While Love Stirs (23 page)

With Tessa on one side and Charlotte on the other, they walked beside Aunt Sam to the stairs. Aunt Sam’s left foot still dragged a bit, but nothing like it had even a week ago.

Aunt Sam stopped. “I think you’d better let me hold on to the banister.”

“Oh yes. That makes sense.” Tessa released her.

“Tessa, you go down right in front of us and be ready to help if we need it.” Charlotte gripped Aunt Sam’s arm. “Easy, now. Nice and slow.”

Aunt Sam lowered her bad leg first. Once it was firmly planted, she stepped down. Charlotte bore as much of the weight as she could. Painfully slow, together they made it halfway down before Charlotte noticed a sheen on Aunt Sam’s forehead.

“Are you all right? Do you need to rest?”

“Resting isn’t actually a possibility at this point, dear.” Aunt Sam drew in a deep breath. “Sometimes you have to keep moving once you’re committed.”

When there were only five steps left, Charlotte sent Tessa for the butler, all the while assuring Aunt Sam it was only a precaution. “You’re almost there.”

Aunt Sam leaned more heavily on Charlotte but said nothing. If it was this hard for her to get down the staircase, how would they ever get her back up?

Someone clacked the brass knocker on the front door. Callers? Possibly. Word had gotten out about Aunt Sam’s illness and that she was feeling much better.

Another step.

Three to go.

Footsteps in the foyer. Good. Tessa had found Geoffrey.

Nurse Pierce’s voice bounced off the walls of the foyer. “Miss Gregory, what do you think you’re doing?”

27

Charlotte glanced up to see Nurse Pierce standing in the foyer with a wheelchair in hand. Oh, how Aunt Sam loathed the idea of using such a contraption.

As if the appearance of the wheelchair spurred her forward, Aunt Sam made the last three steps with aplomb. “I decided it was time to venture beyond my bedroom. Charlotte and Tessa were kind enough to help.”

Nurse Pierce pushed the wheelchair into the room. “Please sit down before you fall.”

Aunt Sam’s eyebrows shot upward. “In that?”

“Many apoplexy patients require one, Mrs. Phillips. You’ll find it much easier to get around in while you’re recovering. I stopped by the hospital to borrow it. I hoped it would be a welcome surprise.”

“You may return it.” She patted Charlotte’s arm. “Shall we retire to the parlor?”

Charlotte did as she was asked with Nurse Pierce trailing behind. “Miss Gregory, Dr. Brooks will not like this.”

Of that, Charlotte had no doubt. She didn’t like it herself. But what had Aunt Sam said? “Sometimes you have to keep moving once you’re committed.” She guessed this was one of those times, and hopefully she could make Joel understand.

Anger churned inside Joel like a festering wound. Ever since Nurse Pierce had telephoned him to tell him what Charlotte had done, he’d been livid. Did Charlotte honestly think she knew better than he did?

This was not the way he wanted to speak to Charlotte when he first saw her again. He rather hoped he could ask her to accompany him out for a drive, but he should have known better. She couldn’t go more than a couple of days without causing some pot to boil over.

He marched up the walkway to Mrs. Phillips’s home and banged the brass knocker with far more strength than necessary.

The door swung open, bringing him face-to-face with Tessa. She stepped aside to let him enter.

“Where’s your sister?” He pushed past the youngest Gregory sister.

“It wasn’t her idea. It was mine.”

“Yours?” Without slowing his pace, he headed directly for the drawing room. Maybe it wasn’t Charlotte’s idea, but she should have known better. Tessa practically lived in a fantasy world.

Tessa stepped in front of him and put a hand on his chest. “Stop! I said this wasn’t Charlotte’s fault.”

Charlotte stepped into the foyer and put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Tessa, thank you, but you may go on to the theater now. I need to speak to Dr. Brooks alone.”

“Don’t be mean to her, understand?” Tessa poked his chest with her finger, gave him a final glare, then departed.

“Well?” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at Charlotte.

“I admit allowing Aunt Sam to attempt the stairs was a bit premature.”

“A bit? What do you know about whether she should be trying that?” His mica-hard voice made her wince, but he pressed on. “Are you a doctor? Are you a nurse?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “What could possibly possess you to do this?”

She looked at him stonily. “Aunt Sam was determined, and
frankly, if anyone is to blame, it’s Nurse Pierce. She’s the one who kept insisting Aunt Sam stay in that bedroom.”

“Because I issued the order for her not to try the stairs!”

“Then I guess you’re to blame.” She lifted her chin. “She did make it down, you know.”

“What would you have done if she had collapsed? You couldn’t have possibly handled her weight, and then you both would have fallen.” He needed to calm down, but every time he tried, he thought of something else he needed to say. He rubbed the back of his neck, his heart pounding. “Not letting her attempt the stairs was for her safety and the safety of anyone who was helping her. Can’t you understand that?”

“I didn’t think—”

“That’s certainly obvious.”

“Joel Brooks, I won’t stand here and be bullied.” She glared at him. “I did not make the decision to help Aunt Sam lightly. I realize now that I may have acted prematurely and I may have put myself and Aunt Sam in danger. I would have never forgiven myself if she’d fallen and been hurt.” Her eyes filled with tears and her lip trembled. “So you can stop your lecture, because you aren’t saying anything I haven’t already told myself a hundred times today.”

His heart sank. He’d been a heel and made her cry. “Where is she now?”

“In the parlor.”

“May I go in and see her?” He softened his tone.

“You don’t need my permission—although apparently I needed yours.” She stood rigid, her shoulders pulled back.

Tears or not, she could still fight. He admired her passion more than he could say, even when it was misguided. “Will you join me?”

“I’d rather not.”

“Very well.” He left her standing alone in the foyer but could feel the heat of her glare as he walked away.

She fascinated and infuriated him like no one else ever had. He should apologize for being so harsh, but the words wouldn’t
come. Anger still had hold of his tongue—but he feared Charlotte Gregory might have hold of his heart.

Charlotte picked up the section of dough farthest from her and folded it toward her body before giving it a solid push. Kneading bread cured anger like nothing else. Given how she felt right now, she might have to make a dozen loaves before the day was out.

After giving the dough a quarter of a turn, she repeated the process, putting all of her weight behind the push. Sure, she had made a slight error in judgment, but Joel had blown it out of proportion. He’d made it sound like she’d acted foolishly and without thought, but she had weighed the dangers in taking Aunt Sam down the stairs before making her decision.

She thrust her hand forward into the spongy dough. Maybe she’d let Tessa and Aunt Sam persuade her in some ways, but she honestly believed this was the right thing to do. How stir-crazy could they let her aunt become? Joel Brooks might be content to live in a static world, but Aunt Sam certainly was not.

Perspiration beaded on her forehead, so she swiped her brow with the back of her hand. And even if her judgment was in error, he didn’t need to speak to her so harshly. What had happened to the kind man she’d been with at the lake?

Prodding the dough into the shape of a ball, she placed it in a greased bowl, smooth side up, and covered it with a damp kitchen towel. She set it on the back of the stove to rise. Once it did, she’d punch it down—like she was doing with her hopes of a relationship with Joel Brooks.

For all his huffing, Joel had to admit Mrs. Phillips seemed rather exuberant today. Her color was excellent and she seemed to have more vigor. He asked her to walk across the room and was impressed by the improvement in her gait since last week. Truth be
told, he may have freed her for the staircase had she not already attempted it.

Mrs. Phillips returned to her seat, requested that Nurse Pierce ask Charlotte to join them at her earliest convenience, and then freed the nurse to enjoy a walk in the garden. Once the nurse had departed, she turned toward Joel. “I heard you and Charlotte speaking in the foyer.”

“It was a hard day at the hospital. Some pieces of equipment have broken lately, and I can’t seem to find the funds to purchase replacements.” He tucked his stethoscope into his bag. “I apologize. I fear I may have overreacted a little.”

“Perhaps, but I should not have put Tessa and Charlotte in that position.” She patted his arm. “But that is not what I want to speak with you about right now. Charlotte said you attended one of her cooking lectures at Lake Minnetonka. What did you think?”

“She did an excellent job. I was quite impressed.”

“She’s very knowledgeable, yes?”

“Yes, ma’am. I learned a great deal.”

“So, are you ready to consider her ideas about improving the hospital’s food services? I believe she has a great deal to offer the hospital.”

He sighed. “I do too, but I simply don’t have the funds to change anything. As I said, there’s hardly enough money for the supplies and equipment we need to have, let alone any luxuries.”

Aunt Sam took a sip from her teacup. “I’ve had a great deal of time to think lately, and I believe I have the solution to the lack of funds needed for this experiment.”

“Experiment?”

“Well, you are a man of science, aren’t you?” She glanced at the doorway. “Charlotte, do come in and have a seat. I have a proposition for you and Dr. Brooks.”

Charlotte glanced at Joel. Her gaze fell to the spot beside him on the davenport, but she quickly selected the chair farthest from him.

“During my convalescence, I’ve seen firsthand what a difference
proper food can make in one’s recovery. I’ve come up with a wonderful idea I believe will allow Charlotte to help the hospital’s food services and will also address your budget concerns, Dr. Brooks.”

Joel sat up straighter. Mrs. Phillips was a wealthy woman, but even she couldn’t financially support something of this magnitude.

“Aunt Sam, I won’t let you pay for this. It’s too much.”

The older woman smiled. “Yes, dear, it would be too much for me alone. However, if you will only listen to my plan, I think you will see it is quite manageable.”

Joel glanced at Charlotte. “Go on. We’re listening.”

“Never before have I lent my name to a specific charity function, but I propose we hold the first Phillips Charity Ball.” She laughed. “Of course, with my name attached, no one in the upper society should dare miss it. I’ll start things off with a generous donation. The others, not to be outdone, will undoubtedly contribute as well.”