e way they kiss on TV.”
Tyler was laughing with his daughter. Hailey was smiling as she leaned against him. “Just what have you been watching on TV, young lady? We’ll have to monitor that from now on,” Tyler said to Hailey. We. It sounded so permanent She snuggled closer.
“I’m never going to let anyone kiss me like that!” Faith said firmly. “No one will want to, but I wouldn’t let him anyway.”
“Oh yes, you will, and I’ll want to shoot the first boy brave enough to try it,” Tyler said.
“Why?” Faith asked.
“Why? Because you’re my girl, that’s why.”
She blushed prettily and looked down at her sneakers. “Well, no boys will want to kiss me, so you won’t have to worry.”
“Plenty of boys will want to. You’re the prettiest girl around.”
She jerked her head up to stare at her father. “Do you really think so?”
“Of course I do. You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. I’ve always thought so, ever since I picked you out at the hospital.”
“Daddy, I know you didn’t pick me out. I know where babies come from.” She spoke in a disparaging voice, but Hailey knew the girl was glowing with happiness under Tyler’s flattery.
Hailey wanted to turn around and hug him. Faith’s self-esteem had improved in the past few weeks. Hailey thought she might have contributed to that in a small measure, but the credit really went to Tyler. He spoke to the girl differently, no longer dismissing her as a child, but treating her like a person. The result of his attention was readily apparent. Faith had opened up like a flower who had been waiting a long time for spring.
“Why don’t you pick up the remains of our picnic?” he asked of his daughter. “That may earn you a dollar or two.”
“Okay,” she said eagerly.
As she went about the task, Hailey laid her head against his shoulder and looked up at him. He was bending so close over her that his breath was a warm vapor against her face. She could distinguish each eyelash. The dark centers of his eyes mirrored the invitation in hers. Answering that beckoning expression, his mouth came down to cover her lips.
This kiss wasn’t for anyone’s amusement. It was entirely selfish and shared only by them. It wasn’t passionate. Neither of them was an exhibitionist; neither felt it was proper to give way to passion before Faith’s impressionable eyes.
But it was a puissant kiss, rife with longing, unquenched desire, and quiet understanding. Sweetly, his tongue nudged the tip of hers, yet he could have been touching her in a much more intimate place for the impact the gesture had. That secret core deep inside her exploded and showered her body with sparks of sensation. What appeared chaste on the outside was most wanton within.
He raised his head and Hailey saw the desire burning in his eyes, a desire matching the smoldering coal of her own need. He helped her stand. Weakened by the onslaught of passion he had aroused, she swayed against him. His arms came around her protectively. He knew, understood, and shared her weakness. For precious long moments, they clung together.
When at last they released each other, Faith was eyeing them keenly. Her braces were fully revealed by her wide grin, and in her gray eyes, so like her father’s, a newfound happiness was dancing.
They arrived at Fontana Lake late in the afternoon, having taken their time driving through the National Park and enjoying the sights along the way. The forested mountains, with the gray blue mist—that gave them their name—shrouding their peaks, were tinted with the vivid hues of autumn.
Faith had complained about her restricted view, until Tyler relented and allowed her to sit in the front seat with him and Hailey. As it turned out, everyone enjoyed the arrangement. Faith, because she could see more through the wide front windshield. And Tyler and Hailey because they were forced to sit touching from knee to shoulder.
It seemed that Tyler’s right arm was inordinately busy as he drove, never remaining still for long. It finally occurred to Hailey that every time he moved it, it brushed across her left breast, keeping her in a state of constant agitation. When she turned her head to look at him accusingly, he grinned down at her mischievously and laughed. His wink congratulated her on finally catching on to his cleverness. Justice was served when she punished him by placing her hand high on his thigh.
His “cabin” turned out to be a three-bedroom, three-bath dwelling larger than most houses. The living room opened onto a view of the lake, while each bedroom had a vista of the mountains. It was thoroughly and tastefully furnished and equipped with all the amenities.
After showering and changing their clothes, they drove to a nearby lodge for dinner. Returning to the house, Faith informed them by quoting from the TV Guide that “the most terrifying motion picture ever filmed” was on that night.
“We can’t miss that, can we?” Tyler teased.
Faith put on a nightgown with Snoopy and Woodstock on its front and stretched out on the floor in front of the television screen to await the movie. She soon became engrossed in a musical special featuring one of her favorite rock stars.
“Let’s get comfortable, too,” Tyler said to Hailey, going toward his bedroom and peeling his sweater over his head as he walked.
Hailey closed the door to the bedroom that had been designated as hers, a room that was decorated in myriad shades of yellow and gold. She took off the skirt and blouse she had worn to dinner and hung them in the closet. Stripping down to her panties, she put on a long satin robe. It had been an extravagant birthday present from Ellen that she had never had an occasion to wear before. Its rich, dark green fabric highlighted the color of her hair and contributed to the brilliance of her eyes. An invisible zipper closed the garment from her neck to her knees, and the sleeves belled in a wide hem just below her elbows.
She was searching her suitcase for her slippers when there was a discreet knock on her door. “Who is it?” she asked breathlessly, quickly dousing herself with perfume.
“A naked savage bent on satisfying his lust.”