by Doreen Alsen
“You missed me?” Beth couldn’t believe it.
“Oh, I did, I really did. Jeff got a job here bussing tables and we talked about you all the time. He really loved you.”
“Ladies,” Sandy said as she came up to their table, “Mike sent me to tell you that Chelsea has just arrived with your food.”
“Thanks Sandy. You’re a doll.”
“I know! I tell Bobby that all the time.” She grinned. “You’d think he’d do something nice like give me a raise or throw me a parade. He’s such an ingrate.”
Andi laughed. “I’ll tell him when I see him.”
“Mrs. Coach, you are a goddess.” Sandy looked up as someone signaled her for attention. “Ah well. Duty calls. Enjoy your lunch!”
“Thanks,” Beth murmured. She followed Andi back to their table.
And ran smack dab into Katie.
As in her former best friend and Jeff’s ex-wife. Yee hah!
“What are you doing here?” Katie’s voice could have turned water into ice cubes on the edge of Mount Doom looking over the river of fire.
Beth couldn’t think of a word to say.
This woman bore no resemblance to the girl Beth had known in school. Her blonde hair was clearly the work of an expensive stylist. Of course she hadn’t been a blonde back then. She wore designer everything, from gorgeous tan calfskin boots and Ascada jeans to a raw silk T-shirt the color of platinum.
Beth fought the urge to fuss with her clothes and hair. She won but just barely.
“I thought I told Jeff I didn’t want you anywhere near Cookie,” Katie spat through clenched teeth.
She would not apologize about being there for Danny. “I thought it best if I came to help Danny in case he got overwhelmed.”
Her neatly plucked and penciled eyebrows shot up to the top of her head. “You thought? Since when do you get a say in any of this?”
Okay. Now Katie was just making her mad. She straightened her shoulders. “Since the minute I gave birth to Jeff’s son.”
Katie threw back her head, tossing those expensively foiled blonde curls over her shoulders. “Stay away from my daughter. Jeff you can have. He’s a poor excuse for a husband, but I will not stand for you playing mommy to Cookie. You got that? I will make sure Jeff never sees my daughter again in his lifetime.”
“How could you do that to him? He loves her.”
“The exact same way you kept his son hidden for ten years. Go away, Beth. Nobody missed you and nobody wants you here now.”
“Beth, come on. Your food’s getting cold.” Mike appeared and put a gentle hand on Beth’s elbow. He nodded in obvious dismissal. “Katie.”
“This isn’t over and if you think you can trump me, you’re delusional.” Katie gave them each a hard look then turned on her three-inch heels and stalked away.
“You okay?”
Beth blew out the breath she’d been holding. “Yeah. Just surprised is all.”
“She’s a real peach, that one.” He slanted a glance at her. “She was supposed to be your best friend. Bad choice, I think.”
Beth shrugged. “What can I say? My life is all about bad choices, except for doing whatever I could to keep Danny.”
“I get that.” He nodded. “I tried to stop Jeff from marrying her. I sensed right from the get-go that she had an agenda and that she didn’t really love Jeff. He deserved—deserves better. I still really can’t understand why he got with her.”
That made two of them.
****
Jeff and his mother watched both children on the swings. The leaves twirled to the ground and the air light, the perfect Indian summer day.
For Jeff, it brought back all those fall afternoons when he and his buddy Tim would pile up leaves they’d jump in over and over again. Nothing brought back the memories of his childhood like fall weather.
Laughter rolled over the park as groups of children romped and played games with each other. He smiled at Nancy. “I think they’re getting along. What do you think?”
“Looks like,” she said.
Tires screeched as a slick sports car barreled into the parking lot, stopping short of running them over.
Jeff pulled his mother behind him. “What the hell? You could have killed someone!”
Katie leaped out of the car. “How dare you lie to me!”
“Jesus, Katie! What are you doing here?”
“I’ll go check on the children.” Nancy walked off.
“I told you I didn’t want Beth around Cookie!” Spittle spewed from the twisted grimace of her lips.
“Katie, get a grip. I told you she was going to meet her half-brother and that’s what she’s doing.” He reached for her, hoping the contact would calm her down.
She yanked away from him. “Don’t you dare touch me. I’m here to get my daughter and take her home.”
A hair-raising Cookie-sounding scream came from the swings. “Mommy! I want my mommy.”
“If that boy has done anything to hurt my little girl, there’ll be hell to pay!” Katie ran/limped in her heels across the playground.”
Cookie met her halfway. “Mommy! The boy’s being mean to me!” Tears streaked down Cookie’s face.
Jeff figured it had taken two to tango. “I want you kids to apologize to each other.”
Danny sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“Cookie girl? What do you say?”
She only sobbed harder.
Katie scooped the wailing child up. “Come on, sugar plum. I’m taking you home.” Sparing one last poisonous glance at Jeff, she picked her way over the field.
“Wanna tell me what happened?” Jeff sat on the swing next to Danny’s.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.” Jeff couldn’t believe Danny would pick on Cookie.
He smudged his sneaker in the trough under the swing. “She started saying that her mom was prettier and better than my mom and other stuff.” He hiked up a shoulder. “She said you love her better because she has the same last name as you.” He lifted up his eyes, full of misery. “Then her mom came and she started screaming like I hurt her. I promise, Dad. I didn’t do anything to her.”
Jeff touched Danny’s arm across the space of the swing.
“That’s pretty much the gist of what I heard when I came over here,” Nancy offered.
“‘Kay, champ. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”
The sooner the better, as far as Jeff was concerned.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“It was that bad?” Jeff heard Beth’s soothing voice behind him.
He put down the beer he’d been nursing, slid over sideways on the back porch stair, and patted the space next to him. “Yeah.”
She took the seat. “I’m sorry. I guess it was dumb luck to run into Katie at The End Zone.”
“What the hell was she doing there? She hates the place.”
Beth wrapped her hands around her mug of hot chocolate. “Maybe waiting there to see if I’d show up? Although,” she paused slightly, “she looked pretty stunned to see me.”
He grunted before taking another swig of beer.
“What did they fight about?”
Jeff put a hand behind his neck and squeezed, trying to alleviate the cramped muscles. “They were getting along great, or so I thought. Katie pulls up and reads me the riot act about how could I let you near her precious baby girl, she wasn’t going to let us play house and pretend to be a happy family, blah, blah, blah. Next thing I know Katie is howling like a cracked out banshee.” He made a conscious effort to unclench his teeth. “Ma had gone over where the kids were playing to, I don’t know, to distract them I guess from Katie and me arguing.”
“That’s so wrong. Doesn’t Katie see that fighting you on this also really hurts Cookie?”
“You’d think.” He snorted. “Ma said they were having a tit for tat about which mom was the prettiest.” A smile crept across his face. “Danny defended you quite adamantly.”
“He did? I’m no
way near as pretty as Katie.” Surprise tinged her voice.
“You’re prettier than her in more ways than you know. Did Danny defend you? He sure did. Ma said he was a regular Sir Galahad. So here’s where it all went wrong. Danny is saying you don’t need fancy clothes, jewelry and makeup to be beautiful.”
Pride radiated out of Beth, pride and pure love. “Oh, my.”
“Yeah, I’m proud of him. Then Cookie tells him that her mom told her that if she didn’t wear jewelry and makeup that the boys wouldn’t like her.”
“Poor thing!” She took a sip of her hot chocolate. “I don’t know where that came from. Katie was never like that in high school.”
He grimaced. “Well, I didn’t really know her in school. Anyway, after Cookie gives Danny the whole spiel about makeup and such, Danny told her that no boys were ever going to like her, even with all the fancy stuff, because she was a stupid baby.”
“What am I going to do about that? I can’t have him trashing his sister to her face.” Her posture slumped a bit. “He apologized, I hope.”
Jeff nodded. “Right after I told him to. Cookie, however, only cried like it was her job.” He played with the moisture-beaded label of his beer bottle. “Katie took Cookie home. End of story.”
“I’m so sorry. That must have been so hard for you.”
He expelled a huge sigh. “You know, I went into this weekend thinking I could make it work, that the kids would get along and Katie wouldn’t have a thing to complain about. Then it turned into one of those going-to-hell-in-a-hand-basket events and blew up in my face.”
Beth put her hand on his arm and rubbed it up and down. “I guess Hallmark doesn’t have a card covering those occasions.”
“‘Fraid not, sunshine.” He bowed his head, the weight of it totally unbearable. “What am I going to do?”
“Nothing right now. Sometimes you have to wait until the time is right. I ought to know. I knew I’d get control of my life back from my father sooner or later. I just had to put one foot in front of the other and keep breathing.”
“You were great with her this morning.” The picture of Beth helping Cookie stop the helpless little girl act hung up front in his mind. “She’s usually not so manipulating. Katie could, however, teach master classes in manipulation, that’s how much of an expert she is.”
Beth laughed. “I don’t care. Making sure Danny can make a bowl of cereal on his own is no biggie. Believe me, making sure kids can do some things for themselves is a crucial skill when you’re a single mom. With Danny it was easy. Mr. Independent from the get-go.”
“You’ve done a great job with him.” His skin tingled where she rubbed it. It would be so easy just to lean over and kiss her.
His soul was desperate for him to kiss her, so he turned to face her. “I really need to do this.” He lowered his head and coaxed her with a finger under her chin to lift her face high enough for him to taste her soft, pretty mouth.
Beth trembled as her mouth opened for his kiss.
Opening up just for him.
He was Beth’s first. Her only.
Try as hard as he did to deny it, Beth was his woman. If that was old fashioned, then so-be-it.
He broke the kiss, that light, gentle meeting of their lips, took the mug out of her hands and set it on the porch next to his beer. She faced him, her rosy lips slightly parted, her breath coming in hesitant, erratic hitches.
He pushed her hair back then framed her face with his hands. Her skin felt as fragile as rose petals, as smooth and supple as silk. He went in for a deeper taste of that tempting mouth.
“Mmmmmm.” She didn’t hold back, didn’t hesitate, just opened to him as the kiss spun and blossomed with the promise of more to come.
She tasted of the chocolate she’d been drinking, all warm and seductive. He wanted using his tongue to coax hers to come out and play. She opened up and welcomed him in. Her arms wrapped around him. He took his hands away from her face and hauled her onto his lap.
When he’d been a horny kid and was into instant gratification, he’d ignored the beauty of her body in favor of getting off.
That was a thing of the past. His hands and mouth longed to explore this woman.
Thank the Lord the time was right. This was their moment. He knew it deep down in his soul.
He cupped her breasts underneath her sweater, and she gasped. As he raked his thumbs over the hard points of her nipples, she trembled.
She tore her mouth away from his. “We can’t do this out here. What if your mother…” Beth moaned as his thumbs traced around the peaks of her soft breasts, “or Danny” another moan, “come out?”
She was right, but, “Just a little bit longer, sunshine. It feels so good to have my hands on you again.”
Her head fell backward and he pressed tiny little kisses on her neck, where her pulse beat like a conga drum underneath his lips.
“Jeff, please,” she murmured, her voice breathy and low.
“Please what?”
“Oh, God. Take a guess.” She pressed her breasts firmly into his hands. He kissed a path back up her neck and took her mouth again.
“Mom?” Danny called from back in the house. “Where are you?”
Beth pulled away, her eyes wide and a little frantic. “What do you need, buddy?” She clambered up the stairs.
And left him pretty much high and dry and with a pounding erection. He carefully rearranged himself and pulled his shirt out of his pants to hide his hard-on. Limping only a little bit, he picked up his beer and Beth’s mug and made his way to the kitchen.
Damn. They’d always had to hide their love, except for that one time they’d gone to dinner in Lobster Cove.
No more hiding. He was bringing their relationship out of the dark and into the light.
It was damn well time.
****
“I don’t feel good.”
Danny didn’t look too good either. Beth pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. “You don’t have a fever.”
Face pale, every freckle on his cheeks standing out in relief, Danny shook his head. “I think I’m gonna“
Puke, Beth finished in her head as her son hurled all over himself and Nancy’s clean kitchen floor. He burst into tears.
“Oh my gosh, baby. Let me get you cleaned up!”
Jeff came in at that point and, being a rocket scientist and all, figured out what had happened. “You take care of him. I’ll clean the floor.”
“Thanks.” Beth picked up her sobbing child and took him to the bathroom where she removed his soiled pajamas and washed him with a warm facecloth.
Jeff showed up with a glass of ginger ale. “I’ll leave this here in case he’s thirsty.”
She glanced up at him and relief flooded her. Someone to help her, someone who knew what to do. Heaven. “Thank you. Could you do me a favor and get a clean set of pjs and underwear from his back pack?”
“Sure. Hang in there, champ. You’ll feel better in no time.”
“Are you thirsty? Your dad brought you some ginger ale. Maybe that will help your poor tummy.”
Danny sniffled. “‘Kay.”
“Just little sips. We don’t want to give your stomach any surprises.”
Jeff came back with the things for Danny. “Here you go.”
Beth felt him watch her as she got Danny ready to go back to bed. She reached to pick him up but Jeff was right there. “Let me grab him. He’s probably pretty heavy.”
“I never feel it,” she murmured as Jeff hoisted their son into his arms and took him to his bed.
He sat on the edge of the mattress and watched her tuck in Danny. Poor thing was almost asleep again. Beth rubbed his back as she hummed a little tune.
“Do you think he’s got a stomach bug?”
Beth shook her head. “He doesn’t have a fever. I should have remembered this.” She didn’t take her eyes off of her boy. “When he’s had a really heavy, emotional day, he gets sick to his stomach. I’m surpris
ed he didn’t toss his cookies the night we told him the truth about you.”
“I guess today could count as a heavy on the emotional side kind of day.”
Beth took a deep breath. “I should have been here with him instead of“
“Making out on the back steps with his daddy?”
She bit her lip and gave him one nod. “Yes.”
“That’s bull, Beth. You sitting in here and watching him sleep wouldn’t have prevented him from getting sick.”
“I know, I know, but he couldn’t find me. His whole life he’s known exactly where I’d be when he didn’t feel so hot and tonight, he didn’t.”
Jeff put his hands on her shoulders and started to squeeze them. “Your muscles here are pretty tight. Let me touch you. Help you relax.”
“Oh.” His warm fingers found every knot and kink in her neck and back.
“You’re not alone any more, sunshine. You’ve got help now. A partner in crime, so to speak.”
Her own mother hadn’t even helped her with Danny. Her father had prohibited it. “You’re going to have to be patient with me until I get that into my thick head.” Into my fragile heart.
“You know,” he whispered in her from his perch behind her, “I can’t count all the times I lay on this bed, dreaming of you being in it with me. Now I can promise this wasn’t exactly how I pictured it, but I like it.”
“You like watching over a kid who might barf on you any second?”
“No. But I love sitting with you like this, taking care of our son together.”
Lord help her, Beth liked it too.
It felt like a family. A real family, one that didn’t judge and tear each other down, one that worked together to lift each member up.
Oh, her heart ached. She craved that family more than anything in the entire world.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“So, tell me! How was your weekend?” Jenna sat across the table from her at Maggie’s Diner. She’d even closed the shop for an hour so they could do lunch sitting down.
“Interesting. It didn’t really happen the way Jeff planned.”
Jenna squeezed some lemon into her water. “No?”
