Handpicked Husband (Love Inspired Historical) (24 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

J
udge Madison insisted Adam stay at his home, and Adam was happy to oblige. He missed Jack and Regina more than he’d have thought and it was good to be around someone else who knew them.

Just before she’d gotten on the train, Regina had pulled him aside.

“I can’t leave without telling you two very important things,” she’d said. “I want you to listen carefully, and I don’t want you to try to respond.”

She definitely had his attention. “Very well.”

“First, I need you to know that no matter how this quest of yours works out, it won’t change how I feel. I
know
you are innocent, and whether or not you prove it to the rest of the world, you don’t need to try to prove it to me.”

Something warm settled in his chest at those words. Did she know what a gift she’d given him?

“And secondly...” Regina fiddled with her collar a moment, then straightened and looked him right in the eye “...I love you.”

Adam went very still inside, not certain what he felt. He couldn’t remember anyone ever saying those words to him before. “I—”

She placed a finger to his lips. “No, don’t say anything. I didn’t say that to make you uncomfortable or to try to force a similar declaration from you. And I don’t expect it to change anything between us. I just said it because it’s how I feel and I wanted you to know.” She stepped back with an overly bright smile. “Now hurry and get this investigation over with and come home to us.” With that she’d turned and walked away.

He still wasn’t sure how he felt about her declaration, wasn’t certain anymore what his own feeling were. So instead of thinking too much about it, he threw himself into his investigation. At the end of two weeks he had the proof he needed—at least proof enough to convince himself that he finally knew the truth. Lawrence Hadley—a man he’d called friend, who’d moved in the same circles, worked at the same law office, visited in his residence—was the real culprit. Not only had he stolen that money, but two months after Adam was sentenced to jail, he’d married Emma, Adam’s former fiancée. He’d not only stolen the money, he’d stolen Adam’s life.

With a keen sense of anticipation, Adam climbed up Hadley’s front steps that afternoon and knocked on his door. As he waited for someone to answer, he cynically admired the impressive facade in the expensive neighborhood. It seemed Hadley had done well for himself since Adam had last seen him. Had he only committed extortion the one time, or had there been other cases?

A servant opened the door and took Adam’s name, asking him to wait in the entryway. Would Hadley refuse to see him? No matter, Adam would not be turned away.

But when the servant returned, he indicated Adam was to follow down the hallway. Within moments, Adam and Lawrence Hadley were alone in the man’s study.

Hadley remained seated at his desk, a cautious look on his face. “Hello, Adam. You’re looking well.”

“As are you.” But not for long.

“I must admit to being surprised to see you here. If you are looking to get your old job back—”

“I know.”

Hadley tried to cover his wince with a cough. “You know what?”

“I know it was you who stole that money and framed me six years ago.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Oh, no. I have someone who saw you make those false entries in the books, and who’ll swear to it in court.”

This time Hadley’s face paled. “Even if that were possible, no one will believe him after all this time.”

“Perhaps, but why don’t we let the courts decide?”

“Listen, Adam, I—”

The door burst open and a little girl who looked to be slightly younger than Jack ran into the room. “Poppa, Poppa, we saw a hot air balloon at the park.”

Hadley scooped up the child, but before he could say anything, a little boy with an irritated expression on his face entered as well. “Alice, you were supposed to let me tell him.”

“You can both tell me all about it later,” Hadley said, casting a pleading look Adam’s way. “But right now I have company and we’re discussing business.”

The two children studied Adam with curious expressions, but before they could say anything, Adam heard someone else enter the room behind him.

“I’m sorry, Lawrence, they got away from me. And I didn’t know you had company.”

Adam was quite familiar with that voice. He stood and as soon as he turned, she gasped and her hand went to her throat.

“Adam!”

“Hello, Emma. You’re looking as beautiful as ever.” And she did. But somehow, her beauty didn’t affect him as it once had. He found himself comparing her elegant features and blond coloring to a more down-to-earth lady with dark hair, blue-green eyes and a smile that could light his world.

Her gaze flew to her husband’s and then back to him. “How...how nice to see you. What—”

“Emma,” her husband said firmly, “Adam and I have business to discuss. Would you and the children excuse us for the moment?”

“Of course.”

Adam saw the worry furrow her brow, saw the unspoken messages pass between them, the body language that expressed concern, and realized with surprise that these two seemed to genuinely love each other.

Then the little boy stopped in front of him on the way out. “If you’ve come to my poppa for help, don’t you worry. He’s the best lawyer in all of Philadelphia.”

As the door closed behind the three of them, Adam wondered what this little boy and his sister would feel when their father was unveiled as a criminal.

He turned back to his former friend. “Does Emma know?”

Hadley, who now looked years older than he had when Adam walked in, shook his head. “No one does.”

“Why did you do it?” Not that it mattered. The man had committed a crime and had to pay.

“I was madly in love with Emma, but she only had eyes for you. I thought, perhaps if I had money to buy her nice gifts that perhaps I could win her away.” He leaned forward earnestly. “I never intended to frame you. I thought I could pay it back before anyone discovered the money was missing. Then, when the theft
was
discovered, everything just sort of spiraled out of control.”

He raked a hand through his hair. “I know I was a coward to let you take the blame, and I’ve hated myself for it ever since.” He leaned back, an air of hopelessness surrounding him. “So what do we do now?”

Adam couldn’t get the image of those two little children out of his mind. “Have you stolen any more?”

“No, absolutely not. I learned my lesson.”

Vengeance belongs to God.
“Can you pay back what you stole?”

“Why, yes, but—”

“No buts. You need to pay back every penny. You can do it anonymously, if you wish, but it has to go back.”

At the word anonymously, a small light of hope slid into Hadley’s expression. “Does this mean you’re not going to accuse me publicly?”

Adam stood. “As long as you pay back what you stole—and rest assured, I’ll know. I’m also going to have my eye on you in the future. If I so much as get a hint that you’ve committed any such crime again, then our deal is off.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll never have reason to be sorry. I don’t know how to thank—”

“Don’t thank me. I’m not doing this for you, I’m doing it for your children.” And for myself. “No child should have to grow up in the shadow of their father’s sins.”

Adam left Hadley’s home feeling oddly off kilter. He’d waited so long to clear his name, and now, when it was within reach, he’d thrown the chance away. Had he done the right thing?

All his life he’d tried to prove that his mother had been wrong. That he was worth caring about.

He’d studied harder, worked harder, tried harder than everyone around him. By doing so he’d not only graduated at the top of his class, but had become junior partner in a prestigious law firm in record time.

He’d taken on impossible cases against tough opponents and had come out the winner.

He’d pursued the most sought-after woman in Philadelphia and won her favor.

But as soon as the first whisper of scandal attached itself to his name, all those accomplishments counted for naught. Like his mother, nearly everyone he cared about had turned their back on him.

Yet Regina had said she loved him. And he’d let her go without responding, because deep inside, he knew he hadn’t done anything to earn that love. And he knew, he
absolutely
knew, that you only received approval and acceptance if you proved yourself worthy of it in some fashion.

Regina
loved
him.

Something inside him, some weight that had been there so long he’d ceased to feel it, began to crumble, then evaporate entirely. His world shifted from one heartbeat to the next, leaving him with a lost, almost dizzy feeling.

Then he straightened.

It was time he headed back to Turnabout.

* * *

Reggie strolled down the quiet street, a decided bounce to her step. Adam was due back tomorrow and she couldn’t wait to see him again. There hadn’t been any hint in his telegram as to whether or not he’d cleared his name, but they could discuss that when he arrived.

She’d have a lot to tell him, too. Things had been happening in Turnabout while he was away. The most startling bit of news was dark and sad. The person who stole the fair money turned out to be Pierce himself, who’d ended up committing suicide rather than facing the music. It turned out he’d been skimming funds from the bank to help support his wife’s expensive tastes and Adam’s talk of looking at the ledgers had made him desperate.

On the brighter side, Ira and Mrs. Peavy were doing better now. Both had gotten up for a little while yesterday and this morning, and according to Doc Pratt they were well on their way to a full recovery. And Ira had the irritable disposition to prove it.

And her three suitors were settling into the community quite nicely. Everett had already begun printing the paper weekly, Chance had become enamored with the motor carriage and had decided he wanted to work with mechanical conraptions and Mitchell was preparing for the first day of school which would start in just a little over a week.

Her thoughts circled back around to Adam, as they frequently did, and she wondered what he’d thought of her train-side declaration. Had he accepted it as the no-strings-attached gift she’d meant it to be, or had it merely made him uncomfortable? Would it change anything about their relationship, and if so, what?

Gradually she became aware of a racket coming from somewhere nearby. It sounded like a man singing, though he definitely had more fervor than talent. In fact, he wasn’t much better than she was, though she admired his enthusiasm.

Reggie turned, trying to identify where it was coming from. Her eyes widened and she stopped in her tracks.

Adam was riding down the road atop the strangest wagon she’d ever seen, singing at the top of his voice.

People were coming out of their houses to see what was going on. As soon as they caught sight of Adam, most of them stood grinning and watching the show.

When Adam drew up beside her he set the brake, grabbed a bouquet of flowers from the seat beside him and jumped to the ground.

Reggie’s heart stuttered, then beat faster. But she was afraid to believe this meant what it seemed to. “I thought you weren’t getting in until tomorrow.”

“I managed to get away sooner that I’d thought. And I couldn’t wait to see you again.”

Her pulse kicked up a notch. “You couldn’t?”

He took her hand. “I’ve finally come to my senses. I’ve been every kind of fool, Regina. You offered me your love and instead of seizing it like the precious gift it was, I let you walk away.”

The look in his eyes revived that stubborn spark of hope. “But what about—”

He moved his hand to her lips. “I
said
I’ve been a fool. You did what you did with Jack as an act of love, not of selfishness, I understand that now. You’ve given him your love, unselfishly, and I will never forgive myself for calling that an ugly thing.”

Did he truly forgive her? “Oh, Adam—”

“Let me finish. You are a caring, brave and generous woman, and I don’t deserve you. But your spirit is embedded deep within my heart and soul, and if you took it away from me I would shrivel up into the half-man I was before.”

His words entranced her, touched her deeply. No one had ever said such things to her, spoken to her with such vulnerable honesty. “I would never take back that which is so fully yours.”

To the delight of the growing number of onlookers, Adam got down on one knee.

Reggie felt her cheeks warm. “What are you doing? Stand up this instant.”

Adam only smiled. “When you learned about your grandfather’s scheme, you said you wanted it all—flowers, gifts, love songs, pretty words. Well, you didn’t get any of that and I think it’s time you did.”

With a flourish, he offered her the bouquet. “Here are your flowers, the first of many more to come if you’ll accept them. And this wagon is your gift. You can decide how you want it decorated and I’ll follow your instructions to the letter.” He gave a self-deprecating smile. “The love song you already heard, which gives you some indication why you haven’t heard it before.”