He turned me inside out. When I was with him, I felt as though I’d known him my whole life, and when we were apart, I desperately longed for his company. He made me feel protected and cherished, as though nothing could harm me while I was with him.
I turned my head slightly so I could look at his face. “Will you tell me about Jacob?”
“What do you want to know?” he asked me while caressing my face.
“Everything.”
He laughed and pulled me back against his chest to snuggle tightly. “Okay then, here goes. I’m twenty-two years old and was born in New York. My parents moved to Boston in 1931. Eleanor still lives in Brookline and runs a respectable boarding house. She visits me often. The only time she couldn’t visit me was during the war when I was stationed in England.”
I turned around to face him with a look of concern. “Where in England?”
“Leominster in Herefordshire. I was in the 5th Ranger Division toward the end of the war. I remember the local children were great fun. We used to give them chocolate and gum in exchange for them going to buy us fish and chips. The kids were the best.” He smiled warmly at the memory and I was glad he had some good memories during the war.
I leaned forward and kissed him. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”
He took hold of my hair, which had come loose from my clip and smoothed it behind my ear, caressing my face at the same time. “Now, please tell me about Rose.” As I looked up into his eyes, they were sparkling with passion . . . for me. My heart was pounding so much, I felt as though it was about to jump out from my chest.
He leaned forward and placed such a tender kiss to my lips, then smiled at me. “Sitting there, looking gorgeous and ready to be kissed does not mean I don’t want to hear about you, Rose.”
I smiled up to him, then turned and leaned back against him again. “I’ve lived all my life in Cape Elizabeth. I had an older brother, Charlie. He was killed in France during the war.” I started to sniffle. Whenever I talked about Charlie, I always ended up in tears.
“Rose, please don’t cry.” Jacob turned me slightly and wiped my tears away with his thumbs.
After a few minutes, I took a deep breath and wrapped my arms around Jacob’s waist, snuggling in close to his warmth. “I mentioned my younger brother, JT, the other day. He makes me laugh with the things he gets up to with his friends, Walt and Levi. Father grounds him nearly every other day. It doesn’t last long though as Mother gets frustrated when he’s underfoot all day long. He’ll then go and find his friends, and end up being grounded again. He can also be very annoying.”
Jacob started to laugh. “Isn’t that what brothers are supposed to be like?”
I elbowed him gently in his side. “Please tell me you weren’t an annoying brother to Eleanor?” I raised my eyebrow in question.
Jacob pulled me closer. “Probably, but not all the time. Eleanor is a great sister. Sometimes, I don’t know what I would’ve done without her.”
“I feel like that about JT—well some of the time,” I said, just before Jacob leaned forward to give me a sweet kiss. “I don’t want tonight to end.”
As if my words had broken the spell around us, he looked at his watch. “It’s getting late, you might be missed.” I nodded before we untangled ourselves and Jacob took my hand. He pulled me up from the ground, and straight into his arms for a wonderful kiss.
Breaking the kiss, Jacob threaded his fingers through my hair and pushed it behind my ears. “Will you meet me again, Rose? I’m working for the next few nights, but I can meet you on Friday.”
“I’d love to meet you, too.” He sighed as though he regretted his next words, “Come on, I’ll walk you back.”
Jacob wrapped the blankets up in some sort of waterproof sheeting and hid them between some large rocks. He then took my hand and pulled me back into his arms as we started walking to my house. Just before we came into view of Mother’s parlor windows, he turned me toward him and kissed me with so much passion, he left me breathless. My toes curled, my skin tingled, but before I knew what had really hit me, he pulled away again. “I’ll see you, same place, but a bit earlier if you can make it on Friday.” He kissed my knuckles before he left without another word. All I wanted to do was cry.
How could I feel so much for a man I’d only met fourteen days ago?
Chapter 8
Mack checked her watch to see if she had enough time to read some more, but to her surprise, she hadn’t realized so much time had lapsed. She closed the diary and sat back, gazing far into the distance, right across the sea.
Her mind was filled with thoughts of Rose and Jacob; she couldn’t help but wonder what had become of them. She thumbed the pages but fought the urge to turn to the back of the book. This time, she promised herself she wasn’t going to jump to the last entry to find out. At least, she hoped she wouldn’t do that. Mack wasn’t exactly known for her patience.
She collected her things together and started to walk back to the cottage to see if Thomas and Lucas had returned from fishing.
She stopped dead when she entered the cottage because she was greeted with a bloody mess in the kitchen . . . literally!
“Auntie Mack¸ you’re back. I caught a yellow perch and Thomas caught two, so Thomas is gutting them. Will you cook them for dinner?” Lucas asked with a very happy face as he danced excitedly from foot to foot.
She walked over and placed a kiss on his cheek.
“Yuck, Auntie.” He groaned, rubbing his face.
“What about me? I caught two you know.” Thomas stated, with a wink at Mack as he pointed to his cheek.
She grinned before she walked over to Thomas and placed a kiss on his weathered cheek as well. “Thank you for taking him fishing. He obviously had a really good time.”
“That he did. I certainly did. Don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much before.”
“Yeah, he can have that effect on folk. Come on, Thomas; show me how to cook this fish because I have no idea.”
Mack quickly cleaned the mess up in the kitchen so she could get cooking; she turned and found Lucas standing behind her. “Auntie Mack, I want to help. I caught one of them, you know?”
Mack laughed, ruffling his hair. “Okay, Lucas. I think we both need an apron on because fish can be smelly.”
“Yeah, it stinks in here.” Lucas held his nose.
Mack started opening the windows and the kitchen door to try and get rid of the malodorous smell.
“Okay, I think we’re ready now, Thomas.”
“Well, I have one more to gut,” Thomas informed them with a grin.
“You’re kidding, right? Because I can see three fish lined up on the block.”
Thomas and Lucas both started giggling.
“Okay, guys, enough. We’re never going to get any dinner at this rate.”
Dinner had gone well considering Mack had a few extra hands in the kitchen to make it. The fish had tasted delicious with the seasoning Thomas had asked Mack to mix. Lucas had cleaned his plate as well, which had surprised Mack, because, in the past, he had always turned his nose up at fish.
“Auntie Mack?”
“What’s up, Lucas?”
“Will you show me some of the places Mommy and Daddy are visiting?”
Mack glanced at Lucas, who stood in the doorway to the kitchen in his favorite Power Ranger pajamas, holding his new children’s atlas.
He brought a lump to her throat. “I sure will. Come over here.”
Lucas walked over to her as Mack lifted him onto her lap while he placed the book on to the table.
“Okay. Let’s find Italy first. If I remember right, they’re due to arrive in Nice sometime in the next few hours, and Italy is usually easier to find than France.”
“I’ll find it.”
She sat and watched him flip through the atlas, and had to bite her tongue when he went past the page.
“Found it!”
Mack leaned forward and kissed him on the top of
his head. “Are you sure that’s Italy and not, maybe, South America?”
“Oh, Auntie Mack. Are you sure that’s South America?” he whined.
“Well, you tell me what these letters are.”
Mack reached around him and pointed out the large letters to mark a country while Lucas tried to concentrate on them.
“B…R…A…Z…I…L.” He looked at her questioningly as he started to sound out the word. “Br…ah…Brazil. Ugh, yuck. That’s where you get bananas from.”
Mack burst out laughing. Bananas were the only fruit that Lucas hated. “Okay, champ. Let me help you find Italy. Otherwise, we might be here all night.”
She turned a few pages back and pointed out the boot-shaped country to him. Lucas took his first sticker from the back of the atlas and with Mack’s direction, found Nice over the border into France. She stared longingly at the sticker and hoped that one day she’d get the opportunity to visit, providing she could get her head around a long flight.
“Let’s go and tuck you into bed.”
Lucas jumped from her lap and ran upstairs as she followed at a slower pace with her usual hot chocolate, and of course, Rose’s diary.
Chapter 9
March 19, 1947
I miss Jacob already…
It really hadn’t been long since I’d last seen Jacob. Last night, actually. I missed him so much. I wanted to talk to him and tell him about my day at work and the funny antics of my boss. I wanted his arms around me, and most of all, I wanted his lips on mine. I’d been kissed before, but I’d never reacted to anyone the way I did with Jacob. Right from our first meeting, I’d felt comfortable with him . . . with his touch. He listened to me like he cared about my ideas. He didn’t talk down to me or talk over me but, instead, included me in the conversation. When he looked at me, it was as though I was the only woman in the world.
I was in my room after a busy day, unable to think of anything else, except the man who had my emotions tied in knots. As I was just about to change into something more comfortable, there was a knock on my door. I opened it and found my mother on the other side looking rather flustered. “Mother, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, I’m fine, but Richard is downstairs and really wants to talk to you,” she told me. Her excited smile filled me with dread. I really hoped she wasn’t excited because she was thinking of wedding bells. That was not going to happen.
I ground my teeth, a wave of stubbornness washing over me. “Please tell him I have a headache.” I placed my hand on my forehead and swooned onto my bed. Opening one eye, I saw my mother still stood in my room with her hands on her hips, her smile gone and replaced by a frown of displeasure.
“Put your shoes on and join us in the parlor. Now.” With that, she shut my door. Oh, fiddlesticks.
With the scruffiest pair of shoes on, I headed downstairs to the parlor. Richard saw me immediately and jumped up from his chair, nearly sloshed his tea all over Mother as he went to put it down, and then raced toward me. He took hold of my hands. “Rose. I’ve really missed you. I’m glad you’re here.”
I wasn’t sure where he was coming from with this. I pulled my hands out of his. “Richard, it’s nice of you to come calling. Are you well?”
“I’m fine. Thank you for asking.” He took my elbow and led me over to the sofa, sitting me down beside him.
He poured me some tea, just as my mother stood and made some excuse to leave. I was too much in shock to really hear what she said as my heart sank over being alone with Richard. Great.
“Thank goodness, I thought she was going to stay with us.” I just looked at him and tried not to panic.
Once my mother left, he seemed to sag in relief. “What’s gotten into you?” I asked him.
“This is a mess.”
“What is?” He really wasn’t making any sense to me.
With a quick glance at me, he dropped his head in his hands and took a deep breath. “My father told me last night that if I didn’t ask for your hand in marriage today, he would stop my allowance.”
“Oh, my God. Please don’t tell me that’s why you’re here? We’ve discussed this already.”
“Then tell me no,” he said in desperation.
Stunned, I whispered, “No.”
He sighed. “Rose. I’m sorry about all this. I really am. I don’t suppose we can be friends?”
I felt such relief that this was over with. “Yes, I would like that, but no talk about marriage.”
“Thank you. Now that we’re friends, would you like to go to the movies with me on Saturday?” he asked with a grin. “As friends,” he added quickly.
I hoped Jacob wouldn’t mind me going to the movies with another man, even though we were only friends. “That would be good.”
“Then I’ll pick you up at six-thirty. Is that all right?”
“Yes. I’ll see you then.” I opened the front door for him.
Just as he was about to walk through it, he stopped and grinned slightly. “Err . . . Rose?”
I looked up at him. “Yes.”
“Your shoes have a tear in them.”
I put my hand to my mouth to stop the giggle from escaping, and closed the door behind him.
“What did you say?”
I turned around to find Mother standing behind me. I couldn’t help the glare I sent her way. “I said no, and not to ask me again,” I replied stubbornly.
“Well, really, Rose. What will your father say?”
“He’s not the one who would be marrying him,” I replied flippantly. I ran back up the stairs to my room, and this time I locked the bedroom door.
March 20, 1947
Only one more day…
It was one more day until I saw Jacob again, and I could hardly wait. I’d missed him so much and he took up so much of my time, even when I didn’t see him. I thought of him all the time and those thoughts had been keeping me going these past couple of days.
Father wouldn’t speak to me after turning Richard’s proposal down and Mother was even colder than usual. As far as I was concerned, Father was acting like a child.
“Ah-choo.” Damn dust!
For two hours, I’d been dusting the shelves and books in the library. I’d lost count of how many times I’d sneezed or how many spiders I’d seen.
The library had been very quiet today, and Mr. Young decided he wasn’t going to let us sit around doing nothing. That’s why I was full of cobwebs and sneezing.
“Boo.”
I jumped a mile and turned around to see Jayne doubled over laughing. “That wasn’t nice.”
“It was funny. You should see the sight of you. You look a mess . . . ”
“Well, thank you for that, and hush up before Mr. Young finds us. What are you doing here?” She very rarely came into the library. My boss scared her.
“Will you double date with me tomorrow night?”
“Oh.” I needed to think quickly. “I’m sorry, Jayne, but I’ve promised Mother I would keep JT occupied.”
“You’re seriously going to pass because of your brother?” she asked me in disbelief.
“I’m trying to keep the peace after rejecting Richard. So on this occasion, I am.” It was close to the truth, I really needed to keep the peace.
“Heck. Okay. I’d better get back to work. See you later.” She frowned before she waved and headed out of the library.
After my very boring day at work, I ate dinner at home before I took JT to the beach. We had fun again and hunted around for crabs this time. JT found two and I found none! He gloated the whole way home, like a little brat. I ought to stop using his nickname, and maybe then, he’d start acting more grown up.
JT was otherwise known as Thomas James. He is twelve years old and regardless of what he may think, I love him dearly.
March 21, 1947
Tonight I meet Jacob…
At dinner, I told Mother and Father that I was meeting some friends in town. Without giving them time to reply, I ran up to my room and cha
nged my clothes.
Opening my closet, I retrieved my new, yellow dress, which had a low neckline and showed too much of my breasts. Daring, but I didn’t care. I knew my mother wouldn’t approve so I placed a white cardigan over the dress and buttoned it up high. I slipped my feet into my yellow pumps and walked to the mirror to see how I looked. I smiled. I looked pretty good.
Opening the door to leave, I bumped straight into JT. “What are you doing lurking on the landing?”
“You’re going meeting him? That guy from the cliffs.”
I was speechless; I didn’t know what to say. “Um . . . What?” He gave me that look that could get me into trouble. Pulling myself together, I opened my purse. “Here.” I handed him ten cents to buy a comic. “You have to stay quiet about who I’m meeting.”
He grinned from ear to ear. “Thanks, sis.”
Brothers!
I sneaked down the backstairs and exited through the kitchen. I was practically floating as I ran through Mother’s rose garden. I doubled back toward the beach path.
When I rounded the bend, Jacob was waiting for me. He saw me and smiled, then started walking toward me. To be in his arms again felt like coming home. I pulled back slightly, but Jacob kept his arms around my waist. As he looked down into my eyes, desire burned in his eyes and it was for me. My skin began to sizzle with awareness. I needed something, but I wasn’t quite sure what.
He leaned down and took my mouth with his, sliding his tongue over mine as we groaned into each other’s mouths. He tasted of chocolate and felt so good. I didn’t want to let go of him.
All too soon, he broke from the kiss and placed butterfly kisses all over my face. “I’ve missed you, Rose.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
He let me go and took my hand, then led me to the shelter we shared the other night. Sitting on the blanket, he used the other blanket and wrapped it around us both to keep the evening chill at bay. I managed to unbutton my cardigan without Jacob noticing, although he’d notice soon enough.
Rose and Jacob Page 5