BriarEdge Academy: November

by Kit Kyndall

  “Some of my friends are scholarship kids, which are pariahs at that place, but not all of them. I think I’m fitting in okay.” She hesitated before deciding to confide in her mother. “Though Hastings and Malone would love to have an excuse to get rid of me.”

  Hannah scowled. “Is the headmaster harassing you?”

  “Not exactly. He’s just all too happy to act on any situation Malone creates to cause me trouble.”

  “I’ll talk to Ashton and ask him to talk to Malone. He’ll get her to dial down the hostility.”

  Candace wanted to laugh at the idea, but she forced herself to smile and sound optimistic when she said, “Maybe he can.”

  Hannah sat on the bed beside her, reaching for one of the shopping bags she’d acquired while at the mall with Tori. “May I?” At Candace’s nod, she opened the bag and looked at the new shirts. “These are nice.”

  “I like the colors.” It felt strange to be using the credit card Ashton had given her, but he seemed so genuinely eager to please her, and he’d insistently reminded her this morning before she headed out to meet with Tori to use her card for whatever she wanted, so she’d been unable to reject the offer.

  She was afraid it might hurt his feelings, and since when had she started caring about Ashton’s feelings? Did that mean she was starting to see him as a more permanent fixture in her mom’s life? Not that she ever doubted Hannah’s long-term commitment to Ashton, but she didn’t know the other man, and she wasn’t certain he was as big on forever as her mother was.

  “Oh my, these are lovely.” Hannah sounded a little uncertain.

  Candace blinked, realizing her thoughts had wandered, and in that time, her mom had opened the bag from Victoria’s Secret. She blushed as her mom examined the sexy panty and bra sets, along with a pair of stockings, some new pajamas that weren’t too sexy, and one nightgown that certainly was.

  “These seem like the kind of items you buy for a boy.”

  “I don’t know any boys who wear my size,” said Candace, striving for a casual tone.

  Hannah gave her a look of exasperation. “You know what I mean, sweetie. Is there a boyfriend?”

  Candace nodded. “Lex is amazing. He’s really been a sweetheart.”

  Hannah invited her to talk about him, so she did for the next few minutes, telling her mom some of what she knew about Lex. “Are you getting serious?” Hannah looked uneasy.

  “Maybe. I mean, we did just get back together, when I was afraid he wouldn’t talk to me ever again. After Jonas, he had a problem with me dating D… Did…” She stopped talking abruptly, realizing what she’d almost revealed.

  Apparently, she’d exposed enough to make Hannah suspicious. Her eyes narrowed. “Who’s Jonas?”

  Candace thought about lying, but she didn’t want to do that. If things worked out with both her boyfriends (and Kip), there would be a point where she’d introduce them to her mother, so lying about them now would just make it harder later. “He’s a boyfriend.”

  “You mean an ex-boyfriend that you dated while you and Lex were separated?” asked Hannah with apparent hope in her eyes.

  Candace licked her lips. “Not exactly. They’re both my boyfriends. They know about each other,” she hurried to say.

  Hannah’s eyes widened, and she looked concerned. “You’re dating two boys?”

  Candace nodded, not bothering to correct the impression that Jonas was a student. She didn’t need to spring anything more on her mother right now, and she certainly wasn’t mentioning Kip—or the possibility she’d succumb to Dalton, though she was resolved that wouldn’t happen again. Maybe.

  “I see. And they’re both okay with this? Are they dating other people too? I mean, it’s because none of you are committed or using labels?” Hannah still seemed hopeful.

  Candace shook her head again. “No. I’m dating both of them, but they’re only dating me. I’m not secure enough for them to have girlfriends too.”

  Hannah looked overwhelmed, and she seemed to suddenly realize she was still holding the sexy lingerie. She dropped it into the bag and pushed it aside as though she could completely banish all thought of it from her mind if she couldn’t see it. “This is a dangerous game you’re playing.”

  Candace scowled. “It’s no game, Mom. I care about both of them a lot.”

  “You know one of them will be hurt when you choose.”

  “I’m not going to choose. They’re not going to make me either. We’ve already discussed it.”

  Hannah closed her eyes for a moment, looking overwhelmed. Then she opened them again. “Are you at least being safe sexually?”

  Candace grimaced. “I haven’t slept with either one of them, Mom.”

  Hannah waved a hand in the direction of the bag she’d shoved away. “That underwear indicates you aren’t too far away from making the decision.”

  “I need to tell you something, Mom.” Hannah seemed to be bracing herself, so Candace blurted it out quickly to curtail her mom’s torture. “I’ve been on birth control since I was fifteen. I was dating a guy, and I decided not to sleep with him, but it made me realize that I needed to be protected if I chose to, okay? I’m not going to be a teen mom, I promise.” She reached out and squeezed her mom’s hand. “I’m almost an adult, and you can trust me.”

  Hannah seemed on the verge of arguing, but then her shoulders slumped. “I know. I trust you to make good choices, but I doubt the soundness of deciding to date two different men.”

  “Are you going to tell Ashton?” The idea of him knowing was humiliating, which she suspected meant she needed to become more certain of her decision. She couldn’t imagine hiding her boyfriends away, so she’d have to prepare for judgmental looks and nasty words if she was going to openly claim them. She firmed her shoulders. “I mean, I don’t care if you do. I’d like you guys to meet them at some point.”

  Hannah paled slightly, and she put a hand to her head. “I think I have a migraine coming on. We’ll discuss this later, but for now, I don’t plan to tell Ashton what you’re doing.” She stood up. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay, Mom.” Candace read between the lines that her mom was still hopeful she’d either get over the entire idea of dating two boys, or she’d pick one of them. Her mom was destined for disappointment, but she wasn’t going to badger her when she looked genuinely ill. “Would you like me to walk you to your room?”

  Hannah walked to the door. “I’m okay. I have more migraines right now, but I have medicine that works pretty well for them. I just need to lie down for a while in a dark room. I really do want to talk more with you later though.”

  Candace squeezed her mom’s hand as she walked by, hoping she hadn’t caused the migraine. More likely, the pain was because Malone was in the house and being such a brat, but learning about Candace’s two boyfriends probably hadn’t helped matters. She could see Hannah was conflicted about what she’d told her, but she appreciated her mom giving her space to make her own decisions.

  The next day was Thanksgiving, and the house was a bustle of activity. Of course, they had staff to decorate and cook, which was a change for Candace. She and her mom had always prepared Thanksgiving dinner together, so that’s how they found themselves in the kitchen that afternoon, much to the clear irritation of the chef. “I’m sorry we couldn’t do it all together, but we still have to make our chocolate pecan pie, right?” asked Hannah with a grin.

  Candace nodded her agreement as she pounded pecans with the rolling pin. “Absolutely. It’s tradition.”

  A couple of hours later, they all sat down at the table together. Everyone had dressed up, and Hannah seemed practically glowing. She had clearly fully recovered from yesterday’s migraine.

  Candace was surprised when one of the staff poured her half a glass of wine. She shot a questioning look at her mom, who nodded. Pleased by the acknowledgment of her maturing, she took a sip and discreetly spat it back in the glass as she grimaced. It tasted more like vinegar than anything.<
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  “Such an unsophisticated cow,” said Malone in a hissing whisper.

  She had the misfortune of sitting beside her. “It doesn’t taste good.” She turned her attention from Malone and found herself looking at Dalton across the table. Calvin was beside him, home from MIT for the rest of the weekend, and she turned to smile at her older stepbrother. He was the only one who’d been nice to her and her mom right from the start. “How’s college, Calvin?”

  “Busy, busy, busy. I’m in the middle of my senior thesis, so I have a lot of work to do. I really shouldn’t have taken these four days off, but I wanted to be with the family for a while.”

  Malone snorted. “This isn’t a family anymore.”

  Calvin rolled his eyes. “Geez, will you just knock it off, Malone?”

  Malone settled into sullen silence as the food appeared on the table. The person hired to serve them was efficient and quick as he gave them their selections. Then he and the wine person, whose technical term for the position she’d forgotten, moved to stand in the corner. It was awkward, and she shot looks at them a couple of times.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Dalton.

  Candace shrugged. “It just feels weird eating with people standing in the corner staring at us. It feels like we should offer them a plate.”

  Malone gasped. “You want to eat with the staff? How uncivilized can you be?”

  Candace held on to her patience somehow. “I just meant that’s how I feel. I’m not going to do it. I understand how you people do things, but it’s weird to me.”

  “Don’t feel too bad for them,” said Calvin as he dabbed his mouth with a linen napkin. “All the staff will be invited to have the leftovers, and I know the chef made plenty for everyone. The sommelier and the server are simply here to ensure we all have a smooth dining experience.”

  Sommelier. That was the word she’d forgotten. It still boggled her mind that she was having a family dinner at home with a sommelier and a server standing nearby, but she dropped the subject. She still felt vaguely uncomfortable and studiously avoided looking in the direction of the people who stood nearby, waiting to attend to their every need.

  As they approached the end of dinner, the server dished out the chocolate pecan pie while the sommelier provided fresh glasses and filled them from a bottle of champagne. He poured a glass for everyone, and then he and the server left the room when Ashton nodded at them.

  “Your mother and I—” said Ashton.

  “Stepmother,” said Malone.

  Ashton looked like he wanted to smack her, from the way his eyes went squinty and his fists clenched on the table, but he just took a deep breath. “Hannah and I want to thank you all for coming and trying to make this a pleasant meal.”

  Candace couldn’t help exchanging a surprised and disbelieving glance with Dalton, who was smirking. Clearly, Ashton had selective hearing and had been filtering out all of Malone’s snarky comments. She was a little nonplussed to share the moment of amusement with Dalton, but she couldn’t completely fight back a grin.

  “I know this year has been difficult for you, and we appreciate you making the effort to blend into a happy family. On the family front, we have an announcement.”

  Dalton grimaced suddenly, and Candace was almost certain she knew what he was going to say before he spoke the words. After all, her mom had mentioned having more migraines right now. She’d thought she meant because Malone was home, but that didn’t seem like the right guess now. She bit back a groan.

  “We’re having a baby, due April Sixteenth. Isn’t that wonderful?” Ashton was beaming, his pride and excitement unmistakable.

  Candace wasn’t certain how to process her feelings. The spoiled brat inside her protested the idea of sharing her mother, but the almost-adult took a better approach. Her mom would definitely be a good mother to another child, especially since she wouldn’t have to work two or three jobs this time, and it seemed like the logical step for her and Ashton to seal their relationship.

  Candace wasn’t exactly thrilled about getting a newborn sibling at her age, but it wasn’t that hard to imagine either. She was away at school, and then she’d be going to college, so their baby wouldn’t impact her life very much. “Congratulations,” she said in an only slightly stilted voice.

  Calvin was the next to raise his glass. “That’s happy news. Is it a boy or girl?”

  Hannah smiled. “We don’t know yet. We probably won’t find out for another few weeks, but I’ll be sure to email you when I know…if you want me to?” She seemed uncertain of his sincerity.

  Calvin grinned. “Certainly, I do. I hope it’s a boy though. That’ll break the tie. Right now, we have two boys and two girls in the family.”

  “Are you out of your mind?” Malone screeched at Calvin. “She’s not part of our family, and neither is she.” She pointed first at Candace and then at Hannah with the last she. “There’s no tiebreaker. This isn’t happening.”

  “You might consider it a bad dream, but it’s definitely happening,” said Dalton without a hint of sympathy. “You’d better accept it and move on, Malone.”

  “They’re destroying our family, and your advice is to let it happen?” Malone picked up her champagne and suddenly tossed it in Candace’s face. “I’ll have no part of it, and I want no part of you, your mother, or that bastard in her womb.”

  “Malone, go straight to your room,” shouted Ashton, his expression filled with thunder, and his face flushed deep red.

  Malone didn’t say another word as she got up and left the table, stalking from the dining room without looking back or speaking to any of them.

  After a moment, Dalton took a deep breath and passed her his napkin. “You have a little champagne on you.” He winked at her.

  His tone was enough to make her giggle, though it was completely inappropriate at the moment. She couldn’t help laughing as she wiped the champagne off her face. “I think it’s more than a little,” she said with a hint of amusement.

  “That went better than expected,” said Calvin, completely deadpan.

  Ashton still looked on the verge of exploding in anger, but Hannah was the first one to laugh at Calvin’s words. Her laugh was a cue for everyone to relax, and Ashton finally sat down again, slowly having his complexion return to its normal color.

  “Congratulations, Dad and Hannah. I’m sure you’ll be really happy with the baby.” Dalton seemed sincere.

  “Thank you, Dalton. And you too, Calvin.” Hannah turned her gaze to Candace, looking vaguely apologetic, and certainly worried. “How do you feel about it?”

  “I’m okay with it. Really.” She lifted her glass of champagne to her mom and then took a sip, finding it far more pleasing than the wine the sommelier had served with dinner. She finished it over the next few minutes as they talked and finished dessert.

  On the surface, everyone was happy, but she could see Ashton’s gaze darting to the empty seat Malone had occupied, and she imagined he was feeling the loss of her. As much as she disliked Malone, she wished the girl would return just to make her dad feel better. She briefly considered going to get Malone, but there was no way her stepsister would listen to her. It was better if she stayed out of it, and she returned her attention to the chocolate pecan pie while occasionally looking up to find Dalton’s gaze almost always on her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dalton

  He stood staring down at her for a moment. He could see spaghetti straps on her shoulders, and they looked to be bright yellow, though it was difficult to tell in the darkened room, lit only by the moonlight through the curtains. Everything else was covered by the blanket, and he lifted it carefully. He only raised it high enough to allow him to slip under. He was wearing pajama pants, but his feet were bare, and he could feel the flannel of her pants as well.

  She moaned softly and rolled against him in her sleep as he gathered her into his arms. He held her with her bottom pressed against his groin, struggling not to grow hard. He just wan
ted to hold her, not seduce her. Not that he would reject her advances if she woke enthusiastic to the idea, but he was just here to hold her. He needed a deeper connection with her, and it was something he couldn’t even explain to himself. It was certainly profounder than sex, and far more important.

  He put his hand on her stomach, and she snuggled a bit closer. With his hand like that, he couldn’t help thinking about Hannah being pregnant. He was still unsettled by the news, but he realized it didn’t truly affect his life in a big way. He could accept it and move on. He’d even started to accept Hannah, especially since his dad seemed happier than he had in years.

  Thoughts of babies made him think about Candace swollen with his child in the future. He longed for that future with an intensity he couldn’t verbalize. Not that he wanted to give her a baby right now, but he could see spending the rest of his life with her and having a family together years from now. He was more convinced than ever that he’d fallen for her.

  He closed his eyes and allowed the fantasy to form, and to his surprise, it wasn’t just the two of them when he thought about it. Jonas was there, and so was Lex. The thought made his stomach clench a little, but he didn’t outright reject it. He forced himself to imagine her hugging and kissing the other men, and while it caused jealousy, it wasn’t an unmanageable level.

  Could he actually handle the idea of sharing her? Every fiber of his being wanted to reject the notion, but if he didn’t accept it, she would never respond to his overtures. Right now, she thought he still just wanted sex, and until the last few days, that’s what he’d tried to pretend he wanted as well.

  He’d fought against wanting more following the epiphany in his dorm room after the Halloween dance that he was in love with her. By the next morning, he’d rejected that idea. He’d briefly thought he had overcome the silly notion he loved her and assumed he just needed to fuck her. Now, he saw the potential for so much more, but it came with the baggage of her other lovers. Could he accept that?