by Davis, Alexa
“She does?” I chuckled and propped myself up on my elbows. “She’s early, isn’t she?” Clearly, Terran couldn’t keep away. “Tell her to get the kettle on, and I’ll be in soon.”
Delaney raced from the room at the speed of light. Clearly she wanted to go and share all the fun she had with Alex with Terran. She seemed to like him really – and not just because he bought her ice cream. I couldn’t wait to learn more about just how she felt.
I swung my legs around, rubbed my eyes, and pushed myself into a standing position. My night dress fell to my knees and brushed against my skin, which was very hypersensitive for some reason. Maybe it was because the date had accidentally slipped into my dreams, but in my imagination, we certainly didn’t leave things at the door.
His rough hands all over me, his lips brushing against my skin, my clothes shedding in an instant...
I shuddered. Even the version of him in my dreams lit my body on fire. I needed to sort myself out if I wanted to appear normal to the rest of the world. I didn’t want Terran to know just how crazy my brain was.
I grabbed my robe out of my closet and threw it over my body. I tied the ribbon around me and pressed my feet on the carpet as I walked into the living room to see my friend enrapt in a conversation with Delaney.
“So you had ice cream?” she exclaimed excitedly. “That sounds amazing. And, is Mommy’s boss nice?”
I leaned against the doorframe and watched for a moment, needing to know the answer to that myself. When Delaney nodded enthusiastically, a heat spread across my chest. She liked him – that was so important to me. I couldn’t have even considered him as an option if she didn’t.
“Oh yeah, he’s nice. He was really nice to Mommy, too.”
“He was, was he?” Terran glanced up to see me and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “That’s good to know. And, did Mommy wear her dress she brought? She forgot to send me any pictures.”
Oops! I had had such a good time that I didn’t even think about it.
“Yes, and she looked beautiful. And, I wore my dress, too. Can I go and put it on again?”
“You can,” I jumped into the conversation. “You can wear it whenever you want now. Except at school.”
“Yay!”
As she ran from the room, Terran grabbed the mug of tea she’d made for me, and I took it gratefully. I took a massive swig and relished the caffeine as it slid down my throat. “Mmm, you do make an amazing cup of tea,” I teased. “That’s why I keep you around.”
“Will you stop it? You’re killing me.” Terran pinched my hip, making me wince. “I’m dying to know what happened last night. How was your date?”
“Well, it wasn’t so much a date...” I trailed off as I realized that it was pointless to fight. “Although, his mom didn’t come along, after all.”
“She didn’t?” Terran’s eyebrows shot right up. “I knew it! It was a date – he was just too scared to ask you!”
We plonked onto the couch and leaned our heads closer so we could talk more privately. I didn’t want Delaney to hear anything until I knew for sure what was going on with Alex. Introducing him as my boss was terrifying enough.
“Do you really think?” I hissed. “But he invited Delaney, too.”
“To get to know your child.” She nodded enthusiastically. “He wants to see every side of your life. That’s nice; a lot of guys can’t handle women with kids.”
“Yeah...” She was right, I was sure of it. Sure, I hadn’t tried to date, so I didn’t experience the rejection because I was a mom firsthand, but I felt certain it was there. “Maybe. There was a moment at the door... I was sure he was going to kiss me.”
“But he didn’t? Why not?” Terran edged closer, looking like she could barely contain herself. To be fair, I got super excited when listening to her dating stories, so this was hardly surprising. “What stopped him?”
“Well, it was awkward. I had Delaney asleep in my arms.”
“You should have put her to bed quick...”
“I would have had to invite him inside.” I’d considered that at the time, but it just felt like a step too far. “That could have led somewhere that I’m not sure I’m ready for yet.”
“Girl, you better get ready because it sounds to me like a storm is coming your way.”
I shimmied in my seat as I remembered the intensity of my dream. It had been such a long time; I deserved to have some fun. Even if that fun involved having a hunky man, who was my boss by the way, in my bed.
“Do you think? Oh God, I don’t...” A blush filled my cheeks. I was giving away my feelings for Alex, and I didn’t even care anymore. So what if it ended in heartbreak, so what if it wasn’t advisable. I always did the smart thing... Maybe it was time to try something new.
“So what do you want to do today?” I giggled as I asked. “Once I’m dressed, of course. I don’t feel like I can just sit around today. I feel like I need to be outside...”
“Oh God.” Terran rolled her eyes dramatically at me. “You’re going to be one of those insufferable people in love aren’t you? I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“No, I’m not in love.” I protested, probably too much. “I’m just...having fun.” Shit , I couldn’t think about love – that changed everything. That was far too much. “It’s nothing, really. I’m going to get dressed.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m not happy about being forced into nature or wherever you’re going to make me do.”
“I might not take you into nature. Maybe we should go shopping.”
“I’m not happy about it, but I suppose I’ll put up with it.”
I placed my mug down on the table, not washing it right away like I normally did. It could be done later. I needed to get out first before it drove me crazy. I needed to be in the fresh air, doing more fun things...
My eyes snapped towards the door and widened when a knock startled me out of my thoughts. I wasn’t expecting anyone – the only person that ever came to visit me was already here. The only other person who knew where I lived was Alex... It couldn’t be him, could it?
I glanced down at my outfit in despair. I didn’t know for sure that it was him but I really didn’t want to risk it just in case. “Will you get that?” I gushed at Terran. “Just give me a moment to get dressed.”
“Sure.” She stood up and narrowed her eyes at me. “Why who do you think it is?”
“I don’t know.” I couldn’t admit the truth. If it weren't him, it would be so embarrassing. “Please?”
“Alright, whatever.”
I hid behind the kitchen door, just waiting to hear his voice. I could duck into my bedroom unseen from here, so that gave me plenty of time to listen in just in case. I needed to know it was him because it would establish what I’d wear.
“Are you Elle Blanton?” a gruff voice I didn’t recognize at all burst through my home. It belonged to a male, but it definitely wasn’t Alex. I stepped out, revealing myself a little bit, but remained where I was while I strained my ears.
“No, I’m her friend. Can I help you?”
“I really need Elle Blanton.”
Curiosity got the better of me. My pajamas forgotten, I moved into the hallway to see a stranger standing there. He had some paper clutched between his fingers and gestured wildly to Terran.
“I... I’m here,” I jumped in anxiously. “What’s going on?”
The man waited until I came close enough before he handed me the paper in his hand. “Elle Blanton, you’ve been served...”
My head swam. I didn’t even listen to the rest of his words. I felt the world fall out from underneath me. There was only one person who would be serving me. I had been expecting it for ages, but now that the time was here, I felt like the world was ending. Tears filled my eyes, icy darts shot down to my heart, and sickness swirled in my belly.
This is it. Mark is coming for me; he wants Delaney. He’s taking her from me; he’s going to do everything he can to destroy me.
&nbs
p; Eventually, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders. I dragged my eyes from the ground to see my front door had closed. The man was gone, but the devastation that he’d left behind remained. It was clutched between my fingers.
“What?” I gasped, panting breathlessly. “It’s happening. What...”
“It’s okay, sweetie,” Terran cooed as she took me back towards the living room. “I know this sucks. But we can get through this. You can get through this.”
“He has money,” I gushed pathetically. “I have nothing. What am I going to do?”
I collapsed into sobs. I felt my whole body slump into sadness. I couldn’t lose my baby; I just couldn’t. She was everything to me, but how could I make a whole load of people who didn’t even know me understand that? What if I couldn’t?
“Listen, sweetie, I want to stay here and hug you, but I also want to keep Delaney away from this. I’m going to keep her occupied until you’ve calmed down, okay?”
I nodded, knowing that she was right. I needed to find a way to deal with this without falling the hell apart. I couldn’t allow Delaney to know that everything was crashing down around me. She needed to know that I was strong, that I was powerful, that I could take care of her. I didn’t want her to ever fear for her safety. I just needed to ensure that there was nothing to worry about.
“Thank you, Terran. That means a lot. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Chapter Nineteen
Alexander
Monday
“Why won’t you tell me more about it?” Mom asked, frustrated. “I don’t see why you're so secretive.” She pouted and gave me an intense stare. “You know I’m only going to ask Elle anyway.”
“Yeah?” I replied distractedly. “You’re going to have to admit that you set the whole thing up then. You’ll have to confess that you’ve been doing all you can to push us together.”
That silenced her. She didn’t want to have to admit that she’d been meddling. Of course, she wouldn’t have to say any of that, she could just innocently ask her friend, but I wanted her to take stock for just a moment.
“Elle will tell me,” she finally muttered. “Just because you won’t. You’re so cruel to your old, injured mother.”
I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Now you’re old? Now you’re injured? One moment you can do anything by yourself, next, you’re frail. You can’t do things just because it suits you, you know.”
“I can do whatever I like.” Stubborn as always . “Anyway, I think I can hear her coming in...” I straightened my back and plastered a grin on my face. I must have looked like an idiot because right then Mom growled with laughter. “Okay, I lied. My hearing isn’t that good to hear a key in a lock downstairs, but at least now I know how you feel.”
My cheeks flushed, but I locked my jaw in determination. “I don’t know what you’re talking about...”
“Of course, you don’t,” she replied knowingly. “No, you don’t know at all. You also don’t have any feelings for Elle. I’m wrong about that, as well. Maybe I should just give up and keep to myself.”
“Maybe you should,” I answered gruffly. “Maybe you should just let me get on with my own life my way.”
Mom didn’t even dignify that with an answer. She simply held her head high and limped from the room with an air of pride around her. I clenched my fists by my side, but I remained rooted to the spot. The thing that made me most annoyed was that Mom was right and I couldn’t seem to hide it from her. Something about Elle left me like an open book.
My heart skipped a beat as I actually heard the key in the lock downstairs. This truly was Elle, only this time I didn’t know how to react. I couldn’t puff out my chest a second time; I’d only feel silly. Instead, I tried to busy myself by clicking open my briefcase and looking through the paperwork inside. My face rearranged itself into a concerned expression as I waited patiently.
No, impatiently. I felt on the edge of the world as I waited for her to come up.
“Hey, Alex.” She sounded anxious as she called out to me. I got so wrapped up in my own nervousness that I didn’t stop to consider how she might be feeling. “How are you?”
I glanced up to her and smiled at her. I intended to say something nice, then to delve right back into my paperwork to keep up the pretense that I was actually doing something, but I couldn’t. Elle was emotional, far too emotional only to be concerned about how to behave after our date. I could see her trying with all her might to keep everything locked away inside and cover it up, but still, it was there.
“What’s going on?” I asked her caringly while moving over to her. “Are you alright?”
“I... I...” She tried her best to keep it together, but soon everything crumbled. Her eyes creased together, her lips curved downwards, her shoulders slumped forwards, and she collapsed into a terrible sob. “Oh God, I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “I don’t know what to do.”
Without even thinking about it, I wrapped my arms around her and enveloped her in a big hug. With her head pressed against my chest and her body curling into mine, I tried to take away just some of her pain, but without realizing what caused it, there was nothing I could do.
“What’s going on?” I tried again. “You know you can tell me anything. Whatever I can do to help, I will. If you need to go home...”
“Oh my goodness.” Mom’s voice echoed through the room, grabbing both of our attention. “What’s going on, Elle? What happened?”
I actually felt relieved that Mom was here – she was much better at dealing with emotional issues than me. I stepped back and let her take over the hug with Elle. I bit down on my bottom lip as I watched in confusion. I needed to work out what was happening here.
“Tell me, Elle,” Mom said softly. “Tell me what’s happened.”
“It’s Mark. He...he...” she gasped through the tears. “He wants custody of Delaney. He’s served me with papers this weekend...”
“Oh God, that must have been a shock,” Mom said sadly.
“Well, no, not really.” Elle half shrugged. “I knew that it was coming, my friend who works for him told me, but it still came as a shock.”
“ Wait ,” I felt compelled to interject. “Wait, your friend still works for your ex-husband. Are you serious? That’s insane. Are you sure you can trust her?” I needed to do something to change this. I couldn’t exactly do much about court papers, but maybe I could change this. “ Can you trust her?”
“Yes, I can.” The look Elle gave me made me shrivel back fearfully. “I know I can trust Terran.”
“So, why does she still work for him?” Maybe I was focusing on the wrong thing, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself.
“The job market isn’t that easy at the moment,” she replied tartly. I was clearly stepping into bad territory here. “It isn’t always easy to just get another job.”
“She can work for me,” I told Elle desperately. I hated having no power. I needed to do something positive before I went nuts. “What does she do for him ? She can do it at one of my resorts...”
“That’s hardly the issue here,” Mom warned me. “Elle has more troubling things to worry about right now.”
I fell back into a chair and clapped my hand to my forehead. Mom was right, logically I knew that, but what could I do? I didn’t know anything about custardy; I didn’t know anything about this sort of arrangements. Divorce, parenting, I didn’t get...
Wait!
I did know someone who could help. It would be easy to persuade him to; the guy owed me so many damn favors. This was the sort of crap he listened to all day long – he lived and breathed it. He could do this. If anyone could, it was Ryan.
“I have to go.” I jumped up, probably quite heartlessly, but I didn’t really feel that way at the time. “I have...stuff I need to sort.”
I didn’t even look at Elle, or at Mom, instead, my mind was reeling. I didn’t want to offer any hope when there wasn’t any, so first I needed to ensure that I actual
ly could do something. I stuffed my papers away and grabbed up my briefcase before running down the stairs. I didn’t even say goodbye; I didn’t even listen to see if anyone had anything to say to me – I just ran. I grabbed my cell phone out my pocket and scrolled through until I found the right number.
“Hey, Ryan,” I panted as soon as he picked up. “Can you come to the golf course today? I have some stuff I want to talk to you about.”
***
“So, you called me here to ask me to help out the maid?” Ryan scratched his head and gave me a look. “And, you want me to do it for no money?”
“Come on, man, you owe me,” I insisted. “How many times have I done things for you?” He cocked his head and gave me a look. I needed to give him more. “I’ll sort out the trip to Mexico if you do?” That would get him...surely? He kept mentioning it all the time, so it was obviously something that he really wanted . I crossed my fingers behind my back as I waited with bated breath for him to answer.
“Urgh, fine. Whatever.” Ryan rolled his eyes and turned away from me. “So what’s the situation? I’m gonna need more than you’ve given me so far.”
“I don’t know all the details,” I admitted while cursing myself. I should have asked for everything before I came to Ryan; that was naïve of me. “I only know that Elle, Blanton is her last name, was married to a toxic guy named Mark. They’ve been divorced for a while, but now he’s after custody.”
“Does he see the kid now?” Ryan asked as he hit the ball into the hole. “That’s important to the case. It’ll affect how things turn out.”
“No, I don’t think so.” I was sure I could remember her telling me that he wasn’t involved. Or maybe Mom told me, she seemed to know a lot about Elle. They seemed to talk about everything. “No, I don’t think he’s been involved for years.”
“It’s a shame the kid isn’t older,” he mused thoughtfully. “If she was, she could make a choice. I’m guessing if she doesn’t know her dad much, she won’t want to go and live with him.”
“You don’t sound too convinced.” His tone gave me absolutely no confidence whatsoever. “Do you think this is something you can fix or not?”
