Eagle's Destiny (25 page)

“I’m going to have to do something special for you.”  Michael’s voice took on a deeper tone and it made me shiver.

“You already have.”  I said quietly.

He continued to use the deeper tone of voice, “The pictures we took of the eagles came out very good.  I have to take you with me more often, you’re my lucky charm.”

Just remembering our first night together made my body react, and his voice was sending lightening strikes through my body.  I cleared my throat wondering if I would be able to speak, “I enjoyed the trip too.  I’d love to go again.  It was very exciting.”

Michael laughed at the double meaning, “I’ll say it was exciting.”

I blushed and knew Michael could hear the blush over the phone, “You know what I meant.  But, yeah that other thing was wonderful too.”

His voice became quiet, “You mean when we made love?  You know
it is
okay to say that aloud.  And you’re blushing aren’t you?”

“Stop teasing me.”  I said with mock indignation.  “I don’t say things like you do, I can’t.”

“You do in your books,” Michael teased.

“That’s different.  Those are characters, they are not me.”

“I don’t know about that,” Michael continued to tease.  “I think Jessica is very much you, now that I’ve read more.”

I laughed, “Oh I know what you’re getting at, you are still hung up on page 75.”

Michael laughed with me, “Okay, you caught me.  That section of the book is a zinger.”

“Just wait until you get further, I’m going to have you drooling.”

“Is that a promise or a threat?” he asked.

“Both!”  I giggled.

“Hey no fair, you’re getting me all hot over the phone and here I am alone, all by myself.  You better behave yourself.”

“I’m sorry.”  I giggled again, “No I’m not!”  We both laughed together and it felt good to be able to share and laugh with Michael even though we were miles apart.

“Do a favor for me?  Would you let me read the notes you wrote while we were watching the eagles?”  Michael asked.

“If you really want to read them, sure, I’ll be glad to write them up for you.  Can I ask you why?”  I said.

“I have something in mind, but I’m not sure yet.” 
He
answered.

“Okay, I’ll email them to you.” 

I wondered what he had in mind, but did not press it any further. 
Talking
another few minutes, he promised to call me tomorrow, and we ended our call.  As soon as we hung up, I missed him more than I did the whole day.  Michael had a way of brightening my outlook.  I felt more complete after speaking with him.  It was going to be a tough two weeks while I was on the book tour but his continuing calls would help me through.  What would he think if he knew how dependant I was becoming?

I awoke before Tammy and took advantage of the early morning to take a run with all four dogs along the lakeshore.  I had dreamt of both Michael and Kevin and needed to clear the cobwebs out of my head.  More often than not Kevin was threatening or chasing me in my dreams and this one was no exception.  This time though Michael was trying to save me.  I could just imagine what my therapist would have concluded from the dream.  She would have thought that once again I was looking for rescue.  I let it mull over in my mind while I ran, but by the end of the run, no reasonable answers had surfaced.

Tammy was up when I got back to the house.  While she fed the dogs, I showered and dressed.  Since we were visiting her grandmother, I decided to dress more conservatively this time.  A pair of crisp white linen slacks, a navy cotton blouse with short sleeves, and a pair of flat white sandals completed the outfit.  My hair went into a ponytail with a red ribbon tied into a bow.

“Elizabeth, you look really nice.”  Tammy said when I exited my bedroom.  She wore her normal jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers.  “Dad keeps telling me I should go out and buy some new clothes, but it is way too much effort.  I could never look as good as you, because I look like an elephant.”

I frowned at Tammy.  This was not the first time she had made comments about a negative self-image.  I slid my arm over her shoulder, “First of all, you are not overweight.  I don’t know where you get that idea.  You’re perfect for your height.”

Tammy grinned, “I’d be even better if I was as tall as you.”

I laughed, “Believe me I did not grow into these legs gracefully.  I was a tall, gangly, lanky teenager.  For years, my nickname was Legs.  I always stuck out of the crowd, even today I tower over most people including most men.  As far as dressing, I’ve always dressed like this.  I wear solid colors and very few prints.  Tammy you will develop your own style.  You’re not Katy and you are not me, and you will come into your own.  I’d be happy to go shopping with you.”

Tammy smiled, “I’d like that.  When you get back from your book tour we can go into San Francisco.”

“Sounds like a good plan.”  I smiled with her.  “So, shall we get on the road?”

We took my Range Rover.  Tammy gave me directions to her great-grandmother’s house in Calistoga.  I was relieved when we arrived at the house and only Grandmother Helen was there.  I almost expected the entire family to be in wait for me.  Maybe since it was the middle of the week, or maybe it had gotten around to the family that I had been uncomfortable with what seemed like an assault.  

We spent the first hour trying to talk Grandmother Helen out of making lunch for us.  Finally, she agreed to let us take her out.  She had dressed up for our visit and her excitement was evident.  The stories of her adventures arriving in the United States as a young girl with her parents were delightful.  It was evident where Michael received his sense of humor.  The resemblance between her and Michael was clearer the more time I spent with his grandmother.  I felt drawn to her like I felt drawn to Michael.

Arriving back at the house after lunch, Grandmother Helen had Tammy pull out the photo albums, especially the ones with Michael.  We had the albums spread out over our laps on the couch and Grandmother Helen was pointing out the pictures to Tammy and me regaling the old stories to us.

“This one is our Michael next to his cousin Alex, they were 4 years old.”  Grandmother Helen pointed to a picture of a blond boy, and I could just make our Michael’s features.  Certainly, he always had the dimples and it appeared as if Michael was always tall because he towered over his cousin.  “It was taken just before they decided to help Candace with the laundry.  They took all the clean towels out of her laundry basket and put them into the bathtub, which is where she used to sort her laundry.  Then,” she started laughing, “then they turned on the water and dumped soap into the bathtub.  The whole thing was a mess.  What could Candace say?  He was trying to be helpful.”  She sighed, “Ah, he was always such a good boy, with a good heart.  Tammy knows,” she reached over and patted Tammy on the knee, “he is a good father too.”

Tammy smiled and squeezed her great-grandmother around the shoulders, “You’re right, he is the best dad.”

Grandmother Helen turned her attention back to the photo album, and she pointed and laughed again.  “Michael was a good negotiator too.”  She pointed at a small picture taken with her and Michael.  “Michael was about 7 years old and we took the train down to San Diego to visit his mother who was taking special courses in Spanish for her teaching.  Michael stopped at some vending machines and wanted some peppermints from the machine.  I told him no, not today.  And he looked up at me with his big blue eyes and said, tomorrow okay?”  She laughed and shook her head.  “He could get anything from me, just with his blue eyes.”

As we continued to look through the album, Michael grew up in front
of my eyes.  He went from a lanky pre-teenager to a tall muscular young man.  He had been involved in all the sports in high school, basketball, baseball, and football.  Michael was the type of handsome in high school that probably made him one of the most popular boys in school.  His prom picture included a tall brunette girl, and they were not looking at the camera but at each other.  He had his arms wrapped around her waist and looked striking in his tuxedo.

“Tammy, is this picture of your mom?”  I asked.

Tammy shook her head, “No, he didn’t meet Mom until they were in college.  That’s our cousin Nicki.  Grandma, I didn’t know Dad dated Nicki.”

Grandmother Helen answered, “This is Nicki, and she isn’t really a cousin though.  Her mother and Candace
are
best friends.  Michael was madly in love with Nicki, and she with him.  We were all certain they were heading for marriage.  Just before he met Margaret, Tammy’s mother, something happened to him and Nicki.  We don’t know, but it was a big disappointment for us.”

“Nicki is still around, isn’t she?”  I asked.

“Oh yes, Michael sees her all the time when we have family gatherings, but, they are not close anymore.  We do wonder what happened, but neither one will talk.  Well, I’m getting a little tired.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.  We’ve tired you out today.”  I exclaimed.

“No, no.”  Grandmother Helen put her hands up.  “I’m just tired of looking at old pictures.  Elizabeth, would you mind reading your book to me?  Tammy, it’s on my bed table.”

We put away the photo albums while Tammy retrieved the book.  After making ourselves comfortable, I started with the first page, “It was a dark and stormy night.”  I smiled.  I started all my books with this sentence.  I read aloud for thirty minutes, and looked up, Grandmother Helen was snoring softly. 

I stopped reading and silently pointed to the blanket at the end of the couch.  Tammy covered her great-grandmother with the blanket and we silently moved around the room tidying up.  While we were in the kitchen doing the coffee dishes, the front door opened and Candace walked in.  Tammy greeted her grandmother silently and pointed to Grandmother Helen.  Candace nodded and walked with Tammy into the kitchen.

“Hello Elizabeth, it’s nice to see you again.  I wondered who belonged to the Range Rover outside.”

I smiled, “Tammy and I took Grandmother Helen out to lunch, and then she shared old photo albums with us.”

“Hope she told you all the stories about Michael, he was such a character growing up.  You two are staying for dinner, right?”

I looked at Tammy before I responded, “Oh, no we can’t, thank you
though.  We’ve got four hungry dogs at home.”

“Those dogs won’t starve to death.  You’re staying for dinner.”  Candace made it sound like an order.

“No, sorry.”  I shook my head.  “We really can’t.  I have an old boy, my Topper, and he isn’t in great shape.  I need to feed him on schedule.”

Tammy blurted in, “Yeah Grandma, he’s an old one.  Sorry, we’ve got to go.”

Candace frowned, “The next time you and Michael come out, I will expect you to stay.”

I nodded.  We said our goodbyes to Grandmother Helen.  She was sorry to see us go but winked at me.  When we arrived home, Tammy took the dogs for a walk and I started packing for my trip, although most of my packing would be finished with my clothes from Southern California.  Tammy offered to drive me to the airport and bring my Range Rover back to my cabin.  When I returned in two weeks, I would be driving my little sports car up from Southern California. 

It was past 10 PM and I had not heard from Michael.  He had mentioned that he would be working at night because the alligators were more active then.  My flight was early in the morning and I couldn’t stay up much later.

I crawled into bed, shut the light out and the phone rang.  His name flashing on the screen of my cell phone immediately made me smile. 

“Hi.”  I said with my face still in a grin. 

“Hey Babe, sorry I’m calling so late.  I just got back to my room.”  His deep voice shot a thrill through me.

“That’s okay, I just got into bed.”

“Mmmmm…” he moaned over the phone, “that sounds good.  Are you naked?”

I giggled, “No, I have my nightgown on.”

“Well, I’ll just pretend you’re naked.”  He cooed softly.

I cuddled further down into the pillows wishing he was here next to me, “You do that.”

“So, I heard you’re in really big trouble.”  He said.

“Oh great, now what did I do?”  I asked and then thought of Michael’s mother.  “Oh yeah, did Tammy tell you?  Your mother wanted us to stay for dinner and I told her no.”

Michael chuckled, “Well yeah, Tammy told me, but more importantly, my grandmother called me to tell me.”

“Uh oh, I am in big trouble now.  What did your grandmother say?”  I asked. 

Great, just what I needed, to be involved in family politics already.  How did I manage to do this to myself?  Kevin’s parents never liked me, probably due to some inadvertent slip of the tongue early in our
relationship.

“My grandmother loves you already and thinks you’re just right for me.  She said she was glad you stuck to your guns and stood up to my mother.  Mom has a tendency to be a bossy boots.”  Michael joked, “Then she told me that I better not mess this up and hold onto you.  So, do I get to hold onto you?”

“Well that depends on how tight you want to hold onto me.”  I teased.

“Right now, since you’re naked, I want to hold real tight!”  He chuckled again.  “Grandma said that you liked her stories about me too.”