Torn (14 page)

Maggie was an effervescent ball of
energy, prancing around the party, ensuring everyone was having a
good time. Her strawberry blond curls bounced around her shoulders
as she refilled champagne flutes and checked the food
tables.

The catering company kept busy
stocking the party with wine and beer. The guests devoured the
shrimp cocktail, which ran out early forcing them to survive on a
menu of stuffed mushrooms and prosciutto-wrapped melon, among other
beautifully presented hors d’ oeuvres.

After everyone was gone, Katie found
herself sitting in Branson’s lap with a blanket wrapped around her
shoulders. The cool May night air was beginning to leave dew on
everything it touched.

“
Did you have a good
time?” Branson kissed her cheek before bringing the glass bottle of
Rolling Rock to his lips, tipping it up to finish it
off.

“
I did, what a perfect
night,” she sighed, leaning her head on Branson’s shoulder. “I’ve
never been happier.”

“
I’m glad. I’ve been a
nervous wreck these past two weeks.”

Katie turned to look into his clear
blue eyes. “Did you doubt that I’d say yes?” She
giggled.

“
I guess there’s always
that bit of doubt.” Branson tucked a strand of dark brown hair
behind her ear. “You’re quite a catch, Katie. I’m a very lucky
man.” He smiled and kissed her softly.

“
You’re quite a catch,
too, Branson Stone. Now, take me to bed, my handsome
fiancé.”

“
Already bossing me around
and we’re not even married.” He smirked, lifting her up into his
arms and carrying her into the house.

Katie used her foot to
shut the back door. She sensed the playful mood radiating from
Branson and giggled when he tossed her onto the bed. She quickly
tried to scoot away from him as he crawled toward her like a
predator hunting its prey. “I’m not
that
easy,” she cackled, and tried
to roll off the bed.

Branson grabbed her by the ankles and
pulled her toward him. “No, but I know your weaknesses.” He let his
fingers dance across her ribs, causing her to wiggle and laugh
until she was rendered breathless.

“
Agh!” Katie laughed.
“Okay . . . you win! Have your way with me, clever
beast!”

Each time they made love, Katie was
overwhelmed with a feeling she couldn’t describe. It was deeper
than lust, stronger than love, and more powerful than anything she
had ever experienced. She was perfectly and completely addicted to
Branson.

As she lay spent, Katie
studied the man lying next to her. She watched his muscular chest
rise and fall with each breath, and traced her fingers gently
across his sculpted shoulders and arms.
I
can’t imagine being any happier than I am, right now,
she thought. He was gentle, but strong, kind but
protective. He was smart and successful, knew how to make her laugh
until she cried, and a magnificent lover. She had everything she’d
ever wanted and fell asleep smiling.

Katie woke up in the middle of the
night after another nightmare. She felt Branson pull her backside
into him and wrap his arms around her trembling body.

“
You’re okay, I’m here,”
he whispered, holding her close to him as she softly cried herself
back to sleep.

As the warm buttery glow of sun filled
the room, Katie stirred. She snuggled deeper under the covers,
trying to make sleep come again, but it was no use. Flashes of the
nightmare that had kept her awake most of the night invaded her
thoughts. She tried to recall the entire dream, but could only
remember pieces. She was running down the street chasing a long
black car, screaming for it to stop. It was carrying something
precious, though she didn’t know what.

She rubbed her eyes and
stretched her arms over her head, feeling the pull of each muscle
as she prepared herself to get out of bed and start the day.
Another flash of the nightmare caused Katie to pause. This time she
was watching a little girl hold onto one of the posts that lined
the steps of a front porch. The little girl had long brown hair and
green eyes. She was crying and begging the people in the dream not
to take her away. She was wearing a lavender dress with tiny purple
and green flowers.
Brown hair . . . green
eyes.
Katie ran her hand through her hair
and sat up in bed.
Is the little girl
supposed to be me? Why would I dream something like
that?

***

“
Good morning, love,”
Branson said as he rubbed his forehead. He looked over at Katie,
who was sitting up with a confused look on her face. “Another bad
dream?”

“
I can’t figure out why I
keep having the same dream. It makes no sense.”

“
Maybe you’re stressed out
with work?”

“
I don’t think so, I love
my job. Why would an ER nurse have dreams about a little girl being
taken away? Or chasing after a black car? How does that relate to
broken bones and Code Reds?”

“
Something from your
past?”

“
I don’t think so, I’ve
never been kidnapped—and the black car—we never owned a black car.
Gram always drove a white Lincoln. Actually, she had a pale yellow
one once, but never black.”

“
Maybe it’s time you see
someone. You’ve got to get this under control, so you can get a
good night’s sleep again.”

“
I know. I’ll call
tomorrow. Right now, I need to get ready for work.” Katie slipped
out of bed and headed toward the bathroom.

Branson watched her lean, graceful,
nude body as she walked toward the bathroom. She had never been
modest, and had no reason to be with that figure. His own body
stirred with desire as he watched her long brown hair sweep across
her back and decided to join her in the shower.

“
Room for one more?” He
smiled and stepped into the large tiled shower. Her hair was jet
black when it was wet and her green eyes sparkled when she looked
at him, revealing desire. He took his time with her, savoring every
inch of her gorgeous body and watching her writhe beneath his
touch. He loved pleasing her. “You are so beautiful, Katie,” he
whispered in her ear, making love to her until she cried out his
name.

Branson took the shampoo from Katie.
“Let me.” He poured a small amount into his hand, working her hair
into a thick lather. Carefully, he tilted her head back into the
water and rinsed the suds out.

“
My turn.” Katie massaged
his head with shampoo and giggled when he acted like the feeling
was better than sex.

“
I have to work late
tonight, babe.” Branson buttoned his shirt and grabbed a tie off
the rack. “There’s a big deal on the table and the board is having
a dinner meeting at six.”

Branson had inherited his
father’s company when he graduated from college. He was the baby of
the family with two older sisters that tried to coddle him through
life. He was compassionate, charming, and had the biggest blue eyes
and deep dimples. He learned at an early age he had the power to
melt their hearts and make them give him anything he wanted. He
never had to deal with problems, having them around to protect him,
and he was made to believe he could do, be, and have anything in
life. His father often scolded his sisters for babying him so
much.
“You’ll make him lazy. He’ll never
know how to deal with the real world and face problems that come
his way.”
His father was wrong. Branson
worked hard to prove himself, and graduated with honors.

Katie kissed him and straightened his
tie. “My handsome fiancé, how will I make it through the day
without you?”

“
I hope you’ll think of me
often—well, maybe not while you’re setting a broken bone, or
something gross.” He flashed a crooked grin. “See you
tonight.”

***

“
We’ve got to set a date.
My parents are harassing the moose stew out of me.”

Katie giggled and tickled his ribs.
“When did you eat moose stew?”

Branson held both of her arms with one
hand and tickled her until she was breathless. “Stop! I
give!”

“
I was thinking this fall
might be nice. Do you want a big church wedding, or something
outside?”

“
I don’t care. Believe it
or not, I wasn’t one of those girls that fantasized about her
wedding day since she was little. I do want Gram, your family, and
our close friends there.” She rolled her eyes. “Oh, and I suppose
it would be helpful if
you
were there.” Katie laughed and ran through the
house after seeing the look on Branson’s face. If he caught her, he
would tickle her, making her beg for mercy. She was on the opposite
side of the dining room table, trying to predict his next move. He
lunged to the left, so she lunged right and tried to run, but he
caught her. “You tricked me!”

Instead of tickling her, he held her
against the wall and pinned her arms. “I’ll tickle you all morning
until you set a date.” He teasingly let his hand hover over her
ribs.

“
Okay!” She giggled.
“Second Saturday in October. Now let me loose!”

Katie grabbed a couple of granola bars
and bottles of water for a morning hike. They didn’t plan on going
far, maybe just an hour or two in the great outdoors before
furniture shopping. As they climbed through the vast woods,
listening to the wind whistle a happy tune through the tree
branches, Katie was at peace. The emergency room was exciting,
fast-paced, and made her feel like she was doing something good.
She was able to ease pain, repair wounds, and reduce fear. But the
sounds and smells of the forest brought her an indescribable
serenity.

Branson led the way off the trail and
higher uphill. “I want to show you something.” Katie followed him,
pulling branches out of the way and stepping over rocks. The woods
began to thin until they were finally at the top, overlooking the
surrounding mountains.

Branson sat down on a large, flat,
rock, and took a drink of water before passing it to Katie. The
quick hike had made him hot, so he pulled off his shirt and looked
around at the beauty that surrounded them. He pulled out his
guitar, remembering all the times he had come to that spot to play
a tune and listen to the birds and trees respond with a song of
their own.

Katie watched as the ripples on his
arms and chest moved with each stroke of the guitar. He was
magnificent as he sat there strumming. Branson looked up, smiled
broadly enough to flash those dimples that drove her wild, and
said, “I wrote this for you.”

“
The sun may set . . . and
the song may end . . .”
His voice was
smooth and sexy and sounded a lot like Sting.
“The pearl may lose its luster . . . and the broken wheel may
not mend . . . but as long as I feel your embrace . . . and the
sweet rapture of your touch, happiness will never fade . .
.”
Branson looked at Katie for a moment
before looking back down at his fingers as they strummed across the
strands of the guitar.
“. . . and I will
not want for anything else.”

Katie clapped. “That was beautiful,”
she whispered.

“
Thanks. I’m not finished
with the song yet.” He set his guitar down and sat down next to
her. “I used to come up here all the time to get away. A lot of
teen angst, I guess.” He took Katie’s hand in his and kissed her
fingers.

“
It’s absolutely
breathtaking.”

“
See that rock protruding
from the side of the mountain over there?”

Katie followed with her eyes as he
pointed. She roamed the side of the mountain until she saw the
rock. “Yes, I see it.”

“
It looks like a man’s
face, doesn’t it? The profile—see the nose and chin? The eye
sockets curve in, along with the mouth. See it?”

“
I do! Wow, it looks like
someone carved it.”

“
But they didn’t—it’s all
natural. I used to sit out here for hours finding faces in the
rocks and clouds.”

“
Well, now you’ve just
given away your secret hiding place. When you’re mad at me, I’ll
know where to find you.” Katie smiled.

“
I can’t imagine being mad
at you. I actually had other things in mind for this spot. Picnics
. . .” He kissed Katie’s neck. “Reading . . .” Katie closed her
eyes, enjoying the thrill that ran up her spine as his hot breath
tickled the back of her ear. She felt his hand slowly slide up her
leg, making his intentions clear.

Katie giggled. “I can hear
us on the
Newlywed Game
when they ask us to name the craziest place we’ve
ever made love.”

Branson’s eyes darkened and he smiled
mischievously. “On the edge of a cliff.”

***

Katie was exhausted. Three twelve hour
shifts in a row always took their toll on her mind and body, and
she exhaled with pleasure as she sank into the soft leather couch
next to Branson.

“
Hard day,
babe?”

“
Oh my goodness. Five
people were brought in from a horrible car accident—we were
understaffed and ill-prepared for how bad it was. Thankfully,
everyone is going to be all right, but it was a little
overwhelming.”