Chloe kissed his cheek, then stole a strawberry from the bowl Glenda was carrying out to the lanai. “You should propose to Mom.”
“Raymond, Monte Wilson is here.” Mom beckoned him from the door.
“What if she says no?” Dad teased, sliding from the stool. “Chloe, if you have any feelings for Jesse, any inkling he could be what you’ve always wanted, call him.”
“I told you, he doesn’t answer.”
“Then, dear girl, be creative. Write him a letter.” Dad’s expression was so kind. “Isn’t that what started all of this?”
“Write him a letter. I don’t even know where he is.”
Her phone pinged. It was Smitty.
He went to Boston.
“Chloe,” Mom said, brushing by again as she stared at the screen. “Claude Durand is here. He wants to see you.”
“Me?” Boston? Jesse went home?
“Raymond, Chloe.” Claude burst into the kitchen with his arms wide, his voice booming. The French director looped his arm through Chloe’s. “How do you feel about traveling into the future? I just got the green light on a space navy film. I want you as the lead. Faith Freeman. I’m launching a superheroine series. And you will be my star.”
HAMILTON
The cart hit every rut in the road. His severed leg throbbed, each jolt inspiring a lightning bolt of pain.
At one point, his body went numb. Colored spots collided before his eyes. He was hot, then cold, wavering on his perch, Tilly’sreins loose in his hands. Yet he urged her on, the cart a swift and light load.
On the eastern horizon, black clouds promised another storm, obscuring the midmorning sun and the peaceful blue of a spring sky. A low, distant thunder rumbled.
As he rounded the next bend, he scanned the road for Sir Michael’s sleek gold-and-black carriage.
With no sight of it, his thoughts twisted with doubts and questions. What would he say when he came upon her? What words, what offering could he make to lure her from her father’s security, comfort, and will?
He was grotesque, with a craggy, sawed-off leg, scars on his face and arms. Thin and pale, unshaven, unwashed.
Yet he hoped in one thing. His heart. Surely it was his greatest treasure, and Esther’s for the taking. This was no hour to retreat from his own desires and wants. This battle for Esther was for keeps.
If she’d say yes to him, he would give himself completely to her, without reservation, striving to overcome anger, regret, bitterness, and to cherish her with every part of his being.
“Come on, Tilly! Ya!” He slapped the reins, and the mare quickened her pace. He must seize Esther before she arrived in Charles Town. Once there, she’d be lost in the bowels of Tory commerce.
The cart jostled and bounced as the road rose and fell. The wind whistled, pushing northwest against his journey.
But around the next bend, his hopes quickened. At last! He spotted the gloss of the black-and-gold carriage.
“Good girl, Tilly. Good girl.”
The mare, as if sensing her master’s pleasure, broke into a run, her mane flapping, her head bobbing, every muscle in synchronism.
Sitting tall, filled with tension and anxiety, aware of every pain, Hamilton prepared to overtake them.
Esther, I’ve come for you...
Esther, I’ve little to offer you, but here is my whole heart and my love.
Esther, if you have any affection for me...
My love, come with me. See what life we can build together.
