Page 56 of Whisper of Temptation (Whisper Lake 4)

This conversation sounded eerily familiar to one she’d had with Jack. Not that the one she’d had with her ex had included that he’d never felt this way before or that he wanted to spend every day together. But the complicated and maybe we can try parts were definitely ringing bells.

“You don’t even want to try?” Austin got straight to the point.

“I want…” She was hoping the rest of this sentence would just auto-fill, but when it didn’t, she had to really think about what she wanted, or more importantly didn’t want.

She didn’t want to spend the rest of her time here in Whisper Lake alone. She didn’t want to let the fear of what would happen when this momentary fairytale was over stop her from experiencing it while she could. She didn’t want to look back at the time she spent here and regret what could’ve been.

The kids and what she would do about their attachment to Austin was one thing. When they got back, it would probably be best if Austin wasn’t around as much. But while they were in Chicago, Sara knew what she wanted.

Her entire life had been spent taking care of other people. Always doing the right thing. The responsible thing. She wanted a few days for her, where she could just relax and enjoy herself.

“I want to enjoy my time here, with you. I want to let you drive.”

The bad-boy smile that was quickly ranking in Sara’s top ten favorite things spread across Austin’s face. His eyes darkened to a deep emerald shade and the energy between them crackled with electricity. She would’ve thought that after being together, it would’ve diluted the potency of pent-up sexual desire. If anything, it had multiplied it.

“Well, hello there, Mr. Stone, Ms. Kellan.”

The voice startled Sara out of her lust haze, and she looked up to see that Mrs. Dobrinski was approaching their table. She hadn’t met the woman formally, but her reputation certainly preceded her. Sara braced herself for a Spanish Inquisition or some kind of FBI level interrogation, but instead she was looking back and forth between Sara and Austin like she was seeing a ghost. Or two ghosts. “I’m sorry…I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone.”

Austin and Sara exchanged glances to see if the other one knew what was going on. They didn’t.

Being the assertive gentleman of Sara’s dreams, Austin stood and offered the woman his chair. “Is everything okay, Mrs. D? Would you like to sit?”

“No, I’m fine.” She shooed Austin with her hand. Then her eyes laser focused on Sara. “You’re Betty Casson’s granddaughter.”

Chills ran up Sara’s arm. Casson was her grandma’s maiden name. “Yes, I am.”

“I just can’t get over how much you look like her. The spitting image.”

“Did you know her?” Sara heard her voice go high as excitement raced through her at the possibility that she had. She started rummaging through her purse to find the picture.

“Oh, yes. I spent every day with her and Clifford the summer she was here with her folks.”

“My grandpa?” Austin asked.

Sara was still putting the pieces together as she pulled the photo from her purse.

“He knew her?”

“Oh, boy, I should say so. Maybe I should sit.” Austin pulled his chair out and held Mrs. D’s arm as she lowered into it. Then he grabbed another chair from an adjacent table and joined them as Sara was handing Mrs. D the photograph of her grandma.

“This picture is why I came here. My grandma said the summer she spent in Whisper Lake was magical.”

“Well, yeah. I bet she did. She and Clifford were inseparable, much to your great-grandfather’s dismay. He didn’t like the idea of his daughter running around with a local boy. But your grandma.” Mrs. D shook her head as a whisper of a smile crossed her face. “She was a firecracker. She was ready to throw away her inheritance, her family name, everything just to be with Clifford.”

“So they were in love?” Sara felt tears prick in her eyes.

“Oh, yes. And it was the real thing, if I ever saw it.”

“So what happened?” Sara prompted.

“Well, as summers have a habit of doing, it came to an end. And a week before Betty was set to leave with her parents, on his eighteenth birthday, Clifford enlisted in the Army. He was shipped out the next day, but before he left he came to see me. He told me that Betty deserved better than what he had to offer. He gave me this picture to give to her, told me to tell her it was how he’d always remember her. I’ll never forget the look on her face when I broke the news to her that he was gone.”

“Did they ever see each other again?” Austin asked, looking as stunned by the story as Sara felt.

“Not that I know of. It wasn’t like it is nowadays, with Facebook and Google and all the other ways you can find someone. Back then, it was difficult to stay in touch. I never heard from Betty again after that summer. Clifford came back after serving for six years. He bought the B&B with his GI bill.”

The B&B he’d renamed after her grandma’s favorite fairytale. The Princess and the Pea.

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