Free The Magic in her Gift by Missy Martine

loss.
Elizabeth was one of a kind, a wonderful woman.”
    “ Thanks, I wish I’d known
her better. I wasn’t allowed to visit as a child and then I got so
caught up in my job and my own life I never took the time.” She
wiped her hand over her eyes. “I always thought there would time
for us to get to know one another.”
    “ Life is precious and
shouldn’t be squandered. It’s too short for regrets.” He gave Sara
a curious look. “Elias told me you live in Atlanta and that you’re
engaged to be married. What do you do for a living,
Sara?”
    “ I’m a teacher.” Sara
struggled to control her wandering thoughts. The memories of her
dream lover, so fresh in her mind, made it difficult to concentrate
on their conversation. “I teach pre-school age children.” She
sighed. “A lot of people think of me as a glorified
babysitter.”
    He was quiet for a moment. “Do you just
sit and watch the kids all day or do you try and teach them
things?”
    “ They learn all sorts of
things, the alphabet, their numbers, even how to write their names.
I try to incorporate learning into their games.”
    Mel smiled and reached for her hand.
“It takes a special kind of person to take such interest in
children. There’s no nobler calling than teaching our young. You
should be incredibly proud of your accomplishments.”
    Sara felt her cheeks getting warm.
“Thanks, Mel. So, what do you do?”
    “ I’m a carpenter by trade. I
do pretty much anything from working on houses to designing and
building furniture.”
    “ Do you have family
somewhere? Where are you from?” Sara’s gaze focused on Mel’s blue
eyes. “Sorry! If I’m being too nosy, feel free to tell me to butt
out.”
    Mel laughed. “You’re fine. I don’t have
any family anywhere. My parents passed away a long time ago and I
never had any brothers or sisters.” He took a sip of his coffee.
“I’m from a little place you probably never heard of,
Rysm.”
    Sara felt a tingling along her spine as
her heartbeat accelerated. “Did you say, Rysm?”
    “ Yeah, have you heard of
it?”
    “ My grandmother’s partner
came from there. Maybe you knew him, Karl Barters?”
    Mel’s hesitant smile suddenly turned
radiant. “Yes, I knew Karl quite well. We’re from the same
village.”
    “ Do you know how I—” Sara
started, her head jerking around, her hand coming up to lie over
her heart at the sound of the satellite phone on the kitchen wall.
She gave Mel a sheepish grin. “Sorry, it’s the first time it’s rung
since I’ve been here. Excuse me for a minute.”
    She walked over and picked up the
receiver. “Hello?”
    “ Sara, can you hear me?”
Bart’s angry voice came through loud and clear.
    “ Of course I can hear you,
you’re practically screaming. Is something wrong?”
    A muffled curse followed by a deep sigh
drifted through the phone line. “I called Clinton Aames to see if
he’d received faxed copies of the papers I sent for you to sign. He
hadn’t, so he agreed to call and check with Elias Jacobs.” There
was a long pause. “You want to tell me why Mr. Jacobs would tell
him you’d refused to sign the papers?”
    Sara winced and turned her back to Mel.
She cleared her throat, rubbing a hand along her neck. “Look, I’m
not really sure I want to sell the island and this isn’t really a
good time to talk about this, Bart. I’ve got company right
now.”
    “ Company?” he shouted. “Just
who’s visiting you?”
    “ Elias had to be away for a
few days on business and he arranged for a friend of his to stay in
the cottage near the dock while he’s away. He came by this morning
for some coffee.”
    “ Well, excuse me for
interrupting your little tete-a-tete. It’s late here and I have to
be in court early tomorrow. We’ll discuss this when I call you back
tomorrow evening.”
    Sara’s shoulders slumped as she heard
the resonate click indicating Bart had hung up on her. She slowly
replaced the receiver and glanced at the