The Fine Line Book One Between Worlds Series

by Tracee Ford

  “Yes, she’s fine. She’s with Kyle. This will only take a minute. I just had to see you.”

  He walked silently to the doctor’s lounge, Sheryl following closely behind. He took off his lab coat, dropped to the couch, and folded his hands behind his head. Sheryl paced.

  “Will you please tell me what the hell is wrong?” he asked curiously.

  Looking rather desperate, she sat beside him on the couch.

  “Please don’t do this,” she pleaded quietly.

  “What are you talking about Sheryl?”

  “I know that you asked Robin to marry you. The entire hospital knows you’ve thrown yourself at her. I heard people talking and they are saying you can see her ring you gave her from a mile away.”

  “Yes, I asked her to marry me; so what?”

  “Don’t. Don’t do it. Please. I’m begging you.”

  “Why not Sheryl?” he bit out.

  “Matthew I still love you and I want us to be a family.”

  The rage swelled within him as he stood up and folded his arms defensively.

  “Sheryl, you’re a player. It’s the hunt you love, not me. You listen to me,” he said gruffly, “this is my shot at happiness and I’m taking it. I finally found someone who won’t hurt me; who loves me and can be a partner to me; someone I can have a good life with. You will never understand that. It’s always been about you.”

  “Matthew, you haven’t even known her that long. You can’t possibly know that you’re in love.”

  “Let me put it to you this way. I was married to you for fourteen years. I’ve known you since I was a junior in high school. We got married when I was a senior. In all of that time, you have never made me feel the way she does. You’ve never made me feel loved or accepted… not once. You’ve made me feel like a disappointment. And then when you got pregnant with Olly… I stood by you. I listened to all of your lies. I knew instantly Robin was right for me. Instantly!”

  “But what about Olly?”

  “Olivia loves Robin and Robin loves her. Quit dragging her into this! Don’t use her to control me Sheryl.”

  “If you love us you won’t do this!” she shouted.

  “There’s the catch. I love Olivia. I’ve always loved her and I always will. I’ll always take care of her. But you,” he said as he paced, “I don’t love you. In fact I didn’t know what love was until I met Robin. She’s taught me more in the few months I’ve known her than you did in the last fourteen years! And one of the things she’s taught me is that I don’t have to put up with your mind games anymore. I’m marrying Robin as soon as I can.”

  She stood, rushed to him, and then kissed him forcefully. He fought her off.

  “Stop this!” he shouted. “Stop making a complete ass of yourself!”

  “We had something good Matt. Don’t you remember?”

  “No, Sheryl, it wasn’t good. All I remember are the nights when you would come home with the scent of another man all over your body and how worthless it made me feel. I remember that you got pregnant with another man’s child. I remember quieted phone conversations. Believe me, Sheryl, I remember everything.”

  “I’m so sorry. I just know if we give it one more shot we can make it work.”

  “You’re delusional. I’m not wasting my time with this anymore,” he shouted. “I’ve got patients out there.”

  He took a breath and began walking away but there was more he needed to say. He stopped, turned, and walked back to her with his finger in her face.

  “Now, I’m only going to tell you this once,” he began quietly in a stern, serious voice, “Leave us alone. Stay away from us. The only time you need to contact me is when it involves Olivia. No other reason than that. Do you understand me?”

  “You’re going to regret this one day Matthew,” Sheryl protested.

  “The only thing I regret is ever meeting you.”

  Chapter Four

  Bumps in the Night

  Robin moved into Matt’s apartment as a trial run at the beginning of October. It wasn’t long before they both knew they were very compatible. Living together made things even better between them.

  They purchased the house and renovations started during the first week of November. Every extra penny of money they made went into the restoration. Construction continued day and night to prepare the house for occupancy.

  They made the decision to go before the justice of the peace to get married. Neither Matt nor Robin wanted a big wedding. They wanted to start their new lives together promptly.

  As they sat in the hallway at the courthouse, Robin glanced over at Matt. He wore a pair of dark boot cut style jeans, his Converse sneakers, and a gray graphic t-shirt with a gray sports jacket. His hair gelled into the messy style Robin preferred, she looked at him admiringly.

  He felt her eyes on him and looked over at her. She wore a pair of light washed boot cut jeans, a navy long sleeved ribbed sweater, brown loafers, and her hair rested on her shoulders in soft curls.

  The private ceremony fit them perfectly. It wasn’t that they tried cutting family and friends out, but they wanted the event to be shared between only them.

  As Robin stood in front of Matt holding his hands, she got lost. All of her life she had waited for him. Finally, her happy ending arrived. A freak accident, a twisted ankle, had brought them together. And now it would be final; husband and wife.

  ****

  Matt and his brother, Charley, worked nonstop on the house along with the private contractors and soon it was the end of November. The constant work on the house paid off. Thanksgiving came and went, but the couple’s sights were set on being in the house no later than Christmas.

  Robin, ecstatic about the home, met Wendy after work. Her mission was to gather measurements for window treatments.

  The layout of the house was simple. There were two entrances, one on the east side facing a large field and one on the west side facing the garage. Private contractors finished the masonry, laying large stones down into the dirt instead of pouring a sidewalk. Unique and eye catching with plans to plant flowers in the spring, Robin felt the contractors did an accomplished job.

  An old oak tree stood beside the west entrance and more stones led to the garage. Matt and Charley stored many of the materials for building in there. Of course, when they finished the house, cars and outdoor supplies would be put in the garage.

  On the east side of the house was a porch. Robin had inherited her grandmother’s wooden swing and her mother’s decorative checker board. She planned to put those items on that porch with the Cracker Barrel rockers she purchased.

  The worn hard wood flooring of that porch no longer had splinters thanks to Charley’s buffing abilities. Two sets of stairs led off of the porch. One set faced the woods and the other toward the open field.

  New dark burgundy doors with brass knobs were purchased. White wooden screen doors covered the newly purchased doors. The windows were trimmed in dark green paint with burgundy shutters to match the new doors.

  Essentially, the front entrance would be used for decoration only. There were no plans to actually use it. The front entrance didn’t have a porch, only a concrete slab with two concrete steps. A screen door wouldn’t be necessary.

  When entering from the garage, the kitchen would be the first room guests would walk into. The flooring throughout the home would be original hardwood with many repaired and replaced planks, of course. Matt and Robin ordered an island for the kitchen.

  In the kitchen were two large windows trimmed in dark wood to match the floors. The baseboards throughout the home were also dark wood. All of the rooms were newly drywalled.

  Once guests entered the kitchen, there were two choices of direction. If turning left, a large dining room would be found. If straight ahead, the living room awaited.

  The dining room, constructed with two entrances, one from the hallway leading to the front door and one from the kitchen, would be large enough to entertain guests comfortably. The di
ning area entrance from the kitchen ran right under the stairs. An original brick fireplace stood grandly in the center of the west wall and another large window faced the front of the property.

  The living room’s original fireplace still stood and a large window looking onto the east porch would allow plenty of sunlight. Robin looked forward to placing house plants in the living room.

  A hallway separated the dining room and the parlor. The parlor, which seemed rather small compared to the dining and living area, also had the original fireplace. Two windows on each end of the room would also allow house plants to thrive in that room as well. A set of original double-decker closets covered the wall with the fireplace in the middle.

  An enclosed stairwell led from the hallway to the second floor. A small window found at the top of the stairs was oddly shaped and ill placed, but the decision to leave it unanimously prevailed.

  On the second floor, a door opened up to the right which would lead to the master bedroom. There were two large windows looking out over the front of the property and a large original fireplace stood in the middle of the outside wall. On the same side as the fireplace were double-decker closets filling the wall.

  Right across the hall from the master bedroom would be Olivia’s room. Quite large already, it would appear even bigger with the original fireplace torn out. A small closet replaced the void and two large windows faced the woods.

  Another door on the right toward the end of the hallway would lead to a grand study. There, too, an original fireplace stood on the outside wall and two large windows overlooked the front of the property.

  To the left, a linen closet would be built to accommodate the bathroom at the end of the hallway.

  Back on the main floor, a door in the kitchen led to the basement. It would be finished. The hot water tank, water softener, the heating and air unit would be housed there.

  Eventually, when completed, Robin and Matt wanted the house to be placed on the state’s historical home registry. They knew extra funding would be made available to them. This would help pay the mortgage. Because the home had been built in the 1800’s and because they would be restoring it to its original splendor, the home would easily pass inspection for the registry.

  Robin planned to research the home’s history, but Matt wasn’t interested in that. He felt that the research wasn’t necessary. Either way, Robin didn’t have time right now.

  After touring the home, Wendy and Robin set out to measure the windows as planned. As they stood in the master bedroom with their pencils and paper, Robin carefully climbed the ladder as Wendy steadied it. The windows were unusually large and Robin didn’t like heights.

  She stood steadily on the ladder shouting out measurements when suddenly, they heard the kitchen door slam shut. The shudder shook the panes of glass in the windows. Startled, they looked at one another. Robin didn’t expect anyone to be coming by. The wind blew calmly outside.

  Robin clearly remembered shutting the door when she walked in with Wendy.

  Robin hoped it was Charley coming by to work. So, she shouted his name, but no one answered back.

  The tension filled the air around them.

  “You heard that right?” Robin asked as she flashed a puzzled glance at Wendy.

  “Yes, I did,” Wendy replied.

  “Just making sure.”

  Calmly, Robin descended from the ladder and walked to the doorway. After walking through the upstairs she found nothing. So, she walked down the stairs with Wendy following closely behind.

  She checked each room downstairs. Nothing; no one was in the home except the two of them. Hesitantly, she walked to the kitchen door. Jiggling the knob, she found it to be locked tightly.

  “Wind must’ve caught it,” Wendy suggested.

  “Must have,” Robin lied.

  Measuring the windows continued with no other occurrences and as the evening went on, Robin forgot about the strange event.

  ****

  By early December the home neared completion. Robin certainly wanted to be a part of the decorating process. So, she and Matt took three weeks of vacation making some finishing touches to the house with every intention of moving in before Christmas.

  Robin and Matt decided to stay in the house to continue working nonstop. The last room to finish was Olivia’s.

  Burgundy paint and beige valances were chosen for the kitchen. The island matched the stone countertops perfectly and hanging from the ceiling were copper pots from a metal pot rack. New appliances were purchased.

  The living room, dining room, hallway, and parlor were painted a dark shade of taupe. The closet doors in the parlor were painted burgundy.

  Robin found a long oak table. The wood was distressed and a matching bench and some chairs came with it. It fit the dining room’s style perfectly.

  The master bedroom walls were painted rich brown and the study walls were navy. In each windowsill of the house were electric accent candles. There were ivory ruffled curtains hanging on each window with the exception of Olivia’s room, the kitchen, and the bathroom.

  The bathroom curtains were light yellow and the walls were painted white. Robin stenciled daisies on the walls. Matt put tile in the bathroom because of the old water damage to the hardwood flooring.

  A primitive theme pulled everything together, but Olivia wanted a Super Girl theme for her bedroom. So, red panels on her windows with a red, white, and blue star-pattern valance. A large shaggy red rug lay in the middle of the room to accent Olivia’s white furniture.

  Robin stood in Olivia’s room finishing the wallpaper mural of Super Girl. She painted one wall white. Another wall she painted red and yet another wall she painted blue. These colors made the mural pop out.

  She heard Matt coming up the stairs. Matt spent most of the day in the basement finishing some minor things. To their delight, the basement playroom and gaming room would finally be finished.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Matt leaning against the doorframe in his old grey sweats, work boots, and old torn t-shirt. His eyes bored into her as he continued watching her.

  “You are hot,” he said.

  She glanced down at herself. She wore a pair of red sweat pants, flip-flops, and a tie-died t-shirt. Her hair pulled up onto her head in a ponytail, she felt grimy. Working on the house all day took its toll. “Well, let me tell you, Dr. Gregory,” she replied as she continued working on the mural, “I don’t feel hot.”

  “I decided to see if the fireplace in the living room works after all of the money we’ve thrown into having it restored. It’s our first official night in the house, you know.”

  “Yes. I know. Exciting isn’t it?”

  “The fireplace seems to be working pretty well.”

  “That’s good,” she said with a nod as she put more paste on the wallpaper cut out.

  “The electric furnace seems to be working pretty well too. You’re not cold are you?”

  “No, not at all. You’re a miracle man my dear.”

  “I am. I know,” he replied with a confident shrug.

  She bent over to grab something else for the mural and felt his hands on her waist. When she stood, she felt his breath on her neck. “Why don’t you take a break for a little bit?” he suggested.

  Before she replied, the kitchen door slammed, not just once, but several times. It startled them both. Robin looked at Matt. “Think it’s your brother?” she whispered.

  “You’re a mood killer, Charley,” Matt shouted, “we’re upstairs.”

  No one answered, but distinct footsteps trudged up the stairs. Robin followed Matt to the hallway expecting to greet Charley. To her astonishment, no one was there. She watched as Matt looked over the banister. He turned to her and shrugged. Robin felt unsettled. The kitchen door slamming the night she and Wendy were in the house came rushing into her mind.

  “I can tell you’re spooked. Stay here. I’ll go check it out,” Matt said.

  “No. You’re not leaving me up here,” she
whispered.

  They made their way down the wooden stairs, Matt in front and Robin following. As they stood in the hallway, the sound of the wood in the fireplace crackling and the furnace in the basement running was all they could hear. No one else seemed to be in the house.

  Robin’s facial expressions were unmistakable.

  “Robin,” he began, “this house is old. It’s going to have noises we’re not used to, you know?” His explanation, while realistic and logical, really didn’t explain anything in her mind.

  “But, doors slamming? The doors are brand new,” she objected.

  Matt stayed quiet.

  “This same thing happened to Wendy and me when we were measuring the windows,” she added.

  “What happened?”

  “The kitchen door slammed. No one was here but us. I know I shut the door when we came in, too.”

  “It’s nothing,” he continued. “We’re just jumpy. It’s a new place. It’s old.”

  Against all logic, Robin agreed with Matt’s interpretation. Robin’s hand fit perfectly in Matt’s as they continued to a blanket and pillows in the living room. His smile always made her feel better. His inviting kiss reassured her even more. They lay down on the blanket and rested their heads on the pillows.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  “I love you, too Matt.” She looked over at him as he stared up at the tall ceiling.

  “This is just the beginning for us, you know? We’re breathing new life into this old place,” he continued.

  “You’ve done a great job on it,” she said as she turned to her side and started running her fingers through his hair. “I’m very proud of you; very proud.”

  The glow of the fire was like the desire she felt for him: hot and raging. To quench that fire, only one solution existed. So, they made love continuously in their new home that night, christening their new life together in hopes that what lay ahead was just as exciting and happy as what they had experienced together thus far.