Brother Willy's Traveling Salvation Show (22 page)

Scott
immediately connected what Beth was feeling now with her statement that she had been in an abusive relationship. For the first time, he realized she could have been far more traumatized by whatever happened to her than he had previously thought.

With that thought in mind, he quickly reassured her.
“You’re very safe and absolutely nothing is going to happen to you. Nobody is going to hurt you.”

Facing the realization of how her behavior might look to a stranger, the smile slowly left her face. She slowly released her grip on the bedpost as she moved closer to
Scott. “I guess this seems a little strange to you, doesn’t it?”

Scott
was careful not to say anything that might make her self-conscious or minimize her concerns. “I’ve never walked in your shoes, so I don’t really know where you’ve been. If you’re happy now and feel secure, then that’s a good thing and it doesn’t matter how it looks to me.”

Scott
reached out and hugged Beth for a few minutes before she gently pushed herself away from him. “I guess I should take my shower now and get ready for dinner.”

He took a deep
breath as he stood watching her, while wanting to know the secrets she kept concealed in her mind. He wanted to know what she might actually be feeling and more than anything else, he wanted to know her history. Yet, all of the things he wanted to find out about Beth were things he assumed he should leave hidden from view. “Yea, I should be going now.”

Scott
turned to leave before Beth asked a question, not to get an answer, but to stall in order to consider her options. “What time did you say you were going to pick me up?”

He glanced at his watch and then turned his attention back to
Beth. “It’s four-fifteen now, so we’ll pick you up around six. Will that give you enough time to get ready?”

“That should give me plenty of time. All I have to do is take a shower, dry my hair, put on my make up, get dressed and then pack something to sleep in at your place tonight.”

Scott was doubtful once he heard her list. “You can do all that in an hour?”

She grinned at him. “It’s a piece of cake
, but I want to ask you something before you go? Were you really sick the night of the canoe trip or was that just an excuse to avoid being with Carlie?”

Scott
once again turned toward the door. “I’ll never tell.”

Beth
had a crafty expression as she tugged lightly on her bathing suit strap. “It’s too bad you were so sick. You missed an opportunity.”

Scott
also knew he would have liked to have known Beth before now, but had no regrets with where he was in his life. “I think I missed several opportunities that night, but then again I suppose another missed opportunity is the story of my life. Sometimes those missed chances come with a price.”

She moved closer to
Scott while trying to decide the intent of his comment. At least for now, she knew she would not understand the true significance of his passing statement. Still, she knew something lie deeper in its meaning. “That may be one of the most revealing statements you’ve ever made to me. I guess we’ll have to wait and see because I have a feeling that a secret is buried deep in your brain where I’m not allowed to be.”

Scott
looked down at the floor with a remembrance he was unwilling to share. “There are some places in my mind that I don’t even want to visit.”

CHAPTER XVII

Beth led Scott into the short hallway but stopped in front of him as she stood on the second stair step, thus blocking his exit. “It occurs to me that I played our game all wrong. I should have asked you more questions about the dents in your armor.”

Scott
smiled knowing they had both missed a chance to learn more from each other. “What would you have asked?”

Beth
was also smiling, yet her expression was one that reflected the crafty, devious smile one shows when playing a game, which is exactly what she was doing. “Do you wonder if I am a ghost, a mental health train wreck, or a mind reader?”

“
All of the above, but you left out one description when you made your list.” Scott replied.

Beth
’s curiosity required she ask the obvious question. “What did I forget?”

Scott
offered her a one-word response. “Shark.”

She was
pleased with his suggestion and wanted to play that role to perfection. With a hint of innocence appropriate for a young girl, along with her playful grin, she tucked her head slightly before she replied, “I’m not a shark. I’m just a regular girl.”

At
that point, Scott was grinning at her, having been completely drawn into her performance. “No Beth, you are a regular girl shark. Besides, I’m not sure there is a difference between a girl and a shark.”

Holding on to the handrail, she leaned forward with her face only a few inches away from his. “I’m going to bite you.”
She then smiled as she waited for his reaction. It would take only minutes for him to understand her comment.

Scott
was still watching her face suspecting their game might soon go to another level. “I have been expecting you to bite me for two days now. Let’s be honest, you have been nibbling on me since we first met.”

Scott
glanced at his watch. “In any case, you have at least five things to do before we go to dinner. So if you will excuse me, I need to get going and so do you.”

Within seconds,
Beth’s facial expression became far more serious as she placed each of her hands on the sides of the staircase walls to block his only exit. What she was about to say was both sobering and intriguing at the same time, once again bringing the more mysterious side of her personality into question.

She spoke softly and with a sense of uncertainty. “When we were in my bedroom, you said something about
missing opportunities that made me start thinking. This is most likely the last time you and I will be alone before I leave in the morning.”

Scott
took a slow breath that would not attract her attention, but was one he hoped might inspire his patience. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

Beth
reclaimed her defensive position guarding the stair exit. She also began a lengthy explanation of her actions. “Since we first met, I’ve played a number of games with you. I was teasing you in the ocean when I put my hand inside your swimming trunks. When I was in the hot tub with you and Michelle yesterday, I made sure I would catch your attention. When I took a shot at the pool table, I made sure you had something to look at. But those things were all just games I was playing.”

Scott
smiled at her. “I think we both enjoyed the game and I think I know you well enough to know you were just playing with me.”

“That’s the easy part of what I need to tell you. When you talked to your moose friend and you told me what happened, I felt like I had a ton of weight lifted
off my shoulders. It wasn’t just a matter of me having sex in a tent one night. That experience brought back all the nightmares I had left over from my abusive past. You made all of my bad dreams disappear because you took the time to be nicer to me than Jenifer and I had been to you and Michelle.”

Scott
started to speak, but Beth stopped him. “Last night you made me a hero for a while when I was at the party. The girls were so impressed to find out I held the shark and helped set him free. They made a big fuss over me. While that felt good, it wasn’t the most important thing that happened to me last night. When you and I were on our knees holding the shark, you stopped what you were doing for a minute. Your voice and expression were so genuine and honest when you looked at me and told me you liked me. Even if it sounds silly, I felt special.”

Scott
was convinced Beth wanted and needed to talk and he was going to do nothing to stop her. He reached up and brushed the light brown bangs from her eyes. “Beth I didn’t make you anymore special than you already were.”

With a modest grin, she thanked
Scott and then continued with her thoughts. “Amie won’t tell me what you said, but whatever you said made quite an impression on her. She did tell me you gave her a very soft and loving kiss, that you held her hand for a while, and you also hugged her for a long time. I have never seen Amie act as she did after the two of you went off together. I think you have her on the right track.”

Once again,
Scott assumed Beth had misread the situation. “Beth, I am not responsible for her change of heart. Yes, I did talk to her, but so did her doctor who made it clear she was running out of time to get her life together. Also, and maybe most important, I think when she cut her arm, she may have scared herself enough that she knew something had to change. Either way, she has a long road to go down and she is going to need all the support that she can get from her friends. You and Michelle were there with her. Don’t underestimate your value to Amie.”

“
Scott, Amie said you were going to take her to lunch on Monday. Can you and I find some time to talk after we leave here? I’ve been seeing a counselor forever, and she’s not going where I need to go. I’m not asking you to be my psychologist. I just want to know we can still talk sometimes, just like we’re doing right now?”

“Of course we can.
What do you want to talk about?” Scott replied.

She looked away as she answered. “I want to tell you all about my life and the guy who destroyed it.”

Scott scratched his forehead as he replied, “Beth we can talk anytime. You need to remember that I’m not a professional or even close. I don’t know if I can help you, but I sure don’t want to do anything to hurt you.”

Her
next comment would take them in an unexpected direction. “When you walked me home last night, you saw my ex-boyfriend in your mind and you knew details about his life that you had no way of knowing. Your thoughts were inside my mind then, just like you are trying to do right now.”

By this point, they were looking into each other’s eyes with each having an intense expression.
“What am I trying to find when I look in your mind?”

Her voice was soft
, but clear. “You’re trying to find the key that will unlock those things you find very mysterious about me. You have discovered some things that your alter ego Sherlock can’t explain and that fact bothers you.”

Scott
never broke the intense eye contact he had with Beth. “When you and I know things about each other and we can’t explain how we know those things, and when you and my girlfriend communicate without speaking, then I admit to having more than just a passing curiosity about you.”

Beth
was confident in her pronouncement. “It’s interesting you would choose to call Michelle your girlfriend. I get the feeling you would like to think she’s your girlfriend, but you have some real doubts about that relationship.”

Scott
continued to watch her eyes as though they might be in a contest to see who would break the stare. “Are you reading my mind or is that pure speculation?”

Her reply
came with a level of conviction that Scott found interesting, if not disturbing. “I’m a girl and I don’t need any special ability to read that part of your mind. Your life history with Michelle doesn’t make any sense at all, if the two of you really are in love with each other.”

Scott
was determined to test Beth’s theory knowing there was some truth to her observation. “How did you arrive at that conclusion after knowing us less than twenty-four hours?”

Beth
was very direct with her reply. “Let’s be honest with each other. Two hours after we met, your girlfriend invited me to join the two of you in the hot tub where she suggested you rub lotion on me. Then, rather than be with you, she went off to a party. After our trip to the hospital, she invited me to stay with her until bedtime. We went shopping the next morning while you went off with Amie for a therapy session. Michelle invited me to spend the afternoon in the sun and surf with the two of you. After swimming with you, she suggested I keep you entertained while she has quiet time. She has invited me for dinner and suggested I spend the night at your place. For someone who is trying to redefine their relationship, she almost appears to be avoiding being alone with you.”

Scott
considered her suggestion for only a moment. Everything Beth said was true, but he felt he should offer some explanation or at least a defense. “Michelle has been through a lot in the past few weeks. She might have been better off coming to the beach without me so she could have some time to sort out a few things in her life. I think we moved too quickly after she broke off her engagement. Having said that, I don’t think that means we don’t love each other.”

Beth
was determined to make her point. “You can defend her actions by saying she’s confused, but I don’t think you really believe what you’re telling me?”

Scott
was interested in what Beth was saying, but he was also thinking she was going beyond what she should be saying. “What else do you believe?”

She thought for a few moments before offering her opinion. “
When a guy and girl first meet each other, they seem to know on some subconscious level they might be interested in each other. They have a way of looking at each other as if testing the possibilities of getting to know each other. You and I have been looking at each other like that ever since we first met.”

Scott
put his hands on her waist, but never looked away from her eyes. “Let’s say for the sake of argument that I was attracted to you and wanted to know you better. I think there is more going on here than just some passing curiosity about each other.”     

Beth had moved her face very close to his. “There is so much more going on here. I’m a shark and I’m swimming in circles around you. You know I’m here and you can’t get away from me. Even when you leave tomorrow, I am still going to be in your mind.”

Scott
was quickly trying to put all the pieces in the puzzle together. What he had assumed were just mental games now seemed far more complex and much deeper. Beth had a predator like tone to her voice along with her relentless stare that captured his attention and perhaps created some concern. Scott began to question if her intent was to possess or at least influence his mind and thoughts.

He thought of himself as being like a fish on a hook waiting to be reeled in
to shore. Everything she had speculated about him and his relationship with Michelle was either truthful or very close to the truth. Beth also knew and used the fact that he was attracted to her, if not actually mentally connected to her.

What
Scott was reasonably sure of was the fact that she wanted or needed something from him that went far beyond a physical, romantic, or social relationship. The more realistic part of his mind knew they had known each other for less than twenty-four hours, yet they felt very close to each other. He assumed she wanted to deal with some emotional or psychological problem and found him to be someone who was sympathetic with her.

The less logical and thoughtful part of his mind wanted to believe there was something very different about
Beth. He was convinced she had a secret that he felt compelled to know and understand. He also believed she was trying to lead him to some undefined destination. In order to accomplish that goal, Beth continued to strengthen her relationship with Scott.

The more logical part of his mind could not explain how
Beth and Michelle communicated with out speaking as they had done on the beach. He could not explain their premonition nor could he explain his own knowledge about her ex-boyfriend. Scott had never had anything that he would call psychic ability, yet this weekend was proving to be an exception.

He assumed it was the more mysterious aspects to their relationship that he
found so attractive and interesting.

She
reached behind her back with both hands and untied the strap on her bathing suit, leaving it hanging by just the neck strap and barely covering her. “Are you having any trouble reading my mind now? Do you know what I want from you?”

Scott
looked at her for a moment knowing what he wanted but also knowing there had to be lines he would not cross. “Beth, I think you are adorable, smart, funny, and you have a body I would love to get to know better. But my life is a mess right now and I can’t go there with you, even though I would like to.”

Beth
was trapped between her growing desire, her fear, and her determination to gain his full attention and assert some control over him. “It doesn’t matter, because I can’t let you take me to bed right now. I’m not even close to that point yet.”