To Thine Own Self - Page 24/155

Carmen woke the next morning to the sound of a rooster crowing. Alex lay against her back with an arm around her; a hand cradling one of her breasts. The soft puff of breath on her neck indicated he was still asleep. It was after six am, but still not full daylight. They were supposed to get up early so that Alex could help her scout out a trail before church. She didn't want to move. It was all so cozy and romantic. Alex was the perfect husband for her. She traced the veins on his hand and caressed his arm. Every inch of him was delightful.

His breathing changed and he moved, kissing her bare shoulder before he spoke.

"We'd better get up if we're going to scout out that trail before we go to church."

Carmen sighed. "I suppose."

He chuckled softly. "It is nice to have the house to ourselves, isn't it?"

She rolled over to face him, snuggling into his arms. "No interruptions."

When they kissed, the room lit up with a brilliant flash of lightning.

Alex drew back and lifted a brow. "Wow!"

Carmen's giggle was drowned by a rumble of thunder.

Alex drew her back into his arms. "No interruptions."

Their lovemaking lasted only a few minutes before his cell phone rang. He pulled away with an exasperated sigh and answered the phone. His side of the conversation indicated there was an emergency. He closed the phone and gazed down at her for a moment.

"Apparently I was wrong," he said in a dejected tone.

She wrinkled her nose and pulled away from him.

"Next time we decide to spend some time alone, I'm going to bury your telephone."

He chuckled as he crawled out of bed and began dressing. He owned the clinic, so he could tell them to send someone else, but Alex loved his work. Of course, that wasn't all of it. Alex was conscientious and he would never ask his employees to do anything he wouldn't do. It was his responsibility and, Alex being the person he was, could do nothing but step up to it.

Less than a half hour later he was out the door. As she watched his truck leave the yard, she turned and headed for the shower. She might as well pick up the children.

After a shower, she was dressing when her phone rang. She resisted the urge to finish dressing before answering it. It wasn't as if they could see her.

"Hello?" she said as she dressed with the phone to her ear.