by Joss Ware
It had only been one night.
But she missed him.
Yet Theo’s absence at yet another meal wasn’t what concerned her. It was the way Sam was looking at Jennifer, and how Jennifer was overtly flirting back with him. Thank God Frank’s deaf, Selena thought after one particularly obvious double entendre.
It got worse, when, feeling the deep need to go for a head-clearing walk after dinner, she came out of the house and was walking down one of the stone paths when she came around a corner and found Sam and Jennifer in a passionate embrace.
They were under a small arbor covered with vines, out of sight from the house. And Jennifer’s shirt was up, baring a sleek, naked back.
Selena froze and then made a lot of rustling in the bushes. Sam’s head popped out from behind Jennifer’s and he met his mother’s eyes. His eyes widened for a moment and then she saw him actually draw a deep breath.
“Hi, Sam,” Selena said, managing to keep her voice steady, but inside her mind was screaming and scrambling: What are you doing? She’s almost ten years older than you. Well, maybe only seven. But you’re too young for her!
The two young people had eased apart, but Sam’s arm remained slung possessively and protectively around Jennifer’s waist. His face was flushed and his lips full and damp, and he had an unsurprisingly glazed expression. Jennifer, on the other hand, took her time in adjusting her T-shirt over braless breasts—and the look she sent Selena was not a warm one. Nor was it embarrassed.
It was gotcha.
And all at once, Selena understood. A chill of anger and disappointment rushed over her. “Sam, Frank was looking for you,” she lied without remorse.
“Mom,” he said with admirable firmness, taking responsibility for his actions. “I didn’t mean for you to find out this way.” He gave the girl a little hug-nudge and Selena noticed with a sick feeling in her belly that he looked so young next to her.
Not allowing even a glance of recognition to Jennifer, Selena focused on her son. Her innocent, just-barely-a-man, seventeen-year-old son who’d had an Orange Crush on Jennifer since he was fifteen. “I know,” she replied. “Maybe next time you’ll pick a more private place.” It was important that she didn’t allow her anger with Jennifer to show. “Can you imagine what Frank or Vonnie would have said if they found you?”
He glanced at Jennifer and gave her such a sweet, sappy smile that a new wave of nausea licked through Selena. “We just thought it would be a nice walk after dinner . . . and, well, you know,” he said. There was pride in his expression and in his voice. Look who I have. Look who wants me.
Selena swallowed hard and managed to nod. She’s going to eat you alive. She would have a heart-to-heart with him later. Now she just had to get past this without tearing out the eyes of the woman who was using her son—and without letting him think she didn’t approve of the relationship.
“I think I left my sweater over there,” Jennifer said in a smooth voice. “I’m going to go get it. Okay, hon?” The girl still had that cat-swallowed-a-canary look about her. “I’ll be right back.”
Selena remained resolute in keeping her thoughts to herself; and she could only pray that the daggers she felt weren’t shooting out of her eyes as the girl walked off along the path.
“I am sorry you found out about it this way, Mom,” Sam said.
“How long has this been going on?” she managed to ask.
“Only in the last couple days. I know you probably think things are going too quickly”—Hell-fucking, yes!—“but she’s really bang. And she’s so mature, you know?”—Yes, I know!— “So, anyway, I’m going to walk her back to her horse before it gets too close to dark,” he said. “Unless you don’t mind if she stays here tonight?”
Selena nearly swallowed her tongue and wasn’t successful in keeping her attention from Jennifer as she reappeared on the pathway. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” was all Selena managed to say. Don’t get her pregnant. Please don’t get her pregnant! It was almost a blasphemous thought, but she didn’t care.
Sam seemed to take that with grace. Perhaps he figured he’d already pushed things enough with his mother. “Okay, Mom. But I think we’re going to need to talk about this soon.”
“I think that’s a very good idea,” Selena said. “I’ll see you back inside in a little while.”
Numb, furious, and not just a little bit nauseated, she walked off . . . casually at first, and then with greater speed as the fury propelled her. That little bitch.
She was not going to stand by and let her son get used and hurt just because Jennifer wanted to make a point. The girl hadn’t ever looked twice at Sam before now. And it wasn’t as if there weren’t several single men her age living in Yellow Mountain.
Selena’s lips curled into each other and she stalked on, glad for the protective walls and the large expanse of grounds on which she could take out her fury without worrying about night falling.
What the hell am I going to do?
What she’d planned on being a calming, mind-clearing walk to smell the evening flowers and check on Frank’s garden had turned into another dilemma. Why? Why again!
Just then, an unfamiliar noise caught her attention. Selena paused and looked around. She’d strode and stalked farther into the depths of the grounds than she had for months. Probably even years. Past Frank’s massive vegetable and herb garden, and toward the clump of trees that mounded in the far western section. Frank had another garden toward the south, camouflaged by trees and debris carefully arranged to completely obstruct it from the bounty hunters when they came.
But back here, in the western section, where the trees grew tall and thick, she didn’t remember there being anything but a collection of overgrown, rusted-out machinery.
The noise was coming from there and it sounded like a low rumble, followed by a long groaning-squeal. And . . . were those lights?
Through the trees?
The sun was low, but it wasn’t even dusk yet. Then she saw it again . . . a flash of movement above the trees. And lights. And more odd sounds . . .
Selena moved closer, along a path that was overgrown and untended. The noises became louder and there was definitely movement, but as she got closer, the height of the trees blocked the lights.
Then she came through a clump of bushes and found herself in the clearing with all of the machinery.
She stopped, stunned and fascinated at the sight that greeted her. Much of the overgrowth had been cleared away from the center of the space, now stacked in large brush piles beneath the trees. A large upright wheel, taller than the house, taller than the trees, was randomly lit with small lights. And it was turning, slowly, with groaning protest . . . but it was moving. There were boxes hanging from it, like swings with sides . . . Selena had seen that before, in DVDs. A fairies’ wheel.
Who in the— But she didn’t even need to finish the thought. Of course it was Theo. She knew it had to be him. He’d fixed her DVD player and rewired a light that had been giving Frank trouble, and did something to the washing machine that made Vonnie weep with gratitude.
It wasn’t long before she found him—near the base of the fairies’ wheel, sitting on the ground, swearing at a metal box fixed on legs, filled with wires and levers. Tools cluttered the ground around him and his hair was standing up every which way. His dragonless arm was in view, taut and flexed deliciously as he struggled with something in the box.
For some reason, Selena’s palms grew damp as she approached. Those damn butterflies started up in her stomach again.
How is he going to react when he sees me? Still angry?
Her mouth was going dry and her heart was pounding. She wasn’t certain how to approach him, or whether he’d be annoyed if she interrupted. So she just walked over and stood there. Her feet would be in his peripheral vision and eventually he’d notice.
When he did, it was with a little jolt and a start, and then his gaze traveled slowly up from her rope sandals, over her long lo
ose skirt, and higher to meet her eyes.
“I thought you were Frank,” he said.
“I’m not,” she replied, relieved that he hadn’t ordered her to go away.
“There’s definitely no mistaking you for Frank.”
And there was definitely no mistaking the inflection in his voice. That made the butterflies a little more excited.
Theo pulled to his feet and she found herself looking up at him and stepping back a bit. His expression was reserved; just a bit warmer than merely polite. “Want to try it out?” he asked, gesturing toward the big wheel.
Selena couldn’t hold back a gasp of surprise and delight. And terror. “I don’t know . . . it’s so high.”
He chuckled a little, softening, and the low rumble sent a little frisson of warmth down her spine. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights.”
“I don’t get very high very often,” she said, and for some reason that made him laugh again. She liked the sound of it, and realized she’d heard it quite often.
“Come on, Selena,” he said. “What’s another risk in your already dangerous life?” There might have been a warning edge to his voice. Or maybe it was sadness.
“Is it safe?” she asked, following him onto the little ramp that led to the lowermost seat.
“Of course. Well, at least this one is,” he said, jiggling the seat a little. “I just rebolted it and double-checked its weight-bearing load. See those boulders over there? They were the first to take a ride.”
The sight of the three massive boulders comforted her. How he even got them into the box was a mystery, but if they’d made it on the ride, then she and Theo should be okay. “All right,” she said. She saw now that the wheels’ “spokes” were covered with tiny lightbulbs. Only a few were lit—intermittent glows of red, blue, green and yellow.
He gave her a smile and opened the box with a flourish. “Beauty before age,” he said, gesturing for her to climb in.
Selena laughed and gave him a you’re crazy look as she stepped onto the little cradled seat. It swayed and wobbled and she froze with one foot on and one foot off. “It’s rocking,” she said.
“It’s supposed to. Go ahead, pick a side.”
She scooted over to one side of the box and then was nervous, waiting to see if he’d sit next to her or across from her. When he climbed on, she was more than a little disappointed that he chose the opposite seat.
“I want to make sure it’s balanced,” he said, mollifying her a bit. Then he bolted the little door to the cart and settled back in his seat. He lifted a small gadget that looked like a DVD remote control, but it had a stiff wire extending from it. “Normally, there’s a guy down there running the machine. He throws the lever and it starts up, and he stops it when it’s done. But that’s not going to work in this situation—unless you want to go alone?”
“Not on your life!”
He grinned. “I didn’t think so. So I have a remote control for the machine. Are you ready?”
“Yes. I think.” Selena braced herself, sitting in the middle of her seat, arms extended so that her fingers could clutch each side of the box. She closed her eyes and braced her feet against the edge of Theo’s seat.
She thought she heard the rumble of his chuckle again, but if so, it was lost in the long, low groan of the machinery beginning to turn and lift the seats.
Selena didn’t know what she’d expected—probably some crazy-fast liftoff or some sort of sharply-upward-vaulting motion. But all she felt was a little delicious breeze and an odd, weightless sensation. The seat swayed gently, not violently as she’d expected it would.
When she opened her eyes, she found Theo watching her. There was a half-smile curving his lips, but the expression in his eyes was anything but amused. Hot and heavy.
Her stomach’s butterflies shot into full flight, and it wasn’t, Selena realized, just because the wheel had reached the top and was now falling in its full descent. She swallowed and shifted her gaze, feeling the breeze rush gently over her face.
Wow, she thought.
“You like it?” Theo asked. He’d settled back into his side, arms extended casually over the back of the seat instead of bolt outright like hers were.
“Yes. It’s marvelous. I’ve never experienced anything like this.” Selena relaxed her grip and even released one side of the box. She shifted as if to drop her feet to the floor, but he moved suddenly and stopped her.
Closing his fingers around her ankle, Theo said, “You don’t have to move your feet.” He didn’t release her foot, and before she could protest, he’d removed her frayed rope sandal and dropped it to the floor of their swing. His fingers shifted on her ankle, and the next thing she knew, he’d shifted her so that her foot was positioned between his knees and he was using both hands to massage her sole.
Oh, heaven. Absolute . . . heaven!—Those strong fingers.
He was kneading the ball of her foot with just the right pressure, then moved along the delicate arch more gently, so as not to tickle her—and pressed with a firm thumb and forefinger at the back of her ankle. Ohhh.
“You have really sexy feet,” he said, glancing up at her as the trees scrolled down behind him and the breeze teased her hair.
“Thank you,” Selena managed to say. Her knees were turning into soup and she couldn’t draw her attention away from the sight of his elegant hands and the long dark fingers cupping her lighter, honey-colored foot.
“I mean, really sexy feet. That was one of the first things I noticed about you.”
She couldn’t swallow. And then her scattered mind remembered his question from the other day. “The red paint on my toenails? It’s made from clay and honey and some other things. Dandelion root for the color.”
“I like it.” He bent forward suddenly and captured her other foot, which had slid to the floor between them as she relaxed.
Selena didn’t resist as he began to give it the same treatment as the other. She closed her eyes and settled back against the seat, let the breeze and the pleasure wash over her. If only she could make this moment last forever.
“How long have you been working on this project?” she asked, opening her eyes after a minute.
He didn’t release her feet. Now he was stroking the top of one, up to her ankle and easing to her calf. Selena couldn’t help but wonder where this might lead . . . and she wasn’t altogether uninterested.
In fact, if the spreading warmth in her body and the tingling down low were any indication, she was more than a little interested. But she wasn’t impatient, nor did she feel any pressure.
“For a few days,” he replied to her question. “I decided I would make myself scarce for a while—and there were a few things I thought I might do while I’m here, and this was one of them.”
While I’m here. She ignored the pang of disappointment she felt at that reminder, and forced herself to nod and look interested.
“I thought I might coax you out here for a surprise when it was finished . . . but you beat me to it. I’m surprised you found me. The only person who comes out here is Frank, and that’s only because I asked him to show me. What were you doing all the way out here, a mile from the house?”
Of course, his question had the effect of bringing the problem with Sam and Jennifer back to the forefront of her mind and wiping away most of her enjoyment of the ride. “I needed to walk off some anger,” she finally answered, shifting in her seat and trying to return her feet to the floor.
He held firmly, but gently. “Anger? At who?”
Selena looked away, and realized with a start that she could see all of the grounds of the estate from the highest point of the fairies’ wheel, and that the sun had dipped half below the horizon. The view was beautiful and intriguing—she’d never seen it thus. And now they were on their way back down again, a little tickle in her belly joining the uprush of breeze. With the lowering of the sun, the tiny lights seemed to glow brighter above and around them.
“Selena.”
She turned back to him. “I just noticed the view.”
He nodded. “You aren’t going to tell me who you’re angry with?”
She shifted. This wasn’t really a conversation she wanted to have with him . . . yet. Maybe he’d have a different perspective, being in a similar situation himself. Sort of. But beside that, she wanted to talk to someone. She needed to.
Hadn’t she just been thinking about how lonely she was?
“I came upon Sammy and Jennifer making out, just now over by the roses.”
Theo’s eyebrows rose very high and he stopped rubbing her foot for a minute. “Oh.” Then he shifted and began to press his powerful thumb just below the ball of her foot, strong and circular and so heavenly that she wanted to groan and slip into a coma. “That must have been awkward.”
“I heard your conversation with Jennifer the other day. The day you—uh—helped me move my bookshelf.”
Theo grinned briefly. “That’s a new euphemism: ‘move your bookshelf.’ But it doesn’t really do justice to the activity, in my opinion.” Then the grin slipped away. “I know—you told me you heard us.”
“Oh, yeah. Well . . . I think she’s trying to make a point. And I don’t want Sammy to get hurt.”
Theo considered her foot for a moment, his thumb now stroking gently over the top just where it met her ankle. Slowly and tenderly. “You think she’s jealous? Or you think she’s trying to compare her relationship with Sam to . . . us?”
“The way she looked at me . . . it was smug and sort of like Ha! See how you like it? I just don’t want her to use him to get back at me. To make a point. He’s had an Orange Crush on her for a long time.”
“An Orange Crush?” He looked at her with such affection that, despite the fact that she was the elder here, she felt like he was the older one. “I like it.”
Suddenly, he moved. The next thing she knew, he was up and over to her side of the box, wedging in next to her and leaving the car swaying with too much gusto for her taste. Selena stifled a little squeak of surprise, but when his solid body had settled next to her, large and warm, she felt better.