Just Me - M J Marlow (reading strategies book .txt) 📗

something like that.” “You wouldn’t,” James smiled over at me gently. He wondered how a young woman as intelligent as I was could be so dense. It was obvious to everyone else in town that the Sheriff liked me. “It’s over now, Maggie. You can relax.” I nodded and tried to do what he suggested, but my mind kept going back to that encounter. Joseph had been behaving like a thug! That was not the man I knew. He couldn’t possibly be jealous, he had never expressed feelings for me other than as a friend and neighbor. I put it aside and realized we were leaving town and headed towards the country club. James wasn’t a member so I knew we couldn’t possibly be going there, but we were. He pulled up to the entrance and the valet helped me out. James tossed his keys to another and came around to offer his arm to me. “James!” an older man with silver hair and James’ face beckoned from the bar as we went inside the building. It was modeled along the lines of an old English manor house and I was enchanted with the décor. “Damn it, boy,” he said as he looked at me in interest, “you have a knack for finding the prettiest women.” He smiled as I blushed. “This pretty one is not your usual type.” He took my hand in his and kissed it gallantly. “I am…” “Senator William Kendrick,” I supplied his name in awe. “Maggie Mason, sir. It’s an honor to meet you.” “Wait until you know the old shark better,” James laughed as he put his arm around my waist, “before you say that, Maggie. Uncle Bill,” he held his hand out to his uncle. “It’s good to see you again. Thank you for your invitation.” “Your stepmother told me you were coming into town, James,” Kendrick nodded, his smile dying only a fraction. “The club is open to you and your friends for as long as you are here.” He offered me his arm. “You will be joining our party, of course, you pretty child.” I looked at James in confusion but he nodded and we went into the dining room. Senator Kendrick’s party consisted of himself, his wife, a dark-haired man with a goatee about James’ age named Nathaniel Layton, and Doctor Norman. I saw Norman’s start as he saw me, but he rallied and gripped my hand warmly as I was seated between him and James. “You are looking very healthy tonight, Maggie,” he said as he sat back down after pushing my chair in for me. “If I hadn’t been there, I would never have known you’d been in the hospital.” “Hospital?” Mrs. Kendrick caught the word and looked at me in concern. “You’re not ill, are you, dear?” “Maggie has a heart ailment,” Norman supplied before I could deny the claim. “We discovered it only recently.” He looked at James pointedly. “She should be home resting.” “This girl hasn’t been sick a day in her life,” Kendrick boomed and smiled at me warmly. “If she’s working with James,” Layton said as he picked up the thread, “then he probably worked her to the point of a breakdown and she just needs to slow down. Isn’t that right, Maggie?” His eyes were twinkling with interest as he looked at me and I wanted to disappear. “I knew it!” Kendrick looked at Norman. “You doctors are always making more out of things than necessary.” The waiter came and Kendrick ordered for all of us. “Prime rib tonight. You must try it,” he insisted when I started to protest. “The cooks here are four star.” “Just go with it, Maggie,” James laughed and rested his hand on mine. “The Senator does not take no for an answer.” “I can see that, James,” I smiled up at him. “That’s a family trait, then?” “She’s got you pegged, Kellogg!” Layton laughed in delight. “Maggie,” he said as he raised his glass to me, “I think James has finally met someone he can’t bully.” “Why would he want to?” I asked the man in confusion. Layton laughed and left me sitting there in confusion. I saw the smile on James’ face and I blushed and looked down at my hands. “I’m not used to people like you.” “Just hang on,” James said as he patted my hands and I looked back up at him. “It gets even more interesting as the evening progresses.” He was right. He and his colorful uncle and aunt spent the evening encouraging me and teasing me at equal turns. Layton kept eyeing me like I was a particularly intriguing person and he wanted to know me very badly. I saw Norman watching me closely and saw his concern and a flash of anger as I let myself be talked into dancing. He warned me I was pushing things but I was too happy to listen. I was dancing with the Senator after a short break for a drink, water with lemon and lime, when I began to wheeze. “James?” I looked up at him in distress as my heart pounded in my ears. “I need some air.” James took me outside where he made me sit on a bench in the gardens as he stroked my back until I began to calm. “It’s all right, Maggie,” he said as he saw the color return to my face and the panic leave my eyes. “You’re fine now.” “I’m not fine,” I sobbed as I let him hold me. “James, I nearly had another attack! What if Doctor Norman is right and I am really sick?” “Hush now,” James crooned into my ear. “Don’t you dare let that old bastard talk you into becoming an invalid.” I looked up at him hoping he was right and he kissed me. All the panic fled and I sighed as peace washed over me. “That’s my brave beauty,” he said as he helped me to my feet. “We’ll go back in now and assure my over-excited aunt that you have not expired.” He put his arm around my waist and held me to him firmly. “We’ll sit out the rest of the dancing, though.” We went back inside and Mrs. Kendrick was relieved to see that I was returned to health. She insisted that I sit with her and we watched the dancing and had a very lively conversation about the latest fashions. Or rather I listened as she regaled me with stories of her trips to the fashion shows in Milan and Paris and New York. I could see she had a sharp mind from her comments, so I knew she was not as shallow as her conversation would lead one to believe. “You’re very good at pretending to be shallow, Mrs. Kendrick,” I said softly enough that only she could hear me. “I suppose that skill proves useful in the world of politics?” “You are a very intelligent young woman, Maggie Mason,” she smiled and patted my hand. She leaned in close then and her expression was quite serious. “You be careful,” she whispered in my ear. “I like you.” She found her husband where he was having a drink with Layton. “William,” she beckoned to him. He excused himself and came over. “It is time we said good night to James’ delightful little friend.” “Of course,” William nodded. He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “You listen to James, Maggie,” he whispered. “He will keep you safe.” He smiled at my puzzled look. “Good night, Miss Maggie,” he said aloud. “I hope we’ll see more of you around here. This musty old place can use a pretty woman like you.” “Senator,” Layton said as he took my hand and smiled at me warmly, “I could not agree with you more.” I felt like a sheep facing a wolf and I hoped my fear wasn’t apparent. “I would like an opportunity to further our acquaintance, Maggie. Perhaps over dinner tomorrow?” “Come on, Maggie,” James smiled stiffly as he pulled me away. “You look done in.” He nodded to his uncle. “Good night, sir.” He went to kiss his aunt. “Good night, Aunt. Layton,” he turned to the man, “I’ll call you tomorrow about that golf game.” “You play golf?” I asked as we went to get the car. I looked at him and wondered what else there was about him I did not know. He nodded and shrugged as if playing golf was no big thing. “Could you teach me?” “When you’re feeling better,” James said to me. I looked where he was and saw Doctor Norman watching us. “It’s an awful lot of walking, Maggie, for someone who isn’t healthy.” “Maybe just one hole, then?” I pleaded with him. He looked hesitant and I put my hand on his arm and looked up at him, willing him to give me this. “Please, James. I don’t want to stop living just because I could be ill.” “One hole,” James gave in. He saw Norman frown and move off as he helped me into the car. “You were brilliant, Maggie!” he said as he kissed me. He went around to the driver’s side and got in, laughing as he drove off. Layton watched as we drove off from the shadows where he had been listening to our interaction. He pulled out his cell phone and waited a moment for the call to go through. “This is Layton,” he said simply as he continued watching the car. “I have just met the woman I am going to make my wife. Find out everything you can about Margaret Mason of Briarton, Iowa.” We drove in silence for several minutes enjoying the moonlight and the feel of the night breeze through the open windows. I closed my eyes and relived the dinner. I had spent an entire evening without once feeling inadequate or inferior. The Senator and his wife had accepted me as an equal. I was nearly asleep when James’ voice broke in. “We’re going to have to take a blood sample when we get home,” he said softly. I opened my eyes to see him speaking into his cell phone. “Someone may have slipped her something to cause this latest attack.” He looked over at me and smiled. “We’ll be there in twenty.” “But Doctor Abrams…” “I’m not all that certain it wasn’t him,” James broke in as he hung up the phone. I looked at him in shock. “You have a heart ailment like I have two heads.” I giggled and he smiled happily. “That’s my girl!” He held my hand and I sighed and let myself relax. I woke up as we pulled into the driveway of the mansion and blushed as I realized he’d held my hand the entire drive home. “You are so pretty when you blush like that,” he said as he leaned over and kissed me. “And you have the sweetest lips, Maggie Mason.” He got out and came around to help me out. We walked up to the mansion, his arm going around my waist instantly as I stumbled on an uneven patch in the drive. He looked at me worriedly and I smiled up at him and assured him I was fine. Tired, but fine. He took me to the porch swing and we sat down in companionable silence, his arm still around me as I leaned against him. “Why don’t you like Mr. Layton, James?” I asked after a few moments of silence. “He is a person of interest in an ongoing investigation,” James said simply. “You don’t need to know more than that.” He looked at me sternly. “You would be wise to avoid him.” I opened my mouth to protest but then quieted. He was right, of course. He was an FBI agent and what he worked on was his business. The only investigation that I was connected to was the