Across the Cyber-Dixon Line

Going down stairs she found Maggie Harris in the kitchen and the full bodied redhead gave her a smile. "Morning, feel like some breakfast?"

Shandi felt her stomach rumble. "Yes ma'am that would be great. It's been a while since I had breakfast yesterday."

"Well have a seat, coffee?" She brought the pot to the table and Shandi eagerly held up her cup. "Tanner will be over a little later, he's bringing you his lap top so you can try and contact your family. They must be worried sick about you."

"Yes ma'am, mom can be a little scatterbrain when she's writing, but she's still busy with the family and dad keeps a close eye on us." She felt her throat tighten and a feeling of wanting to cry but she swallowed it away. This was no time to get all teary eyed and give up hope. She would find a way to go home, she had to.

Maggie gave her a plate of breakfast, and Shandi ate slowly. Which was hard considering how good it tasted and the urge to just shovel it in was strong. Her standing rule was eat half of everything, that way she was full and wouldn't spend a lot of time snacking. She hated having to watch her weight, but it was a constant battle and one she was determined to win. Even if she was trapped in an unfinished novel with people she knew only from pages of the prior ones.

Maggie, she remembered, was Hannah's aunt. She had come for the wedding in the second book and caught Jake's eye with her bold nature and tolerance for the man who had raised his six sons to be as much of a hell raiser as he had been himself. His motto in life was fast cars, fast women and a bottle of whiskey by your side at all times. Maggie had changed all of that.

A screen door slammed and Shandi jumped a little at the unfamiliar sound. It was one of the boys who came into the kitchen and she tried to place which one it was. Connor or Jeremy if this was before the wedding. She took in the tall, broad shouldered man and when a flash of gold in his left year attracted her, she knew it was Connor. His brother was allergic to gold. She watched as he strode to the counter and filled a cup with coffee.

"Dad and I need to go into town, need to get a part for the Charger..." He didn't waste words like his brothers did at times. "He wanted me to check and see if there was anything you needed while they were there Maggie."

His step-mother shook her head. "No, we're fine."

His eyes went to her. "What about you Shandi?"

Her name rolled off his tongue too damn easy. Reaching to the back pocket of her jeans, she pulled out her stash fund. Just a few spare bucks that she kept in her nightstand for a soda or a pack of cigarettes if she was downtown. "Could you pick me up a couple packs Marlboro red's. I got a feeling I am going to need them until I can get in touch with my folks."

"Sure, but are you sure you're old enough to smoke?"

"Last time I looked I was nineteen that makes me legal for most things in most states..." She didn't mean for it to come out rude, she was just under a lot of stress right now. "Sorry, I didn't mean it the way it sounded, really."

Connor grinned. "That's okay, I get the impression you been through a lot lately."

That was putting it mildly. "You have no idea..."

He didn't, but the more he saw her, the more he wanted to. He had dreamed of her last night, and when he woke this morning not only had he sported a boner like he hadn't had in years, but he knew why she looked so damn familiar. He had been dreaming of her since he was a kid. She had been the cause of his first wet dream and quite a few since. Hell, she was even the reason he had taken that job out in California and spent two years wondering if she was real or not. Well, it had turned out he hadn't needed to leave home after all. She had come to him.

"You want kings or hundreds?"

"It doesn't matter, I can smoke both."

During the ride into town, Connor found himself thinking about Shandi and felt his body react every time he thought about her eyes. "Hey dad..."

"Yeah?"

"You ever had a dream and then you find out it's a real person you've been dreaming about?" He lit a cigarette and looked out the windshield.

"Once or twice, but the dreams never turned out the same way in real life. Her husband always came home early." His dad began to laugh and Connor shook his head.

Leave it to his dad, man never stopped. Let him and Maggie get in the mood and the whole house shook. He knew if he told his dad about the dreams about Shandi his dad would laugh his damn ass off. Be just his damn luck his dreams would turn out like his dads and not end the way he wanted.

Shandi turned on the lap top and went to her email first, three letters from her mom popped up and she opened them quickly, all three asking the same question, "WHERE ARE U?"

She clicked on reply and wrote quickly. :"Little River Arkansas, with Tanner and his family, Jeremy and Violet getting married in a week, send money if possible. I will get bus or plane as soon as possible. Don't know if it will work, but need to try. Love and miss you all, S." She hit send and watched as it seemed to work.

Tanner looked at her. "Here's hoping kid..."

She nodded and took a deep breath as the message seemed to go as planned. When it finished, she let out the breath slowly.

Almost as if her family had been waiting a reply came back. "Will wire money, what the hell happened?"

Knowing this worked, she felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. "Tanner, will you answer them? I need a couple minutes to get myself together okay?"

He nodded. "Go ahead; I'll do what I can..."

Going outside, she lit a cigarette and sat on the porch to look around. The tears were running down her face and she let them fall. So close, yet so far away. She had been afraid that the idea might not work, was some kind of bridge in place? Was she the bridge? Or was it just a fluke, how long before it closed and she was cut off from her family forever, trapped in a novel that her mother hadn't written yet.

Connor saw her sitting on the porch and she was crying. Without even thinking, he walked across the yard and sat down beside her. "Shandi, what's wrong?"

"I...I want to go home, I shouldn't be here." She began to cry harder and he acted on impulse. He put his arms around her and let her cry until she had nothing left. He had some vague idea of how she felt, alone, in a place she didn't know, her only link to home a man who she hadn't seen since she was a kid.

Her depression lasted through dinner, and he watched as she helped his stepmom clear the table and do the dishes. It hurt him inside to know she was so unhappy. Without thinking he looked at her and spoke. "You want to go for a drive Shandi, check out the local scenery?"

She looked shocked and so did those sitting around. Tanner looked at her then at him. "That might not be a good idea...Shandi?"

She gave him a weak smile. "Oh come on Tanner, what's the worst that can happen he ends up in my world like you did? Just next time I'll be careful not to let him be too close to me when a thunderstorm shows up..."

Connor got the idea that there was more being said than what he heard and he wondered again how Shandi and Tanner knew each other so well. His dad, Maggie and Hannah looked as if they understood, but he, Jeremy and Violet looked confused. "So do you want to go or not?"

She smiled and nodded. "I think I do, yeah..."

Seeing the scenery didn't include sitting up on a spot above town with Connor Harris. Still, here she was and it wasn't so bad. He pointed out different areas, and she had to admit it was pretty. Connor wasn't as blunt or outspoken as Tanner, and she felt a lot safer being alone with him then she had with his brother. That was the problem; Connor was in his own way, a totally unknown factor to her. There had been mentions about him in most of the books, but just little glimpses and teases. One thing she did know was that for the last two years he had been on the west coast, working for a construction company, only to return home for the wedding. "So how did you like California?"

"I didn't, too expensive and the people are too full of themselves. I like folks who are a little more down to earth." He took a drink of his beer and turned in the seat to look at her. "What happened between you and Tanner?"

That caught her off guard. "Nothing, why...?"

"Because you and Tanner don't act like two people who haven't seen each other in ten years, I got the impression yesterday that you had seen each other recently. Not to mention that you showed up in the middle of an area that not even many locals fear to tread. Also you trust him to a certain extent, but at the same time I get the feeling that there's more to it than you two are saying. So are you like having an affair with him, or something?"

Despite her shock, Shandi began to laugh. She laughed and laughed until her side hurt and she had tears running down her face. When she was able to calm down she reached out and touched him on his arm. "Thank you Connor, I needed that. And the answer is no, I'm not having an affair with Tanner...he isn't my type." She had discovered that when they had been alone at her house.

"Am I?"

That left her speechless. To hide her discomfort, she lit a cigarette and looked out the window. "To be honest, I don't know you well enough to say yes or no..."

"Okay, what about as far as first impression, would you consider it based on that...?"

Just her luck; he was another one like Tanner, not wanting to give up until you gave them a solid yes or no. Taking a long look at him and thinking of him in both sexual and non sexual situations, she was a little disturbed to discover that she would without hesitation. "Yes..."

He grinned and sat back as if satisfied with her answer. "Then I guess we'll have to work on you getting to know me better won't we, because I would sleep with you in a heartbeat."

What was it about him and his damn honesty? It was what she saw the most in him. Honesty, and in his own way a man who kept his emotions bottled up except when confronted with the person who aroused them. Tanner, she understood, he was just a sex happy maniac. Connor was the kind of man who could break a heart and never even know it unless it was his own.

Once the questions were out of the way, he seemed interested in learning more about her, and her family. That was a safe subject, even if she was still hurting from being so far away from them. She talked about her mom and the books she wrote, her dad and his love of old cars and designing houses, her brother who wanted to be a doctor and her sister who was expecting a baby. She talked about the twins and their love of all things connected to martial arts, and she talked about Twyla, her kid sister who enjoyed being a girl while she preferred being a tomboy.

They talked long past when the sun went down and when she realized how late it was, she looked at him, "Why did you let me keep talking for as long as you did?"

"Because I like listening to your voice," He gave her a lazy smile. "And it kept me from giving in to impulse and kissing you."

There he went again. It also reminded her how enclosed the car was and that darkness surrounded them. "Maybe we should go back to your folk's place, see if my parents have emailed me again."

"In a minute, because now you're not talking and I always did like to give in to impulse."

He tasted of beer, cigarettes and his lips were hard and yet gentle on hers. She felt his fingers on her cheek and when he slipped his tongue over her lips, she parted them all too willingly. It was all he needed to deepen the kiss and take full advantage of the moment. Shandi found herself responding as if he had been kissing her forever, and she felt herself touching his face and liking the feel of the five o'clock shadow he had.

She knew she should pull away, should run away from him as fast as she could. Instead she was pulled toward him by some magnetic force that involved having him put his arms around her and getting as lost in her mouth as she was in his. To make it even worse for her, he had lit a fire inside her that she had never felt before. A fire she never wanted to have put out.

Connor couldn't believe how hot he felt, like someone or something had put them in an oven together and kicked it up to broil. This was it, this was what he had been looking for so long, a woman who made him feel the way Shandi was and he didn't want to move for fear he would find it was all a dream. Oh sweet mother, how much he wanted her, in his bed, in his life. This was no one night woman he held in his arms, this was a woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life waking up beside and filling a house with their babies.

His hand roamed over her at will, discovering each curve and bump of a body made to be with him. He was sure that the first time they made love he would find her tunnel fit him like a glove and their sex would set the world on fire.

Claudia Abbott looked at the words that appeared on her screen even without her touching the key board and shivered. What did she do, if her husband read this, he would go ballistic. At the same time, she knew that this was happening somewhere in cyberspace to her daughter and she knew how badly Shandi needed a man like Connor in her life, a man who loved her as she was. Not that her headstrong, stubborn daughter would ever admit it, she would rather die than admit how lonely she was at times. Claudia understood; she had been the same way in school and in her college years. That had been one of the major reasons she had changed her major to writing, to let all her feelings and emotions flow freely onto paper.

Now she watched in an almost voyeuristic way as her daughter and a creation of her own mind tasted the first new delights of discovering their other half. Her only fear was of the damage that might be done in the end.

Hannah touched Tanner's shoulder and he smiled at her as he turned from looking up at the moon. "It will all work out Tanner, it always does..."

"I know, but what gets me is that I almost envy the little shit, remember I've seen what she looks like naked."

Hannah chuckled. "Do you regret not...before you came home?"

Gathering his wife up in his arms, he kissed her long and hard. "I did, she shut me down pretty good, but I think I understand now. I wasn't intended to be the one, I had to meet you and find out what real love was. I just don't know how and if she will ever be able to get home Hannah, and when she does, what happens to her and Connor? One of them will have to choose."

"They'll make the decision that's right for them, just like we did." She began to stroke his chest, and gave him her soft smile. "The kids are asleep, let's go inside and..." Her whispers sent chills up and down Tanner's body and he picked her without hesitation. Things would happen and no one had any control over them. For now, he would love his wife, his kids and he would be there to help one or the other survive the final chapter.

Shandi licked her lips and saw the smile in Connor's eyes. "Wow..." It was all she could say and it seemed so inadequate. His kisses were like being in the middle of a raging storm and you knew that all around you chaos was happening, but you were safe and secure from it. She didn't want to stop, and it was clear he had no intention of it either. "Connor," his name came out more a whisper than anything and he kissed her throat with a hunger that she felt as well.

"I've dreamed of you so long, and to have you here, now, with me...if this is a dream Shandi, I never want to wake up." Finding her mouth, he claimed it again as his and his alone. She answered it in a way that she had never dreamed possible. Where was all the inexperience and fear she had known?

They had lost track of time, and she wanted to stay lost. She felt his hand on her breast, caressing, teasing, and making her shiver with need. The amount of heat her body was generating right now would heat up both the north and south poles, turning them to slush if she were there. Connor didn't seem any cooler about what was happening either. They were both being careful not to touch each other below the waist, but she knew if she did venture to brush against the front of his jeans, she would find not throbbing male flesh, but a rod of pure carbon steel. A part of her was tempted to check and see, but she knew that if she did, both of them might explode.

A sobering thought crossed her mind. What happened when she went home? If she went home, she would lose this, lose him. But if she stayed with him, she lost her family. It wasn't fair; she wanted both, him and her family. But to ask him to choose wasn't fair either, this was his world, and her world could offer him nothing. She shivered, not with passion but with fear and he felt it.

"Shandi honey, you okay?"

She shook her head, afraid to speak. "Connor, just hold me please, hold me and make me feel like you'll never let me go."

He held her even tighter and she knew that in the end she had to be the one who let him go, he had to find his own love of his life. Just as Tanner and his other brothers had. She was no romance novel heroine, but he was a hero and the hero always got the girl of his dreams.

Connor didn't know what had frightened her so suddenly, but he held her tight and knew he never wanted to let her go. This was Shandi, his Shandi and this was where he belonged. With her and he didn't care anymore that somehow Tanner and she were connected in some way beyond what they were both saying. Nothing mattered to him but having her here and now.

He knew his thoughts were selfish, but he didn't want her to go home, he wanted her to stay with him. Be with him always. He was tired of one night stands and being alone. As he considered what he could do, it came to him. He had planned on going back to California as soon as the wedding was over; Portland wasn't that far from Sacramento. She could stay for the wedding, then they could go back to his place, pack up what he had left behind, then drive up to see her family. After that, well they'd worry about that when it got to that point.

"Shandi, do you really have to leave so soon?"

She looked at him confused. "What?"

"I was thinking, the wedding is in a week, you could stay here until after it was over. I need to go back to Sacramento and get what I left at my apartment. The job is over, and I was planning on taking some time off before I decided what to do next. Suppose after the wedding, you and I drive out to Sacramento, get my stuff, and then go up to your folk's place. I need to meet them anyway; a man needs to know his in laws before the wedding. Portland isn't so far from Sacramento is it?"

"No, just a nine or ten hour drive," understanding entered her eyes. "Oh! Yeah, that would work. I'm sure mom and dad wouldn't mind, and I could use the money they send me to get new clothes, if I have to live in them for a week..."

He grinned. "So does my idea work for you?"

She gave him a soft smile and nodded "Oh Connor, I think it's a wonderful idea..."

He kissed her then and he noticed that the tension he had felt coming from both of them was gone. Yes, this was the right thing to do, he was sure of it.

Claudia smiled at the last page finished. She couldn't have written it any better herself, and if the idea worked, maybe her daughter could have her own happy ending. She hit save and once it did, she turned off the machine. "Sleep well my little girl, and know we all love and miss you, but we can wait for you to come home a few extra days."

Shandi stepped out of the shower and began to towel off before looking in the mirror. Her neck looked like a vampire had feasted on her, but she didn't mind. Connor's wasn't much better. Tanner had arched an eyebrow and grinned at the same time when he had seen the love bites. "No freak thunderstorms I see..."