Her House Divided (Beach Haven Book 1) (9 page)

Chapter Fourteen

When Ethan left school at the end of the day, the last person he expected to see was Jacqueline.  And yet there she was, waiting for him in the parking lot, her sleek silver sedan parked next to his Expedition.

“I didn’t see you this much when we were married,” he sighed.  “What do you want?”

His ex-wife pouted.  “Is that any way to greet the woman you once wanted to spend your life with?”

“I once wanted to be a superhero, but I grew out of that phase, too.”

She laughed, and he couldn’t help but compare the brittle, controlled sound of her laughter to Tara’s exuberant belly-laugh.

“I have an offer for you,” Jacqueline said, when she realize that he wasn’t laughing with her.  “I’ve spoken with my lawyer, and we are prepared to make you an offer on the house.  It’s very reasonable, and we would be able to close on the deal within a week.  Think about it, Ethan:  Money in hand within a week, and you will no longer be tied down to the house and your little . . . 
companion
.”

“I’m not interested.  I like being ‘tied down’ to the Seashell.”

“And Tina?”

“You know her name is Tara.”

Jacqueline shrugged.  “It doesn’t matter what I call her.  She’s a burden, Ethan.  There is no way she will ever be able to pay her share of the bills, and it’s just a matter of time before her creditors come after her.  You’re going to lose the house because of her.  If you’re smart – and I know you are – you’ll get out while you can before she drags you down with her.”

He was silent.

“Oh, is that how it is?”  she said, after a moment.  “You’re falling for her.  Oh, Ethan.”

“I think we’re done here.  Good-bye, Jacqueline.”

She tsked.  “You know what this is, don’t you?  A rebound.  You’ve bounced from our marriage into the arms of the first pretty little thing within your reach.  You’ve known her for a couple of weeks.  Is she really worth losing everything?  Can you really trust whatever it is that you think you’re feeling?”

“Why do you want this house so much?” he demanded.  “Yes, it’s worth a lot of money, but you’ve already got plenty of that.  Is this about hurting 
me
?”

“’Plenty of money' is never enough,” she told him, baring her teeth in a smile that was more of a snarl.  “Hurting you is just an added bonus.”

“You’ll just turn it into a rental property, or sell it to a developer for a profit.   If I really wanted to sell it why would I go through you and let you make all the profits?”

“Because you don’t have the money it would take to renovate it into a rental property.  And you don’t have the contacts that I have to sell out to the right developers.  Face it, Ethan, even if you could get the financing to buy out Tina’s half, you’ll be left so strapped that you’ll eventually go under.  Right now, my offer is the best option you’re going to get.”

“You’ll never be my best option, Jacqueline.”

Her laughter was still ringing in his ears as she drove away, and he slumped down into the seat of his Expedition.  He didn’t hate her, but hated it when she was right.  In this situation, she was right, at least about some of it.

There was no denying the fact that Tara was in over her head financially.  It was only a matter of time before creditors came after her or she was forced into declaring bankruptcy.  One way or another, there was a very strong possibility that they were going to lose the Seashell because of her. 

You’re falling for her
, Jacqueline had said.  That stood out more than anything else she had said to him.  It wasn’t true.  It 
couldn’t
 be.

He liked spending time with Tara.  She was funny and smart, and it was a true pleasure to watch her bloom as she regained her strength and confidence.   They had 
fun
 together.  And he had to admit that she continued to surprise him in the bedroom.  But he was not falling for her.   His feelings for her were strictly friendly – with “benefits”, of course.

He resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands and groan out loud.  He was an idiot.  No matter how much he tried to deny it, the truth of the matter was that he really had begun to develop deeper feelings for Tara.  Feelings that couldn’t be trusted, not this soon after divorcing Jacqueline. As she had just reminded him, he had once wanted to spend the rest of his life with
her
; how could he possibly trust anything he was feeling for another woman so soon?

Damn it.

He shook himself.  First things first.  He needed to hold onto the Seashell.  It was time to call Ben again and discuss a few options.

* * *

Tara was bursting with excitement when he arrived home an hour later.  “I’m going back to school!”  She blurted out.

“What?”

Tara laughed.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to attack you with that the second you walked in the door.  I’m just so excited.   My physical therapist set me up with a vocational rehabilitation specialist, who is helping me figure out some new career options.  Just because I can’t do hair any more, it doesn’t mean I have to sit at home feeling sorry for myself.” 

“So the vocational whatchamacalit wants you to go back to school?”

“Cosmetology school, for my Instructor’s License.  I should be able to qualify for financial aid, and it’s only five hundred hours of classroom time.  I can be done in less than a year.” 

Ethan followed her to the kitchen where she continued to chatter as she slid a pan of lasagna out of the oven. 

“I warned you, I can’t cook,” she said, seeing his questioning gaze.  “I bought it frozen and just had to throw it in the oven.  Not even I could mess that up.”

He helped her set out plates and silverware.  “Will you be able to teach?”  He asked.  “I mean, won’t that involve working on your feet and doing all of the same things you used to do?”

“That’s the great part.  I can teach Theory.  Students in Michigan need three hundred and fifty hours of classroom and lab time before they are allowed on the floor with actual clients. Every school needs a Theory Instructor.”

He couldn’t help but get caught up in her enthusiasm, despite the misgivings he felt.  He wondered if she was perhaps pushing herself too hard, too soon.  The physical therapy sessions were already starting to help with her posture but she was clearly exhausted.  There were dark smudges under her eyes and an unhealthy pallor to her skin, and she seemed to need so much sleep.  He was afraid that adding school to the mix might just be too much for her at this point in her recovery.

He wanted to talk to her about postponing her back-to-school date until she was a little but stronger, but said nothing.  He didn’t have the heart to burst her bubble when she was this happy.

He also needed to talk to her about what he had done that afternoon on his way home from work.  It had seemed like a good idea at the time; after talking to Jacqueline, he thought he was making a good decision and doing the absolute best thing for both him and Tara.  Now, watching her enthuse about going back to school and getting on with her life, he wasn’t so sure.

Somewhere, deep inside, he felt a tiny quiver of doubt begin to gnaw.

Smiling at Tara, he squelched the doubt and held up his glass of wine in a toast to her future.

Chapter Fifteen

The following Saturday was the day of the Fall Ball, and Ethan agreed to accompany Tara to the event rather than let the very expensive tickets go to waste.  Melissa offered to take her to the mall in Grand Rapids to find a formal gown for Tara to wear.  

“I really appreciate your bringing me to the mall,” she said now, smiling at Melissa.  “I’m ready to start trying to drive again, but I wasn’t sure if I could deal with the traffic—“

Melissa waved her gratitude aside.  “Let’s look at my choices for the day, shall we?  Spend a couple of hours shopping for pretty dresses, or stay home and do laundry.  Hmm, it was a
tough
 decision.”

Tara giggled.  They entered the first dress shop, and she led them directly to the bargain racks first.  She had gotten a sizeable check from the insurance company earlier in the week, along with a politely-worded apology letter, but that didn’t mean she had to buy something expensive.  Although she planned on using the money to start paying off her debts, there was no reason why she couldn’t spend a little of it on a dress for tonight’s event.

“Is Ethan going to be able to rent a tux at such short notice?” Melissa wondered.

“He won’t have to.  Sean actually owns one, and he’s going to let Ethan borrow it.”  Tara shook her head, still marveling at the fact that Ethan’s friend actually owned a tuxedo. 

The older woman started pulling dresses off the rack and holding them up in front of Tara, talking to herself as she considered each one.  “Too pink . . . too matronly . . . too much frou-frou. . .”

‘’’Frou-frou’?”

Melissa shook a fluffy green creation with row upon row of cascading ruffles.  “Looks like a pageant dress for a six-year-old.”

Tara giggled again.  It had been too long since she had just had fun shopping with another woman, she decided.  “We should get a dress for you, too,” she said.  “You and Dan might still be able to get tickets for the Ball.  It would be so much fun to make it a double-date.”

“No, it’s not as much fun to shop for dresses for me.  You’ve got such a cute figure; it’s like dressing a Barbie Doll.”

The first dress Tara tried on was a black velvet number with a plunging neckline so low that made her blush.  It was form-fitting and sexy and very nearly inappropriate.  The next was an emerald green that emphasized her hair and eyes but with an Empire waist that did nothing for her figure.  There was something wrong with each one, and Tara was feeling desperate by the time she reached the last one in the pile they had carried into the dressing room.

“That’s the one,” Melissa declared as soon as she saw Tara in the dress.

It was a deep teal color that emphasized her creamy skin and vivid green eyes.  The sweetheart neckline and princess seams played up her hourglass shape, while its graduated hem showed off her shapely legs and fell away to full formal length in the back.  Tara turned this way and that in front of the three-way mirror for a moment, and nodded.

“I’ve got some strappy silver heels and a matching clutch that will be perfect,” she said.  “I’ve got everything I need.”

“Not quite.”  Melissa took her arm and led her to another part of the store.  Tara blushed again when she realized what her friend meant.

“Oh, I don’t need –“ she began.

“Don’t be silly.  Of course you do.  Ethan’s eyes are going to pop right out when he sees you in that dress, and something else is going to pop right out when he sees what’s 
under
 the dress.”

“Melissa!”  Tara gasped.

“Oh, don’t look so shocked,” the older woman laughed.  “I may be an old married lady, but I remember what it’s like to be young and in love.  And I remember the power of naughty underthings.”

Young and in love?
  Tara opened her mouth to protest, but the words wouldn’t come out.  In love?  No, Melissa was being ridiculous.

She barely paid attention to the cream-colored corset and thigh-high stockings that her friend added to her purchase.  If Melissa noticed her sudden silence, she said nothing about it, chattering instead about Tara’s hairstyle and jewelry for the night.

“Tara?  Hello?  Are you listening?”  She asked, snapping her fingers.

“Hm? Oh, I’m sorry.  I was . . . thinking about something.”

“About some
one
, more likely.”

They left the dress shop, bags in hand, and headed toward the food court.  Glancing at her watch, Tara decided that they had plenty of time for lunch before heading back to Beach Haven to get ready for the big evening.   She tried to recapture the light mood from earlier in the day, but her mind kept turning over Melissa’s words.

Young and in love.

“Okay, what’s the deal?”  Melissa finally demanded, after watching Tara pick at her Chef Salad.  “Buyer’s remorse?”

“No!  No, I love the dress.  I just . . . “

“Was I too pushy about the underthings?”

Tara felt her face grown warm again.  “No, that’s not it, either.  I – I . . .” Suddenly, she couldn’t stand it anymore.  She told her new friend everything, from the accident to meeting Ethan for the first time in the lawyer’s office, to their decision to con everyone by pretending to be together.  By the time she finished, her eyes were burning with tears that threatened to fall.

“When did it stop being pretend?”  Melissa asked softly.

Tara just shook her head, unable to say more at the moment.

The other woman reached across the table and took her hand.  “What are you so afraid of, Tara?  Are you afraid Ethan doesn’t love you back?”

There was that word again.  
Love
.  “Oh, God,”  she breathed.  “I’m in love with him.”  She stared at her friend in wonder, and then her face crumpled as she burst into tears.  “Oh, God, I’m in 
love
 with him,” she repeated.

“That’s not such a bad thing, is it?  Ethan’s a good man, and he obviously cares about you.”

“You don’t understand,” Tara said, struggling to get herself under control before other shoppers could start staring.  “He only knows me as this weak, recovering, 
victim
.  What if . . . what if he only feels pity for me, not love?”

“Give him more credit than that.  And give yourself a little credit, too.  Any person who can go through everything you’ve gone through is definitely not weak.  You’re one of the strongest people I have ever met, Tara.  And I’m sure Ethan feels the same way.”

She sniffled. “Really?”

“Really.  You need to talk to him.”

“Okay.”  Tara nodded and took a deep breath.  “Now I’m going to need extra time for my makeup because of all that crying.  My face is all red now.”

“Gee, too bad you don’t have any experience with makeup or anything,” Melissa deadpanned.

Tara felt better for having confided in her friend.   She was able to relax during the drive home, although there was a whole new kind of nervousness starting to build inside her.  Tonight was the night, she promised herself.  Tonight, at the Fall Ball, she was going to tell him how she felt.