by Ann, Natalie
He sniffed. “No, seems fine to me.”
She tried again and her face turned green. “Sorry, I can’t do it. I think my mind is drifting back to that spoiled milk on your deck Saturday.” She gagged slightly, and placed the carton on the counter.
“Here, I’ll do it, because I want pancakes.” He poured the milk in, watched her mix it all, saw that she seemed fine now as she poured the batter on the griddle, then went to get dressed for work, laughing at her reaction.
Hearts
“Mommy, someone’s here,” Zoe called. Beth walked in from the kitchen where she was making a fruit salad for Zoe to snack on this week. Pushing back the curtain, she frowned at the large Mercedes parked behind her little Honda. When she noticed the Vermont plates, she stiffened and asked Zoe to play in her room.
Taking a deep breath, Beth opened the front door and saw Paula Malone standing in front of her. Unsure of what she could be doing here, and dreading that it couldn’t be good news or even a friendly visit, she reluctantly invited her in. “Mrs. Malone, if you’re looking for Mac he’s at work right now,” she offered.
Paula looked around the tiny apartment with her nose held high. Beth knew it was clean enough, no doubt about it, but well below Paula’s standards. “I’m not here to see Mackenzie. I’m here to see you.”
“OK,” she answered hesitantly. “Please come in. Would you like something to drink?” She led her to the living room and offered her a seat.
“No, thank you, I won’t be here long. There’s no need to even sit down,” Paula said, glancing briefly at the slipcovered couches in the small room and wrinkling her nose.
“What can I do for you then?” Beth asked, her patience wearing thin. She was proud of her little apartment and didn’t need someone coming in and turning up her nose at it. Luckily, she could hear Zoe playing in her bedroom a few feet away and hoped she would stay there for a bit longer, because deep down she knew whatever Paula had to say wasn’t going to be well received.
“I’m sure you know why I’m here,” Paula stated plainly.
“No. I’m really not sure. I’m not even sure how you found out where I live.”
“I keep tabs on Mackenzie and the women he dates. I always have, of course. We have a family name to carry on, and I want to make sure he is going to keep up those standards.”
Paula paused, looked around the tiny room again, then looked at Beth, who was dressed in cotton shorts and a simple T-shirt, standing in front of her barefoot, the complete opposite of Paula’s perfect tailored pant suit. “Regrettably, once again, he hasn’t adhered to those standards, so I’m afraid I have to take it upon myself to rectify the situation.”
“Excuse me?” Beth pulled herself up straight, towering over Mac’s mother by half a foot, a nasty gleam coming into her eyes as they narrowed on her, her teeth all but grinding. Enough was enough, this was her home. “I’m not up to your standards.”
“Of course you aren’t, dear.” Paula laughed cruelly, her eyes cold as steel. “Look around you. You’ve only seen a glimpse of our wealth and family.” She stopped and shook her head, all but a sneer forming around her lovely face. “Rest assured, you aren’t even close, you or that child of yours.”
Suddenly a red haze flashed before Beth’s eyes, hot and heavy, burning her retinas and making her inhale sharply. It was bad enough to insult her, she was used to it. She actually expected something like this when she started dating Mac, but she didn’t expect it to this extent. Nor did she expect it from his mother.
But she would be damned if she would let Zoe be judged. “I don’t know how you think you can rectify anything,” she said in a tight clipped tone. “But I think you should leave now.” She was barely able to control the anger creeping in but refused to yell and upset Zoe in the other room.
“Very well,” Paula stated. “But here, maybe this will change your mind.”
Beth looked down at the white envelope in Paula’s hand and felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
“Go on, take it, and open it up. In exchange for what’s in that envelope, you will have a sudden change of heart where Mackenzie is concerned. I don’t care what reason you give him, but end it. Use this to move away if you need to, there is plenty there,” she assured Beth.
Looking at a white envelope in front of her for the second time in her life brought back all the tears and frustrations of her childhood. All the things she fought to change, all the things she wanted for Zoe. Refusing to take it and lay down this time, Beth shook her head, adamantly. “No, I can’t be bought. If Mac doesn’t want to be with me, then it comes from him. Same thing with me, if I decide I don’t want to be with him, then it comes from me, not because either one of us was forced.”
Paula tilted her head to the side, almost like she couldn’t fathom Beth wasn’t doing her bidding. “You aren’t even curious how much is here? It’s a certified check, and Mackenzie need never know about it. I assure you, it’s more money than you’ve ever seen before, probably more than you may ever see again,” she said, mocking her.
Beth paused, reached out and took the envelope out of Paula’s hand. Then watched her knowing smile, letting Paula think she won, and at that moment in time when Paula smiled triumphantly, Beth had no doubt what she was going to do. Looking down at the envelope for a few seconds, turning it around in her hand, she contemplated opening it, watching Paula’s eyes start to gleam with pleasure. And then she promptly tore it to shreds, opening her palm and letting all the pieces float to the floor. She lifted her arm and pointed to the door, her voice shaking with rage. “Get out of my house. Now. Don’t come back and maybe I won’t tell Mac what you were doing here today.”
Paula scowled. Her beautiful face, so much like Mac’s and Brooke’s, now turned ugly with a fury she was likely feeling that someone as low as Beth, in Paula’s world, wouldn’t bend over and do as she told. “Don’t think you’ll get another offer, and don’t think for a minute Mackenzie will believe a word you say.” She turned and walked out the door, her back held ramrod straight.
***
“Mac, I hope you don’t mind I brought a few extra players,” Ryan said, walking into the guest suite of Mac’s house Saturday night.
Mac had been looking forward to a poker night all summer long, and finally managed to work out a weekend where everyone was in town and not on-call. He didn’t even care it was Labor Day weekend or that most of the people in the room were at his house the week before for Brooke and Zoe’s birthday.
“No problem at all.” Mac reached out and shook Alec Harper’s hand, of Harper Construction, then noticed the man next to him and assumed it was one of his brothers.
Ryan verified Mac’s thoughts. “You obviously remember Alec, who I’m sure you are hoping to win some of your money back from,” he said with a friendly laugh. “This is one of his brothers, Ben. I tried to get Phil here, but he had plans with his girlfriend.”
Mac looked at Ben, only an inch shorter and built like a brick wall, his short-cropped hair, arms crossed in front of his chest—a total contradiction to the smile on his face. Mac knew ex-military when he saw it.
“The more the merrier. Come on in, you know your way around,” Mac told Alec. “Lucas is upstairs with Jack bringing down food that Beth and Brooke made earlier, and Thomas should be here any minute.”
Thirty minutes later, all the men were seated around the table, chips stacked in front of them forming a large pile in the center.
Thomas was staring all the young men down, most likely trying to read their tells. But it was a tough group. Mac knew that Thomas had taught Ryan and Lucas well, knew when they were bluffing and when they had a stacked hand. Alec Harper was easy enough to read. Ben on the other hand had no tells that anyone had witnessed so far, and it was a bit scary that his eyes showed no emotion at all. Thankfully he didn’t seem to have much luck tonight.
Mac was more cheerful or joked more when he was bluffing, and he did it on purpose, just to throw everyone off. But Jac
k, he was the toughest one to read so far, and was doing a good job winning half the hands and changing up his tells. The night was young, though.
“What happened to your hands? Why are they shining like that?” Lucas asked Mac.
Before he could answer, Ryan looked over. “You got a manicure. Looks good,” he stated seriously.
The rest of the men at the table laughed. Mac actually had the grace to look embarrassed. He still didn’t know how Beth managed to talk him into it, though he had to admit it felt good, and his hands were softer now. It probably was better when dealing with the infants, unfortunately the last thing he expected was anyone to notice it. Least of all, his brother-in-law.
Lucas chuckled good-naturedly. “Only you would say that, Ryan. The rest of us don’t need our hands to be soft and shiny.”
Jack grinned pleasantly. “My hands are more important than most and I don’t care if they are soft and shiny. Besides, I could only imagine Cori’s reaction if I did get a manicure. I’m not sure she would ever let me live it down,” he said with a small shake of his head.
Alec Harper seemed to be enjoying the banter around the table. He had seen Beth a few times, even elbowed Mac in the ribs and raised an eyebrow at him a time or two. “If I had someone that looked like Beth, I think I would do pretty much anything she asked of me with a smile on my face, and a thank you ma’am right after.”
Mac looked over and laughed, he couldn’t agree more. “See, Lucas. Some of us know how to play the ladies.”
Ben Harper looked around the table at the group. Jack and Mac were new to Ben, but the Mathews brothers were childhood friends. “I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t need to play any of the ladies, they come to me just fine. Rough hands and all. Some of them like it that way.”
Ryan, sitting next to Ben, elbowed him. “That’s because women like a man in a uniform, but you aren’t the only one the women come to. And I don’t even wear a uniform.” He laughed a little, then turned his head to Mac. “Mac here is whipped, plain and simple, though I can’t say I blame him.” He winked, causing everyone at the table to laugh again.
Alec, never one to hold back, looked at Ryan. “You wait, your day will come.”
Ryan snorted, shook his head, obviously refusing to be bated. “Not going to happen. I know how to keep them hanging on long enough, and then push them on their way without a fuss.”
Ben reached back in his wallet and pulled out a bill. “I’ve got a Benjamin right here that says not only will Ryan fall—and fall hard—but the unlucky woman is going to give him a run for his money and bring him to his knees.”
The laughter erupted around the room, but not before everyone threw down the money accepting the bet. Ryan looked down at the five crisp hundred-dollar bills on the table, pulled out his own wallet, lifting several bills. “Double or nothing. Never going to happen,” he said with finality.
“Are we done making Ryan sweat? Because I want to win some of my money back from Jack over there,” Thomas interrupted, reaching forward and pulling in the pot of money against Ryan. “I’ll hold on to this for safe keeping, because nothing would make his mother happier than to see him lose.”
***
“Zoe, come back here,” Beth called out two hours later when Zoe ran down the steps to the poker game.
“I want to say good night to Dr. Mac,” she cried out, causing all the men to raise their eyebrows over the name.
“She’s fine, Beth. Come here, sweetie. Come give me a kiss for luck; everyone is taking my money tonight,” he complained.
Zoe gladly went over and climbed into his lap to rest her head on his shoulder and give him a hug. Her eyes rested on Thomas’s cards next to Mac, and she excitedly pointed. “Lots of hearts.” Everyone roared with laughter.
Mortified, Beth went to grab Zoe. “Come on. Let’s go take your bath and get ready for bed and leave the men to their game.”
Ben said, “Let her stay. Maybe some of us can win a hand or so. Zoe, go sit on Jack’s lap now.” That statement caused the group to laugh even louder.
Beth looked at the newcomer she hadn’t met and saw a striking resemblance to Alec. She sent him a tentative smile and made another grab for Zoe. “Come on, sweetie, you can see the men another time.”
But Zoe only clung to Mac’s neck harder. “Go on, Beth, run her bath and get it ready. She is fine here with us for a few minutes.”
She hesitated a second, but complied. “Only a few minutes, Zoe. Then no arguments.”
“Thank you, Mommy.”
Beth smiled and made her way back upstairs.
Mean Witch
Zoe was content to sit on Mac’s lap while another hand was dealt. Only when she saw the queen that Mac was holding, she shivered and exclaimed, “The mean witch.”
Everyone found humor in it, except Mac, who groaned. “Thanks, Zoe.”
Zoe, oblivious to what she had said continued on, thinking Mac was happy with her announcement. “She’s a mean mommy.”
“Zoe,” Mac said, scowling. “You don’t say your mommy is mean. That’s not very nice.”
Not understanding what she did wrong, she put her bottom lip out and started to pout, her eyes filling with tears. “Not my mommy. My mommy is nice. Your mommy is mean. She makes my mommy mad. Then makes Mommy cry.”
Mac stilled, and the room became quiet. “What, Zoe? When did my mother make Mommy cry? After dinner last weekend?”
“No. After. When Mommy and I were home making fruit,” she said, reaching forward to run a tiny finger absently over one of Mac’s poker chips.
Mac was confused, until his mind drifted to Beth’s day off. Zoe had been eating a bowl of fruit when he stopped over after work. Beth had seemed awfully quiet that night but said she was tired, that she was fighting a bug or something.
He went to stand up, only to have Lucas lay a hand on his arm and ask Zoe, “What did she say to make Mommy cry?”
Mac shot Lucas a warning look that he only ignored, pressing Zoe on. “Do you remember why Mommy got angry or cried, Zoe?”
With her head on Mac’s chest, she leaned down and picked up his cards to play with them, ignoring the chips for now, and started to chatter away without a care in the world. Or the fact that six sets of male eyes were watching. “She told Mommy to go away and Mommy got mad. Then Mac’s mommy gave her a card.”
Heat he never felt before rushed up his neck and over his face while he fought not to storm up the stairs to find out exactly what happened.
But Lucas was watching him, and questioning Zoe like the lawyer he was. “A card, huh? Do you know what the card looked like?” he asked with a bright smile for Zoe.
“No. Mommy was mad. She never gets mad, but she ripped it up. Little pieces everywhere. She didn’t even look at it first,” she said with a frown.
Lucas’s smile widened. “Good for her.”
Zoe continued on, “Mac’s mommy got mad and looked like a mean witch then,” she said, holding up the queen of hearts. “But Mommy told her to leave, and she did. Then Mommy cried and it scared me,” she said sadly. “I don’t like Mommy crying,” Zoe said as she turned her sad eyes on Mac’s face.
Mac was shaking, and he knew everyone at the table could see it. He went to stand up again, but this time Thomas stopped him, and calmly stated, “Not now, Mac. She seemed fine, just let it go for now.”
“Zoe, come on, honey,” Beth called from the top of the stairs as she made her way down. She looked around the room, full of solemn faces, then must have noticed the pile of chips in front of Jack and drew her own conclusion. Joking, she said, “Really Jack, I never would have thought you were such a card shark.”
Smiles returned around the table. She leaned down, and grabbed Zoe, but Mac pulled her forward by the back of her head, kissed her, and whispered against her lips, “I love you,” before letting her stand back up.
She smiled back softly, then leaned forward and gave him another kiss. “Love you, too. See you later tonight.”
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“Zoe,” Jack called out. He was the only one Zoe hadn’t warmed up to, but he still had a soft spot for her, everyone knew. “Who’s going to be the big winner tonight?”
Zoe paused, and looked around the room. Her bright blue eyes landed on Mac, but then she surprised everyone and said, “Thomas.”
“That’s my girl. All these young ones think they know what they are doing,” he said eyeing Mac. “But they’ve got a lot to learn.”
Made More
Mac made his way up the two flights of stairs hours later, wary and empty—not just his pockets, either. Thomas had been right, it was best that he let it go for now. There was no use causing a scene. Beth would have been embarrassed, and he was afraid she spent most of her life either embarrassed or ashamed of exactly what happened to her this week. There seemed to be no escaping it for her, and he didn’t want to add to it, least of all right now.
He was pleased, though, when Zoe told him Beth ripped the card up without looking. That said something to him. Beth couldn’t be bought. He must have meant more to her than any amount of money, and he couldn’t fight the feeling of pride that she was his, because not too many women would have done that. Not after a short three months. Maybe, just maybe she was finally starting to believe in him.
Undressed, he slid under the sheets next to her. Needing reassurance, he placed his arm around her chest and pulled her sleeping form closer. She moaned slightly, pulled back a bit, and then snuggled back further as her breathing stayed level. Surprisingly, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.
The next morning he woke at six, his body not caring that it was Sunday morning or that he only had about five hours of sleep. He was still huddled against Beth’s back and soon his hand was roaming higher, up and over her breasts. Her body started to shift closer, then a tiny moan escaped her lips.
