The Forgiving Heart (The Heart of Minnesota Book 1)

by Riker, Becky

  Michael was incredulous, “You think sending her across the ocean to a land where she knows nobody is going to help her heal?”

  “I’m going to see what I can do,” he sat down with a thud.

  “You’re not going to get her visa approved any time soon,” was Michael’s helpful comment.

  He was roundly ignored as Leif went to his desk and began shuffling through papers.

  “Does she have any papers at all?” the young man watched with interest as his uncle appeared to light on a certain piece of paper.

  Leif shook his head, “I’m sure she doesn’t. That can’t stop us, Boy. We’re on a mission.”

  Michael had to laugh at his uncle’s determined tone, “What is that mission, exactly?”

  “To get Karlijna to Sigrid.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  As it turned out, nothing was accomplished along that line before Michael had to return to duty. His visits were erratic, sometimes occurring with no warning or being canceled suddenly, so Leif had no accomplice in his actions. This did not deter the man.

  Each day that passed saw him more resolved to get Karlijna away from the area. Some of Leif’s customers were beginning to snub the girl. She had been unable to find other work, so Leif rehired her at the store. She must have known he did not need full time help, but, when she could find nothing else, she had no option but to accept his offer.

  Every week, she took a day to search for a job but to no avail. The horrid lies had infiltrated the small village, becoming worse instead of dissipating. It was no longer a secret from Leif who had started them, but, out of respect for Karlijna, he said nothing.

  “I’m going to work in the back room today, Leif,” Karlijna told him that morning. “I think it needs to be cleaned.”

  “Oh?” he was not accustomed to his help dictating her own tasks.

  “Yes,” she didn’t say anymore, but went to sort the boxes in storage.

  Leif looked to his wife for explanation.

  “She heard someone tell me yesterday they wouldn’t shop here anymore as long as she was here.”

  Leif’s blood boiled, “We can do without business like that.”

  “Please, Leif,” she shushed him, “don’t raise your voice. Do you know how hurt she would be?”

  Leif was forced to postpone the rest of the conversation due to a steady stream of customers. Ordinarily, he would be thankful for the business, but just now, he was praying for a break.

  He didn’t get that break until the store closed for the night, but he got something better.

  “Look who’s here, Leif,” Torkel walked through the door with Michael.

  “I am glad to see you,” the man greeted his nephew.

  Michael, remembering his last visit and Leif’s plan, was wary.

  “Come into the sitting room. I have some things to discuss with you.”

  Torkel tagged along, wondering what his brother wanted with Michael.

  “Here’s what I found out.”

  Leif laid out the plan for his brother and nephew.

  Torkel, having just heard about it now, was surprised. Michael, even knowing Leif was concocting something still was flabbergasted.

  “It isn’t going to work, Uncle Leif,” he protested. “You’ll never get them to believe. . .”

  “Shh,” Leif hissed as Karlijna came into the room.

  “Michael,” she sat down beside Torkel, “how nice to see you.”

  Michael’s smile looked a little strained as he replied in kind.

  Karlijna had thought Ingrid was crazy when she told the girl to come keep an eye on the men.

  “They’re up to something,” the lady had said as she pushed her toward the sitting room. “If you can’t find out what it is, at least keep them from mischief.”

  Now, Karlijna imagined Ingrid had been right.

  “Have you any interesting stories to tell this visit, Michael?” she asked, trying not to notice Leif’s pointed looks aimed at his nephew.

  Michael gave her a half-smile and shook his head, “Not really.”

  “How strange,” she commented before turning to Torkel, “How about you Captain Anderson? How close did you come to being caught?”

  Torkel looked as though he couldn’t process the question.

  When she sat smiling expectantly at him, he finally responded.

  “What did you say?”

  “I said,” she smiled sweetly, “how close did you come to being caught last night? Or when I came into the room?”

  All three men looked sharply at her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Caught? At what?”

  “We weren’t doing anything.”

  They all spoke at once. She smiled and rose.

  “I think Ingrid knows a thing or two,” the girl observed as she exited the room, “but she’ll have to discover your secrets on her own. I’m going to peel carrots.”

  Karlijna didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but while she and the other women prepared supper she heard several strange remarks and couldn’t help but wonder if they were referring to her.

  “She’ll never agree to that.”

  “She doesn’t need. . .”

  “My mother. . .”

  “What if. . .”

  Karlijna determined to ignore the men. She forced a smile to her lips and turned to Torkel’s wife, “Kaaren, how has business been?”

  “Fine, fine,” the woman continued chopping as she sniffed, “This is a good time of year for selling cheese. Everybody wants it for their holiday celebrations.”

  In an act of compassion, Karlijna reached over and took the vegetable from the Kaaren, blinking her eyes against the gathering tears, “I’m glad to hear it. My father would have been your best customer if he were here. He and my brother love cheese.”

  Kaaren wiped her eyes on the corner of her apron, “I’m sorry,” she sniffled again, “I can’t seem to stop these tears.

  Ingrid put her hands on her hips and looked at the other two in mock dismay, “What a sight the two of you make, blubbering all over supper.”

  Karlijna giggled at this, needing to stop her task, “I can’t see, I’m crying so hard.”

  Kaaren’s laughter shook her solid frame.

  “Give me that thing,” Ingrid scoffed at the other two, “there is a technique, and the two of you have obviously never been taught the fine art of chopping an onion.”

  Karlijna, as interested as she was in this supposed method, could not focus on the woman. The remaining smell burned her eyes and nose so badly that she had to blink continually to keep from sobbing in earnest.

  Ingrid gave one definitive chop to the offending food. Then there was a pause.

  “Mercy,” the woman gasped, “that is one potent onion.”

  The other two women collapsed into gales of laughter at the table.

  “I guess,” Ingrid spoke between bouts, once she could gain her breath, “I could use a lesson on that technique myself.”

  Supper preparations had to take a back seat to the hilarity in the kitchen. All three cooks were on the verge of hysterics when Torkel came in to see what the commotion was about.

  “What is going on in here?” his eyes took in the three teary women. “What is wrong with all of you?”

  The women didn’t answer, but laughed harder, their reactions feeding their own amusement.

  Leif and Michael joined the Captain. The women tried to explain, but couldn’t string two coherent words together.

  “I was. . .” Kaaren explained with a hiccup. She laughed, “And then Karlijna was. .” a snort and a gasp for breath, “her job was. . .”

  “No,” Ingrid tried to compose herself, “you see what happened,” she looked at the other two and buried her face in her hands, convulsing with mirth.

  After minimal effort they gave up. The men looked at each other and back at the women. For several long moments they looked at the women.

  Finally, the ladies’ laughter began to subside
. They dabbed at their eyes with apron corners.

  “Were you. . .crying about something?” Michael was the first man to voice what all three were wondering.

  Ingrid laughed again, but in a more controlled manner, “No, we were laughing.” She wiped her hands down the front of her apron and, pushing the onion far from her, resumed peeling carrots.

  “Laughing?” Leif looked skeptical, “At what?”

  Karlijna, in front of whom the smelly vegetable had come to rest, used a wooden spoon to subtly move it toward Kaaren, “You wouldn’t understand.”

  Kaaren took a deep breath and bravely held the knife over the onion.

  Leif scratched his head and looked at the three, now mostly composed, “You weren’t into the cooking sherry were you?”

  The women give way to their amusement again, and the men, seeing that supper was going to be a while, left for a walk.

  Following a late meal, Karlijna began to clear the table.

  “Karlijna,” Leif spoke up, “leave those dishes. I’ll help Ingrid clean up.”

  This wasn’t an unusual request so Karlijna nodded and wiped her hands on a dishtowel. She was prepared to go read the Bible Ingrid had lent her, but Leif’s voice stopped her, “You’ve been cooped up in the house and store all day. Why don’t you and Michael go for a walk?”

  Karlijna looked wide-eyed at the man and then at his wife. Ingrid was no help as she was staring open-mouthed at her husband.

  Michael rose quickly from his seat, “Shall I get your coat for you?”

  Karlijna dumbly shook her head, “No, thank you. I’ll get it myself.”

  She arrived back in the kitchen, clad in winter wear to find Michael dressed to go outside, waiting patiently.

  On the young people’s exit, Karlijna heard Ingrid whisper furiously to her husband, but could not discern the words.

  “I’m sorry you have to take me for a walk, Michael,” the young girl spoke almost immediately. “I’m certain it was not your deepest desire to be out in the cold tonight.” She spoke in Swedish because it had become natural to her.

  Michael stopped, “Actually, Karlijna,” he responded in English, “it was my idea.”

  Karlijna looked up at her friend, “Why?”

  “I need to talk to you about your situation with my uncle, and I wanted it to be in private.”

  Karlijna felt a heaviness settle on her shoulders, “My situation?”

  “Yes,” he began walking again.

  “You see,” he began, a serious tone in his voice, “I know what happened with your last job.”

  Karlijna barely held back a cry of dismay. Michael feared for the reputation of his family and he was going to ask her to leave.

  “I’m sorry,” Karlijna’s voice cut through the cold wind.

  “You’re sorry?” Michael sounded confused, “What have you to be sorry for?”

  “For. . .for,” Karlijna thought hard, “I guess for dirtying your family’s name. They are well respected here, and the scandal surrounding me has made them look bad.”

  Michael stopped again and firm hands gripped her upper arms, “That is not the truth. You have done nothing wrong.”

  Karlijna said nothing.

  Michael leaned closer, “You realize that, don’t you? You have behaved better than anyone in this.”

  “Thank you,” Karlijna accepted the compliment and resumed walking.

  Michael didn’t follow her for a few moments, but he quickly hurried to catch up.

  “I have a solution for you,” he offered.

  “A solution? To make the gossip stop? To give me back my reputation?”

  Michael heard no malice in those words, only sorrow.

  “I wish I could,” his voice sincere, “but I can’t.”

  “I thought it would have ended by now,” Karlijna admitted. “It has been nearly two months.”

  “I can’t stop it, but I can get you out of here,” Michael spoke quickly as if he needed to get it out and be done with it.

  “Get me out of here?” the girl kept walking, though she was peering through the dimness at her companion.

  “Yes,” he stopped her and put his gloved hands to her shoulders, “I can send you to my parents in Minnesota.”

  “You want to send me away? To America?” it was too much for Karlijna to take in.

  Michael tipped his head up and looked at the sky.

  Karlijna was so confused, she just stared at him, waiting for him to explain.

  “I’m not trying to send you away,” he began.

  “Does Leif know about this?”

  “Yes,” he answered, but immediately followed with, “and he isn’t trying to send you away either.”

  “Then why? I don’t know anyone in America. I would be homesick.”

  “You have been through so much in your short life, Karlijna,” the man spoke tenderly. “We just want to make things as easy as possible for you.”

  “But my English is so bad.”

  Michael laughed, “It isn’t bad, but if that worries you, you can speak Swedish with my parents. Or German, even.”

  Karlijna could not process the information.

  Michael turned them back toward Leif’s house, “You do not have to tell me now. Just let Torkel know when you have made a decision, and he can help get the paperwork started.”

  They arrived back at the kitchen door shortly. Michael began to open it for her, but she stopped him.

  “I do not need time to think, Michael. I will accept your offer. It is not right that your uncle should suffer for me.”

  She held up a hand when he would protest, “I know the fault was not mine, but as long as I am here, he loses business. I dislike being a burden to them after their great kindness to me.”

  Michael smiled at her, “You’re going to love my mom.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  About three weeks later, Michael appeared in the Anderson's kitchen.

  “How long will it take you to get ready to go?”

  Karlijna winced a little.

  “I'm sorry,” Michael reached across the table and touched her arm, “that was a thoughtless thing to say. I didn't mean to say we are in such a hurry that you should drop everything, but that –”

  “It is o-kay,” Karlijna interrupted him. “I know I am safe with you.”

  The words hit Michael hard. Karlijna had been so abused and tossed around the past year that she was willing to place her safety in the hands of a near stranger. Yet, Michael did not feel she was a stranger to him. He felt a desire – a need to protect her. His heart caught him off guard.

  Was he in love with Karlijna? She was just a girl. No, he decided, he did not love her. She just needed his help; it was a protective instinct.

  “Are you ill, Michael?” Karlijna walked around the table and put a hand on his shoulder.

  Michael dragged his attention back to the girl before him, “I'm good,” he cleared his throat, “I'll just go into the store and talk to Leif. ”

  Michael was sure Karlijna's eyes were on his back as he left.

  “Michael,” Leif greeted him with a slap on the back, “It is good to see you.”

  Michael nodded, but couldn't quite gain his footing. His emotions were running in circles, and he needed a moment to himself to sort them.

  “I am here for Karlijna. Can we be ready to leave tomorrow?”

  Ingrid came to stand by her husband, “So soon?”

  Leif put an arm around her, “The sooner, the better. She no longer leaves the apartment.”

  Michael swallowed hard, “The lies are not dying down?”

  “For a time they seemed as though they would, but the woman went to the trouble of writing a letter to Karlijna and posting it on the door of our store. We did not know what had happened until a customer tore it down and showed it to us.”

  “But surely people do not believe it?”

  Ingrid turned away from the conversation and went to find Karlijna.

  “It is
to their shame if they do,” Leif’s eyes were on his wife's back, “and more to their shame that the majority of those who bear the tales come from the church.”

  “Tomorrow we go,” Michael resolved.

  “You were able to accomplish your goal very quickly.”

  “I have a friend who is dating a woman in the records department in London. She got me the necessary papers.”

  “Praise the Lord,” Leif whispered as a customer came in the door.

  The customer stayed to shop for a while and then discuss the weather with Leif. It was some time before he returned to Michael.

  “I've been wondering, boy,” he began while replacing the canisters, “how will you be paying for this journey?”

  “When I was here last, Karlijna gave me some money. Apparently, her boss gave her a large sum when he last spoke to her.”

  “Blood money,” Leif muttered.

  “She had been intending to give it to you,” Michael began.

  “She did give us quite a sum. We thought to give it to you.”

  Michael shook his head, “I have more than enough.”

  Leif whistled, “Roald must feel pretty guilty.”

  Michael growled, “I'd like him to feel more than guilty.”

  Leif’s eyes widened as he looked at the younger man, “Do I hear a little more to your tone than an angry brother or cousin?”

  Michael turned and paced away from his uncle, “She doesn't deserve this – nobody would deserve it.”

  “But,” Leif followed him, “your feelings, Michael. . .”

  Michael turned around, “I don't know, but,” he held his hands in front of him and spoke quickly, “she's safe with me. I would never harm her or take advantage of her.”

  Leif looked up, eyes narrowed, “It does change things.”

  Michael heaved a sigh, “It could, I know. But I'm still not sure how I feel about her,” he glanced toward the back room and lowered his voice. “I just realized today how much I was looking forward to being with her – then I saw her and couldn't think straight.”

  Michael realized he said, “Sorry. That sounded stupid.”

  Leif was looking at him like he had lost his mind, “It sounds like you'd better figure out what you want so you don't hurt our little girl.”

  Michael nodded, “I know. I'll figure it out, but I don't have the time before we have to send her to Mom.”