Scarlet Fever

by Sable Hunter

  “I’m old enough to be…” She started talking, but then she didn’t know what she was going to say. His eyes were the most incredible shade of blue.

  “You’re old enough to be my sweet lover. Is that what you were going to say?” He tickled her gently, absorbing her laughter into his mouth.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes,” she kissed him. “My answer is yes. I want to be your girl.”

  * * * *

  Alex’s teeth scraped and nipped the red rose on the curve of Scarlet’s hip. “Scarlet Rose, you have the sweetest rear end that I have ever had the pleasure to bite.” Laughter erupted from her throat and she tried to turn over, but he held her down.

  “Can I ask you a question about the sword?”

  “Sure, in fact, I have some documentation on it at home. I’ll mail it to you as soon as I get back next week.” She tried to smile, but it didn’t make it to her eyes.

  “That’s not what I want to know.” Alex turned her over, he wanted to see her face as she answered. “The sword is valuable. I did a search on it, and you could have sold it for forty to fifty thousand dollars. Why didn’t you do that? You could have paid for a year’s worth of dialysis treatments with that money.”

  Scarlet lay very still. “I hate having to explain, I don’t want anyone’s pity. I wish you could look at me and not think about my health problems. We only have five more days, together. Do we have to talk about this?”

  “Scarlet—” he began.

  “It’s true that the sale of the sword would have brought enough to pay for a year’s dialysis. But I still would have had to travel fifty miles, one way, every day, to take the treatments and I wouldn’t have been able to work. At the most it would have only been a temporary fix. And I don’t know how I would have survived without a job.”

  It hurt like hell, but Alex continued to push. “After the incident at the hospital, why didn’t your family sue?” He was torturing her, he was torturing himself, but he needed to understand.

  “Dad didn’t believe in it, besides when I developed this problem after getting my club foot fixed, it just reinforced his belief that my problems were meant to be. God was in control and I was paying for my sins.” Alex looked so stricken, Scarlet only sought to comfort him. “Don’t you think I’ve explored every avenue? It’s not that I want to die, Alex. I just don’t have any choice. You’re making this so hard, please let’s just forget about it. Let’s think about something else.”

  “You do have choices, Scarlet. I’m working on a plan to ensure that you live a long and happy life.” He sat up in the bed and physically picked her up, holding her in his arms, as if he intended to never let her go.

  “You are so serious, and so sweet.” Scarlet rubbed his cheek. “I love you. Let’s just enjoy the time we have left together, okay?”

  She was asking the impossible.

  * * * *

  Four days before the wedding…

  Alex didn’t want to have to deal with this. Not now. But he had no choice, not unless he was willing to watch his business go down the drain. He walked into the kitchen, arms full of files, and sat down heavily at the table. Ethan was making coffee. “Where is everybody?”

  Annalise is getting ready. We have our final counseling session with the pastor. It’s required, he’s adamant that we understand how serious matrimony is.” Ethan looked at his brother with a smile on his face. “Like I don’t realize what a big step I’m taking. The meeting is at six, so we’re going to make a day of it. Maybe, even stay for dinner. Would you and Scarlet like to come with us?”

  “I wish. I’ve got a ton of work to do. Where’s Bobby?”

  “Practice. Big Mack called a special session. And Cecile went with him. I think something’s going on with those two. You know, it’s a good thing that the Longhorns have a bye this week, or we would’ve had to get married on a Sunday.” Ethan looked at his brother with an indulgent look on his face. “Aren’t you going to ask me where Scarlet is?”

  “I know where Scarlet is. I gave her a cell phone yesterday and insisted that she keep me informed if she had to leave the house.”

  “So, you know that she has gone to the doctor?”

  “Yes, she went to the clinic to get her birth control pills refilled.” Alex admitted somewhat reluctantly. “I tricked her, sort of.” He rubbed a hand down his face, in worry. “Doc Gibbs wanted me to get her in there for some blood tests. He wants to know exactly where she is in her kidney function, how much time we’ve got to work with. So, I hid her pills. She thought she lost them.” Alex looked up at his brother, with such sadness in his eyes that Ethan would have done anything for him. “Ethan, I didn’t know what else to do. We needed that information. Doc Gibbs said he has to be sure there is a high probability of a tissue match. If I told Scarlet the truth, she would have flat out refused to go in at all.”

  “I don’t blame you, I would have done the same thing for Annalise.” Ethan put a comforting hand on his brother’s shoulder. “On a brighter note, I got you that underhanded wedding license.”

  “Great news. What did you have to do, bribe the judge?” Alex wouldn’t have been surprised.

  “I did something really wild.” Alex looked confused. “I told the truth. Raymond Lanier, the county clerk is a good guy. He understood. I told him the situation with her health and how stubborn she is, and he didn’t even hesitate. He told me that he didn’t think it would be a problem, that he would personally walk it by the judge. But you need to level with her at the first opportunity. Of course, if she balks on you, the judge would probably give you a quick annulment.”

  “Over my dead body. Once I get that ring on her finger, nothing or nobody will ever separate us again.”

  “Man, you’re hopelessly in love. I know the feeling. What’s with the pile of paperwork?”

  “This is stuff that Rick left hanging. I have to come up with a proposal for a plan to power Abilene Christian with wind power, and I’m way behind. This is what I get for giving that idiot so much responsibility. I don’t even have the lay-out drawn up for the wind farm.”

  “I wish I could help, bro.” Ethan sympathized. “Unfortunately, it’s not my area of expertise.”

  “You can help by pouring me a cup of coffee and keeping it coming.” Alex bowed his head and went to work.

  * * * *

  Scarlet was a nervous wreck. She should have known better than to try and visit a doctor in Austin. Even if it was Alex’s personal physician, he had coerced her into taking every test imaginable. There was no way all that blood work was necessary to renew her birth control medicine. But, because it was a friend of Alex’s, she had gone along. He had wrote her a prescription, but told her he would be getting in touch with her later about her blood work. She left Alex’s cell phone number with the nurse, who promised to call once they had the test results.

  To complicate matters, she felt weaker and noticed that she was getting short of breath. It scared her to death, because she knew exactly what it meant. She was getting worse. If she could just keep it together for four more days, then she could get home and deal with it the only way she knew how.

  Closing her eyes, she wondered if she would have the courage to go through with her plan. Over and over again, she had played out the scenarios in her mind. But, what haunted her the most, was getting too weak and sick to take care of herself or slipping into a coma and not being discovered until it was too late. The best solution she could come up with was to speed things along. It wouldn’t take too much ibuprofen to push her over the edge. And she had already notified one of her best friends, the area funeral director. He would take care of everything else. They had bonded during the years that she had played and sang for so many funerals. Actually, he was a comfort to her, he had her back. Not a perfect solution, by any means, but the best one she had come up with. At least it gave her something to worry about besides how much she was going to miss Alex.

  When she got home, she found him bent over a pile of pa
pers in deep concentration. He didn’t even hear her come in. She slipped up behind him and hugged him tight. Immediately, he pushed everything aside and pulled her around to sit on his lap. “Lord, I missed you.”

  Knowing that time was quickly slipping away, she sought his lips and kissed him deeply. “I missed you, too.”

  “Did you get your pills?”

  “Yes, so we’re back in business.” She traced his eyebrows, burning the image of his face in her mind.

  “I love monkeying with your business.” Kissing the palm of her hand, he confessed. “I day dream about what I’m going to do to that lovely body once the sun goes down. But, as bad as I hate it, I have a ton of work to do.”

  He placed her on her feet, turned toward the files, and she pulled a chair up close to his. “Can I help?” Before he could stop her, she opened a file and looked through it quickly. “Wind farm. Do you have a topographical map? I can draw you a layout of the best grid connection possibilities and a feasibility study, if you have the wind assessment report.” Alex turned completely in his chair and looked at her hard. Then he smiled the biggest, prettiest smile she had ever seen.

  “God, woman, you are amazing!” He split the papers with her, anxious to see what she could do.

  “Don’t get too excited, yet,” she cautioned him. “It’s been awhile since I’ve had a chance to work on this type of thing. Although, I have kept up with the newest techniques and technological advances in the turbines. I’m really interested in the ’smart’ turbines that the Purdue researchers have developed, the ones that can react to changing wind conditions.”

  “It sounds like you know exactly what you’re talking about.” After reviewing the reports, she went to work. He was amazed. “In a couple of hours, the project that I’ve been dreading, the one that should have taken me days to complete, is well on its way to being finished.” Alex looked at her work. “This plan is innovative, accurate, and detailed. Your proposals make Rick LeBeau’s work look like hen-scratch. Come work for me, baby. You’re brilliant.”

  “The complement in your words makes me want to cry. No one has ever been willing to give me a chance to do what I do best, they always let my health problems define who I was and what they thought I could do, thanks. I wish I could. But I can help you while I’m here.”

  “I’m serious, Scarlet. I’m an employee short. You do much better work than LeBeau ever thought about doing.” He watched hope fill her eyes, then it clouded over with doubt. “Think about it.”

  All he could think of was how awesome it would be to work alongside his wife. Alex’s dreams were becoming more specific every day.

  That night, Alex could tell that Scarlet didn’t feel well. She had insisted that they make love, reminding him that they only had four more nights to be together. Bull! He had taken her gently, handling her as if she were made of the finest china. Breakable. Priceless.

  * * * *

  Three days before the wedding…

  “Tell me everything.” Scarlet nested down in a chair in front of the fireplace. She just couldn’t seem to get warm. Alex brought her an afghan and tucked it around her shoulders.

  Annalise and Cecile brought in cups of apple cider and hot chocolate for everyone. “You first, Cecile.” Annalise encouraged her agent.

  “Bobby took me to a great French restaurant near downtown, Aquarelle’s.” Nobody could miss her dreamy expression.

  Scarlet leaned forward, not wanting to miss a word. “What did you have to eat?”

  “We had scallops on a corn-potato compote ringed by asparagus spears. The scallops are actually cooked in truffle butter. It was the best meal that I have ever had.” Cecile grabbed Bobby’s hand. “Bobby ordered us a bottle of champagne. It was all very romantic.”

  “What did you do after dinner, did you go anywhere else?” Scarlet missed the private look that Bobby gave Cecile, but Cecile answered anyway.

  “We went to a great dance club on 6th Street called Bossanova.” Bobby nudged Cecile who giggled.

  “How about you and Ethan, where did you go out and eat last night?” Scarlet had transferred her attention to her sister, eagerly awaiting more details.

  “We went back to our restaurant, Selena’s. It’s a great Italian restaurant, built like a beautiful Tuscan villa. Ethan took me there on our first date.” As Scarlet asked question after question, it hit Alex like a ton of bricks. Scarlet was trying to imagine what it was like to go out on a real date. He felt like a colossal heel. All the days that they had been together, and he had still not taken her out on the town. Watching her eyes light up as she listened to the other two women talk about where their dates had taken them and what they had eaten made Alex hurt like he’d had the wind knocked out of him.

  After the conversation had died down, he eased his arm around her and pulled her close. “How about you and I go somewhere tonight? Would you like that?”

  Scarlet rubbed her cheek on his shirt, and smiled up at him sadly. “I’m really tired, love. Would you mind if we just stayed here? Or you can go, if you’d like, I wouldn’t mind.”

  “I only want to be with you.” He held her hand in his, threading their fingers together. “I’m sorry that we haven’t gone anywhere like that, Scarlet. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m such an idiot.”

  At his words, Scarlet sat straight up and pinned him with her stare. “My time with you has been perfect. Don’t you dare regret even one second of it.” He closed his eyes as a lump tried to work its way up his throat. “You have shown me the time of my life, Alex. I wouldn’t have missed this week with you for the world.”

  She was such a little firecracker. But his firecracker was fading fast. Soon, he picked her up and carried her to bed. He would let her rest for a few hours, and then he was going to turn her world upside down.

  Alex called and made reservations for a dinner cruise on Lady Bird Lake. It was last minute, so he had to pay through the nose, but it was going to be worth it. Next, he called in a favor that dated all the way back to a frat-house mishap. He called Barry Ridgeway, a college buddy that had thought it was smart to invite the entire night shift of Hooters over for an after-hours soiree, complete with five kegs and the UT official canon—Old Smokey.

  Alex had come home and had been shocked to find that one of the Longhorns most valuable possessions was in their back yard. Barry was so drunk he didn’t realize that the whole fraternity could have been disbanded and expelled for such a stupid stunt. Alex had taken charge and returned Old Smokey, escorted the Hooters home and cleaned up Barry’s mess. Barry owed him. Tonight, he would repay. Barry’s family owned the South’s biggest fireworks company. And the display that Alex had planned would take Scarlet’s breath away.

  Another favor called in, a horse drawn carriage would meet them at Zilker Park and take him and Scarlet all along the river before they boarded the dinner cruise. A call to an area florist reserved four dozen yellow roses. Alex racked his brain, trying to think of anything else he could do to make this evening perfect for her.

  He had went out on a limb and paid a visit to the priciest boutique in Austin. Turning himself completely over to the sales girl, he had bought Scarlet an entire new wardrobe—including a beautiful evening gown to wear to the rehearsal dinner. There was no way he was going to let her wear a dress that she had made for another man to their wedding. He had hid everything in the far end of his closet, and now he searched through the items until he found the teal silk pantsuit he wanted her to wear tonight. Laying the items out on the bed, he added erotic matching underwear and a sexy pair of sandals. Never in a million years, did he ever consider that he would be shopping for a woman. But, truth be told, he would do anything in the world for Scarlet.

  “Baby.” He kissed her cheek. “I have a surprise for you, baby.”

  She wiggled and stretched, “I’m sorry that I slept the day away. I guess the trip to the doctor’s took more out of me than I realized.”

  “Do you feel better?” Alex looke
d at her with all the love and concern that overflowed his heart.

  “Yes, I do.” She patted the bed. “I feel wonderful. Would you like to join me? I’ll make it worth your while.” Alex growled and held her down, blowing on her belly like he would a small child. Actually, her little sexy gesture had him as hard as a rock, but he had other plans. He wanted her to save all of her energy for their romantic evening. Later, he would bring her back here and give both of them what they wanted.

  “Get up, baby, and put on this pretty outfit. We’re going to Austin. I have a whole bunch of surprises for you.”

  Scarlet sat up looked at the clothes on the end of the bed. She rose up on her knees and embraced Alex. “I told you this wasn’t necessary. We don’t have to go anywhere. I’m happy anywhere, as long as you're there with me. Just being with you is more than I ever expected.”

  He held her, reveling in the warmth of her closeness. “Humor me, sweetheart. Go with me, please.” He kissed her tenderly on the soft skin just above her breastbone.

  “I can’t tell you no about anything. Did you know that?”

  “I’m counting on it, baby girl. You don’t know how much I’m counting on it.”

  Later that night, he made her dreams come true. “I can’t believe you bought me all of these beautiful things.” Scarlet lay her head on Alex’s shoulder, holding on to his arm.

  “I enjoy buying you things, love.” Pulling into Zilker Park, Alex could see the horse drawn carriage awaiting their arrival.

  “Look at the horses, Alex. Could we walk over and look at them?”

  “I think that could be arranged.” He lifted her out of the Hummer and hand in hand they strolled over to the white carriage.

  “Good evening, Mr. Stewart.” The driver greeted Alex and handed him the huge bouquet.

  When Alex turned to give Scarlet the roses, he found her looking at him in amazement. “These are for me?” She couldn’t believe it. There were dozens and dozens of perfect yellow roses.