by Carol Storm
"All right," Matt said gruffly. He sank back on the bed, exhausted from all the emotion. There was a long pause as Crystal May tidied up the room and made a few light repairs to her makeup, always the perfect southern lady. "Whatever you want to do, do it. But first, I'd like to finish my meal! Is there any dessert to go with this delicious homemade southern fried chicken? Maybe a little pecan pie?"
"Mm, that sounds good." Crystal May licked her lips, which were once again pink and perfectly glossed. "Actually, honey, I forgot all about dessert. Maybe you'd like another sort of treat instead?" She took the tray from Matt's lap, and for a moment her eyes rested on his deep arousal.
Then she gave him her most innocent smile.
"Oh, God, yes." Matt sank back onto the pillows and closed his eyes. He didn't know what Crystal May wanted to do for herself. But she did so much for him. The feeling of her lips caressing his aching, throbbing shaft made all the pain in the world melt away. Her tender touch healed him. And even though he couldn't resist the pull of pleasure, he made himself a promise that he would spend the rest of his life loving and honoring and disciplining Miss Crystal May Snow.
EPILOGUE
Madre! Oh, Madre de Dios, what had she done?
Teresita Ramos looked down in horror at the man who had guided her across the Rio Grande. The man she had just killed. Before they crossed the border Luis had been a different person. He was always so friendly, always laughing and smiling. Terry knew she would have to work very hard in the lettuce fields to repay him after they reached safety. But she had not expected him to demand payment the moment they were over the border. She hadn't expected fat, smiling Luis to grab her by her long, black hair, to reach for his belt at the same time he was forcing her to her knees.
Her knees hit the ground, scraping painfully against the stony soil. Terry found a rock. All she wanted was to fight Luis off. All she wanted was to defend her honor. To keep her innocence.
She hadn't expected to hit him so hard, right in the head. She hadn't meant to kill him.
Now, with her innocence gone and her honor poisoned, the instincts of an animal took over. Terry turned and ran, heading blindly into the new country. The police would catch her. They would shoot her for what she had done. But it would be worse if they sent her back across the border. Perhaps the Border Patrol would lock her away forever, or perhaps they would simply finish what Luis had begun. The frightened girl ran for her life, stumbling often and sobbing in the dark.
It wasn't long until she came to a highway. Terry froze in the headlights, feeling dazed.
"Do you need a ride, my dear?"
It was a woman's voice, soft and gentle. Terry knew some English from the television, but as she walked blindly into the light her mind went completely blank.
"Are you all right, my dear? Would you like something to drink?" The pale-skinned young woman looked like a movie star. She was a skinny blonde, all dressed up and very beautiful, her bare throat and her slim wrists blazing all over with diamonds. She handed Terry a glass of iced tea.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Terry's English came back to her as she gulped down the sweet, ice-cold tea. The long black limousine was already moving down the highway, going as fast as a race car even though it was as big as a house. Each mile took her further away from Luis.
"I am in trouble," she blurted out, wiping away her tears and forcing herself to sit up straight. Terry was very poor but she never lied. "I did something very bad. I think I kill a man back there."
"It's all right," the rich woman said gently, putting her arm around the girl's slim shoulders. "Just start at the beginning, and tell me everything. I promise to help if I can."
"Why?" Terry asked, staring at the blue-eyed woman who was her opposite in every way.
"I was a runaway once too," the woman said softly. "Won't you tell me your name, dear? Mine is Mrs. Gold. But my friends call me Crystal May."
Terry confessed to everything she had done, exposing all her sins and concealing nothing. While she talked she drank more iced tea and even ate a little fruit from a wicker basket. And then she cried, resting her head on the beautiful blonde's shoulder and ruining her very fancy blue silk dress. But Mrs. Crystal May Gold didn't seem to mind. She probably owned many dresses.
"Are you sure you killed him, Teresita?" The lady with the golden hair was looking at her just the same when she finished her story. Her blue eyes were kind and steady, not angry or scared.
"I ... I think so." Terry didn't want to lie. But things were a bit fuzzy now that she'd had time to recover from the unexpected danger and the terrible shock. Her heartbeat was back to normal. She even felt a bit sleepy.
"Did you check his pulse?" Mrs. Gold's blue eyes were wide open, awake and totally alert.
"Pulse?" Terry blinked, wishing her brown eyes were as pretty as Mrs. Gold's blue ones. Right now she could hardly hold them open.
"Did you do this?" The pretty lady gently put two fingers to the base of Terry's throat. Her heart was beating slowly and steadily under the older woman's fingers.
"I don't do that," Terry said, her voice muffled. "I just run away. Scared." She yawned, no longer certain that she had done the unforgivable and killed a man. It all seemed like a dream.
"Well, first thing in the morning I'll have my husband call the Border Patrol. He'll straighten everything out. He's former FBI, and there are still plenty of powerful people who owe him favors. In the meantime, Teresita, have you got a place to stay?"
"I was going to California," Terry mumbled, her brown eyes drooping as she rested her head on Mrs. Gold's shoulder. "I see on the television, so beautiful. I know I can find a job. I work hard."
"Yes, but education is important. School is important. Now my husband and I run a security firm together, but we also manage a small private school, high in the mountains of Nevada."
"You are a school teacher?" Terry tugged her eyes open for a moment. "But you are rich!"
Mrs. Gold gave a gurgle of laughter. "Well, it's a very special school. It was founded by a very special woman, too, a dear friend of mine. But she moved back east a year ago to start another school. Her new partner is a smart, lovely girl who was badly hurt by a man, just like you. So anyway, she gave me full interest in her place, which was actually something my husband asked her to do before we got married, and now Madame Madeline's School is Mrs. Gold's Academy!"
"Mrs. Gold's Academy," Terry repeated. The name sounded magical, like a fairy tale.
"Yes, and it's a place where any girl is welcome, rich or poor. But you have to work hard!" Mrs. Gold started describing all the things girls had to do at her school, like cooking and cleaning, and all the things they could learn, like how to speak and act and dress like a lady. Terry felt a little frightened when she heard about the spankings. She pictured herself being hurt by someone like Luis. But then Mrs. Gold told her about the little trip she had just taken, back to her home in West Virginia. She told how she had gone back to make things right, and how she had punished the man who hurt her family. Mrs. Gold was rich, rich enough to take care of her mother and her brothers and sisters. Then she wrapped her arm around Terry and promised to look after her as well.
Teresita Ramos knew she was taking a chance. But perhaps there was no harm in taking just one more chance after all she had been through. No matter how dangerous the world could be, something told her she was safe now. She was in a place where all who chose to work could be free and happy.
She was in America.
Carol Storm
Carol Storm is a teacher and librarian who lives in upstate New York. A member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) since 2003, Carol is a romantic at heart who believes that magic can happen in the most unlikely places, to the most unlikely people.
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