Heart Strings

CHAPTER 5

The following morning, Bucky was up at 7:30, mixing up the batter for banana pancakes; one of his favorite breakfast meals and hopefully one that Holly would enjoy as well. The smell of fresh coffee brewing filled the air, rousing his sleeping guest; who found her way to the bathroom for a quick shower. When she entered the kitchen; dressed in her jeans and his white button down shirt that had been hung over the foot of the bed; there was a stack of hotcakes waiting on a plate in the middle of the table and a pot of simmering water on the stove with the syrup sitting in it warming up.

"Good morning beautiful," he looked over his shoulder at her, a broad grin crossing his face. She walked up to him; hair dripping wet and leaned in, "Good morning Mr. Barnes." She kissed him softly on the lips, then asked, "Where's your tea?"

Bucky flipped another pancake over, then reached in one of the upper cabinets and grabbed the box of breakfast tea, "There's still a little cream in the fridge and the sugar is... right here."

"Thank you," Holly smiled at him, looking more beautiful than he had ever seen her. He wanted to take credit for that, but figured it was likely she looked beautiful every morning. He hoped he would be the one to find out. In just moments they sat down to eat, Holly praising his pancakes and eating her fair share as they laughed and teased and enjoyed each other's company. Bucky cleared his throat and asked her what she had planned for the day.

"ummm... I have some errands to run this morning; a little laundry to do; I should probably do some dusting... maybe clean out my closet... paint the kitchen..." she was teasing, at least about the closet and the painting, and he knew it.

Bucky was staring at her, thoughtfully chewing his last bite of food, a twinkle in his eyes. "That sounds really... exciting."

Holly laughed out loud, "I know right? You gotta be quick to keep up with me."

Giving her an evil grin he nodded, "Yeah, I know that's right."

She blushed and asked him, "So, what do YOU have going on today?"

He stood and carried their plates to the sink; rinsed the sticky syrup off, then placed them in the dishwasher along with their silverware and cups. "Well, I was thinking that I would really like to take a leisurely walk in the park; explore the neighborhood a bit. Only, I was hoping I would have someone to walk with me..."

Standing and pushing her chair in, Holly asked, "I see, did you have anyone in mind... to walk with I mean?"

Bucky put his arms around her pulling her to his chest, and then kissed her deeply before saying, "Yeah, I have someone in mind." She feathered her fingers through his hair, tilting her head up for another kiss.

"Okay, I think I can clear my afternoon schedule... but I really better get moving on those errands." She found her keys and phone on the table where Bucky had left them the night before and scurried out the door before he could grab her. At the bottom of the stairs she looked up at him, "Thank you for breakfast. It was wonderful."

"Any time little kitten, any time." he touched his hand to his forehead as if tipping a hat in farewell, and she smiled brightly then crossed the driveway to go inside her own house.

+++

A few miles away, in a well appointed library in his employer's home, Greg was pacing the floor and wishing he was anywhere else. Their ill-conceived plan had born them no fruit and the old man was near to blowing a gasket in frustration.

When they had first spoken of Holly Baxter and her love of music and how beautifully she played the violin, it was if the air had been sucked out of the room. The old man had grabbed him by the arm and nearly wrenched it from the socket when he heard her name. After several deep breaths he had asked, "Do you know her lineage? Has she ever spoken of a distant relative named Jaxson Baxter? Has she shown you the Stradivarius?"