Steven Davis had not raised his hand or his voice during the awkward conversation. He didn’t have to. The love for his daughter was clear and Shannon had no doubt he would follow through on his actions. Before Shannon could reply, a sharp intake of breath came
• 140 •
Descent
from over her left shoulder. Preparing for the worst, she turned and saw Caroline standing right behind her.
For the second time she watched the interaction between Caroline and her father. Like her father, Caroline’s face showed shock, fear, and uncertainty. She was clutching her robe to her chest in a death grip, her knuckles white. Shannon watched Davis take in her just-fucked appearance and the fact that she was obviously very naked beneath the short silk robe. She wondered what it was like for a man to actually see his daughter as a sexual woman. Know what she had done, imagining someone touching her, stroking her, making her cry out in desire. In that instant, and that instant only, she felt sorry for him.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Mr. Davis,” Shannon said. She turned and faced Caroline. As much as she wanted to, there was nothing she could do to help her. This was between Caroline and her father. She reached out, grasped Caroline’s hand for a moment, and smiled what she hoped was a sign conveying that she was with her before stepping around her father.
“Daddy,” Caroline said, not knowing what to say. Her father entered the room, the two cups of coffee he was holding all but forgotten.
Caroline glanced at Shannon’s retreating back before closing the door.
“What you do is your business, Caroline. It’s not my place to interfere like it was years ago. I did what I thought was necessary and I’d do it all again if I had to. But you’re a grown woman now with a smart head on her shoulders. You make your own decisions and I support you. You’re my daughter and I love you. Nothing will ever change that. Now, let’s get you ready for the race today, shall we?”
Caroline stood there speechless. She certainly hadn’t expected to see her father and Shannon together this morning. God, especially not this morning. The sound of voices woke her and when she saw who was talking and heard what they were saying, she was practically paralyzed in the past. Shannon was standing her ground with her father and he was making his intentions clear. What may have looked like a stalemate to others was really a meeting of the minds of two of the most important people in her life. After a moment, she padded over to her father in her bare feet and lightly kissed him on the cheek.
v
• 141 •
JuliE CaNNoN
Shannon was oblivious to the activity around her as she walked the short distance down the hall to the waiting elevator. It was empty, thank God. She didn’t feel like she could make small talk with anyone she knew. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were tired but bright, her face flushed. Did she look any different than she had when she exited this same elevator hours ago? She certainly felt different.
Sometime last night with Caroline she had changed. In the minutes before dawn, Shannon had thought not only about what had happened between them, but how it had affected her. She had touched and been touched. Not just physically, but emotionally, and it frightened her. She had never felt this way about anyone, never allowed herself to. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that no one had ever taken the place of Caroline. No one had even come close. For lack of any other way of describing it, she felt like she had come home.
Shannon unlocked the door with the cardkey she pulled from her pocket and stepped inside. The strength of the early morning light barely penetrated the drawn drapes. She let her shoes drop on the floor and lay on her own queen size bed. She curled up in a ball wanting to savor and remember the taste, the touch, the feel, the scent of Caroline Davis.The smell of her was still on her fingers, the taste of her in her mouth. Shannon didn’t care how ridiculous she appeared as she licked one finger after the other, inhaling the scent of the woman who meant the world to her. They hadn’t talked much during the night. They hadn’t talked about anything at all. They simply reached out to each other time and time again; their need for each other unspoken. Words would trivialize what they were experiencing. Shannon had never felt so loved and felt so much love for someone in return. What she had felt for Caroline before was simply young love. What she sensed now was the full, mature love of one woman for another. She savored the feeling for one more moment before getting up, peeling off her clothes, and stepping into the shower.
• 142 •
Descent
ChaPTER EighTEEN
Shannon was next on the starting line. The final of this race was a series of three heats. She and Caroline had both completed the first two and Caroline was ahead of her by eight tenths of a second.
This was her final run. Shannon had to ride her best to give herself enough cushion so that Caroline had to ride better to beat her.
The start clock ticked down and Shannon readied herself for the most important race of the series so far. She had pushed Caroline out of her mind as soon as she had turned off the shower faucet knobs. She had to focus. She couldn’t allow Caroline to intrude on her concentration.
Five, four, three, two, one. Shannon rocketed out of the starting blocks. Her skill and strength climbing hills dominated the tour and she had no trouble on the first half of the race. Up and down her powerful legs moved, each stroke of the pedals churning over the dirt effortlessly under her wheels. Her ass was out of the saddle giving the extra power she needed to get over the next rise. Crossing the top, she immediately downshifted and tried to make up any speed she might lose on the downhill side of the course.
Alternating shifting and pedaling down the hill, stroke after stroke, her full face helmet and goggles kept any wind off her face. The bandana under her helmet kept the sweat from dripping into her eyes.
Her long sleeves rustled in the breeze created by her fast descent.
A sharp turn came quicker than expected, and her disc brakes responded immediately to the command to slow down. She mastered the turn without the slightest hesitation and was pedaling even before she was out of the turn. She repeated these movements time and time
• 143 •
JuliE CaNNoN
again, turn after hairpin turn, as she steadily descended the mountain.
She crossed the finish line with a time of 5:22:04. She glanced behind her knowing that her main rival and the woman who had come back into her life was preparing herself at the start line at that very moment.
Shannon walked over to the post-race staging area to watch Caroline on the JumboTron. Due to the wonders of modern technology, Shannon could watch the entire race, and as the seconds ticked down to zero, Caroline jetted out of the starting gate.
Caroline climbed the steep ascent. She was a woman in control of the mountain, her tires on her lime green bike kicking up no dust as they churned up the steep trail. Her arms were as powerful as her legs and Shannon watched in awe as she used them to give herself extra leverage and power to climb the hill.
On the back side of the mountain Caroline practically floated over the steep terrain. She mastered each turn, one after the other, almost effortlessly, but the fatigue in Shannon’s arms and legs told her that even though Caroline made it look easy, it was anything but. Shannon held her breath as Caroline maneuvered through each turn, knowing that any minor slip and Caroline could go down as hard as she had the week before.
Finally, Caroline was through the last turn and Shannon dragged her eyes away from the screen to watch her speed to the finish. Caroline flashed by the banners on either side of the straightaway as she came closer and closer to the checkered flag. Twenty yards, fifteen yards, ten, five. With a flash and a roar Caroline crossed the line.