Earning Yancy (17 page)

I rolled my eyes. “Mom, you literally just met him less than five minutes ago.”

“By the time you’re my age, you learn to read people quickly.”

I shook my head but didn’t argue. I didn’t want to get involved in a drawn out debate with Charles in the other room.

I handed my mother the iced tea and pointed a finger at her. “You’re allowed to ask questions, but if you start getting too nosy, like asking him about his feelings on marriage and kids, I’m kicking you out and you won’t get to take Carolena shopping for a whole month.”

My mother frowned at me. “Well, that’s just not fair!”

Perversely, I relished my next words to her, especially considering how many times I’d heard her and dad use them when I was growing up. “My house, my rules.”

She agreed in a huffy tone and we went back into the living room. Surprisingly, she behaved herself. I was pretty sure it had a lot to do with the fact that Charles was charming the heck out of her.

When I glanced at the baby monitor and saw that Carolena was stirring, I rose, but my mother waved me down.

“No, no. I barely get to see my grand baby. Let me go get her.”

After she left the room and I heard her feet on the stairs, I turned to Charles.

“Thank you so much for being patient with my mom,” I said.

He threw an arm around my shoulder and tugged me into his side. Smiling down at me, Charles pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Your mom is great. I can see where you get your beauty.”

“Yeah, well she’s crazier than a June bug,” I muttered.

Charles laughed heartily. “There’s no way she’s crazier than my mother,” he murmured, running his nose alongside mine.

Considering I’d heard his side of a conversation with her, he might be right. I felt like a puddle of mush because of his affectionate tone and gestures and the way he charmed my mother.

“Still, thanks for not freaking out and leaving,” I said softly, fiddling with one of the buttons on his henley.

Charles’ fingers slid under my chin, lifting it so that I was looking into his warm blue-green eyes. “I thought I made myself clear before, Yancy. I like you a lot. I want to know more about you, including your daughter, your mother, and your sisters. Even that douchebag ex-husband of yours. Every time I learn something new about you, I just want to know more.”

I stared into his beautiful eyes, speechless. That was probably the most wonderful thing a man had ever said to me.

I was saved from whatever embarrassing reply I might have had by my mother coming back down the stairs, a smiling Carolena on her hip.

“Okay, Yancy. I’ll have her home in a couple of hours,” my mother said lightly. “Nice to meet you, Charles. I hope I see you again soon.”

“I feel the same, Carol,” he responded easily.

“Nana!” Carolena cried, clapping her hands together and bouncing excitedly. She waved at me. “Bye-bye, Mama! Bye-bye!”

I stood and went over to my baby, giving her a kiss. “Thanks, Mom.” I made sure that my eyes communicated I was grateful for her restraint as well as her help with the baby.

“No problem, baby.” She leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Have a little fun with your guy.”

I nodded. “Okay,” I said.

After my mother and Carolena left, I turned and looked at Charles. “So, you busy the next couple of hours?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Nope. But I have something in mind.”

Oh boy.

T
he weekend seemed
to fly by, which was completely unfair because it had been wonderful. After my mother left with the baby, I assumed Charles planned to ravish me. Or at least kiss me stupid. Instead, he told me to grab my purse and phone and we went to Dave and Buster’s. For the next two hours, we played games and snacked on greasy junk food. It was the most fun I’d had in a long time.

When he dropped me off at home, he didn’t come inside, only walked me to my front door and laid a lip lock on me that made my knees weak. It took everything I had not to hop up, wrap my legs around his waist, and beg him to carry me inside.

Instead, I looked up at him and said, “Thanks for today. Carolena and I enjoyed it.”

He gave me another kiss, this one shorter and lighter than the other. “I did, too. Think we can try a dinner with the three of us sometime this week?”

I could barely stand, my knees were no longer existent after that question. The man was getting to me with very little effort. I nodded. “Okay.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll set something up.” He dropped one more kiss on my lips before bounding down my porch steps toward his car.

I unlocked the door and stood in the doorway as he climbed in and started the engine. With a wave, I went inside and shut the door behind me.

Now, it was Sunday night and I was waiting for Charles to call while trying to figure out if I should call Coop first or not. He’d been true to his word and hadn’t tried to contact me all weekend. I knew that he would start bothering me again if I didn’t contact him by tomorrow morning.

Reluctantly, I decided to hear him out. Before I could change my mind, I went through the contact list on my phone and clicked on his new cell phone number.

It rang three times before Cooper picked up. “Hi, Yancy.” I could hear relief and something else I couldn’t decipher in his tone.

“Coop.”

There was a drawn out silence.

“Yancy? Are you there?”

I sighed. “Yes, Cooper. I’m waiting for you to tell me what was so important for you to contact me after all this time.”

He cleared his throat. “Well, uh, I’d really rather talk about this in person,” he evaded.

My eyes rolled up to look at the ceiling. “Fine. Tomorrow, after work. I’ll meet you at the Starbucks on Spring Creek by Central Expressway at 5:30. If you’re not there, I’ll be leaving at 5:35. Am I clear?” My voice sounded colder than it ever had before.

There was another pause. I’d never spoken to Cooper like this. Even after he left, I’d tried to keep things civil for Carolena’s sake and he’d still fucking abandoned her. No more. “Okay, 5:30. I’ll be there.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Cooper.” With that, I disconnected the call and gripped my phone tightly until the urge to hurl it across the room faded.

When I was calmer, I decided that alcohol was a necessity. I wandered into the kitchen and dug through my pantry. Wine and beer wouldn’t handle the chaotic emotions I was wallowing in. I found the tequila. After a quick look through my fridge, I found some leftover skinny margarita mix from a girls’ night in last month.

I wet the rim of my glass with the lime mix and dipped it in salt. Rather than hauling out the blender, I combined the tequila and cocktail mix in my glass and tossed in a few ice cubes. Since I’d used a heavy hand with the tequila, the liquid burned as it flowed down my throat. I welcomed it.

I was halfway through my drink, and definitely feeling less tense, when my phone rang. I glanced at the screen and saw that it was Charles.

“Hi, Charles,” I chirped, draining the rest of my drink. For a moment, he didn’t speak. “Charles?” I asked.

“Hi, Yancy. What are you doing?”

I grinned as I mixed myself another margarita, heavy on the tequila once again. “I’m having a drink. You?”

“Um, nothing. Why, uh, I mean, what are you drinking?”

“Margaritas!” I said loudly. “And they are soooo good!” I knew I probably sounded tipsy, because I definitely felt it.

I sipped my second drink, marveling at the fact that I couldn’t even taste the tequila.

There was a smile in his voice when he asked, “And how many have you had?”

“Well, I’m drinking my second, but I made the first one stronger than usual. It burned a little going down. This one is much smoother.”

“I’ll bet,” Charles muttered before he chuckled under his breath. “So, what brought on your desire for margaritas?”

I groaned. “Just a chat with my ex. He’s insisting that we talk in person, so I’m meeting him after work tomorrow. I don’t even know what this is about. I haven’t heard from the asshole in almost a year. There’s not much to say after that, ya know?”

Charles’ voice was completely devoid of amusement when he asked, “So you’re actually going to meet with him? Alone?”

“Yeah,” I sighed again. “I really don’t want him showing up on my doorstep any more. It’s better just to meet him, hear what he has to say, and then tell him to buzz off. Then he can convince himself that he did everything he could and he’ll leave me alone.”

There was silence. Finally, Charles stated, “I’ll go with you.”

I knew that wasn’t a good idea. Coop pouted, a lot. If I brought the man I was dating to this meeting, he’d spend the whole time sulking and making nasty comments.

“No. I can handle it,” I insisted.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t handle it, just that I would go with you.”

“No, Charles. This isn’t your problem and you being there will only make things worse.” I knew I was saying the wrong thing, but I couldn’t seem to think straight.

“Not my problem?” he said, his voice dangerously soft. “Yesterday, you introduced me to your daughter for the first time. You and I both know that is huge. We’re building something here, which makes your problems my problems, and vice versa.”

Even with my fuzzy mind, I recognized he had a point, but I knew his presence wouldn’t help solve the problem. “Listen, Charles, it’s not like that. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Not that big of a deal?” he asked. With deadly precision, his next words sliced through me. “Yesterday, you had your goddamn head in my lap, relaxed and sleeping like a baby. Tonight, after one conversation with that dick, you’re getting drunk.” His voice was getting louder the longer he spoke. “Explain to me how it’s not that big of a deal if it makes you start drinking hard liquor when I’ve heard you say more than once you’re not comfortable with that when you’re at home with your daughter.” By now, his voice was really loud and I was holding the phone away from my ear.

When he stopped speaking, I took a deep breath. He was being logical, but he didn’t understand. He hadn’t dealt with Coop as often as I had. “Look, you have a point, but-”

“No buts. I’m right and you know it. I’m coming with you tomorrow.”

My patience disappeared with his condescending tone. “No, you won’t,” I snapped. “You don’t know Cooper Stevens like I do. If you show up, especially with this bossy attitude, you’ll only make the whole situation worse. I’ve dealt with his shit before and, if you do this, he’ll sulk and pout like a kid before coming back and making my life hell.” I took a deep breath in an effort to calm down. “I appreciate your concern and I understand why you want to help, but I need to handle this myself.”

“You’re not listening,” Charles said, his voice tight.

“Neither are you,” I replied, my tone just as unyielding as his.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow when you’re sober and can see reason.”

My temper, which was usually nonexistent, exploded, something that seemed to be happening more often lately. “We won’t agree, not on this. If you bring this up tomorrow, my answer will be the same! I’m not so far gone that I can’t think for myself, Charles. Don’t push me on this.” My chest ached and I realized that I was holding my breath in an effort not to scream at him.

“We’ll talk tomorrow,” he said again. “You need to get some sleep. Drink some water before you go to bed. It’ll help the hangover in the morning.”

With that, he hung up. I stared at my phone, torn between wanting to call him back and bitch him out and sliding to the floor and bawling my eyes out. I decided on a compromise. I set my phone on the counter and finished off my margarita before mixing myself another one.

Once I finished the third, there was no doubt about it, I was definitely drunk. I shouldn’t have done it, I knew that as soon as I started up the stairs, my phone and baby monitor in my hand. I just hoped that Carolena didn’t wake up in the middle of the night. She rarely did anymore, but it would suck, if one of the few times she did, Mommy was a drunken mess. Guilt bit my ass with sharp, ragged teeth.

I changed into my nightgown, washed my face and brushed my teeth. When I was done, I took the glass off my nightstand and filled it with tap water. After I drained it, I crawled beneath my sheets and promptly passed out.