Backstage (The Barter System Book 4)

by McClendon, Shayne

  * * * * *

  The night of the engagement party for Isaiah and Mikayla and Ezra and Madeline was about to cause Theodora a nervous breakdown.

  As promised, she’d assisted the catering staff but hadn’t done the work herself. The twins picked her up that morning to have her hair and nails done before they shopped for the perfect outfit.

  It was something she’d put off for months because she had no idea how big her stomach would be. Telling them to go pick out possibilities, she took the saleswoman aside and asked for a specific cut. The woman smiled knowingly.

  When the twins saw her in the dress, they put everything they’d picked on one of the benches and smiled happily.

  “Perfect. It’s perfect.” They found low kitten heels and called her done.

  They offered to take her with them and she refused. “I truly need to spend time with my mother before I leave. I’ll see you there.”

  “Are you sure?” Mikayla looked like she was ready to drag her bound to her house. “I think we should wait for you.” Sighing, she gave them both an unblinking stare. “Shit. We’re doing it again. Sorry.”

  “I’ll spend time with Mom, get dressed, and see you there.”

  Despite her small victory, Isaiah still sent Xavier to the house to take her to the party. He told her he was happy to wait until she was ready to leave and settled in a wingback chair in the foyer.

  Eventually, she couldn’t delay any longer and rushed to her apartment to dress. To her reflection, she said, “You know, for a pregnant albino chick…you look damn good.”

  Laughing at herself, she let Xavier help with her coat and then he escorted her to the warm car.

  She wasn’t quite ready to go in so she made a detour to the bathroom when Xavier dropped her at the front of the luxury hotel.

  Checking her lipstick and smoothing her curls, she took a deep breath and told herself to be brave. The party was in full swing when she peered through the open doorway into the large banquet room the Zelders secured to announce their future brides to the world.

  In the world they were born into, a quick marriage was simply not done.

  Isaiah and Ezra were checking off a list of antiquated societal rules so there could be no question about their love for the twins.

  Her eyes roamed the room and she squinted at the people she couldn’t see clearly. She subconsciously searched for Kiefer.

  Then she found him.

  The minute her eyes landed on him, she wished she’d left well enough alone. He was drunk and leaning on a table while a Megan Fox type draped her long, lithe body along his side.

  Theodora got her coat and left.

  * * * * *

  Kiefer was livid. The little caterer acted as if he didn’t exist. It was a new sensation for him and he didn’t like it one bit.

  Clearly, she’d gotten her fill and checked him off her bucket list.

  He’d been drinking too much, he knew that. As soon as he got back to Oklahoma, he was drying out and pulling his shit together.

  Seeing Teddy at the theater had almost dropped him. She was somehow even more beautiful than he remembered. He looked at the photos he took of her during their month together often.

  There was a glow about her, a confidence he hoped he’d had a small part in growing. Feeling her arms around him was like being home and he wondered if she’d listen to everything he had to say.

  Nothing had shocked him more than finding out she’d gone home without talking to him. He tried calling but it went straight to voicemail. It seemed desperate to go to her house but he swallowed his pride and did it.

  He knew she was inside. That she ignored him cut deep and bled slow. How could she ignore him after everything they shared?

  Back at the hotel, he started drinking in the bar. He wasn’t worried because the party was being held in the same venue. He wouldn’t even have to ride drunk.

  Toasting his cleverness, he ordered another and when a gorgeous brunette took the seat beside him, he turned on the charm.

  She wasn’t very bright but he saw everything in her that his girlfriends before Teddy possessed. His idea was childish, possibly even hurtful, but he refused to be the only one reeling from the most intense relationship of his life.

  “You should go with me,” he told the woman. She asked where in that obnoxious breathy voice women used to make men think they were sexy or innocent or whatever it was they were doing. “My sisters are getting married. They’re having a huge party here in the hotel in a couple of hours. You can be my date.”

  “Oh, I’d love to. Let me go put on something nice.”

  “I’ll change and meet you back here.”

  Two hours later, he was dressed and drinking again when she reappeared beside him. He’d forgotten all about her and felt annoyed with his original plan. He was also irritated that he’d showered and dressed in far more clothing than she was wearing in an eighth of the time.

  In for a penny…

  He stood and held out his arm. She slipped her hand through it and squeezed his bicep. “You’re so good looking. You must work out.”

  Pressing his finger and thumb along the bridge of his nose, he sighed. “Yeah, I work out. I bet you do, too.” The same lines with different women through the years were robotic.

  “I do but…I have a long way to go. The clothes I like are unforgiving of my fat rolls.”

  Jesus help him.

  “You’re not fat. Anyone who says you are – including you – needs to see someone about body image issues.” He’d forgotten his line. Tiredly, he struggled to get back on track. “I’m happy to help with any workout programs you’re thinking about…maybe we can work out together while you’re here.”

  Bingo.

  “That’s so awesome of you.”

  They entered the reserved space and he realized he was actually running late. Everyone was already eating and the dance floor was packed. He found his name on one of the tables and sat the date in a chair.

  She talked, he drank.

  He didn’t know how much time passed when Vince approached. He looked pissed. “Kiefer. Can I have a minute?”

  “Hell yeah, you know you can always count on me.”

  He maneuvered his way to his feet and followed his little brother from the party. Taking a side exit, Vince turned and hit Kiefer in the jaw and snapped his head back.

  “Vince, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

  “I’ll give you a list. You were with Theodora for a month and didn’t so much as send her a thank you card. You dare to show up at the engagement party for your sisters and her cousins with your slut du jour.” He shoved his chest. “I can’t imagine why that would bother anyone, asshole.” Vince didn’t raise his voice but his tone was enraged.

  “I called today…she ignored me. I even went by her place but she wouldn’t even open the door. What am I supposed to do?”

  “Did you ever stop to wonder what she thought about your time together? How she felt when you left and didn’t contact her for months? If there was even a tiny part of her that wondered what someone like you was doin’ with someone like her, you just proved every one of her doubts.”

  Done, he straightened his jacket and turned to go back inside. Over his shoulder, he mumbled, “You are fuckin’ selfish, Kiefer. Whinin’ over her ignorin’ you for a few hours when you got on a plane and never fuckin’ looked back.”

  Leaning against the wall, Kiefer stopped feeling sorry for himself and remembered who the fuck Teddy was. He thought about her gentleness and how she’d worried from their first conversation that he’d feel sorry for her. He fought back tears he didn’t deserve to shed.

  He had to make it right.

  Walking with purpose into the party, ready to tell whatever her name was to take a hike, Isaiah’s voice filled the room and stopped him cold.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, if all immediate family members as well as theater crew could please assemble in the hall outside, it would be greatly appreciat
ed.”

  He left the stage at a run and Kiefer followed, struggling to shake off the booze he’d been consuming for hours.

  Isaiah handed out flashlights. “Theodora left the hotel extremely distraught. She didn’t pick up her purse so she doesn’t have her phone or wallet. It’s unlikely she’s gone very far. Please keep the flashlights pointed toward the ground.”

  Everyone assembled split up in groups and he found himself walking beside Bristol and his parents.

  She paused as they shrugged on their jackets. “Anything happens to my cousin and they’ll never find your body, Kiefer. Just wanted to be up front and honest about that.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Theodora didn’t remember leaving the hotel but as the chill air finally penetrated her stocking-clad legs, she took a deep breath.

  She kept walking. She needed to think.

  Eventually, she would tell Kiefer about the baby. Confess the lie she told and deal with the judgment and anger.

  She wanted to prove she was a good mother first.

  Seeing Kiefer was something she would have grown accustomed to over time as they shared long-distance parenting of their child; something she knew would be important to his family, if not to him.

  She hadn’t been prepared for the woman. The visual representation of everything that Theodora was not. Seeing her draped over a body she’d learned so well hurt far more than the loss of him, the silence, and even the fears she had about her pregnancy and raising a child alone.

  Tears fell but she didn’t wipe them away. Her heart felt broken and she had no idea what to do, where to go, or even where she was at the moment. Looking for her phone, she realized she’d forgotten to take it when she claimed her jacket.

  Calm down, think for a moment, and be rational.

  There was a Starbucks across the street and it would be an easy landmark to describe to one of the girls. At the intersection, she pressed the button for the crosswalk. Glancing up to watch it, she was suddenly blinded by a turning delivery truck. The glare seared into her brain and she blinked against the way it burned.

  More headlights, building lights, streetlights, traffic lights…they were everywhere and she couldn’t get her bearings. She reached out to try to feel the pole but touched a meter instead. From one to the other, she made her way, hoping she was going in the direction of the hotel.

  Her head felt as if it would explode and her eyes wouldn’t focus.

  She didn’t see the puddle but she felt it as her feet went out from under her. The back of her head bounced off the pavement an instant before darkness descended.

  * * * * *

  Kiefer didn’t use a flashlight. He circled the block, certain she would have hesitated to cross the street at night.

  The city lights were his biggest concern. “Teddy wouldn’t have crossed the street if she got dizzy or couldn’t focus. She’s going to be on the same block as the hotel and she’s only been gone a few minutes.”

  He walked ahead of them, scanning side to side. Rounding the corner, the image of an ambulance nearly stopped his heart. He took off at a run with Bristol close behind.

  A few people clustered around her and paramedics knelt over her still body. Kiefer skidded to a stop and dropped to his knees beside her. The bright blonde of her hair was marred with dirt and he was certain some of it was her own blood.

  “Teddy…sweet girl.” He picked up her hand and held it, rubbing warmth into her skin with both of his. “Is she gonna be alright?”

  “Nasty fall and she seems to be a bit dehydrated. What’s her name and are there any medical conditions we need to know?”

  Clearing his throat, he told them, “Theodora Grove. She has albinism, she’s legally blind.”

  “You’ll need to cover her eyes once you load her into the ambulance. Bright lights cause her pain,” Bristol added.

  The paramedics fired off questions and she answered them quickly.

  Accustomed to the young woman’s immediate responses, both paramedics looked up. Kiefer realized something slowed the pace. He glanced away from Theodora to pay attention.

  The older paramedic repeated, “Ma’am…? Is there any chance she’s pregnant? We need to know what it’s safe to give her.”

  Bristol’s eyes met Kiefer’s and quickly looked away. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “Yes. She’s just over four months along.”

  With a nod, the paramedics went back to what they were doing, talking to each other.

  Almost thirty seconds passed as he played the information over and over in his mind. He kissed her fingers, rested her hand on her chest, and stood up. Then he charged the nearest wall, fist raised to hit it full force.

  Ivan prevented the impact, catching his wrist within inches of the concrete. “Don’t you do it, boy. You’re gonna need both hands to do what’s gotta be done, you hear me?”

  Then Kiefer did something he hadn’t done since he was a small child. He burst into tears and collapsed against his father.

  “She didn’t trust me enough to tell me. I hurt her when I gave my word I wouldn’t. Dad, help me fix it, please help me fix it.”

  “It’s gonna be alright, son. We need to make sure her and your baby are safe. Understand me, Kiefer?” He nodded. “Good. Pull yourself together. We can’t afford tears when the people we love need us.”

  Becky hailed a cab and whistled for them. Bristol climbed in the back of the ambulance with Teddy. His mother shoved a hundred dollars in the cabby’s hand to make sure he didn’t lose the emergency vehicle.

  Behind them, he heard familiar voices shouting and hailing cabs but Kiefer wasn’t focused on anyone or anything but Theodora.

  The woman he loved. The mother of his child.

  * * * * *

  Theodora opened her eyes to darkness and started screaming. “I can’t see. No, no, no!”

  Bristol’s voice accompanied her touch on her arm. “You aren’t blind. You’re not blind, Theodora. They covered your eyes against the light. Be calm so you don’t pull out the IV. You’re dehydrated. You need the fluids for the baby, honey.”

  That focused her mind with a snap. “What happened? Is the baby alright? Tell me the truth.”

  “Perfectly fine, I swear it. You gave yourself a concussion, have a few scrapes and bruises, but you’re going to be okay.”

  Theodora placed the hand that wasn’t hooked up to an IV over her stomach and stroked it gently. “You’re safe. I’m sorry I lost my head for a minute. I promise to be more careful.”

  “Teddy.”

  She went still, held her breath, and didn’t say a word. She had no idea what she could say to the father of her baby. A baby he hadn’t even known existed.

  His voice flowed over her skin. “I know it’s gonna take a long time for me to earn your trust. I’m sorry for everything.”

  She couldn’t stop the tears born from months of stress and fear. “Please don’t take the baby.” The weakness in her voice shamed her. “I know I have some issues but I’ll hire help. I’ll always keep the baby safe. I’ll be a good mom, Kiefer.”

  “Teddy…what are you talkin’ about?”

  She started to talk rapidly, desperate to convince him that even with her limitations, she’d be a good mother.

  “I know I can’t take her to the park when it’s bright out or teach her to ride horses but my family will make up for what I can’t do and she’ll be happy and loved. She’ll be well taken care of, I’ll make sure of it.”

  * * * * *

  The beautiful woman in front of him thought he’d define her ability to be a good mother by the limitations of her condition. She believed he’d see her as nothing more than someone with disabilities.

  That he would take her child from her because he thought her unfit.

  He bent over the bed and slid his arms around her. For a long time, he held her close to him, right where she belonged. He used the time to settle his mind and calm his heart.

  At her ear, he whispered, “I would nev
er take our baby from you, Teddy. I can’t imagine a better mother. Even someone without your condition couldn’t hope to love as fiercely as you do. This baby needs you to show her how to love. You have my word.”

  Her fingers dug into his forearm. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t want anything and I won’t bother you. I’ll understand if you don’t want to be involved but if you want to be, you have no obligation to me.”

  For several minutes, Kiefer held her as Teddy talked about not feeling trapped or thinking he had to take her to be part of their baby’s life.

  Finally, he kissed her silent.

  Always the most responsive and involved woman he’d ever known, she gave back to him automatically and he took it greedily.

  Resting his forehead against hers when he broke the kiss, he whispered, “I’ve missed you every second since I walked out of your house. I cried, I raged, and I drank too much. One thing I didn’t do was cheat on you, Teddy. The woman you saw tonight approached me at the bar before the party. Takin’ her with me was stupid. I’m sorry. I was hurt and I lashed out like a child because I thought you didn’t want me.”

  There was a long pause. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, Kiefer. Not want you? I love you.”

  “You have no idea how much I love you, Teddy. I’ll show you.”

  He watched her exhale slowly before a careful smile flitted over her lips. “You can start by getting me out of here. I hate hospitals.”

  Epilogue

  December 2013

  Gabriella laughed with Hudson’s assistant as they waited for one of her friends to join them. “I’m so fascinated with this space that I don’t even mind if they don’t hire me for a single thing.”

  “Bite your tongue, brat,” Lola told her firmly. “They’re going to love you and you’ll know a slightly bigger circle of people.”

  Nodding, she was transfixed by the design on the molding that framed the wide entry leading to the main theater. “Oh, the detail here is simply fabulous. Give me just a second…”

  She removed a sketchpad from her bag and began to draw the unique filigree pattern. Part of her really wanted to do a rubbing of the recessed design and it made her snicker.