“Hey, I can’t complain.” Wolf smiled, and Sarah’s heart melted with memories. “I only have to pay half the rent, and I can still go to school fulltime and not worry about my sis.”
Sarah blew out the candles, waving away the steady stream of smoke spiraling toward the ceiling. The area smelled of melted wax with a hint of vanilla. “So, Wolf, how much longer do you have to study before you get your degree?”
“About two years, so I guess we’ll be neighbors for a while.”
“I can’t think of a nicer duo to have next door.” Sarah returned and sat in the easy chair across from her guests. She leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees. “You know, we should make a ritual of having dinner together. Perhaps we can switch off; your place one weekend and mine the next. What do you think?”
Her own suggestion shocked her, but deep down Sarah realized this was her way of working Wolf into her life. She’d kissed him goodbye one time and had no intentions of doing so again. The hard part lay ahead: making him remember the feelings they shared, in another life. Two words crept into her mind: crazy and delusional.
* * *
Wearing sweats, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, Sarah walked from her bedroom into the living/dining room. The faint smell of waxy vanilla still lingered in the air. Dinner last night had been a success, and although only Saturday, she already looked forward to next weekend at Wolf and Molly’s place. They’d decided on Saturdays so Sarah didn‘t have to stress over preparing dinner after work on Friday. The idea appealed to her…anything about Wolf did.
She loaded the dishwasher, her thoughts on the notorious dream. Never in her whole twenty-two years had something of this magnitude disrupted her life. Other than the faces and names, not much else matched. Her parents still lived, although in Arizona. After retiring, they wanted a more sedate lifestyle than the city had to offer, preferring to find a warmer climate, too. She’d never been to Missouri, let alone visited any part of the Oregon Trail. Born and raised in New York, the rest of the country beckoned but she never ventured far from home.
After wiping down the counter and table, she put away the candelabras, and then sat on the sofa to pull on her socks. With one knee bent and an anklet half on, Sarah clearly envisioned the smiling and matronly face of Maggie Smith. In the night vision, the woman had been the only person in Independence to befriend Wolf and overlook his red blood. She’d also taken Sarah in, helped her find a teaching job, and stood by her when the rest of the town had a ‘hissy’ fit over a young Indian boy enrolled in her class. Every memory rolled through Sarah’s mind as though it all had happened yesterday…a motion picture that replayed each detail vividly. Somehow she’d have to find a way to bring up Maggie’s name and see if it brought a reaction from Wolf. Looking in the phone book wouldn’t help. Smith was the most common last name ever, and who knew where she lived…or if she lived, ever.
Sarah put on her other sock, donned her tennis shoes, and then, in the kitchen, pulled the bulging garbage bag from the can. The smell of last night’s chicken mingled with the smell from the candles until she tied the plastic into a knot. Opening the door, she headed for the dumpster, only to run into another neighbor, Peg Scott, armed with own refuse and headed in the same direction.
Her streaked hair perfectly coiffed and her flawless make-up already on made Sarah feel inferior. Of course, Peg never went anywhere without looking like a runway model. In contrast to Sarah’s dowdy gray sweats, Peg’s running suit matched the blue strip in her jogging shoes. She flicked her long hair back over one shoulder with her free hand. “Have you had a chance to get a gander of our new neighbor? Hubba hubba. What a hunk.”
A leaden knot formed in Sarah’s stomach.
“No,” she responded casually with a shrug, the lie rolling off her tongue with ease. “What’s so great about him?”
“Oh, girl. He’s yummy. Dark hair and complexion, broad shoulders, narrow hips, and arms that I’d do anything to have wrapped around me.” Peg’s eyes took on a dreamy haze.
Jealousy gnawed at Sarah. That proverbial green-eyed devil she’d always heard about turned red and perched on her shoulder, whispering in her ear that Wolf belonged to her. Fighting the urge to swing her trash bag around and bash in her pretty made up face, she tamped down her feelings. Clearly Peg had no idea her target had already been a guest in Sarah’s apartment. She forced a smile. “Hmmm, he sounds interesting. Have you met him yet?”
Peg gave another flip of her hair. “No, but I fully intend to find a way to introduce myself. He’s sexy with a capital ‘s.’”
At the dumpster, Sarah loosened her fisted hands to stop her nails from biting into her palms and hefted her trash over the edge, her mind working a mile a minute. She had to get back to her apartment and find a way to distract Wolf for the day. If Peg got her clutches into him, Sarah might never get the chance to renew what they once felt…what she believed they felt. “I gotta rush. Nice seeing you, but I have some important errands to tend to. Catch you later.” Spinning on her heel, Sarah rushed back inside the building and down the hallway to her first floor apartment. She ignored the little voice in her mind that questioned her sanity.
* * *
Standing in the bathroom, Sarah stared into the mirror while she applied her make-up and styled her hair. Was the dream just that--a silly dream? If only she knew how to approach someone and ask the zillion questions whirling around in her brain. Why in the world would she conjure up a time when she was a pioneer woman on her way to California? Did she even have the courage to try and save another human being as she had Molly? Was all this a previous life? Experts claimed dreams meant something, but damned if this wasn’t the most confusing she’d ever had.
An image of Peg’s smiling face blurred Sarah’s reflection, reminding her she had to hurry. A superb plan to snag Wolf formed in her head as she shouldered her purse and closed her locked door behind her.
She stood at her new neighbor’s door, her palms sweating, and her breath halted. So far, no sign of Peg, but maybe she’d already been there. Sarah could only hope not. She compared the woman to an annoying fly buzzing around a picnic.
With a deep inhalation, she raised her hand and knocked, taking a final moment to straighten the tail of her silk blouse and run a pinch down the crease in her black dress slacks.
Chapter Three
Wearing only his denims, Wolf answered the door, blotting his wet hair with a towel. Water droplets still dotted his shoulders and chest. Sarah’s breath seized, locked on memories of the day he’d bathed in the creek during the trip to Independence.
“Oh, hi, neighbor. What’s up?”
She pried her gaze from the broad expanse of naked skin, inhaling the enticing scent of his spicy cologne. She gulped down her nervousness. “I-I thought maybe you might like to take in some sights.” Her words worked their away around the giant lump in her throat. “I…a…a…know my…the city pretty well, and I’d love to show you around.”
“I’d like that.” He smiled and opened the door wider. “C’mon in. I just got out of the shower and need to finish dressing. Molly’s gone shopping, so it’ll just be you and me. Is that okay?”
Was he kidding? Just the two of them? A passel of proverbial butterflies took flight in her stomach. “Of course. Maybe we can include Molly another time.”
Sarah perched on the sofa’s edge while Wolf disappeared into the bedroom. He soon plodded back into the room in sock-clad feet, wearing a black t-shirt and carrying a pair of western boots.
Despite wanting to stay lost in the depth of his eyes, she focused on his footwear choice. “Will those be comfortable enough for walking?”
“Yep, these are my favorites. I’ve broken them in well.” Sitting next to her, he pulled on the left then the right and smoothed his pant legs over the boot tops. He stood and struck a pose fit for a male model. “Well, will this do for what you have in mind?”
If only he knew. When he appeared half-naked at the door, he was mo
re appropriately attired for what she desired, but she gave a slight nod. “Perfect. I thought we might take in a few sights, have some lunch, and who knows where we’ll go--”
A continual rapping disrupted her itinerary. Wolf raised a brow. “Wonder who that could be?” He crossed to the door and opened it.
Peg stood on the other side, an aluminum-foil covered plate in her hands. She batted her long lashes and smiled. “Hey handsome, I’m your across-the-hall neighbor, and I’ve brought you…” Her chipper and flirty banter faded the moment she gazed past Wolf and spied Sarah. “Oh, I-I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you already had company. Hello, Sarah.” Her greeting lacked warmth.
“Hello.” Sarah responded with like coldness, and then feeling smug and a tad spiteful, sidled closer to Wolf and locked her arm through his. “Whatever you brought smells delightful.”
Peg, her smile faltering, handed the plate to Wolf. “I baked some brownies to welcome you to our neck of the woods. I didn’t mean to interrupt what you two have going on.” Even through her seemingly friendly demeanor, Sarah sensed iciness aimed at only her.
She cuddled closer to Wolf. “We were just getting ready to leave on a sight-seeing outing.”
The look of dismay on Peg’s face made Sarah tingle with satisfaction. She cast an admiring gaze up at Wolf. “Oh, how rude of me. Peg Scott, this is Nathaniel Elder, also known as Wolf. We have the good fortune of having him and his sister, Molly, as neighbors for the next couple of years.”
Peg offered her hand. “Very nice to meet you, Mr. Elder. If there is anything at all I can do to make you feel more welcome, please let me know.”
The purr in her voice rubbed Sarah like sandpaper, but she held tightly to Wolf’s arm and kept a smile on her face.
Wolf accepted Peg’s offered palm. “My pleasure, I’m sure, and Mr. Elder was my father. Please call me Wolf.” He assessed the woman’s chocolate eyes longer than Sarah considered appropriate and continued holding her hand. Shrouded by doubt and desperation, Sarah gave him a little nudge. “We’d best get going. I have a lot planned for us.”
The mutual attraction between the duo pained Sarah. Their gazes remained locked on one another, and the awkwardness created a silence akin to one might find at the bottom of a well. Sarah felt invisible. Her green-eyed monster resurfaced, quivering her insides with anger. She got a taste of how Wolf might have felt when she paid favor to Maggie’s attractive boarder in the dream, and she didn’t like it one bit. Tugging at Wolf’s arm, Sarah practically yanked him off his feet. “Are you ready?” She forced a calmness she didn’t feel into her tone.
Wolf withdrew his hand from Peg’s. “Oh…” His Adam’s apple bobbed with a hard swallow. “Yeah, I’m ready.” He smiled past Sarah. “Thank you so much for the brownies, Ms. Scott. I’m sure we’ll enjoy them.”
Sarah rolled her eyes, picturing a boxed mix where added water was the only required ingredient. Big deal. The popular TV commercial, “so easy, even a caveman can do it,” made perfect sense. Still she continued her fake smile, her arm possessively locked through Wolf’s.
Peg cocked her head in an annoying coquettish tilt and winked. “My pleasure, I’m sure, and I’ll call you Wolf if you call me Peg.” The wench turned toward the door. “Oh, and have a nice time today,” she added as she prepared to leave to turn the knob.
“Wait, Peg!” Wolf‘s voice halted her, much to Sarah’s dismay. “I have an idea. Why don’t you join us for dinner this Saturday? Sarah’s coming, and I know my sister, Molly, won’t mind one more friendly face at the table. Whatta you think? Are you free?”
The woman’s smile could melt butter. She turned and thrust one hip out in a sexy stance. “My calendar might be clear. Will I need to bring anything?”
“No, just bring your lovely self.” Wolf said. “We’ll have a great time, won’t we Sarah?”
Every so subtly, Sarah moved her jaw from side-to-side to relax the tightness forming, but more so to mask from her face the jealousy and disappointment bubbling up from her toes. Another image from the dream, specifically her confrontation with the peevish old hag in the mercantile, justified her feelings. That old woman had made her feel inferior, and now those emotions resurfaced. Sadly, Peg wasn’t craggy and hunched…quite the opposite. Despite an outburst some would consider childish bubbling up, Sarah remained silent, her face hurting from holding her lips in a forced upward curve.
Wolf wiggled his elbow. “Won’t we Sarah?
The mention of her name snapped her back to the sickening sweetness between Peg and Wolf. Preferring an invasion of cockroaches to the sultry siren, Sarah widened her smile and tamped down her jealousy. “Uh-uh, yes, of course, you must come. The more the merrier.”
Not her first lie, but certainly the most bitter she’d ever told. Sarah swallowed the bile taste and hoped her demeanor portrayed a confidence she didn’t feel. At least she’d have Wolf for the day…alone.
As if sensing Sarah’s momentary feeling of confidence, Peg did her signature annoying flick of her hair, stepped closer to Wolf and smiled up at him. “I’d love to come, then. What time?”
In self-defense, Sarah shut down to her surroundings. She imagined the hot sun setting beyond a rose and gray colored horizon, the prairie breeze fluttering through her hair and cooling her cheeks…inhaled the aroma of new rain on the earth, heard the sounds of a stream bubbling in the back ground. She closed her eyes, lost in all familiar from the dream…until Wolf gave her another yank.
She peered up into puzzled eyes.
“Peg’s gone; you haven’t heard a word I said since she walked out the door. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I was just thinking of all the things I want to show you. Let‘s get started.” A genuine smile replaced her fake one.
* * *
Sarah bent and placed her purse in her desk drawer then pulled out her chair and sat. The same manuscript pages she’d tackled on Friday still lay scattered across the mahogany surface. The title page, “The Queen’s Intrusion” struck a painful chord. She and Wolf had enjoyed their afternoon in the city, but to her liking, he spoke far too often about Peg, and now Sarah had a week to come up with a plan to get his attention back on her.
Her peripheral vision caught sight of her boss talking with another employee in the hallway, and she clutched her red editing pen and snatched a stray page from in front of her, staring blankly at the barrage of blurred words. One weekend and a damned dream had turned her life and job upside down. She had to pull her self together or find herself in the unemployment line.
When Mr. Crane continued past her door, she drummed up determination to stop being a flake. Being unemployed would present a whole new problem. Yet, after gathering the pages of her current task back into a neat stack, she rested her elbow atop the pile and flicked the nail of her index finger against her bottom teeth. While she stared into space, her thoughts drifted again to her current dilemma.
“Earth to Sarah.”
Sarah lifted her chin at the familiar voice. Her friend and co-worker, Marie Matthews, stood just inside the doorway, a cup of coffee spiraling steam into the air.
“Oh, hi. I guess I drifted off.”
Marie moved inside and sat in the visitor’s chair. She rested her cup on the desk. “That’s an understatement. I could have carried out a file cabinet and you wouldn’t have noticed. What’s got you so distracted?”
Sarah gave a dismissing wave. “If I told you, you wouldn’t believe it. Even I don’t.”
“Try me.”
“I’d love to use you as a sounding board, but I don’t look good in white coats with metal buckles.”
“Sounds serious.” Marie picked up her coffee and took a sip. “What if I promise I won’t call and have you carted away?”
Sarah buried her face in her palms. “Even if I wanted to share with you, I don’t even know where to start.”
“They say the beginning is usually the best place.”
Sarah rested her hands again
st the edge of her desk and pushed back in her chair. She flashed a stern stare at Marie. “You’re so witty, but this really isn’t the time.” Her heavy sigh sliced the air.
Marie picked at her cuticles. “Tell me one thing…does your problem involve a man?”
“How did you know?” Sarah leaned forward.
Her friend stood and rolled her eyes. “Just call me psychic. If you want to talk, you know where to find me.” She picked up her cup.
“Wait,” Sarah bid. “Don’t leave. If I don’t talk to someone, I’ll go absolutely bonkers, but if I tell you what‘s bothering me, you’ll most likely think I am anyhow.”
Marie sat back down, sipped her coffee and put the cup back atop the dewy ring it earlier formed. “Sarah, we’ve known each other for years--seven I believe. I don’t think there’s much I don’t know about you.”
“Yes, but this is different. I’m not even sure how to explain what happened.”
Marie’s brow furrowed. She edged forward in her chair. “Okay, now you’re scaring me. Did someone harm you?”
Sarah shook her head. “No, no, it’s nothing like that. I-I had a dream.”
“Great, now you’re starting to sound like Martin Luther King.” She chuckled.
“This isn’t funny.” Sarah bolted to her feet. “I mean it. I did have a dream…which coincidently did have something to do with equality among races.” She tightened her lips and thought a moment before taking a deep breath and sitting again. Her fingers forming a steeple at her midsection, she flashed a questioning stare at her friend. “Have you ever awakened from something that seemed so real it made you cry?”
Marie screwed her mouth to the side and puzzled over the question for a moment. “I suppose I might have.”
“Has anyone you dreamed about knocked on your front door, bigger than life?”
“Well, not in the way you mean. I’ve had dream men knock on my door, but…” Her gaze drifted to a vacant place, but then snapped back to Sarah. “Did it happen to you?”
Sarah's Passion Page 2
