Do Not Disturb (6 page)

"Don't apologize for honest feelings,
Allison.” He ran his hands down her arms. “It was inconsiderate of him to do
this. You have every right to be mad."

She stared at his concerned face. Did he really
understand this?

"Sometimes it helps to talk to someone,"
Brett continued. “And believe me I can sympathize with how you feel, especially
about the selfish ex-spouse part.”

He stood, “but you need to get home now," and
squeezed her arms. "Why don’t you let me take you and Kelly out to
dinner.”

“Dinner?” 

“Yes. Dinner.” He directed her toward the office
door. “In a restaurant.”

Stopping, she turned around and spoke before she
could think through what she was saying. “I was going to grill hamburgers. Why
don’t you join us? I certainly owe you for helping me today.” She looked at her
watch. A shower, straighten up the house, calm down. “Just give me a couple of
hours.”

Brett smiled, following her out the door. “Nicest
invitation I’ve talked myself into in quite a while.”

Allison tugged a white cotton shirt over her head
and tucked it into the waistband of her olive green shorts. She brushed her
hair off her face and used a coated rubber band to hold it in a low ponytail at
the base of her neck. Shoving cosmetics around in her drawer, she located
foundation and mascara.

Why did she invite Brett to dinner? She dabbed on
some perfume. Of course, he did help her move furniture. And he’s all alone
tonight. 

"I wish Caroline were coming with Mr. Tyler,
Mom."

She slipped her feet into sandals and followed her
daughter out of the doorway into the hall. "I know, sweetie. You'd have
more fun."

Kelly shook her head. "No. I mean for
Caroline's sake. She hates to visit her mother."

Allison stopped, her hand on the refrigerator
door. Surely the ex-wife wasn’t mean? "Did she say why?"

"Her mom's remarried to this really snobby
guy who doesn't want Caroline around.” Kelly hopped on a bar stool and rested
her head in her palms. “I feel sorry for her."

Poor Caroline. How did Brett end up with this
woman? They didn’t sound anything alike. She pulled the door open slowly. Hold
on, Allison. You can’t judge what other people’ve done. You were with James.

"I think people should only marry someone who
likes their kids."

Allison's stomach took a lunge. What was Kelly
thinking about Brett coming over alone? He’s always been with Caroline.

Kelly smiled sweetly. "You wouldn't do that.
You'd only marry someone who liked me."

Allison removed hamburger from the refrigerator
and set it on the counter across from Kelly. "Well, you don't have to
worry about that. I'm not planning on getting married."

Kelly sat up, her face serious. "But you
should think about it."

"I should?" Allison's hands stilled on
the meat.

"I won't be around here forever you know. And
when I go away to college, you'll be all alone." Kelly jumped off the
stool and plopped down on the floor in front of the television. "You need
to think about that."

Allison was stunned. She’d always thought Kelly
preferred it being just the two of them. And now...was she really worried about
Allison being alone?

"You know Daddy's going on another
trip."

"Another one already?"

"Yeah. For two years this time.” Kelly
continued, not taking her eyes off the television. “To a foreign country to
help the poor. It sounds great."

The doorbell rang with Allison's hands stuck in
the hamburger.

Kelly leapt up. "I'll get it."

James leaving for two years? Anger gripped her.
How could he leave his child for two years? He didn’t see her enough now.

"Look what Mr. Tyler brought, Mom."
Kelly bound into the room, a bag in her hand. "Cookies for dessert."

Allison's eyes followed Kelly as she lay the bag
down and ran back to the television.

"What's wrong, Allison?" Brett whispered
in her ear.

She lifted wide eyes to his face, her mouth open.
She was sure all the color had drained from her face.

"Come with me."

“Wait.” She held up her greasy hands.

He pumped soft soap into her outstretched hands
and shoved them under the water. “Wash.”

She rubbed her palms together slowly. He jerked
several paper towels off the roll, turned off the water and wrapped her
dripping hands.

After slinging the wet towels on the counter, he
ushered her out of the kitchen through the open sliding glass door and onto the
back porch off the family room. He shut the door, sealing off Kelly from his
voice, then towed her around the corner, out of Kelly's eyesight.

"What happened?"

She swallowed the lump of fury and whispered,
"Kelly said her father's leaving the country for two years."

"Why are you so upset?” Brett frowned as his
grip on her arms tightened. “Do you still love him?"

The question drew her out of her trance. "Oh
my god no." She shook her head rapidly. "I haven't loved James
since...I...way before we..."

She tore away and walked to the far end of the
porch, Brett following. She crossed her arms, feeling chilled even in the heat
of September.

"How can he be so selfish?" She shivered.
"Poor Kelly. She won't see him for two years."

He drew her back against his chest. "Did
Kelly say she was worried about this? She didn't seem upset."

No.” A warmth encased her body as Brett wrapped
his arms around her, placing his hands on hers. "She thinks it’s
exciting."

"Then why are you worrying? I wouldn’t be
away from Caroline for two years, but you said James was different.” He lay his
cheek on the side of her head. “We can't always understand other people’s
choices."

She hesitated, then spoke softly. "Like, why
your ex-wife married a man that doesn't like Caroline?"

He stiffened. "How did you know that?"

"Caroline told Kelly."

She turned in his arms. His face was stern.
"Brett?" She hesitated only a second, he looked so miserable, before
reaching up to trace the lines on his forehead.

"It's true. Her step-father is not...” he
stopped, then continued through clenched teeth. “He's not a warm person."

"And?" She ran her finger lightly down
his face, unable to stop touching him, wanting to sooth him.

"He suits her mother. She's not a warm person
either."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Brett."

He held her hand to his face, flattening her palm
against his rough cheek, "It's OK. Caroline accepts her mother the way she
is," then dragged her finger down to his lips, kissing the tips, closing
his eyes briefly. “Even if I can’t.”

“Sometimes children are more forgiving.” She
thought of how Kelly had accepted James throughout the years. And her. Kelly
never complained about her work, her school, her hours.

"Yeah.” He placed her hand on his shoulder,
his face tensing. “Caroline doesn’t know this, but her mother never wanted
children."

"You mean Caroline was..." She stopped
herself. How could she have asked that?

But Brett just nodded, unconcerned with her
prying. "Her mother had trouble with birth control and was actually
talking about having an operation, but found out she was already pregnant when
she went to the doctor to discuss the options."

"But surely after she got pregnant she
changed her mind."

"No.” His thumbs rubbed up and down her
shirt, his hands resting on her waist. “She hated everything about it. How it
ruined her figure. The childbirth classes." He rolled his eyes. "And
the birth. You'd think she was the only woman who'd ever done that."

Wrapping her other hand around his neck, she
gently massaged his knotted muscles.

"I took care of Caroline when I was home - at
nights, on the weekends."

So that’s why they were so close. It sounded like
he’d been almost raising Caroline alone, even when he was still married.

"Did her mother work? Was she gone a
lot?"

Brett laughed. "Work? Never. She played
tennis. She belonged to clubs. She ate lunch with her friends." His jaw
became firm. "A baby interfered with all her plans, so as soon Caroline
was born she hired a nanny for when I wasn't home."

Allison raised her eyebrows at the harshness of
his comment. "I've always worked. Kelly had a nanny when she was a
baby."

He drew his face back to hers, his eyes softening.
"But you love Kelly. It's obvious when you're with her. She can feel
it." He ran a finger over Allison's mouth. "Her mother never wanted
to spend any time with her."

"That's awful.” How could a mother be like
that? Especially with such a sweet child like Caroline? “Then why is she with
her mother this weekend?"

"Because I insist they spend time together.”
Dragging her hair over her shoulder, he twirled it in his fingers. “Even if I
don't approve of her mother, I don't want Caroline to grow up not knowing her.
When she's older, she can decide for herself the type of relationship she wants
with her mother."

Allison let his words sink in. They’d made the
same decision about their exes. She’d finally realized she couldn’t control
James, although she still tried to influence him. And slowly she was accepting
the need for Kelly to create her own relationship with her father.

Maybe she and Brett were alike in some ways.

"Mom."

Allison jumped back out of Brett's arms at the
sound of Kelly's voice. Leaning around him, she saw her daughter come around
the corner of the porch.

"Grandma wants to talk to you." Kelly
handed Allison the phone.

"Thanks sweetie." She watched Kelly's
eyes drop to her waist where Brett's hand still rested. Before Allison could
move, Kelly smiled and bounced back into the house.

Brett squeezed her hip, "I'll go
inside."

When Allison returned to the kitchen, they were
making hamburger patties, Kelly following Brett’s detailed instructions on how
to create the perfect burger. Music blasted from the small speakers in a
cabinet that housed an antiquated stereo system and old CD player.

Kelly had inherited a musical talent from her
father that he had ignored, along with most everything else in his life. His
single-minded focus on his career dreams that had once drawn Allison to James,
now made him seem one dimensional and shallow.

Allison encouraged Kelly’s musical quest, and so
far they’d been through a flute, the drums, and piano lessons. This year it was
guitar. And the amazing part was that she was good at each instrument, just not
enamored enough to stick with any of them. Until the guitar. She might have
finally found true love.

The two cooks smiled as Allison slipped onto a bar
stool across the counter. "I think I'll just watch this lovely site and
relax."

"Why don't you start the grill, Mom?” Brett
flipped his burger in rhythm with the pounding base vibrating through the room.
“We're almost ready here."

"Me?” She pointed her finger at her chest.
“But you two have everything under control. I was just going to open a beer and
rest."

Brett poked Kelly with his elbow, "we don't
need her do we Kelly? Let her rest," then lowered his head to her ear.
"She'll need extra energy to clean up after we eat."

Allison jumped down from the stool and ran out the
door. "I'm starting the grill."

She heard Kelly laughing as she opened the porch
door to the back yard. Lifting the top off the grill, she regulated the gas
flames and stepped back.

"Ready for that beer now?"

Brett reached around her holding a bottle in each
hand, pressing his front against her back. She tried to move forward, but he
had her body clinched against his with his upper arms around her shoulders.

"Relax. Kelly's watching television
again." He placed one of the beers in her hand. "Besides, what's
wrong with her seeing me touch you?"

She sipped the beer, thinking.

"It's just..." What would Kelly think
about Brett showing affection? She wasn’t so sure now, after the conversation
about her getting married so she wouldn’t be alone. And having a real
relationship with Brett certainly included...

"Kelly's never seen a man touch me...you
know...like..."

Lowering his mouth, he kissed the side of her
hair. "What about Kelly's father?"

"No,” she said quickly, hoping he wouldn’t
press for more details on her history with James.

He slid around to her front, dragging his free
hand along her back, resting it on her waist as he stood close.

But he had a different path in mind.

"And in all that time you've never?"

She looked down at the top of Brett's feet. This
was so embarrassing. "Never," she whispered.

"That's an awfully long time, isn’t it?"

"I know." She focused on his tan boat
shoes. If he only knew how long. “I’ve gone out a few times, but nothing ever
seemed to click and...” she let the words drift off.

He slipped his hand up her back and pulled her to
his body. Using his other arm he pressed her head close against his chest.
"Maybe it's time to change that."

She stood still. It felt wonderful in his arms.
Her pulse raced as his heart pounded beneath her cheek.

"But..."

"Shhh. Just enjoy, darling. Don't
analyze."

The endearment slipped in and wrapped around her
lonely heart.

Putting his leg on the bottom step behind her, he
fit her body between his thighs. The bulge beneath his thin cotton shorts
strained against her lower body.

He wanted her.

A tingle began in her stomach and moved lower. A
feeling that was becoming familiar and stronger each time she was with him.

"Kelly..." she protested weakly.

"We're only hugging. Besides, it's good for
Kelly to see that someone cares about her mother." He moved his head back
just far enough to see her eyes. "It feels good to you too, doesn't
it?"

"Yes. That's what scares me."

His lips curved. "I was hoping I wasn't the
only one getting excited here."

She smiled at his honesty and relaxed against his
chest.

No, he definitely was not the only one excited.

#

"Mother, Dad, what are you doing here? I
thought you were out dancing." Allison's parents followed her into the den
where Brett and Kelly watched a movie. 

"The caller got sick half-way through
and..." Her mother stopped as Brett stood. She glanced back at Allison
with a gleam in her eye.

Allison cast her mother a quick ‘calm down’ look.
"This is Brett Tyler. He's helping me with the Halloween Carnival this year,”
then turned toward Brett. “These are my parents, Ruth and J.T." 

“So nice to meet you, Brett,” her mother said
enthusiastically, pumping his hand and grinning.

"Nice to meet you, too." Brett moved
aside, allowing them access to the couch.