A Prescription for Love (3 page)

After all the trouble tonight, he still wanted her to work for him. When she thought back to Mr. Henderson’s gentle touches when he soothed her, a tingle began in her stomach and raced to her heart, causing it to thump. His warm hand as he rubbed circles on her back had helped a great deal to relax her.

Besides her papa, no other man had ever gotten physically close to her except her fiancé, Clarence. Although a pleasant man, and fairly good-looking, Clarence didn’t hide the fact that as a future wife, he found her lacking. Which left her wondering why he wanted to marry her since he could certainly attract any woman he wanted.

Due to her illness, she’d been subjected to her parents’ coddling for years, and apparently Clarence intended to be the same type of a husband. Even to the extent of staying away from her bed. If she married him, she would continue with a life of nothing. No love, no family, no independence.

The night he’d proposed, he outlined his plans. Their marriage would be in name only because her delicate nature didn’t allow for a husband’s attentions. And he assured her any of his associations with other women to take care of his needs would be done with the utmost discretion. Additionally, his mother would reside with them since Heidi would need assistance.

Too stunned to even react to the strange proposal, she’d nodded her head, accepted his kiss on the cheek, and turned to her parents who sat on the sofa across the room. Both glowed with happiness. She’d pleaded a headache and returned to her room. More than an hour had passed before she heard Clarence run down the front steps and drive off in his carriage.

Shaking the memories from her mind, she tied the pink ribbon at the bodice of her nightgown, then crawled into bed. The breathing attacks sapped her energy and she wanted to be fresh tomorrow. The first day on her job!

Michael checked his pocket watch as he strolled up to the store. Eight forty-five, and Miss Lester waited for him. She seemed much improved since last he’d seen her.

“Good morning, Miss Lester. Are you feeling better?” He nodded in her direction as he unlocked the front door.

“Yes, much better. Thank you for your help last night.” She followed him in, all the way to the back room.

“I usually enter through the rear door in the mornings. I’ll give you a key should you get here before me. I’d prefer you didn’t wait outside in the cold.” Michael took her coat and hung hers alongside his on hooks along the wall. “I usually have a light breakfast here, would you care to join me?”

“No, thank you. Truthfully, I’m a bit nervous, so I don’t think I could eat.” She wiped her palms down the front of her dress.

“You need to watch yourself. Skipping meals is not a good idea.” Michael smiled, then stared in disbelief as tears filled her big blue eyes.

“Please, Mr. Henderson. I can take care of myself.” Her delicate chin quivered as she regarded him.

Something about this woman touched him in a place long dead. He mentally shook himself.
No need to involve myself with her.
“All right, then. Suppose you sit with me while I have my breakfast and we can discuss more of the job.”

She furtively wiped her eyes and joined him at the cozy table. “You know, I’m a fairly good cook. If you want more for breakfast, I would be happy to fix something for you.”

“You cook?” He scooped ground coffee beans into a pot of water boiling on the hot plate.

Heidi sat forward and shook her head. “Oh, no. That’s not the best way to brew coffee.”

Michael’s eyebrows rose. “You know another way?”

“Absolutely. I’m a very good cook. I’ll tell you what. Tomorrow, I’ll fix your coffee my way. I’ll need to obtain some supplies from the fabric store first.”

“The fabric store?” He shook his head and grinned as he drew out a loaf of bread and sliced it. Next, he took butter and a jar of jam out of the tiny icebox. After a few minutes, he moved the coffee pot off the burner and let the hot liquid settle. He glanced at Heidi as he worked. “Why are you such a great cook?”

“Cooking was the only activity my parents allowed.”

Michael spread butter and jam on his bread and took a bite. “Why?”

“My doctor told Mother and Papa to keep my activities restricted. While everyone else skipped rope and played with their dolls and balls, I couldn’t leave the house.”

His gut twisted at an image of a tiny, red-haired girl with her face pressed up against the window watching the other kids play.
Don’t think about that. Keep your focus on the fact that she’s only your employee.
He got up and poured coffee into a cup, adding sugar and cream.

“When I begged to have something else to do besides painting and embroidering, which I’m horrible at, Mother let me try cooking.” She smiled brightly. “I became very good at it. I studied cookery books Mother had, and then pestered her to go to the library for more.”

“And a new chef emerged.” Michael chuckled and took a sip of coffee. He winced when the grounds hit his mouth.

“See, Mr. Henderson, my coffee won’t have grounds in it,” she teased.

“This, I have to see.”

Michael finished his breakfast, then rose to place the dishes and cup into the sink next to the icebox. “Time to open the store. And I think we should address each other by our given names since we will be working side-by-side each day.”

Heat rose to her face, but she nodded her agreement.

As he moved through the store, taking off dust covers and turning on lights, he quickly told Heidi her duties. “You’ll need to wait on customers, take their payment, and make change. The cash register is on the countertop by the door. You may also have to mix sodas for the young people who come in after school. I’ll show you how to do that.” He proceeded to the front door, pulled up the shade, then flipped the ‘Open’ sign. His hands on his hips, he regarded her. “One more thing. Ordinarily, dusting would be one of your jobs, but given your lung problem, I’ll do that.”

“Oh, no. That’s not necessary.” Her eyes widened in panic.

“It’s not a problem, Heidi. Dust is the worst thing for asthma. I’ve been doing the dusting all along, anyway, because Mrs. O’Reilly couldn’t handle it very often due to her arthritis.” His lips turned up in a soft smile. “It will be all right. I don’t want you to stress yourself.”

A bell chimed, and Madeline Parker with her two children, hugging her skirts, entered the store. “Michael, I need more cough syrup for Martin.” She motioned to a young boy coughing into his hand.

“Right away.” He moved behind the counter, speaking over his shoulder as he reached for a jar of liquid. “Madeline, Miss Heidi Lester is my new employee.” He nodded in her direction. “She will be taking Mrs. O’Reilly’s place. Miss Lester, this is Mrs. Parker.”

Madeline smiled warmly. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Lester. I hope you enjoy your new job.”

Michael noticed how Heidi’s eyes lit up.

“Thank you, I’m sure I will,” she said.

Michael slid a funnel into a small bottle and ladled the medicine from the jar as the little boy coughed again.

The clock on the wall read five minutes to twelve when Michael screwed the top on a bottle of throat drops and set the medicine aside for delivery later in the day. He stretched the muscles in his back and watched his new employee tie a string around the package she wrapped for a customer. In a few minutes, he would close the store for lunch. So far the morning had gone well. Heidi made up for any lack of experience with enthusiasm. All the customers loved her, and she basked in their admiration. Strange woman, almost as if she’d had very little approval in her life.

The sound of the doorbell caught his attention. Hopefully this customer wouldn’t keep them long. His stomach reminded him he needed food. Maybe he would invite Heidi to join him at the coffee shop. She’d had no breakfast and didn’t seem to have brought any lunch with her.

“Heidi!” the man who’d just entered shouted, anger in his voice. He reached about five-foot ten, with brown hair, and while not exactly rotund, he hadn’t missed many meals.

Michael frowned as his gaze moved from the man to Heidi, who remained stock still, her face as pale as new snow. With a barely audible sigh, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she sank to the floor in a faint.

“Who the devil are you?” Michael barked as he sped around the counter, dropped to Heidi’s side, then felt her pulse.

“Sir, unhand Miss Lester this minute!” the man demanded, drawing himself up. “I am Mr. Clarence Manfred. And that woman is my fiancée.”

Chapter 3

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Michael shot back, as he grabbed a vial of smelling salts and picked Heidi off the floor. The woman weighed nothing.

“Sir, I demand you set Miss Lester down.” Clarence followed closely behind Michael as he carried her limp form to the back of the store.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Mr. Manfred, Miss Lester is unable to walk at this particular time.” He used his shoulder to push aside the curtain separating the store from the kitchen. He laid Heidi on the table and taking her cold hands between his warm ones rubbed them briskly. Snapping open the vial, he waved the fumes under her nose.

“Clarence, is she in there?” a woman’s voice bellowed from the front of the store, followed by heavy footsteps shuffling in their direction.

Heidi coughed and attempted to sit up.

Michael placed his hand on her shoulder. “Stay still for a minute.” He produced a handkerchief from his pocket and ran the cloth under the tap. Manfred held himself erect, frowning at Heidi.
Very helpful.

The curtain moved aside and an older woman, stout, short, and huffing like a steam engine, entered the room. “What did you do to Miss Lester?” She shot daggers in Michael’s direction.

He sighed. “She’s fainted.”

Heidi continued to cough, and Michael slid his hand under her back, easing her up.

The older woman pushed his hand aside as he laid the wet handkerchief on the back of Heidi’s neck. “I’ll do that.”

Michael moved back and leaned against the wall, arms crossed, as he watched the spectacle. The man who’d introduced himself as the fiancé appeared more annoyed than concerned about his betrothed’s health.

Heidi blinked a few times. “Clarence. What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to escort you back to Oklahoma City, Heidi. And I would say just in time.” He glared at Michael. “This man carried you in his arms.”

Heidi sighed. “It seems I fainted, Clarence. I could hardly walk on my own.”

“
I
would have carried you, if he didn’t beat me to it.”

“I’m sure you would have.” She fixed her gaze in the woman’s direction. “Hello, Mrs. Manfred.”

“Heidi, dear.” She sat in the chair next to her and patted her hand. “Clarence could simply not stay away when your parents told him you were missing.”

“I not missing, ma’am. As you see, I’m right here.” She tugged her hand free of the woman’s grasp and fisted her hands in her lap. “I left my home so I could do something by myself.”

“I would have been happy to accompany you if you wanted a little trip.” Clarence patted her on the head like a pet dog.

Heidi swung her legs over the edge of the table and stood. “By myself, I said.” Her shoulders slumped as she shook out her skirt, then sat.

Anger flashed in Clarence’s eyes. “Nonsense. You can’t do things on your own. Your parents have told you so for years. I can’t believe you would put yourself in harm’s way . . .”

“Enough!” Michael declared as he pushed away from the wall. The place had turned into a circus. “Everybody out except Miss Lester.”

Clarence drew himself up. “I will not leave my fiancée here alone with you, sir.”

“Miss Lester is my employee. We’ve been alone here in the store for the better part of the morning.” This jackass could not be Heidi’s fiancé.

Mrs. Manfred spoke softly to Heidi. “Dear, you must come with us. We will accompany you home. Your parents are very worried.”

Michael rested his hands on his hips. “I’m saying for the very last time, everybody out except Miss Lester.” He fisted the back of Clarence’s shirt collar and physically escorted him to the curtain leading to the store. Turning toward the woman gaping at him, her face a bright red, he added, “You, too.”

“Well, I never.” She gasped.

“Ma’am.” He released Clarence and waved his hand in the direction of the curtain. “The exit is that way.”

Clarence glared at him as he straightened his clothes and the woman stiffened her shoulders. She sailed through the door, nose in the air. Michael waited until he heard the front door close and silence descend.

He took a deep breath, sat next to Heidi, and took her hand. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” She sighed and closed her eyes.

“Why did you faint?” Thoughts of her being with child raced through his mind. Perhaps the reason she ran away?
Please God, not with Clarence Manfred.

“I never expected them to find me.” Her voice hitched as she regarded him through tear-filled eyes. “At least not so fast.” She eased away the hair that had fallen on her forehead and placed her hands on the table. “I’ll finish out the day.” One lone tear tracked down her cheek.

His insides shifted. Her entire demeanor screamed defeat. So different from the young woman who’d greeted customers all morning, full of smiles and energy. “Don’t you want to keep your job?” he asked softly, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. Soft and smooth, the skin on her hands remained chilled from her ordeal.

She nodded and bit her lower lip.

“Then why don’t you?”

“Because they won’t let me.” She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. After a few minutes, she wiped her eyes with the wet handkerchief and peeked at him from under clumped eyelashes.

“How old are you, Heidi?” His lips turned up in a slight smile.

She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “Twenty-three.”

“Then I think you’re old enough to decide for yourself what you want to do.”

She slumped back in the chair. “I know you must think me pathetic, but you don’t understand. Clarence won’t let me. And now, he’ll tell my parents, and they’ll come, and . . .”