by Karen Ward
Barry offers, “I’ll call the guys so we can make some definite plans.”
******
That night Pinky is sitting on the sofa with me. He put Timmy to bed earlier and returned to the main house specifically to speak to me. He places his arm across my shoulders, pulls me close to his side and says, “Jasmine, Sweetheart, is it possible for me to change your mind about going to Louisiana? I am really afraid for you.”
I look him straight in the eyes and respond, “No, you can’t change my mind. I have to do this Keith. Don’t you see? James Bixby has controlled my life for fifteen years. I have to confront this head on or I’ll never be free of him.”
“I understand your need to be free of him, but I am so afraid he’s going to take you from me again, maybe forever this time and I don’t think I’m strong enough to handle it. It will destroy me this time, Jasmine.”
“Oh Keith, I’m so sorry to put you through this. I promise to be very careful and to do everything you tell me to do, but I have to do this. Skye thinks I’ll be far enough along with my shooting to carry the pistol too. Please understand.”
Frustrated Keith says, “All right! If that’s what you want then that’s what we’ll do.” He stands abruptly and walks out the front door.
Tears slide down my cheeks as I watch Keith leave. Slowly, I make my way back to my bedroom. Quietly I close the door and sink to the bed and let my tears flow.
Pinky is angry as he strides across the yard to the barn. Why is she being so stubborn? He takes a deep cleansing breath. Then he stops, looks back toward the house and is overcome with guilt. He walks back to the door. His hand on the knob, he takes another cleansing breath, turns the knob and walks back into the great room. Not seeing Jasmine he makes his way to her room.
He listen from outside her door , hears her sobbing and his heart clenches. He turns the knob and walks into her bedroom without knocking. He sees her lying across the bed. He sits down on the side of the bed and pulls her into his arms. He says, “I’m sorry Jasmine. I know I’m being unreasonable. I am just so frightened for you. Please forgive me. I love you.”
Sniffling I say, “I love you too Keith.” I wrap my arms around his neck burying my face in his shoulder, breathing in his spicy aftershave.
He places his fingers under my chin and lifts my face to his brushing his lips against mine tasting the salt of my tears. He nibbles around the edge of my lips and slides his tongue inside my lower lip. He says, “Kiss me Jasmine.”
When I open my lips for his invasion he dives into the moist warmth of my mouth tangling his tongue with mine and pulls me closer. He devours my warmth. His heart is pounding and his breathing is ragged. He moves his hand up to my breast and gently squeezes. He feels my nipple beneath my lightweight sweater straining toward his palm and he longs to take it in his mouth and suckle. He lays me down on the bed, raises my sweater, and lowers his head to my luscious peak flicking his tongue back and forth across it through my lacy bra.
I reach my hands up and grasp his head pulling it so that he is looking me in the eye. I ask, “What are you doing Keith?”
He raises his head and asks, “What do you want me to do Jasmine? Didn’t you like what I was doing? Tell me.”
“Yes, I like it but I don’t know what I want,” I moan.
“Would you like for me to kiss your nipple, like this?” He gently lowers his head and sucks the puckered bud in his mouth before raising his head.
I am shocked by the sensations rocketing through my body. “Oh! Keith, please don’t stop!”
Smiling he unfastens the front clasp of my bra and takes the luscious bud in his mouth and suckles, drawing it firmly into his mouth. He says, “Oh, Jasmine, I have dreamed of suckling at your breast! You’re so sweet.”
I am drowning in sensations. James never cared about my breasts for anything except causing me pain. The feelings Keith is creating in me are exquisite. I feel little bolts of electrical energy shooting through my body straight to my core and I am moving restlessly on the bed.
Keith moves to my other breast and then uses his free hands to unfasten my jeans and push them down to my knees. He slides his hand beneath my panties and parts my curls seeking my warmth. He slides his finger over my sensitive bud and into my warmth and I jerk uncontrollably.
“Oh! What are you doing now? Keith?”
He raises his head and says, “Don’t think, just feel Jasmine.” Moving from my breast back to my mouth, he plunges his tongue into my warmth as he gently massages my sensitive nub while moving his fingers in and out of my warmth mimicking the act of making love. When I crashes over into ecstasy Keith smothers my cries with a deep kiss and holds me tenderly in his arms as I float back to earth.
When I open my eyes and look up at him in confusion, he says, “I love you Jasmine.” Then he rises from the bed and walks out of my room returning to the barn where he stands for long minutes under the icy spray of the shower.
I am not sure what just happened. I only remembers feeling something similar once before, the night of Keith’s Senior Prom. I lie for long minutes on the bed just reliving the unbelievable experience. I think what I just felt must be the female version of whatever it is that James felt when he raped me. Now I kind of understand why he likes it so much. I would certainly like to feel it again. I don’t think that it hurt Keith the same way James always hurt me. He seemed to enjoy watching me. Maybe I’ll ask him, I don’t want to hurt him that way, not like James use to hurt me. After a while, I rise and dress for bed and then relive the experience in my mind again.
When Keith climbs into bed next to Timmy he thinks back over the last few minutes with Jasmine. Yes, he is frustrated because she won’t change her mind about going to Louisiana, but he will deal with that. He just prays that nothing happens to take her away from him. He wouldn’t be able to bear it. Watching her climax was one of the most fulfilling experiences he has had in his adult life. She seems so innocent. It is almost like she is still a virgin. She seemed so surprised by the feelings he created in her. He wonders if it’s possible she never had a climax with James Bixby.
******
The following Sunday, the five members of the Drake Security team and I fly to New Orleans on Barry’s jet. We left Timmy at the ranch in the care of Melanie and Barry.
I have been practicing with my semi-automatic handgun every day and am now a pretty accurate shot though still not as good as Skye. I am confident enough that I am carrying the gun in my purse.
From the airport Pinky and I take a rental car straight to my brother’s home. The other four scatter to their assigned locations around the area. Bear and Stump are going to check Bixby’s old cabin for signs of recent activity.
When Pinky and I arrive at Leaf Leblanc’s home, I nervously take his arm as we walk up the front steps. Both of us are wearing light weight Kevlar vests as a precaution. Keith knocks lightly on the door. When Leaf opens the door a look of sheer joy passes over his face and he grabs me in a warm hug with tears streaming down his face.
He says, “Oh Jasmine, I could hardly believe it when the FBI told me you are still alive. But here you are! I am so happy to see you. Come in and let me introduce you to my wife.”
Leaf introduces Keith and I to a very pretty young woman named Sherrie. She and Leaf were married two years ago and are expecting their first child. Leaf says, “Jasmine, tell me what happened. I was absolutely certain that gator got you. How did James Bixby manage to fool us?”
While I tell Leaf my story, Keith is walking through the house checking out security weaknesses. The FBI told them they have undercover agents living in the house next door. Pinky notices the house across the street appears to be vacant and he radios Scoot to check it out. He is also extremely concerned about the remoteness of the location of the house. Other than the vacant house across the street and one next door, no other homes are located in the area. The yard is full of trees and is bordered in the back by the swamp and Keith can see several gators relaxin
g in the sun. The house doesn’t have any type of security system and has a large number of windows to create a cross breeze on the hot Louisiana nights.
Bear radios Scoot to let him know that it appears someone has been to the cabin recently but it doesn’t appear anyone is staying at the location so they are headed back to the area around Leaf Leblanc’s house. Scoot tells them he and Goose will be checking out a vacant house across the street from Leaf Leblanc.
******
James Bixby’s heart is pounding with excitement. He knew if he was patient Jasmine would show up at Leaf Leblanc’s house and she did. He has been camped out in the vacant house across the street for nearly a month. Living here, never leaving, never turning on a light, has been trying but it is finally paying off.
Jasmine just arrived with that idiot boyfriend of hers, Keith Williams. How in the world did she hook up with the bastard so quickly? It doesn’t matter, he won’t be a problem. He should have taken him out fifteen years ago then Jasmine wouldn’t have been pining for him all those years. Yeah, she didn’t know he could tell she was pining for Keith Williams, but he knew. He could see it in her eyes when she didn’t know he was watching. He’s certain Keith Williams is the reason she left him bleeding on the side of the road in Montana. Yep, he’s going to enjoy killing the bastard then maybe Jasmine will behave when he takes her back. Pausing he thinks, if I take her back. I may just kill her and find me another woman, a younger woman that can bear me a son.
******
Scoot and Goose are quietly moving around the outside of the vacant house. They have already found recent footprints so they know someone is hanging around but they don’t know for sure who. Scoot picks the lock on the back door and they quietly move inside, guns drawn. The odor of rotting garbage and human feces is overpowering. Moving from room to room they can hear someone talking in one of the front rooms. Then Scoot sees him, James Bixby, talking out loud to himself as he stares out the front window toward Leaf Leblanc’s house.
They hear Bixby say, “Keith Williams you are as good as dead. How dare you take Jasmine away from me! You bastard, I am going to enjoy watching you die! Yeah, I can’t wait to see that look of terror on your face just like Fred Davis!”
Scoot points his gun at Bixby’s heart and waits while Goose gets into position to shoot him if he heads for the front door. Then Scoot yells, “Get your hands up Bixby!”
James Bixby glances over his shoulder but doesn’t see anyone then he dives through the front window breaking the glass, rolling on the ground. Scoot fires but misses when Bixby bails out the window, his bullet striking the window frame sending splinters of wood flying. Bixby jumps up from the grass and runs a zig zag pattern through the trees across the road and disappears into the swamp with Scoot and Goose following close behind firing at him. At the edge of the swamp they stop and watch as Bixby disappears from sight deep in the swamp splashing through the murky water.
Scoot says, “Damn! I can’t believe the bastard got away again!”
Goose says, “I think I hit him, but he didn’t slow down so I don’t know for sure. I’m beginning to think it’s going to take a bazooka to bring the guy down.”
Scoot and Goose meet Pinky and the two FBI agents from next door on the front porch of Leaf Leblanc’s house and tell them the discouraging news.
The FBI agent says, “You mean he’s been in that house across the street all along. We checked it out several weeks ago and didn’t find anything. We’ve been watching it but never saw any indication of activity at that location.”
Scoot says, “It looks like he’s been in the house for several weeks. Garbage and human feces are everywhere. The smell is horrific.”
After Bear and Stump arrive they check out the area and find a trail of blood leading from in front of the vacant house into the swamp. Then they all gather in the living room of Leaf Leblanc’s house and discuss what to do next.
Pinky says shaking his head, “Well, hopefully one of those gators I saw out in the swamp will take care of him. They’ll be drawn by the blood. I can’t believe the man’s luck.”
The FBI agent says, “We have notified all of the area hospitals to be on the lookout for anyone coming in for treatment of severe lacerations or gunshots. We sent Bixby’s mug shot to be posted in all of the Emergency Room offices.”
Bear says, “It is very doubtful the guy will show himself around here again now that he knows we’re here. I think we should all head back to Wyoming.”
Stump says, “I agree. He isn’t going to come around while we’re here. He will want to take us by surprise one at a time.”
I say, “But I just got here, I want to spend some time with my brother.”
Pinky suggests, “Leaf, why don’t you and Sherrie pack up and move out to Wyoming with us. With your computer skills, I’m sure we can put you to work.” He looks over at Scoot, “Leaf is an even better hacker than I am. In fact he taught me much of what I know when he was only twelve.”
Blushing Leaf says, “My current job with the government will allow me to live anywhere I want. Unless Sherrie has an objection, I would love to move out to Wyoming and be near Jasmine. I certainly don’t want to lose touch with her again. She is all the family I have left. I want to meet Timmy too. He sounds adorable.”
A few hours later they all head to the airport and board Barry’s jet for Wyoming. With Scoot’s help, arrangements have been made to ship all of Leaf and Sherrie Leblanc’s belonging to the Rock Springs Ranch in Wyoming.
Pinky notifies Richard Dean of their failed attempt to capture Bixby and informed him the group, including Leaf and Sherrie Leblanc, is returning to Wyoming.
Leaf and Sherrie are amazed at the luxurious jet the group boards. When they look questioningly at Jasmine she tells them about the jet belonging to Barry Farrady. She explains that Barry is a good friend of the Drake Security team and that he lets them make their homes on his ranch in Wyoming. Sherrie’s eyes round with excitement and she says, “You mean I’m going to get to meet Barry Farrady, that hunky movie star?”
Jasmine laughs and says, “You’re going to do more than meet him, you’re going to live in the same house with him, at least until we can build our own.”
******
James Bixby is cursing a blue streak. Those damn mercenaries. He should have known they were around. He just didn’t realize that Keith Williams was one of them. Now he has another gunshot wound and this one is going to require medical attention. The bullet is lodged somewhere in his chest and he is having difficulty breathing. Plus he has a deep cut on his face and another one on his arm from his dive through the window. He can’t just show up at the hospital. They would be sure to ask questions and probably recognize him as a wanted man. He’ll think of something, he has to.
CHAPTER 13
After returning to the ranch Jasmine and Timmy move upstairs to the adjoining rooms once shared by Dylan, Skye and Damian Drake. Leaf and Sherrie Leblanc take over Jasmine’s old room on the first floor of the main ranch house. Construction has started on a large two story home between the one owned by Dylan and Skye and the one owned by Goose and Evelyn for Keith and Jasmine and their family. Leaf and Sherrie will build next door. After Leaf learns about the operations of Drake Security he agrees to be a consultant for them while maintaining his current job with the government.
The day after the group returns to the ranch, Barry hosts a party to welcome Leaf and Sherrie Leblanc as the ranch’s newest residents. All of the residents of the Rock Springs Ranch and those from the Rocking J ranch are in attendance.
At the party that evening, I am completely surprised when Pinky drops to one knee in front of the crowd, holds out a beautiful solitaire diamond ring, and says, “Jasmine, my love, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
I turn a pretty shade of pink with tears in my eyes, “Oh Keith, nothing would make me happier than to be your wife.”
After placing the ring on my finger, he pulls me into a warm embrace and k
isses me tenderly to the cheers of the crowd. Then Pinky is completely surprised when Stump sneaks up behind him and attaches a ball and chain to his ankle. After a lot of good natured ribbing from his buddies, he turns to Stump and says, “Just you wait. Your time is coming.”
After everyone has retired to their respective homes, Keith walks with me upstairs to tuck Timmy into bed in his new room. He reads him a bedtime story and Timmy falls asleep before he even gets to the end.
Standing, he and I walk hand in hand through the adjoining door to my room where he pulls me into his arms. Lowering his head he tenderly takes my lips with his savoring my taste, nibbling around the edges of my luscious lips. When I open for him, he plunges his tongue into the moist warmth with a groan rumbling from deep within. Pulling me closer he presses my hips tightly against his erection. Moving his lips down the graceful curve of my neck, he says, “Oh Jasmine, I want you so much. Please tell me you want me too.”
I pull out of his embrace saying, “Keith, we need to talk about something.” I turn and walk over to the window.
Dread washing over him, Keith says, “What’s wrong Jasmine? Tell me.”
Pulling back the curtains and looking out into the night I take a deep breath trying to gather my courage and then say, “I can’t marry you Keith.”
Stunned, Keith sinks down on the side of the bed and says, “I don’t understand Jasmine. Why? Don’t you love me?”
Turning back toward him, I look into his face seeing the deep hurt. With tears in my eyes, I say, “I’m sorry Keith. I don’t want to hurt you. I can think of nothing I want more than to be your wife and Timmy’s mother, but I’m already married.”
Anger flows through Keith, “Why are you just now finding it necessary to share this little detail with me?”
Tears streaming down my face now, I explain, “It evidently is one of the things I blocked. The doctor told me I would probably remember more as time went on. It hit me when I saw you on your knee with the ring in your hand. I didn’t want to ... I couldn’t tell you in front of all of those people. I’m so sorry.” I hand him the beautiful ring, turn, and walk back to the window silent sobs shaking my body.