Authors: Lynn Hunter
On the way home Lily stopped at the store. Wine. She was
going to get a bottle of wine, even if she shouldn't spend the money on it, and
when Johnathan went to bed, tonight she was going to drink the whole thing.
Well, maybe not the
whole
thing.
Her chest squeezed at the memory of seeing Sam's arms
wrapped around that attractive young woman. Her face tipped back smiling at
him. The looked so comfortable with each other. She hated him for tying her
in these knots. Things were hard enough without adding heartache to the mix.
She couldn't believe she spent all week thinking about him.
Missing
him. Oh Lord, she was glad she didn't let Johnathan become attached to him.
It's good that this happened now instead of later.
After getting her wine, she headed home. Her mom greeted
her at the door.
“That was fast.”
“Didn't take long.” She placed the wine next to the stove.
“Wine?” Her mom asked.
“Yes. I'm having some when John goes to bed.”
“Oh! I forgot to tell you Derek's mom, Candace, called the
house. She said she tried to call your cell. She wanted to ask if John could
sleep over tonight since Derek slept here last time.”
Johnathan would love it. They had so much fun last time.
Lily liked Derek's mom. They were the same age and both single parents. “I'll
call her.”
“Glen and I can drop him off on the way to dinner.”
“Right.” The mention of Glen's name made her think about
Sam. Why did he do this to her if he had a girlfriend? He acted like he
wanted only her and made her feel like he had to have her. Lily's breath stuck
in her chest, she let him touch her and kiss her. She told him about John and
her dad. Why did he do this?
She mentally shook her head. If he was that kind of man,
then she didn't need him anyway. She had other things to worry about. Like
moving. There was an offer on the house. They weren't going to make much but
enough to rent a house in town. They hadn't expected to make anything since
they were still paying off the mortgage. She sighed. No sense in taking the
diner job now. They were leaving the house and there wasn't anything she could
do about it.
Her plan today was to go see Sam and he would wrap his arms
around her and tell her everything would be okay. Much to her surprise, his
arms were already full. She pressed a hand to her stomach. Why did it hurt so
much?
“Are you okay?”
No. “I'm all right. I'll call Candace. When is Glen
picking you up?” She asked trying to change the subject. She didn't want any
questions right now.
“Six.”
Lily forced a smile. “I hope you have a pleasant time.”
Her mom watched her closely. “I don't like leaving you here
alone when you’re upset. I'm sure Sam would love to take you to dinner.”
Her heart dropped. “I think I'll just stay home tonight
Mom. I'm almost out of supplies for decorating classes. I have to go through
what we have and make a list of what I need.”
“Always making a list.” Her mom teased.
“I would be completely lost without one.”
After making plans with Derek's mom for drop off and pick
up, she spent time with Johnathan while her mom got ready for her date. Glen
showed up just before six. She opened the kitchen door and invited him in. He
looked handsome in tan slacks and a blue dress shirt.
“Come in Glen,” she said politely but unable to summon a
smile.
“Thank you, Lily.”
“Hi, Mr. Glen,” Johnathan said from his stool at the island.
“You're taking Gramma on a
date,”
he informed.
Glen chuckled. “Yes sir, I am. Is that okay with you?”
Her son shrugged. “Sure.”
“Why don't you run upstairs and tell Gramma her date is
here,” Lily said.
“Okay.” He jumped off the stool and ran for the stairs.
“Gramma!”
Lily shook her head. “He's wide open.”
“He's a good kid.”
“I know.” Lily's tone bordering on rude. “I'm sorry, it's
been a long day. Can I get you something to drink?”
“No thank you.”
“Please have a seat. She should be down in a minute.”
He took the seat Johnathan vacated. “You should have stayed
for lunch today.”
Her chest squeezed. “I'm sorry, I didn't have time. I had
some errands to run.”
“I see.” He studied her face. “You don't like me seeing
your mom.”
There it was. Lily took a deep breath. “Honestly?” she
gripped the edge of the counter top.
He nodded his head.
“No. I don't. She's been through so much and she's fragile.
I don't want to see her hurt.”
“
She's
fragile?” He asked gently.
“Yes.” She knew what he was getting at. “She loved my father
very much. She'll
never
be over him.”
“I loved my wife very much too. I never thought I could
look at another woman after she died.” His voice was so calm. Being upset with
him was hard.
She put a hand to her forehead. She seemed to have a
perpetual headache these days. “I'm sorry, Glen. I think you're a nice man.
Things seem to be happening so fast.”
“Sometimes change can be good.”
“And sometimes it can be a disaster.” Why couldn't she stop
being so pissy? “I want my mom to enjoy her life. She wants to spend time with
you.”
“I'd like to spend time with all of you, Lily.”
Something in his voice made her eyes jerk to his. He was
going to take her away. She saw it in his eyes. This wasn't just a date. Her
breath started coming faster “You're-” she began.
“I'm sorry it took so long. I'm ready now.” Her mom breezed
into the kitchen looking beautiful in a long rust colored knit dress that
skimmed her curves. She had on boots and a wide belt. Her look was topped off
with light makeup and gold hoops on her ears. She looked young and healthy.
Lily felt just plain frumpy in comparison.
“You look gorgeous, Sarah. Makes me feel like I'm robbing
the cradle.” From the look on his face he really didn't care if he was robbing
the cradle or not.
Her mom laughed. “You don't look so bad yourself.”
“You look lovely, Mom,” Lily said, “what time do you think
you'll be back?”
Her mom's smile faded. Great, she was spreading joy everywhere.
“Um...I don't know, honey. I'll call if I'm going to be late.”
“Okay. I'll probably still be up.” Why couldn't she keep
her mouth shut?
“Is it alright with you if we drop Johnathan at his friend’s
house? It's on the way to town.”
“Of course.”
Johnathan came in with his backpack. “Did you grab your
toothbrush?” Lily asked.
“Yep. Can we go now?” He was jumping up and down in his
excitement. At least, she hadn't managed to ruin his good mood too.
Lily stood at the kitchen door and watched them leave. She
felt so lonely. Why couldn't she move on with her life like her mom was trying
to do?
After shutting and locking the door, she went upstairs to
change. She pulled on an old comfortable blue sweatshirt and blue drawstring
pajama shorts and headed for the wine.
The second glass went down much easier than the first. She
supposed that's how it went with cheap wine. As if mother nature felt her
mood, it started to rain. Fine with her. She would just lay here on the sofa
and watch Christmas movies. It was too soon in the year to celebrate Christmas
but this particular channel liked to start off early.
The sun set and it was completely dark outside when she went
into the kitchen to pour her third glass of wine. She was taking a sip and
heading back to the spot she wallowed out on the couch when a knock sounded at
the kitchen door.
It startled her so badly she jerked making her drop the
glass and it shattered at her feet sending wine and glass shards all over her
legs and kitchen floor.
She put a hand over her frantically pounding heart and
turned to look at the kitchen door. She saw Sam through the glass of the door.
What was he doing here? She scanned the floor for a place she could step
without cutting her fee.
Sam rattled the door knob. “Don't move!”
He left his girlfriend to come over here and boss her
around? “Go away!” She yelled back and gave him her best frown so he knew she
meant business. She glanced to her right and saw a fairly disaster free spot
to step but when she tried to balance on one foot, she swayed then hastily put
her foot back in place. Maybe she was a little buzzed. She should have eaten
before the wine.
“Don't move damn it! You're going to cut yourself! Where's
the key to unlock the door?” He demanded.
She scoffed. She'd rather stay here all night than tell him
where the spare key was hidden. With her arms out at her sides for balance,
she tried again for the clear spot. She swayed slightly but managed to put her
foot in the place she aimed for. Unfortunately, the other foot wasn't as lucky
and caught a piece of broken glass when she tried to put it down.
Oh Lord
,
she felt like she was playing drunk twister. It would have been funny if there
hadn't been broken glass and blood. She watched stupidly as blood seeped out
from under her foot. Looking around again, she knew she had lost the game.
“Don't move, Lily! Where's the damn key?” Sam barked through
the window making her jump.
Lily bit her lip in indecision.
“Tell me or I'll break the door down,” he warned.
Finally, she pointed to the door jamb above his head.
Understanding what she meant, he reached over his head and found the key on the
lip of the door frame.
Quickly unlocking the door, he strode in and slammed the
door behind him. Without pausing in his stride, he slapped the key down on the
island so hard it made her flinch. Forgetting about the glass, she started to
step backward away from him.
“Stop!”
Before she could blink, he had her by the waist and plopped
her, none too gently, on the island.
“Thank you. You can go now. I'll clean up.”
He ignored her while he wet a towel in the sink and walked
closer to her. He exuded masculinity and her heart stuttered then started
beating furiously. He gently cupped her bleeding foot in his warm hand.
Lily pulled her foot away and snapped. “Don't touch me.
Leave Sam. I don't want you here.”
His eyes flashed at her and he snatched up her ankle so fast
it made her gasp. “I'm going to make sure you don't have any glass in your
foot,” he said in a frighteningly calm voice.
He wiped the blood and wine from her foot and then carefully
probed the cut. His hands were rough on her soft skin and she broke out in
goosebumps. He paused briefly in his inspection to take in her raised flesh.
She tugged on her leg to try to get him to let go.
“No glass in your foot.” He went to the sink again and
rinsed out the towel and came back to wipe the other leg and check it for cuts.
“Bandage?”
“I'll get-”
“Where are they?”
“I said-”
“Bandage, Lily!”
She swallowed down the urge to scream at him. “Hall
bathroom.”
Without hesitation, he left the room and was back almost
instantly. He was so confident in everything he did. She watched him walked
towards her. He was so handsome. He smelled good too. Like the outdoors and
rain. He was dressed in blue jeans and a crisp white t-shirt under a warm
looking brown jacket. His dark hair was damp from the rain. Her eyes wandered
over him and her eyes clashed with his. She blushed and dropped hers away,
hating that he caught her staring at him.
She snatched the bandage away, “I'll do it. You can leave
now.” She didn't want to look at him. It reminded her of that afternoon.
“So you can get drunk?”
“Yes,” she snapped “and you made me waste a whole glass of
wine.” As she put on the bandage, he made quick work of cleaning up the mess
on the floor.
She slipped down from the island and gingerly tested her
weight on her foot.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I'm showing you to the door. I'm polite like that.”
“That wine must be making you brave,” he drawled.
Hot anger coursed through her. “What are you doing her, Sam?
I didn't ask you to come here. Leave or I'm calling the police.”
His jaw clenched and his eyes glinted. He moved quickly in
her direction and showed no signs of stopping.
“I've had enough of your mouth, Lily.”
She held up a hand to ward him off. “Leave if you don't like
it.” Her voice started out strong but grew quieter the closer he got.
He stopped a breath away, “Where is Johnathan? Is he
sleeping upstairs while you're down here drinking yourself into a stooper?”
Her hand lashed across his cheek. The sound echoed, slightly
buffered from his beard, through the kitchen. Lily couldn't believe she did
it. Again she acted on impulse. She clapped a hand over her mouth.
He clasped her wrist and yanked her to his chest, “Where is
he?” he asked quietly.
“H-He's at a sleepover,” she whispered shakily.
He let her wrist go and grabbed her arm, not hurting her,
but not giving her any chance to jerk free and pulled her into the living room.
Lily tried digging in her heals, and he turned and tossed
her over his shoulder. She could feel waves of anger coming off him. Fear
climbed her spine. She stayed silent not wanting to make things worse. She
just hung over his hard shoulder and waited. She didn't have to wait long.
Before she knew what was happening, he pulled her off his shoulder and pushed
her face down over his lap as he sat on the sofa.
She gave a startled squeak and tried to sit up. He held her
easily with his big hand in the middle of her back. The other hand came down
hard on her upturned rear.
“Ow!” she flung a hand back to cover her behind. He quickly
moved her hand out of the way and gave her another burning smack. “I'm sorry!
I'm sorry!”