Scarlet Fever Read online

  SCARLET FEVER

  Hill Country Heart 2

  Sable Hunter

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Scarlet Fever

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright 2012 © Sable Hunter

  Published by Beau Coup Publishing

  http://beaucoupllcpublishing.com

  Cover by JRA Stevens

  For Beau Coup Publishing

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher

  CHAPTER ONE

  Scarlet Rose Evans had a bucket list, “100 Things I Want To Do Before I Die”. She sat up in her bed, her bottom cushioned on a thick pillow, notepad on her lap, and crossed off two items on her list. Number fifty-seven had been a disappointment, War and Peace was depressing, and she didn’t want to waste any time being depressed. Number fourteen, however, had made her smile, even if it had made her bottom sore. Scarlet had giggled while trying to hold a hand-mirror at just the right angle so she could see the small, scarlet-red rose that now graced the top of her left hip.

  If the Board of Deacons had any inkling that the Church Administrator of Pine Forest’s Lutheran congregation now sported a tattoo on her butt, she would probably be churched, the Lutheran equivalent to excommunication. Looking at the bright spot on her bottom, Scarlet decided it was worth it.

  Climbing from the bed, she laid her list down, and pulled off her white eyelet gown. Without a single glance in the mirror, she walked naked to the shower and turned on the water. Scarlet had trained herself not to look in the mirror. She hated to be reminded of what other people saw when they looked at her.

  Allowing time for the temperature to get bearable, she brushed her teeth. Today was going to be exciting, she was about to pack up and travel to an enchanting Bed and Breakfast, The Lost Maples, and help her beautiful sister get ready to marry the only man she had ever loved.

  After a great deal of planning, Scarlet had been able to take two weeks off from both of her full-time jobs. At present, she divided her days between the small town library and the offices of the local Lutheran church. Luckily, the two esteemed institutions were built side by side on the main street in town, and she could run—or her version of running—from one to the other as was necessary.

  In addition to her ‘eight to five’ commitments at the church and the library, Scarlet kept herself busy in a half a dozen different ways. One of her favorite things was making cookie mix in a jar. She would take a mason jar and layer it with all of the dry ingredients necessary to make a batch of cookies. Topping it with a piece of gingham and a ribbon and she had a cute gift to sell. Remembering how much Annalise missed her cooking, she slipped two of each kind in a bag to take with her on the trip. She also made hair clips from tooled leather and various silver charms and gemstones.

  Scarlet did anything she could to make a little extra money. Her favorite extracurricular activity was sewing. Homemade clothes weren’t exactly in vogue, but Scarlet had a gift, some said. Her customers said the work she did looked as good as the best custom tailoring. Her specialty was making wedding gowns for brides who longed for a beautiful dress, but just couldn’t afford the high prices the designer boutiques charged. The dress she was fashioning now was the most important one she would ever make. Scarlet was sewing her sister, Annalise’s bridal gown. Years ago, Annalise had torn a photo of her dream dress out of a popular bridal magazine. Now, Scarlet was doing her best to recreate it. The only phase that was left to go was the final fitting, and then the sewing on of countless seed pearls. The blinding job of sewing on the tiny pearls could be done after she arrived at The Lost Maples. Nights were long, and it was always better to have something to do with her hands. If she kept busy, she didn’t spend so much time thinking about her future and how short it might be.

  Other than sewing, she took in ironing—another lost art—and she baked wedding cakes. It took every dime that she could manage to rake and scrape together to buy the medicine that kept her alive.

  Standing in the shower, she soaped herself, fantasizing what it would be like to feel a man’s hands on her body. It was an experience that she had not, as of yet, been fortunate enough to experience. She did dream about it, however. Often. Fantasy men weren’t hard to please. Scarlet was very afraid that her body would not be enticing enough to satisfy a real flesh and blood man.

  Running her own hands over her slightly heated flesh, she took inventory of her meager assets. Her waist was small and her hips were all right, she supposed. Glancing back at the tiny rose, she imagined a man tracing the small tattoo with his tongue. The thought made her shiver. Sadly, she was woefully lacking in the breast department. Scarlet cupped her own breasts, imagining what a man would think of their less than generous size. She shivered, not with delight, but with dread. This unfortunate flaw in her body was going to make the first item on Scarlet’s bucket list more difficult to achieve. Her best hope was still Alex.

  Alex Stewart was her sister’s future brother-in-law. And to hear Annalise tell it, he was a knight in shining armor, Prince Charming, and Casanova all rolled up into one super good-looking guy. Scarlet didn’t doubt that her sister loved her fiancé Ethan with all of her heart, but Ethan’s brother, Alex, had been Annalise’s rock. He had encouraged and counseled both Scarlet’s sister and his brother through their bouts of doubt and hopelessness. Annalise thought Alex hung the moon. And Scarlet needed someone like that—a hero—just for one night.

  Stepping out of the shower and drying off, Scarlet dressed quickly in blue jeans and a pink lace camisole. She didn’t bother with a bra, she didn’t need one. For a while, she had worn a padded bra, but had determined that was sort of like false advertising.

  Picking up her bucket list, she circled the number one item. It read, ‘Make Love’. She knew there was no one in her small home town that she could ask to do this for her. In the eyes of all the men that she had grown up with, or knew around town, she was still the awkward, sickly girl with the malformed foot. It really didn’t matter that the good people at the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital had fixed her misshapen club foot seven years earlier. Beauty will always be in the eye of the beholder, and the men of Pine Forest would never see her as anything other than a deformed cripple. Scarlet could walk fine, now, except for a slight limp. One leg was still about an inch shorter than the other. Most days she could keep her gait even enough that it wasn’t very noticeable. But when she was tired, there was no way she could hide it.

  In her quest to have her one and only experience with sex, Scarlet was actually considering trying to contact a male escort service while she was in the Austin area. Sunday nights had brought a television show into her living room that featured a really nice guy as a gigolo, and if she could have been certain that she would be hiring a guy like him to take her virginity, it might be all right. There were no guarantees in life, Scarlet was smart enough to know that. Paying someone to have sex with her would be a last resort. In fact, the idea of giving herself to an uncaring stranger made her want to cry. Losing her virginity was a milestone that Scarlet would hate to miss, so she wasn’t ruling anything out, but she was determined to see how it went with Alex first.

  Blowing out a frustrated breath,
she looked at her pale face in the mirror and admitted the sad truth. Knowing herself as well as she did, when push came to shove, she probably wouldn’t have the courage to actually ask someone to make love to her—either for money or as a pity f**k. Ugh, she was so innocent, she couldn’t even think the word without the asterisks or blushing. Unfortunately, time was definitely a factor.

  If all went according to plan with Alex, she could experience love-making—just once—while she still felt half-way decent. As luck would have it, Scarlet had been allergic to the anesthesia administered to her during her foot surgery. Her kidneys had suffered irreparable damage. The verdict was hard for her to face, but the doctors had informed her that she had, at most, one more year before she would have to have a transplant. With no way to get health insurance, and being as poor as the proverbial church mouse, the likelihood of a transplant was just about nil. Sadly she smiled to herself—church mouse, that’s what the men of Pine Forest called her, behind her back, of course. People could be cruel.

  So her bucket list was important. Scarlet wanted to experience all that life had to offer, and she was running out of time.

  When she got to the B&B and met Alex, she would know whether or not she had the courage to try and seduce him. The thought made her laugh. She couldn’t picture herself seducing anybody. Still, when you knew this might be your only chance…

  * * * *

  Ten days before the wedding…

  The Lost Maples Bed and Breakfast was located in Vanderpool, Texas, very near to the State Park of the same name. The park was home to the out-of-time, out-of-place stand of Bigtooth Maples that was so highly unusual this far south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Scarlet was so excited. Seeing the brilliant reds, burgundies and golds of the maple leaves without having to travel to the East Coast was such an opportunity, and also number thirty-two on her list. Travel items on her bucket list were few and far between. Traveling cost money, and that was one thing in short supply at Scarlet’s house.

  Placing an Elvis CD into the player, she began to sing in a loud, clear voice. Singing was one of her joys. She had performed at local functions for years, weddings, church meetings, fraternal celebrations—any number of places. One woman had asked her years ago where she had received voice training and she had answered truthfully, ‘in front of a mirror, singing into the end of a candleholder, providing back-up for the King of Rock and Roll’. Scarlet loved Elvis. Going to Graceland was number two on her list. Chances were slim to none that she would ever get to go, but she liked to keep it as a possibility. It could happen.

  It was a six hour drive between Pine Forest, which was on the Louisiana border, to the Hill Country of Texas. According to her agenda, she planned to spend the first week of her vacation with the wedding preparations and—maybe one romantic interlude with Ethan’s younger brother. ‘Romantic’ wasn’t exactly the best word, but she refused to put a coarser spin on it. During the second week, Scarlet intended to treat herself to a little bit of sight-seeing. Crossing a few more items off her bucket list, namely, visiting the Alamo and seeing the state capitol building was an exciting prospect. If she felt up to it, she also wanted to climb Enchanted Rock, a huge pink granite mountain just north of Austin.

  Scarlet had shared her fun plans with Annalise. Of course, Annalise knew nothing of her kidney problems or the bucket list. And she never would. Not if Scarlet could help it, at least not until it was all over.

  Despite the doctor’s recommendations, Scarlet did not intend to seek a transplant from a living person. Surprisingly, the decision hadn’t been difficult. Putting another person’s life in danger was not something that she could bring herself to do. She would rather die first, which was a high probability, for there were tens of thousands of people on the deceased donor transplant list. You could literally be on the list for years before an opportunity for a transplant arose. And Scarlet didn’t have years to spare.

  Her reticence to ask for a transplant from someone she cared about stemmed from an incident involving a brother and sister at her church. The sister had been sick for years, and when the time had come when a transplant was a necessity, her brother had willingly made the sacrifice. The sister had come through with flying colors. The brother, the donor, was another story. He had died on the operating table. Scarlet would never forget this, and she would never risk the same thing happening to someone she cared about.

  While driving through the dense forests near Crockett, Scarlet’s thoughts turned to Alex. Annalise had said that he was very handsome, and that he had more girlfriends than he could count. She had heard the wistful tone in her sister’s voice. Annalise had a matchmaking streak a mile wide, and Scarlett knew that nothing would make her happier than attempting to fix her little sister up. Scarlet had begged Annalise not to say anything to Alex. She would rather get there and evaluate her own chances. Annalise would never understand that Scarlet wasn’t looking for a date or for a boyfriend, she just wanted to experience sex with someone that she didn’t have to be afraid of.

  * * * *

  Alex was having a bad day. He sat in the office of The Lost Maples and listened as his chief engineer explained to him why they had to disappoint their best customer. Rick LeBeau had worked for Alex for over a year in his eco-conservation consulting firm. It had come as a surprise to find out that Rick knew Ethan’s fiancé, Annalise. She didn’t remember him, but he definitely remembered her. Rick had lived in a neighboring community, but they had gone to the same small high school. This meant that he also knew Annalise’s elusive sister, Scarlet.

  At first, Alex had been intrigued by what Lise had told him about Scarlet. And he would have to admit that he had temporarily entertained a fantasy or two about her. After all, Scarlet was a sexy name, and if she looked anything like her sister, Scarlet would be a knockout.

  Emotionally, Alex was ready for a meaningful relationship. Ethan and Annalise were so happy that Alex had begun daydreaming about finding someone who would love him as much as Annalise loved his brother. So when he had found out that Annalise had a sister, and that she would be coming for the wedding, he had begun building this impossible image of the unknown woman. He had pictured her in his mind, how she would look, how she would move, how she would kiss.

  But then Rick LeBeau had blown that all out of the water. Apparently, Scarlet was nothing like Alex had imagined her. The more he learned about Scarlet, the more his mental image of her changed. So far, he had found out that she was the town librarian and the office manager at the little Lutheran church. Alex knew he was stereotyping, but how sexy could a librarian/church worker be?

  Annalise had also told him of Scarlet’s plans to take in the tourist stops in the hill country. As bad as he hated to admit it—and Alex could see it coming—he was going to be the one that got roped into taking the little church mouse around sight-seeing. At that thought, Alex felt guilty. The term ‘church mouse’ wasn’t his nickname for Scarlet, it was Rick’s, but he had found himself thinking of her that way more than once. The church mouse. He could see her now. She would be plain—nondescript hair, pale eyes and a figure that wouldn’t garner a second look. Not exactly fantasy material, despite Annalise’s glowing description. Alex knew that a sister’s love was often blind.

  Trouble always comes in threes, and here was problem number two. Like icing on the cake, now, there was trouble with the wedding preparations. Alex didn’t know how he came to be in charge of it all, but that was how it had worked out. Early this morning, the bakery where Annalise had ordered the wedding cakes had burned to the ground. He couldn’t wait to share that little bit of information. Annalise would go nuts. To make matters worse, the caterer had called and they were having trouble with the menu the bride and groom had requested. Suffice it to say, Alex was in a shitty mood.

  So, when Annalise had told him that her sister was coming ten days before the wedding, he had struggled to hide his displeasure from her. With everything he had to do, he certainly didn’t have time to baby-sit comp
any or entertain some backwoods country bumpkin.

  Alex realized he was being mean, and this just wasn’t like him. By the time Scarlet arrived, he promised himself that he would be over it and on his best behavior—but for right now, his true feelings were bubbling to the surface.

  Seeing Rick out, Alex realized that he hadn’t heard half what the man had said. Not that it would make any difference in this case. Rick was a strange one. He was always in CYA mode. Cover your ass. The man was paranoid and carried a small digital tape recorder with him everywhere he went. Alex laughed to himself. He supposed he was lucky that Rick didn’t use one of those fancy cell phones to video tape everything. He supposed it did keep down confusion for Rick, but it was still a little on the creepy side.

  Emphasizing the necessary outcome with their top customer, Alex blew out a long breath, feeling frustrated. “Bottom line, just do whatever it takes, Rick,” he instructed his employee.

  “Will do. And you be careful of that church mouse. Desperate women can be hazardous to your health.” The stocky, balding engineer smirked as he added yet another jab against Annalise’s sister. To tell the truth, Rick was beginning to get on Alex’s nerves. Enough was enough. He hated to waste a day hanging out and waiting on a wedding guest who was coming way too early and staying way too long, but that was just how it was and he couldn’t help it. But none of it was any of Rick LeBeau’s business. His employee’s poor attitude made Alex want to improve his own outlook. He had no intention of hurting Annalise, he thought too much of her.

  As Rick drove away, another car passed his, heading his way. Maybe, this was Scarlet, and he could get on with his day. No, Alex recognized this car. It was the shapely, eager Sandy Moffett. Raking a large, strong hand through his unruly curls, Alex sighed. “Crap!” He wasn’t in the mood for Sandy, either. What he needed to do was talk to his brother. Vent a little. He rolled his eyes heavenward and wondered what he had done to piss off the powers that be.