Closer To You (Tales of the Sweet Magnolia Book 1)

by McIntyre, Amanda

  It was a difficult line not to cross for Lil, from being a big sister to being a parent. A drunk driver killed their parents when Lori was only seventeen, a senior in high school. By then, Lil had graduated from college and was working as the new assistant at the University of Nevada library. Despite the difference in their age and personalities, they managed to form a close bond and get through the traumatic loss together.

  Her thoughts drifted to the time Lori had challenged her to step outside her comfort zone. Her younger sister had come home, arms laden with shopping bags from Niemen Marcus and Victoria’s Secret. Lilly knew she had to have spent her entire paycheck.

  “I suppose I’ll be taking care of the cable bill again this month?” Lil asked, raising her brow to her cover-model-slim sister. Lori was tall, lanky, and took after their father, in contrast to Lil, who received their mother’s genetically curvaceous features. Lori swung her long blonde hair over her shoulder and smiled, accentuating her bright, blue eyes and amazing cheekbones. “Wait until you see what I got you today.” She grinned and pulled from one of the pink and black designer bags a leopard print bra and something that looked akin to a fancy slingshot.

  “What on earth is that?” Lil asked, eyeing the object dangling from her sister’s slender fingers.

  “My dear sequestered sister, this is my way of dragging you into this century,” Lori replied, wiggling her brows.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Lil stuffed a bookmark in the old Louis L’Amour book she’d picked up at the library.

  “Oh no, I’m certainly not joking around here. You are in dire need of some excitement, some color in your life.”

  “My life has plenty of color.” She waved off her sister as she sat at the end of the couch, curling her legs under her. Her sister ignored her and pulled out another miniature ensemble, this one lipstick red. “You seriously don’t think I’m going to wear that, do you?” She stretched her arms over her head and yawned.

  “Look at you. It’s only eight-thirty and you’re yawning,” Lori shrieked.

  “Because I was up late last night reading.” She shot back out of frustration that maybe her sister was right.

  Lori plopped into a chair across from her. “Look, you’re not my mother.” Her expression softened.

  “I know that,” Lil scoffed, still, the truth of her words stung.

  “But you act like you are. You need to be out, having fun, meeting people.”

  “You mean guys.” She leveled Lori a look. “Like you?” she commented drily.

  Lori eyed her warily. “Maybe like me. I’m a junior in college. It’s in my job description to have a little fun, don’t you think?”

  Suddenly, Lil realized that her sister was no longer the young girl she had comforted every night for months on end. Maybe she’d taken on the role more seriously than she’d intended. But she’d become what she thought Lori needed. It was clear Lori didn’t need that anymore. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with being sensible, is there?” She defended her pragmatic ways.

  “Sis, you go to work and come home. You read your western books and watch your western movies.”

  She eyed her sister, worried that her younger sister was scrutinizing her lifestyle. “And this is wrong because…?”

  Lori sighed, and closed her eyes.

  Lilly sensed her sister’s frustration. “Okay, okay. If it’ll make you happy, I’ll try one of these things on.” She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers, anxious to get back to the peace and quiet of reading her book. “It looks like butt floss,” she remarked studying the stringed brief.

  “It will make you look good. And when you look good, you feel good,” Lori announced, and handed her the leopard print set.

  Lilly laughed at the memory. As it was, she didn’t go back to the paperback that night, but rather stared at herself long and hard in the mirror, sensing a shift inside. The tables had turned. Her sister had taught her an important lesson. Perhaps in her effort to protect Lori, she’d walled herself in from taking risks, from experiencing hurt again.

  Prompted by thoughts of her sister, Lil picked up the phone and punched in her cell number. Lil glanced at the clock, unsure of what time it might be in Australia, but the phone clicked after the first ring.

  “Hey, you! You must have felt me thinking about you. There was this really, really cute guy that just walked by. So what’s up, big sis? I haven’t heard from you in a while. I wondered what was going on with you.” The sound of her effervescent voice warmed Lil’s heart.

  “So I didn’t wake you? I wasn’t sure what time it was down there.”

  “Nah, we just finished lunch and I sent my troops off to explore the marketplace here in Darwin. What a fantastic place! You should see it, Lil,” her sister remarked. “I have lots of reward points I could get you here by tomorrow.”

  “It sounds like fun and I’d love to, but the truth is I haven’t got the time right now.” Lil brushed her fingertips over the fine sheen of dust atop of the radio alarm clock, trying not to think too much, about just how much time she did have.

  “Ah, the riveting world of library science keeping you running in all directions, eh?” Lori teased.

  She sat on the edge of the bed and crossed her ankles, noting how drab her shoes looked. “Just a lot of meetings next week. There’s a new shipment of young adult books coming in and a new month’s worth of periodicals to register and find a spot for. And oh, there’s a fundraiser for the Friends of the Library coming up.”

  “It sounds like your hands are full. So when are you going to carve out a little time for yourself? Maybe get out and kick up your heels? Have a little fun?”

  This was one of the differences between them. Lori didn’t mind the moving around, the changes in time zones and sleep deprivation. There were no strangers in her life; everyone was a potential friend. Lil envied her sister in some ways because of her choices.

  “Are you keeping that promise you made to me?” Lori asked. Lil heard the humor laced in her voice. Granted, it had been a while since she’d done anything that qualified as totally insane.

  “I went on that whitewater rafting trip,” she answered, realizing even as she attempted to defend herself, how long it had truly been since she’d done anything exciting.

  “Lil that was last summer. What about recently?”

  “I did get a new comforter for my bed.” She ran her palm over the smooth fabric. “It’s a gorgeous Bordeaux color. You’d love it.”

  “It sounds positively decadent, sis. And has it seen any action, by chance?”

  Lil tipped her head in disbelief. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. What good is having a beautiful bedroom if you’re the only one who sees it?”

  “Lori, let’s not go there,” Lil warned.

  “You can’t tell me what to do, and I will go there if I please, Lil,” Lori stated in an emphatic tone.

  “Kiddo, that lifestyle is fine for you, but it’s not for me. I want more than an occasional one-night stand, no offense.”

  “None taken,” she responded. Her voice softened. “Life is short, Lil. I don’t need to explain that to you. You have this dream of finding some All-American hero to give you a happily ever after.”

  “Is that so wrong to hold out hope that there’s someone like that out there and that somehow we’ll meet and you…know that it’s right?” Lori had, once again, in a way only she could do, scratched the surface of Lil’s soul.

  “Nothing at all wrong with having a dream, but sometimes you need to get out there and make it happen. We get one chance, Lil. Make it count. You never know where that elusive cowboy of yours might be waiting.”

  Lil pressed her lips together, holding back tears that the truth of her words evoked. “You know how very proud I am of you?”

  There was a short laugh on the other end of the line. “Because I’m so wise, right?”

  “Maybe…a little,” Lil conceded.

  “Good, I’m glad we cleared that
up. Now, what insane thing are you going to do this weekend?”

  She chuckled in response. “Well, first things first, the air conditioner has been acting up again, so I’ll probably rattle the cage of my landlord.”

  “Oh lord. Did you hear anything I said?” Lori whined into the phone.

  “Listen, I’ll do some research, okay, and get back to you.” Lil rolled her eyes and smiled. Lori, despite her wanderlust, was a constant in her life. Secretly, she wished she could just take off to wonderful, exotic locations like Lori. “Really, I promise. I’ll see if I can squeeze the time to take off and do something wild and crazy, okay? Would that make you happy?”

  “It’s not about me, and I don’t plan to hold my breath. But I’m serious, the offer stands. I’m here for another full week and with my reward points I can have you here tomorrow. Think about it, down under with all these insanely gorgeous guys.”

  A profound sense of loneliness washed over her. “Hey. Are you coming home for Thanksgiving?” She purposely changed the subject.

  “For the moment, it looks like it, but maybe we should consider doing something different this year?” her sister offered. “Listen, I have to run, I see my peeps heading my way. Take care and I better hear soon about some excitement other than that air conditioner of yours. Speaking of, any chance the landlord is cute?”

  “Lori, he’s at least a zillion years old and has missing teeth.” Lil scoffed.

  “Love you,” Lori said quietly.

  “Love you more,” Lil responded and hung up. Clad in her skirt and lace camisole, she flopped back on the bed, grateful for how cool the cover felt against her skin. She stretched her arms over her head and lifted one foot, flicking off one of the low-heeled shoes and carefully removed the other, reaching down to rub the ankle she’d twisted earlier. Though sore, there was no swelling to speak of, nothing that a good soak in a tepid bath wouldn’t remedy. However, the humiliation of dealing with teens far too street-wise for their age lingered in the back of her mind.

  She stood, slipped her thumbs under her waistband, and shimmied out of her skirt. As she pulled the cami over her head, she heard the sound of the glass windowpanes rattling with the wind of an impending storm. Lil passed by the oak vanity mirror and paused. Her thoughts drifted to the conversation she’d had with her sister as she assessed her image. Skeptical that she was capable of letting go, of taking risks, she wondered if she had the courage to “put herself out there” as Lori suggested.

  She pushed aside the niggling concern that it was vain for her to appreciate her shape, or the way her dark mahogany hair tumbled over her pale shoulders. The animal print bra and thong accentuated every curve and the very thought of modeling it for the heated dark-eyed gaze of Mr. Right from her dreams caused gooseflesh to rise on her arms. She was not the fuddy-duddy that those teens thought her to be, nor was she the good girl that Miss Clausen assumed she was.

  She was a siren—seductive, sensual, sexy.

  The power behind that wicked little thought caused the juncture of her thighs to tingle.

  “Meow.”

  Her insistent three-legged feline rubbed against her bare leg, pulling her out of her torrid daydream. “Wyatt, you’re such an attention whore. You should have enough food in your dispenser to last you a month. Have you eaten it all already?”

  The long-haired tabby ignored the endearing term and continued to weave between her ankles.

  Lil sighed, glancing at herself in the mirror. In truth, there wasn’t anything wrong with her. She was sexy. She could have fun. She had an adventurous spirit. However, she was also studious, quiet, and enjoyed staying home rather than going out all the time. Did that make her a boring catch? She’d just about given up hope that there was someone out there who could appreciate the many sides of her, someone man enough to enjoy her quiet side, but who could be as appreciative of her passionate wicked side. She resigned herself to the idea that she just hadn’t found him yet, and that such a man truly existed beyond her imagination.

  Feeling brazen and ignoring her cat’s curious looks, she padded through her apartment in her scandalous lingerie. She caught sight of the black leather bag where she’d dropped it by the door. An odd curiosity drew her to it. She picked it up, and rifling through it, found both the book and box. Pulling them from the clutter in her bag, Lil turned the box over, hands trembling, careful not to disturb any of the ornamentation. She tucked the book under her arm, telling herself that she was interested solely in its possible historical value, not whether she would experience the strange tingling sensations she’d had back at the library. Delicious warmth began to heat her palm, seeming to melt through her skin, seeping into her blood. She held the box in awe-struck wonder, aware of little else as she walked back to her bedroom.

  Absent-mindedly, she reached out and flipped on her stereo, the small room coming to life with the Dixie Chicks singing about wanting her cowboy to take her away. The words had become her fantasy, her deepest desire, and she found herself humming along to the tune.

  She tossed the book on the bed and grabbed one of her lace pillows, plumping it before she crawled to the center of the bed and nestled in its cushy softness. The waning sun, shadowed by the increasing clouds, dimmed the light in the room. She reached over to turn on the rose Tiffany lamp on the nightstand. The antique light had belonged to her grandmother and its muted glow, the color of a summer dawn, evoked a feeling of serenity as much now as it had when she and her gran would sit and read by it.

  Lil settled onto the pillows, puzzled how the box felt warm to the touch, like a soothing cup of tea. A peaceful calm washed over her, coupled with an unmistakable energy that she could not dismiss. Surprised once more by her overactive imagination, Lillian chided herself mentally. Did she wish for her life to be different, so much that she was conjuring these strange sensations?

  She held the box up to the light, searching for some mark of its origin, a copyright date, or shop name. Gently, she worried the corner of her lip, inspecting the small latch, debating whether it was wise to tamper with something that was not her property. Her fingers twitched as she neared the tiny lock holding the lid in place. A quick electric spark snapped her fingertip and she let out a gasp, holding the box away.

  Too far to back down now. She swallowed and flipped the metal latch and her entire body trembled with anticipation to find out what lay inside. Perspiration beaded on the sensitive flesh between her breasts and her breathing grew labored as she cautiously lifted the lid. Her eyes widened at what lay on a tiny tuft of white cloth. She slid her fingers beneath the delicate gold chain and lifted the necklace, letting the ruby red heart dangle in midair. Shards of color seemed to wink at her as the light touched the surface. Lillian had never seen anything so beautifully ornate. Uncertain whether the gemstone was real or not, there was certainly no question as to the exquisite detail of the metal filigree work around it. It appeared to be very old and she pictured it worn by a bordello madam, as a gift, perhaps from an appreciative client. Whether real or a reproduction, she couldn’t imagine that its owner wasn’t frantic to get it back. Come morning, she’d call the authorities and perhaps put out a lost and found ad in one of the local papers.

  Nudged by curiosity, she pushed to her knees and placed the necklace over her head. With little else to impede its beauty, the red gem lay perched just above the fleshy swell of her breasts. She fingered the cool stone, noting the subtle heat where it had touched her skin. Mesmerized by the twinkling jewel, her eyes lifted to her reflection, seeing a startling transformation. Suddenly, she saw how beautiful she was, not only on the outside, but inside as well. Her eyes welled with the stark clarity of what and who she saw. A nervous giggle escaped her lips. The courage to revel in this newly found sense of self-appreciation sent a scintillating thrill through her, causing her to laugh again, this time out loud, as she cut loose with a couple of provocative poses in the mirror. She’d never felt so empowered by her womanly prowess, had never felt so confide
nt. Seated at the head of the bed, surrounded by the heap of opulent pillows, she imagined herself in another time, another era.

  “Cowboy take me away….” the woman crooned on her stereo. For an instant, Lil saw herself as the madam of a tainted little parlor house—a bordello of the Old West.

  She smiled at the image, but reality seeped in, tarnishing her thoughts, and she wondered what the odds were of finding a man, especially back then, who wouldn’t stereotype her any less than she felt pigeonholed in this day and age.

  Like a deflated balloon, Lillian glanced at her reflection again. Where indeed had all the heroes gone, she wondered wearily, punctuating that thought with a yawn. She scrunched down, exhausted by her musings, and picked up the book about Lucky Lil she’d brought home. With a brief look at the faded front cover, a black and white picture of an old clapboard house with a group of people standing on the front porch, she flipped to the forward and read the dedication. “To all God’s children, who are equal in His sight.”~R.E.S.

  Lil turned the page and the scent of musty leather and flowers brushed past her nose. She thought it odd, though dismissed it quickly, understanding that libraries and books, especially older copies, possessed a unique smell all their own. To Lil, aging paper was a comforting scent. She closed her eyes for a moment, the stress of her week overcoming her. The last things she remembered were the gentle whirl of the ceiling fan overhead and the soft sounds of music playing in the back of her mind.

  Chapter Two

  A thunderous pounding on the bedroom door startled her from a deep sleep. Lillian bolted upright, her head still groggy. Through hooded lids, she noted the last dredges of sunlight filtering through gauzy white curtains. She frowned, not recalling when she’d opened the window. Slow and easy, the wind lifted them as though waving at her. Cool, fresh air, the scent of earth and sweet prairie grass, skimmed across Lillian’s face, creating even more confusion to the thoughts whirling in her mind.