A Place of Refuge

She’d no more than made it to the hallway before she ran into Luke. Or she would have if he hadn’t put out his hands to keep the near disaster from happening.

“Whoa there—are you all right, Miss O’Bryan?”

His hands were gentle on her arms but the moment she gasped, he immediately dropped them. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want you to—”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” She brushed back the tears and looked up at him.

“Are you hurting? What’s happened to make you cry?”

She’d never met anyone who seemed to notice so much about her. “I’m not hurting. It’s just— Mrs. Heaton has been through so much heartache, and still she reaches out to others and—” She swallowed around the knot of tears and shook her head.

“She does do that. And I’m very glad she reached out to you.” He pulled out a crisp white handkerchief and, knowing that the man intended no harm, Kathleen allowed him to dab at a lone tear that’d escaped and ran down her cheek.

“So am I.” She was very thankful that she was here, thankful for Mrs. Heaton’s support and for this man who stood there trying to help now.

He tucked his handkerchief in her hand. “You may keep it. If there is anything I can help you with, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you. I’ll wash it and get it back to you soon.”

“There’s no hurry. I have a lot of them.”

Kathleen wasn’t sure what to say next and was relieved when Luke spoke again.

“Are you going to join the others in the parlor before dinner?”

“Yes, but first I’m going to go up and freshen up.”

“All right. I’ll see you later, then.”

“Yes. I’d better hurry before Mrs. Heaton calls us down.” She hurried upstairs, aware of Luke’s gaze on her as she did. He seemed too good to be true. She’d never met a man like Luke Patterson. And she liked him a lot.

But could she trust her instincts where he was concerned? That she didn’t know. She’d seen too many men, abusive men like her brother-in-law, who treated their women badly. She thought it almost impossible to trust any of them. Still, believing it impossible didn’t keep her from wishing it could be different.

Chapter Four

“Do you think that brother-in-law will come after Miss O’Bryan, Luke?” Michael Heaton asked. He’d asked for a few minutes with him while Sunday dinner was being put on the table and they’d gone to Mrs. Heaton’s study.

“I don’t know. But you can be sure I’ll be on the lookout for him. I don’t think Kathleen’s sister will let him know where she is—she sent her here for her safety, after all.”

Michael nodded. “I’m just concerned about Mother. And yet I’d never want to stop the good she does. But since I’ve moved out, I do worry about her. You can’t be here all the time, but knowing you are around most of the time—actually more than I was before I married—and trusting in the Lord to watch over Heaton House...well, it gives me peace.”

“I’m glad to know that.”

“But I do remember that man from the park last year. He’s a bad one.”

“Yes, he is. I’m glad Kathleen—Miss O’Bryan got out of there. But I believe she worries a great deal about her sister and nephews.”

“I’m sure she does. Has she heard anything from her sister?”

Luke nodded. “They’re corresponding through a neighbor. Still, I think she worries about the time in between letters.”

“That’s understandable,” Michael said. “You know, she’s quite pretty.”

“Yes, she is.” In Luke’s opinion, pretty was an understatement. But then, Michael hadn’t seen her come downstairs dressed in a gold dinner dress the night before. She’d looked beautiful. Her hair had been done up in what looked like a cloud of fire and he’d had a hard time keeping his eyes off her all evening.

She’d looked just as lovely today when she attended church with Mrs. Heaton, Luke and some of the other boarders. Michael and Violet were there when they arrived and Mrs. Heaton had introduced them to Kathleen before sliding into the pew to sit beside her daughter-in-law. She’d motioned for Kathleen to sit beside her and Luke had taken the seat on the other side of Kathleen. Ben, John and Julia slid in the pew behind them. Luke found he had to really concentrate to keep his mind on the sermon. It was from Romans 8, about how all things work together for the good of those who love God, those called according to His purpose. He sent up a prayer that all things were working for the good of Kathleen and her sister.

“Luke?”

“What?” Luke dragged his thoughts back to the present. “Did you say something?”

Michael laughed. “You must have been lost in your thoughts.”

“I’m sorry. Apparently I was. What were you saying?”

“I said, one wonders why Miss O’Bryan isn’t married with a family of her own.”

Luke had wondered the same thing. “Her brother-in-law isn’t the best example of a husband. Could be she doesn’t want one. And if she had any suitors, he probably kept them away. If she married, he couldn’t get part of her income to help out.”

“True. I wonder what he’s going to do now.”

“I don’t know. But it does weigh on my mind.”

“Do you want me to assign a man to watch over Kathleen on her way back and forth to work?”

“No. I’ll take on that job for now.” Luke wasn’t going to give over Kathleen’s protection to anyone else.

Michael nodded. “All right. But if you need some help, let me know.”

“I will.”

A light rap sounded on the door just before it opened, and Violet, Michael’s wife, peeked her head around it. “Dinner is ready, Michael.”

“We’re coming now, love.” Michael quickly joined his wife and kissed her cheek.

Luke couldn’t help but notice the smile Michael gave his wife and the look that passed between them. He’d known from the beginning that they were attracted to each other and gave himself some credit for getting them to admit it to each other. He was happy for them, but at the same time, seeing Michael and Violet together sometimes made him feel sorrow, too. It brought up memories of what could have been had his fiancée, Beth, not been killed in a bank robbery before he’d ever come to the city.

In fact he probably wouldn’t be here if not for losing her. He couldn’t stay in Texas after that. Instead he’d decided to go somewhere totally different and had ended up right here at Heaton House. He hadn’t shared his sorrow with anyone—nor the guilt he felt that he hadn’t shown up to see Beth home from work in time to do something—anything—to save her. It was only lately he’d begun to forgive himself.

Luke followed the couple to the dining room and watched as Michael put an arm around Violet’s waist and leaned close to whisper something to her. She giggled and blushed.

Much as Luke liked being footloose to go where he needed to research his books and work for Michael, he had to admit that sometimes he longed for a relationship like theirs. Longed for someone to love again. But he’d vowed never to let himself fall in love with anyone else. He never wanted to chance going through that kind of heartache again—ever.

Everyone was already in the dining room when they got there, and he took his customary seat next to Kathleen. Michael took the seat at the opposite end of the table from his mother after seating his wife adjacent to him.

Everyone bowed as Michael asked a blessing over the food and then there was clatter and chatter around the table as everyone served themselves from the dishes Maida started around the table.

Luke held the dish of scalloped potatoes while Kathleen helped herself to a spoonful. Then he took a portion for himself and handed it off to Ben.