by C. E. Snyder
Praise for The Glass Shower
“When someone says, ‘That book was intriguing!’ they aren’t kidding! This debut author has demonstrated a lot of chops and “The Glass Shower” is a blend of thriller/mystery/romance/crime/paranormal (Is there a section in the bookstore for this one? Cause it’s worth making one!). Pop over and get to know this wonderful new author and pull up a chair!”
—Renee Bernard, author of historical romance and the host of Canned Laughter and Coffee.
“C.E. Snyder writes a compelling mystery of suspense and romance. There will be no looking back once The Glass Shower is opened and you see what is inside. From the beginning to the end, I read without stopping. I had to know about the woman in The Glass Shower.”
—Sandy Schairer, The Reading Cafe
Dedication
For Bruce and Miranda Ketcham;
two people that I admire.
They can still laugh through all the hard times.
Acknowledgments
Edward Buetikofer, thank you for all your help with my events.
Breonnia Wilkey, thank you for being my BFF!
To my mom, you are the best. You helped me with all my books. I am ever so grateful.
Lisa Kerner, thank you for reading it and giving me your thoughts.
Linda Welsch, for loving books so much and your willingness to help me, thank you.
And of course, Vickie Slaven, you’re my true blue friend. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for your encouragement.
Chapter 1
He stuck the key in the lock. His hands were shaking with anticipation and excitement for the person who was on the other side of the door. It was his wife of six months, but each time he came home to see her, he was so excited. This was his favorite time of the day; when he was done at the rehearsal hall, he would rush home just to see her. As the door unlocked, he took the key out, put it in his pocket, then he shifted the roses in his hand. It was their two-year anniversary from the first time they met. He came home early because he wanted to surprise her with a new necklace and some of her favorite flowers, a dozen purple roses, but the excitement had him shaking. When he opened the door, he saw her. She was in her usual spot in front of her computer. She was a writer of the great romance, and she used her own experience for her inspiration.
She had her head bent, looking at her fingers. Her hair was swept down, shielding her face. Her leg was bent up on the chair. As her head turned to see who came in the door, Isaac froze. When she saw him and the roses he was carrying, her face lit up. The room seemed to have gotten brighter as well. Carrie jumped out of the chair and ran over to him. She threw her arms over his head. “You’re home early,” she said with her head buried in his neck, “and you have roses!” She lifted her head to kiss him on the cheek.
“Yes, I just couldn’t wait till I got home to give them to you,” he said. He pressed his cheek in her hair. He could never get enough of the way she smelled, and to kiss her was like nothing else in the world. She then took one step back and reached for the roses. “Happy anniversary,” he said, handing her the beautiful flowers.
She took the flowers, buried her face in them, and took a deep breath. “Mmm, they smell so good. Thank you, Isaac. You always know how to brighten my day,” She skipping into the kitchen to put them in water. From the kitchen, she asked, “How was rehearsal?” She then took the vase from the cupboard and began to fill it with water.
“It was purr-fect,” he said, mimicking his character. He came up behind her in the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her waist. Then he kissed her just behind her ear. “How was writing? Did you have a breakthrough today?” he asked, nuzzling in her hair.
After putting the roses in the vase, she spun around to wrap her arms around his neck and rest her head on his chest. “Um, well, I did some writing, but I’m not sure where I’m going with it yet. You would think I would have it all figured out with the amount of books I have on my shelf,” she said, leaning back on the counter, pulling Isaac with her. Then she lifted her head and looked up at his beautiful eyes. They were brown with a hint of hazel, and she just loved the way they looked back at her. When she looked into them, she felt a part of him. She wanted to stare at them forever.
He held her tight. He loved her eyes as well, they were blue like sapphires, and they sparkled like glitter every time she looked at him. “Well you’re the great C.A. Shay, after all. I’m sure you will come up with the next bestseller. You always do,” he said, leaning down to kiss her on her mouth. He just loved her mouth. He actually loved everything about her, but he had a special fondness for her mouth.
“Well,” she said, trying to talk while he still was kissing her. She turned her head so she could talk, and he kept kissing her by feathering them across her cheek. “I have always brought something to life, haven’t I?” she asked and then turned her head back to continue kissing him.
He didn’t answer. He just got lost in kissing her, and she let herself go as well. His hands were everywhere on her, exploring. She held on to him as he picked her up and put her on the counter. She slid her hands up his head, and her fingers got caught in his slightly long hair. His hands were in her hair as well. She loved the feeling of his hands in her hair, the way he would gently tug at it when he wanted more access to her neck. He started to feather his kissing down her chin to her neck. She let her head fall back, and she let out a small moan that excited him further. He loved to hear the sounds she made when he touched her. Then he started to unbutton her blouse, and she leaned back on her arms so he would have more room.
She watched as he undid every button slowly. Every once in a while he would lean closer to her, so he could brush kisses onto her waiting mouth. As soon as the last button was undone, exposing her white, lacy bra, they rushed their bodies together with a clap of their skin as they hit. Within an instant, they were kissing wildly. Their hands were everywhere. His hands were on her breasts. He was massaging them gently as she turned her head to moan once again, clinging closer and tighter to his neck. He pushed her blouse off her shoulders, then moved his hands to her back to take off the bra so he could feel her skin. As soon as it was off, his mouth found her nipple. His tongue was swirling around it, driving her more over the edge. She moaned even louder and tightened her grip in his hair. Isaac was the first to say something; he stopped teasing her nipple and looked up at her. Her head came back up to look at him. “Aishite imasu, Carrie. I really do,” he said.
She thought she saw sadness in his eyes but quickly realized that it was his love for her pouring out of them. He told her that he loved her; he spoke the words in Japanese, as he always did.
She traced the lines around his eyes, to rid them of the worry. Then she smiled at him, repeating the words back to him in Japanese. “Aishite imasu, Isaac. That is never going to change as long as I’m alive.” She was amazed by the love in his eyes; it was for her and only her. Then he leaned into her, to pick her up once again. She wasn’t expecting him to pick her up, so she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he bent his knees to lay her on the floor. Then he reached down to undo the button on her jeans and pulled them off, along with her underwear. She was naked and cold, laying on the floor all by herself as he stood up staring down at her. She reached her arms up, wanting him to cover her like a blanket.
“Isaac, I’m cold,” she said, trying to get him to come back to her.
He slipped off his pants and underwear, tossing them to the other side of the kitchen, then knelt slowly back down between her thighs and into Carrie’s waiting arms. As he lay over top of her, she pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it somewhere that neither one of them saw. He picked her up to wrap his arms around her, and then traced
her face with his tongue before going back to her mouth. His hard length was teasing her as he licked her face and found her mouth. He then slowly entered her, teasing her by going in a little bit and then pulling out. Then he thrust with all his strength and, of course, made sure he didn’t hurt her. Her head went back, and she yelped. Then she let her breath out through her teeth. It came out in a hiss.
As her head slowly came back, she opened her eyes. Her blue eyes met his brown eyes. With her teeth biting down on her lower lip, she smiled up at him; he smiled back. He couldn’t wait. He thrust hard and fast. She was writhing away, lying under him; she didn’t want him to stop what he was doing. She was enjoying herself just as much as he was enjoying making love to her. She tried to help out, but he was holding her so tightly that she was really just lying there. She kissed his neck and licked it with her tongue, but the pleasure was so overwhelming that she let her head fall back and took what he was doing to her.
They were both going over the edge quickly. They were both moaning with pleasure. It was only making his need that much greater. When it happened, they went over the peak at the same time and screamed together. She leaned her head into his shoulder, and she tightened her grip around his neck. It was Carrie who said the first words when they were finished. “We are so lucky, aren’t we?” she asked into his neck, trying to catch her breath.
Still breathing heavily, he lifted his head and looked down at her. “Lucky how? Lucky to have a love as strong as ours? Yes, I would say that we were lucky,” he then leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.
She giggled then sighed. “Well yes, that, but I was referring to the girls being in Waterford with my parents and how they’re not about to walk in the door and find us hooked together and naked, lying on the floor,” she said, laying her head on the floor.
“Oh that.” He laughed. “Yes, we are very lucky then,” he said through her hair.
Suddenly the phone rang. They both almost jumped out of their skins. “Now who could that be?” Carrie asked, holding tighter to Isaac’s neck. “I don’t want to move, ever.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t want to either, but it might be the theater.” She let go of him reluctantly. She was cold suddenly, and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to get warm.
Still naked, he jumped over her to reach the phone. “Hello,” he said, almost out of breath. It was their friend Amy.
“What, were you running, Isaac?” she asked on the other end.
“No,” Isaac replied.
“Well, whatever, are you still going to Henry’s for dinner?” she asked.
“Oh yeah,” he said, looking up at the time. “Yeah, we’ll be there at seven. Are Matt and Kyle still coming?” he asked, remembering what was going on.
“Yes, Matt and Kyle, me and Dave, Missy and Chris. Chrissie wanted to come, but she got called in to the hospital. Does she suspect anything yet?” Amy asked. Isaac looked around to see where Carrie was. She must have gone to the bathroom.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said.
“Okay, we’ll see you later then. Bye,” she said and hung up the phone.
“Bye,” he said.
He put the phone down and made a search for his clothes. He found them, picked them up, and went to find her in the bathroom. She was standing there, in front of the mirror, trying to fix her hair. She was wearing her underwear and bra. He threw his clothes in the hamper and went up behind her, sliding his hands around her waist. She looked up at him in the mirror. She smiled and reached up to circle his neck from behind. “Who was on the phone?” she asked.
“Amy,” he said, nuzzling her neck.
“What did she want?” she asked, leaning more into him, still reaching her arms back around his neck.
“She wanted to know what we were doing tonight,” he said with a kiss to her neck.
She turned around in his arms and asked, “What did you say? That we’re going to make wild love all night?”
“No, I said we didn’t know yet. Oh, and would you like to go to Henry’s for dinner tonight?” he asked, looking down at her.
“I like the making wild love all night better, don’t you?” she said and kissed his neck.
Laughing at her suggestion, he said, “Well, you know I do, but all of our wild lovemaking made me quite hungry. What about you?”
“Yeah, I’m hungry too I guess, but I have to shower first,” she said, stroking his ear with her thumb and forefinger.
“Yeah, me too,” he said, looking down at himself.
Carrie and Isaac walked into Henry’s, giggling together. Before she knew it, Amy was running up to her and hugging her.
“Happy anniversary,” she said after letting go. “Sorry, Isaac, but I couldn’t wait.” She winked at him. Carrie looked around, puzzled.
“Its okay, Carrie. This is a surprise party for our two-year anniversary,” he said, disappointed.
She turned to look up at him with a big smile on her face. “Oh,” she said then leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.” Amy pulled her by the hand to sweep her away. Isaac smiled as he watched her being directed to the table where all their friends were waiting. “Where’s Chrissie?” Carrie asked. She looked around at her friends.
“She was called into the hospital,” Amy supplied.
He marveled at how Carrie was so warm and loving to everyone. He watched as she hugged and kissed each one as she took her jacket off and laid it on the back on one of the chairs. They had a great time laughing and talking with everyone, remembering how they met, in that very place as she pointed to where she was sitting at the bar; they cried at the happy memories. Amy took a picture for them with the cake that had two sparklers in it.
Isaac had cued up a song on the jukebox and swept Carrie up from the table just as she realized what the song was. They had danced to this song at their wedding, and it was the song that played the first time they danced. She snuggled her head under his chin, and he held her hand over his heart. All of their friends just loved seeing them together. They never hid their love from anyone. As the song finished, they were still swaying in one another’s arms. Carrie lifted her head as she always did after they danced to that song and said, “It’s such a beautiful song.” He nodded, waiting for her next comment. “But how do you catch the deluge in a paper cup?” she asked, looking at him with amusement. They both broke out laughing as they went back to the table.
At the end of the night, they said their good-byes. Carrie swung her body around so she could hug Isaac by surprise. He bent his head down to kiss her on her cheek. “Thank you for this, Isaac. I really enjoyed my surprise.”
“Aw, there is just one more thing,” he said. He took a black velvet box out of his coat and handed it to her.
“What is this?” she asked. Watching him, she took the box.
“This is your real gift. I must say that I really love my new watch you gave me,” he said, looking at his wrist with the shiny silver watch around it. On the back, she had engraved forever, just like her wedding ring said in the band.
She opened the box, and it revealed a necklace. It was a beautiful sapphire that matched her ring. She gasped and put her hand over her mouth. “Oh, it is so beautiful,” she said as she looked at her hand that had the ring on it. “It matches,” she said as she showed him the set. He grabbed the box and took the necklace out. She turned around so he could put it around her neck. Then she turned around, swung her arms around his neck, and kissed him. “Thank you so much.” Then they walked hand in hand back toward their home; all the while she held the sapphire necklace in her free hand.
He walked into the bathroom. She was bent over the sink, brushing her teeth. He stood in front of the other sink to look at himself in the mirror, stroking his face over the shadow that was forming around his chin. He suddenly became aware that he was being watched. He looked over in the mirror. She was watching him with amusement, the toothbrush sliding in and out of her mouth.
“Yes?” h
e asked her.
“Oh nothing, I was just thinking about our life together and thinking that I have never been so happy,” she said with the toothbrush out of her mouth and toothpaste dribbling down her chin. She then sucked in what she could and bent back over the sink to spit.
Turning toward her, he said, “It has been a blessing to find the kind of love we have, hasn’t it?”
“Absolutely,” she said, wiping off her mouth. She turned to bury her face in his warm chest. “I never want this feeling to end. I get so excited to see you every day. You’re my first thought in the morning when I wake up and my last before I go to sleep,” she said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.
“I don’t either,” he said as they held each other in the bathroom for just a few more seconds more. “Let’s go to bed,” Isaac suggested.
“Good idea,” she said, turning to walk to the bedroom.
Chapter 2
Isaac was in the middle of rehearsal when he heard a scuffle in the back of the house. Everyone on the stage stopped what they were doing and stepped forward to see what was going on. “Isaac!” He heard Carrie call him. “It is important. I have to talk to my husband, Isaac!” she called again. Isaac got off the stage and ran up to where his wife was being held back.
“It’s okay, Joe. Let her go,” he said to the security guard. “What is it, Carrie?” he asked as she ran up to him and grabbed his arms.
“Isaac, Sam called,” she said, trying to catch her breath.
“Well, that could have waited till I got home,” he said.
Shaking her head and coughing, she said “No,” then took a deep breath. “It’s your mother. She’s had a stroke. I tried to call, but they wouldn’t let me talk to you.” He was very close to his mother, just as close as she was with hers. “We have to go Isaac, now.”
