Nine Steps to Sara (25 page)

“Naw, you go ahead.  I
only
came in to say good morning,” he squeezed her a little tighter.  “I’ll be away most of the day, doing some work for my Da.”

“Oh, you will?”  Unable to keep the disappointment from her voice, she realized she’d been expecting him to have as much free time as she did, but of course that wasn’t realistic.  “What kind of work?”

“
I
t seems some fancy Lady’s got it into her head to completely restore an old dilapidated estate,” he winked at her in the mirror.  “Apparently that requires all manner of arrangements
,
and I offered to help him get things in motion.  Otherwise, he’d be working himself day and night; he’s in such a lather to get started.”

“Oh that,” she smiled back.  “I happen to have it on very good authority that the Lady in question isn’t at all rushed in getting it done, you know.  So don’t feel like it has to be finished all at once.”

“That’s easy for you to say.  I think it pains him to see the Earth lying fallow,” Will sighed.  “He’s been plain itching to get his hands back into it for a long time now, there’s no holding him back.”

“Then I guess the sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll have time for me again,” she laid her head back to rest against his shoulder. 

“I promise, I’ll be back before you can say Bob’s your uncle.”

“Bob’s…”

Will laid a finger against her lips as she started to say it, his mouth turning up into a lopsided grin.  “I’ll be back soon enough, try not to get into too much trouble without me.”

“Speaking of trouble, I don’t suppose I could get a peek at your room, could I?” Sara gave him her most winsome smile.

“Interesting segue,” he raised a brow.  “I don’t see why not.  Excuse the mess, I wasn’t expecting company.” Will led her through the adjoining dressing room and into the room that used to belong to the Ladies of Darling Park.  “May I ask why the sudden need to see my boudoir?  You’re not thinking of tempting me to stay here today are you?  Because that would be… fantastic.”

Sara laughed, stepping into the room.  Pretty and feminine, the décor was similar to Joanie’s room, only grander, with a light blue patterned paper on the walls with little yellow flowers.  “I like it.” 

“You’re more than welcome to it.”

“Don’t you think it might get a bit crowded?” she smiled over her shoulder, fingers running over the dulled shine on the ancient writing desk by the window. 

“More cozy I’d say,” he gave a half shrug.  “I meant I could always take another room if this one is more to your liking than the master suite.”

“I’m good where I am for now, but this room gives me some ideas on how to spruce up the other one.”  The lighter woodwork really went a long way to making the room brighter and more cheery.  “
T
his was her room, huh?”

“
Sorry
?”  Will looked up from a duffel bag where he pulled out a fresh change of clothes.

“Gemma.  This was her room once upon a time.”

“Do you mean the spirit?  I hadn’t realized you were on a first name basis.”

“We’re connected somehow,” Sara frowned, not quite sure how to explain it.  “Maybe it’s because she’s my ancestor… I don’t know, but I feel like she wants me to do something.  I had the
weirdest
dream
last night
.  A dream where I was Gemma, and I had to give up my baby to keep it safe from Sir Edward.”

“Sir Edward?”

“
M
y husband.  Anyway, I sent the baby off to
America
to keep him safe, and then Gemma looked back at me in the mirror and sorta challenged me to do the same.”

“She challenged you to send Jack away to keep him safe from your husband?” Will’s brows drew together in puzzlement.

“No, not exactly.  I don’t get the feeling she’s telling me my husband is dangerous, but I get the feeling that she thinks there’s something dangerous for him here at Darling Park.”

“It sounds like an odd dream, but a dream nonetheless.  I wouldn’t lend too much credence to it.”

“
S
ee but that’s the weird thing.  After I woke up, it got even stranger.”  Quickly Sara took him through the spooky, one-sided conversation she’d had with the ghost, culminating with the shattered lights.  “Only when I woke up this morning, there wasn’t any sign of broken glass at all.”

“It sounds like you had another dream.”

“It didn’t feel like a dream, it felt very real,” Sara sighed, sinking down on the edge of the bed.  “What if I’m placing Jack in danger by staying here?”

“Sara,” Will sat beside her on the bed.  “You can’t base life altering decisions on the basis of your dreams.”

“No, I know,” she nodded, wishing she could make him understand the unease that permeated her entire being every time she thought about it.  “I just wish I knew more, one way or the other.  Whether it’s the ghost of a sad woman who died unhappy and craves attention, or if it’s my imagination kicking into overdrive, or if there really is something eerie about this place.”

“I hardly think there’s anything sinister at play here, Sara.  Maybe you should have a hot shower, a nice cuppa tea and everything will look a good deal better once you’ve had a spot of breakfast, hm?”

“
I guess
so
,” Sara couldn’t help but feel a little glum that he didn’t seem to key into the distress she felt over it, especially since he
knew
there was truth to the ghost stories in the mansion. 

“I’ve got to get moving.  Why don’t you go take that shower and I’ll nick round to another bathroom to wash up.  I’ll see you tonight and we can talk about this more if you like, sound good?”

Sara nodded, “Sure, that sounds fine.”  Pushing away from the bed, she prepared to give him some privacy to get ready for the day, but he caught her hand and tumbled her onto his lap. 

“It’ll be alright, my Lady,” his lips quirked into a smile.  “Trust me.”

“Not if you keep calling me my Lady,” a roll of the eyes was given.

“Fine, then trust me, my Sara,” Will brushed the hair back over her ear sending a shiver down her spine.  “I’ll not let anything bad happen to you.”

Was she his?
  “I am,” she whispered, answering the question he wasn’t privy to.  “I mean, I do, I trust you.”

“Good Morning!” Joanie sang out cheerily, and Sara and Jack traded looks across the breakfast table. 

“
A
ren’t you bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning?” Sara observed aloud, wondering if her late night with a certain jerky developer had anything to do with
Joanie’s
improved mood.  The pretty redhead was dressed to impress in a designer knock off and upswept hair.  A little overdressed for breakfast, but Sara had to think it wasn’t for their benefit.  “What are you up to today?”

“I have a date,” she beamed, loading up her plate with bacon and eggs.

“I think that’s more food than I’ve ever seen you consume before noon.  What kind of pod did you spring from and what have you done with the real
Joanie
?” Sara quipped. 

“I have to load up, this is the last time I might get to eat today,” she replied as if that made perfect sense.

“Because… you’re going on a starvation date?”

Joanie fixed her with a withering look.  “It’s been a long time since you were in the trenches, Sara.  Don’t you remember the cardinal rule?  I can’t let him think I eat.”

“Why not?” Jack asked, eyeing the bacon on her plate with obvious envy.

“Because women are supposed to be elegant, exotic creatures that you men can never quite figure out.  It’s our job to drive you crazy trying to suss out what we want, so we can’t ever appear to actually want anything.” 

Lord but her world view was disturbing.
  “Don’t listen to a word she says, Jack.  You find a girl that makes you happy, not crazy.  I take it you’re going out with that guy Cole?”

“You don’t mind do you?” Joanie caught her bottom lip between her teeth, and Sara actually believed it mattered to her.

“Not at all, I think it’s good for you to find a playmate, you might keep each other out of trouble.”  And it might keep Cole off her back for a few days until she had a chance to get Lowesley to shut him down.

“Good, cause he’s picking me up here in half an hour,” she grinned from ear to ear.  “He’s taking me down to the
coast
.  There’s a luxury resort he had a hand in and they let him stay there whenever he wants, so I might be gone for a couple of days.”

“Wow, that seems a little fast to be going away with a guy you just met last night, Joan,” Sara frowned, her maternal spidey senses kicking into gear.

“Oh please, it’s not like I’m shacking up with him, he promised me my own suite,” she washed down a crispy piece of bacon with tart orange juice.  “And I might even use it,” she winked.  Sara darted a quick look to Jack to see if he’d caught the connotation there, but he didn’t appear to be following the conversation anymore. 

“Just… take care.”  Sara didn’t trust the guy as far as she could throw him, but she could see how he appealed to Joanie.  Good looks, money and a certain charm would go far with her, and she might even appreciate his intensity.  “If you need anything, and I mean anything, give me a call, I’ll come out and get you, day or night.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Joanie smiled across the table.  “But I can take care of myself.  God, this bacon is fantastic, does it always taste this good?”

“It’s bacon,” Jack replied, as if that was self explanatory.

“Well
,
I have been missing out,” Joanie crammed another piece into her mouth and wiped it with a napkin.  “I’d better motor though, I want to make sure I’m fresh as a daisy when he gets here, not smelling like a pork belly.”  A few hurried bites of eggs and she was gone with a clack of heels on the tile floor.  It was enough to make Sara’s stomach ache in sympathy; Joanie might think her food strategy was sound, but she could practically guarantee she’d be regretting it on the long car ride to the
sea
s
hore
. 

“So, it’s you and me today, kiddo, what do you want to do today?”

“Dig for worms?”

It took Sara a moment to find a reply for that.  “Ah, any particular reason why you want to dig for worms today?”

“I decided to keep my own worm farm, and then I can go fishing whenever I want to.”

“You know they sell worms at bait shops for that.”

“Will said part of the fun is digging your own worms.”

One of Will’s ideas, she should have known.  “Then why do you need a farm?  Why can’t you dig them up whenever you want to go fishing and have fresh worms?”

A roll of the eyes was given.  “What if I can’t find any on the day I want to go fishing?”

He had her there. 

Full of plans for the proposed worm farm, they set out into the back yard, the night’s rain rendering the ground soft and the worms plentiful.  An hour later and there was more mud on Jack’s clothes than the bucket they’d found in the old stables, but he seemed pleased with the process.  Sending him up to hose off before Mrs. Poole got a look at him and had a heart attack, Sara was surprised to find Joanie sitting on the window seat in the library, her face melancholy as she stared outside.

“Hey, I thought you’d be long gone by now.  What happened?”

“He didn’t show,” she sighed, still looking out the window. 

“Did something come up?  I’m guessing he’ll want to reschedule,” Sara suggested gently, unused to the forlorn quality to her friend’s voice.