While Love Stirs (17 page)

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Lake Minnetonka spread out like an ocean before them. On the streetcar, the conductor had said the lake boasted 110 miles of shoreline. Charlotte stepped out of the streetcar pavilion and drew in a deep breath. She relished the taste of the tangy air on her lips and tipped her face to the sun before turning to Molly and Lewis to see if they, too, found the surroundings as welcoming as she.

Maybe here she’d forget the worries that kept plaguing her—Aunt Sam’s illness, Lewis’s obvious budding affection, and the growing sense she still was not doing what was intended for her.

“I declare, this sun is a welcome sight after yesterday’s rain. That was a real frog wash.” Molly rubbed her arm. “My body was aching somethin’ fierce. But the rain sure didn’t keep those folks from coming to hear you, did it?”

“I think it was Charlotte’s promise to prepare all desserts.” Lewis chuckled.

“Either way, I’m glad to finally be here,” Charlotte said. While her lecture yesterday and the day before in the city of Minnetonka had gone well, she was itching to spend the rest of the week closer to the lake. Molly couldn’t get over why a city that shared its name with this massive body of water would barely touch it. She wanted to be on the water, not near it.

“I’ll go arrange for the cooking supply trunk to be delivered to the Excelsior City Hall and our traveling trunks to be delivered
to the hotel. Y’all don’t leave without me.” Molly grinned and waddled back inside the station.

“I can’t wait to show you some of the sights.” Lewis took out his pocket watch and checked the time. “What do you say we start with lunch?”

As if the mention of food reminded her stomach it was empty, it growled. She pressed her hand to her midsection and smiled. “That would be delightful.”

Charlotte’s gaze swept over the choppy water and the waiting passenger steamer painted the same sunny yellow as the streetcars. No wonder she’d heard some people call the steamers
streetcar boats
. This one bore the name
Minnehaha
in red block script on its stern.

She spotted lovely homes lining the shore and recalled Lewis explaining that many of the upper class from the Twin Cities had summer homes here. Unfortunately, Aunt Sam was not among them, so Charlotte, Molly, and Lewis would be staying at the Excelsior Bay Hotel. Lewis, she’d learned, had spent last summer with a local family. He’d be visiting them after the second lecture in Deephaven.

When Molly returned, the three of them decided to walk into Excelsior for lunch. Following a delicious lunch at Newell’s Bazaar Café on Water Street, Molly directed them to Axel Nordstrom’s gas company. He’d been the one to request that Charlotte present in the area and had arranged the lectures at the city hall.

Mr. Nordstrom, a robust man with high cheekbones and an angular jaw, greeted them warmly and offered to take them to the city hall. Charlotte found everything in order there, except the trunk had yet to be delivered. Mr. Nordstrom promised to send word to the hotel when the supplies arrived.

Once they’d reached the Excelsior Bay Hotel, Charlotte pushed back the curtains of the room she and Molly shared and stared out at the lake. With the window slightly ajar, a delicious breath of fir pine wafted in on the breeze.

She should feel so blessed to be here, enjoying these lovely ac
commodations provided by the gas company. Instead, uneasiness churned inside her. Why couldn’t she be content? She wanted to be in charge of her own kitchen, but instead she had a different, perfectly wonderful position. Had she traded one dream for another?

Molly repinned her white hair in a tidy bun. “Sugar, you might want to get yourself dolled up before Lewis comes to fetch us. That young man is as sweet on you as maple syrup on a stack of hotcakes, or maybe you didn’t notice.”

“I noticed, but honestly, Molly, I’ve done nothing to encourage it.”

“For goodness’ sake, why not?” Molly mumbled the words through the pins in her mouth. She plopped her hat on her head, removed the pins, and jabbed them in place. “He’s a perfectly fine young man—wealthy too. You ought to be tickled he’s showing an interest in you.”

Charlotte let the curtains swing back in place. “It is flattering.”

“I hear a ‘but’ coming.” Molly dropped into a chair and sighed. “Well, spit it out. Won’t do any good to keep it bottled up inside.”

She sat down on the bed across from Molly and clasped her hands in her lap. “When I was in high school, I was courted by a fellow who seemed nice at first but turned out to be controlling. He got angry when I didn’t do what he liked, and he tried to change me. He even talked me out of going to cooking school.” The memory burned in Charlotte’s chest. She went to the water pitcher, poured herself a glass, and passed one to Molly. “I vowed I’d never let anyone control me like that again.”

“And well you should.” Molly took a long drink. “Do you think Lewis is the kind of fella to do something like that?”

Charlotte shook her head. “Not really, but I didn’t think George was either.”

“There are no guarantees, sugar. Sometimes faith means taking a chance.”

Charlotte rubbed her thumb over her bandaged finger. “But what if he’s not the right one?”

“And what if he is?” Molly reached over and covered her hand. “Spend some time with him and see what happens—unless, of course, there’s someone else tugging on your heartstrings.”

“No. No, there’s no one else.” Charlotte patted her hand and stood. Thoughts of Joel wormed their way into her mind, but she pushed them aside. “Thank you. I’d better get ready before Lewis comes.”

Charlotte handed the purser her ticket and carefully made her way onto the streetcar company’s steamer, the
Hopkins
, a sister ship to the
Minnehaha
they’d seen earlier. Lewis followed and pointed to an empty seat. Since Molly had decided to skip the amusement park, citing a sudden headache, Charlotte and Lewis would be spending the remainder of the day alone. Charlotte slid in toward the window, and Lewis folded his long legs into the place next to her.

Besides the yellow paint on the outside of the boat, which had split cane seats and large windows, the inside of the boat resembled its streetcar cousin. She glanced at the other passengers all headed to the Big Island Amusement Park. Two seats in front of her, a little girl with blonde ringlets turned around and timidly smiled at her. Charlotte winked back and the little girl whipped around, only to turn again and begin an impromptu game of hide-and-seek.

Lewis nudged Charlotte’s side. “You appear to have a new fan. People seem drawn to you.”

The little girl bobbed down behind the back of the seat, and Charlotte laughed. “Or I make them want to run and hide.”

He leaned closer. “No one could ever want to run from you.”

His breath tickled her ear. “Don’t speak too soon. By the end of the day, I might surprise you.”

Thankfully, Charlotte had been able to shake off her earlier concerns. Lewis was a nice young man, and perhaps God had put him in her life for a reason. In any case, there’d been far too few
days like this in her life, and she had no intention of wasting this one on worries. She’d accept it as a blessing and enjoy it.

“Let’s go to the top deck.” She turned toward the wood stairs in the center of the steamer.

“It might be windy.”

“I won’t blow away.”

Lewis jumped up and held out his hand to assist her. She had to hold on to the brass handrails to climb the steep staircase, and it felt odd to have Lewis walking so close behind her. Up top, she and Lewis sat in one of the bench seats beneath the red-and-white-striped canopy. An American flag flapped in the wind off the stern, and Charlotte had to hold her hat on.

Since only a few passengers had decided to brave the wind today on the second deck, she and Lewis found themselves mostly alone. She feared their time would grow awkward, but instead he kept up a steady flow of information about things he’d learned last summer. The streetcar boats could carry 120 passengers, and with their unique torpedo stern, they were designed to travel twelve miles an hour. Charlotte also learned the friend he’d be visiting at the lake was an old school chum from the Northwestern Conservatory of Music.

“I’m sure you and Molly would be welcome to join me. The house is massive.” He pointed to the shoreline in the far distance. “Their estate is over there in Carson’s Bay by Deephaven. One of their neighbors, the Burtons, calls their estate Chimo. Have you heard of it? They hold a lawn tennis tournament every year there in the Cow Bowl.”

“Cow Bowl?”

“That’s what they call the area where the tournament is played. Folks from all over come to watch. It’s a big deal. Do you play tennis?”

“I’ve tried a couple of times, but I wouldn’t say I accomplished it.”

“Me either, but Reggie likes to play, so I’m sure he’ll talk me into it.” He looked down at her hand. “How’s the finger?”

“Fine.”

“You said the doctor was there visiting your aunt when you cut it? That was sure lucky.”

Lucky? If it wasn’t for Joel, she wouldn’t have cut it in the first place. Why did he have to creep into her thoughts at every turn? He was making it very hard to simply enjoy herself. She looked up at the approaching island. “Oh my, this is amazing.”

Spanish Colonial Revival–style arches greeted them at the entrance to the Big Island Amusement Park. Even though it was still spring, pink, yellow, and purple flowers exploded from planters. Charlotte watched the crowd mill about and her stomach clenched. So many couples!

Calliope music spilled out into the mall area. Lewis ushered her inside the gates, and they paused by a water fountain. “What would you like to do first?”

“What are my options?”

“There’s the arcade, the Old Mill Ride, the Scenic Ride to Yellowstone, the roller coaster, and the carousel, among other things.” He turned. “On that side is the music hall. It has fifteen hundred seats, and mostly local bands play there.”

Charlotte tapped her finger against her lips. “Let’s start with the Old Mill Ride. It sounds a little more sedate than the roller coaster.”

“Good choice.”

On the way, Lewis treated Charlotte to warm peanuts and ice-cold lemonade. He suggested they stop and play a few arcade games. They each took a turn at tossing pennies in a dish and then watched a man move a ball beneath three cups. No matter how many tries Charlotte was given, she never picked the correct cup. Lewis, on the other hand, chose right every time. In her honor, he selected a porcelain vase and tucked it in his jacket pocket.

The line for the Old Mill Ride wound around the corner of the building. After they took their place at the end, Lewis smiled down at her. “I’ve heard that some couples have found true love inside the mill.”

Charlotte didn’t miss the hope in his eyes. While she enjoyed his company, she’d yet to feel stirred by him.
Just enjoy
the day.
“I imagine those couples were well on their way before they got on this ride.”

Three other patrons joined them at the end of the line—a middle-aged couple sporting wedding rings, and an older woman who Charlotte guessed was probably the mother of either the husband or the wife.