Love Finds You on Christmas Morning (12 page)

An odd expression covered William’s face. “Rose McNault? What are you doing here?”

She tilted her head back and laughed. “Killing time. What are you doing here, William Tronnier?”

“I stopped by to see Miss Pickard.”

“Oh you did, did you?” Rose turned to the side and looked back at William coquettishly. “Sort of how you used to stop by and see me when I worked in Raleigh?” She let out an ear-piercing laugh. “Oh, I get it. You’re having a little fun on the other side of the tracks. My brothers did that before they settled down.”

Lillian felt as though the earth had opened up and swallowed her. She looked at William, whose chin had dropped, and then back to Rose, who held his gaze with her own flirty eyes.

As difficult as it was, Lillian forced herself to take a step toward the back of the store. “Um…I need to go see about something. I’ll be right back.”

She walked away as quickly as she could. Mr. Joachim stepped out of his office, but she wouldn’t look him in the eye. She could tell he started to follow her but stopped.

As soon as she was out of sight, she leaned against the wall. Mama had been right. She had no business even thinking that William Tronnier was interested in her. She sniffled back the tears, cleared her throat, and took several deep breaths.

The pain of her discovery turned to anger. How dare he treat her so disrespectfully? Lillian pulled herself together, squared her shoulders, and gave herself a lecture.
This is not the end of the world. It’s best to find out now and be done with someone who only wanted to pretend.

When she was certain she could face William and Rose without crumbling, she marched right back out to the sales floor. He was gone, but Rose stood behind the counter with a smug look on her face.

“That was a pleasant surprise,” Rose said, her voice laced with sarcasm. “I didn’t realize you and William were such good friends.”

“We’re not.” Lillian couldn’t keep the edge from her voice. “We’re merely acquaintances.”

“Oh?” Rose ran her hand along the edge of the counter, studied her hand, and flicked away the dust with the other hand. “I thought maybe…well, it was just a silly notion. Anyway, I need to leave soon. What time should I be here tomorrow?”

“We open at nine. I like to get here early.”

Rose patted her bobbed hair and pouted her brightly glossed red lips as she headed toward the door. “I’ll be here around nine. See ya.”

Lillian wondered if she’d made the biggest mistake of her life by hiring Rose. But then if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t know about William. Lillian cringed as she thought about how she’d been played a fool.

She wiped off the cash register and dusted the countertop before gathering her personal belongings and going home. Mr. Joachim stayed behind and told her he’d lock up. William wasn’t anywhere around—not even in front of her house, where she’d half expected to see him.

Mama had prepared a nice little meat loaf and a compote with some fruit she’d purchased with the extra money Mr. Joachim had given Lillian. Although having meat on the table more than a couple of nights a week was good, Lillian thought it might be nice to spend a little on herself. She could use a pair of gloves, and maybe one of these days she might even consider going to the beauty salon. The one time she’d gone there was when Daddy was still working and she wasn’t old enough to appreciate it.

Daddy was cranky, which kept Mama occupied, and Lillian wasn’t terribly upset about it. She didn’t have all the attention on her, so she could eat in peace and then retire to her room after the dishes were done.

She lay in bed staring up at the ceiling with only the light of the half-moon filtered through the sheer draperies. Her initial resistance to William came from a gut feeling that she didn’t belong with someone like him. Mama and Daddy had warned her, but William’s charm had broken through her shell and Daddy’s. She needed to listen to Mama and not even think of straying from what she knew was good for her: working hard and not thinking about romance.

As she dozed off, images of William swirled in her head, with Rose standing at his side laughing and teasing her. “You’ll never be good enough for a man like William,” came Rose’s taunts. Lillian awoke with a crick in her neck and a sense of dread about facing Rose at the store.

Lillian arrived at the store at a quarter to nine. Mr. Joachim was right behind her, humming a familiar tune and smiling. “Nice morning for this time of year, isn’t it, Miss Pickard?”

“Very nice,” she said, trying hard to act more cheerful than she felt.

He instantly stopped humming, scrunched his forehead, and leaned toward her. “Are you not feeling well? I’ve heard there’s something going around.”

“I’m feeling just fine,” Lillian said. “I just know we’re going to be very busy today, so I have to set everything up. Would you like me to put one of the display racks on the sidewalk, since the sun is shining and it’s not too cold?”

“Rose said she didn’t like that display,” Mr. Joachim said. “So I’m thinking we might find another way to get people into the store.”

“Well, I like it.” Lillian grabbed both sides of the rack that rested against the wall next to the front door. “So I think I’ll put it out there, if you don’t mind.”

He jumped back. “Okay, if that’s what you think we should do.” He started for his office and then stopped and turned around. “Please send Rose back to my office when she gets in. Tell her I have something to discuss with her.”

“Yes, sir.”

Rose was five minutes late, and she didn’t even bother with an excuse. Instead, she lifted her head, looked directly at Lillian, and asked if she needed help bringing in that “hideous-looking” display. “I think it cheapens the look of the store,” she explained.

“Well, this
is
a five and dime,” Lillian retorted. “It’s not exactly a specialty boutique.” Lillian cleared her throat. “Oh, by the way, Mr. Joachim would like to see you. He said to tell you to go back to his office when you got here.”

“Be a dear and go tell him I’m busy right now. I’ll see him a little bit later.”

Lillian stopped in her tracks, spun around, and glared at Rose. “I don’t know who you think you are, but Mr. Joachim is the owner of this store. He is the one who gives us our pay at the end of the week. I will
not
go tell him you’re too busy to see him.”

“Wow, you sure are testy this morning. I thought you’d be a sweet girl to work with, but you’ve actually turned out to be quite difficult.” She frowned and contorted her face. “Okay, I’ll go see what he wants.”

Lillian had no idea what Mr. Joachim would want to see Rose about, since he’d given her the task of training. The only thing she knew was that he really seemed to like Rose, and he’d been in a particularly good mood until he realized Lillian wasn’t. Uh-oh. What if she’d made him mad and he wanted to discuss it with Rose?

Lillian felt as if all the blood had drained from her body. She stood still, willing her body not to react like it was.

Then Rose came storming out of Mr. Joachim’s office, ranting about no one appreciating her good taste. Instead of stopping by the cash-register counter, she continued until she was out the door, letting it slam behind her.

What had just happened?

Lillian leaned forward to see if Mr. Joachim’s office door was still open. Not only was his door open, but he was on his way to the front of the store with a smug look on his face.

“Tell you what, Lillian. Next time we hire someone, let me take care of it. I don’t want to take a chance and have that happen again.”

“Wh–what just happened?”

“You don’t know?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I have no idea.”

“First off, I don’t want to see my prized employee butting heads with the new person.”

“I’m sorry,” Lillian said. “That was partly my fault—”

“No, you were right,” he interrupted. “That young woman is no lady. She doesn’t have an ounce of respect for authority, and she doesn’t seem to know the difference between right and wrong. I don’t mind giving a young person direction, but I don’t want to hire someone then turn around and have to act like a parent.”

“Oh.” Lillian felt terrible about her decision to hire Rose. “I’m very sorry I made such a horrible mistake.”

“It’s not your fault, Lillian,” he said, his voice tender and kind. “You have such a strong work ethic, and you’re so honest that you don’t expect this kind of behavior from others. I’ve known people ten years younger than Rose who’ve acted more mature. Do you know who her parents are?”

Lillian shook her head. “How would I know?”

He chuckled. “I’m surprised she didn’t tell you. Her daddy owns about ten percent of Raleigh, including the second-largest bank. He’s considering buying some of the businesses here in Cary.”

That confused Lillian. Why would Rose go to the trouble of coming to Cary and getting a job at the Five and Dime? Mr. Joachim continued. “I found out yesterday evening when William stopped by after you left.”

“William came by the store?”

“Yes, he said he was looking for you, and since you often stick around after closing, he thought he might find you here. He wanted to talk to you when Rose wasn’t nearby.”

“Oh.” Lillian hung her head. Now it was confirmed; William was embarrassed to be seen with her, and he didn’t want Rose to know.

“William is a very honorable young man. He didn’t want to snitch, but I managed to find out what I needed about Rose. And what he didn’t tell me, I found out from a business acquaintance in Raleigh. Apparently, she lost her last job because she refused to do the work. I’m not sure why she came here looking for work, but William seems to think it has something to do with defying her parents, who have always kept tight reins on her…and possibly creating a path of destruction before they come here.”

Whatever the case, it was obvious that William still didn’t want Rose to know he was coming to see the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Lillian might not be experienced with men, but she wasn’t stupid or desperate either.

Mr. Joachim leaned over and caught her gaze. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more involved in helping you with the hiring. Don’t think I’m blaming you for anything regarding Rose. There wasn’t any way for you to know. On the surface, she seemed like a good choice, but people like her can fool anyone.”

Lillian nodded. “I need to get to work now.”

“Since we’re probably going to be busy, I’ll help out until we find someone with your sign in the window.” He smiled. “By the way, I appreciate your diligence in everything.”

As expected, the store became busy and remained that way for most of the day. Lillian rarely had time to reflect on anything that had happened until the last customer left.

“Good job, Lillian,” Mr. Joachim said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Here’s a little extra for all your hard work.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“I want you to buy yourself something nice,” he said. “There should be enough in there to give your mama the household money and have some left over for you.”

All the way home, she thought about what she’d do with her personal money. Gloves would be nice, but then so would a stylish haircut. Since she wasn’t sure how much money was in the envelope, she knew she shouldn’t be daydreaming about it.

When she arrived home, Mama was in the kitchen and Daddy was asleep and snoring in his chair, an open book face down on his chest. After a brief pause, she scurried to her room, closed the door, and opened the envelope.

Mr. Joachim wasn’t kidding. There was more than enough to give Mama the household money for a week and keep something for herself. In fact, she could purchase the gloves
and
get a haircut.

She tucked a little bit of the money into her pocketbook and stuffed the rest of it back into the envelope. As she passed the mirror, she glanced at it and smiled. It wouldn’t be long before she had a completely different, more modern look.

Mama looked over her shoulder when Lillian came into the kitchen. “How was your day with the new girl?”

“She didn’t work out.”

“Too bad. Was Mr. Joachim upset with you for hiring her?”

“No,” Lillian replied. “In fact, he gave me a bonus for having to work so hard.”

Mama spun around with an eager expression. “A bonus?”

“Here,” Lillian said as she handed Mama the envelope. “We should be able to eat well for a while.”

Mama took the envelope and thumbed through it. She opened her mouth to speak, but the sound of someone knocking on the front door stopped her.

Daddy got to the door before Lillian or her mama. William stood on the other side with an expectant look on his face.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but may I see Lillian?” William’s gaze shifted from Daddy’s to hers. “Lillian?”

She folded her arms and stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. “I suppose there’s no harm in talking to you. Let me get my coat, and we can go outside.”

“Lillian!” Mama frowned at her. “You’ll catch your death of cold. Invite Mr. Tronnier inside.”

“That’s okay, Mrs. Pickard,” William said. “My coat is warm, and besides, I’m not all that cold-natured.”

Lillian didn’t waste any time grabbing her coat and heading for the door. William followed her down the walk. “Want to go for a drive?”

“No, I think it’s best if we talk here.” She cleared her throat and gathered her thoughts. “William, I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I want you to leave me out of it.”

“Game?” He tilted his head and frowned. “What makes you think I’m playing a game?”

“You’re obviously visiting more than one girl at work, and you and I both know I’m not exactly in your social—”

A light of dawning appeared on his face. “Hold on there, Lillian. If you’re talking about what happened with Rose, I can explain.”

Lillian held up her hands. “You don’t have to explain a thing. It’s all very clear.”

“No, it’s not clear at all. The way Rose made things appear isn’t accurate.”

“Did you visit her where she worked in Raleigh?”

“Yes, but…” He rubbed his chin with a gloved hand. “What all did she tell you?”