Looking out of her bedroom window, she knew she was at least going to enjoy the scenery, as usual. The rolling hills outside were beautiful enough that even the clumsiest of photographers couldn’t help but get a breath-taking picture of them. Yes, this was going to be one special summer, she thought.
Changing out of her travel clothes she put on a flowing sapphire skirt and peach coloured blouse. The colours complimented her curly light red hair and blue eyes, and she was satisfied with how she looked as she walked away from the mirror. As satisfied as she could be anyway. At one inch below six feet she was tall, and not in the slim Barbie kind of way. But she had a nice bosom, a well-shaped bottom, and though her feet were large, the skirt she wore hid that part. She wasn’t going to win any beauty contests, she thought, but she wasn’t going to scare the children away, at least.
Walking back down the stairs, she heard a male voice telling her grandmother about the problems he was having at his business. His computer network didn’t work, and the only person in the village qualified to fix the problem couldn’t come to his office for another two weeks. She slowed as she walked in, dreading what she knew was about to happen.
“Don’t do it, Nanna, don’t do it,” she whispered quietly to herself as she walked in. Before she could get a word out, Nanna did it!
“Oh, Annie May, you’ve come down, good, come here and give me a hug. I’m ever so pleased you’ve come! It’s going to be great having you all summer! Oh, here, I want you to meet this young man. I think he can do with some of your knowledge, duck.” Ruby Rogers pulled Annie May to her own large frame, enveloping the girl in sweet maternal love. Annie May cuddled her grandmother, loving the security she felt when she was in her Nanna’s arms. Ruby was a large lady with white hair down to her waist. A no-nonsense but loving woman, she was one of Annie May’s most favourite people in the world. Nanna pushed Annie away, looking her granddaughter up and down.
“You are filling out nicely Annie May. Here now, this is Daniel Chamberlain. He operates a local non-profit that helps troubled teens. He’s having some problems with his interwebs or something. I was just about to suggest you could help him out with that. What do you think?” Ruby had a totally innocent look on her face, but Annie May could see from the gleam in her eye that she knew what she was doing. She squinted at her grandmother but laughed as she turned to the fellow.
Annie May was hoping she could get out of it, when she quickly changed her mind. The man had to be a poet; he had the dark curly hair, the kind of amazingly dreamy hazel eyes that made women swoon, and a mouth meant for whispering the poems he’d written into his lady-love’s ear. Be still my heart, she thought as she placed her left hand over her heart.
“Hi, I’m Annie May Rogers,” she said as she held out her hand, her voice suddenly becoming a soft, smoky sound.
“Enchanted,” he replied, taking her hand to brush a kiss across her knuckles.
Oh yes, a poet and a Romeo, I’d best keep my eye on this one then, she thought. Still, her heart did flutter at having her hand kissed instead of receiving the expected handshake, and she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She was also certain she had the world’s goofiest smile on her face as she just watched him in silence. He’d never give her the time of day if he didn’t need his network repaired, she figured. He was the kind meant for little blonde housewives with delicate feet and tiny waists, she thought.
Daniel had an endearingly crooked smile on his face as he took in the sight of her. She was glad she’d decided to change her clothes before coming down, now. At least she wasn’t grubby and her hair had been brushed. He was very tall himself, and seemed to appreciate the sight of a woman he didn’t have to look down to. His smile deepened into a grin, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He must be pulling my leg, she thought to herself.
Nanna seemed to have noticed something was going on because she pulled Annie May to her side, and smiled at her, giving Annie May a wink. Oh this wasn’t going to be easy to get out of. She did want to get to know the handsome man a little better though, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, spending some time with him?
“Would you like a drink, Annie May?” Her grandmother asked.
“Just a spritzer Nanna, nothing too strong, please. I’m such a lightweight in that department that even that little bit of alcohol may have me sleeping before long. That was one long flight,” Annie May replied, sitting by the man. “What seems to be the problem with your network then?” She looked back at Daniel, tilting her head to the side.
They discussed the network problem for a while, then moved on to what time she should come in the next day to work on it. She enjoyed listening to him talk, how expressive his face was, and that he, like her, talked with his hands. He politely declined anything to eat when Annie May’s Nan offered it, but she ordered vegetarian lasagne before going back to her conversation.
“I guess I’ll see you in the morning then? Oh, how do I get to your office?” She asked as she finished her spritzer.
“It’s just down the road there; you’ll see it once you get into the main part of the village. There’s a big sign in the window with the name of the place so you should be able to find it straight away. I’ll leave you to your food, and I hope you spend an enjoyable evening with your Nan. She’s a wonderful woman and has helped me often with things we needed at the office. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.” He reached out, touching her hand briefly before walking away with a smile. A Casanova then, but a sensible one, she thought. Very good.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Daniel, good night.” She gave him a smile as he left, looking forward to her meal, a bath, and a night of sleep.
“That Daniel’s fancying you, I do believe, Annie May. And if I’m not mistaken, you’ve taken a fancy to him as well.” Nan said as she placed Annie May’s food in front of her. “Now you eat this and get to bed; I have a feeling you need some sleep but will be up bright and early,” the older lady said as she drifted back to the bar to fill a customer’s glass.
Annie May looked down at her food, hiding a smile as she did. Yes, I probably will be up early, she thought. That Daniel sure has a beautiful smile.
The next morning she walked down the village, feeling a chill in the air despite the season. She took some snaps with her mobile to send to her friends back home, loving the architecture of the old stone crofts. She quickly found Daniel’s office and walked in through the door, smiling as she heard a chime.
“Is that you Annie May? I’m back here, in the office on the right.” She heard Daniel call from somewhere in the back of the building. Wandering back she saw several rooms, and walls filled with pamphlets, posters telling teens how to be positive and get ahead of the game, and leaflets everywhere. She finally found Daniel and stopped, looking at him with a smile on her face.
His curly hair was sticking up all over his head, making her fingers itch to smooth it down, and a look of desperate confusion marred his features. What is he doing, sitting there staring at a computer screen? She wondered.
“What has you looking so put out this morning then, Daniel?” Annie May asked him walking into the room to sit in the chair he indicated to, beside him. Looking at the screen she saw he had the software open for the network but no connection showed.
“I thought I’d give it one more go, try one more time to see if I could resolve the problem on my own. It is a bit lowering to have someone come in and repair it for me. But I’m glad you’re here because I can’t make heads nor tail of any of it.” A sheepish smile spread across his face as he spoke and she noticed that his smile was just as adorable as it had been the night before.
“Let me have a look. Hopefully it’ll be something simple, it usually is with these things.” She zoned out for a bit, clicking through tabs, checking lines, making sure cables were plugged in. A cup of tea appeared at her elbow at some point, with packets of sugar and cream, and she drank it without even realizing it as she tracked the problem down to a cable that had been p
ut into the wrong port. Clicking back through the tabs she saw the network was operating properly now, and closed out of the software, finally coming back to reality.
“You’re good at what you do, Annie May!” Daniel said, pleased that she’d sorted the problem so quickly.
“Oh dear, I zoned out and drank tea, didn’t I? I never drink that stuff; it makes me so hyper!” She could feel it starting already and reminded herself not to talk too fast. Looking at Daniel, she searched for something else to say.
“I’ll have to remember that. So you’re all done then?” He asked.
“Um, yeah, so the network should work now, without any problems. If you have any more issues with it just give me a ring at Nan’s. I haven’t sorted a mobile out here yet, but I plan to this week.” Oh that sounded so desperate and leading, she thought. Please call me! Trying not to roll her eyes at herself, she went to gather her handbag and jacket but Daniel stopped her. As if he’d be interested in seeing her again now she’d sorted his problem out, she berated herself.
“What do I owe you for the work you’ve done?” He asked.
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” she replied. “Take it as my donation to your organisation.”
“Well, at least let me buy you lunch. If you’ll agree, I’ll admit my ulterior motive.” He said with a look that stated, “Aren’t you intrigued, hm?”
What’s he playing at, she wondered, but curiosity got the better of her, and she agreed.
“Alright, but you have to tell me what the ulterior motive is first, or I won’t go.” She replied with a ‘so there’ look of her own. She all but stuck her tongue out at him. It’s just the tea, it’s only the tea making you hyper and too flirty, she thought, trying to rein herself in. Stop acting like a twit now!
“It’s nothing terrible really, I’d just like to get to know you a little better, that’s all.” A hopeful look spread across his face as he spoke, making her heart twist a little.
“Oh, well.” She stuttered to a halt, stunned at his words. She’d never expected him to truly be interested in her! Her heart gave a leap, though, and she knew she wanted to spend more time with him. “Well, yes, I think I’d like that myself, Daniel.”
Chapter 2
They gathered their things and walked up the street to a chippy. She looked at him, not sure what to tell him because she didn’t eat food like that, it made her skin break-out and being tall and a bit fluffy already, was about as far as she could stand it. Spots on top of that might lead to her never leaving the house! The look on her face must have been enough to make him realise this wasn’t her cup of tea, because instead of going in he walked to the next one, a place selling German food, apparently. From the menu, she saw that the food was much healthier and gave him a questioning look.
“How about this?” She asked him.
“Oh yes, this is very good, I’ve been here before.”
They went in and found a table and looked over the menu. They made their order and Annie May looked around. A tidy little place, the inside wasn’t overly fancy but was clean and the tables weren’t sticky. Looking out of the window they were sat at, she watched people going by, like ants as they got on and off buses, went into and left shops, and milled around in other places. She loved watching people, looking at the buildings, and wondering about the stories they could all tell. Everyone and every place had a story, after all. Smiling she turned back to Daniel, realising she’d been quiet for a long time.
“What would you like to know?” She asked him.
“Well, obviously you’re American because you don’t sound like you have the least possibility of being Canadian, so what state are you from?” He asked.
“I’m actually English but I was raised in America. In Louisiana, in fact, so no, there’s no mistaking me for Canadian, not with this accent. My parents and brother all live there too. Mum and Dad left in the 90s. Mum had a love of all things New Orleans so Dad fulfilled her dream by getting a job as a doctor there. We came to England for the summer, once a year, but I haven’t been back in a while. I was too busy with school, but I’ve finished that now so I’ve come to stay for the summer. Learn about my roots and all of that.”
“Ah, I see. I wonder why we’ve never met, then. I know it’s been a couple of years but still, we should have met at some point; we aren’t that far apart in age. I’m 29, and you’re what? 25 or 26?” Daniel asked, taking his food from the lady who brought it and thanking her.
Annie May took her own but answered Daniel before she started to eat. “I’m 28, actually. Mum and Dad wouldn’t let us into the taproom, and we were usually only here for a week. Maybe that’s why?”
“Ah, I see. So you never made any friends while you were here?”
“No, not really. I thought I had when I was around 12. There was a lovely little boy I used to know. I thought he was going to be my prince, but he turned out to be quite the frog.”
“How so?” Daniel asked before tasting his food.
Annie May chewed, watching Daniel enjoy his food. The sausages must have been lovely because his eyes closed for a moment. She loved that he appreciated food so much.
“That must be nice.” She said, a question in her voice.
“It’s lovely! About the little boy?”
“Oh, we’d been playing for a couple of days together, going hiking, and climbing trees; the usual stuff children do. I was hoping he’d give me my first kiss. We’d gone out hiking, up on the moors, and we’d found this little stream by a large tree. We sat down to have the lunch our Mums sent with us, and I thought it was going splendidly. We’d been laughing and having fun, and it was perfect. I closed my eyes and leaned over to him, but he was gone. He came out from behind the tree, screaming about how I didn’t have a soul because I was a ginger, and then he threw a frog at me! A bloody great toad he’d found in the creek. I ran all the way back home, crying and told Mum I never wanted to come back again, but she made me the next year. It was even worse when I saw him the following day and he threw another one at me.”
Daniel had started coughing by the time she finished, and she wondered if his food had gone down wrong. His face was red and he was spluttering. Annie May handed him his water and stood up to pound his back when he finally calmed down enough to croak out that he was fine.
“That was you?” He asked.
“Was what me?” She asked, confused.
“That I threw the frogs at?” He said, looking ashamed of himself.
“Oh don’t tell me that was you?! But it can’t have been; that boy’s name was Courtney!”
“Yes, do you remember what you screamed at me when I threw the second frog?” He muttered into his glass of water. He wouldn’t even look at her now!
“No, I don’t actually. I tried to forget most of it, that was so mean, Daniel!”
“I know and I do apologise. You screamed at me how Courtney was a girl’s name anyway, before you ran away. I made people start calling me Daniel after that. I really must apologise Annie May. I thought you looked familiar when I first saw you last night, but I wasn’t sure why. And about that incident, well, a friend of mine started making fun of me for spending so much time with you. And I wanted to kiss you but Brian had been telling me all these stories about red-headed kids, and when you closed your eyes, I really did think you were trying to steal my soul. We were only children and though it may not mean much now, I really didn’t know any better. And I promise I will never throw another frog at you again, for the rest of my life!”
Annie May wasn’t sure whether she should be mortified or laugh. Looking at Daniel, how repentant he was, however, told her she should at least give him a chance to make up for his behaviour as a child. She knew he was a flirt, she could tell that by the way he talked to other women when they were around, but when he focused on her, she knew that attention was meant only for her. And they had only been children so perhaps she should give him a chance? Maybe he was just a friendly person and the way he talked with the wom
en wasn’t offensive, it was only meant to bring a smile to their faces and there was nothing wrong with that. But could he really be serious? He was ever so handsome, and she wasn’t ugly but her height and size usually put men off her.
“Alright then but if you say one thing about my lack of a soul, I’ll drop you in a pan of cold water and set you on the stove. Just you remember that!” The words were harsh but she said them with a smile, taking some of the sting out of them.
“Can I see you tonight then?” He asked, a hopeful grin on his face.
“Oh, well. I promised Nan I’d help her behind the bar tonight, but if you want to come in there, you’re welcome to. I’d like that in fact, a familiar face on the other side might help me to relax a little.”
“I’d love that. I think tonight’s dominoes night so it’ll be crowded but I’ve been known to help out behind the bar before, so I can lend you a hand if you need me to, as well.” He tilted his head as he spoke, that cheeky grin that made her knees feel wobbly, making another appearance.
Oh he is lovely, she thought. And he smelled good too. She’d been trying to pin down the fragrance since last night but finally came to the conclusion it must be one she didn’t know. Spicy, warm, but inviting. A wonderful scent on a man. She’d only ever smelled it on him, but she loved it already.
“That sounds like it might be fun, getting to work with you. I look forward to it. Shall we get back now? I know you must be busy with work; I don’t want to keep you.”
“Yes, I should get back. I have an appointment in 15 minutes so I should do the grown-up thing and prepare for it. I’ve really enjoyed having lunch with you, though. It’s been wonderful, it truly has. Can I ring for a taxi to get you back to your Nan’s?”
Kane (Alexander Shifter Brothers Book 1) Page 57
