by Caleb Borne
Katie’s face lit with surprise, but she never questioned me. We went into my office, the only room in the house I could stand to look at. In my opinion, Elizabeth had out-stayed her welcome and I wasn’t the least bit sorry to see her go. “Come in.” I closed the door behind us, locked it and motioned them to chairs.
“I’m glad you’re here, Penny. From the laughing I heard when I opened the front door, sounds like the two of you will get along.”
“I think so,” Penny answered and gave Katie a wink, who then laughed.
I looked at the both of them. “What is it? What am I missing?”
Katie sat forward. “Believe it or not, Penny used to work at St. Elizabeth’s. We knew one another. Of course, then she went by the name of Sister Cordelia.” They both burst out laughing, making me feel awkward.
“You were a nun?” I queried Penny.
“Well, not really. It was a long-term assignment. Naturally, I can’t divulge the details, but I was in the role of assistant to Mother Terrence who was the dean of the school.”
Katie was grinning broadly. “Isn’t that a coincidence?”
I nodded, my mind turning. Perhaps too much of a coincidence? I hoped Bloomstein had checked here out better than he had provide my guard, who was yet to materialize, or the background information I’d requested on Colin, which was even more vital. I’d also expected him to catch the check fiasco; he had access to my banking information. Was I growing paranoid?
I filtered what I’d planned to tell Penny. Until I knew who was on which side, I’d keep my own counsel. I gave her a basic duty description of staying with Katie any time she left the house, and to be within hearing range within the house. Katie’s eyebrows arched, telling me she didn’t approve, but she didn’t want Colin around her, either.
Penny responded by listing techniques, laying some ground rules and the more she requested, the antsier I could see Katie becoming. “Most of all,” Penny was finishing, “there has to be absolute trust between us. The two of you have to be forthcoming about your activities, particularly outside of this house. It helps me, and whomever your assigned agent will be, Mr. Quinn, to establish the norms for your behavior. We look for variations as signals that something may be wrong. From what I’ve gathered, while this situation may be long term, it’s not expected to be permanent, so we will come and go from here. Hopefully, you can assign us a room?”
I nodded. “No problem. Shirley will see to it.”
“I also need a complete roster of all employees. Who is allowed to come and go, who is allowed only on the farm portion and when you entertain, we’d like a guest list as far in advance as possible. Is that going to be a problem?”
Katie shook her head, more in shock than I was. I was seething inside. I’d never been tracked like this in my life and hated it above all things. I valued my freedom highly. “I will do my best, but my business includes confidentialities.”
She shook her head and frowned. “The more informed I am, the safer you will be. I think you’ll find your own agent will say the same thing.”
“I see. Thank you for this conversation, Penny. If you don’t mind leaving us for now. Katie, would you ask Shirley to set up a room for Penny and then come back, please?”
“Sure.” The women left and my fingers drummed the surface of my desk. It was turning out to be far more invasive than I’d expected. I knew it was irking me that the cotter pin in the whole machine was Colin’s presence. If there were somewhere I could entice him to go… somewhere he’d prefer. Then I realized that once both security agents were on duty and in plain sight, he might get antsy. In fact, his friends may even decide he was too great a risk to be living here. It was worth a chance.
Katie tapped and came in to sit down again. “I don’t like this, Michael.”
“I know that.”
“Does it have to be this strict? Why can’t I know who I’m avoiding?”
“What would you do, Katie? If you saw someone you thought might fit the bill, you’d begin crying and possibly over-react. Who is that going to help. These agents are professionals. They have leads to the databases of the most dangerous people in the country. They’re trained for reacting in a manner that is safest for you.”
She was crying and it broke my heart to see her so. “Come here,” I invited, holding out my arms. She came to me then, crawling onto my lap like a child, but the creature I was holding was all woman. A diaphanous cloud of her cologne settled over me, causing me to grow hard. Her cheek was on my chest and her breasts pushing into my belly. I knew she could tell what she was doing to me. Tipping her head upward, she consumed my lips, pulling them into her mouth as she nibbled on them with soft teeth. At the same time, I felt her hand moving and looked down to see she’d unbuttoned her blouse and pulled her breasts over the top of her brassiere. These mounds made for arousal, she pressed into my chest in a regular rhythm. I couldn’t resist, but slid a hand inside and unsnapped the garment so she fell fully against me.
I was breathing hard and fast; but it was very unlike the panic attack I’d had earlier. This was pure, consuming lust. I jumped as I felt her soft, gentle hand begin to stroke my penis. I reached down and quickly opened my pants. Her hand found its way into the waistband of my boxers and then she was stroking and pumping me. It was maddening. I gently lowered her to the floor, to rest on her knees between my legs. Katie anticipated me and pulled down my boxer waistband, wrapping her hand around my rigid organ. I mentally left the world when her moist, cool tongue began flicking the tip as she pumped her hands slowly up and down.
I couldn’t take it. I lowered myself to the floor and eased her skirt up over her chest. I ripped her panties and parted the tender flesh. She was already wet, so I slid inside, and her body curled forward to surround me. Holding her wrists to the floor, I fed her body with my own. When she groaned, I trapped the sound with my own mouth, sucking her tongue into mine. She arched her back, making herself more accessible. There were only two people in the world at that moment and as I cupped her bottom and held her opened muff against my testicles, we were the perfect puzzle fit.
Our release came in stuttering waves; bursting and then shuddering in excrements downward. One move would begin the fireworks again but that was for another time. We needed one another in that moment. I knew there was but one person in the world I could love and trust with that love—and she was the woman beneath me.
I rolled to my back, pulling her atop me as I wrapped my arms around her. “Never leave me, Katie.”
“I won’t—not willingly. Not ever,” she whispered.
Kathleen
I stepped out of the shower and immediately wrapped in a towel. With Colin in the house, I felt uneasy, as if he could see through walls. I was beginning to dislike my own home. Something had to change.
Michael had gotten up earlier and was already off on business. That left me, and now Penny, alone with Izzy and Shirley. And Colin. Walking from the bathroom to my dressing area, I bent to find some underclothes in the dresser and a wave of dizziness came over me. I went down on my knees. The sensation frightened me, so I laid down on the carpet and pushed my towel beneath my neck until the room quit spinning.
Eventually, I could stand again, so I finished dressing and went down for breakfast. Colin was standing on the deck, looking out over the acreage. I smiled at Penny and went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
“I’m making you waffles,” Izzy said over her shoulder. She was standing at the stove, a kitchen towel with chickens printed on it flung over her shoulder. Bless her heart; she’d become another mother to me. A more reachable mother, I was sorry to say.
“I’d like just some dry toast and orange juice, Izzy. I’m sorry to put you to the trouble. Just feeling a little off today.” I poured myself a mug of coffee and went in to talk to Penny before Izzy came out with my toast. It worked out so well that Penny and I had common friends—made it far more believable that we were friends while in the hearing of Colin.
“Where are you off to today?” Penny asked.
“I have some shopping to do. Would you like to go along?”
“Love to.”
“Let’s have lunch in town. Maybe the Brown Hotel?”
“Haven’t been there in some time. Sounds perfect.”
“Michael is working all day.”
“Perhaps he can join us for lunch?”
“Maybe. I’ll call and ask before we leave.”
We went on to discuss the designer’s choice of colors in the formal dining room. I mentioned that orange didn’t do much for the appetite. Colin apparently became bored and left us, coming through a bit later to go out and sit on the deck.
“You think he took the bait?” I asked.
“We shall see.”
“Did I do it right?”
“You were perfect. You should have been an actress.”
“As a matter of fact, I always had an interest in the theatre. Hollywood was ruined for me…” I glanced out the windows to where Colin was leaning against the railing. “Oh, look, it’s snowing!”
“Yes, and that’s all the better. Footprints.”
“Ahhh…” I nodded. “It seems like autumn was too short. We went straight from summer to winter.”
“It is November, after all.”
“You know, you have a good point. I’ve been so out of it. Haven’t realized that much time passed.”
“So, where are you really going?”
“To see my parents, I think. Maybe visit Della. No, that wouldn’t be smart, I guess. She’d just let Colin know.”
“I’ll stay here for one hour and surveil him. Then I’ll join you at your parents’.”
I nodded and went upstairs for my bag and coat. I had another brief dizzy spell as I looked through my drawer for my driving gloves. I knew I must be coming down with something and reconsidered going to see Mother. I didn’t want to bring something in on her.
I went down to tell Penny, but she’d disappeared, and I had no choice but to follow through with the plan in place. There was no way to reach her.
I left the house through the front door. It was snowing harder and sticking to the drive. I went through my trunk for a snow brush and wondered if I should go back inside for boots but decided against it. From the corner of my eye, I saw the curtain over the window lights move. There was a movement from the side of the house. Izzy and Shirley were leaving to do the marketing, as planned. I wondered whether Colin noticed that Penny wasn’t in my car, so I walked up to the passenger door, tapped on the window and called out something loudly as though I was shouting to her through the door. I pointed to the sky and nodded. I hoped he bought it. I suspected he was so grateful to get the house to himself that he would miss the little discrepancies in the details.
As I pulled up to the end of the drive, I had a brief wooziness again. Since I had an hour to kill, I decided to run over to Dr. Groot’s office. It wasn’t far and unless he was seriously backed up, he’d take a few minutes to check me out. He’d been my doctor since I was a very little girl.
The snow was getting heavier, which was unusual for Louisville that time of the year. I’d wished I’d paid attention to the weather report. I turned on the car radio and tuned in WHAS in Louisville. Dr. Groot’s parking lot was empty except for one car. Probably the snow made people cancel, I thought as I went inside. Stomping my feet on the rug at the door, I inhaled the familiar smell of alcohol and Connie Thomas’ perfume. Even though she was a nurse, since I could remember she’d insisted on wearing heavy perfume. I always thought she was warding off germs, although the strong scent made me feel sicker than I had earlier.
“Doctor Groot have time for a quick check? I’ve been dizzy all morning.”
“You’re in luck! Cancellations from the storm.”
“I didn’t even know it was forecasted.”
“Let’s see. Let me find your folder. Here we are. Follow me, Katie. Come right on back.”
“Sorry for the snow on my shoes. I should have worn my rubbers and left them at the door.”
“No problem. These old rugs have seen a whole lot more than a little water. In fact, might be good for them.”
She showed me into an exam room, and I scooted onto the table. The door opened almost immediately. “Why, hello, Katie. You just caught me. I was about to close up for the day to get home before the big storm.”
I told him about the dizziness, and he gave me an exam and drew some blood. “Nothing bad, so as I can see. Connie will give you a call when the blood tests come back.”
“You think I’m catching? I was going to Mother’s and don’t want to give her anything.”
“Naw, pretty sure you’re not. You take care out there on those roads, you hear?”
I scooted my feet as I went to the car. It seemed to give me better traction. I was more than a little nervous driving. I hadn’t driven in winter before. I would be going past my own place on my way to Mother’s and thought about pulling in and leaving her to another day. Surely if Penny was going to spot anything with Colin alone, it would have happened by then. I slowed down, deciding that if the storm coming was bad enough to make Dr. Groot close early, I had better go home. I didn’t want to get snowed in at Mother and Daddy’s. I knew Mother would drive me bonkers.
The snow was faster than the wipers and as I saw my drive approaching, I tapped the brakes as I’d learned in driver’s training to do. They weren’t having any effect, though. In fact, the car began to slide and no matter how I turned the wheel, it just kept skidding. I screamed and held on. There was nothing coming the other way, thank goodness. My car slid over the edge of the road and down into the ditch that lined our drive.
I was shaking when I finally stopped moving. I wasn’t sure what to do. Penny had most likely already left for Mother’s. I needed to get inside to call her or she’d be panicked. That left only Colin, in the house, alone. I climbed out of the car and looked at the wheels. They were wedged in and there would be no way to rock the car—it was too deeply jammed into the narrow ditch. There was nothing for it. I would have to walk it, and in my flimsy shoes. I slammed the car door and started off. The drive was almost three-quarters of a mile long, and slick. My spiky heels slid, and I must have looked like a drunken egret as I made my way. I heard a noise, an engine, coming up behind me. Hoping it was Michael, I turned and saw a pick-up, driving just inside the board fence. Must be the farm manager I thought. He stopped and rolled down his window. “Mrs. Quinn? Let me drive you up to the house.”
I nodded and he fell out of the cab and was next to me in a few pounding steps. “Ma’am, with your permission, I’ll carry you? Those shoes will get you stuck in the mud and you might break your ankle.”
“Okay,” I agreed and held my arms open as he picked me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck. The snow was so thick I couldn’t even pick out his features. He deposited me in the passenger side and trotted around to the driver’s door.
“Looks like this is gonna be a whole lot bigger than they thought,” he commented and I was grateful for his easy going attitude. He wiped the snow off his full beard with the sleeve of his jacket. My mouth dropped open.
“Butch? Butch Knight, is that you?”
“Katie? Well, I’ll be damned. I had no idea you were married to Quinn.”
I nodded and held out my ring. “This whole time you’ve been literally in my backyard and I didn’t even know it! Michael wanted full management of the workers outside the house. He says a lot of nice things about you.”
“He’s a fair man,” was Butch’s comment. “Listen, I’m not supposed to come up to the house.”
“Oh, Butch, you must!”
“Katie, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“No, nothing l
ike that. There’s a man staying there. I can’t give you details but he’s not a good person and if I go in right now, I’ll be alone with him. I don’t want that at any cost and there’s nowhere else for me to go. Please come in. I’ll make coffee and we’ll wait for someone else to show up. My staff is in town doing the marketing and my friend, Penny, was going to meet me at Mother’s. When I get inside, I’ll call her and tell her I came home instead. She’ll be right home.”
“Well, if you’re sure. You gonna clear it with Mr. Quinn?”
“Of course, I will!”
“Okay, but I wouldn’t want to lose my job over this. My folks aren’t doing so well, and I need the money.” He looked down, his face flushed with embarrassment.
“It’ll be fine. I swear.”
He nodded and sighed, opening his door and coming around to get me. “Probably shouldn’t carry you this time. Someone might see. But you can lean on me.”
I agreed and wrapped my arm around his as we slid our way up the steps and across the porch. I pulled out my key and unlocked the front door. Pulling off my shoes and tossing my coat onto a hook of the hall tree, I took Butch’s jacket. He didn’t want to make himself comfortable, but I insisted. “Your clothes and shoes are all wet. You’ll ruin the furniture.”
We made our way to the kitchen where I put on a pot of coffee and then into the family area. There, ensconced in a deep, cranberry-colored chair, sat Colin.
“Did ye make it?” he asked congenially, although he wouldn’t have budged an inch if I’d somehow gotten a message to him to come get me.
I nodded. I didn’t make introduction, but only spoke to Butch. His feet were wet so I told him to peel off his socks and I’d get him a pair of Michael’s. Michael was particular about sharing things, but I had enough to answer for already. A little more wouldn’t hurt.
We were settled in, silently watching the snow come down. The front door slammed, and Michael’s voice rang out. “Katie!”
“Yes, I’m here. The family room.” I went to get up but Michael was quicker. He walked into the room and his face flushed when he saw me sitting with Colin and Butch.