Tracie Peterson (21 page)

Harry was standing in the doorway at the bottom of the stairs, as if knowing this would be the best place to view Cara’s descent. Her breath caught in her throat at the first glimpse of him. Harry looked like something from the pages of a bridal magazine, she decided. This was what it would be like to come down the aisle to marry Harry Oberlin. He would be there in a black tuxedo just like this one, with his salt-and-pepper hair combed back and his dark blue eyes all afire for his bride. He would give her a look that spoke a million words of love—she saw it there now. The thought almost made Cara stumble. A year ago she wouldn’t have even considered the possibility of marriage, but with Harry in her life, it was an all-consuming idea.

“You look incredible,” Harry exclaimed. “I’m going to be the envy of the ball.”

“Only because everyone thinks I can get them in good with the governor.”

Harry laughed. “Not true. They’ll all be wanting to get in good with you.”

Her father attempted a whistle. “You sure did yourself up nice, Cara. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you look this good.” Cara felt herself blush from her head to her toes.

“Oh, leave her alone, Gus,” Hazel said, putting an arm through her husband’s. “She’s going to be too embarrassed to talk to Harry if you keep it up.”

Cara was grateful for her mother’s intervention. “I suppose we’d better go,” she suggested.

“I’ll get your coat,” Brianna offered, going to the closet. “Don’t forget you’re going to bring me back a souvenir from tonight.”

“I won’t forget,” Cara said, taking her wrap. “I don’t think I’ll wear this, but it’ll be smart to take along.”

Harry took the coat from her and offered her his arm. “Well, Cinderella, your chariot awaits.”

Brianna thought this particularly funny. “Be home by midnight, Mom, or it’ll turn into a pumpkin.”

“And you’ll have to leave a slipper on the steps so Prince Charming can find you again,” her father chimed in.

Harry turned and looked at her with such intensity that Cara almost forgot where they were going. “I’d always be able to find you. With or without the slipper.”

****

From the opening grand march to the final dance, Cara found herself mesmerized by Harry Oberlin. He was witty and entertaining and could maintain an intelligent conversation with any of the political elite. Cara knew she was treading on dangerous ground when she moved closer to him and allowed herself to dance cheek to cheek.
This is a magical moment,
she thought. A moment that she never wanted to forget, because even if nothing ever came of it, for the time being it was perfect.

“Are you tired?” Harry whispered against her ear.

“I should be,” Cara replied, “but I’m not. I’m enjoying myself too much.”

“Me too. How about we sneak out of here?”

Cara lifted her face to meet Harry’s mischievous expression. “Why, Lieutenant Oberlin, whatever do you have planned?”

“Just a little peace and quiet. Maybe a long serious talk.”

“Long and serious, eh?” Cara’s grin matched his.

Harry led her from the dance floor and maneuvered her through the crowds. Before she knew it, Cara was waiting for Harry to open the car door. A light snow was falling, but there was no wind and the brisk air was refreshing. Cara thought a long walk would have been enjoyable, and had she been more appropriately dressed, she might have suggested it.

“What’s on your mind, Mrs. Kessler?” asked Harry as he waited for her to get into the car.

“I like the way the snow is coming down,” she answered softly. “I enjoyed myself this evening, despite the circumstances.”

“Me too.”

Cara smiled and took her place in the car. Gracefully, she arranged the gown so that Harry could close the door. With alarming revelation, she realized that with very little difficulty, she could fall in love with Harry Oberlin.

They drove in silence for several minutes before Harry spoke. “This may sound strange, but I was wondering if you would tell me about your husband.”

“Jack?” Cara said in a startled voice. “You want to talk about Jack?”

Harry nodded. “I think it’s important that I know all about you.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t elaborate, and Cara felt her heart racing in reaction to words that went unspoken. “Well, Jack was a good man. We were longtime high school sweethearts and we both went to the same church.” She thought the words sounded awkward. Not so long ago she could have talked about Jack for hours to anyone who would have taken time to listen.

“I know about that stuff,” Harry replied, surprising her. He pulled the car into the lot of an all-night store and parked. “Melissa told me. I’ve read about your career with HEARTBEAT, and I even read about the accident. I want to know why Cara Brown married Jack Kessler.”

Cara smiled, staring up at the streetlights overhead. How could she explain? When was the first moment she knew she loved Jack? Truth be told, she couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t been a part of her world.

“I fell in love with his spirit,” she finally said. “He was kind, generous, and very patient. While other guys were into
sports or just goofing off, Jack was consumed with righting the wrongs of the world. He loved God more than anyone or anything else.” She paused. “When you’re seventeen and the guys your own age act thirteen, someone like Jack seems almost superhuman. It was hard not to love him, and most everyone did.”

“Sounds like a tough act to follow.”

Warning bells went off in Cara’s head. She liked Harry, but the harsh sneering face of Robert Kerns wouldn’t allow her any peace. Unable to think of anything else to say, Cara blurted out the one thing that had obsessed her mind before the dance. “Bob is sending me to Wichita.”

“Just like that?” Harry seemed to take the news matter-of-factly.

“If I’m to appear cooperative, I guess I have to go. I’m terrified of where this is all going to lead, and I’m taking my parents up on the suggestion that I send Brianna home with them to finish out the school year.”

“Why are you telling me all of this now?”

Cara drew a deep breath. There was no other way to deal with this issue but straightforward. “Because I care about you.”

“I had planned to express similar feelings about you.”

“I kind of had that figured,” she whispered.

“You make it sound like something bad. What’s the problem?”

Cara shook her head. “Don’t ask me to detail this for you. I don’t have the ability at this point.” She drew a deep breath and twisted her hands together. “I’m worried about what Kerns will do if he feels threatened by our relationship.”

Harry reached out to still her hands. “Kerns can’t interfere here unless you let him. I can handle myself—and Kerns—if necessary.”

She shook her head and was embarrassed to find tears on her cheeks. “I keep thinking about Teri Davis and her baby. I’m afraid for Brianna and my parents. I’m afraid for Melissa and Peter. I’m even afraid for you. I’ve selfishly put you in the middle of this melodrama, and I don’t know what to do.” She paused a moment and tried to steady her voice. “But I know this much. I don’t have the strength to go through losing someone else. I hardly knew Teri, but her death has shaken me in such a way that I still have nightmares about it. Kerns is heartless and vicious, and he won’t allow his agenda to be interrupted just because two people happen to lo—” She stopped abruptly. Looking up guiltily, she knew that Harry understood exactly what she’d left unspoken.

He touched her cheek and brushed away the tears. “Don’t cry. We’ll make this work.”

“No,” she said firmly. “I won’t risk it. I can’t. I lost Jack, and now Brianna is leaving to live with my parents. I can’t lose anyone else!”

Harry stared at her for a moment before starting the car. “Then I guess there’s nothing else to be said.” He turned the car for home and drove there in silence.

Cara kept expecting him to say something more, but he didn’t. Perhaps he knew talking would only complicate the issue. This wasn’t really about them. It was about the evil regime that surrounded them. Maybe Harry realized this, and because of it he knew that to react any other way would only damage their tenuous relationship.

At her apartment, Cara didn’t even wait for Harry to open the door. She hurried from the car and into the apartment. Knowing that Harry hadn’t even made the effort to stop her somehow made the matter worse. Closing the door behind her, Cara leaned against it and allowed the tears to fall in earnest. This was all Kerns’ fault! Robert Kerns had ruined her life, and in that moment she fully understood why Teri Davis had wanted revenge.

Thirty

The move to Wichita was a lonely one for Cara. Brianna had accompanied her grandparents back to Hays only days before her eleventh birthday, and Cara had never known such an emptiness. Harry hadn’t bothered to call since their fiasco the night of the ball, and even Melissa had to renege on coming on as her assistant. There was no way she could relocate to Wichita, but Melissa promised Cara she’d continue to dig into the Teri Davis story.

“Dear God,” Cara whispered, looking out from her new office window, “there’s no one here who knows me, and no one I can trust. I don’t like the place I’ve been put into, and I cannot abide the lies and deceit of Robert Kerns. Please show me what I’m supposed to do. I feel so lost, so alone.”

Around her were boxes of computer equipment and office supplies. Unpacking seemed an overwhelming task, and it was only made worse by the knowledge that Russell Owens was on his way to help her get started. She couldn’t tolerate Owens any better than she could Kerns. In fact, there was a side of Owens she couldn’t stomach at all. Owens was still not shy about his intention to date Cara. He promised her everything from a good time to an evening that would be long remembered. Cara in turn made it clear that she had no interest in advancing a relationship with him. But the suggestive remarks didn’t stop. And now he was coming to Wichita to spend a week working closely with her. The entire matter made Cara shudder.

Spreading the panels of the venetian blinds, Cara choked and sputtered at the dust they raised. It appeared the office had been neglected and long deserted. No doubt Kerns planned the same fate for her. Outside, the Wichita workday went on in the streets below, but it seemed unimportant and meaningless to Cara. She had a staff to hire and an agenda to maintain, but it was all so senseless. Without Brianna, her life seemed to contain an unfillable void, and without Harry, her heart seemed hopelessly empty.

****

In Topeka, Robert Kerns was enjoying his ride at the helm. People were quickly learning not to cross him and that his word was the final authority on all matters. He liked having the goods on people, and he loved knowing where the bodies were buried. Whenever someone would dare to step out of line, Kerns had little difficulty in pulling one skeleton after another out of the proverbial closet. It generally took little more than this to put people back in their places.

Taking the podium for his first major press conference since the election, Kerns felt much like a king surveying his subjects.

“I am putting forth a plan today,” he began, “that will change the structure of how we do business in Kansas. There is a great deal of waste in state government, and one of my campaign promises was to eliminate that waste. I propose to streamline our government and to promote efficiency in the running and management of day-to-day operations.”

He held everyone’s attention, and not so much as a cough was offered up in interference with his speech. “I am, therefore, proposing to begin my plan where it will be most effective—tax relief. I pledged to cut the state work force by at least ten thousand workers before the end of my term. This will in turn benefit the state in many ways. Offices will be leaner and more productive. The chances of idle workers or jobs being duplicated will be eliminated. Tax monies that now go to fund these workers and their benefits will be freed up to more vital areas such as helping to promote private industry, farming and ranching, and the individual Kansan. And, ultimately, taxes will come down for the average Kansan as privitization of government work becomes reality.

“Privitization will also allow local industries around the state to do jobs currently being done by state workers. These jobs are paid for by state taxes and are a continuous drain on the budget. If these same jobs are performed by the private sector, we benefit not only the taxpayer, but also local people who are currently jobless.

“I am also going to seek additional changes in the way purchasing is performed here in the state. I intend to see that favored status is given to in-state businesses in order to keep Kansas dollars in Kansas.” He paused for effect and leaned toward the audience. “I am dedicated to seeing this state become even greater, and I believe if we work on this together, we can get the job done.”

His conclusion opened the floor for questions, and Melissa Jordon managed to be the first one to speak. “How do you propose cutting ten thousand workers to be a benefit to the state? As unemployed workers, they will naturally seek compensation that will be a drain on unemployment funds.”

“For the most part, we will rely on attrition for the cuts in personnel. At our last estimation, there were over three thousand people who could qualify for retirement at the present. There is also another five thousand who could qualify for early retirement if a strong incentive could be offered. As you know, we use a points system for retirement. Age plus years of service have to equal a certain number. I am proposing that number be drastically reduced in order to allow a greater number of people the opportunity to take advantage of this.”

“But what happens if you can’t entice people to retire?” another reporter questioned.

“If the package is good enough, they’ll want to take advantage of it.”

“What kind of package will you support?” the same reporter asked. “Buy-outs? Health insurance coverage? And if so, wouldn’t these things defeat the purpose of trimming the budget?”

Kerns was not happy with the way the press conference was going. He’d hoped the reporters would hear tax cuts and run
with the ball. He’d figured on at least partial support toward promoting privitization.