Heaven On Earth

by Constance O'Day-Flannery

  He sipped his wine and smiled into her eyes. Casey wasn't sure what to say.

  "Couldn't everything be spiritual in nature, Don Miguel… from a certain viewpoint?" Luke interjected, as he intensely examined a roasted red pepper with the tip of his fork. "Even purchasing horses from the Indians for your farm in Mexico. Wouldn't you agree, señor?"

  "I would say that is business, Señor d'Séraphin. There is nothing of a spiritual nature involved with such matters."

  Luke shrugged and smiled. "I suppose you could be right. Pardon my interruption, mi amigo. In what part of Mexico is your farm located? Don Felipe tells me it is most beautiful."

  "The western part, señor. It has been in my family for generations, even surviving the French occupation, and yet this is the first opportunity I have had to visit. I am most anxious to bring it back to a proper state."

  The man kept talking about his farm, and Casey could only stare at her plate of food. Luke had smoothly turned the conversation around and had saved her from telling a lie. Again she felt her heart expand toward the man. She was like a moth being drawn to the light. Could she trust herself to survive this if she went through with her plan? Didn't most moths die? She'd already been hit by lightning and had survived. Why not go for the whole shooting match? What the hell did she have to lose at this point?

  And she had everything to gain.

  She focused her attention and was so proud of Luke as he held his own with this slightly pompous guest, while still remaining charming. He was quite a man and she was more than ever determined to ask him. If he said no… he said no. That was it. She could accept it. She might be embarrassed, but she wouldn't die of it since, once they returned, she'd never have to see him again. That thought made her stomach muscles clench with regret. She had to stop thinking about this stuff and pay attention.

  Rosalinda was going to sing for them after dinner, and Casey was really looking forward to hearing the talented girl. She realized as she glanced down to Rosa that she was going to miss her when she left. In such a short time she felt like she had made a friend.

  Her attention didn't seem to be required as the talk of Mexico seemed to hold the conversation. She was glad she had an excuse not to converse as Don Felipe spoke of his extensive importing business. Even though the discussion was pleasant, she wanted to be alone with her thoughts now more than ever. With each day, she was becoming more and more sure that she had been sent back in time for a reason. What was it Luke had said? She was on this adventure for a purpose? Stuff like this just didn't happen all the time, and since it had, then maybe she should begin to wonder how it might all fit together in her life.

  Here she meets this fantastic man, back in time, and has the perfect opportunity to get pregnant without anyone ever finding out who the father is or where she met him. What could be more perfect?

  In the back of her mind was the nagging thought that perfect would be him loving her, but she pushed it back even further. He didn't have to love her exclusively forever and ever, and with a time traveler, that could be a mighty long time! He already respected her. She'd gotten that far. Suddenly Casey realized this was the first time she had truly been the pursuer and not the pursued. It was an odd feeling. She had dangled out her line a few times with some of the best bait she knew how to conjure and had had a few serious bites, but this… this was going after the catch of all time.

  What if she lost? Fear crept up her back, making her shiver.

  "Are you chilled, señorita?" Doña Isabela asked, calling over a servant with her raised fingers.

  "I'm fine," Casey answered, even though she wasn't. What if she lost out on this opportunity? It might never come again in her lifetime.

  Doña Isabela whispered something to a servant and turned back to her guests. "Perhaps, damas y caballeros, with everyone's permission, we will have a dessert after our concert?"

  Everyone agreed and the men pulled back the chairs for the ladies. Couples seemed to pair up, Don Felipe and his wife, Rosalinda and Don Miguel, and Luke held out his arm to her. Her smile was hard to keep under control as she accepted the invitation to walk with him into la sala, the large living room with the piano. There was more than enough room for all to sit down, and Casey was about to sit the farthest away when a servant handed her a beautifully embroidered shawl that looked lovely with her borrowed pink gown.

  "Gracias," she whispered to the man, who nodded and walked away.

  "May I help?" Luke asked, taking the shawl from her and holding it out.

  She turned her back and he gently draped the material across her shoulders. Pulling the edges closer, she smiled her thanks. "That's the fourth time you've saved me in as many days. Thank you, Luke."

  "The shawl was Doña Isabela's idea, not—"

  "You know what I mean," she whispered, as she watched the others move about the room. She noticed Manuel discreetly slip in through a side doorway then sit on a stool by the end of the piano. "I mean, Don Miguel almost had me with that spiritual question."

  "Ah, that… You're welcome, but I'm not keeping score." He paused and looked at her with a grin, adding, "Are you?"

  "What? Of course not." She shrugged, answering in a voice she hoped wouldn't give her away. "I was just thanking you and making polite conversation until the conceit began."

  "Are you warm enough?" Don Felipe asked in passing.

  Gliding into the room on her husband's arm, Doña Isabela added, "I can have a fire lit."

  She held up her hand to them. "Please, everyone… I'm fine. Enjoy yourselves now. You are wonderful hosts and I thank you for your hospitality." She couldn't seem to say it enough. She really was so grateful to be in their home and accepted as a family friend, and all on the good word of this man at her side.

  Don Felipe looked pleased and Doña Isabela affectionately patted her arm as she and her husband passed.

  "They're a happy couple, aren't they?" she whispered to Luke.

  "Yes, they are. I enjoy their company."

  "So do I. They're great examples of a good union." She threw the line out there to see if there was any interest.

  "I agree, and their children reflect it."

  Oh, that was big interest, maybe even a bite!

  "I think I would like to talk to you about that the next time we are… How did you put it? Mentoring?"

  "The subject of children?" He sounded surprised.

  "The topic of a happy union producing happy children."

  "Hmm…" He grinned. "That's sounds like it would be a most interesting topic, señorita. I warn you, it might get pretty philosophical."

  She cleared her throat and grinned. "Get? Excuse me, but every discussion I have with you turns into a philosophical discussion."

  "And that bothers you?" he asked as Rosalinda walked toward them.

  "No—"

  She had no time to answer further as the teenager grabbed her hand and whispered, "Ay, Casey, Don Miguel… he is much too old and I know he isn't my true love, but tonight my mother insists that I sing this song. Don Miguel will think I am singing to him and I will never be rid of the man. You must help me!"

  Casey, who had thought the whole thing funny until the last sentence, pulled her shawl more snugly around her and said, "What do you mean? How can I help you?"

  "If you could sing in Spanish, I would ask you to perform a duet and—"

  "Yeah, well… I can't," Casey interrupted to stop that crazy thought.

  "I know," Rosa declared with a hiss, and lowered her voice. Leaning in, she whispered, "You must catch Don Miguel's eyes and… and distract him."

  "What? I can't distract him!" Casey declared, and was acutely aware of Luke's body beginning to move with suppressed laughter. She glared up at him. This was not funny. This kid meant it!

  "But you must, señorita!" Rosa pleaded. "My true love is coming to my quinceñera, I know this… and I also know it is not Don Miguel Cortez! Por favor, Casey. You must help me."

  "Rosa mía."

 
They heard Rosa's mother call her, and Casey quickly whispered, "Oh, I'll try, but I'm not promising anything!"

  "Gracias!" Rosa whispered, and turned to her mother, standing at the piano.

  Watching as Doña Isabela sat down in front of the large instrument and began adjusting her gown, Casey whispered to Luke, "Can you believe that little imp?"

  His voice still sounded amused. "Yes, I can believe her. She is determined. You have to admire that."

  "Yes, determined to get me in trouble with her!" Even though her voice was low, she couldn't stifle the frustration. "What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

  "Distract the very proper gentleman from Castile, Spain. He has shown some interest, in case you hadn't noticed."

  She glanced up at his expression. There was none, save amusement.

  "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

  "It has the potential to be quite a performance, I think. Perhaps I should take my seat now to throughly enjoy it."

  "Oh no… you're not leaving my side now," she declared. "I'm going to need you here so Don Miguel doesn't think I'm interested in him. Think you can pull off an interested party there, Mr. Time Traveler?" It was an ambiguous question, and she awaited his answer.

  He looked into her eyes and she swore there was interest. He didn't say anything for so long that she finally asked, "You just said you were going to sit down. You did intend to stay, didn't you? I mean, I know you have someplace to go, since you always leave after dinner and—"

  "I'm staying," Luke murmured. "Now, sit down and I shall stand here, behind your chair, and lean against the wall."

  "You won't leave?"

  "Trust me." He smiled, looking directly into her eyes, then added, "I won't leave you."

  "Okay," she said, walking around the chair. She smiled at the others and realized they were waiting for her to take her seat. I trust you, she mouthed to Luke, right before she turned and sat down.

  Trust… It was becoming a pretty big issue in her life lately.

  Ten

  The soft romantic strains of Manuel's guitar accompanied Doña Isabela's beautiful melody on the piano as Rosa began singing in a sweet, innocent voice. It was lovely, and Casey would have enjoyed it even more had she understood Spanish.

  "The sun announces your arrival. The flowers open for your enjoyment. The trees cradle my joy as I reach out for your love."

  Casey almost leaped in fright when Luke began whispering the words behind her. She saw Don Miguel glance at her and smile, and she couldn't help smiling back, especially since she was very pleased to hear those words coming from Luke's lips… even if they were a mere translation. Don Miguel wouldn't take that as an opening with Luke so close, would he? How could she have agreed to distract the man, especially with the man she really wanted standing so close to her that she could almost feel him?

  What a situation!

  Breathe, she reminded herself. Now, breathe again!

  It was difficult to concentrate as Luke's soft whisper seemed to vibrate the nerve endings of her ear…

  "Birds sing your praises. The sky receives them and sends them back with… with passion on their wings," he translated, stumbling just a bit on the word passion.

  Good sign, Casey thought and, since he couldn't see her, smiled with a secret satisfaction. Shocked, she watched as Don Miguel's eyes widened as he seemed to catch her meaning and secretly smile at her!

  No, wait, no… her mind seemed to scream. Wrong man!

  "The wind caresses your heart with a gentle breeze and the moment is now, for all eternity stands waiting for our love."

  Oh yeah… Now, what were the chances of Rosalinda singing this song and having Luke translate it for her? Pretty slim, she thought, and took it as another sign she was on track, that she was moving in the right direction with asking Luke to father her child. And if this took a serious turn toward the romantic… well, all the better.

  Why, she would make the best use of this time-traveling gig. She hadn't asked for it, but now that she was here, she could see how it all fit together perfectly. And Luke d'Séraphin was the perfect candidate for fathering her child!

  Now, how to convince him of it? Hell, how to get up the nerve even to approach the subject? But then, he'd said he would talk to her about unions and children, and somehow, someway, she had to steer the conversation around to fit her purpose.

  She tried to listen to the words Luke was translating, but her mind was too excited now to really concentrate, other than registering that it was a song about love and the seasons of nature corresponding to the seasons of the heart. Well, at thirty-one, it was her season now. This was an opportunity she wasn't going to miss.

  A feeling of being watched came over her and she glanced up to find Don Miguel staring at her. He held a white handkerchief in his hand and dabbed at his lips, as though to hide his smile from the others in the room.

  Oh jeez… now what? The very last thing she wanted was Don Miguel's attention. She could almost cringe at the pompous man's flirtations. Not that he wasn't handsome. He was. Though compared to Luke, any man paled, at least in her estimation. She turned her attention to Rosa as the teenager finished her lovely song and immediately clapped her hands in appreciation. The rest of the group quickly followed suit, and Rosalinda blushed prettily as she gracefully curtsied. Casey glanced at Don Miguel and saw something in his eyes as he turned his attention to Rosa, something that seemed predatory, and it immediately scared her. She didn't want to see Rosa hurt.

  Casey turned quickly as Luke extended his hand to her. Rising from the chair, she said, "Thank you for the translation. It is a very pretty song."

  "Yes, it is," he agreed with a sexy grin. "Love is very important to this culture."

  She nodded and brought the shawl more closely around her. "Perhaps that's why you enjoy it so much."

  Luke tilted his head, as though trying to grasp her meaning. "Enjoy this time period, this culture?"

  "That, and the whole subject of love," she answered. Casey smiled at the small group and added, "I've never been around a man, any male, who was so comfortable with the concept."

  "You think love is a concept?" he asked with a chuckle.

  Sheesh, he was so damn handsome, and when he laughed, the lines around his eyes made them almost sparkle. It was quite a picture, and Casey tried to halt the rush of warmth that was quickly spreading through her veins. She wanted to run her fingers through his dark curly hair, to feel the texture of his lips upon her own. She simply had to get a grip, and she clenched her fist around the shawl to stop the crazy urges. "Okay, it's more than a concept," she conceded. "It's just that most men tend to shy away from speaking about it, and you don't seem intimidated at all."

  He leaned in closer to her, and Casey inhaled the clean, citrusy scent of him.

  "I will tell you a secret," he whispered with a provocative grin.

  She couldn't help grinning back. "Oh, goody, a secret. Do tell."

  "Most men crave love just as much as women do. It's a natural instinct to seek love, isn't it, from the time we are children? Why should it change as we age? A man's hopes and desires don't lessen as he grows older. We celebrate the warrior, the athlete. Why not the lover?"

  Why not indeed? She remembered driving in the rental car and thinking almost the same thing. More than ever, she thought he would make the perfect father for her child. "I like that," she murmured, staring into his deep brown eyes. "Celebrating the lover in the male."

  An extraordinary thing happened then, some shock of realization, as the two of them stared into each other's eyes and Casey thought she was being drawn into a place she had never been, a place that seemed to pull her with a wildly hot, yet free, abandon. Her heart began beating faster and a deeply penetrating sexual surge rushed through her body, inviting her to go even deeper and close the distance between them, as Luke lowered his gaze to her lips and inhaled sharply, causing his chest to expand toward her aching breasts.

  He would kiss her. At a
ny moment, he would kiss her. A woman knew these things…

  "Perdóname, señorita," he muttered in a hoarse whisper. "I must take my leave."

  She merely blinked in shocked dismay as she watched him brush past her and walk up to Doña Isabela, who was rising from her seat in front of the piano.

  How could Luke just walk away and leave her… like that!

  He bowed over the woman's hand and said, "Muchas gracias, mil gracias, my most gracious hostess, for another delightful evening." He then turned to Felipe. "Con tu permiso, I beg your leave, amigo, as I must immediately attend to some personal business in town."

  Don Felipe rose, smiling, and nodded. "Of course, Señor Luke. Thank you for joining us tonight."

  Luke turned to Rosa and took her hand. "A most beautiful song, señorita. Gracias."

  Rosa looked pleased by his compliment and whispered, "Buenas noches, Señor Luke."

  "Buenas noches," Luke said to the room, and quietly slipped through the door.

  Casey was stunned. How could he just up and leave? What was it that was drawing him every night? It must be very powerful… she must be a very powerful attraction, for now Casey was convinced it was a woman. It had to be a woman. A sinking feeling lodged itself in her belly and she tried to hold a pleasant smile. She wasn't successful.

  Rosa came up to her. "What is wrong, señorita?" the girl asked. "You did not enjoy my song?"

  Casey looked at the teenager. She had to banish all thoughts of Luke and what had just happened from her mind. "Oh, yes, Rosa. It was lovely and I didn't know your voice was so beautiful. You certainly are a talented young woman."

  "Gracias." Rosa leaned forward as though to kiss her cheek. "And you did well with Don Miguel. I am indebted to you."

  "Now, listen, kiddo… about Don Miguel—"

  "Sing us another song, mi hija," Don Felipe called out, interrupting anything more Casey might have said.