Distractions (45 page)

And dumb presagers of my speaking

breast,

Who plead for love and look for

recompense

More than that tongue that more hath

more express’d.

O, learn to read what silent love hath

writ:

To hear with eyes belongs to love’s fine

wit.”

Making

it

through

without

stumbling, I handed back the book and

smirked, although I knew I was in

trouble. He quickly turned through the

pages to Sonnet 140 before resuming his

slow torture.

“Be wise as thou art cruel; do not

press

My tongue-tied patience with too

much disdain,

Lest sorrow lend me words, and

words express

The manner of my pity-wanting

pain.

If I might teach thee wit, better it

were,

Though not to love, yet love, to tell

me so,

As testy sick men, when their

deaths be near,

No news but health from their

physicians know.

For if I should despair, I should

grow mad,

And in my madness might speak ill

of thee.

Now this ill-wresting world is

grown so bad,

Mad sland’rers by mad ears

believèd be.

That I may not be so, nor thou

belied,

Bear thine eyes straight, though

thy proud heart go wide.”

As I finished the last line, his left

arm reached behind me, sliding his

fingers down the aperture and began to

massage the soft opening, causing me to

jerk. The intrusive feeling caught me by

surprise and completely unhinged me.

As I started to shatter, his hands grabbed

my hips and aggressively began seeking

his own little death. Once our breathing

calmed, we started laughing hysterically

at our newfound use of poetry.

“That was hot, Violet. We’re doing

Macbeth later!”

Slapping him lightly on the chest, I

had no desire to attempt a play under

those circumstances. As I snuggled deep

into his chest, his hands caressed the

skin on my ribcage gently as the morning

sunlight poured through the windows.

Nearly a month had passed since

we had disembarked off the blood-

spattered yacht. Police were waiting at

the port to arrest everyone onboard. My

aunt was waiting there for me with open

arms; if it weren’t for her, I wasn’t sure I

would be alive. Everything had to work

perfectly, and by some miracle, it did.

We were all taken into custody until

everyone could be interviewed and the

others tried for attempted murder among

other things. Shepard managed to

severely wound David, but not kill him.

It was not until then that I found out how

intricately woven the plan was.

While Kimberly was alerted of my

activities, she also came across a

deleted email with my name encoded in

it. Not knowing what to do with the

information, she immediately went to

Alessa. Despite working for Gladstone

under a facade, nothing prepared her for

what she read. There were press release

instructions, along with accounts to

divert the funds after the auction, as well

as confirming both Shepard’s and my

demise.

Alessa risked her life and reached

out to Shepard to save mine. He knew

about the auction and the hit because of

her. Sending me to Florida was not just

about keeping me sane; she was buying

Shepard time.

I felt my voice hum in his chest as I

let out a deep sigh. He didn’t ask what I

was thinking. He knew…he always

knew. He simply kissed the top of my

head and continued to dance along my

skin with his fingertips.

“Don’t be mad at me, Violet; I have

to go out of town again. I found positions

for some more people I am able to help

settle. I won’t be gone but a few days.

Besides, you have Ingrid, and with

Alessa coming in tomorrow, you won’t

even miss me.”

I hated knowing that taking down

Robertson meant thousands of people

losing their jobs. Good people got hurt

because of my choices. Thankfully, the

company

making

the

antibiotic

I

reformulated had locations around the

globe and was more than willing to hire

all the employees who were willing to

relocate. Some did not want to or

couldn’t, and Shepard was working non-

stop to find them new jobs.

“Stop it; I know what you’re

thinking. Big picture, Violet. We’re

doing what we can.”

I blew out a deep breath and sank

back into his chest. “When do you

leave?” I could go with him, but I was

really looking forward to spending more

time with Ingrid and learning how to

cook, and simply spend time wandering

around Salzburg. “I’ll miss you, and so

will my vagina. I might open a

spelunking business while you’re gone

with the walking cave you have made of

me.”

Shepard started laughing so hard he

began to cough, rolling me off to the

side. “Well, don’t worry love, I’ll chase

the bats and clear the cobwebs the

moment I return.”

***

three days before I received the call

from Vivienne I had been dreading.

Connor had been made an offer on the

property and wanted to sell it. Although

I now had the money to buy it back, I

wasn’t sure if I wanted to. I still needed

to take my grandmother’s ashes up to the

mountains, and being early summer, the

gypsies would be in town for the

festival. Alessa pulled out her laptop

and immediately booked two flights to

Colorado. Refusing to let me go alone,

she reminded me that she too no longer

had a job and wouldn’t be starting her

new one for another few weeks.

The trip took us nearly two days of

travel, yet sitting in first class again

made it a whole lot easier. It gave us

time to catch up and talk about the future.

I smiled at the irony; transatlantic flights

were becoming therapy sessions for me.

After arriving back in Colorado Springs,

a cold chill raced up my spine despite

the eighty degree weather. The sky was

perfect blue; the mountains towering

along the Western slope. I took Alessa

around my old neighborhood and dared a

drive into Manitou. Even if Connor were

home, he wouldn’t be expecting me to be

walking around. I pointed out his

apartment as we made our way down

Ruxton Avenue; I could see in her eyes

that she was ready to buy a baseball bat

and destroy a few things. After a little

coercion, I was finally able to get her to

try the mineral water from the fountains

where she promptly proclaimed, “This

needs some gin.”

As the afternoon sun began to shine

down upon us, we took the half hour

drive north to my grandparents’ ranch.

Vivienne was already there waiting for

us to arrive, sitting in a wooden rocking

chair on a newly painted deck with a

beer. I stepped out of the car, cautious at

her nonchalant behavior. Upon closer

inspection, I noticed that the entire house

had been meticulously restored. She

simply smiled as I walked up to the front

door and opened it.

Before going inside, I observed that

the entire house was empty, cleaned and

refinished. Both women followed behind

me as I slowly stepped along the freshly

stained walnut floors. I shook my head;

none of it made sense. I had come to

clean the house out, yet it was not

necessary. Vivienne stopped as I circled

the wall into the dining room and nearly

fainted. Before me lay a recently tuned

Stradivarius violin, casually perched on

the table next to the replica of the

Esperanza. I was unable to speak; all I

could do was look at the women before

tearing out of the house, screaming his

name.

Not knowing where to start, I ran to

the back of the property where the trees

grew thick along the babbling brook. It

was relatively flat and the perfect place

to rest. I remembered I told him about it

several times. My lungs hurt from

running so fast in the thin air, yet I was

unable to stop. Only pausing to lift the

metal latch off the heavy wooden gate, I

saw the blanket’s corners peeking out

from behind the trunk of the massive oak.

He’s here! Unable to tell if he was

actually napping, I crept along, my steps

masked by the sound of the water

flowing nearby. Surely enough, his hat

was pulled low over his eyes, as he was

lost in a deep slumber. Careful not to

startle him too much, I leaned next to his

ear and whispered, “Open your eyes.”

A large smile drew across his face

upon hearing my voice. Reaching out to

pull me close, he whispered back, “I

was just dreaming about you.”

He was only pretending to sleep,

waiting for me to find him. Shepard

quickly flipped me onto my back and

kissed me passionately in the warm

breeze. Lifting his hat away, I stared into

the eyes of heaven.

“How did you do this?”

Gently nipping along my neck

before responding, he started to chuckle

at the millions of questions pouring into

my mind. “All in good time…just enjoy

the moment; don’t over analyze it.”

His tongue dipped into the hollow

of my neck before returning to my lips.

“As much as I want to spend the

day with you down here, there are a few

things we need to take care of, okay?”

Pulling me into a standing position, he

took my hand and we slowly started to

walk up to the trail leading to the house.

Stopping at the gate, a shadow came

across his face.

“Violet, I can’t take credit for this.

It was like this when I contacted

Vivienne to pay off the debt. I promised

him I would give you this before the day

was over. He’s on his way to deliver

some additional papers; you don’t have

to see him, but you should.”

I knew it was killing him to say it

as much as it was for me to hear it. I

didn’t need to open the faded yellow

piece of paper he was holding out

towards me. I knew what it said.

“Did you read it, Shepard?”

As he nodded yes, I took the paper

and placed it in my pocket. A short

while later I could see Connor’s figure

walking towards us slowly through the

tall grass. Shepard stood in front of me,

holding my hand as he led me up the hill.

Stopping about twenty feet away, he

turned around and held my face gently.

“It’s a choice, Violet.”

Kissing me softly, he closed the gap

between him and Connor and stood face

to face with the man who nearly

destroyed me. Anticipating punches

being thrown, Shepard reached his hand

out to him and shook it briefly before

looking back at me in reassurance as he

headed into the house.

“I’m right here, Violet.”

Connor’s head dropped low as I

approached him. I could see him shaking

slightly the closer I got. His hands were

cracked and dry, no doubt from working

on this house for hours on end. His hair

looked like it hadn’t been cut in a while.

It wasn’t just me being set free. He knew

I wasn’t coming back, yet still he

persevered at trying to make it right. The

house didn’t change anything. He

couldn’t earn my forgiveness; it was a

choice I had to make.

It’s what love does.

The tears were falling hard down

both of our cheeks as I waited for him to

look at me. Even standing nearly head to

head, he couldn’t do it. I reached down

for one of his weathered hands, brought

it up to my chest, and held it close so he