A Love For Keeps (Truly Yours Digital Editions) (14 page)

“Here,” she said, finding the fashion plate she liked. “I like this one.”

It was a beautiful gown of gold and white brocade. “That will look lovely on you,” Meagan said. “I believe I have fabric similar if not exactly like this.”

She led the way to her stock of fabric on the shelves and pulled out several bolts. “Will this work for you?”

“Yes, I believe so. It looks like the fabric in the picture.”

“I think it will work up beautifully.”

“Very well, then. You have my measurements. When do you want me to come for the first fitting?”

Meagan looked at her appointment schedule once more. “I should be ready for your first fitting by next Friday afternoon about three.”

Abigail nodded and pulled on her gloves. “Are you ready, Mother?”

“No, dear. If you can place an order with Miss Snow, I can, too. Sit down and have a cup of that delicious tea Mrs. Snow prepared. I have found a few gowns I want to talk to Miss Snow about.”

Abigail shrugged and took a seat and the cup of tea Meagan’s mother brought to her. She seemed quite content to be late, now that she’d said what she wanted to say. One glance at her told Meagan that she was feeling quite smug about the dart she’d shot into Meagan’s heart.

Meagan was determined not to let her know how direct a hit she’d made. She managed to avoid looking at her, giving all of her attention to Mrs. Connors, instead. She couldn’t help but wonder how Abigail had turned out the way she was when her mother was so gracious and kind.

The fashion plates Mrs. Connors chose were lovely, the afternoon dress in a brown print crepe and the dinner dress in a blue silk. It didn’t take long for the woman to choose fabrics similar to the ones used in the pictures, and since she’d made an appointment for the next week, they decided she could come in for measurements then.

Meagan had never been so glad to pull down her C
LOSED
sign. She turned to her mother. “That is it for today. Abigail can ruin a day faster than anyone I know.”

“I can understand that. Abigail Connors certainly is an unpleasant young woman,” her mother said while gathering up the teacups. “I don’t understand it at all. Her mother is very nice.”

“She is. I think she was a bit …”

“Put out with her daughter. If Abigail had been younger, I think she’d have received a nice spanking. She could use one now, as far as I’m concerned. Your papa would never have let you girls talk to me the way she did her mama. Wonder what kind of man her father is?”

“He seemed very nice when I met him at the gala.” Meagan shrugged. “Maybe her upbringing doesn’t have anything to do with it. She just isn’t a very pleasant person.”

“Maybe there’s a reason for it.”

“I’m sure there is, Mama. There must be. Still, I wish I didn’t have to have any dealings with her. Apparently, that isn’t going to be the case.”

That wasn’t what was really bothering her, though. It was trying to come to grips with the fact that Abigail Connors was determined to marry Nate and had done all in her power to let Meagan know it.

Once a month or so, Nate had Natalie’s grandparents and Abigail over for dinner. Rose had asked them over at least once a month for dinner when she was alive, and Nate had kept the practice up for Natalie’s sake. He wished he could stop it—or at least stop asking Abigail—but he hadn’t found a way to do it. He always hoped she’d have another engagement, but she never did.

When Abigail arrived early, informing him that her parents were under the weather and wouldn’t be able to come, he felt a little put out that no one had notified him before now. He would have canceled until they felt better. He tried not to show his irritation that he evidently was going to have to spend the evening with Abigail. “I hope they are better soon. If I’d known, we could have put this off until next week.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Nate. I’m sure they will feel better very soon. They hated for Natalie to be disappointed, so I told them I would come.”

Nate inhaled deeply, telling himself that he’d have to suffer through the evening on his own. He wasn’t comfortable around Abigail when her family or friends weren’t around. He had no doubt that she still wasn’t happy with him for taking Meagan to the gala instead of her, yet she’d been overly sweet to him lately, and he was not sure what was going on with her.

Tonight she seemed her usual self during dinner, talking about the upcoming parties her friends had invited them to and a surprise birthday party she and her mother were planning for her father.

Natalie loved hearing all about the parties and Abigail’s social life, listening intently to every word her aunt said. Nate had come to the conclusion that he’d rather Natalie
not
take after her aunt Abigail in that regard, however.

“Are you going to the party Jillian is hosting, Nate? If so, will you accompany me?” Abigail asked.

He shook his head. “I’m not planning on going to that, Abigail. I’m about partied out.” And he had no desire at all to take her.

“But, Nate, you have to keep up with what is going on in town for the sake of the bank. Please reconsider,” she implored him.

She’d used that reasoning on him too many times, and he was getting quite tired of it. “I do what I need to do for the sake of the bank, Abigail. I always have. I don’t believe, however, that I have to attend every social event that comes along. I have a daughter to raise and—”

“Yes, and I’d like to talk to you about that,” Abigail said, a slight smile on her lips.

Nate groaned to himself. He’d just given her an opening to talk about her favorite subject … and the one he most disliked. Well, he wasn’t going to have that conversation in front of his daughter.

“Not right now, Abigail,” he said as Mrs. Baker came in and served dessert.

“I understand. We’ll talk later.”

Nate had no doubt that they would. He’d given her the opening, and she wouldn’t leave until she had her say. He might as well prepare himself for it.

They took turns playing checkers with Natalie after dinner, but finally, Nate could put it off no longer. “It’s time to get ready for bed, Natalie, dear. I’ll be up soon to hear your prayers.”

“May I stay up a little longer, Papa? I’m having so much fun!”

If he hadn’t wanted to get the inevitable conversation with Abigail over with, he might have let her talk him into staying up later.

“Not tonight, dear,” Abigail said before he had a chance to answer his daughter. “Your papa and I need to have a talk.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to say that talk could wait a little longer and that Natalie could stay up, but he wanted the talk over with as much as Abigail wanted to start it. Probably even more so.

“Aunt Abigail is right, sweetie. You go on, and I’ll be up soon.”

“All right, Papa. Good night, Aunt Abby.” She gave her aunt a hug.

“Good night, dear. Sweet dreams.”

Nate watched his daughter scamper up the stairs before turning back to Abigail. She looked like a cat who’d swallowed a canary, thinking she was getting her way.

She sat down to pour the coffee his housekeeper had brought into the room and handed him a cup, as if she were the lady of the manor. She’d made him well aware that was what she wanted. But it was her dream—not his.

He sat down on a chair across from her. “What is it you wanted to talk about, Abigail?”

“Well, you brought it up, Nate, dear. You do have a child to raise, and you need help doing it. Natalie needs a mother.”

He couldn’t deny that—but he had someone he could see in that position, and it wasn’t his sister-in-law. “Abigail, we’ve had this conversation many times.”

“Yes, I know. Still, you don’t seem to understand how badly a girl needs a mother. Nate, dear, just because you’ve taken over her wardrobe doesn’t mean she doesn’t need a mother. There are things you just aren’t prepared to teach her and—” Abigail pulled a hankie from her sleeve and dabbed at her eyes. “Ever since the day Rose put Natalie in my arms and asked me to take care of her, I’ve felt as if she were mine.”

The guilt and sorrow Nate felt that he hadn’t been there to save his wife washed over him in waves, as it never failed to do when Abigail brought up that day. And when she did, he always felt even worse because his father-in-law thought he’d gone in and tried to save Rose, instead of just not being there in time. Abigail had let him think that, and when Nate wanted to tell him the truth, she’d talked him out of it, telling him that her father had gone through enough heartache in losing Rose, and they couldn’t give him more.

“I think it’s time we told your father the truth about the day Rose died. I was too late. I just didn’t get there in time, and the house was in flames when I arrived. I don’t know why you ever let him think I did. And I certainly don’t know why I didn’t correct it immediately! We need to tell him, Abigail.”

“Nate, we can’t do that! It would break his heart all over again. And what if he got so mad that he hadn’t been told the truth that he fired you?”

“I’d be free from the guilt of not telling him the truth.”

Abigail jumped to her feet and began to pace in front of his fireplace. “Well, we can’t tell him now. Think of how it would hurt the family relationship! Besides, it would hurt my own relationship with him, Nate! I was only trying to protect you, to keep Father from blaming you for not being there—you know how hard he can be.”

Actually, Jacob Connors had never shown that side to Nate, but Abigail seemed so distraught, Nate agreed not to tell her father the truth of that day … at least not yet.

“How did we get on this subject anyway?” Abigail asked. “We were discussing Natalie’s need for a mother. How did we get to this?”

Nate sighed and shook his head. She’d brought up that day his life had changed forever. “Well, we aren’t discussing it anymore,” Nate said firmly.

“Nate. She needs a mother. She needs someone who is with her and will listen to her and give her advice and love her.”

“Natalie has you and your mother, Abigail. It’s not as if she has no women in her life. And that is the end of the discussion as far as I am concerned.” He didn’t mention that the Snow women had been a very good influence on his daughter, too. He had a feeling Abigail wouldn’t take very well to that information just now. “I need to go up and hear Natalie’s prayers. I’ll see you home as soon as I do.”

“No, Papa told the driver to come back for me at ten. It’s nearly that now.”

“That was thoughtful of Jacob. If I’m not down before the driver gets here, please tell your parents I hope they recover quickly.”

“Yes. I will,” she replied, her tone cool.

Nate knew she was angry with him again. She didn’t even want to come up and kiss Natalie good night. Well, there was nothing to do about it except wait out her bad mood. She’d get past it eventually, and they’d have the same conversation again. That is the way it always was with Abigail.

A few days later when Nate took Natalie for a fitting, she mentioned that her aunt Abigail had been grouchy lately. Nate hoped the woman hadn’t taken her aggravation with him out on his daughter. “What has she seemed upset about?”

Natalie twisted her hands together and looked up at him. “She’s sharp with me sometimes, and she doesn’t want me to talk about Miss Meg anymore. She says that’s all I talk about.” Natalie did a good imitation of her aunt as she continued, “She said all she hears is ‘Miss Meg this and Miss Meg that.’ She said no one is that nice. But Papa, Miss Meg
is
that nice.”

“Yes, she is. Your aunt Abigail just doesn’t know her as well as we do, dear. Don’t worry so about it.”

“But Papa, I really like Miss Meg, and it’s hard for me not to mention her name.” Her eyes were big, brown, and sad.

“I’ll talk to your aunt Abigail, Natalie. And I’m your papa. You can talk about Miss Meg all you want, anytime you want. I’ll see that your aunt Abigail understands that.” He flicked the reins to his horses and they took off in a brisk trot.