Nine Steps to Sara

by Olsen, Lisa

  “Things have a habit of getting in the way,” Sara nodded in understanding. It wasn’t hard to see the regret in his eyes even though he covered it with a faint smile.

  “Just so. But Da’s up to fighting trim now, and that’s all that matters.”

  Sara digested that for a few seconds, already feeling the effects of the first beer as she pulled the second one close. “I was thinking about something you said before, about your father being in charge of the grounds. Do you think he’d be up to helping me with the renovations for the gardens?”

  “I think it’d make him fit to burst with the pleasure of being asked,” Will’s smile stretched wider. “He loves those lands as if they were his own. It’s troubled him more than the loss of a livelihood to see them lie in ruins.”

  “Could you ask him then, to stop by the house tomorrow and we’ll talk about it some more? I’d love to hear more about what they used to look like and what’s needed to restore them to their former glory. Unless you think that’s too short of notice? Anytime this week should be fine.” She didn’t want him to think she expected him to drop everything and come running because she crooked a finger.

  “I think he’d be waiting on your doorstep if you let him,” Will grinned. “I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t hoping for just such an invitation from the moment he heard you were coming. Then again most folks hereabouts have been looking forward to your arrival as well.”

  “It’s weird to think about so many people being affected by our coming here. It’s sad my parents never even knew they were part of such a legacy,” Sara smiled faintly, trying to picture her mom working with Mrs. Poole. She probably would give the woman a heart attack inside of a week.

  “I’m assuming by the fact that you’re the new Lady Darling that your mum and dad have passed?”

  “Yeah, my mom died of cancer about a year after Jack was born. My dad didn’t last long after that; I think he died of a broken heart more than anything else.” That had been a rough year, dealing with the loss of both parents and a new baby.

  “The way it should be,” Will said, touching his glass to hers and she took a sip too.

  “What about your mother?” She’d only heard him mention his father, never his mom.

  “My mum died when I was about Jack’s age.”

  “I’m sorry. Did you have any brothers or sisters?”

  “No, I’m an only child.”

  “Me too,” Sara smiled in commiseration. “I always wondered what it would be like to have brothers and sisters. I guess I always thought I’d have a bigger family too, so Jack would always have someone to play with, but it didn’t work out that way.”

  “But you do want more children?” Will leaned forward, looking into her eyes with such an earnest, hopeful quality that Sara was the first to pull away.

  “I… maybe someday. Not something I normally talk about on a first date.”

  “Oh, so we’re on a date now, are we?” If Will felt any disappointment at her pulling away, it was lost in the confident tilt of the lips that question brought.

  “Aren’t we?” Sara met those blue eyes again, trying to be brave enough to risk her heart one more time.

  “If we were on a date, I’d take you for a stroll in the moonlight.”

  “If we were on a date, I’d let you.”

  “I’d probably try to kiss you under the moonlight too,” he warned, eyes dropping to her mouth and Sara’s teeth caught at her bottom lip as she imagined what it might be like to kiss him. A kiss in the moonlight by a guy sexy enough to make her shut out the little voice in the back of her head that warned she was leaping without looking again.

  “I sure hope so,” she breathed, firmly telling that little voice to suck it; she wasn’t ready to be a dried out old Dowager yet.

  Will’s lips curved into a smile and he reached into his pocket to pull out enough money for the tab. “Shall we take that walk?”

  “What a good idea,” she smiled, taking his hand. As soon as they got outside she had to let go of him to pull her jacket on. The fog had rolled in thick enough to hide most of the village from sight. “I’m not used to the fog yet, it plays tricks on you,” she observed aloud, slipping her hand back into his when offered.

  “How do you mean?”

  “Just little things, like the first night I was here, I could have sworn I saw…” Sara hesitated, wishing she hadn’t brought it up; he’d probably think she was a kook.

  “What? The ghost of the headless horseman galloping through the darkness?” he teased and she shook her head, nudging his shoulder with hers.

  “No, nothing like that. Just… the garden, I thought I saw the garden under my window in full bloom.”

  “Wishful thinking, I reckon.”

  “I guess so… only, I could have sworn I smelled it too, the fresh flowers on the air… you could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw the shape it was in the next day.”

  “Perhaps it was the garden spirits weaving a spell over you?”

  “Garden sprits? Like faeries or sprites?” she blinked. Was he making fun of her?

  “Why not? Who better to send you visions of the past or even the future?”

  “You know, you’re the second person to talk to me about spirits today?” Sara shook her head.

  “Am I?”

  “Yes, Jack asked me if I believe in ghosts earlier.”

  “And what did you tell him?”

  “That I do. Not creepy haunting ghosts so much as echoes of the people who lived there.”

  “There are stories that Darling Park is haunted, of course.”

  “There are?” Sara still couldn’t tell if he was making fun of her or serious.

  “You can hardly have a mansion with such history and not rack up a few stories over the years.”

  She hadn’t thought of it that way before; the oldest houses in her old neighborhood were from the 1930’s. “There aren’t any stories about a pushy lady who tries to warn people out of staying in the house, are there,” Sara snorted, thinking about Jack’s visitor.

  Will came to a stop, concern etched all over his features. “Has someone warned you away from Darling Park?”

  “Not me, Jack.” She told him all about the overheard conversation with Jack’s mysterious visitor, who had the ability to not only come and go as she pleased, but disappear at a moment’s notice.

  Will’s mouth set into a hard line as she told her story, and Sara started to worry if she was missing something. “It’s late, I should get you home,” he declared finally, turning them back in the direction of the pub.

  Definitely missing something. “It’s not all that late,” her brow crumpled in confusion. “What about our walk in the moonlight?”

  Will paused, a look of naked longing on his face for a split second before his easy smile resurfaced. “I think it’s best left for another night when we have some actual moonlight,” he made a point of looking to the foggy surroundings.

  “Alright,” she agreed, unable to keep the disappointment from her voice. On the way back to Darling Park, Will lapsed into uncharacteristic silence. After a few failed attempts at conversation, Sara went over the events of the night, trying to figure out why things had taken such a turn for the south. Why should Will care if there was a pushy lady warning Jack about accidents? Did he think Jack might be in actual danger? If so, he kept it to himself and Sara wished he’d open up and tell her what was bothering him.

  The fog made it difficult to drive on the narrow, country road and it was slow going once they left the village. Eyes on the blanket of fog outside the car, a dark shape caught her attention at the side of the road. “I think there’s someone out there.”

  “In this soup? Bloody stupid if you ask me,” he muttered, slowing at first, but no one came into view. “I think you were mistaken, there’s no one out there.”

  “I could have sworn I saw someone out there…” Sara leaned her forehead against the window, peering into the mist.


  “It was probably your eyes playing tricks on you,” Will shrugged, speeding up a little, and Sara leaned back with a yawn. Maybe she’d had too much to drink; there was no sign of it anymore.

  “Do you think maybe you could explain…” the words died on Sara’s lips when a face loomed in the darkness. A woman, her pale face drawn with fright stood by the side of the road, wearing an old fashioned hat and coat. She seemed familiar somehow, though Sara couldn’t place it right away. All at once it hit her, where she’d seen her before. “Hey that’s…” before she could point the figure out, the woman leapt in front of the car and Sara screamed, “Look out!”

  Slamming on the brakes, Will swore under his breath, but they both heard the sickening thud as the car connected with the woman’s body, the car jolting to a sudden stop and stalling in the middle of the road.

  Chapter Ten

  “Oh my God…” Sara breathed, pulling at her seatbelt, but Will was faster, already half out of the car by the time she worked it free. Hot on his heels, she threw open the passenger door. “Is she…” Will knelt by the front of the car, his face a mask of confusion. “Is she alright?” Sara repeated when he didn’t answer her. “Will?”

  “She’s not there,” he replied, meeting her gaze.

  “What do you mean she’s not there?” Sara squatted beside him on the dirt road, ducking her head under the car. Despite the darkness, it was easy to see there was no one under the wheels, or anywhere near the car. “But… you hit her. We both felt the impact, didn’t we?”

  “Maybe I hit a pothole…”

  “No, no I saw her and she threw herself under the car. Are you telling me you didn’t see her too?” Sara demanded.

  Will shook his head slowly, as if trying to clear it. “It was dark and the fog plays tricks. You start to jump at shadows and…”

  “That wasn’t a shadow, I recognized her.”

  “Beg pardon?” his head came up sharply.

  “I’ve seen her before, in a dream I had. She told me… I had to leave before it was too late.” Sara’s voice fell away at the last. She hadn’t made the connection to Jack’s visitor before, but now she realized the women didn’t sound too dissimilar.

  “Sara, you realize how that sounds,” Will said carefully, rising to his feet and offering her a hand up.

  “I’m not making it up. She looked just like the woman in my dream, and I think she might be the one trying to warn Jack away from here too.”

  “I think we’d best get you back to the house,” Will’s frown matched hers as he steered her to the passenger’s side, opening the door for her. Any other time and Sara might have been impressed by the show of manners, but thoughts of the mystery woman distracted her.

  Luckily, the car started right up again, and it was a short drive to the house which still blazed with light despite the late hour. “Man, my power bill’s going to be ridiculous,” she murmured, as Will led her up the front steps.

  “They won’t shut the house down until everyone’s in for the night,” Will explained, holding the door open for her and following her inside.

  “Another silly rule,” she sighed, before realizing he’d invited himself in. “Hey, who said you could come in?”

  “I work here, remember?”

  “But you don’t sleep here, do you?” All of a sudden she realized she had no idea where the servant’s quarters were and if the Pooles and Katie stayed there at the house or in the village. Somehow she’d assumed they were close at hand, but not Will; since he wasn’t really the chauffeur.

  “I could,” he gave her a hopeful grin, no doubt reading more into the simple question.

  “You’re more than welcome to; we’ve got plenty of room. I could probably scare up some clean sheets for you, Katie lives for that stuff.”

  “Not exactly what I had in mind, but I thank you, my Lady,” he bowed slightly.

  “Uh oh, we’re back to that again, are we? Is that because we stepped over the threshold and I became the Lady of the Manor, or did something change out there for us tonight?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “I mean, things were going well, at least I thought they were, and then…”

  “Then…?” Will raised a single brow; not helping her one bit.

  “Then, you sort of, I don’t know, pulled away a little. Is it because of what I said about the woman? Why did you get so upset?”

  “Because I think it’s wrong for anyone to threaten you or anyone else. They’ve no call to make you feel unwanted here, this is your home.”

  It warmed Sara’s heart to hear him say it, she was so used to having to fight for everything on her own, it was nice to have someone in her corner. “Thanks. But I don’t think she was really dangerous, I think she was just trying to scare him.”

  “All the same, I think I will spend the night at the house, just in case I’m needed,” Will decided, locking the door behind them and escorting her to the stairs.

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll make sure the house is locked up tight and give a quick look around to make sure everything’s as it should be.”

  “Thank you,” Sara repeated, pausing on the bottom stair, feeling a little like she was back in high school, saying goodnight, wondering if he’d try to kiss her. Somehow she doubted it, given how formal he could be whenever in front of others, and one of the Pooles might walk in at any moment. “I guess I’ll say goodnight then.”

  “Now then, if you decide I’m needed for anything more than protection,” he took a step closer, “you have only to call and I’ll come.”

  “Will you be curled up outside my room, sleeping on the floor?” she teased, backing up a step and he quickly followed, keeping himself at the same height she was.

  “If you like.”

  Sara smiled over the mental image, wondering if he would actually do such a thing if she asked him to. “That idea’s not half bad, actually. I could have sworn I heard someone in my room last night, but when I turned the lights on nobody was there.”

  “You really have been dwelling on ghost stories, haven’t you?” he chuckled.

  She hadn’t really been thinking ghost at the time, but after the night’s events, she was willing to entertain the notion. “It sounded pretty solid to me.” That and the opening door. Could ghosts do that? Or did they walk through walls? Starting to creep herself out, she took another step backwards. “You know, I sort of like the idea that you’re nearby,” Sara decided. “Will you take a room near mine?”

  “That would hardly be proper, my Lady. What will the servants think?” he smirked, pursuing her up the next step.

  “You know I don’t care about any of that,” she held her ground that time, eyes level with his. “Actually, Mrs. Poole as much as told me that if you make me happy I should go for it,” she grinned.

  “And do I make you happy?”

  Her eyes dipped to the curve of his lips, leaning closer without even realizing what she was doing. “So far, so good…” anything else was muffled against his mouth as his lips descended over hers. Operating purely on instinct, Sara’s lips parted to welcome him, hands rising to steady herself against his solid chest as he deepened the kiss.

  It had been a long time since she’d kissed anyone but Peter, but her body remembered what to do even if her mind still had a hard time wrapping itself around it. His hands settled onto her hips, pulling her up against the length of him and she had to trust him to keep them upright as she leaned against him, lost to the power of his kiss. Everywhere their bodies touched, a tingle of awareness spread, and Sara forgot where they were, who might walk in, any impropriety involved in making out with the not-chauffer in the middle of the entryway as her long dormant desires shook off the dust and sat up to take notice.

  So much better than high school.

  It was Will who pulled back first, pressing his cheek to hers. “You’d best get to bed now, my Lady, before I forget how to act the gentleman.”

  “And if I decide I want yo
u to?” she shivered at the feel of his warm breath on her neck, “forget?”

  Lightly, his lips brushed over hers once, twice… in the barest of touches before he resolutely pulled back again. “Goodnight, Sara,” his chest rumbled with soft laughter. “Pleasant dreams.”

  “I can practically guarantee it,” she smiled over her shoulder at him, slipping up the stairs before the wonderful euphoria of being alive faded.

  *

  It wasn’t until she lay snuggled in the cozy, dark comfort of her own bed that Sara remembered the mysterious woman and her haze of happiness faded. Who was she? Could she be a ghost, or was there something more sinister afoot? Alone in the night, the tally of odd occurrences stacked pretty high in the short amount of time she’d been there.

  But there were plenty of good things too. Sara was fast coming to love the old house, not only because of the faded opulence, but because of the great potential she saw to make it a real home again, not just a landmark. Then there was the village, she’d never met so many friendly, happy people in her life; it made LA look like hostile territory by comparison.

  And Will… just thinking of him was enough to make her sigh with longing. She’d never in a zillion years thought she’d feel the way he made her feel. Young and alive, like her whole life still stretched out in front of her, instead of the best years all over and done with. Knowing he’d be sleeping down the hall gave her all sorts of ideas.

  Imagination spinning all manner of interesting scenarios, Sara gradually became aware of a squeaking sound at regular intervals, loud enough to capture her full attention. Not a squeak exactly, more like a creak from a rocking chair on an old wooden floor, which was certainly possible in the old mansion.

  Only… who would be rocking in a noisy chair at that hour? Joanie must be dead to the world with her bottle of brandy, and she wasn’t exactly the rocking type anyway. It sounded close, very close, almost as if it came from out in the hallway. Could Will really be sitting outside her bedroom door, keeping watch? With a shake of the head and a ready quip on the tip of her tongue, Sara scrambled out of bed, throwing open her door, but the hallway was empty. In the sudden silence, Sara felt a little foolish, but another creak seconds later gave her the vindication she needed to chase it down a little further.