Change of Heart (16 page)

Laura’s heart sank. She didn’t want Angelina
to be with anyone else. She wanted the little girl herself.

She paused, put aside selfish desires and
thought of Angelina. Her needs mattered more than anything else.
“Finding Angelina a loving home is what matters most. If it isn’t
with me...” A tear trickled from her eye. She quickly wiped it
away. Being magnanimous wasn’t easy.

He let go of her arm. “Perhaps,” he said
slowly, tugging at his collar. “Perhaps you could take some time
during those two weeks to look over the young men of the town, Miss
Windsor. I’d recommend Angelina be placed with you if you were
promised in marriage.”

Laura sighed gently. The look in his eyes
implied to her that he had offered his suggestion only to help
her.

Perhaps he was a caring man. If he weren’t,
he wouldn’t have let Angelina stay with her at all, not even for
two weeks. “I appreciate your help, Mr. Maitland.”

“I wish you’d have come to me when you
arrived in town. I could have explained things about placement to
you. While I am glad you chose Heart Junction for your home, if
you’d have known about our local laws, you may have wanted to
choose a home more conducive to your plans.”

Laura sighed. “I should have been more
thorough in my investigation. But the minute I saw Heart Junction
for the first time last summer, I knew this was where I wanted to
settle. Something about the town drew me as though this is where my
next step in life was to begin.”

“You’re speaking of destiny again?”

“Not this time. When I saw Heart Junction my
stomach told me this was where I was to find my home. Destiny I
find from within my heart. Gut feelings are just gut feelings,
hunches that may or may not be right.” Laura stiffened her spine
and lifted her chin. “It looks like my gut could be wrong in
thinking Heart Junction is where I am to find my home, considering
the roadblock this city’s council has placed before me. But I’m not
wrong about my destiny with Angelina. I will find a way to overcome
any and all obstacles that keep my daughter from me.” She glanced
toward the door, then back at him. “I have to. There are no higher
stakes than finding love.”

Mr. Maitland took Laura’s arm and led her to
the door. “I appreciate your commitment to Angelina, Miss Windsor,
but I’m afraid there is only one way you won’t lose the girl.
You’ll have to get married.”

STEPHANIE’S SURPRISE
,
Book Two of the Heart Junction Series

BLURB: 1913, Heart Junction, South Dakota:
Dr. Aaron Wesley has been trying to court school teacher Stephanie
Porter, but she keeps refusing his invitations. When Aaron is
appointed to the school board they must work together. Personal
mysteries are unraveled and an attraction between them builds.
Stephanie begins to realize Aaron may not be the ogre she thought
him to be. Or is he?

Stephanie could not possibly have heard what
she just heard.

“What do you say, Dr. Wesley?” Antigone
Verseth said, smiling at Heart Junction’s young physician. “Will
you honor us by taking the position on the school board left vacant
by Mr. Maitland?”

She said it again! Aaron Wesley absolutely
had to refuse the offer the mayor’s wife had just extended to him.
Stephanie could never in a million years stand to work with Dr.
Wesley. He was the most frustrating, arrogant man she’d ever
met.

Dr. Wesley rose and nodded toward the dozen
people gathered around the table in the meeting room of City Hall.
“I’m flattered that the other members of the school board, Mayor
Verseth and you, Mrs. Verseth, have invited me to join this
illustrious group, but--”

“Ah, but we don’t want to hear any buts, Dr.
Wesley,” Mrs. Verseth said, giving the doctor another of her clumsy
smiles. “We want only to hear your acceptance.”

Stephanie bolted to her feet. “Maybe he
doesn’t want the job, Antigone.” Her face began to burn, and
Stephanie knew everyone in the room was watching her turn ten
shades of red. She brushed her hands over her dark blue skirt and
straightened her short matching jacket. “Uh, I mean, Dr. Wesley is
a very busy man. Perhaps you should listen to him before
interrupting. We must be fair to him, after all.”

“Quite right,” Herbert Verseth said, wagging
his shaggy brows. “Dr. Wesley is somewhat new to our town, having
been here less than a year. Perhaps he feels he needs more time to
settle into his home and organize his practice before he takes on
more responsibility.”

Stephanie forced a smile when she looked at
the mayor and silently thanked him for giving Dr. Wesley an out if
he didn’t want to accept the position. As she seated herself again,
she prayed a silent prayer that the doctor would mind his own
business and stick to the practice of medicine. She neither needed
nor wanted him interfering in her teaching affairs, which is
exactly what he’d be doing if he were appointed to the school
board.

“Well,” Jim Schaeffer said, “what do you say,
Dr. Wesley. We’re busy men. Some of us have to get back to our
farms and finish our chores. Do you wish to join the school board
or should we find someone else for the job.” Jim was about as
patient as a starving dog hunting down its next meal.

Dr. Wesley, who’d remained on his feet, let
his gaze drift from one person to the next as his focus moved about
the table. When he looked at Stephanie, his gaze lingered, making
her quite uncomfortable. “I am indeed a busy man,” he said, staring
directly at Stephanie.

Her hopes began to soar, and her fervent
prayers increased.
Please let him refuse the job,
she prayed
as she forced herself to look away from his captivating gaze.

“Seeing my patients often takes me out of
town for more than a day or two as I make my rounds in the country.
My time, therefore, is quite limited.”

Stephanie prayed harder for his refusal.

“I love my job, and I like the people of
Heart Junction very much. You’ve made me feel quite welcome.”

Will you just turn down the job?
Stephanie silently urged as she kept her gaze from meeting his.

“Whenever I miss my hometown in New Jersey,
all I have to do is look at the lovely people around me to know I
have a new hometown right here in Heart Junction.”

Stephanie had to look at him. Maybe she could
get a reading from his expression which would help her determine
which direction his answer was going to take. She had no idea from
his words or their tone whether he was going to refuse the job or
not.

Big mistake. The instant she looked at him,
he shifted his gaze from the mayor to her. He gave her that
peculiar look he’d given her the last three times he’d invited her
to a social. The look he had before she’d each time quickly refused
his attentions.

“Yes,” Dr. Wesley said thoughtfully, “a
hometown, family right here in Heart Junction.” He slid his fingers
through his dark blond hair. His gaze upon Stephanie became
intense. “I wonder,” he said softly.

“I beg your pardon?” Mrs. Verseth said,
moving her jaw in that peculiar way she had. “What did you say, Dr.
Wesley? I couldn’t quite hear you.”

He stared a moment longer at Stephanie before
he quickly shifted his attention to the mayor. “Herbert,” he said,
decidedly, “Jim, Mrs. Verseth, and everyone else here, I want you
all to know that I would be honored to accept the position left
vacant by Gavin Maitland. I hope that I can make a good many
contributions to this growing community.” He reached toward the
mayor and shook his hand.

“Welcome aboard, son,” Herbert Verseth said,
his dull brown eyes hinting at a rare smile. He drew back his hand
and tried to smooth his always-unruly hair. “You’ll be a fine asset
to Heart Junction as a member of the school board.”

“It’s the least I can do,” Dr. Wesley said.
He tucked his thumb into the watch pocket in his waistcoat and
moved his gaze back to Stephanie. “I look forward to working with
you.”

Stephanie thought her heart would stop
beating and she’d drop dead right there in front of everyone. Was
he speaking directly to her?

His gaze moved on to Miranda Comstock,
Stephanie’s companion teacher at the grade school, then to each of
the other members of the board. “I look forward to working with all
of you.”

Stephanie’s heart was beating wildly. She
needed to get some fresh air. Right now!

She pushed out of her chair and tried to
control her overreaction to the news that she’d be working with
Aaron Wesley in the very near future. “I’m sorry to be so abrupt,”
she said, brushing strands of dark hair from her face, “but I must
leave. I…I have another appointment.”

A room full of strange looks rested on
Stephanie, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was that she
needed to get away from Dr. Wesley as quickly as she could.

Aaron watched Stephanie bolt out of the
meeting room. He couldn’t help but smile. He loved making her
uncomfortable. She deserved to be uncomfortable. How many times had
she dealt him a blow of discomfort when she’d refused to spend so
much as a few hours with him?

He’d tried every way he could think of to get
Miss Porter to spend time with him. But the most beautiful woman in
town had turned down his invitations time and time again.

Now that he was going to be on the school
board, she’d have to make time for him.

He smiled again. One way or another, he’d
find a secret passage into Miss Porter’s locked-up heart. He’d
never backed away from a challenge, and he wasn’t about to
start.

“Dr. Wesley,” Jim Schaeffer said, “since you
are the most educated of all of us on the school board, I would
like to nominate you for the job of overseeing the possibility of
Heart Junction Grade School getting a principal to be in charge of
the curriculum, classes and staff.”

Earl Ferguson slapped the table. “Splendid
idea, Jim. Aaron can work directly with Miss Comstock and Miss
Porter in determining exactly what the duties of the new principal
should be. We’ll be needing another teacher or two as well in the
near future with the way Heart Junction is growing.”

“And don’t forget the flour mill,” Wes Craven
interjected. “That will bring in at least two dozen jobs. Men with
families will be moving to Heart Junction next year to staff the
mill when it’s completed. We’ll have to figure ways we can educate
those children in the facility we already have. We can’t afford to
build on to the school just yet.”

“Yes, indeed,” Antigone added, “we have much
to consider in our school expansion and reorganization.”

Herbert Verseth cleared his throat and tried
to calm his unruly hair with his stubby fingers. “Can you handle
the job, Dr. Wesley?”

Aaron couldn’t have set up a better scenario
himself, not if he’d plotted and planned for weeks. He tried to
keep the smile on his face limited to the size of Rhode Island
though inside it truly was the size of South America. He’d be
working more closely with Stephanie than he had ever dreamed, and
he couldn’t have felt more victorious!

He nodded thoughtfully. “I’m sure I can work
with Miss Comstock and Miss Porter to come up with a plan that the
board and the city can be happy with.” He stood up straight and put
his thumb into his watch pocket. “Of course, it may take quite a
few weeks, might it not, Miss Comstock?” he said, glancing at the
elderly teacher.

Miranda Comstock tilted her head and smiled
at him. Her silver-blue eyes twinkled as she spoke. “Reorganizing
the school and planning for the future will be a large task,
indeed. But I have every confidence in your managerial and
executive abilities, Dr. Wesley.”

He smiled at her and bowed slightly. “I thank
you, Miss Comstock, and I’ll count on your many years of experience
and wonderful insight to help me find what is best for the
education of Heart Junction’s children.”

Antigone began to applaud, and soon the
remainder of people in the room followed her lead. When the
applause died down, Antigone stood and looked at Aaron.

“It seems we’ve settled a great deal
tonight.” She nodded toward Aaron. “Doctor, thank you for your
dedication to Heart Junction.” She looked at her husband sitting,
who was sitting next to her, took his arm and helped him to his
feet. “Herbert, it’s time we go home.”

“Yes, dear, it’s getting late.” He waggled
his bushy brows in that aggravating way he had. “Wesley, why don’t
you get something to me on this school reorganization in a couple
of weeks. Nothing too detailed, just enough to let me know you’re
working on the project and making some progress.”

Aaron’s stomach knotted when he heard the
mayor’s request. He hadn’t thought about the actual work that would
be involved in this project. All he’d thought about was the time
he’d have to spend with Miss Porter. If the mayor’s intention had
been to drag him out of his dreams of the loveliest lady in Heart
Junction and into the real-life commitment he’d just made, then
Herbert had succeeded completely.

“I’ll let you, Mayor, and all of the board
know of my progress in a couple of weeks,” Aaron said confidently,
ignoring his sudden regrets.

The others began to rise to their feet. A
murmur went through the room as the mayor and his wife took leave.
A few of the remaining people shook hands with Aaron, welcoming him
to the school board and wishing him luck on his new project.

Within a few moments, the room was empty, and
Aaron sat at the meeting table all alone.

“I had every intention of refusing the seat
on the board,” he whispered to the empty chairs, “but, when she
looked at me with those unbelievably gorgeous deep-green eyes, I
had to take the job. I would do anything in the world to win the
opportunity to spend time with Stephanie Porter.”

But what would Miss Porter think about having
to work so closely with him?