Chapter 13
"No, Sir," Harriett looked up at AJ questioningly.
"They mean 'thoughts of love'," he told her. "Do you think that is what Victor meant?"
"I don't know Sir. I had wondered if he might love me when he told me he's been interested in me for years, but he hasn't said it or for that matter given any other indication that he does. Do you think that's what he meant?"
Knowing that is what Victor meant even if he hadn't known the meaning of the flowers, AJ needed to find out how Harriett was feeling about the situation. "How would you feel about it if that is what he meant, Harriett dear? Are you ready to love again?"
Smiling gently up at him she said, "I have always believed that the more love you have in your life, the more open you are to more love coming your way. I know Buddy loved me with every fiber of his being and we have four incredible children as a result of that love, and they love me too. So it just seems natural to look welcomingly on more love coming into my life." She seemed just a bit startled by her own words, but her grin widened and she added, "So I guess I'm just fine with the idea of him loving me."
"And do you think you're ready to return his love?" AJ asked concerned for both of them.
"I don't know that I'm ready to right now, but I know that I'm open to the idea so if he can give me a little time, I'm pretty sure that love could develop."
"Alright then, Harriett, I'll wish you both the best, but know that young man will answer to me if he hurts you," AJ said as he picked up his cover and left.
Harriett wanted to call Vic as soon as AJ had left but she knew that he was out of town. She worried that he might have even been out of the country on a mission. How would she handle it if she knew that he was in danger? She knew that his job took him into danger and even if she was willing to put up with that worry, could she subject the children to loving him and then possibly loosing him, as they had already lost their father?
The children seemed to be handling Bud's death pretty well, although she wasn't sure that the younger ones completely understood yet. There were still days when they asked for him as if expecting him to come walking through the door any day. Little AJ though knew that his father was never coming home, and try as he could to act like the man in the family now, he was still only a little boy and she would find him crying sometimes at night when he thought no one knew. She knew how they felt though; she would still walk into a room and look around for him, which was when it hit her that he was really gone. It didn't happen that much anymore and that was when she realized that she was finally healing and might be ready to move on.
Victor got back into town Wednesday night and the first thing he wanted to do was to call Harriett. He just wanted to hear her voice and to find out how she and the children were doing, but he looked at his watch and realized that the children would all be in bed and Harriett would either be taking a long hot bath or be tucked into bed reading a good book. Either of those situations caused him to pull his thoughts back. As much as he loved Harriett and wanted to one day have her as his wife, his mother's teaching on carnal thoughts came back to him in full force whenever it came to lusting after Harriett.
He had been taught at his mother's knee that there were two kinds of females. Ladies and those that weren't! She had made it clear that she was raising all his sisters to be ladies and that any woman that was, deserved all the respect that he could give her, and that meant not having lustful thoughts about her! As for the females that weren't ladies, his mother insisted that he shouldn't have anything to do with them at all!
To be continued….
