Love Finds You on Christmas Morning (14 page)

“That’s sweet of you to ask, William, but I don’t think it’s such a good idea.”

“And why not? Do you have something against my family?”

She gasped. “No, of course I don’t. Why would you even say such a thing?”

He shrugged. “Every time I mention my family, you get a distasteful look on your face.”

“I’m sorry if that’s how it appears. I have nothing against your family.”

“That’s not the way it appears to me. I’ve met your parents, and I can see where you get your strength.”

Lillian realized she’d passed judgment on William, which was one of the things she hated about the different social classes. “I’m sorry if I seemed to be judgmental.”

“I bet you’d love my folks if you gave them half a chance.” He took her hand and held it between both of his. “What can I do to get you to come to my farm?”

“I’ll go.” Lillian knew what her parents would say—that she was setting herself up for heartache—but William did have a point. “I’m really sorry if I came across as judgmental against your family.”

William’s smile was wider than she’d ever seen it. “I’ll let my parents know. Mom and Nelda will want to cook something special, and Pop will probably spend a little time cleaning up.”

“They don’t have to do that,” she argued.

“Oh, but they’ll want to. I need to warn you about my brothers, though. Mason and Amos will try to outdo each other to get your attention, so brace yourself for some terrible jokes.”

Lillian laughed. “I have brothers, so I understand.”

His forehead puckered. “Why do I never see your brothers? Do they live around here?”

“No, Seth moved to Detroit after he got married, and Tyler went in the other direction—to New York.”

“Oh.” William made a comical face. “I’m afraid Mom would bust our chops if any of us even hinted at moving away. My two sisters live in Durham, so we don’t see as much of them as my parents would like. You’d think they lived on the other side of the universe, hearing Mom talk about them.”

“I’d like to see my brothers more,” Lillian admitted, “but they had to go where the work was.”

“That’s one of the best things about having a farm,” William admitted. “There’s always work to do.”

“I can’t imagine either of my brothers farming. It must be something you have to be born with. Both of my parents grew up on farms, but Daddy thought he’d do better working at the sawmill.” A lump formed in her throat at that, so she cleared it. “And now he can’t do that job anymore.”

William saw how quickly her mood changed when she mentioned her brothers. It must be hard having family members so far away.

“So how about I come to your church and we leave from there?” he asked.

She slowly nodded. “I’ll have to talk to Mama and Daddy.”

“Will that be a problem?” When Lillian looked back at him, realization suddenly hit him. “Your parents don’t want you seeing me, do they?”

“It’s not that they don’t want me seeing you. It’s just that…well, you know how we come from such different backgrounds and all… and they think I’ll get hurt if…well…” She looked down and started kicking the toe of her shoe on the ground.

He tucked a finger beneath her chin and tilted her head to face him. “Why do they think you’ll get hurt?”

She blinked and swallowed hard. “I should never have told you that.”

“I would like to know why your parents feel this way.”

The door opened, and Mrs. Pickard stuck her head out. “Come on inside, Lillian. It’s too cold to be standing outside.” She glanced at William but didn’t smile. “Good evening, Mr. Tronnier.”

“Hi, Mrs. Pickard. We were just finishing up. She’ll be inside in a moment.”

“Don’t take too long.”

As soon as Mrs. Pickard closed the door, William faced Lillian again. “I’ll see you at church.”

She nodded.

“Would you like me to talk to your parents about coming to my house?”

Without hesitation, she shook her head. “No, I’d better discuss this with them alone.”

“If you need me to, I can talk to them tomorrow.”

“Good night, William.” She held his gaze and offered him a smile before reaching for the doorknob and turning it.

He waited until she was safely inside before leaving. Although he had plenty to look forward to with Lillian coming home with him, he felt a heavy burden in his chest. Now he needed to figure out how to convince her parents that he had honorable intentions.

Mom and Pop were delighted about Lillian coming home with him after church. He hesitated to tell them about her parents’ feelings toward him, but he came to the conclusion that they might have some perspective—so immediately after supper, after his brothers left the table, he spoke up.

“Mom. Pop. We need to talk.”

“Sure, son,” Pop said. “What’s going on?”

“Let me start from the beginning.” William explained everything. “She’s not only interesting, but she’s smart, strong, and loyal to a fault,” he added.

Pop chuckled and placed his hand on Mom’s. “Just like your mother.”

“Lillian loves the Lord, and she takes her responsibilities at home and at work very seriously.” William paused before adding, “So much so that she doesn’t allow herself to let loose.”

“Are you in love with this girl, son?” Pop asked.

“Yes, Pop, I am. Very much so.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Mom’s eyes misted, so she dabbed them with a tissue she pulled from her pocket. “I am so happy for you, William. There’s nothing better than love.”

“Except when I’m the only one who is in love.”

Pop leaned forward. “Have you told her how you feel?”

“No, sir.”

“Has she said she doesn’t love you?”

“Well…” William fidgeted for a moment. “Not exactly.”

“Then how do you know you’re the only one who’s in love?”

“I s’pose I don’t.”

Mom clasped her hands together. “I look forward to having her here tomorrow. I can’t wait to show her around. Do you know if she likes to cook?”

“She cooks, but I don’t know if she likes it,” William replied.

“Given her circumstances, she probably doesn’t have time to think about what she likes or doesn’t like,” Mom said. “I know I didn’t—at least until I had the freedom of being able to make some choices for myself, thanks to your father.”

William watched his parents exchange a loving look. That was exactly what he wanted—a wife who adored him and one he couldn’t wait to see every evening.

“Maybe I can have her to myself for a while—that is, if you don’t mind,” Mom said. “I’ll let her know that my upbringing isn’t that different from hers. Perhaps that will set her mind at ease.”

Pop nodded. “Excellent idea, as long as it doesn’t appear that we’re trying to sell her on our son. That’s his job.”

“William said she’s a smart woman, so I’m sure she knows he’s a good catch.”

“Mom.” William laughed. “Don’t all mothers feel that way about their sons?”

Butterflies threatened to take over Lillian’s insides as she and her parents approached the church. They hadn’t been happy about her going to visit William’s family, but finally her daddy said it might be a good way to see for herself that she wouldn’t fit into William’s life. Mama didn’t agree, but she relented.

William stood by the corner of the church, waiting for her. His eyes lit up as he met her gaze.

“I have to admit, he looks mighty handsome,” Mama whispered.

“And he’s obviously happy to see you.” Daddy’s voice cracked. “I think he’s probably a nice enough man, if it weren’t for…well, you know.”

After greetings were exchanged, the four of them went inside the church and sat down. A few heads turned, as they had the first time William sat with them, but Lillian kept her attention on the pastor. When the sermon was over, they all walked out together.

“Would you like a ride home?” William asked her parents.

“You don’t need to go to the trouble,” Mama said. “It’s out of your way.”

“That doesn’t matter. I don’t want you walking home in the cold.”

Lillian felt stiff and formal with the four of them in the automobile. After her parents got out, William waited until they were inside before driving off.

“My family is looking forward to getting to know you,” William said. “Especially Mom. She can’t wait to show you her kitchen and sewing room.”

“She has a separate room for sewing?” Lillian asked. Mama generally sat at the kitchen table to do her mending.

William nodded. “It used to be Mason’s bedroom, but as soon as he moved out, in went her sewing stuff. And there’s quite a bit of it. Pop and I marvel at how much there is. He said if he had known she had so many sewing notions, he would have built her a sewing room years ago.”

“Must be nice to have that luxury.” Lillian repositioned herself and folded her arms.

They rode for several minutes in silence, until William turned off the main road and onto one leading to a house in the distance.

“Is that your house?” she asked.

“That’s my parents’ house. You can’t see it from here, but we’re building a house for me on another section of the property.” He told her about how they’d done the same thing for Mason a few years ago and how after they finished William’s house, they’d start one for Amos.

“It’s nice that all of you are able to stay in this area. Mama and Daddy were heartbroken that Seth and Tyler moved away.”

“We are fortunate. Farming is the type of business that requires quite a few different skills. That’s why we’ve had Amos and Mason taking turns working with Pop in the office. Unfortunately, they’re not cut out to work with numbers, so I’ll take a turn for a while—at least until Pop figures out what to do.”

“Do you like being in an office?” Lillian asked.

He shook his head. “I hate it, but it’s only fair.”

“Daddy always said he would have enjoyed being a banker or a businessman if the opportunity had been available to him. He even tried to get a job at the bank in Cary, but they turned him down due to not having any experience.”

“That’s insane,” William said. “How do they expect him to get experience if they don’t give him an opportunity?”

Lillian shrugged. “That’s exactly what Mama and Daddy said.”

“Did he not like his job at the sawmill?”

“He didn’t dislike it, but after he started there, I heard he never felt that was what he was called to do.”

William tsked. “It’s a shame when someone can’t at least try something.” As they pulled up to the front of the house, he turned to her. “Ready for a tour?” The house was massive—even more than she’d realized from a distance.

She scanned everything before her then turned to William. “As ready as I’ll ever be. But I have to admit I’m nervous.”

“So am I.”

They got out of the car, and he took her by the hand and led her to the front porch. Before they reached the first step, four people walked through the front door.

“That’s my mom,” William whispered, “my pop, and my brothers.”

“Welcome,” Mrs. Tronnier said. “Come on in where it’s warm.”

Lillian instantly felt the love in the Tronnier family as they ushered her and William inside. She hadn’t expected such genuine warmth.

“Nelda made me leave the kitchen,” Mrs. Tronnier said. “The last time she put me in charge of the biscuits, they came out as flat as pancakes.”

“Tell her about the time you burned the pies,” Amos said.

Mrs. Tronnier gave him a look of mock anger. “I don’t want to scare the girl away before she gets to know how lovely I can be.”

In spite of her nerves, Lillian couldn’t help but laugh. She could see where William got his charm and wonderful disposition.

“Mom, why don’t you show her your sewing room?” William said.

“Would you like to see it?” his mother asked.

Lillian nodded. “I’d love to see it.”

“Then come on.” Mrs. Tronnier made a shooing gesture toward the men. “You guys can go do something manly while I show Lillian my favorite room in the house.”

As Lillian followed William’s mother upstairs to the sewing room, she was taken by how chatty the woman was—not what she’d expected. She often touched Lillian and occasionally gave her a squeeze on the hand or shoulder.

“So, what do you think?” she asked after she flung open the door.

Lillian glanced around at a room filled with fabric swatches, a dress form, a couple of long tables, and a sewing machine. “It’s wonderful.” Mama would love a room like this.

“I used to dream of having a place to sew—more than that, even, a room where I could get away by myself,” Mrs. Tronnier said. “Back before I met James, I never imagined I’d have anything like this.” Her smile faded. “My family was so poor, we never even knew if we’d have a place to live half the time.”

Lillian blinked. “Really?”

Mrs. Tronnier nodded. “It was terrible. I tried to get work, but no one would hire me. In order to put food on the table, Mother took in other people’s mending. I used to beg her to let me help. Of course, she never let me work on other people’s clothes, but I mended many of my family’s garments.” She took Lillian’s hand and squeezed it. “It made me feel good to be useful.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, how did you meet Mr. Tronnier?”

“His mother was one of the people who dropped off baskets of clothes to be mended. One afternoon, she asked James to deliver it because she had to be somewhere else. Mother wasn’t home, so I took the basket from him. We talked for a few minutes, and I have to admit, I became smitten.” A dreamy look washed over her face. “After that, he became the regular delivery person for his mother. I didn’t realize then that he actually ripped holes in some of his favorite things just so he could see me.”

Lillian laughed. “That is so romantic!”

“It would have been if Mama hadn’t caught on. As soon as she realized we were using that as an excuse to see each other, she forbade me to see James.”

“But why?”

Mrs. Tronnier tilted her head and smiled. “Mama was trying to protect me and prevent me from getting hurt. She couldn’t see that James and I truly loved each other, something that crossed all lines of what others might consider improper.”