Between Octobers Bk 1, Savor The Days Series (26 page)

“Why are they taking pictures?”

“They have nothing better to do.” Evan
shrugged.

“Why are they yellin’ at you?”

He bent down to speak at eye level. “They
think I can’t hear their questions.”

“I want ‘em to go home.” He frowned.

My heart clenched inside my chest. Lily was
right. The stink was everywhere.

“Me too, Caleb.” Evan patted his head. “Come
on, we’ll feel better after ice cream.”

The new living room
furniture, undoubtedly arranged by Lily, created a comfy
conversation area. The flat screen was no longer the focal point.
We sat on the couch; I on one end, Evan beside me, and Sheri on his
other side. The opposing love seat was vacant.

Sheri was filling Evan in on
the
disastrous circumstances
of some project that he’d wanted but wasn’t getting because
of something I didn’t understand. It sounded like she was more
upset than he was. Evan was distracted, constantly changing the
subject or ignoring her to reassure me that the crowd outside would
go away. He insisted that, at the end of the day, none of it
mattered because they were all on the outside of our impenetrable
bubble with only their speculation to fuel them. He said they’d get
bored eventually and go away because I was not a public figure,
therefore not interesting to them. So long as we ignored them, they
could not touch us. It was the lighter shade of a dark situation to
be sure, but I breathed a sigh of relief and crossed my
fingers.

I looked beyond him while Sheri started
talking about his upcoming work, emphasizing every detail as if it
was of the greatest importance. He just nodded and indexed the
corresponding dates into the calendar on his phone. Due to my
positioning, I missed many of what I guessed were facial cues.
Often she’d start to speak, his would head swivel, and then her
sentence trailed off.

Evan swore he liked Sheri—that she was one
of his two closest friends, but he didn’t treat her that way. He
treated her like an annoying little sister, like he might slug her
if he could get away with it. Having an older brother, it was a
feeling I was familiar with and sympathized.

“Have you told her yet?” Sheri chirped as I
stared at Evan’s profile. Half of her bright gaze was visible just
beyond the slope of his nose.

“Told me what?” I asked, craning to see the
rest of her.

“Not yet.” He turned and her expression
changed.

“Later, then?” She asked.

“Stuff it.” With his left hand he caressed
my thigh, with the other he shoved her shoulder. His eyes came back
to me. “I have a surprise.”

The automatic smile provoked by his stare
surfaced. “Another one?” I flashed my huge, custom-made ring.

“It’s almost as good.” He wiggled his
eyebrows suggestively.

“But it cost a lot more than—” Sheri cut off
when his gaze shifted.

“Why?” He groaned. Again, his exact
expression was a mystery. The harsh words gave indication. “Cost is
irrelevant
and
none of your
business.”

“If a man gave me rocks like that, I’m
asking for a price.” Sheri spouted, indignant.

“That’s precisely why you’ll remain single,
dear.”

“Christ! I can’t make a simple
statement?”

His posture shifted. “Choose another
expression.”

“Sorry.” She cast a glance in my
direction, though I didn’t catch her eye. “I forgot she was
religious.
” She stood up, handing me
her empty glass. “I’m leaving. Apparently, you two have a lot to
talk about. It was nice seeing you again.” She looked to Evan.
“I’ll call next week when I have
The
Rebel
script.”

“Read it and send the notes.” Evan
instructed, his eyes fixed on his phone.

With a patient speed, an odd sort of casual
haste, Sheri made for the front door. Pausing just inside she
spurted, “Stay out of sight, Grace. This will blow over as soon as
some reality star has her sex tape ‘stolen.’” She made quotes
around the last word with her fingers before shutting the door.

She was probably one of those people that
took some getting used to.

We were finally alone and all I wanted was
to curl up beside my new sexy husband and watch TV Land, but I
decided to grab the luggage from the car before I forgot about it
altogether.

When I shuffled into the bedroom with our
duffel bags and flicked the light, I stopped in the door way,
amazed. My bedroom had been rearranged. And my bed was gone. Set
before me, taking up nearly twice the space as its former occupant,
was the giant canopy bed from the furniture store. The low end of
the vaulted ceiling barely cleared the gorgeous pared posts.

“It’s not
the
surprise, but it is for you.” Evan’s arms
were full of folded black fabric.

My chest swelled, feeling like it might
break open. “Evan.”

“Do you like it? I thought, because you
spent so much time staring at it . . .” his voice trailed off.

“She loves it,” Noah appeared in the doorway
and walked inside. “She’s just a baby when it comes to presents.
Right, Mom?”

My throat was too tight.

“As fate would have it, we were in need of a
new bed.”

I was overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness and
the expense—on top of my extravagant ring and the surrender of his
one, priceless possession—privacy. Our impromptu nuptials had drawn
the interest of everyone and, while I knew it was a possibility, I
could not wrap my head around it. I thought I understood, but the
degree of attention was surprising. People were camped outside,
enduring wet, cold, and possible sickness, ignoring the infinitely
more important economic news and wars across the globe to report
about the personal choices of one man. It was all so trivial. All
the trouble he’d gone through for me and what it meant . . . he was
so willing to do whatever for us. He wanted me to be happy and that
meant everything.

I flew at him, wrapping my arms around
his neck. “Thank you”
kiss
,
“thank you”
kiss
, “thank
you”
kiss
, “I love it!”
Kiss
.

He laughed, “You’re most welcome.”

“I told you so.” Noah chided, rolling his
eyes.

He was next on my list. I took his husky
shoulders and squeezed him tight. Though he was a few inches taller
than me and twice my width, I used his old nickname. “Little
Stinker, you’re not allowed to keep secrets from me.” The reproof
was ruined by my bubbly tenor.

“I was sworn to secrecy.” He threw his hands
up in surrender and I grabbed his nose between two fingers. I used
to do it all the time when he was smaller—tweak his nose and
pretend I stole it right off his face—and little Noah would
complain he couldn’t smell anything. He’d make a honking noise when
I pretended to put it back on.

None of that happened this time. Noah just
rolled his eyes.

“I’ll give it back later.” Part of me was a
little sad he was too cool to play with his mom. But I totally got
it.

Anxious to try out my new, enormous,
feathery bed, I grabbed the step ladder and started hanging the
black curtains. Evan lay across the mattress to watch and
occasionally complained that he ate too much. His stocking feet
hung over the edge, nudging my knees as I passed.

Next on my agenda was lounging.

But Evan insisted we sit in the living room.
He and the boys made easy conversation as I fought back the yawns.
The adrenaline rush had vanished and I couldn’t wait to hop into
bed. The fluffy mattress looked so inviting. I heard it calling my
name.

He cleared his throat. “Have you
forgotten about
the
surprise?”

I sat up from my slouched position with open
hands. “Okay, give it to me.”

He smirked. “It’s too easy. And this
surprise is not something I can fit in your hands, unless you want
the deed.”

Noah leaned forward. Apparently, he wasn’t
in on this one.

Evan looked to him, then me again. “I’ve
purchased the five empty lots behind us, as well as the neighbor’s
house next door. For all of us.”

“You bought my hill?”

“Only the top.” Evan smiled, minimizing.

“The land is ours?” Noah asked.

“Bigger property, more privacy.”

The lump returned to my throat. I couldn’t
speak.

Noah did it for me. He loved the idea. A
place to ride his bike, or maybe build a half pipe with his
friends. He was elated. I saw a sparkle in his eyes—one that told
me he was happy, but in the moment, he really missed his dad.

We listened cheerfully as Evan proposed his
idea of having Marcus move next door after Ray and Sergio vacated.
Also, he was having a large brick wall built around the entire
perimeter. There would be a higher security gate in front, along
with very tall trees planted along the wall to maximize privacy. A
landscaping crew was coming out the next day to get started. We all
agreed on the idea, though I was sad to learn my neighbors were
moving.

So much had changed over the past few days.
I had a new life, a fresh start with a wonderful husband. At the
same time, I’d gone from comfortable outsider to spectacle. A
novelty, a topic of discussion. Determined not to buy into the
negative aspect of this new life, I filed the problem away. Nothing
could be done about it at the moment and no good would come from
brooding. I’d already decided Evan was worth it, I just had to walk
it out. There were plenty of things to keep my mind off the
negative, anyway. Like, ten times the amount of yard to care for,
as well as another house. I shared my idea of planting fruit trees
in the extra space and extending the size of Arnold’s kennel. Noah
had the brilliant idea of extending the back of the house to form
an enclosed patio around the swimming pool, so it could be used
comfortably year-round. We all agreed it made sense, since the pool
was heated and any added privacy sounded good. I inferred that, if
we were doing that, we should also add another restroom and shower
to the area, which Evan agreed was also a good plan. He thought,
since we were having contractors out, we should also add another
door to the patio in the master suite. Those were the immediate
plans. I would not consider anything beyond the immediate.

Caleb’s little head rested against my side,
giving off the tiniest whispery snore. My heart melted at the sight
of his angelic little face. I carried him off to bed as the
conversation turned to Noah’s birthday.

Evan’s recent acquisitions were
inspirational. Noah’s sixteenth birthday party would be on our new
property down the hill. My only condition, since Noah invited half
of the sophomore class via mass text message while I was out of the
room, was that Evan hire security. Noah objected immediately, but
retracted when I gave him the option of cancelling all
together.

“It’s not unreasonable,” Evan patted my leg,
looking at Noah. “Do you honestly think there’s a chance that
people won’t show up in droves? Security is essential to make
certain that people won’t become idiots, as they almost always do.
It ensures that, no matter how many morons show, your party is
going to be bloody brilliant.”

I rolled over in
our new bed. My legs were flaccid with that wonderful,
jello-like feeling. Pink Floyds’ The Show Must Go On softly floated
through the dark of the bedroom as I caught my breath.

Evan held me tight, tracing the line of my
collarbone with his lips. “Mind if I ask a question?” He raised his
head to look me in the eye. “It’s off topic.”

“Of course,” I answered, drawing back the
dark canopy to fish for his tank top on the floor.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking no chances.”

Marcus was sleeping a few rooms away and
Caleb often made trips to my bed in the middle of the night. Some
mornings I woke, surprised to find him next to me. I slipped on the
shirt and nestled back into his side. Evan looked me square in the
eyes, sending knots into my stomach. I answered the unspoken with a
playful grin, loving the nature of our carnal communication.

“How were you able to look beyond how Maria
treated you?” He raised his eyebrows. “No one would blame you if
you couldn’t.”

“Why?”

“Noah told me what she did at the wake.”

“Oh,” I mumbled.

It was one of the worst days of my life and
I expected it to get worse. Being that Maria blamed me for
everything, I knew she’d blow a gasket—my mistake was in the
timing. I thought if her temperamental bomb was to detonate it
would be the morning of the funeral, the second she saw me. It
didn’t. So then, I thought at the church service, when they sealed
his casket and she fell to her knees. Or the burial, when the cold
dirt piled beside his final resting place screamed the horror that
he was never coming back.

Foolishly, I started hoping that things
might be different, that maybe the melancholy had taken the fight
out of her the way it took the stuffing out of me. That wasn’t the
case. Her tirade came after I stopped looking for it. I was getting
ready to leave the wake. I’d taken all the pitiful looks and,
‘I’m-sorry-for-your-loss’s that I could. I was sending Caleb and
Noah to the car when Maria’s open hand came flying towards me.
There was profanity peppered with my name. Her face was contorted,
an absolute possession screaming for retribution.

I was too stunned to react. Before she
jumped on top of me, someone grabbed and wrangled her into another
room. After a moment of shocked silence from other mourners, I
picked up my purse and left with half of my face covered in Maria’s
burning red handprint.