Chapter One #2
He had briefly mentioned marriage before she left for college, but Meggie had felt like she was standing on the brink of life
and had no intentions of settling down.
In the four years she was away, Meggie changed. The biggest change in her life had been Christ and her commitment to Him.
Sam hadn’t understood this either. By the time she graduated and moved home, the rift between them was even larger.
Sam looked like a boy to Meggie, a charming, lovable boy. But she was almost twenty-three and ready for a man.
Things would have been less difficult if Roy O’Halloran could have understood Meggie’s feelings. It was almost as if he expected
her to marry Sam because he had decreed it so.
“Meggie, a father knows what’s best for his daughter.”
“But, Dad,” she’d pleaded a hundred different times, “I don’t love Sam, at least not the way a wife should.”
“You will,” he insisted, shaking his head. “Give yourself time.”
The heart of the problem had been O’Halloran Printing. If Meggie married Sam, then the business Roy O’Halloran had spent his
life building would stay in the family. Sam had been working for her father since his high school days. He’d been primed and
tutored to take over the business as soon as Roy retired.
Her father’s confused look still haunted her. “Meggie, darling, you know I’d never want you to do anything that would be wrong
for you. But Sam loves you, he’s loved you since he was a boy. All these years he’s been waiting for you.”
No matter how hard she tried, Meggie couldn’t make her father or Sam understand. She loved them both and it hurt her to see
the pain in their eyes. Perhaps if her mother was alive things would have been different. But Barbara O’Halloran had died
when Meggie was thirteen. Meggie had always been close to her father, but after the tragedy they became even closer.
Meggie had never experienced such guilt as when her father looked across the dinner table with an expression of such intense
disappointment that it made her heart ache.
If her father’s look bothered her, it was nothing compared to the sad, puppy-dog expression Sam wore most of the time. He
had lived more at her house than his own, but after a while he stopped coming around at all. When she did see him, there was
an injured air about him. It was her father who repeatedly told Meggie about the hurt she was inflicting on Sam.
When her father realized she wasn’t going to marry Sam, he had applied pressure in the form of guilt.
“I thank God your mother isn’t alive to see what a disappointment you and your brother have been to me.” He gazed at her with
lost, unhappy eyes. “If she wasn’t already dead it would kill her.”
As crazy as it sounded now, Meggie had nearly succumbed. Her older brother, Martin, was a career Navy man. Martin had never
shown any interest in the printing business, much to her father’s chagrin. And now, because Meggie wasn’t following the path
he had set for her, she too had disillusioned him.
For eight of the longest months of her life, she had remained at home, praying she had made the right decision.
Perhaps if Sam had behaved differently, Meggie might have yielded. But he was content to let her father do his talking for
him. Whenever they were together, he acted as if her rejection had ruined his life.
Meggie felt herself withdrawing from life, building a protective wall around herself. Only her job with an insurance agency
kept her from having an ulcer. It was the office manager who told her about the job with Hadley Insurance Company in Portland,
Oregon, and urged her to apply. This and the fact Jacquie had been telling her to make a break had spurred her into action.
In the beginning she didn’t feel she had a chance of getting the job as an underwriter. Her degree was in history and she
had only been working in the insurance field for eight months.
In the days following the interview, Meggie had prayed hard that if she got the job then it was God’s will for her to leave
her father, Sam and Los Angeles.
Once he learned that she had the job, her father had broken down and cried. Meggie could remember seeing her father cry only
once—at her mother’s funeral. Meggie had wept too, tears streaming down wan cheeks.
“I’ve driven my little girl away,” her father had cried. “I’m so sorry, Meggie. Can you forgive an old man for wanting his
own way?”
“Oh, Dad.” The tight knot in her throat had prevented her from saying anything more.
“I’m sorry, Meggie, forgive me.”
They had hugged one another fiercely, the air finally clear between them.
Meggie began packing the next morning. Now more than ever she felt sure she had made the right decision. Roy had put on a
brave smile when it came time for her to leave.
“Keep in touch, won’t you?” he murmured, giving her one last hug.
“You know I will,” she answered.
Sam had come earlier in the day, helping her load her Mustang. “I’ll never love anyone the way I love you,” he said with the
lost-little-boy look she’d come to recognize.
They sat on the front lawn drinking Cokes, just as they’d done in their teens.
“Don’t you understand, even now, Sam?” she asked, unable to look into his eyes. “You deserve a better wife. Someone who will
love you more than I can. I don’t want to hurt you, I’ve never wanted to, but it just wouldn’t work between us.”
“Later?” he asked.
Meggie shrugged. “Maybe.” But she didn’t know how.
“Could I write to you?”
The offer surprised Meggie. “I’d like that, Sam.”
His large, brown eyes appealed to her. “Then it isn’t over between us?”
Meggie could only answer him honestly. “You’ll always be my friend, Sam, but I don’t know if there ever could be anything
but friendship between us. We both need time.”
His hand reached for hers, squeezing it hard. “I want so much more, but beggars can’t be choosers, can they?”
“Oh, Sam,” she whispered miserably. “We’ll write, and see how things develop. Take care of my dad and let me know how things
are going with you. I want you to promise me one thing.”
Sam looked up expectantly.
“I want you to start dating other girls.”
Sadly, Sam nodded.
The picture of her father and Sam standing on the front lawn waving good-bye as she pulled out of the driveway would forever
remain in her mind. It had been a difficult decision to leave. But it had been the right one.
Meggie glanced at the bedside clock. One-thirty. She gave a tiny groan of frustration and closed her eyes. She didn’t know
how long it was after that before she slept. Gradually the waves of fatigue lured her into the arms of rest.
Hadley Insurance Company had a unique way of training its employees-from the ground up. Meggie had started her job almost
two weeks before, and thus far had spent several days in the mailroom learning the different functions there. Next, she was
transferred to the filing department. Many of the company files were on computers now, but the business maintained a backup
system and kept meticulous records in standard files. From the filing room, Meggie had worked in the accounting department,
learning the ins and outs of the company’s finances. It didn’t take her long to appreciate the finer art of keeping the accounts
balanced. Currently she was working at the fire desk, learning the rating process for homeowners insurance. Having worked
for the insurance agency, Meggie was familiar with computing rates for both fire and auto. But it was interesting to view
the process from the company’s method.
By late the next afternoon, Meggie felt her cold was probably taking a turn for the better. After showering, she dressed warmly.
Although it was March she chose fashionable jeans and a cable-knit sweater over a long-sleeved blouse. At least it wasn’t
raining this afternoon. For a fleeting second on the way home she was sure she’d witnessed a speck of blue sky on the horizon.
Even a hint of sun cheered her.
The doorbell chimed as she set the oven on broil. It had been tempting to shove a TV dinner in the oven; she wasn’t in the
mood to mess with a meal. As it was, a broiled cube steak held little appeal. If she didn’t need to gain weight she probably
would have skipped dinner altogether.
She was just about to ask who was at the door when a voice spoke.
“It’s Quinn Donnelley.”
Meggie arched the fine line of her brow curiously as she unlocked the door. “Hello.”
His smile weakened her resolve to act remote. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.” She stepped aside and he sauntered into the apartment. “Would you like a cup of coffee or something?” she asked, feeling
a little awkward.
He shook his head. “Another time. I can only stay a minute. I wanted to give you this.” He withdrew something from his pocket
and handed it to Meggie.
It was a whistle. She glanced up at him, confusion in her eyes. “I always did want to learn how to play the whistle.”
The tight grooves at the corners of his mouth cracked with the beginnings of a smile. Meggie had the feeling he didn’t smile
often.
“I’m not sure where you can take lessons, but I do know when you should practice.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, on a certain pestering phone caller. Entertaining a caller by blowing a whistle into the phone should work wonders,
if you know what I mean?”
“I believe I do.” She tossed her head back, sending the long length of her hair cascading down her shoulders. She could feel
him studying her and the look in his eyes made her knees want to buckle. Meggie liked this man, had been strongly attracted
to him from almost the moment she had first seen him. There was something about him that said he was the type who could handle
any situation calmly. Absently she wondered if he allowed anything to ruffle him. A strength and power seemed to emanate from
him, and she found his rugged, almost unattractive features compelling. Suddenly aware that she was staring, Meggie looked
away self-consciously.
“Is something burning?” he asked, sniffing.