We both leaned back against the couch. She ended up curled up with her head in my lap where I stroked and stroked her hair. I finally asked, “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I told him that by the time I got home he better have a bag packed because he wasn’t staying at the house.”
Good for her. I was worried she wasn’t going to stand up for herself. “Did he agree?”
“He begged me not to leave. He wants to work it out. He was crying. I’ve never seen him cry. I wanted to slap him for it.”
“You should have.”
“Maybe I will. But I don’t want to see him right now.”
“What are you going to tell the kids?”
“I told him he was going to tell the kids what a lying, cheating jerk he was.”
I was really proud of her. “Do you think he will?”
“He said he would do anything if we could work it out. He should have thought of that before. You know what the worst part is?”
“What?”
“I thought he finally got it. You know that saying that sex starts in the kitchen?”
“No. I mean it can start there. You can even have it there.”
A small laugh escaped her. “Not when you have kids.”
“I guess that would put a damper on it.”
“Lots of things have put a damper on it in our lives. But these last couple of weeks have been like we were newlyweds again, except better. It’s amazing how good sex is when you have help around the house and aren’t so tired. I had no idea. But . . .” More tears. “It was all a lie because he was only doing it out of guilt. Everything, the trip, the jewelry, the sex every day wasn’t because he loved me. It was because, as usual, he was selfish.”
“Please let me hurt him.”
“I’m so humiliated.”
“Don’t you dare let him make you feel that way. This is all him.”
“It feels like all me. I asked him if she was pretty and young. He wouldn’t say, which means she probably was.”
“No, Abby. I can’t believe I’m even partially defending him here, but he probably doesn’t want you to think about it or compare yourself.”
“How can I not? It’s all I’ve thought about since he told me after we made love tonight. I made an offhand comment about what you had said and I immediately saw the guilt in his eyes. I thought he loved me.”
Some type of bodily harm was going to happen to him. How dare he do this Abby.
“My life has revolved around him and our kids. I’ve given him everything I have. I know I haven’t been perfect. I’ve nagged too much and obviously I’m not a size six anymore. But did I really deserve this?”
“Abs, Abs, no. I know you don’t believe this, but I promise you, it’s not you.”
“Then why?”
“Did you ask him?”
“He said she made him feel wanted and attractive. He said he hadn’t felt that way in a long time.”
“What a piece of—”
“But,” she interrupted. “He says the last couple of weeks have made him realize how much he’s taken me for granted and that he should put more effort into our relationship. He forgot how fun marriage could be. That’s when I left. How come he needed an affair to tell him that?”
“I can’t answer that, but this I know. You are the best person I know. And I’m here for you.”
“I love you.”
“Right back at ya, Abs, right back at ya.”
Chapter Ten
I had fallen asleep sitting up with Abby’s head in my lap. It was still there when the sun came up. My body ached from the weird position I had fallen asleep in. But I was happy Abby was finally able to rest. And I wanted to keep it that way, so when her phone started vibrating in her bag she had dropped by my door when she came in, I carefully maneuvered out from under her and limped over to get it as fast as my body would allow. I was feeling my age more than I wanted to.
It was Shane calling. I almost answered it and told him off, but I looked at Abby passed out on my couch and decided it could wait. But I did reject the call. It looked like he had called over a dozen times and left about that many text messages. Each one declaring how sorry he was and begging her to come home.
So I texted his sorry butt back. This is Cheyenne. If you know what’s good for you, quit contacting her and pack your bags, buddy. First, though, take care of your kids this morning. I know how hard that is for you, but suck it up, buttercup. Clean the house while you’re at it. And pray you don’t run into me anytime soon.
I covered up Abby with a blanket and took her phone with me while I showered. I hobbled up my stairs and headed to my master bath. While I got clean I thought of ways to torture Shane. The first was to take Abby shopping. She was going to do some serious damage to their bank account. The cheapskate wasn’t going to know what hit him. Next, we were cutting her hair. Shane liked her to keep it long, but really her facial structure called for shoulder length. And I always thought with her green eyes and fair complexion she could rock red hair. I knew the perfect shade. That was so happening today. Next was the revenge body. I thought she was beautiful and it killed me that she didn’t see it. Well, she was going to. We were going to be hitting the gym and drinking power smoothies until she felt like a million bucks.
For him personally I had to be careful and make it seem accidental. I also didn’t want to leave Abby and the kids without financial support. Because I really hoped she was leaving his butt and taking him to town for alimony and child support. That would kill him in and of itself. Good plan.
By the time I was out of the shower Abby had received a few more calls, but this time from Jessie. It was barely seven in the morning.
I called her back on Abby’s phone. “Jessie, it’s me.”
“Shane just called. Is Abby okay?”
“What do you think?”
“I can’t believe it.”
“Neither could she. She’s a mess.”
“So is Shane.”
“I couldn’t care less.”
“Cheyenne, I know. I’m not happy with him either, but we have to be careful.”
“Careful?”
“We’re talking about a family here.”
“One he obviously doesn’t care about.”
“Yes, he made a huge mistake, but they have to decide what’s best or whether or not they try to work it out.”
“All I care about is Abby right now.”
“What about Connor, Avery, and Isabelle?”
“I love them.”
“Think about what a divorce would do to them before you try and talk Abby into anything.”
I thought for a second. “Fine.”
“I’m coming over.”
“If you must.”
“Cheyenne, I’m sorry about last night. You were right. And I’m not taking Shane’s side, I swear. But we don’t want to make a bad situation worse.”
“You didn’t see her last night. I don’t know how much worse this can get.”
“Poor thing. I’m on my way.”
By the time I dressed, threw my hair up, and applied the essentials—moisturizer and mascara—Jessie was there in her night shirt with shorts thrown under it and looking like she had barely rolled out of bed. She held a bag of what I hoped was food. I let her in before she could knock. Abby was still dead to the world. She needed it. We had talked until the wee hours of the morning.
Jessie hugged me tight. “I’m glad she’s here.”
I think she hadn’t gone to Jessie’s because I wouldn’t be the voice of reason.
“Me too.”
“I brought breakfast.”
“Fabulous. I’m starved.”
We sat at my kitchen table, which rarely got any use.
“How long has she been asleep?” Jessie handed me one of the homemade cinnamon rolls she always made for her Sunday School class. I didn’t think she was making it to church today.
“A few hours.”
“I’m surprised she’s able to sleep at all.”
“If I cried as much as she did, I would probably need at least a day to recover.”
“What did she say? Shane didn’t go into a lot of detail, he only said he really screwed up. I could guess the rest.”
I regurgitated the sordid affair.
Jessie kept shaking her head. “What was he thinking? I thought they were the one couple that had it all together. He’s the last person I ever thought would do this.”
“I think they’ve been struggling and Abby was too embarrassed to say.”
“I wish she would have.”
“Me too.”
“But, I get it. I know how hard it is to admit your marriage is in trouble.”
She did have firsthand knowledge. She almost called it quits with Blake a few years back. I had to give it to Blake—he stepped it up. But I always knew he could. I’d always been envious of the way he looked at Jessie. I could see that he loved her. With Shane, I wasn’t sure. He played the part sometimes, but I always saw him as selfish. Abby catered to his wants and wishes, putting herself last, and he was okay with it.
“Now it’s on life support.” I took a bite of ecstasy.
Jessie gave me a coy grin. “Not to make light of what has happened, but you need to tell me what happened with Aidan and Paxton last night.”
I kept chewing and ignored her.
“Oh, come on. Last night, Paxton went off on Aidan for kissing you. And Aidan told him to keep his hands off you.”
The piqued my interest. I set down my cinnamon roll and smirked.
“Did Paxton hurt you?”
I thought back to the way he grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go. It bothered me, but if Aidan hadn’t shown up I would have given Paxton a repeat of my knee in his groin. “No.”
Jessie visibly relaxed before going right back at me. “Spill, Cheyenne. What’s up between you and Aidan?”
“I’d like to know that too.”
Jessie and I both turned to find our best friend running her fingers through her hair, looking like the walking dead. Abby sat between us. Jessie and I each took one of her hands.
“I don’t want to talk about me right now.” She squeezed our hands. “Tell us about Aidan because we know you’ve been lying to us.”
“I haven’t been lying, I’ve just been keeping things from you.”
They laughed. It was good to hear Abby’s laughter. She was tougher than I think we gave her credit for sometimes.
“So what have you been keeping from us?” Jessie was salivating for the skinny.
I took a deep breath. I supposed there was no use in keeping it to myself anymore. I ruined that yesterday. “There really isn’t anything going on between us other than some fantastic, bordering on earth-shattering kisses.”
“What?” they blurted out in unison.
“Since when?” Jessie asked.
“Rachel and Andrew’s Christmas party.” I acted as if it was no big deal.
Both of their eyes bulged.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Abby was offended.
“Because we hate each other and it meant nothing.”
“Aidan doesn’t hate you.” Jessie looked to Abby to confirm that statement.
Abby nodded her agreement of the assessment.
“Have you seen the way he looks at me?”
“Yeah. And now it makes sense. He wants you.” Jessie grinned.
“You have it all wrong. He admitted to me that he didn’t want to like me.”
Abby and Jessie looked between each other and laughed.
“Why is that so funny?”
Abby bit her lip. “Well . . . you have to admit you probably aren’t exactly his type.”
“Meaning?”
“Oh, come on, Cheyenne.” Jessie stepped in. “Aidan is very . . . churchy.”
“That hasn’t stopped him from shoving his tongue down my throat.”
My friends giggled.
“And it doesn’t matter anyway, because I hate him.”
Abby leaned toward me. “So why are you kissing him?”
I sat back and sighed. “First, I did it to shut him up, but ever since that night I can’t quit thinking about him. And then he had to go and save my life.”
“That bothers you?” Jessie asked.
“Yes! He makes me feel . . . I don’t know how to explain it, but I wish it would go away. That he would go away.”
Abby squeezed my hand. “I’m glad he was there. And from everything he’s said, he is too.”
“He has a funny way of showing it unless his lips are on mine.”
Jessie’s eyebrow arched in perfect fashion. “You like him.”
“Not at all. I’m done with men. All of them. Period.” All I had to do was look at Abby to reaffirm that choice. After eighteen years of marriage, look what happened to her. Jessie and Blake were lucky they made it to seventeen.
“I can’t say I blame you.” Abby sighed. “But . . .”
“But what?”
“What if Aidan is exactly the kind of man you need?”
“I don’t need a man.” I made sure of it.
“That’s not what I meant.” Abby peered into my eyes. “But you’ve never had a relationship that has lasted more than a few months. Maybe you need different; maybe you deserve different.”
I gave her a small smile so she would know I appreciated the thought. “I’m exactly where I intended to be.”
“But is that the right place?” Jessie asked.
Chapter Eleven
Of course it was the right place, because I said it was. I put a stop to the Aidan talk after that. We had Abby to focus on. And we did for the rest of the day. We headed over to my salon and I pampered both my best friends. Abby rocked the red hair and new layered, shoulder-length cut. I was sorry for what had happened to her, but it was one of the best days I’d had in forever. Jessie and Abby were my family, and I hated that I had to share them. The day didn’t last nearly long enough for me, but they were both missing their kids, and Abby knew she had to face home.
Jessie and I offered to go with her, but for the kids’ sake she felt like she needed to go alone. She talked briefly on the phone with Shane and they decided that he would tell the kids when she got there. I was proud of her for telling him he couldn’t stay there. I heard the idiot blubbering on the other end. What did he think was going to happen?
My vote was for her to leave him. I knew a fantastic divorce attorney out of Denver. He kissed almost as good as Aidan. His usual cliental was the ultra-wealthy, but I’m sure I could talk him into taking Abby. I had my ways. For her sake I would break my vow of . . . I wasn’t sure what I was calling it, celibacy seemed wrong and like I was doing it for some moral reason. How about hiatus? I bet I could even make him take her pro bono. He really liked me. And like me, he wasn’t ever planning on getting married. He’d had his own messy divorce and he saw what people did in the name of love every day. I would be keeping him on speed-dial.
Before any phone calls were made, I needed a nap. I was out of practice staying up all night, and typically it was a lot more fun and with a male. I had a feeling, though, I was going to have a lot of late nights with Abby. I would be there for her and her kiddos. I wasn’t going to spread that around, but for Abby and Jessie I would do anything.
Monday saw me doing that. Reality was settling in with Abby, and when Abby was upset, she cleaned. Like using a toothbrush in the corner cleaning. It wasn’t pretty and the kids took the brunt of it. It’s a sad day when I’m the voice of sanity. I had to rescue the Parker children from a terrible fate of spending their last week of summer break on their hands and knees scrubbing any and every surface in their home. I took their place instead.
The scene at the Parker home was something I had never experienced there. Besides Abby’s manic state, Connor looked like he was going to punch someone, most likely his dad. Avery worried me the most. She was quiet like Abby and hid her emotions well. S
he was trying to be a good helper to her mom, but her eyes told me she was torn up inside. And then there was my mini-me, Isabelle. She was letting it all out, weeping and wailing. She missed her daddy and didn’t understand anything except he was gone and he had done something bad. I think her reaction killed Abby more than anything. It made her feel guilty for kicking Shane out.
I only did what I knew how to. I bribed Isabelle with an American Girl doll. Abby wasn’t thrilled, but hey, she quit crying and I got a big hug and kiss out of it. It did mean that I had to slip some serious cash to Avery and Connor. I told them to keep that on the down low unless their mom discovered it. That’s all we needed, for Abby to think her kids were into some shady business.
She was a complete wreck already. It didn’t help that we were cleaning out her closet and she happened upon her wedding dress hanging in a garment bag. I tried to swipe it from her before she unzipped it, but she’s stronger than she looks.
“Do remember how beautiful my wedding was?”
“I remember making out with your cousin from California. What was his name?”
Her lip twitched. She was in no shape for smiling. “Brant.” She ran her hand over the lace gown that wasn’t quite as white as it used to be. “How did it all go so wrong?”
I handed her a tissue. I came prepared today. And I listened. How did I answer a question like that? My answer would have been it was a mistake from the beginning, but I was sure she didn’t want to hear that.
She used several tissues to blow her nose. I was surprised she had any mucus or tears left. She rubbed the dress as if it was a genie in a bottle and she could make a wish for this all to go away. “Shane wants to me to go and see Pastor Bates with him.”
“Why?”
Cheyenne (The Women of Merryton Book 4) Page 8
