by Beth Ziarnik
“Not to mention smart and spunky when the occasion calls for it.” Clay couldn’t resist adding the qualities that had saved the man’s life.
John’s head moved in an almost imperceptible nod. “For which I’m most grateful. It’s conceivable that, without Jill, we might not be having this conversation right now.”
“That would’ve been unfortunate, sir. Jill loves you very much.” The man must realize that by now.
“Yes, I know, and because I love her, I want the very best for her.” He paused and appeared to be weighing his next words.
Here it comes. “You’re not sure I’m that person.”
“I don’t doubt that you love her, but tell me, what do you have to offer my daughter?”
A fair question. “From your perspective, I would guess not much. It’s true I’m not wealthy. I might never have the means to support her on a level you might prefer, but I do have my own business.”
“Your reconstruction company.” He didn’t seem impressed.
“Yes, and I’m a hard worker. I’m building a reputation for quality craftsmanship, and I expect my business to grow steadily over the next few years. That should count for something in today’s world.” But did it count in John Taylor’s estimation?
“Go on.”
He wanted more? “I’m devoted to your daughter and will do anything in my power to protect and care for her.” Clay clenched his teeth, waiting for a response.
“Is that all?”
At the low-key challenge, Clay’s nerves tightened even more. “We love each other, we make a good team, and we want to be married. What else can I say?”
John Taylor’s eyes held grudging respect. “You’ve proposed to her?”
“No, sir. We’ve talked about marriage, but I haven’t asked her.”
“Why not?”
“Because I want to make the occasion as special for her as I can. Something she will always remember with pleasure. It’s one of the reasons I wasn’t with her when she first met you. I needed that contract before I could buy her ring.”
“I see.”
No, he didn’t. Not all of it, at least. “Before I came here, I knew she would find more meaning in our engagement if I first asked you for her hand in marriage.”
“Is that what you’re doing?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And if I refuse?”
Clay clenched his fists and then relaxed them. He spoke quietly. “I will still ask her. I can’t see living the rest of my life without Jill, and I believe she feels the same.”
The man crossed his arms, and Clay thought he detected the slightest hint of a smile. “Then asking me is a mere formality?”
“I’d like it to be more. That’s up to you.”
“Well then, son.” John Taylor leaned over his left elbow on the bed. “Let me tell you what I think.”
Clay stood and squared his shoulders, readying himself for what was coming. “Yes, sir?”
“I haven’t known you for long, but from what I’ve seen and heard, I don’t think I could place my daughter in better hands. You appear to be everything you’ve said and demonstrated. A hard-working man of integrity who cares enough about others to put his life on the line when necessary.” John reached out with his right hand. “I’d be proud to welcome you into the family.”
Clay was stunned. Jill’s father had put him through the wringer. Testing him, no doubt. And somehow, he had passed the test. He approached to shake the man’s hand.
“And stop calling me sir. Call me John until you’re comfortable calling me Dad. Every time you say sir, I think I’m back in the military.”
“You served too?”
“Major in the Army. Well before your time.”
“We’re brothers then—fellow vets.” God had a way of bringing things together.
John nodded. “Thank you for your service, brother.”
“And thank you for your service,” Clay responded, his heart bursting with a camaraderie he hadn’t expected, but fully welcomed. “And welcome home.”
Jill poked her head through the doorway. “Your half-hour is up. May I come in now?”
“Our business is finished,” her father said with a sly wink at Clay. “By the way, if you two don’t have other plans, Dora and the girls asked me to invite you to the house for New Year’s Eve.”
Jill looked at Clay and caught his grin.
“But that’s tonight.”
How different her father’s imposing residence looked this time as Jill approached the vaulted porch, walking with Clay through the evening’s light snowfall. She glanced at him and squeezed his arm. They mounted the broad cement steps and rang the doorbell. Not only were they expected, this time they would be welcomed.
The door swung wide with the wizened housekeeper grinning. Behind her stood Dora, flanked by Kathryn and Lillie.
“We’re so glad you could come,” Lillie gushed, hardly able to contain herself. “Hannah has made the loveliest supper. Wait till you see.”
Jill turned so Clay could help her with her coat. He hung it along with his on hooks in the anteroom before they followed Dora through the entrance hall and into the music room. The Christmas tree still glowed with twinkling lights reflecting on the beautiful ornaments she had helped Lillie hang.
Lillie took her hand and led her to the tree. Light danced in her sister’s expectant eyes. “Do you see anything new? Look closely.”
For all her searching, Jill couldn’t see what excited her sister. But then, the family was familiar with the many ornaments. They all looked new to her. She shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to see.”
“Look.” She cupped her hand around a hand-blown ornament with Our sister Jill worked into the design. “Kat and I picked it out and put it on the tree. It was her idea.”
Jill turned to Kathryn, who smiled before seating herself at the piano. Her nimble fingers rippled over the keys before they settled into a familiar melody. She played on as, arm in arm, Jill and Clay joined Lillie, Kathryn, and Dora in “Auld Lang Syne.” Their voices rang out with “Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never called to mind …”
“I wish Father were here,” Lillie said as the last notes died away. “He would be so pleased.”
Kathryn rose from the piano bench and hesitated just a moment before she approached Jill. “May I give my new sister a hug?”
Would the wonders of this night never end? Jill opened her arms, unable to keep back the tears of joy as she and her sister held one another.
Dora brushed away a few tears of her own. “I believe Hannah has dinner ready.” Leading the way into the dining room, the matriarch took her place at one end of the long table set with glistening china and crystal glassware.
While Clay pulled out Jill’s chair and seated her next to Lillie, Jill took special note of the large arrangement of white roses among sprigs of evergreen that graced the center of the table set for five.
“Clay, since John isn’t here,” Dora said, “I think it would be appropriate for you to take his place tonight. She indicated the opposite end of the table. “Would you also be kind enough to lead us in grace?”
Would God never stop surprising her this evening? Thanking him for this great blessing, Jill bowed her head with the others as she joined her heart in Clay’s prayer.
“Father God, we are grateful for your Son’s birth on that first Christmas day and for the promise of new beginnings it held …”
Lillie snuck her hand over to take one of Jill’s, and its warmth radiated through Jill, bringing with it a newfound peace. Both Lillie and Kathryn were now truly her sisters, not only by blood but also in their hearts. Only God could have provided such a rich blessing.
“And now, Lord, we thank You for this fine feast and ask You to bless it and the hands that provided it with such love and skill. Thank You, too, for the blessings of this approaching New Year. Amen.”
A blushing Hannah dished the chicken soup with homemade noo
dles from an elaborate tureen on the buffet, bringing the first bowl to … “Me?” Jill asked.
The housekeeper’s face lit up, crinkling the lines around her eyes. “You saved this house from destruction.” She moved on to provide soup for each of the others, and with each successive course, she served Jill first.
Jill glanced nervously at Dora. The family matriarch had always been served first, a deference she appeared to treasure. Throughout the meal, while everyone else chatted, Dora remained silent. She ate with great decorum, glancing now and then toward Jill.
When the meal concluded, everyone except Dora gravitated toward the music room. Lillie looked at her curiously. “Are you coming, Grandma?”
“Soon. First I would like to speak to your … sister.”
Jill’s breath caught when Dora’s somber eyes rested on her, surely not a harbinger of good.
“Jill, would you join me in the sitting room?”
Her heart hammered in her chest. Thankfully, Clay moved to her side, ready to accompany her.
“Alone, please,” the matriarch corrected.
Turning his back to Dora, Clay whispered, “I won’t be far away, and I’ll be praying.”
Encouraged by his promise, Jill followed Dora.
Alone apparently didn’t mean the housekeeper. As Dora led Jill through the entrance hall to the ladies’ parlor, Hannah followed her mistress, remaining in the hall to close the room’s pocket doors.
“Come and sit by me, Jill.” Dora indicated a chair near the couch where she had seated herself.
A silver coffee service rested on the low table between them. Dora held a porcelain cup beneath the spigot of the silver coffee pot and poured. “I like to enjoy my coffee in here after the evening meal,” she said. “Would you care for a cup?”
Though Jill didn’t care for coffee, she sensed the importance of the moment and nodded.
“Cream or sugar?”
This was obviously some kind of treasured ritual. Why had she alone been invited to share in it? “Both, please.”
Holding her cup, Jill waited for Dora to serve herself. Her father’s mother-in-law sipped the rich, dark liquid and then put her cup down.
“When you first came,” she said rather stiffly, “I wasn’t at all pleased.”
“I remember.”
“It was difficult to see you standing there, looking so much like your mother. My encounter with her many years ago came back with such a force.”
A deep sympathy enveloped Jill. No doubt her unexpected appearance had shocked the woman. “I’m so sorry.”
“I am not,” the matriarch said.
Jill tried not to show her surprise. This same woman who had tried to throw her out within an hour of her arrival, who had treated her with such disdain, was no longer sorry she had come?
“The way things turned out, it was good that you came, good that you refused to leave when I tried to turn you out.” Dora chose her words carefully, the stiffness still evident.
“Good for my father’s sake.” She was sure that’s what Dora meant.
“That’s true. What would we have done had Alice succeeded in her dreadful scheme?” Dora picked up her cup and sipped a little more of the steaming liquid. She put the cup down and blinked rapidly before focusing on Jill again. “But you were here for another important reason.”
Jill fixed her attention on the woman, trying to imagine what Dora might be thinking.
“All these years I blamed your mother for John’s … indiscretion. Though on the day I confronted Susannah, it was obvious she had no idea he was married. Still, I convinced myself that my anger was righteous, and I was right to break them up. I had my daughter and my grandchildren to protect, and I was determined to do so, no matter the cost.”
The old hurt stabbed Jill. Dora may have done her mother a great disservice, but it was her mother who chose the way to solve the situation as she did. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“Please, let me finish. I also had no idea your mother was pregnant. When I found out, I was relieved—no, I was glad—when your mother insisted she and John maintain complete separation. However, through the years I could see that it didn’t stop him from loving her. Still, their separation did protect my daughter and her children. That’s all I cared about.”
Dora’s eyes softened and seemed to beg for forgiveness, but she hurried on. “It didn’t matter to me that, in her premature dementia, my daughter no longer recognized her own husband and children. Or that she would never get well. In my foolishness and without realizing it, I condemned us all to living a proper, but truly sad life.”
“You did what you thought was best.”
“That’s very generous of you, Jill, but let me continue. Your arrival here served another purpose. It forced me to see how wrong I’ve been. I wanted to hate you, but you made it impossible. Lillie saw right away what a good person you are. Your kindness to her and your courage in fighting for John’s life are a credit to your mother’s parenting. Which tells me I was wrong about her as well.”
Jill put her hand over her heart. Dora’s admission was a great thing, more than Jill had ever expected to hear, but the woman was not finished.
“This isn’t easy for me to say. I am an old woman who is set in her ways, but I owe you an apology. Is it too late? Can you forgive me?”
Putting her cup down on the coffee table, Jill reached over to envelop Dora’s translucent, blue-veined hands in her own. “It’s never too late to forgive.”
Dora relaxed, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I am so relieved,” she said. “And now that we have this matter settled, please come with me to the music room. We have this news to share with the others, and what I have to say next is best revealed in their presence.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Clay’s breathing returned to normal, and the tension in his shoulders relaxed a bit when the doors to the sitting room opened. Jill appeared unscathed. It almost looked as if …
Lillie’s sweet face was etched with worry. “Is everything all right?”
Dora reached for her granddaughter and cupped her chin. “More than all right. Everything is as it should be.”
Clay turned to Jill, whose smile told him everything he needed to know. Her audience with Dora Gates had been a great success. Jill would never have to fear the woman again. How he wished he could have heard that conversation.
He was certain she would tell him later. The important thing was that Jill and Dora were no longer at odds.
Jill smiled at her gentle sister, still amazed at the wonders of this New Year’s Eve with her father’s family. “Remember what we hoped and prayed for, Lillie?”
Her sister’s eyes brightened. “We’re a family now? Really? All of us?”
“Grandmother, is that true?” Kathryn put in as if eager to have it confirmed.
“Yes, a family,” Dora said, quite decisively. “Jill, accepting you into this family was the last thing I ever expected to do. I am old now, and my grandchildren can verify that I don’t readily change my mind. But I was wrong about you, and now you have more than earned a place among us.”
“I … I don’t know what to say,” Jill whispered.
“If I had any sense, I would have realized your worth long ago,” the elder woman continued as she put an arm around Lillie’s shoulders. “After all, my granddaughter here is an excellent judge of character.”
Lillie looked wide-eyed at her grandmother. “Do you mean Jill can stay here?”
“Yes, Jill is welcome in this house any time she chooses. As welcome as any other member of the family.”
Jill’s chin trembled. The elder woman could never guess how great a gift she was giving to one who longed to share in the lives of her dad and his family.
“Father will be so pleased.” Lillie’s exuberance never failed.
Dora nodded with a faraway look in her faded eyes. “Yes, and for him, a pleasure long overdue.”
“Let’s go t
ell him right now, Grandma.” Lillie’s eyes glowed with excitement. “Kathryn? Jill? Clay? Are you with us?”
“Now hold on.” Dora put up a hand as if stemming oncoming traffic. “I am going to bed. This is a night for young people. I’ve given up long ago staying up all hours to traipse around on New Year’s Eve. Besides, has it occurred to you your father is probably asleep?”
“It has been a long, hard week for him,” Kathryn conceded.
“Could we at least call him? Just in case he’s up?” Lillie wasn’t ready to give up.
Kathryn gathered her coat and prepared herself for the cold outdoors. “It’s after 11:00, Lillie. I’m going home, but I’ll pick you up in the morning. We’ll see Father after church. I’ll see you in the morning too, Grandma. Good night, Jill … Clay.”
Dora turned to Jill and Clay. “You two stay as long as you like. As a matter of fact, there is no need for you to drive back to Chicago tonight. You are welcome to stay here if you wish. You know where your rooms are.”
Lillie looked up through her long, silky lashes at Jill and then Clay. “Will I see you in the morning?”
“You can count on it,” Clay said. “And thank you, Mrs. Gates.”
Dora favored him with a regal nod and a new twinkle in her eyes. “Come along, Lillie. Let’s leave your sister alone with her young man.”
Within minutes, the house grew quiet, except for the soft ticking of the mantle clock. Jill turned off all but the Christmas tree lights, though she left the candles on the mantle burning. Clay caught her by the waist and drew her into his arms. “I thought they’d never leave.”
“Why, Clay Merrick, whatever are you thinking?” Jill teased. “Never mind. Let’s sit here and enjoy this time together.” She drew him down to the couch and snuggled in his arms.
“Like this?” he asked.
“Just like this.”
As they sat quietly, Jill realized she had never known such contentment. If their first New Year’s Eve was this amazing, what might the New Year bring?