Ready For It (MacAteer Brothers Book 2)

by ML Nystrom

  “Cute.”

  She smiled and picked up her cup. “Thanks. Just a little hobby of mine. Jerry worries about me spending too much on what he calls my money pit, but I have plenty. I worked at Star Bank and Trust for the last fifteen years as an investment officer and portfolio manager before moving here. I made a lot of money for my clients and myself, but I needed to do something else. It’s hard to explain. I wasn’t unhappy with my career, just as I wasn’t unhappy with Karl, but I wasn’t happy either. Kinda like I was existing, but not really living. Does that make any sense?”

  Owen thought a moment as he lifted his coffee cup. Yes, he understood all too well. “I get it. Too routine.”

  Her smile shone brilliantly. “Yes, that’s it.” She reached for another napkin and began to fold it with quick, precise movements. “I appreciate you coming and being so understanding. Maybe we can be friends with a few benefits?”

  Owen choked on his coffee and grabbed the swan to cram against his mouth. Bertie’s face turned red and slackened as she realized what she’d said. “Oh goodness, I’m sorry! That’s not what I meant at all! I meant that... um... I could hire you to help with the renovation. Not... not… that! Are you okay?”

  Owen looked up at the distraught woman and coughed a few more times. The ruined swan sat in his hand.

  “I’m so, so sorry. Jodie says I need to think before I speak.”

  “It’s good.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. I’ll help.”

  “Help what?”

  “B and B renovation.” He grinned at her.

  Her face flamed again, but she smiled and laughed. “I guess Jodie is right about my need to filter. Jerry says you do great work and are reasonable about pay. I’m glad to hire you for this job. I need all the help I can get if I’m going to make a real go of this.”

  She picked up her cup and sipped at it. “I’ve always wanted to own and run a quaint little country inn. You know, one with a nice flower garden, gazebo, a little lake, lots of white, blue, and brick charm. That’s my dream. I turn forty in a couple of years and decided if I was ever going to make this dream happen, now’s the time. Karl had no interest, and when we split up, I figured it was a sign to get off my ass.”

  She reached to her purse and pulled out a folder. “I hope you don’t mind if I turn this into more of a business meeting than a date. I have pictures of the rooms and the yard, if you want to look.”

  Owen set the remains of the swan napkin on the table and reached for the folder. “Sorry ’bout the b-bird.”

  She waved a hand in the air in a dismissive gesture. “No big deal. I can make more.”

  He thumbed through the set of 5x7 pictures. The house appeared as a mishmash of different styles and add-ons over the years. The squat original structure sat in the middle of two larger and taller wings. One side had three floors and two gables, and the other side had two floors and three gables. A covered porch wrapped around the entire structure, tying it all together in one unit. The middle sported a rusted tin roof while the other two parts had different-colored shingles.

  Owen fingered the picture of the overgrown, weed-choked garden in the back. The whole place looked neglected, but he could see the potential in it. Bertie’s assertion about the workload was spot-on. This would take a long time to complete. Garrett had called him again about finding work, and he really did need to get away from his current situation.

  “What do you think?” Bertie scooted her chair into his personal space and pointed to one of the images. “There’s a barn on the other side here and a storage shed next to it. Towards the back of the property is a small lake and a larger wooded area. I’m living in the extended-stay hotel right now, but I have plans to move into this little cottage that sits behind the garden. It used to be something called a dodder house, like what Amish people had for their older in-laws, but it has electricity and running water. It needs work too, but for now it’s livable enough.”

  Owen listened to her chatter and lifted his cup again as his brain measured, planned, and calculated. Plain black coffee was his preference, but the tea wasn’t bad. He’d ordered it on impulse, to try something new. Briefly, he wondered what Melanie would order. Some sort of complicated latte that took an hour to order and another to make.

  The universe decided to play a joke on him, and the object of his thoughts suddenly appeared in his vision.

  She stood at the edge of the dining area with a bunch of shopping bags hanging by her sides. Her eyes were glued on him, and her mouth hung open. She looked pale against the red of her jacket. She looked drawn, weak, vulnerable; three words he would never have associated with Melanie Miser.

  Owen froze. His brain locked up tight, and no words came to him. A sheen of sweat broke across his brow, and his eyes hit Bernadette’s in a panic. She was oblivious to the turmoil rolling through his gut. He glanced back up, and Melanie had fled.

  “Owen, are you okay?”

  Owen closed his eyes as a sense of doom flushed over him.

  I drove away from the mall with my hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel. Owen was with another woman. They’d sat close together, drinking coffee and looking like any other couple out for a day of shopping and being together. The stuff on the round bistro table made it seem they were making more plans. I saw her smiling face as she talked away to Owen. It had to be a date, based on the nicer shirt he wore. First? Second? Third? From his obvious comfort level, he must have known her for a while.

  A sense of betrayal bubbled up inside me. My head told me I had no right to feel like this. Owen MacAteer was a free man and could see whomever he wanted. He had no obligation or commitment to me. Too bad my heart didn’t feel that way.

  My stomach burned, and I swallowed several times as I reached for my stash of Tums. Throwing up sounded like a good idea, but not in my car.

  My car. I needed to look at new cars. I pulled a sharp U-turn, probably pissing off several other drivers in the process, and drove straight to the car dealership where Jerry worked. It didn’t take him long to find me. I put on my brightest smile and hoped the raging storm in my head stayed hidden.

  “Hey, Jerry! I’m so glad you’re here today. How’s Jodie and the kids?”

  If he heard the brittleness in my voice, he ignored it. “I’m good, Miss Miser. Family’s good too, thanks for asking.”

  “My students call me Miss Miser. I think we’ve known each other long enough that you can call me Melanie.”

  His chin wobbled a bit as he nodded and shook my hand. “Thank you so much, Melanie. Is Owen here too?”

  “Why would he be here?”

  “Uh… I just thought maybe he’d come with you to look at cars.”

  My laugh came out loud and high enough to shatter glass. “Nope. I don’t need him or anyone else to pick out a car, and besides, he’s occupied with someone else at the moment.”

  Jerry’s mouth formed a perfect round shape. “Ohhhh, I see. Um… well, what did you have in mind?”

  “I need a baby car. Not like a minivan, just a bigger one than what I have. More like a family sedan. Whatcha got?”

  Two hours later I pulled off the lot in a Cajun red Chevy Equinox. Even if I had to drive a bigger SUV type vehicle, I could still have my favorite color. My account had taken a big hit with the car, and I still had the house to deal with. The papers sat next to me and a quick glance through them had assured me that Robert did not have the power to stop my mortgage loan. He might be able to make trouble for me, but I could either rent or sell my condo if I needed any extra income. If I guessed right, closing for the new house wouldn’t happen until after Thanksgiving, as there were inspections and official stuff that had to be done. My plan was to put a whopping big down payment that made the mortgage easy to make even with my teacher’s salary. The car, I paid for in full, which I was sure my brother and father would say something about if they had the chance. So far none of them, not even my mother, had called or contacted me in any way
since the disastrous Labor Day party.

  Bevvie’s ringtone started up, and I pressed the Bluetooth button on the dashboard. Damn, this car came with all sorts of bells and whistles.

  “Yo, Mellie-Jellie, you up for an Italian night? I’m doing spaghetti and salad for the horde. Abby’s friends are coming over for a girly night, and Connor is planning on taking the boys to the new Marvel movie. Dinner’s gonna be early, around five tonight. See you then?”

  Most of my weekends now were spent over at Bevvie and Connor’s place rather than at my condo alone. Often, it would include hanging and playing games with the kids, watching movies, painting toenails, hearing the gossip about the boys in school, and of course seeing Owen. More than once, I ended up on the couch, curled up next to him for his body heat and falling asleep to whatever trending movie came up on Netflix. If I went to Bevvie’s house tonight, would that still be an option, or would a cute brunette be there to take my place? Visions of this other woman sitting on the wide sofa, barefoot with her knees under her, leaning against Owen danced in front of my eyes. I could hear her laughter and imagined the soft look he gave her as he lifted his arm to place around her shoulder and draw her against his body. Bev and Connor would be sitting similarly. All four people in couples’ bliss while I, the single fifth wheel with rounded stomach, sat alone to the side.

  “Oh, shit, Bev, I actually have different plans tonight. Sorry for not telling you sooner.”

  I heard the surprise in her voice. “Oh. Okay, then. Do you have a date?”

  My hands tightened on the steering wheel. I wasn’t about to tell her any lies, but I couldn’t tell her the truth either. “No, not a date. Just… just… other stuff I need to do. Listen, I’ll call you or see you at school next week. Yeah?”

  “Sure. Mellie, are you okay?”

  I choked back a sob before I answered her. “Yes, I’m fine. Brilliant. I just bought a new mom car and I want to drive it around. You know, put some miles on it.”

  “So, your plans tonight are driving around with no destination and no real purpose.”

  When she put it like that, it didn’t sound like that great an idea. “Um… yeah.”

  “What’s going on?”

  Fuck, I’ve never been able to fool her for long. “Nothing I can’t handle. I need to run. I’ll catch you later.”

  “Melanie?”

  Meltdown imminent. “Bevvie, I can’t. Please. Not now.” Not ever.

  I heard her sigh. “You know I got your back no matter what.”

  The first tears tracked down my face, and I struggled to keep the sobs from coming out. “Yes, I know, momma PITA. I promise on a stack of Bibles that if I need you, I’ll call. I just… I need… space.”

  I knew my words were lame, but it was all I had. I also knew she didn’t believe me in the slightest.

  “Okay, Mellie, but will you stand by as the cavalry in case Abby’s group has a crisis tonight? Like if they run out of blue nail polish or emery boards?”

  I gave a watery laugh. “Sure. Love you, Bev.”

  “Love you too, Mel.”

  I clicked off and drove up to my condo. Maybe I could get some preliminary packing done tonight. I had a freezer of frozen dinners, a pint of my favorite Ghirardelli triple chocolate ice cream, and a can of Redi-whip. There, plans completed. I could simply forget about today’s events and put them out of my mind.

  Junior kicked, one foot in my right side and butt pushing against my left.

  “Yeah, yeah, kid. Rough day. Really rough, but nothing we can’t handle, right? I’ve got this. I promise.”

  I had the feeling I’d just lied to my child.

  Chapter Twenty

  “X equals the square root of a times three.” The three other mathletes groaned as their teammate recited the answer.

  “So close!”

  “How did you get three?”

  “What theorem is that? Not Pythagorean, right?”

  I listened to them discuss and figure out where they went wrong. We had about fifteen more minutes of practice. This was our final session before the first math meet, and we were having it on a Wednesday night instead of Thursday because tomorrow was the Thanksgiving holiday. My mother had called and left a message saying I was invited to dinner, but I’d erased it. No way was I going to sit at that long table with my parents and Magnus. Especially since she’d mentioned Robert and Kiki would be there. He and I in the same house? That house? No. Just no.

  A sigh escaped my lips. I’d missed Halloween with my favorite family because of work, fatigue, and other things. Those things mainly being Owen. I’d seen him twice at Bevvie’s since the mall spotting, and both times my heart hurt so much I couldn’t say much to him. He didn’t say much back to me either, reverting to his usual short sentences. I didn’t sit next to him on the sofa and tried not to make a big deal of it. I thought I covered it well, but Bevvie gave me sympathetic looks.

  “Okay, people. Last round. Write the expression for the volume of a thick crust pizza with height a and radius z.” I grinned, waiting to see who would get it first.

  Jimbo didn’t disappoint. A big smile burst across his face. “Ah, Miss Miser, that’s so lame.”

  “Is not. What’s the answer?”

  He rolled his eyes and recited with his eyes heavenward as if asking why he had to put up with such antics. “The formula for volume is pi times radius squared times height. In this case, pi-z-z-a.”

  “Absolutely correct, and if we stay here much longer, I’ll order us a few. I’m getting hungry.”

  My kids moaned at the math nerd joke but perked up when I mentioned one of their staple food groups.

  “Miss Miser? Mr. Bradshaw is here with two police officers.” Coral Blakely, a student teacher, stood in the doorway. Her timid voice sounded uncertain. She played with one of her long dreadlocks. I already knew that to be a nervous tic of hers. She spent a lot of time in my classroom, as she would be graduating in December and taking over for me as a long-term sub in January.

  “Can he wait until we’re done? It’s only a few more minutes.”

  Two police officers? What the hell was going on? None of my students acted out, as long as you didn’t count their drive-thru math prank of making weird change for the attendant.

  “I’m afraid not, Miss Miser.” The principal strode in my classroom with a confidence I’d never seen in him. His smirk covered his face from ear to ear, and he practically bounced with glee.

  A cold dread hit my stomach. If something made him this happy, chances were it was bad for me.

  “Miss Miser, you’re under arrest.”

  What the fuck? The roaring in my ears almost covered the rest of his words.

  “For inappropriate sexual contact with a student.”

  The collection of my mathletes surrounded me.

  “No, you’re wrong!”

  “You can’t do this!”

  I stared at the diminutive man with the smug look on his face. “What the fuck are you talking about? I’ve never fucked one of my students, and I never will. They’re kids, you fucking pervert! Who are you even talking about?”

  “Ashton Fordham said you made inappropriate comments and touched him.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? You’ve not done your homework, have you? Ashton Fordham has been gone for a long time. Remember his dad put him at some military boarding school after the party he threw at his father’s house? He hasn’t been my student since his freshman year, and he never joined the mathletes team. I’ve not laid eyes on him in a long time, and I sure as hell never laid hands on him either.”

  “Nonetheless, it has come to my attention that he has claimed he’s the one who got you pregnant.” His shit-eating grin freed my tongue, and I let loose. Probably not the best scenario for my students, but I’d had enough. More than enough.

  Of all the statements that man could make, that one took the fucking cake! “You are out of your goddamn mind! Ever since I came to this scho
ol, you’ve spent years, years, trying to get me fired or make me quit. You damn well know this trumped-up crap is false, but you’ll jump at anything to fuck with me. You’ve gone too far with this stunt, you fucking asshole. This is one paternity test away from the biggest lawsuit you’ve ever seen.”

  “Please turn around, ma’am.”

  Fuck, they’re really doing this. They’re putting me in handcuffs in front of my students. “Is this necessary, Officer? I’ll be glad to drive over to the station and clear up whatever shit this toad has smeared.”

  The officers didn’t budge. “Sorry, ma’am. This is just procedure.”

  What else could I do? Two of my girls were crying, and two boys looked like they were thinking about it. If I put up a fight, it would make that worse.

  “As you can see, Officer, I am pregnant.”

  He sighed. “Please, ma’am. Turn around, and we’ll get this done a lot quicker.”

  I shook my head. “If you have to cuff me, don’t you do it in front for safety reasons?”

  The second cop lost patience. He grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. “Quit resisting, bitch. I ain’t got no time for this shit.”

  I cried out in pain, and my students renewed their yells of protest.

  “Stop, you’re hurting her!”

  “No, you can’t take her away!”

  “Ashton is a liar!”

  One of the kids rapidly typed something on his phone. “Don’t worry, Miss Miser. I posted a video of this on Facebook. I bet it will go viral, and you’ll be out in no time.”

  Fuck, that’s all I need right now. “George, please don’t.”

  Another boy piped up. “Yeah! Make it shareable. I’ll post it on my page. It’ll spread like the flu. We’ll make some posters and storm the police station in protest.”

  Oh, shit! “Aaron, not a good idea.”

  The rest of the team joined in, chanting, “Free Miss Miser! Free Miss Miser!”