The Ride of Her Life (2 page)

She swallowed the hard lump in her throat. “He’d be proud I’m rearing our son the way we planned.”

“In a tent? On the lake?” Evangeline’s voice quaked. “My son didn’t plan that.”

Lilly heard the bell on the door jingle but didn’t turn. If it was Levi, he wouldn’t come running over. Her in-laws frowned on public displays of affection, so he would avoid his grandparents.

Claude’s gaze met Lilly’s. “You had a home with us.”

“I had a room.” Lilly glared back. “You made sure I understood it was your house. Then you insisted I send my son away.”

Evangeline tugged at her cape. “We simply want him to have the best.”

“What’s best about sending a little boy halfway across the country to a boarding school?”

“Surely you, of all people”—Evangeline wrinkled her nose—“should understand what our grandson is going to need to compensate for—”

“For what? For being my son? The son of a lowly household servant?” Lilly’s voice rose.

“This is ridiculous.” Claude stood. “The boy belongs with us. Levi, come here. You’re going home with your grandmother and me.”

Lilly whirled to find Levi standing beside Blue Eyes. She stepped beside him and grabbed her son’s hand. “He is not going anywhere.”

Claude took a step forward.

“You heard the lady.” The words fell like a stone in a pond and rippled across the room. Blue Eyes crossed his arms over his broad chest. “The boy is staying here.”

Gripping his cane, Claude pointed the ivory greyhound toward Lilly. “This isn’t over. I didn’t want to take legal measures, but I will. No grandson of mine is going to shiver in the cold in a tent. He belongs with us.”

Guilt tugged at Lilly’s heart. The temperatures had dipped last night. Had Levi been cold? No. They’d piled on blankets, and besides, living with her former in-laws was another kind of cold—a cold touching the soul, much harder to stave off.

“No sir.” She squared her shoulders. “Levi is my son. He belongs with me.”

Claude turned to Evangeline. “Come, darling, we’ll return when Lilly is ready to be sensible.”

Fighting the urge to retort, Lilly clamped her mouth shut. They were still Ben’s parents and, as such, deserved every morsel of respect she could bestow on them. She nudged Levi forward. “Say goodbye to your grandparents.”

“Please don’t take me away, Grandpa.” Levi hid behind Lilly’s skirt.

“See what you’ve done?” Evangeline glowered at Lilly. “You’ve made him fearful of his own grandparents.”

“You did that all by yourself.”

Evangeline’s mouth dropped, but she snapped it shut. “Please be reasonable. He’s all we have left of our Benjamin, and it’s our duty to do what’s best for him. We have the means, and you’ll certainly never be able to give him all he deserves.”

“Even you must admit Levi deserves a home.” Claude let the words hang.

Lilly squeezed Levi’s shoulder. “I agree, and as his mother, I’ll do whatever it takes to get him one.”

Silverware scraped against the china plates, echoing through the otherwise silent diner. Not one word had been uttered since the Harts’ departure. When Lilly turned toward the roller coaster workers at the corner table, they averted their eyes.

Humiliation and anger burned in Lilly’s chest. How could she honor Ben’s memory by treating his parents with respect when they wanted to steal her son?

Blue Eyes cleared his throat beside her. “Hi. I’m Nick Perrin.”

She stared at the large hand extended in her direction, then lifted her gaze to his face. Concern filled the cobalt-blue pools, and she bristled.

“And I suppose you expect a thank-you.” She jammed her fists onto her hips. “I’ll have you know I didn’t need your little ‘you heard the lady.’ I was doing fine all by myself.”

“Hey, I was only trying to help.” Nick started toward his table and then turned back. “You know, if I were you, I’d take all the friends I could get. Those two seem determined to take your boy from you.”

“But he’s my son. Mine.” The tremor in her voice betrayed how unnerved she was. “I’ll take care of him, Mr. Perrin, and I don’t need help from you or anyone else.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Levi tugged on the seam of Nick’s tan work pants. “Mr. Nick, can you be my friend even if my mama doesn’t like you?”

2

“Mrs. Hart, may I speak to you?”

Lilly whirled at the sound of her employer’s formal tone. “Be right there, Mr. Thorton.”

She hastily piled the remaining dishes from the roller coaster crew’s table. Balancing the dishes on her left arm, she zigzagged around the other empty tables and then deposited the dishes in a tub of soapy water. She wiped her hands on her apron, smoothed the sides of her hair, and took a deep breath before nearing Mr. Thorton’s tiny office.

Warmth from the oven after this morning’s baking had left the area cozy, but the stern look on Mr. Thorton’s face sent chills up Lilly’s spine. When had he arrived? It was easy enough for him to slip in the back door and hide in his cubbyhole of an office set off to one side of the kitchen. Had he seen her in-laws? Maybe he believed she’d taken liberties while she should be working. Her pulse quickened. She could not lose this job.

“Good afternoon, sir.” She smiled, attempting a cheerful appearance.

Mr. Thorton nodded toward her. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Hart. I have a matter to discuss with you. Please have a seat.”

She sat down on the stool in the corner, the only place to sit besides Mr. Thorton’s desk chair. Her heart thundered against her ribs. “Is there a problem?”

“I’m afraid so.” He rubbed his wiry, peppered beard. “You know I value your work. You’ve been the best employee I’ve had in a long time. Since Mrs. Thorton’s passing, I’d not found anyone who could cook and run this place as well as she until I found you.” His lips gave way to a hint of a smile.

She swallowed. “Thank you, sir.”

“But . . .” He paused. “I heard the way you were talking to Mr. Perrin, the roller coaster boss. He’s an important man. Not only is he in charge of the project, he also designed the whole shebang. Mrs. Hart, you’ve got to be nice to that man.”

“But he—”

Mr. Thorton held up his hand. “I don’t care if he tracks in a sty’s worth of mud on your newly mopped floors. He and his workers are the only reason this lunch counter is open this early in the season. If he decides to arrange food at a different location for his workers, then we’ll close down until the regular park season begins. That would mean no work for you. Do you understand?”

Lilly’s mouth went dry. Her stupid pride had made her spout off to the man for his act of kindness. What if Nick Perrin took his men and left? She licked her lips. “I understand, sir, and I apologize.”

“Don’t be apologizing to me. It’s him you need to apologize to.” Mr. Thorton sat down in his chair. “And I expect you to do just that the next time he’s in. Do I make myself clear?”

Lilly eased off the stool. “Perfectly.”

“Good.” Mr. Thorton picked up his pen. “Now, did I smell peach pie?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll get you a piece.” Lilly hurried from the office area, all too ready to have this confrontation behind her. As far as dressing-downs went, this one probably wasn’t significant. But apologize to Mr. Perrin? That was not only unfair, it was unnecessary. She doubted the roller coaster builder had given their little disagreement a second thought.

Nick jammed the shovel into the recently thawed earth much harder than need be. He’d only been trying to help when he’d spoken in the lunch counter on the lady’s behalf. Wouldn’t any gentleman do the same?

He heaved a load of dirt mixed with grass onto the ground and again plunged his shovel into the hole. The scent of damp soil rose to his nose.

“Boss, whaddya think yer doin’?” Sean McGready, his Irish heritage apparent in every word, walked over and hooked his thumbs in his suspenders. “Boyo, let the men do their jobs and ya do yers.”

“We’ve got to dig a hundred footings. I don’t think the men will mind if I do one.” Nick deposited a clump of dirt onto the pile.

Sean placed a beefy fist on the handle of Nick’s shovel. “Aye, but I do. Yer usin’ me shovel and I’ll be wantin’ it back. Can’t let the boys go thinkin’ I’m a lazy dosser.”

Nick held fast. In a tug-of-war with most of the workers, Nick would easily win. He’d been building roller coasters so long his muscles were solid. But against a bear like Sean, he wouldn’t stand a chance even though Sean had a good ten years on Nick’s thirty. Finally, Nick huffed and pushed the shovel toward Sean.

“There now. Go be a good engineer and study those drawings some more.”

“I like to be a hands-on builder. You of all people know that.”

Sean scooped a huge load of dirt from the hole. “I do. And ya have a lot to prove on this job.”

“So I won’t have you stopping me every time I lift a hammer.”

“Knew that too.”

“So?”

Sean leaned on the shovel handle and met Nick’s gaze. “So, why don’t ya be saying what’s got ya knotted tighter than a ball of yer mother’s yarn? The lass inside?” He paused, and a smile slowly spread across his face. “Ah, it’s the lad, isn’t it?”

Nick swiped his sweaty brow with his forearm. “What were his grandparents thinking? Don’t they realize that poor kid is going to have nightmares over what he heard today?” A familiar tightness wrapped around Nick’s chest. Nightmares. He could still recall the ones from his childhood in vivid detail.

Sean raised a thick, reddish eyebrow. “Seems to me his mother said she could take care of the lad just fine.”

“She certainly thinks so anyway.” Nick gave a halfhearted chuckle. “But the boy wants to be friends, so I might stop by from time to time and keep an eye on him for myself.”

“No denyin’ it, Nick Perrin. Yer a rare character.”

Nick squeezed the older man’s shoulder. “And so are you, my friend. So are you. I’ll catch you before supper.”

As Nick crossed the grassy area, he checked on the progress of the other workers. Already this week, they’d drilled holes and built sturdy wood forms for each point of the concrete foundation. It would take until the end of the week to finish this preliminary work for the coaster.

Nick stopped and pushed against one of the thick Douglas fir posts already set in hardened concrete. It didn’t budge. Perfect. This roller coaster had to be the best in the West—and the safest. The last thing Nick wanted was his name attached to an accident.

Taking a deep breath, Nick leaned against the beam and looked out over the choppy waters of Lake Manawa. He’d seen bigger lakes while traveling with Fred Ingersoll’s company, but he hadn’t seen many other places that rivaled the splendor of this resort. From his vantage point on the lake’s southeast shore, he could see two large pavilions, one on each side of the water, and a host of other buildings. Off to his right, the resort’s Midway lay quiet, waiting for the park to officially open in another month. And along the shore’s edge, a few rowboats lay upturned like turtles on the shore.

“Perrin!”

He turned and spotted Avery Nash approaching. Nick’s long legs covered the distance between him and the manager of Lake Manawa’s development in seconds. “Good afternoon, sir. To what do I owe the privilege?”

“I’ve got investors worried you won’t get this monster done in time for the park’s opening.” Nash, a wisp of a man who stood a good foot shorter than Nick, tried to sound authoritative.

“And as I told you before, we won’t be done by the opening, but we will be ready for business soon after.”

Mr. Nash hooked his thumbs in his vest pockets. “They were hoping you could speed things up.”

“I’ll keep on schedule, sir, but safety has to be a priority. We can’t rush or lives might be at stake, which wouldn’t do well for your business or mine.”

“Are you sure you can handle this job, Mr. Perrin? I know you’re new at this.”

“Sir, this may be the first roller coaster I’ve personally designed, but it’s the fifth one I’ve built. And my designs were approved by Fred Ingersoll himself.”

“So you said.” Nash sighed. “I’ll take the news to the investors, but I expect you to do everything in your power to hurry the construction.”

Nick met the man’s beady eyes. “If I can speed things up safely, I will, but I don’t take unnecessary chances with my coasters or my workers.”

3

Tears whitewashed Levi’s dirty cheeks. Lilly turned from the dishes she’d been washing and squatted in front of her son. “What’s got your face all scrunched up like a roly poly?”

“I lost him.”

“Who?”

“Mr. Wiggles.”

Lilly snagged a damp rag from the sink and dabbed at his face. “Your snake?”

“No, Mama. My snake’s a gardener snake. Her name is Flower.”

“So Mr. Wiggles is a worm?” Lilly stood and dipped her hands back in the sudsy water.

“No, silly Mama, he’s a spider.” He held up his hands, making a big circle with his thumbs and forefingers. “And he’s not in his tin anymore.”

Lilly glanced at the coffee tin lying upturned by the front door and shivered.
Lord, have mercy.
“Did you lose him before or after you came inside, Levi?”

“If I left him outside, he mighta got away.” Levi wiped his nose on his sleeve. “And he was happy because he had friends.”