Feeling a little more like herself after cleaning up, Eliza took her time descending the narrow turn of the century farmhouse staircase. Her slender fingers absent-mindedly played with a small section of torn wallpaper as she stopped for a moment to listen to the faint words of her parents’ as they floated up toward her. They were whispering, but in a loud, argumentative way that made their words clear to someone with the abnormally good hearing that she possessed.
“We need to tell her,” her father hissed.
“I don’t know, Arthur,” her mother adamantly replied. “It could upset her. Don’t you think having that nice doctor Rosenthal die and losing her job has upset her enough? She was very fond of that man and her work. We both know that moving home wasn’t something she wanted to do. Besides, we have nothing to prove it’s true. It skipped you. Perhaps it skipped her too.”
“She’s older now. If she’s doing it again, we need to tell her,” her father insisted.
“No! Don’t do anything foolish,” her mother vehemently spat. “Those are just speculation and rumors. You know how much Ruth loves to spread them. Wait to see what Doctor Blair has to say.”
Curiosity urged Eliza down the rest of the steps and into the kitchen.
“Tell me what?” she asked as she grabbed a mug from the cup tree that was on the counter next to the coffee maker and filled it with the rich, aromatic liquid.
“What?” her mother asked with faux innocence.
“I heard you two arguing about telling me something,” she continued.
Her parents looked at each other long and hard before her father heaved a sigh and said, “You were mistaken. It was your aunt Ruth we were discussing. She’s eating wrong again and has the gout.”
“Why would you argue about that,” Eliza asked with surprise, “and what would Dr. Blair do about it? She’s a therapist, not a general doctor.”
Her father filled his lungs with air as he continued his lie with, “Viviane and Ruth disagree on her diet. Your mother wants to talk to Dr. Blair about the best way to approach her.”
Since Dr. Blair was the therapist who they’d sent her to when she was young and sleep walking, it made sense that her mother would trust what the woman had to say.
“I think I’m sleepwalking again,” Eliza blurted as she sat in an empty chair at the table, propped her elbows on its surface and held the mug of coffee to her lips with both hands.
“Why?” Vivian asked. “What caused that to start back up?”
Having no reply, Eliza shrugged and gulped down an unwise amount of the hot liquid. Tears welled up in her eyes as the burning sensation traveled down her esophagus.
Seeing her daughter’s condition, Vivian lept from her chair and raced to the sink. Looking over her shoulder at her husband as she raced to her daughter’s side to present the cool water, she scolded, “I told you that coffee pot makes it too hot!”
“It’s the latest and the greatest…” Arthur began.
“All we needed was a simple coffee maker,” Viviane complained. “I’d just as soon go back to using the French press. That contraption’s dangerous.”
Grateful to have the focus off her mysterious naked rendezvous in the wild, Eliza joined into the conversation. “It’s a nice coffee maker, pop. I like my coffee hot like this. I just didn’t put enough cream in it to cool it down just a bit. Don’t get rid of it.”
Lifting his chin as he addressed his wife, Arthur defiantly said, “I have no intention of it.”
“Well, I’m going back to the French press,” Viviane insisted.
“Do as you wish,” Arthur grumbled. Then, looking at Eliza, he asked, “Are you hungry? The hens are laying good eggs these days. There’s still a few scrambled in that pan.”
Since she normally woke up ravenous, Eliza was surprised to realize that she actually felt full. Not wanting to bring any more attention to her that might renew their questions about where she’d been and why, she smiled and made her way to the stove. Lifting the cover off the fry pan, she lowered her face over the eggs and sniffed long and deep. They smelled especially delicious that morning.
“Did you do something different with them?” she asked. “They smell great.”
Arthur grinned as he proudly said, “I think it’s the new food I switched them to.”
Reba leaned against the edge of the opened door and cocked her head to the side while looking Eliza up and down. “What happened to you last night?”“What do you mean?” she asked.“You disappeared from the club,” Reba replied. “At first, I thought you’d taken off with that yummy fella you were dancing with, but he was looking for you too.”Eliza’s brows furrowed in thought. “What yummy fella?”The redhead’s blue eyes went wide with surprise as she stepped away from the door to allow Eliza to enter her studio apartment. Taking a fistful of her thick coppery shoulder length locks, she twisted her hair into a bun and secured it with a hair tie as she asked, “Are you serious?”Following her friend into the oversized room, Eliza closed the door behind her as she said, “Promise you won’t make fun if I tell you something?”Re
A hater of telemarketers, Eliza normally didn’t answer her cell phone if the number that was displayed was one that she didn’t recognize, but for reasons she couldn’t explain, she answered it this time.“What happened to you last night?” asked a seductive male voice.Reba had painted a hot and sexy picture of the man Eliza had danced with the night before. When she heard the voice over the phone that sounded as if it could easily pair with such a man, the excitement and anticipation that this just might be him caused her voice to go an octave or two higher than normal as she asked, “Who is this?”“Oliver. The guy from last night,” he said. “You gave me your phone number, remember?”Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and humbly replied, “I’m sorry. I don’t.”“What?” he said with surprise.“I don’t remember
Her nerves felt frazzled, and her legs threatened to fail her as she entered the familiar coffee shop. Her favorite barista, Scott, was working the counter. Seeing her, he flashed a smile and waved a greeting. Then, pointing to a sandy haired man sitting in the back of the room, he raised his brows and patted his chest. Eliza took this as a sign of approval from the only male she knew who was prone to compete with her for a man’s attention.Scott’s gayness didn’t bother her in the least. In fact, she enjoyed spending time with him even if it stayed within the walls of the coffee shop during slow hours.Doing her best to smooth her appearance without being obvious about it, she moved toward the man with the sandy colored hair and piercing eyes that seemed to pull her to him without her using the slightest bit of effort to move herself.Although she was considered a tall woman, he still managed to exceed her height by a go
Eliza took the dinner plate that Viviane had finished rinsing the soap off from her mother’s outstretched hand and rubbed it dry with a dish towel. More than once she’d suggested that they get with the times and install a dishwasher, but her mother’s response was always the same. Holding up her hands, she’d smile and say, “I have reliable dishwashers right here. I don’t need anything else.”“Where did you go today?” Viviane asked as she wiped at the excess water in the white porcelain sink with a dishcloth.Carefully placing the dinner plate on top of the others in the cupboard, Eliza thought about her answer. Should she admit that she met a stranger for coffee? Well, he wasn’t a complete stranger since she’d danced quite a bit with him the night before. The only problem was that this was something that she could barely remember.Since it wasn’t her habit of sharing g
It happened again!Eliza groaned with despair as she rolled onto her back and looked up into the early morning sky. Her nightmare was continued. She was naked in the field on the edge of the woods again. She’d gone to bed early without a drop of alcohol in her system, let alone any type of drug, yet the sledgehammer in her head was pounding even harder than the morning before. Like the first time, she couldn’t remember a thing on how or why she was in such a state.To add to her misery, along with the pounding inside her head, her leg burned and hurt like a sharp object had been dragged down it. A knife, perhaps?Struggling against the acute throbbing that radiated from her skull into the rest of her trembling body, she forced herself to sit up. Her vision was still a bit blurred, but it was clear enough for her to see dried and crusted blood that coated the singular, deep scratch down the outer side of her left calf. Th
After a quick shower to remove the grime on her flesh, Eliza decided that a long hot Epsom Salts bath was in order.She hadn’t completely emersed her body into the steaming water before she felt the relief it offered both physically and mentally. She’d taken headache medicine immediately upon entering the bathroom. Her shower had been just long enough to give it an opportunity to take effect. Now, with her body being enveloped by the comfort of heated healing liquid, she felt a sense of peace and tranquility for the first time since she’d woken up naked the morning before.Closing her eyes, she sank deep into the water while she allowed her mind to go blank. With any luck, not trying so hard to remember just might be the way to get the answers to what happened to make her wake up naked in the field two mornings in a row surface.As relaxation overtook her, she felt light enough to float. Her legs relaxed enough to actually rai
It was a miracle!Amazed and bewildered, Eliza inspected the leg that she’d wounded during the night. There was absolutely no sign of an injury. Cautiously putting her weight on it, she discovered no indication of a bruise beneath her kneecap. She had no idea that a hot Epsom salts bath could work such wonders, but there was no mistaking the fact that she was completely healed. There wasn’t even a scar from the jagged gash on her leg.She’d have spent a bit more time pondering such a miraculous recovery had she not been preoccupied with the idea of acting as a guide on the state lands for Oliver as he searched for his missing brother. She’d accepted his invitation without thinking about the fact that she’d been wounded. That came after the call ended. Her relief was acute when she discovered that she had no injuries whatsoever to concern herself with.Once again, she felt inclined to give a
Eliza sucked in air as her car pulled into the parking lot of the gas station she’d agreed to meet Oliver at. She couldn’t help equating his long, muscled figure as he leaned against the side of his late model, immaculate looking black GMC pickup truck in his faded denim jeans and form fitting black tee shirt to a male model she’d admired in one of her father’s farm magazines a few months back. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember the name of the magazine or the exact looks of the model. She just remembered that he was sexy and pleasing to the eye. She was certain that if they came to Oliver and asked him to pose, those lean muscles straining against the fabric of his shirt would make a mighty find picture. Better than the model in the magazine.What she was oblivious to was the fact that Oliver was having a similar reaction to seeing her in her well-worn, form fitting khaki hiking pants and navy tee shirt that