Love Finds You on Christmas Morning (13 page)

“I don’t think it matters. But what does matter is that I’m busy with work and I can’t afford to lose my job. My parents count on me.”

“I realize that.”

“Mr. Joachim has asked me to work longer hours, which means I have very little time to socialize.”

“He’s also planning to bring someone else in to work for him, so that should help.”

Lillian nodded. “I’m sure it will help, but the store will be open longer and I’ll need to be there.”

Frustration showed in William’s eyes. “Lillian, I like you very much. In fact, I think I might…well, I care for you more than I have any other woman.”

Lillian wished she could believe him. “That’s very sweet, but you need to find someone else.”

He started to touch her cheek but pulled back before he made contact. “I don’t want anyone else.”

The sound of the door opening got their attention. “Lillian, are you still out there? Supper is ready.”

Lillian turned back to face William. “I need to go in now.”

“May we resume this conversation again soon? I would really like to talk to you.”

“We’ll see.” Lillian took a step backward toward the house. “But I don’t think there’s much left to say.” With that, she turned around and didn’t look back.

William stared at the closed front door. He loved Lillian, and his heart ached for her. Pop had always said that when a man truly loved a woman, he would do anything to protect her. Now William knew exactly what Pop was talking about.

On his way back to the farm, he pondered his next move. His mission to make Lillian see his true feelings and to do whatever it took to win her heart would be a difficult task, but he didn’t care. Having Lillian in his life was worth it.

As he sat at the table with Mom, Pop, and his brothers, he noticed them casting curious looks his way then exchanging glances with each other. He didn’t say anything until Mom cornered him in the kitchen when he got up to help with dessert.

“What happened today, Will?”

He shrugged and forced a grin. “Nothing you can do anything about.”

“Let me just ask you one thing.” She lifted an eyebrow and held his gaze. “Is it business or personal?”

“Personal.”

“Girl problems?”

William laughed. “You said you were only going to ask me one thing.”

“Who can count when it comes to love?”

“And who said anything about love?” William asked.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You are so much like your father sometimes.”

“And you adore my father, so that’s a good thing.”

“We’d better get this dessert to the guys before they come after us.”

“After you, Mom.”

William noticed the way his brothers looked back and forth between him and their mother, but no one said a word. Pop didn’t look at either of them, which was just as telling. They’d obviously discussed him when he was in the kitchen with Mom.

After everyone finished dessert, Mason stood. “I need to head on home since we have an early start in the morning.”

“It’s not like you have that far to go,” Mom argued. “Why don’t you stick around and have some coffee?”

Mason glanced at William and then at Amos before shaking his head. “I’ll be here for breakfast.”

William and Amos shooed Mom out of the kitchen so they could finish cleaning up. As soon as she was gone, Amos turned to William. “So are you gonna tell me what’s bothering you, or is this when I have to pry it out of you?”

“I don’t know what to do about Lillian.”

“We all figured as much. So what’s the problem?”

“Lots of things.” He held up his fingers and touched each one as he listed her objections. “She’s too busy. She thinks we’re too different. She’s upset about something Rose said….”

“All those are minor obstacles, from what I can tell.”

“Maybe minor to you, but she thinks they’re major, and there isn’t much I can do about it.”

“C’mon, Will. You’ve never given up that easily before.”

“Who says I’m giving up? I’m just taking a step back and planning a strategy.”

Amos chuckled. “That’s the Will I know.”

“So let’s get this job done.”

Lillian arrived at the shop early the next morning to move some of the stock around. Mr. Joachim liked fresh presentations to add visual interest to the merchandise, and it gave her something to get her mind off William.

When Mr. Joachim walked in the door, he took an appreciative look around. “Great job, Lillian. You’ll be happy to know that I’ll be interviewing someone looking for seasonal work. She is a scholarship boarding student at Cary High School, and she needs the money for incidentals. The principal of the school highly recommends her.”

“I hope she’s good, then.”

“We’ll have to see. After I talk to her, you can have a chat if you want.”

Lillian started to say that wouldn’t be necessary, but she stopped herself. It would be nice to at least meet the person she’d be training. “I’d like that.”

Customers started coming in, so both of them became extremely busy until things died down around lunchtime. Mr. Joachim glanced at his watch. “She should be here any minute now. Send her back when she arrives.” He started toward the back then stopped. “Oh, by the way, her name is Anne Jamison.”

After he went to his office, Lillian took advantage of the lull and wiped off the counter. A container of talcum powder had developed a leak, and dust had settled around the cash register. When the bell jingled, Lillian glanced up at the door and saw a young woman walk in. A look of guarded fear was on her face.

“Are you Anne?”

The girl’s eyes widened as she nodded. Lillian’s heart went out to the girl, who had probably never held a job before. “Is Mr. Joachim available?”

“Yes,” Lillian said. “Follow me.”

After she delivered Anne to Mr. Joachim, Lillian found herself eager to talk to the girl who reminded her of herself, the first time she’d interviewed for a job—this job. Maybe she could help to put Anne’s mind at ease.

Finally Mr. Joachim appeared. “I’ll take over out here while you talk to Anne. She’s a rather timid girl, so I’m not sure how she’ll do with customers.”

“I’ll speak with her.” Lillian scurried back to Mr. Joachim’s office.

Anne sat in the folding chair, her white gloved hands in her lap and her legs crossed at the ankles. When she realized Lillian was there, her lips twitched into a nervous smile.

“So is this your first job?” Lillian asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Lillian smiled. “This is my first job too. I remember being scared to death when I first started, but I’m not anymore. When you work in a store like this, you pretty much just help people find what they came in for, and then you sell it to them. There are other duties as well, but none of it is difficult.”

“How will I find everything?” Anne asked.

Lillian sat down and explained the general layout of the store. “At first, you might have to ask me, but it won’t be long before you know where to find the merchandise. And since you’ll be adding stock to the shelves when we run low, it’ll be easy to remember.”

“When will I know if I got the job?” Anne asked.

“I’m sure Mr. Joachim will tell you soon. He needs to hire someone to help out during the holidays.”

Anne nodded. “That’s what Mr. Parker at the school said.”

“Do you have any more questions before I go get Mr. Joachim?”

“No, not right now.”

“Okay, wait right here.” Lillian left Anne in the office.

Mr. Joachim was finishing up with the only customer in the store. After she left, he turned to Lillian. “Well? What do you think? Should we hire her?”

“I think so. She seems very nice, and I’m sure I can teach her what she needs to know.”

“All right, then, why don’t you go tell her she has a job? And if she wants to start now, we can put her to work.”

When Lillian delivered the news, Anne instantly looked scared. Then her features softened. “I can start now. Mr. Parker told me this might happen.”

“Come on. Let me show you around before we get too busy.”

The rest of the day, Lillian let Anne follow her around the store. After showing her how the cash register worked, she even let Anne ring up several small orders. Each time, Anne appeared more confident.

“So how do you like the job so far?” Lillian asked. “Is it as bad as you thought?”

“No, it’s not bad at all,” Anne said. “I enjoy working the cash register.”

After they flipped the sign on the door from O
PEN
to C
LOSED
, Mr. Joachim discussed Anne’s hours with Lillian. “Since you’re in school during the morning, I’ll expect you to work until closing during the week. On Saturdays, you can come in at the same time as Lillian.”

Based on Anne’s expression, Lillian could tell she was mentally calculating how much she’d be working. “Is that too many hours for you?” she asked.

“No, ma’am. I need as many hours as I can get if I want to buy Christmas presents for everyone.”

Lillian glanced over at their boss, whose eyes had misted. She knew he had a soft spot for people who needed him.

Anne glanced over at the door, and her eyes widened. Lillian turned around and saw William standing there, looking in.

“Don’t worry about him,” Lillian said as Mr. Joachim went to open the door. “He’s a good friend.”

Mr. Joachim spoke to William for a moment, and he nodded. Then the men joined Lillian and Anne. “He’s agreed to take Anne back to the school when he’s in town.”

Lillian looked up at William, who was smiling down at the girl. “Are you ready to leave now?”

Anne still looked frightened, so Lillian took her by the arm and looked at William. “Would you mind taking me home too? We can drop Anne off at the school first.”

William couldn’t believe his good fortune. He’d stopped by the Five and Dime with a sliver of hope that Lillian would talk to him, and now she was asking for a ride.

“Of course I don’t mind. In fact, it’s my pleasure.”

Mr. Joachim said his farewells to the rest and then retreated to his office to tally the day’s receipts. Lillian and Anne got their coats and followed William to his automobile.

“I’ve never ridden in one of these before,” Anne said as she reluctantly got inside.

“You’re in for a treat, then,” Lillian told her.

After they took Anne back to the school, William turned to face Lillian. “So how did I do?”

“How did you do what?” Lillian asked.

“With your new friend Anne? Do you think she’ll ever allow me to take her back to school again?”

Lillian allowed herself to laugh. “I’m sure she’ll be more than happy not to have to walk.”

William frowned. “It worries me that a young girl will have to walk this far everyday.”

“It’s only a quarter of a mile.”

“I know, but it gets dark early, and there’s no telling—” He stopped abruptly and slowed down the automobile. “Why are you grinning?”

Lillian shrugged. “I think it’s sweet that you’re so concerned for Anne, even though you’ve barely met her.”

“I can’t imagine any decent man not being concerned about the welfare of a young, innocent girl.”

Lillian felt a twinge in her chest. William did have a decent side, even if he was toying with her heart.

A few minutes later, he pulled up in front of Lillian’s house. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Thank you for riding with me,” William replied.

Lillian allowed herself to hold his gaze for a couple of seconds. “That was a very sweet thing you did for Anne. Have a safe trip home.”

She ran for the front door before giving him a chance to say anything. Once she got inside, she leaned over and glanced through the window in time to see him pull away.

“Did William just bring you home?” Mama asked.

“Yes.” She took a deep breath before turning around. “We started a new girl from the high school, and William offered her a ride. She doesn’t know him, so I went with them.”

Mama narrowed her gaze and set her jaw. “Don’t forget—”

“Don’t worry.”

“Lillian! Don’t speak to your mama like that.”

“Daddy, this whole thing between William and me has been so misconstrued. He’s a very sweet man with a charitable nature. He’s the type who rescues injured birds….”

“And women he wants to notice him?” Mama added.

Lillian folded her arms. “I don’t think he has a bit of trouble getting women to notice him.”

“Some of the women from my weekly Bible class told me about the girl from Raleigh. Rose McNault, I believe, is her name?”

“What about Rose?” Lillian hung her coat on the rack by the door.

“Rose has been talking to some people in town about how William can’t be trusted. Apparently they had a spat, and now he’s gotten her fired from a couple of jobs.”

“Mama, Rose is the woman who worked at Joachim’s for less than a day.”

“Just be careful, Lillian,” Daddy warned. “Too many girls’ heads have been turned by the wrong men who tell them what they want to hear.”

“I know, Daddy.”

Every afternoon for the remainder of the week, William stopped by Joachim’s to take Anne and Lillian home. Friday night, he brought up the subject of what had happened to Rose. Lillian said she didn’t want to discuss her, but William continued.

“I stopped by the store where she worked, and next thing I knew, she was telling everyone she and I were an item,” he explained. “That wasn’t the truth. One afternoon when I went by to pick up something for Mom, she cornered me. I told her I had to go, and she followed me without letting the owner know she was leaving.”

“So that’s how she lost her job?”

William nodded. “That combined with a few other things. You have to trust me when I tell you I’ve never been interested in Rose.”

Since Lillian had gotten a taste of how Rose operated, she believed William. “I’m sorry I thought the worst.”

He smiled. “And I’m sorry I didn’t explain sooner.”

On Saturday, he got out of the automobile and walked Lillian to her door. Before she opened it, he took her by the arm, turned her to face him, and asked if she’d like to come out to his family’s farm after church on Sunday. Her heart hammered when she met his gaze, so she glanced down at the ground to catch her breath before looking back at him.