Of Vinegar and Honey, Part V: "Day of Reckoning"

By Catharina Shields

Part V of the Of Vinegar and Honey romance series.

He was still flipping listlessly through channels. Careful not to disturb him, she set the tall glass of juice on the small table beside him. With her mind and thoughts already anticipating meeting James, she didn’t notice how his aristocratic nose moved as he caught the scent of her perfume.
He arched a brow as he moved his eyes up while she was busy adjusted the position of the glass on the table. She was still oblivious to him as well as the soft blush in her cheeks.
“Perfume?” he remarked. “For the post office?”
She flickered up big eyes, shaking her head. “I smelled of fried foods.”
He calmly studied her big eyes a moment. This usually made her fidget, but come hell or high-water, she wouldn’t show it now and held fast. He finally turned his eyes back to the television. Fighting not to look relieved, she glanced over at the mantle clock. It was almost 12:20. Then she returned her gaze to his profile as she straightened.
“Well, I’ll be going then.
“Maddy?” he said. She quickly looked back at him. Her cheeks were red, but she thanked the heavens he wasn’t looking at her.
“Yes, Sir?”
“There are two things that I really, really hate, and what I consider unforgiveable,” he said as he watched the flipping channels. “One is disloyalty.” Then he raised his eyes to her somewhat flushed face. “Two,” he said with deliberate sloth, “are people who lie to me. I consider lying, cowardice, and I can’t emphasize it enough, Maddy, but I loathe cowards above all else.”
She barely stopped herself from swallowing a lump, and nodded. “I know, Sir.” Then she looked at him again, but blinked when, to her surprise, he smiled.
“Good,” he said lightly, friendly even.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Catharina Shields
• Release date: Nov 21, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466065161

Catharina Shields

{PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR THE LIST OF MY AVAILABLE E-BOOKS} I've always enjoyed storytelling, ever since I was a child. My love for storytelling has evolved from hand-drawn comic strips, to creating hand-puppets - "Meemies and Fluffies" - for my younger brother and sisters' morning puppet show, to writing stories in longhand in spirals armed with only a Penmate pen while battling a stiff hand and dreaming of a day when I'd finally own a typewriter. Today, in my peaceful Southern California home near the mountains, I can't go a day without my computer and I now enjoy storytelling via my e-books, specializing in mystery, drama, Young Adult and paranormal romance. If you've read one of my books and like them, please leave a review, good or bad, and add me as a favorite author {a single click on a button to your left is all it takes}. Remember . . . reviews are tips for Authors.

Book preview

Of Vinegar and Honey

Part V

Day of Reckoning

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Published by Catharina Shields at SMASHWORDS

2nd Edition

© 2014 by Catharina Shields All Rights Reserved

Cover Design by Catharina Shields

Edited by D.C.Greenes

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Author’s Note / Disclaimers

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This is an original work of fiction.

All characters, organizations, and events portrayed herein are either

products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

All characters depicted in this work of fiction are

18 years of age or older.

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite eBook Retailer and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Happy reading!

And remember, reviews are tips for authors

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Contents

{please click on Chapter headings to return here}

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Chapter 16: The Little Green Monster

Chapter 17: On Thin Ice

Chapter 18: Miracles and Misunderstandings

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Of Vinegar and Honey Parts Listing

Other Titles by Catharina Shields

Connect with Catharina Shields

About the Author

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Chapter 16

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The Little Green Monster

The following day began and ended much differently than he had expected. A person would think that the amazing and unexpected help from the night before would have changed the dynamics between them, but the way she was behaving now it was as if it never happened. Then again, the alternative; that it was inconsequential to her, was outright offensive to him and he didn’t want to go there.

He was sitting at the kitchen table. She was quietly sitting beside him. Since the moment she’d awakened, she had returned to being her old meek self. Surely she couldn’t have forgotten what she’d done for him the evening before? He expected that she would at least be uncomfortable about it since she was such a proper Catholic girl. But no. She appeared to be completely unfazed.

The question he once asked himself and Ron almost a week and a half ago reared its head: was she insane?

He was staring nonstop at her; his gaze quietly moving over her serene face. He was trying to gauge her mood, but as she helped him with his breakfast he noticed that she seemed particularly far away with her thoughts.

Then he got an idea. Maybe she was distracted because she was thinking about other things, mundane things, like her responsibilities as his caregiver, and she was just a little distracted? Yet…she seemed suspiciously dreamier than she ought to be if that were the case. So now the question became, what was the cause of that dreamy look? Then he felt something twist in his heart. Or should he be asking, who was the cause of that dreamy look on her face? Ron? Someone from the church she’d visited?

It sure as hell wasn’t him for all the attention he was getting.

He was handsomely dressed in a black turtleneck jersey, matching blazer, black slacks, socks, and shoes. He knew he always looked sexy in black. He wanted to look sexy because he wanted her attention—and damn it! He wasn’t getting it. He squelched his temper, born from stung pride. No woman had ever been as disinterested in him as Miss Madelaine Croft was now.

The unfairness of it all was, with his thoughts the way they were lately, she looked extra pretty to him. She was dressed in her burgundy faux-vest dress with her long black curls bound in a low tail down her back. It was the same dress she’d worn when she first arrived. Still, to him, even while forcing his temper down, she looked delicate and painfully attractive. It was as if he were looking at her for the first time. In essence, that’s exactly what he was doing. Too bad it was one-sided.

She seemed to be on auto-pilot for all the care she was putting into helping him with his breakfast. Her face had a quiet, distant look because that was exactly where her thoughts were—far, far away.

Fortunately for her, though, he was clueless about her real thoughts.

Madelaine was thinking about James and the events that had brought him back to Illinois. She recalled a time when he was so adamant about leaving rural Freeport that he couldn’t talk about anything else. He had even sworn that once he left Illinois, he’d never come back.

She smiled wistfully in thought. God really does work in mysterious ways.

She was