Page 36 of Dr. Scandal Claus

Nick helped me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me tightly. Then he whispered in my ear, "Why don't you go make the bed and get your pajamas on. I'll clean up and put the boys to bed."

I nodded because if I opened my mouth to speak, I was going to burst out crying. Then I backed away from him and kissed Ethan on the forehead before retreating into our tent. The air mattress was inflated, but I hadn't spread the blankets over it yet. So I made the bed and found the flannel pajamas I picked for tonight and changed.

I heard Nick talking quietly to the boys but I could only make out a few words of it. I hated that he had to do damage control with an almost-eight-year-old and a seven-year-old. They were so young. They shouldn't have to be coached on why adults were acting immaturely and why they shouldn't repeat what those poorly behaved adults were saying.

I did end up shedding a few tears and when Nick kicked off his shoes and slipped into the tent, they were mostly dried. I sniffled a little while I watched him strip down to his boxers and then pull a hoodie and some sweats on. He curled up around me and we covered up with a thick sleeping bag as he kissed my forehead.

"Don't you worry about a thing, baby. I took care of that, and Ryan won't be bringing it up again this weekend." He was so calm. It was like after the years of agony people put him through,this was lightweight for him, not the heavy lifting I was doing emotionally.

"Thank you…" I mumbled but I didn't feel better. The rumors were one thing. Losing business was consuming my thoughts. And the fear of total loss, or people emotionally damaging my son were at the top of my list.

"What is it?" Nick curled a few stray hairs around my ear and made me look up at him. The fire still crackled outside the tent, giving us a tiny trace of light left by which to see each other.

"I'm worried." I sighed into his chest and wrapped my arms around him. "If business doesn't pick up, I could lose everything. And with people talking about me still, saying things like that, it's driving business away."

His hands soothed me, rubbing my back, pulling me against his body. Nick never knew lack. He never knew what it was like to struggle financially. Not only did he have a very huge salary, he came from money. He grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, got everything he wanted, went to the best college, and landed the top-paying job. Yes, his career took a hit, but he lived off his parents' money and didn't even have to work for years.

I barely had a savings account, and that was going to dwindle very quickly if I had to rely on that for income. I'd already let most of my staff go. I just had two teens sharing the evening hours running register and it was up to me to come back to the store every night and lock up. Ethan had gotten used to sleeping on the couch in my office and being carried to the car and then to his bed when we got home. That was no life for him. And it was absurd for people to call me a gold digger when I was struggling so badly.

"It's that bad?" Nick asked softly, and he hooked his finger under my chin and pulled it upward so our eyes met.

"Yeah…" I felt like crying again. None of this was fair. I had finally done the right thing and Nick had forgiven me. Thingswere supposed to be going better than this. "I'm worried this is going to really affect me. This is why I kept Ethan a secret to begin with."

Nick winced and then pursed his lips. His eyes grew stormy, and for a second I thought I hurt his feelings. I hadn't meant that in a bad way, just that the scandal was the reason I shied away from him. I wasn't as strong as him. My life couldn't handle this storm.

"Then let me give you some money. We'll call it an investment into the bakery."

"No," I told him, shaking my head. "They're already calling me a gold digger. If you do that, they're right. We're just proving them right." My chest felt tight and I started to pull away, but Nick pinned me against his chest and refused to let me go.

"Okay, well I can see how you feel that way. And I can see how they might think that. So we'll make it a loan. I invest in your company and you pay me back with interest, the same way you'd do if you took out a bank loan. It's not gold digging that way, and you get to keep your bakery." I could tell he wasn't going to take no for an answer and I felt guilty.

"Scarlett, I love you and I can't think of any more worthy use for the money I have sitting in my back accounts decaying. Let the town talk. Who cares? Yes, I know it could affect Ethan emotionally, and I'm not trying to be flippant about it, but at some point we have to stop letting the rumors people spew about us dictate our lives. I have the ability to help you, and I want to do it."

Just hearing him talk so resolutely about the situation was starting to put me at ease. I didn't necessarily agree that we'd be able to just live our life without feeling the effects of the rumors and gossip, but I did want to move on from this and just be happy again.

"Alright," I told him, and I kissed him. This wasn't a permanent fix, but it would definitely help. It was already helping me feel more relaxed.

"Now, can we enjoy this bit of privacy we have before the kids scream about using a toilet?" he chuckled lowly and I felt my body tingle.

"Why, Dr. Edwards…Are you being forward with me?" I felt a bit playful even though I was still sniffling away my tears. His grip on my butt tightened and he ground his hips against my thigh.

"I'm saying, you have way too many clothes on for my liking. I'm thinking it's going to get hot in this tent and we should probably just strip."

Lying on an air mattress wasn't so comfortable, but trying to wrestle out of flannel pajamas while under thick heavy blankets and making out seemed impossible. So I did the next best thing. I folded my side of the covers back and stood, hunched over, and started a striptease while Nick shimmied his sweats down, keeping the blanket over his body.

"You're no fun," I pouted, jokingly and he let out a bark of laughter. I stood with my pajama pants and panties around my knees, trying to get the shirt off over my head and he lay there snickering. "Shh!" I hissed, giggling. The boys' tent was only ten yards away, and with only the crickets as a background track, we had to be very quiet.

"Oh, I'm just getting started," he said as he folded the blanket back. I tossed the shirt and looked down at the silhouette of his dick, which he proudly held upright. He was being very cheeky tonight and it made me feel like a kid again.

"We should be quiet, you know." I whispered, my hands on my hips.

"Well, then I guess we better use our mouths more," he said with a wink. He patted the now vacated space next to him, andI scurried over like a puppy. It had been a while since we'd been together like this and it felt…right.

I straddled him and our mouths met in a desperate kiss. His hands roamed over my body, cupping my breasts, squeezing my ass, and then he was guiding me down to where he really wanted me. I took him in my mouth and stifled a moan with his dick dipping into my throat. His hands laced in my hair and brushed it from my forehead as I looked up at him while I sucked him.

"Oh baby, that's it," he groaned. "God, you're so hot."

I felt a thrill go through me at his words and I sucked him harder. This was our normal. This was us. No rumors, no gossip, just us. I wanted to stay like this forever, safely tucked away in the middle of nowhere. We were so good together, and I hated that this town was trying to destroy us simply for being us.