“You’ve been gone a long time,” Sean O’Connor said. Patrick’s oldest reached for the pepper and bombarded his potatoes with a monumental dose.
Specks of the seasoning floated in the air like dust motes, causing Charity to snatch the napkin from her lap and stifle a sneeze. She sniffed and arched a brow. “Goodness, Sean, why don’t you just take the cap off and pour the stuff on? You’re as bad as Mitch. Now you won’t even be able to taste Mother’s food.”
Sean’s blue eyes twinkled as he grinned at his sister, and his blond hair gleamed in the sunlight. “Oh, I’ll taste it, all right. That’ll be the day when a bachelor who lives on his own doesn’t enjoy his mother’s food. And speaking of Mitch, where is he?” He glanced around. “And Steven?”
Charity snatched the pepper from Sean’s hand and moved it far away. “The love of my life volunteered to eat outside with the kids.”
“You mean
you
volunteered him to sit outside with the kids,” Faith said with a chuckle. She glanced at her parents. “But where
is
Steven?”
Patrick reached for the salt and shook it unmercifully over his potatoes. A frown creased his lips. “Apparently your brother had a prior engagement.
Again.
”
Marcy patted her husband’s arm. “He’s a young man in college, Patrick, and you know how independent young people are today. Goodness, sometimes I think you’re way too hard on him.” She smiled her apologies at Brady. “Steven promised he’d join us later.”
“I doubt anyone here wants to stay up that late, darlin’,” Patrick said with a droll smile.
Sean grinned, an ear of corn in hand. “So, how long’s it been, Luke? Six, seven years?”
“Almost seven since I left Boston after Gram died. I turned sixteen when I went to live with my aunt in New York, but I can tell you, it feels like a lifetime.”
“Brady tells us you’re a lawyer now. We’re so proud of you, Luke.” Marcy’s forehead puckered. “You did get rolls, didn’t you? They’re not long for this world, you know, with Brady and Collin.”
Collin looked up from buttering one of three rolls on his plate. “Hey, Sean’s no lightweight, either.”
Dimples deepened on either side of Sean’s lazy grin. “Yeah, but I’m the good son, and Brady’s the birthday boy, so that makes you the – ”
“Pig-in-law?” Katie stood in the door in a fresh crimson-colored shift, arms crossed and brow cocked. Chuckles rounded the table while she sashayed into the room, flicking Collin on the head as she moseyed to her seat.
Luke rose while he waited for Katie to settle in, then sat back down with a grin.
“Watch it, Katie Rose,” Collin quipped. “Don’t get me started on your grace and poise with beverages.”
Katie flipped her napkin open with a smirk and placed it on her lap. The lift of her chin defied the blush on her cheeks. She avoided Luke’s gaze, obviously more interested in riling her brother-in-law than conversing with company.
Luke squinted hard, trying to see the pigtailed brat he’d once pestered within an inch of her sanity. Her manner seemed easy and casual as she volleyed insults with Collin, but he didn’t miss the nervous flicker in her cheek or the death grip on the fork in her hand. The grin widened on his lips. She was older now, prettier and definitely more sophisticated, but underneath that head-turning facade, he sensed she was still the same little tyrant of a girl, armed with sharp quips and an aloof manner.
Patrick cleared his throat. “Luke, I think I speak for everyone when I say how proud we are of your incredible accomplishment. Brady told us how hard you’ve worked. A law degree for the most privileged of young men is impressive enough, but to attain such heights through the sweat of your brow, working a number of jobs along with your studies, well, that is truly a remarkable feat. I commend you. Have you nailed down a position with a law firm yet?”
Luke took a quick swallow of tea to wash down his food. “As a matter of fact I have, Mr. O’Connor, but not with a law firm. I’ve taken a job at the Boston Children’s Aid Society.” A fine mist of lemonade sprayed across the table as Katie choked on her drink.
“Hey, Sweet Pea, you okay?” Sean patted while Katie wheezed.
Collin leaned forward with a glint in his eye. “Yeah, squirt, are you okay . . . or do we need to remove all liquids from the room?”
Faith elbowed her husband, then handed her water to Katie. “Maybe the pulp is giving you trouble. Here, take a drink of my water, but slowly.”
Katie obeyed, her face as scarlet as her dress. She handed the glass back and took a deep breath, one hand to her heaving chest. “D-Did you say . . . the B-Boston Children’s Aid Society?”
Luke blinked. “Yeah, I’m the new assistant director. Why, you know somebody who works there?”
A low, throaty chuckle rumbled from the far end of the table. “As a matter of fact, she does,” Patrick said.
“Father!” Katie’s voice was little more than a croak.
“Who?” Luke asked, his gaze scanning from Katie’s horror to Patrick’s amusement.
Color drained from Katie’s cheeks as she leaned forward, a knife clenched in her hands. “Father, no!
Please
. . . you can’t! This changes everything.”
“Now, Katie, after our talk last night, you and I agreed that volunteering at the BCAS this summer would be a profitable experience for you.”
Katie bounded to her feet. “I didn’t agree – you coerced me! Mother, please . . . this is my last summer before law school. Can’t you make him see that I need time to plan and prepare?”
A tiny wrinkle creased the bridge of Marcy’s nose. Her gaze flitted from her daughter to her husband and back, reflecting her worry. “Darling, your father and I have discussed it at length, and I honestly think you’ll love the BCAS – ”
“No!” Katie slammed her fist on the table, upsetting her utensils. “I won’t do it.”
“Katie Rose – sit down this instant!” The edge in Patrick’s tone shivered the air, cooling all smiles in the room. With a quiet pat of his wife’s hand, he inhaled deeply, then released it slowly as his gaze returned to the daughter still rooted to the floor, her features as stiff as his. He lowered his voice to a level of warning. “Sit down, young lady,
now
. And-not-another-word.”
In total fascination, Luke watched a battle being waged between the most stubborn girl he’d ever seen and the man from whom she’d obviously inherited it. Time seemed to still as Katie stared her father down, every muscle strained with resistance. He could hear her shallow breathing as her chest rose and fell in indignation, and the surge of her will appeared so strong that her body seemed to shimmer with intent, ready to explode, like a warm and shaken bottle of pop. And then painfully slow, as if all combustion had seeped out from her bottled anger, she lowered to her seat, the pout on her lips as flat as a week-old glass of Nehi.
Patrick released a heavy breath and speared a clump of green beans. He slid his wife a sideways glance and patted her hand, obviously noting the look of concern on her face. “Now, Marcy, we both know that this is exactly what Katie needs. She’ll be working with lawyers and acquiring valuable experience before entering law school in the fall.”
“Law school?” Luke stared at Patrick and then at Katie. His brow jagged high. “You’re going to law school?”
Brady leaned close to Luke’s ear, his voice a loaded whisper. “Easy . . .”
Katie’s blue eyes narrowed, as if daring Luke to utter a single word. Her chin cocked up a fraction of an inch. “That’s right. Women have minds too, you know.”
Luke ignored Brady’s subtle jab and planted both arms on the table. He leaned in, his lips twitching with tease. “Of course they do. And I for one am glad opportunities are opening up for women in a number of fields. I guess I just didn’t peg you as someone who would be keen on a career. You just seem so much more suited to – ”
“Marcy, dinner is delicious.” Brady hooked a firm arm around Luke’s shoulders and squeezed. “Thank you for the birthday celebration, and for inviting Luke too.”
“Absolutely, Mrs. O’Connor, everything is wonderful,” Luke agreed with a warm smile.
“More suited to what?” Katie said, her tone as serrated as the knife in her hand.
“Boy, these rolls melt in your mouth, don’t they, Luke?” Brady sounded desperate.
“More-suited-to-what?” she repeated in a deadly whisper.
“They sure do, Mrs. O’Connor. Best I’ve ever had, as a matter of fact.” Luke buttered another piece of a roll and popped it in his mouth, allowing his gaze to settle on Katie once again. He swallowed and grinned. “Oh, I don’t know . . . marrying well?”
Katie gouged her chicken breast with a fork and slashed off a slice with her knife. Her eyes hardened and her smile was brittle. “For your information, I intend to do both, thank you.”
“So, Luke,” Lizzie said in a rush, “Brady says you’ve had offers from a number of law firms. Why the Boston Children’s Aid Society?”
Luke glanced up at Lizzie and released a quiet breath.
Why?
His smile tempered at the memory of nights spent on the streets of New York, huddled with other homeless youth or “street arabs” as they were called. Lost kids who sought refuge in the alleys and doorways of Mulberry Street, otherwise known as “Death’s Thoroughfare.” The festering sore of New York slums, rife with sewage and rats. Foul. Rancid. Corrupt.
And home.
At least until his aunt’s current boyfriend would desert her once again. A lump shifted in Luke’s throat. “Let’s just say I owe a favor. The Children’s Aid Society in New York offered me a hand when I needed it most. The pay isn’t all that great, I know, but the payoff is. For me, it’s rewarding to help get kids off the street.”
Faith’s eyes lit with excitement. She propped her elbows on the table. “Oh, Luke, I’m so proud of you! Tell me, do you get involved with the out-placement program, the one that sends orphans to the Midwest on trains? A friend of mine at church had a neighbor who died in the Spanish Flu epidemic about ten years ago. She was a war widow who left two little boys all alone. According to my friend, the Children’s Aid Society sent the boys to Missouri on an orphan train. They were six and eight at the time, but both boys are doing well in Sedalia, Missouri, I understand.”
Luke’s heart swelled with pride. “Yeah, Faith, I do, although the train traffic is certainly dwindling. When Reverend Brace initiated what he called his ‘family plan’ in 1854, he wanted to see street orphans taken into a home and treated as part of a loving family. Since then, over 200,000 kids have been rescued from the streets and placed in foster families across the country. Some stay here in the East, but others get placed in the Midwest and even out West.” He quickly gulped some tea to diffuse the tightness in his chest. “But the results weren’t always positive, so attitudes are changing. Recently, state and local laws are focusing more on keeping families together, which is actually a pretty good thing. Especially when you realize that many of these kids are not orphans at all. Quite a few have one or two parents who are still alive, but due to neglect, abandonment, or just too many mouths to feed, the kids end up on the streets fending for themselves.”
Luke shifted, suddenly aware his hand was fisted on the table. He slowly relaxed his fingers and took another drink of tea, then swallowed hard and managed a tight smile. “Like me, I guess. I won’t lie to you – it’s pretty tough seeing kids who have been discarded like trash, day in and day out. But the joy I get out of helping them . . . well, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” His gaze veered to Katie and held. Mischief twitched at the corners of his lips. “Although to tell you the truth,” he said with a hint of the Arkansas drawl he always reserved for a tease, “there are days when I’d rather be jerking sodas.”
Katie shot to her feet. “Coffee, anyone?”
“And how about dessert too?” Faith said, rising with a smile. “Lizzie made birthday cake, and I brought brownies.” She rounded the table to collect dirty dishes and stopped. A frown crimped her brow. “Katie, are you all right? You look flushed.”
The bloom in Katie’s cheeks blossomed into deep rose, bleeding into her face and neck. “I’m fine, Faith, it’s just warm in here.”
Lizzie snatched a napkin to fan her face. “Oh, thank you! I thought it was me.”
“Yeah, Lizzie, I’d go easy on your husband’s birthday candles this year,” Collin said with a grin. He flicked Brady’s head. “No sense in setting the place on fire.”
Sean righted his coffee cup with a chuckle and a wink in Katie’s direction. “No worries there – Sweet Pea can always put it out.”
Katie shoved her chair in with a wry smile and snatched Sean’s dirty plate, piling it on top of her own. “Not real smart, brother dear, mocking the person who’ll be pouring your hot,
hot
coffee.”
“Ouch . . . sounds dangerous,” Luke said with a grin.
Her eyes seared him. “Depends. Having coffee, Luke?” she asked in a honeyed tone.
He lounged back in his chair and gave her a hooded smile. “Not on your life . . .
Katydid
.”
With a press of her jaw, she spun on her heel and headed for the kitchen. She paused, one hand braced to the swinging door. “Everybody want coffee? Or should I bring in the tea too?”
Luke opened his mouth to retort, but shut it again when Katie shot him an icy look.
“No coffee for me, Katie. I need lemonade and lots of ice, but I’ll get it.” With a faint groan, Lizzie lumbered up, but Faith gently pushed her back in her seat. “Mother, Lizzie – stay put. Katie and I’ll bring in drinks and dessert while Charity rounds up Mitch and the kids.”
“Sweet saints, we have ice cream, I hope?” Patrick’s voice reflected concern.
Marcy squeezed his hand and shot Luke a smile. “Yes, dear, Luke was nice enough to stop by Robinson’s and bring Brady’s favorites – butter pecan and vanilla.”
“Oh, bless you!” Lizzie said with a grateful smile. She loosened the silk tie of her dress and commenced to fanning herself with a napkin. “If it’s this hot in May, can you imagine how bad the rest of the summer will be? Bless you, Luke.”
“Yeah, bud, thanks.” Brady stretched and draped his arm across the back of Luke’s chair while the others continued chatting around the table. “Ice cream’s the perfect thing to cool us all off.”