Homespun Hearts (51 page)
Authors: Caroline Fyffe,Kirsten Osbourne,Pamela Morsi
P
amela Morsi is a USA Today
, Waldenbooks, and Barnes & Noble bestselling author of romance. She broke into publishing in 1991 with Heaven Sent and has been gracing readers with at least a book a year ever since. Two of her novels, Courting Miss Hattie (1992) and Something Shady (1996), won the Romance Writers of America's RITA Award, the highest honor in romance publishing, and others have been RITA finalists.
Ms. Morsi pens heartwarming stories set in Small Town, USA. Her books are famous for their wit, humor, memorable characters, and down-home charm.
L
ily Sullivan sat perched
in a branch in the tallest tree in the backyard of her parents’ home. Lily was almost thirteen, and loved her family, but wished she was allowed to dress however she liked. She scowled down at the pretty skirt she was forced to wear. Why couldn’t they just let her dress like she enjoyed for church? It was silly to have to wear skirts and impractical shoes when she was so much more comfortable in her boys’ pants and boots. She didn’t care what people thought of her, so why should they?
She heard the door open and peeked through the branches to see who was coming. Oh bother! It was her older sister Rose and one of her beaux. Rose had so many boys buzzing around her, Lily never got any peace. Her mother thought she should wear a dress anytime there was “company” at the house, and with the way Rose fluttered her lashes at the boys there was
always
“company” at the house. Most nights there were three or four extra men at dinner, which meant a skirt all evening. She hated skirts!
As she watched Rose with the boy, she immediately recognized him. He went to school with them, but was three years ahead of Rose. It was Daniel Olafsen. He was okay. He didn’t make fun of Lily the way most boys did, and he was happy to pick her for his baseball team every time. Some of the boys wouldn’t let her be on their team just because she was a girl, even though she could hit better and run faster than most of them. Why did it matter that she was a girl when they wanted to
win
?
She was swinging her legs in the tree because, well, she always did. It was fun to sit up in the tree and watch what everyone did below her. She couldn’t quite make out the conversation between Daniel and Rose, so she strained her ears to hear them. What were they saying?
Rose was looking up at Daniel with one of her sweet smiles that made Lily want to punch her in the face. “Oh, Daniel. Thank you for bringing me roses. Would you believe that rotten Tommy Jones brought me lilies last week? Does he think I’m my sister, or what?” Rose’s voice was sweet and soft. It made Lily want to vomit.
Lily rolled her eyes. Rose believed in the power of her name far too much. She thought because she was named after a flower, that particular flower belonged to her. It was crazy!
They were coming closer and she could make out Daniel’s words. “I would never bring you any flower but the most beautiful. Roses suit you.”
Rose’s tinkling laughter made Lily sick to her stomach, and that’s when she came up with her plan. She would “accidentally” drop her shoe on Rose’s head so Daniel could see what a shrew her older sister really was. No one wanted to court a woman who screamed like an idiot. And Daniel was just too good for Rose. She didn’t know why he couldn’t see that!
It wasn’t that she wanted Daniel for herself, but he was a decent boy. One of the few decent boys in school, and he just shouldn’t have to be stuck with a girl like Rose. No one should.
Lily reached down and carefully removed her slipper. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt anyone, so it would be a perfect missile. And they would think it had just fallen off her foot. Of course, Daniel would then know she was sitting in a tree, but he didn’t mind when she played baseball, so she was sure he would expect her to climb trees. Daniel was one of the good guys.
She held her shoe and at the exact moment Rose and Daniel walked below her, Lily let it fly. She threw it right at Rose’s head, but the couple shifted at the last moment, and she ended up hitting Daniel square in the forehead. Lily put her hand to her mouth, mortified. She didn’t mean to hit Daniel with it!
She leaned forward to see if she’d hurt him just as Daniel looked up to see where the slipper had come from. As she leaned forward, she lost her precarious balance in the tree and fell, landing with a swirl of skirts right on top of Daniel Olafsen. She was so embarrassed.
She looked down into his amused face and watched as the corners of his mouth crinkled up, like they always did when he was about to laugh. Looking into his eyes in that moment, Lily thought he was the most perfect boy to ever walk the face of the earth. Well, except for his feelings for Rose, of course.
Lily jumped to her feet, blushing profusely. She held her hand down to help him up. “Are you okay?”
Daniel took her hand and allowed her to help him to his feet while he laughed.
“Of course he’s not okay, you simpleton! What were you thinking? Sitting in a tree and spying on me with one of my beaux? Mother is going to be furious with you for this, Lily Sullivan!” Rose’s voice, loud and shrill, rang out through the backyard. Lily was certain she could be heard three streets over at the park. Wonderful.
“I’m so sorry, Daniel. I meant to throw the slipper at Rose’s head, and when I missed and hit you…” She trailed off, embarrassed. She hadn’t meant to admit that she’d thrown the slipper deliberately. She closed her eyes, waiting for the explosion from Rose.
When she heard the slamming of a door, she opened her eyes briefly. Rose had run into the house, obviously to get her in trouble. And she would be in trouble. A lot of trouble.
Daniel shook his head, a big grin lighting up his whole face. “I’m fine. Just amused!” His blue eyes sparkled as he laughed, and that’s when Lily knew. She’d never had any tender feelings for a boy and had really thought herself immune to them. Daniel, though? Daniel was worth having feelings for.
Lily shook her head. “I really wasn’t trying to hit you with it. You guys moved at the last second…”
Daniel laughed, the sound traveling. “I know if you were aiming, then we must have moved. You never miss your target.”
Lily stared up at Daniel. At sixteen he was only four years her senior, but at her age, that seemed a lifetime. Would he wait to marry her someday? Or would he marry Rose? She wished she could ask him to wait, but that wouldn’t be polite. She knew right then that she would never love another man, though. Someday, somehow, she’d convince him that she was meant to be his wife. Even if he did love her silly sister.
L
ily Sullivan took
a deep breath of the winter air. She was wearing one of her long pretty dresses, but underneath she had a pair of men’s pants. She couldn’t figure out why women would voluntarily be cold under their skirts when pants were so much more practical. She wished it was appropriate for her to wear men’s clothes all the time, but she knew it wasn’t. Her mother was scandalized by how much she still did it around the house. She could just hear her now. “Lily, you’re almost eighteen years old. You’re a young lady. You should be dressing carefully to capture boys’ attention. Not dressing like a hoyden!”
Lily surveyed the park. It was sunny out, but the temperatures were still too cold for most people. She didn’t mind. She actually loved winter. It was her favorite time of year. Now that she was finished with school, she loved it even more. Christmas was coming and people were scurrying about trying to come up with the best gift they could for their loved ones. In her family there was a tradition of each girl making a special gift for each one of her sisters. She loved it. All of her sisters liked pretty girl things, so she would hunt as many rabbits as she could, and use their fur for hats and gloves. Besides she loved rabbit stew, and the cook at home made a wonderful rabbit stew every time she shot a few.
In her perusal of the people in the park, she spotted him. Daniel. Daniel Olafsen. She’d been in love with Daniel since The Incident when she was twelve. She tried not to think of it as The Incident in capital letters, because it was a strange way to think, but she couldn’t help herself. Her eyes drank in the sight of him sitting there with one of his workmates. She wished he still came to her house all the time, but that had stopped when Rose was sixteen. Ever since, she’d been thrilled to see him in the park or just pass by him in town. He never failed to kiss her hand and treat her like she was the lady of his dreams, even when Rose was with her. He was a good man. The
only
man for her.
She wished she was eighteen and could just march over to him and tell him she wanted him to court her. She thought for a moment. How could she be so bold without truly being bold? Her birthday was two weeks away, so she could tell him she was available to be courted in two weeks, couldn’t she? No, too forward.
Then it came to her, and her eyes lit up. She was supposed to give a list of potential suitors to her Aunt Harriett. There were boys who had indicated interest in her, but she didn’t care. She only wanted Daniel. She could run and give Harriett her list now, with only one name on it. It wasn’t like Harriett could do anything about it. She could have Higgins investigate just Daniel, and then maybe he would agree to court her.
Lily turned toward her aunt’s house instead of approaching Daniel like she’d thought to do. She needed to have her aunt play matchmaker for her. It was the only solution!
Lily waited until she was out of the park, before she hitched her skirts up and ran the rest of the way to her aunt’s house. She’d never been able to figure out why women walked so slowly. Sure it was ladylike, but they never got anywhere! Lily hated wasting her time, and when Daniel wasn’t looking, she rarely did.
She was out of breath by the time she got to Max and Harriett’s house, but she knocked loudly, leaning forward to rest her hands on her knees. When the maid came to the door, Lily smiled at her. “Is my Aunt Harriett in?” she asked, out of breath.
The maid smiled and nodded. “She’s in her parlor with your sister, Rose. Would you like me to bring extra tea? Will you stay that long?” The maid had known her for years and knew she rarely stayed in a social situation long enough for refreshments.
Lily shook her head. “No, but could I use a piece of paper and pencil before I see her?” She hated having tea and cookies with Aunt Harriett, because her aunt always tried to help her with her manners. She did it in a nice sweet way, but Lily knew how to eat right. She just chose not to most of the time!
When she had the paper in hand, she quickly wrote something across it, and then rushed to the small parlor at the back of the house where she knew her aunt would be entertaining Rose. A slight smile crossed her face as she thought about her sister Rose. Ever since she’d married her husband, Dr. Shawn Henry, she’d become much more humble. Lily actually found herself liking her older sister, which had been a shock to her. Rose had helped her find some dresses that flattered her and taught her how to fix her hair in something other than braids. Although, she did miss her braids. They were easy.
She hurried into the room where Rose and Harriett were sitting and watching their two babies and handed Harriett the piece of paper. Harriett looked at it. “There’s only one name on here, Lily.” Harriett didn’t look pleased.
Lily shrugged. “He’s the only man I would even consider marrying.” She knew her tone was belligerent, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t about to marry someone she didn’t love just because her aunt required more names on the list.
“But I’ve seen you with men surrounding you everywhere you go.” Harriett read the name again. “Was he even one of them?” She looked at Lily skeptically, obviously knowing Lily was interested in a man who had no interest in her.
“No. I want you to see if he’s interested in me.” Lily didn’t care that Daniel hadn’t been one of the men who always followed her around. She wanted Daniel and no other. He had stopped following Rose around when her parents said no more suitors until she was eighteen as well. He was respectful that way.
Harriett groaned. “Not again. Why can’t you girls choose from the men who want to marry you instead of choosing men who don’t seem to care one way or the other?”
Lily folded her arms over her chest. “You promised to investigate the men I’m interested in. I’m interested in him and only him.” Was Aunt Harriett going to make this difficult for her? She hoped not, because she really didn’t feel like fighting with the older woman, but she would if she had to.
“I’ll let Higgins know.” Harriett sighed. “You girls sure are good at making things difficult.”
Lily picked up her nephew from the floor. “Well, Fred? Do you think he loves me?” Fred gurgled happily, and she laughed, burying her face in his throat. “I sure hope you’re right.” Fred was the only child of Rose and her husband, Dr. Shawn, and Lily loved the little rascal. She’d never thought a lot about children or becoming a mother, but little Fred sure made her think about those things.
She sat down on the floor between the two babies, noting that Harriett was holding her older child, Simon.
Rose smiled over at Lily. “Who’d you put on the list? Daniel?” Rose had guessed at her feelings for Daniel not long after she’d married Dr. Shawn.
Lily nodded, almost defiantly. “He’s the only man I’d even consider marrying!”
“I know. You’ve had feelings for him for a long time.” Rose smiled encouragingly. “He’s a nice man.”
“He is!” Lily’s face lit up at her sister’s praise of him. “And he’s smart and has a good job, and he’s loyal and…” She laughed and shook her head, realizing what an idiot she sounded like.
Harriett sighed again, setting the paper aside. “I hope your sisters aren’t as difficult to match as the two of you!”
Lily and Rose looked at each other, both of them laughing. “You haven’t begun to match make the Sullivans yet, Aunt Harriett!” Rose smiled encouragingly, but made it clear they were not the most difficult of the bunch.
D
aniel ran
his hands over his face, tired after his long day at work. He enjoyed working for Fred Sullivan. He was a good boss, but he hoped he’d still be a good boss when he started courting his daughter. Lily’s birthday was just a week away, and he planned to ask for her father’s permission to court her just as soon as he could muster up the courage. Even if he lost his job over it, which he was sure he wouldn’t, Lily would be worth it.
He was always startled to think back and realize he’d once thought he loved Rose. He had no idea what he’d been thinking when he’d tried to court her. Rose was so…perfect and flighty. She was better now that she’d married, of course, but he definitely preferred Lily. With Lily you never knew what was going to be said or done. She was going to surprise you somehow. He smiled as he thought about her.
She’d been a tall gangly redhead, with long braids, but in the past year, she’d slowed down some, not running everywhere, and started to wear dresses more instead of pants. She wore her hair up now, instead of dangling down her back in braids. Her smile made his heart beat faster. She’d gone from a sweet young girl to a beautiful lady, and he hoped she’d let him be her beau. Everywhere she went she was surrounded by boys, though, just as Rose had been. He could always see by her face that she wished they’d leave her alone.
He looked toward Fred Sullivan’s door and wondered if now was a good time to talk to him. Yes, it was still two weeks before Lily turned eighteen, but surely the competition for her would be fierce. What man wouldn’t want a woman as sweet and beautiful as she was? Who would be willing to spend an entire Saturday afternoon fishing? He sighed. In his mind, Lily Sullivan was right. Rose may have been perfect, but she wouldn’t have made him happy. Lily would make any man happy.
Fred came out of his office and walked over to Daniel. Now was his chance. “Have you balanced your drawer?” Fred asked. Daniel was one of three tellers in the bank Fred Sullivan owned and managed.
“Yes, sir. It’s all done.” The other two tellers had left early because they rarely had a lot of people there late on Thursday afternoons. Fridays were their busy days and they’d all have to work late on Friday.
Fred glanced down at Daniel and smiled. “Good job. Let’s go home. Tomorrow will be a madhouse, as usual.” Daniel had worked for Fred since graduating four years previously, and he couldn’t think of something he’d rather do.
Daniel nodded, stood up and followed Fred to the safe with the money from his drawer. They locked it up carefully, and Fred locked the door. “Would it be okay if I talked to you about something, sir?” Daniel asked, his face red and his hands clammy. He needed to just spit it out and get it over with.
Fred looked over at him. He was a tall thin man, and Daniel was one of the few men he knew who matched him in height. “What can I do for you?” Daniel knew he’d been the man’s favorite employee since he started working there.
Daniel cleared his throat looking down at his feet. “Well, I was wondering if I might have your permission to court Lily.” He said the words quickly, hoping against hope his boss would agree to his proposal.
Fred smiled and nodded. “I think that would be just fine. Make sure you ask her yourself, though, because she’ll be eighteen in just a week, and she’s probably talking to her aunt about which men she wants investigated right now.”
“Investigated?” Daniel was confused and shook his head.
“My sister-in-law, Harriett Farmer, insists on investigating the men that each of the girls wishes to be courted by. She wants to make sure none of the girls are hurt by a man. So before the girls turn eighteen, they need to give a list of men they’re interested in to Harriett to be investigated. She picks the best of the three, and then the girl gets to pick from those three.”
Daniel’s heart sank. Could he survive the kind of competition he knew would come from trying to court Lily? “I’ll talk to her, sir.” As soon as he could get up the courage to approach her. He’d had no problem talking to Rose about his feelings, because they hadn’t been real, he realized now. He’d thought he was in love with her, so he’d been cocky and chased after her. His feelings for Lily were so strong, he was afraid one unkind word from her would break his heart. It was a good thing Lily wasn’t given to unkind words.
He turned toward his home and saw a familiar man standing in front of him. Wasn’t that the man Harriett Farmer had brought along as her butler when she’d arrived in town as a mail order bride? What was his name again? Hillman? Hickman? He knew it started with an “H”.
The man held out a letter. “This is for you.”
Daniel stared down at the letter in his hand. “For me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m sorry, I know I’ve seen you, but I don’t remember your name.” He didn’t need his name, but he knew it would bother him until he did finally recall what it was.
“John Higgins.”
“That’s it! I knew it started with an ‘H’.” Daniel stared down at the letter in his hand, not recognizing the handwriting. “Does the letter need an immediate reply?”
“It would be preferred, if you don’t mind.” Higgins watched him as he opened the letter and read through it silently.
Daniel stared down at the words on the page, hoping against hope, they meant what he wanted them to mean. “Mr. Olafsen, I would appreciate it if you would join me at my home for tea on Sunday at two. I have some important personal business I would like to discuss with you. Sincerely, Harriett Farmer.”
He looked up and met Higgins’ eyes. “I’ll be there. Thank you.”
Daniel walked home with a dreamy smile on his face, ignoring the cold December wind. It had to be that Lily was interested in him. What else could it be? He couldn’t wait to ask her if he could court her.
D
aniel took
the seat he was offered in a small parlor in Max Farmer’s home. It was one of the wealthiest homes in the city, but no better than he’d been raised in. His own home was far smaller, and he only had one servant, but he had no real financial problems. He just didn’t have the kind of wealth it took to build a home like this.
Once he was seated, he turned to Mrs. Farmer and smiled. “I was pleased to receive your invitation,” he said. He hoped she’d get right to the point and tell him why he was there.
Harriett nodded. “I’m glad you accepted.” She poured out three cups of tea, because Higgins was seated on the sofa beside Mrs. Farmer. “Would you care for sugar or milk?”