Eagle's Destiny (9 page)

“Do your parents live up here?” he asked.

“No,” Shaking my head, as I brought the coffee tray into the living room, and set it on the couch table.  “Dad lives down in Torrance where I grew up and we lost my Mom a few years ago to cancer.  There’s a picture of my parents by the television.”

He
picked up the photo, “They were a handsome couple.  You Mom was beautiful, you two look a lot alike.  I’m sorry to hear you lost her.”  He picked up the picture sitting next to my parents, “Who’s in the other picture with you?” 
He asked
sitting down in the middle of the couch.

His choice of seats on the couch was interesting.  Normally someone would choose one of the corners and the other person would choose the other corner.  Not Michael though, he choose to sit next to me.

“That’s my perfect sister Lisa.  You know gorgeous husband, two and-a-half children, and a house with the picket fence.”

He
laughed, “Two and-a-half children?  How did that happen?”

“Oh you know if she could figure out a way, it would happen.”  We sat together on the couch drinking our coffee and listening to Frank Sinatra.  The evening wound down slowly and after finishing the coffee, Michael stretched, “I really should let you go to bed.  We have baseball tomorrow afternoon, and I still need to edit some pictures
for my Monday deadline
.”

I walked him to the door.  He turned to me before leaving, and said, “I had a great time tonight Elizabeth.”

I smiled up at him, “I did too.  Thank you.  And I loved the car!”

Michael put one arm around my waist and pulled me into him.  He looked down into my eyes, “May I?”

Smiling, I
nodded, “Thanks for asking.”

Michael leaned down and gave me the softest kiss on my lips that I had ever felt.  It was almost as if a feather had touched them.  I felt myself melting against him.  His strong arms wrapped around me and
it was good that
he was holding me up otherwise I’m sure I would have collapsed onto the floor.  There was no hesitation on his part
,
only
an inviting touch and his body felt strong pressed against me.  The heat building between the two of us was evident as
he
pulled me in
to
a tighter embrace and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. 
Tucking
his hand under my chin
,
he
pulled my face up to his.  Our second kiss had more substance yet it was still a soft warm kiss, which was not too intrusive but left me the feeling of bigger things to come.

I could not resist this time,
an
d pulled
his
ear lobe with the earring.  “I like your diamond.”  I whispered.

Michael chuckled, hugged me one last time and we broke apart.  “Well, there’s baseball tomorrow.”  He said with a deep note to his voice.  “Can I give you a lift to the field?”

I leaned against the doorframe not trusting my voice and nodded.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I nodded again.

“Elizabeth,” he laughed softly, “it’s okay to breathe.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

I stretched languorously when I awoke Sunday morning with thoughts of my date with Michael.  No detail was too small to replay in my mind as I scrutinized each one repeatedly and realized that our date had been perfect. 
Though remembering
his kisses
made me blush
.  Kevin told me at one time that I
kissed horribly and after that
I always wondered about how other men felt about m
y kisses
.  I certainly did not get much practice after Kevin and I questioned if Michael felt the same way?  We only had shared two kisses not enough to judge a performance, but I thought as I snuggled down into my pillows, he was an excellent kisser.

Even though I had energy to spare, I didn’t jog, but did take the dogs for a brief walk.  It appeared to be quiet at Michael’s house, as if everyone was still sleeping.  Too keyed up to write, instead I mixed up a couple batches of brownies.  It was the one thing I could make well, okay, yes they were box brownies but I added my own touches.  The baseball team loved my brownies and I made an extra batch for the girls next door.

When I strolled next-door mid-morning with my brownies, the jeep was gone so I figured Michael was out. 

Katy, Max and Molly answered the back door, “Elizabeth, Hi!  Come on in.  Oh, what do you have?  Are those for us?”

“Yes, they are.  I made a few for the baseball game and had one pan left over.”  I said following Katy into the house.

She took the brownies from me.  “Oh I’m going to have one right now!  Is that okay?” she asked.

“That’s what they are for,” I replied. 

“Dad and Tammy are out, they’ll be sorry they missed you, especially,” she laughed wickedly, “since there won’t be any more brownies left!  They went up to check on the eagles.  There was a report of trouble up near the nest again.  They’ll be back before baseball this afternoon.”

“I’m sorry I interrupted you, it looks like you were practicing.”  I said noticing the piano covered with sheet music.

“I’m still working on
my
jazz piece,
and
I can’t get it.”  Katy took a bite of the brownie.  “Oh yum!  This is delicious.  Thank you so much.  I love the powdered sugar on top too!” 
She
put the pan of brownies on the dining room table and grabbed a napkin.

I looked at the music sheets, and the song looked interesting.  “May I?”  I pointed to the music.

Katy nodded
with
her mouth full of brownie.  “Maybe if you play the music it will help me.  I haven
’
t really just listened to it yet.”

She sat down next to me as I started to play.  I played hesitantly at first until I picked up the rhythm of the song. 
She
snapped her fingers along with the song and she turned the pages for me as I played.  The melody was simple and sweet but with incredibly complicated overtones. 

“Katy, your song is great.”

She
smiled
and
she asked, “One more time please
?
”

I started the song again,
and
Katy closed her eyes as if to block out any distractions.  When I reached the halfway mark,
she
placed her fingers on the keys and started playing with me.  She played a more complicated set along with me. 

She spoke softly, “I think I have it
.
”

“You’re kidding?”  I stopped playing.

Katy took over and changed up the melody completely.  She had a wild grin on her face and her eyes sparkled like Michael’s.  Her enthusiasm swirled around me
while
I watched her start to play with abandon.  She finished with a flurry, and hugged me.

“I’ve got to write this down!”  Katy began writing notes down on the music sheets. 
When
I moved to get up
,
she caught my arm, “Don’t go, let me just write this stuff down, okay?”

“Okay.  Take your time.”  I walked around the room admiring Michael’s pictures once again.  In the daylight and without
him
peering at me I could see far more of the detail of each picture. 
He
had been able to capture the essence of each animal.  It was remarkable, they were so life like that I expected each animal to move and get on with their life.

The antics of the polar bear cubs climbing out of their winter den were in complete opposition to the mother bear ever alert for predators, staring directly into the camera.  The otters sleeping, eating, or grooming themselves went about their business ignoring the disruption of the camera.  Each photograph showed the care and respect
he
felt for these animals.  In all of the pictures, Michael had been able to convey a depth of emotion to the viewer and it was evident why he was such a successful photographer.

I sat on the couch and both dogs jumped up and laid on me.  We cuddled while we waited for Katy.

She let out a contented sigh and put down her pen to join me on the couch.  Sitting cross-legged, she took off her glasses, and peered at me.  “So, how was the date with Dad?”

I looked back at
her
and of course started blushing.  “I had a nice time.”

Katy laughed, “Elizabeth, you are cute when you blush.  I can imagine Dad loves it.  He always loves to get a rise out of Tammy and me and that probably goes for you too.”

“Yeah, I have the impression that your dad is a tease.” 

“He is a tease, it drives Tammy and I nuts.  He lets you back yourself into a corner.”  Katy leaned forward almost conspiratorially, “
We were
surprised he took out the Mustang.  He was definitely trying to impress you.  Dad certainly doesn’t take it out for us.”

“I have to admit it was thrilling.  So, when are you going back to school?”  I said changing the subject.

“Next month,”
She
stretched and Molly climbed into her lap.  As she petted Molly, Katy continued, “It was a nice break and I liked being with Dad and Tammy, but I’m lonely for Paul.  And I miss school too.”

“Paul is your boyfriend?”

“Yes,” she said rolling her eyes, “he’s the thirty year old monster.  I don’t know why Dad is so upset.  How many years are between you and Dad?”

“I don’t know how old your dad is, but it’s not the same thing.  First, your dad is not my boyfriend.  You have a nine-year difference.  It may not be a lot between
thirty
and
forty
, but between twenty and thirty, there is a lot of living to do.  Has your dad ever met Paul?  I mean, if he hasn’t, maybe he would change his opinion of him if he did,” I offered.

“I didn’t think you were forty!” she said it as if forty was ancient. 

I couldn’t believe how she kept turning the subject around to me.  Katy definitely was clever.  “I’m not forty.  I’m thirty-eight.”

“Well then,” she answered, “Dad is forty-five.  So you and he are seven years apart.”

“But he’s not my boyfriend.”
 

Katy laughed and it reminded me of Michael.  I looked at her, “Okay, I can see the acorn doesn’t fall from the tree.  You’re a terrible tease too!”

“I’m sorry.” 
She
laughed again, but looked contrite enough.  “I’ve been trying to get Paul to come out for a small vacation, but he’s been swamped at the office.  Besides, with the type of reception he might get, I can’t blame him for not being too enthusiastic.  My aunt really likes him too.  I know Dad would like him if he would just give him a chance.”

“Just keeping working on Paul.  I’m sure you can convince him to come out for a visit.”

“Maybe you could talk to Dad for me?”

I sighed, “If the moment presents itself.  I’m not going to make any
promises.  But nothing will work if Paul doesn’t come for a visit, besides I’d like to meet this guy too.”

She
grinned
, “It’s a deal!”

I finished off with Katy and went back home to get ready for the baseball game.  Michael knocked on my back door promptly at one-thirty.  He stood at the door in his baseball uniform and grinned when I answered the door.

“All ready to go?” he asked as he picked up my bag which sat by the door. 

I nodded, and
carrying the box of brownies
followed him out.  He stored my bag in the back with his bag.  Michael opened the door to the jeep and I hopped in. 

“You’re bringing your camera with you?”  I pointed to the camera sitting on the seat next to his bag.

“Yeah, Lewis asked me to take some pictures of the team.  Thanks for the brownies.  Katy told me that you stopped by.  What’s in the box?”  He pointed to the box on my lap.

“More brownies,” I said.  “How are the eagles?  I was surprised to hear Tammy went with you.”

“She likes to go.  She enjoys hiking and being outdoors.  I think too that she wanted some TLC from me.  Katy is the one who doesn’t really care for the outdoor life.  We found some shotgun casings near my tree stand, so I called in the park rangers.  They’ll investigate.” 
He
pulled the jeep out onto the main road behind our houses.

“The girls aren’t
coming
with us?”  I asked.

“No, Katy is finishing up her song.  Thanks, by the way for helping her, she was very excited when we arrived home
.
And,
Tammy went with Jason.”

I glanced over a
t him trying not to be obvious
.  It looked like he had gotten sun today because his cheeks were a little pink.  I almost sighed aloud
thinking that
he certainly filled out his uniform nicely.  Michael had strong muscular thighs and a blush started when I remembered the vision of his rear end from last week.

He
gave me a quick look and I was sure he could see the blush, “Penny for your thoughts?”  He asked.

I shook my head, “No, nothing, just enjoying the drive.”  I looked straight ahead trying to get the thoughts of his butt out of my mind.  It wasn’t very easy.

“I didn’t know you played the piano.”  He commented bringing his eyes back to the road.

I nodded.  “With a mother teaching musical history, I had to endure years of piano lessons.  Now I’m glad that I play.  When I’m writing, playing the piano sometimes helps me when I’m stuck.” 

I shifted my body so that I could look at
him
.  He was smiling, and the partially opened window was blowing in his hair.  He looked so darned cute.

As we stopped at the light,
he
studied me, “Anytime you’re stuck you can always come over and play.”

Our eyes caught, and the flash in his eyes told me there was more to the invitation.  I did not know what to do with
him
.  Certainly, I had men interested in dating me, but I always made it difficult for them to crack my surface.  I had not dated much before Kevin and my marriage with him had soured me on any new relationships.  Michael definitely intrigued me.  Was it his openness? 
He
was different from Kevin who had a hidden agenda for everything he did.  Kevin always had to win to feel superior.  At first, it was a challenge for me but then the games tired me.  Kevin was all about the angle. 
The
motivation
of Michael’s
interest stumped me. 

Plenty of women in the town were aware of our new resident.  We pulled into the parking lot and made our way over to the dugout, it was obvious that there were more women in the bleachers than usual. 

“You seem to be getting quite the fan club.”  I pointed to a group of women sitting up in the bleachers.

Michael leaned over and whispered, “What makes you think they’re here for me?”

I laughed and opened my bag, “Because, we’ve never had so many women at a baseball game!”  I pulled my glove out of my bag, “Besides I heard them twitter when you walked by.  You know it’s the sound that a group of excited women make when a handsome man walks by.”  I teased.

He leaned over and whispered again, “Oh I thought that sound was called panting.  Did you just call me handsome?”

Debi walked up behind
him
and put her arms around his waist, “Michael did you get a look at your fan club.”

He
slipped his arm around Debi’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze.  “Not you too Debi, those women are not here for me.”

Debi hugged Michael, “Oh, you’re a good person to hug!”

Don walked up laughing, “Hey, making more moves on my women?  Wasn’t stealing Elizabeth enough?”

Michael winked at me, “I don’t think Elizabeth has been captured yet.”