At Home In Corbin's Bend

by Maggie Ryan

  "Really?" she asked, her attempt at quirking her own eyebrow causing him to chuckle.

  "Absolutely, Miss Humphries, and I promise, it will be very difficult to sit as you work on your latest project."

  "Oh well then, I suppose those scenes will just have to remain in my journal." She batted her eyelashes. "My poor public, they'd never know that I'm married to the sexiest scientist in the entire solar system."

  Shaking his head, Jeffrey laughed. "They also won't know exactly how your epidermis reacts to different implements. Let's go in, shall we?" He pulled the door open when she nodded.

  Though it was Saturday night and she knew the store was popular, she was a bit surprised to see it as crowded as it was. She was even more surprised when two people approached them and one was her publisher.

  "Thank God," Joseph exclaimed. "I was beginning to panic. Venia, this is Cynthia Durman, the store manager. Cynthia, this is tonight's star."

  "It's such a pleasure to meet you, Venia," Cynthia said, shaking her hand. "Remember to save one for me."

  "Save what?" Venia asked, her head spinning as she was led through the crowds that seemed to be parting magically.

  "Your book, of course." Venia's gaze followed the woman's waving hand.

  "Oh my God." Venia's exclamation was drowned out as the crowd began to clap. Looking up at Jeffrey, she shook her head. "Did you… of course you did."

  "I told you I fully expected to see you at a book signing," Jeffrey said, gently guiding her around the table where stacks of her book, 'Safe In His Hands' were waiting. The glossy cover depicted a woman seated on a man's lap, his hands cupping her face. On the table next to them, sat a small paddle. It wasn't the half-naked cover models she'd become accustomed to seeing but it told a story in the expression on the model's faces. Bending, he kissed her. "Congratulations again, my love. These are your fans—just enjoy."

  Looking up she became aware that she recognized a great many customers, including the entirety of her book club members and their partners. Several waved the books they were holding in their hands, all smiling. Seeing Quincy, Lizzy and Marilyn, Jonathon and Benjamin, Ever and Rob and Dina and Brandon had her choking up. Seeing Jeffrey go to stand beside Charles and Violet, the look on her husband's face had her swallowing hard.

  Venia managed to give a shaky smile, but dropped her head to blink back the tears that threatened to fall. She picked up the pen that was provided, her lip caught between her teeth, not knowing if she was to simply scrawl her name across the page or if interaction with the customer would be required. Seeing a book being set down before her, she took a deep breath, and looked up.

  "Just make it out to Cecily," her daughter said, with a grin. "Oh, and just so you know, this book is changing my life."

  "Our lives and we can't thank you enough," Carlton said as he stepped up beside his wife.

  The book signing didn't start again for several minutes. It was hard to autograph books when tears of complete joy were streaming down your face.

  THE END

  A Note to my Readers

  Thank you for returning to the incredible community of Corbin's Bend. I hope you've enjoyed Venia's and Jeffrey's story of how love is not restricted to the young—it will always be alive if you are young at heart. I encourage you to read every book of every season that make up the much loved Corbin's Bend series. Every book is different and yet all will leave you feeling as if you wish you could mail your application in to become a resident. After all, who wouldn't want to be surrounded by such good friends and neighbors? Since that, unfortunately, will remain a fantasy, I hope you find true love and commitment in your own life.

  Happy Reading –

  Maggie Ryan

  Safe Under Protection

  Holla Dean

  ©2015 by Blushing Books® and Holla Dean

  All rights reserved.

  No part of the book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published by Blushing Books®,

  a subsidiary of

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  is registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office.

  Dean, Holla

  ABCD Graphics & Design

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-62750-835-3

  Cover Design by Anthony Walsh

  This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as Blushing Books' or the author's advocating any non-consensual spanking activity or the spanking of minors.

  Chapter 1

  Colleen’s eyes filled with fear at the sharp rapping on the door of the crappy one bedroom apartment that served as their latest safe house. She looked up at her husband, Jess, and put down the book she was reading.

  He patted her hand to reassure her and said, “Settle down, babe. You know there’s a guard outside our door and another one downstairs. No one’s going to get in.”

  His deep voice soothed her and she nodded her head. It irritated her how anxious every little noise or knock on the door made her. But having someone regularly try to kill you tended to make you a little skittish. Over the past year there had been four attempts to kill Colleen and Jess Bradley.

  Jess went to the door and peeked through the magnifying peephole.

  “Who is it?” Colleen asked.

  “The FBI agent, Harlen, and some other guy is with him.”

  “I wonder what they want now,” Colleen said in a weary voice.

  Agent Harlen had been their FBI contact since the night Colleen had witnessed the three murders that were the reason they’d been living in safe houses for nearly a year. Jess unlocked the door and let the two men into the small apartment.

  “This is U.S. Marshal Jack Carmichael.” Harlen, all business as usual, didn’t waste any time getting to the point of their visit. “He wants to talk to you about the Witness Protection Program.”

  Colleen looked at Jess and saw he seemed to be just as confused as she was. Not sure what to say, she let Jess do the talking.

  “Uh…are you going to ask us to go into that program?”

  “Yes, sir. I’m afraid I am.” Jack Carmichael looked truly apologetic as he admitted that’s what he was there for.

  Colleen was frightened by this new development, yet somehow the U.S. Marshal’s voice gave her a sense of being safe. Jack exuded such strong confidence that she felt everything was going to be all right. As she looked him over from head to toe, she thought his wife must be one lucky woman. A peek at his left hand showed he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. If she were fifteen years younger and not already married to the love of her life, this was a guy she could go after.

  His light brown hair bordered on being dark blond and his blueish/grayish eyes had a certain piercing quality to them. He was roughly three inches taller than Jess, making him about six feet, three inches tall.

  “Why don’t we sit down and I’ll explain the whole program to you.”

  Colleen listened as Jack started out by telling them there could be no more visits with their children and grandchildren. Ever since the first attempt on their lives the morning after Colleen witnessed the murders, Agent Harlen had managed to work things out a couple of times so they could have a visit with their family. Their son, with his wife and two children, would go to the movies to see the latest Disney feature. At the same movie theater, a drama was playing and Jess and Colleen would go in wearing disguises. Once the movies were playing and the theaters were dark, they would slip out a side door and meet in a room Harlen had arranged to use.

  Other similar meetings had taken place with their other three children and their families. But now that the murder trial wa
s almost over, Jack said there could be no more of these visits. It was simply too risky.

  Colleen could feel the tears threatening. If she had known it would be the last time she would see her children and the grandkids, she would have said a proper goodbye. She barely heard anything else Jack said. Jess put his arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him, grateful he was there.

  She caught a word here and there. Something about Colorado. A safe new community called Corbin’s Bend. The Mellinni family would never find them there, wouldn’t even think to look for them there.

  Jack handed her some brochures he’d printed out and told them about the lovely setting of the community and most importantly how safe it would be there for them.

  “It’s a truly unique community and once you read the brochures you’ll understand why I think it’s the perfect place for you.”

  “What about our house?” Colleen asked, reaching out to take the brochures. “What about all our furniture and the personal things that are in our home?”

  Jess had more practical concerns and asked, “What about jobs? Where will we work? How will we support ourselves?”

  “The program will handle everything. You’ll be given new identities with complete background information. I can’t tell you how, but we will make sure that any money you have in your checking and savings accounts, retirement accounts, or stock market holdings will not be lost. Through various channels, the money will be transferred in such a way that it will be accessible to you under your new identities. It’ll take a little time, but you won’t lose any savings you’ve accumulated under your real names.”

  “And jobs?” Colleen asked Jess’s questions again. “Were not in a position to live off our savings, we still have to work.”

  “You’ll notice when you read the brochure that Corbin’s Bend has its own schools in the community. Since both of you are teachers, there should be no problem getting employment there. To be safe, it would be best if one of you gets a job in a different field.”

  “It’s asking a lot, Marshal Carmichael. To ask us to leave our families, our friends, our very identities, and start all over as different people with different jobs in a place where we don’t know anyone—I don’t know if I can do that.” Colleen didn’t think she could live with not seeing her family again, not being able to watch little Nicky and Claire growing up, not even being able to have contact with them. Deep down she knew the marshal was right, but could she do it?

  “I understand, Colleen. But there have already been more than a few attempts made on your lives. I can’t think of anything that would be safer for you and your husband than the Witness Protection Program. The U.S. Marshal Service has never lost a witness in the program.”

  The confidence in his voice won her over. It all rang so true; she believed him and she knew he was right. They couldn’t keep living like this, hiding in safe houses, unable to go to their jobs, sneaking around to see their family. She was sure she could trust him.

  Turning to Jess, she asked, “What do you think, honey?”

  “I think he’s right, babe. I’m sorry I got us into this mess, but I can’t bear the thought of one those bastards harming you. I want you safe and I think this might be the best way to keep the rest of the family safe.”

  Hearing the slight tremor in his voice when he spoke of the possibility of her being harmed, Colleen wrapped her arms around him and said, “Oh, honey, none of this is your fault. All you did was try and give us a nice fortieth anniversary celebration.”

  He patted her back and said, “We’ve just gotta go with it and hope that somewhere down the road we’ll get to see everyone again.”

  She sniffled and nodded her head.

  Jack cleared his throat and said, “I want you to look over those brochures and then let me know if you have any questions.”

  Jess had been looking through the brochures while Jack had been talking to Colleen and he did have a question about Corbin’s Bend. “Why do they keep hammering away about the uniqueness of this community and stressing that no one has to feel uncomfortable about the lifestyle they choose to live? Is this a community of mostly gay people?”

  Jack laughed. “No, it’s not. Though I’m sure there are gay people living there just like anywhere else. Just read the brochures and I’m sure you’ll understand. They’re pretty thorough in their explanations; like what a co-op is—you won’t own your house, you’ll own shares in the community. Their rules and regulations are listed and there is an application packet included. I’ve got to get going now so I’ll leave you with just one suggestion and that is to remain open-minded as you learn more about the community. I’ll be back tomorrow night; if you have any more questions we can go over them then.”

  Colleen spent the rest of the evening looking at the floor plans of the homes in Corbin’s bend and reading about the schools in the community. Jess spent his time reading all about co-ops and trying to figure out if he really wanted to buy into a home they didn’t own outright. They would only own shares in the community. It was a new concept for him. There were co-ops all over Chicago, they’d been popular back in the 80’s when interest rates went sky high. But he’d never considered a co-op when he and Colleen were looking for a house to raise their family in.

  He read more on how alternative lifestyles were not only accepted, but actually encouraged and deemed to be desirable. He skimmed over a long paragraph about how the community was probably not the right place for people who were rigid about what they considered to be normal lifestyles and unwilling to accept other people simply for who they were. There were references made to domestic harmony, heads of households, and Domestic Discipline. Well, he didn’t have to worry about discipline in his house; their children were all grown and wouldn’t even be able to visit them. At least not for years to come. As far as who was the head of their household; well, he and Colleen had been married for forty years—they were partners and made their decisions together.

  He skipped over the rest of it thinking if this was where they were moving to, they’d just have to go with the flow.

  Putting the brochures down, he looked over at Colleen and thought how for the first time in their marriage, their bedroom activities had taken a nose dive. They’d both been under so much stress. He was going to fix that. Right now.

  “Hey, babe. Why don’t you come over here and show me what you’re looking at?”

  “Okay, they’ve got seven floor plans…” Colleen got up and moved to sit beside Jess on the sofa. “I think I like number two or number seven. They both would give us three bedrooms, one of which could be an office. Plan two has two baths; a full one in the master bath and a three quarter second bath. That means no tub in there, just a shower. But that would be okay. Number seven is really my favorite if we can afford it. It has a dining room and number two only has an eat-in kitchen. Seven also has two and a half baths. But the downside of number seven is that it’s a two story so I’ll have the stairs to contend with. Look at the layouts—what do you think?”

  Jess wasn’t paying too much attention. He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger and watched how animated she was while describing what would probably be their new home. He tugged at her shirt so her shoulder was exposed and planted a kiss there.

  She stopped talking and he planted another kiss next to the first one.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Something we’re not doing enough of lately.” Another kiss, this one at the curve of her neck while his other hand slipped underneath her shirt and worked its way to her breast.

  She smiled, closed her eyes halfway, and put her hand on his thigh. “Mmmm…that feels nice.”

  “Come on, let’s take this to the bedroom.” Taking her hand, he pulled her off the sofa and all the printouts of floor plans fell off her lap.

  He led her to the bedroom, determined to get her mind off the stress of having to leave her family. He knew it was going to be hard for her to deal with not being able to see her chil
dren and grandkids for what could be several years.

  “Get undressed, let’s take a shower together.” Jess was already peeling his clothes off.

  Colleen pulled her shirt off, turned her back to Jess and he unhooked her bra. With her back still turned, she slipped out of her jeans, taking her panties down with them. She had to sit down on the edge of the bed to pull them off her feet. Ever since her knee replacement two years earlier, she had to be cautious about trying to balance on one leg.

  “Here, let me help you,” Jess said as he bent over to pull off her jeans.

  The bathroom in this apartment didn’t have a tub, just a large shower. Turning on the water, Jess adjusted the temperature until it was just perfect and squirted some fragrant liquid soap into his hands. He began washing her back and kneading her shoulders, massaging the knots at the top of her shoulder blades, working his way down her spine as she braced herself against the opposite wall. When his hands got to her hips, he slid them down and cupped her butt cheeks, working his fingers deep into her flesh.

  She moaned and her head fell forward as one of his hands slid between her legs from behind and came up to tease her clit. His finger circled and massaged her hot little button. He pinched it lightly before bringing his hand slightly back and plunging two fingers deep inside her pussy. Colleen hung onto the handicap bar on the wall of the shower and the anti-slip decals on the floor helped to keep her from slipping. She wasn’t always steady standing on a wet surface. Her knee replacement put certain restrictions on how wild and crazy they could get in the shower and Jess knew they’d be doing little more than washing each other and maybe a little teasing foreplay.