Cherry Bomb (21 page)

Dad was wrong. My demons would never stop
howling until that woman was out of our lives forever. That day, I
made a pact with myself. No matter who I hurt or what I did, I
would take back the power that woman stole from me. One day, I
would never have to answer to anybody ever again.

Holy Freaking Crap
, his family. Drake
reached across the table to lift my chin with a gentle finger.

“Breathe, Angel. They will love you and you
are going to be crazy about them.”

“Do they know?’

“Know what?”

“About me? That am freaking old,” I said,
suddenly anxious.

Drake busted out laughing which never did
anything to ease my nerves. “You’re thirty-six that doesn’t
constitute old just yet. Now my dad’s sixty-two. He’s the one
pushing the old thing.”

Drake got up and started to walk around the
table, pausing a few feet away he reached out to drag his
fingertips along my cheekbone. His expression was unreadable but he
had a sense of sadness in his eyes. “Now go get ready but don’t
look to hot my dad kind of likes younger women.”

I jumped up. “Be back in five.”

It was hard to decide what to wear. They
never discussed what to wear when you are meeting the family of the
man who was trying to turn you into his submissive play toy at any
of the etiquette classes James forced me to attend. I cringed,
thinking about Drake’s true intentions.

I pictured what Drake was wearing. It was a
picture I could easily get off on. A pale yellow button-up shirt
clung to his chest, only showcasing his hard pecs that I had to
fight to keep my hands off of. A pair of khaki shorts that fit his
hips so perfectly I was positive they had been made just to
showcase his flat stomach ripple and that V that disappeared into
the hem. It also didn’t help that they displayed his long, muscular
legs. Okay, that was not helping I needed to focus on me. I ended
up wearing a pair of white linen pants and a deep blue silk blouse.
Ruby complimented it one time, telling me that I looked best in
dark colors. Not too causal but not dressy either. A quick glance
in the mirror told me my hair was jacked, so I pulled it back in a
sleek bun.

After applying some concealer and a little
mascara, I raced down the stairs. “Well, this is as good as they
are going to get.”

Drake was waiting, patiently, at the foot of
the stairs, and of course I wasn’t paying attention so I ran right
into him. He steadied me, before pulling me close onto his
chest.

“Fuck, no one should look this good,” he
murmured in my ear. “Tonight, I’m taking you to my playroom.”

That smell that was so Drake Hart made it
impossible to think. I didn’t need to think anyway. His playroom
was not the thought I wanted to have when I met his family.

His fingers traced languidly down my spine,
his breath flowed down over my neck. I slid my hands under his
shirt to explore the hard ripples of his stomach
. Shit, he felt
good.
I moaned.

“My girl likes my stomach. Doesn’t she?” He
tilted his head slowly, and softly touched his hot, moist lips to
mine. “We better go before I veto the day and take you up to your
bedroom instead.”

I realized after driving over an hour that I
had no idea where he was taking me. We passed through the suburbs
and was on a road that rounded up north into the backwoods. And
then we were past homes altogether, only driving through fields of
cotton and soybeans. I was at the point of asking if he was
carrying me off for some ritual or something when he pulled into a
small gravel road. The surrounding corn field encroached on both
sides of the road, leaving only a few feet visible as it twisted
and turned around the corn like maze. And then after a mile or two,
it came into view. It was not what I expected, and I wasn’t even
sure what I expected. But it was not this.

The scenery was beautiful and serene, but it
was the small, log cabin that threatened to take my breath away. It
looked like it came straight out of a fairy tale. There was a huge,
stone chimney on top of it and the entire right side was covered in
wisteria. The warm, summer breeze brushed through the trees around
us. The smell of pine tickled my nose. I could almost taste the
freshness of the crisp summer air. Through the large glass windows,
I could view the large family room, where a young lady was curled
up on the couch, her striking red hair fanned out over a pair of
pillows. She appeared to be sleeping.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I think so,” he said and smiled. “My dad,
brother, and I built it ourselves.”

He pulled the tips of my hair and
laughed.

“Breathe, babe. You had the nerve to walk
into my club with a list of questions, I think you can handle a
cookout.”

Drake got out and came around to my side of
the car. He took my hand easily, without even thinking about
it.

We walked around to the back of the house. I
knew he could feel my tension, his thumb rubbed soothing circles
around the base of my wrist.

“FYI, the apple didn’t fall far from the
tree.”

What the hell did that mean?

We stepped through a gate. I could smell the
wood burning before I even spotted the large oversized fire pit.
Thomas and Jeff were swimming in the in-ground pool. Billy and an
older gentleman were sitting on a large metal patio table. The
older gentleman stood up, and I felt Drake tensed beside me, but
only for a moment. If it wasn’t for the fact my body wasn’t so
attuned to his every movement I would have missed it.

“My dad, Jerry Hart,” Drake said and barely
lifted his finger in the man’s direction.

The man had his head tilted to the side and
slightly down. Drake and his dad looked nothing alike. His dad was
shorter, leaner, almost a beanpole, with salt and pepper hair I
could tell was dark in his younger days from the light smattering
of hair around his jawline. But the way he walked and held himself
was a mirror image of Drake. Something told me that Drake had study
this man until his very essence crept into Drake’s soul.

“I never thought I would see the day when
Drake walked in here with a lady,” his dad said with a smirk, as he
walked over to us. “Hello, beautiful. Names Jerry, and I’m thrilled
my boy here has got such great taste.” Jerry leaned in to kiss my
cheek.

I glanced up at Drake, who was holding onto
my arm and smiling. The thought he wanted me here with his family
eased some of the pain I experience the past few days he was
away.

“I told you they will love you,” he whispered
in my ear. Jerry laughed, and so did I.

Jerry slapped Drake on the back, “Come on,
son. Take a seat. Grace has wonder when you were getting here.”

Drake led me over to the table Billy was
sitting at. The flutter of nerves suddenly took over. I sat to
Drake’s left and felt relieved when he held onto my hand.

“Claire, my love, bring Drake and me a beer
please,” Jerry screamed over his shoulder.

I barely had time to look up when a medium
height lady with light brown hair and brown eyes came out holding a
bottle of beer in each hand. She was wearing cutoff shorts and an
oversized t-shirt, hiding her body which one could easily tell was
spectacular. But that was not what caught my attention the most,
she couldn’t be more than thirty. “Drake, when did you get back in
town?” she asked, handed Drake a beer then preceded to sit down in
Jerry’s lap.

“Late last night,” Drake answered, tilting
the bottle back to take a drink. He rubbed off a drop on his lip
then said, “Cherry, my mom, Claire,” he said with a knowing
smile.

Claire held out her hand to shake mine.
You were not lying when you said your dad liked them young.
Maybe, age didn’t matter in this family.

“Drakie,” was screamed out from a tiny voice.
I flipped my head to see Grace running out the back door in a pink
polka-dotted bathing suit and a pair of yellow sunglasses. She was
followed closely by a young, fake blonde, showcasing a smoking body
in a black bikini, or maybe it was a couple of pieces of yarn. It
didn’t cover much.
Hell, the top wouldn’t even cover my
nipples.
I couldn’t help but wondered if it was Katie, Drake’s
only sister.

“Hey, Cherry,” Grace said as she jumped up in
Drake’s lap. “I’m not wearing underwear cause I’m going swimming.
Plus, they said it was Wednesday and it’s not it’s Saturday. Mommy
got the wrong pair.” Then she turned and asked me, “What does your
panties say?”

Mortified much?
I held my breath until
everyone started laughing and Billy said, “Property of Drake.”

Then I wanted to crawl under the table and
hide.

“Billy Hart,” the blonde said, slapped Billy
on the back of the head, and then held out her hand to shake mine.
“Charlotte, this one's wife.” She motioned her head to Billy with a
smile.

I shook her hand with my free hand and
squeezed Drake’s with the other one. At that point, I needed
reassurances I belonged there,
the land of perfect bodies.
He squeezed mine back, showing me he wanted me there.

Drake kissed the top of Grace’s head.
“Where’s Mommy at?”

“Sleeping,” Grace said.

“She’s been asleep awhile. It’s time for her
to get up,” Claire said, helping Grace down and over to the
swimming pool. “She’s been missing you.”

“Come on, baby. Time you met my first
love.”

Drake guided me into the house. We went
through the kitchen and into the living room. The woman I saw in
the window with the most beautiful mane of red curls was snuggled
up on the couch. Drake led me to the coffee table where he sat
across from her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and softly
shook it. “Soda pop, I have someone that is dying to meet you.”

I first noticed her small hands and short
stumpy fingers before she even turned over and brought into my view
her flattened profile, the way her eyes slanted upward on her face,
and the most infectious smile I had ever witness. Drake Hart’s baby
sister, his first love, Grace’s mom had down syndrome.

“It’s been nine days. I counted them,” she
said, smiling even bigger.

“I missed you and Grace too.” He pulled me
down beside him. “Katie, this is Cherry. The girl I told you I
wanted you to meet.”

Katie bounced up and kissed me on the cheek.
“Hey, I like meeting Drake’s friends. Drake never had a girl that
was a friend. Will you be my friend too?”

“I would love to be your friend. I’ve met
your daughter. She’s beautiful.”

“She looks like our Mommy, but she’s nice,”
Katie said.

At her statement, Drake closed his eyes and
bared down on my hand, clawing his nails deep into my palm. There
was no doubt, he was trying to release some of the pain it caused
him.

I heard him mumble to ten then open his eyes.
“Grace is swimming. You know how much she loves when you swim with
her.”

“I’ll go change,” Katie said, kissing Drake
on the forehead.

Drake watched her every step until she was on
the landing at the top of the stairs. “Our mom is a piece of shit.
But still Katie wants to hold onto what she should be.” Drake
shifted his eyes to me. “Guess how old Katie is?”

I shrugged, not knowing how to answer.
“Young.”

“She’s twenty-one. Grace out there is four.
Yeah, do the math. That is thanks to the piece of shit too.”

Of all the crap life had thrown at me, the
day Katie told me what she had been through was the worse. But then
I felt like hell for thinking that because the outcome was one of
my greatest blessings.

Katie had grown into a breathtaking young
lady who was always smiling in spite of the mistreatment our mother
still inflicted. The smile had, however, vanished from Katie’s
face. She was hurting. The idea made me physically nauseous. I
adored her and did everything I could to protect her. I wiped away
her tears and kissed her boo-boos. Unfortunately, there were too
many to kiss away.

“Drake, will you always love me?” Katie asked
me one night.

We were sitting out on the back porch, under
the drape of an old, large oak tree. The night sky was littered
with a blanket of stars. Katie called the stars God’s diamonds.

“See that star right there?” I pointed over
to the brightest star in the heavens. “As long as that star is
shining, I’ll take care of you.”

“But will you love me?” she asked again.

“I’ll always love you no matter what.”

“My stomach hurts,” she whispered.

“Do you need me to take you to a doctor?” I
asked back.

“No. I know what is wrong with it.”

“What is it? Are you hungry?”

“Mommy made me do it.”

I stiffened, then squeezed my eyes shut,
fighting the urge not to strangled the bitch who had given birth to
us with my bare hands. “What, Soda pop?”

“Those men, it hurt so bad, but mom said they
would love me like you do if I did it.”

“Let them what?

“Make love.” Katie stopped talking and
started to cry uncontrollably. She gripped my hand and placed it on
her stomach. I felt the hard roundness at once. Sometimes our
biggest blessings come from our worst struggles. Grace was one of
those blessings.

Cherry laid her head on my shoulder, giving
me a moment to regain my composure. I had never allowed anyone
outside of my family to meet Katie. She was my guarded secret. I
had also never told anyone about the beast who had given birth to
us. Cherry made it easy to let her in.

“I guess I can give that monster credit for
one thing, Grace. That little girl has saved me so many times.”