Chapter 2
CREATED BY JUTOH - PLEASE REGISTER TO REMOVE THIS LINE
“Open up.”
“No. I have my own.”
“Taste mine.”
Scarlet’s tongue darted out and licked the spoon he held out, filled with butterscotch ice cream. “Mine’s better.”
“Chocolate is so boring.”
They held each other’s gaze. They sighed together.
“Happy?” she asked him.
Joe grinned. “Happy doesn’t even touch how I feel.”
“Me, too.” She bit her lip. “We only have three days after tonight.”
Shadows made his chestnut-colored eyes deepen to brown. “How’re we ever gonna stay apart after that?”
“For Seth’s safety.”
“Scarlet…what about your safety? It drives me crazy knowing you’re in danger.”
She blew out a heavy breath. “We’ve done everything we can do to protect ourselves. Guards here and at the collective.”
“You should shut down the collective. You could practice from here.”
She took a bite out of her ice cream. “I made a promise to the others to stay in it for a year.”
He glanced up at the ceiling. Then back to her. Now his brow furrowed. “Don’t the others have people in their lives who are worried about them?”
“Of course they do. Daisy, Juliet and Heath aren’t married and don’t have significant others in their lives right now, but they have friends and family. Even kids.”
“I wanna know exactly what’s gone on. Start from the beginning.”
Setting the ice cream aside, she tugged the summer green robe closer over her chest. He was wearing tight navy boxers he’d put on to get the dessert. She sat back against the headboard and he grasped her hand. “First there was…” she enumerated the incidents.
“What?” he practically shouted when she told him about Cary Jacobs’ death.
“Hold on. Homicide captured the guy who did the murder.”
“Did he do the other things?”
“No. He was in prison when the other incidents happened and had just been released when he killed Jacobs. Homicide caught him and it turned out the murder had nothing to do with the collective. The other incidents were done by somebody else.”
“Scarlet, I don’t understand how any of you can work there. How can you tolerate all this? How can your families?”
“We had to close up for two weeks after the guard was killed. We practiced at various other places but we all lost money. When the investigators cleared the scene, we moved back in. The collective is our livelihood, Joe.”
He got out of bed, then, and started to dress.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going for a walk. I gotta think about this.”
“Will you come back?”
“Of course I will.” He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. “I’m sorry to leave you like this but I have to clear my head.”
“Go on then.”
Still, when he walked out of the bedroom, she felt bereft.
* * *
It was ten at night by the time he calmed down and went back to her house. He found her on the bed, leafing through a magazine. He sat next to her against the headboard and bumped their shoulders. “What are you reading?”
“An article in the American Psychological Association journal about the benefits of clinical hypnosis in psychotherapy.”
Leaning into her, he kissed the opening of the robe she wore. She tasted like lotion. He nodded to the magazine. “Is your practice widely accepted? I never heard of hypnotherapy before I met you.”
“Yes, it is. Though it’s not for everybody.”
“But you still make a living at it?”
“I do.” She cupped his cheek. “Feel better after your walk?
“Uh-uh.”
“D-do you still want these days together?” Her voice trembled a bit.
“I absolutely do, sweetheart. We’ll forget everything else. And I’m sorry I left but I’m better now.”
“All right.” Her eyes deepened to jade. “What would you like to do?”
“Well…” he slid his hand down between her legs and cupped her boldly. “Take a wild guess.”
After a prolonged session of lovemaking, they both fell asleep.
Joe awoke to daylight. He was alone in Scarlet’s bed.
There was light coming from the bathroom, so he got up and crossed to it.
Eased open the door and found her fully dressed in a cute-as-hell yellow and blue dress and beige shoes, standing in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing her hair. “What are you doing?”
“I have to work this morning.”
“Huh. I thought we’d be together for all of the three days we gave ourselves.”
She set the brush in a drawer and took out lip stuff. Painted her mouth a raisin color. “Actually, I forgot that I had to go to work. Luckily a notice pinged on my phone.”
He came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist.
“I’m glad I could make you forget.” He held her gaze in the mirror. “Can’t you cancel work?”
“I’m afraid it’s too late for that. But I only have two sessions this morning.” She turned and looped her arms around his neck. “I can cancel tomorrow’s sessions. Then we’re closed Sunday so that covers our three full days.”
“What time will you be back today?”
“By noon.”
“I’ll make lunch.”
“Okay. Could you feed Stanley, too? I don’t have time to do it now.”
“I will. Do you want me to exercise him?”
“That’d be nice if you know how to ride.”
He scoffed. “I think I can manage that.”
Her gaze held his. “Last night was very special, Joe.”
“For me, too.”
“I alerted the guards you’d be here.” She gave him a peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
Joe dressed in yesterday’s clothes, whistling. Boy, she made him happy. Three days, he knew, would never be enough, but he couldn’t think about that. He walked out of her bedroom, out the back door and crossed the distance to the barn. The guard said, “Good morning, Mr. Larson.”
“Good morning. I’m going to feed Stanley and take him for a run.”
“He’ll like that, sir. He’s been a bit restless.”
The barn door was ajar and he walked inside to the stall. Stanley perked up at the sight of him. “Hey, boy,” he said, running his hand down the horse’s head. The scent of the animal and hay brought back his years of being a vet. And for a moment, what he lost made him sad.
Stanley neighed. His coat was a beautiful chestnut brown, clipped short and glossy, with white blazes on the bottom of each leg.
“Let’s ride first, buddy, then you can eat.”
He caught sight of a tack room and went into it. The space was clean, dry and climate controlled. Two adult saddles were on racks made to hold them. One was smaller—Scarlet’s childhood saddle, he guessed.
First he threw a blanket over Stanley, then picked out a bigger saddle, hefted it up, and settled it on the horse’s back.
After adjusting the straps for his height, he swung his leg over the torso.
For a minute, he savored the feel of sitting on a horse again.
He missed parts of his old life, like this.
He started by walking the horse. The movement was rhythmic.
Then he trotted, absorbing bounces. Finally, he went into a gallop.
Exciting and fast-paced, it was like flying.
As the horse’s muscles tightened and released beneath his thighs, he felt a connection and freedom that transcended the moment.
It was exhilarating. For twenty minutes, Joe forgot about the limits he and Scarlet had put on their relationship and enjoyed the ride.
* * *
Scarlet smiled as she drove to work. She’d never been this physically satisfied.
Sure, she dated. She’d actually been seeing an architect off and on for six months, but not so much lately.
And they weren’t exclusive anyway, so she didn’t feel guilty about the explosive sex she’d had with Joe. Just the thought made her shiver.
The parking lot was full at the collective. She noted the guard car with two men in it. When had her life become permeated with men with guns? She forced down the fear as one got out of the car and over to her.
“Finn and Heath had earlier sessions so they couldn’t wait for you.
” They’d agreed not to go into the collective alone, but in twos or threes and check out each other’s studios.
“I’ll walk you in and search your place.
” When they were inside her studio, he did indeed check everything out and she thanked him.
She checked the time. She had a half hour before her first client.
The door opened to the common area for employees and she saw Daisy and Juliet quietly talking.
She crossed to them. “Hello both of you.”
“There she is.” Juliet studied her. “You seem different.”
Oh, God. It showed. She blushed.
“Ah, good sex.” Juliet shook her head. “I remember it well.”
Daisy gave her a knowing look. “Is it the architect?”
“Nope. Done with that.”
“It’s the farmer?” Juliet stated.
“Uh-huh.”
“He’s hot, Scarlet.” This from Daisy.
“Very hot,” Juliet chimed in.
“More than you know.”
They all laughed.
She chatted with them for a bit, then went back inside and got out her file on her first client.
Garth Adams, a doctor who Heath had recommended to her, was depressed and didn’t know why.
He’d said on the form he filled out that he had a great practice, was well respected in the medical community, and had a wife he loved.
But obviously, all was not right with him.
A brief knock on the door to outside then it opened. He was attractive with dark hair, grayed at the temples, dynamic blue eyes and a body of a much younger man.
And he was depressed. She hoped she could help him.
* * *
After riding and feeding Stanley, Joe went home to take care of some immediate business.
His farmhouse was average size, and not as large as Scarlet’s.
He and his son didn’t need excessive space.
The previous owner left all but the bedroom furniture; Joe had bought new beds—a cute little racecar for his son and a king size for him.
He added dressers for them. He went inside what had been a den and was now his office.
The walls were paneled in real knotty pine, and the mid-century desk was made of hardwood and there was lots of it.
He sat in the cushy chair and took out his books.