Naked Ambition. Jule Mcbride
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a dam he’d built in the creek to create a nearby waterfall.
Sometimes, if she imagined extra hard, she could almost hear the familiar creaks of the old house settling down for the night, then the whir of crickets and splashes of gators and fish in the wetlands. Music of the swamp, her daddy used to call it. New York’s sirens and blaring horns would fade away, drowned out by her own hoot-owls. More than once, she’d cried herself to sleep.
Realizing she’d been staring across the room at Joe, she blinked just as he glanced up from Tara, seemingly oblivious to the charms of the singer’s enhanced curves and flaming red hair. After saying goodbye, he strode toward Susannah and Ellie.
“Don’t forget,” Ellie sang. “Tonight, you and Joe are going to celebrate the call. Cha-cha-cha.”
“So much for my plan to have sex with tall, dark, handsome strangers,” Susannah said nervously. Joe’s hair was blond, and he was no taller than J.D.’s five-ten.
“The longer you put off sleeping with him,” Ellie said, “the more attracted he gets. He’s practically salivating! I wish somebody was that hot for me! Even Tara Jones isn’t fazing him, and she’s stunning.”
“If it wasn’t for Garrison making me wait, I’d have slept with Joe already,” Susannah assured, not feeling nearly as confident as she sounded. Of course, Joe had insisted on doing everything but sleep together. He was kinky and inventive and made up silly love games, so Susannah figured it would be easy to turn herself into a real hellcat for him. It just hadn’t happened yet.
“As soon as J.D. says he’s out of Banner Manor,” Susannah vowed, “I’m going to wrap myself around Joe O’Grady like corn kernels around a cob, so he can nibble all night.”
“Make a corncob pipe and you two can really smoke.”
Susannah chuckled. Joe had kissed her and fondled her thighs under her skirt while they’d been eating hot fudge sundaes at a soda shop. He’d role played too, pretending to be a cop arresting her, and a fireman checking for intruders, which had made her laugh. She felt something, too, just not the sparks she’d experienced with J.D. But that was just because Garrison hadn’t given her the go-ahead, she reminded herself.
“Oh, don’t look so anxious,” Ellie chided. “All men come with the same basic equipment, right? How hard can it be to have sex with a stud like Joe?”
It would be easier if J.D. hadn’t been her only lover so far, Susannah thought. “Sex is pure mechanics,” she agreed, determined to be her own best cheerleader. “It’s just a matter of knowing what to touch, for how long, and when.” Still…what if J.D. had ruined her for somebody else? Maybe she could forgive him for being a lousy husband, but for ruining her sex life, she’d have to kill him.
Ellie suddenly murmured, “Joe sort of looks like J.D., doesn’t he?”
“No! Joe’s got blond hair and brown eyes, Ellie! And he always wears suits! J.D. never bothers with a shirt, much less a tie. He goes around bare-chested in worn-out jeans and cowboy boots. He’s dark, too, from staying out in the sun too much.”
“I’m talking about Joe’s body type,” Ellie persisted. “He’s medium height and angular, with slightly bowed legs and the same bony cowboy butt. He’s even got a goatee.”
“That’s what’s in style now,” Susannah scoffed.
“I just noticed,” Ellie continued as if Susannah hadn’t even spoken. “Maybe you’re not going to be able to get over J.D., after all. Are you sure you want this divorce, Susannah?”
Susannah gaped. “You’re supposed to be my best friend, the person I can turn to in a crisis. I started using my maiden name again,” she added. “If there’s any resemblance between Joe and J.D., it’s completely coincidental.”
“A lot of guys have flirted with you, but you picked Joe,” Ellie countered. “His voice is like J.D.’s, too. I mean, not exactly. J.D.’s a famous singer, of course. Still, Joe’s voice is gravelly and low.”
“He’s a man, Ellie! All men have gravelly, low voices!”
The argument ended because Joe slipped behind Susannah. As he wrapped both arms around her waist and pulled her against him, Ellie said, “I’ll leave you two alone.”
“Fine by me,” Joe murmured huskily. His muscular thighs strained against the backs of Susannah’s and she could feel the nudge of what promised to be an erection soon. “I can’t wait for Garrison to call. Excited?”
Susannah’s knees threatened to buckle. Ellie was right! His voice was like J.D.’s! Oh, his voice was pitched higher, and she’d never mistake it for her husband’s, but there was a resemblance. Why hadn’t she noticed before? “Uh…yeah,” she managed.
Then she noticed Ellie motioning her to the phone.
Garrison.
“The call,” she whispered, panicking. As soon as she spoke to Garrison, she was supposed to sleep with Joe!
He was pulling her toward the phone, but as they reached it, Susannah slowed her steps. Something was wrong, she realized. Ellie had turned chalk-white. Extending the phone, she whispered, “It’s Robby.”
“Robby Robriquet?” Ellie hadn’t spoken to her ex-lover in eight months; no wonder she looked as if she’d seen a ghost.
Taking the receiver, Susannah brought it to her ear. “Robby?”
“I have bad news, Susannah. I just talked to Sheriff Kemp, and we decided it might be better if I was the one to call. Uh…we can’t find June.”
“My sister?” As Susannah’s fingers curled more tightly around the receiver, she visualized Sheriff Kemp on the doorstep of Banner Manor years ago. Clad in a tan uniform, he’d kept his hands in front of him, stiffly holding his hat. “We need to go inside and sit down, honey,” he’d said. “It’s about your mama and daddy.” Susannah’s whole body froze. “What’s happened to June?”
“No…not June.”
Relief was short-lived. Was the call about June’s husband, Clive? Or one of her nieces, Laurie or Billie-Jean?
Before Susannah could ask, Robby continued. “June’s fine, but we were hoping to track her down before we called you.”
“J.D.?” The truth hit her with the power of a freight train. They’d been looking for June, so she could provide Susannah comfort. A cry tore from Susannah’s throat, and vaguely she wondered if this was how Mama Ambrosia saw things in her crystal ball not really seeing them at all, but only feeling them deep down in her bones. A hand shot to her neck, and her fingers closed around the engraved charm that lay against her skin.
“I’m sorry, Susannah,” Robby was saying. Had he continued talking all this time?
“There was an explosion on the Alabama around eight o’clock. An attendant at the marina saw him onboard. The coast guard’s bringing what’s left of the boat up, but it’ll take a few days. Until then, we won’t know whether it was mechanical failure, a fire in the galley or the generator. The boat blew sky high, then sank just as fast.
“Because of all the legal goings, on between you and J.D., Garrison’s here. J.D. left everything to you. Earlier today, he refused to sign any divorce papers, saying you were his beneficiary. You need to catch the first plane you can. Ellie, too. It would be good if she traveled with you.”
“He wanted me to meet him on the boat at eight,” she said.
“Oh, no,” Robby whispered.
The thought hung in the air. Had J.D. caused the explosion because she hadn’t shown up? But no…he may be wild, but he wasn’t suicidal. Maybe he was okay. Maybe…
“He’s gone, Susannah.”
Her consciousness seemed to