by Karen Renee
My brows pulled together. “It’s not even nine-thirty. We could watch TV.”
He gave me a stern look. “I’ll join you in bed, Raegan.”
From her bedroom, Mom hollered, “Guess I’ll take my hearing aids out, then!”
I hung my head in embarrassment, but I heard Clint wheezing with laughter as he walked away.
BEFORE I HIT THE BEDROOM, I found a book in Wynnie’s bedroom. She and I didn’t always share the same tastes in books, but I needed to unwind.
When Clint closed the door to the bedroom, I had finished reading the first chapter.
He glanced at the book in my hands. “Didn’t take you for a sci-fi girl, Rae.”
I put it on the nightstand shaking my head. “I’m not. It was what was available.” I rolled to my side facing him. “I needed to relax tonight. So many people at one time always drains me.”
He set his folded pants and shirt on a chair in the corner. Turning around, he pushed his boxers down before climbing into the bed. His arms shot out and pulled me to his body. “That’s strange. You were so charming when meeting Carlos. I wouldn’t think being around a roomful of people could possibly drain you.”
I pressed my lips together. “Sorry to disappoint you, but entertaining and making conversation always zaps my energy.”
He nodded. “I can understand that. Did that book relax you?”
I shook my head.
“This might drain you some more, but it’s been on my mind. You’re on the pill still, but we used to talk about the kind of family we wanted. Do you not want children?”
His question caught me off-guard. How much he still wanted to build a family had flitted through my mind a few days ago, but I hadn’t expected to discuss it tonight. In my quest to make something of myself in New York, thoughts of children had fallen by the wayside. That wasn’t true. Initially, I had wanted time for just Trey and I to be together, but then a deep-rooted instinct told me I didn’t want to raise children in New York. With my twenty-twenty hindsight, I realized part of me knew something was wrong with my marriage.
“Well, even though I knew you would ask me about that—”
He rested his thumb on my lips. “Honey, it’s a yes or a no. Do you want a child with me?”
Gazing into his eyes, there were no doubts. “Yes.”
I expected a beaming smile, but his lips merely quirked upward. “Good. Think you want two, maybe three more after the first one?”
I giggled. “If I were in my twenties, I’d probably have said an immediate yes, but I’m thinking I want to wait until after I have our first child before I answer that.”
His lips turned down. “Nope. I want a better answer. I get that our minds might change if you have a rough pregnancy or a difficult labor, but everything being somewhat new again, I wanna know what you want now.”
My body stiffened. “You’re being awful pushy, Clint Ramsey.”
His eyebrows rose and he rolled into me. “Whenever I thought about us, I regretted never being pushy enough with you. So, hell if I’m gonna make that mistake again.”
“Even if being pushy is a mistake?”
“I knew what I wanted then, and I damn sure know what I want now.” He paused, letting his weight settle on top of me. “And don’t bullshit me. You’re stalling.”
Hard to say if it was the soft lighting of the bedside lamp or not, but the earnestness in his eyes made the iris shine like new pennies. Him being right about my stall tactic annoyed me, but I let it go. I stroked the angled plane of his stubbled cheek.
“I would like two if I can hack it. Three is a possibility, but I really don’t think I can handle four kiddos with our fierce personalities.”
He finally gave me the smile I expected a moment ago. Full and bright, his joy practically tangible. “They’ll have their own personalities, mi reina.”
I chuckled. “Right, sure. If Jared is anything to go by, he might be the spitting image of Kyle, but he is a carbon copy of Tanya’s personality. Besides, four kids would be—”
“A family. Loud, crazy, and sometimes draining on you.” He grinned at his obvious tease. “But it would be ours, Raegan.”
Warmth unfurled from my heart with his words. “You’re right, Clint. But you must admit, we need to see how it goes with boy one and boy two first.”
He shook his head. “Nope. Have to see how it goes with Shane and Wynnie before we’ll know if we’re ready to bring Penelope into the world.”
I laughed. “Not sure if I can name a son after my father, but don’t think it’s lost on me you want to recreate your family, except with a real father.”
His eyes closed for a beat before he shook his head. “No, I don’t, honey. I want four kids. You’re reluctant on that, and I get it. And our son has to be named for your father since you used to tout the many wonderful things about him, plus how much you wished I could have met him.”
My hand on his cheek had fallen to his shoulder, and I slid it up to his neck. “All right, honey. I think we’re agreed.”
His head shook again. “No, Rae. I’m bringing this up because,” he turned his head for a moment. “I don’t feel like there’s time to waste. And I should’ve led with whether you took your pill today and if you’d stop taking them tomorrow.”
My eyes widened. “You want to knock me up, like now?”
“Yeah.”
“Both our mothers would lose their minds.”
“The hell they would. Your mother would be over the fuckin’ moon, and Mamá probably wouldn’t be far behind her.”
I grinned. “You’re right.”
“So, you gonna stop taking your pill in the morning?”
My lips twisted. “I actually forgot to take it this morning since we woke up at your place.”
His head lowered and against my lips he whispered. “Excellent. Time to get to work.”
Clint
AS MUCH AS I WANTED to take my sweet time making love to Raegan, it didn’t happen. Like all the other times we’d been together the past few days, it heated up quick and I couldn’t get close enough to the fire. I finished so fast, I wasn’t even sure she came.
“I’m sorry,” I breathed into her neck.
She dragged her fingernails down my back. “What on earth for?”
My muscles rippled with her touch. “I don’t think you got off before I did, baby.”
She chuckled. “Boy, you must have been pretty far gone. I came when you did, baby.”
I ground my hips into her for the hell of it. Nothing felt as good as our bodies being connected. My chest swelled with a foreign feeling, but it wasn’t that foreign, since I’d felt it once before. It was just prior to her going to New York for an advertising job.
My fingers gently pushed into the hair at the side of her head. “I’m always far gone where you’re concerned, Rae. You told me you’re giving us a chance, but tell me you’re not going back to New York.”
Her eyes went from chocolate to melted chocolate in a nanosecond. “No, Clint. I’m not going back. I mean, I’ll have to go back for my things, but I’m with you now. My heart is screaming at me I should have been with you all this time. So, I get it.”
I slid my nose along her cheekbone and pulled away. “That’s music to my ears, sweetheart. And just to say, whenever you plan to get your stuff, I’m going with you. Comprende?”
Something about the way her expression changed as she smiled told me she fought an eye roll. “Comprende, mi rey.”
“Good,” I whispered.
I kissed her gentle and sweet as I withdrew from her. “I’ll let you go clean up.”
She pecked me before she rolled out of the bed.
When she returned to the room, I was pulling on my boxers. My phone rang and leaning over, I pulled it from my jeans. The contact displayed the letter ‘M’ and immediately I wished I’d put the phone on silent mode. I could ignore the call and tell Rae I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone else, but that was a lie I couldn’t pull off. Not with her. A
nd especially not after what her mother laid on us a couple days ago.
“Hey. Before you start in, I thought I made this clear when I saw you last. But I’ll be clearer this go-around. I’m unavailable. We were done before, but things are really done now, because the love of my life has re-entered the picture. And if I have anything to say about it, it’ll be for the rest of my life. Sorry to be so blunt, but I want to make sure you move on, and beating around the bush doesn’t do either of us any favors, Maria.”
I heard Rae’s gasp, but seeing her wide eyes nearly did me in with the visible pain there.
Maria exhaled and whispered, “Wow. Laura had told me you’d be blunt to a fault. Seems I should have listened harder.”
I sighed. “No. You should have listened to me. Sorry if this hurts you, but, I hope you find someone who makes you happy. I can tell you, I’m not that man. Be well.”
Two months ago, I would’ve waited to hear her reply, but life was too short. I ended the call, plopped my cell on top of my rumpled jeans, and planted my ass on the bed. Looking up at Rae, I focused on alleviating the pain in her eyes. The closer I looked, though, the more I noticed the pain was gone, replaced by sympathy.
“That woman, Maria. She might not believe this, but you did her one helluva favor, Clint. Seems even when she isn’t here to say so, Mom is right. You are such a good man.”
I snorted out an exhale. “Glad you can say that because I don’t feel like a good man.”
She smiled with liquid heat. “You would say that, sweetheart. But you are absolutely the best of the best.”
My huff of disbelief filled the room. “You’re wrong, Rae. But I’ll let it slide. After some shut-eye we’ll discuss what’s pertinent for our future, honey.”
I STOOD NEXT TO PENNY as she stepped on the running board of my Explorer. She didn’t trust herself to get into the vehicle, but from the strength she used to grip my forearm, I suspected she could have climbed in just fine. I closed the door after her and turned to find Raegan grinning up at me.
“Thanks for helping her,” she whispered.
I nodded. “In the truck, babe.”
Once I started the vehicle, Penny said, “So fancy. I like it.”
“Thank you, Penny. How about telling me where I’m going?”
Ninety minutes later, Penny’s physical therapist stood behind her saying, “Remember, you only need to use the walker when you think you need it, Miss Penny.”
“I definitely need it to get to Clint’s fancy SUV.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I think you’re stronger than that, Penny.”
The therapist caught my eyes and nodded. “Exactly.”
We trekked down to my ‘fancy SUV,’ and Penny reached for my arm. I shook my head. “I dare you to try climbing up on your own. Just grab the bar with one hand and the door with the other. I’m right here if you start to wobble.”
She glowered at me but pressed her lips into a firm line. “Fine. I pull a muscle; you’re massaging it when we get home.”
“He is not,” Rae grumbled as she climbed into the backseat.
Penny gave a valiant effort to get in the SUV, but I wound up helping her at the end. “You’ll get the hang of it soon enough, Mrs. C.”
She smiled. “Don’t call me ‘Mrs. C.’ She’s a character from Happy Days.”
I chuckled and rounded the hood.
We rode home in silence for ten minutes before Penny said, “I told you.”
I looked at her. “Told who what?”
Seeing her eyes were pointed at the side mirror, I realized she was talking to Raegan. In the rearview mirror, I could see Rae knew she was talking to her.
“I know, Mom. I’m sorry. I just didn’t know, okay? And besides, I’m moving back so, you’ll have me living with you.”
Penny shot me a satisfied grin which was just shy of gloating. “Is that so?”
“Yes,” Raegan drawled. “And don’t sound so satisfied. It’s poor form.”
Penny cackled. “The hell it is, if it means you two are happy.”
I bit back my response even though Penny damn sure had Raegan there.
At the house, Raegan started making panini sandwiches while Penny turned on the TV.
I settled on the couch and Penny muttered, “You two aren’t living here.”
“Say that again?”
Her blue eyes held resolve. “You and Raegan. You’re not living here.”
I tilted my head in a noncommittal nod. “You’re probably right, but if you can’t—”
“If I can’t what?”
Her sour tone had my attention, but I didn’t show it. “You can do more than you let on sometimes. Being around my mother and sister the other night, you pushed yourself harder than you should’ve, but it did you some good. If you don’t want us living with you, then show us how capable you can be.”
A shrewd expression crossed her face. “I’ll bear that in mind, Clint.”
Her tone bothered me. “Don’t be that way, Penny.”
She smiled. “You still got that ring?”
I rolled my eyes. “No. Call me superstitious, but I think that ring had bad juju.”
“Lunch is up!” Rae hollered.
“I think I’ll skip the walker,” Penny muttered.
I stood next to her. “You can take my arm if you want.”
The resolve hit her eyes again. “Thank you, but I can do it.”
Chapter 23
Hard to Quit You
Raegan
CLINT INSISTED ON DOING the dishes since I made lunch. While he did that and Mom watched her soaps, I called Angela. She had been so intent on knowing where I was going to land, finding out it would be Orlando would surprise her.
After the first ring, it sounded as though Angela had answered, but based on the strange scraping sound on the line I suspected she didn’t know she’d taken the call.
Then she spoke in a flirty tone. “Trey Garrity, you need to quit. I didn’t even check caller ID to know who’s calling me...”
My mouth filled with bile, which I swallowed down. I thought about hanging up, but Angela would know she missed a call from me.
Then I heard Trey’s voice. “Hard to quit you, Angie.”
My heart broke. Not from hearing my ex-husband’s voice but from knowing Angela was involved with him. I took a deep breath and thought fast. The sound of the phone jostling filled my ear, and I put it on speaker. I hoped I could pretend I hadn’t heard anything because of a speaker phone issue.
“Hello?” she asked.
“Angela? It’s me. Is this a bad time?”
A lengthy pause ensued.
“Raegan,” she said in an almost-accusatory tone.
“Yeah. I don’t know if you heard me calling your name earlier, my phone was having connectivity issues. I’m out running errands.”
Clint threw me a look over his shoulder.
I heard her inhale.
“No, not a bad time, honey. And yeah, I didn’t hear you. I nearly hung up.”
My lip curled, but I forced myself to smile. “Well, I called because you don’t have to check in on my place anymore.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll be back later this week,” I lied.
Clint whirled from the sink and I held a hand up to him while shaking my head.
“I’ll pick you up from LaGuardia, when do you get back?”
Her enthusiasm was contagious, but knowing what I did, it was hard to match. “Oh, that’s all right, hon. It’s no biggie to catch a cab. Besides, you work your twelve-hour shift on Thursday.”
Clint stood in my space at this point, and I glared at him while stepping away.
“So, you’ll be here Thursday?” she asked.
“That’s the plan, airline delays notwithstanding.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, I heard that.”
“All right, so see you at Corner Slice at eight, right?” I asked referencing our standing date for pizza.
“You
got that right.”
“Later, Angela,” I said, and hung up.
I made sure the phone was disconnected before meeting Clint’s angry eyes.
“Slow your roll, Ramsey. You didn’t hear the beginning of that awful phone call.”
“I’m listening now, so cut to it.”
I fought laughing at his insistence. “She accidentally answered my call without looking, and I overheard her telling Trey he needed to quit, and he said he couldn’t quit her.”
He closed his eyes and turned his head a touch.
When he opened his eyes, he asked, “She’s your girl up there isn’t she? And you’re saying she’s—”
“Involved with my ex, apparently.”
Instantly, Clint wrapped me in a strong bear-hug.
“Fuck,” he said into my hair. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
I hugged him back as tears welled, but I beat them back. If Angela could do another woman that way after hearing how Trey cheated, then it was her own grave she was digging.
When he pulled away, he said, “That’s what I’m talkin’ about.”
“Excuse me?” I demanded.
“Something told me you needed to keep your mouth shut about things. When she called the other day, I knew you had to keep her in the dark. I just didn’t know why.”
My head cocked to the side. “So, you’re pleased with your instincts being right?”
“Yes, but more, I’m pleased we have more to go on.”
“We do?”
His chin dipped. “Damn right, we do. She ask if you were changing your will?”
I thought back to when this whole debacle began. “No, she didn’t, but she was intent on knowing where I’d be working.”
His eyes narrowed. “Didn’t you tell her where you interviewed?”
I shook my head. “No. I had told her I had resumes out, but the interview after Labor Day was extremely last minute. In fact, she thought I was already in Orlando when I called to tell her about Wynnie’s death.”
His eyebrow arch was cocky as all get out.
I nudged his chest. “Don’t get smug. This hurts.”
His face fell. “Yeah. That’s why I’m sorry, Rae.”
