The Leo-Aquarius Connection

by Janet Lane-Walters

  Fifteen minutes later, he ate breakfast in the cafeteria. Then he arrived on Peds to make rounds. As he left, Rick got on the elevator at four.

  “Making rounds, too.” Rick chuckled. “Always the new hire.”

  “I don’t mind. The need to make rounds postponed an argument. Now, I’m seeking a place to chill until my lesson with Jon. Guess it’s back to the great apartment search.”

  “Did anyone tell you to speak to Jenessa or Eric?”

  The knot that had settled in his chest uncoiled. “They did, and I missed her yesterday.”

  “I would suggest you stop by their apartment, but I know they went to the city today.”

  “Tomorrow.” He thought about the swimming trunks he’d bought yesterday. They were at the house and he didn’t intend to go there until later. He hadn’t mentioned Jon’s need for swim trunks and swim aids to Suzanna yet, either. Looked like another shopping trip was in order. “See you.”

  Caleb exited the elevator and strode to his car. He drove to the mall and found a sporting goods store. He purchased trunks for himself and for Jon. Swimming goggles and a float board for the boy to use while practicing kicking. Now what?

  A bit too early to leave for Rehab so he wandered through the Mall. A ring in the window of a jewelry store caught his eyes. An amethyst surrounded by diamonds, He grinned. Last night while dancing with Megan, she’d talked about Suzanna. She insured him he and Suzanna were a perfect match since he was a Leo and she was an Aquarius. For a time he studied the dainty jewelry and thought of how perfect the ring would look on Suzanna’s finger.

  Idiot! She barely spoke to him. And she was right to feel the way she did. He’d heard praises from Joe and Jenessa and he’d watched her work at City Hospital. She deserved more than a secret romance.

  He glanced at his watch and groaned. He was going to be late. He dashed to his car and sped along the nearly deserted road until he reached town. At the Rehab Center, he rushed inside and dashed up the stairs to the second floor and Jon’s room.

  The boy looked up and grinned. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

  Caleb waved the bag. “I had to buy a few things.” He pulled swim trunks and the goggles from the bag. “I didn’t know your size, so I bought several. Ring for someone to help you change and I’ll hit the bathroom.”

  Moments later, an orderly entered. Caleb closed the bathroom door and changed. When he finished, he stepped into the room. Jon sat in the wheelchair ready for their adventure. He held a stack of towels. Caleb pushed the chair to the elevator and exited on the pool floor. He pushed Jon to the edge of the pool where he knelt and tested the water.

  “Is it cold?” Jon asked.

  “Not bad. Once you start the exercises, you’ll warm up. I’ll help you sit on the edge. Then I’ll dive in and help you into the water. Walking will come first, then breathing and finally some floating and kicking.”

  A bit later, Jon sat on the edge of the pool and dangled his feet in the water. The square pool was about half the size of an Olympic one. Caleb dove in and swam to the boy. He helped Jon stand in the waist high water. He grasped Jon’s arm. “Take a step. I’ll hold you up.”

  “Okay.” Together, they walked about ten feet. Jon leaned against the wall. “You’re right. It’s easier.”

  “Now I’ll tow you to where it’s a bit deeper. For some lessons in breathing. Then you’ll kick.”

  “Okay.”

  “You know if you can perfect the strokes, Eastlake High has a swim team. I was captain my senior year. You could think about joining the team when school starts in September.”

  Jon laughed. “I need to learn how to swim first.”

  “Didn’t you ever use one of the city’s pools?”

  “I had to be at home to take care of my brother and sister.” Sadness filled his green eyes.

  “Didn’t Suzanna help?”

  Jon paused. “Sometimes she did but she went away to college and stayed there even in the summer. After she graduated and went to work at City Hospital, she bought clothes and groceries for us. Sometimes she paid the rent. That’s why she lived in that little apartment.”

  Caleb swallowed what he’d been about to say. He was beginning to see what his proposition had meant to her. He showed Jon how to take breaths when swimming. Once Jon mastered the technique, Caleb pulled the float board into the water. “Ready for a lesson?”

  “Sure.”

  Caleb grasped one end of the float board and had Jon hold onto the other. “Kicking is important.”

  Jon grasped the end and began to kick. “Is this how?”

  While he raised huge waves of water, his kicking had no pattern. Caleb walked to Jon’s feet and grasped the boy’s ankles. He moved them in an ordered fashion. After five minutes, he released his hold. “Try on your own.”

  The kicks weren’t as strong or as coordinated as they had been with help, but he moved forward. “How am I doing?”

  “Better but gaining the right rhythm will take practice. You’ll see some progress when you walk.” He lifted Jon to the edge of the pool. “That’s all for today. I don’t want you to overtire yourself.”

  “Can I see you swim?”

  “Why not?” Caleb walked to the deep end and dove in. He used the crawl for the first lap, a backstroke for the sending, then the breast stroke and finally the butterfly. He halted in front of the teen.

  “Wow. You really went fast. Do you think I can do the same?”

  “Yes.”

  “Am I too late?” Suzanna asked.

  Too soon, Caleb thought. He was trapped by a giant erection he had no desire to reveal.

  Suzanna looked away. He wondered what she would do if she saw his response to her presence.

  Jon turned. “I walked ten feet in the pool, floated on my back and then used this board to kick.” Jon’s words spilled like water down a mountain slope after a thaw. “You should see Caleb swim. He’s as fast as a fish.”

  Caleb practiced deep breathing and thinking of the most chilling things he could until his erection ebbed. He pulled himself from the pool and wrapped a towel around his waist. He paused beside Jon. “I’ll help you into the chair and wheel you to your room.”

  “I’ll go with him,” Suzanna said. “There’s no reason for you to trouble yourself.” She ran across the room and pressed for the elevator.

  Caleb laughed. “I need to go upstairs.”

  “Fine,” she said.

  When they reached the door to Jon’s room, Caleb turned to Suzanna. “Find the orderly to help Jon.”

  “I can help him.”

  Caleb laughed. “My clothes are in his bathroom.”

  Her face colored. “I’ll find the orderly and wait here.”

  Moments later, the orderly arrived. While he helped Jon, Caleb ducked into the bathroom and dressed. He strode to the door. “I’ll see you on Tuesday around seven for lesson two.”

  “Thanks," Jon said. “Today was fun.”

  Suzanna slipped past Caleb. “Thank you for doing this. You didn’t have to.”

  “I know.” He clasped her hand and felt a jolt that startled his heard. “I want to.” He brushed her cheek with a finger. “I’m learning not to be a jackass.” He strode to the door.

  Chapter 4

  Suzanna pulled away from the wall. Why had Caleb been here when she’d arrived? She had come late to insure she wouldn’t meet him. Her cheek tingled from his touch. Her breasts felt heavy. Why hadn’t she left the pool area and avoided seeing his buff body in the near nude.

  The sight of broad shoulders and tight rear had raised reactions she had vowed to shelve. When he’d turned, the sight of his perfect features had caused her heart to flutter. His eyes, blue as sapphires, and his full lips had drawn her closer. How could she work with him every day and not allow him to seduce away her misgivings?

  Get a grip. She must stand strong. Oh, how she wished for a way to gain invincibility to his charms. She had a teenage brother to raise. Jon’s phys
ical health and emotional trauma were paramount. The job at Eastlake Community was vital. Though she could work anywhere, being here offered a chance to use her education, issued a challenge and brought her a chance to see friends who’d once been closer than her family. Though they’d drifted apart, the bonds remained. Caleb Winstone’s presence threatened all she’d gained.

  Suzanna drew a deep breath before entering Joe’s room. He sat in the wheelchair. Not the motorized one she’d rented when he couldn’t use his left arm, but a new and lighter one. She’d purchased this one. He grinned, and she felt a surge of hope. Since the accident, he’d rarely smiled.

  “You’re looking great,” she said.

  “Suz, you should have come earlier. I had so much fun learning how to swim. Caleb told me I can learn how to be a good swimmer. You should have seen him. He cut through the water like a shark.”

  Right, she thought. Caleb the predator. She hoped he hadn’t sensed how easily she could become his prey again.

  She tapped his nose. “You can but you need more than swimming. Let’s set up your laptop and connect to the internet.” She opened the box and read the instructions the clerk had given her. After Jon finished, she talked about the danger of exploring sites. “The school system here recommended a home schooling program that will test and plan a program of study to allow you to enter high school in September as a sophomore.”

  He scowled. “I missed so much school, I’ll probably have to do years to catch up.”

  Sadness glazed his green eyes. “I know life wasn’t fair for you. I hated how I couldn’t change things. I regret not being at home to help.”

  He touched her hand. “Staying away from the parents was right. Mom and Dad would have taken your money and never said thank you. I just feel so dumb when I think about school.”

  “Cut the word dumb from your vocabulary. All you need to do is try. You’re smarter than you think.”

  “Do you really think I can catch up in nine months?”

  “If you want to join this swim team Caleb mentioned, you’ll need good grades.” She smiled. “You might know more than you think.”

  He met her gaze. “Let’s find this on-line school.”

  She logged into the site. They sent more than an hour filling out the questionnaire. When they reached the end, Suzanna hit the send button. “Now we wait.”

  “When do you think they’ll send the tests?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “What kind of tests?”

  “Like Math, Science, English, History, Geography and Reading. When they arrive, start with one and go to the next. Before long a plan of study will emerge, and you’ll be able to catch up.”

  He closed the laptop. "I’m scared and excited.”

  “Perfectly natural.” Suzanna rose and went to the door. “Let me run to the little kitchen and make cocoa for us.”

  “See if there’s any cookies.”

  “I’ll look.”

  Ten minutes later, she returned with two steaming cups and a small packet of cookies. As she sipped the hot liquid, she told him the news. “Rick thinks you should be home by Christmas Eve. I’ve invited my friends and their families to help decorate the tree.”

  “Will it be a big one? A real one? You know we never had one at home. Just the little one at your apartment.”

  She nodded. “Definitely a big one. Almost to the ceiling. There’s a great spot in the living room.”

  He raised his mug. “I’ll work really hard every day, so I can be home for the party.”

  “I know you will.” She set her cup down. “Cate has invited us for Christmas dinner. In the evening, there’ll be a dessert party. I have to make something for both.”

  “Those apple things you brought to me at the hospital.”

  “Great idea.” The turnovers were easy to make and quick.

  “Will Caleb be there?”

  “I doubt it. He’s not one of the Grantley Gang. You must remember all I told you about them. Most are married, and some have children.”

  He crumpled the cookie wrapper and tossed it in the wastebasket. “I think Caleb likes you. He sure looked like he does. Maybe you and he…you know.”

  She studied his face. Was he asking because he was afraid she would abandon him? “Not possible. I have two goals right now. To see you come home and get to high school. Also to do good things at my new job.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a plastic card. “This is for you to spend for Christmas. There’s a limit so spend wisely, though I can add to the sum if you need more. Think about fruit baskets for here and the nursing home.”

  His eyes widened. He slipped the card into the pocket of his sweats. “You’re so good to me.”

  “That’s what big sisters do.” She hoped he could handle the card. He’d never had money of his own.

  He nodded. “I’m still angry and sad about the accident. Why didn’t they leave us at the motel?”

  She moved to his side and clasped his hand. “I don’t know what they were thinking. How drunk were they?” This was the most he’d spoken about the accident.

  “A lot, I think. They’d been arguing, too. The accident doesn’t make sense.”

  She drew a deep breath. “You know your dad. There was no changing his mind once he decided something.”

  Jon looked up. “We were driving on that twisty road. I felt sick, so I took off my seatbelt and lay on the floor. Mom was laughing but weird. They had a bottle of whiskey and I think they were drinking. The car went faster. There was a crash into the side rail. The door flew open. I fell out. Leon and Pam cried. There was another crash and the car exploded. Do you think they wanted us all dead?”

  Tears rolled over his cheeks. Suzanna held him until the wild sobbing ceased. Her eyes burned, and she softly cried. His question echoed. While she was making sense of what he’d said, she remembered something she’d learned, something that made it a real possibility the accident was a deliberate act and not an accident at all.

  “Did they?” he asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You must know something. What is it?” A quaver entered his voice.

  “Are you sure you want to know?”

  “Yes.” He grasped her hand.

  She sucked in a breath. “Your father had stolen money from the company he worked for. I think he was afraid his bosses knew and were ready to arrest him. That made Mom afraid. She hated to be alone.” Which was why she’d married a man she’d met in a bar three months after becoming a widow.

  “Why kill us all?” His fingers dug into her hand. “Mom yelled ‘Do it.’ He told her to have another drink. Bottles clicked and then we crashed.” He shuddered. “I couldn’t help Pam and Leon. I couldn’t move. The car burned up and I heard sirens.”

  Suzanna pulled him into her arms and rocked him. The cocoa cups fell over, sending liquid into the floor. “There’s nothing you could have done.”

  His green eyes mirrored her sadness. “I know but it hurts.”

  “The hurt will grow less over time. For a year or more after my dad died, sadness was all I felt. I vowed to make something of myself to honor him. You can do the same.”

  “Your dad died a hero. Mine was a crook.”

  “But Pam and Leon were innocent. Your father’s actions have nothing to do with you. Be something for the children.” She wondered if she should suggest a psychologist to help him. He’d seen one at City Hospital but had that been enough. She reached for the laptop. “Why don’t we try one of the games?” Could she divert his attention from the wreck? She couldn’t leave until some of his pain faded.

  He nodded. “I’ll win.”

  “You’re on.”

  * * *

  Caleb halted beside his low slung sports car. Instead of touching Suzanna, he’d wanted to kiss her. Why had he stopped? The raging fire inside centered in his cock. He still wanted her. A lot of good that would do. The gentle touch had caused her to stiffen. She’d responded but then he saw
her clenched hands. That meant no. If he had tried for more, she might have slapped him again.

  Why had he run? He could have stayed and forced her to respond. What could he say to her? That she’d become an obsession? He couldn’t tell her he regretted asking her to give up her life to become his…what…mistress…live-in lover…protected him from the kind of woman his family favored. Her words that night were perfectly clear. Though months had passed, the anger remained.

  “Absolutely not. I like my peace and independence. There’s no way I will give up my career to be a kept woman.”

  “I can give you anything you could want.”

  “You are a jackass.”

  She’d slapped his face so hard he’d feared he would have a hand-shaped mark as a permanent feature.

  As he exited the Center, cold air slapped him into the present. He reached the parking lot and drove home to an almost empty house. The rest of the family was on their way to distant destinations. They wouldn’t be home for Christmas, but he’d spent other holidays alone, except for patients and colleagues.

  As he sped along Main Street, he thought about the things Jon had said about Suzanna and the accident that had left them as orphans and how she’d built a life for herself and her brother. This with no help from her mother and step-father. She’d also used part of her salary to help her younger siblings, giving him more insight into her character.

  His admiration for her escalated. Shame for his action of months ago climbed as well. Her beauty dove beneath her physical appearance. He’d been attracted to her perfect body, her flashing green eyes and perfect features. Now he knew there was more than her outer self to admire.

  He pulled into the driveway. The lights along the edge glowed. A light or two inside the house shone. He parked and used his key to enter the massive kitchen. On the fridge he found a note informing him Mabel, Cecelia and Pete would return tomorrow evening. Dinner was in the refrigerator. All he needed to do was zap it.

  He prepared a mug of coffee and carried it to the bedroom. The waiting dinner looked good, but he wasn’t in the mood for lasagna. He drained the mug, slipped into jeans and sweater, and grabbed his jacket and keys. He slid into his car and drove to town debating between Frank’s and the Hot Doggery. Chili dogs won. On the way home he would stop at Frank’s for cinnamon rolls.