Stacey, so intent on her work, didn’t realize she was standing behind her until she reached out, touching her on the shoulder. “Stacey.”
She must have jumped a foot high off of the couch. Holding her hand to her heart she said, “My goodness you scared me.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean too. I actually thought you heard me walk up behind you.”
Stacey was holding the picture on her lap. Jade reached out, gently pulling it away from her. Looking at it she was surprised and impressed with the quality of the drawing.
It was Reilly with his paws on the window ledge looking out the window at the squirrel poised on a tree branch looking back at him. The picture was joyful, each animal looking at the other in silent communication.
“Stacey, I’m impressed. This is really, really good. Did you ever take any art lessons?”
“No, I haven’t.” Reaching out she took the picture back from her. “In fact it’s been years since I’ve felt like drawing but watching Reilly I had the itch.
“I remembered seeing this pad of sketching paper and pencils in the cupboard where the games are. It was probably put there for someone who has kids but I thought no one would mind if I used a piece or two.”
“No, no, I don’t think they would,” Jade said thoughtfully. “Would you be willing to draw pictures of people with their dogs for a donation?”
“Oh, I don’t know. It’s one thing to draw Reilly and a silly fat old squirrel in the tree teasing him but quite another to draw a picture of a person.”
Wondering how to convince her, inspiration struck. She said, “Why don’t you draw me and Reilly and see how it turns out? If it looks okay then I think you should do it. We could make extra money for the shelter. Reluctantly Stacey turned to a fresh piece of paper. Calling Reilly over to her Jade made him sit.
“I’ll take you for a long run if you put up with this for a half an hour or so.”
Amenably Reilly wagged his plumy tail as she stroked his silky head. Now she was so glad they had him and couldn’t imagine not having this cheerful presence around the house.
Posing together, she tried to not move while trying to get Reilly to stay still. It was a hard task. Bored, Reilly wanted to head to the family room where his toys were.
Still Stacey seemed unperturbed as she continued to sketch steadily despite their moving around a great deal.
Looking up, she said, “Done.”
Taking it from her, Jade was astounded at what she saw. She had made her and Reilly into almost mythical looking beings.
Her eyes were catlike, luminous with her hair cascading down to her waist. Wearing a short tunic, her long lithe legs were shown to their best advantage. The plunging neckline revealed more than a hint of cleavage as it stopped just above her navel.
Reilly was sitting at her feet looking up at her with complete and utter adoration. The essence of who he was remained but he looked like some kind of warrior dog ready to defend her at a moment’s notice.
“This is beautiful. I look like some ancient goddess sitting with my spiritual guide dog at my feet.” Looking up at her, Jade said, “You’ve got to do this. I think you would be able to capture something that people would be very happy with. Something unique.”
She blushed. “It’s really been awhile and keep in mind that your judgment is a little clouded when it comes to me.”
Looking at her thoughtfully wondering how to convince her, she said, “I’ll tell you what. I’ll show these to Anthony when he gets home. I won’t say anything about you having done them and ask him what he thinks.
“In fact I’ll tell him we had a local artist who wanted to offer her services for the event.
“I’ll say we were a little unsure and wanted his input before we said okay. Fair enough?”
Stacey shrugged. “I guess so.”
Jade smiled. “Well I guess your guess so will have to do.” Putting the sketch pad down, she reached over and pulled Stacey into her arms. Feeling her relax into her Jade had that familiar sensation of peace and happiness pervade her.
Reilly was there trying to get in between the two of them. Both women laughed looking down at his smiling face as he pranced around them.
“I think he’s reminding me that I promised to take him for a run. Reilly, you’re good for my exercise regime. Neither sleet, nor rain, nor snow will stand in your way of daily exercise.” Kissing Stacey lightly on the top of her head, she let her go.
“Well, guess I better go do that jogging thing.”
“Guess you better.”
“Why are dogs so enthusiastic about running?”
Stacey smiled. “In my experience they’re enthusiastic about most things.”
Jade chuckled. “That’s true. They’re happy about life. Too bad we couldn’t infuse that into humans.”
Just then the doorbell rang. Jade and Stacey’s eyes met – the lull was over.
“Guess you’ll have to get that one ‘cuz I’m taking Reilly for a run,” Jade said, glad she had an air tight reason to leave. So many people over the past few days. It was suffocating.
Stacey smiled her understanding at her and headed for the front door. Calling Reilly to come Jade left to go change for her jog. She could hear Stacey warmly welcoming people into their home like it was the best thing that ever happened. She was a great hostess.
Chapter Seventeen
Having talked George into giving him his SUV and in exchange for his own shitty little car, Colin had arrived in Kalispell earlier that day. He had been lucky to find a room at the generic Best Western after being turned down at several other lower end places. He had started to sweat envisioning having to stay in the SUV. Someone had cancelled and he was the lucky recipient of that cancellation where he paid three times the normal rate. All this due to a certain Ms. Jade Tanner and her clout. Kalispell was like a town high on crack. You could feel the energy the moment you drove in. Other reporters were in town so Colin had taken pains to change his appearance before his arrival, darkening his blonde hair to black and sporting a pair of thick horn rimmed glasses. Instead of being nattily dressed like he usually was he sported a sweatshirt and pants donning a huge unbecoming winter jacket. It would quite nicely hide his camera which he intended to have slung around his neck day and night. You never knew when an opportunity would present itself. Not that any of the elite journalists would recognize him but some who ran in the same circles might. He hadn’t check in under his name but under the name of George Schroeder, his PI. He would take great pains to avoid any gathering places that the journalists typically meet. He didn’t want the possibility of someone horning in on this story. As he wasn’t here to cover the charity event, he didn’t want to waste time pretending he was.
Having done his due diligence before he arrived in town he was pretty sure he knew where Jade and Stacey were staying. Parking several blocks away, he walked over. Much to his delight it was heavily tree lined which would make it easier for him to remain out of sight.
Watching Jade leave with the dog Reilly, who he recognized from the television interview, he walked down the sidewalk past the house keeping his head down. He knew Stacey was inside with a group of visitors that he had watched enter the house. Otherwise he would have scooted around to the back yard and tried to break in. He wanted proof of their sleeping arrangements.
He also needed proof that Jade had paid for the little whore so she couldn’t come up with some “I was trying to help her and I fell in love with her” bullshit. First and foremost though he wanted pictures of them doing it together. If he could get those the magazine would be sure to break all previous sales records. It would be his and of course the offensive Sal’s biggest payday. Colin wanted to scrub his mind clean of Sal when this was over.
It was getting chilly so having satisfied himself he had the right house he scurried back to his borrowed SUV and the blessed heat pouring through the vents.
The next couple of days flew by and despite all his best efforts he wasn’t
able to get a picture of the women so much as holding hands. People were always in their house and when they were out, Anthony was always there in the middle of them making a cozy little threesome. Anthony did the driving with Jade in the front seat while Stacey sat in the back with Reilly. It almost looked like Jade was having a thing with Anthony not Stacey.
It was Friday, the night before the big gala event and he was getting nervous. Volunteers had entered the barn to pull an all-nighter, he assumed to put the finishing touches on the barn. Picture I.D. for each volunteer was required at the entrance. Then their names were checked off the list. True to form the red barn was off limits to all reporters but thanks to travelling incognito, Colin hung around unrecognized around the edges of the crowd. A weary Anthony was marshaled into giving daily updates to the journalists that hung on to his every word like they were life itself.
He would give anything to get a peek into the huge red barn. He was sure it was spectacular even if only partially completed. This charity event was going to cost the cosmetics tycoon a pretty penny.
Colin knew that several professional florists had been brought in to head up the teams. Coffee, sandwiches and doughnuts were flowing freely into the tent and he was wondering if he could tag along with one of the volunteers and slip in unnoticed.
Best not to chance it. If his cover was blown then any last ditch effort to catch the two of them entangled together would be lost.
He had tried to break into the house only to discover it was well alarmed and there was no way with his miniscule skills he could disarm it. The bedroom blinds were drawn each time he’d snuck around to the back of the house so no go there. At times like this he wished he had George’s expertise at B&E. He thought about calling him up to come to Kalispell but right now all George had was his shitty little car and there’s no way it would make it through the mountain passes. A rental or flying was out of the question because his credit cards were maxed and he didn’t have any extra cash. He couldn’t expect George to pay for it. Lost in his thoughts and standing off a ways from the crowd of onlookers that gathered every night caught under the spell of Jade Tanner’s magic, the sense of anticipation was palpable. At this time in America, this dinky little town was the place to be.
A movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. It was Jade and Stacey, alone for once, off in the distance heading down the street walking slowly together. At the end of this particular street was a heavily wooded park. That’s where they must be headed. Probably to take a break from the organized mayhem inside and talk about preparations for the huge party tomorrow. The opportunity he had been waiting for with the two women together without Anthony had arrived.
He had his trusty very high end camera/video recorder under his jacket which he was still paying for. But he could stand in the shadows and catch America’s elite doing very naughty things without their knowledge. Too bad for them but great for him. Like an American Express card he never left home without it. Walking slowly behind them, he gave them a good head start. At the park’s entrance he had lost sight of them but wasn’t too concerned. It was a bright night with moonlight reflecting off of the trampled snow. Keeping under the cover of the trees’ shadows he kept his eyes peeled. What he saw made his heart stop.
Despite the coolness of the evening, there was Jade down between Stacey’s spread legs giving her oral sex. Without a second to waste he unzipped his coat grabbing his camera, glad he was in the habit of changing the settings as the day changed into night. In his line of work this was key. Already on night setting with ample moonlight, it would be great. He started snapping away.
Stacey’s head was leaning against the tree and as Colin zoomed in to get the best pictures, he could see the pleasure on her face. Changing to video recording he caught the moment she came on Jade’s tongue and it was apparent it was a great orgasm.
Jade was looking up at her. Colin realized by the look on her face she was truly in love with this beautiful young woman she knelt before. Getting off of her knees, she pulled Stacey close and began kissing her passionately.
Switching back to photo he clicked away in rapid succession. Stacey pulled away from Jade laughing up at her and Jade looked simply bedazzled by her.
Stepping away from her, Stacey pulled up her pants and Colin realized she must have been telling her she was cold. She tugged at Jade’s pants.
Leaning against the same tree Stacey had vacated, Jade pulled her jean and panties down to her ankles. Leaning back against the tree with her pelvis thrust out and legs stretched as wide apart as possible for Stacey’s tongue.
Half-naked, Colin was truly impressed with how beautiful her body was. Long limbed and lithe she was like something expensively exotic and spicy.
Her eyes closed in bliss as Stacey went to work. Her hand reached down and gently held the back of Stacey’s head keeping her mouth tight against her clit.
Colin could see her pulsating as she came and he caught ever blissful shiver on video. Once he had proof that she paid for Stacey, this was going to be a massacre. It was like they decided to simply hand it to him and he didn’t even have to commit a break and enter.
Pulling Stacey to her feet Jade held her close stroking her hair and back. Letting her go, she pulled up her pants. Holding hands they started walking slowly back to the barn having that glazed looked that comes after having great sex, talking as they went.
He would have given anything to hear what they were saying. He couldn’t help but wonder why they would risk having sex in a public area like this when they could wait until they got home.
He knew the townspeople were well aware of their relationship. That he had gathered, but they didn’t know the origin of their relationship and that little tidbit was the thing that would hang the high and mighty Jade Tanner out to dry.
Giving them enough time to get back to the barn, he headed over to his vehicle and drove back to his hotel room. He had things to do and people to call.
****
As the women got closer to the barn they stopped holding hands but continued to talk in a desultory manner about the event tomorrow, their future together and Reilly, who was blissfully playing with the other dogs in the “Pet Tent”, having the time of his life.
For the past several days they hadn’t had a moment to themselves. Jade could feel the tension building in her and knew she needed Stacey. Having gone from sex at least once a day to nothing was a shock to her body.
People had constantly been coming and going from their place and by the time they ushered the last person out, it had almost been time to start the next day.
She had slipped Stacey a note saying she needed her badly. Stacey had slipped her a note back saying she needed her too but where could they go?
That’s when she thought about the park at the end of the street. The air was brisk slightly above freezing and the hour late so nobody would be in the park.
Walking back into the barn, it really was like walking into a spring time paradise. Heaters kept everything at an even temperature and the scent of the flowers filled the air. The clever lighting mimicked moonlight on a clear spring night. The musical sound from the waterfalls was peaceful and relaxing. Already it was a magical place to be.
Anthony had watched the two women walk into the barn and now Jade was walking over to him. He took one look at her and said, “You’ve just had sex.”
She blushed. “Please don’t tell me it’s that obvious.”
“Only to me, but that’s because I know you so well.”
She gave him a long, cool look. “I hope you’re not telling me that to make me feel better.”
“Nope, cross my heart and hope to die. Don’t forget I knew you before when you were all icy and po-faced all the time.
She burst out laughing. “Thanks a lot. Po-faced? That’s very unflattering you know.”
“I know. But it’s true. You were but now you’re not. Stacey’s good for you. It’s like you’ve learned how to relax and that ma
ybe there’s more to life than working all the time.”
She gave him a half smile. “It took me a while to figure it out but hey, better late than never as they say.”
He smiled back at her. “Yup, better late than never.”
Looking around her again she said, “Anthony you have done a fantastic job here. I can’t believe how beautiful everything is. It truly looks like a springtime evening in here.
“Now I can hardly wait until everybody shows up.”
“You must know they’ve been showing up already. Kalispell’s hotels and B&B’s have never been so booked and with such an elite group of people.”
“I bet.” Reaching up she kissed him on the lips. This time it was his turn to blush as kissing this intelligent wickedly beautiful creature had been one of his forbidden fantasies. Sometimes he wondered how gay he was. Still when he thought about Brendan and his beautiful body, his own body grew warm with excitement. Jade was probably that one woman he could have been with had the opportunity ever presented itself, but it hadn’t.
He realized she was speaking to him and he had tuned out. Trying to look like he knew exactly what she was talking about he soon realized he was going to have to ask.
“What was that?”
She gave him a rueful looked. “Don’t be that way. You know I mean it. I’ll fly you and Brendan wherever you want to go for an all-expense paid two week vacation on me.”
Waving her hands around the venue, she said, “You’ve really outdone yourself here and there’s no way we could have done it without you.”
So this is what she had been talking about while he tuned out. Good thing she thought he was just being a pain in the ass.
Demurring he said, “You really don’t have to do that.”
“I want too. Here I ask you to take care of the New York office and then I dragged you away from that to come here to help with this charity event. It’s costing a lot of money and yet not making any money for the company. But you’ve been so gracious about it.”
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