Once Found: The Pocket Watch Chronicles

by Ceci Giltenan

  “Did you have a lot of guests?”

  He laughed. “Hardly any. Overnight guests, anyway. We have a lot of extended family, but most of them live within an hour’s drive. Before we had a guest room, on the rare occasion that we did have overnight visitors, my brothers and I got to sleep in sleeping bags on the floor of the rec room. We liked doing that.”

  It sounded much like the way people working in the castle slept every night, on a pallet on the floor of the great hall.

  “When Mom became pregnant with Luke, she wanted a nursery, so she moved Joey and I into the downstairs bedroom and put Tony and Nick in our bedroom.”

  “No more guest bedroom?”

  “Nope, but like I said, it didn’t matter.”

  “Tell me about your parents.”

  “My dad is an electrician, and my mom took care of our home and family.”

  “Isn’t that normally what a wife and mother does?”

  He frowned at her. “Some mothers do, but most have other jobs too, like your mother.”

  He told her more about his family and what growing up with them was like. He talked about going to Catholic schools and big Italian family parties and being a kid in the suburbs.

  Before long, the train rolled into Hamilton Station.

  She looked around. This was definitely not the city. “How do we get to your house?”

  “Someone’s going to pick us up.” He glanced at his watch. “It won’t be Luke or Angela. School isn’t over.”

  “Is Luke still in school?”

  “Sadly, yes.” Gabe’s eyes twinkled with mirth. “But now he’s a teacher…in our old high school. Angela hates it. She gets away with nothing.”

  “Gabe,” someone called as they walked out of the station.

  Gabe grinned. “It’s Joe. Hey, Joey,” he yelled to a man leaning against a rather beat-up car.

  It only took a moment for Elsie to register Joey’s clothes. “He’s a priest?”

  “Didn’t I mention that?”

  “No,” she hissed.

  “Well, he’s a priest. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

  When they got to the car, Gabe hugged his brother. “It’s good to see you, Joe. I’ve missed you the last few times I’ve been home.”

  “It’s good to see you too.”

  “Elizabeth, this is my brother Joe.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Father.”

  “It’s okay to just call me Joe. By your stunned expression, I figure Gabe thought this would be a fun surprise.”

  “Springing my priest-brother on people is always fun.”

  Joe just looked at her and rolled his eyes with a what-can-you-do expression.

  Gabe ruffled Joe’s hair, which was thick and bushy. “I bet Mom loves this.”

  “How do you get away with long curls and a beard and I get: Joseph when are you gonna get a haircut? Just wait. I came straight here before stopping at the house. She’ll say it as soon as she sees me.”

  “First, my long hair is cute, and yours is…well…not. It’s so bushy you could make a topiary out of it.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You asked.”

  “And what’s the other reason?”

  “I would have thought you’d have learned this by now. I’m just a doctor who saves children’s lives. You, little brother, are a priest. Appearances must be maintained.”

  Joe laughed. “Get in the car.”

  The drive to the Soldani house only took a few minutes. Since arriving in the twenty-first century, Elsie had only experienced New York City—loud, crowded, bustling New York City. She had seen suburban areas on the television, but they paled in comparison to this pleasant reality. The street where they lived looked much more like a village than a city, and she instantly fell in love. The little house Gabe had described was huge by medieval standards—and even compared to his apartment—but tiny compared to the Sinclairs’ penthouse.

  Gabe’s mom was in the kitchen. She was a shorter woman than Elizabeth, with dark hair and dark eyes, which Elsie was sure never missed anything. She hugged both of her sons, but just as Joe predicted, she said, “Joseph, when are you gonna get a haircut?” She flicked her hand lightly against the side of his head. “Brutto.”

  “Mom, I’m a grown man and a priest, for the love of God. I can let my hair grow if I want to.”

  “But you don’t want to. Trust me on this. It’s not a good look for you.”

  Gabe looked like he was trying desperately not to laugh, but he failed. His mother flicked his head in the same way. “Don’t be rude to your brother.”

  She turned her attention to Elsie. “Elizabeth, I know you don’t remember me, but I’m Gabriel’s mother.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Soldani.” Elsie offered her hand.

  “We don’t shake hands,” she said bluntly, opening her arms for a hug.

  There was something so warm and motherly about it that Elsie didn’t want to let go. When she did, Mrs. Soldani smiled and patted her cheek, then became all business. “Gabe, you can take Elizabeth’s things up to Angela’s room.”

  “Mom, I just thought we’d—”

  “If the next words out of your mouth are going to be ‘sleep in my old room,’ don’t even bother. Joseph is spending the night, so the two of you will be in the guest room and Nick can sleep on one of the extra beds in Luke’s room.”

  “Mom, I’m a grown man and a doctor.”

  “And not married to her.”

  Gabe looked to Joe for support.

  Joe barked a laugh. “You must be joking. First, I’m a grown man and a priest, and she tells me when to cut my hair, so I’m not sure why this would surprise you. Second, I’m a priest, and I’m duty bound to agree with her.”

  A joyful laugh built deep within Elsie and came bubbling forth. Times might have changed, but evidently not that much. “Gabe, this is not a battle you can win, my love. Show me where Angela’s room is.”

  When Luke and Angie got home from school, Angie immediately latched onto Elizabeth. She asked a never-ending stream of questions, finally declaring, “You can’t remember anything but Gabe. I think that is soooo romantic.”

  “Angie, sta ‘zitta.”

  “I’m just being friendly.”

  “Friendly? Before she has one question answered, you ask two more. Give the girl a chance to breathe.”

  Angie huffed and then brightened immediately. “Hey, I need to go to the store. You wanna come with me?”

  Elsie smiled. “I’d love to.”

  “Be sure to fasten your seatbelt, Elizabeth,” warned Luke.

  “Shut up. I’m a good driver.”

  “Tell that to the mirror you knocked off when you hit the recycling bin,” said Joe.

  “That was over a year ago when I was just learning, and Dad kept saying I was too close to the middle of the road.”

  Gabe shook his head. “Stop it, guys. She’s a good driver.”

  “Thank you, Gabe. At least I have one nice brother.” She wrinkled up her nose and stuck out her tongue at Joe and Luke.

  “You’re welcome.” Gabe winked at Elsie. “But do fasten your seatbelt, sweetheart.”

  Angie frowned. “Gabe.”

  “What? It’s the law.”

  “Stop teasing your sister,” said their mother, who took a set of keys from her purse and gave them to Angie. “You can take the minivan and pick Nick up on your way back. His train gets in at 5:30. Don’t be late. We are having dinner at six, right after your dad gets home.”

  “Okay, Mom.”

  Angie drove Elsie to a place she called the mall. It wasn’t tall, like buildings in New York, but it covered a huge area and was surrounded by a parking lot. Inside were many stores of varying sizes.

  “I just wanted to go to the card store to get Gabe a birthday card. I made his gift.”

  “What is a birthday card?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot you don’t remember some things. It’s a card that…it’s easier
to show you than tell you.”

  When they reached the card store, Elsie understood. There were cards for every imaginable occasion, expressing a variety of sentiments.

  “The guys always get jokey cards, like Happy Birthday to the World’s Okayest Brother. But I like nice cards. Do you have a card for him? The boyfriend birthday cards are there.” She pointed to another rack.

  Elsie nodded and went to look at them. She figured out Happy Birthday because it was on nearly every card. That was about the limit of her reading skills, and she didn’t want to ask Angie to read them to her. Having Gabe’s sister help pick out a boyfriend card for Elsie to give him didn’t feel right. But as Elsie looked, she found some beautiful cards that only had Happy Birthday on the front and were blank inside. She could manage to write a few words. The picture on one was a bird in a nest. She smiled to herself. Only she knew what it meant, but that was the card she bought.

  As they left the store, Elsie remembered something. “Angie, you said you made Gabe a gift. Is it customary to give someone a gift on their birthday?”

  “Man, you really have forgotten everything. Yeah, people get gifts on their birthday. I made him a collage of photos from when we were younger. He had his guitar or mandolin in almost every picture I found, so I wrote Music is the voice of the soul on the matting.”

  Elsie frowned. “I don’t have anything to give him.”

  Angie looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’m sure he doesn’t expect anything from you, but I know something little that you could give him. Something he really likes. But we have to drive to a different store.” She glanced at her watch. “We have just enough time.”

  Angie took her to a huge store that seemed to sell everything. “You have your choice. He really likes these chocolates called Baci—that means kiss in Italian.” Angie grinned, and Elsie blushed.

  She took Elsie to another aisle. “He also likes these shortbread cookies. Mom doesn’t buy them very often because they’re a little pricey compared to other cookies, but they are really good.”

  Elsie took Elizabeth’s wallet from her purse. “I hate to ask this, but I’m not good with money yet. Do I have enough to buy both?”

  Angie looked in the wallet, laughed, and said, “Yeah. You have way more than enough.”

  After paying for the treats, Angie drove to the train station. “I’m taking the back way. Traffic on Route One will be crazy now and Mom will kill me if we’re late.”

  They weren’t at the train station yet when Angie said, “Darn. It’s 5:30 now, and we’re about five minutes away. Here’s hoping the train is late.”

  When they pulled into Hamilton Station about five minutes later, Nick was waiting in front. Angie stopped the van, pushed a button, and the side door opened.

  Nick shook his head. “Hi, Elizabeth. Angie, I should’ve known you’d be the one picking me up when no one was here.” He put his overnight bag in the back, pushed a button inside the van to close the side door and walked around to Angie’s door. “I’ll drive.”

  “No. I’m driving.”

  “Get in the back, Angie. Elizabeth may have a death-wish, but I don’t.”

  “I’m driving, Nick. Mom said I could.”

  He stared at her, arching one eyebrow. “I can stand here all evening.”

  Angie’s chin began to tremble. “I’m a good driver.”

  “Come on, Angie. Don’t cry.”

  She continued to sit there, her eyes filling with tears.

  Nick huffed. “Fine. You can drive.”

  As he closed her door and walked around to get in the back, Angie cast a sly look at Elsie and winked. It was all Elsie could do to contain her laughter. Wrapped around her little finger indeed.

  Chapter 19

  Gabe always enjoyed time with his family, but this birthday had been one of the best in years. There was no mystery as to why. Elizabeth being there and fitting in so smoothly with his family was what made it most memorable.

  Nick left at the crack of dawn to make it to his office by eight, but Gabe and Elizabeth took a late morning train to avoid the rush-hour crowds. It was a blustery, cold day, and with a large bag of leftovers and other homemade delicacies as well as several bulky birthday presents, Gabe decided to take a cab back to the apartment.

  Once they were inside, he’d barely put down his things before he pulled Elizabeth into his arms and kissed her until she was flustered and breathless. “I’ve wanted to do that for ages.”

  She laughed. “Ages? We haven’t been gone a full day.”

  “But I have gotten quite used to having you in my arms. I’m sorry Mom made you sleep in Angie’s room”

  She swatted at his chest. “Gabe, did you really think your mother would do anything else?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I guess I’m going to have to ask you to marry me soon.” Christ almighty, did those words just come out of my mouth? He hadn’t considered marriage to anyone, since…well, years. “I mean…uh...not immediately…but soon.”

  She rested her head against his chest and said, “I’m sure you’ll know when the time is right.”

  Wow. She didn’t jump on his declaration or slam on the brakes. “At the moment, the time is right to take you to the edge of bliss and let you teeter on the precipice until you beg me to send you over.”

  “No, at the moment, the time is right to put away the delicious food your mother sent with us.” She ducked under his arm and made to grab the bag he had dropped on the floor.

  He looped an arm around her waist, pulling her back against him. He kissed her neck and then sucked her earlobe before nipping it lightly. “You are the most delicious thing I brought home.”

  She laughed. “Five minutes.”

  He growled. “Fine. Five minutes.”

  His gaze followed her into the kitchen. He’d intended to help her, but the sight of her exquisite ass in snug jeans mesmerized him. He imagined one round cheek in each hand as he buried himself in her. To him, she was flawless—soft and round where she should be, amazingly responsive, and surprisingly uninhibited. He’d been her first, and there hadn’t been many before her in his life. They had been, for the lack of a better term, friendly fucks, intended to make everyone feel good, but with no deep emotional attachment. He believed Elizabeth was the first and perhaps only girl he had ever made love to. Even so, the connection between them now was beyond anything he’d experienced with her before.

  She shut the refrigerator door and turned to face him. “What are you doing?

  “Looking at perhaps the most perfect ass God has ever made.”

  “Stop teasing.”

  “I am absolutely serious. In fact, there is only one thing wrong with it.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It isn’t naked.”

  “Oh, well, as much as I strive for perfection, I find it a little difficult sometimes with this.” She waved her casted arm. “Perhaps you’d like to help?”

  He groaned and grew even harder. “I think I’d like that very much.”

  She took a step toward the bedroom, looked over her shoulder with a sly grin, and twitched her hips.

  He arched an eyebrow. “And just where do you think you’re going?”

  “Into the bedroom in the pursuit of perfection.”

  “Oh, no you don’t. Stay right where you are.”

  He stepped toward her from behind, reaching around her waist to unbutton her jeans and unzip them slowly.

  “You don’t mean to undress me here?” she squeaked. “In the kitchen?”

  “That’s exactly what I mean to do.” He hooked his thumbs in the waistbands of her jeans and panties, easing them over her hips and down to her knees. “Lean over onto the counter.”

  “Gabe, I…”

  “This is all in the pursuit of perfection.” He cupped the cheeks of her luscious ass in his hands and nuzzled the back of her neck. “Do it,” he whispered in her ear.

  She leaned forward until her stomach was
against the edge of the counter, her hands resting on the surface.

  “Good girl.” He went down on one knee and lifted her left foot from the floor. He untied the laces of her boot, pulling it from her foot. He removed her sock and then stroked his thumb up the center of her foot.

  She squealed and jerked her foot, but her jeans trapped her legs. “You’re wicked.”

  He laughed, nipping one cheek and causing her to squeal again. He placed her bare left foot onto the floor and repeated everything with the right foot.

  She started to straighten up and remove her jeans the rest of the way.

  Gabe stood, grabbed her arms gently, and placed them back onto the counter. “Not yet, precious.” His hands returned to her creamy thighs, massaging them and moving ever higher. He brushed his fingers ever so lightly over her mound, gratified to hear her sharp intake of breath. He continued his slow exploration, stroking her center lightly, coming ever nearer but never quite reaching the spot.

  She squirmed, trying to push against his hand.

  He took his hand away. “Not yet.” He reached around her, unbuttoning her blouse and allowing his hands to roam over her bra. He slipped his fingers under the edge of the lacy garment and lightly squeezed her nipples, eliciting a moan of pleasure. “These are nearly perfect, too. Shall we add them to our pursuit?”

  “Yes,” she said breathlessly, and that was all he needed.

  He unhooked her bra and then pulled her away from the counter. “Raise your arms.”

  She did, and he pulled her blouse and bra off, dropping them on the floor. He pushed gently on the small of her back until she was leaning on the counter again.

  “Almost,” he whispered.

  She gave a mewling moan.

  “And so needy. I’ll see what I can do to fix that.”

  He slid her jeans to her ankles and removed them, spreading her legs wider when they were free of constraint.

  “So very beautiful.” He massaged her ass and then her breasts. “Perfection.” His right hand slid down her belly and cupped her mound. “Absolute perfection,” he whispered as his finger slipped between her legs and circled her apex.

  She drew in a ragged breath, trembling with desire. Just as she was about to climax, he took his hand away and stepped back.