As soon as she took her final exam, she couldn’t wait to see Luke and tell him about her trip to Dallas and her feelings for him. She didn’t know if she loved him, but she cared about him and she wanted to see what kind of relationship they could have.
She backed out of the driveway and started down the slippery, snowy, road. The plows were out, but at the speed the snow was falling, it was hard to keep the roads clear. Residential areas were not top priority.
She carefully turned the corner and the car began to chug. It coughed, sputtered, and died.
“No,” she cried. She quickly put it in park and turned the key.
“Errrr,” the engine ground. “Errrr,” came noise again, but the engine refused to start.
“Damn!” she cried and quickly yanked her phone out of her purse.
She dialed Paige’s number. It immediately went to voice mail. She dialed Luke’s cell phone reluctantly. She hadn’t seen him since her trip to Texas. He answered.
“Hi,” she said. “Do you have time to help me?” she asked, feeling awkward about asking him for help, but not having anyone else to depend on.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“My car just died and I have a test in thirty minutes.”
“Where are you?”
She quickly gave him her location.
“Call a wrecker. I’m on my way,” he said.
“Are you sure you can do this?” she asked.
“Yes, I just finished my last class.”
“Thank you,” she replied.
Ten minutes later, he was there. He opened his jeep door and yelled into the swirling snow. “Leave it, I’ll come back and make sure that the tow truck takes it.”
Marianne grabbed her backpack and slid out of the car. Snow clung to her hair as she climbed into his jeep.
Once she was settled, she glanced over at him. The silence in the jeep was tense.
“When did you get back?” he asked. “I’ve seen the car, but you haven’t come over.”
“I’m sorry. I got back three days ago. I was going to call you once I took my exams. And now here you are coming to my rescue again.” She glanced over at him. “I really appreciate you helping me.”
“I’m glad you called,” he said.
He stopped in front of the school. “Do you want me to pick you up?”
Marianne thought about it for a moment. “No, I can get a ride. Look, we need to talk. When I left, things were kind of tense between us, and well, I just want to talk.”
“Are you dumping me?” he asked.
She laughed. “Hardly. I know we parted on uncomfortable terms, I just need to explain to you why I reacted the way I did.”
He shrugged. “Then I’ll see you later tonight and I’ll make sure that the tow truck takes your car. Where do you want it delivered?”
“The nearest Toyota dealership.”
She leaned over and kissed him on the lips, a whirl of desire hummed through her body. “Thanks. I gotta run,” she said, and jumped out of the jeep, even though all she wanted to do was finish that kiss. That was merely a peck compared to the kiss she couldn’t wait to give him.
Two hours later, she knew she’d aced her test, and a friend in her class dropped her off at the Toyota dealership. She’d known for months that she needed a new car, but had never bought one on her own. She’d been afraid.
She was an independent woman, and she could do this. She knew how much she wanted to pay, she knew how much she wanted her payments to be, and she was determined not to go over her limit.
With snow piling up on the cars, she suddenly questioned if they were even open. She found the vehicle she’d been looking at. They had the color she wanted.
She slugged through the snow to the door of the dealership and blew in with the snow. A startled salesperson glanced in shock at her.
“I’d like to test drive that Prius sitting out on the lot,” she said, shivering.
“Wow, I didn’t think we’d have any customers this evening,” he said, jumping up. “Which one do you want to drive?”
“The red one,” she said.
“I’ve got a really nice Camry that I could show you.”
She shook her head. “The Prius.”
“Okay,” he said, and went to the office to fetch the keys.
They went out into the snow and she climbed in the driver’s side and pushed the button to start the hybrid engine. It purred and she smiled. She put the car in drive and drove it first around the parking lot and then onto the road. She went to the highway, because she knew it would be plowed. She did her best to make the car slide in the snow, but it handled the snowy road just fine.
When they returned to the dealership, she looked at him. “What kind of deals are you having?”
“We don’t make deals on the Prius, because they are so popular.”
“Okay, well I enjoyed driving it, but I’ll go over to Honda.”
“Wait,” The salesman smiled. “How much do you want your payments to be?”
She had him. She knew she did. She was going to conquer buying her first car.
“If you’ll take three thousand off the list price, I can afford the payments.”
The man looked shocked. “There’s no way I can come down three thousand dollars off the price of this car.”
“Take that price to your manager,” she said, not backing down.
He frowned at her. “Do you have a trade in?”
“Yes, it was delivered earlier this afternoon. It’s not running.”
“There’s no way I can give you three thousand off the car,” he repeated.
“Take the offer to your manager,” she said, determined
“But that would mean I’d have to give you fifteen hundred for your vehicle.”
Marianne got out of the car, dug out her cell phone, and pretended to make a call. “Come get me. They’re not willing to deal.”
“Wait,” he said. “I’ll take the price to my manager, but I can’t guarantee he’ll take it.”
“Hang on, let me call you back,” she said into the phone, though she’d never dialed the number. She glanced at the salesman. “All he can do is say no and then I’ll call my friend to come get me. I don’t have to have a car today, but I just thought your dealership would want another sale to take off your year-end inventory.”
The salesperson filled out the necessary paperwork. “Sign here, showing that you will buy the car if he agrees to this price.”
She signed the paper and he disappeared.
An hour later, she smiled as she pulled out of the parking lot in her new car.
She laughed. She’d done it. She’d bought her own car without anyone’s help. With glee, she headed toward home and Luke. She’d overcome her last fear of being single and had made a deal on a car!
She pulled into the drive and honked the horn. The snow still fell, and the sun was setting casting an eerie glow to the world. It was silent and white and more beautiful than she could remember.
Luke hurried out in his snow boots and jacket.
She jumped out of the car and hugged him. “Look, I bought a new car.”
“You went green,” he said. “Cool.”
“I’ve never bought a car all by myself, and after my other car died today, I knew I had to overcome my fear and take the plunge.”
He smiled at her and noticed her shivering. “Come on, let’s get you inside before you get frostbite. Tomorrow when it’s warmer, you’ll have to let me take it for a test drive.”
Marianne fairly skipped into Luke’s house.
“How did the test go?”
“No doubt in my mind that I passed it.”
“Good,” he said, taking her coat from her. “I made a fire in the fireplace and I cooked us some stew.”
“That sounds good,” she said. “Can we talk before we eat?”
“Sure.”
They sank onto his sofa in front of a roaring fire. She didn’t resist the excited feeling s
he always seem to have around this man. She didn’t know if this would last forever, but she wanted to take it one day at a time.
He gazed at her expectantly, his eyes shining with enough heat to chase the chill out of her bones.
“I know that when I left the other morning, things were tense between us. And then I had to leave immediately for Texas before we could hash this out. You have to understand that I spent so long in a bad marriage and that I am extremely protective of my daughter.”
He nodded his head. “I understand.”
“My relationship with Katie has been strained the last six months. My relationship with my own mother has been difficult, and when you suggested that I just give it some time, it was like hearing my ex-husband telling me I worry too much. All these feelings of anger and hostility suddenly bubbled to the surface and it wasn’t you I was angry at, it was Daniel.”
“Do you still love him?” Luke asked.
“God, no,” she responded. “In fact, the most amazing thing happened while I was in Texas. Katie learned the truth about my marriage to Daniel. My mother has found happiness and she’s doing okay. I left Texas knowing I no longer hated Daniel for what he did to our marriage.”
Luke smiled.
“On the plane back all I could think about was you. You’re different from any man I have ever had in my life. You make me laugh. You encourage me. You entice me to try new things, and you make me a better person. I’m not ready to rush to the altar, in fact that scares the hell out of me, but if you’ll have me, I would like to have a serious relationship with you.”
Luke sighed “I thought I had certainly screwed things up that morning. I’m opinionated and vocal, but not controlling. We may not always agree, but I’ll listen and try to see your side as well as my own. From the moment I set eyes on you, I’ve been attracted. You are one hell of an interesting woman. I very much want to explore this relationship with you.”
The sound of stew bubbling over on the stove had him jumping from the couch and running. He turned it off and came back to the sofa. He pulled her up by the hand.
“Aren’t we going to eat?” she questioned.
“Later,” he said, and led her to the bedroom. “I’ve been waiting for a week to get you back in my bed.”
She laughed. “Well, the waiting is over, and now we’re starting over.”
Epilogue
Two Years Later
Marianne sat with the other graduates waiting for them to call her name. Today she was graduating with her Bachelor of Nursing degree, and her daughter and her mother were sitting with Luke somewhere in the crowd. She kept looking for them, but had no idea where they were.
She and Luke had been together for two years now, and her mother and Katie were pushing her to marry him. She loved him with all her heart and she knew that the last two years of her life he had made her happier than she’d ever dreamed possible.
They were partners, they were lovers, they were best-friends, and someday they could be husband and wife, but she wasn’t in a hurry.
If she had known this was how love was supposed to feel, she would have left Daniel sooner.
Katie would be graduating from school next May and she was already making plans to attend law school. Marianne was so proud of her. Though she often dated, there had been no one serious since Jake.
Her mother, Brenda, and Paul had been married a year ago. His wife Marjorie had died six months before they were married, and out of respect for his wife, they had waited what Paul felt was an appropriate time before marrying. It was old-fashioned, but Paul felt like he owed her that much, and Brenda respected his wishes.
Together, the two of them traveled back and forth between Texas and Colorado, spending a lot of time fishing and at the lake, and the rest of the time remodeling Paul’s home.
Paige was still Paige, and her latest boyfriend was taking her to Italy for a month. They had dinner occasionally, but Marianne didn’t want the same things in life that Paige wanted and that was okay.
“Marianne Larson,” her name was called, and she heard her friends and family screaming and whistling as she took her diploma from the college president and returned to her seat.
Overwhelming joy filled her. She’d done it. At forty-two years of age, she’d received her college degree.
She’d come so far, and she was incredibly happy. After taking a couple of weeks off, she''d soon start working at the hospital in the emergency room, doing what she loved. Since the night that the young woman had died, she’d known this was her calling. And now she would be one of the ER nurses.
After the ceremony, she ran to meet her family, the people who she could depend on to be there for her always.
Luke came up and gave her hug and kissed her full on the mouth. When they came up for air, he whispered in her ear, “I’m so proud of you.”
“Uh, do we need to get you two a hotel room?” Katie teased.
“One with whips and chains,” Luke teased her right back.
“Ew gross,” she responded.
He pulled out his camera just as Brenda poked Paul. “Take a picture. I want you to take a picture of my girls.”
“Honey, why don’t you get in the picture with the two of them?”
“Me?”
He patted her on the butt. “Yes, you. Now get over there so I can get the three of you lovely ladies.”
“Yes, Mom. Come get in the picture with me and Katie.”
Marianne felt such a swell of pride as her mother stood on one side, her daughter on the other, and both men took their pictures.
She couldn’t help but smile as the love of her family surrounded her. She couldn’t remember the woman she used to be and was grateful for who she was now.
The day she'd delivered Daniel's clothes to his dominatrix had been a new beginning for Marianne. Starting over had been the best thing that ever happened to her.
Sneak Peak
Relationship coaches are no more than glorified witch doctors making money off people’s emotions.
Reed Hunter stepped into the back of the glitzy, hotel ballroom in Austin, Texas, to catch the last few moments of relationship coach Lacey Morgan’s Twelve Steps of Dating Seminar.
Reed received a lot of satisfaction from protecting underdogs who are unable to defend themselves from the many scammers in life. Like a crime fighter, he focused his camera on swindlers and cheats, revealing how they stole hard-earned cash from innocents. Con artists like Lacey Morgan.
A beautiful, professionally attired, longhaired blonde, wearing a short skirt that exposed boundless legs, owned the stage. Despite the fact she was going down, two things impressed him. Her Miss America smile and her mystifying ability to screw with people’s relationships-first his boss’s and now his.
She strode to the edge of the stage. “Today, we’ve learned to recognize your expectations in a mate. You’ve learned you need to find someone who matches your lifestyle. Someone who challenges and makes you think about life differently. Someone who likes to do the same things you do, but encourages you to try new experiences.”
Reed coughed to stifle the sound of laughter rumbling deep within his chest. People bought into this psychobabble crap?
Lacey Morgan, dating guru, had convinced his girlfriend, Blair, to end their convenient sexual relationship. Since he wasn’t promising her a ring, a honeymoon or his last name, she’d decided to move on. And she had. Packed up, moved out, and left with a so-long-sucker text message.
“I know many of you were dragged here by a friend, coworker, or the significant other in your life. However you got here, I hope you learned something today that will help make your relationships stronger.”
Waving to the crowd, she strode from the stage. The audience stood and cheered, paying homage as if she were a rock star, not a therapist.
Blair’s leaving had brought Ms. Morgan to his attention. And he enjoyed nothing more than exposing shysters like Ms. Morgan who earned their often opulent lifestyles by feedin
g off people’s emotions. After he exposed Ms. Morgan’s devious ways, Blair would probably return and thank him.
Shaking his head at the number of gullible people who believed her spiel, Reed stepped into the hallway, leaned against the wall, and stared as the audience streamed out of the door. Most of the women stopped to purchase a book or CD or DVD. He watched her assistants take their money with a mobile card reader. If the cunning cheater had a cash register, the cha-chings would have echoed through the hall.
Yes, she was stealing from the lonely and vulnerable.
Ten minutes later, her assistants began packing up the merchandise while he stood waiting, waiting, waiting.
A door opened.
There she was, Lacey Morgan. Charlatan. Chiseler. Cheat. Her gorgeous face and knock-me-to-my-knees body sent the air in his lungs packing for a short vacation, leaving him gasping like a man in need of a ventilator.
Per her online bio, she was in her late twenties and only had two letters behind her name-not psychologist, psychotherapist or counselor, just a B.A. And he was living proof any dumb schmuck that goofed off for four years, could still get a Bachelor’s degree.
Reed moved away from the wall and stepped in front of Miss-I-Know-Everything. “Excuse me.”
She turned and he switched on his best trust-me-I-want-to-help-you smile.
One of her assistants, a short brunette, stepped in front of him. “Can I help you?”
“I have a question for Ms. Morgan.” He completely ignored her employee and averted his eyes from the swell of Lacey’s breasts that were no longer hidden by her suit jacket.
Lacey laid her hand on her employee’s shoulder and locked stunning blue eyes on Reed.
Any other time, those lovely blue eyes would have had him in full pursuit of the hot Ms. Morgan.
“Yes?”
He held out his hand and used a deep timbre that always scored him a woman’s number. “Reed Hunter. I’d like to discuss your business over dinner.”
“Sorry, I’m not available.” Her response was quick, cold, concise, and held no consideration.
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