The Swear Jar (23 page)

He walked upstairs towards the
bedroom.  He hoped she had not awakened.  He heard a strange noise.  He
realized with some unease the noise was coming from their bedroom.  It was like
a kitten mewling.  It got louder as he reached the top of the stairs.  Sleeping
in their bed, she had a pained look on her face.  She was making the mewling
sounds.  He watched for a moment.  She began to sob.  His heart broke.  He
rushed forward and tossed off his shoes.  He climbed into bed behind her,
pulling her into an embrace.  Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

“Duncan…Duncan…Where are you?” she
cried, still asleep.

“I’m here, Meara.  Wake up,
sweetheart.  I’m here.  Shhh, it’s all right.  Wake up,” he cooed.

He gently rocked her in his arms. 
Her crying had stopped, but she was groggy.

He whispered into her ear.  “Please
wake up, Meara.  You’re scaring me.”

She opened her eyes.  “Duncan!  I
had such a horrible nightmare.  I couldn’t move.  I was calling for you.  I
couldn’t find you.  I was in the library and you weren’t there.  I was in your
house, but you weren’t there either.  Then I was here and I couldn’t find you. 
I called for you, but you didn’t answer.  I was so afraid.”

She clung to him as he continued to
rock her in his arms.  He held her tightly.

He kissed her forehead.  “It’s all
right.  I’m here.  I’m not going anywhere.  I promise not to go anywhere.  I
love you.”

She pulled his hand to her lips and
kissed it.  “I love you too.”

She placed his folded index finger
against her lips and sighed.  He stopped rocking her and eased himself against
the pillows, never letting her go.

“Meara?  Why do you hold your index
finger against your lips while you sleep?”

“I didn’t notice.  I used to do it
as a child.  It was a comfort thing.  Now I do it because I’m content.  I
didn’t realize I put your finger against my lips.  Sorry.”

“Sorry for what?  Telling me you’re
content and happy?  You can borrow my index finger whenever you want.”

Intertwining their left hands, she
inhaled sharply.  “Duncan?  We’re not wearing our wedding rings.  When did you
stop wearing it?”

“In my office, after you told me
you loved me.  And you?”

“Locking up my office, after you
told me you loved me.”

“We don’t need to hide behind them
anymore.”  He kissed her gently.

His stomach growled, loudly and
prolonged.  She giggled, twisting until she could bury her face in his chest.

She took a deep breath and
laughed.  “We’ve seen each other naked.  Now there’s a hungry wild beast in
your tummy.  All we need is someone to fart and all the magic will be gone.”

He chuckled, “I’ll feed you
something you’re not supposed to eat and you’ll take care of the farting.”

“Very funny.  Speaking of feeding,
let’s see what we can find.”

“How about we grill?  Then we can
take a walk on the beach after dinner.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

They headed downstairs and rummaged
through the refrigerator.  They chose hot dogs and hamburgers, and her noodle
and potato salads.  Duncan headed out to fire up the grill.  Meara worked on a
green salad.  She hadn’t given him his birthday present and wanted to sneak it
onto the patio table.

He returned.  “It’ll take a few
minutes for the coals.  I’m going to look for the sand chairs.  Mike said there
were some.  I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll set the table on the patio. 
Do you think there’s a beach umbrella too?  I brought my sunscreen, but we
can’t be too careful.  An umbrella would be nice.”

“I’ll check.”  He wanted to sneak
into the cottage, hoping tomorrow would be another exciting day.

She hurried, tucking his present
onto his chair.  She found plates, forks and napkins for the table.  She placed
hot dogs and hamburgers on plates and found grill tools.  She put an armload of
food on the table.  She didn’t see him, but the coals needed a little more
time.  She wondered if he would want his birthday cake.  She set out dessert
plates and forks just in case.  She found a coffee maker.  She knew he liked
strong coffee.  She wondered where he was when he popped into the kitchen.

Smiling, he was out of breath. 
“The coals are ready.  What do we have to cook?  I found the sand chairs and an
umbrella.”

“Sir Duncan, we have these humble
plates to cook.  I’ll send you off to fight the burning coals with a humble
token of my affection and a spatula.”  Kissing him, she handed him a plate and
spatula.  “Now, off with you!  And conquer the coals!”

“It’ll be my honor, Lady Meara,” he
bowed, holding the plate and spatula steady.

She slapped him on the butt.  “That
was my real token of affection.  I’m right behind you, enjoying the view, and
bringing the other plate and a fork.  The fork is pointy, so don’t get any
ideas, Sir Duncan.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said over his
shoulder.  “But once my hands are free, I make no promises.”

“I’ll make a run for it,” she
laughed.

“I could chase you.  That lawn
looks soft.  I could tackle you while the hamburgers cook.”

“Don’t even think about it, buddy. 
I’m not letting go of the fork and I’m not afraid to use it.”

He placed the hot dogs and
hamburgers on the grill.  “Hand it over, Lady Meara, or the hot dogs will
burn.”

“That’s an idle threat, grill
master.  Whose stomach is rumbling?  But here, as a sign of good faith, I
relinquish my fork to you, Sir Duncan.”  She curtsied, handing him the fork.

He grabbed her wrist.  “I’ve got
you now.  I don’t care if my stomach is growling.  I’ll nibble your neck.  I’m
good at multitasking.”

He held her tight around the
waist.  He flipped the hamburgers and rotated the hot dogs.  She enjoyed the
playful tug of war.  She tried pulling away while he cooked, but he kept a firm
grip on her.  She gave up when the food was ready.  He let her go.  He held out
the chair for her to sit, then went to sit himself.  She held her breath.  She
really wanted him to like her present.  He looked down at the heavy,
rectangular shaped package, covered with wrapping paper and a bow.  He
recognized it as from the Branches and Twigs Bookstore.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“It’s your birthday present.  One
day late.  I’m sorry.  I forgot to give it to you yesterday.”

“You already gave me the best
birthday present ever.  You didn’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I did.  I only hope you don’t
already have it.  Go ahead, open it.  The suspense is killing me.”

“Maybe I’ll wait until after
dinner.”

“Stop teasing me, you awful man. 
Open it!”

She watched as he opened her
present.  It was a red leather bound
Lord of the Rings
trilogy by J.R.R.
Tolkien.  He smiled and leafed through the pages.

“Do you like it?  Do you have one
already?  I know Mike gave you
The Hobbit
.  And the dragon you gave me
is Smaug.  I thought perhaps if you like
The Hobbit
, you might like the
next adventure.”  She rambled nervously.

“This is great.  I love it.  I
don’t have one.  I’d like to read
The Hobbit
with you.  Then we can
tackle this one.”

“I’m so glad.  I have one of these
too.  We can read together.  I love the books, but I confess, I need a
scorecard sometimes to keep track of what’s going on.”

“We’ll figure it out together.” 
His stomach growled.

“We should eat before the monster
in your tummy makes an appearance.”

He ate until his stomach was full. 
She complimented him on his grilling skills while he marveled at her salads. 
He wasn’t too keen on green salads, but he liked hers.  She picked at her
food.  She felt nervous.  She couldn’t shake the cold feeling her nightmare had
given her.  She was enjoying their time together.  Whenever he touched her, she
felt a warm, electrical tingling.  She was feeling overwhelmed.

She hoped he would be patient with
her.  All it took was for him to touch her and she gave in to her passion.  A
little voice in her head kept asking her why she was giving him so much
control.  She didn’t want to be controlled.  It was easy to give in to him
because he was romantic.  She was driving herself crazy.  She was being unfair
to him.  She remembered what Yoli had said.  Go for it.

“Earth to Meara.  Come in Meara.” 
He was looking at her anxiously.

“I’m sorry, Duncan.  I spaced out,”
she laughed.  “What were you saying?”

He held her hand.  “Would you like
to go for a walk on the beach?  The sun should be setting soon.”

“I would like that very much.”

“I’ll make sure the coals are
cold.”

“When we get back, do you want
birthday cake?”

“There’s always room for cake.”

She laughed.  He suggested bringing
a light jacket in case it became cool.  They held hands as they made their way
to the beach.  The boardwalk was quiet now.  They found a bench facing the
ocean.  She tucked into his chest and held his hand.

“What do you want to do tomorrow?”
he asked.

“I’d love to see the sunrise. 
Spend some time at the beach.  What do you want to do tomorrow?”

“I’d like to come to the beach
too.  Maybe build a sandcastle.  I’ve never spent much time at the beach. 
Brenda didn’t like the Shore.”

“My family used to come to the
Shore for vacations.  Getting tossed around in the waves was not my idea of
fun, but sandcastles and walking sound good.”

“What else did you do at the
Shore?”

“We would go to the arcades and on
the rides.  I miss Skeeball.  I was addicted to it as a kid.  I’d save up my
allowance and spend it all on Skeeball.  Miniature golf was fun too.  If you
ever want to see me lose my cool, take me to play mini golf.  I’m horrible.”

“So let’s go now.  It’s still
early.  The boardwalk’s open late.  Let’s go play Skeeball and mini golf.  What
else do you remember?”

“You can’t go to the boardwalk
without getting a slice of pizza, zeppoles and stopping at the sweet shop.”

“I don’t know if I could handle
pizza, but we can save the zeppoles and sweets.”

“Let’s do it.  But I’m warning you
to bring lots of change for Skeeball.  I’ll use up every last quarter you
have.”

“I’ll turn out my pockets before we
go.”

They walked home to gather their
change.  They drove to the boardwalk.  She was as excited as a little kid.  She
freaked out to see him using quarters to feed the parking meter.  He used
Duncan magic to calm her down.  She led him past the sweet shop.

“On the way out.”  She wagged her
finger.

He smiled.  She had a routine for
the boardwalk.  He would defer to her experience.

She pointed.  “That’s the best
pizza place.  They also have zeppoles.  They put the zeppoles in a paper bag
with powdered sugar.  You shake the bag to cover them.”

“Do you want to play Skeeball or
mini golf first?  If you play Skeeball first, we might not have the money for
mini golf.”

“Good point.  The best place for
mini golf is just up ahead.”

They walked hand in hand, taking in
the sights.  It was a crowded night.  They could hear people screaming on the
rides.  The roller coaster zipped by overhead.  He was secretly grateful she
didn’t like the rides.  He saw families and couples, up and down the
boardwalk.  He wondered if they looked odd to other people.

He hoped no one would assume she
was his daughter.  He hoped he looked younger than his age because she looked
younger for her age.  Her gentle features and her natural, makeup-free look
made her youthful.  Their age difference didn’t bother him when he was alone
with her, but he wondered what other people thought.

Andrew and Sean probably thought
she was the same age as him.  They were in for a shock.  No one at the library
thought their ages made a difference.  He needed to face the fact he was an
older guy with a younger woman.  A sexy, full of life woman who thought he was
sexy.  His anxiety switched to how he was going to keep her happy.

She led him by the hand to the mini
golf course.  After choosing clubs, she went first since Sir Duncan was ever
chivalrous.  She hit the ball and it went wild.  It didn’t go anywhere near the
hole.  He chuckled.

“Laugh now.  It only gets worse. 
Those little score cards can’t hold all the marks I’m going to need,” she
snorted.

He watched her swivel her hips.  He
groaned.  She gave him a quizzical look.  He let out a long breath.  She swayed
her hips and bent forward slightly.  She had no idea the effect she was having
on him.  She was a terrible player, but she was having a great time.  He had a
respectable score, but he was growing uncomfortable.  He didn’t want to cause a
scene, but he was finding it difficult to concentrate.

She was so damned sexy without even
knowing it.  He had to find a way to release some of his feelings.  He didn’t
want to ruin their night out.  After the round of mini golf was over, he was
clearly the winner.  They headed to the arcade where her favorite Skeeball
machines were.  He needed to find a dark corner where he could make out with
her.  He spied a Tunnel of Love ride.  He led her to the ticket booth.

“Where are we going?” she asked,
laughing.

“On that ride there,” he replied
huskily.

She gave him a curious look.  “Okay.”

As soon as it was dark, he kissed
her.  His thumb found her breast.  He kissed her neck and put his hand between
her legs.  She ran her hands through his hair and pressed close to him.  She
rubbed the front of his jeans.  He groaned, pressing her against the back of
the car.

“You were driving me crazy during
mini golf.  Your hips.  Your laugh.  I was close to taking you right there in
front of everyone,” he whispered.

“I didn’t realize.  Are you better
now or do we have to go home?”

“I’m a little better now.  Is there
much hip wiggling in Skeeball?”

“There’s more bending than
wiggling.”

“You’re so cruel.”

With their arms wrapped firmly
around their waists, they exited the ride.  They found her favorite arcade for
Skeeball.  She clapped her hands as she found the Skeeball lane she wanted to
use.

She pointed to the lanes.  “I’ll
play here.  You play there.”

“How about I watch you?”

“No!  We have to play and earn
tickets.  The more you play, the more tickets you get.  The tickets add up to
prizes.  We’re trying to get high scores to get more tickets.  Oh, please
play!” she protested.

A young couple next to Meara and
Duncan were happily playing Skeeball.  They high-fived each other as their
tickets rolled out of the machines.  Duncan watched in amusement.

The young man turned to Duncan. 
“Have you ever played Skeeball?  The wife got me hooked.  Your wife is right. 
The more you play, the more tickets you get.  The prizes are cheesy, but you’ve
earned them.  Isn’t that right, dear?”

“Yes, it is.  If your wife likes
Skeeball, I suggest you learn to like it.  She’s not going to give it up.  It’s
in her blood.  Besides, if you help, she’ll thank you later for the prizes.  If
you know what I mean,” the young woman said, winking.  “You two make a cute
couple.”

“Thank you,” said Duncan.

Bright red, Meara whispered, “Did
they say what I think they said?”

“They said a few things.  What made
you turn red?”

Meara squeaked, “Wife.”

“I like it she thinks we’re a cute
couple.  Will you thank me later for the prizes?” he whispered in her ear. 
“And it’s better for them to think you’re my wife than my daughter.”

“What?”  Her cheeks were crimson. 
“I could never be mistaken for your daughter.  Is that what you think?”

“All right, don’t get upset.  You
haven’t answered me.  What do I get for helping you earn prizes?”

“I’ll thank you until you have a
big smile on your face.”  She dropped her voice.

“Let’s play right now!” he laughed.

He fished in his pocket for a
quarter.  He held it out to her.  It reminded him of the first time they met. 
From the look on her face, she was thinking the same thing.

“Coming to my rescue again, Sir
Duncan?” she asked softly.

“Yes, I am,” he replied.

She touched the quarter, but didn’t
take it.  She kissed him.  Pleased, he looked around to see if anyone else had
noticed.  The young couple gave him the thumbs up sign.  Duncan watched Meara
play to understand how the game worked.  Skeeball was a combination of bowling
and golf on an inclined plane.  Roll the ball uphill and get it into different
holes for points.  She wiggled and bent to aim her ball.  Exhaling, he played
to distract himself from the way she moved.

She told the truth when she said
she was a Skeeball addict.  She kept feeding the machine.  He could see the
attraction.  It was fun to lob the balls up the lane and see where the ball
landed.  The score could change with the slight flick of the wrist.  She
enjoyed seeing the long ribbon of tickets appear.  He enjoyed watching her. 
She was on her last game since they had run out of quarters.  He gathered his
tickets and waited for her.