Another Mother

by Kim Hartfield

  *

  Finding a babysitter on short notice was never an easy task, but there was no way I was going to give up. I confirmed over the phone with the sitter about two minutes before the school bus dropped Emma off.

  “Remember the nice lady you stayed with a few weeks ago?” I asked her. “She’s going to sit you again tonight.”

  Emma frowned at me. “Why?”

  My first urge was to fudge the truth, but no. Now was the time for honesty. “Because I’m going to see Katie.”

  “I want to see Katie!” she said. “I miss Katie.”

  “You might see her soon, sweetie. Remember how I told you we were dating? That means we need private time sometimes.”

  Emma gave me a suspicious look. “But I want to see her.”

  “Well, maybe she’ll come with me when I pick you up. How about that?”

  “I guess,” she said with a pout.

  I dropped her off and drove back to the set. I was early, and there were a few minutes of anxious waiting before Katie emerged, looking slightly stressed and absolutely gorgeous.

  “So, where are we going?” she asked, settling into my passenger seat.

  “I hadn’t actually gotten that far.” I turned off the radio. “I’m not hungry yet. Maybe we could just drive around.”

  “Or you could come to my place.”

  I hadn’t wanted to suggest it, but yeah, that seemed like a great option. “Sure.”

  I took the turns automatically, following the route I’d gotten to know so well over the past few months. We didn’t speak—I was immersed in my own thoughts, and I assumed Katie was the same.

  Once we got inside, I looked around. The place was a wreck—pizza boxes scattered across the living room table, half-empty bottles of beer on the floor. I gave Katie a sharp look.

  “I’ve been struggling,” she said simply. “If you ever thought I didn’t care about you, well…”

  I hung my head. I’d caused her this pain.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” she said, putting her arms around me. “You’re back now, and we’re going to talk through everything.”

  “Are we?” Now that she was touching me, desire was pulsing in my core, and I could think of a lot of things I wanted to do other than talk.

  “I thought that was the plan.” Her eyes fixed on mine, darkening more with every passing second.

  “Is that what you want?” I asked, breathless. “To… talk?”

  “Maybe we can talk later,” she said. “For now, I think I know everything I need to know.”

  She pulled me close, and we stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment. Even though we hadn’t resolved anything, I did feel like her gaze told me everything important. The passion was still there… the affection. The love.

  One way or another, we were going to make this work. What we had was too special to throw away. We’d both have to put in some effort, and things might not be as easy as we would’ve hoped. But when the love was there, there’d be a way to make it work.

  She leaned in, brushing her lips softly against mine. I closed my eyes and leaned into the kiss, feeling heat rise through my entire body. The core of my entire being knew who I was meant to be with, and it sang out in happiness that I was back with her.

  “I think your kissing skills are even better than before,” I murmured. “Have you been practicing?”

  “Only in my dreams.” She pressed her lips to my jaw, then my neck. “I don’t want to kiss anyone but you.”

  Overflowing with happiness, I let my hands roam her body. How I’d missed this soft skin, these perfect curves! Our lips met again, and now she was the one touching me. My nerves lit up under her hands, every touch electric. My nipples hardened against my bra, and my core pulsed with desire as she began to take my shirt off.

  I gripped her hands to stop her. “Upstairs?”

  She shook her head, making no attempt to conceal the desire in her eyes. “No, I can’t wait that long. I need you here and now.”

  It would’ve been better in a bed, but the area between my thighs was throbbing, and this was too urgent to wait. “Okay,” I said softly, and guided her hands so she could pull off my top.

  Now her lips were on my skin, her tongue drawing out even more sparks than her fingers had. Her mouth found my nipples, and I stumbled back to the sofa. This felt so good—too good. I should’ve been the one pleasuring her, I was the one who had so much to make up for. And yet I couldn’t make myself stop her when her fingers ventured down my pants.

  My legs shook. I could feel myself getting slicker. I opened my mouth to object when she took her hand away—then realized it was only so she could pull my pants off. Then she was on top of me, straddling my lap as her fingers penetrated me. I stared deep into her eyes. I’d never felt so close to anyone, ever.

  And as my walls spasmed around her, I knew I’d never let her go again.

  Twenty-Six – Katie

  “Good morning, and welcome to the Girls’ 7-12 Intermediate Gymnastics Competition. We have a great time lined up for you this afternoon. These girls have been working hard, practicing constantly, and today they’re going to show you everything they’ve got. So sit back, relax, and let the best woman win!”

  I gripped Sarah’s hand, already nervous on Emma’s behalf. The announcer was making everything sound so dramatic.

  “She’ll be fine,” Sarah whispered. “You know how much she’s been practicing.”

  That was true. Tired of not getting to see Sarah on nights Emma was at gymnastics lessons, I’d started coming along with them. Although I stood by the side talking to Sarah and the other parents, I paid enough attention to know Emma always worked her butt off.

  “I know,” I said. “I want her to win, though. And what about that girl who beat her last time? Symphony? Harmony? Cacophony?”

  “Melody.” Sarah laughed. “She’s been doing well, too. It’s going to be a tight competition.”

  “I could go and trip her when she’s coming out for her turn.”

  Sarah let out a cackle. “No, baby. Be good.” She squeezed my knee.

  I sat patiently through the first few performances. All the kids were good—they definitely had more gymnastics skills than I’d ever have—but I really just wanted to see Emma. I watched her sitting in her seat, waving whenever I caught her eye.

  She’d known about me and Sarah for a few months now, and we were getting closer every day. I wasn’t quite another mother to her yet, but we were on our way there. It might’ve just been habit from playing my daughter on the show, but even this long after filming had ended, sometimes she caught herself before calling me Mommy.

  We were making progress, and I was fine with that. I wouldn’t have wanted to rush my way into her life, or Sarah’s for that matter. I’d often thought life in general would be easier if the two of them were to give up their apartment and move into my house—but all of that would come with time.

  “Next up is Emma Parker!”

  “Emma’s up,” Sarah whispered, as if I hadn’t already heard.

  Nodding, I watched Emma make her way out to the balance beams, dressed in her pink leotard and high ponytail. She stared ahead intently rather than looking at me or Sarah, and the determination on her face doubled as the opening notes of the song she’d chosen rang out.

  She took small, deliberate steps forward, then cartwheeled onto the balance beam so fast she was just a blur. Before I could catch my breath, her legs had flown up in the air again. She held the handstand for a second before kicking down and sliding into the splits.

  God, she was good. Even when she terrified me, making me think she was going to slip and break an ankle at any second, she had me in awe. This small, perfect human, with all of her different talents and a mind completely of her own—she could soon be partly my responsibility. The thought was horrifying, and yet I found myself thrilled by it, too.

  A couple more gravity-defying stunts, and Emma hopped off the balance beam with her hands in
the air. She’d done amazingly well, and I couldn’t have been prouder if I’d given birth to her myself.

  My hand found Sarah’s again as we waited for the judges to show Emma’s score. I couldn’t even tell which of our palms was sweating.

  After what felt like forever, they held their scorecards up. 8.9. 9.1, 9.3, and 9.0. She was practically guaranteed to get first place.

  “Our little girl is going to win,” Sarah whispered.

  Taken by surprise, I searched her face for a hint that she hadn’t thought about her words, that she hadn’t meant what she’d said. There was nothing of the sort there. Instead, her eyes were filled of love—for Emma, and for me.

  I squeezed her hand. “Yes,” I said. “She is.”

  Twenty-Seven – Sarah

  The newspaper lay spread out on the kitchen table before me, just like it had the day Emma had found the ad for child actors. That’d been almost exactly a year ago. She and I had come full circle—and at some point, Katie had joined us, too.

  Now Katie stared at the entertainment section along with us. Finally she broke the silence, moving before either of us could. “If one of you doesn’t open it, I will.”

  “Wait!” I yelled. “Let’s wait until tomorrow. If they say anything bad about Wrong Headed, I don’t want us to be in a bad mood for the move.”

  Today Emma and I were packing up the apartment and moving everything to Katie’s house. It was going to be stressful enough without us being thrown off by a bad review.

  “Why would they say anything less than stellar?” Katie asked with a smirk. “I know they couldn’t say anything was wrong with Emma’s performance, and if they had an issue with mine, I can handle it.”

  I doubted that. She could be more sensitive than she let on. But it was too late—Emma had grabbed the paper and was flipping through it to find the article. Although it was on the fourth page of the entertainment section, it took up the whole page, partly due to the giant picture of Katie hugging Emma.

  Emma’s eyes were already bugging out as she began to read. “‘Wrong Headed Is Right Vehicle For Rising Child Star’? What does that mean?”

  “It means they loved you,” I said. “Let me see it.” Pulling the paper to me, I read out loud.

  With all the new content from major studios to binge-watch these days, why take a chance on a horror-drama featuring a former child star and a bunch of unknowns? Answer: because it’s freaking amazing.

  Katie Days from Great Takes Eight plays Ivy, the burned-out lead actress in Wrong Headed. A vacation she’s taken with her husband, child, and neighbors’ family goes off the rails when they’re snowed in—and then one after another is killed off.

  The plot heightens to a creepy locked-room mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Without giving away any spoilers, we can’t say much—only that there are a lot of surprises along the way!

  Ms. Days delivers a brilliant performance, infusing the role with all the passion and desperation it requires. The supporting cast is also excellent, with the standout being eight-year-old actress Emma Parker.

  This is the first we’ve seen of Emma, but it definitely won’t be the last. In a few years, we may look back on Wrong Headed with nostalgia because it was our first sight of our new favorite star.

  Not to turn this into a gossip column, but we’ve heard some whispers about Katie starting up a romance with Emma’s real-life mom. If it’s true, they make an adorable couple, and we can’t wait to hear more about their relationship!

  Wrong Headed airs on HBO Thursday nights at 8 pm for the next nine weeks.

  I looked up, breathless. “What do you think, sweetie?”

  Emma pouted. “They called me an actress.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You can write in to them and let them know you’re an actor. Leaving that aside, are you happy with the review?”

  She couldn’t keep the pout on her face anymore. A grin burst out instead. “Super happy.”

  “Do you think you’ll want to take on some more acting jobs?” Katie asked. “Or would you want to stay in school with your friends for now?”

  Emma shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m hungry.”

  Katie and I exchanged a glance of amusement. “You know, I’ve been thinking about getting into directing,” she said. “I’ve read a few really good scripts, and some of them call for child stars.”

  This was news to me. She’d been working on a new movie for months, more of a small indie flick than a big-budget production, and the shooting was about to wrap up. Emma had been in school and hadn’t worked since Wrong Headed had finished, but with summer coming up, it might be a good time to get her back into acting.

  “Are you suggesting you’ll direct a movie and Emma will star in it?” I asked.

  Katie smiled. “You never know.”

  She was right—I didn’t. Maybe Emma would decide she wanted to act some more, and maybe not. Maybe she’d become a professional gymnast instead of an actor, and maybe she’d end up doing something else altogether. As long as she was happy, I was happy.

  And right now, with my daughter and her other mother, I was fully and completely happy.

  I hope you enjoyed reading Another Mother!

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  Table of Contents

  Another Mother

  One – Sarah

  Two – Katie

  Three – Sarah

  Four – Katie

  Five – Sarah

  Six – Katie

  Seven – Sarah

  Eight – Katie

  Nine – Sarah

  Ten – Katie

  Eleven – Sarah

  Twelve – Katie

  Thirteen – Sarah

  Fourteen – Katie

  Fifteen – Sarah

  Sixteen – Katie

  Seventeen – Sarah

  Eighteen – Katie

  Nineteen – Sarah

  Twenty – Katie

  Twenty-One – Sarah

  Twenty-Two – Katie

  Twenty-Three – Sarah

  Twenty-Four – Katie

  Twenty-Five – Sarah
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  Twenty-Six – Katie

  Twenty-Seven – Sarah