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“THAT’S GREAT NEWS. I will.” Harry hung the telephone earpiece on its cradle.
“What is it?” Aunt Caroline stepped from the backyard into the kitchen. “Something has happened. Tell me.”
Harry lifted his aunt and spun her around.
“Put me down.” She squealed and pushed against his chest, trying to free herself. Harry laughed and did as he was told.
“Father was calling from the bank to say the quarantine’s over. Doc sent the last of his patients home this morning.”
“Wonderful. Does your mother know?”
She appeared in the door to the front parlor. His mother’s ability to know when someone was talking about her was a gift, or a curse, depending on who you asked, or when you asked them.
“Who was on the telephone?” She waited for him to speak. “Harry, quit grinning like the Cheshire cat and tell me what has happened to make you act like a fool twirling your aunt in the air.”
“The quarantine is over, Mother. The hospital has been turned back into a gymnasium, businesses are all open, and the train will stop in Pine Lake again as soon as the railroad can be notified.”
“Well, it’s about time. It’s been over six weeks. How are the ladies supposed to plan the holiday events with so little time and so many cold in the ground? We’re only weeks away from Thanksgiving, let alone Christmas.”
“Margaret.” Aunt Caroline shook a finger at her. “Show a little compassion.”
“You know what else we can start planning?” Harry ignored his mother’s deep sigh. “Alice’s and my wedding.”
Aunt Caroline clapped her hands and launched into a blur of ideas. “A Christmas wedding. Lights. Pine boughs tied with red ribbon. We can decorate the sleigh. Your father hasn’t taken it out in years, so I’ll have Seth Jorgensen check it over. Make certain it’s in tip-top condition. Of course, I’ll clear all of this with Alice first. After all, she is the bride. It’s her big day, and she may have some ideas of her own.”
“Not Christmas.” Harry caught his aunt by the arms and planted a kiss on her cheek to get her attention. Leave it to Aunt Caroline to go into wedding mode while his mother scowled silently in the doorway. “We’ll want to be married as soon as possible. We’ve waited too long already.” He thought about Jack alone in that house with Alice and wanted to punch something. He needed to bring an end to their little arrangement. “Dance with me, Aunt Caroline.” He twirled her around. “I need practice for the big day.” They laughed.
“Well,” his mother huffed. “All this foolishness is quite unseemly.”
Harry continued spinning his aunt until she begged him to stop. He grinned. His mother must have been at least a little fun-loving as a girl, or why would his father marry her. It certainly wasn’t for her cooking. And she didn’t come from money.
“Have you even asked Miss Armstrong if she still wishes to marry you? After all, . . .” Her voice trailed off as her hand fluttered briefly in front of her face.
“After all what, Mother?”
She let out a sharp breath and looked away briefly then back again.
“After this?” He pointed to his face. When she still didn’t reply he tore off his eye patch for a little extra emphasis.
She flinched.
“Just so you know, I gave her a chance to change her mind, but Alice is too sweet and kind to ever see the ugliness in another person. She insisted she still loves me and can’t wait for us to be married.”
“And you believe her?”
“Of course, I believe her.” He slammed his fist on the kitchen table, making Aunt Caroline jump. His mother, on the other hand, only closed her eyes for a moment and took a calming breath before continuing.
“As you wish.” She turned and promptly left the room, Sweetie following tight on her heels.
“Will Mother ever approve of Alice?” he asked, once his mother was out of earshot.
“Margaret doesn’t approve of many people. She never has. Even as a little girl she always had her nose in the air.”
Harry adjusted his eye patch and grabbed his hat and coat from the hook. “I’m going into town to celebrate with the guys. Thanks to the quarantine, I haven’t had a chance to say hello to any of my old friends since getting home. So, don’t wait dinner for me. If I’m hungry, I’ll find something in town.” He left by the back door to avoid his mother. He’d stop in the barn and saddle up his father’s best horse. Like hell if he was going to be seen riding into town, the returning hero, on something even half as shabby as the one he’d returned on.
* * *
THE FIRST PERSON HARRY ran into was the last person he wanted to see. Jack. At least he wasn’t with Alice. He was heading out of town in a hurry, and he didn’t look happy. Jack’s apparent misery made Harry smile. He reined his horse to an abrupt stop, blocking the road.
He could only hope Jack’s dark mood meant something went wrong between him and Alice. “May I ask why you’re so gloomy on this exciting, sunny day? Didn’t you hear the good news? The quarantine’s been lifted.”
“I heard. How’d you get the news so fast?”
“Father called from the bank. Again, why the gloomy face?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Jack’s smile struck him as a little too forced. “Is it perhaps because Alice and I can get married now? And after we’re married, I’ll be selling her family’s farm and moving her to Minneapolis? You might want to get a head start on finding a new job. Might take you a while with that bum leg of yours.”
Jack leaned over. “Have you talked to Alice about your plans?” His forced smile took a menacing turn. “I know for a fact she won’t want to live in Minneapolis. She likes it fine here in Pine Lake. Wants to stay on the farm after the wedding, raise your children here. And since you have no interest in farming and will be kept quite busy at the bank, you’re going to need me to stay on and help take care of things for you.”
Harry fought his rising rage. There was no way in hell they were going to live on that farm. And there was no way in hell he was letting Jack anywhere near his wife. “Unfortunately for her, it’s not her decision to make. Once we’re married, the farm becomes mine, and I’m selling it.” He turned his horse onto the road and stopped. “Also, I know for a fact you hoped to buy your own farm one day but don’t have enough money saved. So, again, I suggest you get started on a job hunt.”
“Before you leave, Alice and I had a nice little picnic lunch today. After, she headed over to see Lizzie—in case you were wondering where she is.”
Harry clenched his jaw at the thought of his Alice having lunch with Jack. “Thank you. I was wondering. I think I’ll stop by and check on Lizzie myself.” He gave his horse a sharp kick in the side and took off at a gallop.
* * *
BETTY WAS WALKING UP Lizzie’s front steps when Harry arrived. She held a covered plate in her hands.
“Well, hello, Harry.” She waited while he tied his horse to the post. “If I’d known I’d see you here, I would have made this cake chocolate. After all, that is your favorite.”
She scanned his damaged face and barely hid a grimace.
“What kind of cake is it?”
“Vanilla with chocolate icing.”
“Lizzie’s favorite.”
She looked down then up again through her lashes. “I think your eye patch is quite dashing, even a little dangerous.”
Betty always was a flirt. She didn’t even try to hide her feelings for him. Harry changed the subject, tired of talking about his face. “Here, let me carry that for you.”
“Such a gentleman.” She reached out to put her hand through his arm. He stepped away.
He knocked on the door, but Betty pushed her way past and let herself in. “Look who I found out front.”
Alice’s smile lit a spark in her eyes, further proving she still loved him. She took his hand and led him over to sit in a chair beside her. “See how well our Lizzie is doing?”
Lizzie lay on the sofa under a pile of heavy blankets. He’d never seen her so frail. And frail was not a word anyone might normally use to describe Lizzie Hudson.
“How are you feeling? Is there anything I can bring you? Although, I’m sure Fin is taking good care of you, along with Alice and Betty.”
“He is.” The mere exertion of those two words made her cough. She breathed slow and shallow. “All he does is hover over me, bringing me whatever little thing I want.”
Her voice was so small coming from under her blankets. Was she really as well as Doc said?
“I brought cake.” Betty took the plate from Harry. “Vanilla with chocolate frosting. Your favorite. How about I cut us all a piece.”
“And I’ll make a fresh pot of tea.” Alice retrieved the tray from the side table. “This is cold, and a nice hot cup will feel so good on your throat.”
Lizzie smiled up at them. “Thank you, Alice, Betty. Tea would be nice, but I’m not hungry for cake.”
“What?” They all asked at once.
Betty laughed. “Lizzie Hudson doesn’t want cake? The world truly has come to an end.”
Lizzie blushed. “Well, maybe a little piece. I do like cake.”
Alice and Betty hurried off to the kitchen, leaving Harry alone with Lizzie. He didn’t remember the last time he’d been alone with her. He’d only ever tolerated her for Alice and Fin’s sake. But now, seeing her so pale and small, he found himself afraid she still might die. And, surprisingly, he would miss her.
“Here, let me help you sit.” He slipped an arm around her shoulders, lifting her and rearranging her blankets. “Better?”
“Yes, thank you.” She leaned forward while he fluffed her pillows. “I was so happy when you and Fin came home. We missed the both of you terribly. Always worrying about you over in France.”
“Oh, there was no need to worry about us.” Harry moved closer to better hear her. “We watched out for each other.”
“What was it like over there? I try to ask Fin, but he doesn’t want to talk about it.”
“I think that’s best. Those aren’t stories for a young girl’s ears.”
“Was France beautiful? I love looking at pictures of their forests and mountains and castles. Did you see any castles?”
“I imagine it was beautiful once, and maybe it will be again, but all we saw were burnt out villages and forests torn apart as if both twisters and fire swept through at the same time.”
“What about mountains and castles? Did you see any of those?”
“No.”
Lizzie briefly closed her eyes. “Do you think they still have knights and princesses in their castles?”
Harry marveled at how, in many ways, Lizzie was still a child. She wasn’t simple-minded, like the tailor’s boy, just naive in a sweet sort of way. He could see why Fin loved her. “I believe they do still have knights and princesses in their castles.” What harm was there in encouraging her fairy tale dreams?
Lizzie smiled. “Me, too.”
“In fact, I spoke to a French soldier one night, and he was telling me how his unit recently saved a beautiful princess from the Germans after all her knights were lured into a trap.”
Lizzie laughed. “Now you’re teasing me, Harry Barnes.”
“Harry, stop teasing Lizzie.” Alice set the steaming tea pot on the table and poured them each a cup.
“Oh, I see nothing wrong with a fun little fairy tale now and again. Don’t you agree, Lizzie?” He winked.
Lizzie giggled and straightened the blanket over her legs. “Maybe you can tell me more about the princess later.”
“What princess?” Betty carried the cake plate in one hand and a stack of serving plates in the other.
“There is no princess.” Alice shook her head. “Harry’s being a tease.”
Betty handed them each a piece of cake. “All I can say is, it’s good to hear Lizzie laugh again.”
Harry finished his cake in a couple quick bites. “Sorry to eat and run, but I need to be on my way. I wanted to catch up with some of the guys over at Dooley’s. I haven’t been able to see anyone since coming home.”
Alice scowled. “I understand your wish to see your old friends, but why do you have to go to Dooley’s? Everyone gets drunk there then the sheriff has to haul half of them to jail to sober up.”
“Of course, they get drunk.” He clenched his teeth. “It’s a tavern and that’s what men do in a tavern.” His voice shook. “Where would you suggest we meet? In the hotel tearoom?” Why couldn’t women understand men and their needs? Alice was going to have to learn the way of things quickly once they were married.
“Harry, please,” she whispered, her cheeks burning. Betty and Lizzie were staring at them.
“My apologies, ladies, but I’ll be going now.” He stood and faced Alice. “Are we still on for our picnic tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
She didn’t sound as excited about the idea as she once was. He’d have to tread lightly if he didn’t want to risk pushing her into Jack’s arms. “Good. I’ll pick you up a little before noon. We’ll go out to the lake. Aunt Caroline’s making us a nice basket. You don’t have to fix a thing.”
“Just a chocolate cake, as promised.” Her smile was warm.
“We can spend the afternoon getting reacquainted and planning our wedding.”
“I’ve given it lots of thought already. We all have.” She glanced at her friends.
“Then you can fill me in. All I need to know is where and when.” Harry gave her a quick peck on the cheek and headed for the door. “And the sooner, the better.”
Betty rose and smoothed her skirts. “I’ll walk out with you. I promised Mother I wouldn’t stay long.” She kissed Lizzie on the cheek. “I’ll stop again tomorrow. Ring me if you need anything. If I’m not at home, I’ll be at the hotel.”
Harry held the door for her. Before parting ways on the front walk, Betty took his arm and stepped close. “Same goes for you, Harry. Ring me if you need anything . . . any time.” She smiled and left for home.
Harry stuck his hands in his pockets and walked backwards, whistling, as Betty climbed the steps to her front porch. She turned one last time to throw him a kiss before disappearing into the house.
Same old Betty.
He laughed and hurried off to Dooley’s.