Searching for Anna by Jenifer Carll-Tong (best classic books of all time .txt) π
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- Author: Jenifer Carll-Tong
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Will cleared his throat and bit his bottom lip as if trying to keep from smiling. "Well, I must be going," he said, finally.
"Oh, can't you stay for a little? You only just got here," Mrs. Albright implored.
Phoebe turned to her mother. Was she mad? Why would she want to prolong this man's visit?
Will's soft chuckle brought Phoebe's attention back to him. He stared straight at her but spoke to her mother. "Sorry, I can't ma'am. I have to report to headquarters shortly."
Relief flooded Phoebe and she felt her shoulders, for the first time since landing in the rogue's arms, begin to relax. That relief, however, was short-lived.
"But I'm free for supper," Will said, turning to smile at her mother.
Mrs. Albright clasped her hands. "Dinner it is! We look forward to it."
With that, Will tipped his hat to her mother and sister, winked at Phoebe, and turned to leave.
Phoebe was still trying to process what had just happened when her mother grabbed her by the elbow.
"You should walk him to the door, dear."
"Gladly," Phoebe said through clenched teeth.
Phoebe rushed after him, the speed of her gait growing at the same rate as her anger, but Will moved quickly as well. He was already on the front porch when she caught up with him.
"What kind of person invites himself over for supper?"
He appeared to think about it for a moment. "A hungry one," he answered with a crooked grin.
Will continued his departure, but when he reached the bottom stair, he stopped, as if he had forgotten something, then turned back to her. He climbed halfway up the stairs.
Phoebe was certain that if he took one more step and put himself within reach, she might just punch him in that cocky smirk of his. But even as she considered this, a couple strolled past the parsonage and nodded a greeting as they passed. She crossed her arms and said a prayer for strength.
To her relief, Will stopped just out of her reach. "I am sorry about today, Pheebs. Really, I am," he said. He looked at her with such earnestness that she almost believed him. "I feel that I pushed you too far, and I shouldn't have teased you so much. But," he said, looking away slightly and smiling before returning his gaze to hers, "I couldn't help myself. It's just so much fun watching you blush."
And with that, he skipped down the stairs again and was off, whistling some aggravating tune that left Phoebe wondering how she would keep from assaulting the man at dinner that evening.
"And then he said, 'Darling, you have the prettiest hair I have ever seen.' Hmph! As if that's the first time I've heard that!"
It hadn't taken Phoebe long to calm down from her encounter with Will Caffey, and she had her little sister's nonstop chatter to thank for that.
"Well, you do have beautiful hair, Sarah," Phoebe said, tugging on one of the blonde curls. Phoebe had always been jealous of her sisters, with their mother's fair complexions and beautiful green eyes.
"That's what every boy says. I'm just sick of hearing it."
"Every boy! My goodness, Sarah. You sound like a veritable harlot!"
Sarah laughed. She plopped down on Phoebe's bed and hugged one of her pillows.
"I'm not a harlot just because lots of boys think I'm pretty. I don't pay them much heed, anyway. I'm waiting for a mature man. One that thinks I'm more than just pretty hair."
"I'm glad to hear that," Phoebe answered, folding another of her blouses and placing it in the dresser. She was only half unpacked, and she had already heard all the latest town happenings from her thirteen-year-old sister - who was courting who, who had gotten married, who had just come home from war. It was enough to make a person's head spin, if they were actually listening, which Phoebe wasn't. That is why she didn't immediately notice when her conversation turned to Will Caffey.
"β¦and when he asked father if he could pick you up at the train station, I about died! I couldn't think of anything more romantic! The beautiful girl goes off to college, returns home a woman and is swept off her feet by her childhood loveβ¦"
"Wait one minute! Will Caffey is not my childhood love. And his retrieval of me from the train station was anything but romantic."
"Still, it must'a been nice to have a man as handsome as Will greet you at the station."
"Will? Handsome? I hadn't noticed. I'll have to take your word for it," she replied as she threw another blouse in the drawer a little harder than she had intended.
Phoebe didn't understand why everyone in her family seemed so enamored with Will Caffey. They had known him his entire life, knew all about his propensity for teasing Phoebe. It wasn't like her whole family didn't all already know what a cad he was. And to think, Father had given Will permission to pick her upβ¦
Phoebe stopped unpacking. "Wait a minute. Sarah, did you say that Will asked father if he could pick me up, not the other way around? I mean, are you certain Father wasn't busy and had to enlist Will's assistance?"
"Of course, I'm sure β"
"That seems a bit ridiculous. How can you be certain?"
"I was right outside the parlor listening the whole time Will was in with Daddy."
"Sarah! That's horrible! You can't listen in on Father's conversations. He's a pastor. What if it had been a personal matter?"
"Oh bother, I don't do it often - only when it's a handsome gentleman caller."
Phoebe rolled her eyes. Her sister was incorrigible, but her mind was already well past Sarah's antics.
'Why would Will want to meet me at the station?' she thought to herself. They hadn't seen each other in years, before Phoebe went off to Bible College and Will went off to the Great War. No letters were ever exchanged between the two, not even the correspondence of childhood friendship, let alone ...
"β¦just so handsome, what with those wide shoulders, that thick black hair and rugged profile, and those eyes! Oh, those eyes! I think they are greenβ¦β
"They're blue," Phoebe corrected without thinking.
"Aha! So, you have noticed him! How else would you know what color his eyes were?" Sarah plopped onto the bed, looking triumphantly at her older sister.
Phoebe sighed. "If you must know, I fell stepping off the train this morning and Will caught me. It put my eyes directly in line with his eyes. That is how I know."
Sarah threw herself back on the bed, jostling Phoebe's belongings. "Oh my gosh! It's all just so romantic!"
Phoebe tried not to be annoyed and to remember what it was like to be thirteen like Sarah, but in all honesty, she could not remember ever being as starry-eyed as her little sister. Phoebe never cared much for the attention of teenage boys, nor the company of girls that did. It all seemed so futile to her, fiddling around with romantic matters years before marriage was possible. It was a waste of time that was better suited for doing the Lord's work. That's why the stolen kiss had been such a shock.
It was the summer before Phoebe's last year of high school, and the church was having its annual Sunday School picnic. Everyone was milling around, eating, talking, and just enjoying a beautiful day. When elementary aged children began a game of Blind Man's Bluff, many of the teenagers Phoebe's age joined in as well.
Will ran up to her. "C'mon, Pheebs. Play with us!"
"Will Caffey, that's not my name!"
"Awe, come now, you know it's my pet name for you."
Phoebe sighed. It was true; he had called her that since they were quite small. She never knew why, but it always bothered her.
Sarah, only a child then, came running up as well. "Please, Phoebe! Please come play! Everyone else is."
It had always been difficult for her to deny her sister anything, and before she knew it, she was right there in the middle of the game of tag.
Phoebe laughed as the children each took a turn as the blind man. Sarah especially enjoyed her turn in the blindfold. She caught several children but could not correctly identify any of them. That didn't seem to damper her spirits, though - she laughed and giggled with every step. Just as Phoebe was becoming convinced that Sarah was lengthening her turn by not identifying anyone on purpose, she caught Phoebe and promptly identified her.
"Phoebe!" Sarah exclaimed.
Shocked, but giggling, Phoebe took the blindfold from her sister and dutifully slipped it on.
She had forgotten how much fun it was to play this game - the challenge of sensing the location of the other children using only your flailing arms, the thrill of uncertainty as you lunge forward, not
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