For His Pleasure: The Boxed Set, Books 1-6 (For His Pleasure, For His Taking, For His Keeping, For His Honor, For His Trust, For His Forever) (44 page)

The whole thing was like something out of a movie, she thought.

She gave the old man a hug and he smiled at her, told her good luck.

Then Nicole was back in her car, driving faster than she should have been, her hands gripping the steering wheel as if it might decide to fly away. Her stomach was tight with anticipation, and fluttering. The fluttering reminded her of what was inside of her, and Nicole slowed down a little.

I’m going to be a mother, she thought. For the first time, the notion didn’t completely terrify her.

Soon, she found the turnoff onto the long, dirt road. It was wide and relatively well maintained, surrounded on both sides by forest. Through the trees on the right side, she could still make out the farmland, and as the road curved, she thought she could even catch a glimpse of the lake in front of her.

As told to her by the old man at the farm store, the road would start to snake off to the left, but just before that, there was another small turnoff. This small turnoff, he’d said, should take her to the cabin in question.

Nicole’s mouth was completely dry, like it had been the first day she’d met Red in his huge top floor office.

She was leaning forward, her face practically touching the windshield as she drove the last ten or twenty yards down the more narrow, bumpy road that took her to a small one-story cabin.

The cabin was surrounded by trees on all sides, and right behind it, the beautiful blue lake, which stretched magically out into the distance like some desert mirage.

The whole area was so peaceful. Nicole parked the car and turned it off, heard almost nothing but the engine ticking loudly for a long moment.

And then she heard something else.

It was a loud rapport, like someone clapping. Except the clapping, clopping sound was rather slow and rhythmic. Occasionally it would cease and then resume once more.

It was coming from just behind the cabin, Nicole thought. And she had a feeling she knew who and what it might be.

She got out of the car, almost delicately, as if her feet might break. She felt unsteady and trembling, but forced herself to be brave.

The thought of Red screaming at her to leave was a strong image, and she tried desperately to shake it from her mind. If it was really even him back there. Truly, it could be anyone.

And then she was approaching the house.

The sound was getting louder. Occasionally there would be pause, and you could hear something being thrown, clattering into pieces. And then the thunking, clopping sound would resume.

When Nicole finally reached the backyard, she knew she’d been right all along.

Red was standing there in blue jeans and no shirt, chopping wood. There was a huge stack of logs nearby—cords and cords of them. He’d obviously been at it for a long time, from the looks of it.

His back was facing her and he was covered in sweat. She could see, even from this angle, that his thick, curly black hair had grown out a little and wasn’t styled at all.

Pausing for the moment, he wiped sweat from his forehead and took some deep breaths.

The axe was gripped in one hand. With his free hand, he reached down and grabbed a huge piece of wood and placed it on the ground in front of him, then in a single motion, swung the axe in a high arc and split the wood with one slice.

CHUNK.

The pieces fell to the side. Red picked them up one a time and threw them into a pile, presumably to be stacked like all the rest at some later point.

Nicole knew she had to get his attention, but her throat didn’t seem to be able to emit sound.

“Red.”

He was in the midst of grabbing his next piece of wood.

“RED.” She forced herself to scream his name, but in her nervous state it came out barely loud enough to reach his ears.

Still, he must have heard her, because he turned around and saw her. His expression was stunned. And then his lips clamped together and his brow creased. “What the hell are you doing here?” he said, finally.

It was the worst possible reaction. Nicole reeled, turning and running back toward her car, blubbering like a little kid.

She couldn’t really help it. In that second, the look on his face and the tone of his voice had been exactly the opposite of what she’d been hoping for, what she’d been praying he might do.

She was pregnant and he wanted nothing to do with her. That was all she could think, and she just wanted to get the hell away from him and that cabin and the entire town.

Nicole ran as fast as she could to reach her car.

Red was calling her name now. “Nicole! Wait!”

She didn’t care. She needed to go. She needed to be somewhere safe, somewhere she’d be taken care of right now. It was like a horror movie. She didn’t even look back, just ran, picturing him coming after her with his axe still in one hand—like Jack Nicholson from The Shining.

And then, just as Nicole was about to reach the driver’s side door, she tripped over a huge tree root sticking up out of the dirt driveway, and fell forward. Her arms instantly shot out to break her fall, especially making sure she didn’t hit her stomach when she smashed into the ground.

But in trying to protect her unborn child—Nicole twisted strangely on the way down and felt a sharp pain in her right ankle.

She shrieked and rolled onto her back.

Red was just reaching her side. He didn’t have his axe after all, and he looked absolutely stricken. “Nicole, what happened? Are you okay?”

She was sobbing, as much from pain as rejection. “Just…just...leave me alone, okay?” More hysterical crying. “Are you…huh…huh..happy now?”

He knelt down, his face a mask of concern, and shook his head. “No, I’m not happy. Not at all.” He laid his hand gently on her shoulder, and she hated that it felt so good—so right.

Why was he torturing her? Why had he made everything between them into something awful and sad?

“Tell me where you’re hurt,” he said.

“My—my ankle. I twisted it just now when I fell.”

“Okay, let me see it.” He moved down, slowly removed the sandal on her right foot, and examined her leg.

His hands felt warm and soothing, healing even. But the pain in her ankle was still throbbing. She craned her head to look and saw that the ankle was already swelling and slightly discolored.

“Move your toes and foot a bit for me,” he said.

She winced as she did so. “It hurts.”

“I think you’ve sprained it pretty good,” he told her.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I need to go. I need to get out of here. Can you find me transportation back to the city?”

Red shook his head. “I’m not letting you out of my sight while you’re in this condition. You need to be taken care of, Nicole.”

Hearing him say those very words brought more tears to her eyes, tears of relief.

But then she thought, how long would it be before he changed his mind once again and told her to leave? She couldn’t depend on him, and she didn’t want to risk being rejected yet again. It was all too much.

“I should go, Red. I don’t need you to take care of me anymore.”

His face blanched at her cold words. “That’s not true.”

“Yes it is,” she lied, staring into his eyes.

“Well,” he said, eventually, “I don’t know about that. But right now, I’m bringing you inside the cabin and getting some ice on that ankle.”

As much as Nicole wanted to fight him on it—another part of her was reveling in his attention.

I know he loves me, she thought.

The way he looked at her, the care and attentiveness he was giving her right now—

it screamed out love. He’d looked so panic-stricken when she’d first fallen, and she knew that was no act.

Red lifted her in his arms and carried her into the cabin.

“I’m going to lay you on the couch now,” he told her. “Sorry about the scenery—I wish I could put you up at The Four Seasons or something. But they don’t have those around here.”

He laid her down gently on a soft, worn couch that actually felt like something her parents would have had in their home. Nicole didn’t really mind it at all—in fact, she rather liked it.

The inside of the cabin was very quaint and sparse—but still very nice, Nicole thought—and homey in its own way.

In the middle of the room was a wood-burning stove—currently not in use. Against the far wall, a small range, an old white refrigerator, and a tiny sink. Above the appliances were rows of wooden shelves filled with glasses, plates, a couple of pots and cooking utensils. And next to the sink was a large cabinet.

A bookcase filled with books was located against the opposing wall, and beside it, a tiny single bed with a simple metal frame. The couch she was laying on and a small two-person table with a couple of chairs nearby seemed to tie the room together. There was also a recliner that had seen better days, not far from that bookcase. She imagined Red sitting on his recliner at night, reading a book in the stillness of this little cabin, away from all his cares and worries.

Right now, Red was kneeling down in front of the large cabinet by the sink, digging around for god only knew what.

She sat up a little on the couch and looked at her ankle. It was pretty bad already, somewhat discolored with deep purple bruises and swollen to about twice the size of her good ankle.

Red stood up and saw her examining her injury. “You lay back down and elevate that ankle,” he said, forcefully but also with concern. He was carrying an Ace bandage and tape in his hands, coming back to the couch to tend to her.

“You really don’t need to do this,” she told him.

Now that she was recovering her senses and the pain in her ankle had lessened slightly, she could really take in Red’s unshaven face, the dark circles under his eyes. He even looked thinner.

“Let me see that ankle,” he said, taking her foot in one hand and then beginning to wrap the bandage around it. “This will help stabilize things a bit. And then we’re going to get some ice on it for the swelling.”

“How do you know so much about treating ankle sprains?” she asked.

Red just shrugged. “My brother’s a doctor. I could probably remove your appendix too, if we were in a pinch.” He looked up and grinned at her—the old Red grin that she loved so much.

Nicole felt her heart flutter, and then her stomach. That reminded her of why she’d come here. How was she going to tell him? She swallowed and remembered how thirsty she was. “Can I have a cup of water?” she said.

“Of course,” he replied, finishing with the Ace bandage, and laying her foot on the top of the armrest of the couch. “One second.” He walked back to the sink and grabbed a cup from one of the shelves, then poured her water straight from the tap. “This is much better than the crap in New York City. Fresh as can be.”

He came back and she took the cup gratefully from his hands, drinking it all at once. “Thanks,” she said, after she’d gulped it all down.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding about being thirsty.” He went to the refrigerator and opened the freezer door. “Let’s see now. Here we go.” He came back with a couple of packages of frozen peas.

“I’m not a big fan of peas,” Nicole said.

“Well that’s fine. You’re not going to be eating them.” He pressed the peas against her ankle on both sides. “Don’t move around too much. We do this for twenty minutes, every three hours. Got it?”

She shrugged.

He put his hands on his hips and looked her over. “Are you hungry, Nicole? I figured I’d fix us something to eat in the next hour or so.”

“I don’t know if I should stay that long,” she said, barely able to look at him. She was still scared of him, she realized. Who knew when he’d get angry again or decide she needed to be sent away? Especially when he found out she was pregnant.

“Of course you’ll stay,” he said. “Don’t be silly. Now that you’re here…” Red trailed off. Then he started to smile again. “I’m glad you’re here, Nicole. Not glad you hurt your ankle, but still. You’re here now and I’m not letting you get away so fast.”

“If you’re glad I’m here, then why did you act so angry when you first saw me?”

she asked, finally allowing the hurt she felt from his reaction to show on her face. “You looked like you wished I’d just disappear in a puff of smoke.”

Red shook his head and came towards her. “No. Hell no, I didn’t want you to disappear. You’re all I think about.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Well it’s true.”

“You made sure I couldn’t find you,” she said. “That doesn’t sound like someone you think about all the time. Unless you think about how much you want to forget about me.”

“Is that why you think I did all of this? Because I don’t care about you?”

“Yes, Red. That’s what any normal person would assume.”

He nodded. “I can see why you’d assume that. But the fact is, I came to the cabin to protect you from me—not to protect myself from you. I told you before. I’m not good enough for you, I’m just a bad guy.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is true,” he snapped, color blazing in his cheeks. “I’m a mess, Nicole and it’s better for you to stay away from me. I knew that I had to protect you, to make it impossible for us to see each other.”

Nicole could feel her eyes welling up and she blinked back her tears. “I hate what you’re saying to me right now. I hate it.”

Red quieted and looked at the floor. “And then when you appeared in front of me just then like some vision, like a dream come to life—I panicked. I panicked because there hasn’t been a single second, not a single second since you left that I haven’t thought about you.”

“Then you should have been happy to see me.”

“I was. But I was also terrified, because I knew that I’d never have the strength to send you away again.” Red’s eyes were boring into hers as he continued. “It took every ounce of strength I had to make you leave last time. And now I don’t have it in me—I’m too weak and selfish to do what’s right for you. I need to keep you close to me for the rest of my life.”

“That’s all I ever wanted in the first place,” she told him. “But you found a way to make me doubt us—to make me doubt your feelings for me.”

“I know you didn’t understand why I did what I did,” he said. “I know that it seems to you like I don’t care. But really, the very opposite is true. I care about you so much, Nicole—I love you so much—that it was more important to me that you move on with your life. Be happy with someone else. Meet a really nice, normal guy who doesn’t have all this darkness inside of him ruining everything.”