The Ride of Her Life (45 page)

Lilly gave Nick a puzzled look. What was Mark talking about? She peeked around the corner, but Levi wasn’t in the room.

“But I want to see my mama now!”

Lilly grabbed Nick’s sleeve and breathed, “That’s Levi.”

She wanted to bolt to him, but Nick kept her firmly by his side. A woman responded to her son, and Nick motioned in the direction of their voices.

“I think he’s in the kitchen,” Lilly whispered. Still, she found it odd how quiet her son had suddenly become. Had the woman with Levi threatened him to keep his voice down?

They crept down the hallway, and Lilly stopped in the doorway. A round-faced cook stood by the stove stirring a pot, and at the kitchen table sat Levi with a pile of cookies and a huge glass of milk in front of him. He looked up with a cookie protruding halfway from his lips and smiled. So much for being threatened.

He spit the cookie on the table, hopped down from the chair, and raced across the room. “Mama!”

Lilly caught her son in her arms, raining kisses on his face. After several minutes, she loosened her grip, and Levi wriggled free.

He tipped his face toward Nick. “I knew you’d come ’cause you promised.”

42

Until Lilly saw Mark sitting in the dining room of the lunch counter, she’d almost forgotten about the comments she’d overheard in the Harts’ parlor a few days ago. What had her former in-laws hidden from her? She made a mental note to ask him later.

Trip and Marguerite sat across from Mark at the large table. Emily and Carter joined them, and a few minutes later, Nick entered, spoke to Mr. Thorton, and then sat at the same table. She noticed he pulled up an additional chair. If they thought she could join them, they were sadly mistaken. Customers at four other tables waited to be served.

Mr. Thorton laid a hand on her shoulder. “Go on. They need to talk to you.”

“Are you sure?”

“This may surprise you, but I can pour coffee too.” He winked at her. “And, Lilly, I’m sorry if you thought I was on Claude Hart’s side with Levi. I should have stood up to him when he started pressuring me. I hope you know I was truly concerned for you and Levi.”

“I do, Mr. Thorton.” She smiled as he picked up the coffeepot and headed toward a table in the corner.

Eugenia nudged Lilly’s arm, a plate of cinnamon rolls in her hand. “Didn’t I hear Uncle Clyde say your friends need to speak with you? Why are you still standing here? I can handle the customers. You’ve trained me well.”

Lilly smiled at the girl and untied her apron. “Don’t you want to say hello to Mark?”

Eugenia giggled. “We’ll be saying hello tonight when he picks me up. We’re going to the vaudeville show.”

Lilly draped her arm around the girl’s shoulders for a quick hug, then walked over to the table where Nick stood waiting. He pulled out her chair, and she slowly sat down. Why were all her friends grinning like children who’d gotten a pony on Christmas morning?

“Okay, you all had better fess up.” She scanned their faces. “What’s going on?”

Mark lifted a set of papers from his inside coat pocket and passed them to her. She opened them and read the words at the top.
Last Will and Testament of Benjamin Davis Hart.

Her heart skipped. “Where did you get this? Claude told me Ben never made a will.”

“I found it hidden in Claude Hart’s desk.” Mark beamed at her. “I owed you.”

“Is it real?”

“As real as the money Ben left you.” He pointed to the last paragraph on the page. “The reason I didn’t tell you right away was I wanted to check everything out. Lilly, you have enough money to fix your house, furnish it, and still not work another day ever again if you don’t want to. And if you choose to press charges, your father-in-law could be disbarred.”

With her mouth so dry it tasted like flour, Lilly couldn’t speak. A strange mixture of anger and joy churned inside her. Ben had provided for her and Levi. Not only had he not forgotten about them, but he’d also made his wishes known about Levi’s education. But how dare Claude Hart lie to her? She hadn’t even needed to scrape every penny since she’d left their house!

She took a deep breath and swallowed. He and Evangeline were Ben’s parents. She’d have to come to terms with their place in her life for Levi’s sake. Allowing Claude to be disbarred would only be seeking revenge and not honoring Ben’s memory.

“Lilly?” Emily touched her arm. “What do you think?”

She blinked. “I’m speechless.”

Marguerite chuckled. “Now, there’s a first.”

At Mr. Thorton’s insistence, Lilly took the rest of the day off. Marguerite offered to keep Levi, and Nick announced he had plans for her. However, he said, they first needed to stop at the roller coaster.

She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. “Did you get everything settled with Percy?”

“The sheriff agreed to let him go in my custody, and I arranged for him to work off the cost of the repairs. He’s a good worker, but he needs a lot more encouragement than I realized.”

Her chest warmed. Nick was such a natural father.

“Ruby dropped by today.” He hesitated and gave her a grin that made her heart whirl. “She told me to tell you that you are one lucky lady, but I told her that I was the lucky one.”

“Nick, we still have so much to talk about.”

“I know, but nothing is going to make me stop loving you.”

They strolled down the sidewalk toward the roller coaster. “Nick, I’ve been wretched this week. How could you still like me, let alone love me? I didn’t even like myself. Are you out of your mind?”

“I must be,” he rasped, his voice barely audible.

Tears burned her eyes.

They stopped at the base of the stairs. Holding her face in both of his hands, he thumbed away the tears. “I love all of you—the good, the bad, the funny, the angry, the slightly insane. I even love it when you’re jealous of someone who couldn’t hold a candle to you. That’s not going to change.”

“How can you be sure?”

“If you couldn’t scare me away this week, do you really think I’m going anywhere? There’s no other shoe that’s going to drop. I didn’t plan on asking you to marry me today, so I won’t, but I’m putting you on official notice. I
am
going to ask.”

She swallowed hard and waited until he’d lowered his hands before she spoke again. “Nick, there was a time when I thought I’d never love again, but you turned that upside down, and I want to be with you. Truly, I do. But I have to do what’s best for Levi, and he needs a home. This is his home. My mother is here. His grandparents are here. He has people who love him here. He can’t move around every couple of months the rest of his life.”

“I agree.” He led her up the steps of the loading station. “That’s why I already wrote a letter of resignation to Mr. Ingersoll. I’ll mail it tomorrow if you say the word. I’ll quit this business so we can give him a normal life.”

“I couldn’t let you do that. Roller coasters are too important to you.”

“No, Lilly, you and Levi are important, and I’d do anything for you. But will you do me one favor? Ride my coaster with me.”

She couldn’t refuse him. Minutes later, Nick helped her into a waiting car and sat down beside her. Butterflies did somersaults in her stomach.

Percy wheeled their car around to the bottom of the lift hill. She glanced at the incline and at Nick’s face. He draped his arm around her, and she pressed into him, finding a solidness she yearned to lean on forever. He was willing to give all this up for her. What was she willing to give up for him?

Her mother? She could join them whenever she wanted to. The Harts? They wouldn’t be hard to say goodbye to, but she’d have to make arrangements for them to see Levi. Her friends?

Her throat clogged as the car began its ascent. She’d find a way to keep in touch with her friends.

Her home? They could keep the house. She could hire someone to tend to it, but if she married Nick, there’d be no permanent, year-round place to call home. Her head demanded she take the safe path, but her heart told her to risk it all.

“Look around, Lilly. Isn’t the view beautiful?”

“It is. You can see all of Lake Manawa.” The car rounded the curve at the top. Her heart skittering, she turned to him. It was now or never. For once in her life, her heart won over practicality. “Nick, I want a life with you. I want this life. Complete with all the thrills and dips. Will you, well, you know . . .”

“Are you asking me to marry you?”

She didn’t get to answer. Instead, the first dip sucked the air from her lungs. She screamed. He pulled her tighter.

The ride, a mix of hills, valleys, and sudden turns, sent her stomach lurching, and she loved every second. Why had she waited so long to enjoy it?

As the car slowed, she glanced at him.

“Lilly, is that what you were asking?”

Love shone in the cobalt-blue depths of his eyes. She nodded. “I was asking if you’re ready for the ride of your life.”

He grinned. “I don’t think you can ever be ready for something like that. You just have to take the plunge. Like this.” Cradling the back of her head in his hand, he lowered his lips to hers, making her believe every word he’d ever said—a roller coaster of emotions, dizzily spinning her fears into oblivion.

Finally, in his arms, she was home.

Author’s Note

Trolley parks like Lake Manawa began to grow in popularity more and more in the early part of the century. Funded by streetcar companies, these trolley parks were the first amusement parks. Streetcar companies made a wise investment in them. Visitors would pay to get to the park, spend money once they arrived, and pay again to go home—a winning situation all the way around. Between 1899 and 1905, amusement park popularity exploded, with an average of seventy-five new parks being built each year. It is estimated that the United States saw the appearance of two thousand parks before the Great Depression.

Fred Ingersoll, inventor, designer, and builder, was the first to create an amusement park chain known collectively as Luna Parks. Records indicate that his company built over 277 roller coasters and forty-four complete Luna Parks, although more lost “Lunas” are being discovered all the time throughout the world. A number of park workers made their start building Luna Parks, including Joseph McKee, who went on to build over three hundred roller coasters.

The name of Lake Manawa’s roller coaster designer and builder does not appear to have survived the test of time, but given the details we know of the coaster, it seems possible that the Velvet Coaster could have been one of the roller coasters built by the Ingersoll Company or someone who once worked there.

The world’s oldest operating coaster, Leap-the-Dips, is still providing fun at Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1902 by the Edward Joy Morris Company. It is North America’s last surviving side-friction roller coaster and reaches an average speed of 10 miles per hour. In contrast, today’s fastest coasters top speeds of 120 miles per hour.

Lake Manawa’s Velvet Coaster burned to the ground in 1922. Without its star attraction, the once opulent park came to a close only five years later—a victim of the automobile, tornadoes and fires, and changing times. The buildings that remained were sold off or torn down. My grandfather purchased one of the bath houses, moved it to a lot on what was once part of the Midway, and made it into a home. My father lived there as a boy.

Today, Lake Manawa State Park is a popular boating, fishing, and camping area, but sadly, nothing remains of its time as a resort. Stop by the state park and the Squirrel Cage Jail Museum when you visit Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Acknowledgments

Saying goodbye to Marguerite, Emily, Lilly, and Lake Manawa has been harder than I expected, but I am excited about the new characters already filling up pages on my computer. Thank you, dear reader, for sharing in these women’s stories and joining me on this journey. Your letters and notes have brought me so much encouragement. Please know that I’m praying for you all.

I am grateful to all those at Revell who work so hard to create the best product possible. My wonderful editors, Andrea Doering and Jessica English, make the words sing. Cheryl and her art department design the most beautiful covers. Deonne, Donna, Twila, Michele, and each of their teams deserve a round of applause for publicity, marketing, and sales work.

A big thanks goes to my agent, Wendy Lawton, of Books & Such Literary Agency for her business savvy and ongoing support.

Research is one of the parts of writing historical novels that I enjoy most. I want to thank B. Derek Shaw, board member for the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives, for his help, as well as the Council Bluffs Public Library. Any errors are mine alone.

A special thank you to Judy Miller, who answers all my questions, holds my “writer” hand, reads my chapters, and reminds me of what is really important. You are one of greatest blessings in my life.

I want to send a big hug to my wonderful crit partners, Brenda Anderson and Shannon Vannatter, who make sure all my characters are dressed and that Lake Manawa comes alive.