Six Shades of Romance

by Darling, P. K.

  “You did, in a way.” She smiled and traced her finger over the design on his shirt.

  He chuckled low, “Did you hear me telling you not to go towards the light and come back to me?”

  “Yeah, I think I heard you.” A grin spread over his face. He laughed and brushed his lips over hears. His stubble had grown in quite a bit, a beard now. His hair had gotten longer. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been gone from this world, but she was thankful to be back.

  “I love you, Caroline. Promise you won’t ever do that to me again.”

  She nodded and accepted another kiss on the lips. “Promise.”

  He sat down beside her and squeezed her arm and hand with his own.

  “You’re wearing the shirt,” she pointed.

  He looked down at the saber-tooth tiger design on his black shirt. He gave a sheepish smile. “Well, yeah, but I’ve washed it. You still hate it?” he asked.

  “No. Not anymore. I’ve learned a little about them … sabers I mean. They’re fierce and protective creatures, you know? I see now why you like them.”

  He eyed her curiously and then stood up and wiggled her IV bag. “What in the hell are they giving you?” he laughed and sat back down. “You always hated this shirt. I thought I was going to have to get rid of it.”

  Caroline met those same fierce eyes of the animal that had helped her find her way back to Gavin. “Never. He’s the reason I was able to find my way back to you.”

  About Darby Briar

  Darby Briar is a paranormal/fiction fanatic, and has been since she was a little girl. Whether it be movies, books, art, or series on TV, she’s always been lured to the freaky side of fiction and life outside of the norm. She is currently working on her first book in her divine werewolf series-Legions of the Fallen, Transformed.

  Summer House

  by Lee Moore

  For Mature Audiences 18 + for Language and Sexual Content.

  Caroline’s only goal in life was to escape her parents, even after graduating college, she can’t break away. Still a virgin at 25, being crushed under the weight of her parents religious beliefs, she escapes to their summer house to decompress from another argument that threatens her relationship with her parents.

  It’d had been almost a decade since she’d last visited the summer house, and is surprised and delighted to find her childhood friends and crushes still living there.

  She is swept away with emotion, trying to break out of her shell and vows to make a change. Do something she never would have done in her old life.

  This is a story of a woman drastically changing her life, and learning to live life on her own terms. 24,000 Words, and may contain themes suitable for those 18 + in age.

  Prequel to the Fantasy Inc. # 3 novella Witch Hunt.

  Chapter 1

  When people told Caroline how much fun and excitement finishing her degree would be, they lied.

  Here I was, finally. It had taken a couple of years of junior college and almost four years at the University of Nevada to finish. I had briefly thought of finding some part-time job to get me through the summer until I started on my Master’s program for social work. I was tired, burnt out, and sick of being lonely, an outcast.

  I’d always thought that the cliques ended in high school, and it was hard enough having ultra-religious parents like mine. For years, I thought that if I kissed a boy, I was going to hell; my mother had all kinds of sayings about dating and relationships. It wasn’t until a high school counselor pulled me aside, because of my behavior like being withdrawn so much my freshman year, that I found out I was living a very sheltered life.

  It was the same counselor who explained to me what sex was actually about—not a destructive act that would damn my soul for all eternity. I was shocked at first, but spent time at the library instead of home, and found a new world inside books. To say I was pissed at being sheltered so long like this would be a huge understatement.

  It was that year that I decided to go to college and then move as far from my parents as I could when I was done and starting my career. Throughout the years it was hard, though; my beliefs had been turned inside out and upside down, but I couldn’t physically[?] shake who I was. My determination paid off, and I had scholarships until my third year in college, when my mother got sick.

  My father couldn’t take any time off work, so I went part time, and ran her to her chemo appointments when my father couldn’t. That cost me my scholarship, because I wasn’t taking more than twelve credit hours. It’s not that I hate my parents, but to them everything, and I mean everything, is God’s will. They are so religious that being away from them at college for extended periods of time made me really open my eyes.

  I no longer feared eternal hell and damnation for talking to a guy, or even kissing one. I even fooled around with one once, but never went all the way. I know, in my twenties and still a virgin. I had just never met anyone that flipped that switch inside my head. The guy at college that I fooled around with was way more interested in what was under my shirt than what was in my heart. I will admit that I was slightly disappointed when he came all over my hand within a minute of beginning our make-out session.

  I took that as a sign (not from God per se) that he wasn’t the one for me, and I moved on. I wanted to find a man that the romance writers were always talking about. Tall, muscular, maybe even with some tattoos. My God, if I ever brought somebody like that home, my mother would kill me! Then again, it might be worth the fight to put a shot across their bows, just to prove that I was now a grownup and had been for years!

  What should have been my final year in college seemed to stretch out forever. I didn’t want to stay at home, and with no scholarships I worked at the casinos as a waitress to cover my small apartment and tuition. Being young and single in Vegas, I got to meet a lot of interesting men at the casinos, and some of the propositions—well, I’m sure you can imagine what they were like.

  My parents were screaming scandal my last couple years of college because of where I worked, and how I supported myself, and they finally wore me down to the point where I promised them I’d quit the casino as soon as I graduated. I couldn’t wait until that moment, because I would find a job across the country and my ass would be gone!

  So that’s how everything started, and how I got to this point. I was at the very cusp of freedom, my diploma and credentials in hand. I left my job and went back home. This wasn’t going to be good.

  Chapter 2

  “Caroline, change out of those clothes, you look like a slut.”

  “Mom, this is a dress, there’s nothing hanging out.”

  “Your arms and legs are bare for the whole world to see,” she told me, her cheeks flushing in indignation.

  “Too bad, Mom, you gave up the right to boss me around when I turned eighteen,” I told her, surprised I was sticking up for myself.

  “Caroline,” my father thundered from the kitchen. “As long as you live in this house, you will follow our rules,” he told me, walking into the living room, where I was getting my shoes on to go meet up with a high school friend.

  “Dad, I am going to meet Janice. I haven’t seen her in over a year.”

  “Then listen to your mother, and go change.”

  “Yes, something more sensible, slacks, blouse, and none of that war-paint like you have on your face. You look like a hussy,” my mom said, softening her words where Daddy could hear.

  “No, there’s nothing wrong with my makeup and dress,” I told them, spinning around, twirling to show off how sensible it was.

  “Go back upstairs and change this moment,” my mom told me. If her face got any redder it would pop like a zit.

  “You guys stop. I am a grown-ass woman, and there is nothing wrong with how I dress.” Maybe I overdid it, but I have a temper, something that I’m sure they never had seen before.

  “As long as you’re living under MY ROOF,” Daddy started to yell, but I wasn’t going to listen to this bullshit anymore
. This crap had been pounded into my head for YEARS. I’d had enough.

  “I had my own place, I had a job that paid my bills, I paid my own tuition when the scholarships weren’t renewed, and I gave it all up. Because you asked me to!” I was nearly shouting at the end. God, I couldn’t wait to escape.

  My dad looked down for a moment, suddenly realizing how far things had gone. He just shook his head and walked back to the kitchen to finish whatever he was doing. He usually caved in to Mom, and he probably thought that she was going to be the one to straighten things out with me. Coward!

  “You don’t speak to us like this in our house,” my mother hissed. Oddly, I thought of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Had he sounded so angry? Or was it more of a sinister, seductive voice?

  “Then maybe I should go get my old job back. The manager there really likes me,” I told her. I was half serious. Without tuition payments, I could make a really decent living there. I knew this would drive her crazy, though. My mother had been warning me that in Vegas, especially in the casinos, those men were there to take advantage of women. I hadn’t told her that the manager was gay, but he was handsome enough that she thought he was hitting on me all the time.

  “No, Caroline, that isn’t an option,” she told me, like I had no choice in the matter.

  “Let me tell you something.” Oh no, I was really going to blow my top here. “I am sick of you trying to control my fucking life. I quit my job and moved back home because you asked me to. I kind of thought it was because your cancer was back. At this point, I don’t care why you and Daddy wanted me back. If I have to put up with bullshit like this every FUCKING TIME I WANT TO GO OUT, I’LL FUCKING MOVE RIGHT NOW!” I screamed at the end. Mom winced, and I could hear Daddy hurrying from the kitchen.

  “Calm down, Caroline.” My dad tried to sound firm, but his voice quivered. I don’t think I’d ever yelled, let alone sworn in front of my parents, but I was on a rampage and I didn’t care.

  “No, Daddy, I will not calm down. I will not live under ‘your roof’ with those rules. I am not a child. I’ve proven I am an adult, and a responsible one at that. If you two can’t accept that, then I’m out of here.” I stomped off to my room.

  I was expecting something like this to happen; I hadn’t unloaded my suitcase a few days ago when I got here, and I’d left the majority of my apartment junk in my car. The furniture had gone to the Goodwill, but I had enough little things to start over. I had saved enough the past two years to make an escape for some time; I just never expected my mother to try to keep me under her thumb.

  I waltzed past my stunned parents, and out the front door. I had already thrown my suitcase into the trunk of my Buick when Daddy came out. Mom was standing in the front door, her face stormy, ready to erupt at any moment.

  “Caroline, your mother’s sick, you know how she is,” he told me, trying to calm me down.

  “I know how she is, Daddy, that’s why this will never work. I never should have left Las Vegas. I never should have given up my apartment, and I never should have left my job. God, I had a life, and I gave it all up because you two asked me to—to move back here. For what? To be treated like I was in fifth grade again?”

  “Your mother gets worked up because of the medicine she’s on…”

  “You know what, Daddy? I don’t care, I really don’t. Not anymore. I’m leaving, and you can’t say anything to stop me.”

  “What if I don’t let you?” he asked, and I was stunned.

  “Then I’ll run your ass over,” I told him.

  He blanched and I got in the car, slamming the door shut. He reached for the handle but I’d already hit the lock. He thought better of it and motioned for me to roll the window down. I shook my head, but he put his hands together as if to beg or pray, so I cracked it an inch.

  “Then go to the summer house,” he whispered. “At least I’ll know you’re safe. Let’s let everyone calm down and we’ll talk again.”

  “OK, Daddy,” I told him before slamming on the gas, shooting my car in reverse. He almost fell over backwards in surprise, and my heart soared. I couldn’t believe I’d just done this. There was no way the old Caroline Smith, religious freak of my graduating class, would ever have done it. I put on some happy music, and started driving north, picking up I-15. I was heading northeast into Utah. The summer house was near Sand Hollow State Park. I stopped for gas just once; the road started to calm my nerves as the sights slowly changed after I crossed the state line.

  “Purple Haze” started jingling in my purse, and I pulled out my cell phone. It was Janice. Darn, I’d forgot to call her. I was so pissed.

  “Janice, hi.”

  “Everything OK, girl? When I didn’t hear from you I called your house phone; I thought you took a nap.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that. Who yelled, Mom or Daddy?”

  “Your mom is definitely, uhhh, not happy at the moment. What happened?”

  “She told me that my dress made me look like a slut.”

  “No way, what did it look like?”

  “Black, sleeveless, came down to mid-calf. Just a summer dress, not the red bikini she made it out as.”

  “She said you had left… Where are you headed?”

  “Utah,” I told her quietly.

  “What’s in Utah?”

  “The summer house. It’s by Sand Hollow.”

  “Oh, is that the place your parents bought when we were in middle school?”

  “Yeah. I had to get out of there, I’m sorry I spaced and forgot to call you…”

  “No worries, girl, I could hear your father in the background trying to calm your mother down. She was so worked up I thought she was going to stroke out.”

  “I almost wish she would have,” I told her quietly, feeling slightly guilty, because I meant it.

  “Don’t you let this bother you too much, they’ll come around.”

  “No, they won’t, you remember how they are.”

  “Yeah… Yeah, I do. Are you going to be OK?”

  “Sure, I figure I’ll give them a couple of weeks to chew on the fact that I’m a grown woman. If they don’t or won’t accept that, well, I’ve had enough of them controlling me. I’ll move somewhere far away and forget to tell them how to get hold of me.”

  “You’re angry; you wouldn’t say that if you weren’t so upset…”

  “No, I’ve been planning on getting away from them for years. I figured Mom’s cancer was back, that’s why I left Vegas. Now… I don’t care. I can’t live like that anymore.”

  “You want some company up there?” she asked me softly. I realized that there was nothing more to say about the subject of my parents.

  “No, for now I think I want some time alone. I’ll find an Internet café, and start job hunting, maybe in a week or two,” I told her, hoping she wasn’t put off, but honestly, I didn’t want to be around anyone.

  I’d never lost my temper like that before, and I didn’t want to take it out on anybody else until I had time to decompress.

  “That’s fine, hon, just stay in touch, OK?”

  “I will, I just need some time away.”

  “Ok, talk to ya later, babe.”

  “Bye, Jan, thanks for understanding,” I told her as I hung up the phone.

  Chapter 3

  The drive wasn’t all that bad, and as I entered Hurricane (yes, that’s the name of the town by Sand Hallow) I could tell things had picked up since I’d last been up here with my parents; the tourism trade must have helped out a bit. I pulled into a McDonald’s to use the restroom and stretch my legs. I thought about grabbing a bite to eat, but I hate how fast food makes me feel. I’d have to hit the grocery store to stock up the cabin, but I wanted a nap first. I realized that I didn’t have a key, and unless I got hold of the caretakers, I might have to wait on that nap first.

  I had the number saved on my phone, because sometimes the landline was down when my parents were up here, and the Carlson’s’ lived next door. Well, as clo
se to next door as you’d expect out in the middle of nowhere.

  “Hello?”

  “Mr. Carlson, it’s Caroline Smith, I was wondering…”

  “Your father already called. I’m at the cabin right now, getting the pump primed, and making sure there aren’t any cobwebs. Are you in town?”

  “Yes, I stopped at McDonald’s for a moment, and realized I didn’t have the keys.”

  “It’s all taken care of. I’ll see you when you get here.”

  “Thank you, sir,” I told him quietly.

  He’d always been like an uncle to me when we came up here to visit, and I remember swimming in his pool with his nephews Daniel and Derek. It’s funny, they were a year apart in age, but most folks thought they were twins. I grinned; back when I was twelve, I thought they were the most handsome boys in the state.

  Driving through the farmland, I picked my way along the roads, looking for the turnoff. The Carlson’s lived a couple of miles away, and there wasn’t a house in sight, but the sight of the pecan groves thrilled me. The desert was definitely to my liking.

  It didn’t take me long to pull in to the driveway, and I could see smoke coming out of the chimney. This time of year in the evenings it wasn’t freezing, but there was a definite chill, and the cabin was a tad rustic. It was a throwback, compared to the more modern houses and getaway homes that the area was known for. I could smell the wood smoke, and smiled for the first time since leaving college.

  I parked next to Mr. Carlson’s beat-up Ford Ranger, and grabbed my bags. He met me at the door and gave me the head-to-toe look and grinned.

  “You’re all grown up, missy!” he told me with a grin.

  “It happens to all of us someday.”

  “Not me, I’m going to stay twenty-one forever!” he said with a chuckle, holding the door open for me.