extreme behavior like having your spouse lock herself in the bathroom to keep from hurting your children. I hoped with all my might that Holly’s doctors, and therapy, and medication could work a miracle.
When I left work that evening, I darted out the door, intent on a run to the grocery store for a last minute cake mix before Samuel arrived. I stopped dead in my tracks. A roadster rental was parked along the side street, its engine still clicking and cooling. I squealed, ditching the grocery store plans, and tore around TrilbyJones’s backyard, wobbly heels, pencil skirt and all.
Samuel sat at the top of my staircase, looking utterly delectable in a travel-rumpled dress shirt open at the collar, blinding white against the brown of his neck. He hadn’t bothered with a hat and sunglasses, not caring whether someone photographed him lurking outside my door. His feet were propped on a small carry-on bag and his head rested against the rail, eyes closed. How could he possibly nap at a wonderful, glorious time like this? I squealed again and eyes as clear as ice flew open, then filled with delight as I dropped my satchel and scrambled up the staircase, into his waiting arms. Tight arms wrapped around me and I felt my feet lift from the stairs as he stood and pulled me to him.
“You’re here! And you’re early!” I laughed into his neck. “How long have you been waiting?”
He chuckled. “Just ten minutes. I very nearly stormed your office but I didn’t want to cause a scene. How’s my woman?” He lowered me to the ground and inspected the four stitches along my hairline, his smile turning to a frown.
“I’m fabulous, thrilled, and ecstatic now that you’re here. How are you?” I tried to tug him toward the door, but he held me firm. His lips lowered to my forehead, and he gently kissed the stitches there, then the bruises surrounding them. Lastly, his mouth ducked to mine and he softly, tentatively kissed me.
“I’m relieved to find you in one piece.” Serious eyes met mine. “I mean it, Kaye. Please don’t ever do something that reckless again. The thrill isn’t worth your life.”
It was all I could do not to open my mouth and demand he kiss me soundly, deeply. But I’d set the rules and now I had to live with them, darn it. I sighed, simply enjoying the feel of his warm body.
“Welcome home,” I murmured against his neck, thinking those words would become a lovely tradition. Every time he came back to me, I’d say them.
He smiled and brushed my lips again. “It’s good to be home.”
Chapter 3
Float or Sink
Rising or falling in relation to another vertical diver, when both divers are in free fall.
H APPINESS ; W HY I S I T T HAT we frail beings turn happiness into something so unattainable? Happiness can be as simple as discovering the asparagus you hated as a child is quite tasty once you reach adulthood. It can be a shared, secret smile with a complete stranger in a grocery store line when they place chocolate, strawberries, and candles on the conveyor belt. Being grateful simply for a rain-soaked breeze cooling your face, soft grass under your feet, intricate veins weaving through a leaf. Or reveling in a strong, secure arm around your shoulders and just knowing , even though he hasn’t voiced it, that you are completely and utterly loved.
This was the form my happiness chose as Molly, Cassady, Samuel, and I journeyed west into the mountains to Cloud Lake and the glorious chimneys and squirmways awaiting our exploration. I had Samuel almost all to myself for two more days, before we’d return and spend Saturday with his parents in Lyons.
We left Boulder before the sun was up, and thankfully, after a restless two nights’ sleep, I didn’t have to drive. Cassady steered our company SUV with Molly in the front. In the back, Samuel had situated himself in the middle and pulled me flush against his side, his seatbelt discarded for the moment. I knew for safety’s sake he should put
When I left work that evening, I darted out the door, intent on a run to the grocery store for a last minute cake mix before Samuel arrived. I stopped dead in my tracks. A roadster rental was parked along the side street, its engine still clicking and cooling. I squealed, ditching the grocery store plans, and tore around TrilbyJones’s backyard, wobbly heels, pencil skirt and all.
Samuel sat at the top of my staircase, looking utterly delectable in a travel-rumpled dress shirt open at the collar, blinding white against the brown of his neck. He hadn’t bothered with a hat and sunglasses, not caring whether someone photographed him lurking outside my door. His feet were propped on a small carry-on bag and his head rested against the rail, eyes closed. How could he possibly nap at a wonderful, glorious time like this? I squealed again and eyes as clear as ice flew open, then filled with delight as I dropped my satchel and scrambled up the staircase, into his waiting arms. Tight arms wrapped around me and I felt my feet lift from the stairs as he stood and pulled me to him.
“You’re here! And you’re early!” I laughed into his neck. “How long have you been waiting?”
He chuckled. “Just ten minutes. I very nearly stormed your office but I didn’t want to cause a scene. How’s my woman?” He lowered me to the ground and inspected the four stitches along my hairline, his smile turning to a frown.
“I’m fabulous, thrilled, and ecstatic now that you’re here. How are you?” I tried to tug him toward the door, but he held me firm. His lips lowered to my forehead, and he gently kissed the stitches there, then the bruises surrounding them. Lastly, his mouth ducked to mine and he softly, tentatively kissed me.
“I’m relieved to find you in one piece.” Serious eyes met mine. “I mean it, Kaye. Please don’t ever do something that reckless again. The thrill isn’t worth your life.”
It was all I could do not to open my mouth and demand he kiss me soundly, deeply. But I’d set the rules and now I had to live with them, darn it. I sighed, simply enjoying the feel of his warm body.
“Welcome home,” I murmured against his neck, thinking those words would become a lovely tradition. Every time he came back to me, I’d say them.
He smiled and brushed my lips again. “It’s good to be home.”
Chapter 3
Float or Sink
Rising or falling in relation to another vertical diver, when both divers are in free fall.
H APPINESS ; W HY I S I T T HAT we frail beings turn happiness into something so unattainable? Happiness can be as simple as discovering the asparagus you hated as a child is quite tasty once you reach adulthood. It can be a shared, secret smile with a complete stranger in a grocery store line when they place chocolate, strawberries, and candles on the conveyor belt. Being grateful simply for a rain-soaked breeze cooling your face, soft grass under your feet, intricate veins weaving through a leaf. Or reveling in a strong, secure arm around your shoulders and just knowing , even though he hasn’t voiced it, that you are completely and utterly loved.
This was the form my happiness chose as Molly, Cassady, Samuel, and I journeyed west into the mountains to Cloud Lake and the glorious chimneys and squirmways awaiting our exploration. I had Samuel almost all to myself for two more days, before we’d return and spend Saturday with his parents in Lyons.
We left Boulder before the sun was up, and thankfully, after a restless two nights’ sleep, I didn’t have to drive. Cassady steered our company SUV with Molly in the front. In the back, Samuel had situated himself in the middle and pulled me flush against his side, his seatbelt discarded for the moment. I knew for safety’s sake he should put
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