Open Eyes (Open Skies) Read online

  “Yeah. And you should see this woman, Mom. I mean, gorgeous does not even begin to describe her.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Oh, yeah. But guess what? She had red-gold hair – same exact color as mine.”

  “Well then, darling, of course she’s gorgeous.”

  “Aw, Mom.” Vicky blushed and glanced at her watch with the cracked face. “Listen, I need to get going… I’ll call back later tonight, OK? To talk to Sonia.”

  “OK. We’ll be waiting.”

  “Bye, Mom. I love you.”

  “I love you too, darling girl. You take care out there.”

  “I will. I am.”

  “Vicky?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m proud of you. So damn proud.”

  Vicky blinked back tears; Diana did the same.

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “You go on and build up a new life out there. Something strong and amazing and all you. Something that you can show your daughter to make her believe in the miracles that happen with hard work and courage and guts. And when you love yourself enough to grab a new start.”

  “I will, Mom. I am.”

  **

  Julie gasped. She was dizzy with pleasure and clung to Jake’s shoulders as he thrust inside of her, harder and faster. His hot mouth was against her throat, his breath harsh.

  “Jake, my God. Oh, it feels so good…”

  Jake groaned and kissed her. She was just the hottest, sexiest thing he’d ever seen or touched. There was no such thing as getting enough of Julie.

  Julie’s back was pressed against her bedroom wall, her legs as wide as they could go. Jake’s large hands were under her generous butt, lifting and lowering her on his sex, rolling her hips up and down. Her body was almost five feet off the floor and she was literally nailed to the wall by Jake’s cock. She moved on him, again and again, loving his strength, trusting him to hold her up and not let her fall.

  He held her weight as if it was nothing at all, and for Jake, it was. He pushed deeper in to her amazing body and she started to shudder. He sped up, matching his strokes to her rhythmic cries and sobs. Her pussy was open and begging for him; his every movement slammed against her open lips and drove her closer and closer to the edge. She arched her neck and closed her eyes. Her fingers dug in to his back and he licked her breasts and she started to come.

  Her muscles tightened on Jake’s cock and he lost all control now: he held her in place against the wall and his thrusts became as hard as he knew she could take them. Julie loved it, she loved when he fucked her like a wild thing, and she responded with a shriek of sheer bliss.

  “Jake! Jake, now… now!”

  He growled and watched the rapture on her beautiful face, felt her lush body shake and tighten, clench and loosen. Her ecstasy had the same effect on him that it always did: he exploded inside of her sweet center and he grunted her name as he came hard, gripping her soft curves as close to him as he could.

  Breathless, Julie opened her eyes and saw Jake’s gray eyes blazing at her. She shuddered again. He did that to her, every time – she responded to him on the most primal, sexual level. She kissed him, running her tongue over his lips, glorying in his own answering shudder.

  Jake wrapped her legs around his waist and then leaned heavily on the wall with one hand; his other forearm cradled Julie, still suspending her off the floor. He hoped his legs could hold him up for a few more seconds as he gently swung Julie away from the wall. Still buried inside of her, he walked the four paces to the bed and sat on its edge, running his hands up and down her warm back. Julie moaned as her butt made contact with his muscular thighs and his sex nudged in to her more deeply. Her toes curled in to the carpeted bedroom floor and she sighed as her heartbeat slowed down. Making love with Jake was always sweetly exhausting and totally satisfying, yet still stimulating. She knew that she’d be ready to do it all again in ten minutes. And so would he.

  “I love you, baby.” He ran his fingers through her wild curls, loving how tousled and disheveled she looked. To see the polished Julie Everett panting and gasping under him, her eyes widened in pleasure and her lips swollen with his kisses was his favorite way to see her: gorgeous and loose and soundly fucked.

  She smiled at him. “I love you too.”

  They stayed like that for a few minutes, kissing and stroking, whispering endearments. Then Jake gently lifted her off him and laid her down on the bed. He went in to the master bathroom and threw the condom away, and then came back to her.

  “You have time for a quick cuddle?” he asked.

  Julie turned to glance at the clock on the bedside table. “Ummm. Yeah, a few minutes.”

  Jake laid down beside her and gathered her in to his massive arms. She put her head on his broad chest and delicately ran her finger over his muscles. She took a deep breath, happy.

  “So, how did Vicky react when you told her that she got the job?” Jake asked.

  Julie grinned. “I think she was shocked. She could barely string a sentence together except to thank me about fifty times.”

  “I’m glad you and Rob decided on her.”

  Julie was surprised. “You are?” She lifted her head and met his gray eyes. They were serious. “How come?”

  “I’m not totally sure,” he said slowly. “Just – something about her. She reminded me so much of Mom, right after she kicked my father out and was job-hunting for the first time in her life. You know? Like – desperate and scared and so damn determined, all at the same time. Vicky gave me that same feeling.”

  Julie shook her head. “You’re not the only one.”

  “I’m not?”

  “No. Rob and I both feel like she needs a break… I mean, she’s qualified and she was damn impressive with her research and everything. But still. The thing that decided it was this sense that she just needs a hand up.”

  “Phil said he thinks she’s as strong as hell under all that vulnerability.”

  “I am sure Phil is right,” Julie said. “I agree with him. I think she’s down right now, but she’s not going to stay there and no way is she out. I think she’s just been waiting for a chance – any chance – and now that she’s got it, she’s going to run with it.”

  “Yep,” Jake said. “We all better just stand back. I get the feeling that Vicky is going to blow us all away. Show us how it’s done.”

  **

  Opal Newman jumped up from behind the reception desk and hurried around the counter. She gave Vicky a massive hug, enveloping her in quite a bit of perfume at the same time.

  “Girl!” Opal said. “I am so, so damn proud of you. Now that’s how you get it done!”

  “Thanks,” Vicky said smiling at the older woman. “I’m sorry about leaving you in the lurch, though.”

  Opal waved a massive hand, her fake jewelry flashing cheaply in the bright reception lights. “Oh, hell, girl. That should be just about the last damn thing on your mind. You hear?”

  “Yes.” Vicky felt tears stinging her eyes again. She was going to miss Opal.

  Vicky had shown up at the Timber Motel late one night, almost two months earlier. She was soaked through from a flash summer rainstorm and shivering with cold and exhaustion. She hadn’t eaten much that day and she felt faint and fuzzy. She gripped the reception area counter and tried to look respectable as she stared at the large woman with the odd bright maroon hair glaring at her.

  Opal had worked in the cheap motel business for twenty years: she and her now-dead-and-thank-God-for-that third husband had started the Timber together. When the bastard had dropped dead in one of the rooms while yet again fucking a guest, Opal had thought about selling it and then realized that she’d surely die of boredom in about six months.

  She not only held on to the motel, she overhauled it in most ways. She booted out the loitering junkies and the live-in
prostitutes, and she made sure they spread the word that she did not welcome ‘that element’ any more. Her husband had always been fine with taking their money, but Opal had never liked having them around. She had wanted the Timber to be a cheap and cheerful option for families passing through Denver – and what kind of parents would bring their kids to a motel with druggies and hookers hanging around the parking lot?

  She had seen it all cross the lobby of the motel, and she had looked up at Vicky with suspicion and resignation. Whatever this woman with the soaking hair and shadowed eyes was bringing to the Timber, no way it could be good news. Opal had the word ‘No’ ready on her heavily-painted lips even before Vicky opened her mouth to ask for whatever it was she was after. But Vicky surprised her, and Opal Newman was not a woman who was often surprised.

  “I was wondering, ma’am, if I could clean some rooms in exchange for a bed for the night.” Vicky tried to smile. “I am an excellent cleaner.”

  Opal leaned back and studied her. “Are you now?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” My husband made damn sure of that.

  “Hmmmmm.” Opal thought about that. Something about this one was different, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Maybe it was the way Vicky talked – her voice was soft and cultured. An educated woman down on her luck? Opal wasn’t about to bet on it. She had a few more questions to ask.

  “Well, it just so happens that my cleaning lady is off sick today and tomorrow… probably the day after, too. So, how about this: you go clean Room One. Now, for free. I come and inspect it in one hour and we see where we’re at.”

  Vicky almost collapsed. She was so tired and so hungry, she wasn’t sure she had the physical energy to clean a motel room to any kind of exacting standard. She had hoped to do the work tomorrow, after a night’s rest. But she was in no position to bargain and she knew it. She pulled herself up straight and called on every ounce of strength that she had; she dug down deep.

  “That sounds like a fair offer,” she said. “Where are the cleaning supplies?”

  And she had cleaned like a mad woman. She scrubbed and wiped and vacuumed and dried and rearranged and dusted. She didn’t stop for one moment the whole hour and when Opal heaved her bulk across the parking lot to inspect her work, she was ready.

  Opal stood in the door, blinking. The room was transformed. Her regular cleaning lady, Agnes, had never made it look this good. She was stunned. Is that how the windows looked when they were scrubbed? So it was possible for the toilet bowl to gleam, streak- and stain-free. Who knew that the bedsheets could have such crisp, clean edges, almost like military corners?

  She surveyed Vicky. “You weren’t kidding, girl, about being a good cleaner.”

  Vicky was silent. She felt a flutter of hope in her chest. Maybe she had a bed for the night? Maybe two, if the cleaning lady was out for an extra day?

  Opal crossed her arms over an impressive bosom. “OK. I’m open to a short-term sort of cooperation with you.”

  “Oh, thank you –”

  “I am not done speaking yet. I have one condition.”

  “Name it.” Vicky was willing to dance the hula topless, if that’s what it was going to take to have a room with a locked door. She had slept the night before on a bench in the bus station.

  “You open your suitcase.”

  “I – what?”

  Opal nodded at the small, cheap suitcase on the floor next to Vicky’s still-wet running shoes. “You open that up. Let me see what all’s in it.”

  Without one second of hesitation, Vicky hauled the case on to the bedside table, unzipped it, flipped it open. She turned it to face Opal. “There you go.”

  Opal stared down at the most beautifully-organized suitcase known to man. Everything was folded and rolled neatly; the few toiletries were in plastic bags; the towel was in yet another bag; there was one good outfit folded in such a way that creasing was minimized. Everything was either black or grey or blue. No jewelry, no perfume. One pair of cheap black flats.

  She glanced up at Vicky. “Girl, where the hell did you come from?”

  Vicky’s eyes teared up and she quickly wiped them. “That is a long story, I’m afraid.”

  “OK, well. It is damn obvious that you are running from some kind of trouble. That’s fine, but it depends what kind of trouble we’re talking about here. I have a few deal-breakers. You tell me the truth now, you hear? I will know if you’re lying, I promise you. I didn’t raise four boys and not learn a few things.”

  “OK.”

  “Is it drugs?”

  “No.”

  “Are you a hooker?”

  Vicky blinked. Me? “No.”

  “OK, then.”

  Vicky paused, uncertain what that meant. “So – so – OK? I can stay tonight?”

  “That is quite correct. And tomorrow you will clean this place top to bottom.”

  “Oh, yes! Yes, I will. Thank you!”

  Opal gave her a stern look. “It’s just for a couple of days, you hear? And if you do a lousy job in even one room, you’re out. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “OK, then.” Opal looked around. “I guess you can take this room for the night.”

  “Thank you. Oh, thank you.”

  Opal studied Vicky, trying to figure her out. She sighed and extended her hand. “I’m Opal Newman.”

  Vicky shook it. “Victoria Thompson. Please call me Vicky.”

  “Vicky.” Opal headed to the door. “Get some sleep, girl. I will keep you busy all day tomorrow. You will earn this room, I promise you.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Opal shut the door behind her and went back to the reception desk. She wondered what Vicky Thompson was running from; it was bad, Opal knew that much. But it wasn’t her business, was it? No, it was not. She could stay here and do some cleaning, then pack up her little suitcase and march her skinny ass right on out the door. She wasn’t Opal’s problem. No way, no how.

  **

  Two days after Vicky’s surprise appearance out from the rain and darkness, Opal went looking for her. She had made up her mind about something and needed to talk to the younger woman.

  She found Vicky on her hands on knees, energetically scrubbing the bathtub in Room Five. The whole small space smelled like roses and looked bigger, somehow, and brighter.

  “Hello, Vicky. I wanted to have a word with you.”

  Vicky jumped to her feet. “Of course.”

  “So you know that Agnes is coming back tomorrow.”

  “Yes.” Vicky’s bag was already packed and next to the door. She knew she was out first thing in the morning, and she saw no need to pretend otherwise.

  “Well, here is the thing: she’s a lousy cleaning woman.”

  Vicky’s heart stopped and then started again, pounding hard in her chest.

  “I mean, I’ve never thought she was great, and I’ve told her so time and again. But I didn’t fully realize just how bad she is, you know. Not until you came along and showed me how it can and should be done.”

  Vicky nodded, scared to hope.

  “So. Here’s my offer: you stay on as my cleaning lady. You get your room and a small weekly salary. Cash.” She paused. “Sounds OK?”

  Vicky’s eyes were swimming with tears. “Yes. Yes, it sounds great.”

  Opal narrowed her eyes at Vicky. “OK, then. One more thing. Non-negotiable.”

  “OK.”

  “You tell me the story.”

  “What story?” Vicky faltered, afraid.

  “Don’t you play dumb with me, girl. Your story. No bullshit.”

  Vicky was silent.

  “I need to know who you are, Vicky. I need to be sure.”

  “I can see that.”

  “So?”

  “So, OK. I’ll – I’ll tell you the truth. B
ut I also have one condition, non-negotiable.”

  “Let’s hear it.”

  “It goes no farther than you.”

  Opal nodded. “Here’s the thing, Vicky. I think I already know most of it.”

  “You do?” Vicky stared at her in horror. “But – but how can you?”

  “Because I am not dumb, and I am as old as the hills, and I’ve seen every kind of trouble under the sun. I know an abused woman when I see one.”

  Vicky gasped.

  “Come on, now.” Opal was gentle. “It’s OK, sweetie. I’m not going to say anything to anyone, I swear. I’ll even help you, if I can. I’ve got no interest in protecting a man who hurts women, I can tell you that.” She watched the color slowly return to Vicky’s face. “You on the run from him?”

  Vicky hesitated, then nodded.

  “I thought so. You far away enough, he can’t find you?”

  “He’s in Kansas.”

  “Hmmm. Well, he can just stay there, right? And you stay here. You work and sleep here, and you sort yourself out, figure out your next move.”

  “Thank you,” Vicky whispered. “Opal, thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it, sweetie.” She paused. “Anything else to your story?”

  “Just one thing.”

  “OK, go on.”

  “I have – I have a daughter. She’s six.”

  “Where is she? With her Dad?”

  “Oh, no. No. He – he hurt her, too. I’d never leave her there.”

  Opal’s eyes were blazing in fury. “He hit your baby?”

  “Yes…”

  “And so where is she, then?”

  “With my Mom. She and I planned things for about six weeks before I actually ran, you see. I was saving a few dollars here and there from the shopping money and I used part of it to buy two untraceable cell phones.”

  “Burner phones?”

  Vicky was startled. “Yes. How did you know that’s what they’re called?”

  “Please, girl. I am a hardcore crime show TV junkie. I know all the cop investigation lingo.”

  “Oh. Oh, right.” Vicky blinked. “Ummm. Well, anyway. We needed to get Mom out of her apartment, since that needed to be a dead end when my husband came looking for us. Six weeks before I left, I lied and told my husband that Mom had moved to Florida with a made-up boyfriend. She was still there in her place, of course, but he never knew that.”