“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Gordon. Can you show me how to fish?”
His face lit up. “You want to learn? Of course I’ll teach you, but you have to touch worms. Are you ready for that?”
She nodded.
“Good. But we have to get off this dock and go where the water is a little more shallow so I can show you how to cast. I don’t want you falling in so soon. Can you swim, girl?”
“Not very good. Daddy always has to go in with me.”
“Well, you’ll learn this summer.” He set her on the ground and handed her the bag they kept the bait in. “We’ve just got to head down that way a little.” He pointed to the shore to their left. “Are you ready?”
“Maybe we should check with her father first, Dad,” Belinda stated.
Bill gave Carter a hard look. “Mr. Lancaster doesn’t have any objections. I think it’s best for all of us if me and Ruby go fish over there for a few minutes.”
“That’s fine with me, sir.”
“Good. Come on, Ruby Red. We’ve got fishing to do.”
Carter watched his little girl head off with Belinda’s father. Normally he wouldn’t have let her walk away without him, but this time he did.
“My father loves kids,” Belinda said, reading his mind. “You don’t have to be worried about her. He raised me and I came out pretty good.” She smiled softly at him, and awareness of her trickled through his body. It was then he realized that their hands were linked. How long had it been since he held hands with anybody except Ruby?
She must have realized it, too. She pulled away from him and stared off at her father in the distance.
“She’s shy,” he told her. “She doesn’t speak to anybody. I worry about her because I see her struggle to talk—but she talked to you. She went off with your father. This is very big for her.”
“We’re not bad people, Carter. Despite what you think of me, I would never do anything to hurt her.”
“You only like to hurt me.”
She looked up at him then, her mouth open. But no words came out.
“You don’t hit like a girl.” He pointed to the fading bruise on his cheek. “I take it you learned that skill from your father.”
Her eyes flashed with regret. “I’m sorry I hit you. I shouldn’t have done it.”
“I probably deserved it. Given the way your father was coming at me, I’m guessing I would have had two black eyes if you hadn’t stopped him.”
“He’s fifty-six years old, but he’s a big son of a bitch and he would have killed you.”
“What did you tell him about us?”
“Nothing. I came home from San Francisco devastated. I didn’t need to say a word.”
“I think we should talk.”
“Do you really want to? I thought you wanted me out of your life as soon as possible.”
He did—or at least he thought he did. “We slept together. You can pretend it didn’t happen all you want, but I can’t. We live in the same town. We are going to run into each other over and over. We need to figure things out.”
“You could go back to San Francisco. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about bumping into your stupid face every time I left the house.”
He almost smiled at her childish name-calling. There were only two women who could ever make him smile. Ruby was one of them, but Belinda was the first. “I’m not moving back. Ruby likes it here. I’ve never seen her so happy.”
“She could have been happy anywhere. Why here, Carter? You know this is my town. You had to know how difficult it would be to live where I am.”
“You are not my only tie to this place. My best friend and his family are here. I spent every summer break here during college. I want my child to grow up here.” He shook his head. “I never thought you would move back to Durant. I had a private detective track you down. I thought you lived in the city.”
“That was four years ago. Why did you have me tracked down?”
He paused for a moment, not sure if he should answer her question. “I wanted to know how you were.”
“Bullshit,” she snapped. “You could have called me, or come after me. But you didn’t care enough to. Just admit it, you were glad when I left. I was never going to fit into your world.”
“Damn it, Belinda, I know things were hard for you in San Francisco, but I never wanted you to leave. You never told me my parents were cruel to you. You never gave me the opportunity to fix things. You just left!”
“That’s right I left! How could we have fixed the unrepairable? We were strangers. We married too fast. We were going to fail no matter what.”
“You don’t know that!” He turned away from her, unable to focus his thoughts when his emotions were so out of control. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
“We never fought! We never talked. That was the problem with us. You never said a word to me.”
“I never had the chance. I knew you for four weeks before we got married. We only stayed married for six. How the hell did you expect me to tell you everything?”
“I can’t do this now.” She shook her head. “I can’t be around you. I’ll send Ruby back over so you can get on with your day.”
“No.” He grabbed her arm. “We need to settle this.”
“Yeah, but it’s not going to happen today.” She walked off. He watched her go knowing that letting her go was a mistake.
CHAPTER 9
Coldhearted snake …
Grilled cheese was on the menu for tonight’s dinner. It was all Carter could manage, and he barely got that on the table. He had burned his sandwich to a blackened crisp he had been so distracted, but he made damn sure Ruby’s sandwich came out okay. He wanted everything to be okay when it came to his daughter.
He felt guilty again as he sat across the table and watched her eat the orange-colored processed cheese food and white bread. It wasn’t good for her. He knew that, but he was a hopeless failure when it came to cooking. He never had to do it before. Her nanny had prepared all of Ruby’s meals before the move, but now she was gone and he found himself barely treading water. He thought about hiring somebody to do the cooking and cleaning. Somebody to take a couple of things off his overloaded plate.
He didn’t want to. He shouldn’t have to. Millions of single parents did it on their own. They didn’t even have the option of hiring somebody. He should be able to handle one well-behaved five-year-old. He made this move as a way of showing her that he wanted to be the one to take care of her. But sometimes he wondered if that was a good thing for her. If feeding her crap and keeping her cooped up in his office with him after school was going to hurt her in the long run.
“Are you happy, Rube?”
She looked up at him and nodded before taking another bite of her sandwich. “I had fun this weekend.”
“I did, too.” He paused, not sure how he should phrase his next question.
“Do you have a headache, Daddy?” She frowned up at him.
“No, baby. I was just thinking.”
“Oh. I think, too. Thinking very hard makes my head hurt.”
“Mine, too.” He nodded. “When you think, do you ever think about having a mommy?”
She looked pensive for a moment. Then she looked up at him, as if she was unsure what to say. “My mommy’s in heaven. I can’t see her no more.”
“I know, but do you think about having a new mommy?”
“Like your wife?” she asked cautiously. “She could be my mommy.”
“No.” He shut his eyes for a brief moment. Kicking himself for not expecting that response. “Not Belinda. She’s not going to be my wife anymore. I was thinking I might like to have a new wife one day, and that lady would be your new mommy.”
“No, thanks.” She went back to chewing her sandwich. “Can I have ice cream for dessert?”
“Yes, but you have to take a bath first.”
“Okay.” She hopped off her chair and threw the remaining corner of her grilled cheese in the garbag
e. “You turn on the water and I’ll go get ready.”
He watched her trot off. He ought to start dating. Maybe a new woman would take his mind off Belinda. Maybe if he became intimate with another woman he would stop lusting after the one who’d walked out of his life so long ago. He shook his head. He knew that wasn’t going to happen. In four years nobody had caused him to take a second look, nobody had piqued his interest. No other woman could make him feel as out of control as Belinda. He wondered what it was about her that kept him from moving on.
The phone rang, forcing him out of his thoughts.
“Lancaster residence.”
“Hello, dear. It’s your mother. I was just calling to see how you were faring in Nowhere, New York.”
Carter stiffened at the sound of her voice. He had been trying to get in touch with her for days. “I’ve been trying to call you and Father for days. Haven’t you gotten my messages?”
“I was away in Catalina for a few days and I left my cell phone at home. I can’t speak for your father. He doesn’t keep me abreast of his daily activities anymore, and I’m fairly sure I don’t want to know what he’s up to anyway.”
Carter had been ready to grill his mother about what happened with Belinda, but something about his mother’s voice, the change in her tone when she spoke of his father, made him pause.
“Is everything all right between you and Father?” His parents had always been a united front. He had never heard his mother speak poorly of his father before.
“Yes, yes. Everything is how it always has been. Now, how are you settling in that little town of yours? DuPont is it?”
“It’s Durant, Mother, and you know I like it here. I’ve always liked it here.”
“I know. It was like hell trying to get you to come along on breaks. I at least thought you would be like the other kids your age and want to go skiing in the Alps or partying in the French Riviera, but instead you chose to spend your holidays with somebody else’s family in a town that nobody has even heard of.”
“Does it hurt to be such a snob all the time?”
“I’m not a snob,” she sniffed. “I just have exceedingly good taste.”
He could picture his mother sitting in her professionally designed dressing room. Her white hair cut into a sleek bob, her thin body draped in designer clothing. She wasn’t a woman who exuded warmth, but she did know what she wanted and she somehow made the rest of her circle want it, too.
“If you say so, Mother.”
“I do. How is my grandchild? I know you wanted to move away from San Francisco but did you have to take her away, too?”
“I did it for her, and she’s happier than I have seen her in a very long time.”
“I guess that’s something. Let me speak to her. She must miss her grandmother terribly.”
“Yeah, in a minute. I need to ask you something first.”
“What is it?”
“Did you and Father offer Belinda money to leave me?”
Silence.
“You’ve been divorced for over four years. Are you telling me you have spoken to her recently?”
“We’re not divorced and yes, I have spoken to her. She’s here in Durant.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me, Mother. We’re still married. She lives here in Durant and you never answered my question. Did you offer her money to leave me?”
“Your grandfather was a senator. Our bloodlines can be traced back to the Mayflower. What did you think was going to happen when you bought home that busty, exotic-looking shopgirl? Did you think that she was just going to be accepted? Did you honestly think we were going to be happy you’d bought home some gold digger a little over a year after you threw away your marriage to the perfect girl? You father and I worked very hard to make you into a man we could be proud of, and by bringing that girl home you threw all of that work into our faces.”
“Belinda was important to me. She doesn’t come from old money. She doesn’t have an overpriced Ivy League education, but she was sweet and loving and she was the woman I chose to spend the rest of my life with. I thought my mother would have supported me. I thought my mother would have seen how happy she made me. I thought my mother would have gotten the chance to know her and see how smart and funny she was before she decided that she wasn’t good enough.”
“You may not have seen it, but I know her type. Your type and her type are not supposed to mix.”
The hairs on the back of his neck went up. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re a Lancaster, damn it. And we expect you to act like one. I thought this move across country was just a phase but now I see that you did it just to be with her. I’m not sure what kind of hold she has over you but—”
“She’s my wife, and she loved me. That’s all you should have cared about.”
“I love you, and like it or not I only had your best interests at heart.”
“You had your best interests at heart. You didn’t give a damn about what I wanted.”
He hung up, unable to speak to her for another moment. It was no wonder that Belinda had left him. If she’d stayed, his parents would have tried to destroy her. Why hadn’t he noticed that? Why hadn’t he seen that Belinda wasn’t as happy as he’d thought she was?
*
A loud clap of thunder shook the small cottage that Belinda was sitting in. She was at the home of Flossie Waters, a local artist who handmade exquisite beaded necklaces. That was the best part of living in Durant. There was never a shortage of creative people, and Flossie’s colorful necklaces were just the kind of thing the shoppers of Size Me Up would like.
“Look at that sky. The good Lord is about to shake something up out there, isn’t he?” Flossie said in awe.
Belinda looked out the window at the darkened sky then back to Flossie and smiled. She had met the New Orleans native by chance at the supermarket a few weeks ago when she had admired a bracelet she was wearing. Ever since then Belinda had been trying to get Flossie to agree to sell her pieces at Size Me Up. “I didn’t even know it was going to rain today,” she said as a purple streak of lightning illuminated the room.
“That’s the way spring is. Sometimes it rains for no good reason.”
“I guess so.” Belinda smiled at her. “So what am I going to have to do to get you to agree to let our store carry your jewelry?”
“I make these things because I like them. Not to make any money. I don’t want it to feel like work.”
“But you wouldn’t even have to make any more. You have dozens of pieces already made. All you would have to do is give me a few of them to put out in the store. Your work is so lovely, Flossie. I think the world should see it.”
Flossie was silent for a moment. “Can I think about it?”
“Of course.” Belinda stood up, her hand extended. But instead of the shake she was expecting, Flossie placed a beautiful coral-colored beaded necklace in her hands.
“This doesn’t mean yes, girl. It’s just a thank-you for appreciating something that nobody ever has before.”
Belinda smiled. “You shouldn’t thank me. I’ve always had damn good taste.” Another boom of thunder shook the house again, startling both the women.
“You’d better go on home, young lady. This hill is a muddy bitch in bad weather, and we’ve been after the town to fix the potholes in this road since last winter. You’ve got about fifteen minutes before the rain comes.”
They said their good-byes and Belinda rushed out to her car, the wind whipping her dress up around her waist. Thankfully nobody was there to see. Flossie’s cottage was located on the outskirts of Durant, on top of a very steep hill. Belinda understood why the few residents of the neighborhood had chosen to build there. All of Durant was visible from this spot, and in calm weather it must have been a beautiful view. But right now the only thing Belinda wanted to see was the inside of her store.
Her cell phone rang just as she started her car.
&nb
sp; Ellis.
“Hey. I’m just leaving Flossie’s house.”
“Did she agree to let us sell her stuff?” she asked hopefully.
“Not yet. But she gave me one of her pieces. I’m so excited to show it to you, Elle. You’ll finally understand what I’ve been going on about.”
“I don’t ever doubt your taste, Belinda. Since you’ve taken over all the buying for the store, our merchandise has gone from good to freaking fabulous. I’ve been so busy with the bridal salon lately I haven’t even noticed how amazing the store looks. You know how much I appreciate you going into business with me. There would be no store without you. I can’t do this without you.”
“You can kiss my feet when I get back to the store, Ellis. Why are you sucking up to me now?”
“Because I’m afraid that I might lose you.”
“Why?”
She was quiet for a moment. “Because your mother came into the store today. She said that you told her you were thinking about moving to Spain. And then when I called Cherri to ask if she knew anything about it, she said you told her you were thinking of going abroad.”
“My mother came to the store to see you?”
“No, she came to see you. She had your father with her. They are worried about you. Since Carter came back we’ve all been worried about you.”
“I’m fine, Ellis,” she lied. She wasn’t fine. She was far from it. “I can’t believe you are all talking about me like I’m some kind of mental patient about to have a breakdown. Nobody questioned my sanity when I dyed my hair blond and got a perm. And you were right there by my side when I decided to give myself a bikini wax and gave myself second-degree burns. But now just because some guy shows up in my life you are all treating me like I’m about to go off the deep end.”
“You looked really, really bad with that hair. Don’t ever do that again. Like ever.”
“Ellis!”
“What?”
“What do you want?”
“Nothing. I’m just saying hi.”
“Hi. I’ll be back at the store in an hour. We can talk then.”
“We can’t. I have a doctor’s appointment. I won’t be back in today. I feel like I’m with you all the time but I never see you. It’s been this way for a long time.”
Gentlemen Prefer Curves: A Perfect Fit Novel Page 11
