The Christmas Quandary: Sweet Historical Holiday Romance (Hardman Holidays Book 5) Read online

  “Oh, they are quite grand, although I prefer a dependable horse to those machines. The show included an assortment of engines, powered by electricity, steam and internal explosion using fuel. Those gasoline powered engines are a rather noisy lot, and smelly, too. I’m not sure they’ll have much of a future.”

  Luke grinned. “From what I’ve read, gasoline is inexpensive to produce and the cars that run on them have more power. I wouldn’t discount them quite yet.”

  “They are terribly smelly,” Lila wrinkled her nose. “One of my friends has an American Morrison electric car. He claims to have driven it almost one hundred and eighty miles on a single charge. Isn’t that something?”

  “It certainly is,” Tom agreed. “I’m with Luke, though. I think the gasoline motors hold merit.”

  Lila smiled. “You sound like my friend, Willie. He built a gasoline-powered auto in early summer. He called it a ghost because it could go so fast. Why, he actually was arrested for speeding!”

  The group laughed and Luke smirked at Lila. “Willie has always been enthralled with speed and winning.”

  “I believe his wife would agree. The poor dear said Willie is obsessed with making his autos faster and better, racing all over the place like there was no tomorrow.” Lila looked over at Tom. “Although, I think it would be fun to ride in one of his racing autos.”

  “Until the bugs slapped you in the face,” Ginny said, drawing another round of laughs from the group. “I, for one, would be happy with a Columbia electric auto. Why, you see them all over New York.”

  “You do,” Lila agreed. “In fact, it seems many cabs are Columbia autos these days.” She looked back at Tom. “Are there many autos in Portland?”

  “There are, and getting to be more all the time.” He cast Luke a sly glance. “When is the town’s esteemed banker going to bring the first auto to town?”

  Luke shook his head. “Unless you are referring to Arlan, I have no plans to purchase one of those silly things. I much prefer my horses.”

  “Me, too,” Blake said, raising a glass in toast. “To our four-legged friends. They faithfully carry us from place to place without worries of punctured tires, exploding motors, or frequent break downs.”

  After everyone joined in the toast, the conversation continued in a lighthearted manner. Tom enjoyed being among these people he considered friends. They made him feel at home.

  Even though the Granger family was accustomed to grandeur and luxury, they didn’t put on airs. Rather, it was easy to forget their wealth when Luke bounced Maura on his knee and Dora cuddled Cullen while Alex, Lila, and Ginny helped Filly with the dishes.

  Everyone gathered in the parlor and Tom found himself on a settee next to Lila. Derisively, he contemplated if something or someone conspired to put them together. Although everyone appeared innocent, he couldn’t help but wonder if there wasn’t something afoot among the scheming women gathered around him.

  As he studied his friends, he quickly dismissed the notion that any of them wanted to torment him with Lila’s beguiling presence. They all knew of her fiancé. Some of them even knew the man personally. He couldn’t imagine any of them wanting to do anything that might disrupt her future happiness.

  A gentle nudge to his side made him glance over at Lila. “Want to look?” she asked, holding out a stereoscope. A box of photo cards sat on her lap.

  “Sure,” Tom said, taking the handle of the stereoscope in his hand and looking at the images as Lila changed the cards. Some were hand painted, others colored with the slightly brown hue of most photographs. The cards took him on a trip from New York, to New Jersey, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and across the prairies of the mid-west.

  When she lifted the last card, Tom handed the stereoscope back to her. “Thank you. I haven’t looked through one of those in years.”

  “Oh, you’ll have to be sure to stop by after Christmas,” she whispered, covertly glancing at Luke as he laughed at a joke Blake shared. “I ordered a new box of slides for Luke for Christmas.”

  “I’m sure he’ll love them. It’s almost like taking a trip to look at the images.” Tom leaned toward Lila as he spoke, keeping his voice low as he unconsciously breathed in her scent. For a crazy moment, he wondered what would happen if he ran his hand over her fragrant hair. Although she wore it fashionably swept up on her head, the firelight gleamed on the dark tresses. His fingers itched to see if it would feel as silky as it appeared.

  Mindful of his thoughts, he abruptly rose to his feet, desperate to remove himself from the temptation Lila provided.

  “Thank you all for a lovely evening, but I have papers to grade.” He inched toward the door as all eyes looked at him.

  Lila stood and squeezed his left hand. “It was so nice of you to join us this evening, Mr. Grove.”

  “Thank you for the invitation. I didn’t mind getting out of making myself dinner and an invitation to dine at Granger House is one I’d never turn down.” Tom ignored the jolt shooting up his arm from Lila’s innocent touch as he continued moving toward the door. He nodded to his hosts. “Thank you for a delicious meal and a pleasant evening.”

  Filly joined Luke at the door, handing Tom’s coat to her husband. Luke held it while Tom slipped his good arm inside the sleeve and allowed the other side to drape around his shoulder, covering his casted arm in the sling.

  “You’re welcome to come anytime, Tom. Our door is always open. If you ever want to join us for a meal, just come on over,” Luke offered, opening the front door.

  “Yes, Tom. Please feel free to join us any evening. We’d love to have you,” Filly said, patting him on the shoulder.

  “Thank you. You might be sorry you extended that open invitation.”

  The couple laughed. “I doubt that. Have a good evening,” Luke said, waving as Tom hurried down the steps and out to the boardwalk.

  He kept a brisk pace, chilled by the cold winter air on his journey back to the little house by the school. In truth, he’d finished grading the papers before he joined the Granger family for dinner. The excuse of having work to do conveniently allowed him to escape Lila’s presence before he did or said something he shouldn’t. Like kiss those inviting lips and get lost in her captivating eyes.

  During his work at the newspaper, he’d learned to study people’s eyes to get a glimpse of their character, to see into the depths of their heart. Some people had such cold, calculating gazes. He’d interviewed victims of atrocities who had lifeless eyes, as though no hope remained in them.

  Many children held curious, fascinated looks in their inquisitive peepers.

  Occasionally, women looked at him with interest or longing. Peers might glance at him with judgment, sizing him up as competition, or with admiration for a job well done.

  But Lila’s eyes, those deep gray orbs full of fun and enthusiasm, kindness and sass, made him wish he could stare into them for hours.

  And that was precisely why he needed to avoid the woman. Blake had asked her about Emerson. From what Tom gathered of the conversation, Blake’s parents invited the man to their home for a long weekend. Recently, he’d written to Lila about how much he enjoyed visiting the Earl and Countess of Roxbury.

  Tom still had a hard time picturing easy-going Blake Stratton as a viscount. The man was a talented carpenter and bred some of the strongest, fastest horses in the region, but if he chose, he could live a titled life in England with his parents.

  A smile crossed Tom’s face as he thought of Ginny Granger Stratton presiding over some fancy English tea. The woman would fit right in, but Blake would most likely be outdoors looking over the horses of the guests.

  He’d just inserted the key into the lock on the door when a hand reached out and thumped him on his shoulder.

  Tom spun around and stared at Fred Decker.

  “Fred! What are you doing skulking around in the dark?” Tom asked, grinning at someone who had once been a school chum. He unlocked the door and motioned the young man to follow him ins
ide.

  “I was on my way home from work and noticed you walking through town. I heard you were taking over duties for Miss Alex for a while. Thought I’d say howdy.” Fred took the match from Tom and lit the wick on the lantern sitting on the kitchen table. Without being asked, he added wood to the stove in the kitchen then looked around. The last time he’d been in the little house was when his father had beaten him senseless. He ran away from home and hid in an old mine about a mile from the school. Alex Guthry found him and made him accompany her back to the teacher’s house. She’d fetched the doctor and kept quiet about his whereabouts until his father was hauled off to jail on a variety of charges.

  Before then, Fred had given her and many other people in town an unending supply of grief. From that day forward, though, he’d changed his life around. He decided to do his best never to turn into his father.

  “Where are you working these days? I thought you’d gone off to work in Heppner for the railroad.” Tom motioned for Fred to have a seat at the table then pushed the teakettle to a hot spot on the stove.

  “I worked for the railroad for about a year, but Mother wasn’t doing well, so I came back to keep an eye on her. I’ve been working for Douglas at the livery and doing some odd jobs here and there.” Fred took a cookie from the tin Tom held out to him with a grateful nod.

  “I was sorry to hear about your mother’s condition. Is she doing better?” Tom asked, taking down two mugs from the small cupboard and setting them on the table.

  “She is doing a little better. I can’t get her to leave the house, but she’s regained most of the mobility in her hand, although her face definitely looks different since she had a stroke.”

  Tom didn’t know what to say, so he made two cups of tea and handed one to Fred. “Do you like working at the livery with Mr. McIntosh?”

  “I do enjoy it.” Fred took a sip of the tea and grinned. “Banging hot metal on an anvil helps me work through any lingering aggression.”

  Tom smirked. “I’m sure it does. Have you seen John or Ralph? How about…”

  The two young men visited for an hour before Fred glanced at the clock on the wall and stood. “Thanks for letting me come in, Tom. It’s nice to have you home, even if it is just for a few weeks. Do you think you’ll enjoy teaching?”

  “Yeah, I do. Today was challenging, but fun, too.” Tom walked Fred to the door.

  Fred tugged on his coat and pulled a hat down on his head. “That’s because you were always teacher’s pet.”

  “That’s not true. Percy and Anna were right up there, too.”

  Fred laughed. “Still are, from what I hear. What do you suppose that nice little Jenkins girl sees in a boy like Percy?”

  “Whatever it is, it’s lasted since they were only six. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the two of them grow up and get married.” Tom opened the door.

  Fred nodded in agreement. “I don’t think it would surprise anyone if they did. Have a good night, Tom. If you need help with anything while you’re here, let me know.”

  “I appreciate that, Fred. Thanks for stopping by. Give your mother my regards.”

  Fred waved a hand and jogged off in the direction of town.

  There was a time when Tom hated the very thought of seeing Fred. The boy had been full of demons none of them knew about or understood. Now, though, he was glad they could once again be friends.

  After banking the fire in the stove and sliding between the cool sheets of the bed, Tom let his thoughts wander. Much to his dismay, they tripped right over a vision of Lila, laughing at something Filly said at dinner.

  Tightly squeezing his eyes shut, he hoped that would squeeze all thoughts of her right out of his mind.

  Chapter Seven

  Cold air blew up the aisle, barely reaching Tom’s desk, accompanied by the sound of the school door quietly closing.

  He glanced up from the spelling tests he graded and smiled at Lila as she removed her coat and tiptoed to an empty chair at the back of the room.

  In the week he’d been teaching school, she dutifully came each morning and wrote assignments on the blackboard for him. As had become the habit, she’d fix his tie and straighten his collar, leaving him unsettled before the day hardly began.

  She returned at noon, to either bring Maura her lunch or take the child home. If Maura stayed for afternoon classes, Lila returned just before classes released for the day to walk the little one home.

  Although she quietly sat at the back, her presence distracted Tom to the point he could hardly think straight.

  Lost in thoughts of the lovely woman, he didn’t notice Percy Bruner waving his hand in the air from his seat.

  “Mr. Grove?” Percy finally spoke, drawing Tom’s attention.

  “Yes, Percy?” His forced his gaze away from Lila and over to the lively redheaded boy.

  “You promised to do a magic trick before we all left today if we worked hard this afternoon. I think we all did a bang-up job, didn’t we?” Percy grinned, looking mischievous and sincere all at the same time.

  Tom smiled. “That you did. Are all of you finished with your arithmetic assignments?” His gaze roved over the students, noting they all nodded their heads. “Very well, then. Percy, would you and Anna collect the assignments and set them here on my desk while I prepare to do an amazing feat of phantasmagorical wonder.”

  The students began buzzing about what sort of trick he might do. Most all of them knew he’d trained with Alex and was privy to many of her illusions.

  While Percy and Anna gathered the assignments, Tom took a box of crayons out of his desk drawer and withdrew eight of the twelve colors.

  “Are you all ready to be spellbound with a fantastical example of illusionary marvel?” Tom’s voice took on a theatrical tone as he moved to stand in front of his desk.

  The children clapped and cheered right along with Lila. Tom winked at her before turning his attention back to his students.

  “I need four volunteers,” Tom said, watching as every child shot a hand up in the air. He shook his head. “Oh, I can’t choose. Miss Granger, would you select four students?”

  Lila spent enough time around the class to know the students who were often shy, so she chose them.

  “Come on up here, students,” Tom encouraged, inviting the four students up to his desk. “I’m going to turn around and hold these crayons behind my back. When I say your name, I want you to choose one, but keep it hidden in your hands until I ask you to show the class. Any questions?”

  The four volunteers shook their heads.

  Tom turned and faced the blackboard while holding out the crayons behind him in his extended left hand. He rotated the crayons around, so he had no way of knowing the positions of any of them.

  “Milo, you choose the first crayon. Remember, don’t let anyone see it.” Tom felt one of the crayons slide out of his hand. “Next will be Sarah, then Alice, and Billy.”

  When all four students held crayons clasped in their hands, Tom continued to hold his hand behind his back. “Percy, please take the remaining crayons from my hand.” The boy did, standing off to the side out of Tom’s view. Tom glanced down at his empty hand then lifted his head. “Milo, show the class the color of your crayon. Is it blue?”

  “Yes, sir!” Milo said, showing the class the blue crayon he held.

  Tom called on Sarah. “Sarah, is your crayon yellow?”

  “Yep!” The little girl held up her crayon for her classmates to see.

  The children grew more animated.

  “Alice, it’s your turn. Is your crayon green?”

  “It is, Mr. Grove!” The child excitedly waved the crayon above her head.

  Their enthusiastic responses pulsed against Tom’s back like a palpable force, making him smile. “And Billy, do you hold a red crayon?”

  The boy nodded his head, causing Lila to laugh. “He’s nodding his head, Mr. Grove. It is, indeed, red.”

  Tom turned around and executed a bow with a f
lourish of his left hand. “If you return the crayons to my desk, you may all be excused for the day.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Grove!”

  “That was wonderful, Mr. Grove!”

  “Can we have more magics tomorrow, Mr. Grove?”

  The children’s animated comments drifted around him. “If I did magic every day it wouldn’t be special. You’ll just have to keep coming every day to see when I do another trick. Have a nice evening, students.”

  Lila hurried to bundle Maura into her coat and hat, sending the little girl outside to play with her friends.

  Tom held the crayon box with his casted hand while attempting to stuff in the crayons. Lila took pity on his efforts and did the job for him. “How did you know which crayon each child took?”

  He smirked at her. “The first magic lesson Alex taught me was that a good magician never gives away his secrets.”

  Lila rolled her eyes and made a silly face. “That’s fine for your students, but I must know.”

  “You must?” he asked, enjoying her playfulness. It was hard to imagine someone who looked like such a fine, well-heeled lady making such a funny face. In fact, Lila could have been out for a stroll on some fashionable New York avenue in the outfit she wore. The deep purple of the gown brought out the loveliest highlights in her dark hair and made her grey eyes take on a fascinating hue. He’d yet to see her wear the same gown twice, but of the jewel-toned ensembles she’d worn, the purple dress was his new favorite.

  “I must.” She clasped his hand in hers and gave him a pleading look. Her bottom lip crept out as she affected a pout. “Please? Won’t you tell me?”

  Tom battled the overwhelming desire to kiss her delectable bottom lip. Instead, he pulled his hand from hers, painfully aware of the sizzling current shooting up his arm from the contact. “It’s quite simple,” he said, lifting his hand so she could see his closely trimmed fingernails.

  At first, she didn’t appear to understand what he showed her, then she noticed the hint of wax under his nails. “Oh, you are a fake and a cheater!” She took his hand in hers again, studying his fingers, discovering the colors were in the order in which the children took the crayons.