The Farmer's Daughter: The Dragon Dream: Book One

by Robin Janney

  Angela nodded. “I can. But I trust you understand it doesn’t change my decision to leave the church.”

  “I understand completely.” He watched her thumbs tapping.

  “I remember when you first came to church as our pastor. You were fresh out of seminary, and full of zeal. That’s faded somewhat, no doubt because of church politics. I think, you’re just lonely and you latched onto me because you could see my loneliness too. I can understand that.” She cleared her throat. “I’d actually almost forgotten how closely you’ve been watching me. I hate to ask this, but can I give your name and number to the police officer who’s investigating prank calls I’m receiving. Just in case you’ve seen anything?”

  “Absolutely,” Mark agreed. His mind began to think back over the past weeks. “I can’t think of anything, but maybe I will have by the time he calls.”

  Angela nodded. “Just don’t make anything up trying to impress anyone. It’s no big deal if you didn’t notice anything.”

  “I’ll be honest.” Seeing her fatigue clearly, he thought it best they left her. “We’ll leave now. Take care of yourself, Angela.”

  “You too, Mark. I hope you find someone to fill the hole in your heart.”

  “Thank you, so do I.”

  S hutting the door behind the three men, Philip sighed and returned to his daughter’s side.

  “That was not what I was expecting,” he admitted as he sat down on the couch. “You handled that very well.”

  His daughter nodded. “I saw the lightning bolt strike. And Elder Freeman looked kind of pissed.”

  “I noticed that too,” his mother-in-law said with a laugh.

  “Josh looked like the cat who swallowed a canary.” Philip joined with her laughter, but then turned serious eyes to his daughter. “Have you given any thoughts to where you’ll want to start going to church?”

  “Some. But I’m not doing anything for a few weeks. Dr. Evans doesn’t want me doing too much yet.” Her sigh was tired and frustrated. “I’m not even sure he’s going to want me going to Judy’s wedding next week.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be feeling better by then.”

  “I hope so. I’m just so tired.” Her shoulders heaved in a silent sigh this time. “Did the bank give you any trouble with my check?”

  How would his daughter react if he told her the truth? Craig didn’t want her knowing until after he proposed because he didn’t want it clouding her judgment. Personally, Philip thought it was insecurity on Craig’s part. He had known where his daughter’s heart was since they’d talk about her invitation to Craig to join them for Thanksgiving. “They said not to worry about it this month. I think maybe they heard you were sick and deferred a payment. Hal Eubanks does work there, and he voted for us.”

  “Alright, can you give it to them anyway so I can be ahead for next month?”

  Rising, he planted a kiss on her forehead. “I will. Now I have to go break the news to the rest of the family.”

  “Send them my love.”

  46

  F ive days later, by the consensus of the family, Pearl packed her bags. While still weak, Angela’s health had improved and even though the matter of the phone calls hadn’t been resolved, everyone agreed it was time to give Angela space to finish recovering on her own. It was enough to encourage Craig to bring his visiting friends to her place that evening for a light meal.

  “You have a key, and you’re still knocking?” Sherry teased him as she stood shivering.

  “It’s the polite thing to do,” answered Craig.

  The door opened, and Angela’s smile greeted them all. “At last I get to meet…oh wow…” Her gaze stopped at Kevin. “I remember you.”

  Kevin held his hand out. The woman before him was a far cry from the youth he’d helped restrain years ago. He easily understood Craig’s fascination with her eyes. They were piercing. “You’re not the little girl I remember, except maybe for your eyes.”

  Angela’s hand shook in his grasp. “I’m sorry. You should come in. It’s cold out.” She opened the door and stood to the side. Craig dropped a light kiss on her lips as he passed.

  “Hi,” he said.

  “Hi. And you’re Sherry?” asked Angela as she shut the door. “Of course you are. I’m just shook. I’m glad you were able to stay until I could meet you.”

  “So am I,” replied Kevin. He watched as his friend began going through Angela’s refrigerator. Angela motioned for their coats; Craig’s was already hanging on the back of a chair like he was at home. Maybe he was, decided Kevin, handing his coat over. Their hostess stood there a moment, clearly flustered about something. She added Craig’s coat to the two in her hand and disappeared deeper into the apartment.

  “She’s nervous,” Sherry said quietly. Kevin could see the concern on his wife’s face.

  “She’s meeting new people.” Kevin shrugged, casting his eyes around the apartment. It was amusing to see his friend playing host in another’s home. But then, the other man had been up here enough over the past week to know where things belonged. Even now, Craig was pulling the small table away from the wall, so they’d be able to fit around it. It made an already claustrophobic room tighter. “One she remembers from an extremely traumatic life event. You’d be nervous too.”

  “I’m sure,” Sherry replied.

  “Hey, Angela,” Craig said as his girlfriend returned to the kitchen. “How come you only have three chairs? I thought for sure you had four.”

  “Oh, yeah…about that. It broke the night Maggie came over to check on me. I put it in the closet until I could fix it and then forgot about it.” The woman was a bright shade of pink. “I didn’t have any wood glue.”

  “Pull it out and I’ll look at it.”

  “Alright.” Angela turned around and soon returned with a broken chair.

  Kevin watched in amusement as Craig gave it a quick glance.

  “I think it needs more than wood glue, Angel.”

  That was interesting. Craig had failed to mention he’d started referring to Angela so. Judging from her lack of reaction, it wasn’t the first time.

  The young woman shrugged. “I didn’t look at it too closely. I just assumed Maggie was right.”

  Craig glanced over at them before asking his girlfriend, “You alright if I run down to the store and grab a folding chair? Ten minutes, tops.”

  “Sure. It’s not like they bite.” Angela leaned around her boyfriend and looked at them. “Do you?”

  Sherry laughed. “Of course not.”

  “And even if I did,” said Kevin. “I assure you I’ve had my rabies shot.”

  Angela laughed, and Kevin could see something in Craig relax.

  “I’ll be back,” his friend said. He dropped another light kiss on Angela’s lips and was out the door.

  “Not used to that yet, are you?” Sherry asked the other woman.

  Shaking her head, Angela waved at the kitchen chairs she did have. “No, but I like it. Go ahead and sit while I see what he has warming up.”

  They both sat, smiling as their hostess soon brought over a pitcher of ice water and filled glasses.

  “So, while we’re waiting for Craig to return, I have a question I’d like to ask.”

  “Sure,” replied Kevin, not sure what to expect.

  Placing the pitcher on the table, Angela sat in the third chair, and rested her chin on folded hands. There was a twinkle in her eye. “Tell me…what kind of stunts did the two of you pull in college?”

  He didn’t know what to say. And then his wife started laughing again. Eyebrows raising, he looked over at Sherry.

  “Kevin, I like her,” his wife told him.

  Kevin looked back to Angela, who was patiently waiting. “All kinds…”

  T en minutes later, Craig returned and was greeted by Angela’s laughter.

  “And then…” Kevin was saying, hands waving in his enthusiasm. “Craig told him he could take a long walk off a short pier.”

  Shutting
the door behind him, Craig looked at Angela. She was flushed but looked pleased. Kevin and Sherry glanced his way, but his friend kept speaking.

  “Of course, not in those words. Craig’s language left a lot to be desired back in those days. And the professor gave him a passing grade anyway.”

  “That didn’t take long,” he said to Angela, unfolding the chair he carried and sitting on it on the empty side of the table. Food in various containers were already spread about on the table.

  “It’s only fair,” Angela said, beginning to dish food up. “You asked my dad to tell stories.”

  “That I did.” He accepted the casserole she passed him. He saw what looked like chicken and broccoli in a creamy sauce. Helping himself, he continued, “It’s been a while since I’ve heard you laugh like that. So,” he drew the word out long and passed the casserole dish to his friend. “Kev, tell her another story.”

  Kevin’s eyes met his, and the other man nodded. “There are so many to tell.”

  His friend’s wife laughed again. “Harry and the flagpole would be another good one.”

  “Ah, yes…Harry and the flagpole. You see, Angela – Harry Slavinski was one of us…”

  Her smile reaches her eyes, thought Craig as he listened to the story. While they ate, Kevin told how they used to run the skinny classmate up the flagpole once a year. By their junior year, even Campus Security had been in on the gag. He rolled his eyes when Kevin moved onto their other yearly tradition of toilet papering the pine trees in front of the President’s House.

  “How didn’t any of you get expelled?” Angela asked in amazement when the stories died down. She was wiping up the leftover sauce on her plate with a bit of homemade bread.

  “Craig has a way with words,” his friend said. “He was always able to talk the President and Dean out of anything too rash.”

  “They were harmless pranks,” Craig said in his own defense. “I just reminded them of that.”

  “It probably helped that most of them were in the top of their class,” said Sherry. “They didn’t skip classes. Just made the most of their free time.”

  “That’s one way to put it.” Angela coughed into the back of her hand, but it didn’t sound anything like what it used to. “I can’t wait to quit coughing. I’m going to check to see if there’s any of those brownies Lucy brought.” Leaving the table, she crossed to the refrigerator. “I wish I had ice cream.”

  Returning with a foil pan of brownies, which looked suspiciously like those from the store, Angela helped herself to a corner piece and passed the pan to Sherry. Her mood still seemed light, but he saw something in Angela’s eyes had changed.

  “Everything alright?” he asked her, taking a center brownie when the pan reached him.

  “Just tired,” she answered. “And tired of being tired.”

  He nodded and saw Kevin checking his watch. “We’ll get out of your hair then, so you can rest.”

  “We have been here a while,” agreed his friend.

  “Oh no! I didn’t mean it that way!” protested Angela.

  “I think they’re right Angela.” Sherry’s brownie was already gone, and she was gathering her dishes. “We’ll just help you clean up and then we’ll go.”

  “I’m so tired of resting!” Angela sighed, but even Kevin had risen from his seat and was helping his wife clear the table. She looked at him, resignation in her eyes. “Do you have to go too?”

  “Feel free to stay, Craig.” Kevin was saying from the sink. “It’s why we came in our own car. Like I said, we didn’t exactly announce this visit.”

  Craig nodded. “Sure, I’ll stay for a bit.” It would be the first time they’d been alone since she’d come home from the hospital. He’d been up here every day since, but her grandmother had never been too far. He stood and folded the chair he’d brought so he could move the table back against the wall. “Where’d you put their coats?”

  “My bedroom. I’ll get them.” His girlfriend hopped up from her chair and took off.

  He cleared the rest of the dishes from the table after he’d finished moving it and walked the short distance to the sink.

  “That made her uncomfortable fast,” murmured Sherry.

  “Yeah, well, I don’t blame her. I’m not quite ready to enter that space yet either,” Craig said, letting the dishes he carried slide into the soapy water.

  Angela returned with their coats. “I feel like a terrible host,” she said. “You’re my guests and you’re doing the dishes.”

  “Not the first dish I’ve washed,” claimed Kevin.

  “Nor will it be our last,” Sherry added, handing the last dish to her husband who rinsed and dried. “Not even our dishwasher takes away the need to wash an occasional pot or pan.”

  “I’d love a dishwasher someday,” the tired young woman sighed. “Thanks, both of you. It was really nice to meet you.”

  “It was,” agreed Kevin, passing the towel in his hand to his wife so she could dry her hands and crossed to where Angela stood. He took their coats from her, passed Sherry’s to her and donned his. Looking down at Angela, Kevin met her eyes. Craig watched as his friend struggled for words, something he’d never seen before. “I can’t begin to tell you how often I’ve prayed for you over the years, Angela. We never learned your name, but it didn’t stop me.”

  Angela nodded. “I know prayer works. Who knows, maybe you’re as much responsible for me standing here today as Craig is. No matter what you said before, you still see the little girl when you look at me, don’t you?”

  “I do. I hope that doesn’t offend you. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to unsee her.”

  Craig could see the twinkle in her eye from where he stood.

  “You’re not the one I’m dating, so I’m not offended.”

  Laughing, Kevin patted her shoulder, then Craig’s. To him, Kevin said, “Don’t rush home on our account.”

  “I haven’t all week,” acknowledged Craig as his friends left them alone.

  Alone.

  Angela stood there, looking as uncomfortable as he suddenly felt. She draped his coat over the back of a chair.

  “It’s been a while since we’ve been alone.” He hadn’t been expecting this to happen. “Not counting the hospital.”

  “Not since New Year’s,” she replied. She pushed hair behind her ear. Her face looked warm.

  “I can’t stay Angela, you know that. Watching television when your grandmother was here is one thing.” He cleared his throat and shoved his thumbs in his pockets. “This is something different…”

  “I know. I just need to ask you something.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Judy called me today. She’s getting married soon. I requested the day off a while ago and it was approved. We weren’t a couple yet, so I only RSVP’d for one. But she called today saying that if I wanted to bring you as my plus one, it would be alright with them.” Her words were beginning to rush together. “I know we’re a couple, but we haven’t actually gone on any ‘dates’, so I’m not really sure how to ask you…”

  “I can fix that. As soon as you feel well enough to venture out in this cold weather, I’ll take you out to dinner or a movie or whatever you want.” It brought a smile to her face, and his mind began to plot. “When’s the wedding?”

  “Next Saturday, eleven in the morning.”

  He needed to check the weather forecast for next Saturday. “I will check and clear my schedule if necessary.”

  Her face relaxed. “I’ll call Judy and let her know. I forgot to tell you, the doctor’s office called and moved my appointment up. Dr. Evans said he wanted to see me a little earlier because of how cold it’s been. Not that I ever feel it in here. The Dodge’s let us set our thermostats as high as we want…and I’m babbling again.”

  Chuckling he crossed to where she stood. “When is it?”

  “Monday at ten. Are you still going to be able to take me?”

  “Sure.” Reaching out to cup her face with his ha
nds, Craig tried dropping a light kiss on her lips. He’d done it several times since their kiss in the hospital. But her arms wrapped around him without hesitation, and he deepened the kiss. Before he knew it, he had her backed up against the nearest wall. The kiss passionate, her body soft against his as he pressed into her. Her fingers curled in his hair.

  His body was throbbing with desire, but he drew the kiss to an end. Like in the hospital, he rested his forehead against hers. “I promise you, Angel, one day when this happens – I won’t stop and leave you. But I have to go now.”

  “I don’t want you to,” she whispered.

  “I know.” Craig opened his eyes and held her gaze. There was no pressure in her eyes, only pure desire. “I don’t want to leave either, but if you’re honest, you know we’re not ready for this. We could barely talk to each other a moment ago.”

  “I know,” she agreed dishearteningly.

  “Angela, I want our first time to be special. Not something in the heat of the moment. I don’t want to have sex with you because I can’t control myself. I want to make love with you.”

  “Oh.”

  He smiled and released her. She didn’t know what to say to that. He planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow at some point. Call if you need anything.”

  “I will.”

  He grabbed his coat off the back of the chair before leaving. As always, Angela followed him to the door and watched him through the window in her door as he drove away. She wasn’t surprised when her telephone rang. Her caller wasn’t giving up.

  It rang into her answering machine, and she listened just in case it was someone else. But it wasn’t, and his voice was no longer altered.

  “Hello, Angela.” Derek’s smooth voice mocked her. “We’re alone once more, aren’t we? You and me, me and you. You have quite the bevy of protectors, don’t you? It won’t do you any good Angel…personally I prefer my nickname for you. When I come to take my ugly little bitch back, they won’t even see me coming…”

  Should she keep him talking? No, there should be enough to call the trooper. Derek had said when, not if, and she knew it would be considered a viable threat. Angela picked the phone up and dropped it back down without talking to him. Breaking the connection, she pulled Erica Steven’s card out of her address book and called the number on the back. While she waited for the policewoman to arrive, Angela found her hammer and some nails. It wasn’t too late yet, so hopefully no one would be bothered by her hammering nails into the window frames of the unlockable windows in the kitchen and living room.