Eagle Cove (Thalia Chase: Sex Therapist Book One)

by Darla Baker

  “Oh, God. It’s all my fault.”

  “How on earth is it your fault?”

  “She sent me a text saying she wanted me to call her. She must have been on her motorcycle when she sent the text. Instead of calling her, I sent a text back telling her I’d call after my session was over. What if it distracted her and caused the accident?”

  Annie shakes her head. “You can’t think like that. I’m sure she wasn’t trying to text and ride a motorcycle. Amara is smarter than that. She wouldn’t take chances with her life, especially now.”

  Thalia’s stomach drops to the floor. “What does that mean?”

  Annie lowers her voice. “She was calling you to tell you. It's not my place, even though I know she was going to tell you. I could get into real trouble here. We have strict privacy laws.”

  “Tell me what, Annie? Spit it out!”

  “She’s pregnant. She just found out today. I’m her ob-gyn. She had just left the hospital and didn’t get very far before the accident happened. I guess we can thank God for the small miracle that the accident was so close to the hospital.”

  “I don’t feel like thanking God or anyone else right now. Does her family know about the baby?”

  “I doubt it. I’m not going to say anything till we hear from Jason.”

  “What’s taking so long?”

  “It hasn’t been that long, maybe thirty minutes.”

  “It seems like an eternity. What will I do? I can’t lose her. Not when I just found her. I’ve made such a mess of things. And for what? A bunch of silly what-ifs?”

  “Don’t beat yourself up. Let’s not jump to conclusions. And the reasons weren’t silly to you at the time. I know you better than that. You don’t make any decision lightly. You analyze it from every angle possible. Even some angles that others would never even find. That’s what makes you an extraordinary therapist.”

  “What good does that skill do me if I lose the best thing that’s ever happened to me?”

  Annie pats Thalia on the knee. “Like I said, let’s not jump to conclusions. There’s plenty of time to fix this.”

  “You don’t know that. What if there is no more time?”

  “You’re right. I don’t know that yet. But I have faith. You should try it. Would you like me to get you something to drink? Coffee? Water?”

  “No, I’m fine. Just see if you can find out anything.”

  “Okay. I’ll be back.”

  Thalia rests her elbows on her knees and drops her head into her hands. Please be all right, Amara. Please. I need you. I love you with all my heart. You are my soulmate. If you make it through this, I promise you can have as many children as you want and I’ll never leave you.

  Thalia looks up to see Sammy walk in. “René called me and told me you’d rushed to the hospital… something about an emergency with Amara. What’s going on?”

  “Thank you so much for coming.” Thalia pulls Sammy close and clings to her hand. “She’s been in a motorcycle accident. There’s no word yet on her condition. Annie went back to check on her. Jason is treating her.” Tears begin to roll down Thalia’s cheeks. “She’s pregnant. Annie is her doctor. She’d just left the hospital when the accident happened.”

  Sammy gasps. “Wow! That’s a lot to deal with.”

  “She texted me before the accident. She wanted me to call her. I sent her a text back because I was getting ready to go into a session with clients, and I didn’t want my concentration to be rattled by a conversation with her. If I hadn’t texted her back, if I’d called her instead, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

  “Thalia you can’t blame yourself. You had no idea this was going to happen.”

  Thalia looks up to see Angelos, Nikolas, and Amara’s parents step into the waiting room. Amara’s mother sits down beside Thalia and pulls her into an embrace, patting her back as only a mother can.

  “Listen to your friend, dear. It’s no one’s fault. It was an accident. Blaming yourself won’t help you or Amara. She’s going to need your strength, not your guilt.”

  They look up to see Jason and Annie coming toward them. God, please let her be all right… and the baby, too.

  Jason motions everyone to take a seat. “Amara is a very lucky woman. She’s broken her left ankle and will need surgery. We’ve performed a full examination and a CT scan, and she has no internal injuries or head trauma. She has some road burn on her left leg and arm. We’re prepping her for surgery now. The orthopedic surgeon has been alerted. She’ll make a full recovery, but it’ll probably be three to six months before she’ll be able to ride a horse or a motorcycle again.”

  Amara’s mother chimes in, “If I have any say in the matter, she’ll never ride that motorcycle again.”

  Angelos pats her on the hand. “Mom, you know that isn’t our decision.”

  “What about the baby?” Thalia asks.

  Angelos and Nikolas jump up and ask in unison, “Baby? Amara is pregnant?”

  Annie responds, “I’m sorry you had to find out about it like this. Yes, Amara is pregnant. She hasn’t lost the baby. But it’s very early in the pregnancy, and this sort of trauma could certainly cause her to miscarry. We’ll be watching her very closely for a while, and she’ll have to be extra careful for at least the first trimester.”

  Angelos is the first to ask, “Can we see her?”

  Jason responds, “Yes. But she’s asking for Thalia first. She has about an hour before we take her up to surgery. So make the visits brief.”

  Thalia looks at Jason, her eyes filled with tears of unspeakable gratitude. “Thank you so much.”

  Jason nods and walks back toward the ER.

  Sammy gives Thalia a hug before Annie takes her hand and leads her back to see Amara. “Are you ready for this, Pro?”

  “I’ve never been more ready in my life.”

  ANNIE SQUEEZES THALIA’S hand before opening the door to Amara’s room. “It’ll be all right.”

  “Thank you so much. And give my thanks to Jason, as well.”

  Annie nods and walks away.

  Thalia slowly enters the room, wiping the tears from her eyes, trying to gain some composure before she speaks to Amara. She looks down at her lover’s bruised and battered body, and she finds it hard to hold back the tears. She reaches down and lightly caresses Amara’s abdomen. She strokes her face with her other hand. “Thank God you were wearing your helmet. There’s not a scratch on your beautiful face. How are you feeling?”

  “You know, don’t you?”

  “Yes. Annie told me.”

  “I was going to tell you. That’s why I texted you.”

  “Shh. I know, sweetheart. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

  “Is it? You said—”

  “I know what I said. I was wrong. I would give anything if I could take it all back. I would give anything if I were the one to get you pregnant that night, from our love, during our lovemaking.” Thalia is choking back the tears once again.

  “I love you too. I heard you tell me that night. I wanted to rush out and stop you. But I knew I had to let you go, give you space, let you figure this out for yourself.”

  “You may not believe me, but as soon as I received your text, I knew I’d made a mistake. I promise you it didn’t take this accident to bring me to my senses. I’m not that dense.” Thalia allows herself a small chuckle.

  Amara takes Thalia’s hand. “Are you sure?”

  “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life. I love you. And if you’ll have me, I’m never leaving you again.”

  Tears are streaming down Amara’s face. “I love you too. So, so much. I’ll never let you leave again without a fight. Now lean over here and kiss me.”

  Thalia does as she’s commanded. And just as she’s delivering a searing kiss, Amara’s family walks in. Thalia jumps back. “Sorry.”

  Amara’s mom responds, “No need to be sorry, dear. You love our daughter, and she loves you. There is nothing more precious in t
he world than love.”

  “Thank you.” Thalia reaches for Amara’s hand and gives it a squeeze. “I’m going to go back to the waiting area and call René. I’ll be here when you come out of surgery.”

  “I’m counting on it.”

  To Be Continued…

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  FROM THE TIME Darla entered high school she dreamed of being a therapist. She took the only psychology class offered by the school and worked as a volunteer hotline counselor for Suicide Prevention.

  Following high school, she attended Georgetown College and Wright State University pursuing a BA in Psychology preparing for a career in Pastoral Counseling.

  As often happens, her life went in a different direction. So after graduating from Wright State University, she spent the next thirty years practicing therapy skills on unsuspecting software and systems engineers.

  Following a failed attempt at straight marriage, she has spent the last twenty years with her soul mate, Carol. Along with their two beautiful pit bulls, they split their time between Dayton, Ohio and Lake Cumberland, Kentucky.

  As her career in technology comes to a close, she’s now counseling fictional people as a fictional sex therapist in the Thalia Chase: Sex Therapist series.

  Darla craves hearing from her readers. You may reach her via any of the following channels:

  http://amazon.com/author/darlabaker

  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15204196.Darla_Baker

  http://twitter.com/dkblinux98

  http://www.facebook.com/thalia.chase.dkb

  https://plus.google.com/u/0/+DarlaBaker

  https://www.youtube.com/c/DarlaBaker

  https://www.linkedin.com/in/dkblinux98

  http://stonesoupcommunity.com/

  darla.baker@bakewell.me

  And head on over to http://askthalia.com where you can have your questions answered by Thalia Chase. If your question is chosen for inclusion in a future book, you’ll receive a FREE copy of the book. What are you waiting for? Ask Thalia a question today!

  COMING SOON

  Book Two in the

  Thalia Chase: Sex Therapist Series

  Seventy Six Falls

  Coming in September 2016

  THE SUPREME COURT’S recent decision has legalized marriage for same-sex couples nationwide and LGBT couples everywhere are beginning to discuss their future just as straight couples have done for years.

  The Supreme Court’s decision wasn’t happy news for everyone, particularly for radical fundamentalist Christians in the bible belt. One such person is Karen Dolt, County Clerk for Williams County, Kentucky.

  Her refusal to honor the oath of office and issue licenses to same-sex couples has resulted in a media frenzy and an annoyance for several couples in the county.

  But when one of Karen’s refusals results in a tragedy that personally affects Thalia, she is shaken to the core, leaving herself, her friends, and her lover wondering if she will get through this tragedy with any part of her former self intact.

  RECOMMENDED BY DARLA

  THANK YOU FOR READING Eagle Cove. I hope you enjoyed it and are looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Seventy Six Falls, which will be released in September 2016.

  While you are waiting, I encourage you to post a review of Eagle Cove on Amazon. And afterward, check out these great titles from some of my favorite lesbian fiction authors:

  Backcast by Ann McMan

  WHEN SCULPTOR AND author Barb Davis is given an NEA grant to pair original feminist sculptures with searing first-person essays on transitions in women’s lives, she organizes a two week writing retreat with twelve of the best, brightest, and most notorious lesbian authors in the business. But in between regularly scheduled happy hours and writing sessions, the women enter a tournament bass fishing competition, receive life coaching from a wise-cracking fish named Phoebe, and uncover a subterranean world of secrets and desires that is as varied and elusive as the fish that swim in the waters of Lake Champlain.

  Set on the beautiful shores of Vermont’s Lake Champlain, Backcast is richly populated with an expansive cast of endearing and outrageous characters who battle writer’s block, quirky locals, personal demons, unexpected attractions, and even each other during their two-week residency. For Barb and each of her twelve writers, the stakes in this fast-moving story are high, but its emotional and romantic payoffs are slow and sweet.

  The Dance by Suzie Carr

  THE DANCE IS a book about love, family and friendship, and learning how to dance with life’s constant spin.

  Dog trainer Jacky Applebaum is focused on one thing – making up for a grave misunderstanding that damaged her relationship with her fifteen-year old stepdaughter Sophie. They are suffocating under the pressure of hurt and guilt. Old wounds begin to heal between them when a spirited beekeeper named Brooke Hastings contracts Jacky to train her overly-protective dog, Bee. A mutual affinity grows instantly between them, an affinity Jacky won’t allow herself to embrace. But, the heart knows what it needs. Meanwhile, Brooke hires Sophie as her assistant in the bee apiary. A trust forms, and soon Sophie begins to feel alive again as she comes face-to-face with the many parallels between her and the honeybees she nurtures.

  Just as they learn to open up and dance with life again, a hurtful truth reveals itself. Will this truth set them free or unravel all they’ve come to learn about life?

  Locked Inside by Annette Mori

  HOW MUCH DOES the power of love matter to someone who has overcome obstacles greater than most people face in a lifetime?

  Carly, a beautiful and vivacious young woman, sees something in the semi-comatose Belinda and they form an unusual bond.

  Can Carly help Belinda break free from her emotional prison? Will Belinda’s fears allow their relationship to evolve into something deeper?

  Find out in this wonderfully evocative romance that is sure to touch your heart.