“Thanks, I’m good.” She breathed heavily, turning toward the coffee pot. “You want a coffee?”
“Yes, thank you.” He smiled. “I find I very much enjoy coffee.”
“What else has Jake been introducing you to?” She threw a glance over her shoulder.
“Pizza. It is very strange.”
“I suppose I’d better cook you a proper meal, or Jake will have you eating takeout every night,” she murmured absently. She turned and handed him a cup of coffee before picking hers up and heading back into the living room where they had been conducting their daily lessons. “Anyway, where did we get up to?”
Theo followed. “The American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Industrial Revolution.”
“Okay, so moving on to the Louisiana Purchase, and after that, we’ll get started on the Civil War.” Olivia picked the books up off the couch and sat down at a table by the window.
“The Louisiana Purchase.” Theo’s eyes narrowed in thought. “1803, the purchase of 828,800 square miles of land by President Thomas Jefferson from Napoleon Bonaparte, which doubled the size of the United States.”
Olivia raised one brow questioningly.
“The Discovery Channel,” he replied, his mouth curving at the corner. “Sometimes I can’t sleep.”
“Okay, so we’ll skip the Louisiana Purchase and go straight for the American Civil War. Are you familiar with any of it?” Olivia put one book aside and picked up another. “I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much information at once, but we have a lot of ground to cover.”
“The Civil War?” His brow creased as he thought back to one of the books he’d flicked through. “Something about the South declaring independence from the North over the issue of slavery?”
“Well, that’s a bit of an oversimplification. It’s a little more involved than that but, yes, slavery was the bare bones of it.” Olivia drew out one of the textbooks, flipped it open to the chapter she wanted, and started talking.
Theo sipped his coffee and let her voice wash over him. He liked it when she got that prim schoolteacher’s voice as she delved into her history and his future. However, despite the fact that it was all very fascinating, his mind began to wander, only half listening, his gaze drawn to her soft lips as she spoke.
The ringing of her phone startled him out of his reverie as she pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen.
“Here,” she said, handing him the book. “The Battle of Gettysburg.” She swiped to accept the call. “Hey, Mags.” She stood and wandered toward the window, turning her back to him.
His eyes fell naturally to her shapely behind, showcased by the tight trousers Jake called ‘jeans’, and his jaw tightened as he turned his head sharply to avert his gaze. Lustful thoughts are a sin, he repeated to himself. Sometimes he wondered if he had indeed died in that fire and was now trapped in some form of Hell with the woman he’d dreamed of most of his life sent to tempt him.
“No, I haven’t sent the final copy, but you’ll get it in the next few days,” she murmured into the phone as Theo turned back to the book.
Skimming through the first few paragraphs, he sighed quietly. There was so much to learn; it was amazing to think how much had happened to the world in the last few centuries. Fortunately, he was able to pick things up quickly. When he was younger, it had truly been a curse. His father hadn’t been appreciative of his intellect nor his gift for reading and words.
Matthias Beckett had been a devout man who believed that sparing the rod spoiled the child, and needless to say, Theo had been neither spared nor spoiled. Anything outside of Matthias’s sphere of understanding was immediately labeled the work of the devil and punished severely. Unfortunately for Theo, his gift for remembering words had fallen decidedly into that category, and he had been punished accordingly.
After that, he hid it as much as he could. It was strange. Now, instead of being derided for his gift, he was encouraged. Olivia seemed inordinately pleased that he was able to retain so much information so quickly, and he could admit to himself that it was a balm to the soul to be allowed to be himself, even if it was also incredibly confusing.
“You still want to come and visit?” He heard her ask. “Oh, um, it’s not really a good time right now. The house is a mess, and I’m still trying to sort through decades of junk.” She listened quietly for a moment. “I know that, Mags, and I appreciate that you want to help, but I really need to do it on my own.” Olivia breathed a small sigh of relief when Mags finally gave her a break.
After saying their goodbyes and hanging up, Olivia stood for a moment, gazing thoughtfully out of the window. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see her. She missed her like crazy, but the simple fact was that with a killer on the loose, who may or may not be involved with her sadistic father, she figured Mags needed to keep as far away as possible. It was bad enough Louisa and Jake had been dragged into the mess she was in now. She certainly didn’t want Mags getting caught up in it too.
Her heart sank at the thought of her father. Why would he do something so cruel as to leave her the doll she’d been holding the night he killed her mother?
A small voice at the back of her mind told her it might not have been him, but there was no one else who could have had the doll. But why now? Why hold on to the doll all these years and then leave it sitting on her porch? Did he hate her that much? Hadn’t he taken enough from her?
“Olivia.” Theo’s voice rumbled close to her ear.
She jolted, so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t even heard him approach.
“Something troubles you.” He stepped in close, careful to keep enough distance between them that their bodies didn’t touch.
“It’s nothing,” she murmured, unable to stare into those dark eyes, not when she felt so raw inside.
“No lies, Olivia.” His voice was low and deep. “Isn’t that what we agreed?”
