Payback (20 page)

“Yes.”

“I don’t have an invitation.”

“I do.”

“Why aren’t you taking that woman who likes to moan and scream like a porn star.”

“Why would I?”

“Because you two seemed pretty cozy yesterday.”

He chuckled. “That was yesterday.”

“What type of wedding is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Night, day, formal, informal…”

“Uh, wedding at five, reception immediately after. I understand that there will be guys in uniforms with swords crossed as they enter and leave…does that help?”

“I can’t afford a new dress. I’ll wear one that I have.”

“I’m buying. It’s to thank you for cleaning up after the party. I didn’t think it would be as bad as it was.”

“I’d rather wear my dress and you take a little extra off what I owe you.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t push your luck.”

Marie gave him a mischievous smile and shrugged. “It was worth a try.”

Over the next few days, Marie was pleased when Caden visited her bed on a couple of occasions.  He still didn’t want her to undress completely and he
wouldn’t kiss her during sex, but he didn’t rush through it either. He lingered, making it last, and she frequently felt his lips next to her ear, as if he was going to kiss it or maybe he was smelling her hair, she wasn’t sure. The whiteboard was now hovering close to one thousand dollars, meaning freedom was only days away. 

And then, like a pregnant woman who realizes that she has to get the huge mass developing in her body out a very small hole, Marie panicked.  She had worked months and was going to be free
, but where was she going to go? She had nowhere to live, no means of survival, and no plan in place. It was extremely important now that she have an income, and it was obvious that it wasn’t going to be from writing. She would be a one-hit wonder.
Rowhouse
would be her big hoorah.  By the age of twenty-three, she had already created her greatest career accomplishment. But Marie was okay with that.  She had more important things to think about, and finding a job was one of them. She’d never used her degree in organic chemistry, but she had a professor, Joe Thompson, that had written her when her book went on the best seller list. He told her that he’d give his eye teeth to have an assistant with her intelligence and creativity. He was creating new, nontoxic cleaning products in Bakersfield, California for a small, eco-friendly company. After Marie sent him an email, he told her that he had no positions open (after all, it had been eight years since they had connected), but he would let her know if something became available.

They drove to the mall on Saturday. Marie wore a shirtdress with a well
-worn pair of dress shoes so that she could get in and out of her clothes quickly. Caden was in standard garb, plaid shirt with pearl snaps and western yoke, indigo Levi’s and black cowboy boots. He pulled his cowboy hat down as best he could and slipped on his designer sunglasses to help disguise his identity. It wasn’t working. Wherever they went, women followed.  Cell phones snapped photos and videos of the couple walking quickly through the mall to the next store. When they reached one store, the manager quickly saw what was going on and so she locked the doors to prevent the mob from coming in. 

“Caden Kelly in my shop. I’ll be damn. I heard you lived in the area, but you’re like Elvis
; all kinds of mysterious sightings with no evidence to back it.” The manager was chunky with “big hair” and a silver metallic knit pantsuit that actually looked classier than one would think. “I take it you’re here to buy the young lady something because, as far as I know, no one has ever accused you of being a cross-dresser.”

Caden chuckled. “My friend needs a frock for a wedding.”

“Night or day?”

Caden exchanged a look with Marie. “Night.”

“You look like a size six, maybe a four?”

Marie nodded.

“You’re in luck; I’ve got plenty of choices in your size.”

Caden sat in a chair
, with his back to the large plate window, and waited for Marie to model the different dresses. It brought back so many memories of when they were living together. She hated to shop, claiming she had no fashion sense, so she would drag him with her. But she was wrong; Marie had wonderful fashion sense and knew instinctively what would look good on her body. Although he frequently told her she looked beautiful, he enjoyed the shopping trips mainly because she made him laugh with her antics and descriptions of her body in the various dresses. 

“It looks like two Labrador puppies in a sack trying to get out,” she said about one dress
.

“You’re beautiful, but it isn’t the best dress of the lot.”

“I like the black one.”

“You always like black because you think it makes you look thinner. But the blue one is beautiful on you.”

Marie held up the cobalt blue knee-length dress with long sleeves made from a midnight blue netting. The dress itself was layered bands of matte jersey that skimmed her figure. The cut of the neckline was straight across but low enough to expose the tops of her breasts. She looked sexy and sophisticated.

“You’ll need shoes,” he said.

“Some black heels.”

“There will be dancing
, so nothing too outrageous.”

“No, ‘fuck me’ shoes?”

“You don’t need—” he stopped midsentence.  He was going to tease her, tell her that she didn’t need shoes for him to want to fuck her, but quickly realized how that would sound.

“Need what?” she asked.

“Anything too fancy.”

“You know, I can wear a pair that I brought.  They’re black and not too high.”

“We’ll buy you a new pair. We’re already here.”

“But that crowd isn’t going to let you get by.”

The manager interrupted. “I called security, and my friend who owns the shoe store down the way.  They’ll escort you to her shop.”

After everything was paid for
, they found a pair of shoes and then were escorted out the door and to the security office. Handing his keys to an older security officer, the truck was brought around to the delivery entrance, and they went out the back. 

“It doesn’t look like anyone has followed.  Let’s sto
p in Whitefish for some dinner,” he said.

Marie didn’t want to—it meant that she wouldn’t earn the money for making him dinner and cleaning up afterwards. “I can make dinner!” she said a little too eagerly.

“I don’t feel like waiting.  But don’t worry, I’ll make sure you earn some extra money tonight.” He had become excited in the dress store as she tried on the dresses. Watching her show off her figure, pushing and pulling at the fabric to hide her breasts, made him want to rip it all off and take her on the floor.

That would make two nights in a r
ow?  That made her very happy. Her bill would drop to nine hundred dollars and some change.

Caden took them to a steakhouse in one of the hotels overlooking Whitefish Lake.
Cell phone cameras came out as they were shown their way to a table by the window.

“No, could you show us to one of those booths in the back?  I’d prefer some privacy.”

The hostess, somewhat disappointed that she couldn’t show their guest off, made her way to a back booth and had the table set. They sat and read their menus in silence until Caden finally looked up. “Do you want to split a bottle of wine?”

She shook her head. “You know I’m not a big fan of wine. But I’ll stay sober and you can drink all you want.”

“I don’t plan on drinking a lot tonight, so if you want a drink, have one.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass. What are you going to have to eat?”

“You always have to know what I’m going to eat before you order your food,” he said with a laugh.

“Well, I just like to know.”

“You like for me to order one meal so you can have a taste, and then you order a different one.”

She grinned at him and it made his heart flutter.  “I like variety.”

“I’m having the bison.”

“Oh! I’ve never had bison
. Can I have a taste?”

They both started laughing and
, once again, he found it difficult to turn a cold shoulder to her. In fact, it was almost impossible for him to make her suffer anymore. No matter what he did to her, she took it on the chin and bounced back. He was tired of knocking her down. It was taking more of a toll on him than on her--he was beginning to hate himself.  When did he turn into this vindictive, unforgiving hard-ass?  The hate was eating him alive.

They ordered dinner. Normally, Marie would remain quiet
, since he had made it clear from the very beginning that he didn’t want chatter, or not even her company, but he started to ask her questions.

“Are you going to stay with Tina?”

“Tina?  No.  She’s in Europe now working for a British studio for a few years.”

“I see.” He wondered what that meant. Where was she going to go? Should he ask?

“I’ve got options.”

“Ah, yes, your book. I forgot. So you have a lead on a publisher?”

“I’m working several angles,” she lied.

“It’s a shame you won’t be here for spring when the cows calve. It’s fun to see
ing the calves running around with their mothers. Everything in Montana comes to life, and it’s absolutely stunning.”

“It does sound beautiful.
But I found the winter beautiful too. It’s somewhat foreboding, but oddly so full of life. Sometimes it’s serene and calming, the next it’s blustery and life-threatening.  Winter up here makes you appreciate everything…life, love, friendship, your work, your health. They’re all necessary to get through the winters.”

“I never thought of it that way, but you’re right.  Winters do give you a pause, time t
o think about what is important.” He looked at her and felt an incredible wave of longing. Was she important to his life?  If so, could they ever get over their past? Or was it better that they each go their separate ways and use the past as a lesson?

The waitress took their order.

“Caden, why haven’t you married or had children?”

He pulled his head back in surprise. “I would think you, of all people,
would know the answer to that!” he snorted. “I guess it boils down to the fact that I couldn’t survive another betrayal. And I decided that I never wanted to bring children into a world where they could experience that much pain from someone they loved.”

Marie nodded. “I understand. I don’t feel as if I can trust anyone either. Each time I put my trust into someone, they end up hurting me.”

“Are you talking about me?”

“Not really, although in a way you didn’t trust me enough to think I had a reason to do what I did.”

“I heard about your reason.”

“You did?  You knew what happened and you still left me?”

“I only found out the other day. Jason told me.”

Her face fell.
“Oh.” She took a drink of water. “So what do you think?”

“You want me to say it was a great excuse? That I understand why you did it?”

She took a deep breath and shrugged. “Yeah, something like that.”  She winced, waiting for his tirade.

“I understand what happened
, and I’m sorry that it happened to you, but, I deserved a woman who would believe in me, trust me, ask me if it was true before jumping into bed with someone to get her revenge.”

Deflated, she simply nodded her head.

He could see that she had hoped he would give her some concession, let her off the hook if only a little. The truth was that he did feel bad for her.  Looking back at the woman, the young, young woman that she was, he could see how he had left a lamb for the slaughter in the City of Angels.  He should have taken her with him. He wouldn’t have been so lonely, and she wouldn’t have been fodder for Gordon. In some ways, he was at fault for not knowing that Gordon secretly hated him and would have done anything to hurt him. Gordon knew that Marie was his Achilles’ Heel; that the quickest way to hurt Caden was to take away the only woman he had ever loved.

Caden
sipped some water and then turned to address Marie, smiling, “I have to admit, it’s a good thing that Gordon doesn’t live up here because now I own a lot of guns and I know how to use them.” That made her smile, and her smile made him feel good.

They ate dinner and
, after leaving a fifty dollar tip, they made their way back to the ranch. Marie brushed her hair and her teeth, gargled with mouthwash, put on a light dash of
Obsession
and climbed in bed, lifting her nightgown to her waist.  She waited, and even though he had retired to his bedroom, he didn’t make his way to her.  She gave up, turning off the light and pulling down her nightgown. She was asleep when the depression on the bed woke her. Immediately, she knew it was Caden by the smell and the shape of his leg, which now butted up against hers. He pulled her into him, spooning her from behind.

I
s he going to take me from behind?