Chapter 18

18

AUGUST 5, 1927 MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

As I stood in the living room of my parents' house on Dupont Avenue, I stared out the front window watching for Lewis to arrive. He'd called and said he had information to share with me and had asked if he could take me to Como Park to see the new sunken garden. He wanted to speak freely and didn't want my parents overhearing. Almost a month had passed since I had heard from him, and I was anxious to know what he had to say about Annie.

But as much as I wanted to find Annie, my mind was on a pirate ship anchored in a hidden cove on the coast of Florida. It had been almost two weeks since I'd found the treasure, and I was still recovering from diving sickness. Dr. Hartville had told me it could take several weeks, so Marcus was true to his word and took care of me. He insisted I sleep in his bed, and he used the less comfortable cot in the corner. When I was awake and he could be with me, we played cards and dice and spoke of our lives before the Ocean Curse . When I was alone, I read several of the books from his shelf, devouring the words that had caught his attention. And in the evenings, after he brought me supper, we spent hours discussing them. When I thought about Lewis's disdain for books, I was more thankful for Marcus.

The salvage team had been working to recover as much treasure as they could, but after twelve days and more gold than I had first imagined, they still hadn't found the Queen's Dowry—that special treasure chest of jewels that had been designed for the queen of Spain upon her marriage to Philip V. They'd come to the conclusion that the ship I discovered wasn't the Capitana , but another of the treasure fleet.

And Captain Zale was getting more and more impatient.

"Caroline?"

I was startled at the sound of my mother's voice.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

I nodded and smiled. "I'm just waiting for Lewis."

Her curious look turned into one of concern. "He hasn't been here in over a month. I hope you didn't scare him away."

"It would take a lot to scare Lewis Cager away." I tried to make my voice sound light, when the truth was, I had missed Lewis. But it was for the best. I had let him know I wanted our relationship to stay platonic, and he had honored that wish.

"Well," Mother said in her gentle and unobtrusive way, "I like Lewis, and I think he could make you very happy." She joined me near the window. "I know that you modern women aren't putting as much emphasis on marrying young and starting families, but perhaps you can give Lewis a chance to prove himself. I suspected he was in love with you when you were teenagers. I used to want to shake him and tell him the way to your heart wasn't through teasing and provoking. But I've seen him become more serious and mature. I was hopeful that something was blossoming between you, but when he didn't call or stop by for weeks, I knew something must have happened." Her hopeful eyes sought mine. "But perhaps you've mended the rift?"

"Lewis and I are just friends. I told him I didn't want things to change, so that's why he stayed away."

Her face fell with disappointment, but she mustered a smile. "I just want you to be as happy as I've been."

"Have you been happy, Mother?" I asked, searching her face.

"Why, Caroline!" She blinked several times. "What a strange thing to ask me. I couldn't possibly be happier."

"But your life with Father—it hasn't been easy. His job demands so much of you—of us."

"No life is easy, child. If it was, it wouldn't be worth having. All the important things in life are hard. Marriage, parenting, building a worthwhile career, friendships, faith. It's the difficult things that mold us and shape us, challenging us to become better versions of ourselves. If it was easy, we would never strive to become better." She straightened the lapel of my shirt and said, "Don't dismiss Lewis just yet. Open your heart to the possibility and see what God might be saying about him."

The doorbell rang, and I said, almost too quickly, "It sounds like he's here."

I glanced in the foyer mirror as I put on the navy-blue cloche cap that matched the neckline and hem of my pleated skirt and shirt. Mother's conversation only added more guilt and pressure on my shoulders. I had disappointed Lewis. I didn't want to disappoint her, too.

I grabbed my purse as Mother came up behind me to open the door and greet Lewis.

"Hello, Mrs. Baldwin," he said.

"Hello, Lewis. It's so nice to see you again. Won't you come in?"

His blue-eyed gaze landed on me, and when he smiled, I realized I'd missed him more than I thought. It had been a month in 1927, but to me, it had felt twice as long because of my time in my other life.

"If it's okay with Caroline," he said, "I'd like to head to the conservatory before it gets too late."

"Of course." Mother put her hand on my back and gave me a gentle push. "Go. Have fun. Don't stay out too late."

"Goodbye," I told her as she closed the door behind me. I stood on the porch, a little closer to Lewis than I intended, and said, "Hello."

"Hi, Carrie." His appreciative gaze slipped over my appearance. "You look nice."

My cheeks warmed under his praise, and I smiled. "I think I like it more when you tease me instead of compliment me."

"Why?" he asked as he got a little closer. "Does it make you uncomfortable?"

I laughed, knowing he was teasing me now.

He grinned. "If you told me I looked nice, I'd be very pleased."

"Is that another new suit?"

He tugged at his lapels and affected an air of sophistication, then he tapped his straw boater and said, "Why yes, it is."

"I liked your old one better."

His mouth slipped open, and I laughed again, but he knew I was teasing him.

"You look very handsome, Lewis Cager."

"Thanks." He motioned to his Chevy with the tip of his head. "Ready?"

I nodded and accepted his arm as he led me down the porch steps toward his waiting vehicle.

It was less than ten miles to the Como Park Conservatory in Saint Paul. I'd been there a few times before, but it had been a while, and I was eager to see the sunken garden. The nearby zoo was just as entertaining.

As the vehicle made its way east toward Saint Paul, the lighthearted banter faded and neither of us spoke. The awkwardness was mounting, so I said the first thing that came to mind.

"Is this supposed to be a date, Lewis?" I blurted.

There was a heavy pause before his laughter filled the vehicle.

I crossed my arms. "Why is my question so funny?"

"It's not your question," he said as he brought his laughter under control. "It's your delivery."

"My delivery?"

"Some people beat around the bush, but not you. That's one of the things I've always liked about you." He shrugged as he turned onto Lyndale Avenue. "There are no pretenses with you, Carrie."

We continued down Lyndale toward Hennepin Avenue, and I said, "Why didn't you answer my question?"

He looked out the side window and sighed. "I guess it's because I was hoping that the question would answer itself by the end of the evening."

Mother's request returned to me. She'd asked me to open my heart to Lewis and give him a chance to prove himself.

So when he looked at me, I smiled.

His grin lit up his face. "It takes the pressure off things, doesn't it?"

We drove through Minneapolis and into Saint Paul before I said, "Have you heard anything about Alice?" I'd thought about her many times in the past month, but I hadn't seen Thomas or Andrew to inquire. My relationship with Ruth had been strained, and I was trying to build back her trust, but she was the last person I would ask. "Do you know where Thomas brought her?"

Lewis nodded slowly and then glanced at me, as if to judge my reaction. "He brought her to a hotel. She was living there until a couple of days ago."

"Where is she now?"

He paused for a second and then said, "With Thomas."

My mouth slipped open. "She's living with my brother?"

"That's the way of it."

"As in, she's living with him?"

"Yes," he said, as if he was trying to make a child understand. "They're together now, Carrie. As in, a couple."

My eyes widened at that pronouncement, and I shook my head. "She can't be—they—this is awful, Lewis."

"You wanted her out of your parents' home. What did you think would happen? They were a couple before she met Andrew. While she was living at the hotel, Thomas went to visit her, and things picked up where they had left off."

"I didn't think Thomas would take advantage of Alice."

"He didn't take advantage of her. Thomas is a lot of things, but he's not a scoundrel. He's been in love with Alice for a long time. She finally realized the mistake she made with Andrew, and Thomas was willing to take her back."

I felt nauseous just thinking about the ramifications. "I thought we were rid of the Alice problem."

The look of disappointment he gave me cut me to the heart. "Alice is more than a problem to deal with, Carrie. She's a human being that was misused by Andrew, and when he learned she was pregnant, he told her he was married and cast her aside. Maybe she could have made different choices, but she loved Andrew and believed he loved her, too. She thought he was going to marry her. That's when she went to your parents, but then she realized they were good people and didn't deserve to be hurt because of their son's mistake."

"She told you this?"

"Yes. And Thomas didn't set out to convince Alice to fall for him again, but she did. And they seem happy. As happy as they can be, given the circumstances."

"Are they really in love?" I asked, hating how horrified I sounded. "So quickly?"

"It's been a month."

"A month! How could they know in a month?"

"Sometimes, it only takes a heartbeat to know."

His words were so soft, so gentle, they hit me like a gale-force wind. Hadn't I known in less than a month that my feelings for Marcus were deeper than they should be?

We drove in silence again. The assumptions I'd made about Alice weren't fair, and I felt ashamed.

"Do you think Thomas will marry her?" I finally asked Lewis.

"I don't know. I hope so, for both their sake and the baby's."

He pulled into the parking lot, and we got out of his vehicle. I'd almost forgotten about Annie, which was the whole reason he'd asked me to come with him. Or was it?

Como Park was a beautiful oasis in the Twin Cities, with walking paths, gardens, a glass-domed conservatory, and more.

Lewis bought a bag of breadcrumbs to feed the ducks and geese in Como Lake. We laughed as they squawked and quacked, fighting for the food. When we ran out, they began to crowd around us, pecking at our feet as we walked away.

After visiting the black bears and the deer, we went into the sunken garden inside the glass conservatory. The air was fragrant with the scent of flowers, though it was hotter and more humid inside than out. I walked peacefully among the exotic plants, stopping from time to time to admire each one.

When I glanced up, I found Lewis watching me.

He smiled and said, "I could watch you looking at flowers all day."

My heart filled with affection for Lewis, and in that moment, I wished I could give him what he wanted. But affection wasn't romance, and it wouldn't be fair to either one of us if I tried.

We continued to move through the maze of gardens inside the conservatory. It was a large structure with a beautiful man-made pond running down the middle of it. Lily pads sat atop the water, and a statue stood at the end.

Every time I exclaimed about a new flower, Lewis was there to appreciate it with me, though he seemed much more interested in me than the plants. And when our hands brushed together as we walked along the narrow path, he took my hand in his.

He led me to a bench near the pond, and said, "Do you want to sit? I have something to tell you."

My pulse ticked up a notch, hoping this was about Annie.

I took a seat, and he sat beside me, closer than necessary. I took my hand out of his, but our shoulders pressed against each other as we looked at the pond. Perhaps it was safer to touch him than to look into his gaze.

"There's been another report about Annie Barker," he said. "This time, she was in Dexter, Iowa, about thirty miles west of Des Moines. She and Lloyd robbed a bank there with the help of Lloyd's brother and sister-in-law."

"When?"

"This past Monday."

"So, they could be on their way to Saint Paul now?"

"They don't tend to move fast, if their history can be trusted. They usually camp out for a few days between robberies and lay low until the law isn't actively on the lookout for them—or unless they've been located. On some occasions, their campfire is still burning when the law enforcement agents arrive."

I was both excited and terrified to speak to Annie. If she was as ruthless and coldhearted as she sounded, could I even get close enough to let her know who I was before she opened fire?

"I'm sorry that I don't have more information," he said. "But it does appear that she's getting closer."

I nibbled my bottom lip, wishing I could go to her—but it would be impossible. I wouldn't know where to even look, and I could never leave my parents long enough to make a trip to Iowa. The best plan was to wait until she came to Saint Paul, where she'd have to check in with the police and let them know she was in town. Then Lewis would tell me.

"Thank you," I said, my heart warming for this man who had agreed to help me.

"Well," he asked after a few seconds of silence, "does this feel like a date to you?"

My heart and mind were so confused, I wasn't sure how to answer. What I felt for Lewis was warm and comforting and sincere—but it didn't feel romantic. It didn't feel exciting or daring or thrilling like my feelings for Marcus. I loved having Lewis's company, but I didn't tingle at his touch—not like I did at Marcus's.

Tears gathered in my eyes because I knew I would hurt him. "I'm sorry, Lewis."

There was silence between us again, and then he kissed the top of my head before he said, "Come on. I'll take you home."