The Happiest Day Read Free Page A

are made of better stuff than
this.  Cut the poor boy loose.  It’s simple.  While you’re at it, break it off
with Stern.”
    “I can’t.  It’s
not that simple.”
    “Why not?”
    “You don’t know
everything.”
    “Then tell me.”
    She shook her
head.  “Norris gets back from Boston with the boys tonight.  I need to talk to
him about this.”
    “You’re sure?” he
asked, pushing a tear-soaked lock of hair off of her cheek.  “You know I’d do
anything for you.”
    She smiled.  “I
know.  You’ve been there for me since the very first night, but I need to
handle this by myself.  Trust me.”
    He checked his
watch.  “You and I are unfashionably late for lunch with Maryanne and Bert. 
I’m going to blame it on you, you know.”
    “I know.” She wiped
the last of the tears off of her face.  “I’ll race you back to the stables. 
This time, try not to cheat.”

Chapter
2
    Not a day went by
that Rachel didn’t think of her parents, Thomas and Julia, and felt an ache in
her heart.  She never gave up hope that the horrible night from her childhood
had been a nightmare in which she was trapped.  One day, like a princess from a
fairy tale, she would awaken and find her parents, sitting in the kitchen,
smiling at her in welcome.
    She knew she and
her brother Laurie were blessed to have Norris Thornton.  She had known Norris
her entire life.  He had been her father’s boyhood friend who had moved from
the country into the city when his own father had inherited the family
newspaper.  Although forty miles apart, Norris and Thomas had never given up on
their friendship.  Rachel had fond memories of Norris visiting them several
times a month, eating supper with them, his refined laughter mixing with her
father’s booming whoops of hilarity.  Rachel remembered her mother’s sparkling
blue eyes as the evening would grow late.  Julia would sit at the piano and
play tunes while Norris danced with Rachel, allowing her to stand on his fine
Italian shoes while he twirled her around the parlor.  He would pick both Rachel
and Laurie up in his arms, spin them around and hug them tightly to his chest.
    Not long before
her parents’ murders, Rachel asked her mother about Norris’ family.  Julia had
been hesitant to answer but Rachel had pushed.  “Is he married?  Does he have
children?”  At eight, she was half in love with the handsome, dashing man who
showered so much attention on her.
    “He is married,”
her mother had answered carefully.  “Her name is Helen.”
    “Do they have
children?”
    “Yes.  Helen has a
son from her first marriage, Peter.  He’s almost a grown man now—sixteen, I
think.  Norris and Helen have two children together, Maryanne is just a little
older than you and Geoffrey is about a year older than Laurie.”
    “Why doesn’t he
ever bring them here?  Maryanne could be my friend.”
    Julia’s eyes had
taken on a sad look as she continued chopping vegetables.  “I’m sure she
would.  I think Norris likes coming here alone.  He’s a very important man in Cincinnati. 
I think when he comes here, he is able to get away from all of the pressure.”
    Rachel hadn’t
understood, but her mother was uncharacteristically quiet on the topic.
    The night Norris
had rescued her and Laurie, she had seen his house and met his family for the
first time.  A decade later, she still didn’t understand why Norris had kept
his friends and his family separate but had loved and respected him too much to
probe into his privacy.  Helen, his wife, was a cold woman who openly resented
the two children now living in her house.  Luckily, she was a socialite and
rarely at home.  Her life revolved around parties and damaging gossip.  Rachel
couldn’t count the number of times she had walked into the parlor to find Helen
with a group of friends, laughing and chattering, only to fall silent when
Rachel entered.  It didn’t take her very long to realize that the women had