Pouring the wine, picking out her book and turning on some soft music all helped her settle. She slipped into the hot water with an appreciative sigh. The last of the stress that had built inside melted away with the rising steam. Closing her eyes, she rested her head and just sat for a minute, soaking up a luxury she rarely made time for.
After a few minutes of bliss, she reached for the ice cream and scooped a bite from the carton, letting the cold glob melt in her mouth and slip down her throat. The bold, heavy taste burst through her mouth, reminding her of the mint tea her grandmother had always made on sticky summer days when she’d visited.
Times like these she missed her family, even her mother. Yes, she’d needed to escape Darby, Mississippi, to put some space between her family’s overprotective tendencies and her mother’s inability to understand. It had been an important step in her recovery, one she’d needed to take.
The anonymity she’d found in Birmingham hadn’t hurt, either. Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore the feeling that it was slowly slipping away.
She’d just scooped another heaping spoonful into her mouth when the phone rang. Reaching for the cordless she’d brought into the bathroom, she looked at the caller ID and groaned. She should have known better than to bring the phone into her haven of solitude.
Pounding the button, she answered, knowing if she didn’t her brother would send up a hue and cry to the entire family.
“Hello, Blake.”
“Hi, squirt, how’s it going?”
She couldn’t suppress the smile just hearing his voice caused. “Well, I was enjoying some downtime until you called. How can I convince you to get lost?”
“You can’t. I’m the official family envoy. If I don’t go back to Mom and Dad with specific information, we’re both likely to regret it.”
And wasn’t that the truth? Growing up the youngest of three kids and being the only girl meant she was very protected as a child and teenager. If her parents hadn’t worried about something, her older brothers sure had. It’d been a miracle that any guy had wanted to date her. Outgoing and confident, she’d been so eager to escape to college.
The overprotective atmosphere had only gotten worse after she’d been raped. It was her family’s natural response, to circle the wagons and ward off anything else that could hurt her. And at the time, she’d appreciated their love and understanding. But it had gotten old awfully fast and was the main reason she’d placed a state between her and the rest of the Mitchell clan.
With a sigh of resignation she said, “Okay. What do they want?”
“You to visit. We haven’t seen you since Christmas. That’s seven months, in case you’ve lost the ability to count along with the ability to find your way home.”
Karyn settled back into the steaming water, letting her hand play back and forth making waves. This would not end quickly, she could tell.
“I can’t get away from work right now.” And the thought of going back to Darby always left her slightly unsettled. The place held memories she’d been trying so hard to leave behind. She might not have been raped there, but she’d certainly gone back to live through the aftermath. The long wait, the trial, the media coverage, then the subsequent realization that her word hadn’t been enough for twelve of her peers.
She’d worked so hard to get her life back. And aside from this one last major hurdle—her inability to relax and trust someone enough to have sex—she was doing pretty well. But the thought of returning right now left a sour taste in her mouth.
Not to mention how the family couldn’t stop treating her like the wounded baby sister. Whether they meant to or not, they always seemed to reinforce her feelings of self-doubt and fear. The same emotions she was trying hard to shed so that she could move on with her life.
There had been a time when she’d been confident, invincible. She really wanted to find her way back to that woman.
“Look, Karyn, I understand why coming home is hard for you, but everyone only worries more when they don’t see or hear from you for a while.”
Everyone worried even when they did, so she didn’t see what difference it made. And while she understood their reactions, they hadn’t helped her much.
“The rest of us are getting together for Labor Day, a nice family picnic on the lake.”
“I’ll see what I can do, but I make no promises.”
“I’m sure you have no concern for the messenger, but I’ll pass that along. And don’t be surprised when you get a call from Mom.”
Oh, she wouldn’t. “I still owe you payback for a few childhood incidents. I’ll let you handle Mama.”
He gave a derisive snort and paused for a moment before his voice went deep with concern. “I worry about you, sis. I know I probably shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. I’ve been watching out for you for twenty-six years.”
“I’m fine. I’ll try to get away. Tell Mom, Dad and Randall that I love them.”
“Will do, squirt.”
Before she could hang up, the familiar guilt crept in. “I love you, too, Blake. I know you’re just trying to help and I appreciate your concern.”
“Yeah, well, what are brothers for?”
“You mean besides torturing me as a child and tormenting me as a teenager?”
She heard his laugh resonate down the line before it went dead. Placing the phone on the edge of the tub, she settled back to resume her evening of self-pampering. At least as much of it as she could get in before her mother called.
Which was why when the phone rang again twenty minutes later, Karyn barely looked up from the book she’d been reading. Answering without glancing at the caller ID—there was no need—she said, “I’m fine. I’ll try to be there for Labor Day but I make no promises. Give my love to everyone. Bye.”
She’d moved the phone away, not wanting to give her mother a chance to talk her into chatting—she’d call back tomorrow or on the weekend maybe—when a single word stopped her dead.
“Wait.”
The small sound echoed from the receiver. That was definitely not her mother’s voice—unless she’d developed a severe case of laryngitis.
Looking at the caller ID didn’t help; it showed Unknown.
“Hello?” The tiny sound reverberated out of the receiver.
Karyn nearly dropped the phone into the water. That voice sounded strangely familiar. Almost like…No. It couldn’t be.
There was one way to find out. Holding the phone gingerly by two fingers, she put it to her ear, said, “Hello?” and held her breath.
“Karyn? This is Christopher Faulkner.”
Oh my God. It was. Her book slid from numb fingers, landing with a liquid plop before swishing beneath the bathwater. Why was Dr. Desire calling her? And how had he gotten her number, her name for that matter?
She closed her eyes, a blush of embarrassment joining the flush on her skin from the heat. She did not want to talk to this man.
“Karyn?”
Dread sloshed through her body. She couldn’t stop the knee-jerk reaction to cover herself and cringed as a wave of water splashed over the side of the tub, soaking the deep green mat on the floor.
“Why are you calling?” She knew the urge to rush for her robe was idiotic, but that didn’t stop her from leaning against the cold acrylic to shield her naked body with the edge of the tub.
“Do you know who I am?”
A tingle rippled down