Love's Grand Sweet Song (Windy City Hearts Book 3) by Jennifer Lamont Leo

Author:Jennifer Lamont Leo [Leo, Jennifer Lamont]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mountain Majesty Media
Published: 2024-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Henry rose very early on Sunday morning and drove his impeccable Pierce-Arrow—a graduation gift from his grandparents—the hour and a half to Scoville. His plan was to arrive in time for the ten o’clock service at Scoville Community Church, listen to Francie sing in the choir, then surprise her after the service with lunch and an entire afternoon together. In his imagination, they’d talk, and laugh, and clear away the strain of misunderstanding that currently hung in the air between them.

Minutes before ten o’clock, he parked in front of the church, bounded up the front steps, and chose a seat with an excellent view of the choir loft. But when the service started, Francie did not appear with the rest of the choir. Henry scanned the pews, but didn’t see her anywhere in the congregation. Nor did he see Miss Whitworth. What was going on? The pair of them rarely missed church. Had he misunderstood Mr. Figaro? Had Francie moved to California, after all?

He slumped back in the pew. So much for his grand surprise.

He fidgeted through the service, then immediately afterward made a beeline for Miss Whitworth’s house. He rang the bell repeatedly, but no one answered.

Dejected, he headed for Francie’s former home. Her family had moved away, of course, but perhaps the new renters had information on where Francie might be, a forwarding address or telephone number. When he rang the doorbell, a short, stout woman answered.

“Excuse me for bothering you,” Henry said. “I’m trying to find the Forrester family. Specifically, Miss Francine Forrester. They were the previous renters in this house.”

“I’m sorry,” the woman told him. “We’re new here. I don’t know who the Forresters are or anything about them.”

Henry apologized again, and the woman closed the door. He stood on the porch a moment, uncertain of what to do next. There was no use looking for Francie at her job, as Café Figaro was closed on Sundays. Where else might she be?

As a last-ditch effort, he looked up Mr. Figaro’s home address in the telephone directory and drove over there. His desire to find Francie overcame his trepidation over Mr. Figaro’s probable anger when Henry washed up on his doorstep. But there was no answer at the Figaro home, either. Where the heck was everybody?

He parked the Pierce-Arrow on Main Street and wandered the Sunday-quiet streets of Scoville, hoping to run into Francie, or someone who knew her, by chance. He ended up at the college campus. Although he’d only graduated the previous spring, the place looked unfamiliar and strange. It was no longer his school.

She was no longer his girl.

He sat for a while on the familiar bench on the sledding hill, reliving memories of happier times spent there with Francie and kicking himself over how he’d made a mess of everything. A tall maple tree shaded him from the hot sun. Cicadas buzzed in the lilac bushes, now leafy and full, but lacking their sweet-smelling flowers.

His heart ached.

As evening fell, he gave up. His trip had been wasted.

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