“I learned that trick from you,” she reminded him.
“It was the only way to get you to drink milk. I remember when you proposed to me, too.”
“I never.” She remembered.
“You had the most adorable big brown eyes and strawberry- blonde pigtails.”
Sarah glared at him. Behind wire-rimmed glasses, William’s eyes were green pools. Drowning in them would’ve been easy.
“You can’t hold me to an offer I made when I was only five.” Was this the reason no man had tempted her to become his lover? Had she really saved herself for William? No way. She just hadn’t met a man as sensitive, or patient, or as handsome as her protector. Besides, she hadn’t been looking hard, yet.
“Can’t trust a woman to keep her promises. I promised, too. I was twelve and I couldn’t stand to see you cry. I knew you’d outgrow me someday.”
He’d meant to make her smile with the reminder of her crush, but could there be more truth than he’d realized those years ago? Had he been waiting for her to grow up? Was that why he hadn’t had a deep, lasting relationship with any women he’d dated? His family had taught him nothing about love.
##
The college Snack Shack was crowded with students. Sarah and William drew plenty of attention as they entered a domain seldom breached by faculty members.
Sarah was proud of the way William’s students greeted him with smiles and waves. He seemed comfortable around them.
The girl who brought them water gave them a cheeky grin as she raised her neatly arched eyebrows, silver ring and all. "Spying on us, Docs?”
“You never know when I’ll take off points for hanging out in a place like this.” William looked as serious as he could. Meg Thomas was a good kid, working her way though college.
“What’ll you have, Ms. Overby? Is this guy a big spender today?” Meg’s pseudo whisper brought a frown to William’s face. “Steal us a copy of his exam and I’ll give you all the extras you want and a milkshake every day ‘til school’s out.”
“Meg, he’s careful with his exams. I never met anyone who could steal one when I was a student here. Sorry. I’ll have a banana split with everything, a jumbo.” She laughed as William stared. “Bring two spoons so Professor McKeown won’t have to watch me waddle out of here.”
“Cute, real cute.” William looked relieved to have her tease him. They’d always had a fun relationship. Maybe their temporary insanity wouldn’t ruin that.
“What if I had wanted something else? You’d have to eat the whole thing. Besides, what will our students say when they see us sharing something as intimate as a banana split?”
“Rumors’ll be flying---that you’re too cheap to buy two.” Sarah leaned across the small table. She and William had hung out in the Snack Shack when she was a student. People should be accustomed to seeing them together. “Just don’t hog more than your share of whipped cream this time.” She leaned back in her chair, grateful the wash-tub sized banana split had arrived.
William had intended to behave like an adult, instead of a love-struck teen. He watched Sarah take her first taste of the confection. Her eyes closed in appreciation. He could only think about the way she’d looked in the moonlight just before he’d kissed her. Then he remembered how she’d looked after he’d kissed her. He was in deep trouble.
“Have some.” She held an over-packed spoonful to his lips. “Open up and taste,” her pursed lips coaxed. “It’s wonderful, downright heavenly.” A week ago his Sarah would surely have threatened to help him wear the ice cream. Would she dare?
Staring into her eyes, William opened his mouth. If she’d offered him a taste of herself he wouldn’t have been more mesmerized. Her brown eyes offered ecstasy, wonder, and a dare. A dare he couldn’t refuse.
“Good, hmmm?” she asked. “More?” She tugged at the spoon trapped by his lips. She glanced at his mouth and he relaxed his grip. She pulled it slowly from his lips. Her smile froze as he took the spoon and filled it with banana and ice cream and offered it. She was sure she could taste him on the spoon. This is getting out of hand. Do something, don’t panic.
Fortunately, or maybe not so fortunately, her imp was awake and ready to rescue the part of her with no better sense than to feed this man something so sexy. She took the offering into her mouth and swallowed past the desire William sent spiraling through her. She groaned at the rich taste of the ice cream, at the taste she was certain he added to the spoon, and at the knowledge that she couldn’t let things go any further. With the extra spoon she scooped enough goo to choke a horse and aimed it at William. His eyes showed his surprise as she veered past his mouth, leaving a white mustache over his upper lip.
Sarah enjoyed putting things in perspective with her own brand of mischief. Would he respond in kind, even with the audience? She could see the school newspaper headline now. Teachers set example with food fight in ice-cream shop.
##
Peter Jackson faced three unsavory looking men. The largest and meanest of the lot held him by his shirtfront. “You owe Mr. Avery money. You pay him real soon or you won’t be so pretty. Your face won’t get many smiles from the women.” The shake he gave Peter rattled his teeth. “Know what I mean?”
Behind Peter’s assailant, a man added, “You better believe my friend. He don’t joke about a thing like this. He minds the boss real good, so he will break your face, or whatever the boss tells him to break. Believe it. Don’t make us come down to the boonies again. We got no time to waste on deadbeats like you.”
Peter watched as the thugs shrugged to straighten their dark suit jackets. Next, one straightened Peter’s jacket while another smoothed his shirtfront. The third man tightened the knot in Peter’s tie before the three toughs walked away. He had to get the money soon.
Marrying Sarah would be no hardship. Some of his family hated the Overbys and all their descendants, but Sarah couldn’t be blamed for what her ancestors had done. Hell, that started over a hundred years ago. Her parents seemed nice enough. As her husband, her money would be partly his since she was a sweet, caring person. She would surely share. The legends had to be true. There had to be plenty of money!
She liked him well enough, he had to convince her she loved him. She’d be a wonderful wife, with her beauty and fire. He just had to tap into it and convince her she couldn’t live without him. He might even go straight, if he could invest some of the wealth her family had hoarded for so many years. He knew just the project. He and Sarah could have it all. In time he was sure to fall in love with her. It would work.
##
By the end of the day Sarah was tired but wound up. “Mama, I’m going up to the attic to rummage through the old trunks. I’ll be down in time for supper.” Sarah was free of school for the next two weeks. She had some major research to finish before her summer graduate class began.
Wearing cutoff jeans and a halter-top she opened the attic door. It was hot and quiet. No music greeted her. No costumed ladies smiled at her. It was the same, dusty, deserted attic of her childhood.
Sarah struggled to open a window to let in much needed fresh air and cool the large room. Cross ventilation from the second window she opened helped make the area bearable in the early summer heat. Stacked trunks lined one wall near a dormer window. The oldest trunks bore locks. “Damn!” How was she to search them? She didn’t remember seeing keys that would fit.
Sarah made a quick trip downstairs. Her mother produced a box of keys. Most were modern. Four looked like old-fashioned door keys to fit the old locks still on the room doors. She and William had played with them years ago, when he’d entertained her on rainy days. Sarah rummaged through a kitchen drawer and unearthed a small box with three smaller old keys. Maybe?
Excitement raced through her veins. She’d never been through those trunks. Maybe she could find a clue about the family treasure Mattie and Eloise had mentioned, if one existed.
Back in the attic Sarah went through one trunk. It yielded dresses preser
ved so well she could wear them, if they’d.
She approached another trunk. She stopped to wipe sweat from her face. She wasn’t alone. Lilacs? I smell lilacs. Mattie’s fragrance? “All right Mattie, come on out. I know you’re here.”
Mattie materialized, then hugged Sarah gingerly. “Did you forget your clothes, dear?” she asked. “You look like you were attacked and your clothes torn, or stolen. In my day...”
“In your day, women wore pants when they escaped on an adventure.” Eloise spoke from behind Sarah. “Love the outfit.”
“Well,” Mattie pointed at the open trunk. “let us help you continue the search.”
“Yeah, what are we waiting for?” Eloise moved toward a trunk. “How about this one?”
Sarah followed Eloise to a trunk near one she’d already opened. Moving a mirror in its roller stand from in front of the trunk she wondered that she hadn’t noticed it before. She had played dress up in front of that mirror many years ago.
She reached for the lock, but stopped. “No, I think I’ll open the one in the corner.” She moved, drawn to it. Its rough wood felt familiar under her fingertips. The carved initials were barely readable. “S. O?” she whispered. “Sarah,” Eloise said. “I remember that trunk. We could never find the key for it.”
“Maybe your William could get it open. He looks strong enough. If you asked him he would help,” Mattie suggested. “Why not ask him?”
“He’s not my William. I’m sure he has better things to do.”
“Better things than what?” a masculine voice called from the doorway. “Your William, at your beck and call, Ma’am.” He bowed, hand over his heart. For a second his navy striped shirt and khaki slacks morphed into tight, knee-length pants and a full-sleeved pirate style white shirt. The open shirt revealed dark curly chest hair. Sarah blinked to erase the image.
“William!” Sarah’s hand rose to her throat as her heart raced. “What’re you doin’ up here? You scared me out of a year’s growth. Let a person know when you come in a room, will you?”
William grinned a heart-stopping grin. “William has better things to do than what?” He looked around the attic. When she didn’t answer, he asked. “Princess, talk to yourself often?”
“I was talking...” She trailed off as she realized he couldn’t see Mattie or Eloise. The truth would never do, so she opted for a smart answer. “...to my imaginary playmates.”
“Don’t laugh,” she told Eloise, who giggled.
“I’m not laughing,” William said. “If you want to talk to imaginary playmates, I don’t mind. I thought you gave them up when you were six.” He rubbed her nose. “A dust spot. What didn’t you think I would help you do?”
“Don’t placate me, Mister Professor.” Her bare arms crossed under her breasts. “If you think I’ve flipped out, just say so.”
“People talk to themselves all the time. Even I think out loud when I’m trying to reason something out. I knew you were kidding about the imaginary playmates. I know your smart mouth after all these years.” He laughed ruefully. “I should.”
He stared at her chest.
Puzzled, Sarah glanced down. Her breasts were pushed up like in a push-up bra. Halter tops! She moved her arms lower before she looked up at his face. His eyes twinkled at her.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Sarah muttered.
“What?” he asked.
“I said you don’t have to help me, if you have something to do,” Sarah said. His shirt was tucked into his pressed slacks. “I wouldn’t want you to get dirty.” She sent a silent message to Eloise and Mattie who gestured behind William’s back.
I’m gonna get me a couple of ghosts, if they don’t quit.
“Is the work that dirty?” He crossed his arms.
She didn’t answer his question, he’d wiped dirt from her face. “I was wondering how I could get into that trunk.” She pointed to the one she and the ladies had been discussing when he walked in. “I don’t think any of these keys fit.” Sarah held out her hand to show the keys to William.
He tore his gaze from the flesh exposed by Sarah’s skimpy outfit. How had he ever missed how sexy she had become? Maybe she wouldn’t notice his hard-on. A cold shower was in order, a long cold shower. He’d have to get over it.
“What’s in all those trunks?” he cleared his throat.
“Some have old clothes. Dust getting to you?” She smiled.
“A little.” William cleared his throat and reached for the keys. “What’s so special about this trunk?” Taking the keys, he tried each in the antique lock.
“I’m curious about this one. See the initials S. O.? I know it’s not mine, but whose?”
None of the keys fit, as Sarah had known. She wished Mattie and Eloise would be less visible to her while William was with her. They were distracting.
“I’ll get a screw driver,” he suggested, “and a hammer, if you’re serious about getting it open. I might damage the lock.”
Sarah almost said, “Never mind,” but the words died in her throat. She had to know what was in that trunk. “Do it, please.”
William had barely cleared the door when Sarah hissed. “You two behave or he’ll think I’m crazy, for sure. Eloise, stop mooning over the man.”
“But he’s got a great butt,” Eloise said.
“Eloise!” Mattie admonished, “such unladylike talk.”
“Well, he does have a great behind. Love those trousers, too.” She laughed. “Besides, I’m just looking.”
“I agree,” Sarah admitted in spite of herself.
“You agree to what?” William asked, as he walked up behind Sarah. “Talking to yourself, again?”
Ten minutes later the chest was open. Sarah held a large family Bible. Scripted inside the leather cover, the name Sarita Overby caught her attention. “S. O.?” she wondered. Reverent, she placed it beside a stack of leather bound journals, also belonging to Sarita. She handed dresses to William who patiently placed them on a table he’d dusted.
“What have we here?” Sarah lifted out a small wooden box. It was all she could do to ignore the ghosts as Mattie’s eyes grew wide in wonder. The box lid was carved in delicate floral designs. Opening the latch, Sarah paused before she unwound a small cloth package. She held up a necklace of reddish beads. Eloise and Mattie shrugged. Neither seemed to recognize it. Strange, Sarah felt the necklace belonged with her. Its beads warmed at her touch, taking on a soft glow.
“Cinnabar.” William said. “It looks like a cinnabar piece I saw in a museum.” He touched the beads, so delicate in his large, gentle hands. His expression was odd, his words were barely audible. ”Knowledge, wealth, wisdom, business success …“
“What?”
He really seemed interested in the necklace. “I don’t remember the other one shining so much. I guess wrapping it in cloth helped.”
Kneeling, William reached around Sarah’s neck and clasped the necklace. She stared into his eyes, wishing he would hurry and finish the job, but loving the way he caressed her collarbones and adjusted the beads. The simple act felt so intimate and familiar. He had fastened necklaces for her before. Yeah, he’d given her a locket for her fifth Christmas. He’d put it on her while her parents watched. This time was different. They were adults and she desperately wanted him to kiss her.
He stood, leaving Sarah still crouched beside the trunk. He touched the top of her head. “I need to leave soon, Princess. As you know, a teacher’s work is never done. I’m meeting someone after supper. She might help me with my research about people and delusions. The woman believes she traveled back in time.” He shook his head and shrugged.
“Really?” Sarah asked. “Do I know her?”
“Can’t tell you without her permission.” William offered Sarah his hand to help her rise. “Why don’t you come downstairs with me?” He touched the back of his hand to her forehead. “You don’t need to be up here alone.” He draped a warm, hair-dusted arm across her shoulders, steering her towar
d the door.
Eloise and Mattie nodded, grinning. Sarah took the hint. “You’re right, supper should be ready soon. Want to stay for supper? Mama always cooks enough for you, too.”
“She already asked me, but I had to turn her down. She promised to pack me some dessert in a disposal bowl.”
“Too bad. I’m taking these books downstairs so I can read them before my escape from the wonderful world of academia is discovered. Help me put the dresses away?” She grabbed his hand and turned back to the trunks, taking him with her.
William folded each dress carefully before handing it down to Sarah, who re-packed the trunk. “Anything for you, but I can’t stay. I never thought I’d be packing a lady’s trunk. I feel so used.” His hand on his hip made her roll her eyes.
She glanced down to realize that each move she made gave him a better view of her breasts. Dirty old man, he looked like he enjoyed the view. She’d enjoyed teasing him today. Had he stared her breasts before? Surely she would’ve noticed.
Thanks to her best friend, Sarah made it downstairs with the journals, the Bible, and the necklace. Each item felt so familiar. The necklace seemed like it had been made for her.
Tonight would be a long one, if Sarah could stay awake to read the journals, or a short one, if they put her to sleep. Would William stay out of her thoughts? Probably not. Why should tonight be any different from any other night this week, since he’d kissed her and awakened a side of her she hadn’t known existed? She hadn’t guessed he had such a side, either. Maybe it was for the best that he couldn’t stay.
##
Sarita’s journals hadn’t put Sarah to sleep. They hadn’t let her sleep. Hooked by the story unfolding in them, she handled the heavy pages with care akin to reverence.
6, April, 1865
The war is finally over. I leave tomorrow. I am going back to Georgia, at long last. I hope I will be welcome at Uncle John’s. I need to rest. My family is gone. They are all gone. One more trip dressed like a boy. Seems like I have spent the last six years dressed like a boy.
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