An Undeniable Passion Ch. 12

Forrester walked over to Otis. "Why don't we meet you and Freddy at the bank in half an hour? And you'll bring the papers for the land with you?" he suggested.

"Yep," he replied and walked back to his horse.

She looked hopefully at Forrester. "This just might work," she said.

Forty-five minutes later, under the close supervision of the bank manager, Freddy examined the ring. His grizzled old head was bent over the sparkling stone, squinting into the loop he held to his eye, he then held it up to the light. "It's the real thing Otis. A real beauty she is. Yer gettin' quite a bargain. You should mebbe toss in a li'l something extra fer these nice folks."

"How much extra?" Otis asked.

"Like mebbe the farmin' equipment," Freddy replied.

"The farmin' equipment?" he exclaimed "Are ya outa yer mind? Ya know how much dat's worth?"

"Not as much as this here diamond," Freddy said quietly. "'Sides were ye plannin' on usin' it agin'?"

"Well, I was gonna sell it at auction. This'll save me the trouble." Looking at Forrester and Virginia he said, "Miss Templeton, Mr. Forrester, ya got yerself a deal."

Virginia wanted to jump up and kiss the man, she was so happy. But she remained calm and they signed the papers right there in the bank. She handed Otis the ring and the man tossed it in the air and caught it in his hand. As he turned to leave she thought she heard him mutter, "Only treasure I'll ever see."

The land was hers, she could hardly believe it. She had never really owned anything before. Not real and properly like this. Yes, this just might work, she thought to herself.

They stayed in the hotel that night, but Virginia was so excited she couldn't sleep. She went to the window and looked out at the night. Looking up at the stars, she thought about Drake. She knew his ship had sailed that day. Even though she was still angry with him, there was a small part of her that missed him, that had hoped he would come to her and announce that he wasn't leaving, that he would stay with her.

Well, I don't need him, she thought to herself. I'm going to be just fine without him.

She couldn't help but wonder if he thought about her. Probably not, she thought, he most likely can't even remember my name.

Drake sat at the desk in his cabin staring at the letter from Virginia to Violet. They were already miles from port, although he could still make out the shoreline through his porthole. He turned the envelope over and over in his hands. He traced his fingers over her delicate handwriting. He was tempted to open it. He slipped a finger under the flap, hesitated and then withdrew his finger. He held it up to the light hoping to make out some writing, but there were too many sheets. What had she written? Surely, she had written about him. But, then again, maybe not. Maybe she was ashamed to tell even Violet about what had happened between them. How she felt that he had tricked her, used her. The envelope was thick. Perhaps she had made up a story about the voyage. He put the envelope in a drawer of his desk, vowing to deliver it intact to Violet himself. He would enlist her help in winning back Virginia's heart. That is, if he could convince Violet of his love for her friend after she had read the letter.

He looked over at the bed and sighed. He knew he should retire, it was late, but ever since Virginia had left the ship he just tossed and turned all night. He missed being awoken by her in the night. He was also tormented by other thoughts of her. Remembering her scent, the way she tasted, the way she had felt under his hands. And the way her hands, mouth and body had made him feel. He couldn't stand at the helm without being plagued by visions of her bent over, crying out her passions as he entered her. As a matter of fact he couldn't go anywhere on deck without memories of her naked skin gleaming in the moonlight flooding his mind.

He had tried to explain, tell her why he was leaving so soon. Usually he stayed awhile in Williamsburg. It was a bustling town and he enjoyed seeing it grow, changing each time he arrived. This time though, he had already arranged for an immediate shipment back. The assignment to come here had been set before he had met Virginia and since he couldn't get out of it he had arranged to come back as soon as possible, so that he could see her again. But she had already made up her mind about him, convinced that he had used her, and he knew it would be a waste of breath trying to alter that opinion.

He knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep any time soon. He went up on deck and looked up at the stars. He wondered if she was looking up at them also. She's probably sound asleep, not thinking about me at all, he thought.