Strange Girl

By Molly Hawk

Dr. Richard Boyer is a psychiatrist who sees a beautiful woman through a restaurant window one night and immediately becomes obsessed. Ironically, he has a patient the next day who talks of his own obsession with a woman that fits the description of the one that Boyer had seen the previous night. The psychiatrist soon discovers that there is an epidemic of men suffering from this affliction around the town, seeing the woman once and then "turning to stone", becoming catatonic after seeing her a second time

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trellis Publishing
• Release date: Jul 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201085896

Book preview

STRANGE GIRL

––––––––

MOLLY HAWK

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STRANGE GIRL

THE SANDMAN & THE NUN

Prologue

Dr. Richard Boyer’s attention wandered as his wife told him about her day. He half-listened, taking in the familiar, beloved features of her face. While she wasn’t the youthful beauty she’d once been, she’d aged quite gracefully and was still beautiful in an elegant, seasoned sort of way. Comfort and familiarity had replaced the passion of years gone by, but he still loved her just as much as he had the day he’d married her. Perhaps more...

Richard, are you even listening to me? The tone was rather firm, but he could see amusement twinkling in her eyes.

Hmm? Sorry dear. I was just... He let his voice trail off, uncertain how to find the words to frame the thoughts that had been running through his head.

How you actually get paid to listen to people is beyond me.

Richard smiled and shrugged in response and they lapsed into comfortable silence as they finished their meal. The irony that Richard, a psychiatrist with a thriving practice—tended to let his attention wander when he made his living by listening wasn’t a new topic, and he knew that she wasn’t really mad. Truthfully, he sometimes felt that he spent so much time hearing to new problems, new stories every day that he needed all of his downtime to let his mind process it.

Richard let his attention wander from their table, instead gazing out the window to take in the Los Angeles skyline. It was still outlined against the sky clearly, glowing from the light cast off by a vibrant desert sunset. He stared contentedly at the scene until a flash of red drew his attention. There, walking past the restaurant window, was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

He didn’t question how he was so certain of her beauty when he was living in a city where thousands of beautiful young women flocked in the hopes of making their fortune in Hollywood—or at least making their fortune in the bed of someone who’d been accepted in the ranks of the ‘rich and famous’. He knew, as sure as the sun was setting in the western sky, depriving them its light until its rising the next day, that she was the most beautiful woman who’d ever walked these streets.

The red dress that had first caught his attention clung to her ample curves, emphasizing their perfection without looking indecent. Rather the dress somehow spoke of reserved class. Her skin was a golden brown that could have resulted from Latino roots or from a lot of time at the beach. Whether the product of the Sun or genetics, it was...perfect. He knew it would be soft and smooth beneath his skin. Her hair was glossy and long, a dark brown that wasn’t quite black, and it fell down her back in soft waves. Shapely legs made their way down to feet incased in red heels that sent a surge of involuntary lust through his center.

The woman seemed to feel his avid perusal because she slowed her gentle, swaying steps and began to turn her head in his direction. He had a glimpse of the flawless beauty of her face before he pulled his eyes away guiltily to look instead at his wife, looking away just before the dark-haired beauty could meet his eyes. He pushed down the guilt.

It was, after all, a perfectly normal reaction, he assured himself. And while he wasn’t prone to letting his eye wander, he could hardly be blamed if it happened on occasion. The avid lust, however, was less easy to dismiss. He felt an unfulfilled longing that he was sure only the woman who’d passed by could relieve...Silly thoughts. He’d been satisfied with his wife for the past fifteen years. He threw down a few bills on the table and took her hand