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“Shoving down your feelings, giving up something you love, and changing the way you interact with the world is not moving forward,” Kay told her.
Deep down Piper knew her friend was right. She’d shoved it all down so deep and tried to ignore the pain for so long. Her stomach roiled.
“I think I’m gonna be sick.”
Jumping out of bed, Piper stumbled to the bathroom where she spent quite a few minutes emptying the celebratory dinner out of her stomach and into the toilet.
Kay brought her some water and a towel and even pulled out her toothbrush and put toothpaste on it for her.
“Alcohol and emotional turmoil apparently don’t play nice,” Piper said as she fought to get the disgusting taste out of her mouth.
“Depends on who you are,” Kay teased. “I’m really sorry I wasn’t there for you, Pips, but I have a plan to help you really move forward.”
“You do? How did you come up with a plan so fast?”
“I’m a problem solver. It’s a gift.” She shrugged. “Have you heard of Rawhide Ranch?”
Piper thought for a moment but came up blank. “Can’t say that I have.”
“It’s a BDSM resort in Montana. It’s pretty spectacular. I’ve been once and plan to go back. You need to book a birthday/divorce celebration trip and go.”
“By myself?”
“Yeah! Why not? It would be perfect because you’re in a place no one knows you. There are no preconceived notions or standards. You can play in the dungeon and brat till your heart’s content with no worries. You’ll leave with a bruised ass and a full heart. I want you to see how real lifestyle interactions look and stop basing everything you think on one spineless idiot.”
“I don’t know, Kay.” Piper shook her head. She’d never been on a vacation on her own and allowing that side of her free after how hurt she’d been did not sound like something she was ready to do. Plus, wouldn’t anyone in a situation like that then expect her to have sex with them? As much as she wanted Kay’s plan to work, it just wouldn’t.
“How about this. I’ll give you the website, you check it out and then go from there. No harm in looking, right?”
“I suppose not.” She capitulated knowing that there wasn’t much of a choice. Kay was relentless.
“Good girl.” Kay winked.
Piper rolled her eyes. Now that Kay knew her secret, she was totally going to use it against her.
“I’m not a good girl,” Piper grumbled making Kay laugh out loud as she snagged Piper’s laptop from the desk and opened it.
“We’ll see about that I guess, won’t we?” She typed in a web address and a photo of a huge iron gate with two R’s on it filled the screen. “I’ve got to go, I have to be up in a couple of hours for work. Call me tomorrow?”
“Yeah, sounds good.” Piper was already enraptured by what she saw and was clicking away at the site before Kay even made it out the door.
CHAPTER TWO
Chapter Two
Catherine Denten sat in the cafe of Rawhide Ranch enjoying breakfast with her husband and taking in the beauty that was the promise of spring at the Ranch. It was early March and still chilly most days, but they would soon see the buds on the trees. Spring was her favorite time of year. A time or rebirth and new beginnings. Maybe even some new beginnings for her as well.
“What’s got you thinking so hard, babe?” her husband, Samuel, asked.
“Nothing much, I was just thinking about spring. I’m excited for the flowers.” She smiled. She loved flowers. She had a flower garden outside their new custom-built house on Rawhide Ridge. It was her happy place.
Sam nodded, his eyes thoughtful. “You sure that’s all?”
Sam and Catherine both worked at Rawhide. They were the onsite therapists for anyone who needed a listening ear. They lived the BDSM lifestyle so they had a better understanding of the issues than many other doctors did. They could relate to their patients and that really helped them to connect on a deeper level relatively quickly. Sometimes they saw a guest or a couple for one session, and other times they saw a resident multiple times a week. They were there to serve the needs of anyone at Rawhide who could benefit from their services.
“Yes, that’s all,” she fibbed. That wasn't all. She was beginning to feel like something was missing for her and Sam, but she didn’t really understand what it was. She was happy in her marriage. They had two wonderful kids, a son and a daughter, both of whom were newlyweds and off making the world their own. They had a dream job in a dream destination, but she couldn’t silence the feelings of need. The need to take care of someone. To love them, guide them, encourage them. One could argue that she played that part for a lot of Littles on the Ranch. She even doled out therapy spankings when they were needed, but then she gave them a hug and sent them on their way. She wanted a Little to call her own. She’d never told Samuel any of that, but the time was nearing where she needed to be honest with him. She didn’t want to leave him and she didn’t want to share him, so what could she even do?
Sam regarded her and shook his head. “You’re lying to me, Cat. But we don’t really have time to get into it. We both have early clients. Tonight at dinner though, we’ll talk. Okay?”
