Unexpected

by Jenny Frame

  “I’m working my way up to it. Next stop is mince, neeps, and tatties. I think Jake would appreciate tasting some Scottish delicacies.”

  “I take it that’s minced beef, turnip, and potatoes?”

  Dale laughed. “Aye, posh girl.”

  “Posh girl?” Becca said with mock anger.

  “I’ll take your bags if you can hold something for me.”

  Dale retrieved a plastic bag from her car and gave it to Becca, then walked up to the house.

  Becca took out an intricate and highly polished wooden box and a checkerboard. “This is beautiful, Dale. Where did you get it?”

  Dale put the bags on the countertop, joined Becca at the table, and opened the brass clasp on the box. Inside was a set of beautifully carved chess pieces. “My Granda. He was a joiner by trade, and he made these for me when I went to chess club. The club went to lots of tournaments, so I needed something to practice with. I thought Jake might like it since he’s started learning the game.”

  Becca reached out and touched Dale’s tattoo, before pulling her hand away quickly. “Um, I better get these bags of shopping put away.”

  Dale leaned against the countertop with her arms crossed. She saw want in Becca’s eyes and she wanted her right back. Becca had nearly touched her but pulled away. Dale kicked herself mentally for not taking control and touching Becca herself.

  She watched Becca closely as she put away the shopping, taking in Becca’s gentle curves, her ample breasts that she longed to take in her hands, and her gorgeous bottom that she longed to caress. This feeling was different, this was new—to experience an ache in her heart as well as an ache in her sex. Both sensations made Dale’s desire for Becca all the more intense.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Dale,” Becca said suddenly.

  Dale had felt the energy between them since she’d pulled up in the car, but she needed Becca to say it. “What look?”

  “The look that probably makes all the girls fall at your feet.”

  Dale pushed off from the counter and stalked towards her, Becca’s breathing getting shorter with every passing second.

  Dale stopped and boxed her in against the countertop. “What about posh girls?”

  Becca couldn’t stop herself, not any more. She wanted to taste Dale and understand every part of her. She nodded. “Posh girls especially.”

  Dale smiled ever so slightly and leaned in to kiss her. The first touch of Dale’s lips was unbelievably soft, nothing like she had first imagined someone like her to be. As Dale kissed her and teased her lips so softly, Becca felt like she was melting.

  In fact her knees weakened and Dale supported her with one arm around her, while the other grasped and then caressed Becca’s thigh and buttock. They were connected both physically and mentally, making the moment much more intense.

  Dale’s tongue softly ran along her top lip, and then slipped inside, making Becca moan.

  Parts of Becca long dormant came alive, and alive was what Dale had made her feel. Dale had crashed into her life and wakened everything from its long slumber.

  Dale pulled back and rested her forehead against Becca’s, her eyes still closed. “I’ve been wanting to do that for the longest time.”

  “Posh girls—” Becca was interrupted by the ringing of her mobile.

  Dale said, “Leave it.”

  Becca sighed. “I can’t. It might be the school.”

  They pulled apart and Becca answered the call. “Hello?”

  It was the bank, and her stomach dropped when they told her the news on her mortgage application. “Please? There must be some mistake. It’s a large piece of land, even if the buildings…”

  There was no point in arguing with the bank clerk. The decision was already made. She hung up the phone.

  “It’s over.” Becca was overcome by a wave of dizziness, but Dale grasped her as she swayed.

  “I’ve got you, hen. Come and sit.”

  Dale sat her down before she fell. Becca held her head in her hands and she couldn’t even cry. She just felt numb.

  * * *

  Dale made an excuse to get out of the house. She headed out to the garage, leaving a devastated Becca in the kitchen.

  She dialled Trent’s number.

  “Trent, have you contacted Eugene yet?”

  “I called, made the offer, and I’m waiting on his reply.”

  Dale growled in frustration. “Well chase it up. The bank has just turned down Becca’s application and she’s really upset. She’s talking about putting the vicarage up for sale.”

  “Jesus Christ, look, you don’t just chase up Hardy—”

  “Just fucking do it, Trent. I have the money in my business account. Email me your details and transfer it.”

  “I’ll do my best, and don’t swear at me again, McGuire.”

  “Fine. Pretty fucking please, remember our deal.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” Trent hung up.

  Dale looked at her phone and said, “Yeah, love you too, Trent.”

  She heard the noise of an engine, and Jake’s school bus came around the corner. She didn’t know if she should run inside and warn Becca he was home or not.

  Jake got off the bus and walked dejectedly up the drive, kicking loose stones as he went.

  Great, another Harper in need of cheering up. Dale hurried over to him and said, “Hey, wee man. What’s up?”

  Jake smiled briefly when he realized who it was, and then ran into her arms, crying.

  “What’s the matter?” She held him tightly, worried about what was wrong, but at the same time pleased he’d run to her. Just like Mia ran to Sammy.

  “I can’t kick…kick…a ball,” Jake stammered through his tears.

  Dale had no idea what he meant. “Just tell me what happened. Slow down, okay?”

  Jake nodded and wiped his tears on his jacket. “At school. We’re doing football for six weeks in gym. I can’t kick a ball or catch, and all the kids were laughing at me.”

  It hurt and upset Dale how upset Jake was. It was amazing that a boy so intelligent, much more intelligent than herself, could lack a simple, basic skill. Well, she was going to fix it.

  “Jake, you go and see your mum. Tell her I’ll be back in about twenty-five minutes, and then you and me are going to play football. You can do anything you want to, Jake—you just need to practice.”

  “Thanks. I’ll try,” Jake said.

  Dale kissed his head and said, “Oh, and ask your mummy to show you the present I brought you.”

  * * *

  Ash walked into her lover’s office, a smug sense of satisfaction showing on her face. “I think I’ve found her.”

  Nika turned around quickly. “Found who, and where have you been all day yesterday and today?”

  “Working, like Daddy asked me to.”

  Ash locked the office door and walked around the office lowering the blinds, and then sat on the desk.

  Nika stepped towards her. “You’ve got something, baby?”

  Ash pulled her between her legs, and grasped her hips. “Oh, I have. What would you say if I told you I’ve found Victoria Carter?”

  Nika gasped. “Carter? The Victoria Carter? But no one knows where she went. She disappeared off the face of the earth.”

  Ash laughed. “Yeah, well I found her, and I’m going to get an interview with her. Do you know what that would mean? An exclusive interview with the inside scoop on Thomas Carter and Eugene Hardy for the Tribune?”

  Ash spun a smiling Nika against the desk and started to kiss and bite her neck, making Nika gasp.

  “My God, Ash. This will be huge!”

  “I know. A Eugene Hardy story alone would push circulation up, but the daughter of Thomas and Carlotta Carter, who’s tried to hide from the public all this time? Pure hundred carat gold. I told you I would impress Daddy, didn’t I?”

  Ash was buzzing. After all this time, Vic had fallen back in her lap, and she had mileage for lots and lots more stori
es.

  “I knew you would, baby. He will be so, so impressed. So impressed that I think he’ll want to announce our engagement.” Nika kissed her deeply.

  And once I get that ring on your finger, this office will be mine.

  Ash pushed Nika down on the desk, and took her lover’s hand and placed it on her belt. “I think I deserve a thank you.”

  * * *

  Becca had been in lots of stressful, dire situations since her father had been arrested. Each time there had always seemed like there was hope, some conceivable way out of the situation, but today felt like she had come to the end of the road. Her situation was hopeless.

  She walked over to the kitchen window and gazed out at Dale teaching Jake how to kick a ball.

  Her heart warmed at the sight, despite her worries. Dale would be a perfect other parent for Jake. He clearly adored her, and Dale gave him something she didn’t and was so kind and gentle with him.

  Why did this have to happen now? Becca knew she had feelings for Dale. She had been slowly falling in love with her, with each passing bad joke and act of kindness. But could they explore what was between them when she was going to have to sell up and leave?

  I want you, Dale, but is it all too weird for us?

  Becca jumped when she saw Trent in the garden. Strangely, Trent stopped beside Dale. Dale said something, and Trent nodded before coming to the kitchen door.

  She opened the door. “Trent? What’s going on?”

  “I’ve got some good news.” Trent smiled.

  “I could do with some. Come in and sit down.” Becca pulled out a kitchen chair for her.

  Trent opened her briefcase, brought out a paper, and handed it to Becca. “If you read that, you’ll find that it says Eugene Hardy acknowledges your debt paid in full.”

  Becca stared and stared at the paper, trying to comprehend the words and what Trent had just said, but it just wasn’t going in. “I don’t understand. Tell me what this means.”

  Trent clasped her hands and looked down at the table. “I overlooked another trust set up by your grandmother. She must have made it and forgotten about it, because there was only one piece of paperwork on it. I checked the original files from before the office was computerized, and there it was, large as life. But the main thing is, it was enough to pay off your debt. You’re free, Becca.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Trent, I really can’t thank you enough. You can’t imagine the horrible dread I’ve been feeling, and you’ve taken it all away in an instant. Jake and I are free from the past and everything connected with it. I mean, I wish I had known my grandmother left more money.”

  If Becca hadn’t have been seven months pregnant, she would have been doing cartwheels, she was so happy.

  Trent sighed and put down her coffee cup. “Can I ask you a question, Becca?”

  “Anything, Trent. You know that.”

  “Do you think there’ll ever be a chance we could get back together? Any part of you that still loves me?”

  Becca froze with panic. “Trent…I…”

  Trent took her hand. “I need to know if we’ll ever have a chance.”

  All Becca could think of was Dale. Dale kissing her. Dale playing football with Jake. They felt like a family, and somehow she felt like she was betraying Dale by even talking like this.

  “You’ve never wanted a family, Trent. That’s why we split up.”

  “I know, but I always had this dream at the back of my mind that when Jake grew up, you might have time to have a relationship with me.”

  “I can’t just push Jake and the baby to the side. I need a partner who wants to be a full member of this family, not just me. I’ll always love you, Trent, but I’m not in love with you.”

  “Dale would slot right in to your family, wouldn’t she? Do you have feelings for her?”

  Becca looked down at her coffee mug and nodded. “But it can’t work. It’s too strange, we’re from different worlds, and Dale might lose interest after a while.”

  Trent sighed and put her cup down with a bang. “I can’t do this any more, but I can’t believe I’m going to tell you this.”

  “What are you talking about, Trent?”

  “McGuire won’t lose interest in you. In fact I think she’s in love with you.”

  Becca could not comprehend what Trent was saying. “How could you know that? And I thought you didn’t like her.”

  “I know because she paid the debt to Eugene Hardy. The whole thing,” Trent said reluctantly.

  Becca brain was whizzing at a million miles an hour and making no connections. “I don’t understand.”

  “She came to see me the other day at the office. McGuire wanted me to make contact with Eugene. She took a business loan out to pay it, but she knew you wouldn’t take charity, so she made me promise to take the glory of finding a fictional trust that I had previously overlooked.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Becca said.

  “Believe it. She stood out there and watched you hugging me and telling me how wonderful I was. I feel like a fraud. It pains me to say it, but McGuire is a good, unselfish person, despite her reputation. She must love you.”

  All Becca could think of was Dale, of pulling her close and kissing her with everything in her heart. “Thank you for telling me, Trent. I know it wasn’t easy.”

  Trent gulped down her emotions. “Yes, well. I missed my chance with you. I let the years go by when I should have been giving you my heart. I’ll always love you, Becca.”

  Becca got up and walked over to Trent. She leaned over and gave her a kiss on the lips. It was a kiss to say goodbye. “I’ll always love you, and I know you’ll find someone who’ll love you like I never could.”

  * * *

  Dale’s character on the console game she was playing was blown up for what seemed like the hundredth time. She threw her controller onto the other chair in frustration. Since leaving the vicarage, she couldn’t settle her mind at all. She got up from the couch and walked to the window.

  “What have I done? I’ve thrown Becca right into Trent’s lap. What a fucking idiot.”

  Becca said that she would always allow Dale to see Jake and the baby, but how hard would it be visiting and seeing Trent in the place she wanted to be, to see Trent holding and touching Becca?

  “My only chance at family, and I’ve fucked it up. Typical.”

  Dale’s mobile started to ring. She pulled it from her pocket—it was Becca calling.

  “Hello? Is everything okay, hen?”

  “Everything is fine. I wanted to call because I didn’t like the way you left. I wish you would have stayed for dinner with us.”

  “Nah, it’s okay. I wanted to let you enjoy your good news with Trent.”

  “Did you get something to eat?” Becca asked.

  Dale looked over at the unopened bag of Chinese food that she just couldn’t think about eating. “Yeah, I got a takeaway. Why are you all concerned anyway?” Dale said that just a little too sharply.

  “Because I care. I thought we cared about each other?”

  All that Dale could picture was Trent sitting in Becca’s sitting room, in front of the roaring fire, in her place, with her family.

  “And why do you sound so hostile all of a sudden?” Becca asked.

  “I’m not hostile. I just don’t know why you called me up to ask if I’d eaten anything. Go back to Trent, and don’t worry about me.”

  “Trent’s not here. Why would she be?”

  Dale sighed. “Because she brought you good news, I suppose. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

  They were silent for a few seconds. Dale wished she could articulate what she wanted to Becca, because it was so simple. She wanted Becca, and she wanted a family.

  “The other reason I was calling you was to tell you that I have an ultrasound appointment on Wednesday.”

  Great, just great. Now Trent was probably going to go and share that moment with her.

  “I hope it goes well th
en.” Dale knew she sounded really annoyed now, but she couldn’t help it.

  Becca sighed and said, “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I wanted to ask you to come with me. To meet our baby girl.”

  Dale nearly dropped her phone. “You want me to come to your scan?”

  “Of course. Who else would I want with me?”

  “I thought maybe Trent…”

  “Dale, let me make this really clear. Trent is never going to be with me, or substitute for Jake and the little one’s other parent.”

  Dale’s shock started to turn into excitement. She paced around the floor, full of energy. “Oh, I’d love that, hen. That would make me so happy. Thank you, Becca, thank you. I can’t wait to see the wee yin.”

  “Dale, we may be an unusual family unit, but that’s what I’d like us to be. You give Jake so much, and you’ll do the same for our little girl.”

  “You don’t know how much this means to me,” Dale said.

  “I do know, and that’s why I want you to be part of this, because I know you will never turn your back on your children, or walk away.”

  “Never, they mean everything to me.” So do you, Becca.

  * * *

  Wednesday couldn’t come quick enough for Dale. She was so happy Becca was allowing her to be so involved.

  Dale pulled in to the vicarage driveway and saw Becca waiting for her by the front door. She got out quickly and greeted Becca with a kiss on the cheek, then offered her arm.

  “Where’s the Jag?” Becca asked.

  “Val told me under no circumstance was I to take a pregnant woman for a scan in my Jaguar. So I hired this family car.”

  “Dale McGuire in a family car? Wonders will never cease,” Becca joked.

  “This is much more fun than any sports car, believe me.” Dale got her in, and nearly ran around to get in the driver’s seat. She was so full of energy and excitement she could hardly contain herself.

  Dale got in and reached into the back seat. “I bought this for the baby.” She took a soft plush teddy bear from the bag, with Baby’s First Teddy Bear embroidered on its paw.