A Love for all Ages (Crockett County Trilogy Book 1) (13 page)

Stephanie starts to stand however Chase catches her hand
motioning for her to stay seated.
Slowly she sits back down.
Fighting the urge to go to Archie to offer him comfort Stephanie sits
and waits.
She understands the love her Aunt had for this brave
man.
He had been a soldier; a man of honor.
And even in his
ghostly existent he is still a man of honor; a man who still feels the
pain of failure and the pain of the deaths of his fellow soldiers.
Archie is a man who has suffered for decades.
Chase laces his
fingers with hers, bringing her back from her thoughts.
Stephanie
focuses on Archie realizing she wasn’t the only one that had been
deep in thought.

Archie turns from the window seeing them both still at the
table.
He had been so lost in his memories he had forgotten they
were there, waiting for him to continue. Shaking his head to clear
the cobwebs he turns back to the window as he continues, “We
were surrounded on three sides with the pond behind us. I knew
we were in trouble, I heard my men fall around me. By my count
we were down to seven men and me.
With Kentucky being neutral
I should have known better than to make camp.
I should have
pushed on but the men and our horses were tired.
When we had
seen the pond from the small hill we had thought it was our lucky
day.
The horses smelled water and started to twitch, we didn’t see
any other tracks but still we approached the pond slowly keeping
our eyes open wide.
I would give anything to go back and change
this, to be able to keep my men alive.”

“As it was, I seen the gray uniforms approaching; I was
reloading my rifle when two Confederate Soldiers yelled for me to
halt.
Looking up I saw them standing close their own rifles raised
pointing at me.
I wasn’t thinking; I acted on instinct.
I started to
lift my rifle however before I had moved it more than a couple of
inches I felt an explosion of fire in my chest.
I was falling
backwards when another bullet hit almost in the same spot.
My
last thought before I died was I hoped the men that were left
escaped.” Leaving the window, Archibald floats to the table,
stopping just briefly he tells them, “I am tired, I am going to my
attic.
If you need further assistance, please give me time to
recuperate.” Finished speaking he vanishes.

When Archie leaves the kitchen they sit in silence, each lost
in their own thoughts.
After a few minutes, Chase raises from his
chair he takes Stephanie’s coffee mug to the sink pouring out the
cold liquid.
He turns with his eyebrow raised, “Do you want
another cup?
I think I need one.”

Stephanie nods her head yes, she watches as Chase readies
the pot to brew.
Chase flips the switch to on then leans against
the counter as the pot starts the brewing process.
Looking over at
Stephanie he notices tears in her eyes, “That was bad for him.
And
to make it worse his memories didn’t stop with his death, he
continues remembering the tragedy day after day; year after year.”

Wiping the tears from her face she looks at Chase, “This is
my fault, I pushed for this tonight. I knew he wasn’t ready to finish
his story.
He is a wonderful man and knew we needed to know
about the battle.”
Shaking her head she adds softly, “Having heard
the events, I don’t see how this will help us but it sure hurt him
emotionally.”
Laying her head down on her arms crossed on the
table, she sobs.

Sensitive to her pain Chase lets her cry.
He knows from the
many foster children his parents had help raise that sometimes a
good cry was healthy.
When the coffee is finished brewing Chase
prepares Stephanie cup then fixes his, he carries them to the table
and sits down; placing the mug close to her, Chase leans back in the
chair to wait.
Her sobs are heartbreaking.
Understanding her
need to cry but hating her sorrow Chase lays his hand on her
shoulder.

Stephanie raises her head taking a napkin from the holder on
the table she wipes her eyes then blows her nose.
Smiling at
Chase she knows she looks a mess but the look of tenderness in his
eyes makes her feel better.
“Thanks, I am sorry for the water
works.
I guess Archie’s memories and the stress has me all
weepy.”
Softly she adds, “Archie touched my face earlier.”
Seeing the shocked look on Chase’s face, has her laughing, “I felt a
chill only.
Not a freezing cold but a soft chilly breeze.”
She
shakes her head, “I’m not explaining this very well.
It was more
like a whisper of feather.
That’s it, a feather that had been in a
refrigerator.”
Smiling that she has gotten the description right, she
picks up her coffee and takes a sip.

Enjoying her delight Chase smiles than tells her, “I am going
to hook up my lap top I need to check for information about the
fight Archibald was in.
Now that I know he was ambushed, I may
be able to find something useful.”
Noticing Stephanie’s somber
expression Chase explains, “We have to keep looking for answers.”

Nodding in agreement, she responds, “I wish you luck, I am
going to see what I can find for supper.” She sees him glance at
the clock over the stove, “Before you offer to help I think I can fix us
supper without your assistance.
Why don’t you set up your
computer here on the table?
Or if you are just doing research, you
can use mine.
Either way, I am going to start supper.”
Setting
her mug on the table she stands up walking over to Chase.
Leaning down Stephanie kisses him on top of his head.
Moving
away before he can react she goes to the pantry peering inside.

Not really hungry but wanting something to keep her hands
and mind busy, Stephanie decides to fix a grilled chicken salad, with
homemade vignette dressing.
Gathering the items needed, she
notices Chase has decided to set his laptop up at the table.
Stephanie smiles as she begins preparing the chicken, admitting she
likes having Chase here with her. Was this really Stephanie Tuney
standing here fixing supper for them, the Stephanie Tuney that has
always been a loner, the same Stephanie Tuney that never wanted a
man to intrude in her space?
Feeling happy on the inside was
new to her, was this the start of love?

Placing the chicken on the stove top grill, Stephanie begins
making the dressing and continues with her thoughts of how her life
has changes since coming to Dusten.
Not wanting to dwell on the
bad things she pushes them to the back of her mind.
Letting her
mind drift she allows her thoughts to turn to Chase.
Does he
realize she may already be falling in love with him, would he run for
the hills or follow through to see where the relationship goes?
He
had told her he would court her, than life got crazy.
He said he
was an old fashion man, does that mean marriage, children, growing
old together?

Looking over at Chase sitting at the table, reading about the
Civil War to help a ghost find peace and maybe find answers to what
is happening now.
She places the bottles of spices on the counter
than just stands watching him.
Does he realize she wants to get to
know him, all of him, the good, and the bad, to discover what makes
him tick?

Stephanie moves to the stove flipping the chicken on the
grill; she checks the temperature, almost done, just needs a few
minutes more.
Moving back to the counter she finishes the
dressing then puts the items back in the pantry.
Stephanie wipes
down the counter trying to get the bulk of the cleaning done.
Putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher she realizes they are
acting like a married couple.
Stopping in mid stance she imagines
them as husband and wife, with a silly grin Stephanie finishes
loading the dishwasher.
Thinking about Chase in her future hadn’t
made her run for the cover; it had given her a warm feeling, from
the top of her head down to her toes.

Turning to the stove Stephanie removes the chicken placing
it on a wooden cutting board, then she starts cutting it in bite size
pieces when she finishes she goes to the refrigerator removing the
salad. Stephanie fixes their plates than takes them over to the
table, going back to the counter she picks up the dressing and
cutlery, placing it all within his reach.
Stephanie moves to the
cabinet selecting two wine glasses, smiling when she fills the glasses
with ice tea.
Due to her being on medication and Chase being on
safety duty, she figures this is best.
Picking up the glasses she goes
back to the table after sitting the glasses down, she sits across from
Chase.

Chase had moved his computer when she started bringing
the food.
He waits until she is seated; then raises his glass in a
silent salute to her.
“This looks and smells wonderful.
Thank
you.”
Smiling he takes a drink of his ice tea then bursts out
laughing.
“You are precious.”
Recovering he adds, “I was
wondering how you were going to drink alcohol with your
medication.”

Shrugging one slim shoulder she replies, “I wanted a nice
meal and I got silly wanting to use the wine glasses.
I knew you
wouldn’t be drinking with the investigation and I can’t.
So I guess
it was a dumb ideal.”
Rising up from her chair Stephanie decides
to get regular glasses for their tea.
Chase grabs her hand
motioning for her to sit back down.

Picking up his glass again he takes another drink.
“I think it
is perfect, the food, the drink and the company.
I wouldn’t change
one thing about our meal.”
Smiling at her over the rim of his glass
he waits for her to return his smile, when she does he sits his glass
down then begins to eat.
After a few bites he says, “I am not
having a lot of luck finding any news on the ambush.
With the box
of gold coins, I had figured I would have found something
mentioned, but so far nothing.”

He eats several more bites then adds, “Earlier I had seen an
article about missing Union Gold, it being the pay for the soldiers.
I figured it was about the box Archibald and his men were
transporting.
But the story didn’t give any other details.
Maybe
we should go the library in Darrin County; they have a section on the
local history we may find something there.”

while she waits for him to respond.
Chase nods as he continues to eat.
Stephanie; she is busy eating not having to have small talk all the
time.
He liked the quite time with her.
Spending time with her
was comfortable but not like an old shoe, more like a friend you
know and can just sit and enjoy.
He lays his fork down as he
pushes his plate away from him.
The food was delicious but
mostly he enjoyed the time with Stephanie.
Would she allow him
to share her bed tonight or would he be put in the guest room?
If
he shared her bed can he keep from making love to her?
Deciding
to let her lead, he relaxes as she eats.
When they both finish with supper they clear the table and
load the dishwasher.
With the kitchen clean Stephanie tells Chase
she is tired and ready to go upstairs.
He watches as she walks out
the door.
Flipping the switch he turns the light off, leaving the
kitchen he finds her in the foyer.
Stephanie is sitting on the bottom step with the kitten on her
lap.
Looking up at Chase Stephanie smiles as she sets Lucky down
on the floor; scooting over a little to give Chase room to sit beside
her, she informs Chase, “We need to talk.”
He glances at

Leaving the medical plaza Stephanie feels the humid air as
soon as she exits the building.
Realizing Kentucky weather the first
of June feels different then Florida she is glad she decided to wear
tan capris, a pink t-shirt and a pair of leather sandals.
She had put
her hair up in a loose bun not wanting the heavy weight of her hair
down in this heat.
The weather man had reported the high
temperature would be in the mid-nineties.
As she stands on the
sidewalk she knows the news had been correct.

Checking her watch she sees it will be about forty-five
minutes before Chase will be back to pick her up.
Looking around
she notices across the street is a major book store, the chain of
stores that offers designer coffee.
Smiling she walks across to the
store, she decides she will buy a book to read, an ice coffee and text
Chase she will wait for him here.

Sitting at a table Stephanie takes a sip of the cold drink as
she flips open the latest book by one of her favorite authors.
When she tries to read, she discovers the noise in the coffee shop is
too distracting.
Instead she lets her mind wonder back to her
doctor visit.
Doctor Coup had just completed his rounds at the
hospital.
When he came in the room to see her he had seemed
more approachable then he had at the hospital.
Or it could be she
felt better, at least physically.
Mentally she was a wreck.
No
reason the good Doctor had to know that, she didn’t want to be put
in the crazy ward.
Better to keep Archie to herself.

Doctor Coup had ordered x-rays of her ribs and wrist, after
she was back in the room; he came in with the results.
Both x-rays
showed signs of healing.
The cast had to be redone, this time she
got to pick the color, and her being her, she decided on bright neon
yellow.
She had been excited when the doc had told the nurse she
no longer needed to tape her ribs, they would continue to heal.
The nurse had given Stephane an elastic wrap if she did too much
and the pain got worse.
Otherwise she was good.

The fact the doctor had actually asked her if she had any
questions, surprised her.
She had brought up birth control.
Explaining it had been a couple of years since she had taken the
“pill” and asked what he thought would be best.
He had looked at
her for several seconds before he explained about a new birth
control pill that was taken just once a month.
He told her the
nurse would have brochures about several different methods.
After she reviewed them she could make an appointment.