A Home for Her Heart Page 9

  He felt a bit consternated by the revelation and fell quiet as they all began to spread out blankets and set the baskets of food under the shade of the trees to keep cool until they had lunch.

  First up, the children wanted to fly the kites Luke had brought for them and John hurried to join him, Michael and Ben, in trying to get the bright-colored kites to sail up into the blue sky. He was glad of a reprieve from his thoughts.

  The women cheered them all on until it was time to set out the picnic lunch. Then they called the men and children over to eat. As usual, Mrs. Heaton had provided quite a spread, with fried chicken, fresh bread and baked beans. There were two kinds of pies and John’s favorite, a huge chocolate cake.

  Once they fixed their plates, everyone spread out on the blankets and John found himself sitting by Elizabeth once again. There was something about the woman that he’d always been drawn to. She was one of the kindest and most caring of the women at Heaton House. Oh, they sparred from time to time—usually brought on by him putting his foot in his mouth—and mostly about their work. But she’d always been nice to him as she was with everyone else.

  Still, he felt there was more to Elizabeth Anderson than any of them knew. He didn’t know what it was about her that made him feel that way, but she had an air about her that made him think of the people he covered for the paper...high society. And yet, she worked for a living like the rest of the boarders. She never acted in any way superior to anyone and went out of her way to help anyone who needed a hand. Still, there was—

  “The children had such a good time flying those kites.” She looked over at him, her eyes now a muted green and brown under the shade of the tree. She looked very pretty in her pink-and-white-striped skirt and pink blouse.

  “So did we men.” He chuckled and looked at her from under the rim of his bowler. “I think one of the best parts of having children around is that we get to feel and act like kids again.”

  She gave a soft laugh and nodded. “You all looked as if you were having as much fun as they were. I love Central Park. Everyone in the city is able to enjoy it, including the poor. And remember? It’s where we first met up with Kathleen and her family—although it wasn’t under the best of circumstances with her awful brother-in-law threatening her and her sister. Luke had come to their aide and Mrs. Heaton had given Kathleen one of her cards in case she ever needed a place to stay.”

  “I remember.”

  But then her expression sobered as she glanced at the family group next to them. “Those children over there have the same haunted look in their eyes as some of those in the pictures I took in the tenements. They remind me of what Kathleen’s nephews looked like when we first saw them.”

  He looked at the group and saw the children she was speaking about. She was right. John cleared his throat, seeing that heartrending look on their faces. One had to wonder what their home life was like. “I do hate that children have to live in such conditions as we’ve seen lately. That so many live in some of the buildings we’ve been into. It’s more than a shame. It’s a travesty.”

  “I know. I feel the same way,” Elizabeth said. “I do hope the Ladies’ Aide Society can keep opening child-care homes. Just think of how many families they will help!”

  His gaze traveled over Elizabeth’s face as she spoke with such feeling, finally settling on her full lips as she stopped speaking and smiled at him. His heart began to hammer against his chest as he wondered what it would be like to kiss her.

  Elizabeth suddenly jumped to her feet. Her face seemed flushed as she asked, “Would you like a piece of cake? I’m going to get one for me.”

  “I... Yes, please.”

  He watched her hurry over to where the food was laid out and released a deep breath. Had she read his mind just then? She’d seemed to catch her breath as he’d looked at her. What would she have done had he leaned over at that moment and pressed his lips to hers? Would she have responded?

  What was he thinking? It was broad daylight and they were in a public place! Besides, he wasn’t her kind and he knew it deep down. Whatever it was he felt, he’d best keep reminding himself of that fact.

  * * *

  Elizabeth took several deep breaths, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. What was wrong with her? It was just that the way he’d just looked at her had her thinking all manner of things and for a moment she’d thought he might kiss her.

  Wishful thinking on her part? No! Surely not. She and John had been around each other for several years now and she’d never thought much about his personal life—well, not that much—and never in connection to herself.

  For the most part, she’d excused his absences from dinner or outings she and the others went on because of work. And no one had ever mentioned anything about him seeing a woman or having any interest in any of the women at Heaton House. So what was the identity of the woman he might be interested in? And why did it upset her to think that there was one? For it had given her pause when he’d said there might be one earlier. And if he was interested in someone, why had he looked at her the way he had just now?

  As if... She shook her head. She’d never thought about kissing John, at least not until now. And she had no business thinking about it at all. She couldn’t become attracted to John Talbot, or any other man, for that matter. She could never trust that they wouldn’t care more about her inheritance than her, just as Richard had.

  But John didn’t know about any of that. Didn’t know she’d been engaged. Didn’t know who she really was. Did he? No. He couldn’t. But what would he think when he found out? Elizabeth took a deep breath and released it. She wasn’t going to think about that now, either.

  They were friends and that’s all they’d ever be. That was all they ever could be. She never wanted to care that much about anyone again only to find out it wasn’t her they were interested in, but the money. Suddenly she felt a little queasy.

  She cut one large slice of cake instead of two and headed back over to where John was sitting. “Here you are.” She handed him his cake, but didn’t sit down. “I need to go speak to Kathleen.”

  He looked a little puzzled, but said only, “Oh? Well, thank you for getting the cake.”

  “You’re welcome.” She turned and walked off, suddenly feeling as if she were deserting him. Whatever was wrong with her? Just because she’d had a glimpse of a different John than the one she’d always thought of, the one who was only concerned about his future and what was good for him, didn’t mean she had to go all mushy where he was concerned. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t.

  Elizabeth managed to stay away from John for the rest of the afternoon, flitting from one group to another. Along with the other women, she watched the men play ball from under the shade trees while the children napped.

  Then Mrs. Heaton and Violet, who was feeling sleepy herself, offered to watch the children while the rest of the women went for a stroll or canoeing.

  “I’ll stay, too, Mother,” Rebecca said. “It feels nice here in the shade.”

  Elizabeth, Kathleen, Colleen, Millicent and Julia all decided they didn’t have the energy to go rowing and decided to stroll in the gardens for a bit, making sure not to go too far.

  “It is a beautiful day,” Millicent said as they walked along a path filled with rosebushes. “Let me take a photo of you all.”

  “We need you in here, too,” Elizabeth said. “Let’s get someone to take one of all of us.”

  They quickly found a young man willing to let Millicent instruct him on how to use her camera and he took several shots of the women. With little effort, they persuaded him to come back to the picnic area and take photos of the whole group so that Millicent could be included.

  When they got back it was to find that the men had given up their game to help the children try out their kites again. But everyone quickly gathered under the tree while
the young man took several photos of the whole group. Mrs. Heaton updated group photos for Heaton House when new people came in and Millicent and Matt were the newest boarders.

  Elizabeth found herself next to Millicent and in front of John as they all scrambled together for the photo shoot.

  “Move in a little closer,” the young man said, trying to get them all in the shot.

  Everyone pressed together and Elizabeth found herself so close to John she couldn’t tell if it was her heart or his she felt pounding. Could it be both? She tried to concentrate on smiling for the photo and hoped it didn’t show how flustered she felt.

  But once the young man got the shots they wanted and was rewarded with the last slice of cake, Millicent took over and snapped photos of Mrs. Heaton and her family.

  Seeing them all together—Mrs. Heaton, Michael, Violet, Rebecca and Jenny—and noting the joy on their faces that they were finally together again brought a tear to Elizabeth’s eyes and she quickly hurried over to help the other women repack the picnic items and fold up the quilts they’d used. Millicent continued to snap first one and then another photo of everyone while they were gathering things up. And right before they left, she took photos of Kathleen’s family—her soon-to-be husband, sister and nephews. To see their happiness, too, brought a sudden longing along with fresh tears to Elizabeth’s eyes and she raised a hand to brush them away.

  “You all right?” John asked from behind her.

  Surprised, Elizabeth turned too quickly and lost her balance. John reached out to steady her.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I just saw you wipe your eyes and—”

  “I’m fine.” Or would be if she could get her racing pulse to slow down. “I was just moved, seeing the Heaton family reunited, and Kathleen and her family so joyful after all they’ve been through.”

  John nodded, but still held her upper arms. “It had the same effect on me.”

  She nodded and pulled away from his gentle hold. She wasn’t used to this John. The one that seemed to really care. She looked up at him and could see flecks of gold in his blue-green eyes, but it was the expression in them that had her feeling all fluttery on the inside. This had to stop. She took a step back. “I’m fine,” she repeated.

  The blue in his eyes deepened and for a moment his expression had her wanting to step back into his arms.

  “The omnibus is here to pick us up,” Mrs. Heaton called. John turned and took hold of a couple of baskets and headed out toward the omnibus. Elizabeth fell into step beside Millicent and Julia, but her heart felt heavy when she got on the bus and saw that John was sitting on the other side between Ben and Luke. Was he upset with her?

  Mrs. Heaton asked Colleen and her boys, along with her own children, back to Heaton House for supper, but they declined.

  “Jenny is worn out, Mama,” Rebecca said, looking down at the child leaning against her. “We’ll pass this time.”

  “So are Collin and Brody,” Colleen added. “I don’t think they’ll have any trouble sleeping tonight. Thank you so much for asking us to share your day.”

  “It was our pleasure,” Mrs. Heaton said. They stopped to let Colleen and her boys off at their home, then the rest of the Heatons at Michael and Violet’s, and then they headed back to Heaton House. It’d been a long, tiring day by the time they arrived and the aroma wafting in from the kitchen reminded them all it’d been a while since they’d eaten.

  They all hurried to freshen up, but Kathleen stopped her in the hall when they came out of their rooms to head back downstairs. “You were awfully quiet on the way home. I saw you and John together before we boarded the bus, but then you didn’t sit together on the way home. Are you upset with him?”

  Was she? She had no reason to be. He’d been nice and considerate of her all day. “No, of course not. I think that’s just how it happened. He got on the bus before I did.”

  “Oh, I see,” Kathleen said with a dubious look.

  “Did we look angry?” Elizabeth answered.

  “No.” Kathleen shrugged and grinned. “I’m reading things into nothing, as Luke says I do sometimes. I just wanted to make sure everything was all right between the two of you.”

  They continued downstairs, but Elizabeth wondered what had brought on Kathleen’s question. Maybe Kathleen was trying to play matchmaker? She was so happy with Luke, maybe she wanted everyone else to be in love, too.

  Well, that wasn’t going to happen. Elizabeth had no intentions of falling in love with anyone. Not again. She wasn’t going to put herself through all that pain ever again.

  * * *

  John tried to shrug off his bad mood as he shaved before heading up to dinner. He had no real reason to be upset, but he had the feeling that Elizabeth was trying to distance herself from him this afternoon and he didn’t know why. He didn’t think he’d said anything to upset her. But he supposed it was possible that he had. Of course it was possible.

  And yet, she’d been fine while they’d picnicked together, even being very complimentary of his plan to incorporate the child-care homes in his articles about the tenements. For a moment there he’d even thought... He paused, razor in hand. He’d thought about kissing her. Had to catch himself before he’d bent his head and done just that. And now he thought about it, that was when she began to be standoffish.

  He slowly wiped off his shaving cream. Had Elizabeth known what he was thinking? It was about that time she’d jumped up to go get more cake and then she’d spent the rest of the afternoon with the women. But there was nothing odd about that. He’d spent his time with the men.

  He slapped bay rum on his face before putting on a fresh shirt and collar. But she’d still seemed distant when he’d walked up and surprised her. And what was he doing trying to figure Elizabeth out? He’d never been able to figure any woman out.

  John looked in the mirror and sighed. His thoughts went back to the moment he’d realized he had wanted to kiss her. Still did, for that matter. He was more than a little attracted to her. There was no denying it. But he wasn’t going to do anything about it. His track record with women had proven one thing to him and that was never to give his heart to another. And he couldn’t let the attraction he felt for Elizabeth grow or he’d be in danger of doing just that.

  But he wasn’t willing to give up the friendship they’d managed to form—not if he didn’t have to. He’d never confided in many people in his lifetime and today—well, he’d found himself wanting to open up to Elizabeth in a way he’d never opened up to anyone else.

  He headed back upstairs wondering if it was possible to have Elizabeth’s friendship and keep from falling in love with her. Dear Lord, please let that be possible. He’d have to keep his distance. Not let himself think about her in any way other than as a fellow boarder and friend.

  He arrived upstairs just as Mrs. Heaton was calling everyone to the table. He pulled out Elizabeth’s chair for her, slid it toward the table as he always did—nothing more than using his manners at the dinner table. No one could think he was being any more than gentlemanly.

  He slid into his seat beside her and as she turned to him, he caught the scent of her hair as he had that afternoon, which made him remember wanting to kiss her and—

  Who was he kidding about only thinking of her as a friend? Something had changed today and if he wasn’t careful everyone at this table would realize it.

  Chapter Nine

  Over the next week, Elizabeth and John’s relationship seemed near normal. Maybe that was because they were both busy with their jobs and Elizabeth and Kathleen had spent several evenings at Violet and Michael’s having fittings for Kathleen’s wedding dress. Still, she hadn’t been completely able to keep her heart from giving a little jump start when he came into a room and smiled at her. Then she’d wonder if he had meant to kiss her that day in the park. Wondered
what it would have been like if he had.

  It also helped that it was baseball season and the men had taken to going to the New York Giants games when they were in town. This Saturday, they were playing the Brooklyn Bridegrooms at the Polo Field while she, Kathleen and Mrs. Heaton went to Violet’s. Michael had gone to the game with them, so it was a women-only gathering and it seemed to be a relief to the others, as well. Living in a boardinghouse with both men and women boarders was wonderful—but occasionally made it difficult to have a talk-fest for any length of time. The men never liked it much when they tried to.

  They were upstairs in a room Violet called her sewing room, but that for the time being also doubled as a small sitting room. “I am so glad that the men had something they wanted to do today,” Violet said, slipping a pin into what would be a shoulder seam of Kathleen’s dress. “Michael has been hovering over me ever since we found out I was expecting.”

  “He loves you, dear,” Mrs. Heaton said.

  “Oh, I know, Mother Heaton. And I’m so very blessed that he is the kind of man he is, but at times he can be a bit overprotective.” Violet smiled. “Of course, that comes from protecting me in the past, but still—”

  “I know that feeling.” Kathleen laughed and lifted an arm as Violet pinned the bodice in place. “Luke is worse now about my having to go into the tenements for my work than he was at the beginning.”

  Elizabeth’s heart seemed to do a little twist in her chest. Was she envious of her friends? At one time she’d dreamed of having a man love her like the men in their lives loved them. And at one time, she’d thought it possible. She’d looked forward to her wedding just as Kathleen was doing now.