Welcome to my Tuesday Tales excerpt this week. We're writing to the word prompt "spring". How appropriate, eh? I have published another excerpt from "Someone Like You." When you've finished reading, check out the stories by the great Tuesday Tales authors. Find them HERE.
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Saturday morning, Charlotte donned her prettiest sundress, all spring green and pink with ruffles at the hem and sandals. She applied light makeup, then headed for the kitchen. She checked the cookie tin. His favorite molasses cookies filled it to the brim. She then dropped slices of sourdough bread into the toaster. She pulled out a cream cheese and olive mixture she had blended the night before. When the bread was just right, she popped it out and covered it with generous amounts of the mixture. After cutting each one into quarters, she slid them carefully into s plastic bag.
These were to be her contributions to their picnic.
After checking her watch, she quickly
placed each item in a sturdy bag, touched up her lipstick, grabbed a white
shawl, and hurried to the door. When she got outside, there he stood, leaning
lazily against his car, his feet crossed at the ankles. She stopped for a
minute to take in the sight of this tall, handsome man. He was lean with long
legs. He wore dark blue jeans that fit snugly, a white short-sleeve polo shirt that stretched over his wide shoulders and was open at the neck. He turned his head, waved, and headed over.
“Let me take that,” he said, reaching
for the bag. Mark always behaved in a chivalrous manner, held chairs for her, opened doors, carried
heavy things. All his little gestures simply cemented his place in her heart.
He smiled his approval
“You look beautiful,” he said as opened the car door. She slid in gracefully. He stowed her things in the back and got behind the wheel.
“Where are we going?”
He sported a foxy grin. “I found the
perfect place. Totally secluded on the banks of a stream in the Willow Falls
National Park.
She raised her eyebrows. A quick,
sudden fear gripped her. As if her mother had reached out from the grave.
Should she be going to a secluded place like that with a man she didn’t know well?
Was it safe? What if he wanted more than she wanted to give?
Her heart rate jumped. She gripped the
arm rest and crossed her legs. She’d been counting the hours until she could be
alone with him again, where did this fear come from?
Words from her mother echoed in her
head. “Never go into the woods with a man, a guy, even a boy, without your father,
your brother, or me. It’s not safe.”
But those were words spoken to a
little girl. She was a grown woman now. Things were different. Of course, she
had never been alone with him in such a private place.
As if by osmosis, Mark frowned. He
pulled the car off into an empty campus parking lot and shut off the motor.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, turning to
face her.
“Nothing,” she lied.
“Don’t lie to me. One look at your
face and I could tell.”
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