“Smooth, Mom.”
Danielle wiped the tears away and looked up to see Cassie standing over her, her arms crossed in front of her. “What?”
“Nice going. You’re scoring all sorts of points these days.”
This was the last thing she needed. “You heard that?”
“Yes, I heard.”
“Then could you please leave me alone?”
“Sure.” Cassie let her arms dangle to her sides. “But has it occurred to you that this life-changing event might be the best thing that’s ever happened to Shannon? It might be what makes her into the person she’s supposed to be. Like maybe having sex with different guys might make me the person I am supposed to be.” Her smile was as sarcastic as her tone.
If Danielle had the strength she would have stood up and smacked the kid across the face. “Cassie, for once just shut up. Please,” she said quietly.
“No. I’m serious. And how do you know that taking the pill won’t be the best thing in the world for me? Obviously Shannon didn’t take it and look what happened there.” She rolled her eyes.
“Cassie, shut up! You don’t know when to stop, do you? You just keep going and going? Is this the way you speak to your father and Stacey?”
“Get over it. You’re so bitter about Dad and Stacey. Let it go.”
“Let it go. Yeah. You know what, Cass? I think it’s time you go. I think you should head on upstairs, pack your things, and call your dad and let him know that you’re moving in with him and his wife and your two baby sisters. I will no longer take your abuse in my home.”
Cassie stood there stunned. “What? That place is a madhouse with freaking Elmo crap everywhere. No. I’m not moving there.”
Danielle got up and took Cassie’s keys from the counter, then walked to the kitchen and picked up the phone.
“What are you doing?” Cassie yelled. “You can’t take my keys! Dad gave me that car. Give them back.”
Danielle dialed Al’s cell phone while Cassie continued to rant. When he answered, she calmly told him. “Your daughter needs you.”
“What? Is it Shannon? Is she okay?” Al asked.
“Not that one. The little banshee in the background screaming that I can’t take her car keys away or tell her to move in with you. Well, she’s wrong. Here’s the deal, Al, Cassandra will be moving in with you and Stacey for the rest of the summer. We can reassess the situation in September.”
“You can’t do that. We have to go back to court for that kind of decision.”
“Bullshit! Listen here, Cassandra is disrespectful, obnoxious, and downright mean to me. I won’t tolerate it any longer.”
“Put her on the phone. I’ll talk to her.”
“No. You’ll talk to her tonight over dinner at your house. You better call your wife and ask her to make up a room for Cassie, and then you better have your ass here to pick her up in one hour, or else I’ll bring her myself.”
“I’ll be there,” he said. “But we’re not finished discussing this.”
She hung up the phone. She didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to send her child over there, but she knew that if she didn’t do it, things would not change. Cassie needed to see the chaos and the dysfunction on the other side of the fence. But still. Was she being too harsh?
“You’re a bitch! I’m never coming home!” Cassie stormed up the stairs and slammed her door.
Well, then. There was her answer. Tears blurred her vision. She momentarily wondered if she’d done the wrong thing. What if Cassie never did come home again?
CHAPTER TWENTY
Jamie
Wednesdays had become Jamie’s favorite day. It was the day she left work fifteen minutes early and went out to the ranch for a riding lesson. She told herself that the real reason she liked Wednesdays so much was because she loved the horses and going riding. She also liked Saturdays because that was when Maddie took her lesson and Jamie helped with the horsemanship for the handicapped.
So far she’d done a decent job convincing herself that her good mood on Wednesdays had nothing to do with her riding instructor. Nothing at all to do with Tyler Meeks. Nothing to do with his amazing teal eyes, or his strong arms, or that wavy blond hair that she wanted to run her fingers through, or the soft voice he used with his horses and with her.
She cringed, twisting from side to side in her swivel chair behind her desk and chewing on her pencil. She was almost finished editing the last article for the September issue of the magazine. This one was about the resurgence of Bordeaux wines and how the traditional red wines coming from California were taking on more of the French style—less jammy, fruity rather smoother, with less alcohol content. It was a trend Jamie appreciated. That was the kind of husband Nate had been—complex, smooth, understated in a way. Not like prettyboy Tyler who had a way with animals and, by all appearances, women too. Not that she’d ever witnessed Tyler come on to anyone. He was always respectful and polite and the occasional comment or look that she took for possible flirtation, she chalked up to Tyler just being his charming self.
“Blah,” she grunted. She finished her article and scooped her things into her briefcase.
On her way out to the ranch she called to check on Maddie. Fortunately, Maddie had made a good friend at the ranch named Skylar, and they lived close by. Jamie liked the little girl’s mom, Beth, and they had scheduled regular play dates. Beth picked Maddie up after horse camp for her and kept her while Jamie planned to take her riding lesson.
She dialed Beth’s number on the Bluetooth and a moment later she was talking with Maddie. “Hi, Mommy. Can I spend the night with Skylar?”
“Did her mom ask you?”
“Yes. She said it was okay. Please.”
Beth’s voice came over the blue tooth. “It’s fine with me, Jamie. I’m running some errands right now and then we’ll head home so they can play. Why don’t you take the night off? Skylar has some clothes that’ll fit Maddie and I’ll drop them at camp in the morning.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
As much as Jamie wanted to have dinner with Maddie and spend time with her, in some ways it was a relief. She’d just been able to cover the overdrafts from the past week only two days ago. After paying a bazillion dollars in overdraft charges, she immediately went to the grocery store and rationed for the week. Dorothy wasn’t too complicated and would be happy with PB&J and some carrot sticks. This would work fine for Jamie too, and that way they could have the hamburger tomorrow night and she’d be able to slide one more dinner in there. The budget and rationing thing sucked but so far she’d kept it from affecting Maddie. However, Nora had upped the ante and had her husband, who spoke better Spanglish with Jamie, call her and tell her that she needed more money if she was going to continue watching Dorothy. There hadn’t been much of a choice. Dorothy’s escape to the coffee shop to hang out with Sammy Davis Jr. had made both Nora and Jamie nervous wrecks. The good news was that Nora stopped watching her daily soaps and followed Dorothy around like a warden.
But to meet that higher wage for Nora, Jamie was down to taking cash advances from her Visa card. She knew she should see some type of financial counselor. She made a decent living, but it didn’t cut it any longer. Medical bills, mortgage, credit cards, and the plain old cost of living was causing her a great deal of grief and sleepless nights these days. Being out with the horses gave her a couple of hours of reprieve.
Once at the ranch, she used the bathroom to change into her jeans and boots. She hurried up and took out the horse she rode, Dune. He was a gorgeous palomino Quarter horse that had been one of Tyler’s champion working cow horses a half a dozen years ago, and now, at fifteen, he spent the better part of his days teaching beginners like herself.
Tyler spotted her and waved. “Hey, Jamie. How’s it going?”
“Good and you?”
“I’m good. Listen you’re going to ride Washington today. Dune had some chiropractic work done this morning and could
use the day off and I think you can handle Washington.”
“You really think so?” Jamie had seen others ride Washington and he was a nice horse, but she had noticed he would occasionally spook. Tyler usually only put the intermediate riders on him and she didn’t know if she was quite ready.
“I do think. You’ve got good balance and, sure, he can be a pill sometimes, do a little jig, but don’t give off any fear, keep your seat in the saddle, heels down and contact on the reins, and you’ll be good. I already got him tied up on the ties, so go ahead groom him up and get the saddle on.”
“Okay.” That was part of riding. Tyler’s place was not one of those fancy places where grooms and stable hands did all the work and all she had to do was get up on the horse and ride. The grounds were pristine, the barns gorgeous, but riders were expected to work and Jamie had found that to be a major part of the fun and relaxation for her. Plus, in only a few weeks she’d built up some biceps and lost a few pounds. She was able to fit into her size fours again and liked that very much.
Horse groomed, saddle and helmet on, Jamie led Washington over to the step stool and got on the horse. Tyler was already at the arena waiting for her.
“Today, since you’re on a new horse, what I want you to do is start by breathing and relaxing up there. Let him walk both directions on a semi-loose rein and let him stretch his legs a bit while you allow yourself to get a solid feel for him. Sit back on your pockets.”
After a few minutes, Jamie began to relax some. The horse moved smoothly and she got fairly comfortable with him.
“Good job,” Tyler said. “Get your heels down a bit more. Yup. Now steady your hand. Beautiful.”
The way he said the word beautiful. Hmmm. No daydreaming on the horse. But for a few seconds, Jamie couldn’t help thinking he was calling her beautiful. It was a nice little daydream but before she got carried away with it, someone ran into the back of one of the metal sheds with the water truck. Washington spooked, lurched to one side, and Jamie lost her balance and came off, landing first on her right elbow and then onto her rear. “Damn,” she shrieked.
Tyler dashed into the arena. “Whoa, whoa.” Jamie pulled herself up, rubbing the sore elbow that was already swelling and managed to get to the side of the ring. It was then that she noticed that her hip smarted, too. Tyler quickly got a hold of the loose horse and came over to her. “You okay?”
“Smarts a bit.”
“Let me look.”
She showed him the elbow, a bruise already appearing.
“Gonna be black and blue. Let’s get some ice on it. Raul!” He yelled out for one of the stable hands who quickly came running over. “Put him up for me. I’ve got to get some ice for Jamie here.”
Raul nodded and took hold of Washington’s reins, leading him away. The horse had a truly remorseful look on his eye. Jamie gave him a pat on the face with her good hand and told him that she knew he didn’t mean it.
Walking back to Tyler’s office, Jamie said, “See? I told you that I wasn’t ready for that horse.”
“You were ready. That was a fluke thing. Anyway, it looked to me like you’d lost your focus for a minute. Like you were off in another world. I’ve told you that you can’t ever lose your focus.”
She knew her cheeks were turning pink. If he’d only known what world she’d been lost in. Maybe taking these riding lessons wasn’t such a grand idea.
Once inside the office, he looked at her arm and elbow again. “I don’t think it’s broken, but you might want to have an X-ray. It hurt?”
“Like hell.”
“Hang on.” He went over to a cabinet above his desk and took out a bottle of whiskey and poured her a shot. “Here.” He held it out to her.
“Thanks.” She took it. Normally whiskey wouldn’t be her thing, but the elbow throbbed and maybe it would ease the pain.
Tyler then went over to his fridge, got a scoopful of ice from the freezer and placed it in a plastic bag. “Sit down.” He pointed to the sofa that had seen better days and sat down next to her. He took her hand gently and with his fingers, lightly went up and down the arm. Even through the throbbing pain, his touch sent all sorts of sensations all over her body. Ones she hadn’t had in a very long time. Maybe it was the whiskey. That seemed safe to chalk it up to. She was afraid to ask what he was doing. His fingertips reached the elbow joint and his eyes met her. “Hurts here, huh?” He frowned.
“Oh, yeah.”
“I’ve seen a lot of broken bones. I think you bruised it up pretty bad, but I don’t think it’s broken.” He took the ice pack and set it on her elbow. She flinched. “I know it’s cold. But you have to keep it on for twenty minutes.” Again his blue eyes met hers, and her stomach danced around.
Then Jamie did something she never thought she was capable of doing. Injured or not, with her free hand she touched the side of his cheek and kissed him hard on his lips. For a second, there was no real response, but before she knew what was happening, he was kissing her back just as hard. Jamie forgot the elbow, forgot that she barely knew Tyler, forgot that he was her riding instructor, forgot that he was ten years younger—she forgot all of it.
Jamie laid back on the couch. Tyler pulled himself away and looked at her, but before he could ask her if she was sure, or before he could tell her he was sorry, and before she could change her mind, she reached for his belt buckle and he rapidly unbuttoned her blouse. “Your elbow?” he whispered.
“It’s fine.” She pulled him into her, kissing him longingly the entire time they undressed one another. Jamie hadn’t felt this kind of desire in so long and, as far as she knew, there was no one else in the world but the two of them. He helped her out of her jeans and his lips caressed her breasts, a hand between her thighs. Jamie let out a soft, husky moan.
His lips moved down to her stomach. Jamie tilted her hips up. “Please.”
Tyler moved up and inside her with a gentle ease that made her wrap her arms around him and pull him in deeper. Her fingernails dug into his back as he rocked back and forth slowly. Then together they began moving at a rapid pace that left them both breathless. Within moments, an electrical sensation—a warm glow all over her body—took hold of Jamie and she came. It was only then that Tyler released himself. “Oh, Jamie. Oh, God.” He eased himself off of her, looked at her, and then kissed her passionately, eliciting the same desperation she’d felt when she’d began undressing him.
It took a few minutes before the full realization of what they’d just done settled into her. She still felt the afterglow, but the reality that they were not the only two humans alive all too rapidly flooded back. They were in the real world.
“I uh, I…Oh my God. What…?” she couldn’t even form a complete sentence or thought. She started grabbing her clothes. Now the elbow hurt.
“Wait a minute. Sit down and take care of that elbow. What are you doing?” he asked.
“I have to go.”
“Jamie. No. Have dinner with me.”
“I can’t. Maddie. I have to get Maddie,” she lied.
“Have dinner with me tomorrow then. Come on. We can’t forget what just happened.”
“We need to. Forget it. Just forget it. That was crazy. I don’t know what that was.”
“That was a bit crazy, but damn if that wasn’t best crazy I’ve ever had.” He smiled, flashing those dimples of his.
“No. It wasn’t. I mean, yes, it was fantastic. I have to go.” Jamie grabbed her boots and ran to her car barefoot with Tyler right behind her.
“Don’t be silly. Come and have dinner with me.”
She stopped and turned to face him, her head lowered. She nodded and sighed. “Tomorrow. I’ll have dinner with you, but this? What we did? This didn’t mean anything. It was the whiskey and I was hurting and you were nice and…”
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Why don’t you come here around seven and I’ll fix us a meal.”
“Fine. Seven.” She just wanted to get out of there and away from Tyler.
<
br /> Jamie drove home. There was no real thought. She tried hard to block out that she’d attacked Tyler and had sex with him. Then the tears came—a flood of them, and then surprisingly, between the tears, was hysterical laughter.
What had happened to her? What had come over her and what in the world had she been thinking? She was a slut, a bimbo. No, she was a grown woman who hadn’t had sex in over three years and who lusted after a man who was seriously, seriously gorgeous and her body took over her brain. It happens. No. She was a slut. She argued with herself the entire drive home, never coming to a solid conclusion about what in the world she had just done and who she really was.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Alyssa
Alyssa was in Los Angeles with Ian’s family for the second time. She’d come down midweek to be tested to see if she was a match for Ian, and also to get to know his family better. At first it had been a little awkward. Everyone was nice to her, but the situation being what it was, it couldn’t be anything but strange.
Ian’s family lived in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles in a good-sized, older Spanish style home that had been in Ian’s mother’s family for years. Half of the seven children that had been raised in the home were now grown and living on their own.
Alyssa liked and had the utmost respect for Ian’s father Charlie. He was warm, kind, soft-spoken, and a strong father. He had to be. She really admired that he’d been raising these kids on his own for the past few years since losing Louise. One thing she’d noticed about the family was that they talked about their mother quite a bit. The house was filled with lots of love. Family photos hung on the walls and were displayed on side tables. Like Alyssa’s parents, Louise had been white and Charlie was black. They were a multi-cultured, multi-faceted family.
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