LOST - PART I
HELPLESS
Chapter 16
Thea desperately tried to keep her distance from Adam in the following weeks, and she found it harder and harder to do each day. Especially when it seemed like every time she looked up, his dark, hooded eyes were watching her. She was becoming a nervous wreck.
Late one Sunday afternoon, everyone was gathered in what was the sitting room again, now that Adam had moved into a downstairs bedroom. Thea was watching him out of the corner of her eye, looking for something in particular.
Adam was sitting opposite Abner and had a medical text open in his lap, quizzing the other man on anatomy. The two were laughing over the same sounding terms, "oral" and "aural."
"I guess there IS a big difference!" Abner was saying when Adam flexed his fingers, and began rubbing them, as though they were aching.
Thea quietly stood and came to sit on the low table in between the two men. Adam had seen her coming, but didn't look up until she reached to take his right hand in both of hers.
"What's wrong?" she asked without meeting his dark gaze.
"I don't really know; they just seem to have become stiff lately."
"Ah..." she murmured, pressing on and prodding at his hand.
He had to hold back a smile when her face flushed a deep pink, something that seemed to happen every time she touched him now.
"What do you think is wrong?" he asked her quietly as she dropped that hand and took his left.
"Well, the stiffness seems to be uniform, so I think it's just a matter of neglecting flexibility. The muscles are very well developed and I don't feel any swelling that would indicate rheumatism."
"Oh," he was smiling down at the top of her head, but wiped the smile away when she looked up. "So what do you suggest we do about it?"
Her eyes seemed unusually green, a reflection of the green silk dress she was wearing. He could feel his mind about to wander as he stared in her eyes, and he firmly dragged his attention back.
Thea smiled, the first real smile he had gotten from her since he proposed to her in the smithy. "How would you like to learn how to play the piano?"
"Play the piano?" he echoed blankly, not expecting a suggestion like that.
"Yes," she was nodding her head emphatically. "I have to warn you though, this will be painful at first, but well worth it I think."
"I'm sure it will be," Adam said softly as he looked down at their joined hands. Thea laughed, relaxed while close to him for a change.
"Which? The painful part of the well worth it part?"
"Both, I'm sure," he said low and lifted his gaze to lock with hers.
Her mouth went dry. "Um...I have a friend who teaches piano and I'm sure she'd take you on as a pupil right away."
He smiled into her eyes. "Thank you," he said quietly, and she abruptly stood then stumbled over his feet as she hurried to escape his hot, demanding stare.
"You're welcome," she mumbled as she fled, and Abner shook his head at Adam when he finally turned back to the other man.
"You are just awful," the black man said with a pleased grin. "And don't ever give up, you'll get her eventually."
Adam smiled his arrogant smile. "Yes," he said firmly, "yes I will..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first piano lesson had to wait until the next Sunday; Adam didn't have much in the way of free time until then. His duties working with Pat Herrity and at the club kept his time well occupied.
Thea's close friend, Olivia Stanford arrived early, hoping to have a private chat with Thea about her new pupil. She was lucky and caught her friend in the kitchen, taking her irritable mood out on bread dough.
"Liv!" she called out, her face lighting up when the other woman stepped up on the back porch and peered in through the screen door. "Come on in!"
Olivia quickly did and took a seat at the table across from Thea, who was standing and pounding her fists into the dough on a breadboard. She knew her friend preferred to work at the table since the counter was a little high for her petite frame.
Smiling, Olivia said, "Haven't you punished that poor thing enough?"
Thea grinned and slammed both fists into the huge glob of dough again. "I guess you're right, but God that feels good!" She laughed as she began to divide the dough into equal portions. Then she moved over to the counter for the loaf pans. In a few moments the pans each held the same amount of dough and were lined up on the warming shelf over the stove to rise.
"There!" she crowed with satisfaction, hurried to wash the breadboard, her hands, and the utensils from the mixing process that were piled up in the sink. Thea brought the teapot and cups with her when she came to sit down across from her tall, dark-haired, brown-eyed friend.
Olivia couldn't help but grin at Thea's pink-flushed face and sparkling eyes. For some reason the woman seemed to gain just as much satisfaction out of a domestic chore as she did performing her duties as a doctor.
"What?" Thea asked, unable to read her friend's expression as she poured the tea.
"You like doing things like that, don't you?"
"Yes I do," Thea laughed. "You know me Liv, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't do it."
The other woman nodded her head. "But what I don't understand is why you insist that you'll never get married. You should have children; you would be a wonderful wife and mother." She paused, waiting for Thea to emphatically reaffirm her conviction. But the other woman remained silent, staring down into her cup, her face turning even redder by the second.
"Oh Lord!" Olivia gasped, finally understanding. "He asked you to marry him, didn't he?"
"Yes," Thea answered, speaking so low the other woman barely heard her.
"And you told him 'no' right?"
"Yes...I mean no...I mean I told him I couldn't."
"But you love him!"
"No I don't!" Thea raised her gaze to meet Olivia's and the other woman had to keep from smiling at the stubborn glint in her eyes.
"Yes you do. Everyone can see it, why are you being so stubborn?"
"Because I can't!" Thea ground out through clenched teeth.
"You can't what? Can't marry him?"
"No..." Thea was shaking her head, confusion and fear showing in her expression. "I can't give my heart to anyone, damn it. I can't.trust anyone.let anyone do that to me again."
"Oh I see, because of Doc."
"Yes." Thea turned her head to look out the window while Olivia sat back in her chair.
"It's not the same thing," Olivia began to argue.
"Yes it is," Thea insisted.
"No it's not," her friend continued patiently. "Just because the man who adopted you was cold and unfeeling doesn't mean that Adam will ever do the same thing. From everything you've told me about him, it seems to me they couldn't possibly be less alike."
Thea's mouth tightened into a grim line, her eyes narrowing in ill temper. "I can't trust anyone, Liv. Why can't you understand that? And what would marriage be without trust?"
Olivia mentally sighed and decided a different tactic was needed. "So what you're telling me is that because Doc never returned the love you felt for him you're going to wallow in that misery for the rest of your life. Never giving yourself the chance to find happiness with anyone." She shook her head, "I've never thought of you as a coward."
"Coward? Wallow?" Thea almost shouted, pinning her friend with an angry stare.
"Yes," Olivia continued calmly. "Where is your backbone woman? How can you just sit in the corner nursing your wounds and let life pass you by?"
Furious, Thea struggled to get words out, but couldn't. Then her eyes rose to look over the other woman's head.
"Am I interrupting something?" Adam said from the doorway and Olivia turned in her chair toward him. Her brows rose.
"No," she said quietly, not looking at Thea again on purpose. "I think this discussion is over." She stood and held out her hand as Adam came toward her. He took her hand in his and bent his head to lightly brush the back with his lips. She smiled when he straightened up and their gazes met.
"I'm pleased to meet you Adam," she said with laughter in her voice as he smiled back. "And I think it's time for your first piano lesson. Are you ready?"
Adam nodded, glanced at Thea out of the corner of his eye, and then offered Olivia his arm to escort her down the hall and into the sitting room. Neither one heard Thea slamming things in the kitchen, venting her fury on inanimate objects during the hour-long lesson. Nor were they aware of her pacing up and down in the hallway while listening carefully.
When the lesson was over the two came out of the sitting room, discussing what Adam needed to practice until the next Sunday afternoon. Halfway down the hall, she paused to put a hand on his arm.
"You don't need to see me out. I want to talk to Thea a little more before I leave."
Adam smiled down into her eyes saying, "Till next Sunday, then," and went back to the sitting room.
Olivia watched him go, sighed, and then turned to enter the kitchen. Thea was sitting at the table again, having just managed to get down the hallway before they saw her. She was staring at her clasped hands that were resting on the table and didn't look up when the other woman was standing directly opposite.
Smiling at the top of Thea's dark head, Olivia only paused long enough to say, "You are out of your mind telling that man 'no'." Her tone was firm and she didn't wait for a response, knowing there wouldn't be one, and left the house quickly through the back door.
She was almost home when she heard running footsteps coming up behind her. Turning around quickly she was almost knocked down when Thea threw her arms around her, giving her a tight hug.
"I'm sorry," was all her friend said before letting her go and hurrying away.
Olivia stayed where she was until the petite woman was out of sight, and then smiled a very big smile. Now she knew Nate was right. Working together, they'd all wear Thea down eventually.
HELPLESS
Chapter 16
Thea desperately tried to keep her distance from Adam in the following weeks, and she found it harder and harder to do each day. Especially when it seemed like every time she looked up, his dark, hooded eyes were watching her. She was becoming a nervous wreck.
Late one Sunday afternoon, everyone was gathered in what was the sitting room again, now that Adam had moved into a downstairs bedroom. Thea was watching him out of the corner of her eye, looking for something in particular.
Adam was sitting opposite Abner and had a medical text open in his lap, quizzing the other man on anatomy. The two were laughing over the same sounding terms, "oral" and "aural."
"I guess there IS a big difference!" Abner was saying when Adam flexed his fingers, and began rubbing them, as though they were aching.
Thea quietly stood and came to sit on the low table in between the two men. Adam had seen her coming, but didn't look up until she reached to take his right hand in both of hers.
"What's wrong?" she asked without meeting his dark gaze.
"I don't really know; they just seem to have become stiff lately."
"Ah..." she murmured, pressing on and prodding at his hand.
He had to hold back a smile when her face flushed a deep pink, something that seemed to happen every time she touched him now.
"What do you think is wrong?" he asked her quietly as she dropped that hand and took his left.
"Well, the stiffness seems to be uniform, so I think it's just a matter of neglecting flexibility. The muscles are very well developed and I don't feel any swelling that would indicate rheumatism."
"Oh," he was smiling down at the top of her head, but wiped the smile away when she looked up. "So what do you suggest we do about it?"
Her eyes seemed unusually green, a reflection of the green silk dress she was wearing. He could feel his mind about to wander as he stared in her eyes, and he firmly dragged his attention back.
Thea smiled, the first real smile he had gotten from her since he proposed to her in the smithy. "How would you like to learn how to play the piano?"
"Play the piano?" he echoed blankly, not expecting a suggestion like that.
"Yes," she was nodding her head emphatically. "I have to warn you though, this will be painful at first, but well worth it I think."
"I'm sure it will be," Adam said softly as he looked down at their joined hands. Thea laughed, relaxed while close to him for a change.
"Which? The painful part of the well worth it part?"
"Both, I'm sure," he said low and lifted his gaze to lock with hers.
Her mouth went dry. "Um...I have a friend who teaches piano and I'm sure she'd take you on as a pupil right away."
He smiled into her eyes. "Thank you," he said quietly, and she abruptly stood then stumbled over his feet as she hurried to escape his hot, demanding stare.
"You're welcome," she mumbled as she fled, and Abner shook his head at Adam when he finally turned back to the other man.
"You are just awful," the black man said with a pleased grin. "And don't ever give up, you'll get her eventually."
Adam smiled his arrogant smile. "Yes," he said firmly, "yes I will..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first piano lesson had to wait until the next Sunday; Adam didn't have much in the way of free time until then. His duties working with Pat Herrity and at the club kept his time well occupied.
Thea's close friend, Olivia Stanford arrived early, hoping to have a private chat with Thea about her new pupil. She was lucky and caught her friend in the kitchen, taking her irritable mood out on bread dough.
"Liv!" she called out, her face lighting up when the other woman stepped up on the back porch and peered in through the screen door. "Come on in!"
Olivia quickly did and took a seat at the table across from Thea, who was standing and pounding her fists into the dough on a breadboard. She knew her friend preferred to work at the table since the counter was a little high for her petite frame.
Smiling, Olivia said, "Haven't you punished that poor thing enough?"
Thea grinned and slammed both fists into the huge glob of dough again. "I guess you're right, but God that feels good!" She laughed as she began to divide the dough into equal portions. Then she moved over to the counter for the loaf pans. In a few moments the pans each held the same amount of dough and were lined up on the warming shelf over the stove to rise.
"There!" she crowed with satisfaction, hurried to wash the breadboard, her hands, and the utensils from the mixing process that were piled up in the sink. Thea brought the teapot and cups with her when she came to sit down across from her tall, dark-haired, brown-eyed friend.
Olivia couldn't help but grin at Thea's pink-flushed face and sparkling eyes. For some reason the woman seemed to gain just as much satisfaction out of a domestic chore as she did performing her duties as a doctor.
"What?" Thea asked, unable to read her friend's expression as she poured the tea.
"You like doing things like that, don't you?"
"Yes I do," Thea laughed. "You know me Liv, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't do it."
The other woman nodded her head. "But what I don't understand is why you insist that you'll never get married. You should have children; you would be a wonderful wife and mother." She paused, waiting for Thea to emphatically reaffirm her conviction. But the other woman remained silent, staring down into her cup, her face turning even redder by the second.
"Oh Lord!" Olivia gasped, finally understanding. "He asked you to marry him, didn't he?"
"Yes," Thea answered, speaking so low the other woman barely heard her.
"And you told him 'no' right?"
"Yes...I mean no...I mean I told him I couldn't."
"But you love him!"
"No I don't!" Thea raised her gaze to meet Olivia's and the other woman had to keep from smiling at the stubborn glint in her eyes.
"Yes you do. Everyone can see it, why are you being so stubborn?"
"Because I can't!" Thea ground out through clenched teeth.
"You can't what? Can't marry him?"
"No..." Thea was shaking her head, confusion and fear showing in her expression. "I can't give my heart to anyone, damn it. I can't.trust anyone.let anyone do that to me again."
"Oh I see, because of Doc."
"Yes." Thea turned her head to look out the window while Olivia sat back in her chair.
"It's not the same thing," Olivia began to argue.
"Yes it is," Thea insisted.
"No it's not," her friend continued patiently. "Just because the man who adopted you was cold and unfeeling doesn't mean that Adam will ever do the same thing. From everything you've told me about him, it seems to me they couldn't possibly be less alike."
Thea's mouth tightened into a grim line, her eyes narrowing in ill temper. "I can't trust anyone, Liv. Why can't you understand that? And what would marriage be without trust?"
Olivia mentally sighed and decided a different tactic was needed. "So what you're telling me is that because Doc never returned the love you felt for him you're going to wallow in that misery for the rest of your life. Never giving yourself the chance to find happiness with anyone." She shook her head, "I've never thought of you as a coward."
"Coward? Wallow?" Thea almost shouted, pinning her friend with an angry stare.
"Yes," Olivia continued calmly. "Where is your backbone woman? How can you just sit in the corner nursing your wounds and let life pass you by?"
Furious, Thea struggled to get words out, but couldn't. Then her eyes rose to look over the other woman's head.
"Am I interrupting something?" Adam said from the doorway and Olivia turned in her chair toward him. Her brows rose.
"No," she said quietly, not looking at Thea again on purpose. "I think this discussion is over." She stood and held out her hand as Adam came toward her. He took her hand in his and bent his head to lightly brush the back with his lips. She smiled when he straightened up and their gazes met.
"I'm pleased to meet you Adam," she said with laughter in her voice as he smiled back. "And I think it's time for your first piano lesson. Are you ready?"
Adam nodded, glanced at Thea out of the corner of his eye, and then offered Olivia his arm to escort her down the hall and into the sitting room. Neither one heard Thea slamming things in the kitchen, venting her fury on inanimate objects during the hour-long lesson. Nor were they aware of her pacing up and down in the hallway while listening carefully.
When the lesson was over the two came out of the sitting room, discussing what Adam needed to practice until the next Sunday afternoon. Halfway down the hall, she paused to put a hand on his arm.
"You don't need to see me out. I want to talk to Thea a little more before I leave."
Adam smiled down into her eyes saying, "Till next Sunday, then," and went back to the sitting room.
Olivia watched him go, sighed, and then turned to enter the kitchen. Thea was sitting at the table again, having just managed to get down the hallway before they saw her. She was staring at her clasped hands that were resting on the table and didn't look up when the other woman was standing directly opposite.
Smiling at the top of Thea's dark head, Olivia only paused long enough to say, "You are out of your mind telling that man 'no'." Her tone was firm and she didn't wait for a response, knowing there wouldn't be one, and left the house quickly through the back door.
She was almost home when she heard running footsteps coming up behind her. Turning around quickly she was almost knocked down when Thea threw her arms around her, giving her a tight hug.
"I'm sorry," was all her friend said before letting her go and hurrying away.
Olivia stayed where she was until the petite woman was out of sight, and then smiled a very big smile. Now she knew Nate was right. Working together, they'd all wear Thea down eventually.