Sea of Dreams (The American Heroes Series Book 2) (31 page)

“Back up, baby,” she whispered pleadingly. “It’s okay. I’m a big girl. She can’t hurt me.”

Beck was as furious as Blakesley had ever seen him, which was an unusual state for him.  He was usually supremely cool and calm.    He backed away but he didn’t move away completely as Blakesley put herself between Beck and Sharon. Her focus was on Beck’s ex-wife.

“Sharon,” she said softly. “I wish we had gotten to meet face to face under different circumstances, but I guess it is what it is.  I just want to tell you that you have raised an extremely sweet and beautiful girl.  Lizzie is wonderful and I love her very much. You’ve done a good job with her.”

Sharon was startled by Blakesley’s kind words. She had been geared up for a catfight and was rather surprised to see that Blakesley wasn’t rising to her.  It threw a monkey wrench into her attack and she scrambled to come up with something to say.

“I want her to come home with me,” she said, rather guarded. “She needs to be with her mother.”

Blakesley nodded patiently. “I know you think so,” she said. “Any mother would and I sympathize. But I have a problem with the fact that Lizzie came to you with concerns over Dan and you just blew her off.  She’s your daughter and you needed to listen to her.”

Sharon started to flare.  “Don’t you tell me how to deal with my daughter,” she hissed. “What the hell do you know, you and your screwed-up family?  I read all about you and how your husband murdered his whore.  I don’t want my child exposed to a murderer.”

Blakesley’s brow furrowed. “My ex-husband is in jail,” she said evenly. “He’s not around my family at all. He’s gone for good.  But least he didn’t have sex with one of my daughter’s friends and masturbate outside of my daughter’s bedroom.  Dan is a pedophile, Sharon. What in the hell is wrong with you that you would expose your daughter to that? Are you that desperate for a man that you’ll stay married to one who banged a fourteen year old? He’s going to jail, by the way. That’s what happens to pedophiles so in that sense, you’re no better than I am with a husband in jail.”

Sharon took a step back; she had to, otherwise, she would start throwing punches. “This is not over,” she said forcefully. “My lawyer has all the information about you and we’re going to pursue this.”

“Pursue what?” Blakesley wanted to know. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Sharon was back to furious tears by this time.  She turned like she was heading out of the door but instead she ended up pacing around like a caged animal.

“You have no idea,” she was gearing up dramatically. “You have no idea what you’re doing. You can’t steal my daughter. Lizzie belongs with her mother. You can’t just take her.”

Blakesley knew they had the upper hand from the way Sharon was acting; she’d already lost control.

“First of all, it took you six weeks to come for her?” Blakesley asked. “If you really wanted her back, you would have come to get her the day I called you. Why did you wait so long?”

Sharon stopped pacing and glared at her. “Fuck you.”

Blakesley sighed heavily. “Is that the best you can do? Really, Sharon?”

Sharon postured angrily. “That’s what you deserve for taking my child,” she hissed, then looked at Beck. “I hope you like court because we’re going back.  I’m getting my daughter back.”

Beck stood behind Blakesley, much calmer than he had been a few moments before. “No, you’re not,” he said frankly.  “You also seem to be forgetting that Lizzie can decide for herself where she wants to live. She’s fourteen years old and any judge will side with what she wants.  In any case, she’s not coming back to live with you and the pedophile.  Oh, and one more thing; if I ever see Dan again, you can tell him for me that I’ll kill him.  I can do it twenty different ways and he’ll never know what hit him. He’s a dead man if he ever comes near Lizzie again.”

Sharon paled. “Oh, my God,” she breathed. “I can’t believe you just threatened him.”

“It’s not a threat. It’s a fact.”

Sharon jabbed a finger at him. “My lawyer’s going to hear about that, too.”

Blakesley lifted her eyebrows casually, turning to look at Beck. “Hear about what? I didn’t hear anything.”

He wriggled his eyebrows at her as Sharon gasped in outrage. “I’d like to see you deny it under oath.”

Blakesley couldn’t help it; she grinned because Sharon was so incredibly dramatic and ridiculous.

“I can’t testify against him,” she said. “We’re getting married next week and a wife can’t testify against her husband. But even if we weren’t married, I still wouldn’t testify against him.”

“You’d lie? To a judge?”

Blakesley just lifted her shoulders as if to say ‘oh, well’.  Infuriated, Sharon grabbed her sunglasses and shoved them on her head.

“Fine,” she hissed. “If you want to play hardball, that’s  your choice. See you both in court.”

She blew out of the empty shop, stomping along the street until she disappeared from view.  Blakesley turned to Beck.

“So now what?” she asked. “Do we need to get a restraining order? I don’t want her near our house.” 

Beck just shook his head and put his arm around her. “She’s fired up but she’s not stupid,” he said. “She’d rather pay people to do her dirty work, like a lawyer.  I would be surprised if she came around to the house again, but I am concerned that she might try to make a grab at Lizzie.”

“Kidnap her?”

He shrugged. “Maybe,” he said, looking around the space. “Are we done here?”

“I think so.”

“Let’s get home to the girls, then. Lizzie was pretty shook up with her mom’s appearance.”

Blakesley nodded and went to  the staircase to collect her purse.  Beck turned off the lights and they left the building, locking the door behind them.  He put on his sunglasses, taking her hand as they walked down the street towards his truck.  Although it was small talk all the way home, Beck was coming to wonder if, in fact, he might have to get a restraining order against Sharon at one point.

It was just a feeling he had.

Chapter Sixteen

Beck was sitting on the couch in the living room after sundown, the Bachelder-tiled fireplace cracking softly in the early evening as he watched the San Diego Padres obliterate the St. Louis Cardinals. Charlotte lay with her head on his lap, sucking her thumb and falling asleep as Blakesley and the older girls cleaned up the kitchen.  

Lizzie came barreling down from upstairs, her laptop computer in her hands.  She plopped on the sofa next to her dad and got comfortable as she flipped open the laptop.

“Dad,” she said as she booted up, “can I invite Jamie and Ashley down to visit? I really miss my friends.”

Beck tore his eyes away from the game to look at his daughter. “I know,” he said softly, putting a hand on her foot. “Let me check with Blakesley but I’m sure she won’t mind.”

“Won’t mind what?”

Blakesley came out of the kitchen with Crosby and Cadee on her heels.  She had a beer in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other.  She handed Beck the beer as she sat down beside him.

“Lizzie was wondering if she could invite a couple of friends down to visit,” Beck said. “Do you mind?”

Blakesley shook her head. “Not at all,” she looked at Beck. “But the bigger question is if you mind. You’re already out numbered in this house six to one. You want to add two more girls on top of that?”

He grinned and put his arm around her, snuggling down with her in front of the television. “I like girls,” he kissed her temple. “I spend too much time around a bunch of guys. It’s good to come home to nail polish and Barbies and the bathrooms all hogged up.”

Blakesley laughed softly. “You’re a big push-over.”

“You better believe it.”

Alfie suddenly charged into the living room, courtesy of Crosby letting the dog in. He jumped up on the couch, knocking over Lizzie, who yelled at the dog. Crosby was chasing the animal around trying to control him and the noise woke up Charlotte, who started crying. Blakesley set her wine down and picked up Charlotte, cradling the little girl as Beck got off the couch and collared the dog. 

Crosby pleaded for leniency for her best friend but Beck wasn’t feeling too generous considering the chaos the big animal had just caused. But he looked at Blakesley for the final word, and she granted the dog a reprieve.  Crosby and Cadee took the dog across the entry and into the small room they used as their play room. Lizzie, insulted by the dog slobber on her arm, retreated back upstairs to her room.

Beck plopped back down on the couch, collecting his beer and his girl.  “Whew,” he blew out his cheeks. “That dog needs some obedience training.”

Blakesley was cradling Charlotte. “I was thinking about that,” she said. “I’ll look in to it next week.”

“You’ve got a wedding to plan next week.”

“I know, “she nodded. “Oh, which reminds me; I called my lawyer earlier today about a prenup. He said he could draw one up in a couple of days providing we agree on everything.”

Beck was watching the game, focusing on the action so her statement didn’t sink in right away.  When it did, he looked at her curiously.

“Prenup?” he repeated.

She nodded, watching the game on the fifty-two inch plasma screen on the wall. “Especially with the Art Bar opening up at some point, I just want to make sure everything is spelled out.”

He was staring at her. “What do you mean spelled out?” he said. “Why in the hell do we need a prenup?”

She realized there was some anger in his tone and turned to look at him, seeing that his expression was surprisingly tight.  Her brow furrowed.

“To make sure we’re both protected,” she said patiently. “It makes total sense.  Like, if something goes wrong with the Art Bar, if I have it listed as my asset, the IRS or lawyers can’t go after you for any financial liability.  We’ll make sure that the truck and the house are your assets, but anything we gain during the course of the marriage will be ours equally.  Does that make sense?”

His expression darkened. “Look,” he said, trying not to become angry. “I know that your mind thinks that way and I know that it protected you from Ed’s bullshit, but I’m not Ed. I’m not going to cheat on you, or go on a murder rampage, so there’s no reason to protect yourself from me.”

Blakesley could see that he didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. He was offended by the mere suggestion.

“Baby, it’s to protect you, too,” she insisted softly. “We have a lot of assets and it’s just smart to spell everything out so there are no surprises.”

His jaw ticked. “It’s insurance against a divorce,” he said in a low voice. “It’s an insurance policy so you can walk away from a marriage whenever you want to and know you’re safe from giving up anything.”

He was rightfully angry and Blakesley shushed him so he wouldn’t wake up Charlotte, now dozing on her shoulder.  His rage was starting to fire her up.

“That’s not true,” she replied, losing her cool. “Most people do prenups to a certain degree. It just makes good business sense. It’s like a Will when you die – it just spells out your wants in case something happens.”

His jaw was ticking furious and he turned to watch the television. “It’s an easy way out,” he muttered. “You’re assuming the marriage is going to fail simply by suggesting of a prenup. You don’t have any faith in this marriage, do you?”

“That’s totally not true. Now you’re just being ridiculous.”

He just waved her away. “Do whatever you want. I’ll sign it.”

Blakesley was verging on tears.  She got up with Charlotte sleeping on her shoulder and carried the little girl upstairs and put her to bed.  Nikki was in Cadee’s room reading while Lizzie was on her talking to someone on her cell phone in her bedroom. Heading back downstairs, Blakesley went into the master bedroom, pulled her shoes on and collected her purse.

The cars were parked in the backyard and she went out the French doors from the master bedroom to the big cement area towards the back of the yard where the cars were kept.  She was starting to lose the battle against the tears and they streamed down her face as she unlocked her car and climbed in. She fumbled with her purse, setting it down on the passenger seat, turning the car on and reaching in to the side panel for the box of tissue she always kept there.

 The moment she lifted her head to put the car into reverse, she caught sight of Beck standing next to the car. She yelped, startled, as their eyes met.  His expression was impassive.

“Open the door,” he said.

She burst into soft sobs and shook her head. “Why?” she yelled, muted through the closed door. “So you can tell me I don’t have any faith in us? Leave me alone. I’m going for a drive. I need to clear my head.”

Her car door suddenly opened and she gasped, surprised, until she remembered that Beck had a second set of keys to her car.  She tried to yank the door shut but he was stronger and pulled it open. He ended up pulling her right out of the car.

Blakesley stumbled out of the car but Beck caught her before she could fall to her knees. But she pulled herself away, roughly, staying out of his arm’s reach. 

“Just… leave me alone,” she said, walking around the other side of the car. “I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

He followed her. “Why”?” he wanted to know. “I told you I’d sign the prenup. Why are you so upset?”

She sobbed. “How can you be so mean to me? How can you say I have no faith in our marriage?”

He sighed, showing some regret for the first time. “I just don’t believe in prenuptial agreements. You have never, in the time I have known you, said anything about us having a prenup.  They’re an easy way out.”

“They’re smart business sense!”

Their last statement was choppy and overlapping, full of emotion. Beck could see how upset she was but the truth was that he was upset , too.  He struggled to calm down, otherwise, they would never settle this.

“I understand that you look at them that way,” he said, his voice considerably softer as he tried to be reasonable. “I guess… I guess you hurt my feelings by suggesting one. It’s like you don’t have any faith that our marriage is going to last forever so you need this agreement to make sure that everything is fair and equal if we divorce.  Baby, do you have any idea what it would do to me if we divorced? It would kill me. It would literally kill me.  When I hear prenup, I hear –pre-divorce. I can’t even hear that word without feeling nauseous.”