A Love to Cherish

by Linda Ford

  “Company,” Josie said, and the song ended.

  Victoria swung the door open. “Coming in?”

  He pulled off his hat and stepped inside. “I didn’t want to put an end to the music.”

  Victoria quirked her eyebrows at the others, hummed a note, and they began singing again. She waved at him, inviting him to join in.

  “Don’t know the words,” he mumbled, and sat at the table to listen and enjoy.

  Little Blossom edged toward him until she leaned against his knees, facing him.

  He smiled at her. She must have taken it for invitation, because she climbed to his knee. He adjusted her so she faced the trio, who continued to sing though they looked at each other as if seeing him hold the little girl meant something special. All he could say was it felt good to have Blossom lean against him.

  The girls finished.

  “Where’s your brother?” he asked Blossom.

  “Gone.”

  He wasn’t sure what she meant, and the girls looked puzzled. “Where’s your mama?”

  “Sleeping.”

  Victoria bent to Blossom. “Did Donny go somewhere?”

  “Out.”

  Mrs. Kinsley entered the kitchen in time to hear the child’s reply. “I’ll check with Stella.” She returned in seconds. “She’s asleep and there’s no sign of Donny. Blossom, did he say where he was going?”

  Her eyes wide, she nodded. “I not ’posed to tell.”

  “Was he going to the river?” It was the worst thing Reese could think of. He hoped to quickly eliminate that possibility.

  Blossom nodded.

  Mrs. Kinsley gasped. The three Kinsley girls looked shocked.

  Reese set Blossom on a chair and planted his hat on his head. “I’ll find him.”

  The water was high and fast from the spring runoff.

  Please, God, help him be safe.

  Victoria hurried after Reese. “I’m coming too.”

  They trotted across the yard, then the dusty street. They slowed as they reached the trees. He held back branches so they wouldn’t slap her. She was breathless when they broke through the trees to the banks of the river. They looked right and left and didn’t see Donny.

  She looked at the river for any sign of the boy. “He’s only five years old. If he fell in—” She couldn’t finish. The child would be swept away in the icy waters.

  “Donny,” Reese called, making Victoria jump in surprise.

  “Donny,” she called.

  They strained for any sound but heard only the water rushing by.

  Reese jumped from the grass bank to the gravelly shoreline, held out his hand to assist Victoria.

  “Where do we start?” she croaked.

  “We’ll head downstream. Maybe…”

  He didn’t need to say anything more. If Donny had fallen in, he would be carried in the current. Perhaps making it to shore at some point. She would not allow her thoughts to go any further.

  The rocks beneath her feet made walking difficult and Reese reached out to take her hand. She clung to him, needing to feel his strength as much as she needed help to keep her footing.

  They called Donny’s name several times and paused to listen. They reached a place where the water churned over rocks.

  Reese stopped. “If he was in the water, he would have caught on these rocks. Let’s search the trees. Though why wouldn’t he answer us?”

  “Because he’s five. He might not have heard. He might be scared. He might be— I don’t know. Any number of things.” She tried her best to keep her voice steady but knew she failed miserably.

  “We’ll find him.” Reese squeezed her hand, but he didn’t smile.

  She knew he was as worried as she, and for some strange reason that comforted her.

  They climbed to the grass and called, slowly making their way back upstream.

  Reese pulled her to a halt. “Listen. Do you hear that?”

  She held her breath and strained to catch a sound. “Is it…? It sounds like someone crying.”

  Reese hurried into the thicket of trees. “He’s here.”

  Victoria was on his heels and knelt before the little boy. “Donny, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” She felt his arms, his legs, and his head.

  “I’m not hurt,” he managed.

  “Then what is it?”

  “I’m sad. Pa is dead. Ma is sick. There’s nothing to do, and I don’t know where we live anymore.”

  She sat on one side of Donny, Reese sat on the other, and they put their arms around the boy. Reese’s arm was warm and heavy on hers. A very comforting feeling. But she immediately dismissed the thought. This was about Donny.

  “Your mama still has your farm, doesn’t she?” Reese asked.

  “I guess so. But she said we might not be able to keep it cause we aren’t living there.”

  “It’s a homestead,” Victoria explained.

  Reese nodded. “They were there until a month ago?”

  She nodded.

  “Then they’re okay for now. Is someone putting in a crop for her?”

  “Kade is taking care of the place.”

  “There you go, young Donny. You still have a home.”

  “But when are we going there?”

  Victoria looked to Reese for the answer.

  He was the sort of man who would comfort and support. Who would—

  She forced herself to look away from his dark-eyed kindness. “It will be a little while before your mama is strong enough to live out there.”

  Donny hung his head. “I like the farm. I had a cat and a dog. Kade has my dog. Says he isn’t a town dog. I used to chase gophers and grasshoppers and butterflies. Now mama says I must stay in the yard.”

  “Let’s get you home before your ma starts to worry.” Reese rose and pulled Donny up with one hand and Victoria up with the other.

  They traipsed back to the house.

  Donny’s steps slowed as they reached the yard.

  Reese turned the boy to face him. “If your mama agrees, I will take you out to see your farm. Me and Miss Victoria, if she is willing. How would you like that?”

  Donny’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  “If your mama approves.”

  Donny flew toward the house. Almost went through the screen door without opening it.

  “That is very kind,” Victoria said, her throat threatening to close off at Reese’s offer.

  He grinned at her. “He’s not a town kid, that’s for certain. Will you come with us?”

  “If my mama approves.”

  He chuckled at the way she imitated him. “We better go ask.”

  They laughed as they went into the house.

  “I’m glad to see him safe and sound,” Ma said. “But he raced into his mother’s room before I could stop him. He’s wakened her.”

  They could hear Donny talking excitedly and Stella’s soft reply, then he dragged her down the hall and into the kitchen.

  “Tell her, Reese,” Donny said.

  “Ma’am, I said I would take him out to your farm tomorrow if that’s all right with you.”

  Stella looked relieved. “It’s fine with me and thank you. The boy has been getting restless.” She studied her son. “You’re so excited, I don’t suppose you’ll be going to sleep any time soon.”

  “Eve and I will take him out,” Josie said, holding her hand toward the boy.

  He darted past them into the evening.

  Ma laughed. “Now you and Blossom can rest. And I have some letters to write.” Stella and Blossom went to the bedroom they shared. Ma went to the parlor to write her letters. That left Victoria and Reese alone in the kitchen.

  She remembered why he had come. “I’ll get my book. Wait here.” She hurried up the stairs, grabbed her copy of Great Painters of the World, and returned to the kitchen to put the book on the table. He pulled a chair to her side so they could look at the pictures together. She suddenly felt self-conscious. Why did she think he would be interested i
n old art pictures? She’d once showed it to a young man back in Verdun who came often to the house and seemed to want to spend time with her. The young man—a boy, really—had laughed.

  “What good are old pictures? Can’t eat ‘em. Can’t sell ‘em. Can’t even hang ‘em on the wall to decorate the place.” He’d refused to look at more than the first page.

  “Aren’t you going to show me?” Reese asked as she hesitated.

  “You might be as bored with them as Donny is with town life.”

  “Or I might be fascinated.”

  “Would you say if you were bored?”

  “Do you want me to?”

  She nodded. “Like you said, honesty is the best policy.”

  His eyes darkened. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something then seemed to think better of it.

  She was about to ask him to speak his mind when he said, “I’ll tell you either way.”

  “Okay.” She opened the pages and told him about Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. She paused, giving him time to say he was bored.

  “Go on. It’s fascinating.”

  She turned page after page. She knew the history of each painting and each painter. They came to the end and she closed the book. “What did you think?”

  “I’m in awe.”

  “Is that good?”

  “Yes. It’s amazing to see how differently the artists see the world.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Take this, for instance.” He turned the pages back. “The tree leaves have been replaced by angels. I will never look at trees the same again. And I will always feel there are angels keeping watch.”

  “What one was your favorite?”

  He turned the pages. “This one. The lady with her arms full of fruit and sunflowers in her hair.”

  His choice surprised her. “Why?”

  “Because of the bright colors and the bounty of produce. The whole picture is full of life and abundance. What’s your favorite?”

  “Two actually. Blue Boy and Pinkie.”

  “Why?”

  She knew the answer, but it always left her feeling lost and afraid. “Because I remember them hanging on a wall when I was young.”

  “You mean before you lost your memory?”

  She nodded, clinging to his gaze as if it would keep her from falling into the abyss of her unknown. “Why can I remember that? And the history of all this?” She tapped the book where it lay on the table before them. “I can remember how to play the piano and I have a vast store of knowledge that came with me.” Shivers began in the depths of her being, but she had vowed she would stop letting fear of her past affect her so strongly and so negatively. She held her breath to still the tremors.

  “Victoria, what if someone could tell you about your past? Would you like that?”

  The abyss edged closer. “What if I remember my past but forget now? Forget Ma and Pa and my sisters and even Josh?”

  “What if you don’t forget them?”

  “Then I would be two people. I wouldn’t know who I am.” The shivers intensified.

  “Isn’t knowing better than wondering and being afraid?” He caught her hands. She hadn’t even realized that they twisted round and round.

  “I wish I could be certain of that, but I can’t. No one can tell me what will happen if I learn my past.”

  He draped his arm around her shoulders. “It’s all right. You’re all right.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “Things will work out when the time comes.”

  “When the time comes? What do you mean? Do you know something?” Her heart stalled partway through a beat.

  “I mean that God is in control of your life, and you can rest in His love and care.”

  Her shoulders fell. The tension in her neck disappeared. She kept her forehead to his, absorbing his strength and comfort. “Ma taught me a verse that assures me of that. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil.’” Her insides steadied.

  He cupped his hand to the back of her neck. “That was one that Hoot taught me.”

  She chuckled softly. “Good old Hoot.”

  Laughing, he pulled her to her feet. “Let’s go for a walk. There’s nothing like a soft evening to calm a person.”

  She couldn’t have agreed more and sorely needed to erase the strain of the last few minutes. She shivered.

  Reese noticed and pulled her arm around his and pressed it close to his side.

  What would she do if someone appeared who knew who she was? Would she have a choice in what happened, or would others decide her future?

  Like she’d said to Reese, who would she be? Was it possible she might want to be the other Victoria?

  Chapter 8

  Reese spent a restless night. He hadn’t lied to Victoria but neither had he been completely honest, and it went against his own sense of right and wrong. But after hearing how upset she became at the idea of learning who she was, he was doubly convinced he must wait for the letter from his ma and speak to the preacher before he did anything.

  Her father would be back Sunday. He’d talk to him then.

  Reese did a few chores for Mickey then asked for the rest of the day off. “I’ll be back to look after the place later in the day.”

  “Taking Miss Victoria out?”

  “Sort of. Young Donny is homesick for their farm, so we’re taking him there for a visit.” He arranged for the use of a wagon then went to the store where he purchased some cheese, a loaf of bread, and got Norm to wrap up a handful of dill pickles.

  “Planning a picnic?” Norm asked.

  “If I’d been planning it, I would have asked Sylvie to put together something better than this.” He explained that he was taking Donny to the farm. And Victoria was coming along.

  Norm chortled. “Lisa is going to be pleased to hear this.”

  “Can’t imagine why. Throw in a handful of peppermints too. And maybe some dried apples.” They’d make a nice treat.

  “Why? Because she’d been trying to get Victoria to move forward since the day they became friends.”

  “How’s that?” He guessed he knew but he wanted to hear it in another man’s words.

  “The way Lisa explains it is Victoria seems stuck between a past she can’t remember and a future she’s afraid to count on. Glad to see you’ve convinced her to accept life as she knows it.”

  Norm lifted a hand as if an idea had surfaced. “There’s a letter for you.” He retrieved it from behind the wicket.

  Reese looked at the return address though he had no need to. He’d be getting a letter from only one person. Ma. And the writing on the left-hand corner confirmed it. His heart thumped hard against his ribs.

  “Ma has written,” he said, keeping his voice steady. “Best see what she wants.” He opened the letter and skimmed the newsy parts and reports about Ralph, his stepfather, until he saw the words he needed to see.

  Miss Hayworth is still missing. Ralph says Mr. Hayworth continually asks his employees if they know anything. But no one does. The young lady has vanished completely. I know her father had hired detectives to search for her. I can’t understand why they can’t find her.

  Reese’s face was cold. Victoria had to be the missing woman. And he must carry the secret until he could speak to the preacher. This was not news he wanted to tell Victoria without having her surrounded by those who loved her.

  Reese paid Norm and left the store, his conscience accusing him. Mr. Hayworth would have to be informed, and he would doubtlessly swoop in to claim his daughter. He would make accusations much like the ones he’d made at the foundry and generally turn Victoria’s life upside down, but also the entire Kinsley family and likely, the whole town.

  He wasn’t offering Victoria the future so much as the past. Though she didn’t know that. And he couldn’t tell her just yet.

  He pulled up to the manse and before he even set the brake, Donny ran toward the wagon. His mother stood in t
he doorway watching.

  “You be a good boy, hear?”

  “I will, Ma. I promise.”

  Victoria stepped from the house with a basket in her hands. Her hair was rolled softly about her head. She wore a pretty blue bonnet that matched her eyes. Eyes that smiled even when her mouth didn’t. Her dress was a muted dark blue that on most women would look drab, but on her, it looked like a royal gown. Fit for a rich young woman.

  Reese forced his thoughts into sensible trails. He got down and took the basket she carried. “What do you have here?”

  “Lunch for us.”

  He chuckled and pointed to the paper-wrapped parcel on the wagon floor. “I put together a few things too.”

  “At least we won’t starve.”

  He assisted her to the seat, resisting an urge to let his hand linger on her waist. Everything in him yearned to wrap this woman up and protect her, but he would be powerless once her father learned of her whereabouts. It still stung to remember the man’s high-handed ways with his employees at the foundry after his daughter’s disappearance. Reese knew he wasn’t the only one who had felt accused and threatened by the man.

  Did such a man deserve to know that his daughter had grown into this lovely young woman? Not that it mattered. He was Victoria’s father, and she deserved to know.

  They made their way south on River Street until they were out of town then followed the rutted trail further.

  Donny sat between them, barely staying on the seat as he looked from side to side, pointing out familiar land marks.

  “Pa showed me an owl nest over there. He lifted me up to look into the nest and laughed so hard he had to bend over ‘cause I screamed when I saw the baby owls. They’s all beaks and sharp claws.” He held up his hands with curled fingers to illustrate. “Pa said the prettiest wild flowers were right over there.”

  Reese rumpled Donny’s hair. “Why don’t we stop there on the way home and pick a bouquet for your mama?”

  “Oh yes. Mama would be so happy.” He sat back, sobered by something. “I think Ma misses Pa so much it makes her sick.”

  Reese glanced at Victoria over Donny’s head. If he wasn’t mistaken, her eyes glistened too brightly. It gave him a perfect excuse to reach over and rest his hand on her back.