All Roads Lead Home

by Christine Johnson

  Chapter Five

  Tourist parks proved few and far between on their route, so Hendrick selected a flat, grassy spot between cornfields to camp. The women weren’t sure the area afforded enough privacy, since the corn wasn’t yet waist high, but a little exploration of the area yielded a more secluded spot where a creek trickled under drooping willows.

  “This will do,” Mariah stated.

  Hendrick eyed the terrain. He’d maneuvered the car between the cultivated fields on a rutted old path, but there wasn’t room to turn the car around. He’d have to back it out.

  “Hope it doesn’t rain,” he said as he put down the top.

  “Me, too.” Mariah grabbed the topmost bag from the backseat. “I haven’t tested the tent for watertightness.”

  She strained under the weight of the canvas bag, so Hendrick tried to relieve her of the burden. “I’ll unload. You ladies rest.”

  “Rest?” Mariah refused to let go. “All we’ve done is rest.” She carried the bag to the tree and set it down. “Where’s Anna?”

  Hendrick heaved a sigh. “I’d better go find her.” It was just like his sister to run off when there was work to be done.

  Mariah’s throaty chuckle eased the tension. “Give her some time. It’s not as if she could go that far.”

  True, but the cornfields and hayfields weren’t tall enough to hide someone. The only place to disappear was down by the creek. “She should have told us where she was going.”

  Mariah smiled softly. “She’s just excited to be on her first trip away from home.”

  It was his first trip, too, but he didn’t go running off at the first opportunity. Besides, Anna was his responsibility. If anything happened, Ma would never recover. She doted on Anna. Since they couldn’t afford new clothes very often, Ma got the old fabric and scraps of lace from Mrs. Fox’s dressmaking shop to make Anna’s dresses. In his opinion, his sister was spoiled, but Ma said she deserved a few niceties in life.

  Money. It all came down to that. If he sold his engine design to Curtiss and became an aeronautical engineer, he’d be able to afford anything his mother and sister desired. He’d have as much money as…as Mariah. Hendrick stuck a hand in his pocket and encountered the roll of bills. Her bills. He should have given the money back right after they left the filling station. He’d do so now.

  Naturally, she refused to take it. “Use it to pay for fuel and oil.”

  “But I should be paying.”

  She waved that idea away. “I’m on agency business. The Society is paying.”

  “Not for Anna and me.”

  “You’re here at my request. If you don’t want to handle the money, I will, but I’d prefer you do it.”

  She trusted him. Despite their differences, she had faith in him. He ran a thumb over the edge of the bills before sticking them back in his pocket.

  Meanwhile, she’d grabbed another bag from the car.

  “I’ll take that,” he offered.

  She strode past him with a laugh. “Get your own.”

  Her joy was infectious, and he smiled as he hefted the next bag onto his shoulder. It rattled and clanked. Must be the pans and tins of food she’d packed. It weighed plenty, more than she could lift. He paraded past her with a grin of triumph.

  “Set that one under the tree closest to the stream,” she commanded as she tugged the canvas tent out of its sack.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He snapped to attention, imitating the salute used by soldiers who’d returned from the Great War. He’d tried to enlist, but the local board denied his application, saying he had to support his mother and sister.

  Mariah waited until he set down the last sack before instructing him to put the car’s roof back up. “It does look like rain.”

  Other than a couple puffy clouds, the sky was clear. Apparently, she wanted to keep him busy, and he, the foot soldier, was at her command.

  While he refastened the roof, she spread the tent in a nice grassy dip in the ground. If it did rain, he thought, they’d be soaked.

  “You might want to pick a different spot.”

  “What’s wrong with here?” she snapped, her breathing heavy. She tugged the canvas over the pole. “I happen to like a soft, grassy place to lie down. I suppose you prefer rocks?”

  “Fine. Suit yourself.” If the rain arrived, as she suspected, she’d be sorry.

  He finished raising the car roof, and she was still struggling with the tent. Only one end would stay up. She’d set one pole, leave it balancing and then race to the other side. By then, the first pole would topple over.

  “I can help,” he said.

  “Don’t need it.”

  Yet over and over her efforts yielded the same result. The scene looked like it came from a Charlie Chaplin film. Hendrick bit his lip to stifle a laugh, but he couldn’t hold back the guffaw forever. When both poles fell down and the whole thing caved in, the laughter erupted, each wave making his sides ache even more.

  “Do you think you can do any better?” She threw a pole to the ground in disgust. Hands on hips, she positively glared, but he couldn’t stop laughing. “Well, you’re no help. Where is Anna? Maybe she can hold herself together long enough to get this tent up.”

  His sister dropped from the nearby willow and took one of the poles. “What do I do?”

  Instead of answering Anna, Mariah focused her wrath on him. “Hendrick, stop laughing and hold up the other pole. I’ll start pounding in the stakes.”

  My, she was bossy. He’d always considered her directness a virtue. She knew what needed to be done and did it. But sometimes she could be wrong. The ground outside her little patch of green grass was rock hard. She’d have some time of it trying to pound in those stakes.

  Nonetheless, he obediently took up his pole and watched while she pulled the corner line taut and attempted to hammer the stake into the ground. It pierced the soil no more than half an inch when she gave up and moved to the next one. But as soon as she pulled the line tight, the first stake came loose. With a growl of frustration, she mopped her brow with the back of her hand.

  “The ground’s so hard,” she muttered. “I can’t get it in.”

  Hendrick wanted to help. Perspiration ran down her forehead, and her hair curled around her face in damp little tendrils that begged to be touched. But she would only yell at him and insist that she didn’t need his help. So he watched her try and try without success.

  Finally, he couldn’t stand it anymore. “I’d be glad to give it a go.”

  Naturally she scowled at him. “Did I ask for your help?”

  He wanted to rip the mallet from her hands and get the job done. Why did she have to be so stubborn?

  Then Anna giggled. She tried to hold back, so it came out in a snort, but she couldn’t maintain control for long and a second later burst out laughing.

  Mariah frowned, but apparently Anna’s laughter didn’t irk her as much as his because before long she started to giggle, too. Her prickly-porcupine attitude eased, and she handed him the mallet. “See if you can make any headway.”

  They traded places, and in minutes he had the tent up and ready for their blankets and clothing.

  “Which bag has the other tent?” he asked.

  Mariah swiped damp hair from her brow. “I, uh, didn’t count on company.”

  No second tent. He couldn’t very well sleep with the women. That left only one option.

  “I’ll take the car.” He’d have to sleep sitting up or curled into a ball, but it was the only option that kept him out of the weather.

  Mariah’s lips formed a perfect rosebud. Her cheeks glowed from the exertion. “I’m sorry I didn’t think to bring another tent. Thank you.” She tugged at a curl, the hat long ago discarded and her bobbed hair flying out in every direction. “We can take turns.”

  But of course they couldn’t. He wouldn’t let the women get all cramped in the car.

  “We’ll get another tent at the first outfitter,” she said.

 
“Don’t waste your money.” He was still too aware of the wad of bills in his pocket, not to mention the hole in his heart. “The car will be fine.”

  After supper, Mariah conscripted Anna to help her scrub the dirty dishes in the creek while Hendrick checked the car’s tires. Camping reminded her of family trips to the Catskills. Dad would rent a cabin for a couple weeks each summer. He wanted his children to know how to survive in the wilderness, so he took them out on short expeditions, teaching them how to build a fire, how to tell which plants were edible and how to fish. Gabe loved it, but she whined about the damp and the dirt and finally talked Dad into letting her skip the trips. Now she wished she’d stuck with it.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” Anna exclaimed after handing Mariah the last pan. She stretched and spun around to take it all in.

  Mariah didn’t consider an Illinois roadside beautiful. High clouds streaked the sky, but the grass and corn didn’t provide much of a view. Forty feet away, Hendrick bent over the rear tire on the far side of the car. He couldn’t possibly hear what they were saying. That gave her a chance to ask Anna something that had been bothering her since they left, something that the girl’s disappearance that afternoon had highlighted.

  “Anna?” Mariah touched the girl’s arm to capture her attention. “Could I ask a favor of you?”

  The girl stopped spinning. “Of me?”

  There was no easy way to say this. “I don’t have anything against your brother. He’s a fine and honorable man. It’s purely about propriety. As a single woman…” She let her voice trail off for emphasis. “I shouldn’t be alone with an unmarried man, especially after dark. Could you ensure we’re never alone together?”

  Anna shrugged her shoulders. “If you want.”

  “Thank you,” Mariah breathed, relieved that Anna had agreed so readily. There’d be no repeat of the episode at the beach, no teasing of her emotions and no chance he’d fall in love with her again.

  With that worry gone, she could enjoy the sunset. Mariah stacked the dried dishes and carried them back to the campsite where Anna helped her put them back in the canvas bag. Then the three of them settled on the grass. At first they chatted about what they’d seen that day, but as the sun streaked the undersides of the clouds pink, all conversation stopped. Anna swatted at a cloud of gnats while Hendrick pulled out a stalk of wheatlike grass and nibbled on the end. Mariah remembered doing that as a child. How long had it been since she saw the world with fresh eyes? Even while caring for Luke two summers ago, she’d bustled about doing chores, never stopping to experience his world.

  She plucked a stalk of grass and tasted its tender, sweet end, rich with the promise of summer. God’s golden sunlight had seeped into the earth where the plants drank it up. Tonight that light shimmered in the air and streaked the sky in hues of pink and red and violet.

  “Nothing can top the Lord’s paintbrush,” she said softly.

  Anna murmured agreement, but Hendrick gave her a look that swept over her like gale-driven waves. Both pain and longing and something else. Was it hope or despair?

  This trip must be difficult for him. His presence certainly upset her composure. Suddenly, she had to consider his feelings. It wasn’t just what she wanted. He was there, always there, within arm’s reach. And his thoughts were so transparent. She hoped he didn’t read her so easily.

  He tossed away his stalk of grass. “What are you going to do once we get to Montana?”

  “Get Mr. Gillard to sign the termination-of-parental-rights papers.” The memory of Luke playing Geronimo made her voice catch. “I can’t risk Luke’s happiness.”

  Anna rolled onto her stomach, chin propped on her hands. “Who is Mr. Gillard, and what does he have to do with Luke?”

  Mariah realized that she’d never filled in Anna and Hendrick. They were far from Felicity and Luke now. She took a deep breath. “Frank Gillard claims he’s Luke’s father, and says he wants his son back.”

  Her eyes widened, the pupils black in the declining light. “You don’t think he really is Luke’s father?”

  “I’m not sure. That’s what I need to find out.”

  “How are you going to do that?” With the setting sun behind him, Hendrick looked as stoic as an Indian, his expression veiled in darkness.

  “I’ll ask around Brunley, see what people know about him and what he knows about Luke. If he’s truly Luke’s father, he’ll know things no one else would know.”

  “Like what?” asked Anna. “Does Luke have a peculiar birthmark? I read a novel once where the true princess was found because she had a birthmark shaped like a heart.”

  She shook her head. Luke didn’t have any birthmarks.

  Anna vibrated with excitement. “Is Luke the heir to a fortune?”

  “More likely Frank Gillard is hiding something.”

  Hendrick frowned. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know exactly, but I have a gut feeling he’s not who he says he is. Tell me why, after two-and-a-half years without one word of correspondence, he would suddenly want Luke? Is he even Luke’s father? I don’t know what’s going on, but I intend to find out.” She took a deep breath. “That’s where I need your help. I don’t want Mr. Gillard to know our purpose right away, not until I discover his true character.”

  Anna sat up. “You want us to play parts, like actors and actresses.”

  “Not exactly. Just don’t tell anyone why we’re there.”

  Hendrick’s expression darkened with every word. “Then what are we supposed to tell them?”

  “That we’re tourists come to see the Rocky Mountains,” she said. “We’re on our way to Glacier National Park to see the sights.”

  “But we’re not going to the park, are we?” Hendrick said.

  The words pricked her conscience. “We will make a point of seeing the park, but first we need to learn if Mr. Gillard is really Luke’s father.”

  “What do you mean if he’s Luke’s father?” Hendrick stirred. “How would he know where to ask for Luke if he wasn’t his father? And why? You just said Luke isn’t heir to a fortune.”

  “True, but Frank Gillard isn’t the name listed as the father on the agency paperwork. It’s Francesco Guillardo. Mr. Gillard claims he anglicized his name, but I’m not so sure. If I can prove he’s not really Luke’s father, then Luke won’t have to leave Gabe and Felicity.”

  “And if you can’t prove that?”

  A flutter of nerves started deep in Mariah’s gut. “Then I’ll have to convince him to sign the termination-of-rights papers.”

  Hendrick shook his head, and for the first time her resolve weakened. How would she accomplish that? Gabe was right. No real father would willingly give up his son. Except Frank Gillard had already done so once. If she could just discover what made him walk away then, she’d be able to convince him to walk away now.

  Mariah rubbed her throbbing temples. “I place my trust in the Lord. He will help us.”

  He reached out and grasped her hand tightly, as if afraid to let her go. “I’ll help you, too.”

  To relieve her headache, Mariah washed her hair in the creek. The cool water rinsed away the tension, and even after toweling dry, the coolness remained. Unfortunately, it could not remove the feel of Hendrick’s touch. That moment when he’d looked in her eyes and committed to helping her had brought such strength…and such confusion. Was he helping her for Luke’s sake or because he still hoped for a relationship that could never be?

  She could know for certain if she told him the real reason she’d left two Octobers ago. Tell him she could never have children, and every tender feeling he had for her would vanish. But she couldn’t bear to do that—couldn’t stand the thought of his regard for her changing if he knew her secret. So she would stay silent and pray that Hendrick did not fall in love with her again.

  The moonlight silvered the hushed landscape, and for long moments, she drank in the stillness before heading back to their camp. Hendrick sat by the dying embers of thei
r cook fire, his chiseled features even more dramatic in the light. The oranges and yellows flickered across his cheeks, lightly stubbled at the end of the day. Such a man could steal into her heart if she let him. She could not.

  He looked up when she approached. “Feel better?” he asked.

  “A bit.”

  Tiny glowing sparks rose between them before dying in the night air. He poked at the fire with a stick. They hadn’t been able to scavenge much wood, so the last embers would soon die.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  Her heart lurched. “Why?”

  “For not giving your plan credit. I shouldn’t have questioned it.”

  She had to look away, at the tent, the cornfield dusted in moonlight, anywhere but at Hendrick. “Thank you.”

  He drew in a shuddering breath. “I meant what I said. I will help you.”

  She hugged her arms, suddenly chilled. “I know.”

  Their gazes met across the thin trail of smoke.

  The corner of his mouth twitched, but he made no move toward her. “Be careful. Please.”

  She knew what he meant. Frank Gillard might be dangerous. Hendrick worried about her, yet she also knew from the way he took care of his mother and sister that he’d do everything in his power to protect her. The thought brought a lump to her throat.

  “I guess I’d better get some sleep,” she said, motioning to the tent. “Anna’s waiting.”

  The flashlight glowed inside the canvas. She’d probably heard every word they’d said.

  “Good night, Hendrick.”

  He nodded and poked at the embers. “Good night.”

  Mariah made her way to the tent, pulled aside the flap and ducked inside, away from the rush of emotion that Hendrick always managed to bring on.

  “He likes you, you know.” Anna sat in the middle of the tent, the bedrolls unopened.

  Mariah felt the heat flood her cheeks. How ridiculous. She could not complete this mission if she came apart whenever she thought of Hendrick. “I am not interested in romance,” she said in as flat a tone as she could muster.