by Katie Ashley
“And happy equates with screwing my boss?”
“It does when your boss looks like he does.”
I threw up my hands. “Once again, you’re impossible.”
“Fine, you can run now, but I plan on continuing the discussion about Thorn’s manhood after you get ready.”
“Lucky me,” I grumbled before I strode toward my childhood bedroom to escape any more teasing about my boss’s dick.
Chapter Eighteen: Thorn
My mom hadn’t so much requested my presence at the White House Egg Roll as she had informed me when to be there. The truth was I wouldn’t have said no—well, unless I’d previously caught wind of her plan to try to force another setup on me. Thankfully, though, she was far too busy executing the plans for her first Egg Roll as First Lady so my love life wasn’t on her radar at the moment. Thank God.
Of course, I’d expected to just work the crowd and smile for the cameras while parading Conan around. The First Family’s dogs were always a part of the Roll, and Satchel and Babe would be entertaining the kids along with Conan. What I hadn’t expected was for my mother to volunteer me to serve as the Easter Bunny during the 12:15 to 2:15 group. I’m not sure what she was thinking. There was no part of me that screamed enjoys being in a furry costume while interacting with kids. I would have thought it was some sort of punishment for my Pippa fix-up crashing and burning if it weren’t for the fact that Barrett was slated to take over after me.
The moment I slid the rabbit head over my own, Conan’s eyes widened as his ears perked up. “It’s just me inside here, buddy. I’m fine.” Since the dog didn’t appear too convinced, I reached out a furry hand to pet him, but he quickly dodged out of the way. “I guess your love only covers me when I’m not in a giant bunny costume, huh?”
At the feel of someone poking my ass, I whirled around to see Barrett grinning at me. “Look at you hopping down the bunny trail.”
“Har fucking har,” I replied through the head.
“Hey, watch your language—there are kids around,” he chastised.
“If there weren’t kids around right now, I’d haul off and knock the hell out of you.”
Leaning in closer, Barrett said, “From your attitude, I can surmise you haven’t been using my gift.”
“I’m not using a pocket pussy to get off.”
“Does that mean you’re using your hand?”
“Fuck off, Barrett,” I muttered before walking away.
The truth was I had been using my hand more than I wanted to admit, but the more I jerked off, the more sexually frustrated I became. In the field, a good rub out would relieve tension and keep me satisfied for a day or two, but not anymore. These days, the moment I came, I only wanted more.
I think the problem had to do with the image I was getting off to. Although I hated myself for it, Isabel seemed to star in my fantasies more than I liked. Okay, fine, she was the only one I fantasized about. While I knew exactly what her breasts felt and looked like, I had to use my imagination for the rest of her. In my mind, we’d banged in my office, her office, my apartment, and the back seat of the car.
What the hell is wrong with you? How much more perverted can you be having an illicit fantasy about your coworker while on the White House lawn? There are kids around, you creep.
I pushed all thoughts of Isabel out of my mind and poured my energy into being the best damn Easter Bunny possible. At the end of the two hours, I was completely and totally spent. It took everything I had to give the energy necessary to the kids who were thrilled to see me, not to mention that extra bit to the kids who were scared shitless of me. When Conan went straight into the lay-down position, I knew he was exhausted as well. He’d had a lot of tiny hands on his body in the last two hours.
When Ty came to escort me back inside, I fought the urge to start singing the “Hallelujah” chorus in my head. Once we got inside to the bathroom, I made quick work of getting freshened up before I headed back outside to see the next group of rollers.
While Barrett and I had been called on to do bunny duty, Addison and my sister, Caroline, were recruited for story time. After giving a wave, I stopped in front of Caroline, who was getting ready to read Where the Wild Things Are. When several of the little boys clambered to sit closer to her, I couldn’t help snickering. Anyone with eyes could see how beautiful my baby sister was. She and I both had the same sandy blond hair and blue eyes that came from our mother, as well as similarly reserved personalities. At twenty-three, she was about to head to Oxford to do an internship.
Caroline waved before glancing past me to where Ty was standing. I frowned when pink tinged her cheeks, and she appeared slightly flustered. Peering over my shoulder, I noted his reaction, exhaling a relieved breath when I saw he wasn’t even looking at her. Instead, he was in Agent Ty mode, keeping his eyes on anything that might be a potential threat to me. If he had been looking at Caroline with anything other than concern in his eyes, I would have been a threat to him.
After I moved on from story time, I went over to where the Egg Roll had just ended and knelt down in front of a dark-haired little boy. “Did your egg make it?”
The boy jerked his head up to give me a grin that was rather gummy since his top front teeth were missing. “Yep, it did,” he replied before thrusting out the egg for me to see. Of course, Conan lunged to snatch it away, and I had to jerk him back.
“Sorry about that. He’s an egg thief.”
The boy laughed. “I like his bunny ears.”
“I’m glad you do. I don’t think he’s a fan.”
As I stared into his dark gaze, another face appeared before my eyes—one that appeared to be the same age and size, but the little boy in my mind wasn’t smiling. Blood ran from his nose and mouth while his dark eyes held a glassy stare. I hadn’t felt for a pulse. I knew he was gone, another countless, innocent life taken in battle.
The world started to close in around me. Fighting to breathe, I clawed at my tie, trying desperately to loosen it. Conan whined and nudged my knee with his muzzle. When I scrambled to my feet, I accidentally dropped his lead. As I started power walking through the crowd, Conan kept right by my side, occasionally knocking my hand with his head.
The voices around me became muted like I was under the surface of water. At each laughing child, I saw the mangled body of an Afghan child. With every smiling mother, I saw the lifeless eyes of mothers taken from their children. Although sweat poured down my face and back, an icy chill radiated over my body. With the side door in sight, I silenced all the commotion around me. Just a few more steps and I could escape.
“Where you going?” Ty asked beside me.
“Just need to get out of the sun,” I choked out.
As the door came within reach, Ty stepped in front of me. Clenching my jaw, I was just about to tell him to get the fuck out of my way when he brought his hands to my shoulders before staring me straight in the eyes, surprising me.
“Take a deep breath. You’re not over there anymore. This is now.”
I can hear the screams. I can smell the dirt and blood and gunfire smoke. I need to escape.
“Take another deep breath. You’re not there, Thorn. You’re here with your family and those who love you.”
Why do they have to fucking kill the children? It’s beyond cruel. I can’t breathe. The air—
“Thorn, deep breath. Breathe with me, now, Thorn. In and out. In and out.”
Lifeless eyes…the softness of a dog’s head beneath my fingers…
“We’re here with you, Thorn. Deep breath in and out. Breathe with me, buddy. You got this.”
Ty. Conan. Sunshine. Clean air. Laughter. Happy voices. Two things I can see, two things I can sense, two things I can hear.
“Thorn—”
“Yeah, Ty. I’m here. I’m okay.” I looked down at Conan leaning against my leg, looking straight up at me with what I swore was compassion in his eyes. How does he know?
I glanced at Ty’s stern yet insi
ghtful expression. It wasn’t sympathy I saw, and his reaction was the exact reason why I’d wanted him as my Secret Service agent. He got the soldier life, and he got me. I bobbed my head in acknowledgement. “Thanks.”
Ty patted my arm before pulling back a few feet to give me some air. I picked up Conan’s lead before rubbing his ears. “Thanks for having my back, boy.” His scratch fest was interrupted when my phone buzzed in my suit pocket. Reaching into my jacket, I took it out. When I glanced at the messages, my breath hitched for the second time in a few minutes. Isabel had called. After tapping the voicemail icon, I brought the phone to my ear.
“Um, hey, it’s me. I know you’re busy right now at the Egg Roll, so I didn’t expect you to answer this, and don’t feel like you have to call me back or anything. It’s just…I was talking to Christina, and she told me about an anonymous donation made to her GoFundUs. I don’t think I ever told you what a major snoop she is.” After a nervous giggle, she continued on. “Seriously, Christina might just be a high school technology teacher, but she could probably get a side job with the FBI or CIA. Anyway, she tracked down the IP address to New York and then started stalking our company directory. She is so grateful. Like a true Southerner, she has a handwritten thank you note for me to bring you on Monday.”
I chuckled as Isabel drew in a breath.
“Besides relaying the message from Christina, I also wanted to tell you how grateful I am for you helping them out. You totally went above and beyond. It really means a lot to me.” There was a pause. “Anyway, I just wanted to call and tell you that. I hope you’re having a good time at the Roll. See you Monday.”
Somehow, hearing her voice right at that moment was also just what I needed. She is light. I wanted to hear the sound of her voice again, so I called her back right then. It rang several times before she finally answered.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Thorn.”
“Oh, hi,” she replied over the wail of a guitar.
“What is that noise?”
“It’s called classic country music—none of that new auto-tune bullshit,” she replied.
I snorted. “Where are you?”
“At my Uncle Bud’s pool hall.”
“I thought you were going home to egg yards tonight.”
“We are. My brother-in-law had the bright idea that we should do it slightly inebriated.”
Before I could say anything, a male voice drawled in my ear. “Why you always gotta be usin’ those highfalutin’ words?”
A vision came charging through my mind of some backwoods stud putting his paws on Isabel. “Who the hell is that?”
“The aforementioned brother-in-law.”
I exhaled a relieved breath as the male voice said, “There you go again.”
“Oh shut up, Barry. Break out the dictionary from time to time instead of Field and Stream.”
I chuckled at her sassy reply.
“Anyway, I’m glad you called me back because I really wanted to tell you again just how grateful I am for what you did for my sister.”
“It’s the least I could do.”
“The least? No, it goes above and beyond,” Isabel protested.
“Well, considering you were going to use your raise to give them money, I felt it was the right thing to do for both your sister and you, like a peace offering.”
“Regardless of what you might think, it’s a hell of a gesture, Thorn.”
“What’s a little money between acquaintances? I mean, you got me a dog, and I gave your sister some money. We’re all good now.”
She laughed. “I guess so. Speaking of dogs, how’s Conan liking the Roll?”
“Besides the fact that he’s tried to eat a few eggs, he’s been a real trooper. My mother put bunny ears on him for Christ’s sake.”
“She did? Oh you have to send me a picture.”
“Okay, I will.”
“Is that him?” a strange voice demanded.
“Yes,” Isabel hissed.
“Let me speak to him.”
“I don’t think that’s—”
I jerked the phone back as a loud scratching noise invaded my ear. “Mr. Callahan?” the unfamiliar female voice questioned.
“Yes.”
“This is Christina Pike. I’m sending you a proper thank you note with Isabel, but I just wanted to tell you how grateful my husband and I are for your generosity.”
“You’re more than welcome. I hope it helps.”
“Oh it will. We have enough money now to move forward and get matched with a birth mother.”
“That’s great.”
“I would say if it’s a boy, we’ll name it after you, but my husband is dead set on naming him after his daddy.”
“Barry Jr.?” I asked.
She laughed. “No. We’re not having any BJs, AKA Barry Juniors, around here. It would actually be Henry, after my late father-in-law.”
“Ah, I see. Henry is a fine, distinguished name.”
“Thank you. Of course, if it’s a girl, we’re going to name her Isabel Faith and call her Faith.”
“That’s very kind of you to name her after Isabel.”
“She deserves it. She’s done so much for Barry and me.”
“Yes, she has a very giving heart.”
“She’s gorgeous, too.”
“Christina!” Isabel cried.
I chuckled at her indignation. “Yes, she is very beautiful.”
“Oh, have you noticed?”
“It would be hard not to, wouldn’t it?”
“I would think so. I don’t know how she stays single, do you?”
The scuffling sound started up again, and then Isabel came back on the line. “It’s been good talking to you, Thorn, but we really have to get going. We have a lot of yards to egg tonight.”
“Now that’s not a statement you hear every day.”
She laughed. “You and Conan have a nice Easter tomorrow, okay?”
“Thanks. Same to you.”
“Goodbye, Thorn.”
“Bye, Isabel.”
After talking to Isabel, I headed back out to the Roll feeling ten feet tall and bulletproof. Who would have thought a petite redhead with a fiery personality would become part of my armor?
Chapter Nineteen: Thorn
The next six weeks flew by in a flurry of work. While it had taken some time, I was finally starting to come into my own in my position. Of course, I couldn’t have done it without Isabel. The truce we’d enacted ensured that we had each other’s backs at the office, and I didn’t think I would have come as far as I had without it.
Our friendship continued to grow and extend beyond the office, and we were always grabbing lunch or dinner together. Sometimes we dined with some of the others from the floor. I started getting to know a lot of the analysts and associates, which helped me in the long run when it came to projects.
We also made sure to get Conan and Dani together as much as possible. They were becoming inseparable. Since I felt stronger than ever, I’d even gone so far as letting Conan go to doggy daycare a few days a week. While he was in heaven, the others around the office missed his presence.
When it came to Isabel and me, I’d never really had a friend who was a woman. I supposed that was partly a hazard of being in the military, where I was predominantly surrounded by men. Over time, there wasn’t anything I felt I couldn’t say to Isabel. She never forced me to talk, but whenever I did open up, she was always there to listen.
Of course, in the back of my mind, my attraction to her still burned bright. I always noticed the curves of her hips in the straight skirts she wore, the way her breasts strained against some of the silk blouses she wore. I felt like a fucking creep every time her image came to my mind when I was jerking off. I’d started trying to watch porn while I took care of business, but somehow I ended up gravitating to the subgenre of redheads.
Did I want more than just to fuck her? Hell yes I wanted more—I just didn’t know how to appro
ach it. In the end, I was too afraid of the collateral damage that might occur if I crossed the line.
The night found us once again working late at the conference room table. We were both buried in our laptops when I heard a growl from below the table. After throwing a quick glance at Conan, I turned to Isabel. “Was that your stomach?”
An endearing flush colored her cheeks. “Yes, it was. I didn’t really have lunch today, unless you consider a bag of Doritos out of the vending machine a meal.”
“Okay, we need to get you fed.”
She huffed out a breath that fanned some of the loose tendrils of her hair out of her face. “I’m not Conan—you don’t have to ensure I get fed and watered.”
“I’d wager you’re probably dehydrated as well by your lack of bathroom breaks this afternoon.”
Isabel widened her eyes. “Excuse me?”
Now it was my turn to be embarrassed. “Sorry, it’s a throwback to the military. You don’t…” I was going to say pee, but I realized that might be a little crass. “You don’t excrete waste when you’re dehydrated.”
After staring at me for a moment, Isabel barked out a laugh. “Did you just say ‘excrete waste’?”
“And what if I did?”
An impish look burned in her blue eyes. “Thorn, I think you can say pee in front of me. I mean, you’ve seen my boobs.”
Fuck. She would have to bring that up, immediately bringing a delicious flashback of said boobs to my mind. “Fine. You’ve haven’t pissed enough this afternoon. Better?”
She grinned. “I can totally hear you saying that to your men.”
“I said it to my women as well. I didn’t sugarcoat anything overseas.”
“I can’t imagine you did. It’s not like you sugarcoated much when you started here.”
“Touché.” I jerked my thumb at the door. “Come on. I’m hungry, and you’re starving.”
Her brows furrowed. “Don’t you think we should order in to conserve time?”
I shook my head. “I think some fresh air would do us some good.”
