Escalation Clause (Stewart Realty Series)

by Crowe, Liz

  Mo: Well…?

  Rafe: How old do you think I am? Bearing in mind my Latino heritage makes me look younger.

  Mo: Twenty-five?

  Rafe: Higher

  Mo: Twenty-six?

  Rafe: Higher

  Mo: Twenty-seven?

  Rafe: Getting warmer…sort of like me

  Mo: Jesus, just tell me.

  Rafe: After you cross yourself for taking Our Lord’s name in vain….

  Mo: Ok: Jesus Fucking Christ, just tell me.

  Rafe: Thirty-one

  Mo: Oh.

  Rafe: And, guess what? I don’t even care how old you are. I just want to….

  Mo: Oh.

  Rafe: Calling now….

  Mo had to get up and walk to the sink and grab on at the memory of the orgasm he’d talked her through like a pro. The last thing he said before hanging up, both of them breathless from the phone sex, stuck in her psyche, making her skin tingle with anticipation. “I will do this to you, Maureen, if you would just let me, but it will be more than that. So, you have to decide—how much do you want from me?”

  She turned to see what the women were up to in the next room. Observing Sara, her sister-in-law, who was currently opening another bottle of wine, and Lila, a woman she was just getting to know but who wore her loss like a sign around her neck Mo took a deep breath. Finally, Julie, Sara’s friend, married to Jack’s law school buddy, emerged from the back patio. They were all dressed in bathing suits and cover-ups having spent the day at the pool with the passel of kids. Both Adam and Ella loved playing with the little boys and Lila’s daughter, Maddie, but Katie, her niece, stayed a little apart. The brooding unhappiness over her Uncle Blake’s death would not fade. Mo had never seen the normally happy little girl so despondent, even now, a year after the tragedy that had altered everyone’s lives.

  She needed to get Sara alone. They really had to talk. Jack had filled her ear a few nights ago from the road trip down to Florida. He and Sara had worked through a lot, but he was still frustrated. She’d read her brother the riot act—told him to stop being so distant and absorbed with the fucking soccer thing. It was taking him away too much. It had to be wearing Sara down as it would anyone in her position. However, Mo had a few things she needed to say to her sis-in-law, too. Things she should have said once, a few years back but hadn’t.

  Mo sat down and sipped her wine, watching the kids run around in the backyard, the little boys trying their best to keep up with the older ones.

  “I don’t know,” Lila was saying, her small frame tucked in on itself. “I like working there, actually, and we seem to be able to get along at the pub, but….” She shrugged. Dark circles made her deep brown eyes seem even larger. Mo put her hand on the woman’s knee.

  “You guys have been through something horrific. I would know. But you owe it to yourselves to keep trying. You have him,” she pointed to Gabe who, at that precise moment, was holding out both hands in fists and was spinning like a dervish. Brandis was on his back laughing and kicking out, trying to trip him.

  Lila stared at them a minute then turned to Mo, her eyes brimming with tears. “I know. I love Rob so much, It’s killing me. But he just won’t…I don’t know…I worry that he just doesn’t love me as much. That he won’t be able to be with just…you know…what if he needs…oh, hell.”

  Mo studied the play of emotion crossing the woman’s face. “Have you asked him? I mean about the needing something else which I assume you mean sex with a man.”

  Lila gulped and clutched her throat as her pale skin flushed red. “I, um, yeah I guess so.”

  Sara patted Lila’s leg. “Forgive her. It’s a Gordon thing, the pull-no-punches gene. It comes naturally.” Mo shot her sister-in-law a look, not exactly thrilled with the comment. Sara met her gaze, not backing down. The tension in the room ramped up. Mo did nothing to dispel it. She broke the moment however, and looked away, realizing this was neither the time nor the place for a confrontation. But they were overdue one. And she would make it happen. Her brother was as close to miserable as she’d seen him in a long time. And while she would be first to blame him for his share of it, the woman he’d married could be held accountable for a fair bit of the problem. Mo loved how happy Jack was with Sara. But right now she was worried that ultimately their similarities would rip them apart.

  Lila glanced back and forth between the two Gordon women, a nervous look in her eyes. “I miss Blake so much I barely sleep or eat. But Rob is…I just…forget it. I don’t want to cause a fight here. I’ve had enough of that.”

  Mo leaned into the miserable looking woman’s ear. “Relax. I have no beef with you or with Sara, really. I’m sorry this is so hard for you.”

  Lila looked at her, desperation clear in her eyes. “I can’t live without him. I cannot lose him, too. But….”

  Sara snorted. “Please. He is crazy about you Lila. He’ll never be with anyone else. I know.”

  “Oh, yeah, how did you get to be an expert?” Julie piped up. “Last time I checked, you were withholding sex from your husband just to get him to talk to you.”

  Mo sputtered, held a hand to her nose, had to get up from the table and get some water. When Mo sat back down, Sara was glaring daggers at Julie and Lila was laughing so hard tears streamed down her cheeks as she waved her hands in front of her face. “Oh, god, I needed that.”

  Sara turned her angry gaze to Lila. “I’m so glad my marital issues are causing everyone such joy.” But she smiled, and Mo noted the new lines etched into her face. Motherhood would do that, and the woman had endured so much more.

  “So,” Mo took a breath, gripped her wine glass. “I might as well get this out now.” The women turned to her. She gulped and leaned forward, pointing at Sara. “You need to get your head out of your ass.”

  Lila dissolved into giggles again.

  Julie snorted into her wineglass. “So, tell us something we don’t know.”

  Sara frowned at her sister-in-law. “Excuse me?”

  Mo held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong, Sara. I love you, truly, like a sister. But….”

  Julie interjected. “You are entering dangerous idiot territory again with Jack. Right up there with a few years ago, when I said repeatedly that you were gonna stubborn yourself out of a great relationship, remember?” Mo looked at the woman, glad she had someone in her corner. Julie was classically beautiful, with thick blonde hair pulled back from her distinctive features, high cheekbones, and bright blue eyes. She wore a thin chain around her neck, with a small heart-shaped pendant in front.

  Mo opened her mouth to agree and add something she’d wanted to say for years but hadn’t found the right moment. Why she thought this was the time, she had no idea but the desperation in her brother’s voice on the phone a few nights ago was boring into her brain in a way that forced her to speak up. Then the back sliding glass door flew open and a tangle of teenagers, pre-teens and toddlers tumbled in, all soaking wet from the hose and, apparently, ravenously hungry. The interruption made her sigh with relief.

  Ella and Adam were squabbling about something or nothing, as usual. She ordered them both to the back to grab towels for the group, looking down when a wet little boy latched onto her leg. “Mo!” Brandis yelled. The boy had two volumes, loud and louder. But she loved the kid. He was so Jack. She hitched him up onto her hip. Sara still sat, staring into her glass but then blinked and rallied.

  “I’ll start the grill. Mo could you get the boys into the tub?”

  Mo put a hand on Sara’s arm as she stood. The other woman’s skin was ice cold. “I don’t mean anything more than this Sara. Please try not to take it the wrong way. You have got to get your head on straight. Stop fu—,” she looked over Brandis, but he had his thumb stuck firmly in his mouth, his eyes glazed over. “Stop fucking with his head. You did that before and almost lost him, and he would die without you. Why don’t you get that?”

  Sara turned from her, stomped out to the patio to turn on the grill. F
iguring she should have kept her mouth shut, Mo corralled Brandis and Gabe back to the large bathroom. She stripped off their shorts, and tossed them into the nearly full tub. Gabe stood staring at the water swirling around from the jets. Brandis laughed, and splashed his friend right in the eyes, bringing on tears and a near-miss concussion for her nephew when the quieter boy heaved a bottle of shampoo at his head. Mo grabbed the potential missile, then sat on the side of the tub, watching the boys interact.

  “He would die, would he?” Sara’s voice at the door made her jump. She stood, wiped her hands on a towel and stared at the other woman. Tears stood in Sara’s eyes. Her hands shook.

  Mo nodded, trying to put her feelings about the complexity of her brother’s relationship into words that didn’t sound too subjective or harsh. “I told him the same thing if it’s any consolation. You guys are like a match made in hell, but heaven help you, and the rest of us, if you can’t keep it together. I will tell you this much,” she grabbed Sara’s hands. “I will not allow you to act like an idiot. Like you did when Katie was small. Holding him off not only makes him nuts, but it does a disservice to you and her. And she is….she needs her parents to rally right now.”

  Sara gulped. A tear slid down her face. “I miss Blake so much,” she whispered, gripping Mo’s hands. “God. I can barely stand it.”

  “I didn’t really know Blake, Sara, but the thought of losing my brother like that, losing him at all, much less like you did, makes me physically ill.” She pulled the woman into an embrace. “I’m so sorry, honey. But seriously, you have to focus on your marriage. On Jack. He is not the easiest guy on the planet. I know that. But he loves you and I will not let you hurt him.”

  Sara stepped back, wiped her eyes. “I don’t know what to do though Mo. He won’t talk to me. He’s…he’s just not here anymore, you know?” The women turned at the sound of a screech from the tub. Sara plucked Brandis out before he could shove Gabe back under the water. “Jesus, these two….” Mo grabbed Gabe, wrapped a towel around him and handed him to Lila who had appeared in the doorway.

  Gabriel gripped his mother’s neck with one arm, his huge brown eyes wide. “Da?” He asked around the thumb stuck in his mouth. “Want.” He patted her face with his free hand. Lila sighed, then wandered out.

  Mo heard Brandis in mid major temper tantrum and went back to his room. Sara stared at her son as his back arched, heels pounded the floor, his still naked skin turning an alarming shade of red. “Can I help?” Sara looked up at her, her face both blank and helpless. She shrugged and Mo’s heart broke for her. She grabbed the boy and wrapped him in a blanket, forcing his flailing limbs to be still. He kept sobbing, hitching sounds of little boy frustration. She sat in a rocking chair with him and sang in his ear until he stilled and finally slept.

  “How do you do that? I am such a useless mother.” Sara said softly from her position, still on the floor.

  “No, you aren’t. I’m merely a fresh set of hands. But swaddling him like this sometimes helps. I know it did with Ella a lot.” She laid the boy in his bed, brushed his black hair off his face. “Children are a blessing and a curse. They wear you out because you love them so hard, and they do everything they can to make you regret it, especially when they’re teenagers.” She turned, pulled Sara up and guided her out of the room. “He’ll pee in his bed, but sometimes honestly, the fight to make him put on clothes is one worth losing. Pick your battles.”

  Sara turned to her, as sounds of video games floated up the basement steps. Her eyes were wild. Mo gulped with the emotion she saw there. “Help me get him back Mo. I need Jack, but he’s not meeting me halfway. I’ll admit the whole withholding thing,” she shook her head. “That backfired, in a fun way at first but….”

  Mo rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay officially TMI for the sister. But I hear you.”

  “I will die without him.” Sara kept her eyes on the floor but Mo believed her. “But I…he…we….”

  “Exactly,” Mo put her arm around her sister-in-law’s shoulders and they walked back to the kitchen. “Let’s make a plan. How about a long weekend away? You guys haven’t had any alone time to speak of since the baby, and Blake.”

  “No we haven’t. He’s so obsessed right now with this fucking soccer thing.” Julie came back in with a plateful of cooked burgers. “God, if I hear another word about stadiums, expansions, coaches and recruiting…so help me.”

  “You guys aren’t using your own money for this are you?” Mo sat. She knew the answer but wanted to know that Jack was at least communicating this much to his wife.

  Sara shook her head. “No. Jack is the connector he claims. He puts the money guys, the investors and the potential coaching staff together. He’s found a location for the stadium, has an entire construction package for some kind of “state of the art” facility. I don’t know. But no, our money is not involved.”

  Mo sighed, relieved. “Fine. So let’s pick a weekend, like really soon, for you guys to get away. Take him far away, too. Maybe where you guys went that one time….”

  Sara blushed a deep red. Mo patted her hand. “Make it happen, Sara. Be proactive. He’s on the ragged edge of something. It’s up to you to drag him back this time. He did it for you. Now, it’s your turn to step up.”

  “Okay enough serious crap for tonight,” Julie insisted, pouring more wine all around. “I think we’ve solved almost every dilemma here, haven’t we?”

  Lila wandered in and sank into a chair. Julie pointed at her with her fork. “You are sorted, right? Go back. Work with Rob. Be his business partner. Just tell him flat out how you feel, what you’re scared of, and then tell him when he’s ready to be a family again, you’re there. But not before.”

  “Tried that. I’m considering something more drastic. Like a blow job.”

  Julie laughed. “Well, as we all know here,” she made a circling motion with her finger. “Men are simple creatures. I think that would work. And you,” she pointed to Sara. “You, Jack, long weekend away, conversation and wild, kinky sex. Check.”

  Sara stuck her tongue out at her friend, but smiled. “And you have the ideal marriage and therefore do not need our sage, three-bottle-fueled advice?” She looked pointedly at the collar Julie wore. The one she had taken off once but had recently started wearing again.

  Julie touched the pendant. “Yeah, he claims it’s a turn on. And God knows with kids in the house and his brewery expanding he’s too tired to do much more than fondle it every night.” She looked down at her plate. “I put it back on hoping to revive a little zing in the marriage bed. So far, so not.”

  “Thank God!” Sara threw her hands up. “If you had told me things were perfect I was going to force feed you another hamburger, you know, put some pounds on your skinny bod, you bitch.”

  Julie laughed and lifted her glass. The other women joined her. “To us. To our men. And to the attorneys who will defend us after we kill them in their sleep.” They clinked.

  “Now,” Julie leveled a look at Mo. Mo raised an eyebrow when the other two stared at her as well. “I want full on details of how it feels to fuck a hot young Latin soccer coach. C’mon…spill it. Don’t make me call him and ask.”

  Mo put her fork down, wiped her mouth with her napkin primly and made a zipping motion across her lips.

  “She hasn’t yet, poor thing,” Sara patted her knee, her smile wicked. “Still fighting the urges though.”

  Lila and Julie both raised their hands.

  “We volunteer! Tell him we can, you know, warm him up.” Julie said. Mo frowned at her.

  Sara lifted her wine glass again. “So in the spirit of honest advice among ladies here I say you owe it to yourself to let that smoking Latin hunk of a professional athlete fuck you silly. Soon. Or risk becoming a dried up old lady who feeds her cats and reads romance novels to get her jollies.”

  “Listen, it’s more complicated than that.” Mo protested.

  “Please,” Sara rolled her eyes. “What, he might want
more than sweaty, young man sex? Like he might want to hang around a while? You know…love you or something? Oh, poor thing. Can I see a show of hands who’s jealous at this table?” The women laughed, all raising their hands. Mo relaxed, letting the memory of last night’s conversation play again.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Um, Lila?” She looked up from the week’s scheduling at Rob’s voice. “I gotta say, you are a miracle worker.” He dropped into the chair across from her while the night staff shut the pub down. She fought the urge to wipe the splotch of flour from his cheek, to brush her thumb over his lips. His face seemed less gaunt lately, his eyes much less haunted. But she still felt superfluous, and Gabe was going nuts not being with his dad. She bit her lip.

  “Yeah, don’t act so surprised,” she looked back down at the schedule, forcing herself to stay quiet.

  “No, I mean it. I swear the last month has been the most drama free I can remember since opening this place. I can focus on the kitchen. The brewer…” he gulped, but rallied. “The brewery staff does their job and you…” he stood, “you, my dear, have presided over our most profitable thirty-day period in the history of The Local.”

  She started to protest when he pulled her to her feet but the feel of his hand in the small of her back and the sensation of his lips near hers once more made her want to grab him and hold on tight. But she turned her head away, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much she wanted him.

  They’d been living apart for several months, and it was starting to wear on everybody. Her formerly energetic, inquisitive little boy had lost his enthusiasm for anything, leaving a sad, wide-eyed, tow-headed toddler being shuffled between parents. It killed her. One thing she had always been good at was being a mom. Having kids around made her feel complete. Frankly, she wanted another one. She pursed her lips and shrugged out of his arms. Fat chance for that. Maddie had been enough for her once, then Gabe was such an amazing blessing. But his creation and birth would forever be tied to the horror that ripped Blake from their lives.