Dania leaned her head against her office window. Usually the hustle and bustle of the mill floor filled her with a sense of excitement, made her think of all the possibilities for the future, both for her workers and herself. But not today. Today, the clattering of the machinery’s pistons and the tense expression worn by more of her workers only reminded her of her own dismal outlook these last two weeks since she’d fled Atlanta.
She walked over to her desk, picked up the tattered newspaper, and read Matt’s article again. She shouldn’t have picked up and left the way she did, scurrying away in the night like she had something to feel guilty about. Hearing Matt out, getting his side of the story, would have been the right thing to do. Uncle George’s betrayal had hurt, but what Matt had done had broken her heart.
Or what Dania had thought he’d done. The newspaper with the retraction and apology had only reached her a few days ago. By then, what anger she’d felt toward Matt had dissipated. After all, he was only doing his job. Maybe, if she’d stayed, heard what he had to say, left on friendly terms, maybe even made plans to see each other … The what-ifs were killing her.
Dania let out a heavy sigh. Wallowing in this wasn’t helping anyone. No, she needed to focus on the changes she was making, changes brought about because of Matt’s article. Because he’d been right. No matter how she sugarcoated it, the Eisons had made their fortune on the backs of young children.
Not anymore. Today, the first group of men who’d answered her ad for factory workers would be interviewed. She hoped by the end of the month she’d be able to let the youngest of her workers go, with six months’ pay to help the families adjust to the change. Some of the parents had grumbled when she’d announced the change, but as Matt had predicted in his article, most were adjusting to the idea.
Matt. She’d tried to put him out of her thoughts and failed, so tight was his grip on her heart. Sewing the children’s new clothes only brought back the memory of their time in Mr. Shonkwiler’s shop; a walk along the lake behind her house, a reminder of their picnic in the park. Dreams of their last few moments together when he’d kissed her so tenderly awoke her in the night, her pillow damp with tears. She’d even avoided reading her Bible, fearful she’d open it to Proverbs 31, knowing she lacked those qualities Matt valued in a wife.
A knock at the door startled Dania out of her thoughts. “Yes?”
The door opened, and her sister Gilly poked her head inside. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, but you’re needed on the floor.”
Dania dropped the newspaper on her desk. “Is it the threader again?”
Gilly nodded. “Peter Ward has been working on it for nearly an hour now but can’t get it up and running. I think he could use your help.”
“Tell him I’ll be right there.” Unpinning her braid, she walked over to the closet where she kept a pair of men’s pants and an old shirt for such work.
Ten minutes later, she was staring at a tangle of thread deep in the inner workings of her main threader. There was no way to reach the knotted mess from the top or sides. The only way to fix it was to climb into the machinery and cut the thread loose.
“I tried to get in there, Miss Dania, but my hands are too big,” Peter said beside her. “I’m afraid I’ll bend one of the smaller bobbins if I pull on it too hard.”
“You were right to call me.” Dania gave him a reassuring pat on his shoulder. They couldn’t afford the time or money replacing a bobbin would cost. “Where are the children?”
“I sent them to lunch. Thought I’d kill two birds with one stone. Get them fed and get them out of your way.”
The boy had a good head on his shoulders, and at fifteen, he was old enough to keep his job rather than be let go. “Good. Now, let’s see what I can do.”
“Just be careful, ma’am. It’s awfully tight in there,” the boy warned.
“I’ll be fine. Remember, I’ve done this before.” Dania smiled slightly as she tucked her braid into the back of her shirt.
“I’m still going to pray, ma’am.”
She nodded. No doubt, she’d need it. If this machine went down, she’d have to shut down the entire mill until it could be repaired. No, she couldn’t allow that, not when families depended on the mill for their evening supper, including her own.
She squeezed herself into a small opening in the undercarriage of the machine then slowly made her way through the maze of wires and piping until she neared the row of bobbins. She inched forward slowly then groaned. Two of the bobbins looked bent from the pressure already placed on them. Hopefully, it was just her angle. She’d have to get a closer look to know for sure. She moved forward.
Her pant leg caught. Probably a loose screw. Dania yanked as hard as she dared, but the machine wouldn’t let go. Maybe if she backed up. A piece of metal dug into her calf, and she yelped.
“Are you all right?”
Matt? Dania jerked her head back too quick and scraped her scalp. But it didn’t matter. Matt was here, staring down at her with such a look of concern, it made her stomach flip. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.” He gave her a nervous smile then glanced around as if measuring the seriousness of her situation. “Why are you in there?”
“The threader got jammed, and as I have slender hands, it only made sense …” She trailed off, her mouth suddenly dry as startling blue-green eyes met hers. Dear goodness, how she’d missed the man. Was this what love felt like? As if she’d found the missing part of herself in him?
“You’re caught in a wire that broke lose.” He leaned toward her, his nimble fingers working on her pant leg until the machine released its hold on her. “There, that should do it.”
“Thank you.” Dania inched forward.
“What are you doing?”
Had he forgotten she had a threader to fix? “I still have a knot to untangle.”
He gave a slight nod. “Right. Maybe I can help you there, too.”
Dania stopped for a moment and looked up at him. “How do you plan to do that?” The crooked smile he gave her made her heart flip. “If you cut the knot from below and I work from above, we should have this fixed in half the time.”
It might work. “You’re forgetting one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Your hands are too big to squeeze into the area where the knot is.”
He gave her another toe-curling grin. “Leave that to me, okay?”
Dania opened her mouth to protest then slammed it shut. If Matt wanted to help, she wouldn’t stop him. “Thank you.”
By the time she got into position, Matt had rolled up his sleeves and was working on the stubborn knot with the help of his pocketknife. “When I imagined seeing you again, this particular circumstance never crossed my mind.”
Her hand shook as she plunked at the threads with the small knife her papa had given her. “You wanted to see me again?”
“Of course I did.” He sunk the blade in deeper. “I would have been here sooner, but it took me two weeks to work up the nerve.”
Matt had been nervous about seeing her? If it was possible, she fell a little bit more in love with him. “I’m glad you’re here now.”
He gave her a slight smile. “Me, too.”
They worked in silence for the next few minutes, tearing apart the knot until only a few scrapes of thread remained. A machinist would have to be called in to replace the bent bobbins. As Matt plucked the remaining threads, Dania slowly made her way out of the machine, her mind racing in every direction. He said he wanted to see her, but why? Was he writing a follow-up article about her mill? Was he there because he cared for her even just a little bit?
She did know one thing. She would tell him of the changes she was making with her employees. He needed to know his article had made a difference, at least in her family’s mill.
“Are you coming out, or do I need to come in there and get you?”
Really, the man could be so impatient at times, but while she hated to admit it, that was part of his charm. “I can do it myself.”
She couldn’t be certain, but she thought she heard him mutter, “I have no doubt of it.”
When she finally stepped free of the machine, Matt’s strong hand at her elbow steadied her as she stood. Dania lifted her hand to push strands of hair out of her face when Matt gently grasped her wrist. With his free hand, he pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it against her forehead. “You’re hurt.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t even felt it. “I must have scratched it on my way out. Thank you.”
Gilly came toward them, her fists knotted in the folds of her skirts. “I’m so sorry, Dania. I told Mr. Langley to wait in your office, but he insisted that it was an emergency.”
Dania cocked her eyebrow at him. “An emergency, huh?”
“Patience isn’t exactly my strong suit.”
“Yes, I know.” But then, that’s what made Matt such a brilliant reporter. Tenacious, her father would say. Persistent. Good qualities in a reporter and a husband.
She couldn’t help the giddy feeling that started in her stomach. Yes, Matt would make a perfect husband for her.
But she wasn’t even certain the man cared for her that way. Dania drew in a steadying breath then turned to her sister. “It’s all right, Gilly. Mr. Langley is a friend from Atlanta.”
Matt slid her a look then turned to face her sister. “A good friend.”
“Oh, Mr. Langley!” Gilly glanced from one to the other, then giggled as she walked to the door. “It’s about time you showed up.”
Heat flooded Dania’s face. She would throttle Gilly if she wasn’t such a dear. “I’m sorry. My sister Gilly has a habit of speaking her mind.”
“A family trait, no doubt.” He stared past her to the massive machine. “This isn’t the first time you’ve crawled around inside of that beast, I gather.”
Dania shook her head. “And I doubt it will be my last.”
“Why didn’t your lead boy fix it?” He pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, pausing for a moment as he tenderly examined the sensitive bump she’d earned. “That’s what he’s being paid to do.”
Words jumbled around in her head until Matt’s hand dropped to his side. She stepped back then, her mind needing some distance to think clearly. “Peter would have gotten stuck if he’d tried to crawl inside, the way that boy has grown these last few months.” She hesitated. “Besides, I’ll have a mechanic working here soon.”
“Yes, I read your advertisement in the papers.” Matt pulled one rolled-up sleeve down his arm, then the other. “Only men or women fifteen years and older need apply.”
Dania pressed her lips into a tight line. She’d hoped to put her decision into action before they met again. Well, so much for that happening. Best to get this over with so that she could get back to work. “Your article made me realize I couldn’t ignore my conscience just because folks disagreed with me.”
“Dania, I …,” he started.
Tears pricked the back of her eyelids, but she refused to cry. “I don’t think you were right in saying I was motivated by guilt. I bought that fabric from Mr. Shonkwiler and arranged for a boot maker to come here because I truly wanted to do what was right for the children.” Dania bowed her head to keep from seeing the disappointment in Matt’s eyes.
The next moment, she was pulled against him, his arms banded around her as if he never intended to let her go. “Sweetheart, I am so sorry. After I met you, I never thought you were anything but kind and compassionate and everything wonderful.”
She leaned back to look at him. “But your article …”
“Wasn’t mine.” He stroked her shoulder blades until she relaxed into him. “Well, some of it was. I made some assumptions about you before I’d even met you. Then the managing editor for the paper stole notes off my desk and edited them to fit his story on Senator Evers’s campaign.”
“Uncle George intentionally did this?”
Matt brushed a kiss against her hair. “Evers needed the textile mill owners to back his candidacy for governor, and the only way to do that was to get Eison mills out of your hands.”
“They thought I was too progressive.”
He nodded. “The owners feared if their workers found out what you were doing to improve the lives of your employees, they’d riot. The state legislature would have to step in, and the mill owners couldn’t run the risk of having child labor outlawed. With Evers in the governor’s mansion and you put in your place, a reform bill would never come to a vote.”
Dania reluctantly pulled out of his arms. “I guess they got their way then.”
Matt tilted his head to one side. “You haven’t been reading the newspaper, have you?”
She folded the handkerchief he’d given her and handed it back to him. “I don’t enjoy it as much as I used to.”
“You would have enjoyed the last couple of weeks.” He opened his jacket, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and handed it to her. “This will be in tomorrow’s newspaper, but I thought you ought to see it first.”
Taking it, Dania slowly unfolded it. The large font caught her attention and she struggled to suck in a breath as she read: Senator Evers Resigns Amid Textile Scandal.
Questions tumbled around in Dania’s head, but when she looked up at Matt, she couldn’t find the words. He must have sensed her struggle because he took her hand in his. “I was an idiot, Dania, letting Evers use me to hurt you and your family. It will always be the biggest regret of my life.”
She should step away from him, but it felt too wonderful being this close to him. “Why did you have notes about me?”
“Not going to make this easy for me, are you?” He took a shuddered breath. “The senator offered me the same position he gave Taylor. Those notes about you were direct quotes he gave me the afternoon of our interview. Once I met you, I knew you were nothing like the woman the senator described, so I tossed them in the garbage pail. Taylor must have fished them out.”
“So much for respectfulness,” she sighed, lacing her fingers with his.
“I wanted to get here sooner, but I had to make sure Evers and his cronies couldn’t hurt you again.” She felt him relax. “I didn’t know an investigative committee could convene that fast.”
She lifted her head to look at him. “You testified.”
“You bet I did. It was the only way to assure Evers wouldn’t hold a public office in the state of Georgia again.” He laughed. “The funny thing is this situation got the other senators and representatives talking about child labor laws. I wouldn’t be surprised if a reform bill isn’t introduced in the next session.”
Dania smiled up at him. “The power of the press at work.”
“Maybe.” The torment in his eyes made her heart ache. “But it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t forgive me. I let my past experiences cloud my judgement and hurt you in the process.”
“Oh, Matt.” She took a step toward him then stopped. “I forgave you before I ever got off that train.”
He cut the distance between them, drawing her hand to his chest. “You did?”
Dania could hardly breathe when he stood this close. “Of course I did. I had to.” There was something else she needed to tell him, but what if he didn’t share her feelings? Still, he needed to know. “I guess that’s what you do when you love someone.”
Before she could blink, Matt pulled her into his arms, his gaze searching then holding hers. Dania’s mouth went dry at the play of emotions on his face. “I love you, too.”
“You do?”
He gathered her closer. “I think I’ve loved you since you stood up to the thief at the train station.”
“Love at first sight, hmm?” she teased, confident in his feelings for her. “I wouldn’t have thought that of a hard-nosed reporter like yourself.”
“Me neither.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “But then I’d never met you before.”
“You’ve only known me for a short while,” Dania reminded him, wishing her practical side would be quiet for once.
“A situation I intend to correct starting now.” Dania almost groaned when he let go of her and stepped back to put some distance between them. “I paid a visit to your mother this morning.”
That surprised her. “You did?”
Matt nodded, his lips turned up in a rather rakish smile. “You might be progressive in your business practices, but I thought you might still like me to ask your mother’s permission to court you.”
Dania’s heart threatened to flutter out of control. “What did she say?”
“She had some concerns, one being I live and work in Atlanta and you’re here in Tifton.”
Dania had thought about that, too. Matt’s life was in Atlanta, his job was there, and he was far too talented to give it up to move here. But she had responsibilities, a community that depended on her for its livelihood. “That would be a problem.”
“Anyway, I told her about my recent promotion, and that seemed to satisfy her question.”
“You got a promotion?”
He gave her a wicked grin. “Meet the new editor in chief of the Tifton Gazette.”
She took a step toward him. “You’re moving here? But what about Mr. Hornsby? He’s been the editor of the paper since before I was born.”
“Always worried about everyone in your community, aren’t you? Another thing I love about you.” He stared at her for a long moment before he continued. “No need to worry. Hornsby is the new managing editor of the Constitution now that Taylor has been sacked.”
“And you’re moving here.” A sudden giddiness overwhelmed her. Matt was staying. In Tifton. And he wanted to court her!
“I did tell your mother it would be a very short courtship as I have every intention of marrying you.” He hesitated for a moment. “If you’ll have me, Dania.”
There was a note of vulnerability in his voice, as if he’d laid out his heart and the wrong word from her would crush it. It only made her love him more. Dania smiled up at him, the thought of spending her life with him, of raising a family, making a home, was almost too much happiness to bear.
Dania lifted her arms and linked them around his neck. His eyes shone, clear and brighter than a summer ocean, as she met his gaze. “Yes, Matt, I’d like nothing more than to be your wife.”
Then she kissed him.