Then Came You by Wendy Lindstrom

Author:Wendy Lindstrom [Lindstrom, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Victorian Romance, Fredonia New York, New York Times Bestselling Author, USA Today Bestselling Author
Publisher: Rustic Studio Publishing
Published: 2015-09-05T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Later that day, Amelia closed her father’s journal and rubbed her eyes. She’d spent hours in the office at the lumberyard looking for errors, but her father’s books were accurate. The mill was earning a profit, just as Kyle had suspected. It wasn’t much, but it had been enough to keep the mill operating without the need to mortgage anything. So where could he possibly have been spending his money?

She rubbed her temples, her bleary gaze resting on the contents of the open desk drawer while she racked her brain for ideas. Not only did she want to know for her own peace of mind, but she wanted to find the answer for Kyle, to feel proud that she’d helped him.

She dug out the dry ink bottle that had kept the drawer from closing, but before shutting it, she ran her finger across several old writing utensils her father had used at one time or another. “What did you do with your money, Papa?” she asked, longing to hear him answer, to hear the sound of his voice, which she missed so deeply.

Something shiny peeked from beneath the pens and she dug out a coin-like object. It was an engraved, flat piece of mother-of-pearl. She flipped it over and studied it from several different angles in order to read the inscription. TLD was engraved on the back side. Thomas L. Drake? That didn’t make sense. Her father’s middle name was Reginald, so why would he have an l stuck between his initials?

She dug through the drawer and found two more pieces, but they were more worn than the first piece she’d discovered.

The office door swung open and she glanced up, hoping Kyle or Jeb or whoever was coming in the door would know what the odd pieces were and what the l stood for.

To her amazement, her mother stepped inside, her expression tentative as she scanned the office. Her gaze lingered on a ragged old flannel jacket that Amelia’s father had worn. It was lying across the top of a file cabinet now because Amelia couldn’t bear to throw it away.

Her mother hugged her arms across her stomach, her eyes filled with pain. “Please tell me there is something here that I can help you with. I can’t spend another minute alone in that house.”

“Oh, Mama.” Amelia slipped the mother-of-pearl pieces into her shirt pocket and hurried to her mother’s side, ashamed that she hadn’t been spending more time with her. “I’m sorry. I haven’t considered how miserable you must be at home.”

“I didn’t come here to make you feel bad. I just need something to do. I can’t stand being alone any longer.” The dispirited expression on her mother’s face broke Amelia’s heart. Although she couldn’t think of a single thing her mother could do, Amelia vowed to find some type of project for her.

“Come on, Mama. Let’s make a cup of tea and visit a while.” She took her mother to the mess hall and put the kettle on the stove.

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