KeepingFaithCole Read Free Page B

bluster had been an act, Lucille guessed. The woman put it on much
like a man might carry a sword and a shield to ward off danger. Or maybe it was
intended to prevent people from getting too close. Given what she’d heard about
Charlotte Henderson recently, she suspected the latter might account for the
defensive attitude.
    “I don’t know,” Charlotte
said, her gaze still downcast. “I don’t think I belong in a place like this.”
    Emotion stirred within
Lucille’s heart. “You’ll do fine, I’m sure.” Instinctively she reached out and
touched the woman’s shoulder.
    Charlotte jerked away. “Get
your hands off me.”
    “I’m sorry.” Lucille took a
quick step back. “Would you like me to show you around?” She gestured toward
the neat displays of laces, ribbons, fabrics, and notions. “We provide a full
line of dressmaking and sewing services. We do mending, as well,” she added.
    “How’s business going?” Tom
asked.
    “I’m quite pleased. We sewed
several wedding gowns last month, and now, with the statehood celebration
coming up, we’ve stayed very busy. All the ladies in town are wanting fancy
dresses for the dance.”
    Lucille’s mother came to
join them. “Can you sew, Mrs. Henderson?” she asked in a hopeful voice.
    Charlotte shook her head.
“Somebody tried to teach me once, but I didn’t care to learn.”
    Lucille looked to her mother
again, her expression asking, Do you
still think this is a good idea? Her mother turned away. No, it wasn’t a
good idea. From a practical standpoint, they didn’t need any help at the shop
and couldn’t really afford to pay Charlotte more than a few pennies a week.
    But helping Charlotte
Henderson wasn’t meant to be practical. It was charity, a service to the community.
    “I’m sure we can find little
tasks for you to do.” Lucille took a deep breath. “Mother will show you around
the shop now. I’d be happy to do it, but I need to pick up these buttons.” She
gestured toward the spilled tin.
    She dropped to her knees,
then, as soon as her mother and Charlotte were out of earshot, she jumped up
again, grabbed Tom by the sleeve, and yanked hard. “This isn’t going to work.”
Lucille had never been one for sugar-coating the truth. If something needed to
be said…well, best to get it out, not cover it up with pretty words and
sweet-sounding phrases. “Your mother’s got no interest in helping out here.
She’s got no skills, either.”
    “You knew that when you
offered to hire her,” Tom pointed out. He stooped down and began gathering up
the bright, colorful buttons. Lucille stared at the size of his hands,
marveling that he could hold so many of the fasteners in his palm. He handed
them to her, and the touch of his flesh on hers sent strange sensations darting
through her. She dropped nearly all of the buttons again.
    “Oh, dear. I don’t know why
I’m so clumsy today. What were you saying?” she asked, unable to recall the
words he’d just spoken. Why did the man have to turn those gorgeous blue eyes
on her?
    She’d never really paid much
attention to Tom Henderson before, never really thought of him as anything more
than a roughneck cowpoke. An overgrown boy, she’d often called him. But there
wasn’t anything boyish about the
broad-shouldered, well-muscled man who stood before her. Her breath caught in
her throat.
    “Please, Lucille,” he said,
bending his head close. “She needs work, something to occupy her time. Even if
it’s nothing more than picking up buttons.” He nodded toward his mother. “It’s
not about the money, you know. It’s about helping her feel useful.”
    She understood. Still, she
hesitated. Lucille pressed her lips together and made herself turn away from
Tom. “I do want to help,” she said, “but…”
    But, what? She’d given her
word, and she’d never been one to go back on promises she’d made. Plain and
simple, she had no way out. Of course, from the looks of things,