Calamity Rayne II: Back Again

by Lydia Michaels

  Frowning, I stumbled forward and took another sip of the bourbon wine. Somehow I knew the floors inside were honey and the windows would be dressed with custom-made shutters painted in a delicate bone white.

  I found myself staring up at the mammoth house from the sprawling porch. And then it clicked.

  “This is her house.” It was Jasmine’s, the one Hale had promised her, the one that started the lawsuit and was now the cause of so much trouble.

  I recalled the day, not too long ago, that Remington sent me to meet with the interior designer. Another dickhead move to hurt my feelings.

  Back then he’d been trying to frighten me with Hale’s complicated life. Now, he didn’t give a shit about complications and expected me to dive in headfirst.

  My hand reached out and turned the antique knob, shocked to feel the door give way and ease open. “Holy shit.”

  The sun reflected off the windows and not a touch of paint was chipped. Everything smelled brand new and nothing was lacking. I stepped into the foyer, very much like the one in Remington’s house on the estate, and I gaped at the untouched beauty.

  Stairs, ten feet wide, flowed up the center of the house, splitting into two separate wings. It was so picturesque, so out of a fairytale, I waited for Lumiere and Mrs. Pots to come out to greet me.

  “Hello?”

  Of course, no one was there. I peeked inside the shade of a lamp, not at all surprised to see a light bulb already installed. Twisting the switch, the lamp turned on.

  They’d taken care of everything. Even the bathrooms were prepared with linens and toilet paper.

  I walked slowly through the quiet halls, peeking inside every room. Beds were dressed. Linen closets were bursting with luxury towels. Not a single corner was left unfurnished.

  I was suddenly angry. What sort of woman was offered all of this and not satisfied? Of course, she had been satisfied, until Hale took this house off the table. But, still! It was so much. So, so, so much.

  Unfortunately, there was no food in the pantry or the refrigerator. But that was okay because I had my trusty bourbon wine. I sat on a brand new sofa—one I was pretty certain I’d picked out—and I drank.

  I’m not sure how the time went so fast with no television or books to read. I hadn’t even checked Facebook, being that I was too drunk to remember I had a phone. I just sat there, thinking, but not really clear what was going through my head.

  This woman… I never let myself judge her, but now, sitting in this incredible home staring at all of the beautiful things waiting to be claimed… I hated her. She was hurting my Davenports.

  I watched my foot lift in front of me and slowly nudge a glass figurine off the table. It fell to the floor and shattered. Then I immediately felt guilty, because what if that was part of the original house, some Revolutionary War relic and cost a bazillion dollars? If Hale managed to somehow keep the home, he might want that figurine back.

  “Fuck.” I dropped to my knees and collected the pieces. It wasn’t too bad, but there was no way it was worth anything now.

  Sitting back on my heels I blew out a breath and burped.

  “Whoa.” I waved a hand in front of my face. Whatever I was drinking, my breath smelled flammable.

  My phone buzzed, scaring the crap out of me. I gathered the pieces of the broken figurine and shoved them under the couch before I dug my phone out of my pocket. “Hello?”

  “Where are you?” Hale greeted. “My dad said you’ve been gone all day.”

  I could hear Elara cooing in the background, which meant he was back at the house. Shit. What time was it?

  “Um… I went for a walk.”

  “All day? It’s getting dark.”

  “I was upset.”

  “Are you … drunk?”

  I looked at my bottle which only had a few swallows left in the bottom. “Probably. I took a bottle from your asshole dad’s office.”

  Silence.

  In hindsight, calling Remington an asshole to Hale probably wasn’t my wisest choice of the day. Not because Hale might take offense on his father’s behalf. He thought his dad was an asshole on most days. But letting Hale know Remington had upset me enough for me to call him an asshole would probably piss him off.

  “What did he do?” he practically growled.

  “Nothin’. Just being Remington.”

  “Rayne.”

  “I don’t wanna talk about it. How was your meeting?”

  “Terrible. Where are you? I’m coming to pick you up.”

  I could no longer hear Elara. Glancing around the pristine Jasmine palace, I bit my lip. “I can probably get back on my own.”

  “You can’t even talk without slurring your words. Do you know where you are?”

  “Umm… It’s big. There are a lot of windows.”

  “Are… Are you on the property?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Rayne, I’m in no mood for twenty questions. Please just tell me where you are so I can come get you before it gets dark.”

  “You’ll be mad at me.”

  “No, I won’t. I’m getting in the car. I need an address.”

  My face scrunched tight and I shut my eyes. “I’m on the estate.”

  More silence followed by a hissed curse. “I know where you are. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” The line went dead.

  “Oh, that’s not good.” Moving back to the couch, I slid my phone onto the table and stared at it.

  Shadows lengthened along the walls as the sun fell behind the trees surrounding the house and soon enough I was sitting in the subtle light of one lamp as Hale pulled up.

  “Rayne?”

  “In here.”

  I didn’t turn when I heard his footsteps, too afraid he’d yell at me for breaking and entering.

  “How did you get in here?”

  “The door was unlocked.”

  He rounded the sofa and glanced at the table. Did he know a figurine was missing? Lifting the bottle, he eyed the label. “Tell me you didn’t drink all of this.”

  “Sorry.”

  He returned the bottle to the table and sat down with a sigh. We stared at the vacant fireplace between two large windows but said nothing. Chances were, he couldn’t handle more Remington related frustration. And I wasn’t in the mood for any Jasmine crap, so neither of us asked about the other’s day.

  “This place is nice,” I eventually commented when the silence got to me, but there was no inflection in my voice. Being here pissed me off.

  Hale gave a grunt, which could have been agreement or something else. “How bad was he? Do I need to get involved?”

  Would Hale yelling at Remington change anything? “No. He was just in a mood and talking crazy.”

  “Are you okay? He’s a thorn in my side, but you two have a special relationship. I know you care about him, Rayne.”

  Sometimes caring about Remington was the biggest complication of all. “We’ll be fine.”

  He glanced at me. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Not really.”

  “If you want me to say something to him, I will.”

  I shook my head. “There’s no point. He’s just Remington being Remington. Why didn’t you tell me you offered Jasmine more money?”

  His body stiffened. “Is that what you two argued about?”

  I looked at him, wondering why he’d confide details about Jasmine to his father, but not to me. “You could have told me you were doing that.”

  “I hate that she’s even an issue to consider in our lives. I don’t like letting that stuff interfere with us. It’ll all work out in the end.”

  “What if it doesn’t?”

  “It will.”

  “But what if it doesn’t, Hale? What if she keeps trying to get more from you until you have nothing left to give?”

  His lashes lowered. “I appreciate that the least attractive thing I can offer you is my fortune, Rayne, but it’s a substantial one. You’re the only woman who’s never tak
en the time to measure it. Jasmine’s not going to drain me dry. Trust me on that.”

  “But when is enough, enough? How much more will you offer her? How much more is she going to take?” How many more trips up the coast to meet with her snake lawyer and rip off another layer of flesh?

  “You know I can’t go back now. I’ve already established she’s in the power seat. There’s nothing I can do but finish what I’ve started.”

  “This is so unfair.”

  “People are generally unfair. We aren’t in this situation because of Jasmine’s sense of honor.”

  Wasn’t that the truth. Leaning into his shoulder, I laced my fingers with his. “I’m sorry this happened to you. You were the victim in all of this and you’ve done so much to make things right and take care of Elara. I hate that they betrayed you at all.” And every day they took more and more advantage of his kindness.

  “I have no regrets. Erasing their betrayal removes Elara from my life. I couldn’t imagine not having my daughter.”

  And that was why he was so amazing. He’d found a silver lining in the shittiest storm cloud. “I love you.”

  His hand tightened around mine. “You know, if I actually get my way, this house will be ours. Do you like it?”

  “Yours. And yes, it’s very Beauty and the Beast. I want to eat baguettes in the kitchen and dance around with teacups and books.”

  He laughed. “Did they do that in Beauty and the Beast?”

  “You really need to expand your horizons. Your music is all from last century and you never get my movie references.”

  “That’s not true. I get some of them.”

  I sighed, my belly hungry and my eyes tired. “Do you think we’ll get married, Hale?”

  He shifted and turned to fully face me. “Where did that come from?”

  I shrugged. “Just wondering.”

  “I’d marry you tomorrow if that was what you wanted. Is it?”

  “I don’t know. I love you, but…”

  “We’re still new.”

  “It’s not just that. It’s me. This is all new to me. You’ve had tons of relationships. But for me … you’re it.”

  “Well, I’m not letting you see other people, so if that’s what you’re getting at—”

  “No. I just mean I have no point of reference with this stuff. I don’t know if what I’m feeling is normal at this stage or super advanced or what.”

  “Are you happy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then that’s all that matters. Whatever came before means nothing. All those relationships… Not a single one measured up to what we have. You’re it for me, Rayne. I don’t want to go backward when I’m convinced I’ve found the absolute best person to share my future with.”

  I smiled and gave him a shoulder bump. “Charmer.”

  “Should I be shopping for rings?”

  “I’m not answering that. I think—whenever you pop the question—if you do—you’ll be as surprised as me by the answer. I won’t know until we get there.”

  “For the record, I’m perfectly fine with waiting until you’re ready. Unlike the Davenports before me, I intend to marry once and make my marriage a happy one.”

  And that was why I loved him.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Complications and Calamities

  We were greeted by silence when we returned to the house, all traces of Odette gone. As we approached the stairs, I saw the light on in the parlor and let go of Hale’s hand. He paused and looked over his shoulder.

  “Do you care if I…”

  “Go ahead. I’ll see you upstairs.” He pressed a kiss to my temple and left me to talk to Remington.

  I walked slowly toward the parlor, unsure what I wanted to say when I got there. As I stood at the entrance of the room, he lifted his eyes from a stack of papers. “Long day?”

  I shuffled across the carpet and took a seat across from him. “The longest.”

  He held up his glass, offering me some of whatever he was having.

  “No thanks.” My mouth sort of tasted like the 1700’s and my head felt like an apple that wanted to be a watermelon.

  Remington continued to watch me with those assessing silver eyes that never missed much. “Did you talk to Hale?”

  I nodded, not that he had any idea how an honest relationship worked. “Yes, but not about our fight.”

  “Keeping that one to yourself?”

  I gave him a measured look. “Remington … why don’t you fix this for him? You said you could.” Part of me believed Remington could fix anything.

  “Hale would never allow that.”

  “Like you’re one to wait around for permission.”

  He tilted his head, his gaze calculating. “I could make it go away, but not the way he’d want. He wants to be the shining hero in a terrible situation. If I interfered he’d be just as angry with me as he was in the beginning.”

  I wasn’t sure if that was possible. “Do you think your way is better than what he’s doing?”

  “Of course. It’s my way.”

  “I’m serious.”

  He sighed and took a long sip of his cocktail. As he placed it on the table there was nothing left but ice. “When you have children, Meyers, you always want to protect them, even if it means endangering yourself. My way would protect Hale.”

  Then why was it even a question? “Then do it.”

  He raised a brow. “You’re asking a lot. There’s always a cost. Burdens don’t just disappear. They’re passed off to others.”

  “I’m tired, Remington. I’m tired of the games, the maneuvers, and the drama. Hale just wants a peaceful life and I want that with him, but on our terms. He’s not a puppet and he doesn’t do well with strings. If you honestly believe your way is best, then do it—for your son.”

  “He’ll never see it as a favor.”

  Showing how much this mattered to me, I folded my hands and rested my arms on my knees, leaning in to look him right in the eye. “I’ll see it as a favor—to me.”

  He drew in a long breath and let it out slowly. With a nod, the conversation was over. I wasn’t great at reading people, but something told me this was one of those conversations that never happened and would never be mentioned again—like in the movies.

  I returned his nod and stood. “Thank you.”

  Once upstairs, I stopped at Elara’s room. Pressing open the door, I stilled at the sight of Marta giving her a bottle. “Is she up?”

  “Just a little hungry, Nena.”

  I crept softly into the room and leaned over the rocker to see Elara’s silver eyes twinkle behind the nipple of the bottle. She opened her mouth and smiled widely when she saw me.

  “She loves you. Look at that smile,” Marta commented.

  That smile was worth so much. “I can take her. You can go back to bed.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. “Thanks for taking care of her today.”

  “She is a pleasure, Nena.” Passing the little bundle to me, I settled into the upholstered rocker and lifted Elara on my lap.

  “I missed you today, pudgy butt.”

  She cooed and grinned, mouth full of milky gums. I nuzzled my nose to hers, breathing in her innocent freshness, and lowered her into my arm, cradling her as I reached for the bottle.

  “Let’s get you back to sleep.”

  Elara drank and fell asleep shortly after she finished the bottle. The rocker was a newer model with wide upholstered arms and a cushioned back, the sort that sucked you in with the contours of a beanbag chair. I stared at her until my eyes grew heavy and then I fell asleep holding her in my arms.

  I woke up the next morning, startled from sleep by some sort of commotion coming from downstairs. Elara must have heard it too because her eyes opened and she let out a long babble of syllables.

  “You have no fucking right to get involved!” Hale’s voice roared from below.

  “Uh-oh.” I glanced at Elara, who held a fistful of my h
air. “Let’s get you a fresh diaper and find Marta.”

  I quickly changed the baby, as the shouting grew louder on the first floor. Something slammed and shattered and then more yelling followed. Taking the stairs quickly, I raced to find Marta in the kitchen. She was mumbling in Spanish and rolling out dough.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Mr. Davenport and Mr. Hale are having another argument. Last time they fight like this they break half the house.”

  My eyes widened. “Can you take Elara?” Not giving her a chance to object, I shoved Elara into her flour-covered arms and went to find the two idiots tearing the house apart.

  Hale towered over the dining room table, knuckles pressed firmly into the surface as he shouted at his father. “Stay the fuck out of it! You’ve done enough!”

  “Stubborn!” Remington yelled. “You’re wasting time and money dicking around with this lawyer. As much as it hurts your pride to admit it, you know I can get through to her better than you can. I know what she’s after.”

  I stepped to the edge of the table since no one noticed when I entered the room. “I think you both need to calm down.”

  “Not now, Meyers!”

  “Rayne, please, go in the other room!”

  I jerked back. “Um, no, that’s not happening. You two are family. Enough with the fighting.”

  “Meyers! Not now!”

  “Rayne, other room!”

  “No!” I shouted back. “I love you both and I don’t want to see you fighting. All of this has to end. Hale, your dad has a solution. At least hear him out.”

  I’d never seen a person actually turn red before, but Hale was doing just that—more of a burgundy or burnt sienna. Either way, not good.

  “I don’t fucking believe this.” He staggered back from the table. “You know what? Do whatever the hell you want. I’m out of it.” He tossed his hands in the air and stormed from the room.

  Remington sighed.

  I’d never seen Hale so angry and I wasn’t sure interfering had helped defuse the situation or made things worse. Biting my lip I turned to Remington and pointed a sharp finger. “Your plan better work.”

  With that, I went after Hale.