The Love Letter (8 page)

H
is glance moved restlessly around the room seeking anything that would keep his thoughts from her. There were few enough items to look at and none that succeeded in actually diverting his attention. The books on the nightstand produced a faint smile once he noticed one of his were among them. But even that discovery could only distract him for so long.

At this point, Meredith gave up the struggle and allowed his eyes to settle on
Sabrina. He noted that some of her color had returned, and her breathing was more like natural sleep. Even as his mind registered these more practical considerations, he found himself studying the woman whose actions he still found inexplicable.

Meredith would never forget
the day he caught Sabrina in his office. As the exam questions slipped from her fingers, her face had turned deathly white. She recovered her composure enough to deny his accusation and entertain him with a story about looking for a letter. He hadn’t believed her at the time, yet he hadn’t done the obvious thing which was report her actions to authorities. Instead, he administered a stern warning and let her go.

When he discover
ed Sabrina’s letter a few days later, he didn’t know what to think. Maybe she hadn’t been stealing test questions, but that didn’t excuse her other actions. She lied to him about writing the letter, and made it worse by attempting to remove the evidence from his office.

Meredith had stuffed
the offending narrative into his briefcase fully intending to destroy it when he got home. Unfortunately, the proof of a student’s practical joke wasn’t high on his list of priorities; by the end of the day, more pressing concerns caused him to forget about disposing of the letter. Several weeks passed before Meredith found it again.

That
lapse of time between the first and second reading was long enough for Meredith’s anger over the situation to subside. Though he still couldn’t understand why anyone would attempt such a ridiculous prank, he was able to appreciate the letter for its many literary merits.

He wondered how a
young woman he knew from experience to be reckless, immature and not above outright theft could write such beautiful phrases about love. Had she copied those exquisitely written lines from someone else? It made him angry to think such eloquently penned words had been used for such a purpose. Sabrina should have been writing them to her boyfriend – not wasting them on a college professor.

M
urmurs from the direction of the bed brought a halt to these thoughts. With some reluctance, he clasped one of her hands. A dreamy smile formed on her lips, and then her lovely eyes opened. Meredith felt a peculiar sensation not unlike falling off a cliff before his common sense took over.

“
Feeling better?” he asked more curtly than he meant to.

Sabrina was
shocked to find Meredith in her room, and even more astonished to discover him holding her hand. She wondered if she was dreaming. If so, it was the best dream she’d had in a long time. “I feel fine. Why are you in here?”

A wave of
annoyance swept through him. He’d been asking himself that question for the last fifteen minutes. “Because you fainted,” he retorted succinctly. “You got up too quickly and too soon after running into me.”

“
Oh, yes. I remember now. Did you carry me up here?”

“No, I watched Casey do it.”

A chuckle escaped Sabrina. “I suppose that was a stupid question. Well, I can’t stay here all day.” She glanced pointedly in his direction since he was effectively blocking her exit from the bed, but he didn’t budge an inch.

“You’re going to end up on the floor again if you don’t take things easy.”
Meredith moved back a step and watched her stand up. All he needed was for her to faint again. “Any dizziness?”

Sabrina looked up to answer and found his eyes studying her
somberly. They hadn’t looked like that a few minutes ago. “Like I said, I feel fine now. Thank you for staying with me. It was nice of you considering…well, considering everything.”

A
mocking smile pulled at his lips. “I agree, but I could hardly leave you lying on the porch with Casey screaming her head off.”

Sabrina
laughed again, and Meredith couldn’t help noticing how attractive it sounded. What was going on with him this morning?

“How diplomatic you are! You probably felt like I got what I deserved.”

As this had been close to his true sentiments, Meredith didn’t bother to reply. “Let me go down the stairs ahead of you. We don’t need another fall.”

“I apologize for
taking up your time.”

“
It was a distraction I could have lived without,” was his dry reply.

“Undoubtedly. And one that I wish I could undo. You’re the last person
I want to be indebted to.”

Meredith
stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned around. Since she was above him, their faces were almost level. “But you are already indebted to me, Sabrina. And those debts keep adding up. You must hope that I never demand payment.” He was gone before she could think of a reply.

Sabrina tried to forget that conversation with Meredith as she helped Casey finish the last of the breakfast dishes. It was an impossible task. She kept seeing his face, so close to her own and those blue eyes staring intently into hers. What was he trying to tell her? And why did she feel so shaken?

Casey
insisted Sabrina rest during the afternoon despite her assurance that she was suffering no ill effects from the morning’s fall. Once in her room, she couldn’t relax. It was as if Meredith was staring down at her while she lay in the bed. Why couldn’t she get him out of her mind?

Stuffing her feet into sandals, she grabbed her sunglasses and a book. She could rest just as
well outside. Sabrina settled into the hammock Casey had recently purchased with a satisfied sigh. The ocean breeze teased her hair and swayed the branches of the trees overhead. She was soon lost to anything but the words on the pages of her book. After a while, the book fell harmlessly to the side as her eyes slowly closed.

In his room,
Meredith keyed in the last word of the chapter he’d been rewriting all morning. He was making steady progress on his book despite numerous interruptions. Between Juliet and Sabrina, it was challenging to write at the inn, but until his house was ready, this was his only option. He stretched lazily before walking to the window.

There was Juliet’s bright orange umbrella stuck in the sand, but she wasn’t under it. She couldn’t be idle
for long or alone for that matter. Her beauty made her the center of attention wherever she went, and her charm was sufficient to make even the most sensible man behave foolishly. This popularity had earned her a reputation of being heartless, but Meredith knew better. His sister had a perfectly good heart, and it would eventually beat faster when the right man came along.

His eyes swung away from the beach and onto the grounds of the inn.
He noticed someone making good use of the new hammock. As his eyes focused more clearly on the figure, he frowned. Meredith knew by the way she lay so still that Sabrina was asleep. This thought brought back all the events of the morning and those feelings he’d so studiously tried to erase from his mind. With an abrupt movement, he turned back to the table.

His efforts to begin the next chapter were
essentially useless. The mood was lost and when the words wouldn’t come, Meredith found it best to walk away. Juliet had mentioned going to Savannah one afternoon; since he couldn’t write, he might as well get that trip out of the way. She would be surprised when he came to find her; usually it was the other way around.

As he
stepped off the porch, his glance involuntarily went toward the hammock. Since he’d last seen her, Sabrina had managed to entangle her feet in the mesh webbing. Meredith debated leaving her to her fate. The tiresome girl couldn’t do even the simplest things without getting into trouble. With an exasperated sigh, he made his way across the yard. With any luck, he could accomplish this rescue without waking her.

Sabrina wasn’t aware of Meredith’s efforts on her behalf.
She was lost in the pleasant world of dreams.
She was sitting in the gazebo, the breeze playing with the pages of the book she held. Close by, someone was whistling. She slowly rose to her feet and looked around.

Where was the
whistling coming from? And then she saw him. A man was slowly coming toward her. She couldn’t see his face clearly, but he was smiling. It must be David - who else would meet her here?

The touch of Meredith’s fingers on her skin broke the spell of the dream
, and Sabrina’s eyes slowly opened. “What are you doing?” Her eyes went from her bare foot to the shoe in his hand.

“Trying to save you from another fall,” he
answered testily. “Can’t you even manage a hammock?”

Sabrina reached for the book
lying at her side. Before he could guess her intention, she threw it at him. It missed by a mile, falling harmlessly to the ground. The astounded look on his face was too much for her. She started to laugh, and after a moment, he did, too.

“Is your aim that bad? Or w
as that a warning shot?” he demanded.

“
A little of both,” she admitted.

Retrieving the book, he gave
it a cursory glance. “No wonder you fell asleep.”

Sabrina
tried to sit up and found it nearly impossible. Meredith watched her futile efforts with an amused grin on his face.

“Instead of criticizing my reading material, could you help me get out of this death trap?”

He leaned over her until their faces were merely inches apart. “Another rescue, another debt on your tally, Sabrina,” he whispered. Then he lifted her out of the hammock and into his arms.

Before Sabrina could enjoy the novelty of being held close to Meredith, Juliet spoke from behind them.
“Did Sabrina faint again?”

Both of them glanced her way
in surprise, Sabrina overcome with embarrassment and Meredith intensely annoyed at having been caught doing something silly. He set Sabrina onto her feet before handing over the book and her sandal.

“No;
she was doing her best to fall out of the hammock.”

“
How fortunate that you happened to be on hand and lucky for me, too! I wasn’t looking forward to dragging you away from your book.”

Meredith darted a glance at the silent girl at his side.
“I finished early; we can leave whenever you say.”

Juliet smiled widely.
“Then I better hurry and get ready before you change your mind.” With a saucy wave, she walked toward the inn, leaving behind the uncomfortable silence that usually follows awkward situations.

Sabrina
was hoping Meredith would go with her, but instead of following Juliet, he turned back in her direction.

“I hope you’re happy,” he said in a low tone. “Once again you’ve managed to involve me in
something disagreeable.”

Sabrina sank down into the grass to adjust the strap of her sandal looking not at all concerned by the frown marring her companion’s face. “
Aren’t you overreacting? It’s not like she caught us doing anything. Besides, Juliet doesn’t look like the jealous type, and anyone with eyes can see that in any competition with her, I’m going to be the loser.”

Meredith
found his annoyance slipping away during this long speech. “There are so many absurdities in your statements I hardly know where to begin.”

Having regained her feet, Sabrina
threw him an impish smile that he had a hard time ignoring. “That’s good because I don’t have time to listen to you anyway.”

“Ye
s, I know all about your ongoing duties. I suppose it’s time to bake a pie. Just try to stay on your feet. I won’t be here this afternoon to rescue you.”

For a moment, he thought she was going to hurl
the book in his direction for a second time, but instead she left him without uttering a single word.

Sabrina made her way to the kitchen.
Meredith’s mockery of her actions stung, but didn’t surprise her. In his eyes, she would never do anything right. But no hurtful words of his could take away the pleasure she experienced when he held her in his arms. She would endure much worse from him if she thought it might produce the same result.

As she gathered ingredients for the cream cake that would be served during afternoon tea, a
sudden chill went through her. Had she really sunk to such a level? Is this what being in love had done to her? It seemed pathetic to take happiness from an experience that had been so entirely one-sided.

By the time
her sister put in appearance, Sabrina had managed to subdue the turbulent thoughts flying around in her head.

“
What are you doing? I told you to rest,” Casey accused with a frown.

Ignorin
g the question, Sabrina held out the spatula in her hand. “Taste this. Something is missing.”