Chapter3

#Chapter3

/"Do I look alright, Sofia?/" The rush of air she made as Imara rushed through the kitchen, straightening her skirt, blew the little orange curly hairs off Sofia’s neck. /"Ugh! I look like a little girl./"

Round, freckled cheeks turned from the sink and leaned back to check Imara over. /"You’d look alright in a potato sack. Besides, he’ll be here to work, not to stare at you all day long. And, trust me, no man alive would ever mistake you for a little girl./"

A pink tongue licked the witch’s palm, then pulled at the stray curl that she could never smooth down as she caught her reflection in the window. /"I’m so nervous; my hands are shaking like a leaf. Here, feel them./"

After she wiped her hands on her apron, Sofia felt her cold fingertips. /"Bless your heart; they’re freezing./"

/"I can’t help it./" The back of Imara’s shaking hand pressed against her forehead. /"Maybe I’m fevered./"

The plump cook pushed Imara’s hair off her shoulder and shook her head. /"There isn’t anything wrong with you. This is love. That little cherub done shot you right in the ass./"

Horse’s hooves started up the drive, and the smile she gave Sofia fell from her face. The louder they became, the faster her heart raced. /"He’s here. Should I go out there and say hello? I don’t want to be a bother, but…/"

/"But you want to see him./" Her teeth held down her pouty bottom lip as Imara nodded, and her eyes fell to the floor. Sofia tapped her little nose with her finger to draw back her attention. /"Trust me; he’s going to figure out a way to catch a glimpse of you, Sweet Girl. Men are hunters. He’ll want to take a gander at his prey before he leaves here today./"

/"Alright then./" A silly smile came to her lips, and she rolled her eyes away. /"I suppose I can make myself useful in the meantime./" The chain wiggled under her fingertips as she yanked it from her chest. /"What can I do to keep myself out of trouble?/"

Sofia went back to chopping vegetables for tonight’s meal, but paused to point her knife to the window. /"You wanted to get your garden started. Why don’t you ask if Shaw can help you since he’s too yellow to go up on the roof like a real man?/"

Like a burglar searching for signs of trouble, Imara peeked out the doorway and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized Ben wasn’t there. The crunchy grass bent under the soles of her shoes as she inched across the yard, where Shaw was digging a hole for a new fence post. /"Shaw, when you’re finished with that, can you help me figure out where I can plant my garden?/"

A red handkerchief blotted his forehead as he leaned across the handle of his shovel. /"Of course, but this soil is no good./" Something caught his gaze past Imara, and he nodded his chin. /"Ben, you think you can bring a load of soil and manure for Imara’s garden before she throws a conniption?/"

The rush of a heartbeat pounded in her ears, and her hands balled into fists to hide how they shook when she heard his voice. /"I reckon I can bring that tomorrow afternoon./"

After she plastered on her bravest smile, she turned to face him. Dark eyes moved all over her as he laid his hand on the shoulder of the older man walking next to him. /"Miss Parker, this is my father, Harold./"

The scorching afternoon sun gleamed off his shiny head as he reached out his hand to Imara. /"My pleasure, Miss Parker. You’re just as pretty as Ben said you were./"

An uncomfortable smile and a shot of air left Ben’s mouth as he kicked at the dirt. /"Yes, she sure is./"

Her little nose wrinkled as Harold shook her hand. /"That’s very kind, thank you, both./" The thrill of his skin against hers was too much of a temptation, and she poked her finger into Ben’s suntanned arm. /"I’m so happy to see you./"

His hand slid through his hair as he pushed it away and inched a little closer. /"You are?/"

Before she could answer, Shaw came by and motioned with his hand. /"You can come with me./"

A little puff of frustration came from her nose as she crossed her arms and watched them turn away until Ben lifted his hand to wave goodbye.

/"Is this real?/" The cool metal chain wrapped around her finger while he disappeared through the kitchen door. /"No, it can’t be. You’re a human, aren’t you?/"

***

The backyard was awash in the cool evening air as the shadows grew long across the grass and dirt. From the other side of the kitchen window, Imara peeked through the curtain at Ben and his father at the picnic table. /"Do you think they would allow me to spend time with Ben? Alone, I mean./"

The quiet, huffy chuckle that came from Sofia’s nose let her know before she even turned around that the idea was laughable. /"I doubt it./"

With her dark hair wrapped around her finger, Imara sat on the chair at the counter, and her little feet swung back and forth like a kid on a swing. /"I just want to be near him without everyone around. Is that awful?/"

Sofia shook her head as she arranged the tray. /"No, Imara, I believe that’s normal. You’re a grown woman, for crying out loud; they can’t expect you to stay single forever. Here, baby, take this basket./"

With the tray in front of her, Sofia shrugged her shoulder as she passed by Imara. /"He seems as backward as you are, though. You may have to be the one that makes the first move./"

Bright orange hair jiggled in the sultry breeze as she waddled across the yard with a smile, then set the tray on the picnic table. /"Here you go, fellas. You must be mighty thirsty after being up in that hot attic all day. Let me have that basket, Sweet Girl./"

Every glance at him sent a fire through Imara’s veins, so she hid beside Sofia so she couldn’t see him, and wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead.

Harold glanced between the two of them and smiled when he caught Imara fanning her face. /"Miss Parker, do you think you’d like to go to the fair with us this weekend? We got a mess of pigs to sell off in the morning, but afterward, you two kids could go have some fun./"

With eyes narrowed at his father, Ben swallowed his drink, and a grin came to the side of his mouth when he figured out the plan he was forming. A hand came to Imara’s chest as she turned to Harold. /"I would love that, really, but I’ll have to ask my brother./"

A fat elbow hit her shoulder as Sofia nodded her head to the carriage house. /"Go on./"

Icy hands twisted in front of her as Imara made her way across the lawn, and Sofia clicked her tongue as she set out the rest of the food. /"That was awful kind to ask her, but I’ve been with this family a whole lot of years, and Imara’s been nowhere without one of them at her side./"

The scent of the cool, musty, oily carriage house made Imara cough, but neither of them seemed to notice her as she waited on her turn to speak. Her eyes rolled around the dark room, illuminated only by the sun through the open doorway as the wise old man tipped his head to get a look inside the timepiece he was tinkering with. /"I’ve been practicing witchcraft for over a hundred years now, and I can’t even make a blessed clock run on time./"

Shaw leaned against the table smoking his pipe until he finally raised his eyes to Imara. /"What’s on your mind, Imara?/" His fingers bent rapidly at her. /"Go on and speak up; we ain’t got all day./"

In ten years, she’d never asked for anything, and she felt a bit guilty for even bothering them. /"The Logan’s invited me to the fair this weekend. May I go, please?/"

/"Hmm!/" Shaw snorted out through his nose as he dumped his pipe in the ashtray. /"Un-Un, no way./"

Her fist went to her hip as she clutched at the charm on her necklace. /"You can’t keep me locked up here forever./"

The weight of his elbow pushing against it made the table creak as he stood up straight. /"Pardon me? Why don’t you try that again, little girl./"

The screwdriver Thorin was using dropped to the table with a clang before he turned to face her. /"Imara, we’ve been over this about a million times in a million different ways. Now, go thank them for asking and tell them you have other obligations that day./"

/"The two of you are always saying how you’re trying to keep me safe, but you know what?/" A little shaking finger pointed at them as her teary eyes spilled over. /"I think you’re the people that I need protecting from./"

She wiped her eyes while she made her way back to the table, and Sofia sighed when she noticed the disappointment on her face. /"Sorry, fellas. It doesn’t seem like that went well./"

Clearing her throat of her frustration, Imara blinked her eyes away to the house. /"Um, thank you and all, but Thorin reminded me we have other… he said no./" Like a proper Southern belle, Imara dipped her knees to her guests. /"Excuse me./"

Sofia glanced over her shoulder as the broken-hearted woman hurried to the kitchen door. /"That poor girl. I know you can’t tell with all their nice things and this big ole house, but life’s just not very fair to her./"