ABSENCE
Chapter 21
Everyone went to their rooms early that night and when Thea still wasn't able to sleep close to midnight she sighed with exasperation and got out of bed. She went to the window and stared unseeing out at the moonless night.
Even though she kept telling herself Adam would keep his word, her heart continued to ache with the certainly she would never see him again. She stood at the window for a long time, remembering everything from the moment she had pulled the sheet off his still form and saw his face for the first time.
Her jaw clenched and her eyes flashed with fury as she saw his devastating injuries again in her mind's eye. A few furious tears welled up and she impatiently brushed them away as she turned from the window and hurried on silent bare feet out into the hall.
Moving quietly and quickly before she lost her nerve, she sped down the hall and hurried down the stairs. When she reached his bedroom door, she paused for a moment to let her breathing slow down, and then carefully took hold of the doorknob.
The door opened silently and she could just barely make out his long form, asleep on his left side. She crept up to the side of his bed, slowly lifted the covers, and carefully slipped in. He was facing away from her, and she cautiously scooted forward until she was pressed up against him from behind. Then her breath caught in her throat when she realized he was not wearing a nightshirt - he wasn't wearing anything at all.
Her mouth went dry and she couldn't stop her hands from sliding all over his warm skin. She tipped her head forward to breath in his male scent and he stirred slightly, sighing in his sleep. Encouraged, she lightly pressed her lips to one hard shoulder, and then gasped when he suddenly turned over to take her in his arms.
She couldn't tell in the darkness if he was awake or still asleep as he pressed against the small of her back to mold her body to his. His mouth found hers and she moaned in the back of her throat when one hand slid down to pull her nightgown up. The slightly rough skin of his palm rasped as his hand slid up her smooth thigh and his other hand tangled in her hair to tip her head back. When his hand reached the top of her thigh she gasped into his mouth and he suddenly stiffened.
"What the.?" he said, his voice still thick with sleep. "Thea?" he gasped, incredulous and pushed away from her so hard he almost fell out of the bed. She felt the mattress dip as he got to his feet, and then felt him yank the top blanket off the bed. Then she heard a match scratch as she squinted against the yellow light when he lit the lamp.
He had the blanket wrapped around his waist, holding it in place with one hand while he stared down at her, his face tight with anger.
"Theadora, you HAVE to stop doing things like this, it's really starting to get on my nerves!" he ground out through clenched teeth and she sat up to watch him look around for something. He finally spotted his robe that had slipped off the end of the bed and he snatched it up before turning his back to her and shrugging into it. Then he dropped the blanket before kicking it away.
"Why?" he said, his voice deepened by annoyance and she didn't offer an excuse or even a reply as she stared at him with all the love and longing she felt for him shining in her eyes. He sighed.
"You still think I'm not coming back, don't you?" he said patiently and she nodded as her gaze fell away from his hot stare.
Taking a deep breath he cautiously came to sit on the bed, one leg folded under him as he reached for her hands. He held them tightly as he said, "And you figured if I slept with you tonight I would have to come back, right?"
Her face reddened slightly and she shrugged one shoulder before nodding reluctantly.
"God help me, you're going to drive me insane," he said low and she almost smiled at his helpless tone.
Then she looked up when he gave her hands a small shake. "Is that what you really want? Do you really want to wonder all your life if I would have come back without being forced to? Think about it Thea, that's no way to start a life together. That question would bother you forever."
Her eyes narrowed as she stared into his intently and nodded, knowing he was telling her the truth. He smiled at her while tightening his grip. "I think you better go back to your room now," he said quietly, and then frowned when she shook her head.
"Please let me stay.I swear I won't touch you again. I just don't want to be alone tonight," she pleaded and he started to shake his head, but stopped.
"Get under the covers," he said and she hurried to obey as he spread the blanket out again. Then he took the extra blanket that was folded over the footboard and spread that over the bed too. She stared up at him, not understanding what he was doing. He just chuckled at her expression as he lay down next to her, and then reached over to pull the other side of the top blanket over himself.
She started laughing as he turned toward her on his side. "Well, you can't sew me into a bundling sack so this will just have to do," he said with laughter in his voice and she shook her head remembering the practice as a time-honored tradition in New England. She scooted closer and he rolled onto his back and put his arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulder.
"Now behave yourself," he said firmly, yawned, and closed his eyes.
"What about the lamp?" she said and he reached to turn it down almost the whole way.
"I'm not putting it out, something tells me I need to be able to see you to protect my virtue," he chuckled and she sighed with contentment as she pressed closer and closed her eyes. In a moment she was fast asleep.
"Besides," he said to himself under his breath, "I'M going to be awake for the rest of the night, no doubt." He chuckled quietly one more time, wondering how much longer he was going to be able to resist her. Then he turned his agile mind to tackle the problem again of how to get her to say "yes."
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Adam shook Thea awake and shooed her out of his room when the sun rose and before Glory was up. Then he wearily got dressed, picked up his bag, and made his way to the kitchen.
Glory took one look at him and hurried to pour him a cup of coffee. "Thank you," he said quietly and sat down at the table. She kept glancing at him as she bustled around preparing breakfast and opened her mouth to say something, several times. But she didn't, every line of his posture told her he was in a testy mood.
When she had breakfast on, she poured a cup of coffee for herself and came to sit across from him. She stared at his bowed head for a while, waiting for him to look up which he finally did. Her eyes opened wide when she got a good look at his face and saw the fine lines of weariness that etched his cheeks.
"Didn't you get any sleep at all?" she asked automatically and tensed as she waited for his response.
"Some, but not much," he answered in a reasonable tone of voice and she relaxed, but only slightly.
"Thea went to your room last night, didn't she?' she asked in a rush, and was surprised when he laughed softly.
"Yes. How did you know?"
"I know her," Glory said simply and he laughed softly again.
"I thought I did, but I obviously don't know her as well as you do."
Glory reached out and put a hand on his forearm. "You will Adam, because I can't see this ending in any other way but marriage between you two."
He tipped his head to the side, giving her an intense look with narrowed eyes. Then his expression cleared and he smiled his most charming smile. She smiled back, even as her breath caught in her throat, struck again by how handsome he was.
Patting the hand she still had on his forearm, he made her blush by saying, "I certainly hope Nate knows how lucky he is. When are YOU going to make an honest man out of him."
She cleared her throat and pulled her hand back as she stood. "Now we're talking about you and Thea, not me," she said firmly and moved toward the stove.
He watched her for a few moments before speaking again. "Glory, you didn't ask what happened. Why is that?"
This time she laughed. "I know exactly what happened."
"You do?"
"Yes sir, I do. Absolutely nothing happened," she answered and he laughed louder this time.
"I take it then that you know me too?"
She turned away from the stove only long enough to give him an admonishing look. "Oh yes.I know you too."
He shook his head and stared down into his now empty coffee cup, thinking. When her hand suddenly appeared to take the cup from him he started slightly then raised his eyes to watch her fill it again. "You know," he mused quietly, "I wonder if I will ever get used to discussing things like this so openly."
Glory gave him a quick smile then turned away to put the pot back on the stove. "You'll find that those of us in the medical field are different from most people. Our lives are centered on caring for and healing the human body, so we have a tendency to think and speak in more practical terms. Or do I mean more 'matter of fact' about it?"
Adam laughed again and gave her another smile when she glanced at him over her shoulder. Then his expression sobered. "Nate told you all about our plan, didn't he?"
She nodded, not turning to look at him. He stared at her back for a while before speaking again.
"Glory," he said quietly and she stiffened. "Nate will be coming back to you, I promise you that. Neither one of us is going to get killed."
"How can you know that? How can you make such a promise?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but I just know. I can't tell you whether or not I had these.feelings.before, but maybe it has something to do with having been dead. I don't know, but my gut instinct tells me this plan is going to come off without a hitch."
"Are you really that sure?" she asked as she turned quickly toward him, her face creased with worry.
Adam nodded. "Now I can't choose what I have these feelings about, they just spring up sometimes. But on this one I have no doubt." He was glad to see her relax.
"But please don't say anything to Thea about the plan. She'd go crazy if she knew we're going to knock out the whole gang with doctored whiskey and then load them into a locked boxcar."
Glory shook her head. "How on earth did you ever come up with such a crazy idea," she said and started moving pans from the stovetop to the warming shelf.
"Actually, it's not really my idea, I just changed it slightly. One of the older Pinkerton detectives told me how they captured a southern scouting party by knocking them out with gas grenades, then just picking them up after they passed out. Worked like a charm."
She smiled as she transferred the last pan and was about to comment when Thea appeared in the doorway to the inner hall.
Adam saw her eyes go over his head and he stood, correctly assuming she was looking at Thea. She gave him a wan smile and he shook his head as he opened his arms to her. He braced himself, wondering again how such a small woman could almost knock him off his feet, as she rushed to him and hugged him tightly.
No one ate very much and Adam held her hand the whole way through the meal until Nate showed up at the back door. Then he gave her hand one last hard squeeze before standing and picking up his bag.
Nate came in to hug Glory and kiss her cheek while Adam bent down to kiss Thea on the lips. As soon as his lips touched hers, she stood to throw her arms around his shoulders and fiercely kissed him back until he had to pull away.
He smiled down into her huge eyes, gently stroked her cheek with his knuckles, and then nodded at Nate. The two men quickly went down the front hall and out the front door, closing it firmly behind them. They hurried down the brick walk and then down the street, heading for the train station and didn't speak until they boarded and settled into two seats.
Adam sighed as he leaned back and tipped his hat over his face. Nate couldn't help but grin.
"Rough night last night?" he asked, knowing the other man hadn't heard Glory whisper to him about Thea's late night visit to his room.
"You have no idea."
"Oh I think I do. Thea showed up, right?"
His partner abruptly sat up, caught his hat as it fell, and stared at his friend in surprise for a few seconds. Then he figured it out. "Glory told you," he said, disgusted with himself for falling for it.
"Yeah," Nate laughed as the other man leaned back again. He stayed silent for a while, musing about the strange situation his friend seemed to find himself in frequently.
"And nothing happened?" he asked and Adam lifted his hat to give him a dark look.
"Of course not," he said firmly, then covered his face again. "Now shut up, I need to get at least a little sleep."
"OK," his friend agreed with his usual good humor. "I just don't know how you did that."
"I don't either," Adam answered in an annoyed tone. "But I CAN tell you she better say 'yes' soon. This is definitely getting on my nerves."
Nate tried to hold back his laughter, but couldn't until the older man lifted his hat again to give him another dark look.
"Oh shut up, will you?" he almost barked and Nate firmly reined in his sense of humor, but continued to struggle against his laughter for a while even as the train pulled out and they were on their way.
Chapter 21
Everyone went to their rooms early that night and when Thea still wasn't able to sleep close to midnight she sighed with exasperation and got out of bed. She went to the window and stared unseeing out at the moonless night.
Even though she kept telling herself Adam would keep his word, her heart continued to ache with the certainly she would never see him again. She stood at the window for a long time, remembering everything from the moment she had pulled the sheet off his still form and saw his face for the first time.
Her jaw clenched and her eyes flashed with fury as she saw his devastating injuries again in her mind's eye. A few furious tears welled up and she impatiently brushed them away as she turned from the window and hurried on silent bare feet out into the hall.
Moving quietly and quickly before she lost her nerve, she sped down the hall and hurried down the stairs. When she reached his bedroom door, she paused for a moment to let her breathing slow down, and then carefully took hold of the doorknob.
The door opened silently and she could just barely make out his long form, asleep on his left side. She crept up to the side of his bed, slowly lifted the covers, and carefully slipped in. He was facing away from her, and she cautiously scooted forward until she was pressed up against him from behind. Then her breath caught in her throat when she realized he was not wearing a nightshirt - he wasn't wearing anything at all.
Her mouth went dry and she couldn't stop her hands from sliding all over his warm skin. She tipped her head forward to breath in his male scent and he stirred slightly, sighing in his sleep. Encouraged, she lightly pressed her lips to one hard shoulder, and then gasped when he suddenly turned over to take her in his arms.
She couldn't tell in the darkness if he was awake or still asleep as he pressed against the small of her back to mold her body to his. His mouth found hers and she moaned in the back of her throat when one hand slid down to pull her nightgown up. The slightly rough skin of his palm rasped as his hand slid up her smooth thigh and his other hand tangled in her hair to tip her head back. When his hand reached the top of her thigh she gasped into his mouth and he suddenly stiffened.
"What the.?" he said, his voice still thick with sleep. "Thea?" he gasped, incredulous and pushed away from her so hard he almost fell out of the bed. She felt the mattress dip as he got to his feet, and then felt him yank the top blanket off the bed. Then she heard a match scratch as she squinted against the yellow light when he lit the lamp.
He had the blanket wrapped around his waist, holding it in place with one hand while he stared down at her, his face tight with anger.
"Theadora, you HAVE to stop doing things like this, it's really starting to get on my nerves!" he ground out through clenched teeth and she sat up to watch him look around for something. He finally spotted his robe that had slipped off the end of the bed and he snatched it up before turning his back to her and shrugging into it. Then he dropped the blanket before kicking it away.
"Why?" he said, his voice deepened by annoyance and she didn't offer an excuse or even a reply as she stared at him with all the love and longing she felt for him shining in her eyes. He sighed.
"You still think I'm not coming back, don't you?" he said patiently and she nodded as her gaze fell away from his hot stare.
Taking a deep breath he cautiously came to sit on the bed, one leg folded under him as he reached for her hands. He held them tightly as he said, "And you figured if I slept with you tonight I would have to come back, right?"
Her face reddened slightly and she shrugged one shoulder before nodding reluctantly.
"God help me, you're going to drive me insane," he said low and she almost smiled at his helpless tone.
Then she looked up when he gave her hands a small shake. "Is that what you really want? Do you really want to wonder all your life if I would have come back without being forced to? Think about it Thea, that's no way to start a life together. That question would bother you forever."
Her eyes narrowed as she stared into his intently and nodded, knowing he was telling her the truth. He smiled at her while tightening his grip. "I think you better go back to your room now," he said quietly, and then frowned when she shook her head.
"Please let me stay.I swear I won't touch you again. I just don't want to be alone tonight," she pleaded and he started to shake his head, but stopped.
"Get under the covers," he said and she hurried to obey as he spread the blanket out again. Then he took the extra blanket that was folded over the footboard and spread that over the bed too. She stared up at him, not understanding what he was doing. He just chuckled at her expression as he lay down next to her, and then reached over to pull the other side of the top blanket over himself.
She started laughing as he turned toward her on his side. "Well, you can't sew me into a bundling sack so this will just have to do," he said with laughter in his voice and she shook her head remembering the practice as a time-honored tradition in New England. She scooted closer and he rolled onto his back and put his arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulder.
"Now behave yourself," he said firmly, yawned, and closed his eyes.
"What about the lamp?" she said and he reached to turn it down almost the whole way.
"I'm not putting it out, something tells me I need to be able to see you to protect my virtue," he chuckled and she sighed with contentment as she pressed closer and closed her eyes. In a moment she was fast asleep.
"Besides," he said to himself under his breath, "I'M going to be awake for the rest of the night, no doubt." He chuckled quietly one more time, wondering how much longer he was going to be able to resist her. Then he turned his agile mind to tackle the problem again of how to get her to say "yes."
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Adam shook Thea awake and shooed her out of his room when the sun rose and before Glory was up. Then he wearily got dressed, picked up his bag, and made his way to the kitchen.
Glory took one look at him and hurried to pour him a cup of coffee. "Thank you," he said quietly and sat down at the table. She kept glancing at him as she bustled around preparing breakfast and opened her mouth to say something, several times. But she didn't, every line of his posture told her he was in a testy mood.
When she had breakfast on, she poured a cup of coffee for herself and came to sit across from him. She stared at his bowed head for a while, waiting for him to look up which he finally did. Her eyes opened wide when she got a good look at his face and saw the fine lines of weariness that etched his cheeks.
"Didn't you get any sleep at all?" she asked automatically and tensed as she waited for his response.
"Some, but not much," he answered in a reasonable tone of voice and she relaxed, but only slightly.
"Thea went to your room last night, didn't she?' she asked in a rush, and was surprised when he laughed softly.
"Yes. How did you know?"
"I know her," Glory said simply and he laughed softly again.
"I thought I did, but I obviously don't know her as well as you do."
Glory reached out and put a hand on his forearm. "You will Adam, because I can't see this ending in any other way but marriage between you two."
He tipped his head to the side, giving her an intense look with narrowed eyes. Then his expression cleared and he smiled his most charming smile. She smiled back, even as her breath caught in her throat, struck again by how handsome he was.
Patting the hand she still had on his forearm, he made her blush by saying, "I certainly hope Nate knows how lucky he is. When are YOU going to make an honest man out of him."
She cleared her throat and pulled her hand back as she stood. "Now we're talking about you and Thea, not me," she said firmly and moved toward the stove.
He watched her for a few moments before speaking again. "Glory, you didn't ask what happened. Why is that?"
This time she laughed. "I know exactly what happened."
"You do?"
"Yes sir, I do. Absolutely nothing happened," she answered and he laughed louder this time.
"I take it then that you know me too?"
She turned away from the stove only long enough to give him an admonishing look. "Oh yes.I know you too."
He shook his head and stared down into his now empty coffee cup, thinking. When her hand suddenly appeared to take the cup from him he started slightly then raised his eyes to watch her fill it again. "You know," he mused quietly, "I wonder if I will ever get used to discussing things like this so openly."
Glory gave him a quick smile then turned away to put the pot back on the stove. "You'll find that those of us in the medical field are different from most people. Our lives are centered on caring for and healing the human body, so we have a tendency to think and speak in more practical terms. Or do I mean more 'matter of fact' about it?"
Adam laughed again and gave her another smile when she glanced at him over her shoulder. Then his expression sobered. "Nate told you all about our plan, didn't he?"
She nodded, not turning to look at him. He stared at her back for a while before speaking again.
"Glory," he said quietly and she stiffened. "Nate will be coming back to you, I promise you that. Neither one of us is going to get killed."
"How can you know that? How can you make such a promise?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but I just know. I can't tell you whether or not I had these.feelings.before, but maybe it has something to do with having been dead. I don't know, but my gut instinct tells me this plan is going to come off without a hitch."
"Are you really that sure?" she asked as she turned quickly toward him, her face creased with worry.
Adam nodded. "Now I can't choose what I have these feelings about, they just spring up sometimes. But on this one I have no doubt." He was glad to see her relax.
"But please don't say anything to Thea about the plan. She'd go crazy if she knew we're going to knock out the whole gang with doctored whiskey and then load them into a locked boxcar."
Glory shook her head. "How on earth did you ever come up with such a crazy idea," she said and started moving pans from the stovetop to the warming shelf.
"Actually, it's not really my idea, I just changed it slightly. One of the older Pinkerton detectives told me how they captured a southern scouting party by knocking them out with gas grenades, then just picking them up after they passed out. Worked like a charm."
She smiled as she transferred the last pan and was about to comment when Thea appeared in the doorway to the inner hall.
Adam saw her eyes go over his head and he stood, correctly assuming she was looking at Thea. She gave him a wan smile and he shook his head as he opened his arms to her. He braced himself, wondering again how such a small woman could almost knock him off his feet, as she rushed to him and hugged him tightly.
No one ate very much and Adam held her hand the whole way through the meal until Nate showed up at the back door. Then he gave her hand one last hard squeeze before standing and picking up his bag.
Nate came in to hug Glory and kiss her cheek while Adam bent down to kiss Thea on the lips. As soon as his lips touched hers, she stood to throw her arms around his shoulders and fiercely kissed him back until he had to pull away.
He smiled down into her huge eyes, gently stroked her cheek with his knuckles, and then nodded at Nate. The two men quickly went down the front hall and out the front door, closing it firmly behind them. They hurried down the brick walk and then down the street, heading for the train station and didn't speak until they boarded and settled into two seats.
Adam sighed as he leaned back and tipped his hat over his face. Nate couldn't help but grin.
"Rough night last night?" he asked, knowing the other man hadn't heard Glory whisper to him about Thea's late night visit to his room.
"You have no idea."
"Oh I think I do. Thea showed up, right?"
His partner abruptly sat up, caught his hat as it fell, and stared at his friend in surprise for a few seconds. Then he figured it out. "Glory told you," he said, disgusted with himself for falling for it.
"Yeah," Nate laughed as the other man leaned back again. He stayed silent for a while, musing about the strange situation his friend seemed to find himself in frequently.
"And nothing happened?" he asked and Adam lifted his hat to give him a dark look.
"Of course not," he said firmly, then covered his face again. "Now shut up, I need to get at least a little sleep."
"OK," his friend agreed with his usual good humor. "I just don't know how you did that."
"I don't either," Adam answered in an annoyed tone. "But I CAN tell you she better say 'yes' soon. This is definitely getting on my nerves."
Nate tried to hold back his laughter, but couldn't until the older man lifted his hat again to give him another dark look.
"Oh shut up, will you?" he almost barked and Nate firmly reined in his sense of humor, but continued to struggle against his laughter for a while even as the train pulled out and they were on their way.