A/N - This story is wrapping up, and there will probably be one or two chapters left after this. Enjoy! And I promise it won't be long for another update!
After he left Ben's room, James headed to his own and sat on the bed. He mostly just sat there and thought for a long time about what doctor Franklin had said. He had given James excellent advice about love, and now all he had to do was put that advice to work. But how do you get a girl like Sarah to notice someone like James...
Henri came pounding at the door, interrupting James' train of thought.
"James, lunch is ready so you better hurry up before its gone!"
"Alright, I'm coming, Henri." he replied, and Henri moved on to doctor Franklin.
The food was good, but James was completely silent, too caught up in his own troubles to speak. Occasionally he'd sneak a glance at Sarah and think to himself, how is she ever going to notice me?
"I almost forgot," said Moses, "I had an order for a part for the press that came in today and it must be picked up. It'll take four of us to get it into the cart, so who wants to stay behind?"
"I'll volunteer," Sarah said raising her hand, "I have to clean up anyway, so its not a problem." Moses agreed to let her stay.
"Aw, but I wanted to stay!" Henri moaned, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Sorry, Henri, but we'll need you to help carry the part." said James. He knew how Henri felt; he would have loved to stay behind and talked to Sarah.
A few minutes later Ben, Henri and Moses were walking out the door, James not far behind. Before he reached for the door nob Sarah touched his shoulder, which surprised him and sped up his heartbeat.
"Are you feeling better now, James? You seam a little more like yourself than you did earlier."
"Yeah, I'm fine." he paused trying to think of something else to say.
"That's good. I'm glad to hear it, James." Silence engulfed them. "Be sure to stay out of trouble!" James smiled.
"Not a problem, my dear." he said and bowed in mockery. Sarah began to laugh.
"That's that James I know!" James grinned and rushed out the door.
Sarah returned to the kitchen and began to clean up the remains of dinner. She was about to start sweeping the floor when she heard someone knock and enter. She went to great the stranger, thinking it was information for a story. It was an older gentleman, and he had a scruffy beard and large brown boots that clanked the floor as he walked.
"Good afternoon, sir," Sarah greeted, "how may I help you today?"
"Just bringing the mail." the man spoke, pulling out a letter for Sarah from her mother.
"Wow, your early today. And what happened to Matthew? He usually the one who brings our mail." The man shrugged.
"I don't know for sure, ma'am. Word around town is that he was robbed yesterday. Some guy on the street just came up and knocked him out with one punch. Didn't steal much, though, or so I hear."
"Oh, my, that's awful! I hope he's alright!"
"Yes, so do I. Its quite strange for sure." The man seemed to be lost in thought momentarily. He then pointed a finger at Sarah. "Now, you best be careful, you hear? I don't want you getting into the same thing Matthew did. You best keep your wits about you."
"I sure will, and thank you!" and with a nod and tip of his hat, the scruffy looking man was gone.
Sarah walked back to the kitchen and continued her cleaning, all the while humming to herself and thinking about what the man had said. It wasn't like Matthew to get robbed like that. He was well-off money wise, but he wasn't the type of person that you'd see getting robbed. As she continued to daydream about the subject, she was suddenly hit and fell to the floor. The last thing she saw was a glimpse of strangely familiar brown boots and a beard on the face of her attacker.