I took in the glory of the massive brick farmhouse with its two-story porch. As we got closer, I noticed a porch swing gently rocking with the breeze, and the fields of wheat mimicked the movement.
“Wow,” Eloise said, and I peered over my shoulder to find her leaning as far as her car seat allowed her to get a better view past her sister. “It’s so pretty.”
“I think so too,” I replied, turning into the gravel driveway that led to the property.
We passed under a large metal sign that readCrawford Bed and Breakfast, leaving a cloud of dust behind us.
The girls were bouncing in their seats as I came to a stop, and they didn’t hesitate to free themselves from their confines when I gave the okay.
“Wait for me!” I hollered as they ran as fast as they could with their little legs toward the porch. They were already standing at the top of the steps when I turned off the vehicle, their lopsided pigtails rocking with each bounce of their impatient bodies.
“Can I press the button? Please, Daddy, please?” Molly pleaded as she tugged my pant leg when I joined them.
I glanced over at Eloise and noticed she had the same eagerness in her eyes, but I knew she’d never speak up over her enthusiastic sister. “How about we let Eloise press it this time?”
Molly released my pant leg and stepped back as she gently nodded.
“Thanks, Molly,” Eloise said as she took a step toward the doorbell. Her slender finger reached for the button and hovered, then pushed it. The sound of an antique chime wailed around us, and the three of us jumped in alarm before laughing.
It didn’t take long to hear the telltale signs of feet stomping on the other side of the door before they froze. A few metallic noises of gears moving and sliding occurred, then the door opened wide to a woman wearing an easy grin.
“Daddy, look! It’s the Miss Barbie from this morning. I told you she was pretty,” Molly, my daughter who’s never met a stranger, immediately exclaimed as the door’s opening widened, but the woman’s eyes never left mine as her smile melted into a frown.
When our host remained silent, I ran my hand over Molly’s head, wordlessly telling her everything was okay, and then held my hand out in greeting.
“Hi, I’m Nate Sullivan, and these are my daughters, Eloise and Molly. It’s nice to meet you.”
I had a chance to take in the woman’s face, and she was stunning. There was something familiar about her, but I chalked it up to her being related to Andrew. I also saw her at a distance this morning at the market. She’d been the one to give Molly the carrots.
“Nathaniel?” she asked as she slowly brought her hand up to mine. Our palms touched, and I swore the earth stopped spinning. I’d felt this hand before. Experienced its soft skin against my own. There was an intimacy in the way our fingers brushed against each other.
But I knew that wasn’t possible. I’d never met this woman before in my life. There would be no way I could forget her.
“Um, most people call me Nate,” I replied, thinking that perhaps Autumn listed the name on my credit card as the reservation guest’s name. “And you are?”
Her hand slipped free of my grasp, and she took a step back, her eyes steeling at the same time as her spine. She looked at me in a way that made my skin crawl, as if I was missing something pivotal. “My name is Alex. Let me show you to your rooms.”
Chapter Three – Alex
I could feel his stare on my back as I guided them through the first floor where they’d find the kitchen, living room, library, and game room. The way he looked at me made me want to huddle away in a cocoon high in a tree somewhere.
He didn’t remember me, and I felt like an idiot. He’d been at the bar for a few hours when I met him. I flirted with him a little when I went behind the counter and the bartender on duty assured me Nathaniel, as he asked everyone around him to call him that night, was still in his right mind, just angry and depressed.
Well, seemed we were both wrong.
When I opened the door to find Nate standing there, I thought he had to be a mirage. I had recurring dreams of this man for the last year, and now he was standing on the porch, waiting for me to let him in.
I was Cinderella, right? And my fairy godmother was granting my ultimate wish?
No. Nothing in my life ever went the way it was supposed to. My plans were always foiled, and it left me lurking in the shadows of someone else’s successes.
“And this is the library,” I said with the most enthusiastic voice I could muster. And by the way Molly’s face squished together, I was certainly failing.
Then, by surprise, I felt the softest little hand wrap around my own. The other child, Eloise I thought Nate said, squeezed my hand as she took in the view. Then I recalled she had been perusing the library stand at the market today.
Crouching down to her level, I asked Eloise if she liked to read.
“Yes.” She nodded. “It’s my favorite.”
