Read Sarah's Window for Free Online Page B
Authors: Janice Graham
stretched and her body quivered as she took a deep breath, and her eyes opened.
He did not move but stood looking down at her with that penetrating gaze. Sarah awoke slowly, thinking this was still her dream, until he spoke.
He whispered low, "Shall I take him?"
She answered him with a quiet shake of her head, then she eased her way up, rising slowly, cradling Will to her breast. She swept back the dense tangle of auburn hair, then turned a groggy look on him.
"You're still asleep."
She nodded.
"Take your time," he whispered.
He waited while she worked on her shoes, and as she struggled to stand he reached under her arm and pulled her to her feet.
"Can you get him up to bed?"
She swayed slightly and he steadied her.
"Yes," she answered in a whisper.
He stood in the hallway listening to the old wooden stairs creak under her feet. It seemed like hours before she came down again, but it was only a few minutes. He had pulled a twenty-dollar bill out of his wallet and stood there with it folded in the palm of his hand, feeling a little silly and uncomfortable, the way he used to feel as an adolescent in the presence of girls. She descended the stairs with her eyes cast down, and when she reached the last step she looked up at him and said, "Amy called me. She was having trouble getting him to sleep. My name's Sarah."
"I remember you," he said as he held out the bill.
She reached for it and said with eyes averted, "Yes, from the open house. I'm sorry about that."
"I didn't mind."
She turned away and lifted her coat from the coat rack in the entrance.
"I'll give this to Amy," she said.
"I don't know if it's enough."
"I'm sure it is."
"Susan usually pays her."
Sarah lifted her backpack to her shoulder and turned toward the door.
"Do you need a ride home?"
"No, I drove."
"It's snowing heavily. Be careful."
"Thanks. I will."
"You want me to make you some coffee?"
"No, I'll be okay. Thanks."
She turned with a hand on the doorknob, and there was something in his look that gave her reason to pause.
"If you ever need me again, I mean... if Amy is busy, you can call me."
"Was he difficult?"
She seemed to be thinking over his question. "No, not really. He ate a little and then fell asleep on my shoulder. I think he just needs to be close to people."
He looked as though he was about to say something, but then his expression changed and he grew somber, but he did not leave her with his eyes.
Sarah could not last under that blue gaze, but looked down and mumbled a thanks, then opened the door and walked to her truck.
CHAPTER 10
It was John's habit to work nights. After dinner he would return to his study to sleep for a few hours (on the same sofa where Sarah had slept), and then he would get up and work through the night when all was quiet and calm, slipping into bed just before dawn. After Sarah's departure he returned to the study, tossed a few pieces of kindling on the grate and settled a fat log on top, then watched as the kindling took flame. His thoughts were not on his work but on Sarah. He was only too aware of the lingering traces of her presence, perhaps even a slight heat left by her body on the very place where he was preparing to lie.
John Wilde had been an intellectually precocious youth, but girls did not interest him until late in high school. His popularity with women had always baffled him and left him a little uneasy. Even in the early stages of his marriage, the focus of his life had been his work, and sexual pleasure had always seemed strangely isolated from the rest of his life. It was not that he did not enjoy it, but that it seemed like something fragmented, not at all integral to his life.
His field did not draw a lot of women, but there had been a secretary in the physics department at Stanford who had flirted with him one winter, and she even tried to seduce him at the lab's Christmas party when she'd had a little too much to drink. At the end of the evening she stood in
He did not move but stood looking down at her with that penetrating gaze. Sarah awoke slowly, thinking this was still her dream, until he spoke.
He whispered low, "Shall I take him?"
She answered him with a quiet shake of her head, then she eased her way up, rising slowly, cradling Will to her breast. She swept back the dense tangle of auburn hair, then turned a groggy look on him.
"You're still asleep."
She nodded.
"Take your time," he whispered.
He waited while she worked on her shoes, and as she struggled to stand he reached under her arm and pulled her to her feet.
"Can you get him up to bed?"
She swayed slightly and he steadied her.
"Yes," she answered in a whisper.
He stood in the hallway listening to the old wooden stairs creak under her feet. It seemed like hours before she came down again, but it was only a few minutes. He had pulled a twenty-dollar bill out of his wallet and stood there with it folded in the palm of his hand, feeling a little silly and uncomfortable, the way he used to feel as an adolescent in the presence of girls. She descended the stairs with her eyes cast down, and when she reached the last step she looked up at him and said, "Amy called me. She was having trouble getting him to sleep. My name's Sarah."
"I remember you," he said as he held out the bill.
She reached for it and said with eyes averted, "Yes, from the open house. I'm sorry about that."
"I didn't mind."
She turned away and lifted her coat from the coat rack in the entrance.
"I'll give this to Amy," she said.
"I don't know if it's enough."
"I'm sure it is."
"Susan usually pays her."
Sarah lifted her backpack to her shoulder and turned toward the door.
"Do you need a ride home?"
"No, I drove."
"It's snowing heavily. Be careful."
"Thanks. I will."
"You want me to make you some coffee?"
"No, I'll be okay. Thanks."
She turned with a hand on the doorknob, and there was something in his look that gave her reason to pause.
"If you ever need me again, I mean... if Amy is busy, you can call me."
"Was he difficult?"
She seemed to be thinking over his question. "No, not really. He ate a little and then fell asleep on my shoulder. I think he just needs to be close to people."
He looked as though he was about to say something, but then his expression changed and he grew somber, but he did not leave her with his eyes.
Sarah could not last under that blue gaze, but looked down and mumbled a thanks, then opened the door and walked to her truck.
CHAPTER 10
It was John's habit to work nights. After dinner he would return to his study to sleep for a few hours (on the same sofa where Sarah had slept), and then he would get up and work through the night when all was quiet and calm, slipping into bed just before dawn. After Sarah's departure he returned to the study, tossed a few pieces of kindling on the grate and settled a fat log on top, then watched as the kindling took flame. His thoughts were not on his work but on Sarah. He was only too aware of the lingering traces of her presence, perhaps even a slight heat left by her body on the very place where he was preparing to lie.
John Wilde had been an intellectually precocious youth, but girls did not interest him until late in high school. His popularity with women had always baffled him and left him a little uneasy. Even in the early stages of his marriage, the focus of his life had been his work, and sexual pleasure had always seemed strangely isolated from the rest of his life. It was not that he did not enjoy it, but that it seemed like something fragmented, not at all integral to his life.
His field did not draw a lot of women, but there had been a secretary in the physics department at Stanford who had flirted with him one winter, and she even tried to seduce him at the lab's Christmas party when she'd had a little too much to drink. At the end of the evening she stood in
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