by Amy Starling
Off I sped to the grocery store, where I picked up ten packs of hot dogs and buns, fresh charcoal, and another bottle of lighter fluid. Grand total: under $50 thanks to the mystery meat dogs, which were made of exactly who knew what.
Elle was busy chatting with the guests when I got back. She took one look at all the groceries and sighed. She was happy, but she wouldn't be for long.
“Thank you so much, Jayce. You're a lifesaver.”
“We gotta talk. I saw something... Well, you're not gonna believe it.”
She frowned, nodded, and went to help Lisa get the grill going for real this time. Everyone cheered when the flames leaped from the coals.
With that done, I took her aside. She kept clutching her belly, like she'd been doing a lot these past few weeks. That, and puking. I felt like throwing up right about now, too.
“What's the matter?”
I pulled out my phone. “It's bad. I'm warning you now.”
“Just tell me.”
So I pushed play. We watched the horrifying video together in silence. In it, the kiss ended and the two separated. Then her eyes got huge.
“Oh my God.” She hissed. “That's my dad!”
I didn't know what to say. Back in the day, Elle's parents were always fighting, and Debbie's side of the family rarely saw either of them. I didn't even remember what the guy looked like.
“But they're divorced from a long time ago, right? You said he moved far away.”
She trembled and started to cry. I was no good with crying women, but I tried anyway and offered her my arm.
“He did. They hated each other back then, and when they divorced he moved to California. We don't talk much, but last I heard, he had some girlfriend he was living with.”
“Apparently he's single now.”
“I don't understand. She's marrying your father in three days. What the hell is going on?”
“Listen to the rest.”
Out came Angie's secret that she was only using dad as a free ride. That she was basically stealing his money and using it to pay off her ex's debt, whatever that was.
“I can't believe this. I knew mom was greedy and selfish, but I never thought she was really a bad person. She just thinks her needs are more important than everyone else's.”
“What are you gonna do?”
She started the pacing thing again. “I have to talk to her. Figure out what she's doing this for.”
“Talking isn't going to fix this, Pink. Sorry to say it, but your mother's being a total bitch and nothing is going to change it.”
She glared at me for a second, then shrugged her shoulders in defeat.
“I want her to leave. I just... I don't think I can live around her anymore. It makes me sick, the way she's acting.”
“You own the building. You can legally evict her.”
“Sure, but then what? She'll hate me for the rest of our lives.”
“After this and all the other shit she's put you through, would it really be such a loss?”
A Frisbee flew past us and hit a window with a loud thunk. I winced, figuring it had broken the glass. Luckily, the plastic disc fell to the grass without incident.
“Sorry about that!” Zach yelled and waved. “You guys okay? Come back and join the party.”
I threw the Frisbee back and returned my attention to Elle.
“We can't let them get married. I hate my dad sometimes, but this...”
“I know. I refuse to let mom get away with it. Trouble is, how do you break up a wedding that's set to go on in less than 72 hours?” She shook her head. “They've booked a boat and are having the ceremony on the water. There's the caterer, the band, the open bar...”
“Losing some money is the least of dad's concerns right now. Better he waste a few thousand than tens of thousands, or worse.”
She wiped away her tears on her shirt. “And how do we go about confronting them? Are you going to go straight to your dad?”
“Nah. The jackass isn't speaking to me right now – a given, really, since I nearly broke his nose and got hauled off to jail for it. He thinks I'm a disgrace to the Reinhard name, as if it's anything that special.”
“So what do we do, then?”
I had an idea, but already knew she wasn't gonna like it.
“I feel like making an example of both of them. Your mother, for obvious reasons. Dad, for being so eager to move on after he lost Deb – I mean, my mom.”
I rarely teared up, but it happened now. Debbie wasn't family by blood, but I couldn't have asked for a more loving mother. If only I'd had the balls to tell her so before she died.
“Oh, Jayce.” Elle snuggled me in one of her amazing hugs. “You can cry if you have to.”
I wiped a tear away before she could see it. “It's just the grill smoke bothering my eyes.”
“If you say so. Make an example of them, huh? I'm not sure getting revenge is the best idea.”
“I'd consider it more doing dad a huge favor. Can you imagine if I didn't get lucky and see this? If I hadn't recorded it, he would never have believed it. To him, everything out of my mouth is bullshit.”
“If you really wanted to do the guy a favor, you'd let him know before he walks down the aisle.”
“Told you he refuses to talk to me or see me. He's got guards posted around his shitty mansion to make sure of that.” I broke free of her hug, almost feeling as if I didn't deserve it for multiple reasons. “No. I'm gonna show him this at the wedding.”
She balked. “That seems wrong.”
“The wedding itself is wrong, if you ask me.”
“I suppose you have a point.”
The yummy smell of grilled meat made my stomach grumble. Elle, though, clamped her hand over her mouth and turned pale.
“Uh, Pink? You all right?”
She waved me off and ran into the bushes to puke. What was going on with her? She'd been vomiting off and on for weeks now. Didn't seem like the flu, though.
I dutifully went and held her hair back so she wouldn't get puke in it. She finished retching and turned to me with a shaky smile.
“Thanks, I guess. Not exactly the way I want you to see me.”
“You look sexy no matter what.” I gestured to the puddle in the bushes. “But what's this?”
“Just a virus, I suppose.”
“It's not like any virus I've ever seen.”
Heather waved a steaming hot dog around. “You two done making out? Lunch is served.”
I laughed. “She's starting to sound like my firehouse friends.”
Elle didn't return the joke. She had a weird, distant look in her eyes that bothered me.
“Come on,” she said finally. “We'd better go do the honors.”
“And maybe if we're lucky, we'll sign a new tenant.” I took her hand as we walked back. “You brought ketchup and mustard, right?”
“Of course I did. And sauerkraut.”
“Sauerkraut?”
She shrugged. “I've been craving sour stuff lately. Olives, pickles. No idea what's gotten into me.”
That was a pretty weird craving, but I couldn't possibly claim to understand what women thought or wanted – especially her. She wasn't like other girls. She was different. Kind of shy, but that's what I liked about her.
As she heaped toppings on her dog and laughed with Heather, warm affection washed over me. The feeling hit me hard; the thought struck me like an arrow to the heart.
I didn't want to be with another woman. Not now. Not ever.
I'd told her before I was gonna make her mine, and I meant that. I took her virginity. I'd fucked her so good she cried. I gave up my former life for her. I grew up. Became a man.
And then I put a ring on her finger.
But you know what? She wasn't really mine. Not yet.
And she wouldn't be – not until I made her my wife.
The marriage license still hung in my room. I knew what I had to do.
Chapter 20 - Elle
; “Eight!” Heather waved the applications around with a grin. “We got eight people wanting to move in soon as possible. And that's not counting the handful who signed up for tours later in the week.”
Lisa flopped into her chair behind the front desk. “And everybody had a great time. I'd say the first Shady Acres cookout was a fabulous success.”
I wished I could share their enthusiasm. Seeing that video on Jayce's phone, though, ruined it for me.
Mom was cheating on David with dad. I mean, what? How? I was so confused. He'd been living in California for years. Never told me he was back. Had he moved here? Why didn't he call me?
The pregnancy hormones made it a lot easier for me to cry these days. I stood in the darkened corner, hot tears falling as I tried to make sense of it all.
“Hey, Elle.” Heather came to me. “What's wrong? Shouldn't you be happy? If all these people move in like we're hoping, we've won. We'll be sitting at 82 percent occupancy well before the term's end.”
“Sure. Except Jayce still hasn't gotten married yet.”
She glanced at my ring. “But you know he has good intentions.”
“We don't have long to go before they decide who gets the property, but he's dragging his feet. And with good reason.” I rubbed my belly. Was that fluttering the baby's first kick, or indigestion from eating four hot dogs smothered with sauerkraut? “He still doesn't know.”
Lisa looked at my stomach with wide eyes. “Know what? Oh God, Elle, are you saying...”
Heather sighed. “Yeah. She's officially pregnant with my idiot 'brother's' child.”
“Ooh, you're going to have a baby!” Lisa squealed and clapped her hands with excitement. “Is it a boy or a girl? What are you gonna name it?”
“I have no idea. I'm just barely two months now. Got my first doctor's appointment in a few days to make sure it's healthy.”
“That's good. I know you'll be a great mom.” Heather hugged me. “But you have to tell Jayce.”
“Before he marries me. I know.”
And I also knew what would happen then. Jayce loathed the idea of marriage once, but he'd somehow warmed up to it. Having a kid, though? He had always been so against it that I doubted anything would change his mind.
“You could just marry him and then tell him after,” Lisa suggested.
“No. That would be horrible. Like I've trapped him. I couldn't do that, you know? I have to let him make the choice on his own.”
Even if it meant losing him.
“Anyway, that's not the only reason I'm crying. My mom's cheating on David.”
Heather and Lisa exchanged looks of horror.
“And you'll never guess with who.” I paused. They didn't guess. “It's my dad.”
“Uncle Peter?”
Lisa cocked her head. “Come to think of it, I did see a strange man going in and out of her place lately. It was always late at night, too.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
She shrugged. “Never thought anything of it.”
“It gets worse. Apparently, she's planning on marrying David and using his money to help pay off dad's debts – probably for gambling and who knows what other trouble he's gotten into.”
“You need to do something. You have to stop this wedding.”
“The only thing I can do is talk to her about it. Maybe I can convince her to come clean.”
Fat chance. Mom had her hooks in a wealthy man, and she'd never give him up. Still, I had to try.
“Go, then. She's home now. I saw her come back a few hours ago.”
I was not looking forward to this one bit. Still, I needed answers. I'd give her a chance to talk to David. And if she refused...
I headed to the second floor while Lisa shut the office down for the night. When I reached mom's apartment, I could hear crappy 80s pop music blaring through the walls.
“Great. We'll be getting complaints about that soon enough.” I pounded on the door. “Mom, open up. We gotta talk.”
She took a while, but finally came to the door. Her face was covered in some green goop, and she had her hair up in rollers.
“Sweetie, it's so good to see you! What do you think? I've gotta make myself look beautiful for the wedding.”
“Why didn't you tell me dad was here?”
Her beady eyes nearly popped out of her skull. She grabbed my arm, pulled me in, and slammed the door.
“What the devil are you talking about, Elle?”
“Don't play dumb about it. We all saw you kissing him in the hallway today.”
She stumbled back. “Y-you're mistaken. I wasn't kissing nobody. It must have been David.”
My mother always had been a habitual liar. This, though, topped it all.
“Jayce has video of it. Proof.” My lip trembled. “Why can't you just admit it? You're marrying David for the money.”
She pouted and sipped from her martini glass. “Oh, all right, I suppose you caught me. Your father and I have been... talking a lot these past few months. Reconciling, you could say. He realizes he had a good thing with me in the end. He came to Dallas for business and drove here to see me. As you see, sparks flew.”
Seriously?
“Shortly after your aunt died, David came to me for comfort. I never really cared for him, of course. You know what kind of person he is.”
“Then why this? Why the wedding?”
“I truly wanted to be with Peter, but he owes thousands of dollars in gambling debts. You know he always liked his horse racing.” She laughed. “I wanted to help him, but I'm not in a real good financial position myself. Then David professed his love for me.”
I gaped at her. “He did?”
“Oh, yes. We've been friends for years and apparently, he had a major crush on me for a long time.”
“While he was with Debbie? That's horrible.”
“Perhaps, but he never acted upon it. Not until she passed on, at least. He said he had always loved me and wanted to marry me. I thought it was ridiculous – but then I realized if I played along, I would be able to get your father the money he needed. We could be a family again.”
“Do you realize what you're doing is absolutely disgusting? What kind of human being would act this way? You're using a man who claims to love you. You're cheating on him at the same time. As soon as you can, you'll divorce David and run back to dad with all his money.”
She scoffed and dabbed at her face with a wet towel. “How dare you. You make me sound like a horrible person. I'm just like you, sweetheart. We all make mistakes.”
“These aren't mistakes. You're deliberately screwing David over.”
“And doesn't he deserve it? I know for a fact he messed around on Debbie. While she was in the hospital getting chemo treatments, he was off flirting with strippers and taking girls back to his hotel room on business trips.” Her eyes narrowed. “And if you ask me, the apple don't fall far from the tree. His son has always been the same way.”
“Jayce might have slept around, but he never cheated. And... He's not like that anymore.”
She snorted. “Keep telling yourself that, dear.”
“Tell me the truth. Were you also marrying David because you thought it'd keep me and Jayce apart? You figured if we were legally step-siblings, it would scare me away from him.”
“That was mostly David's idea. Originally, he was worried you kids would pull this kind of stunt. He knew Jayce wouldn't ever fall in love for real. As for you, you'd have incentive to marry the boy so you could keep the property. He certainly is smart, right?” She blew on her freshly-painted fingernails. “He thought perhaps our marriage could have an added benefit: stopping you from going through with such a ridiculous scheme.”
So that bastard thought we were up to no good the whole time. All along, he knew exactly what we were planning.
“When David found out that he was right; that Jayce really did plan to marry you, he was simply furious.”
“And you weren't? You threw a tantrum at the c
ourthouse – and I know why. If we got married, David risked losing Shady Acres. This building and the surrounding land is worth a lot of money. Money that the both of you wanted desperately.”
“O-of course not!” She sniffled and blew her nose into the towel. “I just want the best for you, Elle. Jayce is a degenerate, lazy delinquent who can't care about anyone but himself.”
“You're wrong.”
“Oh, do you think so? Trust me, dear. If you marry that loser you'll be divorced in less than six months. I'd bet money on it.”
I put my hand on my stomach. “I'm carrying his child, mom.”
She gasped so loudly I thought she was going to choke, then flailed for her martini and chugged it all, spilling half the vodka on herself in the process.
“Lord have mercy! What has that boy done to you? Impregnated you with his bastard child out of wedlock!” She waggled her finger in my face. “I warned you. What did I say would happen? He's a no-good piece of trash.”
I showed her the ring. “If he were a piece of trash, he would have ran away. He's marrying me.”
Or so I hoped. The sick feeling in my gut made me think that once I told him the truth, he'd be doing otherwise.
“He only gave you that ring while he figures out an escape plan. If you really think he'll make an honest woman out of you, then you're hopelessly naive.”
I'd had enough of her talking to me like a child. I shot her an angry glare before stepping into the hall.
“Don't you worry about me and Jayce. You need to tell David the truth.”
“I'm afraid I won't be doing that. Your father is in trouble, and I'm doing what I must to help him.”
“You're going to let this man marry you? You'll let the wedding go on as planned?”
“This isn't your problem, Elle. I demand you stay out of it. Don't you want to see your mother happy?”
I slammed the door in her face. Jayce said that I could legally evict her, right? That option was looking pretty good right about now.
Feeling frustrated, alone, and betrayed, I pulled out my phone to call him. He knew how to make me feel better.
Just as I tapped his name in the contacts, though, the phone began to ring. I picked it up, eager to hear his voice.
