Monongahela: Snow Pass

By Kathleen Elaine Norris Underwood

Joanna (Catherine) Barnett is a young woman who has had a difficult childhood. She had been under the control of domineering parents, and then a domineering husband. She has, after years of trying, become pregnant. But when she announces this to her husband, he leaves their home and subsequently refuses to talk to her or see her. In confusion she escapes to a rural area she remembers from happier times; there hiding under an assumed name.

Follow the travels of Joanna as she begins her new life and her struggles to make it on her own. In Monongahela Snow Pass she finds employment, friendships, and more. She feels at home but is pulled in two directions and two cities. You will pull for Joanna in a way that reaches your own emotions for a woman looking for hope, love, and family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452056753

Kathleen Elaine Norris Underwood

Author Kathleen Elaine Norris was born in Peoria, Illinois on January 10, 1930 to Carmen and Paul Norris. She began her college education at the University of Illinois and completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Louisville. She began a career in teaching in the Sycamore and then the Loveland school districts in Cincinnati, Ohio and specialized in mathematics and sciences at the 5th grade level. Kathleen received her Masters of Education degree at Xavier University in 1981. In 1951 Kathleen wed Melvin Underwood and they had two children, Nancy and David. Recognition as a teacher came when she was named Science Teacher of the Year by Dow Chemical and the National Academy of Sciences, and she was selected to attend training seminars at the NASA Lewis Laboratory in Berea, Ohio. She was in attendance as a selected guest to witness the NASA launch of the Hubble Space telescope. Melvin and Kathleen for many years took vacations in May and October to travel the great Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia to see the splendor of the Spring and Fall colors. These were inspiring moments and were to be an important backdrop to a story that had yet to be written. Chosen in 1982 to attend the Ohio Writing Project at Miami University, Kathleen's passion for writing was born but was not yet displayed until she retired from teaching in 1995. Kathleen's passion is shown in her writing of this love story that is interwoven between Cincinnati, Ohio and Snow Shoe (Snow Pass), West Virginia. The writing talent is evident as you read Monongahela where she shows her creativity in character development and her commitment to detail in developing the story.

Book preview

© 2011 Kathleen Elaine Norris Underwood. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 3/3/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4520-5673-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-5674-6 (dj)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-5675-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011901792

Printed in the United States of America

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Monongahela Snow Pass

Joanna (Catherine) Barnett is a young woman who has had a difficult childhood. She had been under the control of domineering parents, and then a domineering husband. She has, after years of trying, become pregnant. But when she announces this to her husband, he leaves their home and subsequently refuses to talk to her or see her. In confusion she escapes to a rural area she remembers from happier times; there hiding under an assumed name.

Follow the travels of Joanna as she begins her new life and her struggles to make it on her own. In Monongahela Snow Pass she finds employment, friendships, and more. She feels at home but is pulled in two directions and two cities. You will pull for Joanna in a way that reaches your own emotions for a woman looking for hope, love, and family.

Thanks to the Ohio Writing Project

Department of English

Miami University

For the class of the summer of 1982.

Contents

Monongahela Snow Pass

Chapter 1 - CATHERINE’S HAPPIEST, SADDEST DAY 1

Chapter 2 - SNOW PASS - NEW BEGINNING

Chapter 3 - LINENS TO GO

Chapter 4 - BETRAYED?

Chapter 5 - ADAM

Chapter 6 - JOANNA’S PREGNANCY

Chapter 7 - THE POSSIBILITY IS THERE

Chapter 8 - JOANNA’S DILEMMA

Chapter 9 - SNOW PASS - A REFUGE

Chapter 10 - BROTHER BILL’S ADVICE

Chapter 11 - ANNIE GETS HELP

Chapter 12 - SPOUSAL ABUSE EXPOSED

Chapter 13 - INVESTIGATOR SAMSON’S REPORT

Chapter 14 - ADAM - THE PROTECTOR

Chapter 15 - JOANNA’S REQUEST TO ADAM

Chapter 16 - JOHN ARRIVES AT SNOW PASS

Chapter 17 - JOANNA’S BELOVED SNOW PASS

Chapter 18 - ADAM’S BROKEN HEART

Chapter 19 - CATHERINE CONFIDES TO GRAY

Chapter 20 - EMILY: YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL

Chapter 21 - DETECTIVE ADAM IN CINCINNATI

Chapter 22 - THE FLYNN’S CHRISTMAS

Chapter 23 - ADAM & RESA VISIT BOOKNOOK

Chapter 24 - E. J. ATHERTON, THE POET

Chapter 25 - NEVER AGAIN

Chapter 26 - CATHERINE’S BOOK TOUR

Chapter 27 - IS SHE WHO I THINK SHE IS?

Chapter 28 - DEATH OF A MARRIAGE

Chapter 29 - SNOW PASS - THE HOUSE ON THE MOUNTAIN

Chapter 30 - SNOW PASS - HOME SWEET HOME

Chapter 1 -

CATHERINE’S HAPPIEST, SADDEST DAY 1

Are you sure, Gray? Really, really sure? Her voice held wonder, fear, and excitement in nearly equal measures. She reached across the mahogany surface and lay her hands on his. At his smiling nod, she added, I could never have lasted these years without you. I’d have given in to despair years and years ago.

Gray smiled and turned his hands over to grasp hers tightly. I am sure. Really, really sure. And I didn’t do it, love. It would have happened in its own time. I have just held your hand and encouraged you through the hard times. I am almost as happy as you are.

I feel like I might fly into pieces, Gray. As if it is too marvelous to be contained. What a glorious day!

Gray chuckled and squeezed her hands again. Go home and share this news with that lucky man. And remember my instructions. This is no time to be careless. I’ll see you next month.

She walked to the door of the room still holding Gray’s hand. She had a great deal more she would have liked to say, but words weren’t up to the task. It was too much to take in at once; too much for words to express.

She floated down the solemnly carpeted hallway to the bank of elevators. Some part of her thought an elevator was superfluous, she could have descended without an earthbound mechanism. Out on the street she hailed a cab. Usually that was an unproductive action, but today the first cab stopped for her. Of course, today was enchanted. Today a miracle wasn’t beyond belief.

She watched the city streets pass by with their mounds of crusty, fouled snow still lying about. She had never been a fan of January, nor had she thought it would be a time to remember with pleasure. Now she knew that this particular kind of gray wintry day would always bring her a special joy. The streets might be grubby and chill, and the sky full of ragged dirty clouds, but she could still see a beauty in this day that she had never perceived before. How glad she was that she had lived to experience this moment!

At the market on her way home she considered what to do about the evening meal. Go out to celebrate? No. Home was where she wanted to be to tell this news. If she lost control, or if he did, better not to be in public, which would only embarrass them both. Nothing…strangers, crowded dining rooms…nothing could help her control her feelings today. On a day when the earth shifted on its axis anyone might lose control. But she didn’t want observers when it happened.

So, a pot roast? Yes. He liked that, and it would go together without any special care on her part. Her cooking skills were limited, and concentration on anything is difficult when your heart is in your throat, and your feet can’t find solid ground. Red potatoes, a green salad, peach cobbler…that would be good, and not require her undivided attention. Too often, for special meals, she planned something a little beyond her culinary abilities and, as a result, became frustrated. Today she wanted no dilution of her joy with potwatching worry. Do it easy.

Once home, she flew into preparations, as if it would be a short wait and not the several hours she actually anticipated. Should she call and ask him to come home early? No. Let it unfold like any other day, and thus keep her surprise as a totally unexpected treat. No hints ahead of time.

When all preliminary preparations were completed, she showered and opened her closet to see what she wanted to wear for this time she knew she’d remember for all her life. The blue dress that made blue lights in her ebony hair? The rose one that made her alabaster skin glow a warmer shade? The green one that made her eyes emerald? The blue one. He liked her in that. Although he rarely made comments about how she looked, she had learned over time to recognize the warmth in his eyes when she was looking particularly well. And she noticed now and again the small not-quite smile that twitched his lips up at the corners such a very little. The blue one.

When she felt that every possible thing had been done that could be done ahead of time, she sat down in the living room to wait. A book lay in her lap, but she had yet to register the first word or turn the first page. She spent some time admiring the room in which she sat. It was not very modern, or terribly luxurious. The furnishings were an eclectic mix that included some pieces that had long belonged to John, and some pieces that had been her mother’s long ago, and even a few items from her grandmother’s day. Each article was cherished for its history, or its usefulness, but nothing for its intrinsic value. She did not believe in furnishing a house with chairs and couches so valuable that she had to worry about using them. Such a house was not for her.

She spent some long moments thinking about the fickle nature of time. How it could rush along when one wanted it to go slowly and trickle slowly along when one wished it would pass with the speed of light from a distant star. This moment was so filled with meaning for her, and its portent so exciting she could almost measure its mass in her hands. She used part of this turtle-crawl time to imagine what John would say or do when he heard her news. She sent up a silent prayer that she would find just the right words…that nothing would confuse her tongue, or jumble her thoughts.

When she had begun to suspect that the sheer joy of this day would rip her asunder, she heard the elevator, and the rolling glide of its door. Then there was the tread of his feet in the hallway. She flung open the door and was received with open arms by the tall dark-haired man who stood there. The dark hair that was just a little too long and fell over his brow, the deep, dark blue of his eyes, the strength of his embrace were all as she had known they would be.

Whoa! I haven’t had a welcome like this since I was gone to Omaha for a week!

I love you. I’m so glad you’re home. I think we’ll have to plan more days off for you. I rather like an enthusiastic greeting after a hard day. Did you do all the things you’d planned for today?

I’ll tell you at dinner. Hurry and change, and I’ll finish in the kitchen.

John grinned, and did as he was bid. Her enthusiasms were so exuberant, and unpredictable. In their early days together, he had often not known how to respond, but over time he had learned that her wild eagerness needed no specific response. It appeared to originate from some wellspring of sudden happiness, and tumbled over both of them in rippling waves of joy. With the onset of each such instance, he simply stood aside and let himself be caught up in the swirling current, since it could not be stemmed or diverted anyway. Not that he’d ever wanted to do so. It was an important part of her uniqueness that he particularly loved.

The meal was perfect, although he suspected that she’d tasted nothing and had obviously eaten little. He, however, relished every bite with his usual appreciation of good food. He liked simple, plentiful, well-cooked food as this was. He had never rued the fact that she was not a gourmet cook. That could be purchased at any number of fine restaurants that they had access to; simple food, well-prepared, however, was something much less accessible.

Over dessert and coffee, he smiled and asked, Well? Are we celebrating something tonight?

His smile was heart-stopping. He thought as he often did, that she had no clue to the magic she employed with that radiant smile. He was invariably undone by it, and hoped she had no idea how vulnerable he became under its glow. He wasn’t quite sure he wanted her to know that he could have denied her nothing…nothing within his power to grant, when that smile shone on him.

I had a secret agenda today, John. I saw my doctor.

You are ill? Consternation was written in his every feature.

No, not really. A little tiredness, a little nausea, a little tenderness here and there. Just enough to make me wonder. And Gray confirmed my suspicions today. Can’t you guess? Her face glowed with happiness.

His whole body became very still, except for the pupils of his dark eyes, which grew as he stared at her. Had she not been so ebullient she’d have noticed the sudden secession of all movement and the glaze of ice that chilled his intent stare.

A baby, John! After all the waiting, a baby!

She started to jump up and go to him, but before she was securely on her feet she froze as he rose so abruptly that his chair crashed behind him. He stood for a moment that seemed to stretch on as if suspended in time, and she, opposite him, still stood in a partly bent position. The look on John’s face riveted her in to that space.

This has been confirmed by Gray? There is no question?

Were she not looking directly at him, she would not have recognized that icy voice as John’s. Yes! Yes! I waited to tell you until I could be very sure. There have been so many false alarms these past years that I didn’t want you to be disappointed. The lab tests are positive. I’m very sure.

John was motionless for another long drawn out moment in which she was afraid to move, although, for the life of her, she couldn’t have said why. He just looked at her with those chilly eyes. She held her breath, fearing to move because something…she’d no idea what…seemed about to shatter.

Then with great deliberation, John pushed back the upended chair and moving around the table, walked to her side, drew back his hand, and struck her with all his might on her left cheek. As her head flew to the side, causing an unbelievable pain in her head and neck, John walked with the same slow deliberation to the hall closet, withdrew his coat, put it on, buttoned every button, and left the apartment, closing the door after himself very quietly.

She was so stunned she couldn’t move. John had never in any way hurt her physically, and had always seemed distraught when he had hurt her feelings in any way, even though that was a normal part of living together…an unavoidable part of two personalities in close confines. Her face and jaw and teeth screamed their pain, but her mind had turned off.

She’d never know how long she stood half upright in a frozen position. But finally she moved to begin clearing the table. Clearing dishes was real, and very little else tonight had seemed so. She filled the dishwasher, cleared and cleaned counters, and set the dining room in order. When every other task was completed to her satisfaction, she set John’s chair up on its legs. After one last look at the room and the kitchen beyond, she shut off the light and went to the bedroom.

She sat down on the edge of the bed she and John had shared for so long. Her mind was a kaleidoscope of scenes from the last hour, interspersed with vivid bright- colored blots that erased the scene every time it became too much for her to bear.

It was only after she had showered, and put on a gown, brushed her teeth and her hair, and lay down on the bed that she began to feel the anguish that had been awaiting her at the outer edge of her shock and disbelief. Her tears began slowly, and progressed to heart-wrenching sobs that seemed as if they’d shake her body to pieces. She thought she’d never sleep again, but finally her exhausted body and mind shut down and she drifted into a troubled sleep inhabited by terrible dreams that she could never quite remember later. Her mind never lost the darkness of those hours but, fortunately, it refused to reveal the horror of that dreamworld where she had spent that night.

She awoke later than usual, and felt panic that she’d slept through the alarm. As the unbelievable events of the previous night unfolded in her head, she knew that she had not set an alarm. Getting up, going to work, going through the motions of a normal day was quite beyond her just now. She called in to her office, and told them she would not be in, and directed them to cancel the appointments she had, and set up replacement dates for those she knew she would have to face later.

She struggled into a robe, and swiftly covered the still apartment to see if John had returned and not come to their room, even though she knew she would have heard him even in her deepest sleep. He was nowhere in the rooms she searched. She sat by the phone that day, sure that he would call, at least, and let her know where he was—relieve her worries about him. But the day wore on into a cloudy, early twilight, and, although the phone had rung, it was never John. It was her office, confirming the dates of rescheduled meetings, it was a steam-cleaning service she didn’t want, it was a book store to let her know an ordered book was in. It was never John.

By the end of the nerve-wracking day, she was completely debilitated. She took a long bath, realized she had not eaten that day, and dismissed the idea of food entirely. She fell into bed, and slept deeply and without the torments of the night before.

The next day she rose before dawn, showered, ate some toast that stuck in her throat, and prepared to go to work. She examined the side of her face where John had hit her. It was badly bruised, and she had only minimal success at covering the dark shadow with makeup. Finally she decided it was not possible to hide the damage, and left for her job.

During the day, she saw several furtive glances at her face, and even thought once or twice that she was about to be questioned about it, but she assumed her iciest countenance, and the questions died before being spoken aloud. She supposed that she did her work competently enough…no one complained, or seemed surprised by what she did or said…and that evening she left the building with no concerns about her workday. If it had not gone as well as usual, if she had run on automatic that day, it seemed very unimportant. Surprising, she thought, how insignificant all that was when your life is turned inside out, and you realize that you don’t know what is happening or what to do about it.

Back at her apartment nothing appeared different. She let herself in to find it as empty as before. It was only after she had undressed, and put on some jeans and an old shirt that she discovered that the apartment had not been empty the entire day. When she opened her closet door to hang up the clothes she’d taken off, she found that none of John’s clothing was there. She rushed to his armoire and opened every drawer. Nothing. It was as if he had never lived there at all. For one mad moment she wondered if the past few years had all been a dream, and he had never loved her, never lived here with her in a loving environment where she had felt happy, and sheltered, and content. Was that all an aberration of her mind?

Nausea struck her so suddenly that she nearly didn’t make it to her bathroom in time. As she retched and coughed up what little she’d eaten that day, she felt such instability that she could not be sure there was a solid floor beneath her. Perhaps her whole life had shifted 180 degrees and she wasn’t even attached to this earth, or a part of this time or place. She lay on the bathroom floor as if mortally wounded.

After a time she splashed her overheated face with cold water, and brushed her teeth to get rid of the horrible taste in her mouth. How could her face be so hot and flushed, and the rest of her body was ice? Was she coming down with something? For the first time in two days she thought of the life she sheltered in her body. Had she done anything foolish that might hurt that tiny being? Even though it appeared that her announcement of her pregnancy had driven John from her, she did not for a second want to lose this child. It had already, in those few days since she first suspected its presence, become a force in her life, and one that she would preserve at all costs.

When she was calmer, she began to call John’s friends. He had no family near, and very few family members at all. Their mutual lack of an extended family was one of the things that had made them so close. HAD made them so close, she repeated to herself. She tried to think where John might be when her calls had no results. But every name that surfaced, and every call made left her knowing no more about where he was or where he had been the past two days. Finally she called his secretary at home.

Martha was neither warmer or cooler than usual. She did not know the people at John’s firm very well, and had never made a practice of dropping in during business hours. She had seen Martha at different times at company functions, but their exchanges had been merely polite, never warm. So she could read nothing beyond curiosity in Martha’s voice when she was assured that John had been in his office that day and the day before, and had still been there when Martha left.

She saw no need to call hospitals, she’d have heard if he were injured. Besides, he’d been working just a few hours before when Martha had left. The police couldn’t help her since he didn’t seem to have disappeared for anyone but her. Finally she could think of nothing to do but what she had been doing…waiting.

The next morning she again went through the automatic actions of rising, dressing, and taking herself to work. She got through the morning some way, managed to avoid questions about her face which had now turned an interesting shade of green and yellow. She worked through her lunchtime, and at three, she informed her secretary that she was leaving for the day, and took a cab to John’s office.

Martha was at her desk in John’s outer room, and when she asked to see John, Martha hesitated just a few seconds too long before saying that he was out. She asked that he be given a message from her, and wrote a short note asking him to call her. Nothing else. Just Please call me.

That evening she waited by the phone. But no call came, not even one from a salesperson, or a wrong number. Twice she picked it up to hear the dial tone, hoping by some strange chance it was not working. She called the operator and had it checked to see if it was ringing correctly. Of course it was. He just didn’t want to talk to her.

That night she couldn’t sleep at all. At a lonely hour before dawn, she rose and gave up the attempt. She sat at her kitchen table and tried to make sense if what was happening to her. Although her mind jumped from thought to thought and made reasoning nearly impossible, she finally reached a decision about what she would do. It calmed her somewhat that she had a set course upon which she could concentrate. If it didn’t work out she could try something else.

She decided first of all to continue to try to reach John. She couldn’t help thinking that if they only talked this misunderstanding…for what else could it be?…would be cleared up. If there was no response from him, she thought she could tolerate things as they were for a short time. She set a mental limit of four weeks that she could continue as she had been the past three days. If all that time passed without hearing from John when he knew she was trying to contact him, then she must begin to make some plans about her future. It would be impossibly difficult to go that long without hearing from him, but if that happened, she must survive it, and go on to make long term arrangements for her future and the baby’s. The baby would soon be a reality that she could not hide, and she must have some plan in effect before then. If her future did not contain John, then she must rethink her whole existence.

In the meantime she regularly called John’s secretary, and left messages asking him to get in touch with her. It became a very humiliating thing to do, and she cringed at the pity she heard in Martha’s voice after the first few times she called. At last, after nearly ten days, Martha relayed instructions to the effect that she was not to call again, because John would not answer her messages.

At that point, she knew she must put her plans into effect to protect herself and her child. She began an active winding down of her business affairs, and gave notice to her firm. She spent her long, lonely evenings thinking about her future and that of her baby, and making decisions that would affect them both for the rest of her life.

Chapter 2 -

SNOW PASS - NEW BEGINNING

Bill looked up to see his brother’s head appear around the door of his office.

Yeah?

I think I made a mistake today.

That’s different?

Adam regarded him a moment in silence. That is different.

So what’s a mistake?

That woman I hired to do the accounts."

You thought she was a good choice! Has she started work already? I thought she was coming in Monday to begin.

She is. But meantime, this other one showed up, and I think she is much better qualified. I wish I’d hired her first.

How come you even interviewed her when the position was filled? You don’t have a job to offer her, so why waste the….. Umm. What does this BETTER one have better? Face? Legs? Body?

That is not why I interviewed her. Well, not entirely. She looked so upset when I told her the position had been filled, that I talked to her a few minutes. She’s new to the Pass, and she needs a job. She told me what she had been doing, and she really seemed to know what she was talking about.

A slow smile creased Bill’s face. So what did you hire her to do, Ad?

Adam’s face flushed and he looked decidedly sheepish. Well, you know we’re losing Marshall soon, and we don’t have a replacement. So I said she could have his job when he left the end of the month.

Hell, Adam. She may or may not have been a possibility as a bookkeeper. But what makes you think she’ll be able to do Marshall’s job? He has a lot of responsibility, keeping all the customers supplied with the proper linens, getting it there on time and in good shape, buying quality goods without bankrupting us, and overseeing all the workers we use to staff the hotels and lodges. Not everyone can just take that over without training. You may have made a much bigger mistake agreeing to take that cute little gal on.

I just have a feeling this one can handle whatever she needs to. And I had a strong feeling we’d miss out on a good thing if we didn’t take her on.

That feeling is all Hormonal, And. You probably did make a mistake, but not the one you thought you made. Bill’s tone of voice made Adam squirm. You are going to have to train her, oversee her, and keep us out of deep shit since you’re the one who made the ‘mistake’.

Adam eyed him questioningly. I’d be doing that regardless, so what’s the difference? I thought I’d bring her in tomorrow, and have her work with Marshall for the time he has left. Then I’ll try to free time when she’s on her own so I can help her through any problems. We didn’t have a replacement for Marshall anyway. Whoever we took on would need training and supervision, so I can’t see we are any worse off now. At least one of us is not going to have to do the work. He grinned at Bill. And she’ll brighten up the place considerably.

Bill grunted. The young and their gonads.

Adam laughed and went out the door to his own office. He walked to his window and stood looking out over the valley below him. The snow was still fresh, and covered most of the landscape he could see. He knew, though, that it would not be long before patches in the white blanket would appear, and the entire area would begin to look like a poorly pieced quilt. He always hated to see the pristine covering of white begin disappearing. Yet, he knew the spring, summer, and autumn season would be as beautiful as the deep silent snow had been. He sighed, thinking that changes of any kind were his thing. As long as he could remember, he had hated endings. As a child he had always hated to end the day, to give up activity and surrender to night. In fact, he still disliked the end of the day. Each night he gave up the fading day with definite reluctance.

He exhaled breath he had not known he was holding, and turned from the panoramic view of the valley and surrounding hills to the work awaiting him. What, he mused, would come of replacing Marshall with this girl? Woman, he corrected his thoughts. It was easier to think of her as a girl, however. Even though she had given her age as 28, she appeared younger..not necessarily in age, but she had seemed vulnerable, and uncertain in a youthful way. Perhaps he would regret this day’s decision, but perhaps not. He smiled, and settled down to tackle the mail, and phone messages awaiting him.

The next day Adam was unusually eager to start the day. As much as he hated endings, he liked beginnings. The start of each day seemed to promise something new and exciting. Despite the days that failed to deliver on that promise, he still felt that way when he rose and looked out on a new dawn. New time to spend. New possibilities.

As he showered and shaved and dressed, the anticipation of the coming day stayed with him. His drive into the plant where LINENS TO GO was housed went by quickly, as he catalogued in his mind the things he would need to go over with his newest employee. Remembering the lovely woman who had captured his attention yesterday with the purest green eyes he had ever seen, he had to admit that he didn’t really expect her to look as good today. Something about her had made him unable to turn her away even though the job was filled. He thought in retrospect that he would probably find, this morning, that a very capable…he was sure about that part of it…but much less enchanting female would enter his office.

By the time she appeared at his door, he had done some preliminary planning and was ready to deal with the immediate needs. What he had not been prepared to deal with was his astonishment that she didn’t look as he remembered her. She looked a hell of a lot better.

He first handed her an employment form, to gather the information he would need to process her required papers. She found Adam rather abrupt this morning, having no idea the effect she had on him. She took the papers he handed her and sat down in a corner of his office where he had indicated she could work. As Adam looked at the beautiful face partly screened by a cloud of black silk, something clutched at his insides. For the first time, but certainly not the last, he wondered if he was acting wisely.

She looked at the first form. Name: Joanna Corley. Age: 28 Last place of employment: She left that blank, and went on. SS No.: She filled that in with her assigned number. Working down the page, Joanna was extremely conscious of Adam’s presence in the room. Since she was not being completely truthful on her application, she had the sensation of his looking over her shoulder, though, of course, he did not.

She paused to think a question over, and looked up to find herself being watched. Adam immediately shifted his gaze to the paper on his desk, but Joanna continued to eye him. She couldn’t see his smoky gray eyes, but her mind had no difficulty conjuring up her recent sight of them. She wondered idly if they were the kind of gray that changed as his mood changed. And, if so, what shade were they now?

She had pondered, in the hours before she slept last night, why she was being asked to come back and interview for the job Adam Flynn had described the day before. With no experience that was directly applicable to that position, why would he consider her for it? Was help that hard to get here? It didn’t seem likely.

She observed again the dark head of hair that appeared to have a mind of its own, the way it flopped down or sprang up in its own pattern. She knew Adam was tall, eight or ten inches taller than her five five, and that he was extraordinarily handsome. Almost too much so. Joanna had always found it hard to have confidence in a too-beautiful person. She thought perhaps that it was because her father had been terribly good-looking, rather a Hollywood type. But he had not minded leaving her to the mercies, or lack of mercies, of any fate that befell her when he vanished from her life.

She was jerked back to the present by Adam’s voice, Problem, Joanna?

No, no, she mumbled. Just thinking.

As she progressed down the page, some of the questions were not easy to answer. Why did you leave your last position? After a lot of thought she wrote in Desire to relocate. What was your salary in your last position? She wasn’t about to answer that one correctly, so she halved her salary at her last job. What would you like to be doing five years from now? She certainly couldn’t answer that one honestly! She wrote, Keeping accounts for this company.

When she had completed the forms, she went up to Adam’s desk with them. He read them over carefully, glancing up at her now and then. She wouldn’t meet his eyes.

You didn’t put down your last place of employment. Is there some reason?

Joanna hesitated, and then, looking him straight in the eye at last, said, I left under less than pleasant circumstances.

Would you like to let me in on that?

Joanna straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin even more and said, No.

Adam was silent for a long moment, but he continued to look at her with a noncommittal expression. At last she flushed, and said, It’s something I just can’t discuss. If you have reservations about my character, or concerns about why I left, perhaps you just shouldn’t hire me.

Excuse me, but I thought yesterday you very much wanted a job.

I did! I do! I give you my word..my honorable word!..that nothing that happened at my last place of employment would in any way affect my work for you. I wasn’t fired, I didn’t embezzle, I wasn’t involved in a scandal. I just don’t want to talk about or even remember it. I want to forget the entire thing.

Adam had an idea that this was not something she would give on. That she was so adamant made him more curious, but he really didn’t think it would do any good to ask again, or press her about it. There was a tremor just below the surface of her control that indicated an enormous amount of emotion tied to this subject. Since there was nothing else that appeared to be unusual in her application form, he considered for a long two minutes or so. I’m not sure I should concede this point, and I seriously doubt my brother would agree to doing so, but I still think you’d be a valuable employee. Can you assure me that nothing in your past is going to make me sorry if I hire you without this information?

He could see her swallow as if a huge lump had been sticking in her throat. When she spoke, though, her voice was steady and reassuring.

Nothing in my past..all the way back to my earliest memory..could cause you or your firm any trouble or concern. It’s all entirely personal, and I wish it to be very private.

Well, perhaps you’ll see the day if you stay with us when you can trust us enough to share that with us. Our firm is very small, and we tend to be more like a close family than unrelated strangers. Bill and I are the owners, but we know all our people well, and pretty well know what goes on in their lives—particularly if its something they need our support in. I hope it will be that way with you, too, Joanna. It is all right if I call you Joanna?

She nodded her consent, and he continued, I see you didn’t list a husband or dependents. Is there a love interest that is going to be coaxing you back where you came from? He looked up to surprise an unreadable expression on her face. Strange, he thought. She had seemed so open and so easy to read, with all her feelings showing clearly. Maybe that wasn’t really so. She had certainly clammed up at the mention of a boy friend.

There are no ‘love’ interests. I will not be returning to the place I was working last, ever, under any circumstances. It was said coldly and firmly. Her eyes now had no depth or feeling in them. He was amazed to see that she looked like an entirely different person. The thought occurred to him again that it would be very revealing to find out the secret about her last job that she guarded so carefully.

I’m pleased to tell you that your beginning salary will be a little better than your last draw. Here are some printed notes to tell you basic information about the company and what will be expected of you. Now, if you’re ready, I’ll take you around the plant and show you what we do here, and introduce you to some of the people you’ll be working with. Let’s go in and meet my brother first. We are equal partners in this business, but we have different responsibilities. I work with the employees, and in-plant affairs, and he meets customers, and takes care of problems with them. So far it has worked out very well. You will be concerned with our clients and our employees, but you will be mostly under my supervision. We don’t usually lock horns over trifles, so it won’t be hard to work with both of us. Come on.

When they entered the adjoining office, Joanna noticed immediately that this room was larger and more carefully furnished. It had a warmth that had been missing in Adam’s office. The grouping of chairs, and a comfortable leather couch made it seem more inviting, but perhaps that was what it should be if there were prospective customers in and out during the day. She also noted the collection of pictures that adorned his desk and book shelves. They featured a very attractive woman about Bill’s age, and three beautiful children. The two boys and girl appeared to be very close in age, and none were very old. A family man was Joanna’s thought.

The man who sat at the large desk covered with orderly stacks of paper was older than Adam by several years, but there was a strong resemblance. It was not hard to see them as family members. Bill’s warm smile that began and ended with his friendly brown eyes included both Joanna and Adam, but his glance lingered longer on Adam, and telegraphed his pride in, and love for, his younger brother.

Joanna Corley, my brother Bill Flynn. Joanna is about to go down into the plant to see what’s going on and the parts she’ll be concerned with.

Bill smiled. Welcome, Joanna. We aren’t very formal here, and I understand this is a new experience as well as new country for you. Adam is going to be your biggest help in the next few weeks, but I am available for anything you need, too. And, if there is anything we can help you with in settling in, let us know. We want you to feel comfortable and at home with us and in our community. I think you’ll find everyone here willing to do all they can to make you feel like part of the team.

Joanna smiled in return, and thanked the man at the desk. Somehow even though she had heard similar speeches before from employers, she thought Bill was very sincere about what he had said, and realized that she would probably not hesitate to ask him for help. This was definitely different than feelings she’d had about other former employers. The Flynn brothers appeared to be truly friendly, and certainly not hung up on formalities of any kind. That brought a sigh of relief from Joanna, and made her less apprehensive about the somewhat false colors she was operating under.

After a few minutes of conversation about the weather, and this part of the state, she and Adam went on their way. He took her through the departments of the plant..the laundry, the shipping, the receiving, and the supplies. They ended at a small room with a desk, two chairs, and little room for anything else.

"This will be your bailiwick, Joanna. Here you will check orders as they are readied to be sent out, and check them incoming from our trucks. A great deal of our success will depend on your doing your job very well, so that we don’t have complaints about our service, our quality, and our timeliness. I don’t have to tell you, I know, that an order going out short, or late, or incorrect has a devastating effect on our business. Although we do advertise, the majority of our new business is gained from the words of satisfied hotel and lodge managers.

"In addition, we supply workers for many of our customers. The housemaids, and any person who deals with our linens is usually one of our employees. Most of the people with whom we deal like the convenience. We have also found it to be a big factor in our success. A person who works for the company who is supplying the towels and sheets treats them better, and that means longer wear and savings to us. The housekeeping and quality and quantity of linens the guest has available has a great influence on his or her enjoyment of the accommodations. So we try to take care of that end of the business entirely.

When a lodge is in trouble with linen service, and feels they have to make a change in suppliers, they usually talk to some other manager to see what is available, and how satisfactory it is likely to be. Of course, we want them to be recommending LINENS TO GO. The busier the season the more important our good service is, and the harder it is to do it right. So we are giving you a key position here, and I have some hesitancy after our talk this morning. I hope you will remember that when I keep very close tabs on you..at least until I feel you have all the reins firmly in hand. Bill and I have a vested interest in your doing well.

"I hope you will do that—keep a close