Love Conquers All (Cutter's Creek Book 14)

by Annie Boone

  And now Max had shown up. His shocked eyes let her know he wasn’t expecting to see her, either. She wondered why he was here. Was St. Raphael's one of the orphanages where he volunteered? It was close to his home, so it would be convenient for him to spend time here.

  He probably had no idea she was in New York. She imagined he probably wondered what had brought her here, especially since he had never received her letters. If she got a chance, she hoped he would let her explain. She did wonder if he even cared since he had moved on.

  Even though there was chaos around her, she noticed his tense face. His clothes were wrinkled and dark circles surrounded his eyes. But no matter how tired he looked to her, he was still every bit as handsome as she’d remembered. She imagined she would feel great pain over the loss of her first love for a very long time. She’d probably be feeling it now if she wasn’t so afraid for the dear child in her care.

  Lana continued to soothe the girl’s face with the washcloth. She dipped it constantly in cool water in hopes that would help lower her temperature.

  The little girl scrunched her eyes as if pain filled her. Her eyelids then fluttered open.

  “Mommy,” she cried, before her eyes closed again.

  “Yes, my dear. I’m here.”

  “It hurts.”

  “Oh, sweet girl, it will be all right.”

  A click sounded and she turned her gaze to the opened door, as tension rippled over her. The doctor walked into the room and behind him stood Max. She stood and stepped away from the cot so the doctor could have full access to Jess. Footsteps sounded, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Max coming to her side. The doctor began examining the little girl, and the grim look on his face, made her stiffen.

  “Lana,” Max whispered taking her elbow. The slight touch sent tingles through her. “Can I please speak to you for a moment?”

  She didn’t want to leave Jess’s side right then, but she couldn’t do much while the doctor checked on the girl. She owed Max a few moments. He probably wanted an explanation for why the letters had ceased and then he would explain his new-found love for the nurse. It would be a short conversation.

  She nodded and with one last glance at Jess, she followed the only man she had ever loved out the door. Once she closed the door, Max gripped her and pulled her into a tight hug. She stiffened in his arms. What was he doing? She raised her hands and pushed from him stumbling back. “Max. Don’t do that.”

  He reached for an embrace again, but she stepped back against the wall, her chest rising and falling in deep gasps. His hand dropped to his side, and pain seared across his face.

  “My love, Lana. I...” He turned from her, running his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry. I guess shouldn’t have grabbed you. I was just so relieved to finally have found you.”

  “Found me?”

  He turned back to her and pure sorrow laced through his eyes, attacking the tender parts of her heart. The part that just wanted to let him hold her forever. But why was he looking at her like that? He had found another love.

  “Yes, I’ve been looking for you. Since I found your umbrella and received a note from your brother saying you were on your way to New York. But you never made it to the brownstone. Why? What happened?”

  She straightened and folded her hands in front of her waist. She didn’t know what to think of his words and his actions. What kind of man in love with another would have pursued her the way he did? Was it possible that he still loved her? A small hope inflamed in her. A hope that made her wonder if there was still a chance for them. But how could she approach such a subject when there was obviously someone else? If he was married to her—which it certainly seemed as if he was—there was no way this could resolve into a happily ever after for her.

  He came closer to her, his dark blue eyes stormy and earnest.

  “Please tell me. Save me from this agony I’m in.”

  Lana looked away as heat crept up her cheeks. “I saw you.”

  “Saw me?”

  “With another woman. You were holding her. I figured you had moved on and I didn’t want to cause you stress.” She looked back at him. “I understand if you have. I can’t blame you.”

  Understanding dawned in his eyes. “You saw me with Miss Markson. She was Paul Hightower’s nurse.”

  Mr. Hightower’s nurse? Was he ill? That would explain why she saw that woman with the doctor earlier. “Like I said, I under—”

  “No, you don’t.” He took a few more steps closer to her. “There is nothing between her and me. Nothing. She was just comforting me during a time of great sorrow.”

  “Nothing?” she said, uncertainty clear in her voice. What she had seen surely didn’t look like nothing.

  “I will admit, once there was a tiny bit, but only because I thought I had lost you. It never got very far at all because I realized she would never be you.” He took one more step closer to her, until he stood inches from her. “Please tell me I haven’t lost you.”

  She swallowed hard as thoughts swirled in her mind. Confusion. Hurt. Pain. He still loved her. He wasn’t married. “Max—”

  The door opened and the doctor walked out. He nodded at her, before heading down the stairs. He wasn’t going to say anything. Tell her how Jess fared. She hurried after him. “Will she be all right?” she asked.

  The doctor turned, and pushed his lips into a thin line. “Just make sure she stays as cool as possible, drinks broth and the medicine. And pray. Pray hard.”

  Lana nodded as the fear rooted even deeper. Though few, his words spoke volumes. She turned and rushed back to Jess. Without even considering she’d left Max standing alone outside the door, she picked up the cool cloth and began dabbing the little girl’s forehead, cheeks, and arms.

  Max walked into the room. Now was not the time to deal with her love life and all its complications. He stood next to her looking at little Jess.

  She looked at him, and so many emotions whirled through her. A deep burning love and the fear that Jess would soon be leaving her. “I’m sorry, Max. I do want to talk to you. It’s just, she needs me. I can’t do it now.”

  “I’ll come back.”

  She nodded as tears swelled in her eyes at the sound of his retreating steps. Maybe tomorrow Jess would be better. That was all she could pray for now.

  Chapter 23

  Lana flinched as something touched her face. She became aware that her back and shoulder hurt terribly. She was uncomfortable. She opened her eyes in confusion as relief shot through her when she realized what was happening.

  Wide-eyed Jess lay on the cot looking down at her. Lana was crumpled on the floor and she sat up and tried to stretch as she took stock of how Jess looked. The glassiness was gone from her eyes and the pink blotches had faded from her cheeks. Lana’s hand flew to her cheek and then her forehead, checking for fever. Her skin was cool. A sigh escaped her, before she whispered, “Thank you, Lord.”

  The fever had abated and she was alert and so much better. Little Jess was going to be okay. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  A small smile tugged at the corner of the little girl’s lips. “The fairies said I was going home soon.”

  Maybe she would be. Lana pulled the little girl onto her lap in a tight hug. How she was wished the girl would go home with her.

  She thought of Max, and their partial conversation yesterday. He still wanted her. Still loved her. But would he want Jess? A small fear sliced through her heart. Thankfully, it was a fear lighter than the one that had been attacking her for the last two days. Her little girl was fine and Max still loved her. But this situation brought up so many questions about the future.

  A slight snore floated to her, and she looked at little Jess who had already fallen asleep in her arms, clutching a piece of her hair. A mother’s love was so strong. Lana had come to believe that love could knit a woman to a child even if she hadn’t birthed her.

  Lana thought of Max’s rich ocean blue eyes. She let her mind wander
through all the letters they had written, and the brief moments they’d shared in Cutter’s Creek. A smile slipped across her face as she thought of his unsure feet finally taking the right steps as she taught him to dance at the Christmas Social.

  But then her mind turned back to Jess. The sweet little girl who loved to sit on her lap and tell her stories and play with her hair was going to recover. This child had truly stolen her heart. Last night as she prayed for healing and recovery, she begged for it to be God’s will to let her be the mother this little girl needed. And now she might just have that chance. But would she have to choose between Max and the dear sweet little girl in her arms? If so, whom would she choose? How would she make a choice like that?

  Even as the questions circulated in her mind, she knew without a doubt who would win. Because no matter how much she loved Max and wanted to be his wife, she couldn’t deny sweet Jess a mother’s love. Jess might not have another chance. She may not have given birth to her, but the Lord had placed them together for the two to become mother and daughter.

  When Max returned, she would have to explain her love and desire for Jess to become her daughter. Though the thought pained her, perhaps he might immediately reject the plan, and so she alone would go back to Cutter’s Creek with Jess.

  Then, she would see if Matthew Thompson might want to be a father. She just hoped and prayed that the man who had once been an orphan would understand her desire to give this child a home. She prayed that after all was said and done, she would get both the child and the man she loved.

  Max pulled the door of the orphanage open and stepped inside. It had been a few days since he last saw Lana, though his every thought had been of her. He took off his coat and hung it on a rack. He then ran his hands over the dress shirt and vest he wore, making sure there were no wrinkles. Then he ran his hands over his hair, making sure it was still slicked back and that the bitter wind hadn’t messed it up.

  He had a mission to accomplish today and he vowed to see it completed. To do that, he needed to look his best. One of the nuns had sent him a message stating that little Jess doing better and that she was expected to recover. He decided that now might be a good time to speak with Lana.

  Max walked to the edge of the stairs, wanting to go up to the rooms where the children slept, but it would probably be inappropriate. So, he found a young boy and asked him to find Lana and let her know he was here. He stood by a window watching as a few flakes fell to the ground, coating the dry brown grass in a light dusting.

  He had met Lana while it snowed in Cutter’s Creek and fallen in love with her there. Would they now become man and wife during a snowfall? His mind wandered to what a beautiful memory they would be able to share if it worked out this way.

  A little robin redbreast perched on a bare tree branch of the old oak. In its beak, it had a small twig with round red berries. It hopped along, seemingly oblivious to the cold. He was reminded that God took care of all His creation. This bird would find food during a cold winter and his relationship with Lana would work out according to God’s plan. That didn’t keep him from being nervous, though.

  The sound of light footsteps floated to him as they descended the stairs. He turned and he couldn’t keep the smile from his face as energy filled him. His love came to him. Though she looked tired with her wrinkled light gray dress and loose curls falling from her bun, she looked every bit as beautiful as when he first saw her in Cutter’s Creek.

  She stopped at the end of the stairs, gripping the banister. She seemed timid and unsure, so he went to her. He fought the urge to pull her into his arms and never let her go. But he had to make things right between them before he could do that.

  “How are you, my love?” he asked.

  Something flickered in her eyes, and she looked away. Didn’t she understand why he was here? To proclaim his love for her. And he couldn’t imagine that she didn’t love him. Especially since she had come all the way to New York to be with him. But something wasn’t right, and he had a feeling until he found out what it was, they wouldn’t be able to move forward.

  “What troubles you?” he asked.

  She pulled her trembling bottom lip into her mouth and then looked up the stairs. Did she still worry about the little girl? He had heard from Sister Mary that the dear girl’s strength was gaining. That she had been able to eat small meals and sit up and listen while Lana read to her.

  “I guess you’re here to finish the conversation from the other day.”

  “I am, but you don’t seem up to it.”

  She turned her watery blue eyes to him, and something inside of him crashed. Something that made him fear that he might lose her again. But what could it be? She couldn't have found someone else, could she? But how? Sister Mary had told him, all she did was work in the orphanage.

  Lana straightened her posture and then folded her hands in front of her waist. “I do want to finish the conversation from the other day. But I fear the outcome.”

  Fear the outcome? None of this made sense. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t want to lose you, but I probably will. It’s just that—”

  “Lose me? You fear that?” He couldn’t help himself. He gripped her arms and pulled her into a tight hold. Her blue eyes widened as her hands fell against his chest. “Lana, I love you. I have loved you since the moment I first saw you.”

  “It’s not really that.”

  “Listen, do you love me?”

  She nodded.

  “Then you shouldn’t have such a fear. I came here to make you my wife. I plan to do it before the day is over. I hope you have no objections to that.”

  Lana lay her forehead on his chest as her hands gripped his jacket and her small curls tickled his nose. The faint scent of lilac surrounded him even though she’d not left here to take care of herself in two days. The whole package of who she was made him want to tip her face up and kiss her lips.

  Her shoulders rose and fell, and he realized tears had begun to soak through his shirt. He ran his hands through her loose curls, smoothing out some of the tangles. She must be tired, worn out emotionally from almost losing the sweet girl she had been taking care of. That must be the explanation for her emotions. Once wed, he would take her back to his place, and let her rest. The good Lord knew she needed it.

  “Marry me, Lana. Marry me now. Let me take care of you,” he whispered. He listened for her consent but only heard her slight whimpers. “Please don’t say no.”

  “Mommy, can I go play?”

  Max’s gaze snapped up. Midway down the stairs, stood Lana’s young charge, a girl of no more than six or seven, wearing nothing but a shift as her tousled brown hair fell in a mess around her frail body.

  Lana pushed from him and turned to look at the little girl. She gripped the sides of her skirt and headed for the stairs. “Now, Jess, you know you’re not supposed to be out of bed. You need to rest a bit more. Go on back to your room and I’ll read you a story a little later. Yes?”

  The little girl's eyes fastened on him. “Is he going to be my daddy?”

  Lana looked back at him, a plea in her eyes. A plea that didn’t settle the mass of confusion floating around him. Mommy? Why did that child call her mommy? Lana had no children. And there was no way she was old enough to have birthed this little girl.

  Lana sighed as she turned back around, ushering the little girl up the stairs and probably back to her bedroom. Max began walking up the stairs though he knew he shouldn’t follow her. But Lana and he needed to finish their conversation, so he could get her to say yes.

  He made his way to the room at the end of the hall. The door was cracked open. He stopped and reached for the handle but stilled at the sound of a sweet voice.

  “But the fairies said I would be getting a family soon.”

  “You need to rest first.”

  “I’m tired of waiting.” Tears filled the little girl’s voice.

  “I know, I know.”

  “Please be my momm
y. Please.”

  A pain seared across Max’s heart as he peeked in the opened door watching Lana wipe away the little girl's tears. He could imagine her pain. In his childhood, he had probably felt it, but he could no longer recall it.

  Did Lana want to be this child’s mother? Did she want to adopt her? If she did, he would help her. Perhaps they could adopt her together. A lightness filled him. He had no idea how to be a father, but he knew Lana understood the importance of motherhood. So, they’d be all right. They could figure it out together.

  He leaned his head against the wall, listening to Lana sing a sweet lullaby. Once he was sure the girl was asleep, he walked in. Though he was sure Lana knew he approached her, she kept her gaze fixed on the little girl. A mother’s love filled her eyes.

  He lay a hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at him. A tear slipped down her cheeks. With his thumb, he wiped it away, before taking her hand. With a slight tug, he got her to stand and follow him out of the room.

  Once she closed the door, he pulled her back into her arms, letting her release her tears of exhaustion. “Lana,” he whispered.

  She gazed at him with red-rimmed eyes. “Yes?” Her voice cracked.

  “Tell me, dear. Am I about to become a father?”

  Her eyes widened as she gripped his shoulders. The pain fled away as pure excitement filled her eyes. “You will take us both.”

  “I will happily take you both! I’d never separate a mother from her child, and clearly, she is yours and you are hers. But you ought to marry me first, before we can bring her home. Make an honest man of me.”

  A full smile pushed across her face before she smashed her lips into his, making a swirl of emotions pile through him. Though she didn’t say a word, he knew she had just agreed to marry him.

  “I see I made the trip for nothing.”

  Max flinched and Lana jumped from his arms. They both turned to see Josh standing in the hallway still wearing his coat that had a light dusting of snow on it. Next to him stood his wife, Felicity, carrying the small bundle that must be baby Colton. The crying little lad he had heard so much about.