Day, Xondra - Our Dirty Little Secret (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (18 page)

“
Tonight. It happened tonight after he finally came home.
”

Fucking jerk!
“
You mean this is the first time he
’
s shown his face back home since I was over to chat with you?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
Un-fucking-real. Did he even bother to tell you where he was?
”

“
He was with another woman. Apparently her name is Sheila, and he met her at some bar while on a business trip. He
’
s moving in with her. That
’
s his plan. He intends to sell everything we have and split the money.
”

“
How good of him. He
’
s a real gentleman.
”

“
Can you come over tomorrow? I need to go out and sort some things. I need to find a lawyer.
”

“
Of course,
”
she replied.
“
Anything you need, just ask. How
’
s Jade?
”

“
We
’
re not telling her. At least not yet. She seems okay. She did ask where he was, and I told her he was away working. She didn
’
t ask any other questions.
”

“
That
’
s best for now. She
’
s too young to really understand it.
”

“
I
’
m sorry to have called so late. You
’
re the only person I can rely on since Mother is, well
…
Mother. I can
’
t imagine what she
’
s going to say about all of this.
”

“
Don
’
t worry about her. If she gets out of hand, I
’
ll deal with her.
”

“
Thanks. Ann.
”
Gwenn paused.
“
I don
’
t know what I
’
d do without you.
”

“
Everything will work out.
”
Ann did her best to try and spin a positive glow on the situation, though it was an effort in futility.
“
It
’
s going to be hard for a bit, but we
’
ll work through it.
”

“
I hope so. I thought we
’
d last forever.
”

She heard Gwenn sigh. Her sister sounded as if she was completely exhausted.
“
Kevin is
…”
She searched her mind to find the right word without sounding too offensive to Gwenn.
“
Odd.
”

“
That
’
s one word. I can think of a multitude of others. None of which are very ladylike,
”
replied Gwenn.
“
Saying that, I
’
m not in a very ladylike mood right now. Let
’
s face it. The man’s one hell of a slimy bastard!
”

“
For once, Gwenn, we totally agree.
”

Gwen laughed, just a little.
“
It
’
s late and I need to rest. I
’
ll see you tomorrow. And again, thanks, Ann.
”
She hung up.

* * * *

Gwenn didn
’
t look half-bad when she arrived at her house. They sat in the now-cleaned kitchen and had coffee, talking about which lawyer she should seek out.

“
Bristol and Hall have an excellent reputation,
”
said Gwenn.
“
They specialize in divorces. What a fun job that must be to face on a daily basis.
”

“
Get the best. You have a lot at stake. I mean, this house, God, it must be worth a fortune on today
’
s market. Make sure you get an equal split and child support for Jade.
”

Gwenn nodded.
“
As bad as Kevin is and no matter what my feelings are for him, I know he won
’
t turn his back on his daughter. That
’
s one thing I can
’
t take away from him. He
’
s always been a decent father.
”

“
You
’
re right.
”
Ann couldn
’
t fault the guy for that either. In every circumstance, he always manned up to that part of his life duties. They also had to think about Jade. This wasn
’
t going to be easy for her.

“
There is something I need to mention,
”
said Ann.
“
The cottage, we
’
re going up there this evening. Is that okay, or should I stick around?
”
If Gwenn needed her, she
’
d stay put.

“
No, go. Have fun. I
’
d be there myself with you if this crap wasn
’
t happening. I have your cell, if I need you I
’
ll call. It isn
’
t that far away. I get a sordid sense of pleasure knowing that you will all be up there. That place is Kevin
’
s baby. Enjoy it, wreck it, burn it down if you like.
”

“
We won
’
t do any of that, I promise.
”
Ann tried to hold back a snicker but failed.
“
Our new neighbor, Mike, is going with us.
”

“
Mike? Someone moved into the Donaldsons’ house?
”

“
Just after my birthday. He
’
s extremely nice, our age, and good looking.
”

“
Single?
”

“
Gay…bisexual.
”

“
That figures,
”
said Gwenn.
“
The good ones always are. Jeff
’
s okay with being around him?
”

“
Jeff is pretty open minded. They
’
re getting along great, becoming good friends.
”

“
That surprises me. Jeff always seemed a bit redneck.
”

Ann was taken aback by her comment.
“
Really? Why would you think that?
”

“
Just an observation. Anyway, I should get going before the day’s over. Jade
’
s at the sitters. Enjoy the cottage and be sure to tell me all about it when you get back.
”

* * * *

What do you pack when going to the cottage?

Mike grabbed a bunch of clothes from his closet and tossed them on the bed.

Shorts, T-shirts, underwear, socks, sandals, and maybe a couple of sweaters in case it turned cool in the evenings.

He hadn
’
t been out in the countryside in years. Being a city boy, he never seemed to get the chance. With Jackson, they always vacationed at resorts, stationed in high-flow tourist areas.

He grabbed the picture of him and Jackson, his fingers tracing across the glass.
“
I still miss ya, bud,
”
he said.
“
Wish you were here.
”
Putting it back down, he went back to the closet and pulled out a duffel bag.

Pairing the shirts to the shorts as he went, he made sure he had more than enough clothes to do him for the three days they
’
d be there. He wanted to look his best, for himself and possibly for Jeff.

Stop it!

He wasn
’
t that type of guy. He wasn
’
t the type of person to mess with anyone
’
s marriage.

* * * *

When Jeff got home from work, she
’
d be ready to go. It wasn
’
t as if they would be roughing it up at the lake. Gwenn
’
s cottage was more like a house, a house that was much better than hers and Jeff
’
s.

She sifted through her closet, looking for the right clothes to take with her. And when she finished, she did the same for Jeff.