most pleading look. Finally, he sighed. “I have a feeling this is going to be like the rose garden you tried to start and that bakery idea you tried to get a loan for and the—”

She titled her head. “And the wedding I didn’t go through with?”

He stilled. “Now, I didn’t say that, did I?”

She fiddled with the lace on her dress and tried to keep the tears from blurring her eyes. “Well, why don’t you? Isn’t that what you’re thinking? I can start something but I don’t finish it well, do I?”

“You can do whatever you set your mind to, Lorelei. When you like something well enough, you stick to it. Look at your music lessons. You’ve been playing the piano—very beautifully—for years. I guess you just try out more things than most and there’s nothing wrong with that. If it’s all right with your mother, then I don’t mind.”

“Oh, thank you, Papa.” She smiled and slipped around the desk to give him a quick hug. “I’m certain I’ll like it, and I’ll stick to it no matter what.”

“That’ll show them.” He winked.

She chatted with him for a few more minutes before exiting his office and walking right into a conflict between Mrs. Greene and her father’s secretary. Neither party seemed to realize they were blocking the hallway. The man looked positively flustered. “But, ma’am, you don’t have an appointment and Mr. Wilkins is having lunch. Why don’t I direct you to a teller? I’m sure one of them will be able to help you.”

“I’m sure they will
not.
” Mrs. Greene’s face seemed to grow redder by the moment. “I insist on seeing Mr. Wilkins right now. I have been entrusted with a letter for him and I aim to see he gets it.”

Lorelei spoke up to try to diffuse the situation. “It’s all right, Alexander. Father is finished with his lunch. I’m sure he’d be willing to see Mrs. Greene.”

The young man stepped aside to let Mrs. Greene pass. The woman’s gaze shifted to Lorelei, who smiled pleasantly. Mrs. Greene didn’t return the gesture. She just stared with an appraising eye. Lorelei had the strangest feeling that she’d been weighed and found wanting. Mrs. Greene brushed past her to enter her father’s office without waiting to be announced. Lorelei grimaced, then glanced at Alexander. He shook his head. “I’d hate to be your father right now. She has one mean bee in that bonnet of hers.”

“I’m sure he’ll be able to handle it.” She said goodbye to him, then waved at the other tellers before she stepped back onto the sidewalk.