Belinda sighed heavily. Cherri was right. Her own family was something she had always wanted.
*
“Daddy?” Ruby called to him. He was lying next to her in her small bed. They had just finished reading one of Ruby’s favorite books, The Paper Bag Princess, for what had to be the hundredth time. They did this every night now. Just spent time together in her room, sometimes not saying anything at all.
“Yeah?”
“Why don’t you got no brothers and sisters?”
“Why don’t I have any brothers and sisters? I don’t know, babe. My parents just didn’t have any more children.”
She was quiet for a moment. He could see that she was processing something in that little head of hers. “Mrs. Cameron is Uncle Steven’s big sister. She says she has four brothers and sisters and her kids are sisters. She says she likes having a big family.”
She wanted a family, too. She didn’t have to say it, but he knew that she wished it was more than just him and her. “Her family is very fun. When I was in college I used to hang out with Uncle Steven’s family a lot. I even spent Christmas there.”
“Did Santa bring you presents at his house?”
“I was a grown-up when I did, so no, but Uncle Steven’s mom used to give me a bunch of presents. She made me sweaters and cakes. They’re nice people. I can understand if you want to spend time with them.”
She nodded. “I’m going to ask Grandma why she didn’t have no more kids next time I talk to her. She says she misses me, Daddy. She wants to see me.”
He nodded, afraid to say anything because he didn’t want Ruby to realize how unhappy he was with his mother at the moment. She didn’t want him with the only woman he had ever truly wanted, and that bothered him more than he could express.
This was their second chance. He wasn’t going to allow his mother to make him unhappy anymore. If it was just him he might have been able to cut her from his life, but he couldn’t. He had Ruby, and Bernadette was a good grandmother. She loved Ruby, and he couldn’t keep her away from her only grandchild.
“She says she’s been very sad without me.”
“I know.” Guilt burned in his gut, but he didn’t regret the move. Durant was better for her. For them. “You’ll see Grandma again. Maybe this summer. She talked about taking you into the city.”
“Are you going to come with us?”
“No.” He kissed her forehead. “That’s going to be just time for you and your grandmother. And now, since you had your first sleepover, you’ll be fine going away without me.”
“But I still want you to come. I never been to the city before.”
That statement lifted his mood. She was growing up but she still liked to have him around. He wondered how much longer it would last. “It’s not summer yet. We can talk about it more when the time comes. Okay?”
“Okay.” She yawned.
“Time to go to sleep. You stayed up late last night.”
“I know. Children need their rest.”
“I’m going to take you to the park tomorrow after school to ride bikes. So sleep well tonight.”
“I’ll try.” She reached up and touched his face. “You look tired, too.”
“I am, baby. I’ll see you in the morning. Good night.”
“Good night.”
He left her and went directly into his bedroom. He was tired. He’d almost smiled when Ruby mentioned it. His kid was far too perceptive. He just hoped that she had no idea why he didn’t get much sleep last night.
*
“Where do you want to eat tonight, Junior?” Belinda’s father asked her as they hung outside their respective classrooms waiting for their classes to start. It was their second week at the community center. And just like last week, she waited for him to mention Carter, but he said nothing. It worried her.
“I know you like that sushi stuff. You want to have that?”
She frowned at her father for a moment. “You hate sushi.”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Can’t believe they have the nerve to charge people for some damn raw fish, but you like it and I got to pick last week. I guess I should ask you to do things you like sometimes. I forget, you know.” He shrugged. “You could also talk to me about … things. And I’ll shut up and listen. I’m not like your mother, but you can talk to me, too. Over dinner.”
Belinda took a step forward and wrapped her arms around her burly father. It was probably one of the nicest things he had ever said to her. “I want sweet potato fries and chicken fingers.”
“Okay. Okay. What are you hugging me for?” He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her and patted her back. Her father didn’t show his affection like this. He was more of a good-sturdy-slap-on-the-back guy. He was so unlike Carter was with his little girl, but she wasn’t complaining.
“Because you love me.”
“You’re my kid. If I didn’t there would be something wrong with me.” He let go of her, apparently having his fill of public affection. “We can go to Dishin’s Diner. They’ll even put cheese on your sweet potatoes if you want.”
“Sounds good.”
Belinda spotted Ruby walking down the hallway. She immediately thought about the girl’s father—whom she had been thinking about nonstop for the past few days. Cherri’s advice gave her something to think about. She should enjoy him. But the more she was with him, the more she wanted to be with him, and that scared her because a big part of her didn’t trust him. A big part of her was still heartbroken by him.
As Ruby got closer, Belinda could see her more clearly and she knew something wasn’t right. Her face was scrunched. Her cheeks were red, her mouth turned down. Belinda left her father and met her in the middle of the hallway.
“Ruby, are you okay?”
She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears.
Belinda crumbled. Crying children made her uncomfortable, but this one broke her heart. “What’s the matter with my baby?” She lifted her into her arms and kissed her cheeks.
Ruby broke, tears streaming down her face, sobs racking her chest. She was crying so hard her breaths were coming in little shallow spurts, causing Belinda to think she was about to hyperventilate.
“Honey…” Belinda shut her eyes feeling her own tears threatening. “Please calm down a little. I don’t like to see you so upset. Please tell me what happened to you. I want to make it better.”
“I had a very bad day at school.”
“Is everything all right, Bill Junior?” Her father walked up and placed his huge hand on Ruby’s small back. His brow creased with worry. “What can I do?”
“Ruby had a bad day at school.” She pulled the child closer. “She was just going to tell me about it.”
“I got in trouble.”
“Why?” she asked cautiously.
“Because I told Elroy to go to hell.”
“You did?” Belinda exchanged looks with her father, not sure how to react to that statement. “Tell me why you said that.”
“I said it because I was mad. We was making Mother’s Day cards and Elroy said I shouldn’t make one because I don’t have a mommy. He said she died because I was ugly and fat and because nobody liked me.”
“He said what?” It was like the air had been sucked right out of her chest. She knew kids could be cruel. They were cruel to her, but this kid … Nasty didn’t begin to cover what the little twerp was. She pulled Ruby’s chin up so that she could look into the little girl’s eyes. “You should have knocked his teeth out! Telling him to go to hell is the least of what you should’ve told him. You should’ve told him to kiss your—”
“Junior,” her father said softly, a tiny hint of warning in his voice. “Try again.”
She sighed, knowing her father was right. She had no business telling Ruby any of that stuff. “It’s never wrong to stick up for yourself, baby doll. Never, never, never. Elroy was wrong to say that to you and he was very mean and while it’s not nice to say bad words, none of us is mad at you. You
know your mommy died in an accident. She’s probably looking down at me very jealous because I get to hug you and she can’t. You can’t believe what that boy says about you. You are beautiful and sweet and smart and I like you very much.”
“I do, too,” Bill said. “The boy that said that to you … his name is Elroy?”
“Yeah. He’s always mean to me.”
Belinda felt helpless. Ruby wasn’t even her kid but she wanted to fix this for her. She wanted her to stop hurting. She wanted to make it so that she never felt this way again. But she couldn’t. And if she could feel these kind of feelings for a kid that wasn’t hers, she could only imagine how Carter felt, or any parent whose child was being hurt.
“Daddy, I have to fix this,” she said as Ruby buried her face in her shoulder and cried.
“You do, Junior. You do what you think is best.”
She kissed Ruby’s wet face half a dozen times trying to think of anything she could say that could help, but nothing seemed good enough. She wanted to be good enough for Ruby. “Ruby, would you like to come to the mall with me for a little while and then maybe I can take you out to dinner? Would you like that?”
She nodded, tears streaming down her face.
“Stay with my father for a minute. I’m going to call your daddy.” She handed Ruby over to him. He brought her in close, shielding most of her small body with his arms. It was a protective gesture. Her father was a man who was meant to have many children in his life. She was sorry that he didn’t.
She walked away from them, stepping into the classroom where Cherri was teaching.
“Hey, chica,” Cherri greeted her.
“Hey. I think I’m going to take Ruby out right now. She had a bad day at school. Some little asshole is teasing her about her dead mother.”
“I know a ten-year-old who can break his legs if you want.”
“Save his number for me. I need to call Carter.” She excused herself to the back of the room and dialed the number she had committed to memory without even trying.
“I was just thinking about you,” he said by way of greeting.
“Carter, Ruby had a rough day at school.”
“What happened?” The edge in his voice was unmistakable.
“She’s not hurt, some boy said something stupid to her, I’ll tell you about it later. But I don’t think she’s up for art class tonight.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“No. Please, let me take her with me to the mall. I think I can cheer her up. We’ll meet you for dinner.”
“Okay, Bell. You can take her. How about Mina’s for dinner? I’ll be there at six.”
“Okay, Carter. Thank you for letting me take her.”
“Thank you for wanting to.”
CHAPTER 18
Let’s do it again …
Carter stared out the window of his office, feeling the chill in the air even though he was inside and all the windows were closed. He was supposed to be working on revising the plans for a new house that was going to be built in the center of town. The client wanted a replica of a Victorian on the outside, but a completely modern open-concept space on the inside. Normally he loved this kind of job. At his old firm he had designed office buildings and malls and condo complexes that were large, cold, and emotionless. Here he got to design homes, spaces people would grow and love in. But today he wasn’t feeling up to it. It was very gloomy for mid-April. A heavy rain looked as if it was going to start any moment now and he just wanted to go home.
Home.
He nearly smiled at the thought. He liked his little house and his neighborhood. He felt so much more comfortable in Durant than he did in the place where he had grown up. It could be he just needed a simpler life, and a simpler house.
“Hey.” Belinda walked in.
Or maybe it was she who made this place feel more like home.
She was in jeans, cherry-red heels, a tight white T-shirt, a black leather jacket, and red lipstick.
He swiveled his chair toward her, just so he could take her in. He hadn’t seen her in two days. Not since he had dinner with her and Ruby at Mina’s. Before that, another two days had gone without a glimpse of her. She was avoiding him. He knew what had happened. His mother had called. Her parents had shown up that morning, the outside world had infiltrated their little bubble, and her doubts had crept in. He told himself to give her time, that it was going to take time for those old wounds to heal, but he wanted to be back with her. He had moved back to Durant for that reason. He could admit that to himself now. He wanted to start over with her and he didn’t want to wait any longer.
“Hey. Did you know my heart skips a damn beat when I see you in a white T-shirt?”
She grinned at him, crossing the room and not stopping till she was close enough to wrap her arms around him. “You like what I’m wearing? Ellis calls this my rebel-without-a-cause look.”
“I like it very much, especially the way your butt looks in these jeans.”
“It looks big.”
“Then you can call me Sir Mix-A-Lot, because, baby, you got back.”
She threw her head back and laughed. He loved her laugh and her smile; she was growing easy around him again.
“You’re so corny sometimes.”
“You bring it out in me.” He slid his hands beneath her shirt, just so he could feel her skin, and steal a little bit of her warmth. “I was hoping to see you today. I was going to go to your store but you came to me.”
“I did.” She fiddled with his collar. “You’re not wearing a suit.”
“You told me not to.”
“I love it when you listen.” She flashed him a quick grin. “I can’t stop thinking about Ruby. How has the rest of her week been?”
“She’s been fine. You didn’t tell me how upset she had been when you talked to me on the phone.”
“No.” She gently ran her fingers over the skin that was exposed at his neck. “If I was ready to break the kid’s legs I know you would have gone ballistic.”
“I would have.”
“That’s why I wanted to calm her down first. Mother’s Day has got to be brutal for her. I just wanted to do something that would take her mind off her bad day.”
“So you bought her three dresses, two pairs of shoes, a tutu, and a Justin Bieber poster.”
“Little girl’s clothes are so cute nowadays. I could have bought half the store.” She shrugged. “And it’s not my fault your kid has shitty taste in music.”
“You made her happy. I’m not sure I could have managed it that night. The truth is, I don’t know how I would have handled it seeing her that upset. Since we moved here she hasn’t seen her grandmother and there has been no woman in her life. And that night she needed a woman.”
She needed Belinda. He watched them together at dinner. Ruby was practically attached to her side, sucking up every little piece of affection Belinda had to give. And Belinda gave it so freely, so naturally that it made Carter uncomfortable. It made him angry that Ruby had missed out on so much. He couldn’t blame Belinda for it all. He chose to stay away from her.
“That kid isn’t still bothering her, is he?”
“No.” He smoothed his hand over her cheek, trying to wipe away the worry on her face. “I got a phone call from Elroy’s father that night apologizing for his son’s actions. And the next day Ruby came home with an apology letter and a brand-new box of colored pencils.”
“What?” She scrunched her head in confusion. “Did you call the school after dinner?”
“No. I was going to email her teacher but I got Elroy Senior’s phone call first.”
“How did all that happen so quickly? If you didn’t call…”
“Your father. Apparently Elroy’s father works at Durant U as the assistant volleyball coach. I guess your father had a talk with him.”
“He probably threatened to crush his bones.”
“I’m sure he did. Why do you think he did that?”
She shut her e
yes and leaned against him. “I’m sorry he interfered. I’m not sure why he did that. He barely knows Ruby.”
“He doesn’t. But what he did doesn’t bother me. It’s nice to know that there is somebody else here to look out for my kid. I’ve been alone at it for a long time. Of course, he took the steam out of my pissed-off father righteous anger, but in the end as long as Ruby got what she needed I’ll be fine.”
“My dad doesn’t deal with emotional girls. He just wants to make whatever is bothering them stop.”
“All fathers are like that.” He pulled Belinda closer, closing the tiny gap between them. “I miss you.” He feathered kisses along her neck. “Come to my house today. Stay over.”
She thought about saying no, but she couldn’t. She missed him, too. The past two days she thought about him and Ruby and how empty she felt when she was home alone that night. “What time does Ruby go to bed?”
“Between eight and eight thirty.”
“I’ll be over at nine.”
“What?” He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes. “Why then?”
“Because you obviously can’t sneak out and leave your kid alone to play at my house.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I wasn’t asking you to come over to have sex. I was asking you to come over to be with us.”
She shook her head. “But what would Ruby think about me sleeping over? I don’t want to give her the wrong idea.”
“What wrong idea?” He frowned at her. “That I’m crazy about you and am tired of being without you. Damn it, Bell. I want you back in my life.”
“I’m here. But I just don’t think we should be rushing into anything. We might not work out and I don’t want Ruby getting hurt. The last thing she needs is to have another woman leave her.”
“I agree with that, but you aren’t going to leave her. We are going to make this work.”
“It’s not that easy. You just can’t expect us to get back together and act like a married couple again. There’s too much shit between us for that.”
He looked weary at that moment. His eyes searched her face, and she couldn’t help but note the sadness in them. “What do you suggest we do then?”
Gentlemen Prefer Curves: A Perfect Fit Novel Page 24
