Rachel Laine (The Women of Merryton Book 3) (29 page)

The
next day I woke up with a pounding headache, and more tired than I was before I
slept. Only getting a couple of hours of sleep each night was killing me. As
was this whole situation. The only bright spot was how Merryton had rallied
around my little family.

We
arrived at school the next day. The vultures were still there, but their
efforts were being thwarted. First, I had a police escort in and out, and as
soon as Drew was out the door, he was covered under the protection of several
teachers as he walked into school. And just for fun, the street cleaner moved
in front of the ravenous beasts at the slowest pace ever, kicking up dirt and
debris and spraying it at them. I took great pleasure in the sight.

When
I arrived at the office, it was more of the same, but this time Blake was the MVP.
He decided to bump up my renovation schedule. He and his whole crew set up shop
in my parking lot right in front of the news van. When the male reporter tried
to run my way, he was stopped by Blake’s two-hundred-sixty-pound foreman. Sweet
justice.

Sam
kept doing his part. Any reporter that came snooping around had to make sure
they had a clean record. Sam was running names and taking no prisoners. One
reporter had several unpaid parking tickets to his name and Sam kept him at the
station, just in case the county where the infraction occurred wanted to pick
him up. I don’t think there were any extradition laws between counties, but the
guy was sweating bullets.

Word
was getting around that you didn’t want to mess with Merryton, and as the week
wore on, the media dissipated. At least their physical presence. I didn’t
answer my phone anymore unless I knew the number.

One
number was showing up more and more. Andrew was ready to be a daily part of
Drew’s life. And now that the media presence was calming down, it was time. I
was nowhere near ready for it, but I knew in my heart it was the right thing.
Drew and Andrew needed each other. I had to accept it and move out of the way.

Andrew
came on Saturday to pick him up to spend the day with him and Evelyn in Evergreen.

Drew
rushed to the door when he knocked early that morning. They were both anxious
to see each other. Andrew knelt down, barely in the door, and held Drew to him.
“Are you feeling better?”

“All
better.” Drew lifted up his shirt to show off his small scars where his
appendix was removed.

“They
look good.” Andrew stood up and, for the first time, acknowledged my presence.
“Good morning.”

I
returned the greeting with a closed-lipped smile.

“I’ll
have him home around eight tonight. Does that work for you?”

Not
really.
“Sure.” I held back the tears.

“You
look good. I never got to tell you, I like what you’ve done with your hair.”

I
looked down at my yoga pants and oversized sweatshirt. I was not at my finest.
“Thanks.” He didn’t look his finest, either. He looked haggard. He had been
beaten up in the media pretty badly. And for that I felt terrible.

“I’ll
take good care of him.”

“I
know.” I think that came out more as an eek.

He
approached me with care, and his warm lips landed on my cheek without warning. It
was quick and unsure, as if he had dared himself to do it. “You could come with
us,” he whispered.

I
shook my head no.

“You
know where we’ll be, if you change your mind.”

I
couldn’t change my mind. That’s what got me in this mess in the first place. I
hugged and kissed my son and watched my life walk out the door.

Life
would never be the same.

~*~

“Rachel
Laine, you have a visitor.”

“Liza,
I told you I’m not seeing anyone.”

After
everything we had been through the past several days, I couldn’t see any
visitors or clients. One reporter thought it was a good idea to pose as
potential customer. I had Cheyenne take care of him in her own Cheyenne way.

 “It’s
Andrew … Turner.”

She
didn’t need to clarify. I knew who he was now. “Send him back.” I didn’t think
he was coming until after Drew got out of school. They were having dinner
together and then he was taking Drew to sign up for baseball at the rec center.
I smoothed out my shirt and ran my fingers through my loose hair. Every time I
saw him now, I felt on edge. I wasn’t sure how to be around him anymore. All we
were to each other now was co-parents. If ever we talked, it was only about
Drew.

Before
I was ready, there was a knock on my door. “Come in.”

The
handle turned slowly. I wondered if he was as nervous as me.

His
handsome head peeked in. “Am I interrupting anything?”

I
shook my head no, even though he was—my life. All the chaos in my life had me
behind and our annual audit was coming up. I needed to prepare for it.

He
stepped in and shut the door behind him. Great, more rumors. Not that those hadn’t
been circulating already. “Do you mind if I sit down?”

I
shook my head again. More and more that’s how I communicated with him. I hated
it, but I felt like if I really talked to him, my heart would overrule my head
and I would find myself once again where I longed to be.

He
took a chair in front of my desk. “I’m sorry about all of the reporters. I
thought it would die down by now.”

“You
don’t need to keep apologizing.” That may have been the most complete sentence I’d
used with him in the last ten days.

He
leaned forward. “Here’s the thing, I do until you forgive me. Please tell me
how to make things right with you.”

“The
only person you have to make things right with is our son.” Not that he already
wasn’t. Drew was in Dad heaven. Which was a little hellish for me.

“I’m
doing the best I can there. That’s one of the reasons I came to see you. I need
the name of a good realtor in the area.”

I
sat up taller, interested by this news.

“I’ve
decided to move up here. I’ll probably want to rent first, maybe something by the
lake, if there is anything available. Of course, I’ll need you to insure it.”

I
was back to nodding my head. He never ceased to surprise me. I reached into my
desk to get the business card of a good friend and excellent realtor. She knew
the area better than anyone. I handed it over to him.

He
took it, and my hand.

I
stared at our clasped hands. My head was saying yank that baby away as fast as
you can, but my heart begged me to let it be.

“Please,
Rachel.” His amber eyes egged my heart on.

My
head won out. I took back my hand. “I have a staff meeting in a few minutes.”

Instead
of disappointment, I saw steely determination in his eyes. I wished I couldn’t
read them so well. I knew he wasn’t going to make getting over him easy.

~*~

“Rumor
has it that Andrew Turner is moving to our fine town of Merryton.” Jessie looked
way too happy saying that.

I
needed a girl’s night, not an outing where the person I was trying to get away
from was the subject. I looked down at little Tessa in my arms before I
responded. I wanted a baby. “It’s not a rumor. He’s renting a place out on the
lake. The Renfrow’s cottage.” I’m not sure why it was called a cottage, it was
more like a mini log mansion.

“Nice.”
Cheyenne commented. “Hopefully, he’ll throw some parties out there.”

I
shrugged. I wasn’t sure what he would be doing besides killing me on a daily
basis.

“So
how long are you going to make him chase after you?” Jessie asked.

That
got my attention. I looked up to find all the ladies staring at me with
inquiring eyes. “He’s not chasing after me. He’s here for Drew.”

“If
you’re going to be a good liar, you’d better at least look like you believe that
crap you’re shoveling.” Cheyenne smirked.

“We
lost our heads for a moment. It happens when you spend a lot of time around
someone. Oxytocin and dopamine. Right, Taylor?”

They
all laughed at me.

“You
see where oxytocin and dopamine got me.” Taylor pointed to the bundle I was
holding.

The
ladies laughed harder. I even joined in. “This is different.”

“How?”
Abby asked. “The guy is getting excoriated in the news almost every day for
dropping out. And it looks like he did that so he could spend more time with
you. He’s even coaching the little league team.”

“I
think you’re just scared,” Cheyenne said. “You’ve been hiding far too long
under the excuse of being a mom.”

“Being
a mom isn’t an excuse.” I loved Cheyenne, but that ticked me off, even if it
did hit close to home.

“Being
a mom is wonderful,” Jessie tried to smooth over Cheyenne’s candor. “But you’re
not
only
a mom. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

I
sighed. “Andrew and I are too different. And what if this is only a notion for
him? Is Merryton really going to hold his attention?”

My
friends all took a moment, but it was Taylor who ultimately spoke for the
group. “Maybe not, but from the way he looks at you, I would say wherever you
are,
you
will hold his attention. And that’s what really matters.”

Leave
it to Taylor to make me question my resolve.

“Well,
the real question is whether he will play on our team this summer,” Jessie
added levity to the moment.

“Yes!”
Cheyenne shouted. “He would knock off Easton for greatest butt.”

“Can
you imagine the Rileys’ faces if he joined?” Abby said with glee.

“Does
the league allow for professional players?” I asked.

“I
already checked, and since he’s retired, it’s a non-issue.” Jessie was salivating.

“I
would love to see the Rileys get theirs after that interview Veronica did.”
Taylor vented.

“You
and me both.” I turned toward Cheyenne. “And thank you for taking care of that
reporter that was hounding me all last week.”

She
licked her lips. “No problem. I quite enjoyed it. He did, too.”

We
all rolled our eyes but laughed at our flirty friend. So much so, Tessa
startled in my arms. She had a nice set of lungs. I handed her over to her mom,
who comforted her.

When
we called it a night, I walked out into the cool air. Now that we were into
March, it wasn’t frigid, but I still required a coat. I was looking forward to
spring and warmer days, maybe even some less chaotic days. I read the sign
Jessie had on her door that warned the media they were not welcome. Several
other businesses in our downtown district had similar signs. For all of
Merryton’s faults, we came together to help our own. They had come together to
help me.

I
hoped now that everyone had their story, it would fade away. The world now knew
Andrew fathered a child with my sister, and that she got around. I had never
hated Veronica until now. She painted my sister in the ugliest light possible.
She even had the gall to name off a list of names of men Sydney had been with.
Which backfired on her. A few guys quit Landon’s team over it, and their wives
were shunning Veronica. Not even Landon’s schmoozing could fix it. There was
even talk of ousting him as Mayor over it. That would be a happy day. You see, Veronica
broke the cardinal rule in Merryton. It was one thing to gossip about your
neighbors, but you never ever aired Merryton’s dirty laundry outside the city
limits. The only good to come of it was that the Rileys had been keeping a low
profile since then. We all appreciated that.

I
didn’t feel like going home right away after girl’s night. Andrew was there
watching Drew. I decided to take a stroll around the town square. I thought
about what my friends and I discussed during the course of the evening. Did I
really hide behind being a mom? I never thought of it like that. Drew was my
life; I loved him more than I ever knew was possible. And I did my best to
protect him, at least until recently. And maybe that’s why I was most upset
with Andrew and myself. I went against my better judgment keeping the truth
from him. And I let Andrew in, only to be moved to the back burner. A place I
knew well.

Growing
up with a sibling that required a lot of attention placed me in that position
often. I didn’t blame my parents; Sydney was a handful. But it seemed like no
matter how much I excelled at something, I never reaped the full reward. I
remembered that during our senior year at the end of year awards banquet where
I was receiving two scholarships and the top three GPA award, my parents were
called away to bail Sydney out of jail for under-age drinking. Why couldn’t
they have waited? The lost boyfriends were another reminder that Sydney was always
on the front burner. Even my fiancé ditched me for his plans that I no longer
fit into. And maybe that’s why I could easily let go of being involved with
someone while I raised Drew—that way I would never have to worry about being
second best to anyone.