The Gift of Knowledge (The Gifts Book 2) (2 page)

     Spotting some movement on the large front porch of the mansion, Ethan noticed a woman watering potted plants scattered all around the wicker furniture arranged on the porch. The woman had red hair with a few streaks of grey all arranged in a snug bun on top of her head. She was dressed simply but smartly in long black slacks and a white blouse with a bright blue gardening apron covering her front.
     "At last, I have you in my sight, Ms. Emily Bell." Ethan practically sprinted up the steps to the front porch.
     The woman on the porch seemed oblivious to his presence, as she continued her chore of watering plants with a large, tin watering can. After a few moments, Ethan cleared his throat "Ahemmm" in an effort to gain her attention. No response. She did not seem to hear him. Ethan could feel his temperature rising along with his temper.
     Trying a different tactic, he decided to address her directly. "Madame, I am Dr. Ethan McGowan, I believe you have been awaiting my arrival." Still the woman didn’t look up. Ethan threw his hands up in the air. The woman seemed bent on ignoring him.
     "Madame, are you deaf? I’ve come to view the documents we spoke of through email." The woman continued to ignore him.
     The front door behind him slammed shut with a loud 'BANG', and as Ethan turned towards the sound he was confronted by the most beautiful and indignant creature he had ever laid eyes upon. She was tall and thin with a long mass of dark red curls bouncing as she shook with fury. The young woman was dressed in jeans and a bright yellow button up sweater, making her all the more exquisite. Her eyes were a deep shade of pure green, and right now they were boring straight into his soul.
     "I don't know who you are mister, but don't you ever disrespect my Aunt Gemma like that ever again. For your information she 'IS' deaf and mute. She only communicates using sign language." The younger woman shouted in Ethan's face.
     Ethan took a step back and held up his hands in defense and surrender. His face burned red with embarrassment. "I am so very sorry." He stammered as the woman, hands on her hips, stared him down.
     Aunt Gemma put down the watering can and came to stand next to her niece, ready to defend Emily if need be from this stranger who had obviously upset the girl, terribly.
     Confronted now by two angry women, Ethan looked for a way to redeem himself. In perfect sign language, he signed to Aunt Gemma.
     "I am very sorry, Madame, I had no idea you couldn’t hear me. Please accept my most sincere apologies. My name is Dr. Ethan McGowan. I’m here to view the documents that belonged to Miles Perry and contain sixteenth century maps of the deep Amazon. Would you please take me to Ms. Emily Bell? She’s the one with whom I’ve been communicating."
     Gemma smiled and signed back to Ethan, "Welcome to Perry House, Dr. McGowan." Then she turned to her niece and signed with an exasperated look on her face "What? You are mad at this poor man because he didn’t know I couldn’t hear him? Get over yourself, girl. How could he know?"
     Gemma signed and pointed. "Dr. McGowan, may I introduce you to my niece, Miss Emily Bell." She then threw up her own hands and went in the house, leaving Emily alone with Ethan.
     Emily had the good grace to at least attempt to be civil. She could give the man credit for being very adept at sign language.
     "Well, Dr. McGowan, it seems you and I’ve had some type of miscommunication."
    "I'll say! You are not at all what I expected. I mean you are so, so, so young, and please call me Ethan." He stammered as he held out his hand for her to shake as an offering of peace.
     Emily reluctantly took the stranger’s hand, shaking her head dismissively. "I assume you thought I’d be 'older' maybe? What I meant was that in our last email conversation you didn’t specify when you’d be coming.  As it is I’m leaving right now for Manhattan to attend a birthday party for my best friend's daughter. Your timing couldn’t be worse."
     Ethan looked down at the small suitcase next to Emily. Its appearance confirmed Miss Bell’s intentions at this moment.
    "Miss Bell, if you could only delay your trip for a few moments and allow me to look at the documents, you could then be on your way."
     "Dr. McGowan, I mean, Ethan, what you don’t understand is the documents are not here at the house anymore. They’ve been placed in a sealed vault in New York where they are secured and safe from further erosion or theft. If you’d only been clearer about when exactly you intended to arrive I’d have made arrangements for the documents to be sent here under very careful conditions. As you must understand, these things are very old."
     Ethan felt his ire begin to rise but quickly squelched it. It was his own fault, as he realized he’d assumed a great deal too many things where Miss Bell and the documents were concerned.
     "Well, since it seems we both need to get to New York, may I offer you a ride?" Emily started to decline but the Holy Spirit inside of her spoke in a clear voice.
"There is a reason you must go with this man, Emily. He needs your help.”

     "Alright, I'll go with you. I hope you like birthday cake because we’ll have to attend the party first. It’ll be late this evening before we can retrieve the documents."
     Ethan let out a long-suffering sigh as he helped Emily into his rented sedan.
     "Well then, birthday cake it is," he muttered as he rounded the car to get in on the driver’s side.

                                                            ***
     Emily sent a text message to her aunt saying she was leaving and would send her an email later. As the car drove away, Staniel, the Cherub, watched from the skies above Perry House. Liam, the warrior and commanding angel of Hook Pond, flew at his side.
     Staniel spoke first "Well, Commander, they have come together at last."
     "Yes, I will let Michael know. They are in for the fight of their lives as they embark on this journey. The dark ones have hidden this secret for thousands of years and they are not about to let it be brought to light so easily. Tell Terrence to go with Emily and guard her carefully, as he always does. Also, let him know that we will be sending reinforcements." Staniel left to do as he was bidden.
     Liam sighed. "Let the journey begin. It is going to be a long and terrifying one, for all of us."

***

     'This man drives like an old maid on Sunday,'
Emily thought as Dr. McGowan drove his rented sedan back to New York, this time with Emily in tow. She kept checking her watch as she worried that they’d be late for little Amy's birthday party. Sneaking a peek and glaring at the good doctor's profile, she muttered under her breath. "I'd better not miss Amy opening her gifts."
     "What was that?" Ethan strained his ear to hear what Emily was muttering.
     "Oh, I was just saying that I hope we aren’t late to the party. I don’t want to miss Amy opening her gifts and blowing out her candles." Amy was precious to Emily as the daughter of her closest and best friend, Marta.
     "And Amy would be the birthday girl, I presume?"
     "Yes, she’s turning one today."
     Emily had to admit to herself that not only was Dr. McGowan very good looking, but he had the sexiest baritone voice that was actually pleasant to listen to. Still, his personality, what little she knew of it, resembled an arrogant and somewhat conceited man.

     She silently prayed to herself. "Oh, Holy Spirit, are you sure I’m the right Christian to help this man? I can barely tolerate his presence as it is." Her answer was swift and heard only by her.       

     "Yes, he needs your help. Stay the course."
Emily sighed. She would go where the Holy Spirit led her. The Lord was always right and had a way of working things out for the good of all.
     To Ethan's credit, he did step on the gas just a little harder. The two of them remained mostly silent as they made it into Manhattan.
     "I need to make a quick stop, if you don’t mind?" Ethan looked over at Emily as he asked her.
     "Well, make it quick. We've only forty-five minutes until the party starts." Emily remained in the car, as Ethan ran into a large department store and just a few minutes later came out with a large red and white paper bag that appeared to be full.
     With Emily giving directions, the two of them made it to Marta and her husband Bradley's penthouse right on time. It didn’t escape Emily's notice that Ethan brought his red and white bag from the department store with him.
     Marta answered the door, looking chic and cosmopolitan in white slacks and a gold blouse. Her long, dark brown hair was piled stylishly up on her head and gave her petite frame some height. Ethan was impressed by the obvious wealth of the woman and her home, as well as her warm, inviting smile.
     "Marta, I hope you don’t mind having one more guest?" Emily introduced Ethan as Dr. McGowan.
     Ethan corrected Emily, "Please, call me Ethan," as he smiled and shook Marta's hand.
     "Welcome, Ethan, why don't you have a seat over there by the fireplace, and I'll have my husband join you in a moment. I need to catch up with Emily, girl talk you know." As Ethan left the two women alone, Marta pulled her friend back into the now private foyer.
     "OK, Em, spill it. Where did you find Dr. Gorgeous, and how come I’m just now meeting him?"
     "Don’t get the wrong idea, Marta. He’s here only on business. He wants to view some documents from Perry House that I have stored here in New York, and really, Dr. Gorgeous? I’ve found him to be most arrogant. He just showed up completely unannounced on my doorstep this morning, and since I could hardly cancel on Amy's very first birthday party I had to bring him along. I really hope you don't mind."
     "Honey, just look at him. He’s absolutely stunning. Why would I ever mind?"
     "Well, I’ll admit he is easy on the eyes. Hey, you be nice or I’ll tell your equally gorgeous husband that your eyes are straying." Emily gave her friend a quirky, smug smile.
     "No matter, tell him whatever you want. Bradley knows I only have eyes for him, and he’ll never believe you, anyhow." Marta brushed off Emily's teasing threats as she pulled her longtime friend in a tight embrace.
     "Can you believe it, Em? Amy’s already a year old. Now that she is walking I spend all my time running after her saying 'No' and 'Stop that' while her Daddy spoils her rotten. Oh! There she goes again heading for the cake. I'd better run." Emily laughed as her very organized, put together, and graceful friend ran after her toddler in a most frantic way.
     Emily watched from the foyer as Bradley Steel, using a cane, walked over to Ethan and shook his hand. Bradley was doing amazingly well. It was less than two years ago that he’d been seriously injured in Afghanistan and was now considered to be an American war hero. Emily thought he looked much more like his old self since he was now able to walk using only the one cane.
     Ethan didn’t seem to be as out of place as Emily thought he would be. The only things she really knew about him was that he’d gone to Yale and was an archaeologist. It was obvious to her that he was searching for the giants of biblical legend, as that was what the documents he so desperately seemed to need pertained to. But anything else was proving to be baffling to her. He could use sign language like a pro, had great manners, if you discounted the fact that he just showed up at her home, and seemed to be at ease among strangers. But her first impressions of him, with his most insistent emails, marked him as pushy, arrogant, and downright rude if he didn’t get his way. Not to mention the Lord specifically told her Ethan needed her help. The man was an enigma.
     It wasn’t in Emily’s nature to dislike anyone, but the fact that Ethan wanted the Spaniard’s journals was enough to raise her ire. Of everything Mr. Perry held dear, those journals meant the most to him, and therefore, they were precious to Emily. It was difficult for her to share them with anyone. She realized in dealing with the journals she was reminded of Mr. Perry’s death. His passing was a pain still fresh in her heart, as it brought back the death of her father as well. None of this was Ethan’s fault. His presence just reminded her of loved ones lost and brought her pain back.
Dear Lord, are you sure he needs my help? I’m not sure if I want to stay in his presence.
The Holy Spirit again admonished her to help Ethan in any way she could. 

    The birthday party progressed as more guests arrived. Amy was in one-year-old heaven. She was an adorable, chubby, blond haired, blue-eyed female version of her father. Both of her parents beamed, as she smeared her own miniature version of the larger birthday cake all over them and herself.
     "OK, it's time to open presents!" Marta announced as friends and family gathered around the gift table while Bradley worked with Marta's mother to clean Amy up.
     By the end of the gift unwrapping frenzy only two gifts remained. One gift was a Steiff Birthday Teddy Bear from Emily. Everyone ‘oooed’ and ‘awwed’ as Amy tore open the perfectly wrapped box containing the beautiful purple bear that bore an engraved gold pendant that read ‘Happy First Birthday Amy, Love Auntie Em.’
     Amy hugged the bear close and then handed it to her mother, as she went after the last gift. It was the red and white bag Ethan had brought in. Emily looked for Ethan. He was standing in a corner looking a little sick. At that exact same moment, Amy pulled a much larger version of the same Steiff Birthday Teddy Bear, minus the pendant, out of the bag.
     Emily's jaw dropped as Amy squealed in delight. That insufferable man had just one-upped her to her own friends. It had taken hours of planning and shopping to find just the right gift, and this man gets an even bigger one in just ten minutes! This was the last straw.