Secrets of the Heart (34 page)

Meggie pumped her legs as Alice Downing pushed her in the rope swing.

“Make me swing higher, Miss Alice! I want to go higher!”

“Meggie, you’re too little to go higher. When you get bigger, I’ll push you higher.”

“I’m big enough. I’m five years old. Please! Push me higher.”

“Well, maybe just a little,” said the nanny as Meggie’s momentum brought her back from a forward swing. She gave a little stronger shove, and as Meggie reached the peak of the arc, something caught her attention just outside the back fence.

A woman was moving away from the fence. As the swing went backward and carried her down, Meggie said in a low tone, “Mommy!”

“What did you say, honey?” asked Alice, giving her another forward shove.

Meggie didn’t answer. Her attention was on the fence as she swung forward and reached the peak again. This time she saw the woman hurrying along the street, but her back was still toward her, and she couldn’t tell the color of the woman’s hair. The woman was about her mother’s size, and Meggie had lived every day longing for her mother to come for her. In her mind, the woman was her mother.

“Mommy!” she cried as she went backward and down again.

Alice frowned and grabbed the seat, pulling Meggie to a stop.
“Honey, why are you calling for your mommy?”

“I saw her!”

Meggie slipped out of the swing and ran across the yard toward the back fence. “Mommy! Mommy!”

“Meggie! Come back here!”

By the time Alice reached her, Meggie was peering between the slats, repeatedly crying for her mother.

“Honey, come on now,” Alice said, taking hold of her. “That couldn’t have been your mommy. She’s gone away and lives a long way from here. Your grandparents found out she moved way out west. Come on. It’s time to go in now.”

“No! Mommy wouldn’t go away! She loves me, and that was her! She was looking at me through the fence! I saw her!”

Meggie struggled to free herself from the nanny’s grasp, but Alice forced her back toward the house.

Maria Stallworth had heard the commotion and appeared on the back porch, frowning. As nanny and child drew near, she said, “What’s she crying about, Alice?”

“She said she saw her mother, ma’am…when I was pushing her in the swing. But of course it wasn’t Kathleen.”

“It was too!” Meggie cried, “I saw her out there by the fence when the swing took me high! It was my mommy! I know she was looking at me through the fence because she loves me and misses me!”

“Bring Meggie in the house,” Maria said. “Take her upstairs to her room, then come see me. I’ll be in the library.”

Moments later, Alice entered the library to find Maria pacing the floor.

When Maria saw the nanny, she stopped and said, “Did you get a look at this woman?”

“No, ma’am.”

Maria’s age-lined face was like stone. Her eyes were coals of fire as she hissed, “I’ve had a feeling down deep inside me that Kathleen
was scheming to get Meggie back. I told John about it months ago. And now she’s back!” She drew in a deep breath and wrung her shaking hands. “If she tries it, shell be sorry!”

Tom Harned returned to the kitchen after washing up and changing clothes. “Sure smells good, sweetheart,” he told Kathleen.

“I hope it tastes as good as it smells. Would you go tell Mommy’s big angel boy to leave the bird on the porch and come in for supper, please? He needs to wash his hands.”

Tom looked at her askance. “Don’t you mean ‘Mommy’s
little
angel boy?”

Kathleen shrugged. “No more. He told me the other day that since he’s going on eight years old he’s too big to be my
little
angel boy. He still wants to be my angel boy, but now he’s my
big
angel boy.”

Tom laughed and headed out the door. He found Caleb kneeling beside the shoe box.

“Hi, Dad! Did Mommy tell you about Mr. Robin?”

“She sure did, son.” Tom dropped to one knee and looked at the little bird. “Look’s like Mommy’s got his leg bandaged up good.”

“Mm-hmm. Mr. Robins gonna get well. He’s not gonna die.”

Tom stroked the robin’s head with the tip of his forefinger. “Between you and Mommy, I’m sure he’ll get well. Caleb…”

“Yes, sir?”

“Does Mommy know you have her shoe box?”

“Mm-hmm. I asked her when Mrs. Mitchell was here if I could have one of the shoe boxes to make a bed for Mr. Robin. She said I could.”

“Did you…ah…find the letter that’s on the dresser in this shoe box?”

“Uh-huh. I put the letter on the dresser ‘cause I knew Mommy would want it.”

“That’s a good boy, son. Well, it’s time to eat. Mommy said I should tell you to leave Mr. Robin out here on the porch and get your hands washed.”

“Okay, Dad.” Caleb rose to his feet. Bending low over the box, he said, “You rest, now, Mr. Robin. Mommy and I will feed you after we have supper. Then you can come and sleep in my room.” The boy looked up at his father. “It
will be
all right for Mr. Robin to sleep in my room, won’t it?”

Tom smiled. “Unless your mother objects. And I don’t think she will.”

Moments later, when the Harneds sat down to supper, Tom reached across the corner for Kathleen’s hand. Caleb took her other hand and bowed his head. Tom prayed, asking the Lord to bless the food to their strength and nourishment, and thanked Him for His bounties.

When the amen was said, Caleb looked at his mother. “Mommy, is it all right if Mr. Robin sleeps in my room tonight?”

“Sure, honey. That’s fine.”

“I’ve been talking to Mr. Robin about asking Jesus into his heart.” Caleb frowned. “How can Mr. Robin get saved? He can’t talk.”

“Mr. Robin can’t get saved, son,” Tom said. “Birds don’t sin, so they don’t have to be saved.”

“Oh. Okay.”

As the meal progressed, Tom grew quiet, pensive even.

Caleb talked about his bird, wanting to know what his mother was going to feed it. When that was answered, he asked how long it would be until Mr. Robin would be well and could fly again. He went on about how he would miss the bird when it flew away.

When Caleb finally wound down and stopped talking, Kathleen looked at Tom and said, “Honey, is something troubling you?”

“Hmm?” he said, raising his eyebrows.

“You’re unusually quiet, Is something bothering you? Does something at the mine have you concerned?”

Tom forced a smile. “Everything’s going well at the mine. In fact, I meant to tell you when I first got home that we hit a new vein today on the north side of the mountain. It appears to be even better than the one we’ve been working all this time. If it proves out like that, people will be calling you ‘that rich lady.’”

“That’ll be something! But I want to know why you’re so quiet this evening. It isn’t like you to let Caleb and me do all the talking.”

Tom pressed another smile on his lips. “I have something to discuss with you later on this evening.”

“All right. It’s a date.”

When supper was over, Tom and Caleb helped Kathleen wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen. As she was putting the finishing touches on the stove and cupboard, Tom said, “Caleb, go out and get Mr. Robin and take him to your room. I need to talk to Mommy alone.”

“When are you gonna feed him, Mommy?” Caleb asked.

“I’ll do that after your father and I have our talk, honey. You go on now.”

The boy went outside and quickly returned with the bird in its box.

When Kathleen saw the shoe box in Caleb’s hands, her heart seemed to stop, and her throat went dry. She started to ask him what he was doing with it when she had a vague recollection of him asking to use a shoe box that afternoon during Donna’s visit.

Why did the shoe box have to be
that
one?

Caleb left the kitchen, and Kathleen stood like a statue, looking at her husband.

Tom moved close to her and said, “Sweetheart, why have you kept Meggie a secret from me?”

Kathleen flinched as if she had been struck. Her hands trembled as she put them to her mouth.

Tom gently took her in his arms and said, “Is Meggie the reason you need the thirty thousand dollars?”

Kathleen’s whole body began to shake.

Tom held her close for a few seconds, then eased back and looked into her tear-dimmed eyes.

“Who are these Stallworths, Kathleen? And why do they have your daughter?”

“I need to sit down.” Kathleen barely choked out the words.

Tom pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and held on to her as she sat down. Then he grabbed another chair, sat in front of her, and took both of her hands in his.

“Kathleen, I love you with everything that’s in me. Please don’t be afraid. Just tell me about it.”

Tears trickled down her pale cheeks. “Thank you for being so kind to me,” she said shakily. “You have every right to be angry.”

“Honey, I know I shouldn’t have read the letter, since it’s your private property. But…but I’ve been so concerned about your secret preoccupation that I had to see if the letter had anything to do with it.”

Kathleen took a shuddering breath. “It’s all right, darling. I wish I’d told you earlier.”

Tom looked deep into her eyes and said, “Kathleen, I love you more than life itself. I know you had a good reason for keeping the secret, or you wouldn’t have done it.”

She broke into convulsive sobs, and Tom took her in his arms again, holding her until she brought her emotions under control. When she pulled back, he took her hands in his once more and said, “First, tell me how old Meggie is.”

“She’s…five. Her name is Megan Kathleen.”

“And these Stallworths?”

“They’re Peter’s parents. I…I never told you his last name, and you never asked.”

Tom frowned. “Stallworth…Chicago…wait a minute! Are you talking about
John
Stallworth, the guy who owns the Great Lakes Railroad Company?”

Kathleen nodded.

“You were married to John Stallworths son?”

“Yes.”

“And you came here with a mere five hundred dollars in your purse?”

“When Peter died, his parents manipulated the finances and kept every penny. I didn’t get a thing. Three of the five hundred was what Peter and I had in our joint checking account. The other two hundred is money I managed to put aside from my washing and ironing jobs.”

“And Meggie? They have her against your will?”

“Please, darling, could I have some water?”

Tom jumped up and poured a cup of water from the water bucket.

“Thank you,” she whispered, and drank until the cup was empty.

“More?”

“No, thank you.”

Tom took the cup from her hand, set it on the table, and said, “I want to hear the whole story.”

So Kathleen finally told the story, giving Tom every sordid detail of the Stallworths’ heartless deeds against her from the time she and Peter got married. She explained how they used their great wealth and social power to take Meggie away from her through the court, even resorting to bribing the judge.

“I was afraid if I told you about Meggie, you wouldn’t want me to be your mail order bride. You know…you wouldn’t want to get entangled in such a mess. And after we were married, I didn’t want to tell you because I feared that you might fly off the handle and go take on John Stallworth with what little money you had, and lose. Or you would tell me to forget ever trying to get Meggie back. I had to know I had enough money to go and take him on through the best attorneys available. Do you understand?”

Tom nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

“I’m so glad. Oh, Tom, I love you so much!”

They held each other in a tight embrace.

“Sweetheart,” Tom said in her ear, “as bad as this thing is, I’m actually relieved.”

“Really?”

“My imagination had run wild as I tried to guess what your secret might be. All kinds of things went through my mind. I was afraid it might be something that could ultimately take you away from me.”

Kathleen drew back and looked into his eyes. “Only death could do that, and I plan on living to be a hundred and ten.”

Their lips came together in a tender kiss, then Kathleen said, “I’m relieved, myself, just to have this thing out in the open between us.”

“We’ve got a task in front of us, Kathleen, but we’ll face it together. I don’t know how you’ve stood it being away from your little girl and not knowing how things were going for her. This Hennie O’Banion…she seems like a pretty nice person.”

“She is, Tom. Hennie has been looking in on Meggie, peeking through the back fence of the Stallworth estate. At least I’ve known that she’s alive and well.”

“And Hennie is a Christian?”

There was a second or two of silence, then Kathleen nodded. “Yes.”

“I hope I get to meet her someday.”

Kathleen met his gaze, and tears misted her eyes again. “Oh, Tom, I hated hiding this from you. I wouldn’t blame you if you threw me out and told me never to come back.”

Tom brushed the tears from her cheeks and kissed her again. Looking into her dark blue eyes he said, “I understand and I’m relieved that it wasn’t a whole lot worse. And you know what? We’re going to Chicago right away. We’ll hire the best lawyers and get Meggie away from her conniving grandparents. When we come home, Meggie will be with us.”

“Oh, Tom, it sounds so wonderful. But it’s going to be expensive. I mean,
really
expensive. The Stallworths have the money to buy anything they want—even a judge.”

“I don’t care what it costs. What those people and that judge did was wrong! Dead wrong! You and Meggie deserve to have your life together, and I’m going to see that you get it.”

“Tom…I’ve been going to tell you that I was going to need at least forty thousand dollars for my secret problem. It could very well cost that much or more.”

“Okay, so it does.”

“But can we afford it?”

Tom smiled. “Sweetheart, I…ah…I’ve been sort of keeping a little secret myself.”

Studying his eyes, Kathleen said, “What do you mean?” Tom gave her a lopsided grin and cleared his throat. “Well, the mine has been doing better than I’ve let on. A whole lot better.”

Grinning, she said, “Go on.”

“Well…I’ve taken a big step on something that ordinarily a man’s business partner and wife would be in on. What it is, Mrs. Harned…well, you see, what I’ve done is taken a chunk of the profits and bought some land.”