Page 37 of Landing Love

She had him, he wanted to say. He was all hers. But this wasn’t the time.

“My parents will take you in. I’ll take you to their house. Please say you’ll go, at least for tonight. We can figure out what comes next in the morning.”

It was obvious what came next, at least to him, but this wasn’t the moment to propose it. “Come. Please come. For Junior’s sake if not your own.”

At last, that got through to her, and she pulled herself up, accepting his support as he walked her to the car. He eased her in gently. She was shaking all over. Shock. He’d seen it in the war.

“Will you be all right to hold Junior?” he asked, needing to make sure.

She nodded.

Hurrying to his side of the car, he started it as quickly as possible, driving away from the horrid scene. On the short drive to Mineola, Ann rocked and wept silently by his side, clutching a fussing Junior to her breast. When they pulled up in front of his parents’ flower shop, he let her lean on him as they climbed the stairs. He used his key to let them in.

His mother came rushing out in her nightgown to see what was causing all the noise. She took in Ann’s grass-stained dress and the scent of smoke. “What in heaven’s name happened? Were you in an accident? Is Junior all right?”

“Everyone’s all right, but there was a fire while we were at the wedding, and…” Bill took a deep breath, steadying himself to deliver the news. “Ann’s house burned down.”

“Lord have mercy on us all.” Mum crossed herself and turned to Ann. “There, there, dear. Let’s get you cleaned up and into some clothes that don’t smell of smoke.”

Ann acquiesced in silence. She hadn’t spoken a word since Merrick.

“You can have the upstairs apartment until we get you sorted. Rory just moved out.” Mum went and got a nightgown. “This will be far too large for you, but better to wear this than the smoky dress you have on. Let’s get you settled upstairs.”

She helped Ann up and led her upstairs. With a little shake of her head, she discouraged him from following, so he stayed at the dining room table and waited, alone with his thoughts.

The path forward was clear, at least to him, though it might take some convincing on her part. They needed to marry. It was the obvious solution, and, surprisingly, the idea didn’t scare him at all. This was something he wanted, even if it was happening sooner than he thought. He had planned to take his time wooing her and let her come around to the idea when she was ready. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

When Mum came back down, she made them both tea. “Son, far be it from me to rush things, but it’s clear as day what you need to do.”

So, Mum had reached the same conclusion. It reassured him that she agreed. It would mean putting off his dream of starting a passenger flight business indefinitely. After all, he’d need to use his savings to buy a house. But it was a small sacrifice to make to give Ann her life back. “I know. I’ll speak to her tomorrow. I didn’t want to do it tonight. She’s in too much shock.”

“Good.” She sipped her tea. “I know it’s soon, but I think you’ll be happy together. She seems like a sensible woman. She’ll see that there’s really no other option.”

That rankled. He didn’t want to win this way. “I don’t like being her last resort. I was hoping with time to convince her to marry me by choice. It bothers me to force her hand like this.”

Mum patted his hand. “You aren’t forcing her. Circumstance is. You’re saving her from total ruin.”

It was true, much as he hated it. He nodded and said nothing.

“You should go to bed, son. There’s nothing more you can do tonight. Come back tomorrow morning for breakfast, and you can settle things between you.”

Bill headed back to his apartment a few blocks away, changed out of his smoky clothes, and took a bath. In bed, he lay awake, turning over the best way to approach the topic of marriage with Ann. Her first instinct would be to balk, he was sure. How could he convince her it was the best thing and that they could be happy together? How could he ask without seeming like he was giving her no choice?

He slept restlessly, knowing the fraught conversations the next day would bring. In the morning, he woke with the sun. He’d been up and dressed for several hours when he headed over to his parents’ place.

When he arrived, Ann was wearing an ill-fitting shirtwaist and skirt that belonged to his mother and had obviously been pinned to size. Even so, she looked breathtaking. Desolate, but beautiful. She hardly spoke through breakfast. Bill stayed relatively quiet as well as he sipped his coffee and ate soda bread with butter and jam and scrambled eggs. When the meal was over, he asked Ann if he could have a few words in private.

Together, they walked up to the third floor and sat in the sitting room on the sofa together. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Bill,” she said after a long silence. “My teaching position doesn’t start until September, and I don’t have enough money in the bank to pay rent.”

“Shh. Everything will be fine.” He held her hand and ran his thumb across the back of it in soft strokes.

“You don’t understand. I have no one to turn to.”

It stung that she thought that after the night before, but he squeezed her hand and tried to catch her gaze. “You have me.”

At his words, she looked up, brow furrowed. “Bill, you’ve done too much already. I couldn’t possibly ask more of you.”

Seeing his opening, he said, “Maybe I have something to ask of you.”