Sudden Legacy (11 page)

Think, Lara. THINK. Find a low spot. Cover yourself with wet blankets, or even soil if you have nothing else. Breathe close to the ground...

I scooped the kid into my arms and headed down the debris pile into what used to be the basement of the long since ruined house. I was hopeful that Milly would follow me considering I had her baby. When I reached the lowest possible spot, up against the foundation, I lay down and nestled the kid against my chest to keep her warm. I had unearthed a small sheet of corrugated metal on my way down, and I put this over us. Then I pulled the neck of my shirt up over my mouth and nose to serve as a filter.

The air was a little bit better down there, but not much. I wasn’t sure how long I had been lying there before things started getting muddled. I was so sleepy, and my head was pounding. I welcomed the blackness when it came.

I could hear voices.

“Lara? Is she breathing? Lara can you hear me? Open your eyes.”

It was so hot. My throat was on fire. My lungs were burning. My eyes wouldn’t cooperate. The blackness came again.

The next sound I heard was a low humming. There was something on my face, and I raised my arm to bat it away, but my effort only resulted in my hand knocking against something hard and cold. I gave the command to open my eyes and this time they obeyed.

I was in a hospital bed. My hand had hit the raised bed railing, and the thing on my face was an oxygen mask. So. I was alive.

Nan was dozing in a chair by the window.

“Nan?” I croaked. My voice was hoarse and attempting to talk started me coughing. My coughing woke Nan and her concern turned to joy when she saw I was awake.

“Lara! Oh sweet heavens.” She rushed to my side. “Don’t try to talk sweetheart. Just rest.”

She knew me better than that. I could see the oxygen mask fog up as I attempted to get my question out. “What -” I had to stop to cough several times. “What happened?”

Nan put a restraining hand on my arm. “You hush now. You got caught up in the fire and suffered from smoke inhalation. We lost you there for a little while. Literally. But thank the good Lord we found you in time!”

“Lost me! I-” More coughs forced their way up my throat. “I
died
?!” I must have been hearing her wrong.

“Oh! Heavens no!” said Nan. “I mean we actually lost you. We didn’t know where you were.” I visibly relaxed and she continued. “When the wind picked up and shifted, your grandfather came home to find you had run off. Alex and I weren’t home yet, but as I understand it, there was an emergency evacuation ordered and Pops about lost his mind with worry.”

I started to ask how they found me, but she kept talking over my attempt, and answered my unasked question. “It was your Julien that found you. He tracked your cell phone on the computer. Isn’t that amazing? I didn’t know they could do that. It was like a James Bond film!”

“They just let-” The coughing was exhausting in addition to being annoying. “-Julien wander through a wild fire?”

Nan looked at me like a teacher looks at a purposefully obtuse student. “Of course not. He was with the search and rescue team. You caused quite a fuss!” Suddenly Nan’s face crumpled and she started sobbing against my shoulder. “Oh Lara! I don’t know what we would have done if they hadn’t found you! You can’t scare us like that. My old heart can’t take it.”

When Nan calmed down I patted her back to get her attention. “Did our place burn? Chester?” She shook her head quickly.

“No. The fire has been put out. Our firebreak worked. Our place is fine. So is Chester,
and
” she added, “so is Milly and her new baby thanks to you. You should have seen Doc’s face when they brought those goats home. I don’t think there was a dry eye among any of the men.

I nodded slowly, taking all of that information in. I let relief wash over me and found myself very tired. Nan took in my drooping eyelids and smiled warmly. “You get some more rest, sweetheart. They’re keeping you overnight for observation.”

“Are you staying with me?” I asked in a small voice.

Nan gave me a reassuring pat and answered, “Of course, dear.”

I glanced at the chair Nan had been dozing in. It didn’t look very comfortable, and for all of her vigor, Nan wasn’t a spring chicken anymore. I couldn’t in good conscience expect her to stay, even though I knew she would without hesitation should I indicate that was my wish. I knew she wouldn’t go for herself, but she would for Alex.

“No, Nan,” I managed. “You should go home. Alex will be missing me, and he’ll need you to comfort him.” Nan started to argue but I kept talking. “Please, Nan. I’ll rest easier knowing Alex isn’t scared or sad. Go home. Get a good night’s sleep in your own bed.” I started coughing again. Each cough burned like fire. “See?” I said, water streaking down my cheeks. “I’m just going to keep trying to talk to you if you stay.”

Nan pursed her lips in exasperation. “Oh, Lara. You are such a stubborn young thing.”

I smiled under my oxygen mask, knowing I had won.

“Get some sleep, dear. I’ll be back to pick you up in the morning.”

Staring at my reflection in the mirrored door of my closet, I tamped down my chagrin at the borrowed finery I was wearing. For all that Marla was a vicious bitch, she had impeccable taste in clothes. The material was shimmery black silk that slid against my skin in a ghostly caress. Not surprisingly, considering the dress’s owner, it was very low cut, the front dipping between my breasts and the back barely covering the top of my ass.

Marla had insisted on a formal party at the last second. Formal for Marla meant everyone was expected to be dressed in either cocktail attire or sexy lingerie. I had neither. Marla happily volunteered to loan me a dress. I would say she graciously volunteered to loan me a dress, but nothing Marla ever did was gracious. Her every move seemed calculated.

I would have been perfectly content holed up in my cabin for the night, but neither Marla nor Julien would hear of it. I was perched on my bed, struggling to fasten the buckle on my strappy high heel and wondering how I was going to manage not breaking my neck in them, when Julien rapped lightly on the door and let himself in. He stopped short upon seeing me, and stood very still.

Arousal flared brightly in his eyes, and I felt an instant reaction pulse through my body. I slowly straightened and leaned back, supporting myself on my out stretched arms. I lifted my foot towards him, presenting him with the fussy buckle. His warm hands wrapped around my ankle. He settled my foot against his chest while his deft fingers made quick work of fastening the strap. He hooked his thumb under the back of my ankle where my heel met my calf, then raised my foot to rest on his shoulder as he sank to a kneeling position before me.

My pulse was thundering in my ears. His eyes darkened with need as he stared up the scant material of my dress. The low cut nature of the garment didn’t allow for the wearing of underclothes, and I knew he could see my nakedness. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and I squirmed in anticipation of what he would do with that tongue next.

Neither of us spoke. Our silence seemed to serve as an aphrodisiac. He turned toward my inner thigh and ran his nose back and forth across my skin. My skin broke out in shivers and my heart skipped a beat. He moved deliberately slowly. I was aching with need by the time his breath tickled across my labia.

I shifted my weight to one arm, freeing the other to wrap my fingers in his hair. I wanted to moan his name, but I bit my lip to keep silent, loving this new game of ours. The whirl of sensations manifesting between my legs was overpowering. I tried to concentrate, to figure out how he was making me feel the things I was feeling, but the waves of pleasure were all encompassing, and I found myself too distracted to focus.

I screamed as I came, unable to keep quiet any longer. I was so caught up in my orgasm I didn’t register the door opening at first. As I came back to reality and opened my sex-addled eyes they slowly focused on Marla standing stoically in the threshold. A jolt of adrenalin rocketed to my heart, and my whole body stiffened. Julien looked up at me in question, then followed the line of my sight to Marla in the doorway.

She made no move to leave. She didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed or apologetic to have caught us in such a compromising position. She just stood there, a neutral expression on her face. Her eyes traveled over my skin, taking in her wrinkled dress that was now hiked up around my waist. I was grateful that Julien was blocking her view of my private parts.

Julien helped me to adjust my wardrobe before standing to face Marla. I stood as well, hoping I looked more confident than I felt. She said something quietly in French. Julien seemed surprised by her words and suddenly wary, causing my hair to stand on edge. Marla spoke again, this time a little louder. Her tone was sultry, cajoling even. Julien stood slightly in front of me as Marla came closer. She stopped in front of him and ran her hands up the lapels of his tux jacket.

I could see a faint sheen on his lips - residue from my passion. Marla noticed it too, and what she did next thoroughly shocked me. As Julien stood still as a statue, neither encouraging her nor dissuading her, she reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him. His lack of reaction didn’t seem to bother her. She locked eyes with me over his shoulder and kissed him again, running her tongue over his bottom lip, and pulling it into her mouth to nip playfully at it before releasing him.

She spoke a few more words of French, causing Julien to growl an answer at her and set her away from him with a tight grip on her upper arms. Never before had I been more frustrated by the language barrier. I had no idea what was going on. Marla just laughed at Julien, a sound like pealing bells. She spoke again, clearly to Julien, as she knew I didn’t understand French, but she was looking at me while she talked.

Julien stepped toward her in a menacing way and she turned quickly on her heel and breezed out the door.

“What was that?” I asked.

Julien shrugged the tension from his shoulders and forced a smile. “It was nothing,
Chérie
.” He eased past me into the en-suite and splashed water on his face. I didn’t like his tone of dismissal. I handed him a towel and stood blocking the door. “It didn’t sound like ‘nothing’ to me.”

He dried his face and set the towel on the countertop. “Please, Lara, let’s just forget the last ten minutes and enjoy the rest of our night.”

I decided to show him mercy and let it drop for now, but I was determined to get answers later. “I rather enjoyed some parts of the last ten minutes. I don’t think I could forget that if I tried.” He smiled at my words, this time it reached his eyes. As I leaned in to kiss him I noticed two tiny red teeth marks below his bottom lip. I guess Marla had bit him harder than I thought. My kiss was gentle. A glaring proclamation of how different I could be from his bizarre mistress.

I took comfort in noting the trees lining the long road that served as our driveway. I had been worried I would be coming home to a charred wasteland. I noted a steady increase in my pulse as we rounded the final bend in the road and the house came in to view. There was a tall gate over the entrance to the yard from which hung a weathered piece of wood about twelve feet up. “Daniel & Nancy” was carved on the wood, and our address under that in a smaller script. Seeing the wood sign flapping gently in the breeze brought a certain peace to me. It was a familiar sight I always associated with the comfort and safety of being home, tucked away safe and sound.