The Awakening by Elizabeth Montgomery Page B

downstairs and into the dining room. When she walked in she was relieved to see everyone had already eaten and she was left to eat breakfast alone.
        But before she could sit down, Jefferson waltzed in the room, a serious look on his face. Still, she was angry from the evening past and stiffened. He was dressed more casually this morning, yet looked dashing in his clothes, and Adele surmised he’d likely look good in overalls. Her heart decided to do that racing thing like it did before. She watched as Jefferson marched up to her.
         “Adele, can we talk?”
         She wanted to say, when hell freezes over, but prayed, and managed to restrain her wicked tongue.
         “It’s a free country.” She knew how rude she sounded but didn’t feel she owed anyone an apology except Bentley. 
          “I know I’m to blame. Totally. What a stupid fool I was,” he said. She agreed. “I acted like a jerk last night. Such a jerk.” He continued while shaking his head. “Forgive me, please. It’ll never happen again.”
         When she met his soft brown eyes, like before, she melted.  
        “You swear?”
         “Yes, I promise.”
         She felt her heart softening in less than five minutes.
        “Will you join me outside?”
         She nodded.
        Once outside he said, “You’re very special.”
   “What makes me so special?”
        Jefferson cleared his throat.
    “Well for one thing, you’re down-to-earth. Actually, you’re refreshing to be around, too.”
         “I see,” she said, but really didn’t.
         “I’m studying to become a scientist. Uncle Bentley would love to see me followed in my father’s footsteps, though becoming a general practitioner doesn’t interest me,” he announced.
         Adele smiled not knowing what to say. She’d never met anyone who had such high expectations. Her mind wandered off, thinking about Tammy. All Tammy wanted was to finish school by the time she was eighteen.
        “What are you thinking?” Jefferson asked sliding his arm around her waist. Uncomfortable, Adele quickly removed his arm.
         “Oh this and that,” she said.
         “Care to share?”
          She shook her head.
      Instead she kept glancing in his direction every chance she could, aware that he intimidated her terribly.
          Jefferson motioned for her to join him on a nearby bench. Adele sat down and stared off into space before she decided to ask, “How long does it take to become a scientist?”
         Jefferson, leaving little space between them, stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. The sound made her cringe.
          “A long time. I’ve been very fortunate, though. My aunt lives in Kentucky, and she’s been kind enough to open up her home to me, for free. Sure appreciate the summers off, let me tell you. When I’m at the university, it gets pretty hectic. I have five more years before I received my degree.”
         “Wow,” Adele said, staring at him. “Think you’ll make a great scientist. You’re smart, energetic and seem to have this knack for detecting when a person’s in trouble.”
        “Only where you’re concerned.”
       “What do you mean?”
        His lips widened with a smile, and he spoke softly, gazing at her as though he were able read her mind. That made her uncomfortable.
       “I like you, Adele.”
       She hadn’t a clued that he was attracted to her. No way. Not even close.
       “I like you, too,” she said.
       “That’s good.”
        Adele wasn’t aware that over time she’d become a beautiful woman. On a scale of 1 to 10, she was a definite 10. She had soft silky golden skin and her figure was a shapely hour glass. She never wore any make-up, never needed to, and her hair was long, and thick and gorgeous. It shone, and had grown long in the past few years hanging beautifully well past the middle of her