in the community, even someone on the fringe.
Would Abby suit his father’s persnickety taste in caregivers?
George studied Wade’s face. “What’s wrong? You look like you’re heading to your own hanging.”
Perhaps he was.
How would he manage having Abby in and out of the house day after day? When he’d seen her foil that fight, she’d seemed like the perfect choice, but now—
Now he wondered if her presence would bring more trouble than it solved.
“For Pete’s sake, spit it out. Who’d you hire?”
“Abigail Wilson.”
“If that’s your idea of a joke, I’m not laughing.”
Wade met his father’s gaze. Their eyes locked. George’s filled with comprehension. “You’re not kidding.”
“No, sir, I’m not. You’ve already chased off the only nurse in town. Most of the staff has found employment elsewhere. No one is eager for the job—”
“Except someone desperate, someone with a family member up to his eyeballs in debt, and no doubt, like all the Wilsons, blaming me.” He chuckled. “Well, well, Frank Wilson’s daughter is going to wait on me. That should make life a lot more interesting.” He snorted. “She won’t last a day.”
Wade knew what his father didn’t. Abigail Wilson was made of stronger stuff than that.
A coughing fit seized him. As George struggled to catch his breath, Blue scrambled to his feet and waddled to his master’s side, then plopped down, draping his head over George’s chest.
Wade gave his father a sip of water, then grabbed a towel to mop up dribble that ran down his chin.
“Frank condemned me for calling his loan, yet he signed the papers,” George said as soon as he could speak. “Knew what he’d signed too. Trouble with people like Frank Wilson—they don’t own up to their responsibility. Lay the blame on others for their own failure.”
“No point sullying the name of a dead man.”
“He didn’t hesitate to besmirch my name. Instead of finding a job to earn money that would’ve taken care of his family, Wilson did nothing except bad-mouth me, turning public opinion against us, the big, bad Cummingses gobbling up the Wilsons’ eighty acres. The Panic of 1893 would’ve ruined the bank had I not called the Wilson loan and others like it. Everything was legal and within my rights.”
“Legal, but was it ethical? You bought the Wilson farm then made a huge profit from selling a part of their land a few months later to the Illinois Central Railroad.”
His father glanced at his bandaged hands. “The railroad’s interest in the land had nothing to do with calling that loan. Time you understood that this family wouldn’t be where we are today if I hadn’t paid attention to earnings. If I’d extended charity to those who couldn’t pay, I’d have gone down in the same sinking ship.”
Countless times his father had drummed into Wade the importance of making tough choices to ensure a profit, emphasizing that the debits and credits on a balance sheet determined if a man lost everything or emerged a winner.
Wade wondered what his father had won.
That fortune he prided himself on accumulating hadn’t given him happiness. His father’s bad temper kept others at arm’s length, even his own family. Valuing money more than human beings made a man hard. So hard that a son couldn’t get close.
He hoped Abby fared better.
Chapter Four
Abigail shot up her parasol, angling it against the morning sun then strode up the block, her skirts swishing at her ankles.
The Cummingses’ mansion wasn’t far in distance, but as far from her life as she could get here in New Harmony. She wouldn’t be welcome there.
“Abby! Wait up.” Holding on to her hat with one hand, Rachel bustled across the street to Abigail’s side. “I’m on my way to look after the Logan children. Elizabeth wants to divvy up the money from yesterday’s auction in peace. But, quick, tell me about your lunch with Wade.”
“There’s nothing to tell, really.”
Rachel’s eyes glittered with excitement. “Of course there is! Why did he buy your box lunch when you two barely speak?”
“I’ll tell if you promise not to try to change my mind.”
Rachel lifted her right hand as if taking an oath on the witness stand. “I promise.”
By the time Abigail finished the explanation, Rachel’s eyes were the size of silver dollars. “What did your mother say about working for a Cummings?”
“She doesn’t know.” Abigail tightened her grip on her parasol. “I may be fired before noon. No point in telling my family until I see if I’m keeping the job.”
“How can you work for George Cummings after what he did to your father?”
If only she had another way. “I want to help Joe and Lois. The auction should supply the lumber, maybe even the building materials, but nothing else. Right now, neither of them can work.”
“You’re brave to do this. Everyone in town stands in awe of Mr. Cummings.” She gave Abigail’s arm a squeeze. “I’ll pray for you.”
“Thank you. Something tells me I’ll need it.”
“Stop at my house on the way home. I want to hear all about your day.”
As they exchanged a quick hug, Abigail promised she would. Rachel turned toward the parsonage while Abigail moved toward she knew not what. But she had the intelligence and backbone to handle whatever guff George Cummings threw at her.
Outside the Cummings gate, wrought of iron, tall and imposing and all but shouting Keep Out, Abigail gulped, lifting her eyes to the three-story structure looming over her. Brick exterior, wood cornices and brackets supported the eaves. A boxy cupola with windows rose above the roof, a watchtower of sorts.
Abigail had never been inside the mansion, for surely no other word described this commanding house. Yet nothing about the structure was pretentious. The house reflected George Cummings, a man with the money to build a solid house that never let down its guard. Never let others near.
She unlatched the gate that swung open on well-oiled hinges, then refastened it and marched up the lane circling the front of the house. At the top of the porch steps, she ran a gloved hand along the iron rail. The letter C had been carved into the lower panel of the solid oak door. Above the entrance, the transom’s stained glass sparkled in the morning sun.
Everything was in perfect condition. Unlike the apartment they rented from the man. Obviously the Cummings put their money where they would benefit.
To build and maintain this grand house required a great deal of money. Some of that
