That comparison caused all sorts of concerning thoughtsto race through Laura’s head. Had she grown too attached to Will? He was easy to care about, and she had to admit he was constantly on her mind. She told herself that was only because she’d nearly killed him and owed it to him to take care of his every need. But now ... it was frightening her to find other ideas surfacing.
Was she falling in love with Will? And if so, whatever was there to be done about it? He wasn’t interested in taking a wife. He’d made that abundantly clear. And if he managed to get himself back on track with his goals and ambitions of preaching to the Indians, a wife would only complicate the matter. Mr. Blevins had given up on him as an agent of the government. How much worse would it make things if Will convinced Blevins to give him another chance, and then he had to go back to the man and explain that he’d taken a wife?
She tried to push all such thoughts aside and busy herself with reading or sewing. Once she’d even attempted baking. Mrs. Murphy nearly had a fit of apoplexy when she discovered that Laura had come into her kitchen the night before and made numerous batches of cookies. Laura had done her best to clean up the mess and leave things as they had been, but apparently there were enough misplaced items that Mrs. Murphy demanded it not happen again.
How could the absence of one man make a house seem so big and time pass so slowly?
15
March tenth was Laura’s twenty-third birthday. All day long she’d waited for her father to say something about it, but so far he’d barely even acknowledged her presence. He was obviously busy with his business matters. He was so preoccupied that at breakfast he had spooned salt into his coffee instead of sugar. Shortly after that he’d thrown down his newspaper in exasperation and locked himself in his office. An hour later, he left the house without a word to Laura.
Now as evening approached, Laura wondered whether to say something, but when her father came home, he stormed off into his office once again. If he planned to celebrate, she would need time to get ready. She decided to chance it and followed him. She waited until he was seated behind his desk to pose her question.
“I wonder ... well, that is ... do we have plans for this evening?”
He looked at her blankly for a moment, then glanced down at the calendar on his desk. “You think I’ve forgotten your birthday, don’t you?”
He smiled. “But I haven’t. It’s just been an extremely trying day with business issues and problems that have kept me going from one thing to another. Still, I know my daughter’s birthday, and we are going to celebrate. I have a gift for you and figured to take you out to dinner this evening. As a matter of fact, that’s why I’m home early. Run upstairs and change your clothes, and we’ll make our way to Belham’s.”
“You always remember.” She kissed his cheek. “Thank you for making me feel special.”
She hurried upstairs and found Etta. Together they managed to get her changed and ready to go in record time. When Laura once again reached her father’s office, she found him speaking in hushed tones to Curtis. The young man nodded enthusiastically, then pulled back in a surprised manner when Laura entered the room.
“I’ll get right to it, sir,” he said and dashed from the room, barely giving Laura a nod.
“He certainly seems in a hurry,” Laura said, pulling on her gloves.
“I promised him a bonus if he does what I asked in half the normal time. I have several businessmen who are waiting to hear from me on something; Curtis will deliver my decision.”
He pushed his papers aside and reached for the top drawer. “Now for your gift. I’m quite excited to see what you think. I had this specially made for you.”
He drew a little box from his desk and handed it to Laura. She opened it and found a gold heart-shaped locket inside.
“Oh, Father, it’s lovely.”
“Open it up.”
She set the box aside and took the locket into her gloved hand. She thought for a moment that she might have to remove her glove but finally managed to get the clasp to open.Inside she read the engraved words,Jesus is the way, the truth, the life.
“Oh, Father. I love it. It’s wonderful.” How unexpected that with her father’s negative feelings toward God, he had gone to the trouble of engraving Scripture. It touched her that he had put aside his resentment to honor her faith.
Laura came around the desk and kissed the top of her father’s head. “I will cherish it always.”
Her father stood and took the necklace from her. “Shall I secure it for you?”
She turned around. “Yes, please.”
The day had turned out so much better than she’d expected. If only Will had come to visit her, it might have been perfect. But it had been ten days since she’d seen him, and Laura was starting to think that perhaps he didn’t share her eagerness to continue their friendship.
By the evening of March sixteenth, Laura was done waiting for Will to act. Earlier in the day she had decided she would pay him a call and instructed Mrs. Murphy to make Will’s favorite gingersnaps. The older woman had been happy to comply when she learned they were for Will. She even cut them in the shape of shamrocks to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Laura was delighted at the woman’s creative gesture. She loaded a basket with the treats and made her way to Faith Cooper’s boardinghouse just after supper. With Father tied up in political meetings, Laura wasn’t about to spend another evening home alone.
She arranged for Curtis to drive the carriage, despite it being a lovely evening for a walk. It was rather forward for a single woman to go in search of a single man, and at leastwith Curtis driving her, it would seem a bit more formal than if she just arrived on foot. Especially when it required visiting a boardinghouse full of men.
Laura wondered how she would explain her unannounced appearance all the same. Faith wouldn’t mind, Laura felt certain of that, but Will might find it embarrassing for her to just show up to see him. She prayed that wouldn’t be the case.
They reached the Cooper place, and Curtis set the brake and helped her down before reaching back up to get her basket.
