“And what is that, John?” she urged him on. She wanted to hear what he had to say. She had a lot of respect for the mayor’s son, considering who his father was and what kind of person Rory Hanover was.
“I care a lot about Philip,” John began. She watched him gauge his words carefully, his eyes in front of him instead of on her, though he did glance at her every now and then to make sure she was listening. “He’s kind of my best friend, I guess you could say. I know he’s my boss and I’m the employee but we were already friends and I do my best to work hard for him. I didn’t just take this position to stick one to my dad, though that was the original thinking, I’ll admit.”
Mary didn’t know why he felt the need to confess anything to her. She was no more important to him than the latest arrival in Glenwood. But she let him go on, feeling a new affection for him because he was so open with her.
“I don’t want to see Philip get hurt. And I don’t think you will.” He added the last sentence quickly, as if he thought she might take offense to it. “I happen to think you’re a fine woman and I was encouraging him to get to know you long ago.”
Mary’s skin tingled. The two men had discussed her. When she wasn’t there. It made her feel strange, a little giddy, very nervous… And the thought that John had recommended her when neither of them knew each other at all made her even more apprehensive.
“You’re good for him, Mary,” John continued when she didn’t seem to have anything to say. “You’re really good for him. I’d like to see the two of you get together. Maybe that will make him relax a little bit. He’s always so uptight and anxious about something. And with the mayor breathing down his neck…” John shook his head. A streak of sympathy for Philip ran through Mary as she remembered that morning.
“Philip told me you saw what happened this morning,” John went on. “Heard it all, he said. I hope you don’t hold things like that against me.”
Mary shook her head. “I couldn’t do that, John. You are not responsible for your father’s behavior. And Philip tells me you are trying to find something that will help us prove your pa has been involved in some wrongdoing. You must know he is capable of such things if you’re willing to take on that risk.”
John looked away from her, a reluctant look on his face. “I wish I didn’t have to. I wish I was looking for evidence because I wanted to prove you and Philip wrong. But I know I’m gonna find more than what I have. The only reason I haven’t come forward with what I already have is because I know there’s more. I don’t want there to be any doubt of what he’s done.”
Mary felt a tingle raise the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck. “I certainly hope his crimes haven’t gone too far. That would be… just terrible…”
John gave her a direct look. “If you’re wondering if Pa has ever killed anyone, he hasn’t. Not from anything I see. That don’t mean he hasn’t. Just means I didn’t find anything saying he did and no evidence he did.”
“That probably isn’t the kind of thing someone would keep evidence of,” Mary murmured.
John nodded, his face sober and serious. “That’s right. That’s exactly what I was thinking, too.”
Mary thought for a moment. “When do you expect Philip back?”
John glanced at the door as if he could see through the wall to the front door. He shook his head. “I don’t think he’ll be back tonight. He had to go to see his parents. The theater group will be here in ten days. There’s just one more paper to print before they get here.”
“Is he planning another controversial issue?”
John shook his head. “Not for a while. The mayor has him by the coat strings.”
Chapter 22
Philip was exhausted. He dropped into the chair behind his desk and lowered his head to rest against his flat hands. His elbows were propped on the desk, and even they felt too tired to hold up his own head.
He took his hands away and lowered his head till his forehead was against the cool surface of the desk.
For ten days, and with only one other issue under his belt, Philip had been fighting the mayor tooth and nail, trying to get something valuable and readable published. If the mayor had his way, every article would be about him, every financial document showing how successful he was, every government article mentioning how he needed to be President of the United States.
The man was a horrible mayor. Philip couldn’t imagine him running the entire country.
There would be nothing left anywhere after his destructive force went through. The only thing he seemed interested in was money. He was never satisfied, always wanting more, more, more.
The only thing Philip wanted more of was Mary. Ever since that day when the mayor had confronted him, he knew he was done for. He’d even confessed his feelings to John, though he wasn’t able to do that until a few short days ago when the most recent paper was printed.
Every article in the paper was approved by the mayor. Philip thought once or twice about switching out an article for one he was working on that was geared toward women’s rights but he just hadn’t found the courage.
He didn’t want to lose the paper. He couldn’t trust the town or tax officials not to call in his debt. What could he give his future family then? How would he provide for Mary and his children when he married her?
His thought reverted back to the dear woman. He’d fallen in love with her when he saw how different she looked that day when he’d made the mayor leave her alone, and taken her in to have the last long discussion they would have.
He missed her. But she was working and he found his schedule packed after the major insisted Philip run everything by him before it was printed.
Philip’s emotions ran wild, from nervousness and anger about the mayor, to happy giddiness and excitement when he thought about Mary. He knew she had feelings for him. He could see it in her eyes every time they were together. But they hadn’t been alone since that day, and not once in ten whole days had they had the opportunity to talk alone.
“Hi, Mary!” The sound of Matthew greeting the schoolteacher brought him out of his thoughts. Her presence was well overdue. They might still not be alone but he was going to be glad to see her face and might insist that she close the door and stay for a while, despite that fact.
He didn’t care what anyone else thought. Not anymore. He was done with being stressed out and high-strung. He was done being pressured by others to do what they wanted him to do. He was a 32-year-old man. He should be able to do what he wanted, with whomever he wanted to do it with. And he should be able to print the papers he wanted to print.
Mary came through the door, her dark eyes falling on his face, sending a warm feeling of love through his entire body. When he stood up and smiled, it was with the most genuine affection he’d ever had. He’d never felt this way about a woman before.
He bowed slightly at the waist, holding one hand out to the chair on the other side of his desk, wishing there were two of them so he could sit next to her. He looked around his office. It was grey and drab, with no personality at all. The only things that expressed anything about his character were the paintings on the walls, mostly of abstract expressions of printing press keys and photographs of the first one that ever entered the building, the one that made it a newspaper at the very beginning.
There was no color anywhere, no rug on the hard wood floor, no flowers or decorative objects of any kind.
He would get a second chair, maybe upgrade to nicer ones. He would put a couch in the office so he and Mary could sit side by side.
He might even get some flowers for the shelves, brighten the place up a little. To him, Mary looked like a brilliant diamond among a mound of coal.
“It’s good to see you, Mary,” he said. “Please sit down so we can talk.”
Mary looked reluctantly at the chair but sat down anyway. “I’ve missed you, Philip,” she said in a soft voice. His heart was touched and he smiled gently.
“I’ve missed you, too, Ma
ry. We’ve been busy, haven’t we?”
She looked a little aggravated but Philip knew it wasn’t directed toward him. He knew she was as frustrated as he was by what was going on with the mayor.
“Has there been anything new on your end?” he asked. It certainly looked like she had something new to say.
She hesitated, making Philip’s chest tighten with apprehension. He hoped it didn’t have anything to do with their relationship. When she spoke again, he silently let out a breath of relief.
“The mayor stopped by the schoolhouse again today. It was after school let out this time. I was cleaning, mopping the floor and cleaning out the fireplace as I do once a week.”
Anger filled Philip when he saw Mary was clearly very upset, tears coming to her eyes. He shot to his feet and rounded the desk, squatting next to the chair. He was still almost eye to eye with her. He held on to the arm rest with one hand while placing the other on her shoulder comfortingly.
“What did he say to make you look like this, Mary? What did he do to you?”
A thought followed by a streak of rage ran through Philip.
He scowled deep, growling, “He didn’t hurt you, did he? Did he put his hands on you?”
He was grateful for the look of genuine shock that covered Mary’s slender, beautiful face. She shook her head. “No, no, nothing like that. He just… he’s just making it so difficult to teach the children and not feel… like I’m not capable of doing my job. I just don’t have the resources. The end of the semester means the end of the school year, and a lot of these children will be fending for themselves for three months. When they come back in the fall, they will have spent no time at all reading or writing or learning. They’ll be completely fresh and have to start all over again.”
Philip was surprised by the lack of faith Mary had in her children. He shook his head and spoke, keeping his voice gentle. “Mary, Mary, how can you say that? You are a great teacher, you do the best you can with what you have.” He glanced over his shoulder, not able to see the printing room from where he was but picturing Matthew in his mind. “I know at least one of your students that benefits every day from the things you teach and will definitely be using those skills through the summer. You never know what your children will be doing to keep up with their studies without even realizing it! They might write letters to each other or to friends and family far away! They might write down recipes for their mothers or take messages when someone isn’t home to answer the door.”
Philip stood up to relieve the burning in his knees and thighs. He pulled Mary so that she was standing in front of him and gave her a tight hug. He kissed the top of her head, knowing she must be surprised by the way he was treating her.
He’d discovered he was in love with her. But he hadn’t told her that yet and wasn’t sure he ever would.
Ten days they had gone without seeing each other alone. He wasn’t going to tell her something like that unless they were.
But he was sure, by the look in her eyes, that she had feelings for him. He wanted to kiss her, hold her tight, express his love for her.
But now that the opportunity had come, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t outright say it.
As much as he didn’t want to, he had to let her go. It didn’t seem like the appropriate time to be delving into a relationship when there was so much at stake.
He pulled away from her and reluctantly went back around his desk once she was settled back in the chair.
“You are right about one thing,” he said in a voice that implied their moment of affection had never happened. “The mayor has to be dealt with. It’s only three days into the week and he’s rejected three of my ideas. Do you think you can help? How about if you write an article about the school, maybe about the children and how they are doing, something that’s not controversial? I want to keep sending him articles that he might not approve of to see if one can get through.”
Mary frowned. “I wish you didn’t have to get his permission to begin with. It’s ridiculous, if you ask me.”
“It is ridiculous,” Philip nodded. “And I don’t know how to make it stop until I have enough money to pay off those taxes.”
“I wish I could help you,” Mary said. Her words sent a wave of affection through him.
He shook his head vigorously. Since the threat from the mayor, the thought of asking Mary for a loan had never once crossed his mind. If he got a loan from anyone, it would be his parents, and they couldn’t really afford that either. He wasn’t going to bother a schoolteacher for it.
“I would never think of taking a dime from you. Not one dime. Even if you had a savings, I wouldn’t take them. That is for you. You need that.”
“Unfortunately, my savings have been drained by the budget cuts. I have to keep using my money to make sure we have the supplies we need for a successful school year. But the year will be ending soon. I’ll have to find other work during the summer.”
An idea came to Philip’s mind and he grinned.
“I think I know how you can make some money this summer.”
He glanced out into the lobby and then back at her.
Her grin matched his.
“I’ll just bet you do,” she replied in a teasing voice.
Chapter 23
Mary was delighted by the idea of working for Philip during the summer. She was excited enough for it to show the next day at the schoolhouse, making Mrs. Edwards give her funny looks all day.
She was anxious to get back to Jenkins Printing when she packed the kids off for the day but made herself stay and clean up.
“What is going on with you, Mary?”
The sound of Mrs. Edwards’ judgmental voice behind her made Mary turn from her chalkboard to give the woman a weary look. The woman wouldn’t even let her be happy.
“I’m excited for the summer, Mrs. Edwards,” Mary replied in her nicest voice. “I have plans.”
Mrs. Edwards’ dark eyebrows shot up, accentuating the wrinkles on her forehead tenfold. “Oh? And what plans would those be?”
Mary didn’t like the tone of the Mrs. Edwards’ voice. Why was she so negative? Why couldn’t Mary have plans? Was she some kind of stick in the mud that no one wanted to be around? She pushed away her resentment and answered politely, “I think I’ll be working for Jenkins Printing. That’s where Matthew is going to work, you know. I think he may have already started there.”
Mrs. Edwards – true to her character – curled her lip. “So you’ll be writing for the newspaper, will you? Or will they not let a woman write any articles for them? I haven’t noticed anything interesting since the theater group on the front page. That was a miracle in itself!”
As much as she didn’t like the woman, Mary had to agree with that statement. She nodded, glad the two of them at least had some common ground to stand on. “Yes, it’s been difficult to get articles focusing on women into the paper. But Philip is doing his best…”
“Philip. First name basis, are you? You better be careful, Mary. Men will take advantage of you if you give them half a chance.”
Once again resentment split through Mary, making her chest tight with anger. She probably didn’t do a good job hiding her feelings from her face.
Forcing herself to be calm, she sucked in a deep breath and held it for a moment. “I don’t think he’s going to do that. But I appreciate the warning. I just want to get some better articles in the paper, so that women and men alike can enjoy it.”
“Noble indeed,” Mrs. Edwards replied, sarcastically, turning half away from her and walking down the middle of the school desks, seemingly inspecting each one. Mary watched her, trepidation ringing in her ears. The older woman might have been the schoolteacher for longer, but Mary’s students were doing very well and she was proud of the job she was doing. She wasn’t going to let an old biddy like Mrs. Edwards make her feel bad about herself.
His Rainbow After the Rain Page 14