Good Deed Bad Deed, Marcia Morgan [summer beach reads TXT] 📗

Ben took a place beside her, leaning against the massive trunk. They remained there for a few moments without speaking, until Ana said, “I wonder what this tree has seen in its very long life. I can imagine lovers having clandestine meetings under the spreading branches of this very tree. Perhaps a medieval princess was being forced to marry without love, and she would sneak away from the castle to meet her true love for a moonlight assignation under this tree.”

“You have quite an imagination.”

“I remember something else about Chestnut trees. Of course you’ve read Orwell’s book, ‘1984?’” Ben nodded yes, and she continued. “Remember the poem? ‘Under the spreading Chestnut tree, I sold you and you sold me.’” He nodded again and she went on. “Above the Chestnut Tree Café, a man was suffering from lost love.”

“But Orwell’s story found romantic love to be a betrayal of love for Big Brother, the only permissible love. That’s the point. Lovers saw betrayal as their only choice.”

“I know,” said Ana. “The connotation is very negative… and a sobering reminder that love is always a risk.”

“True. But in spite of your analogy, it seems safe to say that you are a romantic.”

“I guess I am.” She looked down at her feet and added, her tone suddenly somber, “Too many fairy tales as a child—guess I believed the lies.”

“I’d never peg you as a cynic.” He turned to look at her, but she casually looked away. He could see the subject was uncomfortable, so he said, “I won’t ask how you got that way—at least not right now.” Ben took her by the hand, pulling her away from the tree and toward the road.

Freddie had abandoned them for his own sort of fun and was headed back toward the house. They crossed the road and Ben stopped at the edge of the field. Ana was amazed that the Rapeseed seemed almost tall enough to hide them. She wanted to be lost in its beauty and asked Ben if they could make their way toward the middle of the field. Her request surprised him, but he hadn’t yet learned how to refuse her, so he went ahead, just far enough to push the plants aside for her to pass.

The ground was still damp from dawn’s heavy fog, but they trudged on until Ben concluded they were close to the middle. Ana was just tall enough to see 360 degrees of brilliant yellow surrounding her. She laughed with the delight of a child, and Ben tried to remember that kind of innocent joy. All at once she became quiet. There was no sound other than the soft rustling of flower stalks as a breeze began to swell. She hugged herself and looked at the sky. Ben was confused. He put his hand on her shoulder then turned her to face him. Ana’s expression was troubled, her brow wrinkled.

“Ana, what happened? You were so happy a minute ago.”

“Too happy—it’s a dangerous state.”

“Come on, don’t get philosophical on me,” he said, trying to make her smile.

“That’s not what I’m doing. It’s just that this is all too lovely, too perfect. I have a feeling of foreboding.”

“In what way?”

He waited for Ana to speak, but she hesitated, self-consciously rubbing her forehead. She was standing before him in sweatpants and wearing his mother’s muddy boots. Her hair was a tumble of rebellious curls, her nose pink from the morning chill. She was wearing the quilted vest his mother had loaned her, and the hodge-podge of her outfit could easily have made Ben laugh. But he didn’t laugh. To him she was beguiling, enigmatic, and although he didn’t understand her premonition, he had no doubt she felt it was genuine. How could he make it right, whatever was vexing her?

The breeze continued to swell, and the field rippled like a golden magic carpet. Ana’s expression changed. Ben locked his gaze with hers and saw the same need he was feeling. The current of desire between them had grown stronger each day since they met. No longer concerned about the right moment, he reached for Ana and pulled her close. He tipped her chin up to meet his lips. The first kiss was soft and lingering. They backed away from each other, just slightly, each struck by reticence.

Ben leaned forward, took her hands in his, then kissed her forehead and said, “We’re completely alone in the middle of this field, and it’s going to take all the willpower I have not to take you right here— muddy ground be damned.”

Ana was aroused by his remark, and as their eyes met again there was a rush to embrace. Ben devoured her lips— probing, deep, and with the complete freedom granted him by her eager mouth. Their stifled desire was set free—all in one passionate, seemingly unending kiss. Fears born of any previous emotional pain and disappointment continued to dissolve within each kiss that followed.

He held her tightly, his voice low and seductive. “I want you. It would take every word for ‘desire’ in this writer’s arsenal to tell you how much. There’s been too much waiting—for me at least.” He paused, fearing he might be pressuring her, then said, “But I know this may not be the right moment or the right place for you.”

Ana felt the same about him, yet tried to diffuse the intensity of the moment in order to gain control over her own longing. “If you want to fetch your thesaurus, I’d be willing to wait.”

Ben loved the way she sparred with him. It had heightened his attraction to her when they first met, and now the effect had become profound. The challenging look in his eyes led Ana to reveal her own need. She spoke softly, her mouth against Ben’s neck. “I’d hoped, but I didn’t know—even last night when your lips lightly brushed mine on the way to kissing my cheek— I wasn’t sure if it was