Hearts and Harvest

by Amber Stockton

  “I won’t deny the fact that I’ve been aware of her feelings for you for quite some time now. And I won’t make you any more uncomfortable than you are by asking your intentions toward my daughter. I am certain they are honorable.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Mr. Lawson nodded. “Very well. We’ll leave the rest for another time.” The hint of a grin tugged at the corners of the man’s mouth. “I have a feeling a more personal conversation with my daughter at the center of it will be forthcoming before too long.”

  Annabelle’s father was astute. William had to give him that. He swallowed and nodded, unable to speak beyond the tightness in his throat.

  “Now if you’ll excuse me, I do have some rather important matters that require my attention before supper.” He winked. “And I don’t want to upset Mrs. Lawson by being late.”

  “No, sir!” William grinned, grateful he’d again found his voice.

  “I trust you don’t mind seeing yourself out?”

  “Not at all, sir.” William turned toward the door then glanced over his shoulder. “Thank you again, Mr. Lawson.”

  “You’re quite welcome.”

  ❧

  All right. That was it. Annabelle had just ended her outing with her most recent suitor—and her last. As Mother had requested, she’d seen these engagements through to fruition. Now she was glad to put an end to them. None of the men she’d met held any appeal, nor did she see them anywhere in her future.

  On the contrary, the only man she consistently saw in that future hadn’t been around for several weeks. That didn’t mean he hadn’t been far from her thoughts. In fact, with each new social event, William became more and more a forerunner in her mind. With this last outing, she had even imagined William’s face across from her instead of the man who escorted her.

  Being patient was getting her nowhere. Annabelle had promised her parents to go to the potato patches only once a week. But she couldn’t avoid it any longer.

  She had to find William.

  As Annabelle marched across the adjoining plots, resolute and focused, her tunnel vision prevented her from seeing anyone or anything around her. Before she realized it, her trek had brought her to the Berringer land and straight into the solid form of William Berringer.

  “Umph!”

  William immediately placed his hands at her waist and saved her from a fall. She looked up into the amused eyes of the very man she’d come to see. After all this time and how easily it seemed he had made himself scarce every time she came to the fields, Annabelle thought she’d have plenty to say. Unfortunately, her tongue refused to cooperate.

  “Mr. Berringer!” was all she managed to get out.

  “Tell me, Miss Lawson, do you often make it a practice of not looking where you’re going?”

  His eyes crinkled with laughter, and the brown in them lightened as his lips quirked into a grin. Her heart raced at the appealing image he presented. Then she remembered all the pain of the weeks of separation. He might have been helping her abide by her parents’ wishes, but to her, he’d abandoned her. Plain and simple.

  She took a step back, forcing him to drop his arms, and planted both fists on her hips and frowned. “Well, under normal circumstances, no. However, you’ve been absent every other time I’ve ventured onto your land in the past few weeks.” She shrugged, doing her best to remain unaffected by his nearness. “I didn’t expect to run into anyone.”

  William winced as her words hit their intended mark. Annabelle didn’t truly desire to hurt, but even she felt the sting delivered by her response. Still, he needed to know.

  He sighed, and his shoulders drooped. The mirth in his eyes dimmed as well. “Miss Lawson, I do apologize for my behavior since we last spoke. Please believe me when I say that you have not been far from my thoughts, despite how we parted.”

  She almost admitted the same thing. Instead, she held her tongue and waited for him to continue.

  “There really is no excuse for my deplorable actions, and I was actually planning to come find you today so I might tell you so.” He implored her with true penitence in his eyes. “I also came to ask for your forgiveness in the hopes that we might repair whatever rift I might have caused.”

  Well, that confession certainly took the wind out of her sails. How could she deny a request like that? In spite of herself, the hurt and pain she’d been feeling at what she’d viewed as his desertion vanished. His sincerity reached deep and touched her heart. Her puffed-up desire for some form of vindication deflated, leaving behind the soft spot she’d reserved only for him.

  “Mr. Berringer, I appreciate your honesty. Your apology is accepted.” She nearly smiled at how he visibly relaxed. “Might I ask for your forgiveness as well?”

  Confusion wrinkled his brow. “My forgiveness? For what?”

  “I harbored some resentment after you stormed off that day, and prior to that, I hadn’t been the best example of patience regarding your anger at God or your slip in faith.”

  “About that,” he began. William licked his lips and swallowed twice then offered a sheepish grin. “I’ve finally been able to make peace with everything and realize that God indeed has been looking out for me and my family all along.”

  Annabelle gasped. That confession seemed to come out of nowhere. It was the last thing she would have expected to hear from him today. Yet she could see in his boyish demeanor and the expression in his eyes that he meant every word.

  “But how. . .I don’t under—” She paused to gather her thoughts, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. “What happened to bring about this change?”

  Almost instantly a wide smile transformed his face. It reached all the way to his eyes. An answering smile started to form on her lips as hope made her catch her breath.

  “That’s the other reason I wanted to come find you. I’ve got a job!”

  Heedless of propriety, Annabelle jumped forward and threw her arms around William’s neck. A second later, his arms came around her waist. He swung her once in a circle as his laughter sounded in her right ear.

  “Oh, William, that’s wonderful!” she spoke over his shoulder. Then realizing where they stood and what she’d just done, she released her hold and put a little distance between them, tucking her chin against her chest. “I’m sorry.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t be. I didn’t mind.”

  Annabelle looked up to see that his eyes had darkened. He now regarded her with an emotion she didn’t dare name. Not when it bordered so close to what she wanted to show as well.

  “So tell me,” she began, attempting to return her pounding heartbeat to normal. “What is this job, and when do you begin?”

  “It’s for Edison Illuminating Company, and I started three weeks ago as the assistant to one of the supervisors. You might even know him. Mr. Ralph Hudson.”

  “Oh my! Yes. At least I know who he is. Father is more familiar with him than I. But I have met him on more than one occasion.” She drew her eyebrows together. “He’s rather important with the Edison Company, is he not?”

  William nodded. “From what I gather. What’s even more amazing is the fact that my father has been offered a position as a financial consultant for the company. So not only do I have a job, but he does, too.” He reached for her hands, holding them lightly in his own. “So you see? With the abundance of good fortune, God and I had ourselves a little chat.” He grinned. “I hadn’t exactly been fair in my anger at Him. Tossing aside years of faith because of present circumstances doesn’t say much of me. It took the wisdom of another believer, my parents’ steadfast faith, and the admittance of my own stupidity to get me back on track. Now God and I are back where we used to be.”

  Annabelle gave his hands a slight squeeze. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that, Mr. Berringer.”

  “What’s with the formality? A moment ago you used my first name.”

  She had? Perhaps the hug they’d shared blotted that out. “Oh,” she muttered, lowering her ey
es.

  William dropped one of her hands to touch her chin and raise her gaze to his once more. “As I said, there is no need for apologies. I liked it. And I’d like it if you did it from now on.”

  “I don’t believe that would be proper,” she protested. Then again, this would be a step in the right direction if what she thought might come next truly did.

  “On the contrary, I must disagree. After all the time we’ve shared and the conversations we’ve had, I would say it’s entirely proper.” His eyes regarded her, mirth again dancing in his brown depths. “Would it help if I said please?”

  A giggle escaped from her lips at how adorable he looked. “Very well.”

  His voice lowered and became quite gentle. “Very well, what?”

  “Very well. . .William,” she whispered.

  “There, now that wasn’t so difficult, was it, Annabelle?”

  Hearing her name coming from him sounded so nice. She could see why he preferred it.

  “All right, now that we’ve got that out of the way, there’s only one more issue to address.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Gathering our families to celebrate the recent good fortune and share in the gratitude my father and I owe your father.”

  “That sounds like a splendid idea!” Annabelle already knew Mother would agree. With a little persuasion, she was sure Father would, too.

  “I’ve already thanked your father privately, but—”

  “You have?” When had he done that? And why hadn’t Father told her about it?

  “Yes. I believe a dinner would be the best way to commemorate everything.”

  He made it sound so uncomplicated, speaking of meeting with her father and now moving forward with plans to gather their families together again.

  “It sounds as if you’ve given this a great deal of thought.”

  “I have. In so many ways.” He squeezed her hands. “And before we discuss the details of the dinner, there is another matter I wish to discuss. No—make that confess.”

  Annabelle’s breath hitched. Was he about to say what she’d been hoping he’d say for a while now?

  “I haven’t been all that great at sharing what I’ve felt.” William grimaced and released a nervous chuckle. “Unless of course it was my anger at God.” He held her gaze with his own and licked his lips. “Despite my boorish behavior, you never gave up and in the process became quite important to me.”

  Annabelle bit her lower lip, trying hard to contain her excitement.

  “So before I make a mess of everything, I’m going to come right out and say it.” He inhaled once. “I care a great deal for you and need to know if you feel the same.”

  “Yes!” she immediately replied, fighting the urge to embrace the man in front of her again.

  William saved her the effort by pulling her to him instead. “That’s the best word I’ve heard all day,” he said, wrapping his arms around her back.

  She nestled against him. It would be so easy to stay there forever. But she remembered how she hadn’t told anyone she’d even come here today.

  “Oh no!”

  William stared at her with a quizzical expression in his eyes and eyebrows drawn. “That wasn’t exactly what I expected to hear next. Annabelle, what’s wrong?”

  “I shouldn’t be here today. Mother and Father are sure to wonder where I’ve gone.”

  “Oh, is that all?” He visibly relaxed and grinned. “Then let’s make sure you get home safely, shall we?” He maintained his hold on her left hand and turned. “We don’t want to jeopardize anything we’ve accomplished to this point, do we?”

  William winked, and a blush warmed her cheeks. They hadn’t yet made any promises, but at least their feelings were out in the open. Beyond that, they’d discover it together. For now Annabelle basked in the joy of Willam’s returned affection. Anything else was mere icing on the cake.

  FIFTEEN

  “Are you sure everything is in place?”

  Annabelle peered at the break in the curtain then glanced back at William, worry etched across her face.

  “Relax, Annabelle.” William stepped away from the table where he’d been setting up a few items loaned to him courtesy of the Edison Company. “You have worked hard with that handful of women from the Ladies Aid and managed to accomplish quite a lot in a short amount of time.”

  “I know.” She inhaled a deep breath. “But there is so much about this evening that must go right.”

  He walked up behind Annabelle and turned her gently to face him. Taking her hands in his, he gazed down into her blue eyes. “Everything will go just fine. Do what you told me many times to do not so long ago.”

  “Trust God,” they said in unison.

  She smiled. “I do. I’m still nervous, though.”

  William raised one hand to trail a finger down her soft cheek. “So am I. However, this is all going to work out just fine. It is the State Fair, after all. We didn’t have one last year, and it hasn’t been here in Detroit for eleven years. That’s bound to make everything better.” He implored her with his eyes. “Even if there are any glitches.”

  “I pray you’re right,” she replied, the tremble in her voice belying her lingering doubts.

  He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I am. Trust me.” Tapping her nose with his finger, he grinned. “Why don’t you head on over to the stage area so you can be sure your parents make their way here without delay?”

  She nodded. “All right. We’ll be back shortly.”

  After she left, he returned to see to the final details.

  He and Annabelle had indeed worked hard the past two weeks. They never would have made it happen without the help of his newly formed connections at the Edison Company. Not to mention his own parents. When they learned of his plan and the promise of seeing Annabelle more often, they’d eagerly agreed to help.

  With everyone working together as a team, they had secured the private area now cloaked in the thick, tentlike curtain on all four sides. The candelabras on the tables in the center cast a soft glow, and the place settings had been transported from one of the finer restaurants in Detroit. Even now the tantalizing aroma of the dishes prepared for this meal reached his nose and made his stomach rumble in response.

  William cast an analytical look around the makeshift room, a sense of pride filling him at all they’d achieved. He sent a silent prayer of thanks to God, along with a request that His hand remain on all that would be taking place in a matter of moments.

  All he needed to do now was make sure his special guest was in position.

  ❧

  “Annabelle, where are you taking us?” Mother demanded.

  “I must admit, your cryptic invitation on behalf of young Mr. Berringer has piqued my interest,” Father added. “But I also hope it involves food. I’m famished.”

  Annabelle grinned. She did her best to hide it from her parents, though. The more secretive she could be, the better. The less they knew, the better the surprise would be.

  “You will both be quite pleased, I assure you,” she promised.

  The rest of the trek took place in silence. As they reached the entrance to the curtained room, she prayed for peace. If only her heart would return to its normal position instead of lodging in her throat. It made breathing rather difficult.

  At that very moment, the curtain parted and a maid dressed in black with a white apron stepped outside.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Lawson. Miss Lawson,” the young girl greeted. “Please come in.”

  The gasps from both of her parents as soon as they entered filled Annabelle with pride. She caught sight of William standing at the opposite side. His wink sent her heart racing.

  “Oh! It’s all so beautiful,” Mother gushed.

  “I am impressed.” Father inhaled an appreciative breath through his nose. “And if the meal tastes half as good as it smells, I will say you and Mr. Berringer have outdone yourselves.”

  “Yes.” Mother
looked all around the room. “But the question still remains. What is all this about?”

  “If you will take your seats, Mother and Father, you will find out in just a few moments.”

  As soon as they sat, William opened the curtain where he stood and ushered in his parents along with Jacob, followed by Mr. Hudson and his wife. Matthew and Victoria brought up the rear. Annabelle smiled at her brother and sister, who moved with the entourage to gather at the table, each one sitting where his or her name card indicated.

  William walked to the head of the table and cleared his throat. All eyes turned toward him, waiting expectantly.

  “First, I want to thank all of you for agreeing to come this evening.” He caught Annabelle’s eyes for a brief second. “Miss Lawson and I appreciate your presence. We both agreed to begin with the purpose of this evening.”

  Annabelle took her eyes off William long enough to look at Father, who regarded William with obvious pleasure. Mother smiled as well.

  “Now,” William continued. “If you will indulge me a moment longer, I need to preface our remaining guest by way of an introduction.”

  He had originally suggested they wait to bring in their guest of honor until after the first or second course, but Annabelle had pleaded with him to start the dinner by introducing him. She would never make it through her first bite otherwise. And it would only add to the enjoyment of the evening.

  Everyone looked to the two chairs that still remained empty, one where William stood and the other immediately to the right, next to where Annabelle sat. William pinned his gaze on Father. His throat muscles moved as he swallowed several times, and his hands gripped the back of the chair in front of him hard enough to make his knuckles turn white.

  “Mr. Lawson. You and I already spoke about this that day in your study, but I felt a celebratory dinner would better demonstrate the full scale of my appreciation and that of my family for all you’ve done to help us. And as you surmised that day, the other topic has indeed become an issue.”

  William relaxed his grip on the chair and inhaled a deep breath. Annabelle did the same, sharing his apprehension. There was no going back now.