Authors: Astrid Lee Donovan
TAKEN BY THE HERO
ALPHA MALE ROMANCE
“Shit,” Elaine whispered as she rolled over in her bed. “What did I do?” she thought aloud as she pulled the covers over her crop of ash blonde hair and closed her gray eyes. There were blurs of a man. Ethan, his name was Ethan, she mentally chastised as her head throbbed and her body ached in response.
There was the sound of something crashing downstairs and she winced as the vibrations resounded in her ears like the echo of screeching nails on a chalkboard. Why had she drunk so much? Why had she slept with a stranger? And what was going to happen now that she’d exposed herself so vulnerably?
You’re going to get up out of bed and be a mother because that’s who you are now. No more lying around moping about a hangover. Chop-chop, she thought as she pulled the covers down and felt her eyes water with pain when she opened them. She’d forgotten all about drinking two glasses of water before bed because she’d never been much of a drinker before her husband passed away. And she limited herself to once a year.
It probably wasn’t a healthy habit to drink on the anniversary of her husband’s death, but it was the one day where she couldn’t handle anything. But it’s not today, she thought as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and heard her mother laughing. Whatever had happened, at least Thomas was still right where he belonged and her mother was still being the crazy woman she knew.
They were most likely acting out pictures on tarot cards again. Elaine hoped they weren’t looking at the one where the man was jumping off the tower burning. It was grotesque and disturbed her, but she often wondered if it hit close to home. The man seemed to be spiraling out of control, and despite her best efforts to remain a good mother and a present human being in her life, she felt out of control.
Her feet whispered across the floor, she grabbed the robe from the back of her bedroom door and slipped it on. There was another laugh and the sound of something else crashing. She’d better get downstairs, but not until she cleaned herself up a bit and got rid of the smeared makeup. Thomas didn’t need to know where she had been last night or what she had done. He didn’t need to have an inkling that his mother hadn’t come home at an appropriate time.
“Elaine, breakfast is ready!” called Priscilla, Elaine’s fifty-something mother and crazy tarot card reading roommate, called up the stairs.
“I’m coming. Just a minute,” she whispered back hoarsely. Her hand went to her throbbing forehead as if she were trying to keep it from cracking open, and she imagined little aliens banging around with hammers as she brushed her teeth.
By the time she had the ick out of her mouth and her face was pristine, her headache was starting to disappear. It might have been the three or four handfuls of water she gulped before she started her morning ritual. She pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and went back to her room to change into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.
The smell of eggs, pancakes, and bacon assaulted her as she took each step down the stairs very slowly and painfully. There was an ache between her thighs that she wasn’t sure she should regret or not. Ethan had been nice, but she really didn’t know much about the fireman that she’d jumped the previous night, and she was a little reluctant to bring him into her life now that she was sober.
Too late for that, she thought as she sat down at the kitchen table.
Thomas turned to look at her with a flushed face and a bright smile as he dutifully mixed up more pancake batter. She’d never get over how dark blue his eyes were and how much they reminded her of her late husband.
“Are you two cooking for an army?”
“Of course we are!” Her mother turned around with a spatula in hand and smiled. It was odd how much her smile looked like Thomas’.
“Cooking for the army!” Thomas echoed. He giggled innocently and dipped one of his army men into the batter.
“I’ll have a cup of coffee,” Elaine muttered as she stood to grab a mug. Her mother gave her a look that suggested she knew exactly why her daughter was opting for only coffee. Elaine couldn’t tell if there was disapproval or interest in her mother’s gaze.
“Are you working today?” Priscilla asked as she flipped an egg.
“I’m not. Haley needed the extra hours so I gave her mine. She’s saving up for something.” Elaine took a sip of the black coffee and shivered with disgust. She liked her coffee with a lot of sugar and cream, but she’d need it black this morning if she were going to take Thomas to the park. She always took Thomas to the park when she was home.
“Park?” Thomas asked eagerly and dipped his hand in the batter by accident. Elaine set down her coffee and picked him up by his waist so that he could wash his hands in the sink.
“Yep, the park,” she told him as she turned on the water.
Elaine hoped that if she did the normal routine with her son that day, she might forget about her embarrassing transgression the night before. She wasn’t over the death of Trey, her husband, and bringing another man into her life was not the answer. No, she hoped that Ethan was not true to his promise and that he would not show up at her home.
So then why does your chest hurt when you think about him not showing up?
“Higher,” Thomas demanded and she pushed him a little higher on the swing. He was old enough to sit on the big kids’ swing, which had delighted him when he’d turned three. Elaine was still glad he was young enough to be excited about something as small as sitting on a different swing. She wasn’t looking forward to the day where he’d need something more expensive or more glamorous to make him excited like he was sitting on the swing.
She still hadn’t gotten around to thinking about when he would leave to go to college. That was so far in the future she felt like it would never arrive.
“Hey, Elaine! I didn’t think I’d see you here today,” Jody’s piercing voice seemed to fill the air around her and made her feel like she might suffocate. The woman was nice enough, but she was a bit dim.
Elaine turned around to see Jody wearing a white blouse with a striped blue and black bra underneath. Did she know everyone could see the color of her bra when she walked through the sunshine? Heck, I’ll bet everyone can see them when she’s not in the sunshine.
“I gave Haley my extra hours,” she said as a greeting. Thomas was having too much fun on the swing for her to use him as an excuse to go home. Besides, she could stifle her exasperation with Jody for another half an hour.
“So I heard you left the party with someone.” Does she hear everything? Elaine figured she probably did. She knew her mother was doing tarot readings before she did. “So?”
Elaine felt a little guilty. She hadn’t been listening again. “Oh, I just needed a ride home. I was a little tipsy and he was kind enough to swing by my place and drop me off on his way home.”
“So who was it?” Jody plopped her son, Larry, into the little kid’s chair and began to rock him back and forth so slow the kid’s head began to droop. His eyes fluttered and his breathing deepened.
“Oh, just the fireman that was called in to keep an eye on the place. Ethan, I think his name was.” Elaine tried to play it safe as if she didn’t really recall. She didn’t want rumors starting about her and Ethan, especially when she wasn’t so sure she wanted him to hang around.
“Ethan Mack?” If Jody hadn’t had a tone of scorn and disbelief, Elaine wouldn’t have paid attention. But it took a lot for Jody Gallant to not like someone. She tossed her fiery red hair over her shoulder and turned her light, hazel eyes in Elaine’s direction. This was a Jody that Elaine had never witnessed before. “You’d do best to stay away from him, Elaine. He’s nothing but trouble.”
“Well, how so?” Elaine gave Thomas a good push and he flew a little higher into the air than she’d intended. His squeal of delight made her stop and smile a moment before she caught him and pushed him just as high. If he fell off, he’d land in the soft sand and most likely wouldn’t get hurt. He was a crafty, flexible kid.
“He just is,” Jody spit out and her son awoke at the venomous tone. His eyes welled up and he began to cry softly, a sign that he was going to wail any second. Elaine wanted to point this out to Jody, but the woman just kept staring at Elaine as if she were seeing her in a different light. And it didn’t seem like it was a good one. “You didn’t sleep with him, right?”
The first thought that came to her mind was that it wasn’t any of Jody’s business who she slept with and who she didn’t. She smiled though and was about to lie when Larry’s wail pierced the air and made both women jump. “Oh, it’s okay!” Jody cooed as she pulled her son out of the swing and popped him onto her hip.
His bottom lip jutted out as he sniffled and snot began to travel down to cover his upper lip. Thomas looked over at his competition for attention and frowned. The crease developing between his eyebrows told Elaine she’d better find something else for him to do before he decided to join Jody’s son.
“We’ve got to get going. It was nice chatting with you,” Elaine lied easily as she pulled Thomas from his swing and planted him on the ground. He looked a little confused by her abrupt removal, but he took her hand when she offered it and turned his attention away from the crying Larry.
“We’ll have to get together sometime!” Jody called after Elaine as she waved goodbye and started back for her mother’s home.
“Fat chance of that,” Elaine mumbled under her breath. Jody was someone she didn’t want to get too friendly with, especially after her initial reaction to finding out Elaine knew Ethan Mack. The man had been polite and it had been her who had initiated the impolite bits.
Elaine was too busy thinking about those impolite bits as she walked up to her mother’s home until it was too late. She stopped short and felt her hand tighten around Thomas’ little one. Had he been chatting at her as they had been walking? She felt guilty that she didn’t know.
He was just as good looking as she’d remembered him, but seeing him stand outside with her mother and another woman who she assumed was his mother felt too familiar. After what they had done together, she didn’t want him to get the idea that it would be okay to show up at her home anytime. She didn’t want him getting too close to Thomas.
Her mother had brought home dalliances when she was younger, and she had promised she would never do that to Thomas when her husband had died.
Elaine picked Thomas up and smiled at him when he gripped the sleeve of her shirt tight. “I think you need a bath,” she told him and he tried to wriggle away from her. He enjoyed his baths, but he seemed to think putting up a fight made them more enjoyable.
“Elaine, there you are! I was just telling Marjorie about your little Thomas here. Isn’t he the cutest?” Priscilla plucked Thomas from Elaine’s grasp as if he were a sack of potatoes and held him up in the air like he was a year old again.
“I think you might be biased, Mom. He is your grandson.” Elaine dodged looking at Ethan as she smiled at Marjorie. “I’m Elaine,” she said as a way of introduction as she held out her hand.
“Oh, Marjorie, and this is my son, Ethan. I stopped in to tell your mother that her tarot reading really gave me some insight into what I should do about my son, and I left her some of my special, dark molasses cookies. You’d better get in there before she gobbles them all up! I think I saw you eat six of them already, Priscilla.” Marjorie had turned her attention back to Priscilla and Thomas now sucking on his thumb as he perched on his grandmother’s hip.
“It’s nice to meet you, Elaine.” Did he say her name with purpose? She wasn’t sure if she should take the proffered hand or not. She hesitated and saw a flash of regret on Ethan’s face. Was it that he regretted sleeping with her? Or did he think that she didn’t want to see him again?
Do I want to see him again? She thought as she took his strong hand and gave it a firm shake before she let her own hand slide back to her side. I guess it’s a little late for that. I kind of am seeing him again, right now.
“And it happened last night! Ethan told me about how he had meant this beautiful, spectacular woman at the party last night and he was home late, Priscilla! Late,” Marjorie emphasized.
“Mom, don’t you think that’s a little too in depth with details?” Ethan smiled politely at his mother, but Elaine could see the strain. Was he embarrassed?
“Oh, there’s no shame in being embarrassed! I mean, we’re just two old women, Ethan. Oh, and Elaine. Sorry dear,” Marjorie proclaimed as she put a hand on Elaine’s shoulder. The woman was a little overly friendly, but then, so was Elaine’s mother.
“Thomas needs his bath,” Elaine said as a way of an excuse and took her son back. “It was nice meeting you both,” she managed in a polite tone before she took Thomas inside.
When the door was shut behind her and she was sure no one could see her, she let out a shaky breath and smiled at her son. He was her anchor in this world, and she wouldn’t let anything jeopardize that. Not even if the man was as sexy as hell and reminded her of the darkest chocolate she’d ever seen. Thomas wasn’t ready for a new father, and she didn’t know if she ever wanted to find one.
Yes, Ethan was fun and she really enjoyed his company, but she worried he would want more than just fun. And who had time for that anyway?
“I certainly don’t,” she muttered.
“What did you say, mommy?” Thomas asked as she helped him out of his shirt.
“Nothing sweetheart,” Elaine told him as she felt a pang of guilt. Today was her day to spend with her son, and she wasn’t going to allow a man to come between them, especially if he wasn’t already there. “Hey, what do you say we go out and get some ice cream after your bath?”
“Yeah,” Thomas told her as he grabbed his bath toys from the basket and stood by the tub. Elaine helped him in and let him splash around in the soapy water as she consciously blocked thoughts of Ethan from her mind. She’d needed his company last night, and that was it. There was no point in feeling guilty about it.
When Thomas was finished, she helped him towel dry and combed his hair as her mind wandered. “You know, you have your daddy’s eyes,” she said randomly.
“Grandma says that a lot,” Thomas told her, as his reflection looked her in the eyes. Elaine felt her heart stutter when she really looked at him. He barely had anything of her in him, but his hair and that could change.
“What else does she say?”
“That I’m a troublemaker like my mom, and that I’ll be a lady-killer when I grow up,” he said in his tiny, boyish voice. “Mom?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t want to kill people when I grow up.” His tone was serious and his gaze was wide and sincere.
Elaine felt her lips twitch at the corners and hugged him from behind. He smelled like baby yet, and she hoped that he would always smell that way to her. “You won’t, honey. It’s an expression. I’ll tell you about it later.” She helped him into his clothes and ran her hand through her hair before she decided she was presentable enough to go out.
“How about we go get some ice cream?”
Priscilla was making herself a sandwich in the kitchen and hummed along to a song on the old radio she’d insisted upon keeping. Elaine could remember that radio from when she was a small girl and wondered if her mother had it before she had been born. “Thomas and I are going to go out and get some ice cream,” she said with a smile. “You want to come along and get some?”
Something was making her feel sentimental that day. She’d woken up with an awful hangover and come home to find the one person she couldn’t decide if she wanted to see again or not, but spending time with Thomas was her top priority. For once, she wanted her mother’s advice about something. She’d know what to do about being a single mother and spending time with a man whom she wasn’t sure she wanted to introduce to her son or not.
“Sure, just let me wrap this up and get my shoes on.”
“Did you hear that?” Elaine mock whispered as she leaned down to Thomas’ height. “Grandma’s going to wear shoes,” she joked.