Strike

by Cora Brent

  He gazed up at me with those big brown eyes full of unconditional devotion and then nuzzled my hand with his muddy snout.

  “You know what you need?” I asked him as I rubbed the top of his dirty head. “You need a bath.”

  Angus The Dog responded to the suggestion by attacking my face with his sloppy tongue. Cassie laughed and Angus tackled her next.

  “Should we hose him off before Mom sees that he was digging in her herb garden again?” she said.

  I jumped out of the soft patio chair where I’d been relaxing with a glass of iced tea. “I’ll get the hose if you hold him.”

  “Fine. Just don’t clobber me with the water when you aim the nozzle.”

  Cassie grabbed the dog and guided him to the center of the yard while I turned on the water. I sprayed the wall for a few seconds until the water turned from hot to lukewarm. Angus The Dog wasn’t very excited about getting clean and Cassie struggled to hold onto him.

  “For an old timer you’re still pretty damn strong,” she grumbled as she tried to keep him still.

  After we’d rinsed away all evidence of Angus’s garden assault he shook himself, briefly gazed at us with indignation but then happily laid at our feet when we sat down again.

  “You came right home from work today,” Cassie commented. “How come you didn’t have dinner with Dalton like you’ve been doing just about every night for the last three weeks?”

  “He had to go to a big corporate dinner with Griffin and the executive bigwigs. Apparently it’s something they do at the end of every quarter.”

  “Aren’t the so-called executive bigwigs members of Griffin’s family?”

  “Yeah. Most of them have the Sullivan last name.”

  “I wonder what that’s like,” Cassie mused, “to be born into a billionaire tycoon family.”

  I reached down and scratched Angus The Dog behind his ears. “I guess we’ll never know. We’ll just have to settle for being Gentrys.”

  My sister grinned. “I’d much rather be a Gentry.”

  Suddenly the side door to the house banged shut. I didn’t have a view of the area from where I was sitting but I knew that that neither of my parents would let the door crash behind them like a wildebeest.

  Cassie must have had the same assumption. “Everything okay, Cadence?” she called. She raised her eyebrows at me. I shrugged. A few seconds later our little sister appeared at the backyard gate with a scowl on her face.

  Angus The Dog abandoned his position of comfort to run to her, tail wagging. Cadence broke into a smile at the sight of our beloved old dog and she cracked open the gate just enough to offer him a pat on the head.

  “You heading out somewhere?” I asked her, noting that she was all dolled up in a pretty floral sundress.

  Cadence continued to pet Angus. “Just out with some friends.”

  “Will Jacob be there?”

  Her scowl returned. “He’s too busy working at the garage.”

  “Does he like working for Conway and Stone?” Cassie asked.

  Cadence stood up and sighed. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him? He probably won’t give you a straight answer though. Jacob’s all about keeping secrets these days.”

  I didn’t really like the sound of that. Aside from a few minor fights in high school Jacob wasn’t the type who got into trouble. “What kind of secrets, Cadence?” I asked.

  A car honked out front.

  “That’s my ride,” Cadence said, ignoring my question. “See you guys later.”

  Cassie waited until she was gone to ask, “What do you make of that?”

  “Not sure,” I shrugged. “Just yesterday Aunt Truly told Mom that Jake has been holding his own down at the garage. I know she and Uncle Creed are still hoping to talk him into trying a few college classes but I don’t think anyone will cry bitter tears if he doesn’t.”

  “He and Cadence haven’t been hanging around together a whole lot. That’s unusual by itself. But then again they’ve been best friends since they were in diapers. Maybe they’re just moving in different directions right now. You know our baby sister can be a little melodramatic at times.”

  “That could be it.”

  The voices of our parents came floating outside a moment later. This time the door didn’t slam but closed with a whisper.

  “Girls,” my mother called. “We’re leaving now.”

  Saylor and Cord Gentry appeared at the back gate, stunning in their finery. My mother wore a sleeveless knee length green dress with a flared skirt that complemented her eyes. My father was looking sharp and dignified in a grey shirt and tie.

  My dad rolled his eyes when Cassie and I whistled.

  “What’s the special occasion?” I asked. It wasn’t unusual for my parents to enjoy a night out but they didn’t often make such a fancy production out of it.

  “It’s an anniversary of sorts,” my mother said, casting a sidelong glance at our father.

  “You got married in October,” Cassie pointed out. “It’s June.”

  “Different kind of anniversary.”

  “Say no more,” I begged. “Please. I just ate an hour ago.”

  “Are you girls going to be okay?” my father asked a little anxiously. “We’ll be home before midnight. Don’t forget to lock the door when you go in the house.”

  “Dad, uh, we’re twenty one,” I said delicately. “It’s not against the law to leave us home alone.”

  “Did you see your sister leave?” my mother asked.

  “Yes. She was picked up by a honking car that was apparently carrying some non-Jacob friends.”

  My father frowned. “Is she aware she needs to be home by ten whether we’re here or not?” he asked my mother.

  She patted his arm. “I’ll text her from the car.” She blew us a kiss and the two lovebirds left.

  “All these years they’ve been together,” Cassie said with an awed shake of her head. “What do you think that’s like?”

  “Stable. Happy.”

  Cassie picked at a thread on her shorts. “Do you ever wonder if we’ll find something like what they have?”

  “I never used to think about it,” I said honestly.

  “And now?” she prodded.

  “And now I think about it.”

  “Does that have anything to do with Dalton?”

  I blushed. “I met Dalton less than a month ago. I’m not exactly planning our wedding.”

  She smacked me on the thigh. “Don’t be all cagey with me.”

  “Cagey?” I scoffed.

  “Yes. Don’t pretend like Dalton Tremaine hasn’t totally knocked you on your ass.”

  “He may have done something to my ass. I’m not sure you want to hear about it though.”

  She cocked her head and searched my face. “What about when you go back to school, Cams?”

  “I don’t go back until the end of August. And it’s not like San Diego’s the moon. It’s less than six hours by car.”

  Cassie was still looking at me. “And after that? I know you don’t plan on embarking on your big journalism career here in Arizona.”

  “Well, I haven’t had any job offers yet so that remains to be seen.” I kept my tone light but I knew what she meant. The subject had already come up with Dalton. This past Sunday we were relaxing in his bed after a particularly athletic round of sex when he casually asked what my plans were after I graduate next year.

  I always thought I knew exactly what I wanted. I always thought that once I had my degree I’d make a beeline for one of the big cities. In my mind’s eye I could see myself in the middle of Manhattan, briskly walking down an iconic urban street in a sea of strangers. I was convinced I could never find the kind of destiny I wanted around here. But lately I’d been troubled more and more by the idea of making a permanent life so far away from the people who meant everything to me. It wouldn’t be like going away to college in the next state and coming home for every holiday. I’d be gone. From this. From home. From everyone.
It’s not as if I was in the middle of some massive existential crisis but sometimes I wondered whether I was still sure about what I wanted.

  Fortunately I wasn’t required to figure it out immediately because my phone rang. I was so surprised to see the number that I jumped to my feet. Cassie mouthed the words, “Who is it?” but I held up a finger and put the phone to my ear.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this Camille Gentry?”

  “Yes it is.”

  “Camille, this is George Atwater from the Sun Republic. First I want to apologize for not getting back to you sooner. I was away on vacation, returned to a tsunami of messages and unfortunately somehow your email got temporarily lost in the shuffle. I figured since so much time had gone by you deserved the courtesy of a response that wasn’t electronic.”

  “That’s okay, sir. I appreciate the call.”

  After my internship in New York had fallen through I’d called every newspaper and magazine in town in the hopes of finding something vaguely journalistic for the summer. I’d already interned at Sun Republic the summer after high school so I thought I had the best chance there but I was coldly informed by their human resources department that all opportunities had been filled months earlier by young people who were much better at thinking ahead. As a last effort I’d fired off an email to George Atwater because I thought he might remember me from three years ago and since then he’d been promoted to editor in chief. When I didn’t hear back from him I didn’t take it personally.

  George wanted to tell me that he was sorry he didn’t have any positions currently available but he did remember what a fantastic intern I was and would be pleased to serve as a reference. It was a nice offer and I really was grateful. The man also asked when I’d be graduating and encouraged me to apply for a full time position next spring.

  “You never know what could open up between now and then,” he said cheerfully.

  “That’s true,” I said.

  “I do hope you were able to find something for the summer.”

  “Actually I ended up taking a job at Wild Spring Resort. At the spa. It doesn’t exactly involve anything newsworthy but it is work experience.”

  George was quiet on the other end for a moment. “I see.” He cleared his throat. “Do you happen to spend any time at that club over there? Aqua Room?”

  “Not exactly but my, uh, I mean I know the man who manages it.” I heard myself stammering and felt stupid.

  “Is that so?” he asked slowly. “Camille, may I ask you a serious question?”

  “Of course.”

  “Have you ever heard the name Carmen Carerra?”

  I ran the name over in my head. Usually I was very good about remembering names. There was no flash of recognition though. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Oh.” He sounded disappointed. “Carmen did some freelance work for us. She thought she’d found an interesting topic at Wild Spring and took a temporary job there to try and get closer to the story. We hadn’t heard from her in nearly a month so we tracked down a woman she stayed with sometimes. The woman told us she’d filed a missing persons report weeks ago. She said Carmen often skipped town abruptly for a variety of reasons but felt certain she would have called after a few days. The police don’t seem concerned and even Carmen’s mother believes her daughter just ran off in favor of a new adventure, as she often does. A few phone calls to Wild Spring didn’t turn up any information as no one will confirm whether Carmen ever did in fact work there. Now keep in mind, I’m telling you all of this in confidence.”

  The story was strange. I wondered about the ‘interesting topic’ that Carmen had been trying to uncover. It could have been anything from a celebrity golf tournament to investigating some of the shady characters that frequented the club.

  “Of course, I understand,” I assured him. “Like I said, I just work at the spa and I haven’t heard any rumors, but would you like me to see if I can find out anything?”

  “Ah, I was hoping you’d offer. That would be appreciated. Listen, I’m sorry again that I couldn’t be of more assistance finding you a summer position but I do hope you’ll apply next year. And you have my number if you happen to discover anything concerning Carmen. In all likelihood she did leave of her own free will.”

  “Yes, I have your number. And thank you again for calling.”

  Cassie was looking at me curiously when I ended the call. “What was that about?”

  I frowned and stared at the phone. “I’m not sure.”

  Angus The Dog had recovered from his bathing trauma and was snooping around the yard. He was overjoyed to discover a half chewed Frisbee and deposited it in my lap triumphantly. Cassie and I got a kick out of the way our old dog frolicked like a puppy with his tail going a mile a minute while we took turns throwing the toy.

  “You’re such a good boy,” I told the dog when he returned the Frisbee to my lap for the fifth time. I got down on my knees so I could scratch his ears. “Such a good boy.”

  “How can I get that kind of attention?” an amused voice wanted to know. I knew it belonged to Dalton even before I looked up and found him peering over the fence with a smirk. I leapt to my feet and ran right over.

  “What are you doing here?” I laughed, stretching on my toes to reach his lips.

  “I was heading back to Wild Spring from downtown and wanted to see you in your natural habitat.” He nodded to my sister. “Hey, Cassie.”

  She giggled. “Hello, Dalton.”

  “How’d your meeting go?” I asked him.

  He shrugged. “Dull. Typical.” He opened up the gate and held out a friendly palm to Angus, who thumped his tail and sniffed Dalton’s hand. “Unfortunately I can’t stick around long,” Dalton said. “I’ve got some things that need to be handled down at the club before we open tonight so I’ve got to get back soon.”

  I touched his arm. Gently, seductively. “But you don’t have to run back there quite yet.”

  Dalton zeroed in on me. One interested eyebrow went up. “No, not quite yet.”

  “I think there’s a storm rolling in,” Cassie said from the patio sofa. She pointed to the eastern sky where some thunderhead clouds were starting to cluster together. “I’m just going to sit out here for a while with Angus and watch the weather happen.” She gave me a mischievous grin. “So feel free to give Dalton a complete tour of the empty house.”

  I nudged Dalton. “What do you say? I’m afraid the rest of the family isn’t home but are you up for a tour?”

  “I think I’m up for it,” he said, running a hand in a slow circle across my back, “that is, if you’re in the mood to show me everything.”

  The sexual implications were thick in the air but Cassie was staring at the gathering clouds as if there was nothing more fascinating than the sky.

  “Just make sure you leave everything how you found it,” she said and called Angus over to keep her company.

  The moment we were indoors Dalton already had his hands all over me.

  “This is the kitchen,” I said, rather unnecessarily since there usually wasn’t another room that contained a refrigerator and stove.

  “Great,” he said, deftly unsnapping my shorts. He moved behind me, brazenly sinking one hand inside my panties and pushing against my back so I could feel how hard he was.

  I closed my eyes and welcomed the feel of his fingers inside me. I wondered if he intended to fuck me right here in the kitchen. I wondered if I would stop him if he tried.

  “The living room is over there,” I said, gesturing weakly over the breakfast bar to the room where I’d spent countless hours among my family. Watching television, playing games, laughing, fighting, being the Gentrys.

  Suddenly Dalton withdrew his hand. I suppressed a frustrated complaint.

  “You know what?” he said. “I’ve seen the living room. Let’s check out a place I haven’t seen before.”

  Understanding his meaning, I slid my shorts down over my hips. Dalton watched as they fell
to the floor. I stepped out of them, pleased I’d chosen a hot pink thong today. Dalton looked pretty pleased about it too.

  I crooked a finger. “Follow me.”

  The bedroom I’d always shared with my sister was just twelve steps away. I covered them slowly, feeling Dalton’s eyes on me the entire time and reveling in a delicious sense of wickedness, strutting into my girlhood bedroom with the intention of getting corrupted.

  To my surprise Dalton didn’t seize me right away once I had the door closed. He looked around, lingering over the high school journalism awards that proudly hung above my desk, the photo collages on my bulletin board, the collection of treasured books neatly lined on a shelf. I felt restless as I watched him. It was funny because I’d already logged an impressive number of naked hours with this man yet as I watched him examine the contents of my bedroom I felt more exposed than I ever had.

  “How old were you here?” he asked, pointing to a favorite framed photo of me and Cassie.

  “That was our thirteenth birthday. We were absurdly excited to be teenagers.” I pulled my shirt over my head. “You know, I do believe you are the first unrelated male ever to set foot inside this sanctuary.”

  His eyes flickered up and down my body. “I’m honored.”

  I sat on my bed, leaning back and liking the seductive feel of my long hair tickling my back. “Prove it.”

  Dalton dropped his pants. “Yes ma’am.”

  He always kissed me like it was the first time. Like he’d been storing up all that wild passion and waiting for the right second to unleash it. Dalton kissed me like I was everything he needed and his attention could never wander anywhere else.

  He pushed me on my back, pinning me with his weight. I wanted him. I always wanted him.

  Dalton stopped kissing me and rose up on his elbows, peering down with a wicked grin. “So you’ve never been fucked in this bed before?”

  “Nope.”

  “In this house?”

  I shook my head.

  He liked my answer. He liked it so much he reached down with one hand and broke the flimsy waistband of my thong. Maybe I should have been mad. The thing hadn’t been cheap. But it turned me on and I kind of hoped he’d get rougher.