The Friends We Keep (Mischief Bay)

by Susan Mallery

  “Nothing.” Makayla’s voice was defiant. She glared at Gabby. “This is my room.”

  “Yeah, I know that. And you know the rules. No boys in your room. Boyd, you need to go home now.”

  He nodded and walked past Makayla without saying anything.

  “You ruin everything,” Makayla yelled at her. “Everything.”

  “Then my day is complete. No boys in your room. Are we clear?”

  Makayla nodded sullenly.

  Gabby thought about adding she would be talking to Andrew later, but wasn’t sure that was much of a threat. Still, she had to say something.

  “No friends over for the rest of the week.”

  Makayla rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’ll just go there.”

  To which Gabby couldn’t say anything because she wasn’t allowed to ground Makayla on her own. Andrew had made that very clear. Because Makayla was his daughter, not theirs. Not that she was allowed to say that, either. Talk about a one-way road to disaster.

  So no grounding, but she could withhold cookies, she told herself. A small, petty act, but it was all she had. She carried the plate back out and headed down the stairs.

  A boy in her room. That was bad. Makayla was a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl. Maybe hormones weren’t ruling life yet, but they were making a run at it.

  Once back in her kitchen, she told herself she was overreacting. That everything was fine. The trick was making herself believe it.

  * * *

  “Are you sure?” Andrew asked a few hours later, when Gabby told him what she’d seen. “They couldn’t have been kissing. Boyd isn’t that kind of guy.”

  “I know what I saw. He’s sixteen and they’re all that kind. Don’t you remember?”

  “Yeah, but that was different. Boyd’s kind of geeky.”

  “I’m sure he has a working penis.”

  They were in their bedroom. She’d waited until everyone had gone to bed to fill him in on what had happened.

  “They were kissing, Andrew. This is serious. Not only did she break the rules, for which she should be punished, but we need to talk to her. Candace isn’t going to. Makayla has no idea what she’s getting into.”

  Andrew finished brushing his teeth. He rinsed out his mouth, then straightened. “Gabby, you’re a doll to worry, but trust me. Nothing is going on. Kids these days don’t date. They travel in packs.”

  “They still have sex.”

  He shook his head. “I’ll talk to her.” She started to speak, but he held up his hand. “And I’ll make sure she’s punished for having a boy in her room. What seems fair? The weekend without her phone?”

  Gabby nodded. “That seems okay.”

  He moved toward her. “They’re just kids,” he said as he reached for her. “They have no idea what they’re doing. I, on the other hand, know exactly what you like.”

  She leaned into him. Even as she kissed him back, a whiny little voice in her head said this was a bigger deal than he was acknowledging and while she was easy to distract, that didn’t mean the problem was going away.

  * * *

  The Pacific Ocean Park—otherwise known as the POP—had started life in Santa Monica. The pier, little shops and restaurants had eventually lost favor with residents and tourists. Years ago, the POP had been torn down and discarded. Several citizens in Mischief Bay had gotten together to pick up the pieces and move the whole thing a few miles south. Now it was a bustling tourist attraction and a place for locals to hang out. The very heart of the POP was a beautifully restored carousel.

  Nicole stood with Gabby by the wooden horses, watching her son and Gabby’s girls go round and round.

  “I think it’s a big deal,” Gabby said, her gaze on her daughters.

  “Of course it is.” Nicole grimaced. “Back in high school I knew a girl who got pregnant in the tenth grade. In her senior picture, she was holding a toddler. Talk about a nightmare.”

  “There’s a scary thought.” Gabby pressed her lips together. “I really don’t like this. The worry, the lack of control. Makayla needs more structure in her life. More rules. Andrew is still acting like he only has her on weekends, but that’s not the case. We’re full-time parents to her and we need to act like it. Plus, what about the twins? They look up to her and want to be just like her. I do not want them learning to get pregnant while they’re still in high school.”

  Nicole heard the worry and frustration in her friend’s voice. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have to raise someone else’s kid, yet not be given any authority. Or very little. Talk about having to do it with both hands tied behind your back. Gabby was in an impossible situation.

  “Can you talk to her?” she asked.

  “Not really. Makayla and I aren’t enemies, but we’re not friends, either. She resents me. Or something. I honestly have no idea what she thinks of me. We rarely talk. I’ve tried, but she shuts me out.”

  “You think it’s about her mom?”

  “Maybe. If she likes me, she’s being disloyal. She’s good with the twins, which I appreciate. Maybe that’s enough.”

  “Not if she’s having sex,” Nicole pointed out.

  “Tell me about it.” Gabby shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. It’s too depressing. But I appreciate you listening.”

  “Think about going back to work instead,” Nicole said with a smile. “That will make you happy.”

  “It does. To be back in the professional world. I can’t wait.” She looked at Nicole. “Was it hard for you to go back to work?”

  “A little. Tyler was younger than the twins and in day care for part of the time. I didn’t like that. But it was still good to get out. Of course I had a job waiting for me, so I didn’t have to deal with the transition you’re having.”

  Nicole had gone back to work because she and Eric had needed the money. Gabby was working because she wanted to. Nicole had no idea how much Andrew made in a year, but based on their nice cars and the big house, it was plenty.

  She couldn’t begin to imagine what it would have been like to grow up with financial security. She’d been the only child of a single mom who’d wanted nothing more than for her to be famous. There had been dance lessons and voice lessons and auditions. Money had been tight and schooling had come second to her dancing and acting.

  The irony of her current financial situation didn’t escape her.

  “What?” Gabby asked. “You have the strangest expression.”

  “I’m just thinking.”

  The carousel stopped but all three kids stayed on. Gabby and Nicole had bought them each three rides and they would be lucky if they only wanted to stay on that long. Lately, every time they came to the POP, Tyler said he was getting too old to ride the horses, yet he continued to do it happily. Nicole knew the day would come when he would actually mean it. While it would be yet another sign he was growing up, she knew she would miss the little boy things they’d done together.

  Things Eric missed every day.

  She drew in a breath. “Eric bailed on Tyler again. I don’t think they’ve had a day together in six months. It makes me crazy.”

  “I’m sorry. What does Tyler think?”

  Nicole looked at her friend. “That’s the worst of it. I don’t think he cares anymore. Dad is just a concept, not a person. He doesn’t miss him because there’s nothing to miss. I keep thinking that Eric is going to wake up to the fact that he’s losing the one thing that can’t be recovered. Time. I worry that he genuinely doesn’t care. Then I wonder if it’s my fault.”

  “How could it be your fault? Eric’s his father.”

  “I know. It’s just that Tyler and I are so close and maybe Eric feels shut out.”

  “No. Tyler is his son. He’s responsible for his own relationship with h
im.”

  “I guess.” Nicole bit her lower lip. “Sometimes I worry that I feel guilty about the divorce.”

  “Guilty in what way?”

  “That I didn’t suffer enough. Eric left and that was bad, but financially things are better. I have the house and Tyler. Our lives are great.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing?”

  “So many women have a hard time after a divorce.”

  Gabby drew her brows together. “You think you should be in more emotional and financial pain and because you’re not, you’re a bad person?”

  “Okay, when you put it like that, I sound like an idiot.”

  “You kind of are,” Gabby said gently. “Nicole, divorce is hard, no matter what. You and Tyler have made a great adjustment. Be grateful, don’t beat yourself up. Not that you’ll listen. You do have an interesting set of rules about things. Remember buying your new car?”

  Nicole winced. When her car had coughed its last breath, she’d been forced to buy a new one. She’d agonized for weeks, driving everyone crazy. It wasn’t that she didn’t have the money, it was that she felt she didn’t deserve a new car. Her friends had finally insisted on an intervention. Armed with statistics and safety reports, they narrowed her choices down to three, then Rob and Andrew had taken her car shopping.

  “Okay, I might have some issues,” she admitted, then confessed, “Shannon says I’m stuck.”

  “Shannon is right. You are. You aren’t pining for Eric, but you’re not moving forward, either.”

  “She told you about Jairus?”

  Gabby stared at her. “What about Jairus? OMG, something happened, didn’t it?”

  “OMG?”

  “I live with a fifteen-year-old and don’t change the subject. You said it was no big deal. You said he was surprisingly nice and good with the kids. There’s more, isn’t there?”

  “Maybe. Yes. I don’t know.”

  Gabby laughed. “You liked him. I can’t believe it. You who hate all things B the D liked the guy who created him.”

  “I didn’t like him.”

  “You’re acting like you’re sixteen and pretending not to notice the football quarterback standing right beside you. Tell me what happened. Everything. Start from the very beginning. You said hi and he said hi and...”

  Nicole groaned. “He thought I was a hooker.”

  “What?”

  Nicole told her about the first meeting with Jairus and how he’d asked her out.

  “One of the counselors told him where I worked and he showed up after the class you came to. Shannon was there. She went outside so we could talk, but she didn’t leave until he did.”

  “That’s just like Shannon. So where does the stuck part come in?”

  “He asked me out again and I said no. Shannon thinks I’m avoiding relationships.”

  “She’s right. You’ve been separated for well over a year and divorced for months and months. Don’t you want to stick your toe in the water, so to speak? Don’t you miss having a man in your life? Not just for sex, although that can be great, but to have someone who cares about you. Someone who is more than a friend?”

  Nicole laughed. “Why don’t you tell me what you really think?”

  Gabby’s expression turned stricken. “Was that too much? Was I too blunt?”

  “No. You were exactly right. I appreciate the honesty.” It stung a little, but she knew Gabby had her best interest at heart. Just as important, she was telling the truth. There were things Nicole did miss about being in a relationship, but whenever she thought about dating, she had a million reasons not to try.

  “I’m scared,” she admitted. “I had no idea things were so bad with Eric. I mean I knew there were problems, but not that we were headed for a divorce. After he left, I had a lot of time to think about all the things I’d done wrong. I don’t want to mess up again.”

  “So it’s better not to try?”

  “It’s safer.”

  “But the best things in life aren’t safe. What moves us, what we want the most, always means taking a risk. Isn’t that what makes things worthwhile?”

  “You’re so logical.”

  Gabby smiled. “I wish. What I do know is that you have to make decisions from a position of strength. And that means understanding your motives. If you’re not dating because you’re perfectly happy on your own and can’t see what value a man would bring to the mix, then great. But if you’re hiding, then you need think about that. You’re a positive person who takes charge. Hiding isn’t like you.”

  It hadn’t been her lately, Nicole thought. She might not want to face the truth, but that didn’t change it. She’d made sure all of Tyler’s needs were met, she’d seen to her business and her house, but when it came to herself, she’d been on autopilot. Gabby was right. If she wanted to be alone, then that was her decision. But hiding—that wasn’t her at all.

  * * *

  “Hey, Mom,” Gabby called as she opened the back door of her mother’s house and walked into the kitchen, the twins right on her heels. As soon as they stepped into the big kitchen, they started yelling.

  “Grandma, Grandma!”

  Marie Lewis walked into the room. Her arms were open, her expression happy. “My best girls,” she said as she crouched down to hug the twins. “What a fantastic surprise.”

  Gabby watched her mother fuss over the girls before ushering them to the giant island and getting them settled. Next would be snacks and plenty of conversation. Marie was the perfect grandmother. She was warm, caring and just stern enough to keep everyone behaving.

  Once the twins were in their seats, Marie hugged Gabby.

  “How are you doing?” she asked.

  “Great.”

  Her mother patted her cheek, then turned her attention back to her granddaughters. Lemonade was poured into plastic glasses and cookies produced.

  If Shannon was Gabby’s career ideal, then Marie was Gabby’s maternal role model. Despite five children, an assortment of pets and plenty of potential for chaos, the house had always run smoothly. Sure it had been loud, but there hadn’t been a constant scramble for things to get done. With two kids of her own and a teenage stepdaughter in the house, Gabby felt she lived three steps behind. She honestly didn’t know how her mother had done it.

  She joined her daughters at the island. The kitchen was large, with white cabinets and blue-and-green tile accents. Not what she would have chosen, but nice.

  Gabby watched her mom. Marie was sixty-one and still a size eight. Talk about incredibly depressing. She colored her hair but otherwise didn’t do anything to defy her age and she could pass for someone in her late forties. Gabby hoped she’d inherited the same genes.

  “How’s camp?” Marie asked the girls. “Having fun?”

  “Every day,” Kennedy told her. “We have art project and playtime.”

  “Sometimes we work on our letters,” Kenzie added. “We know them all and we can read some words.”

  “Can you? Way to go. I knew you were smart girls the first time I saw you.”

  They both laughed.

  When the cookies and lemonade were finished, the four of them moved out to the backyard. A new swing set had been installed when the first grandchild had been born. By the time the twins came along, it was well-worn and comfortable. Now the twins ran to it and settled on the seats.

  “Are you still looking forward to be going back to work?” her mother asked, watching her grandchildren.

  “You have no idea.”

  “I don’t understand why you want to. You could stay home and have more babies.”

  A familiar discussion, Gabby thought. “We have Makayla full-time now. Three is plenty.”

  “Makayla will be gone before you know it and the twins are already heading off t
o kindergarten. More children would be a happy thing.”

  “Not for me, Mom. I’m ready to get back to my career.”

  Marie pressed her hand to her chest in mock distress. “All my friends compliment me for raising two sensible, career-oriented daughters. Little do they know how I wish you were both more like me.”

  Gabby laughed because it was expected, but in her heart, she thought maybe her mother was telling the truth rather than joking. She would have preferred either of them to be a stay-at-home mom. But Gabby’s older sister was a veterinarian and Gabby was ready to get back to her law practice.

  “I guess it’s up to one of the boys,” she said.

  Marie laughed. “I don’t see that happening, either.”

  For a second, Gabby thought about telling her mom about Makayla and Boyd and the kiss. Her gut told her she wasn’t making too big a deal of it, but Andrew insisted all was well and Makayla had accepted her punishment without a whimper. Maybe she should just keep quiet and be grateful she hadn’t discovered them doing anything worse.

  Chapter Nine

  Tuesdays and Thursdays, Nicole taught the late-afternoon class. Cecelia picked up Tyler from his summer camp, took him home and got dinner started. By the time Nicole had wrapped things up and driven across Mischief Bay, it was usually close to six when she walked in the door. But still a much better arrangement than when she’d been teaching until seven or eight at night.

  In the early days of her separation from Eric, she’d had a nanny—at Eric’s insistence. Nicole had kept her until she’d been able to cut back her own work hours. Not only wasn’t she the nanny type, she preferred to take care of Tyler herself.

  Her cell phone chirped and she glanced down to see she had a text from Gabby.

  Checking in to say hi, her friend typed.

  I’m good. Anymore kissing?

  Not that I’ve seen. What about you? Any kissing at all?

  Nicole chuckled. Very funny. No and no. Did I mention no?

  LOL. TTYS

  She put down her phone and checked to make sure the right play mix was in place. She’d changed it out for her own workout earlier. She had a feeling that her clients wouldn’t really appreciate her strange combination of country and rap. It was confusing at best.