A Hope Undaunted (36 page)

“Oh, finally! Give those to Patrice, will you, Horace? They’re sunglasses to add to the swimsuit display she set up last month. Apparently Sam Foster’s new invention is selling like hotcakes on the beaches of Atlantic City, and we’re lucky to get them. And, thank you.”

“Yes, ma’am, will do.” Horace disappeared as quickly as he had come.

Katie cocked a brow. “
Sun
glasses?”

“They’re all the rage, apparently, and Sam Foster stands to make a killing, according to Mitch. But thanks to his connections at the
Herald
, we’ve been able to get our hands on a few even before Filene’s.” Emma dabbed the last of her egg into the salt and popped it in her mouth. She smiled and finished chewing. “So, Katie Rose . . . when can your Alli Moser start?”

Katie’s heart stopped for the briefest of moments before she launched up with a squeal to give Emma a hug. “Oh, I knew it! The moment I heard about Alli’s plight, I thought of you, Emma. With all the hardship you’ve been through in your life, I just knew you would understand. I can bring Alli by anytime – just give me the word.”

Emma’s smile edged into a frown. “The braces on her legs – is walking difficult for her? How will she get here?”

“It certainly seems cumbersome to you and me, I know, but Alli appears to take it all in stride. She moves slowly, but it doesn’t hinder her mobility. As far as getting to the store, she lives at the BSCG until she turns eighteen, and that’s just a trolley ride away.”

“What happens when Alli turns eighteen – where will she go?” Emma asked, eyes sloped with concern.

Katie released a weighty sigh and sat down, her euphoria ebbing away. “We don’t know yet. Miss Lillian – the director of the BSCG – is looking for a home for Alli right now, but she hasn’t had much luck.” Katie idly grated teeth to lip and looked up, desperate to win Emma’s favor, and in the process, a home for Alli. Her breath stilled in her lungs. “Any ideas?”

Emma stared at Katie and for the first time saw a resemblance to Charity. Not so much in the physical sense, although both were beautiful women who turned their fair share of heads, but more so from the glint of steel in their striking blue eyes whenever they were on a mission.

Like now.

Emma knew that over the years Katie had challenged her parents and family with a headstrong nature and a drive to achieve whatever she set her mind to, much like Charity. Both were tough, stubborn women who seldom revealed their softer side. And yet one of the things that Emma loved most about Charity was her tender, vulnerable heart, once calloused and hidden well beneath layers of hurt. Studying Charity’s sister now, Emma suspected it was much the same with Katie, but she wasn’t sure why. Where Charity’s demons had stemmed from a childhood trauma when she was small, Katie had always lived a charmed life, it seemed – Marcy’s “baby” who was always catered to because of her demanding nature. Emma fought the quirk of a smile as she reached for her apple.

“Ideas?” she repeated quietly, apple poised at her lips.

Katie straightened in the chair and leaned forward, the intensity in her eyes as compelling as the strong jut of her chin. “Yes – ideas –
any
ideas. Perhaps a young woman at the store with whom she might share a flat . . . or a kind customer who’d consider renting out a room. Or even a landlord you know who would be fair and kind.” Katie gripped the edge of the desk with fingers pinched pale, her gaze piercing Emma to the core. “
Anyone
, Emma, who possesses a heart as big as Alli’s . . . who can help her, care for her, and love her like she deserves.”

Emma stared, fully understanding the spell Katie O’Connor wielded, not only over Jack Worthington, one of the most eligible young men in Boston’s social scene, but the group of friends that always flocked to her side. Although her stature was petite, there was nothing small about the confidence she exuded through every pore of her porcelain skin, from the sculptured lift of her manicured brow to the tight press of those full and determined lips. That same spell now brought a smile to Emma as she bit into the apple, a flood of flavor bursting onto her tongue. She chewed slowly, savoring both the sweet fruit in her mouth and the sweet fruit she saw in Charity’s little sister. A little sister who had always seemed somewhat removed from the rest of her family because of her aloof nature, sassy tongue, and biting wit. And, Emma thought with silent gratitude, a sister who’d obviously taken great pains to guard a tender heart.

“Well . . . ,” Emma said softly, “I suppose your Alli could move in with me for a while until we find her a room of her own. My flat is tiny and cramped, mind you, but it’s only a few blocks away from the store, and the trolley covers the route – ”

“Oh, Emma!” Katie shot up and, as tiny as she was, hoisted Emma from the chair in a jubilant hug. “I just knew it. I have to admit, I wanted this so badly, that I actually resorted to prayer, if you can believe that. And I swear that right off, something whispered your name in my ear – ‘go see Emma’ – and it was right!”

Emma grinned and squeezed Katie back. “He always is,” she said with a soft chuckle.

Katie released her hold and plopped back into the chair with a loud exhale. Her smile turned curious. “By ‘he,’ you mean God, I suppose.”

Something about the skeptical slant in Katie’s brow caused Emma’s stomach to flutter. It was no secret Katie didn’t share her family’s allegiance to God, a concern voiced by both Faith and Charity on more than one occasion.

Emma eased back into her chair with a prayer in her heart, and gave Katie a shy smile. “I do – the Holy Spirit, in particular – that still, quiet voice.”

The cool guard Katie always wore so well shifted into place, a ceramic mask with a tight-lipped smile. “It was nothing more than a thought, Emma. I seriously doubt that any deity was whispering in my ear.”

Emma leaned forward to prop her elbow on the desk, chin in hand. “Really? Why?”

Katie blinked. “Because God doesn’t intervene in people’s lives like that – at least he never has in mine.”

Her smile softened. “He just did, Katie. First when he brought you into Alli’s life as an answer to her prayer . . . and then when he brought you to me, in answer to yours.”

“Coincidence,” Katie said in a clipped tone, her back pressed hard against her chair.

“Could be,” Emma said quietly, “but it’s been my experience that it’s not. When coincidences start piling up, you start to notice a trend.”

“A trend?” Katie folded her arms with a smile. “What, that some Being up in the sky is whispering in my ear?”

“Yes.” Emma’s tone softened with reverence. “And that there is a God in heaven who aches inside to love you and bless you and answer your prayers.”

The smile faded on Katie’s lips. “How can you say that, Emma? You, of all people – after all the pain you’ve suffered in your life?”

Emotion thickened in Emma’s throat as she stared at the young woman before her, and her heart wrenched at the hardness she saw etched in her face. “It’s because of the pain in my life that I can say that, Katie, because it’s that same pain that brought me to him.”

“But aren’t you angry at God for what happened? Your marriage, your scars?”

“No, Katie, I get angry at sin – mine and Rory’s, because it was sin that brought pain into my life and robbed me of the blessings of God – not God himself. You see, when I was not much younger than you, I fell in love with Rory against my father’s wishes. He warned me to keep away from him, but I didn’t listen.” Emma sank back into her chair, memories from her past flooding her with regret. “I was young and naïve and so very much in love that I didn’t care that Rory was prone to drink, didn’t care that he didn’t share my faith.” A shiver rippled through her as her eyes trailed into a distant stare. “Didn’t care that he lured me into sin . . .”

Emma straightened her shoulders to shake off the awful melancholy that still haunted her soul. “When I said I was going to marry Rory, my father cut me off – said I was dead to him and could never come home. So when Rory’s true colors began to show with his drinking and temper and womanizing . . . well, I had nowhere else to go.” Emma drew in a deep breath and locked gazes with Katie. “Nowhere but God.”

Katie stared in silence, her arm limp on Emma’s desk. Although her mask was still in place, her eyes were moist with compassion.

“So you see, when my family and Rory abandoned me, God did not. Yes, Rory beat me and scarred me and cheated on me, but God saw to it that I had favor at the shop where Charity and I worked, both with the clientele and the owner who taught me the skills I use in running the store today.” A mischievous smile tugged at her lips. “That is, until your sister came along. But even that he worked out for my good. Not only did he give me the dearest friend I have ever known, but he blessed me with a life in Boston with her family and her store, both of which have allowed me more joy than I ever dreamed possible.” Emma reached to touch Katie’s hand. “He will do the same for your precious Alli, I’m certain. And if you call on him, he will do the same for you. Whatever your hurts or fears or scars, Katie – call on him. He’s waiting to love you like you’ve never been loved before.”

Katie slowly removed her hand from the desk and offered a nervous smile. “I don’t know, Emma, it all sounds wonderful, but God . . . prayer, well, I’m the type of person who deals with facts, not fantasy, and to be honest, I’m just not sure that it’s real.”

Emma’s smile was peaceful. “I understand, Katie, but I can tell you this – you won’t know till you try.”

A blush stained Katie’s cheeks as she quickly rose, indicating her awkwardness with the discussion. “Well, I’m not sure I’m ready to turn my life over to another authority figure just yet, because as you know, my father already holds a pretty tight rein. But I will agree you have been an answer to prayer for both Alli Moser and me today, so I promise to give your suggestion some definite thought.”

Emma stood to her feet. “Give it some thought if you will, but with your heart, Katie, not your head. That’s where he resides, you know, when you invite him in – in your heart. And it’s where faith grows to heal a wounded soul.” After wrapping Katie in a tight hug, Emma smiled and led her to the door. “Now, when can you bring Alli by so I can meet her? I have paperwork she’ll need to fill out.”

“How about tomorrow? I can stop by the BSCG right now on my way back to tell her.”

“Perfect!” Emma said, opening the door. “Have a good day, Katie.”

“I will,” Katie said, and then taking Emma by surprise, she whirled around and swallowed her up in a ferocious hug. “Oh, Emma, thank you
so
much – I am so excited! I’ll tell you what – Alli Moser has no idea how her life is about to change.”

A soft chuckle tumbled from Emma’s lips as she returned Katie’s embrace. “No . . . no, she doesn’t, does she?” she whispered with a catch in her throat. A grin tugged at her smile while she squeezed with all of her might.
And neither
do you, Katie Rose . . . neither do you.

“Teddy finally asleep?” Filling a kettle for tea, Faith turned at the sink to smile at Lizzie who hurried into her kitchen, cheeks flushed and a hand fanning her face.

“Yes, thank heavens,” Lizzie said, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. She gave Charity’s shoulder a quick squeeze on her way to the cabinet where she kept her teacups and saucers. She shot a glance at the clock and toted the dishes to the kitchen table, clinking them down next to an African violet that looked as wilted as she. She sagged into a kitchen chair with a groan. “I really appreciate you two coming here to plan Mother and Father’s anniversary party – it makes it so much easier for me. Do you think Mother suspected anything?”

“Nope,” Faith said, “I dropped the girls off, and the woman was so thrilled to have children underfoot again, she didn’t even ask where I was going.
And
, she even let Gabe stay home and play hooky from school today.” She scrounged inside Lizzie’s pantry for tea and then turned to squint at her sisters. “Earl Gray or Lavender?”

“Lavender – I suspect Lizzie could use the calming effect,” Charity answered. She sighed and shook her head. “Father isn’t going to like that – Gabe playing hooky –
if
he even finds out.” An evil grin sprouted on her lips. “Mother is really something, though, isn’t she? Married almost thirty-five years, and the woman still can’t let go of raising children. You would think with all the trouble Steven and Katie have been, she’d welcome the change of life with open arms. But no, two children at home and six grandchildren underfoot are still not enough – she has to badger Father into a foster child too.”

Faith grinned. “Gabe is as cute as a bug’s ear. Even though I have a feeling she’s going to make Katie look like a cherub.” She made the sign of the cross. “God bless Patrick O’Connor.”

“Speaking of Katie,” Charity ventured as she picked at her nails, “is anybody else as tentative as I am about Katie’s engagement to Jack?”

Fragrant steam misted Faith’s face as she steeped tea in the kettle, her brows bunched in thought. “I definitely am. Not only has Katie never given any indication she’s madly in love with Jack, but neither of them seem to have much of a spiritual base, you know? As if God is no more to them than Sunday morning mass.” Faith sighed. “I guess I have to admit, it doesn’t thrill me to the bones.”