***

Kara reached for the phone as she had a hundred times since she had returned from the vacation she and Farron had taken in the Caribbean.  She did not even think she had been home ten minutes before what felt like a hurricane came thundering through her life, leaving her world in a shambles.  The one person she wanted and needed to turn to was refused to her.  All could be lost if she answered his calls.  Too much was at stake and her family loyalty demanded that the Donovans, all the Donovans, be kept away.

After Loralei had stopped by earlier that day, Kara had withdrawn into her bedroom.  She attempted to shut out her fear and loneliness, but failed miserably.  She longed to call out to Farron, if for no other reason than to beg him to wrap her in his comforting embrace.  With a soft whimper, she rolled onto her side and hugged a pillow to her breast as she slipped into a fitful sleep. 

"Someone might see us, Farron Donovan," she admonished playfully when he untied her powder blue bikini halter-top and tossed it aside before he captured a nipple sensually between his lips.  "Ah...hell," she gave in to the feel of his lips and hands as they made an erotic path from her breast down to her abdomen.

"Relax, querida," he grinned devilishly as he looked up at her.  "There has been no one on this beach except us since we have been here."  He dipped his head again to trail feather light kisses to the flesh he exposed when he slid her skimpy bikini bottom slowly down her legs.  "And if someone passes by," he suggested mischievously, 'we will give them a show they will not soon forget."

Kara sighed happily within her dream.  She had spent practically the entire two weeks in Farron's arms.  With him, she had cast her inhibitions away.  She felt free and alive for the first time in her life.  He made her feel...everything.  And she loved him.  For that and so much more.  He trusted her with the secrets of his past, no matter how dark or unseemly.  Even when he shared those that might send the next woman running for cover, she took it all in and never judged the man for things he had done before she knew him.  She saw only the man before her, the man who swept her away with just a look, the man who fought for her and his family when they were in danger, and the man that did not abandon her when her future looked bleak. 

The night before they returned home, they had been walking along the moonlit beach.  Hand in hand they walked, gazing at the stars, listening to the waves lap against the shore.  She had drifted into his arms, gazed into his eyes, and told him that she loved him.  Loved him more than she knew she was capable of loving.  She was not altogether shocked by his reaction.  Silence.  She knew from their many long talks he had never trusted anyone enough to have ever loved.  So, no, his reaction was not unexpected.  Although he did not respond with words, his eyes beheld her with a soft, dreamy quality.  He had kissed her so tenderly that it brought tears to her eyes.  And when he pulled away, she thought she saw the glimmer of a tear in his own. 

***

While Kara lay dreaming, Farron awakened from his alcohol-induced nap.  His hangover was minimal, by some favor of the gods, and while he slept, he had come to the realization that he deserved an explanation.  And he damned well would get one.  If she no longer wanted him, so be it!  But he would know why and then he would move on with his life.  He stretched as he stood.  A shower first and then he would get Kara to open that damned oak door or he would knock the fucker down.

***

Kara groaned when the loud pounding at the door, as well as the constant chiming of the doorbell, stole her from the comfort of her dream.  Awake now, she would have to deal with the all too real situation thrust upon her the very moment she had returned from her vacation.

"Kara!!" she heard Farron bellow from his vantage point on the front porch.  "Open this door now!  You will see me!"

She closed her eyes tightly and fought the urge to run down the stairs and throw open the door.  Instead, she slid off the bed and walked slowly out into the hallway.  She could hear her brother scrambling around downstairs, frantically checking the locks, making sure the intruder would not get in the house.  She descended the stairs at a snail's pace, all the while listening to Farron's insistent voice and pounding fist. 

"Get rid of him," Brian Everett hissed at her when she reached the bottom of the stairs.  "Tell him anything you have to, but make him disappear."

"No," she rejected firmly. 

"Just tell him you were using him.  He'll believe that, sister mine.  A wealthy heiress availing yourself of his manly charms."  He gave Kara a rough push toward the door.  "It's been done to death in our circles."  He felt the rage building inside of him thinking about her taking a holiday alone with a man...any man.  Their parents had taken great care in sheltering Kara from men as worldly as this Farron Donovan.

She stopped just short of the door and jumped visibly when the pounding began again.  "Goddamn it, Kara!  You open this door or I'll fucking break it down!"  She shook her head as she inched closer to it.  He sounded so angry.  How would she ever explain things to him?  When would she get the chance?  If she sent him away as her brother expected, she knew she would never see him again. 

***

Frank and Loralei sat in their backyard, relaxing, when the sound of Farron's voice broke the sereneness of their day.  Rachel slept soundly in Loralei's arms.  Frank shot Loralei a questioning look and she shrugged softly.  He grimaced as he stood.  "I'd better check it out and make sure Farron doesn't wind up at the local police station," he stated before heading over to the Everett house.

"We'll just be coming with you," Loralei insisted as she joined him.  They reached the front of Kara's house to see Farron pounding on the door, demanding entrance.  As they drew closer, his anger seemed to abate and he took on a more defeated stance.  His body pressed close to the door and he spoke softer, his words more difficult to hear.

***

"Don't do this to me, Kara," he begged sadly.  "You owe me an explanation.  You owe me that much," his voice grew louder again.  Kara laid a palm on the door and rested her forehead against it.  She hated herself for wanting to let him in and, at the same time, keeping him out.  When she heard his next words, "You said you loved me." He pounded one last time.  "Loved me," he repeated.  She was fairly sure she died just a little at the wounded sound of his voice. 

Brian balked at the realization that Kara could have possibly told this man she loved him.  She barely knew him a month.  It was preposterous.  Completely out of the question.  After all, she was meant for him...not the oaf attempting to bang the door off its hinges.

***

What was making her act this way?  He just could not understand.  He turned away from the door and walked slowly to the edge of the porch.  He saw Frank, Loralei, and his niece Rachel.  They had just witnessed his rejection and humiliation, and he almost did not care.  He had tried to play like Kara's sudden dismissal did not matter to him, but that was a lie.  His heart ached as it had never ached before.  She had taken him to heaven and now she was sentencing him to hell.

He reached the stairs and was about to step down when he heard the click of the lock and the door open gradually.  He turned slowly to see her step halfway outside.  Her puffy eyes, swollen and red from crying, marred her lovely face.  Her hair was mussed and her cream colored silk pantsuit was rumpled as if she had slept in it.  "Farron," she whispered sorrowfully, her eyes conveying her pain.  "Darling, I do love you..."

"Kara, no!" Brian cried out from behind her and hauled her back inside.  His abrupt behavior was more in reaction to her words than the fact she was opening the door to him.  How could she? How could she love another?

Frank had never seen a human being move so fast in his life.  Farron had taken off at a dead run and launched himself through the door before it could shut him out.  He took Loralei's arm and ushered her toward the house.  Whatever was going on in there, it looked like trouble.  If nothing else, they would be there to support Farron.

Farron barged through the door, pushing it open wide, causing it to bang noisily against the wall.  He stormed toward Kara and the man who held her brutally by her upper arms.  "Let her go," he demanded harshly.  When the man did not budge, Farron actually growled.  "Take your hands off her, or I will take great pleasure in beating you down."

"Please, Farron," Kara beseeched softly as she broke away from her stepbrother.  She approached Farron hesitantly.  Although he had come looking for an explanation, she had to wonder how he would actually react to her.  When she reached out and touched his cheek tenderly, she almost wept when he covered her hand with his and leaned into her touch. 

After just a brief moment, he reached out and gathered her into his arms in a crushing embrace.  "Don't turn me away again...I don't think I can take it," he whispered his heartfelt plea so that only she could hear and buried his face against the soft flesh of her neck. 

She sobbed quietly while he held her so tightly she could barely breathe.  Not that she minded; she had not felt this safe since they had parted.  There was a haven within his embrace and she could think of no other place she would rather be.  "I'm so sorry...I never wanted to shut you out."

"You have a lot of explaining to do," he scolded softly before covering her mouth with his.  Although their time apart had been short, it was heartbreaking for him.  He deepened the kiss and experienced her as if he had never tasted her succulent nectar before.

Frank cautiously watched the scene unfolding, focusing on the man who had hauled Kara back into the house without her permission.  He stood not quite six foot tall, was on the thin side, but held himself with an air of superiority.  Frank assumed that was the snobbish old money at work there.  His hair was well groomed, but it was an ugly shocking red color.  Of course, the old saying about redheads having fair skin was not lost on that man.  He was so fair his skin was almost transparent.  He bore a most repugnant look as he watched Farron and Kara with his beady little green eyes.  Frank was a pretty good judge of people and there was something about this stranger that just did not sit well with him.

Brian was livid.  He could not fathom how his well-bred, debutant sister could possibly be seen with such a creature.  The man wears leather for Christ's sake! His brain screamed at the sight of Farron decked out in leather pants and blue button down shirt.  He looked like a predatory lady-killer and Brian's stomach rolled at the thought of what the two of them had done while alone at the Everett beach property.  "Kara Michelle Everett," he spat.  "Get away from that longhaired cretin this instant!"

Kara gave Farron an apologetic look before they turned toward him.  "Brian, really.  Stop showing your ass and apologize to Farron," she demanded sternly. 

Brian stared disbelievingly at his younger sister.  How could she even consider getting involved with a man so obviously beneath the stature of the Everett family?  It was ludicrous, to say the least.  He simply would not stand for it.  However, the need to get rid of these people was greater than his disappointment in the choice of his sister's friend.  "Very well.  Please excuse me...ah, what was your name again?" 

Farron took a step toward the insolent piece of shit.  He still had the urge to beat the man senseless for manhandling his Shel.  Apparently she understood his intentions, because before he could take another step, he felt her hand on his arm in attempt to halt him.

Kara took an exasperated breath and let it out slowly.  "Really, Brian.  You can be so crass at times."  She slid her hand down Farron's arm to fold her hand intimately within his.  "Farron Donovan, meet my brother, Brian Everett."  She paused and held her breath while the two grudgingly shook hands.  She knew Farron was holding his temper at bay only for her benefit.  And, honestly, she would not really give a damn if Brian got the beating of his life at the hands of her lover.  There had been many times in her life that she wished he would just fade away from her and John's lives, but that was not to be the case.  She squeezed Farron's hand in a silent thank you for keeping the peace with her hateful brother.  "Brian, this is Farron's brother, Frank Donovan, his wife, Loralei, and their sleepy daughter, Rachel."

Brian nodded curtly to Kara's neighbors and put on an amiable front.  Inwardly he seethed.  She was such a stupid fool to get involved with these people.  That she let them into the house after he had forbidden it was deplorable.  Daddy's Little Princess!  Stupid little bitch!  Turned whore for a man who would obviously rob her blind.

"Shel, I believe you have something to tell me," Farron reminded her.  "If you all will excuse us..."

"No!" Brian exclaimed forcibly.  Shel?! Shel?!  How dare he call her such an obviously intimate nickname?  Kara never ever allowed anyone to give her a nickname.    "Kara, you know this is out of the question.  These people must leave now!" 

Farron, Frank, and Loralei exchanged glances.  Brian's voice had grown almost frantic.

"Maybe it's time you left, Brian?"  Kara suggested, molding herself to Farron's side for support.  "There are some things I need to explain to Farron...he deserves to know what is going on."

"Really, Kara.  You're a fool!  Their presence here..." he trailed off as he strode toward the open doorway.  Before he stepped over the threshold he turned and spat hatefully, "If your inability to stay away from some frivolous affair causes things to go bad, remember this.  It will be your fault.  YOUR FAULT!" 

--

To be continued