Authors: Sara Hess
She remained tense in my embrace, but at the same time gripped my
sides tightly. It was like she was fighting whether to stay in my arms or push
me away.
“I…needed to breathe…some fresh air. I’ve been cooped up in that
house for a week; I told you I needed to get out.” She stated, sounding
on-edge.
How could she not be with a woman out there claiming to be her
birth mother; a mother that had dumped her in a bathroom. Her emotions had to
be all over the place. If she needed a distraction right now than I would give
her one.
“We will get out of the house then. What do you want to do? Remember,
you’re still healing so we can’t do anything too strenuous.” I kissed her
forehead continuing to stroke her back, reinforcing my support.
Her frame remained rigid. “I don’t
want
you catering to me
right now. You’re mom and Dan came here to see you, talk to you; I want you to
finish what you started with them before my problems interfered.”
I frowned at her wording. “Your problem didn’t interfere, they
trump mine right now.”
She looked up at me with a glare. “No! My problems don’t trump
yours. I just have more of them, and this time I don’t want you dealing with
mine. I want you to handle your own.”
Was she trying to distract herself, or did this involve something
else…like the erroneous idea that she attracted trouble? With how much shit
that had come her way recently I could see why she thought that, and I hated
that she had even more on her plate to contend with. Whatever her reason she
was fervently adamant that we deal with my so-called problem…even if it made me
uncomfortable.
“Dan and my mother invited us to lunch, along with Landon, Maya
and Nola.” I announced.
“Lunch…Us?” She frowned.
I squeezed her waist. “Yes, us. I love you, and we are a couple,
and this appears to be a couples gathering.”
The dull cloud in her eyes dissipated somewhat at my declaration,
but her head shook back and forth. “Yeah, but Landon and Maya are married and
official family members. I’m not. I’m sure they planned this to be a family
lunch. I’ll just stay here. I need to be alone anyway.” Her expression wilted
in gloomy fatigue.
I wasn’t leaving her after this mountain was just dumped on her
shoulders. She’d been alone to many times in the past dealing with life’s
troubles. “Shaw, you said you needed out of the house. I’m not leaving you here
to brood alone, so we either go somewhere just the two of us or hit this
awkward luncheon.” Although, I doubt there was anything that would completely
sidetrack her thoughts.
“I don’t want to crash your family lunch.” Shaw argued.
“You won’t be crashing; they invited you.” I countered. “And this
isn’t a family lunch. Dan is my boss, and now it seems he is also dating my
mother.” It was a recipe for disaster.
Her head bowed, thumping on my chest, and she went quiet for a
short time. I stroked her hair softly as she processed my ultimatum. I felt
slightly guilty about pushing her, but I really didn’t want her to be alone. I
would rather skip this lunch and spend the time just us two, but she seemed
pretty fixed on me going.
“Okay,” she relented. “Awkward lunch it is.”
∞
∞ ∞
“Are you just as blown away by this as me?” Landon leaned toward
me muttering.
“Probably more, since I work for your dad.” I mumbled back. “I
take it you didn’t know?”
The seven of us were gathered in the solarium of Dan’s new home about
to sit down for lunch. In the divorce he’d given his ex-wife their seven
million dollar mansion in Richmond; most likely because Maya never wanted to
set foot back inside it because of what happened to her there.
This mansion was a little bit smaller and on the outskirts of Charlottesville. Dan had wanted to be closer to Landon, Maya, and his granddaughter.
Landon snorted. “I’ve kind of been in your shoes. If you recall
Maya’s mother used to work for us. I would make every attempt to be somewhere
else whenever she was around because it was too weird having her cleaning up
after me when I was dating her daughter.”
“Well, I can’t really avoid your dad.” My eyes narrowed at the
sight of Dan pulling out a chair for my mother. He leaned down and whispered
something in her ear and she turned her head to smile at him. It was a smile
I’d never seen on her face before; open and affectionate, but with heat.
I wasn’t sure if I should be happy for her, worried for her, or
creeped out at the obvious lust in her gaze…for my boss.
“They look happy together.” Landon was studying the two of them as
well.
Nola dashed over to Dan and he picked her up with a laugh, hugging
and giving her raspberries on her neck, making her giggle.
“But is he over your mom?” I raised my brow questioningly. “He
didn’t divorce your mother because he fell out of love with her. He divorced
her because of what she did.”
Landon’s expression tightened and his eyes darkened in pain and
anger. I didn’t like reminding him of what she’d done, but maybe he had some
insight into his dad’s feelings.
We both observed his dad and my mom fawn over Nola. My mother was
always that way with kids. I always thought that she might have wanted more
children, but I know that Kyle hadn’t. It was something else she’d sacrificed.
Landon spoke quietly next to me. “I can’t speak for my dad’s
feelings, but I know he’s absolutely done with my mother. He would never go
back to her; not after what she did, and not just to Maya and me, but also
because of what she asked Kris to do. While he and I differ on our opinions
concerning Kris, we both think without my mother’s manipulations the events
would never have occurred.”
Landon never referred to Kris as his brother anymore, not after
what he’d done to Maya. His brother denied doing anything, but Landon had a
picture in his head, as well as a recount of Maya’s heartbroken memories, so
everyone understood why he would never forgive him; including his dad. His
brother had betrayed him in the worst possible way.
Unlike his ex-wife, Dan hadn’t cut Landon’s brother from his life,
and Landon said he understood his dad’s unconditional love for Kris. He said
Nola’s existence gave him that perspective because he would love his daughter
no matter what.
“I believe that Dan would never get back with your mother, but his
feelings for her are an entirely different matter.” I grumbled.
Maya walked up to Landon and pressed herself against his front, hugging
him while giving us both a smile. “You know, neither of you are being subtle on
what you’re both conferring about over here.”
Shaw stepped up next to me; her frame was tense and her eyes
guarded. She and Maya had been greeting each other, the same as Landon and me,
since we both arrived simultaneously.
Shaw had been gotten even tenser since hearing the news this
morning.
After Dan and my mother had left with the promise that we’d come
for lunch the both of us had gone up to my bedroom and reviewed the news feed
on this woman claiming to be her mother. Shaw asserted she wouldn’t be able to
concentrate on anything until she got that out of the way.
I’d watched her face fixedly and shared some of her shock at how
much the woman resembled Shaw. She’d had red hair, but it hadn’t been the same
beautiful shade of red as Shaw’s. With her age she probably colored it to cover
any gray strands. Her hair had also been bone straight and shaped into a
shoulder length bob instead of the long, luscious, wild curls that Shaw sported.
It was possible she straightened it, or Shaw had gotten her curls from her
father. The woman’s eyes had been blue, but I could see some facial
similarities between the two; nose, chin, and freckles, but the older woman had
more of them. The woman was somewhat attractive, and slightly overweight in the
way most women get as they grow older and don’t watch what they eat or exercise.
She’d been unaccompanied in her interview stating that she’d
gotten pregnant with Shaw at sixteen and been terrified at the news because her
parents were very religious and stringent. She’d concealed the news from
everyone and been able to hide the pregnancy the whole time by wearing baggy
clothes; as it was during the colder months it hadn’t been that difficult. She’d
divulged that she hadn’t gained a lot of weight and that had aided in keeping
it a secret. When the labor pains had started she’d gone to a friend’s home who
she knew were gone for the summer and delivered the baby alone. The woman had
proclaimed that she’d wanted to keep her baby but if she had her parents would
have kicked her out onto the streets and that would have only killed them both.
Consequently, she’d made the difficult decision to leave the baby in a
McDonald’s bathroom because someone was sure to find her and she could only
pray that she would go to a good home. At the end of the interview the woman
had made a weepy declaration of her deep desire to meet Shaw and possibly build
a relationship.
The woman had been tearfully emotional during the whole interview and
the story I’m sure had tugged at many a heartstring, but I’d watched with
detached interest because I wasn’t going to be swayed by the crying woman who
had abandoned Shaw.
I hadn’t missed the emotion in Shaw’s eyes, the deep yearning for
something she never had, and while I hoped with all my heart that this woman
was telling the truth, I was terrified that Shaw might be heading down a road
to a disillusionment she might never recover from.
Whatever Shaw chose to do concerning this woman I was going to be
firmly at her side seeing her through it, supporting her.
After I’d switched the news feed off Shaw had gone quiet, not
wanting to discuss the woman. I recognized that she needed time to process and
I’d suggested again that we skip the lunch and go do something just the two of
us, but she’d been immovable. She said this day wasn’t about her, it was about
me.
Wanting Shaw pressed up against me similar to the way Maya was to Landon I
snagged her waist and spun her around, being careful of her stomach, to fit her
to my front. She was in that peach dress she’d worn to the wedding with a cream
colored cashmere pullover, and her red, unruly hair was loose down her back. She
was the most stunning woman in the room…or anywhere else.
Giving a light kiss to her lips and trying to tap down the liquid
heat sweeping through me at the feel of her, I whispered. “How you doing,
beautiful?”
“I’m good.” The smile she gave me was wide, but it didn’t reach
her eyes.
The need to change that was compulsive. “How would you like to
come to My Space so I can Twitter you with my Yahoo until I Google in your Face
Book?”
Maya and Landon sputtered next to us.
Finally, a spark lit up her green depths and it made me feel
twenty feet tall. “I don’t know…Yahoo’s always disappointed me in the past. I
might have to switch to Bing.”
Maya and Landon’s sputters turned to outright laughter.
Growling, I stuffed my face in her neck. “In another week I’m
going to show you how undisappointing Yahoo is.”
Shaw giggled and my elevation shot up another ten feet, as well as
my lust. My hips reflexively gyrated into her abdomen for a little relief. Shaw
sucked in a breath and pressed back.
“What are you guys laughing about over there?” Mom asked.
Shaw stiffened and pulled away while straightening her dress. Her
cheeks reddened and I could see discomfort in her eyes. She was probably
embarrassed about getting intimate in front of my mom.
Landon spoke up with a smirk. “Shaw and Evan were discussing the
merits of Yahoo versus Bing.”
I guided Shaw to the table and was seating her when mom responded
to that. “I’ve always went with Google myself.”
Landon started to have a coughing fit in the process of seating
Maya. Maya bowed her head with a grin. Shaw rubbed her face with her hand, most
likely covering her amusement.
“Dad, what do you prefer?” Landon asked with a sly grin, taking
the chair next to Maya.
Dan’s gaze encompassed us all. “I feel like part of your
conversation was withheld, but I’ll answer anyway…I prefer Bing.”
Shaw’s hand clapped over her mouth.
Landon turned to me and beamed. “Well, there you have it, Shaw;
you should switch to Bing.”
I gave him the evil eye which only increased his hilarity.
“Daddy, what’s Bing?” Nola asked innocently. She was seated
between father and grandfather.
My evil eye twinkled.
“It’s a search organ…I mean engine on computers, baby girl.”
Landon declared, giving his daughter a sweet smile.
Maya jabbed him in the side and growled “
Landon
” under her
breath. He just pinched her back playfully.
Dan shook his head while my mom rolled her eyes. “How old are you
guys again?” He laughed.
“Well, I
was
playing with Lego’s this morning.” Landon
retorted.
“We built a castle, grandpa. Daddy made me horses, and guards, and
people on horses. He’s so good at playing Lego’s.” She exclaimed proudly.
Landon stared down at his daughter with a wealth of emotion. “You
are just as good, baby girl. You made that pig and it was way better than my
horses.”
Nola beamed and it was a mirror of Landon’s.
“And you didn’t bring it for me to see?” Dan pouted down at his
granddaughter.
Nola patted his hand. “I’m sorry, grandpa. I promise to save it
and show you next time.”