Framing Felipe (27 page)

“Can
she
make
you
do
that?”

“I
don’t
know.
Maybe.
Not
real
sure
what
North
Carolina’s
employment
laws
say
about

that.
Most
people
would
consider
it
a
vacation,
right?
We’re
talking
full
pay
while
I
sit
at

home
on
my
ass.”

“You…want
to
talk
about
it?”

She
didn’t
answer.
She
turned
off
of
the
freeway
and
set
the
car
on
the
artery
that
led
to

her
house.

No,
she
didn’t
want
to
talk
about
it,
but
she
suspected
she
would
whether
she
wanted

to
or
not.

FRAMING FELIPE
–
105
–
Holley Trent

Felipe
stabbed
the
seatbelt
release
button,
and
wrapped
his
fingers
around
the
door

handle
while
Sarah
fiddled
with
the
garage
door
opener.

He
hadn’t
known
what
to
expect
when
she’d
revealed
she
was
driving
to
her
house,
but

certainly
he
didn’t
expect
this
.
The
house
was
a
two-‐story
Greek
revival
set
back
on
several

acres.
When
she’d
said
she
lived
near
the
airport,
she
was
overstating
things
a
bit.
They
had

to
be
more
than
half
an
hour
out.

“This
is
what
you
call
close?”
he
asked.

She
shrugged
and
undid
her
seatbelt.
“Close
enough.
Technically,
this
is
Chapel
Hill,
but

the
Chatham
County
bit
and
not
the
rich
people
bit.”

“I
have
no
idea
what
that
means.”

They
got
out
and
closed
their
doors.
He
followed
Sarah
out
of
the
detached
garage,

waited
as
she
let
the
door
down,
then
padded
behind
her
toward
the
dark
house.
The
way

her
hips
swayed
in
that
long,
clingy
sequined
dress
fogged
his
brain
sufficiently
that
he

didn’t
hear
what
she
was
asking
that
required
a
response.

She
stopped
on
the
path
between
the
garage
and
the
house—very
near
the
back
door,

turned,
and
stared
at
him.

“
¿Qué?
”

She
blew
out
a
breath
and
rolled
her
eyes.
“I
said
the
house
was
a
good
deal.
I
bought
it

off
an
old
vet
who
couldn’t
keep
up
the
maintenance.
I
couldn’t
afford
the
asking
price,
but

the
gent
cut
me
a
deal
because
he
thought
out
of
all
the
other
folks
making
offers,
I’d
be

most
likely
to
hang
onto
it
long-‐term.
I
moved
in
a
couple
of
weeks
before
my
last
long
case.

I’m
still
unpacking.
I
asked
if
you’ll
forgive
the
mess.”

“Oh.
Certainly.”

“Mess”
was
yet
another
overstatement.
Yes,
there
were
a
number
of
unpacked
boxes,

the
place
needed
fresh
paint,
and
the
fixtures
needed
updating,
but
compared
to
what

Felipe
was
used
to,
the
house
was
a
mansion.

His
awe
must
have
been
apparent
on
his
face,
because
Sarah
grinned
from
the
counter

where
she
was
divesting
herself
of
her
costume
jewelry
and
raised
an
eyebrow
at
him.

“What?”

FRAMING FELIPE
–
106
–
Holley Trent

“You
live
here
alone?”
He
moved
through
the
ground
floor,
turning
on
lights
as
he
went,

idling
a
while
in
each
room.
Kitchen.
Living
room.
Dining
room.
Parlor?
Powder
room…

She
eased
in
front
of
him
in
the
hallway
where
he
stood
studying
the
chipping
plaster

on
the
ceiling
and
pointed
to
her
zipper.

He
brushed
her
hair
aside,
resisted
the
temptation
to
kiss
her
bare
shoulders,
and
let
it

down
for
her.

“Yes.”

“Why
does
one
woman
need
so
much
space?”

She
shrugged,
and
wrapped
an
arm
around
her
belly
to
hold
her
dress
up.
“Five
out
of

five
Shrews
would
prefer
to
live
someplace
isolated
than
in
a
condo
wedged
next
to
some

stranger.
Ask
Dana.
She
could
tell
you
from
personal
experience.”

“You’re
not
that
antisocial.”

She
shook
her
head
and
skirted
around
him.

He
followed
her
up
the
worn
staircase.

“I
can
make
nice
when
I
have
to,”
she
said.
“But
it’s
a
lot
of
work
for
me.”

“Ah.”

They
trooped
down
the
hallway
and
entered
what
must
have
been
the
master

bedroom.
Surprisingly,
this
room
was
finished,
and
recently
so.
It
must
have
been
the
one

thing
Sarah
had
gotten
done
in
the
time
since
she’d
purchased
the
house.

The
hardwood
floors
had
been
lovingly
repaired
and
coated
so
they
shone
a
glossy

amber
color.
The
baseboards
and
chair
railings
received
a
coat
or
two
of
satin
white
paint

that
popped
against
wall
colors
the
Shrew
had
closen.
Below
the
chair
rail,
she’d
filled
in
a

dark
gray
color.
Above,
up
to
the
high
ceilings,
a
Tiffany
blue
that
carried
over
to
the

bedding
on
her
four-‐poster
bed.

“You
look
stunned,”
she
said
with
a
laugh
as
she
stepped
out
of
her
dress.

“Now
I
am,
yes.”
He
joined
her
at
the
bed
where
she
was
disrobing
and
relished
the

sight
of
her
in
her
underthings.
Firm
breasts
pushed
high
by
her
bustier’s
boning,
toned

legs
shown
at
their
best
advantage
due
to
the
high
cut
of
her
panties
and
the
sky-‐high
silver

heels
she
wore.

She
kicked
those
off
as
he
soon
as
he
noticed
them,
teasing
him
with
a
cheeky
grin.

“Tell
me
why
you’re
stunned?”

FRAMING FELIPE
–
107
–
Holley Trent

“Well…”
He
cradled
her
bottom
and
helped
her
up
onto
the
high
bed.

Lying
on
her
back
like
that,
his
base
impulse
was
to
help
her
out
of
those
lacy
little

panties.
They
had
to
be
uncomfortable,
the
poor
dear.
But,
he
resisted
the
urge
for
the

moment
and
instead
heeled
off
his
shoes
and
climbed
up
next
to
her.
He
laid
on
his
left
side

and
stared
down
at
her
lovely,
but
tired,
face.

“I
suppose
I’m
surprised
because
this
has
the
potential
to
be
an
actual
home
.”
Any

woman
who
would
so
lovingly
personalize
the
room
where
she
spent
the
most
time

probably
understood
that
concept
perfectly
well.

“Well,
that’s
the
general
idea.
A
girl’s
gotta
put
down
roots
somewhere,
right?
I
saw
this

place
while
Tam
and
I
were
on
the
way
back
from
a
job,
and
I
knew
I
had
to
have
it.
Used

the
last
of
the
money
from
my
settlement
to
pay
for
it.
It’ll
be
nice
not
having
a
mortgage.”

He
let
his
forehead
furrow.
“Settlement?”

Her
mouth
opened,
closed,
and
she
pulled
her
bottom
lip
between
her
teeth.
She

worried
at
it
a
moment,
then
said,
“Um.
Settlement.”
She
pushed
up
onto
her
elbows
and

wriggled
back
on
the
bed
until
her
spine
met
the
headboard.

Felipe
followed,
propping
his
back
on
the
headboard
beside
her
and
nudging
her
with

his
left
arm.
“Tell
me.”

“Hold
on.
I’m
trying
to
figure
out
how
to
make
it
sound
less
like
a
cut-‐rate
straight-‐to-‐

DVD
movie
plot.”

“Come
on.
I’m
weird,
too.
You
won’t
shock
me.”

The
slight
widening
of
her
eyes
revealed
she
didn’t
exactly
believe
that,
but
she
started

anyway.

“There
was
a
drug
trial
a
few
years
ago.
It
was
what
was
responsible
for
making
the

Shrews
what
they
are.”

“What
was
the
drug
supposed
to
do?”

“What
they
told
the
participants
was
that
it
was
designed
to
minimize
the
feeling
of

anxiety
and
stress
in
dangerous
work
situations.
That
seemed
to
make
sense.
Most
of
the

women
who
got
drafted
came
out
of
fields
like
military
and
police,
or
else
grew
up
in
war-‐

torn
areas.
That’s
how
Dana,
Tamara,
and
I
got
escalated
to
the
next
stage.
Tam’s
father
was

a
Romanian
official,
and
they
lived
in
Bosnia
for
a
large
chunk
of
her
childhood.
Maria
and

Astrid
fit
other
trial
requirements
that
we
didn’t
know
about
at
the
time.”

FRAMING FELIPE
–
108
–
Holley Trent

“What
happened?”

Her
fingers
toyed
with
a
small
section
of
the
duvet
cover’s
quilt
work
for
a
moment

before
she
answered.
“It
wasn’t
true.
That
was
just
what
the
drug
company
got
approval
to

test.
They
were
more
interested
in
the
off-‐label
applications
of
the
drug.”

“Which
were?”

Her
dark
eyes
rolled
up,
slowly,
to
met
his.
“Compliance.
They
theorized
if
we
felt
less

stress,
we’d
be
sweeter.”

“I’m
guessing
it
didn’t
work.”

“The
only
reason
I’m
not
punching
you
for
that
comment
is
because
it
would
be
too

ironic.”

He
put
his
hands
up
in
a
defeated
gesture
and
offered
her
an
apologetic
grin.
“I
don’t

like
that
kind
of
irony.
Besides,
I
wouldn’t
change
a
thing
about
you.”

“Sure,
you
say
that
now…”

“And
so
this
drug,
it
mutated
you?”

She
nodded.
“It
affected
some
of
us
more
than
others.
All
the
women
involved
survived,

though
in
a
few
cases
that’s
just
a
polite
way
of
saying
they’re
not
quite
buried
yet.
They