ROMANCE: CLEAN ROMANCE: Summer Splash! (Sweet Inspirational Contemporary Romance) (New Adult Clean Fantasy Short Stories) (147 page)

                         Kenneth felt his chest clench.

                         “I thought he liked me, I truly did, after you were born, because he talked to me about his Barbara.  He does not seem like a man who shares much with others, but he found words for me, he tried to make me understand.  And I understood, of course I did, for who does not know what it is like to be alone?”

                         He remembered her stories from the orphanage.  It seemed to be quiet, but she had just been lost in thought for a moment.

                         “What do I know about being a wife, horsey?” she asked, worrying it between its ears.  The colt let out a huge, contented snort.  “All I have is that book by that woman, and all it says is to avoid even breathing on your husband.  So what do I do, pony?  Of course I run from him.  I do not know any other way, and when he laughs at me, it makes me wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole.”

                         “Don’t.”

                         He said it without thinking, and Clara sat up with a start, realizing for the first time that she was not alone.  When he opened the stall door, her face changed.  She had nowhere left to run, and so she would not let the knowledge that he had heard her make her ashamed.  In a way, it might have been that she wanted him to hear.

                         “I’m not good at the words, Clara,” he said, the straw crackling beneath his feet as he approached her slowly.  Her face looked shy and tender.  “I don’t have the right words to tell you what I’m feeling, but I can tell you this.  I didn’t know how much I needed you until you came.  When I couldn’t find you today, I thought my heart would burst clean out my chest.”  He paused, locking his fingers underneath her chin and tilting it up, watching her lashes cast faint shadows on her cheeks.  “You don’t ever have to feel alone.  Not while you’re with me.”

                         When he kissed her, they melted into each other.  Everything that he had wanted to say, he said through his lips, through a fierce possessive kiss that bound her to him more strongly than any marriage license.  And then he led her back into the house where he made her his wife in more than just name.

                         And those were all the words that either of them needed.

THE END

Summer of Sweetness

              “Do you have all the toys you wanted to bring?” Laura asked her charges. She was busy putting toys in their bins within the playroom, items she was pretty sure they wouldn’t want to bring, which was a fairly large list.

              “NO! I WANT THAT!” A little boy screamed. He ran at her and grabbed a toy car from her hand. 

              “Jim!” She put her hands on her hips and tightened her lips. He’d gotten worse, lately, much worse about outbursts. A certain amount of defiance was to be expected from a five year-old, but Jim’s were increasing. She’d try to remind the DeVilliers about it again soon. “Jim, I’m about to put you on time-out.”

              “NoooooOOOOOO!” He stomped away, turning his back on her. Always ready to throw fuel on the fire, his twin brother Tim pointed and laughed. Before Jim could respond, Laura quickly stepped in.

              “I can put you on time out too, Tim. Do you want that?”

              “Sorry, Miss Laura.”

              “Sorry, Miss Laura.” Jim added, a little more quietly than his brother.

              She nodded and began putting toys away again. “Very well. Now put the toys you want to bring in the box as we talked about, and then we should be very nearly ready to go. No more acting up!”

              “No, Miss Laura.” They said together. She always found it a little creepy when the pair of blonde boys spoke together, giving her the inevitable image of the ghost sisters from the movie “The Shining.” She shivered slightly.

              The playroom door opened and one of her employers poked her head in. Sue DeVilliers had a broad, though friendly face. She was always friendly, even when gently reprimanding Laura or her husband, Wes. These were, unfortunately, complaints that happened all too often. “Have you got the boys ready, Laura?”

              “Another ten minutes, Sue.” Despite the formality with which the DeVilliers conducted almost all of their interactions, they always insisted on being called by their first names, almost as one would a friend. Laura knew very well they weren’t friends. They were friendly, but quick to remind her she was a nanny and nothing more.

              Sue looked around as though checking out a strange planet. She was rarely home and almost never in this particular room. “Very well. Have them down in the foyer then, if you would.”

              “Certainly, Sue.”

              She gave her the usual friendly smile before shutting the door on the trio again.

              Laura dropped into a rocking chair in the corner of the brightly-lit, white room as the boys slowly picked out their last favorite possessions to bring for the trip. She looked out the window at the first falling snowflakes. She had to admit she wouldn’t miss Minneapolis for the first few weeks of winter. She was never a big fan of winter; being born in Minnesota hadn’t made her a natural winter fanatic. She hoped that after a year or two working for the DeVilliers she might be able to move somewhere south, like- well, Florida, their destination by the end of the day. She could get used to the idea of waking up each and every day to sun and water.

              Best of all, the weather outlook was pretty good for today and tomorrow. Yes, she’d spend a lot of her time at the resort watching the boys, of course. That was to be expected. But a free trip to Florida was still a free trip. The pay would help her pay her student loans, so she had no real reason to complain.

              “No, THAT’S MINE!” Jim shouted with a sudden flare of fury and slapped his twin. Tim retaliated.

              Well. Maybe some reason to complain
, she thought, and got up to separate them again.

---

              “Boys, this is the last time.” She reminded them both as they argued over who got the window seat. “You will each get an equal share of time in front of the window. I’m timing it. If you continue to act up, the first thing I’m doing when we get to Florida is-”

              “No!” Jim objected, knowing what she was going to say. A gray-haired man with a neat mustache looked over his chair and gave Laura a disapproving glare. Clearly, he wasn’t enjoying first class as advertised, and she didn’t entirely blame him. Jim had been whining the entire first hour in the air.

              “Well, then get it together. Tim,” She thought, considering a possibility. “Would you be willing to give Jim the window seat for a trade?”

              “Like what?”

              She pointed to Jim’s comic book. “Jim, you could let him read your comic. Besides, you can’t read and look out of the window, can you?”

              She knew Jim was deeply possessive of his comics, and that it would be a big trade. Perhaps a compromise paper things over.

              Laura saw the wheels turning in Jim’s small, cute head. The boys were often insufferable, but they were also adorable when on decent behavior. She tried not to blame them; their parents spoiled the boys terribly, ruining all the progress she made with them and, until she’d recently insisted they stop, sometimes countermanded her adult directives. They paid well, but she wasn’t going to work for anyone who’d do that.

              “Well… okay.” He conceded. Tim was happy enough with the trade, Jim switched seats, and Laura breathed a little sigh of relief.

              As the boys switched seats, she suddenly realized that in the rush to get the boys together, she’d managed to forget all of her toiletries. Her toothbrush, makeup, hairbrush, shampoo, even the sunscreen she’d picked out for its excellent SPF were all back in snowy Minneapolis. She groaned, realizing she’d have to waste some of her limited free time getting all of that back.

              Wonderful
, she thought. Hell of a trip so far. She looked over the boy’s heads and looked at the green and white of the land below. She wondered if they were out of the Midwest yet. She assumed it wouldn’t be long.

              Oh well. Buying a bunch of necessities, watching the kids, flying in first class- it was all very comfortable, boring, commonplace stuff. She wished, as she often did, that her life didn’t revolve so much around another family’s plans and whims while she had watched her social life wither and die. It’s seemed a terrible fate, given she was in her early twenties. She wanted to date, party, travel.

              Well- she was traveling anyway. Jim rested his blonde head on her arm and she gave him a little pet. Bratty, sure, but affectionate. She didn’t mind the nannying so much, but she did wish she wasn’t watching her own life pass her by.

---

              “I’ve never even heard of this island.” Laura confessed when her employers asked her what she thought about San Marcos Island. They’d just completed a brief boat ride from West Palm Beach after a limo ride up from Miami International Airport. With the flight having taken up most of the day, they boat had landed at the docks during the twilight hours, as the lights were beginning to spring up all over the island.

              “You’re in for a treat!” Sue proclaimed in her relentlessly cheery way. She led the way as Wes, her equally middle-aged and oppositionally dour husband, trailed several steps behind. He was struggling with his share of luggage which he was insisting on carrying through the town, despite the fact they had hired a pair of strong men to help them out.

              “When the hell are they going to allow cars here?” Wes demanded. He had complained a few times already about the luggage. Laura suspected he just wanted to assert a degree of masculinity and, more importantly, to have something to complain about.

              Sue clucked her tongue. “They’ve never had cars, never will, dear. I think it’s part of the charm.”

              “A little too backwoodsy charm for what I’m paying for this shindig.” He groused as he sweat through his bright red Hawaiian shirt.

              As far as Laura was concerned, there was nothing backwoods about San Marcos Island. The town they were walking through was intentionally small and vibrant, with strings of festive lights lining every shop window. Cuban, rap, and rock music boomed from nearby bars, making her wish she could drop in for a drink and to check out the local guys. But instead, she had two small, tired, irritable boys holding onto each hand. She sighed and they continued down the main street towards their resort.

              “Here we are!” Sue announced as the group walked up to the gates of the luxury resort. The vast complex lay before them, facing the sea and surrounded by palm trees. Laura was grateful to see that a cart had pulled up to the gates to carry them the rest of the way.

              Their porters loaded up the carts and Laura and the boys climbed into a second cart. The man driving had her back to her as she approached, so her first look at him was when she sat in the passenger seat. She turned her head and caught her breath.

              The dark-haired, tall guy had a strong jaw, wide shoulders, and killer green eyes. He turned them on her then and asked in a low voice, “Long trip, ma’am?”

              “Um, yes.”
Um yes? Really?
She kicked herself and tried to think of something smart to say. “But we made good time.

              Great. Boring chit chat.

              He started up the cart and they followed her employers. “I’m Josh Philips and I’ll be your activities director for your stay. How long are you with us?”

              “I’m Laura Martin. We’re here for three weeks.”

              “Pretty name. Three weeks, hmm? Very nice. I hope you like keeping busy, because I’ve got some fun things planned for you and your boys.”

              “Oh,” she quickly corrected him. “They’re not my boys. I mean, they are, I’m just their nanny. You know.”

              “I see. Well, we have plenty of fun for the little guys in mind, trust me. Don’t worry, we’ll wear them out and there will be fun for off-work nannies as well, assuming you like snorkeling.” He winked and she melted.

              They reached the front of the pink and white building. The decor was very focused on soft colors; baby blues, light greens, and lots of white. Josh hopped out to help unload the carts and the staff quickly moved their things to their rooms. As Wes and Sue checked in, Laura helped the boys find the bathroom as she waited outside. Josh crossed the pretty, wide lobby with its huge fountain in the center and stopped in front of her.

              “They seem a little busy, so can I ask you- does the family already have plans for tomorrow?”

              “I honestly don’t know. Other than breakfast and swimming in the pool, I don’t think they had anything definite. They haven’t told me, anyway.”

              “Okay. Anything they might be interested in, I can assist. Our activities range from golf, sailing, fishing, parasailing, tennis, yoga, anything you might find fun. It’s not too late for dinner in our world-class restaurant, or you can order room service.”

              “Maybe. I’m not that hungry.”

              “Even for a sundae? We’ve got great sundaes. I swear by them. Well- you know. Once a week.” He patted his stomach. “More than that and I’ll wind up with a beer belly, you know?”

              She laughed and he started to turn to go. “What’s your favorite flavor?”

              “What?”

              “Sundaes! What’s your favorite flavor?”

              “How do you know I like ice cream? Maybe I prefer pie.” She teased.

              “Nah. You’re an ice cream girl, I can tell. I bet you like strawberry.”

              “Nope! I prefer hot chocolate.”

              He snapped his fingers. “Can’t always be right. Good luck.” He added as the boys ran out of the restroom, shouting as they were already in the midst of an impromptu game of tag.

              “Thanks.” She watched him turn and go, her eyes lingering a little longer than she wanted to admit. She thought she caught Sue looking at her from the counter, so she quickly diverted her attention to getting the boys under control.