He had his moments of kindness, or at least she thought he did. Boy, did that man sure love to talk about himself. He could be funny and witty at times, but that smart mouth of his could also get him into a lot of trouble if he didn’t learn to curb his tongue.
He had a soft side to that rough exterior he portrayed. There was gentleness about him, something she figured he didn’t show often. He was playful, almost childlike when he smiled. Even though he was good-looking, it was those soft sea-blue eyes of his that really got to her. She was in danger of becoming lost within them, and she knew it. She knew if she allowed herself to forgive him, not only was there an extreme danger of getting hurt, but she could lose everything.
That was something she was not willing to do.
Since her return to Scotland, she tried to lead a solitary life, but she was finding it more difficult than ever. She welcomed the quietness of the countryside. The peace that overwhelmed her was impenetrable. Then just when she thought that nothing could ever disrupt her sanctuary, he showed up and threw her world off balance. Now she didn’t know what to do.
She blamed herself for allowing him into her life. She should have gone with her initial observation. Now she had let him uproot the tranquility she had created for herself.
Walking into the local post office, she gathered what mail she had and made her way to the market. After getting her provisions for the week, she headed over to the library and returned what books she had and found news ones to take home. She liked the small town and, still being relatively new, she still hadn’t quite felt welcome yet. Of course they all knew about the lonely American woman who lived up on the hill all by herself, but no one had said anything to her yet. She didn’t mind as she still smiled to everyone who passed by.
Her life slowly returned to normal, and before she knew it, time had gotten away from her. It was now Friday and all was finally quiet. She was sprawled out, lying on her couch reading a good book with the fire blazing in the hearth, when she heard the knock at her door. It didn’t take but a second for her to open the door, and the aggravation she tried desperately to forget rushed back in, overwhelming her once again.
“What are you doing here?” she said ferociously.
“Well hello, beautiful!” He smiled.
“Go away,” she said, closing her door.
“Look, darlin’—” he tried to say, but Sarah interrupted him. “Don’t you darlin’ me, Mark. Leave me alone.”
“I’m not Mark. I’m Mitch, his brother,” he said quickly.
“Don’t you lie to me.”
“Seriously, honey. I’m Mitchell Armstrong. We talked on the phone a week ago. I’m not Mark,” he said, trying desperately to assure her.
Sarah stood there, looking at the man. He looked liked Mark, but after a closer observation, she noticed small differences in appearances and manners. The man before her did look identical to the man who plagued her, but there was life in this one’s eyes, a wild mischief, a wildness to him. Though Mark loved to play around, this one was a professional player, and not on the football field.
* * * *
Mitchell watched as she sized him up and instantly wondered if that was such a good idea. For some reason, he felt this woman knew him, the real him, and he didn’t like that one bit. There was something about the way she looked at him, like she knew his innermost secrets and if he did anything wrong, she was going to lay his faults at his feet. For the first time in his life, Mitchell began to think that maybe it was best to just let this one go. She saw too much.
He didn’t know whether it was safe or not to talk to her, but he had to try. His brother needed him, and even though the woman before him scared the crap out of him, he couldn’t give up.
Of course he should have known when he walked up to the door, she was going to slam it in his face. “Son of a bitch!” he cursed. Knocking loudly, he waited for her to open the door again.
“You can go away,” she shouted from the other side.
“Come on, honey. Let me in. I need to talk to you.”
“Not on your life. Go away.”
“Please, sweetheart. I need your help.”
“Go away.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I will stay right here till you open this damn door.”
“Hope you brought a blanket. It gets cold out there.”
“Damn it, woman, open this door!” Mitchell said, getting rather irritated at this whole situation. He started cursing his brother. This was all Mark’s fault. If the idiot hadn’t been so damn nosey, and learned to mind his own damn business, he wouldn’t have to be out here in the freezing weather, getting ready to beg a woman he knew damn well wasn’t going to do what he wanted her to do. Smart move, asshole! he thought, cursing Mark.Now she won’t let anyone near her.
Mitchell sat down on a log next to her front door and made himself comfortable. He knew he was in for a long day. Passing the time playing Tetris on his cell phone, which was fun at first, he quickly he beat his old score, and was now bored once again. After another ten minutes of surfing the Internet, he was really bored. Walking around her yard, he started picking weeds, and soon he had her flower bed all cleared out and watered.
He tried knocking on the door again, but this time she didn’t even answer.
Extremely bored, he walked around to the back of the house to find a small barn.
“Hah! Shelter.” He smiled and started walking toward the wood building. He entered to find a small but adequate barn filled with hay and gardening tools. As he looked around, he saw her. There in the corner of the barn was a white Arabian horse. Tall and beautiful, she glistened. Her shiny white coat was perfect, and she stood proudly.
“What a magnificent beauty you are,” he cooed, stroking the horse’s long, graceful neck. “Have you been for a ride today, girl?” he asked. The horse just nuzzled his hand. Mitchell laughed and looked around until he found the saddle. It didn’t take him long to have her padded and saddled up. Taking off his business jacket, he mounted the horse and walked her outside.
* * * *
Sarah was coming out of her bathroom when she saw him on Jezebel. She smiled coolly and walked into the living room and slowly put on her boots. Grabbing her jacket, she walked out the front door and headed for the barn. As she rounded the corner, she saw that Mitchell was just walking Jezebel around the yard, and for a tiny moment she regretted what she was about to do, but she shrugged it off.
Placing her two fingers in her mouth, she whistled loudly.
Mitchell landed hard on his back on the wet ground and cursed every foul word he could think of when Jezebel reared up and threw him from her back. Getting to his feet, he watched the amazing animal slowly walk right over to Sarah and stop.
“Back in the barn with you,” she told the animal, and, amazingly, the animal did what she was told. Sarah then turned to him and said, “You saddled her. You remove it.” With that, she walked back into the house.
“What the hell! I am not your stable boy! You do it!” Mitchell shouted at her. All he could hear was her laughing at him.
* * * *
Mark was getting ready to head to the stadium when his phone rang. “Yeah.”
“Hey, don’t bother going near the stadium. The police got a bomb threat early this morning. They have to do an extensive search. It’s going to take hours,” Bridget informed him.
“What about the game?”
“Don’t know, waiting to hear from the Commissioner and the local police. If it isn’t safe, they will postpone the game.”
“Well, shit. What am I supposed to do in the meantime. I’m ready to play today.”
“I know, so is everyone else. Look, just go back to your room, go for a drive, hell, I don’t care. Just stay in the city in case we get the green light, okay. I will call back when I know anything,” she said before hanging up.
Mark had made it to the elevator when his phone rang again. “What?”
“What the hell did you do to this
woman?” Mitchell shouted at him.
“Who are you talking about?”
“I am talking about Sarah Mitchell. This woman has shouted at me, ignored me, slammed a damn door in my face, and now she had her freakin’ horse throw me from its back. I am cold, tired, and wet! Just what in the hell have you done this time? I swear, Mark, when I get back to London I am going to kick your ass!” Mitchell yelled loudly.
“What the hell are you doing out at her place? Just leave her alone and get your ass back to London.”
“You are just giving up?” Mitch asked, confused.
“Yes,” Mark said solemnly.
“Why?”
“It’s none of your business. Just leave her alone, okay.”
Mitchell could not believe what he was hearing. His brother, the one Armstrong who never gave up never gave an inch, was quitting. He was walking away from a woman. Why? Mitchell thought to himself. Why would Mark just walk away?
Holy shit!
She’s the one!
Mitchell starting laughing so hard it hurt.
“What the hell are you laughing at, Mitch?” Mark asked, a little worried.
“Oh, I think you know, brother. Let the games begin,” he said before hanging up.
Mark closed his phone and decided to take the stairs. Just what in the hell did he mean by “let the games begin?” he asked himself.
* * * *
Trying to get head back in the game, his brother‘s statement was plaguing him. He found his family upstairs in a small sitting room. They were all talking and watching something on television. No matter what they said, he just couldn’t pay attention. His mind was on her.
He heard all their phones going off at the same time, and thinking his was also, he grabbed his.
Nothing.
He watched as their faces lit up, and for one brief second, they all looked at him. “What?” he said, annoyed.
They didn’t respond, but went back to texting away to whomever sent them a message. The little noises started to bother him. He closed his eyes and tried to put everything out of his mind.
The whole sitting room became eerily quiet as everyone looked at him. Taking a deep breath, he sighed.
Going to that familiar game place in his head, he tried to concentrate when it hit him. “Let the games begin!”
“Son of a bitch!” he shouted. Jumping up, he saw that his family were already on their feet. “I’m going to kill him!” he shouted as he ran down the stairs, taking them three at a time.
“Well, how much of a head start should we give him?” Michael laughed.
“I say five minutes,” Mattie offered.
“Just out of curiosity, do any of you know where she lives?” Rachael replied.
“Shit!” They all shouted and started running after Mark.
* * * *
Sarah was making dinner when the rain started to fall. Looking out the window, she couldn’t see Mitchell anywhere. She closed her eyes and sighed. She knew she couldn’t let him stay out there. It wasn’t like her to be so cruel, so with a twinge of regret she walked to the front door and yelled his name. “Mitchell, get in here before you catch cold.”
She left the front door open and returned to her cooking. It didn’t take long for her to hear the front door close. She didn’t even bother turning around as she went on about her business.
“Thanks, sugar! I knew you couldn’t leave me out there all night.”
“Oh yes I could have. You’re just lucky it started raining.”
“I didn’t mean to put you out or anything. I really just wanted to talk to you.”
“You are more than welcome to stay for dinner. As soon as the rain lets up, I want you out of here. I don’t want to talk about my life or your brother. Is that clear?”
“Sure thing, gorgeous, didn’t even want to talk about that stuff anyway,” Mitch said, making his way toward the fridge. He opened the door and squealed in delight. “American beer! Hey, beautiful, you mind?”
“Help yourself,” she said, ignoring his excitement.
“Thanks.”
“Dinner will be ready in about an hour.”
“Hey, where’s the TV?”
“Don’t have one.”
“That’s all right. Can I use the computer?”
“Could if I had one.”
“Shit, girl. Just what in the hell do you do around here to pass the time?”
“There are books over there. Help yourself.”
“Aw man, you’re not one of those booky-nerdy people are you?”
“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about, but yes, I like to read.”
“You have a stereo? We could listen to music.”
“My iPod is over there on the shelf. Help yourself.” She smiled, knowing when he hit play he was not going to like what he heard. She waited patiently.
Mitchell quickly found the little iPod system and hit the power button. What came out of the speakers tore at every nerve in his body. “What the hell is this?” he said, covering his ears.
“I believe it’s called opera.” She laughed.
“How about this?” He smiled, reaching into his coat pocket, and he plugged in his own iPod and hit play. “How about it, darlin’, for me?” He winked as he hit play.
Sarah smiled, closed hers eyes, and shook her head.
As the music started, she indulged him with her enchanting voice as she sang her version of “Stormy Weather” for him.
Mitchell relaxed instantly to the sounds of her soft, bluesy voice emanating throughout the small cottage. God, he loved listening to this woman sing. She had her own personal style of blues, classical, and pop all wrapped up into one of the world’s best recording voices of the century. He actually felt humbled to be sitting in her house listening to her sing just for him. It was a moment that he would remember for the rest of his life. As the song came to an end, she smiled and went back to cooking dinner. It was like the last five minutes were nothing to her, just a fleeting moment in time.
“So, darlin’, what’s for dinner?” Mitchell came up to her and leaned against the counter.
As she quietly sang along with his iPod, she prepared the dinner. He noticed that she was an absolute vision. Her long auburn hair fell softly down to her tiny waist. She had a voluptuous little figure, with nice firm breasts that would make any man want to breast-feed for the rest of his life. She had long, slender legs that would make a grown man weep, but it was her face that held him captivated. She had soft, porcelain features that reminded him of pink sea pearls. Her eyes were the brightest sapphire-blue that he had ever seen, and they harbored a softness that even he could not deny. She was literally the most beautiful woman he had ever met.
“We are having vegetable soup, with grilled ham and cheese sandwiches,” she replied. Her voice was soft and calm, unlike earlier when she was shouting at him. There was a kindness in her voice. A feel of serenity surrounded her.
She was so curious, so interesting. There before him stood a woman who was known by many, but nobody really knew anything about her. Yes, everyone knew the basics, but as for who she really was, was a total mystery. He honestly had no right barging in on her like he did, but being with her now, he was captivated by her.
Her fame was legendary, and yet she made him feel like he was the famous one. Giving, caring, and attentive, she made him feel as if he was the only one in the world that existed.
How in the hell did she do that?
He quickly understood why Mark had fallen for her so quickly because he was on the verge of doing the same. She commanded a certain kind of decorum about herself. She was soft like a baby lamb, tender and loving. Mitchell knew she was the real deal. This was not some façade she put on. She was genuinely the real thing.
Lucky bastard!
He wanted to see if her feelings about Mark were only one-sided. Though his gut was telling him no, he just couldn’t help himself. She was so damn intriguing. Not the typical woman Mark would
go for. She definitely had that “it” factor and more. So what was it about her that had Mark all twisted and pining inside? He just had to know more about her.
“Sarah, can I ask you a personal question?” he politely asked.
“Depends,” she softly replied.
“Why are you living out here? I mean, you seem like a bright and resourceful woman. Why live out in the middle of nowhere? Why aren’t you living in America?” Mitchell asked.
“I visited England one summer, and I fell in love with this area. That’s why I chose to move over here,” she answered.
“Hmmm, that sounds reasonable. Can I ask you another question?” he prodded along, knowing damn well that she had left out a huge chunk of that story.
“Yes.”
“So what did my brother do to piss you off?”
“I don’t want to talk about him,” she snapped.
Whoa, Nelly! There it was. He heard it in her voice. Ha! Only Mark could get under someone’s skin so bad that they literally wanted to peel the skin from their bones to get away from him. Mitch took a sip of his beer, allowing her a moment to calm down before he prodded once again.
“He can be a nosey asshole, can’t he?” He offered the bait and waited. He didn’t have to wait long, because the moment he lifted the beer to his lips, she blew.
“That inconsiderate ass can rot in hell. I have never seen a more devious, more cunning con artist in my life. Not only did he play nice, he slithered in here like a snake, and the moment I turned my back, he attacked. That man, that man.” Sarah couldn’t find the words. Her fury was unleashed, and she was pissed. “You know what he did? He played nice. He was about as charming as a boil on a gnat’s ass! He just couldn’t leave well enough alone. He just had to know, so he snuck around till he found out what he wanted. Everything is a freakin’ game, and all he cares about is winning. He is the most intrusive, the sneakiest man alive!” she finished with a huff.
The Texas Rebel [The Armstrong Brothers of Cedar Creek 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 13