As Love Blooms (12 page)

The front door creaked open, and Tessa stepped into the parlor. She held a limp and soggy ivory hat in her hands, its ostrich plume having lost all its bravado.

“Tessa, what happened to your hat?” Hannah’s eyes darted to Sam. “Of course, you don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to.”

“It fell in the lily pond.” Tessa tilted her head. “Hannah, why are you and Ellie here? And why is Alice Ann here? Where’s Charlotte?”

“Well, little sister, Lincoln is in the billiards room. We came for the afternoon. I offered to take Alice Ann so Charlotte and Joel could have an afternoon alone.” Hannah glanced at the clock. “I’d hoped to visit with my sister.”

Sam scowled at her.

Hannah seemed to catch on and smiled. “But instead, I spent time in Aunt Sam’s wise company. And what did you do this afternoon?”

Tessa sat in the other wing chair and folded her hands. So different this young woman was than the girl of yesterday who would have plopped down without a second thought.

“I was at Como Park. One of the gardeners I met there earlier offered to show me some of the park’s attractions.” Her eyes glittered as she spoke. “We had a pleasant afternoon together.”

Hannah glanced at Sam, and they shared a knowing smile. “What is this gardener’s name?”

“Reese King.” Tessa straightened. “His father is the superintendent of parks in Chicago, but he came here to make a name for himself—all on his own.”

“And I saw he escorted you home.” Sam set her book on the table. “That was kind of him.”

Alice Ann stood by the dollhouse with her hands clasped behind her. “Did he kiss you?” She swayed on her tiptoes as she spoke.

Hannah spun in her niece’s direction. “Alice Ann!”

Tessa’s cheeks turned crimson. “No, sweetheart, he didn’t. We’re friends.”

The little girl crossed her arms over her chest and gave a firm nod. “Good. Boys are yucky.”

“That isn’t kind.” Hannah’s tone still held a note of amusement. “And not all boys are yucky.”

“Well . . .” Alice Ann scrunched her brow. “My daddy isn’t—and I like Uncle Lincoln, but Jimmy Wilson is as mean as a rattlesnake.” Her eyes filled with tears.

Sam looked from Hannah to Tessa. Hannah shrugged. Apparently both were unaware of this boy.

Tessa walked over to the dollhouse and knelt on the floor beside her niece. “What does Jimmy do to you? Pull your braids? Tease you?”

“I can’t say. It’s a secret.”

“That doesn’t sound like the good kind of secret.” Tessa wiped the tears from the girl’s cheeks. “You can tell us, honey. We’re your family. We love you no matter what.”

“Momma won’t.”

Hannah joined them and laid her hand on Alice Ann’s shoulder. “Your mother won’t love you? Why do you say that? Honey, please tell us. That’s the only way we can help.” She glanced at Sam. “Families share things. You shouldn’t carry burdens alone.”

Alice Ann sniffed. “Jimmy says my real mother didn’t want me. He says Momma will get tired of me when she has a baby of her own, and then Daddy will send me back to the orphanage.”

“Oh, honey.” Tessa pulled the little girl into her arms. “That would never happen. Your momma can love you and any new babies that come along just like she loves me, Aunt Hannah, and Aunt Sam all at once. And your daddy would never send you back
to the orphanage. Families don’t give up on you when you make a mistake. No one knows that better than me.”

Alice Ann pulled back and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her dress. “Really?”

Tessa grabbed her niece by the waist and tickled her ribs. “Absitively. Posilutely.”

“Aunt Tessa, you’re silly.”

“And being silly is one of my favoritest things.” She tickled her again. “So when does this nasty Jimmy bother you? At school?”

“No, when I’m walking to school. He lives five houses away from mine.”

“And is he ugly as a fence post?”

“Tessa.” Hannah’s voice held a note of censure, but Alice Ann giggled.

“He’s not ugly, Aunt Tessa, but he has ears that stick out like this.” She placed her hands by her ears and waved them.

Tessa squeezed Alice Ann’s hand. “But you never tease him about that, do you, sweetie?”

“No, Mommy says Jesus wouldn’t want me to do that.”

“He certainly wouldn’t.” Tessa smiled at the little girl. “I want you to tell us if he bothers you anymore, okay?”

Sam took in the scene before her. Her family. God had given her what she never thought she’d have. They probably deserved to know her undisclosed news, but what difference would it make? It wasn’t as if there were any understanding between James and her. Besides, she had a right to her privacy, in the same way Tessa had a right to hers.

Stares didn’t bother Tessa, and it was a good thing. When she’d hopped on the streetcar wearing overalls, boots, and a straw hat this morning, more than one lady gave her a lecture with their eyes. Still, she wouldn’t let their disapproval bother her. She had something more important to do.

Tessa stepped off the streetcar where Charlotte and Joel lived and walked down the sidewalk. As she neared their home, she counted five houses down and then leaned against a tree a short distance away and waited.

It didn’t take long for a boy in knee pants to exit the home and skip down the steps. Alice Ann had described Jimmy’s ears quite well.

“Jimmy?”

He stopped and turned toward her, his eyes wide.

“I’m Alice Ann’s aunt, and I want to talk to you.”

His face scrunched. “You’re her aunt? But you look like a boy!”

She swallowed a chuckle. Laughing would certainly limit the effectiveness of her threats.

“Listen, Jimmy, I heard that you’ve been saying some unkind things to Alice Ann.” She kept her voice firm. “I’ve come to warn you to stop. If you don’t, I’ll have to come back and speak to your parents.”

Fear flashed across Jimmy’s face, but it was quickly replaced with a quizzical tilt of the head. “You gonna wear that?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Then I don’t have a thing to worry about, ’cause my momma wouldn’t let you through the door.”

“In that case, I’ll wear my prettiest dress. So you think long and hard about what your momma would say if she knew you’d been mean to a girl.” She tapped the bill of his cap. “And remember, I’ll be watching you.”

Reese hated to disappoint Tessa—especially after yesterday.

He stood waiting for her at the Como Park streetcar station. She’d told him her aunt would need the motorcar this morning, so she’d be coming by streetcar. He could only imagine how the other passengers would react to her gardening clothes.

He glanced at the station’s fireplace, where only embers remained glowing. They’d probably needed the heat last night. By the time he arrived home from delivering Tessa to her aunt’s house, the air was ripe with a chill.

Tessa’s aunt’s house. Wow. What a home. It was dusk when he pulled up to the home on the corner of Chatsworth and Summit, and despite the diminishing sunlight, he could tell the place screamed money. The enormous brick mansion, set back from the street, sported at least six chimneys. He could only guess how many rooms it had. Even the wraparound porch, with its tiled floor and inviting wicker furniture, told him Tessa’s aunt surrounded herself with the finest things.

It was hard to believe that anyone who lived in a place like that wanted to spend her life digging in the dirt. But Tessa did. There were a lot of things about Tessa he was unsure of, but her desire to garden wasn’t one of them.

The streetcar bell clanged as the trolley came to a stop. Tessa descended the steps a minute later, wearing her overalls and straw hat. She spotted him, and a wide smile lit her face.

He sighed. Now he’d have to break the bad news.

“Good morning.” She tugged the brim of her hat down. “Ready to work? It’s planting time. You said we could put in the bushes today.”

“I have some bad news, Tessa.”

Her smile faded. “What’s wrong?”

“We can’t work together.”

She paled. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”

“No!” She was taking this all wrong. “Mr. Nussbaumer assigned me to a different task, and it’ll take a few days.”

“Oh.” Relief filled her voice. “Then I guess I can work on the garden alone, or I could help you.”

Reese rubbed his chin. “Mr. Nussbaumer did say I should ask my young apprentice to join me.”

“You have an apprentice?”

“He means you. I told him the boy working with me wants to learn about gardening.” He motioned her toward the exit. “But I don’t know. If we’re discovered, it could ruin everything.”

“We’ll have to be careful, but if I help you, it will go much more quickly. Then we can get back to planting the rest of our garden. What are we going to be working on?”

“I didn’t say yes yet.”

“You will. Resisting me is impossible.”

He chuckled. He should show that her wiles didn’t work on him, but then again, she had a point. So far she’d proven hard to resist more than once. “All right, you win. We’ll be planting the Gates Ajar according to Mr. Nussbaumer’s plans. It’ll be messy. We’ll have to apply a lot of mud to the walls, so you can take back your offer if you want.”

Tessa shook her head. “It’s going to be great fun.”

“Is everything entertaining to you?”

“Mostly.” She chuckled, then wrinkled her nose. “Scratch that. I don’t find lectures, quilting circles, or long train rides the least bit enjoyable. Everything else is pretty much fair game. Come on. Let’s hurry.” She skipped down the walk, leaving Reese to follow.

Good grief. What if someone saw her right now? From the way she walked, they’d know for certain she was a girl in boy’s clothing. He didn’t dare call out to her, so he had to hurry to catch up. He grabbed her arm. “Tessa, you’re a boy, remember?”

She tipped her face up to his with a coy smile. “Surely you realize by now I’m no boy.”

His neck warmed. Did she know what she was doing to him with that look? “Uh . . . of course I know that. I mean you need to act like a boy, not walk all bouncy like a girl. At least right now. Understand?”

“Sure. How’s this?” She walked in front of him and added a swagger to her step.

He watched from behind. Nope, still all girl—at least to him. He shook his head. He had to stop this.
She’s a friend.
A friend. A friend.

“Yeah, that’ll do.” His voice came out gruff, but she paid it no heed. She prattled on about the sun-drenched morning, the blooming tulips, and a play at the Metropolitan Opera House she hoped to see. He found himself half listening to her words and half watching the way her lips moved when she spoke. His lack of attention to walking nearly cost him a fall when his boot caught on a crack. Tessa laughed at the acrobatic feat it took to stay upright.

A genuine, warm laugh—not the kind girls made when they wanted to seem ladylike.

By the time they reached the hill east of the bronze Schiller Monument on which the floral sculpture would be displayed, he’d heard all about her niece’s troubles with a rotten kid named Jimmy, who’d teased the little girl about being adopted.

A bully. He’d never liked them. What would he do if he caught his son bullying someone?

His son? Where had that come from? He wasn’t married or even courting anyone. He glanced at Tessa and squared his shoulders. Until he proved himself to Mr. Nussbaumer, that was how it needed to remain.

As they approached the wood frames, Reese was pleased to see that wire netting had already been attached and vats of mud had been delivered by a couple of the workers. He walked around the structure, checking on the quality of the work. This showpiece was important, and the fact he’d been entrusted with it showed Mr. Nussbaumer’s faith in him.

Tessa sat down on the wood frame, which would later make up part of the floral carpeted staircase. “Tell me about the Gates Ajar.”

“Every year since 1894, Mr. Nussbaumer has planted the sculpture. It changes a little with different designs on the gate or different colors of flowers.” Reese tacked a piece of wire in place with a
hammer, then turned to her. “Even he thinks it’s a bit showy. Have you seen the Gates before?”

“I have. I come to see it every year. I always wondered how he came up with the idea of an open gate with stairs leading up to it. It made me imagine all sorts of things, like what I would do if I saw a gate slightly ajar.”