Authors: Randi Cardoza
“Oh, what is that noise?” Shawn asked as she stepped into the shower.
“I turned on the shower since the bathroom is the only room in my suite that's not bugged. I’m going to take a shower now if you must know. It’s hard to do that with you talking to me, so if you don’t mind…” Kenzi said as she turned up the heat on the shower.
“Some things never change, but you couldn’t concentrate on a shower when we were married. I had to do that for you,” Shawn chortled and then the air was silent.
Kenzi silently thanked God for Shawn’s silence and quickly shampooed her hair. She was toweling her hair dry when she noticed the doorknob to her room jiggle.
“Who is it?” Kenzi asked to disarm whoever was trying to sneak in.
“I was just checking to see that you went to bed,” called Mr. Mortimer.
“Yes, I did. It’s been an exhausting day,” Kenzi called through the door. “Good-night, Mr. Mortimer.”
She could hear him stomping childishly down the hall and grinned at herself in the mirror. The man was to easy to thwart especially when his attempts were so obvious.
Kenzi knew the cameras would go off at 2 a.m. and she was ready for it. Mr. Mortimer didn’t realize that the little red lights could be seen all over the room and Kenzi’s debugger/cell phone told her where every one was the instant she turned it on.
Carefully, so as not to alert anyone she grabbed her make-up kit and took four pairs of hook and eye locks out of it. She put two every six inches along the frame of the door. One would face the right direction and one would be upside down. A smart man would figure out how to unlock them but Kenzi felt confident that Mr. Mortimer wouldn’t figure it out.
Next, she carefully put a personal alarm on both of her windows. She tied the cord to the handle so that if anyone tried to raise it up, the alarm would sound. Mr. Mortimer would be deterred for as long as she needed to finalize the escape.
Kenzi went to bed silently wondering if Mr. Mortimer would try to gain entry to her room again. If he did, he’d be in for a big surprise.
Chapter 7
Shawn had managed to contact Mac and tell him that transport was needed for the following week more than likely on Monday. But had a raft in place at the bottom of the cliff in case they had to escape quickly into the ocean.
Kenzi was busy taking Molly out on Tempest again when he got back so he decided to clean out the fountain in the front yard. He was bent over scraping at the mossy stones when he felt someone pinch him.
“My, my, you do like to show off don’t you?” asked Mrs. Mortimer as she traced a finger down her neck into her cleavage.
“I was just doing my job but if you don’t want me to clean out the fountain, that’s fine. I’m sure Toby can use a hand at the stables,” Shawn said as he wiped his wet hands on a towel hanging from his back pocket.
“Why don’t I give you a
real
job?” Mrs. Mortimer purred moving closer to him.
“I don’t sleep with other men’s wives. Now if you please, I have a
real job
to do,” Shawn said angrily pushing her hands away from him.
She pouted at him and fluttered her eyelashes but he turned and walked away heading towards the stables.
Toby could tell Shawn was furious when he got there and didn’t’ want to pry.
“Problems?” he asked handing Shawn a pitchfork to put fresh hay in all of the stalls.
“What makes a woman want to cheat on her husband and vice versa? Kenzi was telling me that Mr. Mortimer actually tried to come in her room the other night,” Shawn said tossing hay into the first of nine stalls.
“Those two are odd birds, that’s for sure. Miss Kenzi can protect herself from Mr. Mortimer,” Toby assured Shawn.
“I don’t see the attraction to adultery, though. When I was married I didn’t, couldn’t, think about anyone else but her,” Shawn said wiping at the sweat beading on his forehead.
“You’re still in love with your wife, I can tell, but at the same time there’s a strong attraction between you and Miss Kenzi,” Toby replied patting Shawn’s shoulder.
“There’s something about Kenzi but yes, I am in love with my ex-wife,” Shawn said as he leaned against the pitchfork.
“You’ll work it out. Whatever happens is for the best. I best see to feeding the horses. It’s time for their lunch,” Toby said leaving Shawn to think.
Kenzi rode up a few minutes later with Molly and readily gave up the reins to Shawn. Something wasn’t quite right but he wasn’t sure what.
“Kenzi are you okay?” he asked pulling Molly down to the ground.
“I don’t know, I just feel kinda dizzy. Maybe it was something we ate for lunch, huh, Molly?” Kenzi asked Molly as she let Shawn help her down from Tempest.
“Why don’t you go take a nap, Miss Kenzi? I’ll take one with you,” Molly offered holding out her hand for Kenzi.
“I think that’s a good idea. The sun is awful strong today, maybe a ride wasn’t the best idea,” Shawn suggested softly.
“Okay, well, let’s go back to the house, Molly. We’ll go take a nap in my big bed, okay?” Kenzi asked as she looked down at Molly.
Kenzi slept for most of the day and Helen offered to watch Molly so Kenzi could get some rest. Kenzi locked her room and checked the windows after Molly left to be sure her room was safe before she felt back to sleep.
For some reason she was compelled to crawl out the window and go to Shawn but her pride and her aching head wouldn’t let her do it. She heard voices hazily in her sleep but couldn’t quite place them.
Shawn on the other hand could hear every word of the argument Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer were having.
“The child is absolutely useless, Andrew. She won’t have a thing to do with me, she only wants Kenzi,” Mrs. Mortimer said.
“A child of her age won’t forget her real parents as quickly as an infant would. We just need to give her more time to adjust, Patsy.”
“That would be fine if we could have fun along with it but somehow Shawn keeps avoiding me. That man is seriously hot and I want him,” Patsy whined childishly.
“Well, you saw what Kenzi has done. She rigged that room so I couldn’t possibly get in there without alerting her. I swear she uses that girl as a shield sometimes, Patsy.”
“Why don’t we just get rid of her?”
“No, you get your fun and I get mine, Patsy.”
“Why don’t we hire someone just as pretty as Kenzi, so you won’t feel the loss?” Patsy crooned and it sounded as if Mr. Mortimer was groaning.
Shawn didn’t want to hear anymore. He had to think fast, Monday was two days away. Surely they couldn’t find someone to replace Kenzi by then.
They’d have to move quickly Monday night before anyone realizes what they were doing. Shawn called Mac on his untraceable cell phone and told him the news.
“Meganfully, Kenzi will be well enough to handle this in case anything happens,” he whispered. “Janey shouldn’t be a problem because she’s been getting very anxious for Kenzi to do something.”
“Get to Kenzi and tell her. Don’t tell the child until it’s time for you to leave. She won’t be able to keep it to herself,” Mac replied and hung up the phone.
Shawn worked out alternate escape routes through the woods. The next day he would take a ride into the woods and plant the raft along the edge of the cliff in case they needed it. He wouldn’t inflate it until they got there, if they got to the raft.
Chapter 8
Kenzi felt better the next day and was out in the garden playing with Molly when Shawn came up.
“Hey, Mr. Shawn! Can me and Miss Kenzi play in the sprinklers after this game is over?” Molly asked running up to meet him and gesturing to the game board on the grass as she hopped from one foot to another.
“Hey, Miss Molly. I’ll see what I can do. Why don’t you play in the sprinklers and let me and Kenzi watch?” Shawn asked as he bent down and plucked a daisy from the garden and handed it to Molly.
“Okay, Mr. Shawn. But Miss Kenzi said we could play together,” Molly added as an afterthought.
“I’m sure Kenzi will join you after a little while, it’s getting mighty hot out here. Isn’t that right, Kenzi?” Shawn asked glancing over at Kenzi.
“It sure is and I don’t want to get overheated like I did yesterday. The only reason you didn’t was because you took a swim near the cliff, Molly,” Kenzi said as she picked a card from the messy pile on the game board.
“I’ll set up the sprinklers while you finish this game,” Shawn said and slipped away from them while Molly jumped up and down about getting a card that put her in the winning position.
When he’d returned Kenzi was boxing up the game and Molly was pulling off her shirt and shorts to reveal a lime green swimsuit underneath.
Shawn turned on the water and gestured for Kenzi to come over while Molly squealed as she jumped into the spray.
“What is it, Shawn? Mrs. Mortimer is watching us and I’m sure it’ll look suspicious if she notices we’re having a serious conversation,” Kenzi whispered while not allowing her lips to move.
“Just pretend we’re flirting with each other. Keep the look light even if the conversation isn’t,” Shawn whispered as he brushed her hair away from her face.
Kenzi shivered slightly and turned toward him a little more. “What’s going on?” she whispered touching her cheek lightly where he had moments before.
“While you were sleeping last night, the Mortimer’s had quite an interesting conversation. They’re going to fire you soon but are waiting till after the birthday party,” Shawn whispered taking her hand and bringing it to his lips.
“Why didn’t I hear this and wake up? And why are they firing me?” Kenzi asked in a low voice as she smiled up at him in a deceptively shy gesture.
“I think you were drugged yesterday. Things aren’t working out the way the Mortimer’s want. You aren’t going for Mr. Mortimer so they’re getting rid of you. Mrs. Mortimer, on the other hand, is still determined that she can have me,” Shawn said pulling her close by the hand he held.
“Oh. What are you doing Shawn?” Kenzi asked, her voice wheezing out in a perceptible gasp.
“I’m putting on a show so that Mrs. Mortimer will now that we’re attracted to each other. Maybe then she’ll realize that if you get fired, I’ll leave too,” Shawn whispered his lips mere inches from Kenzi’s.
Kenzi just moaned softly and her gaze was riveted on his lips. She had almost forgotten how it felt to kiss him and her eyes fluttered closed as his lips descended towards hers.
The kiss sent a jolt through her body and she could feel his body stiffen upon the impact of their lips. His tongue teased her lips begging them to open and she finally did open her mouth. Her hands were drifting up towards his hair when she heard Molly.
“Miss Kenzi, are you going to get in the sprinklers with me?” she cried happily as she ran through the revolving stream.
“In a minute, sweetie,” Kenzi called hoarsely as she pulled her lips away from Shawn’s.
Before she could get away, Shawn grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back to him. Anyone looking would think he was whispering sweet nothings in her ear.
“We’re leaving tomorrow night after the party. Be ready but don’t tell Molly, she won’t be able to keep it a secret,” Shawn whispered as he nuzzled her ear.
“Of course. Do you know what tomorrow is, Shawn?” Kenzi asked as she let her head loll back onto his chest.
“Do you even need to ask, Kenzi?” Shawn asked pulling away from her gently so as not to arouse suspicion. “She’d be five tomorrow. She was my baby, too, and I’ll never forget.”
Kenzi looked down at her feet as Shawn moved away and left the garden. Molly was still jumping over the spraying water happily and Kenzi felt like she didn’t know which way to turn.
Kenzi suddenly felt the heat when she glanced up at the window Mrs. Mortimer seemed to like to peek out of and could feel the intense jealousy in the other woman’s gaze.
Kenzi quickly shed her denim shorts and pulled her white tank top emblazoned with an American flag off with a jerk. She chased Molly around in the sprinkler for close to an hour and then told her that they needed to get inside so they could get ready for dinner.
Molly and Kenzi, wrapped in towels, made their way upstairs to dry off and change into clothes proper for dinner. Kenzi put Molly’s dirty clothes in the laundry basket in the bathroom and helped Molly chose an airy but nice dress for dinner.
Kenzi left Molly in Helen’s care so she could change into a gauzy electric blue skirt and an airy, white see-through blouse with a periwinkle tank top underneath. She put on simple brown sandals and quickly went down to the kitchen to help Helen with dinner.
Molly was giggling as she rolled a rolling pin over pie crust and Helen was telling her of the mischief she’d gotten in when she was younger.
“Miss Kenzi, Miss Helen stole all the peaches so her brothers and sister couldn’t have any peach pie,” Molly said running over to Kenzi.
“I’m sure Helen apologized later,” Kenzi replied with a smile.
“Nope but Papa whupped me good for it. That’s the last time I stole the peaches,” Helen said as she rolled the crust once more and started fitting it into the pie pan.
Molly looked at her with wide eyes and Kenzi knelt down to explain to her. “Helen’s mommy and daddy probably whipped their children only when they were bad and I’m sure it wasn’t often.”
“That’s right, Miss Molly. We learned not to test the boundaries mama and daddy set,” Helen said with a smile.
“Oh,” Molly said but didn’t look convinced.
“Come, Molly, I’m sure your mommy and daddy are wondering where we are,” Kenzi said taking Molly’s hand and leading her toward the dining room.
They had a leisurely dinner and Mrs. Mortimer brought up the birthday party when dessert was served.
“Molly, all your friends from Raleigh are going to be here for your party tomorrow,” she said hoping to get a cheerful response.
“I don’t like them frenz. They’re mean, they locked me in the bathroom and wouldn’t let me out,” Molly said stubbornly as she dug her spoon into the rainbow sherbet in front of her.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, my dear. Humility is good for the soul,” Mr. Mortimer replied as he turned the page of his newspaper rather loudly.
Molly snorted and then looked at Kenzi. “Well, I don’t like them. I don’t want a stupid party anyway!”
“You are going to have a party. Maybe you should go to your room without dessert. Kenzi please escort Molly to her room,” Mrs. Mortimer said sternly averting her eyes from Molly in disgust.
“Yes, ma’am. Come Molly, we’ll go to your room and I’ll read you a story,” Kenzi said as she stood up. She couldn’t help but wonder when the Mortimers were going to tell her she was no longer in their employ.
Molly sullenly went to her room with Kenzi and complained for a while about the party. She calmed down when Kenzi started to read her the story about Missy Mouse and her missing cheese.
Kenzi read her another story before tucking her into bed and going down to the garden to talk to Shawn. Mrs. Mortimer was sitting on the patio in some very racy lingerie.
Shawn came around the corner from the garden shed and almost tripped over the lounger Mrs. Mortimer was sitting in. She smiled coyly up at him and Kenzi could practically hear eyelashes fluttering.
“I’m sorry, Shawn. I didn’t know you were out here,” she purred running a finger idly up his leg.
Shawn pushed her hand away and moved further out of her reach. “I didn’t see you there. I’ll go back to the house and wait for Kenzi there.”
“Oh, are you and Kenzi seeing each other?” asked Mrs. Mortimer softly but trying to keep the obvious jealousy out of her voice.
“You know we are, you peek at us out the window every day,” Shawn said over his shoulder as he was walking toward the house.
Kenzi suddenly felt hands around her waist and then moving up to try to cup her breasts. Without hesitation she jabbed an elbow up high enough to catch Mr. Mortimer in the nose.
“Oh, god! I think you broke my nose,” he screamed causing Shawn and Mrs. Mortimer to come running.
“You shouldn’t have grabbed me like that. I have ignored your passes at me the entire time I’ve been working here and yet you still seem to think I want you,” Kenzi said sternly as she checked the urge to kick him in the balls.
“Come Andrew. We’ll go to the bathroom and stop the bleeding. We will be discussing this later, Kenzi,” said Mrs. Mortimer sternly as she led Mr. Mortimer into the house.
“Well now they have a real reason to fire me. I attacked the boss,” Kenzi smirked.
“What happened?” Shawn asked sitting down in the lounge and pulling her down with him.
“He came up behind me and grabbed me. I elbowed him right in the nose. He’s lucky I didn’t go after Mr. Mortimer Jr. because I would have knocked it off,” Kenzi said hotly.
Shawn tried to keep his smile at bay but Kenzi noticed and jabbed him in the ribs with said elbow.
“Go to bed, Kenzi. You’ll need plenty of sleep for tomorrow night,” Shawn said as he got up and kissed her forehead.
“All right. Walk me to my room so I don’t get attacked on my way,” Kenzi said grabbing Shawn’s arm.
They made it safely there and Shawn gave Kenzi a quick run-thru on the escape plan. He watched as Kenzi secured her room before he left to go back to his room over the garage.
He called Mac once again on his secure cell and simply said, “All systems are go for tomorrow night.”