Page 15 of It's You
She didn’t want to think about Phillip, but with the exception of a few professors at Dartmouth, she really hadn’t dated very much, and no one had ever felt right.
“Are thesePhillip’swoods?” Jack’s voice interrupted her thoughts, dripping with disdain.
“Proctor’s an old Carlisle name. Can’t throw a pebble down Main Street without hitting a Proctor.”
“Continue.”
“About Phillip? Nothing much to tell. He was a few years older than me in high school, but we both grew up here. My folks’ve known his family forever. We started dating in Boston while I was in grad school and he was working at a bank in Cambridge.” She took a breath, banishing painful old memories. “Didn’t work out.”
“Why not?”
“My turn. How do you know Amory?”
“He’s been helping me renovate my house. My folks signed over some land to me. Had a building on it, but it needed a lot of work. When I went looking for a builder around Carlisle last fall, I recognized the name Turner. I didn’t remember Amory from my short time here, but I emailed him, and he agreed to do some work for me. Helped refurbish the main building and built a new garage from my plans.”
“Oh!You’rethe big project he’s been working on. Did you say house? From what I’ve heard, it’s more of a great lodge. On the north border of the woods.”
“That’s right.” Jack furrowed his brow, watching her. “You haven’t…you haven’t seen it, have you?
“No,” she answered. “Amory’s been cagey about it.”
“I appreciate my privacy. Don’t need any Proctors coming around snooping.”
“So you’ve been here for a while. Why have you?—”
“My turn, Darcy, but I’ll give it to you if you let me hold your hand.”
She couldn’t help cracking a small smile at his wiliness. “You think you’re clever.”
“Oh, I’mveryclever.”
“And very modest.”
He chuckled, then looked at her, cocking his head to the side. The sunlight made the grays in his hair and beard sparkle like silver. It gave him an otherworldly glow, like something mythic and impossible.
Not yet.
Okay.He looked away.
“How come I can hear your thoughts, and you can hear mine?” she asked.
She looked at his bowed head and saw him clench his jaw again. Saw it flex under his cheek as Jack took a deep breath through his nose, then he rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.
“I’m not totally sure.”
“Come on! That’s not fair. You were nowhere near as surprised as I was. You have to answer, Jack.”
He looked at her, capturing her eyes.
Stop yelling at me, and I’ll answer you. I’mnottotally sure. But some of the…um…married couples in my family can do this. It’s a weird family thing that we don’t talk about that much.
We’re not married, Jack.
I know that, Darcy.
“That’s why I’m not sure,” he finished.
“Sounds like a half-truth to me. I think you know more than you’re saying.”
