Authors: Marilyn Campbell
"You mean she could
die?"
Selena's eyes filled with tears at the thought.
Tom moved across the seat and pulled her into his arms. "Now, now. There's no need to cry. She'll be fine. As long as we take care of her and don't upset her too much."
Selena raised her head from his shoulder. "Then how could you cheat on her? That would tear her apart."
He squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head. Selena thought he was going to cry, but since he wouldn't look at her, she couldn't tell for sure.
"It would probably kill her," he said quietly after a moment. "And I can't help myself. I love her so much, but I don't know what to do."
"I don't understand. You know it would kill her to find out and you say you love her. So why were you kissing Mrs. Esker?"
He took his arms from around her and turned away. "I'm a weak man, Selena, but I have strong physical needs. And, with your mom's health the way it is, I can't ask her to satisfy them as often as I need to. That's the only reason I was visiting Mrs. Esker. I don't really want to be with her, but she's willing... to help me with my needs."
Selena thought about this for a moment. She knew men were different from women. Her own father had needs, but his hurt the body rather than the heart. There had been times before he died when Selena had drawn his brutal attention to herself, hoping to save her mother from punishment. She would have to protect her mother from pain again. "I won't tell. This time. But I'm afraid she'll find out anyway. I want you to promise you won't go see Mrs. Esker again." She heard him sigh, though he still had his head turned away from her. "Daddy? Please?"
Slowly he faced her again and brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek. The affectionate touch was so typical of him, so tender, it made her young heart flutter with love.
"You're so beautiful, baby. When I first started dating your mom, you were just a kid. How could I have known how quickly you'd turn into a desirable woman?"
Part of Selena was pleased he had called her a woman, but she could see he was upset, and it had something to do with the compliment he had just paid her. "I don't understand."
Again he caressed her cheek. "No. I don't suppose you do. It's not your fault that every time I see you, my... I
ache
with the need to... to be with a woman. It wouldn't be so bad if I could go to your mother for relief more often. She'd understand how I love you both the same. But with her poor health, I can't expect her to make the ache go away all the time."
"And so you go to see Mrs. Esker." He nodded, his regret so obvious that Selena had to forgive him for his weakness. "And it's... because of the way I've..." She glanced down at her unusually large breasts for a girl her age. "...changed?" Hesitantly, he nodded again, and she made the only decision possible. "I meant it when I said I don't want you to go to Mrs. Esker again. Or any other woman. I don't want there to be any chance that my mother would ever find out you cheated on her. If you have to kiss someone besides my mother—and it really is partly my fault—I'd rather it be me."
He blinked at her in surprise. "And you won't tell her, or anyone else, about anything we do together?"
She bowed her head. "I promise. I won't tell." Then she raised her gaze to hold his. "And do you promise never
ever
to go to another woman and to keep making my mom happy?"
He kissed her softly on the mouth. "I promise."
"Should I call you Tom, now that I'm a woman?"
"I don't think so. Your mother would notice, and we don't want to upset her, do we?" She frowned and shook her head. "Just keep calling me daddy. I like it."
He stroked her arm in a way that made goose-bumps rise. "Okay. Daddy?"
"Yes, baby?" His fingers brushed the front of her breast and her nipple tightened to a point. He repeated it over the other breast.
She tried to ignore the way her body tensed with each touch. "I don't know very much about the kind of kissing you and Mrs. Esker were doing."
He smiled at her in a way Selena had never seen before, and didn't particularly like.
"You shouldn't lie to me, Selena. You know exactly what I need from you."
When she narrowed her brows in confusion, his smile tilted, making her suddenly nervous.
"I saw you watching your mom and me one night before I asked her to marry me. I knew you were curious, so I didn't send you away. I made your mom very,
very
happy that night."
"I know," she said, embarrassed, but unable to deny any of it. "I could tell. She sang to me while she made breakfast the next morning. I didn't remember her ever doing that before."
"Your mom's probably wondering where we are, so I think we'd better get back. But I'd like to make her very,
very
happy again tonight. Like the other time. I'll leave the door open."
Selena's heart was pounding. This was not what she had expected him to ask of her. She thought he wanted kisses or maybe to touch her breasts, as she had seen him do with Mrs. Esker, but now she understood how much more he needed from her to keep her mother happy. If she refused him, she could be risking her mother's life. With a reluctant nod, she agreed to peek into their bedroom one more time.
His smile broadened. "Now, give your daddy a kiss to seal our secret bargain."
That was the first time a man had pushed his tongue into her mouth. But it was only the first of many personal invasions to come in the years that followed.
As Selena watched Drew, she knew without a doubt what he wanted from Teri, and it was up to Selena to warn her friend before she found herself helpless at another man's mercy.
* * *
By midnight, Teri finally realized that neither Selena nor Drew were willing to be the first to call it a night. They had both stayed with the excuse of fielding reporters for her, but the media had apparently lost interest in her again. When they turned on the television to watch the nightly news, they saw Captain Hart assuring a reporter that the police would soon track down whoever was responsible for Detective Kidder's death. To the question "Was it a mob hit?" he was evasive, but no one watching would think he believed anything else. Not having had much sleep the night before, Teri decided it was no longer necessary to play the polite hostess.
"Listen, guys. I've had a great day and evening with you, but I'm dead on my feet. Drew, if you'll be developing that film tomorrow, I'll see you then. Selena, I'll give you a call as soon as I need you to sit, but it probably won't be for about a week. I've got a lot of other things to work on right now." Selena's frown made her add, "This time, I won't forget to call, I swear."
Drew looked as though he couldn't make up his mind about whether to go ahead and leave, or give Teri the kiss they'd both been thinking about all day. She made his decision for him by holding out her hand and saying, "See you tomorrow," but her eyes held a promise of reward for his patience today.
Teri stood at the open front door after he left, expecting Selena to walk out right behind him. One look at Selena's face let her know she was wrong.
"Close the door," Selena ordered abruptly. "We have to talk."
"Selena, I'm exhausted," Teri pleaded, but closed the door anyway. Weariness did not prevent her from noticing how distraught Selena suddenly was as she strode to the window and peered out through the drapes. There was something very unsettling about how quickly Selena's moods seemed to be changing all the time. Had she always been like that? Teri didn't think so. She yawned in spite of the troubling thought.
"Good," Selena said, turning back from the window. "He's gone. You're going to have to insist he immediately make other arrangements for processing his film."
Teri was caught unawares by the demand. "Why would I do that?"
"I don't expect you to understand. You're just so innocent of the ways of men. But that's why you have to be extra careful now that Rico's gone."
Teri guessed what Selena was getting at, but didn't want to jump to any conclusions. "I'm not
that
innocent. I lived with Rico for quite a long time."
"And that man was recently murdered. The police may still suspect you of having something to do with it. You must make sure you're not compromised in any way."
"Compromised? Selena, I think I'm too tired to follow this tonight—"
"Yes,
compromised
—put in a position where it looks like you had a reason to kill your husband. You may not realize it yet, but Drew is intending to compromise you."
Teri might have laughed at the phrase, except that Selena's eyes had narrowed to glittering slits in her pale face. It put Teri on guard. "Drew is a gentleman. He—"
"Drew is a pig," Selena spat. "Just like every other man." She moved closer to Teri with each vindictive word, completely ignoring Teri's protests about Drew. "He wants to use you for his own needs, regardless of what danger it might put you in. Then, when he's tired of you, he'll betray you. I won't let that happen to you again."
For each advancing step of Selena's, Teri took a step backward, away from Selena's irrational anger. Teri could only imagine that the girl had been badly hurt by a man and now believed every man was rotten, but that didn't give her the right to insult Drew.
Although she didn't get the impression Selena would listen to her, she had to try. "You're wrong about Drew. Not all men are bad, any more than all women are good. And Drew knows about Kidder's charges. I told him. Even though Captain Hart seems convinced the mob was behind both Rico's and the detective's murders, Drew wouldn't do anything to bring suspicion back to me."
Selena's chest rose and fell sharply several times, making Teri think she was struggling to get herself under control. Teri hoped she would do it quickly. Selena's strange behavior was beginning to frighten her. As abruptly as Selena's fury had appeared it vanished, and the friend Teri
thought
she knew became solicitous once again.
"I'm sorry. I see I've upset you, and that's the last thing I wanted to do." Selena's eyes were back to normal and filled with concern. "I only wanted to warn you about him. He may not have done anything yet, but I saw the way he looked at you all day today, and it's only a matter of time before he starts tricking you into doing what he wants. The only way to prevent it is to send him away...
now
. Before it's too late for either of you."
Teri realized that although Selena had softened her voice and her words, she was still insisting she break off any relationship with Drew. What Teri couldn't understand was why the warning sounded like it carried a threat along with it. Surely Selena's jealousy wasn't
that
extreme. Nevertheless, Teri knew the time had come to start severing their friendship.
Reaching out to touch Selena's hand, she tried to reassure her, without lying. "I'll think about what you said, and I'll be careful with Drew. Now, I really need to get to bed."
Selena allowed herself to be led to the door before saying what else was on her mind. "I've been giving some thought to moving out of Manhattan. I spend a lot of time commuting between there and here. With you being alone now, I was wondering if you'd like a roommate."
It took Teri a moment to realize what Selena was suggesting, and then only incredible restraint kept her from revealing her instantaneous, horrified reaction.
Selena was encouraged by Teri's silence. "You know, I have money. I'd help with the expenses, and I could do things around the house, so you'd be free to paint. It would be good for both of us to have the company."
Teri knew this was not an issue she could let hang between them, even if it hurt Selena's sensitive feelings. A break in their relationship had to start here and now. "I don't think it would be a good idea, Selena. You know what they say about familiarity breeding contempt. I'm afraid our friendship would suffer if we spent every day under the same roof." When she saw the pout forming, she went a little further. "Please understand, it's not you. I don't want to share my life with anyone at the moment. I need some space, and time alone." Although Teri knew that wasn't entirely true, Selena seemed satisfied.
"I understand, but I'd still like us to spend more time together. Just so I know you're doing all right."
Teri was careful not to make another promise she couldn't keep, since that was apparently what had set Selena off that morning. "Let's see how my work goes on this new series. You know that once I get started on something I forget about everybody and everything except my painting."
Selena smiled and nodded, accepting the explanation. "You're right. I know how you are. And that's even more reason for you to keep Drew out of your life. He'll soon become a distraction if you don't stop him. You may not want to get involved, but he's a charming man. And that's the worst kind of pig there is."
So, Teri thought after Selena finally departed, the girl once fell in love with a charming man, and he betrayed her. Not an uncommon occurrence, but Selena's hostile comments seemed too vehement—as if it happened only yesterday. Teri was fairly certain Selena would have confided in her if she'd been seeing a man, and never in the year they'd worked together had Selena even mentioned having a date. Teri hadn't given that much thought before, but combined with the way Selena had just blown up about Drew, she realized there was a reason for Selena's lack of social engagements that went far beyond her being shy.