by Celya Bowers
“Sorry,” he apologized. “You shocked me. How did he hurt his head?”
“To make a long story short, he was being nosy.”
“Okay, I’m going to need more details.”
“The doctor was giving Izzy a test and it requires a seriously long needle—”
“Okay, got the visual. Poor guy. So they’re both in the hospital?”
“Yes, Izzy had a fever and high blood pressure. They should get out tomorrow morning. Cam’s parents, and most of the Callahans are there, along with my parents.”
“I would expect nothing less.”
“I’m always amazed at them. Their love for each other is very evident. I love that about them,” Lizzy said. “You can’t help but feel like you’re part of the family.”
“You are. They’ve never met a stranger.”
***
“Mommy, my video game won’t work,” PJ complained, as he prepared for bed. “I put it in my game and some crazy stuff came up on the screen.” He was standing in his room, searching for his favorite pajamas. “I don’t know what to do.”
“I’ll look at it tomorrow,” she promised her son. “Right now, Mommy is tired and has to get up early, so I can go to the hospital to see Aunt Izzy and Uncle Cam.”
“Aw,” he said, walking into the bathroom and closing the door.
Lizzy shook her head as she pulled back the covers on PJ’s twin bed. She sighed as she sat on the small bed. Before long, PJ would be into girls and not video games. She didn’t know which was worse.
PJ came back into the room and slid into bed. It had been such a busy day for everyone. “Do you want me to read to you?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m really worried about my game though.”
Her baby had priorities. “Which game is it?”
“I’m not sure of the name. Tonight was the first time I played it. I think it’s one of Dad’s.”
“Honey, you must be mistaken. Your dad never plays video games. Maybe it was Uncle Cam’s or Tristan’s?”
PJ shook his head. “No, Mom. I found it when we first moved here. It was in with the DVDs. Then I realized it was a game for my player. Tonight was the first time I played.”
“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll get you another one tomorrow.” She kissed her son goodnight and went downstairs.
She made a cup of herbal tea and sat down on the couch to relax. She’d had one of those days, and she wanted to forget about it as soon as humanly possible. The good thing was that Izzy and Cam would get out of the hospital in the morning.
She sat back and watched TV or at least that was the plan until the phone rang. She answered it on the third ring. “Hello?”
“Hey, baby,” his deep voice called.
“You lost the right to call me that about a year ago,” she shot back.
“Okay, okay. Lysette, I want to see my kids this weekend.”
“Talk to Mom.”
“You know that woman hates me,” he whined. “I just want to see them for a few hours.”
She smelled a rat. Paul hardly saw the children unless it would benefit him. “So does this mean that your mother wants to see her grandchildren?”
“All right, you got me,” he said. “She wants them for the weekend. After PJ’s game of course.”
She honestly liked his mother. Beatrice Hall tried to her very best to make sure she was an excellent grandmother. Most likely to make up for her no-account son. “Tell her to call me. Did you tell your mother you issued a complaint with Child Protective Services against me?”
“How about let’s keep that between us?”
Like she would have done that rat a favor. “Funny, you didn’t think about that before I had to meet the principal.” She also knew his mother would hit the roof.
“You’re still bringing that up? Look, can Mom get them Saturday or not?”
She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. Her babies deserved so much more than a some-time father. They deserved a man who wanted to be with them unconditionally, not this part-time stuff Paul was doing. Instantly, she thought of Tristan. He’d called her on the way home from the hospital and talked to her the entire way home, making sure they were safe. Tristan was coming to see PJ play soccer this Saturday.
“Lizzy?”
“Yes, Paul,” Lizzy said, snapping back to the present. “Yes, just tell her to call me this week. Maybe we can work something out.”
“Thanks,” he said.
“Yeah.” Lizzy ended the call. What had she ever seen in Paul Hall all those years ago? Sure, he was handsome, charming, and smart. Goodness, how all that had changed after they married. He wasn’t the same man she married, that was for sure and he was definitely up to something. She’d just have to wait to find out how she and the kids figured into all of it. Happy that the call was finally over, she resumed watching TV.
She couldn’t keep her mind on the news program. Giving in to the madness, she dialed Tristan. She giggled as he frantically answered the phone.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong?”
“Tristan, calm down. I’m fine. Just wanted to hear your voice,” she said quietly. “Paul called.”
“Oh, baby. What did he want?”
“Actually, his mother wants to keep the kids this weekend. She wants to pick them up after PJ’s soccer game.”
“How do you feel about that?” He asked the question so gently, easing her heart in an instant. “Do you trust her?”
“Yes, I do. She’s normally the one who keeps them when Paul had them for the weekend. They’re her only grandkids, so I can see why she tries so hard.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Are you going to let her keep them?”
“Yes. She doesn’t know about Paul reporting me to CPS. I’m thinking about telling her. She’s probably going to hit the roof.”
“She could be an ally,” he said. “Maybe even give some insight to his erratic behavior.”
She laughed. “I think Paul has been like this his entire life. I just didn’t see it until about six years into the marriage.”
“Really? Love blinders?”
She thought for a moment. “Yeah, something like that. We met in college. I thought he was the sweetest, smartest man, I’d ever met, at the time. We graduated, got married, and little by little, the real Paul slowly materialized.”
He was quiet while she continued her story. “I’m guessing right after the kids were born.”
“Moreso, after I got the job with the city. I didn’t take the BAR exam until after Tatum was born. Up until then, I stayed home finishing law school, while Paul worked. Everything was fine as long I had nothing of my own. Once I landed the job with the city, things changed.”
“Some men can’t deal with a spouse’s success. It makes them feel less.” He paused a second. “Just for the record, I’m totally cool with your success. I want you to be the best person you can be.”
Those words made her heart swell with pride. “If I didn’t love you like crazy, that statement would have definitely did it.”
NINE
Saturday morning, Tristan prepared for PJ’s soccer game. It was going to be a good day. After the game, they were going to have lunch, then the kids were going with their grandparents. Then he and Lizzy had the whole weekend together.
He was eating breakfast when his cell phone rang. He hoped nothing was wrong with the kids. He glanced at the display and smiled as he answered it. “Hello, Mom.”
“Well, hello stranger,” his mother said. “I’ve heard through your sister that you and Lizzy are back together.”
“Yes, Mom. You are correct.”
“So you decided that you were wrong for blaming her for the deeds of her ex-husband?”
“Yes, Mom. You were absolutely correct. I should have listened to you in the first place.”
She chuckled. “Ha! A man listened to his mother about his girlfriend! That would be a first. I’m just glad you saw your mistake before some other man snapped her up.”
> He knew his parents loved Lizzy and her kids. “Yes, I’m on the way to PJ’s soccer game.”
“That’s why I’m calling,” she said in her Irish mother voice.
Oh this wasn’t good. “Why?”
“Your father turns sixty-five next month and I’ve decided to throw him a birthday party. Amelia’s daughter-in-law did such a wonderful job decorating her house for her birthday, she agreed to do the same for me.”
He knew of Rain Callahan’s flair for decorating. She was a new addition to the Callahan family when she married Sean. It was a whirlwind courtship, being that they met on vacation in Ireland. “Sounds like a great idea, but what’s this got to do with Lizzy?”
“Does having sex with her take all your brain cells? I want her and the kids to come to the party.”
Only his mother would ask such a question. Well maybe, Cam’s mother, or his aunt. Subtlety was not their thing. Sharp tongues, and big hearts, the whole lot of them, he mused. “I think that’s a lovely idea.”
“Why don’t you bring them over tonight?”
“They’re going to visit their other grandparent this weekend,” Tristan said.
“Oh, well I know what that means. I was young once too. I hope you plan on taking her out to eat before you guys hit the sheets.”
“Mom, please. We agreed not to have these kinds of discussions. No talk of you and Dad doing anything remotely sexual. My brain can’t handle it.”
“I don’t know when you became such a prude. I’m just glad your siblings aren’t like you.”
“Mom, I just can’t wrap my head around the idea.”
“It’s a good thing your father can.”
“Goodbye, Mom. I love you.” He ended the call before his mother started spouting details of his parents’ sex life.
An hour later Tristan arrived at the soccer field. He scanned the various fields and soon spotted Lizzy. She was sitting with Cam and Izzy. As he walked toward the trio, he marveled at the changes in Campbell Callahan since he married Dr. Izabella Carter.
His friend since childhood was anxiously awaiting the birth of his first child. So anxious that he went overboard making sure his wife was protected. While he was at work, Izzy stayed with her parents during the day.
When Cam first came up with the plan, he thought Izzy would hit the roof, but she went along with it. Just to please her husband. That was love. Tristan wanted that kind of love.
“Hey, baby,” he said, kissing Lizzy on the lips. He noticed Izzy was sitting on a pillow, and holding a thermos. The bright red container was filled with some kind of health drink, he feared. Campbell was sitting next to his wife. They looked nauseatingly happy holding hands. Campbell was holding a large plastic coffee cup in his free hand. Although Izzy was trying to maintain her clean eating lifestyle, her pregnancy and Campbell was giving her a run for her money.
“Hey, guys,” he said, as she sat next to Lizzy. “Where’s PJ and Tatum?”
“PJ and his team are warming up. Their game starts in ten minutes. Tatum is practicing with her team. Their game starts in an hour.” She waved at her son. “PJ is waving at you.”
Tristan looked toward the field and sure enough PJ was waving at him. Then he ran toward the stands. Tristan got up and walked toward the field. The little boy couldn’t contain his excitement.
“Tristan, I’m so glad you could make it! I knew you’d be here.” He hugged Tristan, almost knocking him over.
“You know I wouldn’t miss you playing for anything, PJ.” He hugged him. It felt so natural, so right, as if he needed a sign to know he was in the right place at the right time. “Your coach is waving at you. Your game is starting.”
“Okay, see you after the game?”
“You bet.” Tristan wiped his eyes and headed back toward Lizzy. He was at the right place and the right time.
Lizzy watched the exchange between her two favorite men. She noticed Tristan heading back to the seats and wiping his eyes. He didn’t look angry as he approached her. Once he took his seat, she had to ask.
“Is everything okay?”
“Couldn’t be better,” he said on a sigh. “In fact, pretty freaking awesome.” He grabbed her hand and kissed it. “You have fantastic kids, Lizzy.”
“I know.” She moved closer to him and kissed him lightly on the lips. Public displays of affection were not in Tristan’s MacDonald’s comfort zone. Especially not a soccer field where anyone could see them. “They’re wonderful kids, and I’m very blessed to be their mother.” She paused a beat, trying to figure out what exactly was going on with this Irish man. “So what are we doing this evening, since I will be child free this evening?”
He smiled back at her. “I was thinking we could dine with the Callahans this evening. I hear Izzy is dying to get out of the house.” He nodded at the expectant couple.
“I was thinking the exact same thing. There’s something I need to do first.”
He grinned. His brain already on the night ahead. “Whipped cream?”
She shook her head. “Video games.”
“And since when did you get into playing video games?
“Never. It’s for PJ. Some game Paul had. He tried to play it and it wouldn’t work. So I told him I’d get him another one.”
Tristan’s squinted those beautiful blue eyes. A sure sign he was thinking. “What’s wrong with the game? Maybe it’s fixable without getting a new one.”
“I don’t know. He was trying to play it the other night and said there was gibberish on the screen.”
“Gibberish, really? How does an eight-year-old know what gibberish is?”
“Because that’s what his handwriting looks like to me. He’s only in the second grade and his handwriting is horrible. He just scribbles.”
“Oh. Why don’t we look at it later? Did Paul give it to him lately?”
“No, when we moved into the house there was some miscellaneous junk of Paul’s. I didn’t want to throw it away just in case it was something important. The video game was in it. PJ found it months ago, but just played the game the other night.”
“Now, I’m really curious about it. What did the disc look like? Did it have the video game brand marks on it? Company warning labels, you know, anything like that on it?”
The light finally went on in Lizzy’s brain. “You think it might be a link to the Paul puzzle? I didn’t look at the disc. It should be still in his video player. And before you ask, my brother Jason bought it for him about a year ago. He claimed every child needed one. And at the time, I was the only one in the family with kids.”
“Mr. Sour Puss has a soft side,” Tristan smiled. “That’s good to know. I always thought Jason had one mood….bad.”
Lizzy laughed. “It’s not his fault.” Lie. Jason was a piece of work. “He simply married the wrong woman, then that woman ran off with another woman. He’s trying to work through his distrust of females now.”
“When is he getting over the ‘I hate English people’? Just because she was from England.”
“Probably never. He gets along with Cam pretty well.”
“Cam’s a Callahan. They’re charmers. I’m a MacDonald, we’re not so charming.”
She thought about his statement. He might not have the charm of Cam, but he had sensitivity towards her and she loved him for it. “Says you.”
His tanned skin blushed. “Stop trying to get me off track. I really need to see that disc. Maybe we can get Brad to look at it. Has Paul been trying to get in your house lately?”
“Always. I never let him in.”
“Maybe he’s realized his misplaced it and needs it back.”
“Then why not just ask for it? That’s what I’d do,” she said.
“Honey, think like a lawyer,” Tristan prodded. “Come on, think about it. Your company is being investigated, you probably hid some records, but you can’t remember where, then it comes to you. Your ex-wife has them. You can charm her to get them back, but if she wasn’t having that, wha
t’s your next move?”
“Find another way into the house,” Lizzy said. “Why doesn’t he just ask PJ if he’s seen the disc?”
“Then PJ gets curious about it and asks you.”
That idiot, she thought. “Then I start looking for it. And since I work for the sexy and intelligent city manager, it might send up a red flag and the authorities might be involved.”
“That’s my girl,” he said. “He has to figure out if you have it and where is it?”
“So why all that drama with CPS?” That was a mystery she would love to solve as well.
Tristan sighed. “My guess is that he wanted a reason to get into the house. He could offer to talk about the kids at your house. Seduce you and search the house.”
“So whatever is on the disc could put me and the kids at risk? I mean, I’m sure he’d throw us under the bus if it meant his life or ours.”
“Well, I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.” He kissed her on the lips.
A few hours later, Lizzy admitted to herself, that yes, she was deeply in love with Tristan MacDonald. They had lunch with the kids before taking them to Paul’s mother’s home. To a very shocked Lizzy, Tristan introduced himself to Paul’s mother. He made sure that the older woman knew that he in Lizzy’s life and wasn’t going anywhere. As the kids were playing upstairs, they sat in the living room to have a very adult conversation.
“I love those kids as if they were my own,” Tristan said to Paul’s mother. “I will make it my life’s work to make sure that they or Lizzy are not harmed emotionally or physically by your son.” Tristan sat next to Lizzy on the sofa, while Paul’s mother sat in her favorite recliner. The shocked expressions on her face was priceless.
With that admission, Lizzy knew she had to fill Paul’s mother on what was going on. She didn’t want Beatrice Hall to be in the dark about her son. “Bea, there are a few things you need to know. At first, I wasn’t going to tell you, because I know how much you love Paul and rightly so. But you also keep the kids on his behalf.”
Bea shook her head. “What has he done now? He’s been acting so weird these last few months.”