Small Town Romance

Chapter 1

No doubt about it: the best thing about her third floor apartment was the bay window with its window seat. Amy Williams sat on that very seat, reading yet another tale of romance and mystery. She looked up from her book and sighed. Why is it always in a book and not here on my street?

She glanced out the window and down Cole Street. A dozen houses, six on each side, each one a jewel of Victorian splendor. Well, except for the one directly across the street from her which still needed a total renovation. It had been a stretch on her budget, after the move 'way out' to Norwich, from Syracuse. The pay was lower, the energy of the bigger city was missing. And her savings and part of her retirement was gone. But she had the place she always wanted, furnished the way she had pictured it, and she even had the time to enjoy it. It had been the right decision, for sure, and still was. But the one issue remained—living life alone. Money and location weren't going to solve that, true. But she had a feeling that she had at least moved in the right direction. And Pop would approve, she was sure. Truth was, she was looking for a man who could measure up to Pop—his wit, his warmth and that feeling of an ever-present protection of her. Tall order, true. And without him around to give the 'thumbs up' or not, she was even less sure of how to proceed. She sighed and looked out the window again.

It was Friday afternoon, and it had been raining all day. The rain had slowed to a fine mist, leaving soft, wooly gray clouds in the sky and drops of water on the windowpane that randomly slid down the glass. The June foliage and flowers were lush and even the vacant house across the street looked fresh. But the only living thing in sight was a stray dog sniffing the fire hydrant two houses down. She wrinkled her nose. Not exactly romantic. Not much of a mystery either–it was the same stray dog she had seen two days before, same hydrant. He looked worse than before somehow, and he was limping. Amy sighed again. Nothing she could do about it. No dogs allowed in the building. That had been made extremely clear. She got up to make herself a cup of Earl Grey. Rainy days, Earl Grey, and good romance novels go together.

She passed the full length mirror by the front door on her way to the kitchen, and paused to look. Dark brown hair cut short, blue eyes set wide apart and looking larger and more innocent than she wished, body that... well.... Average, she decided. Pleasant, but average. And that's not bad. Not great, but not bad. Now, where was her average Prince Charming?

With a huge mug of tea in hand—and two cookies—she headed back to the window seat and her book. It actually was a very good story, even if it was a fantasy. A woman was suddenly transported from modern day to late medieval times. The story told of how she was surviving and adjusting. "Lady Jane McMurray" was full of historical details about daily life as well as the intrigues of court life and how men treated women. And how women treated them right back! Amy smiled. It wasn't always the man who won, even then.

The book was engrossing and it was almost dark when Amy realized that she was actually hungry herself, not just for the character in the book. A quick supper and back to the book, though. Things were getting dangerous for Lady Jane—the castle was supposedly haunted but she was finding out it was no 'ghost'. Someone was after her! And Amy didn't see how this was going to work out. It was just after one a.m. Saturday morning when she laid the book down. Finished. And got Jane back to her own time. Whew! A long read, but oh! So satisfying. And given the choice to stay there or come back to her own time, Lady Jane had still opted to come back. Amy wasn't so sure she would have made the same choice. Although running hot water was a better option than a surly servant with a kettle of boiling water.

She looked again out her bay window and smiled. Another one of the things she liked about this second-floor apartment was the wider view she got from here. From this perch, she could see the treetops and the sky. The mist had stopped and the moon and stars were out. Only a few clouds still moved across the sky. This view alone is worth the pain of carrying groceries up those narrow, curved, creaking front stairs, she thought.

A cloud drifted over the moon leaving the streetin deep dankness. In that darkness, something caught Amy's eye. Across thestreet, in the vacant house, she clearly saw a light. As she looked, it flashedacross the glass of a window, on the second floor and then moved past anotherwindow, apparently in the same room. Someone was looking for something, using aflashlight.