Winnie Griggs (11 page)

“That won’t be necessary.” He cast an exasperated look his sister’s way. “Besides, if I’m alone with Abigail any time soon I might end up changing my mind about letting her stay for now.”

As if suddenly aware he’d said more than he intended, Everett’s expression closed off. He cleared his throat and turned to his sister. “Come on, Abigail. Let me show you where you can sleep while you’re here.”

The girl immediately popped up. “Whatever accommodations are available will be fine.”

“That’s a good thing,” he said as they crossed the sitting room, “because I use the spare bedchamber for storing odds and ends. You’re lucky the place came with a small bed in there.”

Daisy knew him well enough now to read the affection beneath his dry tone. Regardless of how he felt about
how
his sister had traveled, he was undeniably glad to see her.

Daisy moved to the stove to check on the stew. She didn’t have a good read on Abigail yet. At first glance, she could very well be the spoiled little socialite Daisy had expected. But there was a spark of something—innocence, playfulness, vulnerability—that told her Abigail might have more to her.

Had she really run off and traveled here on her own? Daisy could understand Everett’s concern. So many things might have gone terribly wrong.

A moment later, Everett returned to the kitchen, alone. “Abigail is settling in,” he explained. Then he cleared his throat. “I apologize again for my sister’s unexpected arrival. She’s always tended to act impulsively, but this is the first time she’s acted with such blatant disregard for her safety.”

Was he actually worried how she was taking this? “There’s no need to apologize to me for your sister.”

“Abigail is bright, good-hearted and generous. She’s also overly trusting, impulsive and more of a child than she will admit.”

Understanding dawned. He wanted to make certain she didn’t take too dim a view of his sister. “There are worse faults to have,” she said with a smile.

He didn’t return her smile. “If her welfare was your responsibility, you might not think so.”

“I can see how her escapade would shake you up. But she’s safely here now, so you should make the most of the chance to visit with her.”

His irritation seemed to deepen. “It did not
shake me up.
I’m merely concerned for her safety. Undertaking such a journey, without letting anyone know what she was about, was foolhardy and reckless. It only proves how much of a child she still is.”

Before Daisy could respond, the downstairs bell sounded, indicating someone had stopped by the office. Everett tugged at his cuff. “Don’t let Abigail get in your way. If she becomes a bother, send her down to me.”

Daisy returned to her ironing, pondering the pointed look Everett had given her before he left the room. She supposed, on the surface, her trip here bore some similarities to Abigail’s. She’d slipped away, traveling on her own to a destination where she wasn’t expected.

But there were important differences. She was much older than Abigail. Her trip had been shorter. And she’d covered familiar ground, so she knew what she’d be facing. So there’d been nothing foolhardy or reckless about her journey.

“Is he gone yet?”

Daisy looked up to see Abigail peeking out of her room.

“If you’re speaking of your brother,” she answered dryly, “he’s downstairs.”

“Good.” Abigail strode into the kitchen with a let’s-be-friends smile. “It’s probably best if I give him a little time to get used to my being here before we encounter each other again.”

Daisy held her gaze. “He’s only looking out for you, you know.”

“Oh, I know.” Abigail waved a hand. “But I’m fifteen now, and he still treats me like I’m six.”

“You could be sixty, and you’d still be his little sister.”

The girl traced a pattern on the table. “I thought he’d be just a little glad to see me.”

Daisy took pity on the forlorn-looking girl. “He is. Just give him time to get over the fright you gave him.” Then she tried for a cheerier subject. “Did you really travel all the way here from Boston by yourself?”

Abigail preened a bit. “I did. And it was the grandest adventure. I know Everett won’t ever look at it that way, but I’ve never done anything so frightening and so exhilarating in my life.”

Daisy didn’t know whether to consider Everett’s sister brave or henwitted—perhaps she was a little of both.

Abigail sat at the table and studied Daisy. “Tell me about yourself. How long have you been working for my brother?”

What was Abigail thinking? “I moved to town about ten days ago. Your brother has been kind enough to help me get settled and find work.”

“Kind—Everett?”

Daisy nodded. “I think of your brother as a very kind man, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes, Everett has a very big heart. But he usually hides it well. I’m just surprised you saw it.”

Daisy focused on her ironing. “Like I said, he’s been good to me.”

“Do you know what happened to his hand? It looks really bad.”

Daisy’s stomach clenched. “That was my fault.”

Abigail’s brow furrowed. “What happened?”

Would Everett’s sister look at her differently when she heard her confession? “He was helping me empty a heavy laundry tub yesterday when Kip tripped him up, and he ended up falling in the mud and dropping the thing on his hand.”

The girl’s eyes rounded. “Oh, my. I’m sure that was a sight to see.”

Daisy blinked. That wasn’t at all the reaction she’d expected. “It wasn’t funny—he was seriously injured.”

“You’re right, nothing funny about it at all.” But the twinkle in Abigail’s eyes told a different story. “He landed in the mud, you say?”

Daisy tried to keep a straight face. “Yes. And I marched him through town to the doc’s office without letting him change.”

Skepticism mixed with the amusement in Abigail’s expression. “My
very
fastidious brother did that without a fuss?”

This time she didn’t attempt to hide the grin. “I never said he didn’t fuss.”

“Oh, I wish I’d been here to see that.” She gave Daisy an appreciative smile. “My brother may have finally met his match.”

Daisy’s treacherous mind went immediately to thoughts of the two embraces they’d shared, and she barely managed to make a noncommittal response.

Luckily, Abigail changed the subject. “If you just moved here, where were you before?”

It seemed Abigail had her brother’s reporter instincts. “I traveled around a lot with my father. He’s a peddler.”

“A peddler—how exciting. So my little jaunt here would have been nothing to you.”

Another unexpected reaction. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. We traveled a lot, but didn’t cover nearly the territory you did on your trip. And I usually didn’t do it alone.” No point mentioning her little three-day walk to get here.

“Still, you must have seen some interesting sights in your travels. Up until now, I haven’t spent much time outside of Boston.”

“Well, you’ve certainly made up for it now.”

“I have, haven’t I? Now if I can just convince Everett to let me stay.”

Daisy silently wished the girl good luck with that. She had a feeling having Abigail here would be good for Everett, and for Abigail, as well.

She also had a selfish reason to be glad Abigail was here. Because if it accomplished nothing else, Abigail’s presence would give her and Everett something to focus on besides the awkward aftermath of last night’s encounter.

Chapter Eleven

S
aturday morning, Abigail’s belongings arrived from Boston. It took the delivery boy over a dozen trips up and down the stairs to get all of her trunks and crates transported to the sitting room.

After he’d paid the boy and sent him on his way, Everett headed upstairs to see how his sister was faring with sorting and stowing her things. He could hear her and Daisy before he ever topped the stairs.

“That sure is a mighty fine collection of books,” Daisy said.

“Oh, that’s nothing,” Abigail replied. “Everett’s collection is even more impressive.”

“In both quantity
and
quality,” he said dryly as he topped the stairs. Daisy was in the kitchen peeling carrots while Abigail sat on the floor of the sitting room, surrounded by her newly arrived belongings. He winced when he saw her belongings cluttering every piece of furniture and most of the available floor space.

Abigail gave him a smile. “There you are. And speaking of books, where
are
yours? Don’t tell me you left them behind when you moved here.”

That was something he and his sister had in common: their love of books. “Of course not. Some are in my room and the rest are in crates down in the storeroom. I just haven’t gotten around to unpacking them.”

“Why ever not? You’ve been here almost a year now.”

Everett raised a brow. “Contrary to what you may think, little sister, setting up a newspaper from scratch is a lot of work, regardless of how small the town or the paper.”

He moderated his tone. “Besides, I’m hoping to have a new job somewhere else soon, so I didn’t see the point in unpacking more than what I needed to live.”

Abigail frowned up at him. “Why would you want to do that? Move, I mean. Don’t you like it here?”

He tried to strike a diplomatic tone. “It’s fine for what it is—a small country town. But the big city is where we belong.” He was aware of Daisy listening, and wondered what she made of that. Then he became irritated with himself for caring.

Abigail gave his arm a mock punch, bringing his thoughts back to the conversation at hand. “Don’t be such a snob. Besides, if that’s the way you feel, why did you come here in the first place?”

Again he had to choose his words carefully. “As I said at the time, my former editor and I had a parting of the ways, and I was ready to move on to something new. When I heard about the opportunity to open a newspaper here, that seemed like the perfect
temporary
solution.”

All of which was true. Hopefully, she’d never learn the rest of the story. “It’s been a good experience—it’s allowed me to learn all the inner workings of the newspaper business. But I never intended for this to be a permanent stop. I’m first and foremost a reporter, and I need to be in a big city where things are happening to report on and where there is a staff of more than one person to get the paper out.”

“I’m sure there are lots of things happening here.”

“You know what I mean, Abigail.” He glanced toward Daisy and cleared his throat. “Now, I’ve made up my mind about this and it’s not up for discussion. So let’s change the subject, shall we?”

Abigail shrugged and went back to digging through her trunks.

Luckily, Daisy spoke up. “I still say that’s a wealth of books. Between the two of you, you could open your own library. The only time I’ve seen that many books in one place was at my grandmother’s house.”

Everett heard that strange note in her voice that crept in whenever she mentioned her grandmother. He’d be very interested in learning the story behind that. Strictly from a reporter’s perspective, of course.

“That was one thing I
did
enjoy about my time in New Orleans,” Daisy said wistfully. “Access to all those books. I haven’t had many chances since then to do much reading.”

She was well-read? Everett wasn’t sure why that surprised him. Some of his assumptions about her shifted, realigned. He’d seen glimpses of intelligence in her, of course—intelligence she downplayed with her rustic, straightforward way of speaking.

“You’re more than welcome to look through my books,” Abigail offered. “You can borrow any that strike your fancy.”

Daisy’s face lit up, making Everett regret he hadn’t been the one to make the offer.

“Why, thank you,” she said. “I don’t have much free time right now, but as soon as I get my place set to rights I may take you up on that offer.”

Everett stared pointedly at his sister. “That’s another thing you’ll not find in Turnabout. There are none of the civilized entertainments you’re accustomed to—no libraries or bookstores, no theater or opera, not even a manicured park or conservatory.”

His sister’s smile wavered a moment, then she rallied. “There are several books I’ve been intending to reread. And I’m certain I can treat myself occasionally by ordering new titles from a catalog. As for the rest, there must be other amusements the locals indulge in, and I’m willing to experience new things.”

“I understand they have town dances every few months,” Daisy said, “and sometimes picnics on the ground after church services.”

Abigail perked up immediately. “Oh, that sounds like fun! I do love picnics.”

Everett shot Daisy a warning look. He was trying to give Abigail reasons to leave, not stay. “At the moment, you need to decide where you’re going to store your things. It all needs to fit in your room or in the storeroom—and I warn you, I won’t have you overcluttering my storeroom. What doesn’t fit will need to be gotten rid of.” He gave her a pointed look. “Unless, of course, we ship most of it back to Miss Haversham’s to await your return.”

Abigail lifted her chin. “That won’t be necessary. In fact, I’m certain there are several of these items that I’ll no longer require in my new life here.”

How could he make his sister see that returning to school was the right thing to do? She obviously wasn’t going to give any of his arguments serious consideration.

Could he recruit Daisy’s help? Better question—should he?

* * *

Daisy placed the rolls on the table, then joined Everett and his sister. Yesterday, with Abigail sitting down to lunch with them, she had thought Everett would want to offer the blessing, but he had again deferred to her. So today, with only a quick glance his way for confirmation, she bowed her head and said, “Let us pray.”

Once the amens were said and the bowls started around, Abigail cleared her throat and glanced at Everett. “I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier—about there being no source for books here. I’d imagine there are a number of people who would make use of a library if one were available.”

Everett shrugged. “Perhaps. But the point is moot. I don’t see that happening in the foreseeable future. So there’s no point getting your hopes up.”

She gave him a sideways look. “Maybe we can do something to change that.”

Everett eyed her suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

“What if I opened a circulating library myself?”

Daisy got caught up in Abigail’s proposal. “What a wonderful idea. It perfectly complements your brother’s newspaper business. And you’re right—I can’t imagine folks not wanting to take advantage of such a wonderful opportunity.”

“Nonsense.” If one didn’t notice the sternness in Everett’s tone, his expression left no room for doubt. “You don’t know the first thing about managing such an operation.”

“Oh, but I do.” Abigail didn’t seem intimidated by her brother’s lack of enthusiasm. “I used part of the allowance you sent me to join a circulating library near school, and I became good friends with Miss Teel, the librarian.” She leaned forward. “I also spent a lot of time in the school library. Miss Abernathy, the teacher who managed the library, allowed me to help her in exchange for my getting first look at any new books that came in. So you see, I do have experience.”

Daisy could tell Everett wasn’t convinced, but she found the idea of having access to all those books downright exciting.

“Assuming you could manage such an undertaking,” Everett said, “where do you propose to set up this library? There’s not much room downstairs, and I refuse to have folks trooping up and down the stairs to our living quarters.”

Abigail gave him a breezy smile. “It wouldn’t take up much room. I could start with just a couple of bookshelves along one wall, and a drawer in one of your file cabinets to keep all the records.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think—”

Daisy couldn’t hold her tongue any longer. “That doesn’t sound like much space at all. If your brother doesn’t have room for it, you can use my place. After all, I plan to be one of your first customers.”

Abigail rewarded her with a dazzling smile. “Do you mean it? I promise I won’t take up too much space, and you can take a portion of my earnings for rent payment.”

Daisy waved that offer aside. “Don’t worry about that. In fact, the more I think on it, the more it seems good business sense on my part. It’ll get folks used to coming in and out of my place so that when I’m ready to open my restaurant, they’ll already be familiar with it.”

She became aware that Everett was glowering at her, but couldn’t find it in herself to be sorry. She liked Abigail’s idea, as well as her enthusiasm for it, and could see no harm in it. She gave him a sideways glance, then focused back on Abigail. “Once your brother gets that sour look off his face, you might even be able to charm him into giving you an advertisement in his newspaper.”

Abigail laughed delightedly, then turned to her brother. “You need to make certain you hold on to her.”

Daisy’s cheeks warmed as Abigail’s words reminded her of those two embraces earlier in the week.

She risked a quick glance Everett’s way. His expression didn’t reflect anything but irritation with his sister.

That was a good thing. Wasn’t it?

* * *

As Everett went downstairs, the lunchtime conversation played back in his head. He had to admit, Abigail’s idea of a lending library had merit. It was resourceful, ingenious and enterprising all at the same time. He almost hated not to give her the approving go-ahead she so obviously wanted. But it wasn’t a good idea to allow her to set down any sort of roots or strong ties here in Turnabout—not if he ever hoped to convince her to return to Miss Haversham’s school. Which he fully intended to do.

He’d have to have a word with Daisy. She’d obviously meant well when she offered Abigail the use of her place, but she needed to learn to stay out of anything involving his sister. She wasn’t the best example of biddable and ladylike behavior for his sister to follow.

And what was this about his “sour look?” Is that how Daisy and Abigail saw him? He took exception to that.

They should understand his strictures were motivated by a keen sense of purpose and responsibility. He was every bit as capable of enjoying life as the next man. He was just more circumspect in how he handled it.

Unbidden, Abigail’s artless comment about making certain he held on to Daisy popped into his thoughts. It conjured up images of him literally holding on to her. He and Daisy hadn’t spoken of it, of course. That would have given it more importance than it merited. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t thought about it, thought about it much more than he should have. And thought about how it would have felt to follow through and kiss her.

What about Daisy? Did she think about it at all? If so, in what light?

“So what’s put that perplexed expression on your face?”

Everett looked up to see Adam staring at him, an amused smile playing on his lips.

How long had he been standing there?

Everett assumed his most dignified demeanor. “I wasn’t expecting you to come by since it’s Saturday. Are you so eager to answer my last move?”

Adam’s expression indicated he knew Everett had avoided answering his question. “I just wanted to let you know that we won’t be having our usual luncheon gathering after services tomorrow. Reggie’s got it in her head to take a quick trip out to the cabin while she’s still up to the trip. We’re heading out in an hour or so.”

Everett didn’t understand what Reggie found so appealing about that rustic cabin of hers way out in the back of beyond. He and the others who’d traveled here from Philadelphia had spent their first night there upon their arrival in Turnabout. It was not an experience he cared to repeat.

More to the point, Reggie was less than two months from her confinement date. “Is that wise?”

“I’m not keen on it, but you know how Reggie can be when she sets her mind on something. I spoke to Dr. Pratt, and he’s given the go-ahead. And of course, we’ll have Mrs. Peavy with us.”

Everett certainly intended to be firmer with his own wife when the time came. But this matter was really none of his business. “I wish you a good journey. I’ll let Miss Johnson know.”

“Thanks. Like I said, this is going to be a quick trip. We’ll be back Monday afternoon, so Jack and Ira will be here to deliver the papers on Tuesday.”

As Everett headed upstairs to deliver the news to Daisy, he figured he’d take Abigail to the hotel dining room for Sunday lunch. And it would only be polite to include Daisy in the invitation, as well.

Daisy, however, had a different idea.

“Why don’t we plan a picnic?”

Everett frowned. He wasn’t much for eating on a blanket spread on the ground. But before he could say anything, Abigail took up the idea.

“Oh, what fun. And it’ll give me the opportunity to see more of this area. I’ve been cooped up inside since I arrived here.”

“That was only yesterday,” Everett said dryly. “And I thought we’d go down to the hotel diner—”

“Oh, Everett, please,” Abigail pleaded. “A picnic sounds ever so much more fun. For once, forget about being so stuffy and proper and just enjoy yourself.”

Everett’s mouth snapped shut, and he felt his jaw tighten. He looked from Abigail to Daisy, then tugged on his cuffs, one after the other. “Very well, if that’s what the two of you prefer, then a picnic it is.”

Abigail popped up from her seat and gave him an enthusiastic hug.

But it was Daisy’s gaze he sought. And the warm approval he saw there made him glad he’d given in.