Across the Winds of Time (21 page)

As if it were even possible, he was, in fact, more handsome without the mustache than with it. His face took on a more angular look than I’d previously observed, his cheekbones suddenly pronounced. His mouth was symmetrical, wide and generous, with full firm lips, the top just a bit smaller than the bottom lip. At the moment, they were slightly curved into a tentative smile as he waited for my opinion.

I swallowed hard and plastered a playful grin on my face.

“You look very handsome, Darius. Good job!” I jumped up and passed him to exit the bathroom, suddenly in a hurry to put space between us.

He grabbed my arm. “Is that my only reward?”

I could do nothing but tilt my head back and meet his bright blue gaze. My gaze traveled to his lips—his beautiful smile.

He pulled me to him and bent to kiss me. His kiss was the same, yet different—warm, insistent, smelling of the aloe-enhanced shaving cream. I rose on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck to bring him closer, matching the curves of his body with my own.

I thrilled when his arms tightened around my waist. I felt at home in his embrace—loved and secure in a safe world where nothing could harm me.

Where nothing could harm me?
What did that mean?

I broke off the kiss and slid my hands over Darius’s now smooth cheeks. He pressed his face into my palms as a purring cat might. I traced the line of his lips with my fingertips.

“Darius?”

“Yes, my love.” He kept his eyes closed while I caressed his face, but he continued to hold me against him.

“I just had the strangest sensation that I felt safe in your arms—that nothing could harm me.”

He opened his eyes and smiled gently. I knew I would never stop craving the sight of the movement of his lips.

“And nothing
will
harm you, love—not while I am here.”

I thrilled at his words and I believed them, but I could not dismiss the strange thought.

“It was such an eerie feeling,” I murmured. “I’ve never known danger in my life. Well, not really. Nothing more than a walk to my car at night from the grocery store. I didn’t know I was feeling unsafe.”

Darius’s eyes darkened slightly.

“What?” I prompted.

“Nothing, love.” His arms tightened around me. “I am happy that you feel safe with me. I only wish I could protect you when you leave this house.” He jerked his head in the vague direction of the door.

I knew how powerless he felt at the moment, and I tried to put the odd sensation behind me to keep from worrying him. My shoulder ached again.

“Well, I don’t go
out there
”—I jerked my head in the same direction with a forced grin—“that much, since I work at home. And you’re here.”

“That I am, my love, that I am.” He bent to kiss me again. “Now go.” He gave me a gentle shove. “I really must bathe. I have a lot of dust on me.”

I grinned, left the bathroom and wandered down to the kitchen to find something for dinner. A pizza delivery would come in handy right about now, I thought.

Was there a pizza place in town? I realized I didn’t even have a phone book yet. Aha! But I did have the internet...

Fifteen minutes later, I sat down on the couch in a state of bemusement—a large pizza on the way, to be delivered by someone at the local bar/lounge, which advertised itself on the internet as making the “best homemade pizza in Harrison County.”

Darius came downstairs with a rueful smile, with Marmaduke at his heels.

“I really must wash these clothes out, but I am not quite sure what I would wear in the interim.”

Relaxing on the couch and marveling at the modern world of online dining, I tilted my head and regarded him with amusement as he surveyed his clothing with mild distaste.

“Well, I could loan you my bathrobe!” I pumped my eyebrows and smirked.

Darius put his hands up in mock dismay. “No, thank you. I will just have to wash these things out tonight and hope they are dry by morning.”

“I wish the washing machine and dryer were working, but they’re not hooked up yet.”

Darius came to sit beside me, and Marmaduke sauntered over to the window and jumped on the sill to survey his domain.

Sassy, resting on the back of the couch, immediately jumped on Darius’s lap. He ran a hand along her black and orange marbled coat.

“Sometimes, Molly, I have
no
idea what you are talking about. I wonder if it would help if you spoke slower.” He shook his head with a playful grin. “What is a
dryer?
”

I chuckled.

“We wash our clothes in machines now. None of this scrub board stuff anymore.”

Darius nodded.

“Ah, I understand. But the wiring and plumbing are not adequate for these machines, is that correct?”

Sassy’s purring grew loud. I fought the strongest urge to relocate the cat to the floor and jump onto Darius’s lap myself. I knew I could purr louder than Sassy. But I controlled myself...again, and focused on the subject at hand.

“Yes, that’s it. You catch on fast, Darius.”

“Thank you. I have always been known as a quick study.” He gave his head a mock conceited shake and pretended to preen.

The sound of a car in the drive caught my attention, and I jumped up.

“The pizza is here. That was fast!”

I scanned the living room for my purse. Where had I left it?

“
Peetsah
,” Darius rose to his feet. “What is that?”

“Pizza, pizza. Food. Italian food—kind of.”

I ran to the kitchen and found my bag on the counter. Grabbing my wallet, I headed back to the front door, and pulled it open.

“Surprise!” my sister squealed.

I froze, wallet in hand, staring at the apparition.

“I wanted to surprise you,” Sara crowed. “I knew you’d be feeling kind of lonely in this big old house by yourself. Not to mention I thought you could use some moral support with the electrician and plumber.”

I watched in horror as Sara slipped her black soft-sided bag off her shoulder and dropped it onto the porch.

“Can I come in? Are you all right?” Sara scanned my face.

I shot a desperate look over my shoulder, expecting to see Darius standing in the living room behind me where I’d last seen him, and wondering what on earth I was going to tell my sister, but Darius was not in view. Sassy had disappeared as well. Marmaduke had come to stand by my feet.

“No! Yes! I’m fine. Yes, of course, you can come in. I-I...”

Stuttering, I pulled the door open and let Sara in. Another scan of the living room and entry to the kitchen showed no sign of Darius.

“I’m stunned,” I muttered. A thousand thoughts ran through my mind at the moment—none of them coherent or productive.

Sara laughed and pushed the loose curls escaping her ponytail back off her face.

“You look it. I guess I did surprise you.” I saw Sara’s gaze stray to the blanket and pillow on the couch, and I babbled the first thing that came to mind.

“I slept on the couch last night. You know... New house, strange sounds.”

Sara dropped her bag on the floor.

“Yeah, I know. Well, might as well leave them here. I’ll take the couch. You still don’t have a spare bed, do you?” She rubbed her hands and looked around the room.

I shook my head in dumb silence. The complications of Sara’s surprise visit seemed insurmountable...and all of them involved Darius in some way.

“No, you couldn’t fit a lot of furniture in your apartment, could you?”

Another mute nod. Where was Darius going to sleep? Eat? Where was he now?

Sara brought her attention back to me. “What’s up? You’re quiet. It’s all right that I came early, isn’t it?”

Straining to listen for any sound from Darius to tell me where he was, I nodded.

“Oh, sure. Sure. Yeah, that’s great.” I forced myself to focus on Sara and stepped forward to give her a belated hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“Well, it hasn’t been that long,” Sara shrugged with a smile. “Like I said, I was worried about you all alone out here.”

I tilted my head.
Alone?
When?

“I’ve been so busy I haven’t noticed. Laura and Cynthia came by and took me ‘out on the town’ to meet the local folks, and the movers were here and the electrician and—” I pulled herself up short.

“And?” Sara moved away toward the kitchen with the air of someone inspecting a house, and I chased after her, willing myself to show a little restraint and avoid blurting out the truth—at least the truth as I understood it.

Darius. Where are you? Please don’t jump out and scare her...us
.

“Wow! The new appliances look great.” Sara threw me a look over her shoulder. “You said the electrician had already been here today?”

I noted the door to the basement was closed. Had Darius gone down there? Was he in the back yard again? I froze for a moment. He hadn’t disappeared, had he?

“Ummm...what?” I tore my gaze from the basement door. “The electrician? Oh, yes, he was here today. Still has to come back tomorrow, so most of the appliances aren’t hooked up yet. But the refrigerator is running.” I waved a distracted hand in the direction of the tall, two-door appliance in “bisque”—the first refrigerator I’d ever bought.

Sara opened it and peered inside.

“It’s huge! What’s this?” She pulled out the large square of semisweet chocolate I had bought according to Darius’s instructions. “Are you binging on chocolate? This looks pretty hard core.” Sara broke off a piece and popped it in her mouth before returning it to the refrigerator. “Well, Sis, it looks like I came just in the nick of time to save you from blowing up like a balloon.”

Despite my anxiety, I couldn’t hold back a grin. “Oh, please. I’ve been experimenting with making old-fashioned hot chocolate. Everything about this house makes me want to do things the old way.”

Sara tossed her head in the direction of the microwave.

“Well, almost everything.”

A knock on the door made me jump.

Sara narrowed her eyes. “Good gravy, Molly, you’re acting like that silly cat of yours. Go see who it is.”

“I ordered pizza... Maybe it’s the pizza.” I moved toward the door in slow motion, grabbing my wallet again off the coffee table along the way. Where was Darius? He wouldn’t... He wouldn’t knock at the door and pretend to be someone, would he?

I pulled open the door, with much more reluctance this time, and found a tall man in his mid-40s, standing on my porch, a pizza warmer in his hand. I blinked. He looked a bit older than the usual teenage pizza delivery boys I’d seen.

“You ordered a pizza?” he said in a flat tone.

“Yes, yes, I did. Thank you. How much?”

He gave me an amount, and I fumbled in my wallet for the money, uncomfortably aware he was peering around me to see into the house. I felt rather than heard Sara come up behind me.

“I heard you bought this place. I’m Rick, Cathy’s husband. I think you met my mother-in-law, Sally, at the store yesterday.”

“Oh!” My hand shook as I handed him the money. Lilium was getting smaller by the minute. “Yes. It’s nice to meet you.” I accepted the pizza and the hand he proffered to shake.

“So, this guy you hired to remodel, this ‘Victorian specialist’—does he need any extra help?” Rick continued to peer over my shoulder toward the inside of the house. “What’s his name again?”

I froze for an instant, before pulling my hand from his to balance the pizza, now burning my left hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sara’s head jerk in my direction. How was I going to get out of this?

“Oh, I don’t know. I could ask him. Ummm...Dari-Darren Ferland. His name is Darren Ferland. No, Fergland. Fergland.”

Rick, a man of nondescript features and a two-day growth of beard, pocketed the money. “Well, let me know. I’m pretty handy with a hammer. And I live locally.” He attempted to give me a pointed look, which fell short of impressing me with its message. Poor Cathy, I thought.

“Sure. Like I said, I’ll check with him. Thanks for the pizza. Good night.” I pushed the door shut in his face and held the pizza out to Sara. “Here, take this. It’s burning my hands.”

Sara grabbed the pizza while I rubbed my so-called burnt hands together and tried to think of something quick.

“I didn’t know you’d hired a contractor. What’s this about a ‘Victorian specialist’?”

“Let’s go eat first. I’m starved.” I led the way to the kitchen, and we settled at the small kitchen table. I dug into my first slice with what I hoped looked like hungry enthusiasm, but the food tasted like cardboard. I turned to look out into the back yard, now shadowed as the sun began to set. Was Darius out there somewhere? I had to do something. I couldn’t just let him wander around outside alone...hungry...in the dark—ghost or time traveler.

I dropped my food and lifted a napkin to my mouth.

“As a matter of fact, I did hire a contractor...and he’s actually staying here.” I avoided Sara’s gaze and looked out the window. “I’m not sure where he is right now. Probably out back checking out the siding or something.”

“What?”

I kept my gaze firmly fixed outside.

“You have some guy staying here? A stranger? Are you nuts? Where is he?”

I grabbed my slice of pizza and stuffed it in my mouth. In a brief moment of hysteria, I wondered how it tasted, because I certainly had no idea. With appalling manners, I mumbled through my food...maybe hoping to distract Sara from my jumbled words.

“Well, yeah, I know it sounds weird, but he’s from Council Bluffs, and I thought it was best if he stay here...you know...so he doesn’t have to drive back and forth every day.”

I slid my gaze toward Sara who stared at me with a gaping mouth.

“That just doesn’t make sense, Molly. I mean if you had a husband or a man around to make sure you were safe...I could understand, but a stranger? How long is he going to be here? And where is he?”

“Until the remodel is done?” I offered with a tentative smile. “I really don’t know where he is right now. He doesn’t exactly report to me, you know.”

“So, is he the one who’s been sleeping on the couch?” Sara eyed me sternly. “Why did you tell me it was you?”