Live-In Position (18 page)

She went running out.

“Look, Daddy!”

Stepping from the bathroom, I slipped on the shoes I’d left by her bed while Victoria twirled and pirouetted. “Doesn’t it look great?”

“Yes, it does.” I could hear actual amusement in his voice “It looks,” his gaze landed on me, “beautiful.”

I diverted my eyes. “Come on, little fairy. You don’t want to be late for your recital, do you?”

She came bounding toward me and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of her room and toward the stairs.

“Whoa, slow down. I’m wearing heels.” I gripped the railing.

She tugged one more time, and that was all it took for my heel to catch in the plush carpeting. The heel remained in place with my foot while my body gave into gravity and continued to move forward. I inhaled a large breath and every muscle tensed in preparation for the fall.

Warm arms surrounded me, one around my waist and the other gripping my shoulder. He pulled me back against his chest. My breathing hitched.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

There was no response. Victoria was three steps ahead of me, looking back at us with a shocked expression that shifted to impatience. Still, no response from him, and his arms weren’t moving. I bit my lip and started to pull away. His grip tensed and I swear he inhaled deeply. When he loosened his hold, I stepped quickly, but carefully, down the stairs.

“Let’s go.” I grabbed her hand and pulled us toward the coat closet by the door.

Crouching, I buttoned Victoria’s jacket over her white leotard and pink tulle skirt. His presence warmed my back. I reached into the closet and pulled out my trench jacket, but Dr. Bishop’s hands shot out and took it from me. Glancing over my shoulder, he held the coat open for me. Smiling nervously, I slipped my arms inside the sleeves.

“Thank you.”

His silence was making me nervous. I started wishing he would tell me to cover up or argue that the way I buttoned her coat wasn’t educational, something other than this unusual silence and gentlemanly behavior. When we reached the car, I knew he was going to insist I sit next to him. Luckily, Victoria was so excited she talked non-stop during the drive.

Arriving to the recital location, I exited the car. As I closed my door, Dr. Bishop stood furrowing his brow at me.
Well, I did ask for him to return to normal, didn’t I?

Turning from his scowl, I opened Victoria’s door and helped her from the backseat. Latching our hands together, she hopped out and pulled me through the theater entrance.

After touching up Victoria’s make-up, hair, and attaching the wings to her costume, I kissed her head. Wishing her and her friends luck, I walked toward the theater seats. An usher stopped and looked me over.

“Hello,” he gave a sly grin. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Um...yeah, my seat.” I cocked my eyebrow at his unprofessional innuendo.

“Of course,” he winked and put his hand out. I handed him my ticket. He looked it over and then looked back at me. “Do I get a kiss if I show you your seat?” He tapped his cheek.

I leaned in close to his face, distracting him. “No.” I snatched my ticket from his hand and walked around him.

“Errggh,” he groaned and started to follow me. “I’m sorry.”

I glanced back and shook my head. “It’s fine. I’ll find my seat. Thanks.”

“Is there a problem?” My head pivoted to the sound of his voice.

“No, no problem.”

He approached and kept his eyes on the usher.

“Our seats are over here.” His stern tone was actually directed to someone other than me.

Nodding, I followed close behind. Once we reached the correct aisle, Dr. Bishop stopped, moved to the side and placed his hand against my lower back leading me into the row. With an internal groan, I realized he was putting me between him and Jonathan.

Jonathan rose from his seat in greeting. Allison huffed at his gesture. I took my seat between the two men and thought perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad, quietly releasing the nervous breath I’d been holding as the lights dimmed and the spotlight hit the stage.

Victoria wasn’t scheduled to go on stage until the fourth act and the finale – two hours into the recital. By act three, I was fidgeting with anticipation.

When her group tiptoed onto the stage in the tutus, leotards, and fairy wings, I nearly squealed out loud. I covered my mouth to contain myself. I heard a chuckle but couldn’t tell if it came from Dr. Bishop or Jonathan.

Victoria’s performance was fantastic. It wasn’t until she was off stage I realized I’d inched up in my seat. As I sat back, I could feel him rubbing the side of my forearm. The shock of it caused me to panic. My brain made excuses: It was an accident. He didn’t realize what he was doing. It didn’t make sense for me to think he did it on…purpose. Finally, I pulled my arm away from the armrest and glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He was looking at me and smirking. Swallowing hard, I bit my lip. He leaned toward me and I backed away. His hand moved down onto his seat, but his finger stretched out and grazed my thigh. My eyes widened. There was no mistaking Jonathan’s intention.

I furrowed my brow and shifted away from him. He backed off and settled into his own seat, but for the rest of the night I was on guard. Every time he moved, even slightly, I was aware and jumpy. I practically sprinted over Dr. Bishop’s lap when it was time to get Victoria from backstage.

When I reached her, her little face was lit up with pride.

“You were fantastic!!” I shouted. Picking her up, I spun her around.

“I agree.”

I looked over my shoulder. Dr. Bishop held a single red rose out to Victoria. She beamed.

“Thank you, Daddy!” She hugged his leg.

“Let’s get going. Aunt Allison and Grandma are waiting on you.”

She nodded.

“We also need to get to our reservation at the restaurant.”

They walked hand-in-hand out the doors to the theater with me behind them.

Great, another dinner.

Dinner this time wasn’t as rough, mostly because I was ignored. The one time I was asked to pay attention was when Allison instructed me to have Victoria and myself packed and ready by June 5th to leave for Whidbey Island. I simply nodded in acknowledgement and made a mental note.

Vacationing with the Bishops meant Jonathan would be there as well. That thought alone made me cringe.

C
hapter
E
leven

RIGHT AFTER HER last day of school, we started to go through Victoria’s summer clothes to pack for the getaway.

“You know most of these are going to be too small.”

“Does that mean we can go shopping?”

“I think it does,” I said as I headed towards the kitchen with Victoria on my heels.

She cheered, “We’re going shopping,” over and over as I poured myself a cup of coffee.

“You two going shopping today?”

Both of us looked over at Dr. Bishop

“Yep, I’ve grown out of my summer clothes from last year,” Victoria boasted.

He smiled and poured his coffee.

“I’m going to go get dressed,” I said to Victoria. “You finish your breakfast.”

She nodded and took a large bite of waffles.

Victoria met me at the front door. I slipped on my shoes and grabbed the coat closet doorknob.

“Let’s get going.”

“We’re supposed to wait for Daddy.”

“W-what?” I examined her face.

She smiled.

“I asked if he wanted to come with us. First, he said he couldn’t, but I gave him the pout face.” She imitated the face she’d given Dr. Bishop.

“Oh.” I slowly grabbed her jacket from the closet.

“Are we all ready?” He cleared his throat nervously.

Turning around, I was a little taken aback by a casual Dr. Bishop. He had on a pair of dark blue jeans and a dark gray t-shirt; his hair was damp from showering and a little more unruly than usual. I almost swooned.

Swooning over the Antichrist? Isn’t it a commandment that one shall not worship false gods? Whew, he was making it hard. Antichrist, Antichrist, he is the Antichrist. Check your purse to make sure you have your rosary.

Dr. Bishop circled the mall parking lot a few more times than I would have. Apparently he either needed a special parking spot or just wasn’t used to parking his own car.

“Where are we going first?” Victoria asked as Dr. Bishop opened the doors for us.

“Wherever you want to go,” I shrugged.

“Well, we need to stop at stores for you too,” she reminded me.

“Hey, you’ve already made your opinion of my clothing clear, so zip it.” I tickled her side. She squirmed but didn’t release my hand. I turned to Dr. Bishop. “Did you have somewhere particular you needed to go?”

“Um, actually, I was just tagging along because Victoria asked me to come with her.”

I was amused because he seemed to be more unnerved than I was. I cleared the laugh from my throat.

“Well, I don’t know how interesting the children’s stores will be for you, but that’s where we’re heading.”

He nodded.

“Then we are going to a store for you,” Victoria chimed in with a giggle. I think I even heard Dr. Bishop chuckle.

“You’re going to get it.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she responded. “Can we go in there?” She pointed out a popular kids’ clothing store.

“Sure thing.” As soon as we were through the entrance, Victoria let go of my hand and was a flash of red curls.

She had ten outfits picked out and insisted on trying them all on. I took a seat in front of the dressing room. Dr. Bishop stood behind me. His discomfort with the dressing area was evident.

“Okay, first outfit,” Victoria announced. Stepping out, she did a spin.

I clapped. “Fabulous.”

She giggled and went back into the dressing room. Ten outfits later, we were at the register with five of them, shoes and accessories included. She had also picked out two bathing suits. I’d tried to convince her she didn’t need a pair of shoes for each outfit, but Dr. Bishop simply told her to get them if she wanted them. He paid for her clothes and then grabbed the bags from my hands. Victoria dragged both of us to the next store.

I swear she picked out enough outfits for twenty little girls. Now she was pulling me into a women’s clothing store.

“Victoria, I can go shopping for myself later,” I argued with her. “We should go get lunch.” I started toward the food court.

“Come on,” she groaned. “We’re already here.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the store. “What size am I looking for?”

“You think I’m going to just yell that out?” I snorted.

Next thing I knew, she was behind me pulling on the back of my jeans, trying to get to my tag.

“Hey!” I playfully swatted her away from my butt.

“Size five,” she gloated.

“Sneaky little booger.” I stuck my tongue out at her. .

This time I really did hear Dr. Bishop chuckle. I turned around at the sound of it.

“Don’t encourage her.”

He smiled, another swoon moment. I began my Antichrist chant once again.

“These are cute!” Victoria ran up with a pair of pink short shorts.

“Yeah, and they should cover one half of my butt. I think I’ll pass.” I took the shorts and walked them back over to the table where she picked them up.

“Fine,” she sighed.

I quickly grabbed a couple pairs of shorts, t-shirts, new bras, bathing suit, and a sundress, and then headed to the register.

“You need more than that,” Victoria argued.

“I think that’s enough.” The cashier announced the total. I looked back to Victoria. “Definitely enough.” I laughed and handed the girl my card.

“Miss Ashwood, you should just use the house card I gave you.”

“Buying my clothes isn’t a necessity.” I started signing the receipt.

“True, however, you wouldn’t be shopping if it weren’t for the vacation my family has planned,” he argued.

“You’re as bad as your daughter,” I stated, still not looking back as I grabbed the bags from the counter. “Okay, that’s it. I’m starving.”

“Fine,” Victoria huffed.

Once out of the store, we headed to the food court.

“I want pizza!” Victoria shouted.

“Okay.” I walked her over to the line. We ordered her pizza and took her to a table next to the Chinese counter.

Once she was settled, I set my bags down and got in a small line for Chinese while keeping an eye on Victoria. Dr. Bishop was walking around, probably trying to decide what he wanted.

“Is this good?” His voice made me jump. He gave his crooked smile. “Sorry,” he apologized.

“Um...yeah. It’s good, but I have a thing for Chinese food. If they had an addict group for it, I would probably need to attend.”
Could I sound any more ridiculous? What was wrong with me?

“I see.” I could hear amusement in his tone.

We waited for our orders to be filled. Victoria was only a few feet away, but I was still nervous and kept my eyes on her. After a few minutes, the person behind the counter announced our orders together. Before I could do or say anything, Dr. Bishop held out his card.

“They’re together.”

“You don’t have to –”

He thanked the cashier and looked at me with a smirk.

“Thank you,” I said quietly and followed him toward the table.

“You’re welcome, Miss Ashwood.” He didn’t look back.

We sat down with Victoria who was finishing up her pizza.

After the food court, we loaded our bags into the trunk. Victoria fell asleep during the trip home, and the car ride was completely silent until Dr. Bishop’s cell phone rang.

“Bishop,” he answered.

“Stefan, I don’t care what she wants. I want full custody, and I expect you to get it.” There was a long pause. “We’ve been over the details of her abandoning…the child with me. That should be enough.” Another pause. “I don’t care if she is her biological mother. She only wants her for the support money.”

The next pause was longer. I shifted uncomfortably.

“Tell Tad to be available tomorrow morning. I’ll be in around ten.” He snapped his phone shut and exhaled loudly. I sat there for a few moments, hoping we would pull up to the house soon.

“I apologize,” he said coolly.

“There really isn’t any need to.” I kept my eyes locked on the road ahead of us. We pulled up to the house and he shut off the car.

“Thank you,” he said nervously.

I was confused.

“For…?” I glanced toward him.

His eyes stayed on his steering wheel.

“For waking me up. For making me remember she’s important. For opening my eyes to what I was missing.” Then he opened his door and climbed out.

I MADE SURE I was up early the next morning to load the car for the coming weeks at Whidbey.

“Miss Ashwood, you could’ve asked for help.” Dr. Bishop dropped his briefcase and hurried to help me with a large suitcase.

“It’s okay,” I groaned and lifted the large, heavy bag into the back of the SUV. “I got it.” My breathing labored.

“Please...” He moved me out of the way.

“Dr. Bishop, you’re getting dirt on your suit jacket,” I pointed out.

“Shit,” he grumbled.

“Wait...here.” I handed him a stain-removing wipe I kept in the car.

“Um...what is this?” He looked at me.

I rolled my eyes and opened the packet. Pulling the wipe out, I moved closer to him and leaned down. The wipe quickly removed the marks on his blazer.

“There.” I stood up and was immediately caught in the intensity of his eyes. His nostrils flared and his breathing sounded heavy. “I-I’m sorry if –”

“Thank you,” he spoke curtly. He collected his briefcase and then climbed into his car. The scent of his cologne lingered in the air around me as I watched his every move. Once he was gone, I moved back into the house, making breakfast and getting Victoria out of bed. While she ate, I ran around her room, straightening up and grabbing a few last minute things. Back in the kitchen, I cleaned up our breakfast dishes and grabbed snacks for the road.

Allison arrived about ten minutes after I’d finished everything. We were ready right on time.

After a pleasant ferry ride, we pulled up to the house and parked. I climbed out of the car in awe, taking in the huge house with windows that stretched ceiling to floor on the front and side of the house. It was stunning.

“So-ph-ia.” Victoria waved her hands in my face.

“Huh?” I shook my head.

“Come on, I’ll show you the inside.”

We grabbed a couple of bags and went to explore. The house was huge, open, and beautiful. Just inside was a large open space with one wall made of windows overlooking the ocean, and a large stone fireplace on the opposite side of the room. Overstuffed furniture was placed throughout.

The first few hours were spent carrying luggage and other things into the house. With William being the only guy, he got stuck with a lot of heavy things although Amber and I tried to help as much as possible. Once everything was in the house, we gathered the kids together for lunch. While they were eating, we heard another arrival. Glancing up from behind the kitchen island, I first saw a business suit and then saw Jonathan. I fought a shudder.

“Good afternoon everyone.” He nodded to us all and walked over to his boys, kissing both their heads. We nodded back and mumbled good afternoon. I glanced back to the kids and felt Jonathan’s gaze linger on me – I couldn’t help but lose the fight against my shudder. When he finally left the kitchen, I fell back into an easy conversation with Amber and William. Allison’s voice gave away the next arrival.