Chapter 1

I was sitting in my office looking out the window at the little park behind our hardware business. I had only been at my desk a few minutes when I saw this young girl sit down on the park bench. She laid a backpack on the ground between her feet. I wasn't that close but I'd swear she was crying. I got busy for the next couple of hours and paid no attention to the world outside.

It was nearly eleven that morning when I had cleared my desk of the accounts that had come in overnight. I could now take on today's reports that were trickling in from the offices up on the top floor. I worked alone undisturbed here in the rear of the business. My boss's office was down the hall and I could occasionally hear the rumble of his voice on the phone or when someone was with him.

I glanced out the window and was startled to see the girl still sitting there. She appeared to be half asleep or maybe just letting the time go by. Suddenly she straightened and stood up, walking over to the water fountain to get a drink. This hadn't been hooked up for the summer yet. She just came back and slumped on the bench again. She looked around and saw me watching her.

She was young, maybe sixteen-or-so. Her long hair was a pretty shade of brown with little highlights in it, but it hadn't been combed today. Yes, she had been crying. A brave, "screw you" expression crossed her face and then she put her head down resuming the original position I had seen her take when she arrived. She stayed that way until it was time for me to go to lunch.

I walked out and sat on the far end of the park bench. I began speaking as if to myself. "Damn, I wish the town would hook up that fountain. It's getting warmer all the time and a person sure could use a drink. Oh well an ice cold glass of Ginger Ale or a glass of Sprite would sure go down easy. Couple that with a hamburger or a Chilly Dog with chips would be good too."

"Are you trying to pick me up, Mr.?"

"Am I that obvious, Sissy."

"Don't call me Sissy. My name is Francie Reilly."

"Well Fran, let me guess. You act like a person who just got dumped. You're young and don't know which way to turn. The guy probably took all of your money, maybe your virginity and all of your self esteem. So you're sitting in a park far from home and don't know whom to ask for help. You most likely ran away after your parents warned you against the guy, so you're too ashamed to call them to help you get back home."

Tears started in earnest now. "How did you know?"

"I had a sister once who did the same thing. She sucked it up though, and went into a church for help. The pastor called my Dad and he came and got her. She's married now with a child. She learned that bad boys can be exciting and a lot of fun. She's a lot older than I am and that experience hasn't changed her that much. I haven't been that close to her because of our age difference. I do love my niece, though and she thinks I'm pretty wonderful. Come on, I'll buy you something to eat. I don't have that much time before I have to return to work."

"What's your name?"

"Kenny Burns."

"Are you a bad boy?"

"I don't consider myself one, but how can you tell?"

"I'll take a chance. All your talk about cold drinks and food overrides any worry I have about you." She didn't say much and I didn't question her during lunch. Francie was young and I could see she was going to grow into a pretty woman. I watched her out my window all afternoon.

When I got off from work, I asked her, "Follow me. I'll give you a place to sleep and feed you until you decide that home is the best place for you." Fran Reilly followed me home that night to my two-room kitchenette.

I learned a lot about Francie. I shared I was twenty-two, and had been to college majoring in accounting. I told her about my family. I had a sister, Betty, who was married to Pete Cooper, and my niece, Becky. I mentioned my father, Philo, and my mother, Millie.

Francie did learn, in the three weeks she was with me, that I was employed in a business owned by my parents. My dad owned three hardware stores; this store here in Clearview, which father had opened just recently, and was where I was working now. There was the home store in Benson, and another one in Stapleton.

The one in Stapleton was the town my brother-in-law, Pete, came from, and with whom my sister had met while going to College. Pete and Betty now lived in Benson, and Pete helped manage the home store with my dad. Pete also oversaw some of the departments in all three stores. Pete and Betty went to the Stapleton store at least twice a month to see to that operation, much like Dad coming here a couple times a month. Dad was only here over night, whereas Pete always took four days in Stapleton.

I was just out of school and was learning the business by working in Clearview where I wasn't directly under my father's thumb. I pretty much did what my father told me to do because he had paid for my education. Sometimes I resented him a little. Not that he was a hard taskmaster, but because he owned three stores and was driven to excel. Dad had laid out a plan and it was up to me to follow it.

I saw no reason to impart that fact to this person who would soon be gone out of my life. It took me three weeks to convince her that her parents might not be all that she wished them to be, but they just might love her more than she believed.

What I found out about Fran was that she was the middle child in a middle-class family. Her brother Steve, was the first born. He would be the one to carry on the family name and was thought of as the most important. Her ten-year-old younger brother Sam was the baby of the family and was of course nearly as important. She had been the princess of the family until Sam came along, but that had changed dramatically and she resented it. Now sixteen she was left to fend for herself, or at least she felt that she was.

Fran was living with me in my little apartment as my step-sister. She could have been because we did live as brother and sister. I slept on a day bed I used for a couch. I suppose my being six years older I felt I had the right to preach about how she should live her life. Did she listen to me? I couldn't really tell.

I didn't own a car because I lived only a block and a half from where I worked. This was a bare existence for me and I knew it would get better someday. I took all my lunches from the lunch cart and often bought a heat-em-up meal in the microwave for dinner. That worked well for the two of us. I knew when I was at home with my folks I would have great meals and I often talked about them.

"Learn to cook, and your husband will love you forever." This was one of the lessons I tried to impress on this wayward girl.

Day times Fran hung out in the library. Fran and I did things together after my day was done. We walked about the small city and went to the movies. We sat in the park and when the city turned the water on at the drinking fountain we both declared it was the best water we had ever tasted. One day when I came home from work, a week into living like this, Fran asked me to go get some feminine items for her. She was going to stay on the couch all day.

"I'm sorry you aren't feeling well, Fran."

"Don't say that. I'm so relieved because I thought I might have become pregnant. For awhile I wanted to get pregnant, but I'm so glad I'm not. What would have happened to me if I was? Think of the mess I would be in? And think what would have happened to me if you hadn't taken pity on me? You've fed me and given me a home for a few days and taught me so much. I really am immature, aren't I?"

I grinned, "You were, but now you're not." Feeling better, Fran called one of her girlfriends and learned her parents were frantic with worry about their missing daughter. She came to the conclusion that maybe her parents did have some love for her. I was unaware of this and figured her being so sober one morning had something to do with her monthly.

That night we sat on the couch together watching the eleven o'clock news. When Fran sat down beside me, she sat right next to me. "Kenny, would you kiss me? In fact I'm yours to do with me what you wish."

"Fran, I can't do that. I think you are a wonderful person, but it wouldn't be right. You really should go home and finish school. You leaving like you did will be a wake up call to your parents. They'll give you the attention you were denied before."

"Kenny, you must love me a little. I know I love you a lot. I know I'm young, but I have found out what love is."

"I am very fond of you, I won't deny that. But we are from two different worlds. I'm not ready to take on a wife at this time. If we were both older and settled into life, it might be possible."

Fran stood up with tears in her eyes. "I'm not attractive enough for you, am I?"

"Fran you are very pretty and you will become more beautiful as time goes by. I'm thrilled that you consider me for love after the experiences you have gone through, but it just wouldn't be right." Fran was a temptation, though. Her body hadn't firmed up like it would in a few years, but it promised something exceptional.

"Okay Kenny, I suppose you are correct, but I do love you and I wanted to show you how much. I'm going to bed now and think about you. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight."

What had I got myself into? I did love this too young woman, and on several different levels, I knew getting any closer to Fran wouldn't work. I didn't get much sleep that night. I was half asleep when I got ready for work. I knew Fran was awake in the bedroom because I heard a bureau drawer close. As I opened the door to leave, Fran came rushing from the bedroom and threw her arms around me. "Kenny, I love you and I always will. I'll never forget you either."

What brought this on? Unthinking, I leaned down and kissed her. She gave me a sad smile. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Fran, we'll talk about this tonight. Will you be in for lunch today?"

"No, not today, Kenny. Good-bye."

I was bothered all day by a strange feeling. I felt something had happened and I should know what it was. I found out when I reached my apartment that evening. There was a folded note on the table. I sat down and when I picked it up, I felt something enclosed. I opened it and a pair of diamond earrings clattered on the table.

I was saddened that my association had ended with Fran. Did she leave my thoughts for any length of time? No, she didn't. I did feel good about the way I had treated her and her image would pop up at the most unexpected times. I began to date occasionally. I think it was to wipe Fran from my mind, but after a year she was still there.

Months went by, when my college had a homecoming event. All alumni were urged to attend. My fraternity was to have a party for the alumni to meet the new inductees. All of fraternity alumni's past and present names and home addresses were listed. One address caught my attention for it was in the home city where Fran lived. Tom Bitner was a fraternity brother whom I spent hours playing chess with. I hadn't planned to attend, but this year I was going to.

The party was as raucous as expected. Finally I spotted Tom who was standing against the wall watching the drunken goings on. I sidled up to him and we decided to have a game of chess. The party was getting really wild so we escaped to a back room off the kitchen. "Kenny, did you come all the way from Ohio to play chess with me?"

"No, but I did come to see you. I would like to have you check up on someone who lives in your town. I'd like it if you passed the word about the person back to me."

"It's has to be a woman, doesn't it?"

"Not a woman exactly, but a girl who will be graduating from high school this next year."

"What's her name?"

"Francie Reilly."

"Franny? How do you know her?"

"You know her then?"

"Sure. I work with her brother. I was invited to a pool party at their house last week. What gives?"

"Did you know she ran away from home a year ago?"

"I've heard that, but the family never discusses it. How do you know about her?"

"Well, she ended up at my apartment when the guy she ran away with dumped her. She hung out three weeks with me."

"Did you get to tap her? She was pretty damned wild for awhile. She seems to have changed now since she came home."

"No, we lived as brother and sister. I was curious about her that's all."

"Call her up. I can give you her home phone number."

"No, no, I can't do that. We had words and she told me to find someone I could love. I thought we would talk about it some more, but she left suddenly."

"You dog you."

"It wasn't like that. I mean I didn't hit on her. I tried to give her some advice, but she just wouldn't see it my way. I did gain some affection for her and want to know how she turns out."

"Okay, if I hear anything unusual about what she is doing, I'll call you. Let's get this game started. We came here to play chess, didn't we?"

Tom did call or write several times a year. Some times he didn't call about Fran but because we were friends. Invariably he would ask for me to send him a photograph of my family or my staff or my parents. I learned Fran graduated high school with remarkable grades considering what they were when I knew her. She was going on to the university, taking something in social science.

One time, Tom made the comment that he escorted Fran to the wedding when her brother married. "She is one of the friendliest women I know, but damn she is deft at turning a man away from her. To be honest, I hit on her and got nowhere. She shut me down and I hadn't even started." Pictures of the wedding followed a month later.

I laughed, wondering why I was so pleased at this. My own love life wasn't that much. My sister was always fixing me up. This was when I returned to the home store. I had paid my dues by working in the smaller store where I met Fran. I was fully involved at headquarters now. Funny, I didn't have the urge to connect seriously with a woman. It seemed as if I kissed one, Fran's face would be in my dreams that night. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't celibate. Any young man has his needs that can be satisfied without a firm commitment.

I did get enough involved with one woman named Sarah to move in with her, but she accused me of not being serious about our relationship so we parted after a bit. Analyzing my actions after moving on, I knew she wasn't the one to give the earrings to.

The years flew by. I was always busy, being named as head of the accounting department in my family's business and kept at headquarters. I also had the chore of auditing the other two stores the family owned. Word came one day from Tom Bitner that Fran was getting real serious with a young man and his name was Anson. Tom related that Anson began working at the Reilly firm as a sales associate and had rapidly moved up. Of course while this was going on he was making a pitch for Fran every time she was home from college.

This bothered me. I tried to tell myself I was acting like Fran was mine. What could I do now that Fran's graduation was fast approaching? The hell with it! I had the earrings that she left with me. It was time I made a move to return them. Tom, now married and still best friends with Fran's brother, was invited to her family graduation celebration around the home pool on a Saturday afternoon in May.

I called him, "Tom, one more favor for me, if you would. Will you pass onto Fran, a small box while at the party? It is something she left with me six years ago. I'll drive up Saturday, hand the package over to you, stay at a motel and drive back early Sunday."

"Sure, I can do that. Why don't you drop in and I'll introduce you to her brother who is a good friend of mine?"

"Well, I don't think I had better. It wouldn't be appropriate for me as a casual acquaintance to give his sister a present. Understand it is something that she left behind when she stayed with me. I only knew Fran for a short time and she has most likely forgotten me. But it is something valuable and something her father gave her as a child. Now that she is starting life on her own it should be with her."

"You're acting funny about this. What is it?"

I sidestepped the issue and wouldn't say. "I want to have it returned and it likely will embarrass her to have a reminder of the time she was a run-away-wild child."

"Okay, but after the party is over, promise I can come over to the motel and beat your butt at chess."

"Deal. You'll have to work at it though. I've been whipping your ass three times out of four."

"It's time for me to win. As they say, my ship is coming in."

"Okay, I'll call when I get to town. I'll be there about nine in the morning if everything goes according to plan."

Tom hung up and I walked across the room and stared into the mirror hanging on the wall. I shook my head at the image. Well, I had made a move and the die was cast. That is if I didn't chicken out and stay home. What is my problem? Hell, I was just returning an object that didn't belong to me.

I arrived at the motel after leaving early from home. I called Tom and he declared I just had to meet his wife, Kate. He gave me directions to his house. It was really nice and his pregnant wife was friendly and attractive.

"So, you are the friend Tom talks about all the time. He says tonight he is going to beat you at chess so you had better watch out." We laughed over this. Tom tried again to get me to go with him to the Reilly home, but I was just as adamant that I wasn't going. I was tempted though.

I did agree to have breakfast with him and Kate tomorrow after our chess game. She knew the game often lasted this long. Kate almost chiseled out of me why this item was so important to Fran. I didn't tell her what it was, but it was a valuable item left with me as collateral for money to return home. For now, I told Tom I was returning to the motel and get some sleep because I was on the road so long this morning.

I wondered how Fran would receive the earrings. Maybe I should have just mailed them. No, I wanted to know her reaction and I knew if I was there, then her reaction would take a different form. I was sure Tom would tell me all about it. I'd learn about it tonight. I lay down and unbelievably I slept. That is until there was some pounding on my door. I glanced at my watch and I had slept late into the afternoon.

"Open up, Kenny." This was Tom. "You have guests. They want to speak to you."

I looked out through the screen. There were four men standing there. Tom, of course I knew. I surmised who the older man was. It had to be Fran's dad and of course, the other two were her brothers. "Let us in."

I did. I was backed up to the bed as they crowded in. Tom stood there grinning. Fran's father announced, "Young man, I'm Timothy Reilly. These are my sons, Steve and Sam. You're going to meet the Reilly women folk in a little bit. There is going to be a family meeting soon with all present and that includes you. No getting out of it."

I turned to Tom, ignoring this man in front of me. "What happened?"

"No time for that now. You'll find out when you talk to Fran."

"Tom, at least tell me what Fran said when she opened the little box?"

"She didn't say anything at first because she fainted."

"Is she okay?"

"Sure, this caught her by surprise, that's all."

I hurried up and changed while being bombarded with questions being put to me. Tom stood in the background smiling. It was like I was a prospective son-in-law being questioned to see if I was good enough for his daughter or something.

I was soon ready wearing in a nice pair of slacks and a short-sleeved dress shirt. I took along a blazer in case I needed one. When we stepped out of the motel, Timothy told me to follow him in my car. Tom, and Sam, the younger brother of Fran's, got in with me. "Tom, what's going on? Fran's father seems to know me pretty well."

"Don't ask questions. They will be a time for that shortly. You'll soon see why everyone is acting the way they are. Now when we get there, you will be meeting Fran's mother. Everyone else at the family graduation gathering will be gone. I'm to let you in the rear door and you are to go up the stairs to a door on the right. Fran will be waiting for you and she will answer your questions."

Sam, from the back seat questioned, "Fran says she only kissed you one time. She's been talking about you for years. One of you has to be crazy. I'll bet you hardly remember her after all the time since that happened."

"Sam, Fran is a girl to be remembered. Time and distance has nothing to do with it."