by Donna Steele
“I’ll get the day off.”
“You want to go with us?”
“You can’t be sure Roger will stay away.”
“I believe I could take him. He does have one hand ‘tied’ behind his back.” She saw Dusty’s lips twitch slightly and craved more.
“Yes, you probably could. You shouldn’t have to.”
“You just returned to work. If I need any help, I can call you.”
“Would you?” She could tell he hadn’t meant to say that, wanted to take it back. He didn’t trust her any longer. Her mood sank lower.
She already dreaded her mother’s visit. She’d known Dusty would be opposed. She could handle her mother and, she was confident, Roger as well. Not having him anywhere near Erica was a given. She hadn’t used her Mama Bear persona yet, though she knew it existed. Erica would be safe.
She sighed. “Dusty, go to work. We’ll be fine.”
He didn’t speak for a long moment. “Will you check in?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know where you might go?”
“I thought about the gardens at the hospital.”
“Where we got married.”
Again, Dee had the impression Dusty hadn’t meant to say the words out loud. Her throat tightened as emotions rose in her. She couldn’t speak, so only nodded.
“I can be there quickly, if . . . if you need me.”
I always need you. She couldn’t voice that aloud, so instead she said, “Thank you.”
He opened his mouth, but nothing emerged. He grabbed up his suit coat and ducked in the nursery to tell Erica goodbye.
Dee had never imagined Dusty would have as much trouble returning to work as he did. She had seen the conflict, felt the uncertainty. He was devoted to their daughter, though his feelings for her had shifted. Maybe she should have warned him earlier about Mom’s visit.
“I’ll see you this evening. If you want to have dinner with your mother . . .” Dusty stopped again at the door, turned, finally faced her.
“I don’t know. I’ll have to wing it. With Roger along, I doubt that would work out.”
He nodded, then placed a quick kiss on her forehead and left. He didn’t see her hand come up to caress the spot where his lips touched her.
~ ~ ~
Dee approached the entrance to the gardens with trepidation, pushing the stroller before her. She had decided they should meet here rather than the hotel. She’d have to see Roger there. Here, it could be only her mother.
It was a beautiful day. She should get out with Erica more often. Maybe the sunlight would lift her spirits if she did something like this daily.
Dusty wouldn’t like it. He didn’t trust her alone with the baby. He hadn’t said it out loud, but she knew. After what had happened, part of her understood. Why she had left was still a mystery to her.
There, her mother waited inside the gate . . . and Roger stood behind her. Rage rose in Dee’s body. They had discussed this. Her first inclination was to turn and leave without a word. Unfortunately, her mother spotted her and started toward her. At least Roger stayed in place.
Rather than a greeting, Dee hissed her question. “What is he doing here?”
“It’s a beautiful day, Dee. I couldn’t leave him in the hotel room alone.”
“Why not?” Her voice sounded icy to her ears. Well, I’m not backing down.
“Dee, please. Let me meet my granddaughter.”
Dee glanced up at him again. He’d made no attempt to join them. Blowing out a breath, she turned to her mother. “Fine, but he stays here. There’s a place we can sit and visit. He cannot accompany us.”
“He’s not going to hurt Erica.”
“You’re right there. If he can’t stay in this area, away from us, I’m going home.”
Her mother nodded and walked back over to Roger.
Now, Dee took a moment to examine him. She had only seen him the one time. He’d lost weight, a rapid loss that didn’t appear to be healthy. His clothing hung on him, obviously too large, and his right arm fell loose at his side. He wore a glove over his right hand and for a fleeting moment she wondered what the flesh looked like.
His face was drawn, his hair less coiffed than at their first meeting. Couldn’t he comb it himself now?
For the briefest instance, Dee felt a trace of sympathy. She immediately shoved it aside. This man beat her mother. She had no idea what he had done to her in this timeline. It didn’t matter because he’d never get near her again.
Mom returned and he didn’t follow. “Roger will stay in this area and enjoy the sun.”
“Fine.” Dee turned the stroller down a familiar path and led her mother to the area where she and Dusty said their vows, less than a year ago. Tears came to her eyes at the memory, and she blinked them away.
She didn’t want Roger in this part of the garden, to taint those memories.
They stopped at a bench in the shade. “Now may I meet my granddaughter?”
Dee jerked back to the present. “Yes, of course.” She lifted Erica into her arms and held her for an instant before placing her in her mother’s arms.
“Erica Dawn Williams, meet your grandmother.”
“She’s beautiful. And she does have your red hair.”
Erica seemed to watch her grandmother, but the contented expression she always wore when Dee’s dad held her was missing.
No, Dee had to be projecting there. Erica wasn’t old enough to distinguish a stranger.
“This is a stupid thing to say,” Mom began, “but I feel . . . stronger holding her. Maybe it’s knowing there’s another generation to carry forward. She’s so lovely.”
Stronger? That was an odd thing to say. Dee didn’t argue. Most of her strength seemed to come from Erica these days, if she thought about it.
They visited, counting Erica’s fingers and toes and laughing. Dee couldn’t remember the last time she laughed.
The ping caught her off guard and she answered quickly. Dusty, checking up on her. Her mood deflated immediately.
“Hello, Dusty. I’m in the park with Mom.” He should be able to see the greenery around them.
“Is everything okay?”
“Fine. I think Erica likes the outside. I should bring her here more often.” She actually saw his shoulders tighten.
“Is anyone else with you?”
“Roger is somewhere in the park. Not with us. He hasn’t seen Erica.”
“Okay. If you need anything . . .”
“I’ll ping you. Have a good day. Tell Leonard hi.”
“Yeah, you too.”
She broke the connection and felt her mom’s gaze.
“Everything okay with you and Dusty?” She patted Erica’s back, as her eyes held Dee’s.
“Yes. He’s concerned about Roger’s presence.”
“I told you, Roger would never harm Erica.”
“What about me?” Dee snapped her lips closed. She hadn’t meant to ask. She couldn’t handle a conversation about this, not without any memories.
“You know Roger never struck you. Not once. I wouldn’t have allowed it. I don’t know what Dusty thinks happened with your appendectomy, but—”
“Appendectomy?” Again, Dee shut up. She’d never had abdominal surgery. Dusty knew about it? Another thing he kept from her. It had to be a timeline change. How had he found out about it and when?
I need to ask him about it.
“Mom, I don’t want to discuss it. We’re having a nice visit. Let’s concentrate on Erica.”
Her mother sighed then turned her attention back to the baby. “The ladies at the club would like to see pictures of her. Do you mind?”
“No, you’re welcome to share them in person.
I’d rather you not share them online.”
“Good. They might not know my true age, but they know I’m old enough to be a grandmother, so I may as well flaunt it.”
The day became easier again as they played with the baby.
As lunchtime approached, Dee’s mother glanced around. “I need to find Roger. He has to eat before he takes his pills and I’m sure he’ll need them soon.”
“Pills?”
“For the pain. It’s manageable now. He’s down to three a day. He can’t take them on an empty stomach.”
“Okay. You go find him and have a nice lunch.”
“Won’t you join us?” Mom glanced up, her gaze pleading.
“No.”
“Dee, we’d be in public. There would be no danger to you or Erica.”
“It’s not a good idea.”
“What about dinner? You and Dusty and the baby could—”
“I know Dusty would not agree.”
Her mother straightened her spine. “Fine, then lunch with the three of us and the baby. I am still your mother. I will protect you.”
Dee cast about for a good reason to refuse. She’d nursed Erica already and the baby was more than content, asleep now in her stroller.
“He cannot touch or hold her.”
“He’s not able to and wouldn’t risk hurting her.”
Dee huffed, but after a moment relented. She’d allow lunch in a public place, and she could ping Dusty if there was a problem.
They strolled back to the entrance and found Roger sitting on a bench, his eyes closed, taking in the sun.
“How about some lunch?” Mom said as they approached him.
His eyes snapped open and for an instant it appeared as if he would bark at her, then he spotted Dee and the stroller and seemed to control himself. “Fine.”
Dee rolled her eyes, turning to hide the action from her mother, and almost reassessed her decision. Here was definite proof his temper still existed, but Mom hurried forward and clasped Roger’s arm. Dee followed, not about to offer any suggestions on a place to dine.
Fortunately, her mother did not choose where she, Dusty, and their fathers had celebrated the wedding. After everyone was seated, her mother discreetly slipped Roger a pill while Dee concentrated on Erica.
He’d made no overt move to see her daughter. Once the baby woke after they entered the restaurant, Dee lifted her to her shoulder.
Roger’s eyes focused on the child. “Is she healthy?” he finally asked.
“Very.” She refused to share anything more.
“She’ll have your hair.”
“Yes.”
He nodded and seemed to dismiss her, which was fine with Dee. She spied him glancing at Erica often, as though gauging her reality. Odd.
Dee decided on a simple meal she could eat one-handed. Roger did as well. She hadn’t chosen it to make things easier for him, only in order to hold Erica. Her mother seemed pleased in any case.
Lunch was pleasant enough. Mom carried most of the conversation. Dee jumped when she received the ping. Dusty, of course.
“Are you home yet?”
“Uh, no. We decided to have lunch.”
“All of you?”
“Yes. We’re at a public place. Erica is taking a nap.”
“I thought we discussed this.”
“We did, but nothing has happened. I’ll be home in a little while and I’ll ping you when I get there.”
He only nodded and she broke the connection.
“Is everything okay?” her mother asked.
“An overprotective father checking in. He’s right. I need to get Erica home. Thank you for the lunch.”
“Will I be able to see you again tomorrow?”
“Why don’t you ping me in the morning and we can make some plans.” Dee rose from her seat.
“I’d like that.”
When Dee didn’t approach to give her mother a kiss, she rose and bent over the stroller. “She really is beautiful and looks so much like you as a baby. Thank you for letting me take the pictures.”
“Of course. Talk to you tomorrow.”
~ ~ ~
Roger fumed silently as Dee left the restaurant. The child was hers. She had Dee’s coloring and hair.
The doctor had lied to him.
~ ~ ~
Erica found getting accustomed to human emotions an ongoing proposition. And today had been a true learning experience.
The woman holding her was “Grandmother,” Momma’s mother in the same way Granddaddy was her daddy. Humans had progenitors and knew them. Grandmother wasn’t as close as Granddaddy and Momma didn’t feel comfortable with her. The older woman had put Erica on edge at first, but things relaxed as they spent more time together. Momma only became disturbed when Daddy contacted her.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t really unusual anymore. They were always tense around each other now. Something Erica hoped to help repair when able to communicate better.
The tension rose to a new height when Grandmother brought in the other man. He hadn’t come near her, though after a short time Erica recognized him.
Before her birth, he was the man who grabbed Momma with hatred and anger in his mind. Erica possessed her full powers then and reacted instantly to his aggression. No one would physically harm the humans she had chosen to be her parents.
That occasion wasn’t the first time he’d thought to harm Momma. And he had harmed Grandmother on many occasions. The question persisted, why did he remain in their circle?
The damage done to his hand was less than he deserved. He had attempted to sterilize Momma as a child. That information was foremost in his mind when he saw Erica. He had no memory of the original timeline. In that time, he didn’t know Momma or Grandmother. Grandmother had met a nicer man and bore two sons.
Erica had paid little attention to the individual changes, which came from the plan she and Cael formed to repair the damage done to the planet. Now she didn’t have the ability, though she remained sure it would return once she matured physically.
There were consequences to every action.
~ ~ ~
That quack had assured Roger he sterilized the girl. The whole episode was risky and then, due to her father’s interference, came to nothing. Ben’s distrust was easy to recall. After Dee returned to their home, there had been no safe time.
She would have been a tasty bite, so young and malleable.
Chapter 18
Dusty was more than unhappy when he arrived home. Dee had allowed that snake Roger around Erica. After she’d promised not to.
Dee must have heard him come in, because she joined him in the living room from the nursery. He couldn’t gauge his own expression, but one look at his face was obviously enough for her.
“Roger never touched her.” Her voice was defensive but firm. “We were in his presence for less than an hour of the three hours Mom and I were together. When he was there, Erica remained either in the stroller across the table and away from him or in my arms. I didn’t allow Mom to hold her when he was present.”
Still silent, Dusty forced himself to back down slightly.
“He looks terrible,” she continued. “He’s lost a drastic amount of weight since the night we saw him. I’d say over thirty pounds. And he seemed . . . diminished. He barely spoke and he wears a glove on his hand.”
“Was he interested in Erica?”
“He stared at her at first, as if trying to believe she was mine.”
~ ~ ~
Roger had no interest in Dee or her child now. In truth, he had little interest in anything. Meredith had stepped up as a dutiful wife, taking over his care.
He refused to dwell on whether or not he deserved it. As the m
an of the house, she obeyed him. Now she cared for him, keeping him as comfortable as possible.
Roger’s mind returned to the mystery of his injury. The memory of the evening remained vivid. Dee’s announcement about the wedding surprised him and his first thought was on the expense of a ceremony. The declaration of the pregnancy stunned him, his anger already near the boiling point just being with these people.
Ben sat so smug with his pseudo-calm at the far end of the table. Then came the accusation of abuse. Roger had never abused his wife. If he needed to remind her of who was in charge occasionally, that was their business.
Grabbing Dee’s arm was a reflex. Knowing the doctor conned him pushed him over the edge.
~ ~ ~
That bastard of a stepfather had reason to wonder, but Dusty had never discussed the information Ben had shared with Dee.
“Mom talked about how much she resembles me with the red fuzz. After that, Roger ignored her completely.”
“Have they left town?”
“No. I made no plans to see them again. Mom floated the idea of the four of us having dinner.” Dee held up her hand as he jerked. “I nixed the plan immediately, so Mom said she would call before they left tomorrow. It’s too long a drive for him in one day. They’re staying downtown.”
“Would you see her again tomorrow?”
“Yes, to say goodbye and let her see Erica again. She is Erica’s only grandmother.”
Dusty nodded. There was nothing else to say.
~ ~ ~
Roger downed another pain pill. Things were manageable now, but that night . . . He’d never felt such pain. No one else was affected. Dee didn’t have a mark on her. The restaurant was thoroughly investigated. No electrical fault was found, the tablecloth not even scorched. Yet every nerve in his right hand had been destroyed, fried for lack of a better word. He still felt it, though the doctors called it phantom pain since the nerves were dead. There was nothing phantom about it. But no cause was found.
