Page 7 of Caught in Time
Chapter Two
Annabelle and Charlottewere put to the test of selling Charlotte’s new identity over dinner. Fortunately, Dr. Abbott tactfully avoided the subject of her family and past, seeming to understand it was a subject best not broached at the time.
“Dr. Abbott,” Annabelle broke suddenly into a moment of awkward silence. “Charlotte may be of use at the hospital. She has a great deal of medical experience and trained alongside her father, who was a doctor, for many years. She would be of great help to you.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” he replied.
He winked at her, a twinkle lighting his blue eyes. Obviously, women fawned over the man, a man accustomed to it. Spencer’s sapphire gaze turned immediately to Charlotte.
“Really?”
Charlotte shot Annabelle a pinched look before turning back to Spencer.
“Yes, I have worked with physicians in the past.”
“I’m impressed. Not many of the women I know have much interest in medicine. Most of them can’t stand the sight of blood.”
He rocked back in his chair as though contemplating the possibility of having Charlotte work with him.
“Well, Lord knows how much we need every glance or smile sought as a treasure.” Immediately, Charlotte realized it would be a good idea for her to maintain a safe distance. But at the same time there was just something about him, a warm confidence that was absolutely intoxicating. He seemed to read her train of thought and grinned directly into her eyes.
Suddenly, her shoulders, where his arm had touched not half an hour earlier, tingled as though it was still there. She was paralyzed as the smile transformed his already handsome face. The perfectly proportioned mouth curved into a most charming boyish grin that spread across his countenance and infused his radiant blue eyes with warmth. In that moment a jolt of raw sensual awareness shot through Charlotte, causing the shattered pieces of her heart to tremble. Smiling across the table at her, he ceased to be the intimidating godlike figure of a man in uniform and became, quite simply ... irresistible.
Her lashes fluttered and she looked down as she licked her lips, her insides suffused with butterflies as blood thrummed in her ears.Why am I so nervous?One would think a good-looking man had never flirted with her. Straightening, she gazed into the intense blue of his warm eyes. On the porch she hadn’t been blind to the effect her southern belle routine had had on him. She’d thought that no harm could come from an innocent flirtation—especially with a man who was so handsome. But ... perhaps she’d been wrong.
The meal progressed amiably and Charlotte relaxed in the pleasant company. She had recently spent her evenings back in 2024 primarily alone and even amid these unfamiliar surroundings, she was at ease.
Spencer suddenly turned to her.
“Char-er-ah ... Miss Liddell, would you care to stroll with me in the back yard?”
He glanced at Annabelle as if asking for her permission. Charlotte nearly laughed aloud. This world demanded different manners from both men and women.
“I would like to further discuss the possibility of your niece working at the hospital and the extent of her medical knowledge.”
Annabelle bubbled with amused laughter, waving them off. When Charlotte began to clear the table, Annabelle stopped her with a knowing wink.
“You go along, my dear. I can take care of this.”
Charlotte turned to Spencer, immensely pleased that he’d asked her to go for a stroll and couldn’t help but stare as he crossed the room to hold the back door open for her. In a word, the man wassexy, but in an entirely unassuming way. Her fiancé Samuel had been sexy in a manner that proclaimedI know women are just dying to sleep with me, but Spencer was different, better. While he was ungodly good-looking—no, make thatgodlygood-looking—he didn’t flaunt it or swagger the way Samuel had. He moved with an easy confidence. She stepped past him and a shudder of awareness coursed through her. She inhaled a deep breath of the fresh rich southern air to steady her nerves.
“It’s a beautiful evening, Dr. Abbott.”
“Yes, it is indeed. Call me Spencer,” he replied warmly.
She looked up at him as they walked, heart flopping beneath his infectious smile.
“And you must call me Charlotte.”
She was losing herself in the moment. There was something inexplicably right about the entire scene playing out before her as they strolled past the stables to take shelter beneath the trees surrounding the yard. She was deliciously nervous yet comfortable with him at the same time.
Out of the corner of her eye she studied his impressive form. Spencer was a very tall, large man, which she was aware was unusual for this time. He boasted a muscular, athletic physique. His blue uniform fit snugly, provocatively, against his broad shoulders and chest. It was difficult not to envision the trim muscular figure without his uniform. Her cheeks flushed hotly at the train of her thoughts. Briefly their arms brushed, and the light contact burned into Charlotte’s arm until her flesh was quivering, sending the butterflies in her stomach to a new level of frenzied activity.What am I doing, getting caught up in a fantasy about this man? Haven’t I learned anything from my failed engagement with Samuel?
And there it was. Reality came crashing back down on her with such force that she was quite dizzy. Her ears were ringing.Ringing!
It was as though the wind had been knocked out of her. Why had she traveled one hundred and sixty years to the past to suddenly find this sense of rightness? To find a man like Spencer Abbott?Is this my destiny? My Fate?Annabelle’s words from the night before echoed in her mind.Perhaps this is your time and place to exist.Totally perplexed, Charlotte doubted that any of this would ever begin to make sense. Once again Annabelle’s voice rang clear in her mind, telling her that the interdimensional door was one way for her, but she shut it out.
“What was it you were hoping to discuss with me, Major? I mean, Spencer.”
