Stealing Jake (21 page)

Jake stared at him, the wind nearly knocked out of his chest. “There was no next of kin?”

“None.”

“But why? Seamus knew none of us planned to open the mine back up.”

“Seamus came to see me not long after the mine explosion. He knew his health wasn’t the best, and he asked me to prepare a will and keep it at the bank.”

“So you’ve known all this time?”

Stillman nodded. “He asked me not to say anything until he died. He wasn’t a talkative man, but of all the shareholders, he knew he could count on you to do the right thing. He said when the chips were down, you’d do what needed to be done.”

Jake placed his palms on the paper-strewn desk and leaned back. “Mr. Stillman, I appreciate you telling me all this, but it doesn’t change a thing.”

“Other than the fact that you own 50 percent of the mine now.”

“That’s 50 percent I don’t want or need.”

Chapter Sixteen

Jake patted Miss Nellie on the shoulder and surveyed the damage to the boardinghouse’s café. “Don’t worry, Miss Nellie. Harvey will have everything set to right in no time.”

“But why would someone break in to my café?” She dabbed her eyes with a lacy handkerchief. “We don’t have anything of value.”

“They’re looking for money, food, or anything they can sell for cash.”

Miss Nellie gazed at him with red-rimmed eyes. “If they’re hungry, all they’ve got to do is ask. There wasn’t any need to tear things apart.”

Jake nodded. Miss Nellie would never turn a hungry child away. And neither would the orphanage. Which was why he couldn’t understand why these children wouldn’t go there. Livy insisted they were afraid. Afraid of what? Livy? Mrs. Brooks? Nothing to fear there. Unless he counted the way Livy made his heart pound. And the longer she held him at arm’s length, the worse the feeling got.

“Jake? Are you all right?”

Jake blinked and saw Miss Nellie staring at him, confusion lining her eyes.

“I’m fine. Just thinking.”

“Look at this mess.” Miss Nellie wiped her eyes again, then stuffed her hankie into an apron pocket.

Tables and chairs lay topsy-turvy, scattered across the floor as if an angry bull had rampaged through. Miss Nellie’s prized checkerboard tablecloths dotted the carnage. She trudged across the room, reached down and picked up a tablecloth, shook it out, and started folding it into a small neat square, sniffling as she went.

Jake set the tables and chairs to rights in no time and stepped into the kitchen. He spotted Harvey trying to tilt a corner pie safe upright. “Here, let me help you with that.”

The two righted the cabinet and pushed the furniture into the corner where it had sat as long as Jake could remember. Many a night since he’d started boarding with the Bakers’, he’d raided that pie safe for a piece of Miss Nellie’s chocolate cake or apple pie.

Too bad he hadn’t been around last night. Maybe he would have heard the commotion. Nobody else had. Harvey couldn’t hear spit, and Miss Nellie slept like the dead.

Harvey grabbed a bucket and tossed a pie in. Jake hunkered down and salvaged two loaves of bread wrapped in cheesecloth. “Harvey, do you know what’s missing?”

“Huh?”

Jake raised his voice. “Anything missing?”

“The money from the cash box.”

“The one Miss Nellie kept in the pie safe?”

“Yeah. Been telling her for years not to leave it there. But she wouldn’t listen. Said if somebody needed it more than she did, they were welcome to it.”

“Well, I guess somebody took her at her word.” Jake sat back on his heels, elbows resting on his knees, and surveyed the damage. Harvey dumped another ruined pie in the bucket.

Miss Nellie stepped into the kitchen, still dabbing at her eyes.

Jake stood, tossed an arm around her shoulders, and gave her a hug. “Everything will be fine, Miss Nellie. We’ll find out who did this.”

“I’m sure they had a good reason.” She patted his shirtfront with a gnarled hand. “Now, don’t you be too rough on them youngsters when you find ’em. They’re just children, after all. If we could get ’em in church, that’d do them a sight more good than jail.”

Jake sighed as he looked into her kind face, lined with age and wisdom. He was probably looking at Livy O’Brien sixty years from now. Almost too tenderhearted for her own good.

She glanced around her kitchen, looking a bit confused. “I’m sorry you missed breakfast, Jake, but when I came down and saw this mess, I got so upset, I didn’t know what to do.”

“Tell you what. When Harvey and I get everything straightened up, we’ll let you treat us to some fried ham, biscuits, and gravy.” He raised his voice. “How’s that sound, Harvey?”

Harvey swiped at some gooey apple pie filling on the floor. “Best news I’ve had all day.”

* * *

Livy finished sweeping the spiderwebs from the upstairs bedrooms, then cleaned the washroom. The harsh Illinois winters kept the inhabitants of the orphanage confined close to the warmth of the kitchen, but they’d had a few days of sunshine to chase a bit of the cold away. The children would start sleeping upstairs as soon as the weather allowed.

A door slammed, followed by the boys’ raucous laughter. . . . Seth and Georgie must have come in from the cold. Moments later, they raced upstairs, grinning from ear to ear. “Tommy’s here.”

Livy’s heart rate spiked. Jake as well? Tommy’s dark hair and freckled face popped up on the stairwell a few steps below Seth. She smiled at him. “Hello, Tommy.”

The boy grinned, looking like a kid version of Jake. “Morning, Miss Livy.”

The three boys tore down the stairwell, rattling the walls. Seth hollered over his shoulder, “Mrs. Brooks said to come downstairs. We’ve got visitors.”

Livy hurried into the washroom and smoothed her flyaway curls. Frowning, she eyed the cobwebs sticking to her brown dress. She shouldn’t have worn the brown to clean in, but it was too late now. She swiped at the gossamer threads to no avail. “Oh, drat it.” Cobwebs or no, she didn’t have time to change.

She hurried down the stairs, passed the parlor, and saw Jake’s sisters with Mary and the other girls. Mrs. Brooks and Mrs. Russell were in the kitchen digging through a box of clothes. Livy tamped down a twinge of disappointment when she didn’t see Jake. Mrs. Brooks smiled, her face beaming. “Look, Livy, Mrs. Russell brought some clothes Tommy and the girls have outgrown.”

Livy peeked in the box and pulled out a pair of twill pants. “Oh, these should be perfect for Georgie.”

“And look.” Mrs. Brooks held up a tiny smocked dress. “This should fit Grace. Isn’t it darling?”

A shriek sounded from outside, and Mrs. Russell pressed a hand to her heart. “My word, what was that?”

Livy glanced out the window. “Seth fell out of the tree, but he’s fine. The snow cushioned his fall.” She laughed. “Looks like they’ve discovered a new game. That should keep them busy for a while.”

“If it doesn’t give me a heart attack in the process.”

The shared laughter felt good.

Mrs. Brooks poured coffee, and Livy carried the cups to the table. “Do you take cream? Sugar?”

“Just a little sugar, thank you.”

“How are Susie and the baby?”

“Both are fit as a fiddle. I’m having a hard time keeping Susie from overdoing it, but other than that, they’re doing fine.”

“We’re so glad you stopped by. The children will be thrilled with the clothes.”

“It’s the least I could do.” Jake’s mother sipped her coffee and smiled at Livy. “Actually, I wanted to invite you and Mary over again. The girls have been pestering me all week.” She covered her mouth as her eyes grew wide. Then she laughed, her eyes twinkling. “Oh, my goodness. That sounded like I was only inviting you two because of the girls. The truth is, I’d love to have you visit again. And, Mrs. Brooks, when the weather clears, you’ll have to bring all the children out to the farm. We’ll make a day of it.”

“That’s too much trouble for you, Mrs. Russell.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble. Jake always comes for Sunday dinner, and he’ll be more than happy to bring the girls with him. By the way, have you seen him lately? I’ve been so busy helping Susie with the baby that I’ve missed seeing him when he comes out to the farm.”

Sudden heat filled Livy’s face. The last time she’d seen Jake, he’d kissed her. And to her shame, she’d kissed him back. Then told him she only wanted to be friends. Had he taken her at her word and given up so easily? Did she want him to honor her wishes or see through her fear and listen to her heart?

She mumbled something about having seen him on Tuesday.

Mrs. Russell sighed. “Since his father died, he’s taken on a huge load of responsibility for all of us. I keep telling him we can manage fine without the extra income from his job as deputy, but we suffered a terrible crop this past year. He’s afraid if we have another bad year, we might lose the farm.”

Mrs. Brooks reached out and clasped her hand. “Surely it’s not that bad, is it?”

Tears filled Mrs. Russell’s eyes, and she blinked them away. “We can only pray that it won’t be.”

Chapter Seventeen

Jake handed Livy up into the wagon and placed a quilt over her knees. Her gaze met his. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He winked, and her breath caught in her throat.

His mother was standing right behind him. To cover her embarrassment, she smiled at Mrs. Russell. “Thank you for inviting us to Sunday dinner again. I enjoyed every minute of it. And thank you for the recipe for potato dumplings. A new way to cook potatoes is always a good thing with all the children at the orphanage.”

“Think nothing of it, dear.” Jake’s mother placed a basket in the wagon bed. “Now, girls, don’t turn this over. You don’t want potato dumplings and fried chicken all over the place.”

Jake hurried around to the other side while Tommy clambered into the back with the girls. “Are you sure you don’t want to go with us, Ma?”

“I’ve been over at Susie’s most of the week, Jake. A nice quiet afternoon—” she glanced pointedly at the girls, now squabbling with Tommy—“sounds heavenly.”

Jake laughed. “All right, then. We’ll be home in a little while.”

“Take care.”

Livy glanced into the back of the wagon and smiled. Jake’s two sisters sat with Mary sandwiched between them, the three of them giggling. Whatever they laughed about didn’t even have to be funny. They were just being girls. She and Katie had had precious little to laugh about, but sometimes they’d get tickled about the silliest things, like how the German butcher down the street got mad at the stray dogs that hung around his shop every day. He’d yell at them to not come back as if the dogs understood him.

At night, Katie mimicked his thick accent until Livy cried from laughing so hard. She sighed. They’d had nothing, but in some ways they’d had everything. They’d had each other.

Tears pricked her eyes. She missed Katie so.

They pulled out of the yard, the wagon creaking and the harness jingling. Tommy hung over the seat. “Can I take the reins, Jake? I’ve been practicing, just like you told me.”

Jake threw Livy a grin and scooted toward her. “All right, squirt. Hop up here.”

Tommy scrambled forward and plopped down. Jake handed him the reins. “Don’t drop them.”

Livy peeked around Jake. Could Tommy keep still long enough to guide the horses and keep the wagon on the road? The boy tucked his bottom lip between his teeth, a ferocious look of concentration on his freckled face. She covered her mouth with her hand.

Jake leaned over and whispered, his breath tickling the hair at her temple. “What?”

She glanced at him, his green eyes inches from hers. A warm feeling engulfed her. “Nothing. He’s just so cute like that.”

He shook his head. “Too bad it won’t last very long.”

She giggled. She probably sounded as silly as the girls in the back of the wagon. Jake sobered, his gaze turning serious as it dipped to her lips, then returned to her eyes. The half wink and lopsided smile told her that he would’ve kissed her again had they been alone. Just knowing he wanted to turned her insides to jelly.

But what would she do this time if he tried?

The quilt slid off her knees into a puddle at her feet. Jake grabbed it and spread it over her lap and across his knees. In the process, he snagged her gloved hand and twined his fingers through hers. Livy sat ramrod straight, aware of how close he sat. His thumb rubbed the back of her hand in slow, lazy circles that tied her insides in knots.

“You okay with going to see Susie’s baby?” Jake asked, his voice laced with concern.

“I’ll be fine.”

Babies were a fact of life, and the sooner she accepted that, the better off she’d be.

All too soon they arrived at Susie’s small farmhouse. The girls hurried to the door, chattering like magpies, anxious to see the baby. Tommy followed right behind them, although he’d said he didn’t want to see any ol’ baby. Jake came around the wagon to help Livy down.

His hand lingered on hers, and although she enjoyed the sensation, she didn’t want Susie and Charlie to get the wrong idea. She pulled away and turned to the back of the wagon. “Oh, don’t forget the food your mother sent over.”

“I’ve got it.” Jake snagged the hamper.

Charlie met them at the door, barely acknowledging them, his hungry eyes on the basket. “What you got there, old man?”

Jake laughed and handed over the prize. “Leftovers. Ma said you were probably hungry.”

“Starving.” Charlie led the way inside. “Susie and the baby are in the kitchen, where it’s warm.”

The girls were kneeling around Susie, who sat in a rocker, the infant nestled in her arms. Susie loosened the blanket so the girls could get a good look at the baby. The girls oohed and aahed, while Tommy helped Charlie empty the bounty onto the table. Jake sat on the bench and pulled Livy down beside him.

“What’s his name?” Mary asked.

“Charlie Andrew Benson III,” Susie said, sounding like any proud parent.

“But we’re going to call him Andy,” Tommy piped up, his mouth full. Livy shook her head. They’d just gotten up from the dinner table. Surely the boy couldn’t be hungry already.