The Timeless Love Romance Collection

by Dianne Christner

  Garrison hated to burst her excitement, but he knew she’d have to face facts if she hoped not to embarrass herself in front of everyone at the fair. “But wouldn’t your mother be even more proud of you if you forged your own identity? You have a special talent with flowers, especially roses, Willa. Why not share that with the world?”

  “I don’t know.…”

  “Be a woman in your own right. The beautiful woman you are.”

  Willa didn’t answer except to divert her attention to a gorgeous red rosebud nearby. Placing her hand lovingly underneath the cherry-colored bloom, she was gorgeous enough to grace the pages of Photoplay.

  “I have something for you. Wait right here.” After hurrying to the car, he retrieved a plant wrapped loosely in tissue paper.

  “This isn’t another picnic, is it?” she asked as he approached her in the garden.

  “Uh uh.” He shook his head and handed her the object.

  Searching under the paper, Willa discovered an exquisite rose plant with a coveted bloom, a splendid yellow rose edged in pink. She gasped in delight. “A Peace rose! I’ve wanted one of these ever since it was introduced last year! How did you manage to get this?”

  “It wasn’t easy. Apparently, every gardener in America wants one to remember the end of the war.”

  “So do I.” Willa touched a bloom. Garrison could feel her love for the petal he knew to be velvety soft. She looked back at him, her eyes glowing with delight. “I know just where to plant this.” She tilted her head toward a corner. “Right in front of my bedroom window, so I can look at it every day when I wake up and every night before I go to bed.” Sighing happily, she set the plant on the ground. Before Garrison realized her intent, she drew near him, closely enough that their faces almost touched. Tenderly, she rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you, Garrison,” she murmured into his chest.

  Garrison wrapped his arms around her in return, reveling in her feminine softness. “I didn’t get a reception this warm when I built the hot house.”

  “The hot house was for business. But the rose is for me.”

  “Yes, it is.” He had imagined her warm body next to his ever since they first met. Yet the fantasies proved only a mere shadow of reality. He was close enough to smell her sweet hair, the light tea rose perfume she wore. Garrison broke away just enough to look into her eyes, the big blue eyes he had fallen in love with. When he kissed her lips, she didn’t resist.

  Chapter 6

  Congratulations, Willa! The mousse looks perfect!” Studying the frothy chocolate mountains, all chilled in individual serving dishes, Garrison applauded.

  Folding her arms victoriously, Willa nodded once. “See? I told you there was no need to supervise me. I can be trusted in the kitchen, after all.”

  “I stand corrected.” His boyish grin was her reward. “I’m sure the mousse tastes even better than it looks. It’s certain to be the perfect ending to the wedding rehearsal dinner.”

  “Of course! It’s chocolate, isn’t it?”

  Garrison laughed, but doubt clouded his blue eyes. “You have tasted it, right?”

  She shook her head. “No. But what could go wrong? I didn’t even have to turn on the oven. It’s not like a soufflé that could collapse while it bakes.”

  “True. But you’d be surprised at what can go wrong in the kitchen.”

  “You worry too much.” Willa rubbed her stomach and grinned like she’d seen her brother Ron do when he got to scrape cake batter out of the bowl. “And I did try a little when I scraped out the bowl, just before I put it in the icebox to set. It tasted fine then.”

  “I’m sure it did. But the recipe I gave you was pretty complicated. It would have been a good idea to try it after you chilled it, just in case.”

  “Well, I did make two extra portions for us to try before dinner, but …”

  “I know. The bride’s mother called at the last minute and asked if we could add two more guests. Thankfully, I had prepared extra beef for just such an emergency.” He eyed one of the dishes of mousse as though he wished he could devour it then and there. “Next time, make four extra servings, won’t you?”

  “That’s a promise.” As she studied the dishes of mousse, Willa nearly jumped with delirious happiness. Nothing could ruin this night. “Oh, Garrison, I’m so thrilled! Now everyone who thought I couldn’t as much as boil water will know how wrong they were!”

  At that moment Thomas, a high school senior who Garrison had hired as an extra hand, scurried in with a stack of dirty dishes. “They’ve been talking about your decorations all night, Miss Johnston. Your roses sure are swell. The place looks more like the Ritz than the church fellowship hall.”

  “Really?” Willa felt her face flush with pride. “Everyone likes the flowers?”

  Thomas nodded. “I overheard Mrs. Benton say she’d like to hire you and Mr. Gaines for her daughter’s wedding in July.” As he shot a glance toward Garrison, Thomas’s lips pursed into a disappointed line. “Too bad you won’t be able to take her up on it, Mr. Gaines.”

  Why did Thomas make such a remark? Willa realized that Garrison must have already made vacation plans for the summer. As much as she didn’t want to interfere, she knew she had to advise him against turning down such a lucrative job. “Garrison, if I were you, I’d rearrange my schedule around that wedding if she wants us for it. Everybody in town will be there, and lots of out-of-towners too. At least five hundred people. You don’t want to pass up the chance to cater a big affair like that!”

  “Oh, he’ll be long gone by then,” Thomas noted as he ran water over the dishes in the sink.

  “Huh?” Willa’s head snapped in Thomas’s direction. “What do you mean, long gone?”

  “Nothing,” Garrison interrupted.

  Thomas ignored Garrison’s warning look. “Don’t you know? Mr. Gaines is going back to Maryland. We’ll be out of a job pretty soon. Good thing I’m going to college next semester.” Shaking his head, Thomas returned to his chore.

  “Maryland? What’s this all about?” After setting a dish of mousse on the counter, Willa folded her arms and stared into Garrison’s eyes.

  “I should have told you earlier, I suppose,” Garrison confessed, a sheepish look crossing his face.

  “So it’s true? You’re going back to Maryland?”

  “I got an offer on the house. I haven’t gotten back to them yet, but they’re willing to pay my asking price. I’d be a fool not to accept.”

  So he was selling the house! Willa could hardly believe what she was hearing. Suddenly her stomach felt as though it were about to hit the floor. “I thought we were painting the house so you could live there. You didn’t tell me you were planning to sell it.” Despite her best efforts to remain calm, she heard her voice rise in pitch and volume.

  “I didn’t know you hadn’t said anything to Miss Johnston,” Thomas called over from the sink. “Sorry I spilled the beans.”

  “Go and make sure everyone’s water glass is filled.” Garrison’s tone was curt. After shaking excess water from his hands, Thomas quickly disappeared to tend to his new assignment.

  “How could you do this? How could you lead me to believe—” Willa fought back her tears.

  “I was going to tell you.…”

  “When?”

  Before Garrison could answer, the kitchen door swung open. Thomas, holding a half-empty pitcher, hurried over to Willa. “I hate to be the one to bring even more bad news, Miss Johnston, but I thought you should know that Mr. Bridges is out there.”

  “Oh.” Her former fiancé. Willa barely recognized the weak voice that came out of her mouth.

  “He’s with his wife.”

  So Dirk and his wife were here. She hadn’t seen their names on the guest list. Maybe he and his wife were the last-minute guests. Willa’s heart did a funny flip-flop. The emotion was not the giddy happiness she felt around Garrison, but a tense, dejected feeling. “Are you sure?”

&n
bsp; He nodded. “I know Mr. Bridges. Me and my buddies see him every weekend at Barney’s Pool Hall in Kansas City.”

  “Really? He never used to play pool.”

  “He does now. He’s pretty good at it too.” Willa’s face must have shown her distress, as Thomas turned serious. “Do you want me to serve dessert at their table?”

  “No, that’s all right.” Willa shook her head so hard her hairpins nearly jiggled loose. “I can serve them.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” The young man exited.

  Garrison’s brows furrowed. “I don’t understand. Why should you be worried about seeing Dirk Bridges?” He flashed her a wry grin. “He didn’t hustle you at pool, did he?”

  “If only it were that simple.” Chagrined, Willa set her gaze upon the floor tile. “It’s nothing.”

  “Don’t give me that. What did this man do to you?” Garrison’s tone had become edgy.

  Willa looked back into his face, the face she had grown to love. “So you’d like to defend my honor?”

  “If it needs defending, yes. I won’t have any man insulting you.”

  She laughed. “I wish you had been around years ago. Maybe I wouldn’t have gotten engaged to Dirk in the first place.”

  Garrison’s mouth dropped opened. “Engaged?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. He was ready to leave for his army basic training when we agreed to marry after the war. But instead, he went to France and found someone else.” In that instant, Willa realized that when she told Garrison about the broken promise, she felt as though she were talking about someone else. Perhaps Garrison had healed her heart after all—but was it only to break again?

  “How did Thomas know about your engagement?” Garrison asked. “He must have been only a sophomore in high school when the war ended.”

  “I know. But word gets around. Especially when somebody gets dumped.”

  “I take it you haven’t seen him since?”

  “No.”

  Garrison’s eyes softened with sympathy. “Look, I wanted you to serve the dessert so you could enjoy the glory. But now I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. Why don’t you let me serve it?”

  “No. I’ve avoided Dirk this long. I’ve got to face him sometime. It might as well be when I’m serving an unforgettable dessert.”

  “All right, then.” Garrison sent her a determined nod. He balled his hand into a fist and gently tapped her on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit! Let him see what he’s missing.”

  “Yeah. Let him see what he’s missing.” Willa was grateful that Garrison didn’t notice the lack of enthusiasm in her voice as he became engrossed in perking a fresh pot of coffee. She didn’t know how much longer she could act as though her emotions were as relaxed as a hound dog snoozing on the front porch. First, Garrison broke the news he was leaving for good. Then Dirk showed up for the dinner. How many more rotten announcements could she take in an evening?

  “Lord,” she prayed silently, “when You deliver bad news, You really throw a one-two punch, don’t You? Please, give me the strength to get back on my feet and come out fighting like a champ!”

  Willa felt a consoling hand on her shoulder. “I just got a peek at the old flame and his wife,” Garrison whispered.

  “You did?” She wanted to ask Garrison if Dirk had changed, but how would he know? Besides, none of that mattered now. Instead, she lifted her face so that her eyes met his. “What does she look like, Garrison?”

  “She looks like the type of cheap, flashy woman that gets a man’s notice very quickly.” He touched her chin, letting it rest on his fingertips. The blue eyes she loved so much penetrated hers with their intensity. “But it takes someone special to hold a man’s attention.” Garrison let go of her chin and embraced her protectively. She felt safe in his arms, as though Dirk or no one else could ever hurt her again. “He was crazy to let you get away.”

  To Willa’s dismay, he broke the embrace. Her reward was to see a longing look cover his face. A yearning expression that she hadn’t seen on any man’s countenance for a long time. Far too long.

  At that moment, Willa realized she didn’t seek revenge against Dirk. Suddenly, his rejection seemed no more important than yesterday’s news. Garrison was the man she loved. The man she had loved from the first moment they met at the Prairie County Fair. But he was leaving. The idea was more than she could bear. But bear it she would. For now, she had a rehearsal dinner to cater. She could think about her failures after she got through this evening.

  “I–I’ve got to get going, Garrison. They’re waiting.”

  Rolling a dessert cart laden with dishes of mousse, Willa hoped no one would notice her as she transported the cargo to the head table, which was to be served first. Most of the guests were too involved in their own conversations to pay attention to Willa, although friends and acquaintances greeted her pleasantly. Many of them complimented the white, deep pink, and pale purple roses she had used to decorate the fellowship hall. Since the bridesmaids would be wearing lavender dresses with burgundy sashes for the ceremony, she planned to use the same variety of flowers in the church sanctuary the following afternoon. She felt herself beaming as compliments about the fresh, full blooms and stunning colors were repeated again and again. Even expert gardener Mrs. Sours commended her efforts in growing the flowers and her talents in arranging them.

  Though she wasn’t surprised to receive some good words about her roses, Willa was even more pleased when people oohed and ahhed over how delicious the creamy mousse appeared. Unwilling to give the impression they were too eager to consume food at such a formal occasion, no one dug into the treat too quickly. However, Willa could see that everyone looked forward to topping the night off with delectable chocolate.

  Willa’s confidence soared so that she almost forgot she had to face Dirk. She moved as slowly as she could, prolonging some conversations beyond their natural ending. She even put up with Dorothy, who made sure to let her know her new beau was the member of a prestigious family who lived in Kansas City’s Ward Park. Anything to delay confronting Dirk.

  Despite her best efforts to dawdle, all too soon Willa was approaching Dirk’s seat. Soon she would be forced to serve him. Willa’s heart started pounding. For a moment, she wished she had taken Thomas up on his offer to serve dessert in her stead. Even letting Garrison take her duty seemed a better option. But it was too late.

  As she got within earshot of his conversation, she could hear her former fiancé carrying on an animated conversation about automobile engines with the man across the table. Maybe Dirk would be so consumed by his passion for eight-cylinder internal combustion engines that he wouldn’t bother to look up when she served his dessert. If he tried to acknowledge her, Willa had already decided she would turn her head and pretend she hadn’t heard.

  Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to do. Some might even call it a lie. Perhaps avoiding his greeting would be a lie and even the coward’s way out. At the moment, she felt too helpless and tongue-tied to talk to him as though nothing had ever happened. She just couldn’t. Willa prayed the Lord would understand. Surely He knew her distress!

  Of course He does! Her conscience brought to mind the Savior’s comforting words in the twelfth chapter of Luke: “Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

  Willa kept repeating this verse in her head as she got closer to Dirk. Still, her hand shook as she placed Dirk’s dessert in front of him. To her dismay, being so near the muscular blond made her stomach feel as though it were contorting into a thousand knots. Now that she was close, Willa could see that Dirk looked better wearing a stylish new suit than he had in his army uniform. Yet no amount of comely looks could make up for how he had broken his promise to marry her. Willa thought about the token he had given her, his pledge that he would return from the war and make her his wife. After he broke off with her, Dirk had said she could keep the ring, but Willa had returned it. The little diamond that once
held so much meaning had become nothing more than a sterile block of stone.

  Willa stole a look at the new Mrs. Dirk Bridges. The diamond she sported looked familiar. Too familiar. A shocked Willa guessed that Dirk had simply given his new wife her old engagement ring.

  How could he give her the same ring? And for what? A betrothal of a month or two, at most? Perhaps not even that long. Perhaps they were engaged only a few days before they hurried to the altar—or a French courthouse, more likely. How could such a whirlwind courtship compare to the years we spent together, the years when everyone in town was certain we would one day marry?

  Once her gaze left the wife’s ring finger, Willa observed the woman herself. Her hair was bleached almost white, its natural dull brown evident by the roots. Rouge and lip color were applied with a heavy hand although, Willa had to admit, without flaw. The Frenchwoman was dressed fashionably in a bright red off-the-shoulder evening dress, a cut much too daring for Willa to consider wearing. She supposed she looked like a frump in comparison.

  Willa’s hand was still shaking as she set the mousse in front of Dirk’s wife. She prayed the woman didn’t notice, but her prayer wasn’t answered in the way Willa would have liked.

  “So, Dirk, ees zis the girl who thought she was engaged to you before zee war?” she asked.

  Guests within hearing range shifted in their seats. Though they pretended not to be interested in the exchange, Willa could tell they were listening to every word.

  Dirk simply stared at the chocolate confection. Willa could tell from his mortified expression that he wished he could fall face first into it rather than answer his wife.

  “Zis must be her. I know her from zee picture you showed me.” The new Mrs. Bridges assessed Willa from the tip of her blond hair to the open toe on her navy blue heeled sandal. “I must say zee picture flattered her.”

  “Good evening, Willa. Nice to see you again,” Dirk muttered, barely allowing his gaze to rest on her face.