Passionate Pleasures (20 page)

They lay hand and hand in the dim silence for some time. But suddenly Kathryn heard the grandfather clock in the downstairs hall strike once. Was it twelve thirty? One?

Half after something. “What time is it?” she said softly turning to look at her bed’s clock. The lighted dial read twelve thirty.

“I had better get going,” he said. “We both have reputations to consider.” He got up and dressed quickly. Then bending, he kissed her lips gently. “This has not been a one-night stand, Kathy, has it?”

“No,” she said, “it’s not a one-night stand, Tim. I wish you could stay the night so we could do this again.”

“Thanksgiving night,” he said. “Come home with me after dinner. No one has to know you’re there. We’re using my car for transport. It will be dark. I’ll put the car in the garage, and we’ll go into the house through the breezeway. No one will see us. And I’ll cook breakfast the next morning,” he promised. “I do a pretty mean breakfast. We could have a whole weekend together if you want.”

“I should say I’ll think about it,” Kathryn said, “but after tonight I don’t believe I want to think a whole lot. What is that old saying? For once in your life do something bad, and you’ll survive. Yes! And that’s my final answer.”

Tim grinned, and leaning over the bed gave her a quick kiss. “Good night, love,” he said. “I’ll let myself out.”

“Good night,” she responded. She listened as his footsteps echoed down the hall. She heard the faint creak of the front door as it opened and closed. When she was certain he was gone she got out of bed, and slipping downstairs, turned the deadbolt lock before hurrying back upstairs.
Sex!
She had just had some very satisfying sex, and she felt wonderful. It hadn’t been a bad first time. A little careful, a little cautious, but it had been good. She wondered if Tim could be, would be a bit more adventurous? Time would tell. The fact he had suggested coming to his house after Thanksgiving dinner was pretty daring. And they were going to have to be very careful, or all of Egret Pointe would know. There was probably a morals clause in his contract.

Oh God! What was she getting herself into? Maybe she shouldn’t have been so quick to say yes to his very delicious suggestion, but she wanted more of that big dick of his, and neither one of them could qualify as a kid. They were two consenting adults, and if they wanted to have sex they should be able to without anyone else getting involved. Or so conventional wisdom would dictate, but this was Egret Pointe, and more often than not conventional wisdom didn’t apply.

In the morning she found a single crimson dahlia in a bud vase on her desk. “Mavis,” she called, “where did this come from?”

“Tim dropped it off at my house on his way to work,” she said. “Told me to put it on your desk.” Mavis cocked her head to one side. “So? What’s happening?”

“Nothing,” Kathryn replied.

“Honestly, Kathy, you have never been able to lie to me,” Mavis reminded her best friend. “Now I want all the juicy details. What happened?”

“Nothing,” Kathryn repeated.

Mavis’s eyes suddenly grew wide. “
You did it with him, didn’t you?
Oh my God! And don’t say you didn’t, because you’re as red as that dahlia.”

“Stop babbling, Mavis,” Kathryn said. “I will neither confirm or deny, but I would just as soon Egret Pointe didn’t explode with unfounded rumors by sundown.”

“Okay, okay,” Mavis responded. “But . . .”

“No questions!” Kathryn said sternly. “Do I ask you about Jeremy?”

“Jeremy is my darling, dull husband. You know who is hot hot hot, and every single teacher in the Middle School has been dangling their bait for him,” Mavis said.

“Well, I am not dangling my bait,” Kathryn replied.

“You don’t have to,” Mavis chuckled. “You had him hooked at first sight.”

“Mavis! Please! The next thing I know, my brother will be demanding to know if his intentions are honorable,” Kathryn said.

Mavis laughed aloud at this.

“And I have to sit through Thanksgiving dinner with Hallock. Right now he actually likes Tim. I want to keep it that way. Hallock assumes I’m still a virgin. He never knew about . . .” She stopped.

“Never knew about my brother?” Mavis said softly.

“How did you . . .” Kathryn began, astounded. It was Nicholas she had considered.

“Jonathan was my big brother, Kathy. You’re my best friend. How could I not know, when I loved you both so much? And when he was killed I saw the light go out of your eyes. It was gone for several years.”

“He had asked me to marry him, Mavis, and I had said yes. We were going to announce it when his Guard unit got back from Kuwait. If my family objected, we were going to elope. If they came around, we would have let them do a grand St. John wedding. It didn’t matter to us which. We just wanted to be married. And then he was killed. What would have been the point in telling everyone at that point?”

Mavis nodded. “I figured you’d say something one day. I would have liked to have you as a sister-in-law, Kathy, and my mother would have loved being able to claim you for real. She always said you were her other daughter.”

“Water under the bridge,” Kathryn said softly. “After that I didn’t want any more reality in my love life.”

“What made you change your mind?” Mavis wanted to know.

Kathryn St. John knew she couldn’t tell her best friend the truth. That her virginity had been taken by someone known as Mr. Nicholas, who was the CEO of The Channel Corporation. Someone who had been close friends with her grandfather and father. That Nicholas was the devil himself, and the devil wasn’t a creature in a red suit with a pitchfork and horns. He was a charming older man with custom-made suits and shoes, perfectly manicured hands, a stylish haircut, and elegant manners, who knew just how to seduce and use women.

No. She couldn’t say that. Of course if she had, Mavis wouldn’t have believed her, but still she couldn’t bring herself to tell her friend the truth. That Nicholas had let her have a taste of The Channel. That she had been the one to introduce it to the women of Egret Pointe. That as a reward for her aid, her remote had allowed her to program six delicious and decadent sexual fantasies. That now in an act of supreme cruelty, Nicholas had banned her from The Channel because he said she could no longer be of use to him, as she was too good a person. That it was time she experienced reality.

“I guess I finally got bored with The Channel,” she said. “I thought it might be fun to screw around with a real man for a change.”

Mavis nodded. “Maybe you might even like something more,” she suggested.

Kathryn smiled. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, girl-friend. Now let’s set up a meeting tomorrow morning to finalize everything for the Christmas Book Fair. We’ve got just two weeks left.”

“Will do,” Mavis said, and then turning, she left Kathryn’s office.

Kathryn stared at the perfect dahlia on her desk. What a sweet gesture. It had been a long time since anyone had sent her flowers. And he had been so discreet. He had obviously picked it from his garden. It must have been something from old Mrs. Torkelson’s plantings. She had been well known for her dahlia garden. This flower must have come from some tubers she had forgotten to take up last year that had grown and bloomed this year. The crimson color was so bright it almost glowed.

The phone rang and she picked it up. “Kathryn St. John here.”

“Do you like it?” Tim asked her.

“Yes, the color is spectacular,” she told him.

“You’re spectacular,” he replied. “Now tell me, what is it? I found it blooming in the backyard this morning, and it didn’t look like a weed.”

Kathryn laughed. “It’s a dinner plate dahlia. Mrs. Torkelson grew them.”

“Ahh,” he said. “Then I did good.”

“You did good.”

“I wanted to say thank you, but I didn’t want everyone in town wondering why I was sending you flowers.”

“Hmmm, yes, your discretion is appreciated,” she teased him. “That single crimson dahlia was far more thoughtful than a big bouquet with a card reading, ‘Baby, you were great!’ ” Kathryn said mischievously.

He burst out laughing. “Glad to be of service, ma’am,” he told her.

“I like your service plan,” she responded.

“Are we on for the movies this Friday night?” he asked.

“Same time and place,” she agreed.

“Gotta go, love,” he said. “I’m on lunch duty today.”

“Bye,” Kathryn answered, and hung up the phone. He was comfortable with her, and she found she was comfortable with him. Sex had entered the equation, but it hadn’t made things between them awkward. But as a woman who liked everything orderly, she had to admit that not knowing exactly where this relationship—she supposed now that they had had sex it was a relationship—was headed. Reality sometimes sucked.

The next morning, Friday, Kathryn sat down with her staff. “Are we ready?” she asked them. “We’ve only got two more weeks until the Christmas Book Fair. Let’s have your reports. Caroline? Books?”

“Everything promised has come: hardcover, trade and mass-market paper,” Caroline Collines said. “We’ve got a terrific selection of this year’s best sellers, from practically every publishing house in the city. Rina Seligmann’s brother, Aaron Fischer, the agent, was a tremendous help, Miss Kathy.”

“Wonderful! Peter?”

“Well, between our historical society and my friends in the city, we just about have all the costumes needed. You should all get your fittings next week so everything fits comfortably. And some theater contacts of mine are going to help with the décor,” Peter reported with a pleased grin. “They’re setting up faux shop fronts to give us the feel of Dickens’s London.”

“Peter, that’s wonderful. Thank you so much,” Kathryn said. “Susan?”

“St. Ann’s is loaning us their card tables and chairs. I’ve got red and green paper clothes and napkins and Christmasy paper plates and hot cups. I corralled a group of my friends to do the baking. We’ll have tea, hot chocolate, hot mulled cider. It’s not entirely Dickens, but I think people will like the menu. We’re doing two chowders, corn and New England clam. Debora has volunteered to show us how to make little meat pasties, which are very English. She did a taste testing for us last week, and they were delicious. There will be scones, crumpets, jam, lemon curd, and tiny individual pies: mince and apple. We’re going to have a table selling all the foods we’re featuring. When we first decided to do this, I put up notices in all the churches asking for home-baked goods, jams, jellies, pickles, and relishes. The response has been wonderful, Miss Kathy.”

“Sounds like we’ve got a real money maker, Susan. Thanks for all the hard work,” Kathryn said. “Marcia, what do we have for the children?”

“I researched all sorts of old-fashioned games. Considering most of these kids are ‘computer babies,’ it should be quite an eye opener for them. We’re doing a treasure hunt, and the Ghost of Christmas Present, to be played by our new Middle School principal, Mr. Blair, will be reading Christmas stories of all kinds to the children. Peter’s buddies in the city are supplying a gold-and-red velvet throne for him to sit on,” Marcia Merryman, the children’s librarian, reported.

Kathryn shook her head. “You all have been just wonderful. This is going to be a really successful Christmas Book Fair this year. What are we selling in the booths beside books, Caroline?”

“Handmade children’s dresses with matching dresses for girl and doll. One lady is bringing a small stock of handmade christening gowns. We’ve got knitted goods, sweaters, gloves, mittens, scarves, and hats. Ashley Kimborough—whoops—Mulcahy is bringing some adorable flannel night wear for kids and adults.”

“We’d make more money with her X-rated stuff,” Mavis said dryly.

The library staff laughed.

“Agreed,” Kathryn said, “but this is a family event.”

“We’ve also got a candle maker and a potter joining us,” Caroline finished.

“It sounds like we’re ready to have a Christmas fair, and I think branching out from just books and games is a wonderful idea. We’ll make it an almost one-stop-shopping experience for Egret Pointe,” Kathryn said. She was very pleased.

“If they don’t spend all their money at the mall next Friday,” Peter Potter said.

As the meeting broke up Mavis said to Kathryn, “We’re going to be at Hallock’s for Thanksgiving too.”

“Aren’t the boys coming home?” Kathryn asked.

“No. This is the year they both go to the in-laws, and besides, Andrea and Pam are pregnant this year. New grandkids coming. One in late spring, the other in midsummer,” Mavis said. They just told us. So now we’ll have three.”

“Congratulations,” Kathryn said.

“Don’t congratulate me,” Mavis replied. “I didn’t do anything except have two sons who seem to enjoy making babies. I really have to ask them if they know what’s causing those pregnancies.”

“And have them realize you know all about sex?” Kathryn laughed.

“True,” Mavis agreed. “I think they still believe the stork brought them, and it’s their generation that discovered sex.” Then she changed the subject entirely. “Movie night again, Kathy?”

“Yes. They’re running
The African Queen
tonight, along with an old World War Two newsreel, and five cartoons,” she replied. “Tim and I really like those old movies.”

“Dinner first?” Mavis probed.

“Yes.”

“Dessert after the movie?” Mavis teased.

“Maybe,” Kathryn replied with a wink. “You know me. I love dessert!”

“Don’t we all.” Mavis cackled.

But when she was alone in her office again, Kathryn began to consider. What if he wanted sex tonight? The first time had been good. Not great, but a good start. She couldn’t remember sex with Jonathan, it had been so long ago. But she had been young then, and very much in love.

After his death she hadn’t wanted to be involved again. Being involved meant getting hurt. And she wasn’t much into dominant males in reality. Or was she? Jonathan had been very laid back, like his sister.
I guess I’m just going to have to play it by ear,
Kathryn decided.