A Prescription for Love (28 page)

“Mr. Henderson, where did you say the hand lotion is?” The nasally voice of his new employee, John Monroe, grated on his nerves. The man would never work out. He hadn’t caught on as well as Heidi had. But then, no one could replace Heidi.

His customers no longer asked about her. After the first few times he growled at them, they kept their questions to themselves and never spoke of her again.

If only he could so easily erase her from his mind. Everywhere he looked, he saw her. Behind the counter, wrapping a package as she chatted with a young mother. Bent over, alongside the cash register, tongue clamped between her teeth, as she figured the bank deposit. Joking with a blushing young boy as she mixed his soda, or her lush mouth curved in a smile as she held the penny candy jar for a young child as he selected his treat.

But most of all, he remembered how she felt in his arms as she stared at him with sparkling blue eyes. How her curls always escaped her bun, falling around her neck, bouncing as she flitted from one part of the store to another.

He slammed his hand down, startling the two customers and his employee. “Sorry,” he muttered.

This had to stop. His mental health depended on him accepting Heidi’s decision and going on with his life as he’d always planned after Alice’s betrayal. He needed to spend more time with his nephew, Rachel’s son, Zander. The poor boy had no father, Billy having died of pneumonia when his son was but a baby.

His duty rested with his family.

He checked his watch once more. An entire ten minutes had past. “Let’s close for lunch.” Michael strode past John and headed to the door. After locking up and flipping the sign over, he grabbed his jacket from the hook in the back and headed for the coffee shop.

The noise from the busy café greeted him as he entered the restaurant. Honey waved at him from across the room where she placed dishes, overflowing with the daily special of fish cakes in front of two men.

Honey had tried unsuccessfully to pull more information out of him about Heidi, but after a few curt rebuffs, she’d dropped it as his customers had.

She headed in his direction, where he sat at the counter. “Special today, Michael?”

He nodded and took a sip from the glass of water she’d placed in front of him. “It smells good and looks like it’s going fast.”

“Don’t you worry. I always save enough for my favorite customers.” She slipped a pencil into the bun coiled at her nape and winked before turning to push open the kitchen door. For an instant before the heavy wooden door swung closed, he had a glimpse of a flushed Mrs. Bonner dishing up fish cakes and mashed potatoes, then sliding the plates across the counter for waitresses to pick up.

He checked his pocket watch again. Fifteen minutes since the last time he’d checked. At least he thought so. Several times today he glanced at the timepiece, never registering what he’d seen. He rubbed his forehead with thumb and index finger. A sense of anxiety, the need to do something about Heidi, washed over him. He shoved the thought away. Despite what his brain nudged him to do, his heart couldn’t survive another hit. Better to finish the day out and pretend the world wasn’t ending tomorrow.

He ate slowly, reading the newspaper he’d brought with him, proud of the fact he’d only checked the time twice. The food satisfied his stomach, the flavor as wonderful as ever, but nothing filled the gaping hole in his heart. After taking the last sip of his cooling coffee, he grabbed his check, then attempted to smile at the clerk as he paid his bill.

Michael headed to the store. He loosened the buttons of his jacket, shrugged out of it, then hooked it on his finger to hang over his shoulder. The early spring day had warmed, with a promise of many more pleasant days to come. Shopkeepers in rolled-up shirtsleeves swept the space in front of their stores, calling a ‘hello’ to each other.

His stride ate up the space between the coffee shop and the end of the block. He turned the corner, then hesitated before he hurried toward the pharmacy. A woman stood in front of the door, her back to him, tapping her foot. As he got closer, he sensed familiarity. Something about the tilt of her head as she glanced in both directions rang a bell.

The small kernel of anxiety he’d experienced in the coffee shop spread from his stomach upward until his heart pounded. His brain refused to acknowledge what his eyes saw. He picked up his pace until, practically at a run, he skidded to a stop and joined her in front of his store.

“Mrs. Lester, what are you doing here? Is Heidi all right?”

Mrs. Lester smirked. “I’m afraid not, Michael. Heidi is about to commit the worst mistake of her life, and you’re the only one who can save her from disaster.”

Chapter 26

Bright silk gowns lay on chairs, the bed, the desk, and on top of a large portmanteau. Gloria stood in the middle of the disarray dressed in a petticoat and red corset, her breasts testing the limits of the garment’s top. With jewel-adorned fingers resting on her hips, she took a deep breath and counted the gowns still not packed.

“We’ll only be in Dallas for two weeks.” Clarence smiled at her from where he lounged in the doorway. His sex grew hard watching her graceful body move as she picked up gown after gown, frowning as she tossed another one into the pile.

“I know, darling, but I want to be sure I have enough gowns so I don’t have to wear anything twice.”

“Goodness. We can’t have that, can we?” He took out a packet from his pants pocket as he strolled toward her. “A messenger just delivered our train tickets.”

She nodded, distracted, as she continued to survey the room, her eyes narrowed, tapping her fingernail against her full lips.

Clarence sauntered up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Don’t bring any of them. I’ll buy you all new gowns.” He nuzzled her neck, his hands sliding up to unfasten the top of the corset.

She moaned—a little too quickly perhaps—and leaned into him, rubbing her bottom across his groin. “All new gowns?”

He tweaked her nipples. “All new. And lots of jewelry and anything else you want.”

She turned in his arms, sliding her hands up his chest to link her fingers behind his neck. “How we will buy new gowns and jewels with your wife tagging along?”

He moved away, annoyed. “Don’t worry about her. She’s used to being alone. I’ve arranged for her to have her own compartment on the train, doors away from ours, and her hotel room is on the floor above us. I’ll accompany her to a few suppers and the theater. Just enough to alleviate any questions from my clients.” He drew her to his body. “But I don’t want to talk about Heidi. I have other things in mind.”

Gloria placed her hands on his chest and held him off. “I do feel a bit guilty.”

He regarded her with raised eyebrows.

“I mean, this trip is her honeymoon.”

Clarence grasped her hands and moved them to his shoulders, jerking her close again. “Think of it as payback for what she put me through this past month.”

Gloria smiled as his lips descended on hers.

Michael’s legs grew heavy, as if in a dream where he couldn’t run from danger. Although Mrs. Lester continued to stare at him, he couldn’t move. His mind refused to believe Heidi’s mother stood in front of him the day before her daughter’s wedding. And speaking of a disaster?

“Michael, may we go inside?”

“Ah, yes. Of course.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’m just, ah, surprised to see you.”

He unlocked the door as John approached from the opposite direction. Preoccupied with Mrs. Lester’s announcement, he strode down the aisle and called over his shoulder, “John, mind the store. I’ll be in the back.”

Michael held the curtain open for Mrs. Lester to pass. “Would you care for some tea?”

She removed her gloves and sat at the table. “Yes, I would, actually. I came straight from the train station.”

His stomach clenched as he fixed the tea, his mind in a whirl. Mrs. Lester filled the time with inane chatter about the train ride that bombarded his ears, but never made it to his brain.

She took a sip of the warm liquid and closed her eyes in pleasure. After carefully setting the cup in its saucer, she folded her hands in her lap and viewed him with narrowed eyes. “Why did you let Heidi leave Guthrie to marry
that
man
?”

Michael’s eyebrows rose. “I thought Heidi’s marriage to Clarence is what you and Mr. Lester wanted?”

“Mr. Lester and I thought Clarence a decent man. A hard worker who cared for our daughter and would be a loving husband. We hoped they would enjoy a good life together, and Clarence would handle all of Harold’s businesses and provide well for Heidi.”

She took another sip of tea and raised her head, a slight blush tingeing her cheeks. “We made the error of asking him not to, ah, not to . . .”

Michael nodded for her continue.

She took a deep breath. “We asked him to refrain from, well, bedding her. We were concerned what a pregnancy would do to her health.”

All the air left Michael’s lungs. Not bed her? His beautiful, vibrant, passionate, Heidi destined for a celibate marriage, on top of everything else wrong with a union with Clarence?

“Whatever possessed you and Mr. Lester to do such a thing to her?”

She fumbled in her string purse for a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. “You must understand. Heidi’s been sickly and frail all her life.” She raised the cup with shaking hands to her lips. “Before Heidi was born, Mr. Lester and I had another daughter. Penelope.” She leaned back in her chair and wiped her eyes again. “Also not a healthy girl.”

“Go on.”

“She contracted a cold and her weak lungs couldn’t fight it. She died within two days.” She looked at him. “Only two years old.”

After taking a deep breath, she continued. “When Heidi was born and our baby had the same lung weakness, Harold and I panicked. Four years had passed after Penelope died before Heidi arrived. We assumed we would not be blessed with a large family, so we kept Heidi away from other children. In some ways, I guess you could say the poor girl became a prisoner in her own home.” She twisted the handkerchief in her hands. “We felt bearing a child would take her from us.” She glanced at him sideways. “A selfish plan, I know.”

“I can understand your fear.” Michael shook his head. “I can’t imagine burying a child. And then having another child with the same problem.”

“Thank you. You can’t imagine the guilt I’ve gone through over what we did to her.” She raised tear-filled eyes to him. “And then she met you, and you found a way to help her. A way our doctor had never mentioned, or probably even knew about.” She fumbled with the cameo pin at her throat. “I wonder if she’ll ever forgive me.”

Mrs. Lester’s breath hitched as she attempted to pull herself together.

An interesting story, and a way for him to further understand their motivation. But she still hadn’t mentioned the purpose of her visit, and what sort of disaster Heidi was headed to.

Once Heidi’s mother seemed calmer, Michael squeezed her hand. “Why are you here?”

“Oh my goodness.” She jerked her head up and opened her string purse. “Here I am so busy explaining things to you, I almost forgot the most important thing.”

Michael smiled. He’d learned to deal with Mrs. Lester’s distractions during the short time she worked for him. He would ask her something, and she would digress in a totally different direction, until, breathless, she would finally answer. A charming woman, he enjoyed her company, had grown to respect her, and admired how fiercely she loved her family.

A small pile grew on the table as she produced things from her purse. “Ah, here it is!” She held up a folded piece of paper and shook it open. “Just look at this.”

Michael took the document from her hand and began to read. His eyes moved back and forth, his outrage growing. Still not sure what the missive meant, and why Mrs. Lester possessed it to begin with, he took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. “What does this all mean?”

Mrs. Lester leaned forward and tapped her finger on the table. “Clarence Manfred wrote that and showed it to Heidi. He told her if she didn’t return to Oklahoma City and marry him, he would send that”—she nodded at the sheet—“to the two biggest newspapers in Oklahoma.”

He frowned. “But who would believe this?”

“Do you remember Gloria?” She sat back and huffed.

“You mean the woman with whom we had supper?”

She folded her arms. “The very same.”

He nodded, more baffled than ever.

Mrs. Lester spoke through gritted teeth. “Gloria is Clarence’s mistress.”

Michael let out a low whistle and dragged his hand down his face. “All right. I’m so confused right now, I can’t think clearly. Can you start from the beginning?”

“First of all, did you know about the Senator’s background?”

“Yeah, we all know. Uncle Jesse never made a secret of his beginnings. In fact, we were always very proud of what he’s accomplished.”

“Gloria worked in a brothel”—she wrinkled her nose—“at the same time your uncle’s mother, um, resided there. Gloria’s the one who told Clarence about the Senator’s background.” She hopped up and paced. “After showing Heidi this”—she waved in the direction of the paper sitting on the table—“he told my daughter his mistress would speak with one of their reporters, naming dates and everything.”

Michael slumped in his char. “That bastard.” He jerked. “Sorry.”

Mrs. Lester waved him off. “Tomorrow morning at eleven o’clock, my precious daughter will marry that . . . monster.” She sat once again. “Do you know he told her he intends to keep Gloria as his mistress after they’re married?” Her lips formed a tight line. “He also told Heidi even though he expected her to marry him, he didn’t even like her!”

Despite the anger boiling his blood, Michael smiled at the red-faced outrage on the woman’s face. “How did you discover all this?”

Mrs. Lester took another sip of tea that had to be cold by now. “I knew from the start something wasn’t right. I know my daughter, and how she feels about you.”

Michael’s head snapped up at her words and his heart jumped. Did she mean what he hoped she did? Could he truly have Heidi in his arms once more? Forever?