Suitor by Design

Author:Christine Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-11-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Trapped.

Vince and Minnie had sandwiched Peter between dazzling promise and desperate need. He couldn’t back out now.

Even though he’d wired Vince earlier in the week and cut off future business, the man showed up anyway. If Peter had been alone, he would have sent Vince back, but Minnie’s desperate hope sealed the unhappy deal.

She didn’t know Peter’s suspicions, and he didn’t dare tell her. If Blake Kensington was involved, so was her oldest sister. If Minnie knew, she’d be an accomplice. Peter could take the consequences, but not Minnie. No, he must protect her at all costs.

He raked a hand through his hair, trying to figure a way out of this.

Then Vince invited them to supper at the local restaurant. Minnie looked to Peter with such excitement that he couldn’t refuse. He sure couldn’t let her go with Vince unescorted. So the three of them walked down the block to Lily’s.

The meal was miserable. They sat around a small table in the middle of the room, Minnie between the two men. Peter might not have been there for all the attention she gave him. Minnie focused completely on Vince, who went on and on about fancy nightclubs. Peter tried to point out their seamy underside, but Minnie was so caught up in Vince’s description that she didn’t hear a word he said.

“We had one swell little songbird in the joint last weekend.” Vince sighed. “Pretty as a peach and no older’n you.”

Minnie blushed. “I sang in the school choir. Second soprano. I would have been first, but the teacher thought Kate Vanderloo had the best voice.”

“That so?” Vince’s gaze drifted to the other diners, mostly couples and families, until it landed on the pretty, young waitress who had taken their order. “That gal there, is she a friend of yours?” He nodded toward the counter, where Lucy Billingsley was getting direction from Lillian Mattheson, middle-aged owner of the restaurant, on the proper way to carry the meals to their table.

Minnie wrinkled her nose. “Lucy? She’s still in high school. Kate is in college.”

Peter didn’t like the way Vince was looking at the girl, so he changed the subject while Lucy served their meals. “Minnie, is your pa doing better?”

Minnie blinked at him, as if just realizing he was there, and her excitement deflated. “We had to call in Doc Stevens.”

“I’m sorry.” Peter glanced across the table. Vince looked uncomfortable with the change of topic. Now that Lucy had vanished into the kitchen, he focused on shoveling the food into his mouth at a rapid rate. Peter turned back to Minnie. “I hope Doc was able to help.”

Minnie shrugged. “He says Daddy needs to get a little better before he can make the train trip to the sanitarium.”

Peter swallowed a gulp of coffee. “I don’t understand. The train should be the most comfortable way to travel.”

“Daddy would have to change trains in Grand Rapids and again in Kalamazoo. It’s too taxing.” She sighed. “I wish there was a direct route.

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