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occurred in Las
Vegas. She had allowed it—been eager for it. But back here in Ferris, it was
all different.
    She turned away from the window as her office door opened
and Margaret stepped inside.
    “I have the documents you need for that meeting with the
Town Supervisor today.” She placed the folder on Helen’s desk and then stepped
back and looked at her. “What’s the matter, Mayor? Did things not go well with
your trip last weekend? I was sure hoping they would. Maybe you shouldn’t have
gone there alone.”
    Helen glanced up at her and smiled. “No, it’s not that. I
just have some things on my mind. The weekend went just fine.” More than fine
if Helen were honest with herself. Plain truth was that she was scared of the
feelings revealed to her. She wanted to go back—too much. Which is why she put
off making the reservation and calling the agency.
    “Are you sure?”
    Helen could see the worry in Margaret’s eyes. “Really.
There’s no need for you to be concerned.” She picked up the folder and opened
it. “I’m just going to take a minute to go over these bids and then I’ll be
ready for that meeting.”
    Margaret nodded, then turned and left her office. Helen set
the folder back down on the desk and reached for her purse in the bottom drawer
of the desk.
    Who was she trying to kid? She’d known all along that she
would make the calls. If Vegas were farther away, it might be different—she
could have convinced herself not to even consider making another trip. But a
hundred miles away made it all too convenient.
    She pulled out the card and turned it over. So much had
occurred in such a short span of hours. But isn’t that how things happened in
Vegas? It wasn’t like here in her small town where things moved at a turtle’s
pace.
    Shadow Valley Inn. That was the name of the hotel on the
back of the card. It was located just across the county line from Las Vegas. If
she remembered correctly, it was a small town not so different from Ferris, not
much there. Certainly not as flashy as Las Vegas. She pulled her cell phone
from her purse and punched in the number, making the reservation as Fallon
instructed before she could think more about it and change her mind.
    Then she turned the card over and called the other number,
providing the information Fallon asked her to provide. By the time she
completed both calls her pulse was racing and her pussy tingled with
anticipation. She had no idea what he planned for her, and it wasn’t fear that
rode her, but the thrill of the unknown.
    Naughty. The word taunted her. She’d never used it in respect
to herself. But it’s exactly what she’d felt when she was in Vegas.
    And it had felt wonderful.
    All her life had been ordered, planned, and carried out with
deliberation. Except for her divorce. That hadn’t been planned. But everything
else had gone just as it should. A beautiful home, a well-respected career, two
beautiful children. Perfect.
    So why was she suddenly so unsettled? Helen had achieved
everything she could have asked for. But in the last couple of years she’d felt
there was still more. Something else she should be doing with her life. She
just didn’t know what it was.
    But then she’d gone to Las Vegas last weekend and discovered
a side to herself Helen hadn’t realized existed. It felt like a dark part of
herself—the shadow Helen—who, for all these years, she hadn’t wanted to
acknowledge.
    If she’d allowed the shadow Helen out earlier in her
marriage, might she have saved it? Had it been the domesticity, the
predictability that sent her husband into the arms of another woman?
    Suddenly she felt maybe she’d failed Allen. He might still
have gone on to prefer his students over her, but if she was open to some
adventure in her life, might she have had a fighting chance?
    She’d admitted shortly after the divorce that she had come
to take her husband and their marriage for granted—like that official document
and ceremony