Read Online Land of a Thousand Dreams by BJ Hoff - Free Book Online Page A

do, don’t you agree?”
    Sara kept her expression carefully bland. “Of course. And I’m sure Winifred is most appreciative.”
    His reply was another bright smile and a quick nod as he pushed his empty bowl aside.
    â€œI must admit, I was rather surprised when Winifred decided to stay on after Evan’s father went back to England,” Sara said, returning her spoon to its place. “Naturally, we’re all pleased. She’s a delightful woman.”
    Lewis Farmington gave his mouth a hasty swipe with his napkin. “Yes,” he said, “she is, isn’t she?”
    â€œStill, I should think the hotel would be awfully confining. Has she given any thought to more permanent lodgings?”
    Her father leaned back in his chair. “As a matter of fact,” he replied, “I believe I’ve found just the place for her. Pleasant little apartment over on West Thirty-fourth. One of Tomlinson’s brownstones.”
    Sara lifted her gaze to his. “My, you are looking after her, aren’t you?”
    Her father narrowed his eyes. “I haven’t done all that much, really. She is a woman alone, and in a strange city at that.”
    Amused, Sara thought Winifred had scarcely been alone since she arrived from England. Obviously, her father was quite taken with the attractive widow. And understandably so. Winifred Whittaker Coates was youthful, enviably pretty, clever—and great fun to be with. It would take an utterly dull man to resist her charm.
    The truth was, Sara found herself pleased by her father’s developing interest in Evan’s aunt. Despite his furiously busy schedule, she knew him to be lonely, at least on occasion. Sara’s mother had been dead for more than twenty years now, but he made no secret of the fact that he still missed her.
    Certainly, he need not have lacked for female attention. Women—even much younger women—had been flirting openly with him ever since Sara could remember. While his wealth might have been the attraction for some, there was no denying the fact that Lewis Farmington was still a compelling, interesting man. Nearing sixty, his silver hair was thick and full-bodied, his skin bronzed from all the time spent outdoors at the shipyards. He carried himself with the bounce and vigor of a much younger man. Moreover, he was also a wonderful human being, a prince of a man and an extraordinary father to both her and her brother, Gordie.
    Winifred Coates was the first woman, at least the first in Sara’s memory, in whom her father had shown even a passing interest in all these years. While cheering him on, Sara could not help but be secretly amused by the idea that Winifred had “no head for business.” Her own observation of the attractive widow led her to suspect that somewhere behind all that beguiling femininity and somewhat flighty demeanor lay a lively intelligence and an indomitable will.
    Her father’s voice roused Sara from her thoughts, and she turned her attention back to him.
    â€œMy schedule hasn’t been entirely taken up with Winnie—Winifred—this week” he said. “I’ve also spent some time with the mayor. I’ve agreed to chair the new subcommission. Since it was my idea to begin with, I felt obligated to accept the appointment.”
    â€œOh, Father, I’m so glad! You’re perfect for the position. You’ve always said it will require someone who really cares about the immigrants.”
    Sara knew all about the new subcommission. For weeks, her father had been urging its formation as a means of investigating the city’s escalating crime wave and its effect on the immigrants, now arriving by the thousands.
    Crime was out of control in New York, and the largest group of victims seemed to be the immigrant population. Before they ever left the ships in the harbor, they were caught up in the vicious trafficking of the runners who haunted the docks in