by Sable Hunter
“I want you out of here. I want a divorce.” She got right in his face. “I’ll take everything you have.”
“We’ll see about that.” Derek walked out of the kitchen where they’d been arguing to meet his baby girl toddling down the stairs. “Come here, sweetie.”
“Daddy!” She met him with a smile. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He cradled her close. Nothing in his world was more important than June.
And he damned well didn’t intend for anyone to take her away from him.
* * *
Blair
As soon as Derek went upstairs to put June down for a nap, she picked up the phone. “I told him.”
“Good. Now, for the next step. Use your expertise to turn an accusation into reality. And thank you for Cheryl. She’s perfect.”
A tinge of jealousy over her best friend filtered through Blair. “Better than me?”
“Of course not. Just different. A man needs variety, you know.”
Blair wanted to agree with everything he said, but this didn’t sit especially well. She liked being the center of attention. “If you weren’t so amazing, I wouldn’t go along with this idea.”
“But I am amazing. And soon the world will know it. My name will be on everyone’s lips.”
She believed in his cause, she really did. Blair just wasn’t sure how all this would work. “We’ll be safe, won’t we?”
“My compound is well protected. You need to get rid of that husband of yours and move in soon. Little June needs a real father. And you need a man who can keep you satisfied.”
Blair shivered deliciously. “No one is like you, Provo. No one.”
CHAPTER THREE
Two months later.
Shae
“Turn down the air conditioner, please,” Cathy requested as Shae entered the back door of the tiny bungalow house.
“Are you hot? It’s set on 72.” Shae set down her purse and walked to the thermostat in the hall to adjust the temperature.
“Am I hot? Are you kidding?” She pointed at the computer screen. “When I edit your writing, I need to wear an asbestos suit!”
“Oh, foot.” She shook her head disbelievingly, then eyed her friend with a smile. “Really?”
“Lord, yes.” Cathy fanned herself. “Although, Lynn has been a happy man.” She giggled as she tapped the space key. “He doesn’t understand it, but he’s grateful I’m coming home – preheated.”
“Just please don’t let your guard down and tell him where this preheating is coming from. If word ever got out…” Shae shivered. “I don’t want to think about it.”
“Me either,” Cathy agreed. “Anyway, this one will go up tonight. I’m formatting it now. Are you ready?”
Shae sank down in a chair. “No, I’m not.” She covered her face with both hands. “The last few weeks have been wild. I’m probably not thinking clearly.”
“You’ve been busy, what with your duties at church, selling Coretta’s house, moving in here.” She glanced around. “With some work, this place will be nice.”
“Unless these books sell, I can’t even think about renovating. The nursing home fees are astronomical and her savings won’t last forever.” Shae picked at the fringe of a blue placemat. “She said my name today.”
“Well, that’s good.” Cathy’s lilting voice sounded positive.
“I keep hoping she’ll get better, so I can bring her home.”
“You will.” She turned the computer screen toward Shae. “I put the final touches on the cover. Take a gander at that cute cowboy. How do you like it?”
Shae stared at the close-up of the handsome man with an open shirt. “He’s nice, you did a good job.”
“I didn’t do it, this was a premade cover.” She showed Shae the link where she found it. “See, you can do this easy. I’ll show you how to format and everything.”
“Thanks, I don’t know what I’d do without you. My mind isn’t geared toward tech stuff.”
“Yea.” Cathy patted Shae’s dark hair. “Creative brain, I know. You play piano. Write poems, songs, plays…and porn.” She busted out laughing. “The church pianist who writes porn.”
“Oh, hush. That sounds so bad.” She slapped the table, her excitement getting the best of her. “Do you think I’ll make any money at this?”
“Don’t sound so unsure of yourself. I’ve read thousands of books and yours is just as good as any of them.” Cathy chewed on her lower lip. “A ton more sex than I’m used to, but I know there’s a market for this stuff.”
“I could tone it down,” Shae suggested, feeling skeptical of what she’d created.
“No, no, no.” Cathy shook her head, hiding a smile. “This is the type of book that fulfills all a woman’s needs – her desire for romance, adventure, and…thrills.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I just need money fast. But…” Shae picked up the printed pages of the book, pulling them to her chest, “this is also intensely personal. These are my fantasies. This is where I go when I’m lonely, when I need to escape.”
Turning sideways in her chair, Cathy nailed her with a stare, her green eyes twinkling. “There is something I’ve been wondering…”
“What?”
“How do you know all this stuff? I mean…this is seriously sexy and you’re a…” She wiggled in her chair, trying to find a way to say what she wanted to say.
“A virgin?” Shae asked with a grin.
“Well, yea, I mean…” Cathy fumbled for words. “You write like you know what you’re talking about, like you’re a floozie.”
Shae busted out laughing. “A floozie? Ha! The only experience I have is what I’ve read, what I’ve seen at the movies, and my colorful imagination.”
“Obviously, I haven’t been watching the same movies or reading the right books.” Cathy frowned. “I haven’t ever even…”
“What?” Shae was curious. “What are you talking about?”
“A…a…” Cathy sputtered and turned red. “A blowjob! I’ve never given Lynn a blowjob!”
Shae pooched her lips out. “Poor Lynn.”
“Well, I tried last night, I didn’t do very well.” She laid her arms over her head as if to disappear. “He liked it, though.”
“He did?” Shae giggled. “I practice on a cucumber – just in case.”
Cathy glared at her, horrified. “Do I even know you?”
Shae sobered. “No, not really. I guess I’m two different people. The one that works hard at the church and is everybody’s Miss Dependable, and the one with a desire to be – different.”
“Different, I’d say. Alien is more like it.”
Shae felt uncomfortable, Cathy was acting odd. “Look, if you’re uncomfortable helping me…”
“No, it’s not that,” she said. “As long as no one finds out what you’re doing or that I’m helping you, I guess we’re okay.”
“You don’t sound sure.” Shae felt goose bumps rise on her body. Sometimes she felt all alone. “Look, I know this isn’t ideal, but this is a talent I have that I might be able to use to keep my grandmother comfortable. Surely, that’s not wrong?”
Cathy shrugged. “I don’t know, I try not to judge.” She pushed the computer toward Shae. “Look over this closely. I think it’s ready. Also, make sure everything is correct on your account so the money you make goes where you want it to go. If I were you, I wouldn’t use the local bank, you know nothing is secret down there. Those bank biddies are vicious, they might put two and two together.”
“Okay, I certainly don’t want those vultures on my tail.”
While Shae checked it all out, Cathy carried her cup to the sink. “The book’s good, Shae. I don’t think it’s anything to be ashamed of.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m just glad you’re using a non-de plume, Miss Jessabelle.”
“I couldn’t use my own name, that would be suicide.” She balled her fists up and trembled. “Here goes.” She met Cathy’s
eyes, pushed the publish button, then squealed, “I did it!”
“Yay!” She ran around and hugged Shae. “Now, there’s nothing else to do but wait for it to go live and start selling.”
“I think it takes a couple of days to go through the review process.” She felt a combination of pride and trepidation. “Funny, I feel like a mother about to send an only child off to school. I want everybody to like her and nobody to be mean to her.”
“Yea, I’ve read some pretty vicious reviews of what I consider to be good books.” Cathy laughed. “Your book is a her?”
“I don’t know.” Shae giggled. “I guess I relate to the heroine.”
“Well, they are based on you – in a way. You always star in your own fantasies, don’t you?”
Shae nodded, stood up and twirled in a circle. “True, but in my fantasies, I’m always much prettier.”
“Oh, you’re pretty enough.” Cathy picked up her purse. “I guess I’d better get home and do some dinner prep. When you get another book ready for me to edit, send it to my email. I know you don’t want My Girl to be an only child.”
“No, I don’t.” Shae walked with her friend to the door. “I guess I’ll see you on Sunday, if not before.”
“Oh, my gosh.” Cathy covered her mouth and laughed. “Knowing what I know now, I’ll never be able to keep a straight face in the choir while you play the piano.”
“Yea, especially when the song is He Touched Me or I Love To Tell The Story.”
“Right?” Cathy was almost in hysterics as she headed for her car. “How about Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing or He’s Coming Again?!”
“Love it. I’ll play I Surrender All for the offertory this week.”
“Good one. Just call me when the books start to sell, I want to know!”
Shae waved goodbye to Cathy. “Thanks a million, I couldn’t have done it without you!” She was still smiling when she closed the door.
* * *
Derek
“Just hurry up, Derek. I want you out of here before June wakes up.”
With pen in hand, Derek stared at the document in front of him. He never thought he’d see the day he’d be signing divorce papers. “I demand joint custody of our daughter.”
Blair laughed like his suggestion was the funniest thing she’d ever heard. “Fat chance. After what you’ve done, you’ll be lucky if I allow visitation.”
“What did I do?” Derek demanded. “I gave you everything you asked for. I worked hard for this family.”
“You know what you did, and I’ll make you pay until the day you die!” Blair threw the words at him like poisonous darts.
Closing his eyes, Derek managed to keep his temper in check. “I wish you’d tell me my sin. How can I defend myself when I don’t know what I’m being accused of?”
Blair threw up her hands. “Go back to East Texas, you belong in that hick community. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll forget you have a daughter.”
“I can’t do that, I won’t do that.” Derek’s heart was breaking. “I love her. Hell, I loved you.”
“Sure, that’s why you tore our marriage apart.” She turned her back on him. “If I never see you again, it won’t be soon enough.”
“Oh, you’ll see me again,” he promised her. “In court.” He needed to talk to his lawyer. Depriving Blair and June of support wasn’t his intention, money and possessions he could live without. What he couldn’t live without was his little girl.
With a heavy heart, Derek climbed in his truck and tossed his copy of the divorce papers into the passenger seat next to him. Blair was right, the only place he could go was back where he came from. His roots. He hadn’t been back to Longleaf since he was thirteen years old. As he turned the key, he happened to look up and see a round little face pressed against the upstairs window. He didn’t need to hear her cry to know what June was saying, “Dad-dee, don’t leave me daddy! Please don’t leave me!”
* * *
Blair
“Welcome, my love.”
Blair glanced around, slightly surprised by her surroundings. “You weren’t joking when you called this place a compound, were you?”
“I like my space.” Judge Maximillian Provo folded his arms and surveyed his domain. “I’m not Mormon, but I’ve borrowed some of their ideas. I like each of my women to have their own house…yet be close enough so I can visit them easily.”
“And where will we live?” she asked, holding a tearful June’s hand.
“Oh, with me. For now.” He took her hand. “Come in and see my palace. I think you’ll find the accommodations to your liking.”
Blair followed the big man into the fortified home. This place was more like a fort than a house. “Who is that?” she asked, noticing several guys walking toward a black SUV. She hadn’t realized there would be other men here.
“What I’m planning is too important to leave our security to chance. I’ve hired like-minded men who see the value in my mission. When the time comes, I will use their strength to enhance mine.”
“How much longer before you begin the purging?” The words felt strange on her tongue.
“You let me worry about that. We still have your divorce to put behind us.”
“I know. Derek is angry about the terms. He’s going to fight us.”
Provo walked to a black mahogany credenza and poured himself a finger of brandy. “You let me worry about that. His lawyer is a friend of mine and I’ve made sure the case is on my docket. Everything will go down as planned. We’ll strip the hick of everything he owns and deny him custody. If he makes trouble, he’ll get trouble.”
Blair smiled, loving how sure the judge sounded. “This is going to be a wild ride, isn’t it?”
“The wildest.” He pointed up the stairs. “Now, take the kid to the nursery. One of the other girls will watch her. Come to my bedroom when you’re finished.” He pointed to the east wing of the sprawling house. “And come naked. I’ll be waiting.”
* * *
Shae
Shae loved Sundays. Lost in the moment, her hands ran effortlessly over the keyboard. She didn’t need to think about what she was playing, or even look down to see if her fingers were pressing the right keys. Music was a part of her soul. She’d played this piano for two decades, she could make it talk and say anything she needed it to say.
“The ushers will come forward to pass the plates.” The music director, Paul Guy, raised his hands to call the congregation to their feet. “Join me now as we sing the last verse.”
After the prayer, Shae began to play as the choir filed down from the dais to take a seat with their families. As Cathy passed by, Shae met her gaze. “I sold one this morning,” she mouthed the words.
“What?” Cathy screamed silently. “Wow!” Raising a hand in triumph, she missed the bottom step and galloped out into the aisle to the amusement of the fellowship of All Saints Episcopal.
Once the ushers finished gathering the tithes and offerings, Shae faded out It Is Well With My Soul and began the soulful old ballad His Eye is On the Sparrow. After the instrumental lead-in, she opened her mouth and began to sing.
Why should I feel discouraged? Why should the shadows come? Why should my heart feel lonely…
As she sang from the heart, the people in the pews listened, enraptured.
For His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me.
After the number was over Shae slipped from the piano bench and went to her appointed place, second pew from the front on the left. She sat alone. No one liked to occupy the seats closest to the front, her denomination was nearly as prone to sitting in the back of the auditorium as the Baptists. Shae felt differently, she found comfort in her spot of solitude. Sometimes she really got into Pastor Dave’s sermons, he was a smart guy. Other times her mind wandered, weaving another fantasy set off by a phrase of the sermon or even just a word of a song. Once she composed a whole story based on a praise hymn, the words you are my all in all birthed h
ours of romantic musings.
Today, she couldn’t be still, wondering if she’d sold more books. Unable to resist, she snuck her phone out of her bag and went to the author dashboard. When she saw the number of sales, Shae almost fell off her pew.
A hundred books had sold since she left home!
“Oh, my God!”
The words slipped from her mouth before she could call them back. Her head jerked up and she met Pastor Dave’s gaze, then she realized every eye in the building was on her. “I mean Amen!”
The preacher nodded, several others joined in with her sentiment.
“Amen. Preach on!” one man added to her proclamation.
Shae glanced back down. 104! This time she contained her excitement, but she didn’t hear another word of the sermon.
Her mind was elsewhere.
* * *
“Do you really think Jessabelle needs a Facebook page?” Shae asked as she made notes on another novel.
“Of course. You have fans. You have to talk to your fans!” Cathy stated emphatically as she did some quick math. “Do you realize you’ve made a little over two thousand dollars in two weeks? This is crazy, girl!”
“Yes, and remember, you get fifteen percent of everything I make.”
Waggling her eyebrows, Cathy rubbed her thumb and forefinger together. “There’s a pair of shoes just calling my name.”
“You and shoes.” Shae shook her head. “Hey, I got an email. Listen.”
Dear Jessabelle. I love your books! Once I started, I could not put it down. I have a job that drains my soul and the love stories you write help me deal with the stress. I can also relate with the locale, I’m from Texas too. You keep writing and I’ll keep reading.
“Fan mail!” Cathy exclaimed. “What’s her name?”
“Hmmm, it’s signed Judge Judy.” She laughed. “Not the celebrity, I’m sure. Probably not even a judge. She may have a pseudo name too, probably to hide her reading habits from her family.”
“Still, that’s great. I bet you’ll get a ton of mail like that soon.”
