A short time later, Julianne climbed the stairs to her apartment as quickly as she could, considering her arms were full with a basket of clothes. She’d heard the phone ringing from the sidewalk below.
“Hello, yes,” she answered, nearly out of breath after grabbing up the phone. “This is Julianne Quinn. Who’s calling, please?”
“This is Luke O’Hara…Maggie’s brother,” came the reply.
Chapter Two
Julianne let her laundry basket drop to the floor. Why would he be calling her? At home like this? “Yes, Mr. O’Hara, is something wrong?”
“No, but I just spoke with my brother-in-law, Frank Wren, and he suggested I call you since Maggie wasn’t available. He gave me your number. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, that’s fine. I don’t mind. How can I help you?”
“I was wondering if I could drop off the kids earlier in the morning than originally planned?”
“Well, yes,” Julianne replied. “I’ll be there early. What time did you have in mind?”
“Around seven? Would that be okay?”
“Yes. That’s fine. I’ll be looking for you…for the kids, I mean. Thank you for calling.”
Their conversation ended, and Julianne sat down, sinking into the nearby sofa. Thank you for calling? “What a stupid thing to say,” she lamented aloud to no one but herself. “He called to ask me a question about the center, and I acted like I was grateful for the opportunity to speak with him.” She got up and walked into the kitchen to get a cold soda from the refrigerator.
“What do you think, Goldie? Have I been listening to Reverend Ben and Maggie too much? Everybody seems to expect me to fall for this guy. I’d better be careful or they’ll have me believing it, too.”
“Maggie!” Julianne called out as she saw Frank Wren dropping off his wife in front of the center early the next morning. “Wait up!” She ran the last block to catch up with her friend.
“Good thing you wear those running shoes,” Maggie remarked, glancing down at the sneakers that clashed with the pale pink blouse and gray skirt that Julianne wore. “You couldn’t move that fast in heels.”
“Maggie, why did Frank tell your brother to call me last night? He could have easily answered any question Luke had about the daily schedule here at the center. Luke didn’t need me—”
“Oh, he needs you, Julianne. He just doesn’t know it yet.” Maggie smiled. “Today’s going to be a beautiful day, don’t you think?”
“C’mon, Maggie,” Julianne responded. “You’re starting to remind me of Emma Fulton. Your brother and I barely know each other’s names, let alone the idea of anything more. He doesn’t need me, I don’t need him and I wish you, Reverend Ben and anyone else who thinks we might be interested in each other—”
“Reverend Ben?” Maggie interrupted. “What did he have to say about all of this?”
“Nothing. Nothing important, anyway,” Julianne replied. “Maggie, please don’t force this thing. It’s awkward, it’s uncomfortable.” And that was only the beginning of how odd it felt. The whole idea of being interested in some man she’d met only yesterday seemed unbelievable.
Maggie looped her arm through Julianne’s as they walked together up the front sidewalk to the center. The patriotic wind catcher of red, white and blue that Maggie had put up yesterday flapped in the early morning breeze. “I don’t want to push too hard, Julianne. I really don’t. But I just have a feeling that you and Luke—”
“Now you really do sound like Emma Fulton. Remember how anxious she was to pair me up with Reverend Ben?” Julianne stopped walking. “It just doesn’t work that way. Forget about ‘fixing me up’ with the first eligible man that comes along, and quit trying to solve your brother’s problems for him. People need space, Maggie. We need to solve our own problems, find our own way through life. I’m sure Luke would say that he feels the same if you took the time to ask him.”
But Maggie wasn’t asking. Or listening, apparently. “So, did the two of you have a nice conversation on the phone last night?”
Julianne groaned in frustration. “Are you paying attention to anything that I’m saying?” she asked her friend before turning to continue their walk to the front door.
“I will pay attention if you tell me something good about your talk with Luke.”
“The only good thing about it was that it didn’t last long. It was awkward and unnecessary. Frank could have told Luke he could bring the kids in earlier than he planned without my input on the matter. You know that.”
Two cars pulled into the parking area beside the building. It was time for their day to begin, and Julianne had some work to do in her room before the children started arriving.
“There’s Betty,” Maggie remarked as she watched their director getting out of her vehicle. “She had dinner last night with Warren again. That’s the third evening this week they’ve been out together. Maybe Warren Sinclair would be a good man for Luke to meet. You know what I mean, Julianne? Warren lost his wife about a year ago, and he’s been able to get on with his life.”
Julianne sighed and walked through the heavy wooden door. Arguing this matter with Maggie was obviously hopeless until Maggie actually started listening, and Julianne had work to do before her classroom was invaded by four-year-olds.
A short time later, a light rap on Julianne’s classroom door alerted her to the fact she’d neglected to open the door for the parents to enter.
“Miss Quinn?” It was Luke O’Hara’s voice. Low and quiet. Just like it had been on the phone last night.
Julianne pulled the door open the rest of the way. “Come on in, Mr. O’Hara. Good morning, kids. How are you today?”
“Okay,” Nora and Todd answered almost simultaneously as they burst through the door and ran toward the play area in the rear of the classroom. “Let’s get the animals out,” Nora suggested, and Todd followed her lead.
“They’ve been up for over an hour,” Luke remarked, watching his kids begin busily playing with toys they’d grown accustomed to in only one day. “They really seem to like it here.” He looked from his active children to the young woman who had made them feel comfortable and accepted yesterday—enough so that they were anxious to return again today. So, this Julianne Quinn that his sister had bragged about might really be as good with children as Maggie claimed she was. She’d certainly worked wonders with his twins the first day. Maybe it was that soft voice, he considered. That same thought had occurred to him last night when they’d talked briefly on the phone. Julianne had a soothing manner in the way she spoke. It was something the children could respond to favorably. Who wouldn’t? he wondered momentarily, then dismissed the thought. He had a busy schedule today. There wasn’t enough extra time in his day to ponder the qualities that made Miss Quinn a good teacher. “I’ll be back around four-thirty this afternoon,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“All right, Mr. O’Hara. We’ll look for you then,” Julianne replied and smiled at the tall man who stayed near the door as he watched his kids play. His hair was combed casually to the side and slightly windblown, Julianne noticed. She had this unexplainable urge to reach up and smooth it back into place. The thought startled her, and she glanced nervously away from Luke. Maybe she’d been listening to too much of Maggie’s rhetoric. “Enjoy your day, Mr. O’Hara,” she added in a very businesslike tone. “Don’t worry about your