“Why would you say that!”
“Think about it. Wouldn’t you prefer him sober and happy with you instead of drunk and holding a grudge?”
“Of course I would. But it keeps Kyle in our lives and living like five minutes away!”
“Well, that brings me to the next thing, and I hope you’re going to be as excited by this as I am.”
“What is it, baby?”
“You know I’ve been cutting way back with my business.”
“You’ve done a better job recently.”
“It took a while, but I’ve realized I’ve had enough of it. It’s actually not as hard to give up as I thought. I know you’re ready to get me out of the Fairfield County rat race.”
“That’s true.”
“That second trip I took, I confess, it wasn’t business related either. I mean it was, but not JC Chemical business.”
“Where’d you go?”
“I went to Vermont. A little town called Woodstock. It’s about twenty-five miles from Allie and Rick’s place. I’ve discovered an incredible opportunity for us.”
Carin said nothing, just looked at Justin with searching eyes.
“There’s a school there. Well, it’s actually just a big Victorian house now, with lots of land and several outbuildings. There was a school for special needs kids there a while back but it went out of business. We could open the school again. It was a shame the old one went under but this one I could subsidize.”
“What exactly are you saying?”
“I’m in the process of divesting my interests in my business. Really, I’m done with it. I don’t want to be involved with it anymore. I’ve loved seeing the satisfaction you get from your work and I’d never want to take you away from that. In fact I want that type of satisfaction for myself. I want that fulfillment. We have an opportunity to buy that property and make it a school again. I want to make it free to those who need it. We can do it. I have the means.”
Justin was talking fast. Carin continued staring, her mouth open and her hands covering it. Justin couldn’t tell if she was happy or shocked or confused or what.
“I know you love your position at Greenwich,” he said. “So maybe this’ll be a hard adjustment. We wouldn’t start until next fall though, so that gives you some time. I’m impressed with Greenwich. It’s a great school. The only thing is it’s so incredibly expensive. Only the wealthy can afford to send a kid there. We can buy this place, fix it up, model it after Greenwich if you want, and open it to less fortunate families. Even if there are only a handful of kids in the area who need it, that’s a handful we get to help.”
Carin looked on, saying nothing, her eyes liquid blue.
“I know this is all happening fast,” Justin continued. “But I see it as a great opportunity for us, a great challenge. The perfect way for me to give back.”
“Baby,” she said finally, talking through her tears. “It’s exactly what I want. It’s a complete dream. I’m kinda in shock.”
“I know. It’s a lot to take in.”
“Not to be funny but you always ask what my fantasies are. Well that’s it! Running my own school and helping kids. I’ve fantasized about that for a long time. Writing the school’s philosophy. Planning the curriculum. Teaching love and understanding, personal responsibility, respect. Just giving kids a chance, you know?”
He could see her wheels beginning to spin and smiled at her excitement. The energy was coming into her body, taking over her mind. Justin began to realize that all his recent planning just might work.
“And what will you do?” Carin said. “You’ll help me?”
“Well…a bit. It’s not my area of expertise, but yes, I’ll help you…mostly by being the school’s benefactor. I actually had another thought for me, one I hope you won’t mind. This Victorian house is beautiful. You’re going to love it! It needs work but the house and property are gorgeous. I was thinking I’d turn one of the outbuildings into an office for me.”
“Can’t quite give up JC Chemical after all?”
“That’s not it. Really, I’ve made up my mind about that. I’m done with it. I have one more small surprise.”
Justin went back to his pants laid across the chair. He pulled from the hip pocket a little box he’d picked up on the way home from the doctor’s office. He got down on his knee in front of Carin and held the black felt-covered box out to her. Looking up, he saw her tears and let his own come.
“I love you, baby. I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you. Do I believe in love at first sight? You betcha. Do I believe in soul mates? I’ve found mine. I can’t fathom not being with you for the rest of my life. It took me a while. But in that time, you’ve changed my world. I want us married and I want to take care of you forever. I want you to be mine and mine alone. If you do me that great honor, I promise I’ll love and cherish you forever.”
Carin covered her face with her hands and began to sob. Justin hooked his hand behind her leg and stroked her calf while waiting for her to compose herself.
“All I’ve wanted is to be with you,” she said through her tears. “Since I was a young girl, I mean. I’ve been waiting for you my entire life! I was never comfortable before you. Never found what I wanted. And then you walked into my life and I knew instantly. It was such a different feeling. I just knew right away. But I couldn’t find Kyle and was beside myself. A wreck, as you know. And now you’ve taken care of that too, and everything else!”
Justin got up from his knee and they kissed through their tears. The love and passion they’d always shared was stronger than ever. They were breaking through to another level, an even deeper one. Justin couldn’t wait to start their new life and was determined to leave the old one on the shelf forever.
They hugged and kissed for a long time. When they broke their embrace, they went downstairs to the kitchen and talked wedding plans while Carin made lunch. Justin told her he’d called Allie earlier in the week and she offered to close the B&B for a weekend and host the wedding. When Carin heard this, more tears welled in her eyes. Hoping to give his new fiancée everything she wanted, Justin told her he’d even agree to a church wedding if that would make her happy.
She thought about it only a moment.
“Baby, I’ve had the big church wedding. Look where it got me. I’ll be divorced anyway, so I’m pretty much doomed in the church’s eyes anyway. I don’t care. I mean I do care, a lot, but I don’t need a church wedding with you. I want the focus to be on our love for each other. We’ll make it very romantic, with poems and beautiful music, but it’ll be more a covenant than a sacrament. That’s just as special, don’t you think?”
“I do…but are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Actually I see us being married outside, like maybe by the brook on Allie’s property. With me barefoot, wearing a simple white sundress and flowers in my hair, picked from her garden.”
“And a skimpy white thong silhouetted under the dress!” Justin blurted, unable to keep himself from saying it.
“Yes, baby, of course,” she teased back. “A skimpy white thong.”
Justin could picture his barefoot bride perfectly. It was exactly what he wanted.
After Carin finished making lunch, they moved to the breakfast nook. She plopped down on Justin’s lap as he tried eating a chicken salad sandwich. He’d take a bite and she’d kiss his cheeks, making it hard for him to chew or swallow or take another bite. He listened as Carin rambled on about the wedding and the school, a million thoughts tumbling out her mouth. Justin reached for his iced tea and she kissed his face while he negotiated a sip.
“We can model the school after Greenwich,” she was saying. “But I’ve always wondered why there isn’t more music at Greenwich. It’s such an easy gift for people. Our kids will need music in their lives.”
“Nobody needs ABBA in their life, baby. Nobody.”
Carin punched his arm and Justin, seeing an opportunity, took a quick bite of his sandwich.
�
�And they need more of an emphasis on basic household care,” she said. “Most of the kids at Greenwich have around-the-clock help at home, so maybe it’s not as important for them. But it won’t be that way in Vermont. We’ll need to teach our kids how to function in the daily world, in their own homes. And we can expose them to animals too, another important gift! There’re no animals at Greenwich, can you believe that? Not one! In Vermont…well, they have animals there already of course…but maybe at the school we can have a cow or chicks or a pig or something…maybe some gerbils or something…and the kids can be responsible for them. That’s it! We’ll have like ten gerbils, one for each student, and they’ll learn responsibility and get gratification taking care of their own pet.”
She tilted her head to the side away from him for a moment, and then turned quickly back to him and kissed his face over and over. Justin put the sandwich down in surrender.
“So you haven’t told me,” Carin said, momentarily letting up with her amorous attack. “What are you going to do when I’m running the school?”
Justin tried for one last sip of his drink before realizing it was hopeless. Carin’s arms were locked around his neck almost in a chokehold. He could hardly breathe, let alone eat or drink. He didn’t mind. As always, he loved seeing her excitement.
“I want to start a new career, lovey,” he said, loosening her grip around his neck. “I want to do something more rewarding, like your career is. And closer to my heart.”
“Tell me, baby.”
Carin’s eyes were shining like diamonds. Justin couldn’t wait to look into them forever.
He had known her for just over a year, and during that short period, they had become inseparable. Here was a woman who, after so long, had fallen truly in love. Feeling completely comfortable with a man for the first time, she’d allowed herself to be plucked from her cocoon and given herself completely. Motivated by love, she’d done for him things she never thought herself capable of doing. She’d fulfilled his fantasies in order to become the woman of his dreams.
And here was a man who, eager to protect his once-cracked heart, had been reluctant to open up to the feelings of love a woman like her could provide. Yet as she had continued to wrap him in the warm blanket of her affection, he’d eventually felt secure enough to let his long-submerged vulnerability surface. At times, it had been a turbulent ride, but the bond between them kept them moving forward. Maybe Justin was too close to it but the love story he and Carin shared seemed worthy of being told.
As he continued to gaze into Carin’s bright-blue eyes, she gnawed her bottom lip and rubbed the bridge of her nose, waiting for his response. He reached out and touched her cheek, stroking it with the back of his forefinger.
Finally, he spoke.
“I’m going to write a novel, Carin,” he said quietly. “And I’m going to call it Puppet.”
About Hamilton Swift
Hamilton Swift is a multi-published erotic writer.
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Puppet
ISBN 9781419994081
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Puppet Copyright © 2015 Hamilton Swift
Edited by Jill Noelle
Cover design by Allyse Leodra
Cover photography by Shutterstock
Electronic book publication June 2015
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