The Bottom Line

by Sandy James

  Now they were getting somewhere. “Yeah. And I can finally afford to buy you a new bedroom set. No more mismatched furniture.”

  “A canopy bed?”

  The hope in her voice meant the world to him. “Yeah. A canopy.”

  “What happens when you two break up?”

  Amber was truly his kid. Blunt and grounded deeply in reality.

  Having given that question a lot of thought, he gave her the only answer he’d come up with. “What can I say, ladybug? Then I suppose we move.”

  A tear leaked from the corner of her eye.

  “Oh, Amber… stop. We’re not going to break up. We won’t have to move. Mallory and I love each other.”

  “I know that,” she snapped, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands.

  “I don’t think we’ll ever leave each other. In fact, if things work out well, I was thinking about asking her to marry me.”

  “Then do that now!” Her vehement response made several people at other tables turn to stare.

  “I don’t get it,” Ben said. “You’re worried about what’ll happen if we move in with her, but you want us to just go ahead and get married? Doesn’t make any sense.”

  The look she tossed at him was a typical my-parent-is-stupid frown. “People who live together before they get married are more likely to split.”

  “And you know that because…?”

  “I just do.”

  The kid was far too smart for her own good. “What are you so worried about?”

  “I don’t wanna go through what happened with Theresa again.”

  He snorted.

  She narrowed her eyes.

  “Mallory is nothing like your mom. Even if we split—”

  “But you said you wouldn’t!”

  Ben put his hand over hers where it now rested on the table. “You’re worrying too much. Mallory and I are fine. We’re solid. I wouldn’t even consider moving in with her if I didn’t believe that with all my heart. I’d never put you through what happened between your mom and me again. I know how awful it was for you, how awful she was to you. You’re the first thing I think of when I make any choice, especially one like this.”

  Amber’s gaze caught his, and her fear was crystal clear. “What if her cancer comes back?”

  Another thing he’d spent a lot of time thinking about that he had no good answer for. “I don’t know. I guess we help her through it. What else could we do? She’d need us.”

  Even talking about Mallory getting sick again made the meal he’d eaten sit like a lump in his stomach. Could he handle an ordeal like that? Could Amber?

  Nursing Mallory through a recurrence of her disease, watching her waste away from chemotherapy or even die, would destroy Amber.

  It would destroy him, too.

  “She’s fine.” Ben kept repeating those two words in his mind, hoping they’d calm his nerves.

  “But what if—”

  “She’s fine, Amber.” Now he was the one snapping.

  His daughter stared at him a long time before she picked up her hamburger and started eating again.

  He had his answer, and he couldn’t have been more pleased.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Want to lick the batter, Dad?” Amber called from the kitchen.

  “Not with raw eggs in it, I don’t.” Since the women were busy baking, Ben popped the footrest up on the recliner, stretched out, and changed the TV channel to a football game. “I’ll have some brownies when they’re done, though.”

  Instead of watching the Bears, he found himself watching his girls. They moved around the kitchen together as though their dance had been choreographed. They talked and acted so naturally, they could easily have been mother and daughter.

  Speaking to each other in light and friendly tones, they fussed over a pan of brownies, playfully arguing over whether “real” brownies had walnuts and frosting. After Amber put the pan in the oven, she smiled at Mallory, who returned the smile as she tucked a strand of Amber’s long hair behind her ear.

  That simple display of affection choked him up.

  Here was what Amber wanted, what she deserved. Instead, the woman who’d given the DNA to create that life had all but abandoned her child.

  Ben shoved his anger at Theresa aside, focusing instead on all the good Mallory was doing for his daughter. This move to share her house would bring them even closer together, and if things continued down the path they were all walking, Mallory might one day be Amber’s stepmother.

  What a shame that Mallory wasn’t Amber’s biological mother. After all the nonsense Theresa had put the girl through, it was a wonder Amber had ended up being so caring and kind. Not that he could take credit for Amber being such a neat kid. As a father, he simply rolled with the punches and did the best he could.

  Children should come with instruction books.

  Amber came into the great room and put her hand on his shoulder. “We’re still going shopping, right?”

  “I thought you and Mal were making brownies.”

  “We are, but they’re almost done. I thought we were going to find me a canopy bed.”

  Mallory wiped her hands on a dish towel and tossed it on the countertop. Then she drew closer. “Figured we’d grab a bite to eat for supper, do some furniture shopping, and come back here for brownie sundaes for dessert.”

  “Brownie sundaes?”

  “Yeah, Dad,” Amber replied in a duh tone. “Brownies with ice cream on top.”

  “Don’t forget the chocolate syrup,” Mallory added, touching her fingertip to Amber’s nose.

  “How could I ever forget chocolate syrup?” The smile Amber gave Mallory felt like a punch to Ben’s gut.

  The bond was already there, stronger than he’d imagined. Convincing Amber to move in had been easier than he’d expected, and now he knew why.

  Perhaps when he got around to proposing to Mallory, she’d give in just as easily.

  * * *

  “I really wanted a canopy,” Amber said, leaning her shoulder against one of the furniture showroom’s dressers.

  Ben was rapidly losing patience. They’d been to three different furniture stores. This was the last store in Cloverleaf that sold decent furniture. Amber was going to have to settle. “It’s just a bed.”

  “It’s my bed,” she insisted.

  “There’s one more store we might hit,” Mallory offered. “And, hey… if the right bed isn’t in Cloverleaf, we’ll take a road trip, maybe even go to Chicago again.”

  Ben frowned at his daughter. She clearly had no idea how much Mallory was enduring to help her. The woman hated shopping with a passion, yet she’d good-naturedly gone with them and had even run interference by keeping the much-too-pushy salespeople at bay.

  It was one thing to help his kid get the things she needed, but he drew the line with spoiling her rotten. “C’mon, ladybug. A bed’s a bed. Besides, your eyes will be closed. What’s it matter what the bed looks like? Pick one already.”

  “I guess… Let me think about it.”

  Mallory wrapped an arm around Amber’s shoulder. “Just because the other stores didn’t have canopy beds doesn’t mean the next one won’t. Right, Ben?” When he rolled his eyes, she jabbed his ribs with an elbow. “Right?”

  He let his heavy sigh express his frustration. “Right. I guess.”

  The saleslady Mallory had dismissed when they’d arrived—Nita, according to her name tag—hovered a few bedroom displays away. Mallory waved her over. The woman hurried toward them, high heels clicking against the tile floor.

  “What can I do for you?” she asked.

  “I don’t see any canopy beds,” Mallory replied. “We had our hopes set on a canopy bed.” She inclined her head toward Amber. “She really wants one of those beautiful old-fashioned canopies.”

  Nita pursed her lips. “Hmm… I can check with my suppliers, but I haven’t seen one in quite a few years.”

  “Probably because most people have ceiling
fans in their rooms,” Ben added.

  Since the only thing Amber had asked for in return for moving was a canopy, he’d hoped to find her one. His daughter seldom asked for things for herself. But, God, the prices of furniture were ridiculous. If he could barely afford any of what they’d seen, how much would a canopy be?

  He glanced at his daughter and her forlorn frown. “We’ll keep our eyes open, but at least give these a chance.”

  “I’d be glad to make some inquiries.” Nita pointed down the aisle from where she’d come. “If you’re looking for something different that still has a bit of show to it, why don’t you let me show you the sleigh beds we’ve got?”

  “Sleigh beds?” Amber pushed away from the dresser, her eyes wide. “What’s a sleigh bed?”

  “Come with me, and I’ll show you.” Nita waited until Amber was by her side to start walking. “I had a canopy when I was a kid. The fun of it died pretty quick. They’re dust traps.”

  “Oh… hadn’t thought of that.”

  “I think you’ll love the sleighs. I’ll show you my favorite first. Bought one for myself last month.”

  As they walked farther down the aisle, Ben reached for Mallory’s hand. “Sorry, Mal.”

  “About what?”

  “I know you hate this shit.”

  She tossed him a concerned frown. “Hate helping Amber?”

  “No. I meant shopping.”

  “I don’t mind in this case. Honestly.”

  Before they reached Amber and Nita, he brushed a quick kiss over Mallory’s lips. “Liar.”

  “Not lying,” she insisted. “This is important to Amber, so it’s important to me.”

  “Hey, Mallory,” Amber called, gesturing to Mallory to hurry. “You need to see this!” Then she disappeared behind the screen separating that faux bedroom from the others.

  A bit flummoxed that his daughter had called his girlfriend instead of him, he turned Mallory’s hand loose. “Go on. Amber wants you.”

  Amber needs you.

  “You should say that like it’s a good thing. She’s not calling me to my execution or anything.” She softened her words with a wink. “She’s not choosing me over you, Ben. That’s what you’re worried about, isn’t it? You think she wants my opinion instead of yours.”

  Sometimes he hated how well she understood his thoughts. He shrugged, realizing exactly where his daughter had learned that nonchalant response.

  “You wanted us to get close. Right?”

  He nodded.

  “Then celebrate that. Be happy she cares about my opinion and stop chewing over everything like it’s a cheap cut of meat.” On that advice, she headed toward Amber and the saleslady.

  According to the counselor he and Theresa had seen when they made a last-ditch attempt to patch together their marriage, children living with parents in a troubled relationship often learned how to play one parent against the other to get what they wanted. As a result, one of those parents would try to buy affection by giving a kid anything and everything.

  Was Amber playing Mallory, hoping to be spoiled? Ever since they’d made the decision to move in at the end of the month, Amber had been spending more and more time with Mallory. Each time they returned, Amber had something to show for it. A new winter coat. Her first pair of high heels. And with Ben’s permission, Mallory had taken Amber to get her ears pierced.

  At least Mallory knew when to put her foot down. Amber wanted three earrings in each ear. Mallory made her settle for one piercing on each earlobe.

  Amber might claim that she didn’t need anyone but her father in her life, but her actions and the rapidity of her attachment to Mallory declared otherwise. He chuckled as he watched the two of them crawl on the mattress, flop on their backs, and giggle.

  “Not a canopy,” Mallory said. “But it’s cool to be encased by wood, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. And I love the step to get up onto it. Wonder if your cat could jump up this high?” Amber asked.

  “He’s got springs on his feet,” Mallory replied. “He’ll make it. Unless you don’t want him in your room.”

  Amber sat up and stared at Mallory. “You’d let me decide?”

  “Why not? It’s your room.”

  “But it’s your house.”

  “Your room is your own, Amber. If you don’t want Rascal in there, that’s your choice.”

  * * *

  Mallory glanced over at Ben and wondered why he had such an enormous smile on his face. He’d been even more hesitant to shop than she’d been, yet once they got started, the trip had been fun.

  Amber was finicky, but that was easy to understand. Mallory had been a picky teenager as well, and when it came to bedroom sets, she still was. She’d handled everything at the furniture stores because she’d learned the tricks while on the search for her four-poster bed. Just like Amber, she’d checked every single store in Cloverleaf.

  To see Amber excited about the move warmed Mallory’s heart. Ben was important to her. She loved him with all her heart. But now she realized she had another role in his life and Amber’s—to be the kind of mother Amber needed. Not that she would replace Theresa in the girl’s life. It was clear, however, Amber deserved so much better than what Theresa had ever given her. Mallory would try to heal those wounds.

  It helped that Amber didn’t saddle her with the evil-stepmother baggage. Some of the students she had from broken families tended to resent their “steps.” Not that Ben was ready to marry her, although the topic had come up for discussion. Things were great the way they were. It was better to keep taking baby steps.

  Once burned, twice shy.

  How unfair to lump Ben into the same category of male as Jay. Yet she had to protect herself. Maybe she’d remarry one day, maybe even marry Ben, but she couldn’t help but hold a part of her heart sheltered. She seldom repeated mistakes, especially costly ones.

  Men had always let her down. She prayed Ben was an exception to that rule.

  “I like this one,” Amber announced, jumping off the sleigh bed.

  The saleslady’s face lit up like a Christmas light display. “Fantastic.” She turned to Ben. “We have several types of financing and—”

  “I’m buying it,” Mallory said, not even giving Ben a chance to protest.

  He wiggled one in anyway. “No way. This is for Amber.”

  “Yes, but… it’s for my house. I think it’s only fair for me to buy it.”

  God, she hoped he wouldn’t go all macho on her. The set was expensive, something Ben might struggle to afford. Sure, the furniture was picked by Amber, but it would be in Mallory’s guest room. She’d have to convince him it would remain there even if things didn’t work out with the three of them living together. She didn’t want to jinx them by blurting that out and would press her point only if he objected. In the end, she’d ultimately send it with Amber no matter what happened.

  Nita kept switching her gaze between Mallory and Ben, probably unsure of where to hitch her wagon. “Would you like a few minutes to talk?”

  “Amber, honey?” Mallory smiled. “Maybe Nita here can go get you a drink and let your dad and I figure this out. Okay?”

  Amber looked at her father. He replied to her unasked question with a curt nod. Nita led Amber toward the back of the showroom.

  “Mal, what you’re trying to do is nice, but… I can handle this.”

  “I never said you couldn’t. I’m just trying to be practical.”

  “Practical? How is your paying for an expensive bedroom set practical?”

  “The room’s empty now, right?”

  Ben nodded.

  “If I pay for the furniture, the room’s no longer empty.”

  He rolled his eyes. “That makes no sense at all.”

  “Well, you always tell me women lack logic.”

  A stab at humor didn’t change his stern expression.

  “Look, let’s be honest, okay? If you and Amber end up moving out someday—”

  “Are you
saying we’re going to break up?” Ben asked.

  Mallory shrugged.

  His hand encased hers. “We’re going to be together forever, Mal.”

  “Maybe I’m thinking about when Amber goes off to college.” An innocent fib meant to protect his masculine ego. “Either way, the furniture stays with me.”

  “Either way? So you are talking about breaking up!”

  After pressing a quick kiss to his lips, Mallory squeezed his hand. “We’re both realists, Ben. I love that you think we’ll always be together, but—”

  “We will.”

  “It’s important to Amber, which makes it important to me. I really want to please her. Besides, I like it a lot. I’d be buying it for the guest room.”

  “Liar.” The amusement in his eyes took the sting from the insult.

  “If you were buying her something, it wouldn’t cost this much. Right?”

  He answered with a brusque nod.

  “Then stop fighting me over this. Let’s get delivery arranged, check this off our list, and look for a nice mattress.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Mallory dropped her robe on the bathroom floor before remembering the new hook Ben had installed for just that purpose. As she hung the terry-cloth garment on the silver hook, she smiled both at his consideration and at the fact her house was finally done.

  Once Ben and Amber moved in this weekend, it would be perfect.

  Trying to get ready to face another school day, she ran her hand through the water pouring down from the new showerhead. She’d never seen one quite as large before, but she loved the steady stream of water and how standing under it she could imagine being in the middle of a waterfall.

  The water had warmed quickly thanks to Ben and the installation of a new water heater, which now filled the bathroom with steam. He’d taken one look at her antique water heater and insisted she update. She stepped into the glass shower enclosure, shutting the door and letting the heat of the water wash over her, bracing herself for a long day full of kids who needed her. It wasn’t until she was in the middle of shampooing her hair that she realized what she’d forgotten.

  Mallory hadn’t looked at her reflection. The implant was such a part of her now that she’d grown accustomed to being “normal” again and not having to check her body all the time.