“I made that special for Lincoln. It’s his favorite.”
“Well, it appears his tastes have changed. You no longer have to worry yourself with feeding his appetite. I’ve taken care of that and he seems quite satisfied.”
“Listen honey child,” Janey rolled her neck giving the stupid ass impression of a black Southern Belle. “I was here first. At least he didn’t have to pay for me like he did with you.”
Who told her? Bill strikes again. I shook my head at the implication that my beautiful Lena was purchased. Yeah, I paid a nominal fee to the match maker service, but that wasn’t for Lena. She never got any of that money. It was a low blow, but Lena seemed to take it in stride. Unbothered, as Shonda would say.
“And here you stand, hot and ready for free, yet the price was still too much.”
Ouch! Janey’s head snapped back like she had been slapped. I couldn’t help myself. I burst out laughing as I wrapped my arms around my wife and planted a big juicy kiss on her mouth. I turned and led us to the cashier so we could get out of there before Janey caused any more trouble. Just when I thought we were done Lena spied the trash bin and chucked the bowl of funk inside causing Janey to gasp.
Eleven
Steal Your Girl
Lena
Things with Lincoln were going great. Once he opened the flood gate, we were all over each other day and night. I could not get enough of my sexy man. The things he did to my body had me wide open. Anything he asked I would do. I wanted to be near him all the time. I am sure from the outside looking in, we were sickening, but to us it was pure bliss.
For the past six months we have been screwing each other’s brains out. Inside the house. Out in the woods against a giant redwood. In the greenhouse. That one was tricky because he had a camera in there. We even trekked down the hill to make love in the sand on the beach that our bedroom window overlooked. Linc continued my music lessons each night during and after dinner. There were random dance parties that always seemed to pop up. He had also made a weekly habit of leaving me a little love note written on a white rose petal. I thought it was the sweetest thing when he did that the day after our wedding night debacle. The note simply said, ‘Sorry’ with a heart drawn next to it.
I had received a total of twenty-four notes so far. My favorites were ‘You made a beautiful bride.’ and ‘Looking forward to falling in love with you.’ He got some bomb ass head those nights. Today was manic Monday and the only reason I was even halfway excited was because I was looking forward to reading Linc’s note. I got out of the shower and just like the others, it was on a tray with my breakfast of pancakes, bacon and juice. This one said ‘Looking forward to growing old with you. The love thing is already taken care of.’
Oh my goodness! I had known I loved Linc for a long time now, and I hoped he loved me too. We had never expressed it to each other, just left it floating in the air, assumed. This was the first time he told me he loved me. I think we are going to be late getting to work this morning. I rushed into the living room where I found my sexy man talking on the phone. I thrust myself into his arms, accidentally knocking his phone on the floor. The look of shock marred his face for just a moment before he frowned and pushed me away. I tried to pull him in for a steamy kiss, but he stepped back, bending down to retrieve his phone.
“Damn it, Lena!”
“I’m sorry baby. I was just excited after I read your note. I didn’t mean to…”
“But you did. That was an important call, Lena. Damn! Look at my phone. The shit is cracked. Now I need to get a new phone before I can call this man back. This is going to cost me money, time and possibly a client just because you couldn’t control yourself.”
“Linc, I said I was sorry.”
“Well, think next time, Lena. My whole day is going to be off now. Give me your phone so I can call this man back. I can’t believe this. He is going to think I am so unprofessional.”
Tears welled in my eyes at the gruff sound of my husband’s voice. He had never spoken to me like that before. I didn’t mean to break his phone. He snatched my phone from my hand and marched out of the room toward his office. I plopped down on the couch looking at the love note he left me earlier. What had happened between the time he wrote the note and the phone call? I had never seen him in this kind of mood, and I wasn’t sure what to do. Instinct told me to leave him be. Let him calm down and come to me, but a little voice in my head wanted to know if maybe he was on the verge of having a PTSD episode. I stood to go find him when I heard gravel under car tires out front. We weren’t expecting anyone, especially not this early in the morning, so I went to the door to see who it could be.
No, no, no! How the hell did they find me? Panic set in and my first instinct was to run. I turned quickly only to run smack into the wall that was my husband’s chest. His hands shot out to steady me. When he looked into my eyes and saw the panic, he became curious.
“Who are those people, Lena?”
“That’s my father. He’s come to get me. I need to hide. Linc, please just tell him you never heard of me. I need to get out of here.”
My attempt to run past him was thwarted by his hard grasp.
“I have no idea what is going on with you and your father. You were so elusive when we met. I didn’t push you, thinking you would share when you were ready, but now it’s come to our doorstep. My wife doesn’t run from trouble. She stands next to me and we face it together.”
Fuck! This could not be happening. With his left arm wrapped around me, Linc moved us closer to the door and opened it. My father stood there glaring at us, but mainly me. Next to him stood that goofy bastard Anderson. What was he doing here?
“Eileen, I’ve come to take you home. You’ve had your fun and now it’s time to take your place in the family. Get your things and let’s go.”
He reached for my arm, but Linc caught his hand in a firm handshake. He glared at my father as he introduced himself.
“Lincoln Watts. It’s good to meet you, Mr. Sheridan.”
“I can’t say the same, son. Kindly relinquish your hold on my daughter and allow her to return home where she belongs.”
Linc’s eyebrow quirked and a small smirk grew on his face. As grumpy as he was a little while ago, it would behoove my father to drop this tough guy act and use his Southern manners. But of course, my father liked doing things the hard way.
“How did you find me? Only one person knew where I was, and I know she didn’t tell you.”
“You’re right. Your little sister never said a word. However, the periodic emails and phone calls were enough for us to eventually figure out where you were. The money you stole is another matter. We’re still looking for that.”
“Stole? You’re out of your mind.”
Linc looked at me questioning if I was telling the truth or not. He didn’t say anything, but his body language said it all. He was stiff and his hold on my shoulder loosened. I know he didn’t believe my crook of a father over me. But how could he believe me? I never told him anything about this.
“Just come home with us now and everything will be forgiven. Anderson here is still willing to marry you even after all that wedding drama. I raised you better than to run out on your fiancé.”
“Fiancé?”
Oh shit! Linc had no idea. Now he would think I was lying to him this entire time. I hated my father for putting this wedge between my husband and me. I glared at Anderson as he reached for me. The fool had never touched me before and here he was trying to grab on me in front of my husband. He must have a death wish. I heard Lincoln growl is disapproval as I felt my body being pushed behind him. Linc stepped toward Anderson, getting in his face.
“Don’t you ever put your slimy hands on my wife.”
“Wife? You can’t be serious? There is no way my daughter is married to someone the likes of you.”
“Daddy! Apologize to my husband right now! Lincoln is a decorated soldier and a war hero. He deserves your respect, and better yet,
he earned it. You have no right to stand here in our home and insult him like that.”
“Little girl, you must be joking. You’ve been out here playing house with a low life drug dealer and you want me to respect him?”
“Out!”
My father stopped his immature rant as everyone in the room snapped their heads to look at Lincoln. He was on the verge of exploding. His arm extended, pointing at the front door with a glare that would terrify any sane man.
“Get the fuck out of our home. NOW!”
Oh shit! My man was pissed.
“Fine, come on Eileen. Let’s go.”
“Lena isn’t going anywhere. Regardless if you accept it or not, she’s my wife and her place is by my side. She will not be going anywhere with you now or later.”
I stood next to my husband glaring at my father and Anderson, wondering what gave them the balls to come here and try this. Daddy had to know I wasn’t going without a fight. He obviously had done his homework to know what Linc did for a living.
“Eileen, I can’t believe you left me standing at the alter for this!”
“Speak to my wife again and you’ll wish for death. Now get out of my house. I will not repeat myself again.”
Linc was a scary bastard when he was pissed. I had not seen this side of him, and I was a little intimidated. When he stood back and placed his arm around me, I flinched a little. I didn’t mean to, but it happened just the same. He noticed but waited to address it with the rest of the information he was still trying to process. My father and Anderson finally left, but I was no fool. They would be back and next time they would have backup.
Twelve
Truth Hurts
Linc
I couldn’t believe my fucking life. This day had gone from bad to worse in a matter of minutes. First, I received a call from a potential client who was going through a PTSD episode while on the phone with me. Just as I was talking him down, Lena came charging in from the bedroom, jumping into my arms and smashing my phone. I lost my cool and yelled at her, which I should never have done. She was just excited about my note, but the man on the phone was triggering me and I couldn’t exactly control my reaction. Making my woman cry was the last thing I wanted. Her happiness is what I live for, so knowing I put that sad look in her eyes hurt.
No sooner than I got in touch with my client and got him settled, did this bullshit land on my doorstep. I was sitting at my desk completing some paperwork when the surveillance cameras alerted me of a vehicle pulling up to the house. Unfamiliar with the car, I dropped what I was doing to investigate. Whoever it was came here for a reason. The cabin was off the beaten path, so anyone finding their way to our front door did it purposefully.
As I made my way to the door, I saw my panic-stricken wife peering out of the window. She suddenly turned as if to flee when she ran smack dead into me. I had no idea what was up with her. She had secrets that she had been keeping from me. I knew this, but I never pushed her to tell me. People had their own timetable and if pushed to talk when you weren’t ready, it could trigger something horrible to happen.
I wasn’t ready for what transpired. I couldn’t believe that man. I won’t call him her father because he doesn’t deserve the title from what I observed. He actually showed up at my front door with some Poindexter goofy ass motherfucker to come and take my wife from me. They had no idea who they were dealing with. When that bastard had the unmitigated gall to touch my wife, in my home, in front of me, I wanted to ripped his spine from his frame.
After kicking both of those assholes out of my house, I was livid. Not only did I discover my wife of six months had been engaged to that asshat, she apparently ran away from home and stole some money. All of this was according to her father, so I had no real proof. Judging by her reaction, at least part of it was true. She had lied to me and that is unforgivable. As soon as the door closed behind her father, I went in on her.
“What the hell was that all about, Lena? Why is your father showing up out of the blue informing me that you are a liar and a thief?”
I expected her to start crying and making excuses. Nope. Not my Lena. She was pissed as fuck and she let holy hell rain down on my head as if I was the one who did something wrong.
“Don’t fucking call me a liar or a thief. Okay, so I didn’t tell you everything that was going on in my family, but I didn’t hide it. I just wasn’t ready to talk about it.”
“Well, that’s a moot point, now isn’t it?”
Lena glared at me, the likes I had never seen before and I was a Navy Seal. I’ve seen some shit.
“Don’t take that tone with me, Lincoln Watts. I am trying to explain, but if you keep interrupting, I’ll just shut up.”
“Oh hell no. You’ve been quiet for too long. I can’t believe I am dealing with this shit. Were you or were you not engaged to that fucker?”
“It’s complicated.”
She threw her hands in the air as if she was exasperated. What the hell did she have to be upset about? I was the one who was kept in the dark.
“I was technically engaged to Anderson…”
“Don’t you say his name in my presence.”
“What? You can’t be serious. Fine. Whatever. I was engaged to him, but only because my parents arranged it when I was born. His father and mine are best friends and they came up with this stupid plan to have us get married in order to combine empires. Remember when I told you my mother gave me lessons on how to be a good wife?”
I nodded my head, needing to stay quiet so she could finish.
“She thought she was in an Eddie Murphy movie or something, training me to like what he likes and do whatever he likes.”
“So, if I asked you to bark like a dog, would you?’
“Fuck you, Linc.”
I shouldn’t have said that. It was a low jab, but it was such a ridiculous scenario, I had to do something to keep my brain from exploding.
“What did your father mean when he said you stole his money?”
She folded her arms and glared at me. She kept acting like I had done something wrong. All I wanted was an explanation of what was happening. She was the one accused of theft and she stood there looking at me like I was crazy for questioning her.
“Cleveland Sheridan is a fucking liar! The money he’s referring to is my inheritance. I recently found out that when my grandfather passed away, he named me as his sole beneficiary. He died when I was ten, yet I found out about the money right before I signed up for Madame Dragonfly’s service. It was one of the main factors for me signing up. I needed to escape my homelife. My sister, Trina and I hired a lawyer, and she was able to get my inheritance transferred into my name. Apparently, when I turned twenty-one, it was supposed to transfer to me, but my father had been controlling my money and my life. He planned for me to marry that man so he would have access to the money for his own personal use.”
“So, you were going to marry that clown?”
“Yes, but it isn’t like it sounds. I was promised to him, but I had no desire to be with him. Lincoln, I swear I don’t have anything but disdain for him.”
“But you would have married him and lived the rest of your life as his wife. Why? Because you were told to?”
“Yes. You can’t begin to understand the control my parents had on me. Once I found out my entire life had been a scheme for my father to get his hands on my inheritance, I left. I came here to be with you.”
“So you came here to the drug dealer thinking I could protect you from your father? You were using me. Do you even have any feelings for me, or is this a marriage of convenience? A way to keep your money.”
“Lincoln, you know better than that. This isn’t about money. I want to be here with you. I love the life we are building together.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to know if that little twerp had his hands on my woman. That was supposed to be something reserved only for me.
“Did he touch you? Did you let him kiss you? Better yet, did you
give him head like you did me? I don’t believe I was your first. I can’t argue the virgin thing. I saw proof of that, but what did you let him do to your body? My body!”
Insane with jealousy, I couldn’t stop the hateful words from spewing from my piehole if I tried. Not that I wanted to. The trust between us had a dent in it and my ego was damaged in the process. It was driving me crazy to think any man, let alone that one, had touched her where only my hands were supposed to. Was she thinking about him when she was with me?
“Could you be any more insulting? Lincoln you know good and damn well I was inexperience when we first got together. You taught me how to please you, for goodness sake. I will not stand here and take this type of abuse from a man who says he loves me. You are supposed to have my back, remember? Now all of a sudden, my father shows up and I’m a lying cheating slut who steals money. I don’t have to stay here and take this shit.”
“Well, maybe you should go! Go back to lover boy and see how weak his game is. I’m sure he won’t be able to please you like I can. Go on back to your lackluster life being controlled by a man who clearly doesn’t care about you! That’s what you want, huh? Anything is better than living out here in the middle of the woods in a cabin with a degenerate drug dealer, right?”
I had worked myself into a frenzy, I had to get out of there for a while. My mouth was lethal. I shouldn’t have said any of that, but my insecurities were getting the best of me. I grabbed my keys off the counter and stalked out to my truck. A nice long drive should get me back to myself.
“Where are you going?”
I heard her calling out to me, but I ignored her. I made my way to my truck, a place of serenity for me. Jumping in, I drove the twenty-five miles to my favorite spot in the Redwood National Forest. After parking the truck, I picked up the phone and called the one person who would understand all of this.
Cabin Fever Page 32