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Touch Me GenTly

Visit us at www.boldstrokesbooks.com

By the Author

Bareback

Long Shot

Call Me Softly

Touch Me Gently

Touch Me

GenTly

by

D. Jackson Leigh

2012

touch me gently

© 2012 D. Jackson Leigh. aLL Rights ReseRveD.

isBn 13: 978-1-60282-707-3

This ElEcTronic Book is PuBlishEd By

Bold sTrokEs Books, inc.

P.o. Box 249

VallEy Falls, ny 12185

FirsT EdiTion: JunE 2012

This is a Work oF FicTion. naMEs, characTErs, PlacEs, and

incidEnTs arE ThE ProducT oF ThE auThor’s iMaGinaTion or

arE usEd FicTiTiously. any rEsEMBlancE To acTual PErsons,

liVinG or dEad, BusinEss EsTaBlishMEnTs, EVEnTs, or localEs

is EnTirEly coincidEnTal.

This Book, or ParTs ThErEoF, May noT BE rEProducEd in any

ForM WiThouT PErMission.

cReDits

EdiTor: shEllEy ThrashEr

ProducTion dEsiGn: susan raMundo

coVEr dEsiGn By shEri (GraPhicarTisT2020@hoTMail.coM)

Acknowledgments

This story is for my buddy, Phoebe, who insisted that insurance

agents can be sexy, too.

A special thanks also goes to my beta readers: Jenny, Gail, and

Debbie. You guys are primo.

Also, I have to give a nod to the amazing Bold Strokes Books

staff, authors, publisher Len Barot, and my most excellent editor,

Shelley Thrasher. They are truly like a second family.

Last, but not least, I will always be grateful to Angie for shoving

me down this road to being an author.

Dedication

For Lacey J, the best damn Jack Russell terrier ever.

Her brave little heart touched mine every day of our

sixteen years and five months together.

Touch Me GenTly

chapTeR one

Salem Lacey was frozen.

She couldn’t move her feet to run. She couldn’t move her

mouth to speak. Every extreme emotion she’d ever experienced was

an ice pick poised to pierce the indecision that encased her.

She wanted to laugh hysterically at the absurd scene before her.

She wanted to scream her rage at the betrayal. And she wanted to

sob at the fixed, unseeing stare on her dead lover’s face.

State Representative Eve Sutherland’s gardener lay naked,

spread-eagle on her belly with her wrists and ankles securely tied by

silk scarves to the four posts of the queen-sized bed. Eve sprawled

on top of her, her bare buttocks framed by the harness of a strap-on

dildo still buried between the gardener’s legs. Eve’s head was turned

to the side, her eyes and mouth open as though she was permanently

surprised.

“Get her off and untie me.” The gardener groaned. “Please, my

arms hurt.”

“Shut up so we can think,” Salem’s friend, Alisha, snapped.

Numb, Salem barely felt Alisha’s arm curl around her shoulders.

This didn’t make sense. Nothing had made sense from the moment

Alisha woke her at six o’clock and demanded that she come to Eve’s

house immediately.

The owner of an exclusive housekeeping business, Alisha

visited each location to make notes of things that required special

attention or reallocate workers to the messiest houses. She started

• 13 •

D. Jackson leiGh

very early with the homes of friends who didn’t mind when she let

herself in to inspect while they were getting ready for work.

“I’m so sorry, hon. I shouldn’t have called you. The house was

so quiet, I thought Eve must have stayed with you last night. So

when I opened the door and saw this, I panicked.” Alisha spoke

gently. “I’ve phoned Jeffrey. He’ll know what to do.”

“Jeffrey?”

Eve was in the middle of a fiercely contested re-election battle

and Jeffrey was her campaign manager. He was deeply closeted, just

like Eve and most of their high-powered friends, and would know

how to cover this up.

“I should have let him take care of this and told you about it

later.”How could Alisha be so calm?

“Please,” the gardener whined. “Get her off me.”

“We’ve got to do something,” Salem said, but she didn’t know

what. Less than twenty-four hours before, Eve was making love, and

promises, to her. They’d returned to Atlanta around eight o’clock

last night after spending a romantic weekend in the North Georgia

mountains. Eve dropped her off before going to her own house,

explaining that she had a fund-raising breakfast to attend very early

the next day and needed to prepare a brief speech.

“Alisha?” Jeffrey’s voice floated up from the downstairs foyer.

“Up here.”

He pounded up the stairs. “I don’t care what the problem is,

she’s scheduled to be at a critical fund-raiser at seven thirty. If she’s

drunk, we have to sober her up fast. If she’s sick, I’ve got Craig

on standby to shoot her up with one of his super drugs that’ll get

her through the morning.” He stepped into the bedroom and stared.

“Eve—”

Alisha scowled. “She can’t hear you, idiot. I think she’s been…

gone…for a while.”

Jeffrey stared at Eve. “Holy fucking shit. She’s dead?” He

pulled his phone from his jacket and tapped in a number. Jeffrey

was a rising star among campaign managers because he was cold-

• 14 •

Touch Me GenTly

blooded and clear-headed in even the worst crisis. Eve used to joke

that he’d infect a baby with pandemic flu if he thought he could get

the opposing candidate to kiss it.

“Get her off me.” The gardener was starting to hyperventilate

and Salem felt like she might join her.

Jeffrey walked to the end of the bed, the phone pressed to his

ear, and peered at the bodies. “Is that thing still stuck in there? Damn,

that’s gonna hurt. Craig, I need you at Eve’s house right away. You

don’t have time for coffee. This is big, very big. Reschedule your

morning appointments, but don’t tell anyone where you’re going.”

The gardener struggled against the tightly knotted scarves.

“Untie me. Get her off me, please. Oh, God, get her off me.”

Her pleading rubbed against Salem’s exposed nerves like

sandpaper. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. “Do something.”

“I am doing something,” Jeffrey snapped. “Craig’s house is just

a block away. God damn it. You’d think she could keep it in her

pants for another few months, just until I could get her re-elected.”

The gardener began to sob. “It hurts.”

Jeffrey knelt next to the bed. “Calm down and listen to me.

It’ll hurt a lot worse when we untie you and pull that dildo out. A

doctor’s on the way. He’ll give you something—”

“Christ almighty!” Craig shoved past her like the stocky rugby

player he was and threw his physician’s bag down next to the bed.

“Lesbians and their toys. Those things ought to have a warning on

the box. You can’t fall asleep like that. The vaginal tissues dry out

and they wake up stuck together like dogs.” He glared at Jeffrey.

“Why can’t you have a normal emergency, like somebody’s arm

stuck in a wood chipper?”

Jeffrey, tall and a little too slender for a man, stood and firmly

grasped his boyfriend’s jaw. He forced Craig to meet his gaze.

“Listen to me. I need you to be calm. We need to be very careful

how we handle this. They’re stuck like this because our friend Eve

is dead.”

“Get her off me.” The woman’s sobs were growing weaker.

Craig looked down at Eve when Jeffrey released his grip. “Son

of a bitch.” He probed her throat for a pulse and ran his hand down

• 15 •

D. Jackson leiGh

her arm. “Rigor is starting, so we need to hurry before she gets too

stiff.” “What are you going to do?” Salem swayed. Her paralysis was

wearing off, but she felt helplessly weak.

Jeffrey grasped her elbow and turned her toward the door.

“Craig and I’ll handle this. You need to go home, sweetie.”

Alisha frowned. “What are you going to do?”

“Fix it to look like she died in bed alone before we call the

police. That’s all y’all need to know. You two were never here.” He

waved for Alisha to leave with her. “You should follow her home

and stay with her a while to make sure she’s okay.” His words spoke

of compassion, but his eyes spoke his real message. Make sure she

keeps quiet.

“Fine with me. I don’t want anything to do with this.” Alisha

grabbed her hand, but Salem turned back to the bed.

Gazing at Eve’s face one last time, she realized the woman

who had been her lover was gone forever. So were four years of

memories, because she would remember only this when she thought

of Eve. It was a cold blade through her heart.

“Eve…how could you?”

• 16 •

Touch Me GenTly

chapTeR Two

Knox Bolander leaned against the door of her black Jeep

Wrangler and watched the small crowd gathered to pay

their last respects. Even with a football field of distance between

the group of mourners and where she’d parked under the gnarled

oak, she felt the chill of the open grave as though she stood next to

it. When they lowered the bronze casket into the Georgia red clay, a

piece of her would stay with it.

She’d seen little of her father, Robert Hamilton Bolander, over

the past twenty years. Though not an openly affectionate man, he’d

been a kind and steady presence in her life. She’d stopped coming

home after her brother died, so her father visited her in Maryland

once a year. He gifted her with two of his most prized Friesian

mares, and they spent the day riding before going out to dinner and

perhaps the symphony. The visits were short, only a day or two, and

her mother never came with him.

She treasured those times and suspected that their trail rides

provided his only respite from the melancholy that had enveloped

him since the dreadful day that changed all of their lives.

They’d lost much more than the eight horses who perished in

the fire that gutted the Bolander stable. Her mother retreated back

into therapy, Knox was packed off to the Institute, and her twin

brother Ham was pulled from public school and secluded at home

for the rest of his life.

Robert Bolander had carried the heavy burden to his death, and

Knox could never purge the nightmarish fire from her memory.

• 17 •

D. Jackson leiGh

She could still feel its heat and hear her father’s shouts and the

frantic neighing of the trapped horses as she dragged her hysterical

brother to safety. She could smell the acrid odor of her own singed

hair and clothing.

The turmoil of her bitter thoughts made the branches of the

moss-draped oak she stood under begin to stir. The leaves fluttered

even though the sweltering summer day was windless, and the old

priest standing at the head of her father’s casket paused to stare.

He crossed himself and mouthed a prayer of intercession. Knox’s

mother, a tall woman dressed in ambivalent gray, never looked up.

But others at the gravesite followed the priest’s gaze and joined his

prayer.

She hadn’t experienced such a lapse in many years. Shaken,

she ordered her thoughts and clamped down on her emotions. The

branches stilled, and she climbed into her Jeep and drove away.

❖

Knox reined her horse to a walk and turned onto a wide sandy

path that wound under a canopy of oaks and pines common to the

Georgia lowland. After leaving the cemetery, she had driven to the

Bolander estate to saddle the youngest of the three horses her father

still kept. She followed the circuitous route among the pastures and

cultivated fields they had often ridden together when she was young.

The Bolander estate had once covered 1,500 acres near the

Georgia-Florida border, where her great-grandfather originally

raised cattle and farmed cotton, peanuts, and corn. Later, he added

a shaded tobacco operation that elevated the Bolanders from mere

farmers to one of the region’s wealthiest families. He had planted

more than a hundred acres of tobacco under the shelter of thousands

of yards of loosely woven cheesecloth to grow fine, unblemished

leaves that became the “wrappers” for cigars. When regular tobacco

sold for forty cents a pound, her family got four dollars a pound for

the shaded tobacco.

But growing shaded tobacco was labor intensive and the market

peaked in the 1960s, then waned as labor costs soared. So the family

• 18 •

Touch Me GenTly

tore down the hundred or so aging houses where farm workers

once lived and sold much of the land to developers for millions.

The Bolanders quit farming and leased their remaining 500 acres of

fields to other farmers so they could spend their time tending their

money instead.

The afternoon ride gave Knox a chance to sort through the new

changes in her life, and when she stopped her horse at the destroyed

stable, she found it strangely appropriate that her route ended where

her journey had begun.

She dismounted and stood among the weeds and briars that

threatened to cover the stone foundation left intact when the burned

rubble of the Bolander stable was removed.

The gentle Friesians they bred were dark and sleek with a

smooth, high-stepping trot. She and her brother were only four

years old when her father had placed Ham, then Knox in the saddle

in front of him. Her brother had cried to get down, but Knox was

thrilled and Robert had even let her hold the reins for a short time.

The next day, he began her formal riding lessons. Fearless, she

refused the pony he wanted her to try. So he lifted her into the saddle

of a placid Friesian mare, where she perched like a tiny jockey as

she guided her horse to follow his. Their rides together had begun.

A multi-millionaire by birth, Robert Bolander was a historian

and philosopher by choice. It might have seemed odd to discuss the

history of civilization with a child, but Knox wasn’t a normal little

girl. Her very advanced brain absorbed every word as they rode

the maze of paths on their property. She loved her father and those

lessons…almost as much as she loved her twin brother.

“Don’t cry, Knox-Knox.”

“She took him to the pound this morning, Ham.”

“Who, Knox? Who did Mama take?”

“The dog I found. His leg was hurt. I wanted to call Doc Evan.

He could have fixed him.”

“How did he get hurt? Did he fall down? Daddy put a Superman

bandage on my knee when I fell down and it’s all better now.”

“I wanted to keep him, but she wouldn’t let me.”

• 19 •

D. Jackson leiGh

“Daddy’ll be home tomorrow. We’ll go get him. Daddy can put

a bandage on his leg and make him all better.”

She whirled around and petals exploded everywhere, leaving a

ravaged bed of headless tulips in her mother’s prized garden.

“Oh, no! You did it again. Mama’s going to be really mad.”

They were only eight years old, but Ham was big for his age. He

wrapped her in a tight hug.

“It’s too late,” she cried. “I called. They put him to sleep

because he was hurt.”

Uprooted foliage flew through the air around them.

“You gotta stop, Knox. We can wake him up. We’ll tell Daddy

tomorrow when he gets home and he’ll tell them to wake him up.”

“He’s not sleeping, Ham. That’s just what they call it. They

killed him. She took him and they killed him. She’s so mean. I hate

her. She hates me.”

“I love you, Knox-Knox. Don’t cry.”

She let the tears trickle down her cheeks unchecked, as if

brushing them away would erase the memory of her brother. Knox

and Hamilton’s chiseled good looks were their only similarity.

Athletic, she also possessed a stunning intellect that made her a

whispered name in the math and physics world by the time she was

fifteen. Ham, born mentally handicapped, had a weak heart that gave

out two days after his eighteenth birthday. She was his Knox-Knox,

and he held her when she skinned her knees or had a bad dream,

because her mother wouldn’t, couldn’t.

Someone was approaching, but she didn’t turn until her horse

raised its head and nickered to the newcomer.

“Hello, Knox.”

“Hello, Mother.”

“My camellias and gardenias are thriving this year.”

Claudia Bolander, a classic beauty, had the same gray eyes

and dark hair as Knox. While not on the genius level with her

daughter, she possessed a sharp mind and artistic flair. Claudia

also suffered from Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. Years

of medication, careful therapy, and an environment constructed to

• 20 •

Touch Me GenTly

cater to the peculiarities of her handicap allowed Claudia to enjoy

her understanding husband and become a locally acclaimed artist.

But she lacked the empathy and emotions to be a nurturing mother.

Knox wasn’t surprised that Claudia acted as though it had been

days, rather than ten years since they’d last seen or spoken with each

other. She wasn’t upset that her mother didn’t seem to notice the

tears that wet Knox’s cheeks. She understood that while the remark

seemed out of place, Claudia was actually attempting to reconnect

with her.

The estate’s gardens obsessed Claudia, and, as a child, Knox

spent hours helping plant, weed, and prune the flowers in an effort

to have some kind of relationship with her.

“I saw them. They’re beautiful,” she said.

Claudia twisted her hands together and shifted from foot to foot.

Knox always found her mother’s elegant features a strange contrast

to her graceless, sometimes clumsy movements, reminiscent of

Ham’s. Was that why she always forgave her mother’s shortcomings?

“You have to take care of them for me. I won’t be here to do

it,” Claudia said.

“Are you going on a trip?” Her mother rarely traveled. Leaving

her familiar environment or changing her established routine

stressed her.

“I’m going to Florida to live with my sister.”

“You’re leaving for good?”

Claudia began to pace. “I can’t stay here. Things aren’t right,

not right at all.” She spoke a little too loudly as her anxiety mounted.

“There’s a hole where he was. The house, the garden…they’re

different without Robert. Not right at all. You’ll take care of them,

won’t you? You’ll look after my flowers.”

“Yes, of course I will. I’ll take care of everything.”

“But you don’t live here. They need care every day. The weeds

will grow, the blossoms will die. They’ll die without someone to

look after them.”

“I can move back, Mother. I’ve been thinking of it anyway.”

Claudia stopped pacing. “Good. That’s good, then. It’s all

yours now…the house, the gardens, his horses. I don’t want any of

it without Robert here.”

• 21 •

D. Jackson leiGh

“When are you leaving? Do you need help with the

arrangements?”

“No. Christine’s here. Didn’t you see her at the funeral?”

“No. I wasn’t there long.” Knox had been eight years old when

she last saw her aunt, so she doubted she’d even recognize her.

Christine would be the best person to care for Claudia, though. A

psychiatrist inspired by her sister’s disease, she’d built a practice

that specialized in autism.

“You must behave while she’s here, Knox.”

Knox frowned. It wouldn’t do any good to explain that she

had learned to control her emotions and her special ability years

ago, because she hadn’t exactly demonstrated that skill earlier at the

cemetery. “I’ll be careful.”

“We’re leaving in the morning. Driving to Florida. I can’t get on

an airplane. Airplanes crash, fall from the sky. Chris says they grow

orange trees in Florida. She has lots of flowers that need tending.”

“I’m sure you’ll be very happy there.”

Claudia began to pace again. “They have hurricanes in Florida.

I’m a little worried about hurricanes.”

“Not where Aunt Chris lives. I’ll bet some maps will show they

don’t usually hit that part of the state. You could look them up on

the Internet.”

“Yes. I can research it.”

Without another word, Claudia tramped stiffly through the

weeds, back to the manicured lawn and expansive house. That

didn’t surprise Knox either. Her mother was simply unaware that

she should say something to excuse herself from their conversation.

And if Christine didn’t prompt her, Claudia might leave for Florida

in the morning without saying good-bye, not realizing they might

never see each other again.

Knox turned back to the scorched stones. They were still a

solid foundation.

She couldn’t reconstruct her lost childhood, but she could

rebuild the stable. Everyone was gone, but she was coming home.

• 22 •

Touch Me GenTly

chapTeR ThRee

Get ready.” The cameraman held up his hand and silently

counted down the seconds until they were on the air.

When he pointed to the reporter, she began her spiel.

“Hundreds of mourners are filling the Atlanta First United

Methodist Church today to say good-bye to State Representative

Eve Sutherland, found dead in her home on Monday. A preliminary

coroner’s report blames an undiagnosed heart defect for the

premature death of the most promising young politician this state

has seen in years. Although she was currently campaigning for a

second term in the Georgia legislature, rumors have been circulating

for months that her party would tap her to run for Congress when

Senator Ed Talmadge retires in two years.”

Salem hesitated, then walked quickly past the television

crew. Eve had never mentioned running for Congress, but she had

apparently forgotten to mention a lot of things.

Salem understood the political reasons, but was never happy

that the woman she’d loved for the past four years had been deeply

closeted. Eve insisted that they live in separate houses and always

had some dashing young male lawyer escort her to public events.

But she had grown tired of being invisible in Eve’s life.

So, on Saturday she had taken a chance and given Eve a very

expensive diamond necklace—a ring would have been too obvious—

and proposed that they spend the rest of their lives together. They

didn’t have to go public right away, Salem explained, but she wanted

them to at least take the first step and live in the same house.

• 23 •

D. Jackson leiGh

Eve accepted the necklace and vowed they would talk about

moving in together right after the election. Her assurances of love

felt more like a campaign promise than evidence of a commitment,

but Salem tried to ignore that as they spent the rest of the weekend

in bed, stoking the fires of passion.

“You holding up okay, hon?”

Salem held on to Alisha’s hug for a long moment. Despite her

Ivy League education, highly successful company, and exclusive

clients, Alisha was the most real of Salem’s friends. She never forgot

her roots as the daughter of a maid and what it was like to grow up

in the Atlanta projects.

“I don’t know, ’Lish. I still feel numb, you know. Like I’m

going to wake up from a really bad dream.” She blinked to clear the

tears blurring her vision. “I had no idea she was seeing anyone else.”

Alisha tucked Salem’s arm in hers and guided them up the

walkway toward the church. “Sweetie, I can’t pretend to understand

how Eve’s brain worked, but you were the only one who meant

anything to her. All the others were just impulses she couldn’t seem

to control.”

Salem stiffened. “All the others? There were others?”

“Well, shit. I put my big foot in that, didn’t I?”

“You knew she was cheating on me and never told me?” A

pinhole of light suddenly penetrated the darkness that had been

drowning her since Monday morning. “Did anybody else know Eve

was cheating on me?”

“Girl, we all knew. We thought you did, too.”

Anger rose in a hot flush to burn her cheeks. She rounded on

Alisha. “How many others?”

Alisha tugged her into the church. “I have no idea.”

“Venture a guess, just for me? Two? Three? One a month?

One a week? Did she fuck other women several times a day while I

stupidly thought we had an exclusive relationship?”

“Keep your voice down.” Alisha pushed her along a short

hallway and into the ladies’ restroom. “I don’t know. You think she

kept a list or that I followed her around to count?”

Damn it. Salem paced the small room. Lying, disloyal slut that

she was, Eve had cheated her one last time by dying and stealing

• 24 •

Touch Me GenTly

from her the pleasure of slapping her face. She balled up her fist and

thumped Alisha hard on the shoulder instead.

“Ow!”

“Why in the world would you think Eve cared anything for me

if she was fucking every bimbo she hired to chauffeur her or cut her

grass or clean her house?”

“Oh, no. She never touched my employees. I personally told

every one of them they’d be jobless the instant I found out she’d

been in their panties.”

“Well, I guess that’s something.”

“I’m not the enemy, Salem. Have any of our other friends

called or come by to see how you were doing?”

She stared at the floor and didn’t answer.

“I didn’t think so. They’re paranoid that one of Eve’s bimbos

will out her for some tabloid cash, then them by association.”

She drew a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Alisha was right.

She cast about for at least one good memory of Eve and their

relationship. “Why did you say I was the only one she cared about?”

“Because you were her Plan B, girl. I overheard her and Jeffrey

talking. If she ever got outed, they decided she wouldn’t risk denying

it and getting caught in a lie. She planned to stay a step ahead of the

media by going all Ellen on them and announcing her engagement

to you. She was going to ask you to marry her.”

“I was to be her trophy wife.” How calculating could you get?

“I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Alisha put her hands on

Salem’s shoulders and waited until their gazes met and held. “Let’s

just get through this funeral, then I’ll take you wherever you want,

to do anything you want…even get drunk in a strip bar. But first, I

have to pee and you have to fix your makeup.”

While Alisha disappeared into a toilet stall, Salem studied her

bloodshot eyes in the mirror, then dug into her purse for eye drops

and mascara. She combed her fingers through her hair. It was time

to freshen the highlights in her shoulder-length dark blond locks.

She was applying a liberal coat of lipstick to replace what she’d

managed to chew off when two women burst into the room and

crowded up to share the two-sink vanity and mirror with her.

• 25 •

D. Jackson leiGh

“That man is an idiot if he thinks I’m going to stand out in

that heat to smoke my cigarette. I’ll bet you can fry an egg on the

sidewalk.” The woman eyed her seventies-era hairstyle and pulled

a long cigarette from her huge purse. She bumped Salem’s arm,

causing her to smear lipstick across her cheek. “Sorry,” she said

without a trace of sincerity. She lit the cigarette and watched her

reflection as she blew smoke through her nose, then mimicked the

usher in a snotty tone. “I’m sorry, ma’am. You can’t smoke in this

building.”

Salem dampened a paper towel to scrub her cheek, but made

room at the sink while Alisha washed her hands.

“I’ll wait for you outside,” Alisha murmured, indicating the

overcrowded room.

The second woman ran a comb through her long dark hair. She

looked to be around thirty, but her eyes were hard like someone

who had seen many more years. “Give me a drag off that before you

put it out,” she ordered the smoker. Something about her and the

bracelet on her arm seemed familiar to Salem.

“Lord, Laine, I coulda died when I saw that big house of hers,”

the smoker said, handing over her cigarette. “And you and Aunt

Verna living in that old doublewide. She ought to be ashamed.”

“Evelyn always was a selfish bitch. Dear old sis ain’t been home

for a visit since she left for that fancy-smancy college up north. She

did pay off the mortgage on Mama’s trailer and sent a few hundred

dollars every month, but we didn’t have a clue she was some big-

time politician right here in our home state. Her letters always had

an Alabama postmark. She didn’t want us to know where she really

lived. I’ll bet she sent us less than what she paid her maid every

week.”

Laine? Elaine? Eve had once mentioned a sister named Elaine.

But when Salem probed for more information, Eve simply said

she’d divorced her redneck family and never looked back once she

escaped the Georgia swamps and went to college. She usually told

people she didn’t have any surviving family. Salem stared at Laine’s

reflection in the mirror. She could see the resemblance now, around

the eyes and chin.

• 26 •

Touch Me GenTly

“We would have never knowed she was living here if Buddy

hadn’t been driving a load up to Charlotte and seen it on TV at a

truck stop.” Laine applied additional blue eye shadow to her already

heavily painted eyelids.

“You being family, we should have stayed at her house.”

“We would have if that fruitcake hadn’t shown up and thrown

us out. At least he paid for our motel rooms at the Days Inn. Pretty

fancy, huh?”

“Not as fancy as Evelyn’s house. So, who gets that house and

all her stuff? Evelyn wasn’t married, was she?”

“No, she weren’t married, but we don’t know if she left a will.

At least I got a look in her jewelry box before the fruitcake showed

up and ordered us out. Wish I’d had time to go through her closet,

though.”

“You wouldn’t have gotten in the house at all if I hadn’t picked

the lock on the back door,” Laine’s friend reminded her. “I didn’t get

nothin’ for my trouble.”

Laine looked thoughtfully at the bangle bracelet on her wrist,

then slid if off her arm and handed it over. “You can have this. I got

her diamond bracelet in my bag. It goes better with this necklace

anyway.”

“Hey, thanks.”

Laine fished around in her purse and pulled out a diamond

tennis bracelet. She held it up to her chest next to the diamond

necklace she wore.

The diamond necklace.

“That’s my necklace.” The two women stared at Salem.

“Who are you?” Laine narrowed her eyes.

“Salem. Eve and I were…close. I just gave her that necklace

last weekend.”

“Then I guess it ain’t yours anymore,” Laine said.

“She promised me something for it, and I never got it because…

of what happened. So I would like to have the necklace back, please.”

“I think you’re mistaken that this is the same necklace.”

“I had it custom made. There’s not another like it.” The pendant

consisted of two gold hearts entwined. Inside one heart was a

• 27 •

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diamond-encrusted S. In the other, an E. “It has our initials on it.

You had no right to take it.”

Eve’s sister narrowed her eyes. “Still queer, was she?” She

laughed. “Well, it works just fine for me and my boyfriend, Sam. You

snooze, you lose,” Laine said, dismissing her and turning toward the

door. “Let’s go find a good seat for the show,” she said to her friend.

Salem stepped in front of the door. “I want that necklace.”

She never saw it coming, but the slap was hard enough to rattle

her teeth and slam her head against the door. The women pushed her

out of the way and left before she could respond.

❖

“Shit, girl. What happened to you?” Alisha stared at the

handprint on Salem’s cheek. “I leave you in the bathroom for five

minutes and you get into a cat fight? This isn’t junior high, you

know.”

Salem couldn’t stop the tears of frustration. She was so angry,

yet so helpless to do anything about it. She choked out the story of

the necklace, beginning with her proposal to Eve and ending with

Laine’s slap.

“Aw, honey. Go ahead and cry. Nobody expects your makeup to

be perfect at a funeral.” Alisha wrapped an arm around her shoulder

and offered a small packet of tissues she pulled from the pocket of

her blazer. “This will be all over soon.”

They crowded into a pew filled with people Salem didn’t know.

Eve’s political cohorts, no doubt, drawn by the chance to step in

front of the local television cameras filming from the balcony and

every corner of the room.

She didn’t know what Jeffrey had promised Eve’s sister and

her friend, but they sat quietly tucked away in the balcony. When

she spotted them, Laine was watching her. Her blood boiled when

Laine smirked and fingered the diamond pendant.

Jeffrey had tightly choreographed the service, so they had to sit

through at least an hour of political eulogizing before he pulled out

his ace card.

• 28 •

Touch Me GenTly

He was tall, dark-haired, and handsome, one of Eve’s preferred

escorts, a hanger-on with political ambitions. What was his name?

Jason? No. It started with an M. Mike? Merlin? Mackey?

He stepped up to the pulpit, wiped at a non-existent tear, and

cleared his throat.

“I’m Mason Whitaker. I fell in love with Eve when we were

in law school, studying together over cold pizza and diet soda.” He

stared down at the pulpit as though collecting his emotions, then

cleared his throat again. “But Eve had greater things in mind than

marrying right out of school and starting a family. She asked me to

give her time, and I had to respect that.” He paused to blink rapidly

and hang his head again for a moment. He took a dramatic deep

breath.

“Careful, buddy. Your overacting is a bit obvious,” Alisha

muttered.

“What the hell is he talking about?” Salem whispered loudly.

She recalled Eve laughing about how dumb Mason was, thinking

his looks would be enough to get him elected. He was a minnow

stupidly wanting to swim with sharks, she said.

“Politics is a chess board of compromise, trading off small

things to win the big prizes. But Eve had conviction and loyalty.

She refused to concede even the small things that didn’t fit with her

high standards.”

Oh yeah. That’s why she lived a false life, stuffed away in the

closet crowded with lies of love and all the women she was fucking.

This guy was really pissing Salem off.

“We need that kind of leadership in our great state, so I

occupied myself building my law practice and waiting while Eve

laid the foundation of her political career. I can’t express how much

I regret being too busy to find time for more of our special dates.”

He played out another dramatic pause.

“They didn’t date.” Indignant, she forgot to whisper and several

people seated around them frowned at her.

Mason continued his eulogy.

“The doctors say she died of an undiagnosed heart defect. But

I think Eve sensed something was wrong. We spent last weekend at

• 29 •

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a romantic cabin in the mountains, talking about our ambitions and

what we wanted in life. She said, ‘Mason, if anything should ever

happen to me, I want you to run for my seat and finish what I’ve

started.’ ‘That’s ridiculous,’ I told her. ‘Nothing’s going to happen to

you.’ She begged me to promise, so I took a chance and said I would

if she’d marry me. She said yes.”

“Liar!” Salem sprang from her seat.

She was through compromising because she loved Eve. It had

been small things at first: pretending to be just a friend, dragging

along Rob and Jeffrey on ski weekends to keep up appearances that

they were two heterosexual couples. But somewhere along the way,

the lies chipped away at her self-worth. She had come so close to

selling her soul she was disgusted with herself, furious with Eve,

and irate that Jeffrey had trotted out this moron and was setting him

up to take Eve’s place in her campaign.

“Eve was at that cabin with me last weekend. That’s right. Eve

Sutherland was a lesbian. We’ve been lovers for the past four years.

It would have been a little hard for her to be making plans with this

idiot while she was naked in bed with me all weekend.”

She whirled toward the balcony and pointed up at Laine.

“And that’s my necklace that hick is wearing. She stole it out

of Eve’s jewelry box.”

• 30 •

Touch Me GenTly

chapTeR FouR

Knox pushed her cart along the aisles of the Piggly Wiggly

grocery, staring at the colorful array of boxes and cans.

She’d never had to shop for food before. A meal service had kept

her freezer stocked with gourmet dinner entrees she could heat in

the microwave. When she remembered to eat lunch, it was usually

a salad or sandwich from the Institute’s employee cafeteria. She

wasn’t much for snacking, and the only junk food she’d ever

eaten was pizza when the guys in the computer lab ordered it and

included her.

She stared at the bags of potato chips. How was a person

supposed to know which one to buy? She took one from the shelf

and read the list of ingredients. Did people really eat this stuff?

She put the chips back. Maybe she could survive on the rotisserie

chicken, sandwich fixings, fresh fruit, and bag of pre-packaged

salad in her cart.

When she rounded the corner, three women and their carts

stood mid-aisle, whispering together. They glanced nervously at her

and stopped talking. She pretended to study the ingredients on a box

of cereal. Although two of the carts were pointed in her direction,

the women turned them and hurriedly escaped.

Knox sighed. Even after all these years, the gossip about her

still thrived.

“Look at you, all grown up and gorgeous.”

Knox turned at the familiar gravelly voice and smiled for the

first time in what felt like forever. “Doc Evan. Hey.”

• 31 •

D. Jackson leiGh

Crow’s feet and smile lines creased his tanned face, and gray

streaked Dr. Evan Shepherd’s dark hair now, but the eyes that

twinkled under his bushy eyebrows were just as she remembered. It

was twenty years ago, but felt like yesterday that she was eight years

old and trailing after him to ask a million questions as he vetted her

father’s horses.

“I thought that was you at the cemetery, and when I saw a Jeep

with Maryland plates in the parking lot, I took a chance I’d find you

in here. If you’re grocery shopping, you must be planning to stay

more than a few days.”

“Actually, I’m not doing much shopping.” She shrugged. “I

don’t know how to cook and don’t have a clue what to buy.”

“Someone taking care of you up there then? Someone special?”

“A food service kept my kitchen stocked with precooked

meals.”

He looked disappointed. “I can’t believe, with your looks, a

crowd of young men isn’t trying to get in your front door.”

Knox frowned. “My house is in a gated community. They’d

have to have permission to get past the guard.”

Doc shook his head. “You need to look up from your computer

once in a while, girl.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “I’m not oblivious. Just not

interested.”

“Don’t get your dander up. You always were touchy and I’m

just being a meddling old pest.” He glanced down the aisle at a

woman who had pushed her cart near them and appeared to be

reading every word printed on a box of sugary cereal. “You didn’t

answer my question. You planning to hang around town a while? I’m

guessing you’re here to do something about your father’s horses. I

know Claudia isn’t interested in keeping them.”

“Actually, I’m making arrangements to move back. Mother

left yesterday to live in Florida with her sister. I plan to rebuild the

stables and send for my two horses.”

Doc turned toward the woman reading the cereal box. “Did you

get that, Margaret? Knox is here to stay. Claudia’s moved to Florida.

You can stop pretending to read that box without your glasses.

• 32 •

Touch Me GenTly

You’ve got your gossip, and I’m sure the rest of the hens are dying

to find out what you’ve overheard.”

The woman huffed at him and hurried away to find her friends.

He turned back to Knox and clasped her shoulder. “That’s

wonderful, honey, just wonderful. I sorely miss your dad, but you’re

a sight prettier than he was.”

Knox stared at the floor, forcing herself not to flinch. It was

rare that anyone touched her. Her unique ability and her intellect had

always separated her from everyone else. But this was Doc Evan,

she told herself. He’d never treated her as anything other than a

normal little girl.

“They’ve been following me since I came into the store.” She

shifted her feet. “Maybe it was a mistake to think I could come home.”

Doc grasped her chin and forced her eyes up to his. “It was not

a mistake. For every one of those gossiping old biddies, there’re

two others like me, who’re happy to have you back here. Don’t you

forget that.”

Knox doubted anyone but Doc Evan and her mother were glad

she was moving home, but she didn’t want to talk about it any more

and shrugged it off.

“All right then. Let’s find you something to eat that you don’t

have to cook. I’m an expert at that since Janie passed a few years

back.”“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” After losing the only two people she

was close to, she knew how lonely he must feel.

He waved off her sympathy. “’S okay. It was cancer. She was

in so much pain, we were both ready for her to go when it happened.

I’ve had some time to get used to it.” His gruff tone was dismissive,

but his eyes said he still missed his wife. He commandeered Knox’s

cart and headed toward the frozen-food section. “Let’s get you some

groceries, young lady. Then you can join me for lunch at the diner.”

❖

Wednesday’s blue-plate special was fried chicken, mashed

potatoes, and black-eyed peas. It’d been days since Knox had a hot

meal and she dug into the food with gusto.

• 33 •

D. Jackson leiGh

“Tell me what you’ve been doing up there in the big city,” Doc

said as he salted his food without tasting it. When Knox hesitated, he

put the saltshaker down and lowered his voice. “It’s not classified,

is it?”Knox shook her head. “I just don’t want to bore you to death.”

“It can’t be more boring than my usual lunch conversation with

Harley about how to cure his hogs’ intestinal parasites or with Earl

about his prostate troubles.”

She grimaced. She didn’t need that image in her mind while

she was eating lunch.

He chuckled. “I feel the same way. So, anything you have to

say has got to be better.”

“I write computer programs for virtual-reality simulators.”

“You mean like the things they use to train pilots?”

She nodded. “I’ve done a few of those, one for the military. But

since I finished medical school, I’ve been working on programs for

virtual triage, diagnosis, and surgery.”

“How does that work?”

She explained one program she’d written that allowed medical

students to practice heart-valve replacement on a virtual patient.

Doc sat back and scratched his chin. “Amazing.”

“Can I get y’all anything else?” The waitress refilled their

glasses with iced tea sweet enough to plunge a healthy person into

a diabetic coma. She looked to be in her late thirties, with friendly

eyes and a long blond braid that hung down her back. “Maybe a

couple more pieces of chicken?” Knox was caught with her mouth

full, but nodded an affirmative.

“Bring us some more drumsticks, if you please, Gina,” Doc

said.The diner had been hopping when they first arrived and Gina

had little time to do more than seat them in a back booth, get their

order, and serve them. But the crowd had thinned now and all her

customers were munching on their meals. So, after she set a plate

with one drumstick next to Doc and another with three next to Knox,

she propped a hand on one hip and openly checked Knox out.

• 34 •

Touch Me GenTly

“I’d hoped that one day you’d improve your lunch company,

but I’ve got to admit you’ve done a whole lot better than I would’ve

given you credit for.”

Doc frowned at the division of drumsticks, but made the

appropriate introductions. “This is Knox Bolander, Robert’s

daughter. Knox, this is Gina.”

Caught with her mouth full again, Knox smiled.

Gina cocked her head and smiled back. “Well, well, well. So

this is the famous Knox Bolander. That’s funny. You don’t look

like the devil incarnate. But then the preacher always said the devil

comes in many attractive disguises.”

“Gina—” Doc’s scowl held a stern warning.

Knox swallowed and wiped her mouth with her napkin, her taste

for fried chicken gone. “No, it’s okay, Doc Evan. I’m done here.”

She threw some money on the table and started to slide out of

the booth, but Gina shifted to block her from standing up. “Now

don’t go gettin’ all upset. I wasn’t saying nothin’ about you. I was

poking fun at the gossips that came in here for pie and coffee after

your daddy’s funeral. Here, let me take that empty plate.”

Knox shot Doc a look, but he was gnawing on his chicken leg,

apparently deciding to let the two of them sort this out. So she sat

back while Gina gathered the dishes.

“You haven’t even eaten your pie, hon. If you don’t like apple,

we’ve got homemade pecan. Would you rather have that? Maybe

with some vanilla ice cream on top and coffee to go with it?”

Knox nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“Not any of that decaf stuff,” Doc said.

Gina returned quickly with two mugs of coffee, a slice of pecan

pie à la mode, and a takeout box filled with drumsticks. “The pie’s

on the house, sugar. I’m sorry if you took my teasing wrong. Last

week, those gossips were saying my baby sister, Maxine, was the

devil incarnate. She’s the good-looking butch at Johnny’s garage.

Max has fixed every one of their cars and ‘serviced’ more than half

those hypocritical bitches, if you get my drift.”

Doc spewed coffee onto the remains of his pie and coughed

into his napkin until his face was red.

• 35 •

D. Jackson leiGh

“It’s true,” Gina said, helpfully pounding his back. “Anyway,

I’m just saying that Knox here is this week’s gossip. They’ll be on

to something else next week.”

“Um, thanks, I think.” Her earlier irritation eased, she had a

hard time not liking Gina’s open, affable personality.

Gina beamed at her. “Well, I’ll let y’all finish up. You don’t be

a stranger now. Tomorrow’s special is meatloaf and peach cobbler.

Mae’s peach cobbler isn’t something to miss.”

Knox stared as Gina headed over to a table full of men holding

up their coffee cups to signal they needed a refill.

“I swear. I never know what’s going to come out of that

woman’s mouth,” Doc said. “She’s good people, though.”

They sipped their coffee and Knox shoved the last of her pie

into her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully before she spoke in a low

voice.

“I don’t do it any more, you know.”

The doubt she read in Doc Evan’s expression reminded her that

he, too, had witnessed her visit to the cemetery.

“That was just a slip,” she said. “I’ve learned to control it so it

doesn’t happen…hasn’t happened in years. I told them I must have

grown out of it, that I can’t do it anymore.”

Doc shook his head and spoke softly so no one would overhear.

“I was wondering how you managed to get away from that Institute

to move back here. You must be the only person in the world who

can do what you do.”

Knox shrugged and pushed the crumbs of her pie around with

her fork. She wasn’t at liberty to tell him there was a handful of

others. It was a highly classified government secret.

“What you have is a gift, Knox. You shouldn’t have to hide it.”

He was wrong about that. As a child, she didn’t know how to

focus her ability, which only surfaced when her emotions peaked.

It scared normal people and fascinated the scientists at the Institute.

“God only knows what else that brain of yours could do if you

tried. You could accomplish a lot of good in the world, girl.”

“I’m doing that now, Doc Evan, in the computer lab. One of the

programs I’m working on will let a cardiac doctor in a lab at Johns

• 36 •

Touch Me GenTly

Hopkins actually operate on a patient on the other side of the world

via satellite, using virtual technology and surgical robotics. And

I’m privately working on a program that will eliminate the need for

those animal labs everybody hates by providing virtual humans for

drug testing.” She sat back and sighed. “I don’t want to be different

anymore. I just want to work at my computer and ride my horses.”

Doc pursed his lips thoughtfully, then nodded. “You do what

you have to, honey, and to hell with anybody who tells you different.”

His expression was sympathetic. “You’ve already carried a burden

no child should have to bear. That stupid fire stole your childhood

and your father’s soul. I’ll always believe the guilt led to his early

death. He could never forgive himself for letting the gossips pin the

blame on you.”

“I didn’t come back to dispute those rumors, Doc. I don’t care

what they say about me. Swear you won’t say anything. Swear to

it.” His eyes were sad. “Your father took that secret to his grave.

I’ll do the same if that’s what you want, but I wish you’d reconsider.

Nobody’s left for you to protect, Knox. It happened twenty years

ago when you were a minor. They can’t possibly charge you with

insurance fraud.”

“Mr. Lacey knew. He could be charged with conspiracy for

letting a false claim go through.”

“Franklin Lacey is dead, too. He died about a month ago.”

• 37 •

• 38 •

Touch Me GenTly

chapTeR Five

Salem drove her red BMW slowly up the short driveway to

the modest brick home with a roof pitched steep for design

rather than function, since it never snowed in South Georgia. Neat

beds of azaleas lined the foundation on either side of the three steps

leading to an arched front door. She continued under a drive-through

carport on the side of the house and parked her car just short of the

freestanding garage in the backyard.

The trip from Atlanta had been more than four hundred

miles through endless small towns and speed traps to reach the

most southwestern corner of the state where her father, Franklin

Lacey, had lived for the past seventeen years. She was exhausted

and desperately wanted to shower after a painfully full bladder

forced her to take care of business in one of the nastiest gas-station

restrooms she’d ever imagined. She should have just pulled off the

side of the road and used the woods. Even a case of poison ivy on

the tush would be preferable to what she might have been exposed

to in that gas station.

She got out of the car and stretched before fishing the house keys

from her pocket and trying them in the back door. The lock turned

easily and the door swung open to reveal June Cleaver’s kitchen. The

cheery yellow room had ruffled curtains in the windows. The sink,

cabinets, and appliances lined two walls, and a 1950s-style Formica-

topped table sat in the center of the room. The appliances were old,

but well maintained. Even better, the smell of oatmeal-raisin cookies

permeated the air and caused Salem’s stomach to growl.

• 39 •

D. Jackson leiGh

She picked up a note someone had left on the table. Cookies

were in the oven, the note said, and hopefully still warm, depending

on what time she arrived. Fresh bread and cereal were in the pantry,

milk, sandwich makings, and a pitcher of sweet tea in the fridge if she

was hungry. It was signed, “Welcome to your new home, Lucille.”

Who the hell was Lucille and how did she have a key to the

house? Maybe it was the wife or secretary of the lawyer who had

been executor of her father’s will. Didn’t really matter. Salem was

starving and too tired to go out and forage for food. At least she felt

like eating. It had been weeks since she’d had an appetite.

She nibbled a cookie and hummed with pleasure before

cramming the rest into her mouth. She was reaching for another

when a loud meow nearly made her jump out of her skin. A scrawny

kitten was climbing up the screen door and yowling up a storm at

the smell of food.

“Don’t feed strays or you’ll never get rid of them,” her mother

had always said.

So she went outside and pulled him down. “Let go, ya little

bugger. I’m not going to feed you.” She walked to the edge of the

yard and set him there. “Go back to wherever you came from. Don’t

make me take you to the pound. That’s where they put little kittens

in the gas chamber.”

She hurried back to her car, grabbed her luggage, and sprinted

into the house, closing the door solidly behind her to keep the

tantalizing food smells in and the dirty little stray out.

The décor of the living room was more masculine than the

kitchen. No ruffled curtains in here. But the leather sofa and recliner

looked fairly new, the small fireplace had been updated with gas

logs, and a fifty-four-inch flat-screen television dominated one wall.

Her dad had still been the football fan she remembered. College

and NFL memorabilia hung on the walls and sat in various places

around the room.

The house had only two bedrooms, and one had been converted

into an office. She was pleased to see the bathroom off the hallway

had been updated, but the master bedroom was the real surprise.

• 40 •

Touch Me GenTly

On the bedside table sat a picture of her in her Emory

University cap and gown. A family photograph taken in the North

Georgia mountains sat on the massive cherry dresser. She was about

ten years old and held onto a canoe paddle as she stood in front of

her parents. Her dad’s arm was draped over her mother’s shoulders.

Mom was laughing, while Dad and Salem wore huge grins.

At the center of the dresser was a misshapen ashtray filled with

coins. She had made it in the third grade and given it to her father.

Finally, there was a framed picture of her parents’ wedding day with

Mom and Dad staring lovingly into each other’s eyes.

She frowned.

It was a shrine to the family he had wanted them to be, she

decided. The loving, adoring wife and the obligatory child to prove

he was man enough to reproduce.

❖

Franklin Lacey had been a conservative Republican insurance

salesman and a devout Southern Baptist. Sylvia Devereaux was a

liberal Democrat and a free spirit. She also was the director and

choreographer of an Atlanta dance troupe.

Salem always thought their differences had attracted them to

each other. He was drawn to her mother’s wildness and she to his

stability. They were a happy family.

Franklin went to church on Sunday mornings while Sylvia slept

late. Saturday-night performances usually kept her at the theater

into the wee hours, and she often had a Sunday-afternoon matinee.

Salem went to church with her father as a small child, but her

mother made sure she was exposed to other religions and permitted

to make her own choice when she reached her teens.

By then, her friend Amy had pointed out that Southern Baptists

believed women weren’t capable of having a leadership role over

men and should be submissive to their husbands. That didn’t sit well

because Salem held a very low regard for boys, whom she found

generally stupid and juvenile. The ones who did seem to have a

brain were just geeky.

• 41 •

D. Jackson leiGh

So she rejected her father’s church and joined her mother’s

routine of sleeping in on Sunday mornings. Unhappy, Franklin

urged her to at least investigate other Protestant denominations and

even offered to go with her to visit some churches. He would keep

an open mind if she would, he said.

But Salem’s mind was opening to much more interesting

things, namely Kath O’Malley, captain of the girl’s basketball team.

She could stare into Kath’s blue eyes all day. They went to summer

camp together, and Salem took ice hockey rather than figure-skating

lessons because Kath did.

They shared everything—their lunches at school, music,

sports, and even clothes. Well, shirts and jackets. Kath had grown

unusually tall for her age so they couldn’t share jeans. They were

like Siamese twins from the time they were twelve until they were

fifteen and discovered they also liked to share kisses.

It was the beginning of Salem’s discovery that she was attracted

to women.

It was the end of her happy family.

They hadn’t done anything but kiss, but they were heavily into

it when Dad had knocked quickly on the bedroom door and stuck his

head in to see if they wanted to go for ice cream.

He went ballistic.

Mom was at work, so they were at his mercy. He called Kath’s

parents and ratted her out when they came to pick her up. Salem

locked herself in her room and cried for hours.

When her mother came home, her parents had a huge fight.

Franklin ranted that Sylvia’s lack of religious conviction had

poisoned their daughter. Sylvia accused Franklin of damaging

Salem’s adolescent psyche by condemning her sexual exploration.

Franklin slammed out of the house, and Sylvia tried to call

Kath’s parents and apologize for her husband’s behavior. But the

O’Malleys were Catholic, and they informed her that Kath would

be attending a new school on Monday morning, a school where the

nuns could correct Salem’s misguided influence on their daughter.

Salem would never see Kath again. Mom held her as she

sobbed and whispered promises that when things seem darkest, a

dawn always follows.

• 42 •

Touch Me GenTly

That dawn didn’t come.

Sylvia slept in Salem’s room every night that week, holding

and consoling her in her dark hours. She was Salem’s advocate,

trying to reason with Franklin. At the same time, she begged Salem

to understand that adults make mistakes, too, and her father would

eventually realize his error and be very sorry for what he’d done.

But Sylvia misjudged Franklin’s convictions.

On Saturday morning, he had roused them both to have

breakfast at their favorite pancake restaurant.

“See?” Mom had said. “He’s going to apologize, and I want

you to try to understand that he loves you and forgive him.”

But after they had breakfast, Franklin shared his news, which

went way beyond anything they had ever imagined.

He announced that he had resigned his job and used their joint

savings to buy an insurance business in the small South Georgia

town where he grew up. He was moving his little family to a

“healthier” environment.

Sylvia didn’t say a word. She took Salem’s hand and they went

to sit in the car until he paid the bill and came out to drive them

home.

“You’ll see that it’s for the best,” he told them. “You can open

a dance studio and teach classes,” he said to Sylvia.

When they arrived home, Sylvia told Franklin he had two hours

to get his clothes and get out. If he didn’t, she’d be on the phone to

the police. More than half of the money in their savings account

came from her inheritance and the other from both their paychecks.

He had no right to spend it without her permission.

He could go to the Georgia swamps if he wanted, but neither

she nor Salem would be going with him.

That was the last time Salem saw her father.

Later that night, she found her mother holding their wedding

picture to her chest and quietly crying. Sometimes love just wasn’t

enough, Mom told her.

Sylvia never remarried.

❖

• 43 •

D. Jackson leiGh

Salem pushed away her memories and wondered what Franklin

had told his friends in Oakboro about her and her mother.

Did he know she had grown up to have her mother’s liberal

views and kind heart, but his knack for business? He must have

known that she, for some irrational reason, had followed him into

the insurance business. Why else would he have left his business to

her? Despite her feelings toward him, Salem and her mother both

wept when they were notified he had died on the operating table

while having a heart-valve replacement.

Sylvia had cried again when Salem sold her house and stored

her furniture to leave Atlanta, but she didn’t try to stop her. Perhaps

seeing where her dad grew up would help her understand him better

and feel less rejected, her mom had said.

Maybe if she’d understood a lot of things, she wouldn’t have

impulsively outed her lover on local television. That poor decision

had got her fired and sent her so-called friends running for cover.

Well, everybody but Alisha.

Damn it, she didn’t want to be here, but she didn’t really have

a choice. Hopefully she’d find his business in good enough shape to

sell so she could start fresh somewhere else. She couldn’t go back to

Atlanta, but maybe to a city on the West Coast.

• 44 •

Touch Me GenTly

chapTeR six

Oh, my Lord, you’re even prettier than your pictures.”

Salem blinked. And blinked again. The only things

bigger than the petite woman’s teased-up hair were her oversized

breasts.

First impressions are everything in the business world. What

was her father thinking when he hired a red-haired Dolly Parton to

sit at the front desk? Although an introduction appeared unnecessary,

Salem intended to make it clear she expected a professional

atmosphere in her newly acquired business. She stuck out her hand.

“I’m Salem Lacey.”

The woman hesitated as she came around her desk, keen hazel

eyes evaluating her. Instead of the hug Salem feared, two small,

very soft…uh, very strong…hands clasped hers.

“Of course, you are. Salem’s such a pretty name. I’m June

Hartford, your secretary, and I’m so sorry about your daddy, sweetie.

He was well loved in this town.”

“Thank you.” Salem didn’t want to talk about her father. Her

feelings about him were all mixed up, fond childhood memories

battling with the bitterness of his rejection of her sexual orientation,

then the surprise of her inheritance.

June gave Salem’s hand a squeeze before she released it. “I

understand you got into town just yesterday afternoon. The office

isn’t going anywhere. It’ll still be here if you want to take a few days

to get settled in.”

• 45 •

D. Jackson leiGh

“I’d rather get right to work. If you’ll just show me his office, I

need to go through his files and get a feel for the business.”

June accepted her stiff answer without blinking an eye. “Then

let me give you the nickel tour. You can leave your briefcase here

until we come back inside.”

Salem raised an eyebrow, but June ignored it and led her back

out to the front of the building where they turned to face it.

The single-story, old-style building was common in small

Southern towns. Thick, square columns held up a six-foot-deep,

wrap-around porch, and large double doors opened to a wide

hallway that ran down the center of the building and ended with

French doors that led to a small courtyard and parking area at the

back. The “dogtrot” floor plan had been remodeled to house Lacey

Insurance on one side of the hallway and an accountant’s offices on

the other.

“The building is old, but solid. I’m telling you this because you

own it. You lease the other side to another business. If their toilet

stops up or their air conditioner quits, they’ll call you. Of course,

your daddy left that to me to handle. I don’t mind it, so if you want

to continue that way, just let me know. I’ve kinda gotten used to the

kickback I get from the AC man.”

Salem narrowed her eyes and June laughed, grabbing her hand

and squeezing it again. “I’m joking. So serious, just like your daddy.

You need to lighten up a little, honey.”

Salem just nodded. She wanted to get a feel for things before

she started making changes. One of the first things she would stop,

however, was June’s use of endearments when speaking to her and

the familiar way she touched her, invading her personal space. It

wasn’t very professional.

They went back inside and she took a moment to appreciate

the office’s décor as she retrieved her briefcase. Gleaming white

baseboards and elaborate crown molding framed the rich colors

of the painted plaster walls. The oak flooring in the hallway was

beautiful, but Salem was glad for the loose-weave Berber carpet that

cut down on noise in the office.

June smiled when she noticed her scanning the room.

• 46 •

Touch Me GenTly

“My niece is an interior decorator in Savannah. When she

graduated from college and started up her own business, Franklin

hired her to remodel these offices so she’d have something to show

off to prospective clients. That was fifteen years ago. She has several

designers working under her now to keep up with all the business she

gets, but she updates this office personally every three or four years.”

That was one expense Salem could eliminate. She certainly

could pick out fresh paint colors when needed.

They headed down a narrow hallway and June waved her hand

toward an office on the right.

“That’s Lamar’s office. It’s such a mess, I can’t stand to look

at it. I offered to organize everything for him, but he won’t let me

touch his files.” Before she closed the open door, Salem glimpsed a

desk and cabinets piled high with a tangle of papers and files.

“Is he out at an appointment?”

“More like out at the golf course. That’s where he claims he

does his best business. Lamar mostly handles commercial accounts.

Franklin preferred working with personal insurance like vehicle,

life, homeowner, and mortgage policies. Your daddy was a sweet,

sweet man, but I always thought he needed to pay better attention to

what Lamar was doing. I told him as much. ‘Don’t worry about it,’

he said.” June gave Salem a pointed look. “I think somebody should

worry about it, though.”

Salem nodded absently. Her mind was already past what June

was saying and taking in the huge office that was her father’s. Her

office now. The hunter-green walls and dark-leather furniture were a

bit masculine for her taste, but the beautiful cherry desk and credenza

were definite keepers. She wouldn’t worry about redecorating just

yet. If she decided to unload the business rather than run it, she

might end up selling to a man who would like the room’s masculine

tone. She put her briefcase next to the desk and turned to the file

cabinets.

“I guess I’ll get started with some of these files so I can pull

together an overview of what the office handles.”

June picked up a folder from the desk and handed it to her.

“I’ve already prepared you an overview. It tells how many and what

• 47 •

D. Jackson leiGh

types of policies we maintain and which insurers we represent, along

with a sheet of primary contacts. This second one holds financial

statements for the past five years and quarterly summaries for the

past two. Just let me know if you’d like to see any individual files.

I’ll be happy to pull them for you.”

Surprised, Salem flipped through the pages. A quick glance

told her this woman was more than big hair and breasts. “Thank

you, that’s very efficient.”

June turned to go back to the front office, but paused at the

doorway.

“Franklin wasn’t one to tell other people’s business. But in a

weak moment, he did say once that you had some trust issues, and

he felt responsible for that.”

Salem frowned. “I haven’t seen or talked to my father since I

was fifteen. I don’t know how he could know anything about what

kind of person I am.”

“I’m not getting in your business, hon. I just want you to

know I’m one of the good guys. You can’t go through life without

somebody watching your back, and you can trust me to do just that.

But you’ll figure that out yourself soon enough.” June didn’t wait

for a response. “You’ll find a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen and a

mug with your name on it. Creamer’s in the fridge,” she called over

her shoulder as she headed back to the front office.

Salem had barely sat down with her coffee, poured into a mug

that literally had her name embossed on it in gold letters, and opened

the first folder when the phone on the desk buzzed.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, hon, to bother you with calls when you’re just

getting settled in, but I’ve got Knox Bolander on line one. Her

daddy died recently, too, and she’s taking over his assets. She wants

to meet with you, I’m sure to talk about his insurance policies.”

“I’ll take the call. Can you get his information for me?”

“I figured she’d be calling soon enough, so I already pulled it.

It’s in your inbox.”

“Thanks.”

• 48 •

Touch Me GenTly

She punched the button to switch lines. “Ms. Bolander? This is

Salem Lacey. How can I help you?”

She wasn’t prepared for the low, silky voice that filled her ear.

“I need to talk with someone about updating the insurance

policies on my residence.”

“I’d be happy to do that. I apologize, but I haven’t had time to

review your file. If you’d like to make an appointment, I’ll be better

prepared to talk with you then.”

“Actually, I think I need to have totally new policies written.

I’m building a new stable and converting a portion of the residence

to house a business venture. Could we meet here so I can show you?”

Salem brightened at the prospect of writing a commercial

policy from scratch, her specialty and much more interesting than

insuring cars and single-family homes. She felt on solid, familiar

ground for the first time since she’d walked into that awful scene in

Eve’s bedroom.

“As a matter of fact, I can be there within the hour if that’s

convenient.”

“That’d be great. If you’ve got a pen handy, I’ll give you

directions.”

“No need. I have your father’s address. My car has a GPS.”

“Well…”

“I’m looking forward to meeting you. See you soon.”

Salem took a few minutes to review the Bolander file. She

whistled to herself. The current policy insured a huge house and

several outbuildings that included a modest barn. Ms. Bolander had

said she was adding a new stable and a commercial business to the

property.

And the Bolander estate was just one account. The financial

statements showed a healthy six-figure income, but there was no

telling how much money she could make if she could write more

commercial policies in addition to the personal policies her father

leaned toward. She hadn’t realized how lucrative a small-town

insurance office could be. Maybe she should reconsider selling the

business. That is, if she could tolerate living here. She could spend

weekends in New Orleans and Tampa. That wouldn’t be so bad.

• 49 •

D. Jackson leiGh

She threw the file into her briefcase and headed out through the

front office.

“I’m going to the Bolander place. I’m not sure how long I’ll

be, June.”

“It’s out past the old cotton mill. If you wait a sec, I’ll write

down some directions for you.”

Salem was sure “turn left at the brown cow and then right at the

old Johnson place” wouldn’t be helpful since she didn’t know any of

the local landmarks. Surely these people must have heard of a GPS.

Even Walmart sold them, for God’s sake.

“Don’t need directions, thanks. I’ve got the address and a GPS.”

June opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again.

She grabbed one of the office business cards and wrote something

on the back before handing it to Salem.

“The office number’s on the front. My cell number’s on the

back because I’ll be going out to lunch in about an hour. Call me if

you get lost.”

“I won’t get lost. My GPS can get me anywhere.”

• 50 •

Touch Me GenTly

chapTeR seven

Where in God’s name am I?”

The blacktop road Salem had turned down became

gravel, then something like a dirt path a few miles back. Now,

the dirt path disappeared into the black water of a Georgia swamp

several feet from the front tires of her BMW.

Maybe some type of magnetic force around here was freaking

out her GPS.

She surveyed the gnarled trees and a web of thorny undergrowth

that surrounded her on both sides. There wasn’t anywhere to turn

her car around. Fine. She’d just have to back all the way out. She

shifted into reverse, hit the gas, then grimaced at the sound of her

tires spinning in mud. Shit.

No worries. She punched the GPS button. After several years

of paying for their monthly service, she’d finally get to use this part

of it.“How can we help you, Ms. Lacey?” The male voice was

friendly and confident.

“My car is stuck in mud and I need a tow truck to pull it out.”

“No problem, Ms. Lacey. One moment while I locate your

position and call a tow for you.”

The minutes that ticked by seemed like hours. Finally, the voice

returned. This time, the guy didn’t sound so confident.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Ms. Lacey, but we’re having

trouble determining your location. Our satellite shows you in the

middle of a swamp.”

• 51 •

D. Jackson leiGh

“I think I am on the edge of a swamp, but your GPS led me

here.”“There must be some malfunction. We don’t show any roads

leading to your current location. We’ve switched to visual, but the

woods are so dense we can’t spot your car or see any road leading to

where our tracker says you’re located.”

“Great. So what am I supposed to do?”

“We’ll contact the local law-enforcement agency to see if they

can help us figure out where you are. That may take ten to twenty

minutes, so you might want to switch your car off to save your

gasoline and battery. It doesn’t have to be running for us to find you.

Please stand by.”

Great. Salem sighed. Surprised she still had a signal on her cell

phone, she dialed the number on the file.

“Hello?”

Damn, that woman’s voice gave her shivers. She mentally chast-

ised herself. Hadn’t she learned anything from the whole Eve and

stepping-out-of-the-closet fiasco? No women. She’d probably get

tarred and feathered around here if it leaked out that she was a lesbian.

“Ms. Bolander? This is Salem Lacey. I hope it’s not a problem,

but I’ll be a little later than I originally told you. If you need to

reschedule, I can do that.”

There was a long silence.

“Is there a problem about insuring my property?”

“No! Absolutely not.” What an odd response. Why would she

think that? “It’s just, well, my GPS seems to be malfunctioning and

I got lost. Then I got stuck in the mud and I’m waiting for BMW

Assist to figure out where I am so they can send a tow truck to pull

me out. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

“Oh.”

During another long silence, Salem could hear the clicking of

someone typing. “Do you need to reschedule?”

“No. I’m free for the rest of the day.” More clicking. “You said

your car is stuck. Are you on a dirt road?”

“Um, yes. It was paved, then it was more like gravel, then dirt.

I hit a couple of dead ends, and I think I got turned around when I

• 52 •

Touch Me GenTly

tried to backtrack. The road I’m on now goes right into a swamp or

pond or something.”

More clicking.

“Ah. I’m sure someone will be there soon. If it’s all right with

you, I’ll be happy to meet whenever you can get here today. I don’t

want to proceed with the stable construction without some advice on

several things that could affect my insurance rates.”

“If you don’t mind the delay, I’ll be there as soon as they get

me out of the mud.”

“Good. I’ll see you later, then.”

Salem ended the call, thinking over the strange conversation,

then glanced at the time on her phone. She wasn’t good at waiting

and it was hot without the air conditioner. She’d just have to roll

down the windows and risk getting malaria from whatever swamp

mosquitoes were lurking about. She turned the key in the ignition so

she could roll the windows down, and the nav system powered on.

“Satellite signal has been lost,” the robotic female voice

recited. “Temporary loss of signal can result from certain weather

conditions, geographic impediments such as tunnels, or atmospheric

anomalies such as sunspots.”

“Shit, shit, shit!”

She thought about calling June, but that wouldn’t help if she

couldn’t tell her where she was. She turned the car off and climbed

out. She’d have to retrace her tire tracks to the paved road and find

some landmark or someone to tell her where she was. It couldn’t be

more than a mile.

Forty-five sweltering, sweaty minutes later, she finally saw a

house through the woods. Yes! She hurried up to the porch and her

heart sank. It obviously had been empty for some time, even though

fresh beer cans littered the yard and porch. Even worse, she didn’t

remember driving past it earlier. Not only was she truly lost, but

also separated from her car. Even if the satellite kicked back in, they

would find her car but not her.

She sat on the filthy steps of the house and pulled off her heels

to massage her aching feet. She felt like crying. Coming to Oakboro

was a mistake. She didn’t belong here. She’d traded one closet for

• 53 •

D. Jackson leiGh

another, and this one had mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds.

When she got out of this mess, she’d find out what she needed to do

to sell the business. Ha. If she got out of this mess.

It was only about one o’clock, but what if nobody found her

before dark? Would she wander too close to the swamp and end up

gator bait?

Oh, my God. What was that noise? Footsteps? She glimpsed

something through the trees, moving along the road. Definitely

bigger than a human. Could it be a bear?

She stood and turned toward the house. The front windows

were missing, so hiding inside wouldn’t help. Maybe she could find

an interior room to lock herself in. She turned back to the road, fully

expecting to see a bear licking its lips and running straight toward

her. Then she heaved a sigh of relief.

A large black horse high-stepped across the clearing, a tall,

dark-haired woman astride him. If she’d been wearing a black cape

and mask instead of faded jeans and a polo shirt, Salem would have

thought she was trapped in a Zorro movie.

They stared at each other.

“Ms. Lacey?”

“Ye-yes.” This beautiful woman knew her? That voice sounded

familiar.

The woman pulled a cell phone from her pocket. “I found her.

The old Roberts house where the high-school kids hang out to drink

beer. Yeah.”

She slid the phone into her pocket and shifted in the saddle.

The horse neatly sidestepped closer to the porch where Salem stood,

mesmerized by the woman’s unusual silver-gray eyes.

“I…thought you were a bear.” Crap. Being lost and sweating

like a field hand was pathetic enough, but she also sounded like a

city moron.

Her rescuer stared, but didn’t comment. God. Was this woman

just going to sit there while Salem babbled every stupid thing that

came to mind? She took a deep breath and tried again.

• 54 •

Touch Me GenTly

“I was praying they would send out the cavalry, but I didn’t

mean it literally. Now I really feel like a damsel in distress. If you

were wearing a cape and a mask, I’d swear the heat was making me

hallucinate.” Her attempt at a joke came out sounding sarcastic.

The woman blushed and Salem realized she was shy, not aloof.

So she smiled and softened her tone.

“Is someone coming to get me or do I get to ride out of here on

your handsome horse with you?”

“Max is on the way. She found your car.”

As if on cue, Salem heard a truck shift gears as it turned down

the path leading to the old house and pulled into the yard. A striking

young butch jumped down from the driver’s seat and grinned up at

them. “I’ll leave you in Max’s hands,” the woman said, turning her

horse away from the porch.

“Wait.”

The woman stopped and turned back to Salem.

“I don’t know who to write the thank-you note to.”

That drew a shy smile.

“Knox Bolander, Ms. Lacey,” she said in that husky Demi

Moore voice. “Max will show you to the house after she pulls your

car free. I’ll have something cool for you to drink when you arrive.”

With that, she wheeled the horse around and was gone.

❖

“Yep, this is one sweet ride,” Max said. “I don’t get much chance

to work on these babies. Cadillacs and Mercedes are the choice of the

Country Club set down here.” She pulled a lever to lower a fork-like

apparatus and slide it under the back of the car. “But the Beemer,

that’s a fine piece of German machinery.” She secured the car to the

tow truck and pulled another lever to raise the back wheels from the

mud. “I’ll tow her out to the paved road where you’ll have room to

turn her around. You can ride in the truck with me.”

Salem gingerly climbed into the tall truck, surprised to find it

remarkably neat and clean. Max cranked up the air conditioner and

offered her a box of moist sanitary wipes.

• 55 •

D. Jackson leiGh

“Run a couple of those over your skin and you’ll feel a lot

fresher after being in that heat. Johnny says they make me smell like

a girly-girl. I tell him that I don’t care ’cause the mosquitoes hate

that smell and I hate mosquitoes.”

While Ms. Bolander had been a woman of few words, Max was

a chatterbox.

Salem swiped the tissue-thin wipe over her face and neck. It

did feel good. She shrugged out of her suit jacket to wipe down

every inch of skin her silk camisole didn’t cover.

“Anyway, when a pretty customer comes by and an unexpected

opportunity presents itself, I don’t want to be caught smelling like

a sharecropper.”

Salem looked up in time to catch Max quickly shift her gaze

to the road in front of them. She smiled when Max’s ears turned a

bright red at being caught ogling.

The young woman was tall and lean, with the ropy muscles

of a basketball player. Her short, spiked, dark hair and angular

features were an attractive combination, but she couldn’t be older

than twenty or twenty-one. Even if Salem had been interested, that

was too young for a thirty-two-year-old insurance agent and a sure

way to rev up the town gossips. She slipped her jacket back on and

Max resumed her chatter.

“I know you felt really lost, but you actually weren’t far from

where you were goin’ in the first place. You just turned one road

too soon. This is all Bolander land. It’s a regular maze of dirt roads.

They used ’em to move farm machinery around, but the Bolanders

don’t farm any more. The old man liked to ride those fancy horses

up and down these trails. But then he started having heart trouble.

He passed on a couple months back, ’bout the time your daddy did.”

Max was a wealth of information.

“His daughter, the one on the horse just now, hasn’t lived here

in a long time. There’re lots of stories about why, but her parents

sent her away to school when she was just a kid. Dr. Shepherd says

she’s some kind of genius or something. Now that the old man’s

gone, she’s come back to stay. There’re a million more rumors about

why she’s back. I figure that’s her business.”

• 56 •

Touch Me GenTly

They came to a stop and Salem handed Max a twenty-dollar

bill. “I have Triple A, so they’ll pick up the rest of the towing fee.”

After the tow truck freed her car, she pulled another twenty

from her pocket. “This is for you, for being so sweet and driving out

in the middle of nowhere to find me.”

Max grinned. “I’d rather you let me take you to dinner

sometime.”

Salem tucked the twenty into Max’s pocket. “You’re very

charming, but you’ll have to settle for the twenty.” She’d only been

here two days and wasn’t about to jump out of the closet in this

small town.

“If you won’t let me tune you up, at least let me get my hands

on that car next time she needs servicing.”

Salem laughed at Max’s boldness. “I’m not sure I’m sticking

around long, but if I do, she’s all yours.”

She was climbing into her car when Max pointed down the road

and yelled after her. “First road on the left goes up to the Bolander

house.”

• 57 •

• 58 •

Touch Me GenTly

chapTeR eiGhT

Knox paced nervously.

They could sit on the veranda, but Ms. Lacey had

probably already had enough of the heat today. The air-conditioned

library was a better choice.

She looked around the room, her eyes settling on the tray

holding two tall glasses and a pitcher of lemonade. She’d considered

offering a glass of wine or a cold beer, but alcohol wasn’t advisable

for someone who’d already been out in the heat too long. What if she

wanted sweet tea instead? Knox knew how to put a tea bag in a cup

of hot water, but she had no idea how many tea bags and how much

sugar were required for a full pitcher. She should have checked the

Internet to find out. She wished she had some little sandwiches or

fancy cookies like her mother used to put on a silver tray when rare

visitors came to call.

She needed to get a grip on herself. She wasn’t a pubescent

teen. Those years had been confusing and stressful for Knox. Her

newly awakened libido and mood swings made shielding and

maintaining control especially hard. She was relieved when she

realized that her biology leaned toward an attraction to women. In

her field, her colleagues were almost always men, whose presence

had no effect on her. That was helpful, but the Institute also hired a

Zen master, who taught her how to refocus her thoughts and dampen

her more volatile emotions. Knox became so good at it, she hadn’t

had to consciously clamp down on her thoughts in years.

• 59 •

D. Jackson leiGh

That was, until she found Salem Lacey standing on the porch of

that dilapidated house. Knox wasn’t comfortable touching people,

but she immediately wanted to stroke the hair that draped along

Salem’s shoulders like spun silk. And when those startling green

eyes turned on her, they stirred something inside her. Knox could

barely carry on a conversation with the woman because she was

frantically throwing up mental shields. God, she probably came off

like a tongue-tied dork.

She sat on the leather couch, closed her eyes, and began the

breathing exercises that allowed her to center herself and calm the

roiling sea of her emotions. Twenty minutes later, when the soft

feminine voice of the house security system alerted her that a vehicle

was approaching, she was sufficiently calm and collected.

❖

The massive three-story house made Salem feel like she’d

driven from the Zorro movie set right into Gone with the Wind.

She’d barely climbed out of her muddy car when Knox opened the

front door and stepped out.

“Hello, again, Ms. Bolander.” Salem juggled her briefcase and

car keys, but before she could extend her hand in greeting, Knox

stepped to the side and gestured.

“Please come in. We can sit in the library while you recover

from your adventure.”

“Thank you. It was more of an ordeal than an adventure. I

really could use that cold drink you promised earlier.”

That drew another small smile from her host, and Salem

wondered briefly what it would be like to see a full-out grin light up

her beautiful face. She mentally scolded herself. This is a business

meeting, not a date.

She sank gratefully onto the plush, butter-soft leather sofa

while Knox sat on the edge of a matching chair across from her. She

looked pensive, as though searching for a start to their conversation.

Salem waited. After all, Knox had requested the appointment.

• 60 •

Touch Me GenTly

“I hope the mud didn’t damage your car,” she finally said in

that husky voice. She began pouring two tall glasses of what Salem

judged to be lemonade from the fruit suspended among the ice cubes.

“It seems to be fine, but I’ll take it to the garage later and have

Max check it out. She seems competent.”

Knox stopped her pouring for a minute and frowned. Salem

watched as something unreadable flickered across her face, and

those silver-gray eyes turned the color of dark storm clouds.

“Yes, according to rumor a lot of her customers find her very…

capable.”

Salem chuckled. Having spent at least five years in a closeted

environment, her gaydar was finely tuned and pinging insistently

over Knox Bolander. The insinuation about Max was the first step in

the dance of innuendo to feel each other out. “She did offer ‘special’

attention, but I made it clear only my car was in need of servicing.”

Knox looked both relieved and uncomfortable. Bingo. One

check in the “she speaks lesbian” column.

“I don’t really know her. Her sister works at the diner and

recommended her.” Knox’s throat and cheeks flushed slightly, her

gaze shifting nervously around the room.

Was she trying to let Salem know she hadn’t been one of Max’s

customers? The subject definitely had made Knox uneasy, so Salem

decided to give her a break.

“Anyway, I felt like I was lost in the swamp for hours. I’m

embarrassed that I apparently was only minutes from your house the

entire time. Thank you for finding and rescuing me.”

Knox set a glass in front of Salem and left the other on the tray.

“It wasn’t hard. I’ve been away for a number of years, but the

property hasn’t changed much since my great-grandfather farmed it.”

“How did you know I was on your property?”

“You said you had satellite GPS, so I hacked into it. It may

have looked like swamp to them, but I could tell exactly where you

were.”

“Good Lord, I had no idea it was that easy to break in to. If you

could do it that quickly, what would stop some stalker from tracking

me?”

• 61 •

D. Jackson leiGh

“I wouldn’t worry about it. That company has a very good

firewall to protect its clients.”

“It didn’t take you long to get past it. Do you work for BMW?”

Salem narrowed her eyes in an exaggerated expression of suspicion.

“Or are you some kind of secret government operative?”

Knox laughed, finally appearing to relax. “Hardly. More like a

super computer geek.”

Salem took a big gulp of her lemonade and nearly choked as

she tried to swallow. The tartness of the lemons made her mouth

and throat pucker. She fell into a fit of coughing and Knox sprang

to her feet.

“Are you okay? Did you swallow wrong?”

Salem struggled to clear her throat. Her voice came out in a

wheeze.

“I just…it’s a little…I was expecting…something sweeter.”

“Sweeter?” Knox grabbed her glass and took a cautious

mouthful, then made a comical face. “Holy shit. Was I supposed

to put sugar in it?” She looked horrified at her blunder, but grinned

sheepishly when Salem chuckled.

Her instincts were right on the money again. Knox was

gorgeous when she let a genuine smile light up her features. “I’d

think a computer geek would know how to Google a recipe for how

to make lemonade.”

“God, I’m sorry, Ms. Lacey.” Knox shook her head. “Let me

get you something else. I have soda, milk, beer, wine, or bottled

water.”

“Bottled water would be wonderful. And I’d be more

comfortable if you called me Salem.”

“Salem.” Knox said it as if savoring it on her tongue. “Okay, if

you’ll call me Knox.”

Did the woman have any idea how sexy she sounded?

Knox stood. “I’ll be right back.”

Salem watched her leave the room. Damn. It should be criminal

to have an ass that sexy in jeans. It was hard to judge her age, but

she didn’t think they were far apart. While Knox moved with the

physical grace and confidence of a woman, her tentative demeanor

• 62 •

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made her seem very young. Except for her eyes, which held the

wariness of someone much older.

Knox returned with two bottles of water and set both of them

in front of Salem. She immediately downed most of one, then pulled

a pen and legal pad from her briefcase while Knox settled into her

chair again and sipped from a soda she’d opened for herself.

“Let’s get started. Are the house and surrounding properties

listed in your name?”

“Yes. My father died a few months ago and my mother moved

to Florida to live with my aunt. She signed all the property over to

me. I have no living siblings.”

When Salem looked up from her writing, she saw a flash of

sadness and wondered if Knox was aware how clearly her emotions

showed on her face.

“I’m sorry about your father.” She tapped her pen against the

notepad, trying to decide how much she needed to reveal. “I’ve just

acquired my father’s house and business here in Oakboro, but I haven’t

decided if I’ll stay. That won’t, however, keep me from writing a very

good plan for you now that would continue even if I sell the business.

I have a lot of experience writing commercial policies.”

“That’s good, then.”

Salem finished the first bottle of water and opened the second.

“You said you were planning to establish a business other than

agriculture here. Will you have an office in this house or in some

other building on the property?”

“Upstairs. I can show you.”

Knox led her to a wide stairway that curved upward from the

foyer. “There’s an elevator, but I don’t know when it was inspected

last. I used it to move equipment upstairs, but I prefer to use the

stairs. I have someone coming out next week to inspect it.”

When Knox didn’t even pause at the second-floor landing,

Salem wished she’d taken her heels off for the climb.

“The contractor just rewired the entire house. It was a complete

mess for nearly a month, but they finished Monday and the cleaning

crew came yesterday to put everything back in order. I just have

to get all my equipment connected and running now.” Knox’s

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climbing speed and her ability to converse seemed to increase with

her enthusiasm for her work.

Salem exercised often and was an avid biker, but she was

struggling to keep up as Knox vaulted up the final flight of stairs.

“Can you slow down? These heels aren’t made for sprinting.”

“Sorry.” Knox slowed for the last two steps.

“It’s okay. I think I picked up a few blisters stomping around

the swamp.”

The stairs ended at a landing with a single door.

“Open,” Knox commanded, and Salem could hear a series of

locks disengaging.

“Exactly what kind of business are we talking about?”

“I’m a software designer.” Knox pointed to a keypad on the

wall beside the door. “You can also get in by typing in the correct

code, but the door locks every time it shuts and that gets a bit tedious

for me. So I added voice recognition. My voice is the only one it

recognizes, of course.”

“Of course,” Salem murmured, taking in the cavernous room.

A thick canvas, painted the same medium-blue shade as the walls,

floor, and ceiling, covered the dormer windows of the third floor.

Several long tables were piled with computers and a tangle of

Ethernet wires and electrical cords.

“I’ve converted this entire floor into a virtual-reality lab.

Besides being expensive, my computers hold some classified

government information, so the security system is separate from the

house security. A central computer here in the house controls both

systems.”

“So, you’re not just designing video games up here?”

“I still design a game every now and then, but only educational

games to help kids learn. I’ve been involved in research and design

of virtual-reality systems for the past six years.”

“No blow-’em-up, shoot-’em-dead games?”

Knox stiffened and avoided Salem’s gaze. She walked over to

one of the tables and fingered a coil of wiring. “No. I don’t like that

kind of stuff.” When she looked up, her eyes were shuttered and her

earlier enthusiasm dimmed.

• 64 •

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Salem instantly regretted her misstep and already missed the

enthusiasm that lit up that beautiful face. “So, explain to me about

virtual reality. Isn’t that sort of like the hologram deck on those old

Star Trek shows?”

“Yeah, sort of. In those old science-fiction movies, the simulator

rooms were like futuristic video games. But in the real world, we’re

finding millions of ways to use virtual reality to help people.”

“Like how? Are you going to feed people virtual food so that

they don’t actually eat calories and get fat?”

“I hadn’t thought of that one.”

Salem had meant it as a joke, but Knox seemed to be seriously

considering the possibility. “You’d make a fortune and it could solve

America’s obesity problem.”

“I’ll put it on my list. Right now, I’m working on several

medical programs.”

“Can you tell me about them, or are they top secret?”

Knox smiled, the light returning to her eyes. “I’m developing a

program that allows medical residents to operate on virtual patients.

It would speed up their training by letting them practice a particular

operation as often as they want, without the pressure of losing a

real life if they make a mistake. The software also can deliberately

trigger various complications so they can learn to troubleshoot

during surgery.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.” Knox dug a pair of latex gloves out of a box and held

them up so Salem could see the delicate mesh wiring embedded

in the material. “See these wires? I can program them so a person

wearing these gloves can actually feel the pressure of a virtual

scalpel in her hands or the warmth and texture of a virtual human

organ.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No, really. The only thing I forgot was smell. The first students

who tested the program said the thing that threw them off when

they went into a real operating room was not being prepared for the

smell.”

“Can you do that?”

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“I’m working on it, but there’s a lot to consider. You’ve got

disinfectant smells, intestinal smells, the scent of blood, body odor

from the guy standing next to you who’s been in surgery for twelve

hours and hasn’t showered. Lots of smells.”

“I’m impressed.”

Knox seemed to puff up at the compliment. “I also just signed

a contract to develop a biomedical system that can scan a patient in

a third-world country and relay information back to a doctor on the

other side of the world for instant triage and diagnosis. But I doubt

I can build a prototype up here. It might not fit in the elevator when

I get it done. I’ll probably convert the small barn into a mechanical

lab.” “I thought you designed software. You build stuff, too? How

many degrees do you have?”

“Oh, I don’t have a degree in programming. I just picked it

up. My degrees are physics, biomedical engineering, and a standard

medical degree.”

“A medical degree? As in, you’re a doctor?”

“Yeah, I trained in surgery, but I’m better suited for the lab.”

Knox jammed her hands into her pockets and stared at the floor. “I

don’t like dealing with people all that much.”

Salem marveled at the many changing faces of this intriguing

woman. At first, she’d seemed aloof and reticent. But when she was

in her element, like this lab, she was talkative and confident. Now

she’d slipped into one of those moments when her sudden shyness

made her seem very young and vulnerable. Salem wanted to hug

her, but the one thing that remained constant was a huge personal

space that hovered around Knox. She seemed to keep at least an

arm’s length of distance between them at all times. If Salem moved

within touching distance, Knox would discreetly edge away.

“How old are you? I mean…I’ll need to know your personal

information for the paperwork.”

“Twenty-eight.”

“You must have been a regular Doogie Howser, huh?”

Knox shrugged. She pulled something from her pocket and

held it out. “I put all the information you’ll need, replacement costs,

security specs, and stuff, on this thumb drive for you.”

• 66 •

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“Thanks. That’ll make things a lot easier.”

When she took the small memory stick from Knox’s hand and

her fingertips brushed against the soft skin of her palm, a strange

tingling ran up her forearm. She looked up in surprise, and Knox

averted her eyes and stuffed her hands into her jeans’ pockets.

“Lots of static electricity with all these wires and equipment,” she

mumbled as she gestured toward the door. “We can take the elevator.”

“What?”

“Your blisters. We can take the elevator back down. I need to

show you the rest, but we’ll drive my Jeep out to the barn.”

“Right. The elevator sounds good.”

❖

The barn construction was actually within eyesight of the house,

but Knox was acutely aware of Salem’s effort not to limp from the

elevator to the Jeep, and it felt imperative that she do everything

possible to relieve her discomfort. The doctor part of her wanted to

sit Salem in a chair and bathe those blisters in something numbing,

then bandage her feet so the shoes wouldn’t hurt any longer.

But her hand still tingled where Salem’s fingertips had brushed

her palm. More than that, she didn’t even need to touch Salem to

feel her sitting inches away in the Jeep. It was an unfamiliar but

fascinating sensation. She gripped the steering wheel tighter to stop

herself from leaning toward Salem.

“Um, my father bred Friesian horses years ago and I’m planning

to rebuild the stable and his breeding program.” Rather than walk

through the barn, Knox drove slowly into the wide corridor of

packed clay and stopped so Salem could see everything from her

seat in the Jeep.

“The specs for the building are all on the flash drive. I’m

rebuilding on the stone foundation of the original barn. All of the

oak used for the frame and siding has been sealed with a special

fire retardant, and a sprinkler system is being installed. Before we

get any further with the construction, I wanted to know if insurers

recommend any other fire-proofing steps.”

• 67 •

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“Wow. I can’t say I’ve insured many barn structures, but it

appears you have most everything covered. I can check, though, and

get back with you tomorrow.” Salem peered up at the open-beam

construction. “No hayloft?”

“We’ll store the hay in another building.” Knox closed her

eyes against the flashes of memory. Searing heat. Screaming horses.

Flaming hay bales raining down from overhead.

“Knox, are you okay?”

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. “Overhead lofts

are a death trap if there’s a fire,” she said brusquely.

Knox abruptly threw the Jeep in gear and drove to a smaller barn

a short distance away, then cut the engine and they sat in silence for

a moment. Salem’s energy had vibrated through her before, but now

it washed over her in soothing waves. She could feel her question as

loudly as if she’d spoken it.

“The first barn burned to the ground. We lost eight horses. I’m

sure you saw that in my father’s file. I was just a kid, but I’ll never

forget it.”

Salem put her hand out as if to touch her, then stopped when

Knox tucked her arm closer to her body. “I’m sorry. I haven’t had

time to review the file. This morning is the first time I’ve been in my

father’s office.”

Knox frowned. “You should have told me. I could have waited

a day. You haven’t even had a chance to look in the desk drawers,

and I’ve dragged you all the way out here.”

Salem smiled. “Thanks to you, I’ve had an unforgettable

adventure—”

“You called it an ordeal.”

“An unforgettable adventure in which the tow-truck driver

offered to service me as well as my car, and I toured an impressive

virtual-reality lab and had a lovely drive around a historic estate.

That’s a hell of a lot better than sitting in the office, reviewing files

my first day at work.”

Knox was surprised to realize she, too, was enjoying their

visit. She normally found it easier to be alone than around people

because she didn’t have to be careful. Salem did make her nervous,

• 68 •

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but comfortable at the same time. And she was enticingly attractive.

Knox wanted to rub her cheek against that silky hair and brush her

lips across the pulse that throbbed in Salem’s neck. Heat scorched

up her cheeks. Could she be more foolishly adolescent? She wasn’t

sure she should trust her tongue to speak, but Salem was looking at

her for a response. “Uh, it was my pleasure.”

Salem beamed at her and Knox was relieved that she must have

said the right thing.

“My father built this smaller barn when the other one burned.

This structure will become my biomedical shop after I move his

horses into the new barn. I haven’t researched the specs on that yet,

so that information isn’t on the flash drive. Right now, I just need to

insure it as a stable.”

“And you want to insure the horses? How many will you have?”

“Five. Dad’s old gelding and two mares are here now, but

I’ll have my two mares shipped down here once the larger barn is

finished. I only need to insure the mares. The gelding’s only worth

is sentimental.”

“Don’t you need a stallion to make babies? The place where I

took riding lessons when I was a kid kept their two stallions in a barn

separate from the mares. This small barn would be perfect for that.”

Knox shrugged. “Stallions are too much trouble and the best

Friesians are in Europe. It’s easier to buy semen from overseas and

have Doc Evan inseminate the mares. I just like raising the babies.”

Salem jotted down a few more notes. “Any other structures?”

“Nothing worth insuring. The equipment barn is rented to

several farmers who lease some of the estate’s fields for growing

corn and hay. But the building’s old and they carry their own policies

on the tractors and machinery they keep there. The hay barn’s also

too old to insure. It would be cheaper to just replace it.”

Knox drove them back to the house and jogged inside to retrieve

Salem’s briefcase, but Salem followed and met her in the entryway.

“I guess I have what I need. If something’s not on the flash

drive, I’ll call you. I’ll check immediately and let you know if you

need any further safety features for the barn. When I get the policies

together, I’ll give you a call to set up a time to sign them.”

• 69 •

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“Thanks.” Knox handed over the briefcase, suddenly feeling

anxious that Salem was leaving. She fidgeted, pushing her hands

into her pockets and pulling them back out. She wanted, needed to

say something, but what?

“Uh, maybe we could meet over lunch to sign the policies.”

Yes! That’s what she wanted to say. No! What if Salem thought

she was asking for a date? What if the idea repulsed her? What if she

made some lame excuse?

But Salem’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea.”

“Yeah?”

“We’re about the same age and both new in town. Well, you’re

not exactly new, but I am. Lunch would be lovely.”

“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking. Lovely.”

“I’ll see you soon then.”

Knox didn’t even see it coming. Suddenly, Salem’s hand was

on her bare forearm and every nerve in Knox’s body focused on

the fingers that gently squeezed her flesh and the energy that curled

around hers.

Salem’s eyes registered surprise just before she jumped at the

popping sound overhead. Tiny bits of glass rained down on them

from the chandelier, and Knox pulled Salem out of the way.

“Uh, must…must be a power surge or maybe a short in the new

wiring,” Knox said, nervously. “I’ll get the contractor out right away

to check his work again.”

Salem eyed the light fixture. “Good idea.”

• 70 •

Touch Me GenTly

chapTeR nine

Salem ignored the plaintive mewing outside the back

door while she ground beans and spooned them into the

coffeemaker. But when her two slices of bacon began to sizzle, the

mewing grew loud and frantic, accompanied by the sound of tiny

claws climbing the screen door.

She opened the door to find the kitten hanging eye-level, his

eyes wide and his tail puffed out. Ignoring him and repeatedly

returning him to the woods behind the house wasn’t working. None

of the neighbors claimed him and he was growing thinner every day.

She sighed. It looked like his persistence had earned him a

home.“Okay, you little bugger. I give up.”

When she wrapped her hand around his tiny body to pry him

from the screen, she could feel his ribs against her fingers.

“I don’t have any cat food, but I can open some tuna for you.

Do you like tuna?”

The kitten stared up at her and purred loudly.

“Okay. I’d say that’s an affirmative.”

As she retrieved a small can and dumped it onto a saucer, he

climbed onto her shoulder and perched there like a bird, rubbing his

cheek against hers.

“I guess if I’m going to keep you, I’ll need to think of a name.

Bugger. No, that reminds me of the British slang word for…um,

never mind. You’re too young to know what that means.” She

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studied his gray tabby fur. “I refuse to name you something stupid

like tiger or tabby.” She mused further as he finished off the food

and sat back to clean his face and paws. “Man, you really tucked

into that food, didn’t you little fellow? That’s it. I’ll call you Tuck.”

He looked at her and let out a loud meow.

“You like that, huh? Tuck. I like it, too.” She picked him up,

filled a bowl with water, and set them both on the back step. “I guess

now that I’ve fed you, I don’t have to worry about you disappearing.

I’ve got work today, so I’ll meet you back here this evening with

some proper kitty food.”

That seemed agreeable with Tuck. He jumped up on a wooden

bench at one end of the porch and sprawled in the sun to finish

cleaning his paws.

❖

Salem’s first week in the office went quickly. Her father kept

thorough records and, despite looking like she’d just stepped off the

Grand Ole Opry stage, June was very efficient.

She had called Knox on Wednesday and advised her that the

only precaution they hadn’t discussed was the strength of her water

source to the barn.

Knox promised to consult the local fire chief that same day

and have a second well dug and a hydrant installed, if necessary

to achieve the water pressure needed for fire hoses. Salem thought

that was going a bit overboard for a barn, but she understood that

her traumatic childhood experience was probably driving the extra

measures.

She was still waiting to hear back on several inquiries she’d

made for Knox’s policies, but thoughts of her new client swirled in

her head like the creamer she was stirring into her Monday morning

coffee. Maybe she should give her a call, just to check in.

Knox answered on the second ring and Salem smiled at the

familiar typing she could hear in the background. She pictured Knox

hunched over her keyboard, pouring her genius into a virtual-reality

program.

• 72 •

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“I’m still working on finding the best policy for your computer

lab,” she said. “I’ll probably have it ready for you to sign in a few

days.”“That’s fine. I’m sure I’m not your only client and you’re

probably busy settling in.”

“It’s no problem. How’s the barn coming?”

“Nearly finished. They’re starting on the stalls. I ordered them

prefab, so they just have to fit them together and hang the doors.

They might be done by the end of the week.”

Salem suddenly realized she didn’t want to hang up. She

wanted to sit at her desk and listen to Knox’s husky voice for just a

few more minutes.

“I got a kitten,” she said. She wondered if Knox planned to

have cats in her barn to keep the mouse population down.

“Really? I’ve never had one. Where’d you get it?”

“Well, it kind of found me. It’s a stray that’s been hanging

around the house. I finally fed it so now I guess I’m stuck with it.”

“Good thing you didn’t take it to the pound. They kill about

eighty percent of the animals turned in there.”

Salem shivered. “I could never do that.”

“Good. That’s good.”

Salem felt inordinately pleased that Knox approved, but she’d

run out of things to discuss and still needed to go to the grocery.

“Well, like I said, I’ll call as soon as I get your policies ready.

It shouldn’t be more than a day or two. We can set up that lunch

appointment.”

“That would be great. I’ll look forward to it.”

Salem smiled. She was looking forward to seeing Knox again,

too.

❖

The grocery was crowded with women replenishing their

pantries and stocking up on gossip from the weekend. Salem was

puzzling over the variety of cat food when the conversation of two

women nearby caught her attention.

• 73 •

D. Jackson leiGh

“I hear that she brought an electrician down here all the way

from Washington, DC to rewire that old mansion, like people down

here are too stupid to do it.”

Were they talking about Knox? Salem picked up a bag of cat

food and pretended to be reading the ingredients as she eavesdropped

on the two women standing next to the dog-food displays.

“Didn’t you hear? She’s got some kind of top-secret government

lab in her house. That’s why her mama got kicked out and had to

move to Florida. Those people who came down to work on the

house were special secret agents,” the woman with a beak-like nose

said to her friend, who wore pink sweats. “Couldn’t nobody local do

it because they don’t want us to know what’s going on there.”

“I thought she was a doctor.”

“That’s right! I remember now. Dr. Shepherd said she’s some

kind of genius and finished medical school when she was still a

teenager. But I don’t see her opening up an office here.”

“Wouldn’t nobody go if she did. Who knows what kind of

experiments she might do on them.” The pink woman narrowed

her eyes. “You think you’re getting a flu shot and, instead, you’re

getting some kind of experimental vaccine those government people

sent down here.”

“I’ll bet she’s doing some kind of experiments with killer

germs and such.”

Salem coughed to cover up the laugh she couldn’t stop.

“Doc said she’s rebuilding her daddy’s barn that burned down

years ago. I’ll bet it ain’t a barn at all. It’s probably some type of

hospital where she’ll experiment on some poor animals.”

A tow-headed boy ran up to the women, holding up two bags of

cookies. “Mama, can I get these?”

“Choose one and put the other back,” Beak-nose said. “And

don’t interrupt me when I’m talking.” She turned back to Pink. “You

could be right about that. There’s already a barn where her daddy

kept his horses. Why would she need another one?”

The boy interrupted again. “Ya’ll talking about that Bolander

woman? Granny says she’s a witch. She was at the funeral and said

• 74 •

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that woman showed up and made the trees dance. I ain’t never seen

trees dance.”

“You hush up. Granny’s as crazy as a bedbug. Put those cookies

in the cart and go get me a bag of potatoes.”

The women glanced around uneasily, as if the boy had said

something that would get them struck by lightning. They stared

suspiciously at Salem, so she made her final selection and pushed

her cart around the corner. She hurried down the next aisle to a spot

where she could continue to eavesdrop and pretended to examine

the feminine products in front of her. They didn’t even bother to

lower their voices, but took their own advice and moved on to the

next piece of gossip.

“Did you hear who else just landed in town?”

“I have no idea.”

“Franklin Lacey’s girl.”

“You don’t say.”

“Yep. June says he left his business to her and she’s moved

down here from Atlanta.”

“So she’s gonna run her daddy’s business? I’ll bet Lamar’s not

happy about that.”

“Well, I don’t know what’s worse, having Lamar for an

insurance agent or that girl.”

“What’d you mean? What’s wrong with her?”

“Don’t you know why she never came down to visit her daddy?”

“Franklin never talked about it, but I heard it was a messy

divorce. Maybe her mama wouldn’t let her visit.”

“That’s not it at all. She’s one of them,” the woman lowered her

voice to a stage whisper, “girls that play softball.”

“No! And her daddy a pillar of the church.”

“Well, she did grow up in sin city. Roy said that’s why Franklin

moved down here. He wanted to raise his daughter in a more

wholesome environment, but his ex-wife refused and wouldn’t let

the girl come with him.”

“Well, you can’t really blame the child turning out like she did.

She was just raised wrong. Maybe she’ll get in a church down here

and get straightened out.”

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“Maybe she came down here to start up a softball team in

Oakboro.”

“Lord, I hope not. This town is going to hell in a handbasket.

Used to be you’d know every person you met on the street. Now,

every time I turn around, some stranger’s moving in—gays, people

that might be witches—”

Salem had heard enough. She hurried through the checkout

line and sat in her car fuming. After meeting Knox and seeing the

account books of her father’s business, she’d begun to consider

staying in Oakboro. What the hell had she been thinking?

And what was that crap about trees dancing? Knox did have a

sort of secretive air about her. But, really, a witch? Salem snorted.

And, for their information, she’d never played softball in her life.

Stupid hillbillies. No wonder Eve was messed up if the small town

where she grew up was like this one.

❖

Knox waved good-bye to the fire chief and sprinted up the

stairs to her computer.

A friendly fellow, he was younger than she expected, late

thirties or early forties, and he came right out when she called.

Maybe he was curious about what she was doing to the estate, or

maybe being fire chief in a small town was boring and he was glad

to have something to do.

At any rate, he’d been very helpful. He said another well was

a gamble because, until you had sunk the pipe, you couldn’t know

how much water it would pump per minute.

He noticed the solar panels she was having installed on the roof

of the barns and the house and suggested an equally “green” solution

to her need for water. Dig the well, add a windmill to power it, and

pump the water into an elevated retaining tank like farmers did in

the old days before electric pumps, he said. The tank would hold

more than enough water to fight a barn-sized fire, and its elevation

would provide plenty of pressure for the fire hoses.

• 76 •

Touch Me GenTly

She spent the next hour researching windmills and retention

tanks on the Internet, then placed her order with a company out of

Tallahassee that promised to deliver and set it all up by the middle

of next week.

She was delighted with the solution and couldn’t wait to tell

Salem about it.

Salem. Knox hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since

she climbed into that muddy BMW and drove away the week before.

Hearing her voice on the phone earlier that day had triggered a new

round of fantasizing.

Her thoughts and energy were so out of control she had

immediately unpacked the special anti-static mats she’d ordered

for the lab and the wrist straps she wore to ground herself when

she dismantled or built electronic equipment. The amount of static

electricity her skin emitted depended on the level of energy that

churned around her. It wouldn’t do for her to blow a motherboard

because of a random thought about soft skin and green eyes.

She hadn’t needed to wear anti-static grounding straps for

simple typing since puberty. Knox shuddered. That had been a

horrible time.

Ryan had been the only other girl in the class. A year older than

Knox, she was a mathematics genius. She also knew about Knox’s

unique ability and thought it was very cool.

Knox had hung on Ryan’s every word and would do anything

she asked. She got into trouble several times for using her gift to

play Ryan’s idea of a practical joke on the boys in the class. Their

most frequent target was a boy named Jason, who was a couple of

years older and liked to bully the younger kids.

The real problem began when Ryan lost interest in playing

jokes on the boys and, instead, began to keep company with them

rather than Knox.

Twelve-year-old Knox was jealous, and the hormones puberty

was pumping into her system made her edgy. The maintenance crew

was having a hard time keeping up with the exploding light bulbs

every time her emotions blew a wave of energy through the room.

• 77 •

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Then one day, Knox walked into the science lab and saw Ryan

kissing a boy. Not just any boy. She was kissing Jason.

The Institute wouldn’t soon forget the telekinetic tantrum that

followed. Two days later, she woke up in a hospital room. Next to

her bed sat an elderly Asian gentleman.

Master Kai was the first fellow telekinetic she’d met. Her

energy was strong, but his was focused and gently held hers as he

talked. He spoke to her about focus and control. And he quietly

counseled her on the pitfalls of emotional relationships.

That day was the first of three years of training with Master

Kai. Everyone has an aura of energy, he said, but most do not have

the ability to control or project it. He taught her how to control her

emotions and contain her energy.

She was closely observed for several years, but her watchers

relaxed when they realized she had no sexual interest in boys.

She was so successful at Master Kai’s lessons, she was able to

convince the Institute instructors that puberty had stolen her gift like

a child singer who loses the ability to sing high notes. Master Kai

wasn’t fooled, but it was her decision and he wouldn’t expose her.

They both knew it was the only way she would be allowed to

live her own life.

So she left the Institute when she was fifteen and, having already

completed undergraduate work, she entered medical school. The

women in those classes were at least six years older and rarely spoke

to her. It didn’t really matter. Mindful of Master Kai’s warning about

emotional relationships and fearful of losing control and exposing

herself, she never socialized with the other students. She studied and

tested out of courses before her classmates even got past the first

chapters. She started her residency when they were just beginning

their junior year.

By the time she finished, she was twenty-two years old, brilliant

in the operating room and legendary in the biomedical engineering

field. And she was totally ill-equipped and unprepared for casual

social interaction.

So she retreated to a virtual operating room and worked.

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She wasn’t dead, of course. She watched television and movies,

secretly mooning over certain actresses. She also had read several

lesbian romances, and that’s when her libido became intimately

acquainted with her right hand. But those books kept her too stirred

up, so she stopped reading and worked more.

Work had been enough. Until now. Until she rode her horse up

to that dilapidated cottage and looked into those startling green eyes.

Thinking about Salem made Knox restless, so twitchy that she

was in the barn and saddling one of her father’s mares before she

even realized why.

She guided her horse to a path that ran alongside the river and

to the wooded property directly behind Salem’s neighborhood. She

hadn’t meant to end up there, but the location of the house had been

embedded in the back of her mind since she had hacked into Salem’s

GPS account to rescue her.

It was a fairly long ride and dusk began to settle around her,

making her glad the broad path was even and the Friesian surefooted.

She slowed the mare to a stop at the crest of a small hill. Although

the woods were thin around her, the gathering darkness cloaked her

sufficiently.

From her lookout, Knox realized Salem was sitting on her

back porch, sipping from a glass of wine and petting a small kitten

perched on her lap. Knox’s urge to ride down there and join her

was so strong, the mare shifted about in confusion. She took a deep

breath to calm her energy and gentle the horse, because she didn’t

have the courage to act on her desire. She stared wistfully.

For the first time, Knox wished she had kissed a lot of girls. She

wished she’d touched their bodies and learned how to bring them to

ripping orgasms.

She desperately wished she wasn’t twenty-eight years old and

a never-been-kissed virgin.

• 79 •

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chapTeR Ten

Tuck was purring loudly and kneading Salem’s lap with his

little feet when he went suddenly still. Goose bumps ran

down her arms as though something or someone had touched her. It

reminded her of the static electricity in the air when lightning struck

close by, but tonight’s sky was cloudless.

Then she heard the hoofbeats, faint and rhythmic, and turned

toward the shadowed woods. A thrill went through her as the dark

figure of a horse and rider descended from the small knoll some

distance from her house and disappeared among the trees. The high-

stepping gait reminded her of Knox’s horse and she wondered if it

was her. Salem had found the dark-haired beauty with silver-gray

eyes intruding on her thoughts a lot over the past few days.

Did Knox know what people in town said about her? Surely

not. If she did, why would she have moved back here? She obviously

had been living somewhere more progressive for a number of years.

Had she forgotten about the cruelty of small-town prejudices and

busybodies?

Salem’s thoughts returned to the women at the grocery store.

Bitches. Instead of leaving, she should have given them a piece of

her mind. Her protective feelings toward her shy client surprised

her. Still, she should have said something. She shook her head

in disgust. Right. Like that had really worked out well in Atlanta.

Speaking up was exactly what landed her in this Georgia swamp her

father had called home.

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She was deep into her morose thoughts when the doorbell

rang. Probably another nosy neighbor with a plate of brownies or

an apple pie, stopping by to check out the prodigal daughter. Maybe

she should buy a softball and glove to display in the living room.

That’d give them something to gossip about.

She opened the door to a pleasant-looking woman holding a

casserole dish wrapped in tinfoil.

“Hi.”

“You must be Salem.” The woman cocked her head and stared.

“You have your father’s eyes.”

The appraisal made Salem a little uncomfortable. Or was it the

comparison to her father? But the woman’s tone held no accusation,

so Salem pushed down her peeve with the grocery-store gossips.

“Yes, I am. Would you like to come in?”

The woman stepped inside and handed the dish to her. “I’m

Lucille. I didn’t know how much you’d been able to settle in, so I

brought you a chicken casserole. I won second place at the county

fair with it last year.”

“It smells wonderful and I haven’t had dinner yet. Would you

like to join me?”

“No, thank you, hon. It’s nice of you to offer, but I’ve already

eaten and I’m on my way to the ladies’ Bible study at the church. I

do have a few minutes to visit, though.”

“Please sit down. I’ll put this in the kitchen and be right back.”

When she returned, the woman was perched nervously on the

edge of the sofa. Salem sat in her father’s recliner.

“Are you the same Lucille who baked those delicious cookies

that made the house smell so wonderful when I arrived?”

Lucille smiled. “Guilty. Oh, I almost forgot.” She fished around

in her purse to extract a ring that held one key. “This is yours. I

started to leave it on the table with the cookies, but I thought I’d

better keep it until I knew for sure that you hadn’t changed your mind

about coming.” She nervously glanced around the room. “I mean,

June said you sounded a bit tentative about moving down here.”

Salem took the house key and turned it over in her hands. “I’m

not sure whether I’ll stay or sell the business, but there’s no rush to

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decide,” she said absently. Why was she now uncertain about her

earlier decision to sell, and why did this woman have a key to her

father’s house? Could she have been his housekeeper? Sleepover

company? How could she ask without offending? “Are you a

Realtor?”

Lucille lowered her eyes, her powdered cheeks flushed pink.

“No. Your father and I kept company.” She looked up, her gaze

penetrating. “Not the kind of companion having a key to his house

would imply. I had a key because sometimes he would get caught

up at the office and I would come over and start dinner for the two

of us.”

“So you dated my father?”

“For eight years.”

Salem was surprised. Who dated that long anymore without

marrying or moving in together? Well, unless you were closeted

gays. “Eight years? You’re kidding.”

“No, I’m not. I loved him. And he loved me as much as he

could. We shared meals and chaste kisses, and we held hands. But

your father was a man of faith and, despite the divorce, considered

himself still married to your mother. We never slept together, and he

never proposed.”

“It’s really none of my business. He was free to do what he

wanted. I don’t know you, Lucille, but it sounds like he used that as

an excuse to string you along.”

“I guess it may seem like that to some people, but it wasn’t the

case at all. He always made it clear his heart would only belong to

her.”To her dismay, Salem’s eyes began to fill with tears and she

blinked them away.

Lucille patted her hand. “It’s a shame you were estranged

from him. He was a fine man and I wanted to tell you about our

relationship before you heard the town gossips’ version of what was

between us.”

Salem nodded, because she didn’t trust her voice.

“Anyway, I didn’t come by just to drop off a casserole and

make you sad. I wanted to warn you about Lamar.”

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“Lamar? At the office?” She was relieved that Lucille had

changed the subject.

“Yes.” Lucille paused as if calculating what to say next. “Lamar

is my son and I love him, but he’s got a lot of his father in him.

My Donnie was always trying to take shortcuts and coming up with

schemes to make a lot of money. He was a truck driver and, in the

end, skimping on tires and driving when he was tired cost his life.”

“I’m sorry.”

Lucille shrugged. “It was a long time ago. Lamar was only five

years old, so he doesn’t remember much about his daddy. Still, he’s

the same way. Always looking for a way to get rich quick. Franklin

helped him pass the insurance exam and gave him a job, but he only

tolerated Lamar for my sake. The boy comes and goes as he wants.

Franklin should have fired him long ago.”

“So you’re here to tell me I should fire your son?” This was a

little hard to believe.

“No. You should keep or fire him based on your best judgment

of how he works for you. He knew Franklin wouldn’t fire him

because of me, and he took advantage of that fact. You don’t have

the same obligation, so I’m hoping he’ll step up and do right for

you.”“He hasn’t been in the office much, and I’ve been busy working

up a large commercial contract for a client.”

“Well, I know June has an eye on him. But I need to tell you

that Lamar had some crazy idea that the business would go to him

after Franklin died. He’s my boy, but I’m ashamed to say he hasn’t

proved himself trustworthy in the past. You should keep your eyes

open where he’s concerned.”

“I appreciate it. It must be hard for you to tell me this.” Salem

gave Lucille’s hand a quick squeeze. “And I promise to give Lamar

a fair shake if he wants to shape up and do a good job.”

Lucille’s smile was sad. “I can see why your father was so

proud of you. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders and a fair

heart.”

“My father didn’t approve of me and thought I was headed

straight to hell, Lucille. We haven’t spoken in seventeen years. To

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tell the truth, I have no idea why he thought I’d move down here and

take over his business.”

“Yet here you are.” Lucille patted her hand again. “Judge not

lest ye be judged, young lady. Don’t assume you know everything

until you go through his things.”

“Maybe you should do that. I’m sure his belongings mean

something to you. My father was just another stranger to me,” she

said. “Oh, honey. I think you’ll find he isn’t the stranger you think.”

Lucille rose from her seat. “May I show you something before I

leave?”

Frowning, Salem stood, too. “You know, I’m really tired and

you’re going to be late for your meeting.”

“Please. It’ll only take a minute.”

Salem relented and stepped back to let Lucille lead the way

into her father’s study. Lucille pulled a shoebox from the top shelf

of the closet and handed it to her.

“This box is full of letters written to you by your father. I’m

sure you know about the ones that he mailed because you returned

them unopened. After the fifth or sixth returned letter, he would write

one and then take it to the post office where I work and ask me to

postmark it without mailing it. He wanted a time stamp that showed

when he wrote it.” Lucille’s eyes filled with tears. “We knew his

surgery was risky. He had suffered a massive heart attack and there

was a lot of damage. Before they took him into the operating room,

he made me promise to be sure you found these. What you do with

them is up to you.”

Salem stared at the box in her hands. Likely more sermons

about homosexuality.

“Don’t cheat yourself by refusing to read them,” Lucille warned

her, apparently reading Salem’s expression. She turned to go.

“Lucille, wait.” Salem hesitated, suddenly unsure of what she

had wanted to say. “Uh, thanks for the chicken casserole and the

cookies. I’ll return your dish later if you’ll write down your address.”

Lucille smiled warmly. “You can drop the dish by the post

office. Or just come by to chat. Read those letters, hon.”

• 85 •

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❖

The casserole was so good, Salem ate two helpings. Then she

poured herself another glass of wine and considered what to do next.

The cable television wouldn’t be hooked up until tomorrow. She

had three or four unread books on her e-reader but was too restless

to read.

Instead, she wandered into her father’s room. What was she

going to do with all his stuff?

She opened the closet and ran her hand down the sleeve of a

dark-blue suit. Was that a hint of…she lifted the cloth to her nose.

The faint scent of her father’s cologne was just as she remembered

it. As a little girl, she’d loved to sit in his lap while he read to her

from whatever murder mystery he was enjoying. It didn’t matter

that the content wasn’t on her age level. She would close her eyes

and lay her head against his strong chest. His spicy scent and deep

voice vibrating against her cheek made her feel safe and loved.

Loved. He hadn’t loved her. He had loved the daughter he

wanted her to be.

She closed the closet. She’d throw all his clothes into some trash

bags and donate them to charity. She didn’t have any use for them.

The oak four-poster bed and dresser were beautiful antiques.

Maybe she’d keep those.

She wasn’t surprised that some shelves built into one wall

were cluttered with books. Her father was an avid reader. She was

shocked, however, to find a handful on homosexuality. She touched

the spines, tracing her fingers over the titles. She didn’t recognize

any of them, but she wasn’t into nonfiction. And she didn’t need a

book to understand what felt as natural to her as breathing.

One title read Help, My Kid is Gay! Another read Choice or

Genetics?

She snorted. Probably got them at a Baptist bookstore to try to

figure out how to “cure” her. He probably kept them in his bedroom,

rather than on the bookshelf in the living room, so nobody would

know he had a gay daughter. The thought left a sour taste in her

mouth.

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If he didn’t want people to know about her, why leave his

business to her? Was he clinging to the ridiculous idea that a change

of residence could alter her sexual orientation?

She moved to the dresser and touched the framed photograph

of her and her mother. Did he pray for their souls every day? It

pissed her off to think he might have.

Taking a big swallow of her wine she walked down the hallway

to her father’s home office. The walls were covered with photographs

of her and her mother. Some were duplicates of pictures her mother

had in her house: Salem holding up a volleyball trophy, Salem

grinning next to her insurance-broker certification, Salem celebrating

her twenty-first birthday. Had her mother sent copies to him?

But she also discovered pictures she’d never seen before,

photographs of her high-school and college graduations. Her mother

was in some of the pictures with her, so she couldn’t have taken them.

Had he been there? Why did he bother going to her graduations if he

was too ashamed of her to make his presence known?

Her eyes burned and her throat tightened. She had always been

Daddy’s girl while she was growing up. He had filled her life with

love when she was small. Now every thought of him was laced with

anger and resentment. She hated her father. Didn’t she?

She brushed away her tears as if she could clear away her

confused feelings. What the hell was she still doing in this tiny,

probably ninety-percent evangelical backwater town? She kept

asking herself that question and still didn’t have a good answer.

She went to the kitchen to refill her wine glass and slip out into

the tepid night. When her eyes adjusted to the twilight, she scanned

the knoll for the horse and rider. She smiled despite her foul mood,

thinking of Knox astride her dark horse as it high-stepped across the

clearing toward her.

There was her answer.

• 87 •

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chapTeR eleven

Salem hit the Print key one more time and began to gather the

papers and tuck them into her briefcase. She had received

the last quote updated with the information about the windmill and

water tower. She tapped the screen on her phone, not stopping to

think why Knox was her number-one speed dial.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Salem. I’ve got the last of your quotes together. If

you’re not busy, I’ll drive out and go over them with you.”

“You don’t have to do that. I can come into town. Did you

change your mind about meeting for lunch?” Knox sounded

disappointed.

“Actually, the weather’s so nice, I thought I could pick up

some fried chicken from the diner and maybe we can lunch on your

terrace.”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea. If you aren’t busy, we could go riding

after I sign the contracts. Uh, that is if you’d like to.”

Salem smiled at the hesitation in Knox’s voice. For a woman

so beautiful and intelligent, she seemed adorably unassuming. “That

would be wonderful.”

“Excellent. Okay, then. I’ll see you in a few minutes?”

“I’m going to swing by the house to change into jeans, then I’ll

pick up the chicken and be right out.”

“Okay. Um, I found a recipe for lemonade and made some. It

tastes a lot better than my first attempt.”

• 89 •

D. Jackson leiGh

“That’s so sweet. See you soon.”

Salem ended the call and pumped her fist in the air. “Yes.”

What was the use of owning your own business if you couldn’t take

off work when you wanted? An afternoon of riding sounded really

good. Spending that time with Knox? Even better.

❖

Salem hummed as she drove down the two-lane blacktop

leading out of town. Lamar was still a no-show at the office, but

June had assured her she’d be happy to handle any pressing calls

that afternoon.

She was reconsidering her initial assessment of June, who was

a very capable office manager and really sweet. The secretary she’d

had in Atlanta would have been on her way to the boss’s office right

now, anxious to tell him that Salem was taking an unscheduled

afternoon off. June just shooed her out the door and ordered her to

forget work for the rest of the day.

She was filled with anticipation but told herself she was looking

forward to riding those beautiful horses.

No matter. It wasn’t like she was packing a U-Haul and going

after Knox. She just needed a friend and, apparently, Knox felt the

same way. Nothing wrong with having friends. Right?

Hell, she didn’t even know if Knox was gay. But her gut told her

she was. And if she was wrong, it’d be a damn shame. She recalled

those arresting eyes, and heat rose up her neck at the thought of

kissing those full lips.

Stop. Knox was a client. And Salem was pretty sure she

wouldn’t settle in Oakboro. So she had to stop thinking of Knox as

anything other than a potential friend. She had to stop—

“Shit!”

Salem slammed on brakes, thanking the gods that the BMW’s

tires gripped the blacktop as she jerked the steering wheel to whip

around a large dog standing in the middle of the roadway, sniffing

something dead. The dog didn’t appear to hear her and, although her

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car skidded to a near stop, the front fender still caught him on the

back leg and tossed him to the pavement.

She jumped out, but the German shepherd scrambled up and

limped into the woods on three legs.

“Wait! Here, doggy.” She hesitated at the edge of the woods,

afraid she’d get lost again. “Shit!” She needed help.

❖

Taking the steps two at a time wasn’t fast enough, so Knox slid

down the banister of the staircase like she had when she was a child.

Tires screeching in the circular drive and then frantic pounding at

the front door were a sure sign of something wrong.

She yanked the door open and found Salem, pale and shaking.

“I need help. You’re a doctor, right? A real doctor?”

“Yeah. A real doctor.” Knox led her to a chair in the foyer

and grabbed Salem’s wrist. Her pulse was racing, and Knox had to

consciously stop her heart from matching the pace. “Sit down and

take a few deep breaths. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Salem shook her head. “No, not me. I hit a dog. With my car.

I’m sure he’s injured, but he went into the woods. I need to find him.”

“A dog?”

“On the road, about a mile back.” Salem clutched Knox’s

shoulders. “You’ve got to help me find him.”

“Let me get a first-aid kit.”

“Don’t you have a black doctor’s bag?” Salem frowned. “I

thought every doctor had a black bag full of medical stuff.”

Knox would have laughed if they hadn’t been in emergency

mode. “Come on. I’ll call Doc Evan while you drive.” She grabbed

a backpack filled with medical supplies from the coat closet. “How

big was the dog?”

“I think it was a German shepherd. I saw blood on the road,

and when he ran off, he was holding up one of his hind legs like he

couldn’t put weight on it.”

They jumped into the car and Knox tapped a number on her

phone. She put it on speaker so Salem could hear.

• 91 •

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“Oakboro Veterinary Clinic.”

“This is Knox Bolander. I’ve got an emergency, a dog hit by a

car. Is Doc Evan in the office?”

“He’s handling large-animal calls this afternoon, so he just left.

Can’t be more than two blocks away. Hold on, I can get him on the

other line.”

Salem pulled over just as Doc’s assistant, Tony, came back on.

“Doc says to hang up. He’s got your cell number and is going

to call you.”

“Okay, thanks.” Knox pointed to spots of still-bright blood.

The phone rang just as they hopped across the ditch and headed into

the woods.

“Where are you?” Doc said.

“On highway 97 going out of town, about a mile before you

get to my place,” Knox answered. “Look for a BMW parked on the

shoulder. We’re headed into the woods now. Looks like the dog’s

bleeding, so I’m hoping it didn’t go far.”

“Call me if you find it before I find you.”

“Will do.” Knox ended the call and picked up the backpack.

Without thinking, she took Salem’s hand and squeezed it. “Don’t

worry. Do you want to wait here?”

Salem, her color returning, shook her head vigorously. “No.

I’m coming with you.”

They followed the spots of blood for only a short distance

before they found him. The beautiful black-and-tan shepherd lay

panting, his long pale tongue lolling against large white teeth. Knox

approached cautiously.

“Hey, boy. Looks like you’ve run into a little trouble,” she

crooned to him. “How about letting us have a look.”

The dog whined and watched Knox as she knelt close behind

him. “Be careful,” Salem said. “He might bite you.”

Knox carefully laid her hand on his back along his spine and

the dog seemed to relax, dropping his head to the ground. “Punch

the two on my phone to call the doc.”

• 92 •

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Salem put it on speaker and Doc picked up on the first ring.

“Hey, Doc. We found him. It’s a German shepherd, probably

about eighty pounds. He’s a little shocky. I’ve got some stuff with

me, saline and Banamine. He’s got a cut on his right hind, and it

definitely looks broken just below the knee.”

“Hold off. I’m pulling up now.”

Salem turned toward the road. “Over here,” she shouted when

she saw him climb out of his truck.

Doc waved, then trotted toward them with a medical bag and

a lightweight stretcher of molded plastic under his arm. He groaned

when he reached them. “God damn it. I’ve told that idiot Barnes not

to let this dog run free.” He knelt and began pulling things from his

bag. “You recognize him?” Salem asked.

“This is Guardian. He’s got great bloodlines, but his owner

unfortunately doesn’t. He’s about the stupidest man in the world.”

He edged toward the dog and reached out cautiously. “Hey, old

buddy. Got yourself in a mess here, didn’t you?”

“He was just standing there in the road sniffing at something

when I came around the curve,” Salem said, wringing her hands

nervously. “I hit the brakes so hard the tires were squealing, but he

didn’t even notice or try to get out of the way.”

“He’s deaf.”

“Deaf?” Knox was surprised. Shepherds weren’t one of the

breeds prone to deafness.

“Yeah. His sorry owner let him get such a bad infection in both

ears, he lost his hearing. That’s one reason I’ve warned him about

letting him run free.”

Guardian whined and licked at Doc’s hand as he checked his

gums.

“He doesn’t look that shocky.”

“He’s better than he was when we found him.”

Doc’s gaze traveled to the hand Knox still held against

Guardian’s spine. “Pressure point?”

“Something like that,” Knox muttered, casting a glance at

Salem.

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D. Jackson leiGh

He nodded and prepared a syringe. “I’m going to sedate him a

little, so you can let go and help me get him on the stretcher.”

He administered the drug and carefully recapped and stowed

the syringe in his bag before holding it out to Salem. “Could you

carry this for me while Knox and I load him up in the truck, Miss—”

“Salem Lacey. Will he be okay?” she asked anxiously, taking

his bag and shouldering Knox’s pack, too.

Doc studied her face. “So you’re Franklin’s girl.”

“Yes, Franklin Lacey was my father,” she said.

Knox looked up, surprised at Salem’s stiff answer.

But Doc just nodded. “I think old Guard will be fine, Ms. Lacey,

but we need to get some X-rays before I can say for sure.”

He and Knox carefully lifted Guardian onto the stretcher and

carried him to the veterinary truck, where they slid the stretcher onto

the backseat of the crew cab.

“Knox, you need to ride beside him to make sure he doesn’t

roll off onto the floor,” Doc said.

Knox turned to Salem. “Do you want to follow us?”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

When they arrived at the clinic, a slender, handsome blond held

the door open as they carried Guardian into the clinic.

“Aw, man. Not Guard.”

“We need to set up the surgery room, Tony,” Doc said.

“I figured that much from the call earlier. It’s ready and I

rescheduled your two afternoon appointments.” He sighed. “And I

called Jeff to let him know I’ll be late.”

“You don’t have to stay.”

“Are you sure? I mean, you know I’ll stay, but we’ve got

reservations in Tallahassee for dinner.”

“It’s your fifth anniversary. Bad luck to miss that one. Trust

me. I missed a lot of birthday and anniversary dinners with my wife

that I wish I could get back now that she’s gone,” Doc said. “Knox

will give me a hand. It’ll do her good to use that medical degree for

something other than pecking away on those computers. You boys

go have a good time.”

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“Thanks, Doc. You’re the best. What can I do for you before I

head out?”

“You can show Ms. Lacey—”

“Salem. Please, just call me Salem.”

“You can show Salem here to my office, where she can be

comfortable while Knox and I fix up Guard. Get her some crackers

and a soda, too. She looks a little pale.”

“Oh, our lunch is in the car. I guess I should bring it inside so

it doesn’t spoil.”

After they watched Doc and Knox disappear down the hallway

with Guardian, Salem retrieved their lunch basket from the car and

Tony showed her to a large comfortable office that, in addition to the

scuffed oak desk, had a full-sized refrigerator and sitting area with a

long leather sofa, a recliner, and a television.

“Wow. You could live in this office.”

“He practically does live here since his wife died. There’s a

bathroom and shower through that door over there. I can’t tell you

how many mornings I’ve come in here early and found him snoring in

that recliner with the television still on. He needs to meet somebody,

but he’s such an old grump I don’t know who’d have him.”

“Well, I don’t want to keep you.”

“I’ve got a little time. Jeff isn’t expecting me for another hour.”

“How long do you think they’ll be in there?”

“It all depends on how much damage they have to repair.” He

looked at her sympathetically. “Maybe a couple of hours. I’m sure

Doc would give Knox a ride home if you don’t want to wait that

long.”Salem ran a shaky hand over her face. “No. I want to stay. I’ll

just put this lunch basket in the fridge and thumb through a few of

these National Geographic s.” She’d noticed a tall pile of them next

to the recliner. “I’ve got enough in that picnic basket for three, and

they’ll probably be hungry when they’re done.”

Tony pointed to the sofa. “You sit,” he said sternly. “Doc’s

right. You look a little pale.” He rummaged in the refrigerator and

held up a can of soda. “I’ve got you pegged for a Diet Coke kind of

girl.”

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Salem nodded as he handed over the cold can and a package of

cheese crackers and parked his butt on the desk. It was obvious he

wouldn’t leave until he made sure she ate something.

“So, it’s your anniversary, huh? You guys have been together

five years?”

Tony smiled. “Actually, we’ve been together going on eight

years. But five years ago, we flew to Canada and got married. Jeff

was born there and has dual citizenship.”

“Really? How’d he end up in Oakboro?”

“He’s a writer. He came down here to visit a friend in Panama

City and fell in love with the South. He says there’re a million stories

here. We met in Tallahassee and fell in love, so he never went back

to Canada.”

“Is he famous? Would I recognize his name?”

“Probably not. He’s not New York Times best-seller famous,

but he makes a good living writing stories about a kick-ass woman

detective under a female nom de plume for a mainstream publisher.

He also writes gay romances for a LGBT publisher, just for his own

pleasure.”

“I’d love to meet him.”

“He’s a real romantic, and incredibly handsome.” He placed

his hand over his heart and pretended to swoon.

Salem laughed. The food and the relaxing conversation were,

indeed, helping her feel better. “You wouldn’t be a little biased,

would you?”

He grinned. “What about you? This little accident seems to have

interrupted your lunch date with Miss Hottie Bolander in there.”

Salem nearly choked on the soda she was swallowing. After a

few coughs and several pats on her back from Tony, she shook her

head. “I was going out to the Bolander place because I have some

insurance contracts that need her signature.”

“Yeah, my insurance agent always brings over a picnic basket

full of fried chicken, too, when he needs me to sign something.”

Busted. Salem’s cheeks heated and Tony laughed. She narrowed

her eyes. “What makes you think I’m gay?”

“Girl, you’re all your daddy ever talked about.”

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“Yeah, I’ll just bet he did.”

Tony looked surprised at her reaction. “Really. He and Doc

were fishing buddies, and Jeff went with them sometimes. He likes

to fish, too. I went once but was bored to tears. Your daddy knew

about Jeff and me and that Doc has no problem with us. So I guess

he felt comfortable enough to talk about you around us. He loved

Jeff’s mysteries. He bought every one of them.”

This didn’t make sense. It didn’t sound like the father who

deserted her. She was turning this new information over in her head

when Tony jumped up from his seat.

“Oh my God, I completely lost track of time. I’ve still got to

shower and get dressed for my big night.” He squeezed her shoulder.

“I can’t wait to tell Jeff I met you. We definitely must have you and

Miss Hottie over for dinner.”

He started to leave, but turned back for one last word. “Your

daddy didn’t like that politician woman you were seeing. He didn’t

believe you could trust someone who couldn’t be honest about

herself.”

• 97 •

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chapTeR Twelve

Knox tied off the last stitch and Doc turned off the anesthesia.

They had set the dog’s lower hind leg and cast it before

sewing up the cut on Guardian’s hip. The fine bones of his lower leg

had been splintered, but Knox deftly pinned the pieces together with

tiny metal screws.

“Appreciate your help,” Doc said. “I’m getting arthritis in my

hands and handling those little bitty screws is just too hard these

days. I probably would have driven him to a surgery center in

Tallahassee.”

Knox smiled. “Anytime. Although I’m pretty sure my mal-

practice insurance wouldn’t cover working on dogs.”

“You want to explain to me what you were doing when I got to

y’all out there in the woods?”

Knox shrugged and pretended to be checking Guardian’s cast.

“Not sure what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t have to hide it from me, honey. I’m saying that dog

didn’t look like he was in pain at all.”

“It’s hard to explain how I do it, but it has the effect of a spinal

block…sort of interrupts the electrical impulses that travel along the

spine.”

Doc nodded. “You could do a lot of good things with that gift,

kiddo.”

Knox crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. She didn’t

want to be different. She wanted to be like everybody else. She

wanted to have friends and, since she’d met Salem, she’d been

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wondering what it would be like to have someone to share her life.

“If the Institute knew I could still do that stuff, I probably wouldn’t

be standing here right now. My life wouldn’t be my own. You can’t

tell anyone, Doc Evan. Not a single soul.”

“Calm down, girl. Your secret’s safe with me.” He gathered

Guard gently in his arms. “I’m going to put him to bed in the back

so he can sleep off the anesthesia. You should go check on your

pretty friend.”

❖

Knox stood in the doorway of the office and took a moment

to gaze at the angel who had fallen asleep on Doc’s couch. Salem

was open and outgoing. Not like her. But seeing her face relaxed

in slumber, she realized that Salem, too, held back a part of herself

when she was with people. What could have caused that wariness in

this gorgeous woman? Was she as lonely as Knox felt?

During their earlier crisis, she had held Salem’s hand without

thinking. She closed her eyes and tried to recall how those slender

fingers felt curled around hers. She wished she’d taken time to

implant in her memory the sensation of Salem’s warm skin. But she

didn’t dare touch her now that she had time to think about it. She

knelt next to the couch.

“Salem,” she said softly.

The thick lashes fluttered and opened to reveal hazy green eyes.

Knox leaned closer.

“We’re all done. He’s going to be fine.”

Salem sat up and rubbed her face. “God, I didn’t mean to fall

asleep. What time is it?”

“About two thirty. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

“I’ve got our lunch in the fridge. There’s more than enough for

Doc Evan, too.”

“Somebody say something about food?” Doc appeared in the

doorway and Knox stood quickly.

“Cold fried chicken, potato salad, and pecan pie,” Salem said.

She smiled sheepishly at Knox. “The waitress at the diner said you

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liked pecan and she threw it in for free. She said it was a thank-you

for remembering Max when you needed a tow truck. I don’t think

she realized it was my car that Max had to pull out of the mud.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have called her if I’d known Max would offer

extra services,” Knox muttered.

Salem grinned. “It was easy enough to turn down and didn’t

offend me, so don’t hold that against her.”

“Y’all can talk all day if you want, but I’m digging into this

chicken.” Doc swept aside the papers on his desk and unfolded a

red-and-white-checkered tablecloth to cover it. “Lunch is served.”

They spread the food out on the desk and filled their paper

plates, then Doc settled in his recliner and she and Salem sat next to

each other, but not too close, on the couch.

“Are you going to call Guard’s owner?” Knox asked. The man

didn’t sound like he deserved to own such a fine dog.

“Can he be charged with animal cruelty or something for letting

a deaf dog run loose?” Salem asked.

“It’s not against the law to let dogs run loose in the country,

deaf or not. And there’s no law that keeps idiots and mean people

from owning animals. It’s a shame, but that’s the way it is,” Doc

said. “I believe, however, I can do something about Guard. But first,

I’ve got to know something. Either one of you want a really nice

German shepherd?”

Knox looked up from her chicken. “You serious?”

“I believe I can talk Barnes into givin’ him up, but I need to

know he’ll have a home if I do.”

Salem frowned. “I’ve never had a dog and I just adopted a stray

kitten. In fact, I need to bring him in for whatever vaccinations you

give cats.”

“I’ll take him,” Knox said quickly. “I’ve always wanted a dog

like him. I’ll pay any price he wants if he’ll sell him.”

“Don’t think you’ll have to pay a penny. Just let me make a

call.” He dug the phone out from under the tablecloth and consulted

a file before punching in the number. Holding his finger to his lips

for them to be silent, he put the phone on speaker.

“Barnes. It’s Dr. Evan Shepherd over at the veterinary clinic.”

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“Hey, Doc. I heard you and Turner went deep-sea fishing out

of Panama City and didn’t catch a thing. Turner’s still talking about

how much money it cost him just to float out there all day. Says he

could have stayed home if all he was going to do was drink beer.”

“I wish he’d stayed home, too. He ran his mouth the entire

time. That’s probably what scared the fish off.”

A loud guffaw sounded through the speaker. “How you doing

these days?”

“I’m good, but you’re not going to be when I tell you what I’m

calling about. You know that big shepherd you’ve got? Well, he was

running loose again and got hit on the highway.”

“Damn. I reckon he’s dead then. My daddy always said any

dog stupid enough to stand in the road didn’t deserve to live. I’ll

sure miss the stud fees I got from him. Shoulda kept a puppy from

the last litter.”

“Thing is, he ain’t dead. But his leg was tore up pretty bad so I

had to get some help from a specialist. It’s gonna cost ya.”

“Cost me? How much? I just spent a bundle on a red convertible

for my wife. Heh. The ‘thank you’ I get every time she drives it is

worth every penny.”

Knox could almost hear the man’s leer.

“You should have called me before you did all that. I’d have

told you to just put him down.”

“Yeah, I probably should have called first but knew what you’d

say, and I wasn’t going to put down a good dog.”

“How much money we talking about?”

“Don’t know yet. I’ll have to tally it up. A couple thousand for

sure.”“Well then, looks like you’ve got yourself a dog, Doc. Ain’t no

way I’m going to pay that…unless…how about I just let you have

his stud fees until the bill’s paid up?”

Doc winked at them. “I could take his stud fees as payment, but

here’s the problem. The car that hit him busted his nuts. You won’t

be getting any more puppies out of him.”

“Damn. Then I don’t care what you do with him. Keep him or

kill him. He’s your dog now.”

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“If that’s what you want. I can probably find him a home.”

“You do that.”

“Even though he won’t be good for breeding, I still need his

papers to transfer ownership.”

“Drop by the office and ask my secretary to dig them out for

you. And, Doc, call me next time you go deep-sea fishing.”

“I’ll do that.” Doc punched a button to end the call and

grimaced at the phone. “When hell freezes over.” He smiled. “Looks

like you’ve got yourself a dog. I better keep him here a day or two

until he’s getting around on three legs okay. I’ll let you know when

you can pick him up.”

They finished their meal while Doc regaled them with funny

stories about his clients and their pets. Then Salem and Doc began to

put the food away, and Knox slipped down the hallway to the kennel

room where Guard lay awake on a thick foam pad. He rose up on his

chest and thumped his tail when she approached.

She held out her hand for him to sniff. “Hey, boy. Guess what?

When you get better, you’re coming home with me. I have lots of

fields to run in that aren’t near the road, and I have horses and a big

house. Guardian studied her face as she spoke. “Oh, I forgot you can’t

hear. Maybe you read lips, huh? How’s that leg feel?” He whined and

licked her hand. “Hurts, I guess. I might be able help you with that.”

Knox rubbed her hands together, then laid one on his hip and

the other on his cast. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the

warm energy radiating through her hands. When she opened her

eyes a few minutes later, Guardian was sleeping again. She ran her

hands through his soft fur. Unlike some shepherds that were mostly

tan, Guard’s saddle of black dominated his coat, running from head

to tail. He was very handsome.

“So, that Karate Kid stuff really works?”

Knox was startled by the soft voice behind her. How long had

Salem been standing there?

“What?”

“What you did with your hands. It was like The Karate Kid

movie where the old man rubbed his hands together and laid them on

the boy’s knee to make it better so he could finish the tournament.”

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“Oh, yeah. I learned it from Master Kai. He taught mathematics

and other stuff at the Institute, where I went to school.” Knox stood.

“I didn’t realize you were watching. I feel a little silly.”

“It’s not silly if it helps. You’ll have to explain how it works

sometime.”

She searched Salem’s face for any sign of the uneasiness she

usually encountered when people began to suspect she was different,

but saw nothing but curiosity and sincere interest. “Uh, okay. I’ll

try.” “Are you ready to go? I probably should check back in with the

office after we go over your paperwork.”

“Sure.” She squatted next to Guardian one more time, but

refrained from touching him again so he wouldn’t wake. “I’ll come

back for you, boy. Doc Evan will take care of you until I do.”

❖

Salem drove Knox home and they spread the insurance

paperwork out on her dining-room table to review. The contracts

totaled up to a tidy sum, so she suggested that Knox consult with

another broker for comparison. But Knox firmly declined, signed on

every line Salem pointed out, and wrote a check to cover the rest of

the year and another full year.

She paused at the front door as Knox walked her out. They had

decided against a horseback ride after all the excitement, but Salem

was reluctant to leave. “Thanks for being so great and coming to my

rescue again.”

Christ, Knox was stunning when she smiled.

“It’s not a problem. I know it was upsetting for you, but I’m

getting a great dog out of the deal and lunch was still fun.”

“Why do you call him Doc Evan instead of Dr. Shepherd?”

“He and my father were friends from the time I was a kid. He’s

just always been Doc Evan to me. Tony and a lot of people just call

him Doc.”

“I’ve got an appointment with him in the morning to get my

kitten vaccinated.”

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“What kind is he?”

“I’m sorry?”

“The kitten. What breed?”

Salem chuckled. “I thought at first he was just an ordinary gray

tabby, but now I think he’s part parrot. He likes to climb up and

perch on my shoulder when I’m washing dishes or reading.”

“Sounds cute.”

“You should come by the house some evening and meet him.

We could throw some steaks on the grill or something.”

“That would be nice,” Knox said softly.

They held each other’s gaze for a long moment before Knox

looked away, her cheeks coloring. Whatever was happening between

them, something told Salem not to push.

She held up her briefcase. “I’ll get these activated first thing

tomorrow.”

“Thanks. I appreciate all your work on them.”

“Don’t worry. I’m collecting a big fat fee on these babies.”

“You earned it.” One corner of Knox’s full lips turned up in a

half smile, and Salem had to force herself to resist kissing her.

“Well, I better go. Maybe we can go riding another time?”

“How about Saturday morning, before it gets too hot?”

“That would be wonderful. What time?”

“Around nine?”

Salem ran her eyes over Knox’s long frame. Again, she had to

hold herself back from wrapping her arms around that lean body.

But, while Knox had touched her freely several times earlier that

day, she now stood two steps away with her arms clasped across

her rib cage, her do-not-enter-personal-space signals firmly in place.

Salem smiled warmly. “Nine is perfect.”

• 105 •

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chapTeR ThiRTeen

Salem was still humming happily when she strolled into the

office.

June looked up and smiled. “Well, things must have gone well

out at the Bolander place. Did you girls have a good ride?”

Salem waved as she headed down the hallway to her office.

“Oh, we didn’t get to go riding. I had a terrible accident on the way

there,” she said over her shoulder.

June jumped up from her desk and followed hot on Salem’s

heels. “Are you okay, honey? You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I hit a dog. It was awful.” Salem’s smile dimmed for a moment,

then returned after she described what happened to the dog. “His leg

is broken, but Knox fixed it right up. She’s a trained surgeon, you

know.”

June cocked her head, seeming amused. “Robert mentioned it a

few hundred times when he came by to collect your father for their

Wednesday golf game. He was very proud of her.”

“Our fathers were friends?”

“Very good friends. They would be pleased that you two girls

are getting to know each other.”

Salem pulled the signed contracts from her briefcase. “We have

a date to go riding Saturday morning.”

The minute the words were out of her mouth, she froze inside.

Had her father also told June she was gay? Was she revealing

something about Knox that she shouldn’t? Heck, she’d just assumed

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Knox was gay. Maybe June would just think she meant “date” as in

“appointment.”

But June smiled broadly and patted her on the arm. “That’s

wonderful, honey. Max says she’s very attractive.”

Salem hesitated, taking in June’s flowered dress and heavily

sprayed hairdo. Surely she didn’t mean that the way Salem heard

it. But before she could decide how to respond, the phone rang and

June answered it at Salem’s desk.

“Good afternoon, Lacey Insurance. How can I help you? Lamar

said he wouldn’t be back in the office today, but let me put Ms.

Lacey on the phone. Hold on, please.”

June put the caller on hold and reached for the contracts Salem

held in her hand. “It’s Raeford Price. I’ll bring his file right back and

fax those contracts off for you while you see what he wants.”

Salem nodded and settled into her chair to take the call.

“Mr. Price. This is Salem Lacey. What can I do for you today?”

“I sure was sorry about your daddy,” Raeford said. “My

family’s done business with his office ever since he opened it, and

we were ushers at church together. He was a good man.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that. I hope you’ll continue to do

business with us.”

“That’s what I’m calling about. I own a construction business

and my son started his own flooring business as a spin-off. That

boy, Lamar, wrote up a policy for Junior a couple of years back. He

hasn’t had a claim against it yet, but somebody got hurt on the job

yesterday, and I told him I’d call it in for him because he has to fill

in at the work site until his man can come back to work.”

“What type of accident are we talking about?”

“Durned nail gun misfired and put a nail right though the boy’s

hand. He’ll be okay, but there’s medical bills to pay and short-term

disability. Doctor says it’ll be a few months before he can lay floors

again.”

June reappeared and laid a thin file on Salem’s desk marked

Price Flooring. Salem quickly paged through it and frowned. She

didn’t see much in the folder, just a policy on the contents of the

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business’s office and equipment. No medical or workman’s comp

policy. Who would run a business without those policies?

“Some things seem to be missing from the file in the office, Mr.

Price. Perhaps Lamar has another folder somewhere.”

“Junior’s got copies if that dummy’s lost his. I swear I don’t

know why Franklin put up with him.”

“I’m sure we’ll find our copies. But tell your son to relax. If

you can fax over the medical bills, I’ll personally take care of this

for him.”

“I appreciate that. You’re a chip off the old block.”

Salem hung up the phone and paged through the file again.

Who would write such an incomplete policy? Something wasn’t

right here and she had a bad feeling about it.

The door to Lamar’s office was closed and, even though June

had said he wasn’t in, she knocked sharply. When she didn’t get an

answer she tried the door, but it was locked. She banged on the door

in frustration. “Damn it. Sorry little bastard.” The incomplete folder

irritated her because she couldn’t tolerate sloppy bookkeeping. But

the locked door did more than irritate her. It royally pissed her off.

She went back to her desk and looked up the cell number for

Lamar. It went right to voice mail.

“Lamar, this is Salem Lacey. I need to see you in this office at

nine sharp tomorrow morning. If you have another appointment,

postpone it. This is important.” She slammed the receiver back into

its cradle. It was time for a sit-down with this guy. She picked the

phone up again and buzzed June’s desk.

“I just called a locksmith to get that door open for you,” June

answered before Salem could say a word.

“Thank you. You read my mind.”

June chuckled. “Not exactly. I could hear you cursing all the

way out here.”

❖

Salem wanted to rub her tired eyes, but opted for a few drops of

eye lubricant so she wouldn’t smear her mascara and eyeliner. She’d

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had little more than four hours of sleep after working until two in the

morning to dig through the mess that Lamar called an office. Many

of the policies he had written were missing coverage that should be

standard. Even more alarming, those policies were always paid in

cash. That was unusual in the insurance business and surely should

have raised an auditor’s eyebrows.

She was standing in the office’s small kitchen with June, fixing

her third cup of coffee and fuming, when Lamar sauntered through

the door with a box of doughnuts in his hand, a half hour late for

their meeting.

June frowned at him and picked up her mug to return to the

reception desk. “My nephew, Ben, is dropping by later. He and his

wife are buying their first house, and he wants to talk with you about

homeowners’ and mortgage insurance. When he shows up, I’ll have

him wait until you’re done with your meeting,” she told Salem.

“Thanks. I don’t know how long we’ll be, though.”

June waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, take your time. He won’t

mind. It’ll give us a chance to catch up on the family gossip.”

Salem turned to Lamar and struggled to keep her voice calm,

her expression neutral. “Our meeting was at nine o’clock, Lamar.”

He shrugged. “I had to drop my car off for an oil change and

ran into Thomas Williams at the Chevy dealership. He was buying

one of those big SUVs for his wife…loaded with leather upholstery,

GPS, and everything. Must have cost him fifty thousand. I told him

I could write him up a real good policy on it. Who knew you could

make that much money pulling teeth? That nigger must be selling

crack out of his dental office.”

Salem stared at him. Surely she hadn’t just heard him use that

word. Her professional demeanor slipped as her temper threatened

to erupt. She clenched her teeth to keep from firing him on the spot.

“In my office, now. We have a lot of things to discuss.”

She turned and stalked away, but he didn’t immediately follow.

She was hotter than the coffee she could hear him pouring by the

time he finally appeared and slouched into the chair across from her.

“So, what’s up?” He took a big bite of doughnut, dropping

crumbs all over her carpet, and slurped his coffee.

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“First of all, if I ever hear you use that word again, I’ll fire you

on the spot.”

He eyed her and took another bite of doughnut. “What word?”

“The n-word.”

He laughed. “You can’t even say it. It don’t mean nothing.

Thomas calls himself that sometimes. That’s just how we talk down

here. We don’t have the NAACP crawling all over us about every

little thing.”

“I’ll immediately dismiss any employee who says it in this

office or uses it in public. Just to be clear, I’m going to put a written

reprimand in your personnel file specifically stating this policy. I

don’t want you to have any doubt that I’ve warned you.”

He shrugged. “Whatever.”

“Secondly, I want to talk to you about the Price Flooring folder.

There’s no workman’s comp policy in it. Raeford Price called

yesterday to file a claim and said he’s sure his son’s business was

fully insured. I’ve checked through your other files and couldn’t find

it there either.”

Lamar sat up. She definitely had his attention now. He chewed

slowly on the last bit of doughnut and narrowed his eyes. “You went

in my office? Through my files? I keep that door locked.”

Salem leaned forward and met his glare. “I had a locksmith

remove the lock and, yes, I went through files that are part of my

business.”

His jaw clenched, but he sat back and pretended to casually

study his fingernails. “Well, I reckon I won’t be able to find anything

now that you’ve probably shuffled all my papers around.”

“As I was saying, I couldn’t find the policy Mr. Price called

about, so I called the underwriter and they don’t have a workman’s

comp policy listed for that company either. I find that odd, because

it’s one of the basic elements of commercial-insurance coverage.

Mr. Price said he has a copy of the policies his son paid for. I’ve

asked June to have him fax it over.”

Lamar gave a disgusted snort. “That old man doesn’t know

everything. I wrote full coverage, and that’s the policies Junior

probably showed Raeford. But Junior’s renewal check bounced.

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I called him and he renewed just the policies on his office and

equipment until he could afford the rest again.”

“I’m also concerned about the number of cash payments you’ve

been taking. Most businesses would write a check or use a credit

card to keep a record of their business expenses.”

“Well, that ain’t how people do business around here. And I

wasn’t about to accept another check from Junior since the first one

bounced.”

Salem sat back. He seemed to have an answer to almost every

thing, but her gut told her not to trust him. “In the future, I want

to review every policy you write and I want to approve any cash

payments. In the meantime, I’m going to review all of your records

to see what other accounts have incomplete policies.”

“The hell you will.” Lamar jumped up, his face red, and pointed

at her. “After your daddy got sick, I was the only one keeping this

business running. He was hardly in this office for nearly a year.

This business should have been mine when that old man kicked the

bucket, but he left it to his queer bitch of a daughter.”

“You’re fired. I want you to leave immediately. Don’t bother

going into your office. I’ll have June pack any personal items and

drop them by your home.”

“Your old man couldn’t fire me and you can’t either. I know

all about the Bolander fire. You try to get rid of me and you won’t

have a business after you pay for the insurance fraud your old man

pulled off.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’ll just bet you don’t. You ain’t been in town a month and

you’re already thick as thieves with Bolander’s freak of a daughter.

What have you girls been doing out there at her place? Stirring up

her witch’s pot to cast some spells? Or maybe you’ve been too busy

licking her pussy. Yeah, I’ll bet she’s just like you.”

“That’s enough, Lamar.”

Salem blinked at the uniformed police officer whose hulking

figure took up most of the open doorway.

“This ain’t none of your business, faggot-lover,” Lamar

snapped.

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“I just heard Ms. Lacey tell you to leave, and I think you better

do it before I pick you up by the scruff of your scrawny neck and

carry you out,” the officer said calmly.

“Fine,” Lamar spat. “You’re going to regret this, bitch. I’ll

open my own office. We’ll just see how many God-fearing people

in this town want some queer handling their insurance.” He leered at

Salem. “One day, a man’s going to put you in your place and teach

you what women are made for. Wouldn’t mind doing that myself.”

The officer stepped forward and grabbed Lamar by the back

of his collar. “That sounded like a threat to me, Ms. Lacey. Do you

want to press charges or maybe take out a restraining order?”

“No, thank you, Officer. Just get him out of here, please.”

Salem sank back in her chair and closed her eyes. Her heart

was pounding, and she took a few deep breaths to calm it.

“I see you met my nephew, Ben.”

Salem opened her eyes to find June standing in front of her

desk. “That officer is your nephew?”

“Yep. Good thing he picked this morning to stop by.”

“Yes, something of a coincidence, huh?”

June smiled. “Yes, a coincidence. Just like you accidentally

hitting the office intercom. We could hear everything.”

Heat crawled up Salem’s cheeks when she remembered the

accusation Lamar had made about her and Knox. “Sorry about that.

I didn’t know he’d get that nasty.”

“Don’t worry, hon. What’s said in this office stays in this office.

Ben won’t say anything. His best friend is gay and the godfather to

Ben’s oldest girl.”

“Really?” Holy crap. Was Oakboro a feeder town to Key West

or something? She kept finding gay people everywhere she turned.

And straight people who didn’t seem to have a problem with it. She

wanted to laugh. Had her father realized after he moved down here

that Oakboro might have a higher percentage of gay residents than

Atlanta did? Ha. This was where he wanted to move to save her soul

and straighten her out?

June wrinkled her forehead at the mewing sound coming from

under Salem’s desk. “What in the world?”

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Salem smiled when a soft paw snaked out of the pet carrier at

her feet to pat her leg. She picked up the carrier and set it on her

desk.“This is Tuck. He showed up at the house the day I arrived and

I haven’t been able to convince him to leave.” She opened the door

to the carrier and Tuck sauntered out, waving his tail in the air as

he surveyed June. “I’ve got an appointment with Dr. Shepherd this

morning to get his vaccinations and—”

“Oh!”

The kitten suddenly launched himself forward and dug his tiny

claws into June’s ample bosom to scramble up to her shoulder.

“Tuck, no. I’m sorry. He thinks he’s part bird. He likes to sit on

my shoulder.” Salem reached for the kitten, but June put her hand

out to stop her when he began to purr and rub his cheek against hers.

“What a cute little charmer,” she said. “My Jimmy was allergic

to animal hair, so we couldn’t have pets. Since he’s passed on, I’ve

thought a few times about getting one for company.”

“I’ve been telling her she needs a puppy to go home to.” Ben

had returned and grinned at them. “My wife’s poodle has a new

litter. I’m trying to get her to take a pup when they’re ready. They

don’t shed much and a dog can be a lot of company.”

Tuck jumped down and batted Salem’s pen across the desk

before pouncing on her curled phone cord and rolling around to

tangle himself in it.

“Isn’t that cute.” June beamed.

“He’s busy, that’s for sure.” Salem glanced at her watch, then

gave Ben an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but I have an appointment

with the vet. I really appreciate your help with Lamar, but I’m afraid

I’ll have to reschedule a time to meet with you.”

June tickled Tuck’s stomach and began to unravel him from

the phone cord. “You know, I’ve got to make a deposit at the bank.

I could take the little scamp to his appointment.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.” Salem hesitated, remembering

what Tony had said about Doc Evan. He needs to meet somebody,

but he’s such an old grump I don’t know who would have him. She

looked at June. Both were widowed and needed companionship.

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What could it hurt? “But if you really don’t mind, I could stay

and take care of Ben. Then I need to do some serious digging into

Lamar’s files.”

June gently pushed the kitten back into his carrier and smiled.

“I don’t mind at all. It’s Evan Shepherd’s clinic out on the highway,

right? Your father used to disappear once a week to go fishing with

him, but I only met him once or twice.”

“Yes. That’s the one. Tell Doc Evan I said hi and ask how

Guardian’s doing.”

“I’ll be glad to, hon. Let me take this little fella and gather up

my purse and the bank bag, and I’ll be on my way.”

She watched June leave and Ben grinned at Salem.

“I hear Doc Shepherd’s partial to redheads.”

Salem smiled back. “Hmm. Imagine that.”

• 115 •

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chapTeR FouRTeen

The barn’s beautiful,” Salem said. “When did you finish it?”

“Last week. Hoke and James helped me get everything

ready and move the horses from the small barn yesterday.”

“Hoke and James?”

“Hoke’s been my father’s groom since I was a kid.”

At that moment, a tall, light-skinned African-American man

led a dark gelding through the door at the other end of the long barn

facility. A broad smile lit his face as he approached.

“Bonjour, Knox. Who do we have here?”

“James, this is Salem. The friend I told you would be riding

with me this morning. Salem, this is Hoke’s son, James.”

“Pleased to meet you, James.”

Instead of answering, James turned to Knox. “You didn’t tell

me she was so beautiful.”

Knox glanced at Salem and blushed. “Cut it out.”

Knox’s growl didn’t deter James.

“Ah, je vois. Vous vous conservez celui-ci pour vous, mon

ami?”

Salem laughed. “Before you say any more, you guys should

know I minored in French in college. Thank you for the compliment

of accusing her of wanting to keep me for herself, James.”

He exaggerated a look of surprise. “Intelligent, too.”

“Are you French, or do you just speak the language to impress

women?”

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“I’m not French, Miss Salem, but my mama’s Creole.” James’s

European accent suddenly became a Georgia drawl. “My daddy’s

taken care of the Bolander Friesians since he and Mr. Robert were

young men.” He ran his hands down the thick neck of the black

gelding. “I was always tagging along because these horses have

fascinated me as far back as I can remember. When I was old enough,

Mr. Robert helped me get an apprenticeship with a big farm owned

by one of his friends in France. That’s where I’ve been for the past

ten years, training horses. Daddy called me a couple of months ago

to tell me Mr. Robert had died and Knox had moved back to rebuild

the stable. That’s why I’m here.”

Knox nodded. “I’ve got my own work to do and it’s a full-time

job—buying, showing, and breeding—to build the reputation of a

stable. Hoke semi-retired, so I’ve hired James.”

“That sounds wonderful. Are you riding with us today, James?”

“No, I promised my mama I’d drive her to New Orleans so she

can see her sister while I visit a couple of farms over toward Baton

Rouge. They have mares I want to take a look at next week. But I

have your mount right here. This is Bastille, Mr. Robert’s gelding.

He’s as gentle as an old dog.”

“That’s good because it’s been years since I’ve ridden. He’s

beautiful.”

James turned to Knox. “Who will you ride, boss lady?”

“Legacy, I think. I’ll get her while you saddle Bas.”

Knox led a tall mare from a nearby stall. Her wavy forelock

nearly touched her nose, and her tail was so thick and long, it clearly

would have dragged in the dirt if it hadn’t been neatly cut off at her

heels. “Wow,” Salem said.

“Bas is a more traditional Friesian. A bit stockier. My dad

preferred them, but Legacy has the more modern build, taller and

leaner, that’s preferred in the show ring.”

Salem held out her hand for the mare to sniff. “I guess I thought

they were a Spanish breed because of the movie about Zorro. But

you said James trained in France?”

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“The breed originated in the Netherlands as a light draft horse,

but they’re all over Europe and the United States now.” Knox

checked the mare’s feet for embedded stones. “They were originally

bred to carry knights wearing heavy armor, but when the Spanish

expanded into the Netherlands, Friesians pulled carriages there, then

later became popular as plantation horses. They’ve been somewhat

competitive as dressage horses only recently.”

They led the horses outside, and Knox easily sprang into the

saddle while James cupped his hands to give Salem a leg up.

“You ladies have a very nice ride,” he said with a wave.

Salem appreciated that Knox started out slow. But Bas had

incredibly smooth gaits and in only a short time she was urging him

into a jog. Knox kept pace alongside her on the wide sandy paths

that wound through the wooded areas separating open fields and a

handful of small ponds.

After about an hour, they dismounted under the shade of a

massive pine that stood like a tall sentry over a muddy pond. A

blue heron fished on the opposite side and turtles sunned on every

available rock and log. They sat in the short grass and listened to

the sounds that filled the air around them. Squirrels chattered, a fish

jumped, and the horses stood nearby, cropping at the grass with

sharp teeth. The morning was already heating up with the promise

of a sweltering afternoon, but cooler air drifted up from the pond to

make it pleasant enough.

Salem purposely sat closer than she knew Knox would find

comfortable, but after a little shifting about, she settled and seemed

to accept Salem’s intrusion.

Knox put her arms out behind her and stretched her long legs

before her while Salem sat cross-legged, plucking blades of grass

and taking in the oaks that lined the pond. It was more private than

the irrigation ponds on the edges of fields planted with ankle-deep

Bermuda hay.

She turned toward Knox and leaned back on one arm to match

her pose. “Your land is beautiful. Almost as beautiful as its owner.”

Knox looked away, and Salem marveled that it took so little for

Knox’s neck to flush red. Surely many people had told her she was

beautiful, many times.

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“I wanted to end the leases on these fields to turn them back into

pasture,” Knox said, sidestepping the compliment. “But the farmers

depend on the income from the crops, so I struck a compromise.

Instead of paying money to lease the fields, they pay me in hay so

I don’t have to buy any. One of the farmers plans to retire in two

years, and I’ll reclaim his fields as pasture when he does.”

Salem accepted Knox’s retreat. “That’s really nice.”

“Just trying to be fair.”

Salem held Knox’s gaze. “I’ll bet you’ve always been the type

to do the right thing.”

Those gray eyes could be so innocently earnest one moment,

then wary the next.

“Not really. My brother and I got into trouble a lot when we

were kids.”

“You have a brother?” As soon as Salem asked, she remembered

Knox had said she didn’t have any living siblings.

“He died of a heart condition right after he turned eighteen.”

“I’m so sorry. You two were close?”

“A twin. He was my best friend. I’d do anything to make him

laugh. He got picked on a lot, and I had kind of a short fuse when it

came to people being mean to him.”

“That’s not a bad thing. It’s understandable, Knox,” Salem said

softly.“Well, I had a short temper about other things, too. That’s sort

of why the Institute arranged for me to work with Master Kai…so I

could learn to control my…anger.”

“That was where you were sent to school, right?”

“Yeah. It was like…like a Montessori school. You advanced

at your own pace there. My father didn’t feel the local schools here

were equipped to help me reach my potential.”

“How old were you when you went off to school?”

“Eight.”

“Oh, Knox. That’s so young. You must have been homesick.”

“I missed my brother a lot, but I came home on holidays…

at least, until my brother died. After that, I couldn’t stand to face

his empty room. My father would come to visit me once a year. It

wasn’t too bad. My classes were really interesting. I liked that part.”

• 120 •

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A comfortable silence hung between them as they watched the

heron snatch a small fish from the water and gobble it down. Salem

was heartened that Knox was sharing so much about herself. A

question had been burning in her mind for the past twenty-four hours,

so she decided to take a chance with this new trust between them.

“Were you here when your father’s barn burned?”

Knox nodded.

“Do you remember much about it?”

“I’ll never forget it…all those horses dying.” Her voice was

almost a whisper. “I had nightmares for years.” She stared over at

the horses. “I’ve had a few since I came back.”

“God, I’m sorry. Let’s talk about something else.”

“No. It’s okay. I don’t mind discussing it with you.”

“I just wondered…I had to fire Lamar yesterday.”

“Lamar?”

“He’s the agent who worked for Dad. He was furious and

claimed that my father and yours collaborated to file a fraudulent

claim. I checked the file, which listed the cause as wet hay that

spontaneously ignited.”

Knox sighed. “I was just a kid. I told you I used to have

problems controlling my temper. It was right before I went off to

school, so a lot of rumors went around that I was sent away because

I started the fire. That’s probably what he was talking about. I’m

surprised you haven’t heard it already from someone else.”

Salem thought back to the women gossiping about Knox in the

grocery store. How bad was her temper?

Knox’s gaze was direct and penetrating. The air around them

seemed to buzz. “I didn’t start that fire.”

Salem laid her hand on Knox’s tense arm and felt a distinct, but

not unpleasant, tingle run up her arm. “No, I’m sure you didn’t,” she

said softly. “People can be so cruel.” She didn’t let go until she felt

Knox relax. “I’m surprised you wanted to come back here.”

“I have a lot of good memories, too. My father and I used

to take long rides together. We’d talk about everything. He was

a historian and always said history wasn’t about dates and time,

but about people. We’d ride for hours while he told me about the

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generations of Bolanders who lived on this land. Those stories made

me feel so tied to this place that, in spite of everything else, it still

feels like home.”

“It must be amazing to have family roots that deep. Thank you

for sharing that with me.”

“Where’s home for you? Atlanta?”

“I don’t know that I think of it as home any more. That’s where

I grew up and my mom still lives there. She’s a dance choreographer

for theater productions. She loves Atlanta.”

“But you don’t?”

“I used to, but too much happened. I had to get out of there.”

The images she’d worked so hard to banish flooded back—Eve

naked on top of that woman, the media camped out at her home

and workplace after she outed Eve at the funeral, and her boss’s

face when he fired her. She tore angrily at the grass and threw the

shredded pieces away from her. She felt Knox watching her, waiting

for more.

She sighed. Something inexplicable happened when Knox was

near, something that warmed and steadied her. She wanted to tell her

everything. Knox wouldn’t repeat it all over town. She was as much

of an outsider as Salem was. Besides, Knox had shared the nasty

rumors about her barn fire. Salem should tell her about Eve. Tony

had said her dad didn’t believe you could trust someone who wasn’t

honest about herself. She needed to be honest. She stared down at

her hands and gathered her courage.

“My lover died.”

“Had you been together a long time?”

“Four years. We didn’t live together, though, because she was

a representative in the Georgia House and didn’t want anyone to

know she was gay.”

She counted her heartbeats as she waited for Knox to respond

to the fact that her lover was a woman.

“But you loved her?”

Not hearing any condemnation, Salem continued.

“I thought I did. We’d just gotten back from a romantic weekend

in the mountains where I proposed to her. When she dropped me off

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at my house on Sunday night, she promised that we’d move in to-

gether after the election this fall. Then she went home and, by morn-

ing, she was dead. They said it was an undiagnosed heart defect.”

“That’s so awful.”

“No. What was awful was finding her that morning, naked, in

bed with her gardener. Apparently, she’d tied the woman to the bed

and was fucking her when her heart gave out. The woman couldn’t

get loose. I had no idea she was seeing other people or that she was

into kinky sex.”

Salem’s throat tightened around her hard laugh. She’d burned

with anger after the funeral, but now enough time had passed that the

flames of her fury had died out and only pain was left. She blinked

back tears and felt Knox’s long fingers curl around hers and warmth

spread through her. She looked up into eyes glinting like silver and

a face so beautiful, its expression so tender, she hurt in a different,

wonderful way.

Knox wasn’t sure who had moved, but every ounce of her was

helplessly drawn to, intently focused on, Salem’s mouth. It was only

inches away.

“I promised myself I’d never get involved with another woman.

But I’m not sure I want to keep that promise,” Salem whispered, her

breath a sweet feather against Knox’s skin.

Something inside Knox shifted. Her head swam, heart pounded,

blood pulsed, and the earth seemed to move around them. Moving.

Swaying. The long needles of the huge pine fanned the thick air, and

the leaves of the oaks around the pond danced. The trees. Shit!

Knox sat back and jumped to her feet. “I, uh, think there must

be a storm coming.”

Salem blinked. “Wha-what?” She looked up at the cloudless

blue sky.

“The wind. Didn’t you feel it, making the trees sway?”

“Uh…I guess.”

“Oh, and I forgot that Doc Evan said I could pick up Guard

today, then I need to finish some work. We better start back.”

Salem got to her feet. “Okay,” she said slowly. “I should go

tackle some of the paperwork at my office, too.”

• 123 •

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They mounted and rode a direct route to the stable instead of

the meandering one they’d taken to arrive at the pond. When they

reached the barn, Knox handed the horses over to James and walked

Salem quickly to her car. Knox looked at everything around them,

avoiding Salem’s gaze.

“Thanks for inviting me out,” Salem said. “I had fun.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Knox shuffled her feet. Salem shifted uneasily. The comfortable

familiarity between them had vanished, but the electricity crackling

in the air was off the scale.

“Well, good luck with Guard.”

“Thanks. Don’t work too hard this afternoon.”

“See you later.”

“Yeah. See ya.”

❖

Damn, damn, damn. She’d really screwed things up.

How could she have misread Knox so badly? Just because she

didn’t freak out when Salem told her about Eve didn’t mean she

was gay. But it was Knox who’d taken her hand and moved to kiss

her, wasn’t it? Had she just assumed Knox was getting ready to kiss

her because she was holding her hand to comfort her? She replayed

what happened in her mind. She wasn’t sure.

She was sure she wanted to kiss Knox. She wanted it very

badly.

Knox’s rejection stung. She should be developing a thicker skin

by now. Her father had rejected her. Eve had betrayed her. All of her

friends, except Alisha, had dumped her. Apparently nobody loved

her but her mother and Tuck. Salem mentally checked the date.

Saturday. Her mom would be at the theater directing the matinee

show. Well, that left Tuck to comfort her.

Instead of going straight to the office, she drove home to make

herself a sandwich and pick up the little fur ball. It had never bothered

her before to be alone, but she had gotten used to his company. He

made her laugh at his silly kitten antics and warmed her when he

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curled in her lap and purred himself to sleep. He could play around

the office while she worked.

Three hours later, Salem quit pretending to read the files and

sat back. She’d vowed to put the morning debacle out of her mind,

but Tuck had knocked a stack of files over onto the floor before she

could even settle into her chair. When she bent to pick them up, the

Bolander folder was the first one she touched.

That took her instantly back to the morning’s ride.

Knox had a natural athletic grace, but in the saddle she seemed

to become one with the tall, prancing mare. She was a Centauress,

her shining black hair a perfect match to the mare’s glossy, ebony

coat. She was so beautiful, even the memory of Knox’s shy smile

stole Salem’s breath.

She had to stop thinking about it. After all, how well did she

really know Knox? She admitted that she had to have help managing

her anger. What if a dark side lurked under that shy, innocent act?

In her gut, she knew that wasn’t the case. She didn’t know how she

knew, but she did.

As pathetic as she felt, she still wanted to get to know this

incredible woman better, especially if she decided to stay in

Oakboro. She frowned. When had she gone back to thinking she

might stay? She shook her head at her ricocheting thoughts.

Next time she saw Knox, she’d suck it up and apologize. Clear

the air. Assure Knox that she wanted to be friends. And hope Knox

still wanted the same.

❖

Knox settled Guardian onto the thick dog bed in her lab, one

of three nests she’d prepared for him with a water bowl nearby.

The others were in rooms where she spent the rest of her time, her

bedroom and the kitchen.

He was already getting around quite well with his cast. He

drank from the water and sank gratefully onto the comfortable pad,

his dark eyes following her as she settled at the bank of computers

a few feet away.

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“You going to be all right there, boy?” Though he was deaf, he

seemed to sense when she was speaking to him. His tail thumped

happily against the floor in response, just like it had when she showed

up at Doc Evan’s to bring him home. He was certainly happier than

she felt after her botched morning.

She strapped on her anti-static wristbands. Christ almighty.

They felt like training wheels. But this project was three-quarters

done, and she couldn’t risk erasing the program because a stray

thought flung a burst of energy through her fingertips.

She took a deep breath and blew it out. What a geek she

was. Salem was about to kiss her. She’d been dreaming about the

possibility for days. Then when her lips were mere inches away and

she was about to experience her first real kiss, she lost it. She was

disgusted with herself.

She opened her triage-training program and copied the file

that held the basic code to generate a virtual patient. She needed to

create a female patient who had been in a car wreck and appeared

at first glance to be fine. This patient would teach a nurse or doctor

to recognize some very subtle indications of hidden injuries. She

began typing away to add specific features to the file, like hair and

eye color, facial and body features, to distinguish this patient from

others in the program that displayed different ailments.

As she typed, her thoughts kept turning back to Salem. She’d

never forget the sun picking out the blond highlights in her light-

brown hair and those green eyes holding hers. She wanted to feel

Salem’s breath on her face again. Her mouth watered at the thought

of how Salem’s would taste. Crap. She would’ve made a fool of

herself. Salem was probably an experienced kisser. One kiss from

Knox and she’d know she was a beginner. How nerdy was that?

More than ever, Knox was convinced she’d never be able to have

a relationship with anyone. She was kidding herself if she thought

she could maintain control because all it took was Salem’s smile to

send her synapses popping. When Salem touched her innocently on

the arm, the energy inside Knox roiled like a gathering tsunami.

She angrily typed the last string of code and hit Enter, startled

when the three-dimensional image projected in front of her was

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a dead ringer for the woman tormenting her thoughts. The image

reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind one ear, mirroring

one of Salem’s gestures. Her fingers had inadvertently typed in code

that brought the woman in her head to life in her lab.

“You’re as crazy as your mother, Bolander,” she muttered to

herself.

“Are you Dr. Bolander?” the virtual Salem asked when the

name triggered a keyword and the program responded.

Knox shook her head and paused the program. If she couldn’t

control her energy, she’d have to find a way to explain it to Salem.

If that sent her packing, then so be it. She wanted to be with Salem

more fiercely than anything in her life, and if she had even a small

chance, she had to risk it. She wanted to feel her body, absorb her

energy. And Christ, after a lifetime of never being held, rarely

being hugged, she wanted desperately for Salem to touch her…

everywhere.

She drummed her fingers on the desktop and stared at her cell

phone, then punched a speed-dial number and held her breath while

it rang.

“Hello?”

“Hi. It’s Knox.”

“Hi.”

“I, uh, I brought Guard home. He’s much better and getting

around really well with his cast.” Stupid, stupid. That’s not what she

wanted to say.

“I’m so glad. I feel terrible about hitting him, but I’d feel worse

if he didn’t recover.”

Okay. So small talk wasn’t a bad idea. She searched for the

next thing to say.

“Knox?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry about today. I didn’t mean to make you

uncomfortable—”

“God, no. You didn’t. I was calling…to apologize to you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’m such an idiot.”

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“No, you’re not.” She could hear the smile in Salem’s voice.

“I am, too.” She cleared her throat to summon her courage. “I

wanted to know if you’d like to maybe go see a movie tomorrow

afternoon.”

“That sounds good. I’ll watch most anything but horror

movies.”

“The theater downtown has older movies. They’re showing

X-men and Wolverine all weekend.”

“That’s superhero comic-book stuff, right?”

“Sort of, but it’s not animated. If that’s not your style, we can

go to the multiplex out on the highway and see a new release.”

“I never saw the X-men movies, but I loved the Xena series,

and I guess it’s the same kind of fantasy stuff.”

“Xena?”

“You never saw that television show?”

“I don’t guess I did.”

“Then you, my friend, must come to my house one weekend

for a Xena marathon. But for now, we’ll go see your wolfie movie.”

Knox was relieved at Salem’s teasing tone. “Wolverine. It’s an

entirely different animal.”

“What time tomorrow?”

Knox pulled up the movie schedule on her screen. “The

afternoon movie starts at two twenty. Can I pick you up at two?

It’s only a few streets from your house.” She was already a little

nervous. This seemed more like a date than a horseback ride.

“Two sounds good.” Salem paused. “Knox?”

“Yeah?”

“We need to talk about this morning, but I don’t want to do it

on the phone. We’ll discuss it tomorrow. Okay?”

“Sure. Okay. See you tomorrow.” Now she was really nervous.

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chapTeR FiFTeen

The movie that showed at two twenty was X-Men: The

Last Stand, a rousing fight between good and evil and an

appropriate commentary on prejudice versus acceptance. But Knox

had hardly noticed. All she could think about was the heat of Salem’s

energy gently folding around hers, the brush of Salem’s hand when

they reached for popcorn at the same time, and, God almighty, the

vision of Salem licking the buttery remains from her fingers.

She put the Jeep in Park next to Salem’s back door and they

sat in silence, both fidgeting and searching for words. Guardian sat

in the backseat, his tongue lolling from his mouth, watching them

expectantly. He seemed to love riding in the open Jeep, so she’d

brought him along for moral support. She’d parked under a shade

tree and he waited patiently while they were in the movie, but he

whined now and shifted on the seat. Salem reached back to pet him.

“Oh, sweetie, I’ll bet you need to water the bushes, don’t you?

Lift him out, Knox,” she said.

They watched as the dog gratefully lifted his leg and wet down

the first bush he sniffed, Knox aware they were stalling and their

promised talk was still ahead of them.

“I’ve got some spaghetti sauce in the freezer. It won’t be

anything fancy, but I can thaw it and cook some pasta if you can

stay for dinner.”

“That’d be great. I’m getting so tired of sandwiches and cereal

I was contemplating trying a handful of Guard’s kibble.” Knox

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was relieved to have more time. She still hadn’t figured out how to

explain everything to Salem.

Salem smiled. “I think I can do better than kibble. I even have

some ice cream for dessert.”

Guardian limped behind them into the cheery little kitchen,

only to be greeted by a tiny fur ball of spitting fury as Tuck reared

up on his hind legs, needle-like claws extended and his hair standing

on end to make himself look bigger than his three pounds.

The big dog pressed against Knox’s legs and peeked around her

at the deadly threat.

“He won’t attack, will he?” Knox tensed and put her hands out

to intercede should the kitten launch himself at them.

Salem laughed as she bent to scoop Tuck into her arms. “You

two should see yourselves. He’s tiny, and you look like you’re facing

down a bear. Sit down. I’ll protect you from the little devil.”

“I’m not sure a bear would be as scary,” Knox said, cautiously

taking a seat at the table and motioning for Guardian to lie on the

floor next to her.

Salem soothed the ruffled cat and returned him to the floor

where he sat like a little sentry between his owner and her guests.

His tail twitched as he eyed his canine rival while Salem dumped the

frozen sauce into a pan to warm.

“When I make spaghetti sauce, I always cook enough to freeze

a dozen or so single portions. I learned that from my mom,” Salem

said. “We both had really busy lives, but she didn’t like to feed me

fast food, so she froze things we could prepare quickly or I could

cook for myself when she had to run off to a theater performance.”

“Can I do something?” Knox asked.

“Sure. You can help with the salad and pasta.”

The delicious aroma of the sauce began to fill the kitchen as it

heated.

“I tried a couple of those frozen dinners from the grocery store.

They were okay, but they didn’t smell this good.” Knox’s mouth

was already watering and her stomach growling for a taste.

“Come over here and I’ll show you how to boil pasta so I can

send some of the frozen sauce home with you. I wouldn’t want

Guard to starve because you’ve started eating his food.”

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Knox signaled for Guardian to stay, figuring he must be less

imposing to the cat when he was lying down. Tuck crouched, his tail

still twitching, but he seemed more curious than angry now.

She followed Salem’s instructions and they laughed together

as they chopped salad fixings and tossed strands of pasta against the

stove’s splashboard to test its readiness. After Salem declared the

pasta perfect, she explained that a less messy way was to just cook it

for ten minutes, then taste a piece to see if it was done. Knox thought

flinging it against the wall to see if it would stick was more fun.

They filled their plates and were about to sit down when Salem

nudged Knox and silently tilted her head toward the animals.

Tuck crept forward and tapped his paw against the red, gauzy

Vetrap covering Guardian’s cast. He cautiously sniffed it and tested

his claws against the hard plaster. When Guardian extended his nose

and sniffed at the kitten, Tuck rubbed his cheek against the cast and

Guard gave him a big lick on his small head. Tuck batted away

the shepherd’s nose with his tiny paw, but he purred and kept his

claws sheathed. Guardian’s tail thumped against the floor and Tuck

skittered and hopped, playfully batting at it.

“Looks like we have a détente in the war between cats and

dogs,” Salem said. They shared goofy grins and settled down to

their meal.

“So, how’d you like the movie?”

“It was great.” Salem’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm. “I love epic

tales like that where good battles evil. It’s also fun to pick out the

social commentary.”

“Social commentary?”

“Yeah. You know, like the kids at the school were gathered

there because they were different. And at least one was considering

taking the serum so she could be like the majority of humans, rather

than a mutant.”

“Uh, yeah. I see what you mean.” Knox chewed her food

slowly. “I used to think religion caused so many bloody wars and

cruel acts because it seems to separate and alienate people, not to

mention all the fanatics it attracts. But then I realized that religion

was simply an excuse. Behind all of it is the human nature that balks

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at any horse that doesn’t belong to their herd. That kind of thinking is

hard to understand if you’re the one being excluded.” She shoveled

in another mouthful and mumbled around the food. “This is really

good. Much better than kibble.”

“Thanks, I think.” Salem sipped her iced tea. “Wouldn’t it be

great to have a superpower?”

“You think so?” Knox’s heart picked up at Salem’s reaction.

“Well, yeah. Don’t you?”

Knox shrugged.

“If I had to choose, I don’t know which one I’d want. I loved

the boy with wings. Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to fly?”

“That same boy tried to pull out his feathers when his wings

first sprouted because he didn’t want to be a mutant.” Knox stared

down at her plate and twirled the pasta around her fork. “Maybe

some people really do have unusual abilities. Maybe there’s a school

where they hide away so other people won’t hurt them or so they

don’t hurt other people.”

Salem seemed to consider that possibility. “I love to read books

about it, but I don’t believe anybody can see into the future and stuff

like that. I saw an old rerun of a late-night talk show where some

guy supposedly could bend spoons with his mind. Turns out it was

just a magician’s trick.”

“You think so? The laws of physics can’t fully explain a lot of

things.”

Salem was looking around the clutter of dishes on the table.

“Where’d I put the pepper?”

The condiment was out of Salem’s view, behind her glass of

tea, so Knox focused on the glass and it began to move.

“Whoa,” Salem said, grabbing for it. “Did you see that? I need

to have the foundation of this house checked. This floor must be

slanted.” She folded a napkin and set the glass on it. Hey, there’s

the pepper.”

“The floor’s okay. I just used my superpower to move it so you

could see the pepper shaker.” Knox smiled cautiously.

“Yeah, right. It’s more likely that condensation ran underneath

the glass and it slid on the water. Watch me use my superpowers to

get the ice cream. It’s called walking.”

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She gathered their dishes and piled them in the sink, then went

to the freezer to get the ice cream. Knox concentrated again and

wrapped her energy around the handle to pull the freezer door open

just as Salem reached for it.

“Damn, this floor is uneven. Now the freezer isn’t closing

properly.”

“Salem—”

“You don’t mind eating out of the carton, do you? Grab two

spoons out of that drawer on the left.”

Salem placed the round, pint-sized container between them and

reached for the spoon that Knox held out. Before her fingers could

close around it, the handle wilted. Salem narrowed her eyes at Knox.

“A nerd and a magician.” She snatched the other spoon from

Knox’s hand. “Now we’re going to have to share a spoon, too.”

Knox opened her mouth to say there were more in the drawer,

but decided she was interested in what Salem meant by sharing.

Salem dug out a spoonful and the ice cream disappeared into her

mouth. “Yum. I love chocolate mint.”

She scooped out another spoonful and held it out. When Knox

reached for it, Salem shook her head. “Open,” she said softly. Knox

moved forward to take the offered treat.

Salem stuck the spoon into the ice cream and sat back. “We

need to talk about yesterday and I need to tell you something.”

“Okay.” Knox fingered the spoon Salem had abandoned, then

scooped out another mouthful for herself.

“I think…I mean…something almost happened yesterday

and I think it made you…uncomfortable. I don’t want you to be

uncomfortable around me, Knox. You’re the first friend I’ve made

here, the only friend near my age.”

“Me, too,” Knox said, and held out a spoonful of ice cream.

After a moment’s hesitation, Salem sat forward. Knox watched in

fascination as her lips closed around the spoon and the ice cream

disappeared.

“Look at me.”

She raised her gaze from Salem’s mouth to her eyes.

“I’m gay, Knox. I’m a lesbian,” she said softly.

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Knox couldn’t stop the heat that rose to her cheeks. “I know

that.”“Do you realize how attracted I am to you?”

“No. I mean, I didn’t know for sure. Tony said he could tell you

liked me, and Doc Evan thought so, too.”

“You guys talked about me?” Salem’s tone indicated this news

didn’t please her.

“Salem, it’s okay, ’cause, uh, you know—” She put the lid back

on the forgotten ice cream so she wouldn’t have to look at Salem

when she said it. “Uh, I kinda like girls, too. They were ribbing me

about us spending time together.” There. She’d said it.

Salem returned the ice cream to the freezer and turned around

to prop her back against the refrigerator. The sudden, but obvious

distance Salem had put between them puzzled Knox.

“Oh, I see.” Salem stared at the floor, her face red. “So it wasn’t

the fact that a girl almost kissed you yesterday. Having me almost

kiss you had you running back to the barn. You should have just said

you didn’t feel that way. It’s not like I haven’t been turned down

before.”

Knox sprang from her chair, startling Guardian and Tuck,

who’d curled up against the dog’s side. “God, no. It wasn’t that.”

She stood in front of Salem wringing her hands. She wanted to touch

her so badly, to gather her in her arms. But the ruffled curtains over

the sink were already stirring, and if she touched her right now she

might blow every fuse in the house. “I can’t imagine anyone turning

you down. You’re so incredibly beautiful. I wasn’t uncomfortable,

I…I was nervous.”

Salem looked up. “I make you nervous?”

“Really nervous,” Knox said weakly. “Not many women go

into physics and biomedical engineering, so I usually was the only

female around.” She wrinkled her nose. “I wasn’t interested in the

guys and sort of intimidated them.”

“I guess so. You were probably so much smarter than they

were. Men don’t like that.”

That wasn’t really the reason. They all knew about Knox’s

telekinetic tantrum that wrecked the Institute’s science lab. But

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Knox decided to tackle one confession at a time and she needed to

stumble through this one first.

“So, well, I mostly work and ride my horses. I haven’t had

much time for a lot of girlfriends and other things like, um…and

you’re so beautiful, you must have kissed a lot of women. So, um, I

guess I was afraid I’d disappoint you.” It was a miserable, mumbling

finish, but she’d managed to choke it out.

Salem’s soothing energy flowed around her like a blanket

for two heartbeats before she felt the warm hands on her cheeks.

Salem’s gaze was soft. Her lips were silk. Knox closed her eyes

and gave herself over to it, following and mimicking the caress of

Salem’s mouth against hers.

Salem spun them around so that Knox’s back was pressed

against the icebox. Her mouth was insistent against Knox’s, her

tongue begging for entrance. Knox opened to it and tasted the warm

chocolate mint. She thrilled at Salem’s body pressing against hers.

When Salem’s nipples hardened against her breasts, her last threads

of control disappeared. Energy rolled through her like a firestorm

and burst forth. Salem moaned as she absorbed the brunt of it, and

the fluorescent bulb of the overhead light fixture shattered. They

sagged against each other, panting.

“Wow,” Salem breathed. “Now that’s what I call a kiss.”

Knox grinned and hugged Salem to her. “When the contractor

comes to check out the slanted floor, maybe you should have him

look at the wiring, too.”

• 135 •

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chapTeR sixTeen

Dr. Bolander, a car has entered the front gate and is ap-

proach ing the house.” The smooth feminine voice of the

security system filled the lab where Knox bent over a keyboard,

absorbed in the code she was typing.

“Identify.”

“Sensors show a 2010 BMW 335 convertible, color red, custom

Georgia plate LACEY, Fulton County. Heat scan indicates a driver,

no passengers. Would you like a retina scan to verify the driver?”

“No! Um, no. Stand down. This is an approved visitor.”

“Should I log that as a permanent approval?”

“Affirmative. Full access.”

Knox typed furiously to finish the code, then sprang from her

chair. She ignored the elevator and slid down the banister of the

stairway, jumping to the landing below and hopping onto the next

banister to descend from the third level to the first in record time. As

soon as her feet hit the foyer floor, she wished she’d given herself

time to think this out. Even though she and Salem had parted with

a heated kiss two days before and talked on the phone several times

since, Knox had a sudden attack of nerves. Greet her with a kiss, a

hug, a smile? A car door slammed. No time to ponder.

She yanked the door open just as Salem lifted a wicker picnic

basket from the backseat and turned to smile at her.

“Hey, you. I know you said you were working on a deadline,

but you have to stop every once in a while to eat.” She held up the

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basket. “Gina, at the diner, recommended the country fried steak

and peach cobbler.”

“Sounds great. I’m starving.” It really wouldn’t have mattered

if Salem had brought dirt for dinner. The surprise visit thrilled Knox.

She took the basket and received a peck on the lips as Salem swept

past her into the foyer. Knox felt about ten feet tall.

“Dr. Bolander, will you be returning to the lab soon, or would

you like me to save and close your open programs?”

Salem raised her eyebrow at the disembodied voice.

“That’s DIVA, my assistant.”

“Diva?”

“Detect, identify, verify, and authorize. A security system I

designed.”

A loud woof sounded at the top of the stairs.

“Your canine requires assistance, Dr. Bolander.”

Salem laughed. “If she can do housework, too, I may want to

test her at my house.”

Knox grinned. “Unfortunately, I’m currently designing virtual,

not robotic, assistants.” She glanced at the stairway. “Right now, I

need to take the elevator to bring Guard down here. He can’t manage

the stairs with that cast on his leg.”

“Awaiting response, Dr. Bolander.”

“Stand by.”

“Can I come up with you? I’d love to see what you’re working

on. That is, if it’s not something top secret.”

“It’s not. I’m working on a medical-triage program.”

Guardian greeted them when the elevator opened onto the third

floor and thumped along behind as they entered the lab.

“The program provides a series of scenarios where doctors

in training have to react under pressure.” She sat down and began

typing. “The scene I’m working on now teaches a new doctor

to multitask in a disaster situation. The doctor will encounter a

virtual patient that requires immediate surgical attention. Once

he’s immersed in the procedure to remedy that problem, another

virtual nurse appears and describes a different patient’s emergency

condition for evaluation. Her report is sketchy, so the doctor must

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ask the correct questions, without pausing work on the first patient,

to adequately evaluate the second patient.”

Knox stopped typing and dropped her head to her chest, her

eyes closed.

“Is something wrong?”

“You’re going to think I’m a perv.”

Salem chuckled. “What did you do?”

Knox hit the Enter key and held up the virtual surgery gloves.

“I might as well show you. Put these on. You’re not squeamish, are

you?”

“Uh, maybe. Why don’t you wear them and I’ll watch?”

Knox slid a headset that looked similar to wrap-around

sunglasses over Salem’s eyes and grabbed a second headset for

herself before leading her over to the metal table.

“Initiate program.”

Salem jumped as a surgical team appeared around them and a

patient materialized on the table, gasping for breath. Virtual scrub

nurses undressed the patient as Knox grabbed a virtual stethoscope

and put it to the man’s chest.

“No respiration on the left side.” She held out her hand to a

virtual scrub nurse. “Chest tube.”

Salem jumped at the sound of it slapping into Knox’s hand.

“Wow. This is so realistic.”

The virtual team didn’t respond, but Knox smiled as she slid

the tube between the patient’s ribs.

“Doctor, we need you immediately in treatment-room three.”

Another nurse, dressed in maroon scrubs, appeared on the other

side of the table, and Salem gasped. She felt like she was looking

in a mirror.

“Freeze program.” Knox blushed and fumbled with the

gloves as she took them off. Her cheeks heated as Salem stared

at her doppelganger. When Knox had changed the features on the

triage patient that resembled her, she missed virtual Salem. So she

recreated her as a trauma nurse.

Salem walked around the table and circled the nurse.

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“I…I didn’t intend to leave her like that. I mean, I wasn’t going

to put your face in medical schools all over the country. I meant to

change it before I released the program. I’ve totally freaked you out,

right?” She threw the gloves on the table. “End program. I’ll change

it now.”

Salem caught her hands and smiled shyly up at her. “I think

you’re incredibly sweet.”

“Yeah?” The knot in her stomach began to relax. “So you don’t

think I’m a pervert?”

“She doesn’t strip out of those scrubs for you, does she?”

“NO. God, no.” The very thought mortified Knox.

“Then you definitely aren’t a pervert. You are, however, in bad

need of glasses. She’s much prettier than I am.”

Knox smiled. “No way. Virtual Salem doesn’t hold a candle to

the real thing.”

“Sweet talker. I can’t believe some woman hasn’t snatched you

up before now.”

The heat spread from her cheeks to her ears under Salem’s

affectionate gaze. God, she wanted to kiss her, but she didn’t want

to come off like a teenaged boy, pawing at her.

“How ’bout we go dig into our dinner before it gets cold?”

Salem said.

Knox wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed that Salem

had redirected the moment. “Just let me close these programs.”

While she shut down her computers, Salem stared at the empty

table where a life-like virtual patient had been fighting for life just

moments before. “You know, creating people out of computer code

is sort of like a superpower.”

“Nah. It’s really not all that complicated.”

“Ha. I’ll bet you have some sexy tights and cape hidden around

here somewhere. Virtual Woman to the rescue.”

Knox laughed. “With that imagination you should write novels,

not sell insurance.” But the mention of superpowers reminded Knox

that she did still have a secret to reveal. So, when they stepped into

the elevator, she used her energy to press the button for the first

floor.

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Salem didn’t seem to notice. She was busy scratching

Guardian’s ears and giving him kisses on his long nose. They

retrieved the picnic basket they had left in the foyer.

“How about we eat on the terrace and take an evening ride?”

Knox offered, telekinetically opening doors and turning on lights

as they walked through the house. But Salem just chattered away

about her day, as though a house with automatic doors and lights

was nothing unusual.

“I’d love that, but are you sure you have time? I don’t want to

keep you from your work.”

“Virtual Woman is a bit ahead of schedule, so I’ve got time.” It

was only a small lie, but she’d work all night if she could spend the

evening with Salem.

❖

The nearly full moon illuminated the sandy paths in soft light,

and the pines fanned their needles gently in the breeze as they

walked their horses at a leisurely pace. They talked about everything

and nothing. What’s your favorite thing to do on a rainy day? What

do you like to read? If you had one year to live, what would be on

your to-do list? Do you believe in God? Democrat or Republican?

They didn’t talk about their families or what had brought each of

them back to Oakboro.

The sultry night and the company were so perfect, Salem didn’t

want her Eve disaster to intrude. But she did want to pinch herself.

Knox was just too good to be true.

She was intelligent and engaging when she relaxed. When

she was nervous…well, Salem found Knox’s shyness over her

inexperience completely adorable.

Her eyes glinting silver in the moonlight and her dark hair

loose about her shoulders, she was a vision of strength and beauty.

She sat the saddle like a royal guard, escorting her queen to some

unknown castle.

But even beyond that, Salem felt something when she was

around Knox…a warmth that infused her, made her feel safe. And

when Knox touched her, every nerve in Salem’s body tingled.

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They ended up by the river and dismounted.

“Sit here,” Knox said, indicating a thick log that had obviously

been cut and placed in the grassy clearing as a bench. They settled

side by side and Knox whistled softly. “Be very still and watch.”

After a moment, a pair of snowy white swans silently glided

into view. They circled, suspicious of the newcomers, but made

straight for the shore when Knox pulled a small bag from her pocket

and began tossing out bits of crusty bread. They watched the swans

gobble up the bread until it was all gone. When the swans realized

the meal was done, they curiously eyed the strangers, then returned

to the water, grumbling in little grunts, then swam a slow, circuitous

route back to their nest on the opposite shore.

“They’re beautiful.”

“They’re a mated pair my father found here about twelve years

ago. Don’t know where they came from. They’re certainly not native

to the area, but he began feeding them to get them to stay. Said he

liked to come out here to watch them and think.”

“They mate for life, don’t they?”

“Mostly. My father believed in that. My mother, well, she isn’t

easy to live with. She’s a high-functioning autistic.”

Salem tried to remember what little she knew about autism.

She had, of course, seen Rain Man with Tom Cruise and Dustin

Hoffman. And a really interesting BBC documentary on the autistic

woman, Temple Grandin, who designed some type of device to treat

herself and then used it to calm cattle in slaughterhouses.

“I don’t know much about autism,” she said. “Just that they

like to keep a routine and are sensitive to touch and sounds.”

Knox nodded. “It was my responsibility to keep my brother

quiet when she was around.”

“I thought you were the same age.”

“We were. But he was mentally handicapped.” Knox shrugged.

“My mother claimed that I stole his brain cells when we were in the

womb together. I know it’s medically impossible, but I didn’t know

that when I was a kid. Even when I was old enough to know that

wasn’t true, I still felt responsible for him.”

“That must have been hard.”

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“Yeah, I guess. I really didn’t mind. My mother didn’t like to

be touched very much, so we pretty much got our physical comfort

from each other.”

Salem reached for Knox’s hand and folded it in both of hers.

She marveled at the tingle that ran up her arms and the goose bumps

that instantly appeared. “I guess that explains why, when I first met

you, it seemed like you had a really big do-not-cross line around

you. It seemed like you jumped every time I touched you,” she said

softly.Knox stared at their joined hands. “I don’t mind when you

touch me now. I…I like it when you kiss me.”

That was all the invitation Salem needed. She had to know if

what she felt last time was just a “first kiss” phenomenon.

Their lips met in a brush and Salem slid her hand behind Knox’s

neck to draw her closer. She marveled at the taste of Knox’s tongue

against hers, the current that flowed through every part of her body

and sparked a steady throb between her legs.

Did she crawl into Knox’s lap, or did Knox move her there?

Her head was swimming. She could swear the trees, the leaves were

dancing around them. They tumbled backward into the grass and

Knox’s long frame trembled under her. Damn, she could come just

from kissing this woman. That would be embarrassing.

“Stop. We’ve got to stop.” Salem pushed up with her arms only

to realize that she was pressing her hips into Knox’s pelvis. She

rolled off and they lay on their backs next to each other, breathing

hard. “What? Why? Did…did I do something wrong?”

Salem turned on her side. Knox’s eyes were a thundercloud.

“God, no. I had to stop before…I don’t usually jump a woman

just for kissing me. I seem to lose all control around you.”

“Yeah. I know what you mean.”

She could see the relief on Knox’s face before she scrambled to

her feet and offered her hand to help Salem up.

The ride seemed too short on their way back, but she knew

she’d taken up more of Knox’s time than she should have. She

expected to find James in the barn because the lights flicked on as

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they approached, but nobody seemed to be around as they unsaddled

the horses and brushed them down.

“Do you have motion sensors in every room, or does DIVA do

that?”“The lights? Uh, no.” Knox put Salem’s horse in its stall and

slid the door shut. “Actually, uh, that’s kind of my superpower.”

“Superpower?”

“Yeah. I’m telekinetic, what you call a spoon-bender.”

Salem laughed. “Virtual Woman may have a secret power,

darlin’, but it’s not bending spoons. It’s being able to render women

senseless with a kiss. Your lips should be registered as a lethal

weapon.” She didn’t want to think about what else Knox could do

with that mouth, or she’d never leave. And she really had to let her

get back to work. “I hope I haven’t made you miss the deadline on

your contract.”

“Nah. I do my best work late at night.” Knox put her horse

away, too, and turned to her as the lights blinked off and darkness

folded around them like a cloak. Knox pulled her close and kissed

her until Salem thought her knees would buckle.

“Very slick,” Salem murmured. “Eventually, I’m going to

figure out how you do that.”

“I told you. It’s my superpower.”

“If you say so.” Salem stepped back, but held tight to Knox’s

hand, reluctant to break their connection. “It’s time for me to go

home and for you to get back to work.”

Knox sighed. “If I have to.”

Doors swung open and lights flicked on in each room as they

walked through the house. Salem didn’t bother to gather up the

picnic basket, because she was afraid if she lingered she wouldn’t

have the fortitude to leave.

Clinging to her last shred of willpower, she keyed the electronic

locks on the BMW as they cleared the front door. If she could just

get in her car, then Knox couldn’t press that hot, sexy body against

her when they kissed good night and maybe, just maybe, she had a

chance of sticking to the plan.

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But her finger, or possibly her resolve, must have slipped

because the locks clicked back into place and then she was again in

Knox’s embrace, surrendering to a mind-melting kiss.

“God, you’re dangerous,” she gasped, holding Knox at

arm’s length. “If you don’t stop, we’re going to end up naked in

the backseat of this car.” The locks disengaged again with a click.

Everything, even her brain, seemed to short-circuit around Knox.

Salem climbed into the car and lowered the window.

“Come back for lunch tomorrow,” Knox said, squatting to put

herself at Salem’s level.

“I can’t tomorrow. I have a state insurance auditor coming in

the morning. Why don’t you drive into town? I’m sure I can get

away long enough for something quick at the diner.”

“One o’clock, at your office?”

“One is fine.” She smiled and caressed Knox’s cheek. “Now let

me go while I have a few brain cells still functioning.”

Knox’s gaze held her prisoner a moment longer. “Good night,

Salem.”

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chapTeR sevenTeen

The diner was still hopping just after one. Every table and

all but one stool at the counter was filled, so they stood

in the doorway and debated going to a chain restaurant out on the

highway.

“Hey! Y’all here for lunch?” Gina expertly balanced six plates

on her arms as she paused on her way to a table.

“I don’t have much time,” Salem said, “and it looks like you’re

all full up. Maybe we’ll just take something back to my office to

eat.”“Nonsense. Some of these people need to get up out of my

chairs and go back to work anyway. Give me half a minute.”

“Really. Takeout is okay,” Knox said quickly.

“I won’t hear of it.” Gina distributed the plates of food and

walked over to a group of men lingering in a booth. “Time for you

boys to clear out. You know Joe’s gonna be mad if y’all are late

getting back from lunch again.”

One man grinned up at her. “Joe’s gone to Valdosta for some

car parts. He ain’t gonna know how long we took for lunch.”

“He’s gonna know when I complain next time he’s in here that

you boys took up a table for a whole hour when I could be seating

someone else and earning another tip.”

“How ’bout we add a dollar to our tip for you to keep quiet and

bring us some more tea?”

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“Why, Hank Briley, you big spender. Added to your usual,

that’d be a whole dollar fifty. I reckon I can finally take my mama

to Hawaii.”

The other men laughed and Hank turned red.

“Go on, now, I got customers waiting. Just tell Jimmy what

y’all had and he’ll ring it up. Tell him I said to throw in a couple

iced teas to go.”

The men grumbled but obediently slid out of the booth and

headed for the register by the front door where Knox and Salem

waited. Gina waved over a teenager with a dishpan and he began to

efficiently clean off the table.

Knox shifted uncomfortably. She wasn’t used to being in

crowds. Salem seemed to sense her uneasiness and squeezed her

hand.Hank looked at their joined hands and snorted. “Can’t believe

she’s kicking us out to give our table to a couple of lezzies,” he

grumbled.

The other men turned to them to see who he was talking about,

but Doc pushed through the door at the same moment.

“Well, well. Didn’t I get lucky…two of my favorite ladies,” he

said. Hank snorted again and Doc turned to stare him down. “Y’all

running late, aren’t you, Hank? I just rode past Joe’s shop and saw

Mrs. Jefferson waiting out front, tapping her foot because the lunch

sign was still up.”

“Shit. All I need is the boss’s wife breathing down my neck.”

He threw his money on the counter. “Give the change to Gina,

Jimmy. I gotta run.”

Jimmy rang up the meal and shook his head at Hank’s departing

back. “She should throw him out more often. He left a whole eighty-

eight cents this time.”

Gina swept past with a tea pitcher and held out her hand for the

tip. “Every little bit helps, I reckon.” She indicated the clean booth

with a jerk of her chin. “You ladies have a seat. I’ll be back in a

minute to take your order. Doc, you want to sit at the counter? That’s

all that’s available right now.”

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“He can sit with us. Right, Salem?” Knox was relieved for the

reinforcements. Hank’s rude comment gnawed at the lining of her

empty stomach.

“Sure, that’d be great.” Salem glanced after Hank. “Stupid

redneck,” she muttered under her breath.

Doc waved a dismissive hand in Hank’s direction but ran his

gaze over the parking lot. “Well, now, I’m expecting some lunch

company myself.” He smiled. “But if she doesn’t mind eating lunch

with her boss, we’d be happy to join you.”

Knox was surprised. “You’re having lunch with June?”

Doc looked at Salem. “That okay with you?”

Salem grinned. “That’s wonderful. We’d love for you guys to

sit with us.”

They had barely sat down when June arrived. She laughed at

being found out but was happy to share her lunch date with Salem

and Knox. They could all relax, she told them, because the auditor

had announced that he was taking a two-hour break.

Knox and Salem decided to share a cheeseburger plate so they

could save room for the day’s special dessert, fresh apple pie à la

mode. June ordered a chef salad, explaining that she was trying to

shed a few pounds.

“You’re fine just the way you are,” Doc said. “I don’t know

why women want to be skinny. I like a woman with a little meat on

her bones.”

June winked at the girls. “He’s such a sweet talker,” she said,

causing Doc to blush. She patted his hand. “It’s a good thing, Evan,

if you plan to keep company with me. I’ll never be thin. I just want

to be able to stay in the size I’m wearing now, and that requires

turning down a few pieces of pie every now and then.”

Knox began to relax as the lunch conversation flowed around

her. Salem bragged about Knox’s virtual projects, and June

announced that Doc had talked her into taking one of the pups from

her nephew’s poodle.

“If you don’t mind the silly haircuts, poodles are smart dogs.

Ben and Susan’s female is good-tempered and has solid bloodlines,”

Doc said. “How’s Guard doing, Knox?”

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“He’s great. It was too hot for him to wait in the Jeep, even with

the top down, so I left him at the barn with Hoke.” Knox stifled a

yawn as she finished off her dessert. “Sorry. I was up late, working.”

“What time did you finally go to bed?” Salem asked.

“Uh, haven’t yet.”

Salem huffed. “I can’t believe you’re sitting here eating lunch

after working all night. You could have called. I’d have understood.”

Knox shrugged. “I work through the night sometimes when

I get in a good groove. It’s not a big deal. I’ll catch a nap this

afternoon.” Nothing would have kept her from an opportunity to see

Salem. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to miss out on this apple pie…or

the company.”

Doc chuckled. “Now who’s the sweet talker?”

“Well, well, well. Who do we have here?” Lamar sauntered

over and leered at Salem and Knox. “The bitch and the freak, a

perfect couple.”

“Nobody’s interested in anything you have to say, Lamar, so

why don’t you go sit down.”

“That’s not exactly true, Doc. I hear there’s an auditor at

Franklin’s office right now, digging into the books. I’ll bet he’s

interested in what I have to say.”

Salem narrowed her eyes. “I asked the state insurance com-

mission to send the auditor after I got a look at the mess in your office.”

“I’m not stupid. You’ve got nothing on me. I made sure of

that.” Lamar sneered. “But I’ve got the goods on your daddy and

the freak’s daddy there for filing a false claim. When that auditor’s

done, you’ll be lucky if they don’t shut down your daddy’s office

and put the freak in jail for starting that fire and lying about it.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Lamar. You’d be

wise to shut up before you incriminate yourself,” Salem said.

“Franklin Lacey ran an honest business and you know it.”

June scolded him. “Your poor mother, I don’t know what she did to

deserve a child like you. She told Franklin you were trouble, but he

was determined that you’d straighten out if he gave you a chance.”

“If that old man wanted to straighten somebody out, he should

have started with his queer daughter. Get it? Straighten her out.” He

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laughed loudly and the diner grew quiet as his voice carried across

the room.

Knox had heard enough. She was exhausted and her control was

stretched paper-thin. Lamar was the same bully who had constantly

taunted her brother, Ham, on the elementary-school playground.

When she stood, she was several inches taller than Lamar. She put

her face close to his, her voice low and cold.

“You want to pick on someone, pick on me. But you better not

open your mouth about Salem again. You hear me? If you think I

kicked your ass when we were kids, you don’t want to know what I

can do to you now that I’m all grown up.”

She could see the fear in his eyes but, like a scared dog, he took

one more bite.

“Go ahead, freak. Nobody believed me before, but they will

when you do it here. You’ll find yourself right back in the same nut

house they sent you to after the fire. You think your lezzie girlfriend

will come see you there?”

The empty table next to Lamar began to vibrate. She was about

to snap. She had to get out of there. She was losing it. Too emotional,

too embarrassed to even look at Salem, Knox threw a twenty on the

table and stalked out the door.

“Freak,” Lamar yelled at her retreating back.

Salem wanted to slap him but she was more concerned about

Knox. She slid out of the booth to follow, but Doc’s hand on her arm

stopped her.

“She’ll be fine,” he said. “I’ve known her since she was a kid.

She needs to be alone when she’s angry. Give her some space. She’ll

cool off and get some sleep and be fine by tomorrow.”

Salem didn’t believe that. It might have been the only option

Knox ever had before, but she didn’t have to cope with things alone

anymore.

“Salem, honey, you’re supposed to be meeting with the auditor

in fifteen minutes,” June said, her voice full of sympathy.

Damn it. Standing him up wasn’t an option. Maybe she could

answer his questions quickly, then go find Knox.

❖

• 151 •

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“Salem, it’s six thirty. Do you need me to stay? I can.”

She looked up from where she sat on the floor with insurance

contracts spread all around her. Dan Atkins, the auditor, was sitting

at Lamar’s desk, working through a different stack of contracts.

“No, you go ahead, June. Aren’t you supposed to meet Doc

Evan and pick out your puppy tonight?”

“If you need me here, I can phone Ben and tell him I’ll come

by tomorrow instead.”

“Dan?”

“No, she can go. I’m about to call it a night, too, after I get

through these two files.”

“All righty then. I’ll let Evan know I’m headed that way.”

Salem was relieved. She was finding it hard to concentrate

on a bunch of boring contracts when all she could think about was

finding Knox.

In spite of her preoccupation with the lunch incident, she found

some clear irregularities with the accounts. She looked up when Dan

slapped the last file closed.

“Something’s not right here, is it?”

“You were definitely smart to request an audit. The first red

flag is the amount of cash business this office handles, all of it

collected personally by Lamar. I’m sure you know that’s unusual in

the insurance business. Also, I’m seeing a pattern of full coverage

on new contracts, then some portions of the accounts being dropped

upon renewal. The items selected for non-renewal are always areas

that have a low incidence of claims.”

“That’s not unusual in an economic downturn. If a client came

to me and said he couldn’t afford his policy any longer, I’d advise

him to drop some of the coverage that rarely warrants a claim. I’d

rather do that than lose the client.”

“And you’d be right. In these cases, however, the coverage

being dropped doesn’t significantly reduce the price of the

individual policies to benefit the client, and nearly ninety percent of

the accounts Lamar maintained were slightly reduced. Collectively,

the difference in premiums amounts to a tidy sum.”

“You think he was skimming.”

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“That’s my suspicion, but we need more than a hunch to file

charges or pull his license. Even though I’ll have to finish my audit

and file a report, I can pretty much predict that an agent will be

assigned to investigate both your father’s and Lamar’s personal

finances. In fact, I’ll be making a call tonight to have those accounts

frozen immediately to prevent any transfer of assets until the

investigation is complete. That could take thirty to sixty days. I’m

sorry.”

“It’s no problem. I can live off my savings for a while. But

this office writes policies for over half the town’s residents and

businesses. I’d like to request that the state appoint a financial trustee

during the investigation so we can continue to collect premiums and

write new policies.”

Dan scribbled in his notebook. “You seem to know a lot about

insurance investigations.”

“I worked as a regional manager for a number of years in the

commercial division of a large insurance firm based in Atlanta. We

had a few occasions to request audits on a branch office or two, so

I’m familiar with the process.”

“That’ll make things easier and perhaps expedite the

investigation. I can make some phone calls first thing tomorrow to

arrange for a trustee.” He clicked his briefcase closed. “But right

now, I plan to find some place to eat dinner before they roll up the

streets around here.”

Salem smiled. “Then you better hurry. About the only place

still serving after nine p.m. is the Lock’n Load tavern, and I’ve been

told you’d never eat there if you got within smelling distance of

their cook.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

• 153 •

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chapTeR eiGhTeen

When Salem rang the doorbell, she heard the locks dis-

engage. Maybe Knox was working in her lab and had

released them from there. She walked inside, but the foyer was dark.

She jumped when a voice sounded behind her. “Welcome, Ms.

Lacey. Dr. Bolander is not currently in the residence. Would you

like to wait?”

That security system was creepy, like having an invisible

person in the walls.

“Guess it lets everyone in the house,” she said to no one.

“Retina scan indicates you are Salem Lacey, age 32, owner

of a 2010 BMW 335 convertible, color red, custom Georgia plate

LACEY, Fulton County. Dr. Bolander has authorized for you to

have full access to the estate. Background security check belayed.”

Salem chuckled. “You sound a little jealous, Diva. Can you

locate Dr. Bolander for me?”

“Dr. Bolander was last detected in the main barn.”

“Thank you.”

But Knox wasn’t in the barn and Bas was gone. Salem sat on a

hay bale to wait and started thinking about the fire twenty years ago.

Knox had lost so much: her home, her family, the horses she loved.

Sweet, beautiful Knox.

Deep in thought, she was startled when light suddenly flooded

the barn’s interior and pushed back the twilight that had settled

around her.

• 155 •

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Knox, grim-faced and silent, rode past without acknowledging

her. The tense set of her back as she dismounted and unsaddled the

gelding told Salem everything and nothing.

“Knox,” she said softly.

Knox put the saddle away in the tack room and began to brush

the horse with short, rough strokes. “What are you doing here,

Salem?”

“You left without saying good-bye. So, I came as soon as I

could get away from the auditor to make sure you’re okay.”

She heard no response but the sound of the brush stroking the

gelding’s hide.

“Have I done something? Are you angry at me?”

“No.”

Salem took a deep breath and grabbed Knox’s wrist to stop her.

“Then tell me what’s wrong.”

Knox turned her face away, so Salem gently grasped her chin

and turned it back. Still, Knox wouldn’t meet her gaze. She could

feel the walls, big thick barriers, but she knew in her heart that Knox

didn’t really want to be alone any more.

“Knox, baby, tell me what’s wrong. That stupid Lamar isn’t

worth this, no matter what information he claims to have.”

Knox jerked away from Salem’s grip and began brushing again.

“You shouldn’t get mixed up with me.”

“I’m already involved with you. Wait. What exactly does

Lamar know that I don’t?” Had Knox lied when she said she didn’t

start the fire? Salem tried to remember her exact words.

Knox’s hands stilled and she stared at the ground. “He knows

I’m a freak.”

“Surely you don’t believe that. It’s just childhood jealousy.

Being incredibly smart doesn’t make you a freak. You’re adult

enough to know that.”

Knox closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as though

gathering herself, then turned back to Salem.

“What I’m going to tell you isn’t a joke, Salem. I’m being

completely serious. Do you understand?”

Salem nodded.

• 156 •

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“If you repeat it to anyone except Doc Evan, who already

knows, I’ll have to go away. Forever. I’ll have to leave my home

and my horses again.”

“I’d never do anything to hurt you like that. I care about you

too much.”

She held Knox’s gaze, willing her to trust, begging to be let

inside the walls that Salem was learning had protected, imprisoned

Knox since she was a child.

The expression on Knox’s handsome face, however, wasn’t

acceptance. It was a challenge: Hurt me. I know you will. Hurt me

now before this goes any further.

“When I was only a baby, they discovered that I was…

different,” Knox said. “At first, when I was an infant, the curtains

rustled when I cried to be changed or fed. When I was a toddler, my

parents would find me playing with things that had been placed out

of my reach. They had no idea how I was able get them. Then one

day, when Ham and I were two, we were sitting at the table, eating

cookies. Ham wanted another, but my mother said no because it was

too close to dinner. I wanted another cookie, too. So I put out my

hand and the plate of cookies slid within my reach. I’m telekinetic.

I can make things move by manipulating the energy around them.”

The skeptic in Salem was having a hard time accepting what

Knox was saying.

“You can move things without touching them?”

“I guess you want a demonstration.” Knox sighed. “Just don’t

freak out on me, okay?”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Salem’s keys lay on the hay bale where she’d been sitting.

Knox put her hand out, and after a few seconds, the keys levitated

and moved through the air to rest in her palm.

Holy shit! The possibilities raced through Salem’s head. Was

this some sort of weird dream? That was it. She’d fallen asleep on

the hay bale and this was a dream.

Salem felt Knox watching her and, when she looked up, she

could see on her face that Knox expected rejection, revulsion. She

could feel her bitter disappointment. Okay. This is Knox, shy genius

and lover of all animals. Pick your words carefully.

• 157 •

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“Lamar knows about this and that’s why he calls you a freak?”

“I had trouble controlling it when I was younger. The kids at

school picked on Ham a lot because he was slow. When I got really

angry at them, things would fly though the air, kids would fall down,

stuff like that. Lamar was the worst bully on the playground, and one

day I just lost it with him. No one else was around and I wanted to

scare him enough that he’d leave Ham alone. I levitated him almost

to the ceiling and he peed his pants. Ham told all the other kids. They,

of course, didn’t believe the part about me lifting him to the ceiling,

but one of the other kids saw Lamar leaving school in his wet pants.”

Salem chuckled. “No wonder he hates you. But I’m sure he

only got what he deserved.”

“That wasn’t how my parents saw it when Ham told them. The

Institute wasn’t just a school for really smart kids, Salem. My father

had a friend who worked there. He promised they could teach me

control.”

“So that’s why your parents sent you away when you were only

eight?”

“Yeah. Mostly.” Knox seemed to collapse in on herself. She

dropped onto the hay bale and covered her face with her hands. “So

now you know. I really am a freak.”

Salem sat next to her and wrapped her arms around her hunched

shoulders. “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how lonely you

must have been, taken from your family, from your brother when

you were still a child. But you definitely are not a freak. Unusual,

maybe. Extraordinary, for sure. But not a freak.”

Knox trembled, and Salem didn’t understand how she knew, but

the walls began disintegrating, vaporizing. It wasn’t her imagination.

She was feeling Knox’s energy, her emotions coil through her every

time they touched. Could Knox feel her?

“You really don’t think I’m a freak of nature?” The lonely child

isolated by her gift, not the accomplished adult, asked the question.

Salem squatted in front of Knox and caressed her cheek. “No,

baby. You’re the most beautiful, talented woman I’ve ever met.

Maybe an honest-to-God superhero. Not to mention, the best damn

kisser in the world.”

• 158 •

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“Yeah?”

The hope, the tentative exultation that radiated from Knox

made Salem want to cry. “I could use a reminder,” she whispered.

Knox’s mouth was so sweet on hers. A warmth flowed around

them like the gentle lap of water against a dock, but Salem wanted

more. She wanted the electricity that usually surged through her

body when Knox touched her.

She deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue into Knox’s mouth

and rising to straddle her lap. Knox slipped her hands under Salem’s

shirt, and a tingle skittered along her spine and raced outward. Salem

whimpered. Her nipples and clitoris pulsed with a pleasure so sharp,

she ground her crotch against Knox’s taut belly and moaned. She

found Knox’s breasts and rubbed her palms over them. Her nipples

were hard under the thin material of her shirt, and Salem rolled them

in her fingers.

The barn’s lights began to flicker and the horses moved

restlessly in their stalls.

“Stop,” Knox gasped, pulling away. “We have to stop.”

“What?” Salem’s head was hazy with desire. “What’s wrong?

Knox?”

Knox stood and set Salem on her feet at arm’s length. “I have

to stop.”

Salem suddenly felt foolish. Christ, she was seconds away from

orgasm, just from kissing this woman. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to

attack you like that, but you do something to me that makes me

forget myself.” She pressed her hands to her chest, trying to settle

the fluttering of her heart.

“God, Salem, I can’t think at all when you kiss me like that.”

Knox’s hands shook as she ran her fingers through her hair. “You

make me feel, I don’t know, out of control.”

Relieved, Salem laughed. She grabbed Knox’s hands and held

them in hers, marveling at how the energy still rolling off Knox

raised the hairs on her arms. “Is that so bad?”

“You don’t understand. I really want to…with you, but I can’t.

I can’t do this. Things can happen when I lose control.”

“What things, baby?”

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“I don’t know. Bad things.” Knox stared at the floor and shifted

nervously, like she’d bolt if Salem released her hands.

“Bad things have happened before?”

Knox nodded and tried to pull her hands free, but Salem

tightened her grip. She didn’t know what their future might hold, but

she wanted to help Knox face whatever demons made her believe

she had to spend her life alone.

“Knox, honey, look at me.” She waited while Knox fought

whatever battle was going on inside. When she finally looked up,

her heart tore at the desolation in Knox’s eyes. “Tell me, baby. Tell

me what you’re afraid will happen. Has someone been hurt before,

when you didn’t stay in control?”

“Yes. No. Almost.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“There was a girl at the Institute, a year older than me. I wanted

to spend every minute with her and began to have thoughts that

went beyond friendship. I thought she felt the same. But one day,

I walked into the science lab and she was kissing a boy, one of our

classmates, and I lost it.”

Knox closed her eyes against the memory, still stark and sharp.

Glass beakers exploded and test tubes flew across the room to

crash against the wall. Bottles and instruments were swept from the

tables and cabinets onto the floor where the chemicals spilled from

their containers and mixed to give off a noxious cloud that swirled

around her. She gasped for breath. The last thing she remembered

was clutching her throat and calling for Ryan. But Ryan didn’t come.

“Things started flying around the room. Anything glass

shattered. Chemicals spilled everywhere. I couldn’t breathe. I

blacked out and woke up two days later in a hospital room with

Master Kai sitting by my bed. He had been assigned to teach me

how to keep control of my energy and not wreck things.”

“Was your friend or the boy hurt?”

“No. They crawled under a desk. I never saw them again. They

were transferred to another school.”

“How old were you?”

“About thirteen.”

• 160 •

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As Knox gripped Salem’s hands, Salem wondered what it must

have cost that thirteen-year-old to lose still another person she’d

trusted with her feelings.

“We’re talking about two very different emotions here. Passion,

not anger, is happening between us. You’re telling me about an

adolescent tantrum. She was your first crush. Did something happen

the first time you slept with somebody, too?”

Knox ducked her head and didn’t answer.

“Knox?”

“She was my only girlfriend,” she mumbled.

Salem’s heart jumped. Had she heard wrong or were all the

women where Knox had been living completely blind? Knox was

gorgeous, smart, and sexy beyond reason.

“You’re telling me that you’ve never—?”

Knox’s ears reddened and she nodded. She briefly glanced up

at Salem. “You remember the first day we met and the light bulbs

in the chandelier exploded? It was when you touched my arm. I…it

had been so long since somebody actually touched me. So you can

see why I was afraid of what could happen if I got really excited.”

“When you were at my house and the kitchen lights shattered

while we were kissing?”

“You were kind of blowing my fuses.”

Salem smiled, pleased with herself, and Knox finally smiled

back. She cupped Knox’s face in her hands and kissed her thoroughly

and with purpose, savoring the softness of her lips, the taste of her

mouth, and, most important, the quiver of Knox’s body. When the

lights began to flicker again, she ended the kiss and rubbed her

thumb across Knox’s lips.

“Just for the record, I’m not afraid of your gift, and I’m not

worried about a few broken light bulbs. But we’ll go slow if you’re

afraid.” She gave Knox a quick peck. “Now, what else do you need

to do out here?”

While they were putting away things in the barn, Salem’s

phone signaled a text message. Dan had appointments to interview

several clients with suspicious files first thing in the morning and

wanted Salem to accompany him. Ordinarily, the agency under

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investigation wouldn’t be allowed at the interviews, but Salem had

requested the audit and the suspicious activity took place before she

assumed ownership. She typed back that she would meet him at

eight o’clock, and she and Knox strolled under the moonlight, arm

in arm, to her car.

After a long good-bye of searching kisses and murmured

apologies, Salem had to end their evening. She put her hand on the

car door, surprised that the lock engaged.

Knox grinned. “I did that on purpose.”

“Well, Dr. Bolander, as much as I’d like to stay and test your

control, even superheroes don’t get everything they want. As

punishment for this little display of mischief, I need to leave you

with a little homework.” She waggled her finger in Knox’s face.

“But if you blow my headlights, I’ll be driving your Jeep home.”

She whirled them around to press Knox against the car and hold

her there as she claimed her mouth in a heated kiss. Slipping her

thigh between Knox’s, she thrust slowly. Knox’s jeans were damp,

her crotch hot. Her low moan turned to a high-pitched whimper

when Salem found her breasts again. With one last soft brush of

their lips, Salem stepped back.

Knox sagged weakly against the car, her chest heaving and her

eyes so hungry Salem wanted to say “screw work” and drag her to

the bedroom. But she needed to let this pot simmer.

“Your homework, gorgeous, is to go climb in bed,” she took

Knox’s right hand and swiped her tongue slowly against the long

fingers, “slide these fingers between those long, sexy legs, and think

about that kiss…without shattering the bedroom lights.”

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chapTeR nineTeen

Knox punched the “one” on her cell phone and waited while

it speed-dialed Salem.

“Hold on,” Salem said. Then Knox heard a muffled, “I’ll take

this in my office.”

After some bumping and footsteps, she heard a door close.

“Hey, baby. What’s up?”

“Nothing.” I’m just missing you like crazy. “I just thought I’d

see how things are going.” I needed to hear your voice.

“The deeper we dig, the more we’re uncovering. I have no

idea how this’ll end up. The agency could be held liable for a lot

of it. The records we’re finding are unbelievable and we still have

hundreds to go through. But you know I can’t talk about the details.

How are things with you?”

“Saving the same old virtual lives.”

Knox didn’t want to talk about work. It had been four days

since she’d confessed her telekinetic abilities to Salem. Four days

since Salem told her it didn’t make a difference in their relationship.

Four days since Salem had left her with a kiss that had her waking

up every night from erotic dreams. Four days since Salem had time

for anything more than phone calls.

“How’s Guard doing?”

“Fine.” Better than me. “He’s got a new, smaller cast that lets

him put some weight on that leg.”

“That’s wonderful.”

• 163 •

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Frustrated, Knox struggled with what to say next. In her work,

she voiced keywords or typed code to make what she wanted happen.

With her horses, she gave them the right cues and they changed

gaits, turned, or stopped in response. She had no idea how to express

to Salem that she needed to see her, to touch her, to hold her.

But Salem seemed to understand and dropped her voice to a

sexy timbre. “How’s your homework coming?”

Knox closed her eyes and smiled. “Not too well. I’m running

out of light bulbs. I need some help from my instructor. I was hoping

you could come out here for dinner tonight.”

“I’m so sorry, honey. We’ve got more interviews tonight with

people who can’t meet with us during office hours.”

“’S okay. Maybe another time.” Knox hated that she sounded

so pitiful.

“I miss you,” Salem said softly. “It’s just bad timing right now.

You believe me, don’t you?”

“Yeah…Salem?”

“What, sweetie?”

“Are you sitting behind the desk in your office?”

“Yes.”

“What are you wearing?”

Salem laughed. “What would you say if I told you that listening

to your sexy voice has my skirt hiked up to my waist and my hand

between my legs?”

Knox nearly choked at the vision. But that was fantasy, not

reality. “Well, that has me sweating, but it’s not what I was asking.

Describe the clothes you’re wearing.”

“Oh.” She could hear the confusion in Salem’s response. “My

blue suit and the light-blue camisole I had on the day we first met.

Minus the mud splatters, of course.”

“Is your jacket on or off? And describe how you’re sitting.”

“On, of course, since I only have the camisole under it. I’m

sitting back in my chair with my legs crossed.”

Knox pictured Salem in her mind. She could see the office, the

desk, Salem reclining with the cell phone held to her ear. She could

see the blue jacket and buttons along its front.

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“Oh.” Salem’s lilting laugh made her grin. “You’re one nasty

girl. Where are you? I can’t believe you can unbutton my jacket all

the way from your house.”

Actually, Knox wasn’t sure she could, either. But she could

see it in her mind and apparently make it happen, even from miles

away. She imagined releasing the buttons one by one, then moving

her hand over one silk-covered breast.

“Oh! Knox, stop it.” Salem was breathless. “Good Lord, I can

feel you. You’ve got to stop. I don’t want our first time to be over the

phone, and if you keep this up, it will, at least on my end.”

“Really? You can feel my hand on your—”

“I’m at work, for God’s sake. Dan’s in the room right next to

this one.”

That was a bucket of cold water. Knox didn’t want to think

about Dan and Salem huddled together in the office, riding together

in the car to interviews, grabbing meals together while they worked.

She wanted to be the one sharing Salem’s days, not some guy.

“I’m sorry. I’ll stop.”

“Oh, baby. This won’t be forever. I just can’t get this business

up and running and hire another agent to help me until this is all

cleared up.”

“I know. It’s okay.” Knox’s words didn’t sound convincing

even to herself.

“If it’s not too late, I’ll try to drop by for a few minutes when

we get done tonight.”

“Sure. I’ll be here.”

❖

But Salem didn’t stop by that night or the next three. She was

dead tired, and it was nearly eleven o’clock Thursday night when

she returned home to an indignant kitten.

“I know, I know. I’ve been a terrible mommy and an even worse

girlfriend.” She filled Tuck’s bowl with kibble, but he ignored it and

walked into the other room, tail swishing angrily.

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Salem sighed. She wouldn’t be surprised if she got the same

response from Knox. She’d called every day to see if Salem was

free for lunch or dinner. But as she and Dan dug deeper into the

records and turned up more violations, Salem had to decline Knox’s

invitation each time.

They had to review every policy Lamar had ever written or

renewed over the past five years and interview the policyholders

with inexplicable gaps in their coverage. They’d also spent hours

at the local bank, trying to match the agency’s deposit records

against scattered payment receipts they’d been able to retrieve from

Lamar’s clients.

Salem rubbed her tired eyes and flopped across her bed. This

audit was taking much longer than they expected.

That’s why Dan had been pushing hard to work through the

past weekend and every evening since. Salem couldn’t blame him

for wanting to wrap things up so he could return home to his wife

and children.

Still, Knox’s trust was so fragile and their relationship so new.

She hadn’t called today. Maybe she was getting tired of having her

invitations turned down. This was the worst possible time to be

stuck in the middle of this tangled mess.

Salem was too tired for anything more than a kiss, but she

wouldn’t mind crawling into bed and sleeping snuggled in Knox’s

arms. Maybe then she’d dream of something other than insurance

contracts and mismatched receipts.

She smiled to herself. Would Knox come over if she called?

She said she often worked late into the night.

Salem closed her eyes. She’d rest, take a quick shower, and call

Knox to invite her for a sleepover. That’s what she’d do, right after

she rested for just a few minutes.

❖

Salem groaned and twisted her neck to the right.

The shower and the phone call to Knox had never happened.

When the phone woke her that morning, she was still lying on her

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back across the bed, fully clothed. Dan was calling because he’d

been waiting more than thirty minutes for her to arrive and open the

office to resume work. Her anticipated long, hot shower was a five-

minute splash in her dash for the door.

He gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m really sorry, Salem. I feel

responsible for your stiff neck. I’m sure you’ve got other things to

be doing, but I promised my ten-year-old I’d be home in time for

her big swim meet. If you’d ever had to look into her big brown eyes

when she says, ‘Please, Daddy,’ you’d understand completely.”

Salem chuckled and rubbed at her neck. “I’m sure.”

“I’ll bet you had your father twisted around your little finger,

too.”She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I did when I was young. But after

I became a teenager, I was closer to my mom. So I stayed with her

when they divorced.”

“That must have been tough for your dad.”

“I wouldn’t know about that. All I know is how tough it was

on my mother.”

It was hard to be sympathetic toward her father. Even more, she

was bothered by her father’s culpability in the discrepancies they

were finding. It would have been very hard for Lamar to commit

such widespread fraud without Franklin being suspicious. Was he

that lax in running his business? Was he in cahoots with Lamar? Or,

like Lamar had insinuated in the diner, did he keep quiet because

Lamar was blackmailing him?

The Bolander fire claim had been fraud, Lamar said. But

Salem had looked at the file and it appeared to be in order.

The cause of the fire was ruled to have been the spontaneous

combustion of green hay, baled on the Bolander estate. Franklin

and Doc Evan had also given sworn statements that Robert had

expressed concern that when the hay was baled, it hadn’t dried

sufficiently. He’d intended to have it moved out of the main barn

before the heat rose in the center of the tightly bundled bales and

the nitrogen-rich hay ignited.

But that kind of fire was rare. Sure, it was a gamble every time

a farmer mowed hay fields and prayed for two or three days without

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rain to let it dry before baling. But Salem had checked weather

records for that year. That area had been in a serious drought.

She knew Knox didn’t like to talk about the fire, but she needed

more information. She couldn’t afford to let Lamar blindside her. He

was stupid to think anything that happened then could indict either

her or Knox, but it could damage her business and the Bolander

reputation.

She rubbed her neck again.

“Here, let me see if I can help. My wife says I’m a very

competent neck masseur.”

His large hands began to work her tight shoulder and neck

muscles, and she moaned.

“God, Dan, that feels so good. You should insure those hands

for a million dollars.”

“I’ve heard that before…uh, hi.”

The massage stopped, and Salem opened her eyes to see Knox

standing in the doorway.

“Knox, hey. I was just thinking about you.” If the look on

Knox’s face hadn’t clued her something was wrong, the stillness

would have. When Knox was close, the atmosphere always seemed

full of electricity. Now, she was standing four feet away and Salem

felt nothing but dead, empty air.

Knox set the bag she held in a chair by the door. “I brought over

some lunch, but I can see you’re busy. I’ll just leave it here for you.”

Before Salem could respond, she turned and disappeared.

“Knox, wait.” Salem grabbed the bag and caught up to Knox at

the front door. “Let’s go in my office and eat lunch together.”

“Thanks, but it looks like you’ve got company for lunch

already. I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“Stop it. I meant just you and me. Dan can get his own lunch.”

She grabbed Knox’s hand and ignored her flinch. “Please? I don’t

blame you for being irritated with me. I should have put my foot

down and made time for us this week. It might not seem like it, but

I missed you like crazy.”

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Knox hesitated, and Salem tugged her down the hall to the

privacy of her office where she closed the door, put the lunch bag

down, and wrapped her arms around her stiff frame.

“I’m not going to let go, Knox Bolander, until you hug me

back.”Knox slowly relaxed a little, then responded with a loose hug.

It wasn’t the greeting she hoped for, but it had taken a week to build

the wall between them and it’d take more than one hug to tear it

down again.

She released Knox and led her to the couch, where they sat next

to each other.

“I was planning to call you last night to invite you for a

sleepover, but I made the mistake of lying across the bed for just

a moment and fell asleep.” Salem opened their lunch. “I woke up

this morning still in the clothes I wore to the office yesterday and

with a bad crick in my neck. Dan was just trying to help me with

that because he felt bad I’ve had to spend so much time in the office

this week.”

Knox scowled. “He had his hands on you.”

Salem cupped Knox’s face. “Honey, he has a wife and two

kids at home. We’ve been working every evening and last weekend

because he’s anxious to get back to them.” She kissed Knox softly.

“And I’m anxious to get this cleared up so we can spend some

uninterrupted time together.”

“A sleepover?”

Salem could feel the wall begin to weaken and kissed her again

with more purpose. “I was too tired for anything but a kiss, but I’d

hoped that if I used you as a pillow, I’d dream about something other

than endless paperwork.”

Those gray eyes darkened again, but this time in a good way,

and a bit of that familiar tingle leaked out from behind Knox’s

defenses.

The conversation still lacked their usual ease and flirty

exchanges, but they talked about Guardian and Tuck, a stallion

Knox favored to breed her mares, and June’s new poodle puppy that

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seemed to have very bad health since Doc Evan’s truck was parked

at her house almost every evening around supper time.

“Speaking of Doc Evan, was he there the day your father’s

stable burned down?”

Knox picked at her food. “I don’t remember. It was a long time

ago.”“I know you don’t like to talk about it, but I need to know what

happened.”

“I didn’t start the fire, Salem.”

“I believe that. But Lamar has made accusations that something

other than spontaneous combustion started it. I can’t tell you about

this audit, but I can tell you that Lamar has some explaining to do.

And I’m afraid he’ll bring up something about that old claim to deal

his way out of the pickle he’s in.”

“Everything you need to know is in the file.”

“The fact that you won’t look me in the eye tells me it isn’t

all in the file. Your father’s signature is on a sworn affidavit, right

alongside my father’s.”

Knox stood and paced the room, her voice louder with each

step. “I was only eight years old, and I’ve spent every day since then

trying to forget.”

“Holding it inside all this time hasn’t made it any less painful,

has it? Maybe you should talk about it. Just tell me what you do

remember.”

“No!” The burst of energy that blasted out with Knox’s shout

toppled Salem’s desk lamp with a crash.

After a knock, Dan’s voice filtered through the door. “Everything

okay in there, Salem?”

“It’s fine, Dan. I just accidentally knocked over the lamp on

my desk.”

“Okay. I’ll be in Lamar’s office if you need me.”

She waited until they heard his footsteps retreat. God, she was

tired and her patience was stretched as thin as gossamer. She turned

back to Knox.

“Look at me,” she told Knox. “Look me in the eye and tell me

everything written in the file is completely true and accurate, to the

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best of your knowledge. I know you won’t lie. If you say it’s the

truth, then I’ll defend it against Lamar’s lies no matter what it may

cost.”A tortured mix of hurt and anger flashed through Knox’s eyes

before her stare turned flat and emotionless. “I came here today

because I wanted to have lunch with someone I cared about. I didn’t

know it would be an interrogation.”

“You didn’t answer my—”

Knox was gone. Salem jogged down the hall to catch up, but

the front door slammed shut and the deadbolt clicked into place.

She closed her eyes and sagged against the door. She needed a key

to open it, and Knox would be long gone before she had time to run

back to her desk and get it from her drawer.

“Damn you, Knox.”

• 171 •

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chapTeR TwenTy

Salem aimed and threw another pencil, eraser first, across

the room, where it thumped against the window and fell.

Tuck skittered over to bat it across the hardwood floor to a pile he

was accumulating in the corner.

She told June she’d brought the kitten to work with her because,

with the long hours she’d been working, he was lonely. But she’d

really brought him because she was lonely.

It was Monday, late afternoon. Seventy-eight hours and forty-

five minutes since Knox had stormed out of the office. Each time

Salem tried to call, it went straight to voice mail. She’d promised

herself that as soon as Dan left that morning, she’d drive to the

Bolander estate and confront her, like she had when Knox retreated

before.

So why, hours after Dan was gone, was she still sitting in her

office, throwing pencils at the window?

She opened her Internet browser, searched for dartboards,

and ordered one to be delivered. Hmm. Maybe she should order a

punching bag while she was at it. She could hang it in the corner for

when she was really pissed.

She was pissed now.

Knox hadn’t lied to her, but she sure as hell was keeping a

secret. Come to think of it, Eve didn’t exactly lie, either. Salem had

never specifically asked if she was seeing anyone else. But when

Eve professed to love her, she took for granted that theirs was an

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exclusive relationship. And, damn it, Eve constantly implied that

it was.

Knox might not be a slick politician, but she was capable

of deceit. Hadn’t she concealed her telekinetic abilities from the

Institute? Salem was sure she was hiding the real cause of the stable

fire. She could be keeping other secrets, too. That was the last thing

Salem needed. Hadn’t she learned her lesson with Eve?

She was contemplating whether she should raid Tuck’s pencil

stash so she could throw some more when June rushed into her

office.“The old Sears building’s on fire. Leave Tuck here and let’s go

watch.”

“Wait. We don’t insure that building any more.”

“Sugar, I don’t care if it’s one of ours or not. This is the most

exciting thing you’ll see in this town in the next five years. Now,

come on. What else do you have to do?”

She had a point. Besides, they did insure the buildings on either

side of the old department store, so if the fire jumped it could affect

her business.

They hurried along the six blocks to the fire scene, careful

to stay on the sidewalk as several fire trucks from surrounding

communities joined the Oakboro department to fight the huge blaze

and wet down the adjacent buildings.

Even a block away, they could feel the intense heat and see

the flames shooting out from the roof. The cacophony of sirens and

shouted orders was deafening.

Word traveled fast as the county’s volunteer firefighters arrived

one by one and reported in to join the battle. Salem was surprised

when one volunteer turned and waved. It was Max.

“You be careful,” June shouted over the noise.

“Always am,” Max said, before trotting over to the captain to

get her assignment.

The ladies’ auxiliary to the fire department began to set up a

rest area for the firefighters rotating off the front lines.

“Isn’t that one of Franklin’s buildings?” somebody asked.

The people standing near them turned to hear Salem’s answer.

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“It was,” Salem said, “but I dropped him two weeks ago when

he wanted me to match an offer Lamar made to insure it.”

Everyone nodded their approval.

“Your daddy was a good man, but you may be a better busi-

nessman,” one man said.

“A lot better looking, too,” someone piped up from behind her.

That brought nods all around again and Salem smiled her

thanks.

They watched for more than an hour, until the roof collapsed

into the third floor and it was clear the neighboring buildings would

survive.

June was helping set out folding metal chairs someone had

brought from a nearby church so the spectators could sit along the

sidewalk and continue to watch. Gina was selling egg-salad and tuna

sandwiches out of a basket to the spectators who were settling in.

But Salem’s fatigue weighed too heavy to continue standing

there. “I’m heading out,” she told June. “Don’t expect me in the office

tomorrow. I need a day off.”

June patted her arm. “Don’t worry about it. If anything comes

up that I can’t handle, I’ll call you.”

Salem doubted there was anything June couldn’t handle. And

she didn’t trust anyone more. Maybe she should talk to her about

taking the licensing exam instead of hiring another agent.

When she walked away from the noise and bright flames, dusk

had begun to quietly settle over the town. The streets were mostly

empty, except for a few stragglers going to watch the fire.

The excitement of everything melted away as she neared the

office and the melancholy she’d left there found her again. She

retrieved Tuck and drove the few blocks to her house.

She had no appetite for dinner, so she poured a bowl of kitten

kibble for Tuck and a glass of wine for herself and settled into a

chair on the back deck.

Salem wondered, for the hundredth time, why she was in

Oakboro and debated whether she would stay. She thought she’d

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found her answer when she first kissed Knox. But now she wasn’t

sure.A movement at the edge of the woods drew her attention to

the rise where she’d seen a horse and rider before. She stood and

squinted, willing her eyes to see farther. She was right. They were

there again, silhouetted against the darkening sky.

“Knox,” she whispered. She started to shout and wave, but the

rider descended the knoll and disappeared into the woods.

She swallowed her disappointment with the rest of her wine

and went inside. Maybe a nice long soak in a hot bath would make

her feel better.

But it didn’t.

Five hours later she was still tossing and turning.

Was it a coincidence that Knox was lurking around town when

the fire started? Twice, she’d seen her struggle for control when her

anger flared. Had her temper gotten the better of her this time? Could

Knox be responsible for today’s fire? Had she lied about starting the

stable fire all those years ago?

Salem felt in her heart that Knox could be nothing but honest.

Still, she was keeping something secret. Eve kept secrets.

She punched her pillow into a new lump and tossed around the

bed, unable to find that magic position that would lull her to sleep.

What if someone else saw Knox riding on the outskirts of town

tonight? Could she be arrested for suspicion? Salem had terrible

visions of a small-town lynch mob and a courtroom where attorneys

dressed in seersucker suits convinced slack-jawed jurors that Knox

was a witch with an arsonist bent.

She sat up and threw the bedcovers back. It might be three in

morning, but it was ridiculous to keep trying to sleep. She found her

clothes and pulled them on.

She needed to see Knox. She needed to trust Knox. But more

than anything, she desperately wanted to hold her.

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chapTeR TwenTy-one

Knox lay like a lump on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

She’d expected her funk to wear off after a few days.

Instead, she seemed to sink deeper. She couldn’t work, couldn’t eat,

couldn’t sleep. She rode her horses relentlessly, saddling one after

another, in an effort to find solace on the sandy trails of the estate.

But she couldn’t.

She missed her father. She missed her brother. And, damn it all,

she missed Salem so badly it tore at her.

But, like everybody else, Salem wanted something from her.

She wanted information about the fire, and Knox couldn’t give it to

her. She’d promised silence and had never intended, never wanted

to break the vow…until now.

Christ. How was she going to get through this?

Guardian whined next to her bed. Her depression was affecting

him, too. He wasn’t eating either. When she had begun to feel light-

headed earlier that day, she’d downed a couple of protein drinks

and he, too, broke his fast with a bowl of dog chow. They were a

pathetic duo.

God, she needed to sleep. But every time she closed her eyes

she saw the fire in the old Sears building. Watching the flames from

the outskirts of town had brought to life too many bad memories.

She considered drinking her way through her father’s wine

cellar. If she was unconscious, maybe she wouldn’t hurt so badly.

She’d never allowed herself to be drunk or drugged because she was

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afraid of losing control. She was still afraid. She closed her eyes and

began the meditation steps Master Kai had taught her, but it was no

use. Finally, she gave in and let her mind open up what her heart

needed most. Memories of Salem.

❖

When Salem pulled up to the entrance of the Bolander estate,

the gate didn’t swing open as it always had. Was DIVA locked down

for the night? Or had Knox removed Salem’s security access? She

thought about turning around. No. She’d driven out here in the

middle of the night and, damn it, she intended to see Knox.

She bumped her car up against the gate and climbed on the

hood to drag herself up and over the top. She dropped to the other

side and jogged up the long drive.

❖

Knox’s mind held tight to images of Salem when exhaustion

won out, and she finally slipped into a restless sleep.

Salem was sitting in her living room, trying to drink that very

sour lemonade the first day they met. Then they were riding together,

the huge oaks waving their Spanish-moss-draped branches in

obeisance to Salem’s beauty. They were lounging in the grass next

to the pond, laughing and talking and trading kisses. She could hear

Salem’s heart beat when she laid her cheek against her breast.

But the beating began to grow loud and discordant. There were

shouts, and they were no longer at the pond. They were standing with

the crowd, watching the old department store burn. Knox covered

her ears to block out the sound of the fireman’s axe battering against

a metal door.

She turned to Salem…where was Salem? Inside, she’s inside,

someone yelled. No. She had to save her.

She could smell hair and skin burning. She could hear the

firemen’s shouts as she raced into the unbearable heat. Salem,

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Salem, where are you? She saw a shirtsleeve and began tossing

away bales of burning hay to reach it.

She realized the firemen’s shouts had turned to terrified

whinnies. Hooves drummed against the barn walls. Her hands were

burning, her lungs were on fire. Ham, Ham, where are you?

She heard a sharp noise, like gunshots, and looked up. It must

be the beams cracking. The roof was falling. She had to hurry, but

when she looked down the shirtsleeve was gone.

Too late. She was too late.

“No!” Knox jolted awake. Gasping for breath, she sat up. She

was in her bedroom, not a burning building. Sweat tricked down her

back and a warm tongue lapped at it. The gunshot sound, she realized,

had been Guardian’s sharp bark. He pushed at her with his nose,

ran to the bedroom door, and barked again. As the haze of Knox’s

nightmare began to clear, she realized she could still hear the banging

sound from her dream. Someone was pounding on the front door.

“DIVA.”

“Intruder alert. Police have been notified an intruder has

breeched the main gate.”

“Can you identify?”

“White female. Age 32. Five feet, five inches tall. Identified.

Salem Lacey. Licensed insurance agent. Resides at—”

“Enough. Notify police to stand down.”

“Notifying police.”

Knox slipped into shorts and a T-shirt and followed Guardian

down the stairs.

The pounding was persistent.

“God damn it, Knox. I’m not going away until you let me in

and we talk. Open this door now. I know you can hear me. ”

She disengaged the lock and opened it. Salem’s energy hit her

like a sledgehammer and she swayed weakly against its force.

“Oh, my God. Baby, are you sick? You’re pale as a ghost.

Come sit down.”

She let Salem lead her to the sitting room where she sank

gratefully onto the sofa and closed her eyes. Salem’s cool hands

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were everywhere, checking her pulse, feeling her forehead, holding

firmly to her hand.

“I knew I should have driven out here, instead of letting you

stew. You could die out here by yourself and nobody would know.”

“DIVA can detect any dangerous changes in my temperature

or heart rate.”

“DIVA is a damned computer, Knox. I know you’re upset with

me, but I care about you too much to let a bunch of computer chips

be responsible for your health. When you’re sick, you need a human

to take care of you, make you soup, rub your back.”

“I’m not sick,” she said weakly. “I just haven’t been eating or

sleeping much.”

Salem’s aura stilled and then flowed around Knox to wrap her

in a protective cocoon.

“Aw, honey, me either.”

Knox opened her eyes. “Have you been sick?” If something

happened to Salem, would someone call and let her know?

“Sick with worry. You haven’t been taking my calls.” Salem

frowned. “Eve kept secrets, Knox. Secrets that hurt me. I’m scared

because you keep secrets, too. And I’m upset that you don’t trust me.”

The secret Knox had held tight for so many years, the truth she’d

guarded, had been her bond to the two people she loved most. But

she’d have to let it go, let them go, if she wanted to hold onto Salem.

“I don’t want to keep secrets…not from you.” She hunched

forward, clutching at the fear gnawing inside her belly. “It’s just…

the fire…it brings back so much.”

“Baby, you’re shaking.” Salem wiped at the tears Knox just

now realized were wetting her cheeks.

“Nightmare. When you knocked, I was having a dream about

that building burning in town this afternoon. I guess then…it

triggered my old nightmare about the barn. Only it was you, not

Ham, I was trying to save.” Her chest jerked with a sob and she

struggled to hold in the years of pain that clawed to be free.

Salem’s arms closed around her. “It’s okay, sweetie. You don’t

have to tell me if it hurts too much. But you don’t have to hold it in,

either. You’re safe with me.”

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Knox burrowed her face against Salem’s breasts. She did feel

safe here. She didn’t have to stay in control with Salem. Another sob

escaped and Salem’s hands moved along her back in soothing strokes.

“The hay…it was high in nitrogen, but not from rain. Dad had

used a new fertilizer to raise the protein level. That didn’t start the

fire, but he said it’s what made it burn so hot and spread so fast.”

Flashes of that day jolted through her, Ham grinning at her as

he threw down another lit match.

“Ham was at the age when boys start to test things. Only he

didn’t have the mental capacity to recognize danger. He found a can

of lighter fluid and was standing in the barn, squirting it across the

dirt, then dropping a match on it to watch the fire crawl along the

trail of fluid.”

Another flash. Ham holding the can out of Knox’s reach and

laughing.

“I told him to stop and tried to take the can from him, but he

jerked it away, spraying fluid across the barn onto some bales of hay

that had been dropped down from the loft to be put in the stalls that

night.”

Watch, Knox. This is so cool.

Ham, no!

“He struck a match and threw it down on the floor before I

could stop him. I grabbed a horse blanket and tried to smother it, but

the hay bales started exploding. Ham’s sleeve was on fire. I could

smell my hair burning. It was so hot I couldn’t breathe. The horses

were screaming.”

Her throat tightened so much she could hardly choke out the

rest. Tears streamed down her face and soaked Salem’s shirt.

“Dad ran in and yelled at me to get Ham out while he and Hoke

tried to free the horses. It was hard because Ham was wailing for

Dad and fighting me the whole way. There was a big ‘whoosh’ and

the barn looked like an inferno. I was screaming, too. Then Hoke

stumbled out, pulling Dad with him. You couldn’t hear the horses

any more, just the fire consuming everything.”

Salem’s arms tightened around her. “Oh, Knox. I can’t imagine

how awful that must have been. I’m glad all the people got out,

though.”

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Salem’s fingers combing through her hair, her hands stroking

along her back gentled away the nightmare. The rhythmic thump of

Salem’s heart replaced the fire roaring in Knox’s ears.

“It’s not unusual for children to start fires. Why didn’t you and

your father tell the truth back then?”

“There had been several incidents before that. Hamilton was big

for his age and had given another boy a black eye. He also swiped

Dad’s hunting knife one day and took it to school to show off, and

the teacher freaked out. And he was starting to refuse to do what the

teachers told him to, testing them. The guidance counselor thought

Ham was becoming dangerous as he grew older and stronger, and

said we should send him off to a ‘special’ school. She meant he

should be institutionalized.”

“So, you told them you started the fire?”

“No. Dad knew it was Ham. But he’d already talked to a friend

of his about enrolling me at the Institute. The schools here just didn’t

have the resources to challenge me. I was only eight, but my I.Q.

was off the scale.” She dried the last of her tears on Salem’s shirt

and realized it felt good to finally be free of her secret. “Dad knew

most people wouldn’t believe the wet-hay story, so we agreed that

I would go away immediately to make them think it was me and I

was being sent to some kind of juvenile facility. Ham was tutored at

home after that to keep him out of trouble.”

“Oh, baby. It doesn’t matter how smart you were, you were still

an eight-year-old little girl. How could your parents do that to you?”

“I wanted to protect Ham as much as they did. I was scared and

lonely without Dad and Ham. But when I thought of my brother,

frightened and alone like that in some mental facility, I knew I was

doing the right thing.”

She closed her eyes and felt the tendrils of Salem’s energy curl

around her. Other than with Master Kai, the only time she’d sensed

another’s aura was when he had introduced her to another young

telekinetic. His power had clashed, battled with hers, but Salem’s

energy had entwined and danced.

Tonight, that energy was quiet and soothing until Knox slipped

her hand under Salem’s shirt. The current changed then. A buzz of

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arousal tingled through her fingertips as she stroked Salem’s smooth

belly.Her doubts fled. Salem couldn’t have betrayed her with Dan.

Salem’s aura didn’t lie. Salem wanted her. And she wanted Salem.

“Knox, honey, it’s really late. Actually, really early in the

morning.” Salem shifted under her. “Do you think you can sleep

now? You must be exhausted.”

“Do you have to go?”

Salem hesitated. “You want me to stay?”

“Yes.” The electricity that flowed from Salem cascaded

through her, and Knox wanted more. She licked the pulse throbbing

in Salem’s neck. “But I’m not tired.”

“O-okay.”

Knox grinned and sucked her ear lobe. When Salem shivered,

Knox withdrew and searched her hazy gaze. “Is it okay?”

“God, yes.”

The consent had barely left her lips when Knox covered Salem’s

mouth with hers and slid her tongue inside. She wanted, had been

wanting, this. She straddled Salem’s thigh and rubbed against her.

God, she was soaked. Going slow was a bad idea. She was way past

simmer already. She needed to make love with Salem or she would

spontaneously combust one night with her own hand between her

legs and Salem in her dreams. She was ready to let go of her fears.

This time, she wouldn’t stop.

“Knox, stop.” Salem pushed at her. “Baby, we have to stop.”

“Huh?” Her brain couldn’t seem to translate the word into

meaning. “What? Why?”

Salem pointed at the huge glass chandelier that hung only

twelve feet away. “Too much glass.”

“Oh.” Comprehension kicked in. “Oh-h-h.”

“I want to make love to you without worrying about exploding

light fixtures.”

“Bedroom.” Knox jumped up from the sofa and dragged Salem

with her.

Every few feet Knox stopped to kiss Salem, her confidence

growing, her clit throbbing with each little whimper from Salem’s

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throat. At last, they reached the bedroom. Their combined energy

swirled and snapped around them, and Knox’s body pulsed with the

urgency of it.

But Salem hesitated. “Your lab, your work. Is it safe?”

“Yes. I’ve made sure.”

“Good, because I don’t want you to hold back anything.”

Salem’s chest was flushed as she peeled off her shirt, her breasts

taut. She dropped her bra to the floor. “You make me feel wonderful

things, incredible things. I want all of it. All of you, baby.” She

lowered her jeans and panties to the floor and kicked them away.

“I’m not afraid and I don’t want you to be either.”

Knox’s heart soared. She’d been waiting all her life for that

invitation. For the permission to give herself completely, to take

what she so desperately needed. She held Salem’s gaze and slowly

shed her clothes, baring herself to another for the first time. Since

she’d been old enough to be aware of it, others had only pressed her

to hide, to control her gift. Now, the hunger in Salem’s eyes made

her swell with power and she let it flow.

Salem opened her arms and spread her aura like an angel’s

wings, then closed around Knox, drawing their naked bodies

together. She was a lightning rod to Knox’s storm, a superconductor

to her heat. Salem’s kiss was hot and deep and urgent.

Knox had never felt another woman’s skin on hers, never

touched another woman’s bare breasts, never tasted another woman.

And she wanted it all now, every inch of Salem…with her hands and

her mouth. She wanted it so badly, she couldn’t think. She lowered

Salem to the bed and pushed her hips between Salem’s legs.

“I need you close,” Salem gasped.

Knox moaned as Salem arched up to meet her, hot and slick

against her belly.

Salem guided Knox’s mouth to her breasts and encouraged her

to explore. Knox was cautious at first, lest she hurt Salem in her

frenzy of desire. But Salem would have none of it.

“Harder, baby. Suck it. Use your teeth. Oh, God. Yes, like that.”

Salem undulated against her and Knox instinctively thrust

back until Salem, panting, dragged her up for another heated kiss.

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Salem’s hand found hers and moved it to the soft curls between her

legs. Even as Knox marveled at the wetness she found, she knew she

was equally ready. She slid her fingers over the stiffening clit and

triumphed at the jerk of Salem’s hips.

“Oh, oh, baby. I’m not gonna last. Inside. I need you inside.”

Knox entered slowly and hot muscles gripped her fingers.

Salem’s heels pressed against the backs of her thighs, guiding her

like a rider would her mount, setting their rhythm, urging her thrusts

harder, deeper.

Salem’s energy pulled and hers answered, gathering and flowing

to her own swollen clit. Knox gasped as the current surged and

exploded through her. Salem cried out and Knox’s body convulsed

through the long soul-deep melding. The pounding of her heart—or

maybe it was Salem’s—seemed to fill the room as they, at last, lay

together in a sweat-slicked tangle.

Salem’s synapses snapped with the residual sparks of Knox’s

power. Even though she should be weak as a kitten after an orgasm

that nearly blew out every nerve in her body, she felt energized. She

nudged Knox onto her back and hovered over her, surprised to see

her eyes closed and her cheeks wet with tears.

“Oh, baby. Are you all right?” She wiped at the tears and kissed

Knox’s slack lips.

“I can’t move. You completely drained me.” But when Knox

opened her eyes, they shone with wonder and her mouth curved into

a smile. “I think you’re the dangerous one.”

“Oh, yeah?” Salem licked at the salty sweat on Knox’s neck.

“You have no idea. But I’m willing to give you another hint.”

She kissed and sucked her way down Knox’s neck to her small,

firm breasts. Knox had a beautiful body, long and lean and athletic.

Salem licked and rolled the hard nipples between her lips, finding

the pressure that Knox responded to best.

Knox’s power, indeed, felt somewhat diminished, but the

tingle in Salem’s lips as she kissed a path along Knox’s ribs signaled

it was gathering again. Knox squirmed when Salem tongued her

navel, and her breath hitched as Salem moved lower to the dark,

saturated curls.

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She nipped the inside of Knox’s thigh and shouldered her legs

apart. She could feel Knox holding her breath and decided not to

tease. She didn’t want her to pass out before experiencing the most

intimate, most erotic connection to another woman possible. She

nuzzled into the curls and spread her hands over Knox’s belly to

hold her down as she began with a broad swipe of her tongue. Knox

was still hard, so she avoided the sensitive clit as she licked away

the evidence of their first coupling.

Knox’s moans grew louder and her hips bucked harder as

Salem ran her tongue closer to its purpose. And when she pulled

the turgid tissue into her mouth and sucked hard, Knox gripped the

sheets and cried out as her body bowed upward in climax.

Salem smiled with satisfaction. The air seemed to pulse slowly

around her, and she sensed it was the waves of Knox’s receding

orgasm. She crawled up Knox’s limp body and kissed her, sharing

the taste of her passion.

“Dangerous enough for you?”

“Criminally dangerous. You’re amazing.” Knox’s voice was

faint, her words sluggish. It had been a tense week and an exhausting

day. Salem rolled over on her back and cuddled Knox against her

breast.

“Sleep now, baby. No more bad dreams. I’ll be here when you

wake up.”

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chapTeR TwenTy-Two

Salem surfaced from a deep sleep to the arousing sensation

of soft fingers touching, coaxing her nipples erect. She

opened her eyes to Knox’s gaze, soft with affection.

“You are so beautiful,” Knox said quietly. “More than I ever

imagined.”

“So, you’ve imagined me naked?” A shiver of pleasure ran

through her at the thought.

Knox blushed, but chuckled. “Every night, lying here with my

hand between my legs, reliving that kiss and trying not to shatter the

overhead light.”

Salem looked up. “What on earth, Knox?”

“Chemical illumination encased in plastic, not glass, tubes. It’s

the same principle as those glow sticks emergency responders use

at accident scenes. ”

“Clever.”

“A necessary modification after the homework you gave me

busted three light fixtures and turned my brass bed into a twisted

wreck. Didn’t know brass could bend that easily.”

“That explains why your mattresses are sitting on the floor.”

“Yeah. I need to shop for a wood bed frame that doesn’t absorb

and conduct an electrical charge.”

Knox’s fingertips had resumed their exploration and Salem

stretched like a contented cat. “What else did my student learn?”

Knox’s eyes darkened as she snagged Salem’s hand and

pressed the palm to her lips, then sucked the sensitive nerves inside

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her wrist. “Well, professor, I did a little extra-credit research on the

most sensitive areas of a woman’s body.”

“Oh.” Salem pulled her down for a kiss. “I can’t wait for that

report.”

❖

“That’s right, hon. We serve breakfast all day.” Gina poured

them two cups of coffee.

Salem surveyed the menu. Her night with Knox had healed the

worry that cramped her stomach for the past four days, and she was

ravenous. “I’ll have the big country breakfast and a large glass of

orange juice.”

“Me, too,” Knox said. “But I want milk. And extra bacon and

a waffle on the side.”

“Oh, that sounds good.”

“I’ll split it with you. But I want a piece of pecan pie while we

wait for our breakfast.”

“Make that two.”

Gina raised her eyebrow. “Is that all, ladies? Would you like

strawberries and whipped cream on that waffle?”

“Butter and syrup’s okay for me.” Salem had other ideas for

whipped cream later.

“All righty then. Try not to gnaw on the table before I get back.”

Salem watched Knox stir her coffee and made a mental note. Two

creamers and three sugar packets. She wanted to know everything

about Knox. She wanted to touch her in all the places she’d never

been touched before. As if reading her thoughts, Knox looked up and

smiled. A sense of elation flowed around, through Salem like a drug

injected into her veins. God, this woman was definitely addicting.

“Well, I figured it would take wild horses to drag you out of the

house today after the hours you’ve been working.” June stood next

to their table and smiled. “Look who’s here, Evan.”

“Hey, ladies. Y’all mind if we join you?”

“They may not want company, hon,” June said, patting Doc on

the arm.

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“It’s cool, Doc Evan,” Salem said, taking the opportunity to

slide out of the booth and resettle next to Knox, close enough to

satisfy her need to touch her.

Gina set two large slices of pie on the table. “Y’all better order

fast. We may not have much left in the kitchen by the time these two

dainty appetites are done.”

“We’re starving,” Knox declared, digging into her pie.

“Your father always said exercising horses made you eat like

one, Knox. You two been out riding early?”

Knox wolfed down another big bite. “Not today. We just got

out of—” She stopped in mid-sentence and flushed a deep red.

The twinkle in June’s eyes said they were so busted, and Knox

looked like she wanted to crawl under the table, so Salem stepped

in to rescue her.

“Why, June, you’ve restyled your hair. I love it.”

June grinned and allowed Salem’s redirection. “Are you sure

it’s not too young-looking for me?”

“Not at all. It takes years off you.” Salem nudged Knox, who

was glancing impatiently toward the kitchen. “Right?”

“Uh, yeah.” She stared at June as though seeing her for the first

time. “You look like a model out of a magazine, June. Doc Evan

might have some competition once word gets around town.”

June laughed and leaned against Doc’s shoulder when he

scowled at Knox. “Oh, Evan’s got nothing to worry about.” She was

rewarded with an affectionate smile from Doc before he shot Knox

a look of triumph.

The three women laughed and Salem realized that this moment,

sitting with Knox’s energy curling around her and sharing a meal

with genuine friends, was one of the happiest she’d experienced

since childhood. It felt like family. A different kind of family, but

definitely a second chance for each of them—a widow, a widower,

and two orphans.

It took Gina three trips to load their table with two lunch

specials and everything Knox and Salem had ordered. She refilled

their coffee cups and lingered even though a group had just filled a

table across the room and was waiting to give their orders.

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“What’s on your mind, Gina?” Doc never was one to beat

around the bush.

“That idiot Lamar was in here for the breakfast rush this

morning, spouting off a lot of crap about Knox and yesterday’s fire.”

Salem stiffened. She hadn’t told Knox that she’d seen her

riding the outskirts of the downtown area. Had others seen her, too?

“What exactly did he say?”

“He was trying to tell people that you had Knox start that fire

’cause you want to run him out of business. Said he had proof y’all

are responsible. He also made some nasty remarks about you two

being more than friends, if you know what I mean. He was yelling

it for everybody to hear.”

Shit. Her bubble of happiness burst like a balloon filled too full.

Salem wanted to punch Lamar in the mouth. Why couldn’t he just

leave them alone? She was so tired of being judged and suffering

from the prejudices of narrow-minded people. Knox had gone

perfectly still, staring down at her plate. The elation she had been

radiating disappeared like water down a drain.

“That sorry little son of a bitch.” Doc growled. “I’m gonna kick

his ass into the next county.”

Gina waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t need to. I’m betting

he’s lit out of town already.”

“Why would he leave?” Salem figured he’d be meeting with

the fire marshal if he really had some kind of proof.

“Well, everybody just let him talk until he started making

personal remarks about you two. Then Kevin Pearson stood up,

grabbed Lamar by the collar, and pulled him up on his toes.”

“Kevin Pearson, who owns the Pawn and Shop?” She’d just

updated the policy on his business and gotten him a better deal.

“Yep. That’s him. Kevin shook old Lamar like a scrawny cur

and says, ‘First off, if you had proof, you’d be at the sheriff’s office

right now, not shooting your mouth off here while we’re all trying to

enjoy our breakfasts.’ Then he says, ‘And second, if those two pretty

ladies want to spend time with each other, that’s their business. If

you ask me, I’d a lot rather have them around Oakboro than your

lying, skanky ass.’”

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“Are we talking about the guy who shaves his head and wears

camouflage to church?” Knox asked.

“You go to church?” That surprised Salem.

“No, but that’s what Tony said about him.”

“Anyway,” Gina said loudly to regain the floor, “Kevin says to

Lamar, ‘Besides, I heard that auditor guy’s been asking questions

around town about polices you wrote for people while you were

working for Franklin. Word is you were skimming and you’re about

to get caught.’ Well, Lamar’s eyes ’bout bugged out of his head and

he started swearing and taking Salem’s daddy’s name in vain. So

Kevin dragged him to the door and tossed him out.”

Salem frowned. “I can fight my own battles, Gina. I’ve always

managed to do fine on my own.”

Knox scowled and nodded in agreement.

“Sugar, y’all don’t have to fight all alone, but you do have to

learn to say thank you when folks offer support.”

That was hard to do. People often had ulterior motives. She

thought about Kevin, a redneck’s redneck. But wasn’t she wrong to

judge him as a stereotype? Isn’t that what people did to her?

“Then I owe Kevin a thank you, but I doubt the rest of the

breakfast crowd agreed with him.”

“Agreed with him? Girl, every person in the place applauded

when he tossed Lamar out. You may not know most of them, but

they thought highly of your daddy.”

The people across the room waved their menus impatiently

at Gina and she waved back. “Gotta go.” She tapped Knox on the

shoulder. “Y’all are so cute together.”

Salem realized her mouth was hanging open and shut it with

a snap. She was so confused. She was furious. She glared at June.

“My father deserted me and Mom when he found out I was

gay.” She felt Knox’s hand on her thigh, warm and reassuring. “Is

that how everybody in town seems to know about me? Did he ask

the whole church to pray for my soul? That has to be it, because I

seriously doubt he bragged about me.”

June reached across the table for Salem’s hand.

“So much like your daddy. So proud and so hardheaded. But

don’t repeat his mistake by jumping to conclusions and making rash

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decisions. He paid a dear price for that.” June held her hand up to

belay Salem’s response. “I’ll tell you how everybody in town knows

about you, but you have to promise to keep quiet until I’ve finished.”

Knox’s hand tightened on her thigh and Salem looked up.

“Can’t hurt to listen,” Knox murmured.

Salem looked skeptical, but she nodded her consent.

“Now, you girls eat while I talk.” June waited until they dutifully

picked up their forks again. “As I told you before, I worked with your

father from the day he moved to that office seventeen years ago. He

had little to say about you and your mom for the first several years.

Just said he was divorced and that his family wanted nothing to do

with him. Far as I could tell, all he did was work and go to church.”

“Well, he did go fishing,” Doc said. “A hound dog took up at

his house that second year he was here, and when he brought it in for

shots, he saw my fishing poles. We got to talking and I invited him

to go fishing with me and Jeff. It got to be a regular thing.”

June patted his hand affectionately. “That must have been what

made the difference. I’d been working for your daddy about three

years when I first noticed the picture of you and your mom in his

office. But I reckon the big Steve Scott blowup was about five years

after Franklin moved here.”

“I still can’t believe that whole thing happened,” Doc said.

“Steve had been the band director at Oakboro High School

for three years, and he had those kids winning every band award

around here. They even went to Atlanta and placed third in the state

competition. Anyway, he met his partner, Martin, over in Valdosta

and, after about a year, Martin moved here to live with Steve. They

didn’t flaunt it, but Martin, bless his heart, is hard to miss. It wasn’t

long before some of the village idiots around here, most from your

daddy’s church and pretty influential in town, started some noise

and got Steve fired.”

Gina had wandered over to refill their coffee cups again and

lingered to interject her two cents. “It was that snotty Sheila that

started it all. She was pissed her kid didn’t get picked to go on the

state-competition trip.”

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“Yes, well, when word got around that the school board was

scheduled to hear Steve’s appeal, your daddy got on the phone and

started calling people. Must have been three hundred parents and

students who showed up to speak on Steve’s behalf. And, after your

daddy made the most eloquent speech this county has ever heard,

the board voted unanimously to reinstate Steve in his old job. They

gave him a raise, too.” June consulted her watch. “Oh, dear, I have

to get back to the office.” She gave Salem’s hand one last pat. “I’ll

get Katie to send over a copy of the minutes of that meeting in case

you want to read it sometime.”

Salem barely registered their good-byes.

Since the day her father had caught her kissing her first girlfriend,

she’d learned to expect bigotry and condemnation from family

members, co-workers, strangers, and even people who professed to

be her friends. And that was in Atlanta, where people were better

educated, better informed, and, supposedly, more enlightened.

She hadn’t expected acceptance and true friends in this small

Southern enclave where almost everyone was in church on Sunday

morning, folks were still careful not to wear white before Easter or

after Labor Day, and a vacant building burning downtown was the

biggest event of the year.

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chapTeR TwenTy-ThRee

Salem was grateful that Knox seemed comfortable with her

silence as they drove to her house to check on Tuck. Her

thoughts, her emotions churned over everything June had told her.

If her father had spoken up for a gay man here in Oakboro, why had

he remained a loud silence in her life?

Tuck, having made use of his newly installed pet door, was

lounging on the deck when they pulled around to the back door of

Salem’s house. He mewed a greeting to Salem, then strolled over

to Guardian when Knox lifted him from the Jeep to the ground.

Purring, he rubbed his cheek against the big dog’s leg, then stood on

his hind legs to rub his face against Guardian’s.

“Well, Guard, I guess this is a day for finding friends in

unexpected places,” Knox said. Looking worried, she lifted Salem’s

hand to brush it against her lips. “Are you okay?”

Salem sighed and cuddled into Knox’s offered embrace for a

long hug. “I don’t really know, but it’s time to find out.”

She took her box of unopened letters and they settled on the

couch. Salem snuggled between Knox’s long legs to rest her back

against Knox’s chest. She felt safe, protected by Knox’s energy. She

was ready to face this now.

“You shared your demons with me last night. Now I need you

to help me with mine today.”

“Anything, sweetheart,” Knox said, her voice soft in Salem’s

ear. “What’s in the box?”

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“Letters my dad wrote to me. Lucille, a woman my dad ‘kept

company with’ after he moved here, gave them to me a couple

weeks ago.” She fingered the letter on top. Next to her address,

written by her father, was her own handwriting. “Return to sender,”

it said. “I…I haven’t read them because I figured they were just

full of preaching, and that pissed me off. But now I’m not so sure.

I’ve been wrong about some other things lately. Maybe I was wrong

about him, too.”

“You want to read them now?” Knox’s arms slid around Salem,

her hands warm and reassuring against her ribs.

“I think I do.”

She carefully opened the first, the letter that the hurt and angry

teen had sent back unread seventeen years ago.

Dear Salem,

I miss you and your mother so much. There is so much I want

for you, my daughter.

I’m afraid I was too hasty and severe with you. You are young

and crushes on your friends are common at your age. Things will

change as you mature.

I really wish you would come visit me in Oakboro. It’s a

wonderful place with good people. You would see that if you would

visit, perhaps this summer after school lets out.

I’ve found a good church family here…

She frowned. If she’d read this letter all those years ago, she

probably would have burned it.

Knox’s kiss was brief against her neck. “Read the next,

sweetheart. June said his views changed after he’d been here a

while.”

Salem picked up the next one and hesitated. Truth was, she’d

started to feel better about her father and was afraid that reading

these letters would make her hate him again. She didn’t want to do

that. She wanted to love him like she did when she was a little girl.

She tore open the envelope.

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…I went fishing with my friend, Evan, today and met a young

man. His name is Jeff and he lives with another young man, Tony,

who works at Evan’s veterinarian clinic. That surprised me because

Jeff doesn’t fit what I’ve come to expect a gay man to be like. He’s a

real guy and loves the outdoors.

We talked for a long time about that and he’s given me some

things to think about…

A flurry of letters that followed related Franklin’s theological

debates with Jeff. Tears fell as she read the last of six letters her

father had mailed and she had returned unopened.

I can never tell you how much I wish I could undo the damage

I’ve caused. I am so sorry.

I know I deserve your anger, but it cuts my heart that you have

blocked my phone calls and told your mother I am dead to you.

Yes, your mother and I talk on occasion. You weren’t the only

person I hurt when I abruptly moved to Oakboro. She has forgiven

me, but her trust was too damaged to repair our relationship. Even

so, she’ll always be the only woman I’ve ever loved, and you, my

daughter, will always be more than I deserve.

The letters after that were simply postmarked, but never sent,

just as Lucille had said. The first was dated right after her high-

school graduation.

…I watched you today and it made my heart swell, my darling

daughter.

I wanted to hold you in my arms and tell you how much I

love you, but you were smiling and laughing with your mother and

friends, and I didn’t want to intrude and ruin your day.

If you ever read these letters, the one thing I want you to

remember from them is that I am so proud of you.

Salem pushed the box of letters to the floor and sobbed against

Knox’s shoulder. She cried for the father she had loved as a child.

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She cried for the years lost with him. Mostly she cried because,

while his actions tore them apart, she was responsible for their

continued estrangement.

Knox’s aura, normally sharp and constantly moving, softened

and stilled to wrap Salem in a soothing blanket.

When her crying quieted, she returned the scattered letters to

the box. The past two weeks of emotional highs and lows left her too

raw to read them all now.

She led Knox to the bedroom where they stripped their clothes

off to slip under the covers together. She needed to feel Knox’s skin

on hers, Knox’s pulse beating in time with hers. She needed for

Knox to touch and heal the damaged pieces of her heart.

❖

Salem woke to a lingering sadness but felt gloriously rested

and unfettered. The anger she’d dragged like a heavy chain was

gone. She’d arrived in town a bitter refugee and had found friends

in Oakboro.

And there was Knox. The warm body she was using as a pillow

held a heart so pure and untouched, Salem wanted to cradle it gently,

nurture it, shelter it.

She moved her palm over Knox’s lean flank, tracing each rib

with her fingertips until a firm hand stopped her examination.

“Not a morning person?”

Knox blinked sleepily, but held tight to Salem’s wrist. “I am,

but—” She squirmed just out of reach when Salem tried to resume

her pleasurable exploration.

“You’re ticklish.” Salem grinned and attempted to free her

hand. “No. I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.” She was no match for Knox’s strength, so she

closed her lips around an exposed nipple and sucked hard. When

Knox’s grip relaxed, Salem jerked free to find her ribs again and

laughed at the squealed protest.

“No, stop, Salem—”

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Knox laughed and bucked, then Salem’s back was against the

bed, her own ribs under assault.

But Salem rolled and regained her position on top, laughing as

she struggled with the tangled sheets and Knox’s frantic efforts to

escape the tickling. By the time she realized Knox was suddenly out

of her reach, Salem was suspended several feet over the bed.

“Knox! What the—”

The sensation was like floating on something, rather than being

weightless. Palms out, Knox was a portrait of concentration, eyes

narrowed and lips pressed in a taut line.

Salem laughed. “I didn’t even know you could do this. Put me

down, you nut.”

“No. More. Tickling.”

Salem flailed in the air, but she was held fast. She tried a

different tack. “I can’t kiss you from up here.” She licked her lips.

“And I really want to kiss you right now.” She felt a small wobble, a

weakening in the energy field that held her aloft. “Let me down and

I’ll show you where else I want to put my mouth.”

The words were barely past her lips when Salem fell to the

bed like a stone and the mattress crashed through the bed’s frame.

She grabbed onto Knox as the bed tilted and tumbled them to one

side. When everything came to a stop, it took a moment for Salem

to register exactly what had happened. Then she laughed at Knox’s

horrified expression. After a few seconds, Knox laughed, too, and

they giggled together like schoolgirls until Salem was out of breath

and tears were leaking onto her cheeks.

“Oh, my God. I can’t believe we broke the bed.”

Knox corrected her, still chuckling. “You broke the bed.”

“You dropped me.”

“You deliberately shattered my concentration.”

Salem wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “You’re so easy.”

Knox blushed, but smoothed her hand over Salem’s butt. “This

is all new for me, you know. I want you, want my hands on you,

every minute.”

Salem melted at the shyness in her voice, the yearning in her

eyes. “You can touch me anytime, anywhere, every way you want,”

she said softly.

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“I’d like that,” Knox said, “but my other arm is kind of—”

“Oh, God. I must be crushing you.” Salem realized Knox’s left

arm was wedged between the mattress and collapsed bed frame.

“Are you okay?” She scrambled up and helped Knox free herself.

“Are you hurt?” She kissed a red scrape on Knox’s shoulder.

“I’m fine. Just bruised a little.” Knox rubbed her elbow. “I can’t

say the same for the bed.”

The mattress lay between the side rails at an odd angle, and the

jagged ends of two broken support slats stuck out. Salem eyed the

wreckage. The top left corner was held several inches off the floor

by something underneath.

“Wonder what’s…oh, no. Where’s Tuck? Guard!”

But Guardian was lying in the hallway with Tuck curled

between his legs, and Salem breathed a sigh of relief. If it wasn’t

them, what was tilting the mattress? Salem rounded the bed and

got down on her hands and knees to look. Something was definitely

under there. She switched on the bedside lamp and saw a metal box

lodged against the box springs. Ass in the air and chest pressed to

the floor, she stretched to get her hand on it.

“Honey, can you come around and lift the mattress? Something’s

stuck under here.”

After a strangled sound behind her, the bulb in the lamp burst

and showered her with glass.

“Knox?” Salem pulled her hand back and sat back on her heels

to look over her shoulder. “Baby, are you okay?”

Knox swayed, covering her eyes with her hands. “No. I’m not.

You’re going to kill me. I’m having a stroke.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re naked.”

“We’re both naked.”

“But you were…” Knox used one hand to keep her eyes

covered and pointed with the other “…down there, you know…

with your, you know…sticking up…” She swayed again. “God, I’m

gonna faint.”

Salem got to her feet and steered Knox into a chair. “Breathe,

baby. You’re hyperventilating. Take slow, deep breaths.”

• 200 •

Touch Me GenTly

Shaking her head, she stepped into the bathroom to wet a

washcloth and slip into her robe. She kept forgetting Knox was a

twenty-eight-year-old with the sexual experience of an adolescent.

She held the cool cloth to Knox’s neck and chuckled at her flushed

face. “You can open your eyes. I’ve put my robe on now.”

Knox opened only one eye to confirm she was clothed before

she opened the other.

“Keep holding this washcloth to your neck. I’ll be right back.”

She retrieved another robe from her father’s closet and helped

Knox into it when she stood. “Feeling better?”

Knox averted her eyes and stepped back. “Yeah. Better.” But

she crossed her arms and tucked her hands tightly away.

“What’s wrong?”

Knox shook her head.

“Are you upset with me?”

Another headshake and another step back. She wasn’t hiding

in her lab or taking off on her horse, but Knox was retreating again,

and Salem wasn’t going to let her get away with it this time. She

wrapped her in a tight hug. Knox was trembling.

“We’re not going to play twenty questions, Knox. I’m going to

hold on until you tell me what’s wrong.”

They stood there for a long moment until Knox returned

Salem’s embrace.

“It’s just…when I saw you down there like that…I wanted…I

wanted to—”

Salem smiled against the soft flannel covering Knox’s chest.

“You wanted to jump my bones?”

“I wanted…to do things to you.” Knox groaned. “God, I’m

such an ass.”

Salem cupped Knox’s face. “Baby, you are not an ass. I like

that you want to do ‘things’ to me. I hope we’ll both be doing lots

of things to each other. But we’ve got plenty of time to explore that.

Right now, I need to see what’s under the bed. Okay?”

Knox let out a shuddering breath. “Yeah.”

Salem gave her a chaste kiss, mindful now that Knox’s

inexperience was a sexual powder keg. One she would gladly light

later. “Lift that mattress for me?”

• 201 •

D. Jackson leiGh

“Yeah, sure.”

Salem sat on the floor cross-legged and set the file-sized metal

box on her lap. The catch appeared to be locked when she thumbed

it, so she turned it over to see if a key might be taped underneath.

“Maybe it has cash in it,” Knox said.

“It doesn’t look like a cash box…more like a file container.

It probably just holds important papers, like the title to his car or

something.”

“His lawyer didn’t give you all those documents?”

“Well, yeah.” Salem turned it right side up and jiggled the catch

again. “Can’t you just…you know, like you did the car locks?”

Knox chuckled. “I’m not sure I can focus right now. You sorta

blew a few of my fuses.” She took the box from Salem. “But I am

an engineer. Find a paper clip and I’ll have it open in two seconds.”

“Okay.” Salem jumped up and trotted into her father’s study.

The second drawer she opened held a box of paper clips and a small

key. “Hey, here’s a key that may fit it,” she yelled.

“Bring a paper clip, too, in case it isn’t the right one,” Knox

yelled back.

The key did open the box, which was filled with a ledger,

receipts, and several file folders.

A letter on top confessed the cause of the stable fire and Lamar’s

threats to expose the lie on the insurance claim. The claim would

have been paid even if the real cause had been originally listed, but

the affidavits falsified to protect Ham could have invalidated the

policy and cost Franklin his insurance license.

Salem opened the ledger and studied the figures and writing.

She recalled Dan mentioning several of the clients he interviewed

about suspicious policies said Franklin had asked the same questions

several months before his heart attack.

“This is it, Knox. This is the evidence we need to nail Lamar.

It looks like my father was building his own case against him before

he got sick.”

Knox looked at her. “You don’t think Lamar—”

“No. My dad had progressive heart disease. There was nothing

suspicious about his death.”

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“Good. That’s good. Because if Lamar tried to hurt you—”

Salem could feel Knox’s energy change, snapping around them.

“I don’t think Lamar’s dangerous.” She stroked Knox’s forearm and

rested her shoulder against Knox’s. She was surprised, but pleased,

at the fierceness in Knox’s eyes. “Stupid, but not dangerous.”

“What are you going to do with this?”

“I should fax all of it to Dan.” Salem returned the files to the

box and closed it. She looked at Knox. “Your father’s gone, my

father’s gone. You don’t have to protect your brother any longer.”

She took Knox’s hand in hers. “But the insurance underwriter could

decide to sue your father’s estate for the money they paid out.”

“Money isn’t an issue. I could afford to build that barn ten times

over at today’s prices. If they want repayment, they won’t have to

sue. I’ll willingly reimburse them. It’s the right thing to do, Salem.”

Salem gave her hand a squeeze. “It’s settled then. You okay

with cereal for breakfast or do you want to go to the diner?”

“We’re getting dressed and going to your office now?”

Salem laughed. Knox’s pout made her look like a kid who’d

just learned she wouldn’t have ice cream for dessert. She stood and

dropped her robe to the floor. “Only after I introduce you to the

joys of showering together. Then we can have a quick breakfast of

Captain Crunch and go to my office.”

“Thank God. I was afraid you’d make me eat granola or

something healthy.” Knox stood and dropped her robe as well.

“Besides, I was thinking of putting something else in my mouth.”

“I so love a quick student.”

• 203 •

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chapTeR TwenTy-FouR

Cradled back to front in the curve of Knox’s long torso,

Salem’s feverish body seemed to sizzle under the suddenly

icy spray.

“Oh, baby, so good, so good.” The sweet invasion of Knox’s

long fingers and the energy that poured from them filled Salem with

almost unbearable pleasure. She reached behind to slide her hand

between their slick bodies and her fingers found their mark against

Knox’s stiff clitoris. Knox pumped against Salem’s ass and groaned.

The thrusts grew urgent, and Salem’s sensitive clit swelled under

the rough massage. Her muscles tightened around Knox’s fingers as

they filled her again and again, until she could no longer breathe and

it was too much to hold inside.

“Do it, baby, do it. Make me come,” Salem gasped.

The force that was Knox, pure and primal, surged, burned, and

Salem cried out at the exquisite orgasm roiling through her body.

Her screams and Knox’s shout echoed off the shower walls that

vibrated with the power of their coupling.

Riding out the waves of her climax, she clenched her thighs

together, both to still Knox’s hand and hold her inside as long as

possible. Knox’s clit jumped and twitched against her fingers for

another long moment.

Thankful that Knox’s legs, muscled and strong from years of

riding horses, had held them upright, Salem took a long breath and

turned in Knox’s arms. She couldn’t resist rubbing her cheek against

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D. Jackson leiGh

Knox’s hard nipple and smiled when she felt her shudder. “Even if

you hadn’t asked me to keep your gift a secret, I still wouldn’t tell

anyone.”

Knox’s lips were soft on hers. “You wouldn’t?”

“I don’t want other women to find out how criminally good you

are at making love.”

Knox’s smile was shy. “I was a little worried about that. I mean,

um, you know, how I stacked up against other women you’ve been

with.”“Are you kidding? If it ever got out how incredibly super-

califragilistic you are, I’d have to become a serial killer to keep the

women away from you.”

When Knox laughed, her aura blossomed and tingled through

every cell of Salem’s body.

“It’s not just me, you know.” Knox’s eyes were silver and sharp

with certainty. “It’s both of us, together. I felt it the first time I met

you.” She smoothed her hands over Knox’s ass and realized she was

ready, wanted Knox again.

“That’s a very interesting theory, Dr. Bolander.” She tugged

Knox toward the bedroom. “But I think it needs more research.”

❖

Salem sat with her shoulder pressed against Knox’s as they

refueled on sugary cereal, eating from the same large bowl. She

couldn’t put a name to it, but she sensed this bonding with Knox was

very different from anything she’d experienced. She felt compelled

to touch her, be with her every second. Knox made her feel strong

and vital, soft and serene. She worried that Knox could create this

same euphoria in any number of women. Salem had let the horse

out of the barn without knowing if it would follow her or run after

the herd.

“What are you worrying over?”

Salem started to lie, just a little lie that people tell to keep their

thoughts secret. But she realized Knox could read her emotions, just

as she could feel Knox’s. So, she told the truth. “Silly, stupid things.”

• 206 •

Touch Me GenTly

She set the dregs of their breakfast on the floor so the animals could

finish. Guardian watched as Tuck half crawled into the bowl to lap

at the milk, then he gingerly licked up his share from the other side.

“Let’s go fax these papers to Dan, then head out to your place. It’s a

beautiful day, perfect for a long horseback ride. I can pack a snack

for us to eat down by the river.”

Knox accepted her change of subject with a brief kiss. “That

sounds great. We’ll have to come back to town for dinner, though.

I’ve got nothing but wilted lettuce and a can of soup at my house.”

“Then let’s leave Guard here with Tuck. It’ll give them a chance

to get to know each other.”

Salem retrieved Franklin’s box of evidence, leaving Knox to

settle Guardian in the living room with his bed and chew bone.

“All set?” Salem asked.

“Yep.”

They were at the back door when Salem stopped. “Oh, I need

my sunglasses. I think they’re in the bedroom. You go ahead. I’ll

only be a second.”

She jogged to the bedroom, found her sunglasses on the dresser,

and trotted back to the kitchen. But when she swung the door open,

Knox was sprawled, face-first, on the deck.

“Knox! Oh, my God.” She fell to her knees and brushed the

dark hair back from Knox’s face. Her eyes were closed and Salem

realized the air around them seemed silent, empty of the current she

associated with Knox.

Lamar stepped out from behind her and held up a pistol. “The

freak is taking a little nap, courtesy of Smith & Wesson.” He bared

his teeth in a cruel grin. “Just a little tap on the head and superwoman

isn’t so super anymore.”

Salem felt along Knox’s neck, finding her pulse strong and

steady. She jumped to her feet, hands balled into fists. “I’m going to

beat the shit out of you, you pathetic little worm—”

“Uh-uh-uh.” Lamar waved the gun at her. “You might want to

rethink that, bitch.”

Salem started toward him. “You don’t have the balls to shoot

me.”

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D. Jackson leiGh

“Shoot you?” He swung the gun toward Knox’s still body.

“I was thinking I’d pump a few bullets into her.” He cocked the

hammer on his thirty-eight revolver.

Salem instinctively stepped between Lamar and Knox. This

guy was crazy. She needed time to think.

“What do you want from us, Lamar?”

“I want both of you queers to pay for messing up my life. That

freak made me a laughingstock when we were kids, and now you

showed up, stole my business right out from under me, and put the

feds on my tail.”

“If something happens to us, you’ll be the first person the

police suspect.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve got it all planned out, and

finding the firebug here with you is just gonna make things easier.”

He stepped around Salem and held the gun a few feet from Knox’s

head. “Now make yourself useful and drag the freak back into the

house before I just shoot you both right here.”

Salem hesitated. If they went inside, would Guardian hear

them? Crap. He was deaf. Besides, just because he was a German

shepherd, he wasn’t necessarily trained to protect. Would Lamar be

less likely to shoot them outside where the neighbors might see or

hear? Her neighbors on both sides would be at work this time of day.

Did Lamar know that?

Knox groaned and Lamar kicked her in the ribs. “Hurry up,

bitch, or I’ll have to shoot the freak now before she wakes up.”

She flung herself across Knox’s body to shield her. “Okay,

okay. Don’t hurt her.” Salem carefully rolled her onto her back and

lifted Knox’s shoulders to lock her arms around her chest. Knox’s

head lolled against Salem as she slowly stood and walked backward

inside the house.

Once inside, Lamar pulled a coil of thick twine from his pocket.

“Lay the freak on the floor and you sit in that chair.” The twine was

rough and bit into Salem’s ankles and wrists where he tied her to

the chair.

She frantically looked around the kitchen, searching for an

idea, a weapon that would get them out of this mess. Her fear rose,

• 208 •

Touch Me GenTly

bitter in her mouth, with each minute Knox remained unconscious.

How hard had he hit her? Tears burned her eyes. She had to get free.

She had to help Knox.

Lamar jerked Knox onto her stomach and tied her hands behind

her back. He didn’t notice Tuck crouched in the doorway to the

living room, eyes fixed on the twitching twine as Lamar squatted

to wrap it around Knox’s ankles. When the kitten pounced, Lamar

fell on his butt. “Son of a bitch.” He grabbed Tuck and threw him

against the wall. The kitten landed on his feet and fled to the living

room. Lamar forgot about tying Knox’s legs and laid his gun on the

table. He began to rummage through the kitchen drawers.

If only she could get her hands on that gun. She struggled

against her bindings, but the twine only cut deeper, sharper into

her flesh. Knox’s eyelids fluttered and Salem knew she needed to

distract Lamar until Knox was fully awake.

“You won’t get away with this, you bastard.”

His laugh was harsh. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve got a

tidy stash built up from the money I’ve been skimming from your

clueless old man. I’ll be long gone before that auditor gets back,

and the cops won’t waste time chasing me across the country for a

simple insurance-fraud crime.”

“They’ll hunt you down for murder if you hurt us.”

He threw his head back and chortled. “Wrong again. The whole

town knows the freak set fire to her daddy’s stable when she was a

kid. I made sure yesterday’s fire looked like arson so I can pin it on

her.” Lamar’s eyes were overbright and sweat rolled down his jaw.

Was he high on drugs? Which was more dangerous, a crackhead or

an insane person? Did it really matter?

“Why would anyone believe Knox set that fire?” She kept her

voice calm, refusing to let him see her fear.

“Everybody in the diner saw the bitch lose her cool with me

the other day.” He yanked another drawer open and smiled when he

found what he was searching for. “She burned my building down to

get back at me.”

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“That’s a pretty big leap, don’t you think? The cops aren’t

going to fall for that without some kind of evidence.”

He set a small candle on the table and put his face close to

Salem’s. He stank of sweat and stale cigarettes.

“Now here’s the genius part. I saw her on that fancy horse,

watching the fire from the edge of town. So I followed ’em, and

when that horse took a crap, I collected a bag full and dumped it in

the alley behind the old store. Even that Barney of a sheriff knows

horse shit when he steps in it.”

Tuck reappeared in the darkened doorway. This time, Guardian

stood behind him, watching them. But Lamar, his back to the

animals, was too deep into his story to notice. He stepped back and

lit the candle with matches from his pocket.

“You see, the firebug just can’t help herself. So, when you two

queers have a lovers’ quarrel, she goes crazy, lights this candle, turns

on the gas stove over there, and blows both of you and the house

into a million pieces.” He grinned at her. “Told you I was a genius.”

Knox’s eyes were open now, but unfocused. She groaned and

Lamar snatched up his gun from the table.

“Don’t make me shoot you, freak. I don’t want them finding a

bullet in your charred body.” He held the gun awkwardly while he

bent to finish tying Knox’s feet. A length of twine dangled from his

pants’ pocket and Tuck sprang for it, digging his claws deep into

Lamar’s leg.

Lamar cursed and swatted at the kitten. Guardian lunged, sinking

his teeth into the wrist of Lamar’s gun hand. Lamar howled and the

revolver fired, sending a bullet into the floor near Knox’s head.

“Knox!” Salem screamed, helpless to protect her.

Knox, awake now, rolled away and scrambled to sit against the

wall. Bullets fired wildly around the room as Lamar struggled to

get free of the dog. Several pumped into the kitchen’s vinyl flooring

and another whizzed past Salem. She ducked, then ducked again as

a cast-iron frying pan flew across the room and banged into Lamar’s

head, dropping him with a thump.

The room went quiet and Knox sagged against the wall, her

eyes closed. Guardian went to her, whining and licking her face.

• 210 •

Touch Me GenTly

“Knox, baby, are you all right?”

“Head hurts. That frying pan was heavy.” She kicked the twine

Lamar had never finished tying away from her feet and pushed

against the wall to stand. She swayed, her face pale, eyes filled with

worry. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“No, I’m fine.” Fine now that Knox was conscious and talking.

Knox stumbled over to her and bent down awkwardly, her

hands still tied behind her back, to rub her cheek against Salem’s.

Her lips were soft against Salem’s neck. “I’m afraid to think what

I’d do if he had hurt you.”

Salem turned her head, her lips finding Knox’s. “I was so scared

for you. You took so long to wake up.” She was desperate to wrap

her arms around Knox, to reassure herself that Knox was truly okay.

“Can you use that wonderful brain of yours to untie us?”

“How about I just find a knife to cut us loose? It’ll be a lot

quicker.”

• 211 •

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chapTeR TwenTy-Five

Knox breathed deeply, sucking in the night air that had

grown blissfully cool. They still had a number of hot days

left before winter, but tonight held a hint of autumn. The cool eased

the throbbing of her head, and the chorus of crickets and their horses

cropping grass nearby was a soothing symphony.

The sheriff’s office had been bedlam.

After she freed them, Knox had bound Lamar with his own

twine while Salem called the police. Nearly the entire force of

twenty deputies crowded into the small house, so Sheriff Thurman

Whitaker ordered everyone downtown to sort out who did what.

News traveled fast in Oakboro. June and Doc were already at

the jail to fuss over them when they arrived, and Lucille, burdened

with being Lamar’s mother, was a few minutes behind them. She

brought along her pastor, for support, and the pastor’s wife, who

was a local defense attorney.

Dr. John Whitaker, the sheriff’s brother, was summoned to

examine both Knox’s and Lamar’s head injuries. He told Knox

to take it easy for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours and

cautioned Salem to keep a close eye on her. He declared Lamar too

stupid and thickheaded to be hurt.

Then the fire chief came to interrogate Lamar, and a handful of

his firefighters showed up because they heard the chief was called

in. The party was complete when the mayor and the full city council

joined the ruckus.

• 213 •

D. Jackson leiGh

Knox was normally a solitary person, so the press of people

and multitude of questions was too much for her. She struggled to

hold down her nauseating claustrophobia and the overwhelming

desire to jump up and run for someplace quiet.

Salem seemed to sense this and persuaded the sheriff to take

their official statements tomorrow when Knox was feeling better.

And they escaped.

Still, Knox couldn’t settle. The past two days had been a

gauntlet of gut-wrenching emotion. Stark fear, burning anger, fierce

protectiveness, and consuming love, so sweetly painful she couldn’t

yet speak of it. The feelings warred within her like whitecaps on an

angry ocean, fighting to be the wave that pitched the boat over.

So Knox turned to what grounded her most. Riding had always

been her path to peace and clarity.

They saddled Bastille and Legacy and wound through the maze

of trails for hours until they finally stopped beside the pond where

the tall, ancient pine still stood sentry. Now, lying on the blanket

with Salem cuddled against her side, Knox finally relaxed. The

familiar ride and the cadence of the horses’ hoofbeats had again

untangled her jumbled emotions.

“Remember the first time we came here?” she said softly. She

felt Salem smile against her shoulder.

“You mean when I tried to kiss you and you freaked out?”

Knox chuckled. “Yeah. You were blowing every synapse in my

brain.”

“You were like a skittish horse, dancing away every time I

approached you, but following every time I turned my back.”

“I was afraid for you to touch me.” Knox swallowed to ease the

lump that was forming in her throat. “I was scared that if you found

out who, what I was, you’d go away like all the others.”

Salem rose on her elbow, her eyes soft with affection, her hand

warm against Knox’s cheek. “You aren’t still afraid, are you?”

“More than ever.” The whispered admission escaped before

Knox could think to hold it back.

“Why, baby? Why are you still afraid?”

• 214 •

Touch Me GenTly

Salem’s aura surged, entwined with hers, and Knox closed her

eyes to let it steady her. She knew they couldn’t have any more

secrets between them. She opened her eyes and held Salem’s gaze.

“Because I’ve fallen in love with you. I’ve never been in love

before and it scares me to death.”

Salem’s eyes, her smile lit up to rival the full moon illuminating

the paths that led them to this clearing, this moment. She brushed

her lips against Knox’s, a caress so reverent and sweet Knox wanted

to cry.“Don’t be scared, sweetheart. I feel the same way. What’s

happening between us is so different, so much deeper, I’m sure this

is the first time I’ve fallen truly, madly in love, too.”

The last door now opened wide, Knox laid claim to this woman

who had gently touched her and unleashed everything her fear had

held inside.

And, as their kiss deepened and their passion unfurled, the old

pine fanned its long needles and the surrounding oaks danced.

• 215 •

About the Author

Jackson Leigh grew up barefoot and happy, swimming in farm

ponds and riding rude ponies in rural south Georgia.

Her love of reading was nurtured early on by her grandmother,

who patiently taught her to work The New York Times crossword

puzzles in the daily paper, and by her mother, who stretched the thin

family budget to bring home grocery store copies of Trixie Belden

mysteries and Bobbsey Twins adventures that Jackson would sit up

all night reading.

Her passion for writing led her quite accidentally to a career

in journalism and North Carolina where she now feeds nightly off

the adrenaline rush of breaking news and close deadlines. She is a

hopeless romantic with a deep-seated love for anything equine.

Friend her at facebook.com/d.jackson.leigh, follow her on

twitter @djacksonleigh, or visit her Web site at www.djacksonleigh

.com.

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into more, reality show producer Annie Collins opens her life to a

new type of love she’s never imagined. (978-1-60282-656-4)

Ill Will by J.M. Redmann. New Orleans PI Micky Knight must

untangle a twisted web of healthcare fraud that leads to murder—

and puts those closest to her most at risk. (978-1-60282-657-1)

Buccaneer Island by J.P. Beausejour. In the rough world of

Caribbean piracy, a man is what he makes of himself—or what a

stronger man makes of him. (978-1-60282-658-8)

Twelve O’Clock Tales by Felice Picano. The fourth collection of

short fiction by legendary novelist and memoirist Felice Picano.

Thirteen dark tales that will thrill and disturb, discomfort and

titillate, enthrall and leave you wondering. (978-1-60282-659-5)

Words to Die By by William Holden. Sixteen answers to the

question: What causes a mind to curdle? (978-1-60282-653-3)

Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright by Justine Saracen. Love does not

conquer all, but when all of Europe is on fire, it’s better than going

to hell alone. (978-1-60282-652-6)

Night Hunt by L.L. Raand. When dormant powers ignite, the wolf

Were pack is thrown into violent upheaval, and Sylvan’s pregnant

mate is at the center of the turmoil. A Midnight Hunters novel. (978-

1-60282-647-2)

Table of Contents

chapTeR one

chapTeR Two

chapTeR ThRee

chapTeR FouR

chapTeR Five

chapTeR six

chapTeR seven

chapTeR eiGhT

chapTeR nine

chapTeR Ten

chapTeR eleven

chapTeR Twelve

chapTeR ThiRTeen

chapTeR FouRTeen

chapTeR FiFTeen

chapTeR sixTeen

chapTeR sevenTeen

chapTeR eiGhTeen

chapTeR nineTeen

chapTeR TwenTy

chapTeR TwenTy-one

chapTeR TwenTy-Two

chapTeR TwenTy-ThRee

chapTeR TwenTy-FouR

chapTeR TwenTy-Five