It was the following morning before the rain let up enough to give hope toward seeing the sun again. Alison spent the day before hiding in the parlor and in her room to avoid running into Nick. It was dinnertime before Wilma informed her that Nick retired to his room for the day and she didn’t expect to see him for the rest of the evening. Alison asked if that was something that Nick did often. She was surprised to learn that it was, in fact, something he did once a month.
Alison giggled as she shoved a heaping spoonful of lamb stew into her mouth in an uncouth manner. “Maybe he’s a vampire,” she said in a hushed tone.
“Vampires walk at night and sleep all day,” Wilma chuckled. “Besides, he makes a pig of himself at mealtimes. Vampires live on blood, not steak and potatoes.”
“Okay, so, scratch the vampire theory,” Alison said with a smirk.
Wilma looked at Alison with a loving, satisfied smile. “No vampire.”
“What other creatures go into hiding from people?” Alison asked as she continued to stuff her mouth.
“If you don’t pay attention to how much food you’re shoveling in that gob of yours, you’ll end up choking to death,” Wilma scolded.
With pinkened cheeks, Alison set her spoon down, chewed the food in her mouth, and swallowed hard.
“Sorry,” she said.
She may have spoken harshly, but, in truth, Wilma was delighted to see how much Alison enjoyed her cooking. “I’m glad you like it.”
“I often asked dad if we could hire you to be our cook,” Alison admitted. “Of course, the aunts wouldn’t hear of it.”
“I didn’t come here as a cook,” Wilma said. “I came here as a housekeeper. The cook died just weeks before your great aunts did. You’ll have to replace her soon. It’s too much work for me.”
“Wasn’t it your food that we ate whenever we visited?” Alison asked with wonder. “I don’t remember a cook. I thought you did it all.”
“There was a cook, but you never saw her. You were kept away from most of the help. Your father’s orders. It’s a wonder he let me around you,” Wilma said. “I feel guilty getting the credit for Janice’s meals.”
“This stew is delicious,” Alison said.
“I have a few recipes up my sleeve,” Wilma smiled.
“Where can I find a cook?” Alison asked. “Not that I want one, but I don’t want you overworked. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather I found a housekeeper and you do the cooking?”
“Call the agency,” Wilma said as she began clearing the dishes from the table. “You need a good cook. Not one who can just get by. You’ll be expected to keep with tradition, which means you’ll be entertaining and such.”
“Entertaining?” Alison gasped.
“The historical society meets here every three months for lunch. The date’s coming up soon,” Wilma said.
“My great aunts are dead,” Alison said with angst. “Surely I can’t be expected to act in their stead.”
Wilma filled the sink with soapy water. “The estate is listed with the historical registry. To get the tax breaks and other perks that go with that listing, you need to maintain a presence. Lunch for some stuffy ole’ fuddy duddies four times a year seems like a small price to pay.”
“Don’t we have a dishwasher?” Alison asked.
Wilma shrugged as she started washing the dishes. “Your predecessors didn’t believe in them.”
“Well, I do,” Alison said boldly. “I’m buying one tomorrow.”
A smile spread across Wilma’s face and she nodded.
Although she knew it looked obvious, Alison couldn’t help asking Wilma about Nick. “Does Nick cook for himself or does he eat in here?”
“He’s here most days. He has a nice kitchen in the guest house,” she said thoughtfully. “I’m assuming he fixes himself food now and then.”
“How long does he disappear for?” Alison continued.
“He takes good care of the place, as you can see,” Wilma said firmly. “I don’t question when he feels the need to disappear for a day or two.”
“He takes days off in a row?” Alison said as if it was an unheard-of-act.
Wilma tossed her head back and laughed full-bellied. “We all take days off in a row. You take weekends off, don’t you?” When all Alison did was quietly blush, Wilma continued, “Which reminds me. I’m off tomorrow. I won’t be back until late the following night. Yep, two days off.”
Alison scowled. She didn’t like the idea of being left alone so soon in the house. “So, both you and Nick will be off at the same time?” Alison almost screeched. The panic in her voice was clear. “It’s not even the weekend.”
Wilma stopped washing the dishes and looked at Alison long and hard. “Does this place frighten you that much?”
“I’ve never liked it here,” she replied. “It always feels like there’s someone watching me.”
“The walls have eyes, eh?” the old housekeeper chuckled.
“I’m glad you find it so funny,” Alison snapped.
Wilma sighed, “I have a doctor’s appointment that I can’t break. Then, I need to check on my sister, Betty. She recently went through a serious surgery and lives alone. I’m sorry chi… Alison, but I must take my days off. If I had my way, I’d be with Betty full time until she was back on her feet.”
“I’ll survive,” Alison sighed. “I just wish it wasn’t right after I got here. I would have liked a few days to get used to the place.” After a moment of silence, she added, “If you want to take more days off to be with your sister, I guess it will be okay. I can handle things here for a while.”
“Let’s see how Betty’s doing before we make plans like that.” Wilma studied Alison’s forlorn face. She wished she was at liberty to tell all to the poor child so that she could ease her fears, but her instructions were clear. She was to keep silent and let things evolve as they may. She took a deep breath, “Why don’t we spend the rest of the night going over what I think this place needs to get it up to speed. Then, you can spend tomorrow shopping all day. Fort Oglethorpe should have most of what you need, but Chattanooga is only a few miles over the border. You could even grab dinner there, so that, when you get home, all you’ll want to do is take a shower and go to bed.”
Alison agreed that Wilma’s plan was a good one. They spent the remainder of the evening going through her great aunts’ desk to discover what stores the estate had accounts with. Alison was still not completely settled in with the estate’s affairs or its bank account. She had a meeting scheduled with the estate lawyer the following week, but, until then, she had to rely upon her own meager savings or the estates credit to acquire whatever was needed.
She was happy to discover that several stores in the nearby city of Fort Oglethorpe carried accounts for the estate. Since organization was a necessity to Alison -almost to the point of her being obsessive about it- she ended the night by following Wilma around the house with her tablet in hand and creating a list of what needed to be purchased in the column of the respective store.
Wilma was already gone when Alison descended the stairs the following morning. Nick was nowhere to be seen, which both annoyed and pleased her. She didn’t like the odd, uncomfortable pull that she felt when she was around him, so she was glad not to run into him. Yet, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that sensational kiss and wouldn’t have minded kissing again to see if her reaction was a fluke or if she’s practically swoon in his arms once more.She smoothed her wavy blonde hair over her shoulders and adjusted the headband she’d positioned to hold it out of her face. She’d taken great pains in dressing. The tan linen pants and pale blue silk shirt she wore were practically new. She remembered that Nick agreed with Arthur about the way powder blue brought out the color of her rich blue eyes, so she made sure to wear the color again. With a sigh of disappointment, she looked in the direction of the gu
Circles framed her eyes as Alison cautiously descended the stairs. It was the wee hours of the morning before she could find any respite in sleep. If she wasn’t reliving the mind-blowing foreplay with Nick, she was thinking about her impromptu date with Martin. They took turns occupying her thoughts until she finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.She’d been awake for several hours, but just didn’t have the nerve to venture out of her room for fear of encountering Nick. She paced her room while she pondered over her dilemma. This just couldn’t go on. Her aunt’s Will might have insisted that Nick stay on for at least another year, but she knew she couldn’t keep hiding from him and she certainly didn’t want any further love sessions with him. If you could call them that.She needed Nick to stay as far away from her as possible. She just had to figure out how to accomplish that. Wilma
Although he kept a close eye on her, Nick was careful to avoid being around Alison for any length of time. He was furious with himself for the way he behaved the night before. He’d always exercised such control over his emotions and urges. What was it about her that unhinged him in such a shocking way? If either Elsie or Beth were alive, they’d take a switch to him; no matter what his age or size.He felt the connection the minute he saw her standing in the rain like a drowned creature. The pheromones purged from her in such a powerful way, he was amazed she could stay so aloof. It wasn’t until he wrapped her in his arms and held her close enough to detect her virgin scent that he realized she was oblivious and ignorant to their connection. She may sense the attraction, like any woman would with a man, but she wouldn’t feel the true impact of their connection until she’d opened her kundalini by making love.&nbs
Vanessa arrived just in time for dinner on Friday evening. She’d called ahead to give Alison an approximate time to expect her. This gave Wilma plenty of time to fix a nice dinner of roast chicken and rosemary potatoes. Alison assured her that she and Vanessa were cool with frozen pizza, but Wilma would have none of it.Wilma heard Alison’s father and great aunts discussing Vanessa and her influence on Alison on more than one occasion. The girls met in early grade school and remained tight friends ever since. Vanessa was raised by parents who were always too busy with their own agenda to pay much attention to what was going on in her world. Her body developed at a much faster pace than Alison’s did, which resulted in attention from boys at an earlier age. She’d heard Alison defending Vanessa’s actions by criticizing Vanessa’s parents for not providing the attention she needed to the point she sought it in other ways.
Alison was both nervous and excited as she finished her breakfast cereal. She and Vanessa rose early so that they would have time to explore the house and still take a late afternoon nap to assure they were fresh for their date with Martin at the county fair. Both girls loved fun events such as fairs and carnivals. Even though they hadn’t actually agreed to go, they knew they wouldn’t have turned down the offer.“Are you ready?” Vanessa asked as she entered the kitchen. “I’m so excited about exploring this place. I hope we can manage it all before I have to leave.”“It isn’t that big,” Alison said.Her friend looked at her and grinned, “It beats the heck out of our tiny two-bedroom apartment in Atlanta.”Alison smiled. Anything would be larger than their little five-hundred square foot apartment that was divided into such small rooms that they were lucky
The surprise on Alison’s face when Nick showed up to join them for the evening was a good camouflage for the hurt and rejection she also felt. She looked accusingly at Vanessa when Nick announced that she’d invited him to come along as Vanessa slipped her arm through his and snuggled up close. Nick didn’t seem to react to her gesture one way or another as he locked eyes with Alison. It was as if he was trying to send her a mental message, but she hadn’t a clue what it might be.She turned away and made a point of checking her image in the mirror near the door and collecting her things as Martin’s SUV came slowly up the drive. Without waiting for them or even looking back, she rushed out of the door to greet him.Martin hopped out of the vehicle and ran to the passenger’s side to open the door for her. She smiled brightly and thanked him as he helped her up into the vehicle. After the treatment she’d had from N
Alison was at a loss for words as she lay beneath her sleeping lover. Nick surprised her by falling asleep almost immediately. He’d left his manhood inside her after he’d peaked, and she was concerned about the consequences. It didn’t seem very romantic to bring up this fact, but, since she was a virgin and not on birth control and he wasn’t wearing a condom, it was something she needed to concern herself with.She could easily see how women lost their senses and threw caution to the wind during love making. Hadn’t she done just that? Not once during their time together had she even broached the subject of using protection. Her only concern was putting out the fire in her loins that built up to a point of being almost unbearable. Maybe if he’d pulled out of her before he’d reached his heights of passion, she wouldn’t be so worried. Now, she lay with the heaviest man on earth sleeping sou
When Alison awoke, Nick was still fast asleep next to her. Sometime during the night he’d managed to wrap his leg and arm over her in a possessive manner. Although confining, it felt nice.She slid from beneath his muscular limbs as gently as she could. She was still tender from their love making, but the bleeding stopped. A wave of relief swept over her as she remembered Vanessa’s fear that Nick might have torn her.Dressing as quickly and carefully as she could, she slipped out of the bedroom, taking one last look at the gorgeous man she left sleeping. With a satisfied smile on her face, she went to Vanessa’s room to see if she was awake.Vanessa’s face was buried in the pillow as she lay naked on top of the bed. “Did you come to ravage me?”“Are you talking to the pillow or me?” Alison teased. Vanessa rolled onto her back and stretched her sinewy body in a catlike manner, mindless of the