When Love Calls (30 page)

 37 

“Hey! What’s your hurry?”

Hannah stopped and turned at the sound of Lincoln’s voice. He jogged up to her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him without letting go.

He eased her back but kept his hands on her arms. “What’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”

“Are you really okay?” Emotion thickened her voice.

“I’m a little out of breath from chasing you, but other than that I’m fine.” He cocked his head to the side. “Why?”

“Upstairs. A shot was fired in a courtroom.”

“Which one?” He glanced upward. “Did you think I was there?”

She nodded.

“My case finished early. Listen, I need to go see what happened, but first I want to show you the surprise I picked up for you.” He swept his arm toward the front door.

She turned and spotted the surprise—all six foot two of him. Her heart leapt, and she hurried across the marble floor much more quickly than any proper Hello Girl should dare.

But it was worth it.

Walt, freshly shaven and in clean clothes, drew her into his arms and lifted her off the ground.

Free. Walt was free, thank goodness, and freedom smelled like Diamond C soap.

Jealousy barbed Lincoln as he watched Walt sweep Hannah into his arms, but he shoved the unwelcome feeling aside. In the battle for Hannah’s heart, he’d already won, and if he loved her, he needed to accept that Walt would always be a part of her life.

Walt released her, and Lincoln joined them and placed his hand on the small of Hannah’s back. She was his, and Walt might as well know that.

Hannah smiled at him. “Why did they release Walt?”

“After the fire the other night, it wasn’t hard to convince the detective they had the wrong man in custody. I went to talk to him first thing this morning.”

“Thank you.” Pure joy radiated from her.

“I want to head upstairs now and see who was hurt,” Lincoln said. “Walt, I trust you can find a way home?”

“I’ll take the streetcar. It’s only a half-mile walk from the end of the line, and I have a new appreciation for being able to walk in open air.”

“Then I’d better get going.” Lincoln offered Walt his hand.

Walt shook it. “Thank you for everything.”

“My pleasure.” Lincoln placed a kiss on Hannah’s cheek. “And I’ll see
you
later.”

Since Walt wanted to walk a bit before he got on the streetcar to head home, Hannah asked him to accompany her on a visit to the open-air market on Locust during lunch. She’d checked with Jo before leaving, filled her in on Lincoln’s well-being, and requested an early lunch so she could see Walt off. Jo had told her to enjoy herself.

Walking beside Walt on the Mulberry Street sidewalk seemed strange. His gait was longer than Lincoln’s, and when he took her elbow to step off the curb, his touch was foreign. Hannah glanced at her oldest friend. It was probably because he’d been locked in
jail for the last month. She’d simply grown unaccustomed to his presence.

Four horse-drawn wagons were lined up in the vacant lot where the open-air market was held. Bushel baskets filled with spring produce lined the wagons.

“Do you know how good all of this looks after the food I had in jail?” Walt held up a handful of spinach. “Even this is tempting, and you know how much I like spinach.” He wrinkled his nose.

She laughed. “Well, give it to me. I love it.” She paid the farmer and put the fresh greens in her basket.

“What about Lincoln? Does he like spinach?” Walt stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Was Walt digging? She shrugged and added a generous amount of shell peas to her basket. “That hasn’t come up.”

He removed the basket from her arm. “He took me to his house to get cleaned up. It’s really something.”

“Yes, he’s quite proud of it.” How did she get him to end this line of questioning without being rude?

“He has expensive tastes. He’s not like you and me.” Walt picked up a small head of cauliflower and handed it to Hannah, brushing her hand in the process. “Even his washroom has a china sink, but you probably know that.”

“I haven’t seen his washroom, only the dining room and parlor for Charlotte’s graduation dinner.” She moved around to the other side of the wagon and selected a pint basket of strawberries. “He loves these. Maybe I should get two for when he comes over.”

“Is he over at your house often?” A note of jealousy rang in his words.

“I guess you could say that.”

Walt scowled. “You think that’s wise? I mean, is it setting a good example for your sisters?”

Hannah shot him a glare. “We do nothing inappropriate. I thought you knew me better.”

“I do know you. Probably better than you know yourself.”

She found that hard to believe, but the sentiment brought a smile
to her face anyway. Dear Walt. He did want her to be happy. As the awkwardness seemed to melt away between them, she found herself recalling some of her favorite times with Walt. Fishing at the pond. Getting caught stealing apples from the neighbor. Putting on
Romeo and Juliet
in school. Walt had made a horrible Romeo, and he kept complaining about Shakespeare not speaking plain English.

Hannah traced her lips with her finger. What kind of Romeo would Lincoln make? She had no doubt his “she doth teach the torches to burn bright” would make her weak in the knees.

After purchasing a pint of strawberries, she offered them to Walt. He popped a handful in his mouth and moaned. Strawberry juice trickled down his chin.

“You never could eat without making a mess.” She laughed and dabbed at the corners of his lips with her handkerchief. “Let’s go. That’s all I can afford today.”

Turning down Locust Street, she looked up at the Observatory Building. With a five-story tower on top of the ten-story building, it was the tallest office building in the city. She wondered if the view from the top was anything like the view from the state capitol.

She grabbed Walt’s arm. “Let’s go up there to the top.”

“Why would we do that?”

“To see the view.”

“It’s the same view from a different angle.”

She sighed and took her basket from him. Once Walt made up his mind about something, he seldom changed it—especially if he thought he was being sensible.

As she and Walt passed beneath the brightly colored storefront awnings, her thoughts wandered. Walt knew her based on who she was. Lincoln knew who she wanted to become. Walt was familiar, safe. Lincoln was fresh, a challenge. As much as she enjoyed spending time with Walt, right now her heart ached for Lincoln.

They crossed the street and stopped in front of the Savory Hotel. With its neoclassical cornices, it was her favorite hotel in the city. She peered in the window to see the hotel’s plush lobby. Behind her, the clopping of horses’ hooves on the paved brick street blended
with the sound of someone’s automobile. Would automobiles someday outnumber carriages?

Walt placed his hands on her shoulders. “Hannah, I need to tell you something.”

She turned, and the look in his eyes made her nerves tingle. “What is it?”

“I had a lot of time to think in jail, and I hope you know I have your best interests at heart.”

Hannah stiffened. Nothing good came from a sentence prefaced by that.

He took her hand. “I think you’re making a mistake with Lincoln Cole.”

“That’s none of your business.” She yanked her hand away and marched down the sidewalk.

He fell in step beside her. “I know what you need better than anyone.”

“No, I know what I need more than you do.” She stopped at the corner where the streetcar would pick him up. “And for your information, he loves me and I love him.”

“Then I’d say you have some deciding to do.”

The streetcar approached, bell clanging. She held her basket in front of her like a barrier. “And why is that?”

“Because I love you too.”

Dropping into a chair in the conference room at the courthouse, Lincoln crossed his ankle over his knee and adjusted his tie.

Pete looked up from the documents before him. “Did you get Cedric home okay? How serious were his injuries?”

“He got a pretty good knock on the head, but I think he’ll live. He said his client reached for the bailiff’s gun and fired the shot before they could subdue him.” Lincoln drummed his fingers on the table. “After I took him home, I went to visit the fire marshal about the Grennen place.”

“And?”

“He found something that indicated some sort of an infernal device.”

Pete’s brows tipped inward. “Consisting of what?”

Lincoln shrugged. “Dynamite, caps, and fuses, I suppose.”

“But what triggered it?”

“He wasn’t sure how it was triggered. The evidence probably exploded along with the porch.” Lincoln leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table, clasping his hands in front of him. “I don’t think there’s any way this fire is related to the last ones, but the fire marshal feels they are because of the Western Union link.”

“It’s a pretty weak link this time too, but if you disagree with him and tell the detective, you’ll be putting your client back in jail.”

Lincoln nodded.

“It’s a tough call. Are you going to tell Hannah about this?”

“There’s no need, really, and there’s nothing she could do except fret about Walt being arrested again.”