The Ties That Bind

real world-he wanted to keep her safe for himself, and he was honest enough to admit it. There was something in Shannon that he suddenly realized he wanted and needed. Something he hadn't touched or held in a long, long while. Perhaps he'd never really possessed what Shannon offered. The deep hunger that flared in him was unsettling. He made himself turn back to the pile of papers on the table.

* * *
    THE THEATER HAD ONCE been a barn and the gray, weathered timber frame had been retained for atmosphere. A stage had been constructed in the center. Verna Montana's production of The Taming of the Shrew was done in the round. Garth and Shannon had excellent seats.
    "What's the matter? Couldn't the actors afford costumes?" Garth muttered as the play opened. "I know small-town theater troupes are usually hard up for cash, but they could have at least come up with a few fake daggers and long skirts."
    "Verna wanted to try something different, so she decided to do the play in modern dress. Now hush," Shannon whispered as the show began.
    It was soon apparent that Verna's theatrical vision had been paired with her feminist ideology to create a radically new version of Shakespeare's play. Kate, of course, had always been a strong character in the original, but under Verna's direction she became a modern, politically astute feminist. Shannon watched in astonishment as she somehow managed to make Petruchio appear to be the manipulated one in the story. Flamboyant, strident and infinitely smarter than the man who was supposed to master her, Verna's Kate dominated the play. Every scene in which she was supposed to be tamed somehow became a scene in which Petruchio appeared to be subtly led around by a ring in his nose. While he assumed he was mastering his wife, she was finding him amusing and childishly simple to handle.
    Kate laughed at him, scolded him, pretended to be in awe of him and eventually had him in the palm of her hand. When, at the end of the play, Petruchio bragged about Kate's wifely accomplishments, it was clearly a case of a man whose ego was so bloated that it wouldn't allow him to see that it was his wife who now ran the house and him.
    There was a thunderous round of applause and a good deal of laughter as the play came to a close, and Shannon turned to grin at Garth.
    "You've got to admit, Verna gave the play a distinctive touch."
    "She ruined it." Garth took Shannon's arm and guided her out into the damp night. His Porsche stood amid the motley assortment of vehicles in the dusty parking lot.
    "Nonsense. It was a very witty interpretation," Shannon argued. "What do you say we go have some ice cream and discuss the matter like reasonable people?"
    "Ice cream?"
    "There's an ice-cream shop across the street from the grocery store. On play nights it stays open late to catch the after-theater crowd."
    "One would never have guessed you were so cosmopolitan out here in the sticks," Garth remarked dryly as he slid the sleek car out onto the road behind a row of other vehicles. "Okay, ice cream it is. But I'm not sure we'll be able to discuss the play in a reasonable fashion. There was nothing reasonable about that production. Shakespeare is probably turning over in his grave."
    "Verna did a fascinating job of updating the characters! There, you can park in front of the grocery store. I see a space."
    Garth obediently pulled the Porsche into the slot and followed Shannon into the ice-cream parlor, where a number of other people were gathering to eat chocolate sundaes and analyze Verna Montana's unique version of The Taming of the Shrew. It was a good-natured crowd of laid-back people who took great pleasure in their small-town life-style and their artistic endeavors. Several people greeted Shannon as she walked into the room. She responded with a cheerful wave and zeroed in on a small vacant table near the center of the busy parlor.
    "I'll hold the table and chairs. You go get the orders," she told Garth. "I'll have a double scoop of vanilla ice cream, double fudge sauce, nuts and double whipped cream."
    "You have a hearty appetite, woman. I can see you're going to be expensive to feed." He left her to stand in the line of ice-cream purchasers.
    Shannon grinned as she watched him standing there and wondered how long it had been since Garth had waited in line to order ice-cream sundaes. He glanced across the room, saw the laughter in her eyes and grinned back. The slashing expression of amusement had a pirate's