Disgruntled (18 page)

***
Todd slammed the door when he arrived from work, jolting
Reva’s attention from her review of the new project she had
worked on at his coffee table for the past two hours. She
glanced at the time on the screen. Five after eight; he’d
obviously had less than a stellar day. She cocked an eyebrow
when he tossed keys on the kitchen counter and strode past
her to the bedroom. He hadn’t glanced her way and when
the door closed decisively, she took that as a
leave me alone
gesture. She shrugged. As long as he stayed there, she
wouldn’t get worried.
He didn’t.
Bare-chested and in loose fitting shorts, he strode through
the room. He grabbed beer from the fridge and exited to the
backyard. She watched through the window as he took two
drags from the beer and plopped it on the table, then went
to a garden shed in the back corner. He came out with a
bunch of tools. He hacked at the bushes along the side fence
as if they were insurgents attacking his castle. The fierce
movements rippled through his shoulders and back.
The glisten of sweat showed on his forearms before Reva
realized she’d stared out the window for at least twenty
minutes. She knew better than to interrupt a man on a
mission and he certainly seemed to be. Yet, the anger
seemed to drive his actions more than anything else. If she
didn’t at least
ask,
she was certain the bush would be nothing
but a six-inch stalk before he was done.
“Todd, you want a drink of ice tea?” She held out the glass
and smiled. He swung his eyes to her. Cold. Hard. Whatever
was going on, he was filled with it.
“Thanks. I have a beer,” he said through tight lips.
She waited while he went to his beer and took three long
sips,
his
eyes
slivered
through
dark
lashes
at
her.
She
reassessed the intention to ask what was
wrong. She’d
learned a long time ago not to pry. Besides, she wasn’t sure
she wanted to know.
“You don’t want that bush anymore?”
He slid eyes to the leaves and seemed to wake up. The
previously five-foot tall leafy life was
at mid-thigh and
diminishing. The weight of the world almost visually slid
from his shoulders onto the pile of debris at their feet. Todd
gave a short laugh. “I guess I got a little carried away.”
“Did you? I thought maybe you wanted to get rid of it
entirely.” She recognized the symbolism in her words.
Get rid
of it entirely. Get rid of me entirely.
All he had to do was say so.
Maybe it was time to go home. Whatever her threat was,
whoever it was. They’re gone now.
Todd grabbed the glass from her fingers and drank it down
in one long effort. “No. Just trim it back a bit. It was starting
to peek through the fence.” He handed the glass back to her,
the touch of his fingers along hers warm and wet with sweat.
“If it twines itself into the fence, the boards will start
loosening and fall off. Eventually, they’d be destroyed and
I’d have to replace them.”
God, did he really intend the analogy of it all? Was she really
intruding on his life that much? Entwining herself into his
home, his life, until he needed to extricate her before things
got completely awkward?
“Um.
I
was
thinking
I
should
probably
go
home
this
weekend. Things seem to have calmed down.”
The fact that it startled him into looking at her again left a
small tingle of warmth. “Annie is refusing to let me see Eric
as long as you’re here,” he stated flatly.
Well that seals it.
“I’ll get my things together and head home
tonight then.”
“NO.”
“Yes, I don’t want to cause problems. You’ve been great.
Besides, whoever it was is gone.”
“That’s a bad idea.” His words didn’t match the gruffness in
his voice. Nor the abrupt, severe movements he made as he
lifted the shears and strode to deposit them in the shed. He
reappeared a minute later and practically mowed her down
as he lifted the pile of green flitters and carried them to the
trash. Reva stepped back and folded her hands across her
chest with the glass in hand.
“You’re angry,” she stated.
“Yesss. Why do women have to control every miniscule
thing? What the hell is wrong with just letting a person enjoy
themselves and not intrude on it? Tell me, Reva. Is that like
a
training
thing
women
go
through
as
teenagers
or
something? They think they have to dangle themselves like
carrots in front of a guy just waiting for him to try to grab it,
then jerk the damn thing away? And like idiots, we grab and
think there’s something worth the effort in there. But there
isn’t.”
Reva gulped and blinked. “I don’t…” She was confused.
“That’s right. You don’t. I do, and I keep thinking it’s
worth
it
. But it’s not. I’m sick of it. I don’t need this shit. I have a
business to run. And whether she knows it or not, I’m the
best damn parent Eric has right now. Why does there always
have to be some stupid drama?”
“Yes, you are.” She didn’t look away. “Which is why I need
to leave. He needs you.”
He tossed the last of the leaves into the trash and brushed
his hands together. Reva was keenly aware of the muscles in
his chest heaving up and down. Todd stomped toward her.
“What
exactly
do
you
need, Reva? Have you ever considered
that?”
“I don’t need anything.”
“Then what the hell do you
want
?” He turned to his beer and
threw back the last of the liquid that must have been hot
after sitting so long.
“Nothing.” The smell of the cut leaves wafted around them.
A sweet accent to the sour air. She moved from one leg to
the other and looked over the fence at her yard. “I’ll go
now.”
Squaring her shoulders, Reva lifted bare feet and moved to
his back door. She slid the glass open and tufted across the
carpet to her bag. She’d just take what she could carry and
send one of her brothers for the rest. Tim was at the house
now. He could gather it all up.
“No.” Todd’s voice feathered lightly against her ear.
“It’s best. For you.”
“It’s not Reva, and I’ll be the one to decide what’s best for
me.”
“I’m not trying to—” She wanted to say
control you
, but Todd
grabbed her arms.
He pulled her against him, turning her body to curl into his
chest. His rock solid, sweaty and slick chest.
Mmmm.
Damn,
it was hard not to want to stroke that, even with all the anger
burning underneath. Unfortunately, he’d made it very clear
that he’d had enough women in his life.
I don’t need this shit,
he’d said. Well, neither did she.
She wrenched her hands up against his skin and pushed
hard. He tightened his grip.
“You’re staying. If you leave, she wins again. This isn’t
something she has any say in. I won’t let her. Yeah, Eric
needs me. And I need him. But I’ll be damned if that woman
is going to push my buttons again.”
“I don’t
want
to stay. I want to
go home
. I want to get back to
normal
.”
Todd lowered his head closer and stared at her mouth. “Tell
me something,” he murmured against her lips, “what’s so
great about normal?”
No answer was expected. He brushed his lips across hers.
Once. Twice. Then glanced across her nose before delving
his tongue into parted lips that waited for him.
Good tonsils, she thought. Warm, wet kisses. Scratch that.
These were hot, wet kisses that he rained on her hungrily.
His anger had simmered much of the day and though it had
eased, there were still flames of emotion firing his desire.
What’s great about normal?
She knew she didn’t want the
life she had with Nick. Nor did she want whatever was
happening now. Okay, well
now at this moment
was
good
.
Todd engulfed her in sweat, testosterone, and his delicious
male scent. Whatever the emotion he’d had earlier appeared
to have slipped from between them and propelled him into
her. He kissed hard, seeking to dig into her. To whittle away
at the control she’d had thus far. Maybe the control didn’t
matter. What good had it done her? The life she’d had
certainly had no strings of normalcy. Maybe normal
was
overrated. Maybe anything more than just this was too. She
knew he was sick of it. Sick of women. Sick of her. But this
felt like the first
real
good thing she’d wanted in years. And
she did want it. Him. But it scared her.
Uh-oh.

Epiphanies
come
at
the
strangest,
most
inconvenient
moments. Todd frowned at Reva unintentionally. Her eyes
were open, not closed as a man would expect from a
woman. Her mouth warm and inviting.
She wanted to leave
, but
for all the wrong reasons. In fact, he doubted it was what
she wanted at all. He had no false impression she wanted to
be with him. No, the clarity of what she’d been through had
to make her realize the importance of family and friends in
the situation. His house was simply safer. Still, with his
announcement about Annie’s ultimatum, she’d take the risk.
She’d leave.
But
he
wanted her to stay.
“What?” Reva’s brows furrowed.
“Tomorrow’s Friday, right?”
“All day, why?”
“Annie told Eric I’d take him rock climbing.” He ran a hand
over Reva’s hair.
“So, you’re taking him tomorrow? Don’t you think he’s a
little young for that?”
Todd smiled. “No. I thought I’d take him Saturday. There’s
a park about an hour off the freeway that has several large
granite outcroppings. It’s more of a nature trail but since it’s
all rocky, we call it rock climbing.”
“I know the place. I’ve been there.”
“You stay two more days and we’ll all get up in the morning
and go. It’ll be nice. We can pack a lunch and eat it when we
get to the top. Eric loves the place.”
“Uh, that’s kind of a bad idea, under the circumstances.”
“What circumstances?”
“Annie doesn’t want me here—or around Eric.”
“Annie doesn’t get to vote.”
“She said—”
“She also promised I’d take Eric rock climbing when she
dropped him off last weekend. She wouldn’t dare back out.
She can’t possibly refuse since she’s the one that suggested
we go. Why waste it?” He patted her cheek and extracted
himself from her grip. Or released her from his.

Reva agreed reluctantly. Friday evening though, he debated
if he’d made the wrong assumption of her acquiescence. His
concern elevated after he’d been home for two hours and no
sign of her. Repeatedly, he paced to the living room to
validate that her bag was still in the corner. He wore a path
to the bathroom to check on her make-up, shampoo, and
deodorant.
By eight, he stood on the back porch and watched her dark
house like the peeping tom he’d exposed days earlier. A
neighbor would surely notice. At eight-fifteen, Todd fired
off a brief text. “You okay?”
“Yep. Great. See you later.”
Sure. Thanks for explaining.
“This
is
stupid,”
he
muttered
before
returning
to
his
computer and pulling up the orders for Monday. He delved
into the work, forcing himself to take his mind off personal
matters. The fact that he even had
personal matters
to think
about pissed him off.
A soft whoosh signaled the front door easing closed just
before the click of the lock acknowledged it. Todd was
pleased he had finally been able to lose himself in work.
Something
that
used
to
concern
Annie,
but
Reva
understood. Hell, he’d seen her entranced at the kitchen
table with her head just above the keyboard.
He glanced down. The time on the taskbar of his flat screen
said 11:42 p.m.
Friday night, out late. He realized he’d made a lot of
assumptions when it came to Reva. It wasn’t his business to
know where she was or who she was with. Obviously her
brothers did because they hadn’t called and weren’t at her
house.
A shuffle signaled her proximity and he looked up with a
scowl. She leaned against the doorjamb and watched. “You
busy?”
“What do you think?” His voice, decidedly gruff, was almost
a stab at the sweetness of her statement. She could have at
least told him where she was so he wouldn’t worry.
“I’ll leave you alone then. Goodnight.” She disappeared.

***
Children are immune to altitude and heat. Eric trudged up
the granite outcropping with ease. His tireless march kept
Reva on her toes as he pointed out every bug, lizard, and
weed along the way. Too bad trees didn’t grow on rock.
More shade would have been nice.
Still, the child’s constant chatter brought a smile to her lips
as her lungs heaved from the fast pace. Even with all the
jogging, she winded a bit. When they reached the top, the
view of the surrounding area amazed her. She’d been there
before but it had been years. She’d forgotten.
“Nice, isn’t it?” Todd said from behind.
“I’d forgotten. I haven’t been here in ages. I told some of
the people at work about it and everyone agreed it was one
of those great places to go that one always forgets. Look.
You can see the river on the far side of the city. It’s beautiful
how the clouds almost hover. Do you do this often?”
“Three or four times a year. Eric likes it and it’s a good way
to spend a day. I don’t have a lot of time with work or we
might do it more often.” Todd turned and set his backpack
down to dig through it.
Reva yawned and stretched bare arms to the sky. She’d worn
a tank top under her hoodie. The hoodie had come off in
the first thirty minutes and was tied around her waist. The
trek had warmed her almost as much as a morning run, with
less stress on the knees. She was still tired though. She
hadn’t slept well.
Todd
had
been
too
busy
to
talk
and
she
craved
the
discussion on her news. The conversation with her cousin,
David, went well. It was always handy to have a lawyer in the
family.
“Did you adopt Eric while you were married to Annie?”
Todd twisted around and squinted into the sun at her.
“That’s random. Yes.”
“Have you ever thought about talking with your attorney
about her ultimatum?”
“I had a friend in college who went to law school. I talked
with him a long time ago. He said since Eric’s not my natural
born child, it’s unlikely I could challenge her on much of
anything.”
She frowned. “You need to meet my cousin, David.”
“Why not? I’ve met the rest of your family. You hungry?”
Reva glanced behind Todd to the blanket spread on the
ground. He’d emptied his backpack of sandwiches, chips,
and drinks.
“Dad, check out this lizard!” Eric stood over a bump of
rocks, intently focused on the small life-form sunning. It
watched him warily.
Reva didn’t mention the situation further but she ground
over it silently. She had to get David and Todd together.
David had sounded pretty optimistic. Unfortunately, he also
said it might get ugly. Todd said he didn’t deal well with
drama. From his comments, he’d had more than enough of
that already. Ironically, she recognized the falseness behind
his words. He dealt with it alright.
Three plus hours later, Reva trailed after Todd and Eric to
their cars. They’d ridden separately so Todd could drop him
home immediately after. He was annoyed that Reva insisted,
but she had no intention of spoiling the outing with a nasty
parental scene in front of the child. Now, as they meandered
toward the end of the fun, she was pleased with her decision.
Eric chattered away as they eased toward the parking lot, his
fingers entwined in Todd’s.
“I have to stop and get gas on the way back. See you at the
house?” Todd asked.
“Maybe. I thought I’d go ahead and get my things and head
home.”
“In a hurry?” He glanced over the numerous cars parked
around them as a family of four moved closer. Eric peered
up, his head swiveled from one to the other.
“Nope. Eric, you need a drink? I thought I’d stop at the
store by the park gate and get a water.” Quick change of
subject.
“Yes, ma’am.” He dropped Todd’s hand and ran to their
vehicle.
Todd reached a hand to slip Reva’s wayward hair behind her
ear. The simple act normally would have caused her to jump
backward. Not so with him. “We’ll follow you down.”
The roll of his shoulders as he moved to his car brought
further warmth to her already clammy skin. She slipped into
her car and steered downhill to the store.
Inside, Eric ran to the restroom with Todd following. Reva
grinned. She hated to admit it, but she couldn’t help but
enjoy a day like this, and the two of them as they bantered
back and forth. The drinks were in refrigerated windows
toward the back. She managed her way down the aisle and
opened a door to extract three water bottles.
“Well, hey there, Reva!” a voice called behind her. Startled,
she glanced up with the bottles balanced in her arms. Brent.
She looked toward the bathroom.
“Hey, Brent. I didn’t expect to see you here.” She stepped
back and let the door close, encapsulating the cool air that
had felt so good on her face.
“Yeah, what a surprise,” he admitted. “I was just up the
road, bicycling with some friends.” Brent waved a hand at
the window and Reva noticed a truck outside with a bicycle’s
handlebars over the tailgate.
A coolness tingled along her skin and she glanced back to
see if anyone had opened the fridge behind her. Nope.
“You’re a biker?”
“On the weekends. It’s good exercise and gets me outside.”
He glanced to the window. “Well, I’d better get going. See
you Monday.” He raised his hand with an energy bar grasped
between fingers in a salute.
Reva followed until she reached the counter and paid for the
bottles of water. Todd and Eric were still in the bathroom.
She glanced at the door and could hear their voices in the
small space. Amazing how long it takes for a little boy to go
to the bathroom. Wasn’t that only little girls? It would be
easier to wait by the car rather than the small space between
the aisles. With paper bag in hand, she pushed the door
open.
Brent rolled over the engine of his truck. It sputtered and
died. Reva waved and continued to her car. She heard the
churning of the engine a few times, then the metal clang of
the door shutting.
“Hey, Reva!” Brent called. “Wait up. I’m having trouble with
my truck. Do you think you could give me a ride down to
the bike trail so I can get one of my friends to help out?”
She glanced at the glass window, seeking Todd and Eric
through the glass.
What’s taking so long?
“Um, I guess so. Can you give me just a minute to—”
“I should hurry before they all leave. It’s real close.”
Reva shrugged. “Sure. Hop in.” The paper bag was tossed
into the console and she slipped behind the wheel. She lifted
her iPhone to peck in a message to Todd.
Brent grabbed it from her hand and slid his finger along the
screen surveying the features. “You have one of the new
ones. I’ve wanted one of those.”
He glanced up as they
exited the lot and pointed toward a dirt road a quarter of a
mile ahead. “Turn there. It’s down at the end.”
Reva watched him toss her phone in the back seat.
Shit.