Love With A Stranger by Janelle Taylor

think of the lovely and gentle woman who, he had played tennis with twice and treated as a physician three times, being in the care of either man. He had been drawn to Cassandra immediately, but had held his feelings in check for months since she was a married woman. It had been quite a while since he’d seen her last, but she’d often been on his mind. “I’ve phoned several times to inquire about her, but she hasn’t returned any of my calls. If she’s home, I’d like to see her.”
    The housekeeper knew the handsome doctor hadn’t gotten through to the house because; Peter had changed the telephone number to an unlisted one while they were in Los Angeles and had the old number assigned to his residence out back where either he or his answering machine took the calls. Peter had told her it was to spare his stepmother from receiving unwanted or business calls, but she wasn’t sure if that was his sole motive. “I’m sorry, Doctor Burkman, but Mrs. Grantham isn’t feeling well and she isn’t seeing visitors yet.”
    “Perhaps I should examine her and see if she needs any medication; I have treated her several times in the past.”
    Inez recalled Peter’s orders about not letting anybody in to see his stepmother. “As I told you, she’s under the care ofDoctor Hines. Maybe you should phone Mr. Grantham at work to check on her.”
    Peter Grantham is the last man on earth I would call for any reason after what he did to me! There was something about the woman’s tone that intrigued Jason. “Would you mind asking her if I can speak with her for a few minutes?” He saw the housekeeper look at him oddly and hesitate before she nodded and told him to wait on the porch.
    She went inside and checked to make certain her employer was still asleep. So, as Peter had ordered yesterday morning, she told the blond physician, “As I tried to tell you, sir, Mrs. Grantham isn’t seeing visitors at this time. When she’s ready to have company, she’ll phone you. Until she does, it’s best if you don’t trouble her again. She’s grief-stricken over her husband’s death.”
    That wasn’t the response Jason had hoped for, and he wasn’t sure if he believed it came from Cassandra herself. “Would you tell her I came by?”
    “Yes, sir,” Inez said, knowing she would not. She watched the man drive away and reminded herself to report the visit to Peter.
    Jason glanced at the front of the sprawling Mediterranean house as he turned onto Sea Island Drive. Something wasn’t right here. He had the impression the housekeeper hadn’t even spoken to Cassandra about him. Strange, he mused, very strange.
    At eleven o’clock, Cass sat at a glass-topped verdigris table on the downstairs patio while she had a late breakfast of black coffee with sweetner, mixed fruit juice, and a toasted bagel with no-fat cream cheese. She hadn’t risen until thirty minutes ago, but still felt tired and depressed; her brown eyes, dry and scratchy, her body as limp as a wet dishcloth. Her life was a wreck, her marriage had been a sham, and she didn’t knowwhat her future held, or even her present. She couldn’t get those sordid images and sounds out of her head and wished she hadn’t found the tapes or viewed them. She recalled her mother saying, “Never let your mind become a trash heap by allowing people to dump garbage there.”
    In her wildest dreams she could not have imagined that Thomas Ethan Grantham could be so evil or that she could be so blind and stupid. She had let that handsome and charismatic vampire suck the life from her and pull her into his dark world and change her forever. She was as cut off from her past and her old self as if they had never existed. Somehow she had to find her way out of this gloomy maze with her soul intact. She didn’t know what she would do if news of his affairs leaked out. People might think she was like her husband and ostracize her. Perhaps they already knew about Tom’s dirty secrets and maybe