My Ex's Son

by M J Rutter

  “Really? You’re the best.” I grinned.

  “No problem, have a good weekend, Jenna.”

  “And you.” I said and ended the call.

  I then used my phone to search what had happened. I felt bad for Cain, he did seem to be innocent in all of this and it wasn’t fair that he was punished for doing the right thing. I found the story that had hit the papers. The firm, Ross, Bowmaker and Wyatt, filed for bankruptcy shortly after being exposed by a junior member of the team who had reported them to the regulators of law in Washington state for extortion and harbouring funds. It reported how Cain discovered what they were doing while filing, and when he questioned senior members, they thanked him and led him to believe that they were going to deal with the lawyers responsible. Instead, he was called into the manager’s office, told to collect his things and leave. Before he left the office, he sent the files to the regulators and they investigated.

  The firm took it upon themselves to discredit Cain and accused him of stealing from the company, lying and for falsifying his qualifications. Stating that they were considering his grades as the work he performed did not live up to the level of education he claimed to have. They ruined his career, they ruined his life.

  I texted Cain to let him know when I was ten minutes from the station, I figured he’d have enough time to come and get me. He didn’t respond so I could only hope that he was there in time. I didn’t fancy having to walk home.

  Four

  As I came out of the station, leaning recklessly against my car, he smiled. He was wearing a worn, black leather jacket and I didn’t recognize his jeans, so assumed he was back in his own clothes. He had shaved and smelled of cologne as I approached.

  “How was your day?” he asked.

  “Enlightening.” I replied. He held out his hand to take my bags. I handed them to him and smiled a thank you. “How was your day?”

  “Busy.” He answered. “Do you want to drive or…?”

  “No, you can.” I said and walked around the car to climb in to the passenger’s seat. The whole car smelled of him as I inhaled deeply.

  He drove us across town towards my house. I wanted to tell him about Lander, though I had nothing really to tell him except that Lander was going to ask a few questions and see what he can do to help fix Cain’s career, but as nothing was definite yet, I guessed it would have been better to keep it quiet.

  I almost didn’t recognize my house. The tired looking paintwork had been lifted with a light shade of green on the shutters and garage doors. The lawn was finished and my flower beds looked incredible.

  “Wow, Cain, the house and garden look amazing.”

  “It’s my pleasure, Jen.” He smiled proudly as the garage doors opened. That had also been tidied.

  “Is there anything you haven’t done today?” I asked.

  “Well…” he grinned. “Lots of things.” He then shrugged casually. I could see that light begin to flicker in his eyes once more, the fun-loving Cain was returning. We climbed out of the car and he lifted my work bags from the back seat for me.

  “I can take those,” I said.

  “I got it.” He insisted and led us inside. As the door opened my lungs filled with the most incredible, mouth-watering aroma. Tomatoes and lime, coriander and spices. “I spiced the chicken up a little, I hope you don’t mind hot food.” He explained.

  “No, I love it, actually.”

  “Cool.” He nodded and placed my bags on the floor by the door. “It’s almost ready, so if you want to freshen up, I’ll set the table.”

  “Sounds perfect.” I grinned and left him in the kitchen. Was this how it felt to have someone look after you?

  My brother and I were raised by our aunt after our parents were killed when I was six. I hadn’t ever had a Christmas present or birthday present until I got older and Turner started to work. He bought me a fourteenth birthday gift, the first I’d had since our parents had passed.

  Our up-bringing was literally that, we’d not been shown any affection by the spinster who raised us. We were a problem to her, we interrupted her life and she hated that. We had no one to talk to, to comfort us when we were sad, no one to nurse us when we were sick. She washed our clothes, she fed us and she went to our meetings at school, but that’s where her loyalty to her brother, our father, ended.

  When she died, I had just started college. Turner, who had returned from his internship in Japan, was about to start his new job in Dallas, Texas, after graduating with honors. He called me and plainly said,

  “The old bat is dead.”

  I couldn’t even shed a tear. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated that she took us in and prevented us from going into foster care, but she never showed us an ounce of empathy and I couldn’t cry over someone who acted like we didn’t exist.

  Needless to say, she left everything to us, her house, her wealth, all of it. I envisioned her giving it to an animal shelter of some sort, but she actually wrote the words, ‘To my darling niece and nephew, I leave everything.’ We couldn’t have been more shocked. Our inheritance from her and what was owed to us from our parents, gave us both a huge lift in life and without it, we would have been paying off mortgages and car finance for the rest of our lives.

  Turner was able to marry his then pregnant girlfriend, Dana and I could finish college and look forward to a future. Only I had envisioned that to be with Jake. I loved that man with everything I was and would have given him the world if it was mine to give. When I look back at how we drifted from a student, lecturer relationship to lovers, it makes me cringe and had someone I knew done the same, I would have tried to stop them.

  Jake Macalister was selfish, arrogant and so full of himself. He believed that every girl wanted to be with him and every guy wanted to be him. He drove a bright red Ferrari and had a penthouse apartment on the outskirts of town. Close enough to the local college, but also far enough away so that he could do whatever he wanted and that included study sessions with his students, which led to his many affairs. He was self-centred and thought of himself as the king of the universe, it’s shameful to admit that he made me feel like the most important girl in the world.

  I was dazzled by his charisma, his charm, the fact that he had published books. I would have followed him to the ends of the earth. Within weeks of dating him, he asked if I could collect his son from school. Cain was almost thirteen and hadn’t a clue who I was. I took him for ice cream as his dad was running late for their visit and then I got a text to tell me to take Cain home to his mother, he wasn’t going to make it. The kid was crushed and I felt an asshole because I was the one who had to tell him.

  It didn’t end there, I began to wonder if Jake was using me as a babysitter because he would arrange to meet with me, then ask if I could collect Cain and then rain-check us both. God only knows why I put up with it for five years, in fact, I know why, I loved the man, loved him so completely that nothing he did or said would have changed that. Well, almost.

  Long story short, I was driving Cain home from a party through town. He had called me because he had got drunk and wanted to go home. I left my warm bed to go and pick up Jake’s now seventeen-year-old kid, again. Jake was, apparently, unavailable that night because he had a lecturer’s meeting or something at the college. So, as we passed one of the top restaurants, I was surprised to notice his red Ferrari in the car lot. I pulled in and Cain begged me not to go inside. At the lowest points of my life since, I wish I had listened.

  Cain followed me through the restaurant until I found his father’s table. The small red-haired girl he was with was a sparkly-eyed freshman and as I stared at her I realized that was me once, I had since graduated college, I no longer hung on Jake’s every word, I no longer gushed over him and his work because I had read his books and they were terrible. I had grown up and was only needed when Cain was around. Cain called his father an asshole and left the restaurant, I just stared at him, I honestly couldn’t find a word to say.

  He cha
sed me out as I hurried back to my car, which is when he told me how pathetic I was, how needy I had become. How I acted like a woman in her forties, not her twenties, at the age of twenty-three, I had become too old for this man whom I had never judged or doubted, my world imploded on that car lot that night. I was absolutely devastated.

  I got over it though, after a year of pure pain, I finally realized that maybe Jake was wrong about me and vowed to never allow myself to be so vulnerable again.

  I changed into dark blue jeans and a plaid shirt after another shower. Then, barefoot, I padded down the stairs and found Cain filling a wine glass with white wine on the table.

  He smiled warmly, “Take a seat.” He said and lifted a dish of steaming chicken. He placed it onto the table as I sat and lifted the lid. It truly made my mouth water. The breast had been baked with mushroom and sweet peppers in a tomato, coriander and lime sauce. He served it on a bed of mixed rice with a fresh garden salad and herby garlic bread on the side.

  “This looks incredible.” I grinned and lifted my fork.

  “I also took a class or two.” He admitted.

  “Thank you, Cain, the house looks amazing and this, well, it’s been a long time since I came home to a cooked meal.”

  “Now I am here, that is something you can rely on, well, until I find a new job anyway.” He stated and lifted his wine glass to his lips.

  The meal was incredible, every morsel of food that touched my tongue sang to my taste buds. We talked about some of the more enjoyable times we had together. Visits to the planetarium, dinner at the space needle in the city and the endless list of movies Cain and I shared when his father was too busy to spend time with his only child.

  “I have a younger sister now.” He said. I felt my eyes widen. “Her name is Lacie and she is seven.” He added.

  “Wow!”

  “I know, he uh, he knocked Lisa up not long after you… well, they broke up just after Lacie was born and guess who had to babysit her while he was off with the next freshman to bat her eyes at him?”

  “No,” I gasped.

  “Yes, so he dumped me off on you and Lacie off on me. The man should be castrated to stop him ruining anymore girl’s lives.”

  “So, do you still see her?” I asked.

  “No, her mom stopped my dad seeing her when she discovered I was the one taking care of her.”

  I drained my glass and gazed at him, he certainly had grown into a better man than his father could have ever hope to have been.

  “Do you have room for dessert?” he asked.

  I looked at my empty plate, feeling full, but curious, “Dessert?”

  “Yes, I made a peach cobbler.”

  “Oh my God, I haven’t had that in years.” I nodded greedily. “I’ll squeeze some in somewhere.”

  He grinned and stood, lifting my plate. I recklessly topped up my glass with wine and added a little more to his as he served the cobbler with cream. He placed a bowl in front of me, it also looked and smelled amazing.

  “So, you can cook, you can paint and garden… is there anything you can’t do?”

  “I can’t hold down a job and I seem to suck at relationships.” He admitted.

  “Me too,” I chuckled, “the relationship thing. Honestly, I must have an asshole detector built into my brain.” I sighed.

  “Or maybe my father managed to screw up both our lives and that has left us in this mess.” He added smartly.

  “Yes,” I gleamed, I think the wine was beginning to take effect. “Let’s blame Jake.”

  “Jake the asshole.”

  “Totally.” I smiled and lifted my spoon.

  After stuffing in as much of his delicious cobbler as my full stomach could allow, we cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. We then took the rest of the wine to the living room and I sat beside him on the couch.

  “Tell me about your ex.” I said.

  “There’s not much to tell really. She was selfish and stubborn, and I guess I couldn’t give her what she wanted.” He shrugged. “I never cheated on her or anything like that, we actually parted on friendly terms. I was just so angry when I found out that she was dating Zeke. I couldn’t believe it, I thought I could trust him, after all, he was the one to help me pick up the pieces of my life after her.”

  “What’s her name?” I asked.

  “Corie, Corie Geller and I thought she was the one… sorry.” He frowned and looked away. “Maybe we should both leave our ex’s in the past where they belong.” He suggested and turned to look at me. His eyes twinkled with emotion and my heart fluttered in my chest.

  “Maybe we should.” I nodded. “Although, I think the scars make you stronger. The healing process sucks, don’t get me wrong, but when you come out the other side of something so horrific, you actually come out stronger, empowered and you learned a valuable lesson. It’s the confidence thing I struggle with. I can admit my mistakes and, in some respect, look them in the eye, but having the confidence to move on from something that almost destroys my heart, that’s where I come unstuck.”

  “We all have our kryptonite.” He smiled.

  “I guess we do.” I agreed. I drank the rest of my wine and returned his smile meeting his eyes, I felt my cheeks warm and decided no more wine for me.

  The hours of the evening flew by as we talked about everything. He opened up a little more about his life and how hard it had been since his mother died. My heart bled for him. A hundred men would have turned to crime, he decided he wanted to fight it as a lawyer and that rug was snatched from under him.

  I went to bed shortly before eleven. Warm and tired from the wine, my pillow was calling me. I left him watching a movie and hurried up to my room. Cain had only been back in my life for two days, though, practically a stranger now, I felt I had known him forever. As I lay in the darkness I began to wonder what sort of girl would be his type. He had seemed to have a few he had dated, I wanted to know what he looked for in a girl. I looked for reliability, that is all I really looked for, someone I could turn to. I think that comes from missing my parents. I felt I needed to be cared for.

  When Cain looked at me, I could feel his eyes boring deep into my soul, I don’t know if it was because we had known each other for so long, sort of, or what, I only knew it made my toes tingle and my heart flip over. Whatever the reason he felt the need to look at me so intensely, I didn’t mind, I just wondered what it meant for us.

  Five

  I woke sharply when my alarm rang out. I normally run Saturday mornings, I would get up and run a few miles, but this Saturday morning I felt exhausted. I think the loss of sleep when Cain called me, then drinking almost a bottle of wine the night before, it had caught up with me. I switched off my alarm and went back to sleep. Well, I tried to go back to sleep.

  The sun already shone brightly through my window and the birds outside had begun to sing. Then, I needed the bathroom, I tried to not think about it, but it was no use. I pushed off my covers and hurried to the bathroom. I took a shower and brushed the groggy feeling out of my mouth.

  As I came out of the bathroom, with a towel wrapped around my body and one in my hair, I bumped smack in to Cain and could have died. I felt my face redden instantly,

  “Sorry.” I muttered clumsily.

  “No, it’s my fault.” He insisted blushing. That’s when I noticed his chest, he was shirtless and how I kept my mouth from dropping open is beyond me. “Um, I uh, I need to grab my shirt out of the dryer.” He said, averting my eyes. I tried not to look at his body, erect nipples or the thin line of hair peeping out from his open button on his jeans. I tried and failed.

  “Sure,” I nodded, clutching the towel around my body. “I’ll, um… I’ll go this way.” I said and hurried towards my door. I closed it behind me and pressed against it. Wow! What a body?

  I dressed and dried my hair before braving seeing Cain again. What must he have thought about me, some creepy, desperate older woman? I probably made him so uncomfortable. I couldn’t
get his tweaked, muscular torso out of my mind though and I am not sure that I wanted to.

  I took a deep composing breath before I braved the kitchen. Cain was making coffee.

  “Cain…” I began.

  “It’s fine, Jen. I didn’t think you would have been awake yet.” He smiled and turned to me. “I wanted to take a bath as my back aches a bit from yesterday. At least I had jeans on.” He added.

  “Mmm,” I nodded, still unable to speak. “Is um, is your back better now?” I asked awkwardly.

  “Yes, thank you. Your shower is pretty powerful.” He smiled slightly. “I never knew you got a tattoo.” He mentioned as he handed me a cup of coffee.

  “Thanks.” I said taking the cup. “I got angel wings for my parents.” I explained.

  “Well, they are beautiful.” He smiled.

  “Thank you, again.” I blushed slightly. He had obviously watched me as I walked to my room, because my tattoo is between my shoulder blades. “Have you got any ink?” I asked.

  “I have a paw print on my pelvis.” He pointed to his side. “Would you like to see it?” he asked.

  I shook my head, “No, it’s fine, I can take your word for it.” I babbled nervously and sipped my coffee. It was so hot, I had to race to the sink and spit it out. “Shit!” I snapped. “That was so hot.”

  “Are you okay?” he asked as I scooped cold water from the faucet into my mouth and allowed it to cool my burning tongue as I tried to nod. When I realized how stupid I must have looked I turned to face him. He came towards me. He lifted his thumb to my chin, “You have uh, coffee…,” he said smearing his warm thumb over my chin. His eyes met mine. Again, warmth flushed my face and I tore my eyes away from his.