Dear God in Heaven. What that woman does to me.
Within seven minutes, I was out of the shower and back in the room putting on skivvies, cargo shorts and a black polo. Totally going casual. If I was watching a little boy, I did not want to be too intimidating. My C.O. had a little girl and she walked all over him. No child is going to get the better of me. No way, no how.
I slipped my flops on and walked to the living room when the doorbell rang.
I looked through the peep hole and noticed Magdalene’s long black hair. Letting her in, she gave me a one up. Looked me over and analyzed me as if I committed some crime.
“Some date, huh?”
I gave her the same look, smirked and allowed her entrance. She walked past me, wearing short khaki shorts and black tank under a thin white long sleeve button up. It’s still hot and I wondered why she was wearing something long sleeved.
“Of course it was some date. I went with the best woman this world ever created.”
“Good. She is, by the way. The best. I’ve seen her at her worst too. Where were you?”
Hearing this made my back teeth clench. I knew she was just trying to protect her friend. Her cutting me as if I didn’t care, pissed me off.
“Look. You don’t know me, little girl. So don’t think you’re little Miss Judge and Jury. You don’t have to tell me about her worst. She told me and it frightened the hell out of me. I know what that mother fucker did to her. All of it. I wasn’t here. I know I made promises to her that I couldn’t keep. Eight years ago there was a war, if you had not noticed. I couldn’t control what happened. Don’t look your nose down at me. I won’t make the same mistake twice with her. She’s what I live for.”
Siddaleigh’s best friend sighed heavily but didn’t relent with her questions.
“I see Sidda didn’t go to church this morning. She never misses. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“Mags, I’m sorry she missed it.”
“You’re supposed to argue with me. Not just apologize.”
I laughed, knowing why Sidda didn’t go to church this morning.
“I won’t argue. I know she’s been to church every Sunday. Since I’ve been back in her life, I’ve shadowed her. Especially when she wouldn’t speak to me. I had to make sure she was okay.”
“Whoa, that sounds kinda stalkerish to me. The beat of ‘Every Breath You Take’ is starting to sound in my head.”
This woman was maddening! Stalker? God Almighty. I pray for the man she marries.
“Look, I won’t apologize for making sure the love of my life is safe. She wanted distance, I gave it to her. It did not mean I wouldn’t do any- and everything in my power to make sure she was safe. And if you had noticed, you’ve seen the toll it’s been on her. You’re her best friend and I’ve noticed her with dark circles under her eyes, and with the threatening letters-
She cut me off, yet again.
“Wait a minute. What threatening letters?”
Seems like Siddaleigh left out something to her best friend. Fuck. Not promising. She screams for Sidda and although I didn’t approve of her bellowing for her, I knew they were close enough that I didn’t need to reprimand her.
Siddaleigh informed her of the situation and why she didn’t tell her. The doorbell rang and when I opened it, a hurdle of chicks stood before me.
The girls came in and the last one had a little boy that had tagged along behind me at the show.
They made themselves comfortable and after Siddaleigh offered for me to take the boy, I could tell the girl Cambria was stalling. She didn’t want some stranger taking her little boy anywhere and I fully understood. When Siddaleigh told me about the boy’s father, I figured he didn’t really have any male role figures and knew I needed to insert myself in so he could get comfortable around men. The boy’s mother was only twenty-two. When she remarried, he’d have to get used to it.
I told her we’d stay here so we could get acquainted. I’d get Nathan over and we could watch the Texans game.
She turned and looked at Siddaleigh for some reassurance, so I went ahead and introduced myself to the little boy properly. He was tall for three years, I thought and a little on the chubby side but weren’t all kids like that as toddlers? Little chubby monsters wanting to get into everything? His hair had a hippie length to it. Straight reddish brown hair that fell in layers. He looked like a little cherub. Freckles and the brightest blues eyes I’ve ever seen.
I knelt down and stuck my hand out. He looked scared and I knew I could look intimidating, but there had to be some way I could persuade him to like me.
“My name is Konner Patrick O’Brian, and I really like your boots.”
The boots in question were blue and looked worn in, like he had worn them for years.
“I’m a cowboy. Like my daddy. My name is Damien Cross.”
He shook my hand and I asked him if he liked sports.
“My dad’s favorite sport is, uh, uh, football.”
He seemed to know what his dad liked. Maybe Cambria told him stories about his dad. Sidda said he was Air Force. A fighter pilot who got shot down three years ago in one of Iraq’s insurgences. Hell of a way to go.
“Well, you’re in luck. Maybe we should let the ladies do their girlie thing and if you want, you could come with me and we could watch the football game that’s gonna play here shortly.”
“I like your accent. Where are ye from?”
Hearing this little boy mimic me, made my chest tighten. I snuck a peak at Sidda and thought about how she’d look with my baby filling her belly.
I really hope she was. If not, I really wanted to get her in that way. It might be too soon, but seeing as how we hadn’t been using protection, I figured if she did conceive, it would be just fine.
“I’m from the greates’ country God ever made, lad. Ireland. Lush green lands as far as the eye could see. Never ending blue skies. Even when it rains.”
“Cool.”
“So cool.”
“Okay, let’s go watch TV.”
Damien grabbed my hand, we both stood and I walked him towards the den area that held a TV, sofa and toys Sidda told me her nephews had left.
I sat down on the sofa and turned on the television. The football game didn’t come on until another hour so we had an hour to kill. I flipped channels and when a cartoon came on, Damien shouted, “This one, this one!”
The cartoon in question was an old one. Scooby-Doo reruns. Now, who didn’t love watching this? Didn’t matter how old you got, this cartoon was a classic and seeing this little guy look like an avid Scooby fan made me smile.
“Did you know Scooby is a Gweat Dane? And he and Shaggy are always hungwy. This is my favorite cartoon.” He said all this in a rush of words, half in which were sort of tangled together. And his r’s sounded like w’s.
“Yes, I did know and yes, they always seem to be, huh?”
He turned to me then and looked up with a wary expression. I wondered what was wrong now.
“Did you know my daddy?”
Holy. Fuck. I don’t know how to answer that. This was not territory I wanted to delve in.
“Do you think he was ba-bwave?”
That, I knew how to answer.
I set aside the remote and turned to look the boy in the eyes. He became wide-eyed as if I was going to scare him somehow, but I couldn’t let that sway me.
“Yes. Your da was very brave. You see, he died for something greater than I can explain. Our freedom. Our way of life. For God and country. No, I did no’ know your da, but I know one thing if nothing else. He was brave and honor ran through his veins and pumped in his blood. It’s only the strongest ones who could take the kind of job your dad did. A very dedicated and wonderful man. Sometimes that dedication takes them away from the ones they love, but never let a doubt cloud your mind. Your da loved you. He and your mam made you by the will of God. Your da will always live on. In here.”
I placed my hand over his little ches
t on his heart.
“Always believe there is something greater than yourself. Even when it’s heartbreakin’ to bear.”
He looked down and I saw tears in his eyes.
“My momma cries sometimes. She scweams out loud, calling his name. It’s scawy sometimes.”
I pulled him into the crook of my arm and he wrapped his chubby little arms around the part of my waist he could reach.
“Who ever really knows women, huh, laddie? She cries because he was such a large part of her heart. Just as you are part of her heart. Don’t ever be scared. She is also grieving. Sometimes that’s how people grieve.”
“What’s gw-gw-grieving?”
“Grieving is something that one has to learn to overcome so they could learn to move forward.”
When he looked at me with confused tear stained eyes, I gave him a wink.
“You’ll understand when you’re older. Just know that your mother loves you. Your dad loved you.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“No thanks needed. Your da did a great service. I am and many other people are in his debt.”
38
Girls, Drinks, Books and Sex
..::Siddaleigh::..
“Do not worry, Cammy, Damien is in good hands. I promise.”
I knew Cambria was still a little hesitant, but she did seem more relieved to be able to spend girl time without having to watch over Damien constantly.
“Thanks, Siddaleigh. When I work, my mother in law Nanette watches him. She never really liked me, you know? Craig was a year older than me. She always thought he gave up his life to be with me. He didn’t even go to college. He was in the AFJROTC, in high school and loved it so much, he enlisted when he was eighteen.”
Koralen sat next to her, and put her hand on Cambria’s arm and kneaded gently in comfort.
“Don’t worry, girlfriend. He loved you with everything he had. And that little boy in that room? Is a miracle. If she can’t appreciate that, then that’s her loss.”
Everyone agreed on that score and Mags stood up from her perch on the love seat.
“Alright, if we’re going to be all sentimental, let’s get some drinks. Sidda? You got tequila and margarita mix, right? Luckily for all you guys, I was a bartender in college, so my ‘ritas are delish.”
She walked into the kitchen where we heard the clanking of glasses and a few things shaking. We were talking about Brianne’s classes when Mags came back in with a pitcher and seven assorted glasses with ice.
The margaritas were passed around and she poured into them until they were each full.
“Yummy, Mags. These are delicious.” Callie commented after taking another sip.
“Thanks. Now, Brianne, when will you graduate?”
“Not until the January.”
Konner had told me over dinner that his father gave him property to make my shop and the few shops around it, into like a ‘chick strip’. With my boutique in the middle, a hair salon on one side, massage-slash-spa on the other. He said he wanted me to own it all. Manage it all. I told him he was crazy. I didn’t know how to manage property. He told me that I as lucky enough to have a fiancé, who did.
He said it would be ready after Thanksgiving. I mentioned this to the girls and they were excited about working in a separate store. I mentioned the massage therapy place to Cambria and saw the excitement at the aspect of having her own place of business. She was going to school for massage therapy and although she was happy working for me, she wanted to be a massage therapist. Especially for military veteran’s, and children with disabilities.
“I simply couldn’t, Sidda. That would be too much. It’s a lot of equipment-”
“Do you think you could make it work, and bring in a lucrative revenue?”
Cambria’s spine straightened and she nodded her head. “Yes, I could. I have another two years though.”
“Don’t worry about any of that. It’ll all work out. Brianne? You know your brother is having that other place made for you. It’s going to be dubbed the ‘chick strip’. I know it sounds like a lot of stress, but I know we could work on making it a successful property.”
“Uh, Sidda?” Koralen caught my attention. When she started working for me, she was really quiet. Kept to herself a lot. She was Cambria’s best friend and I knew she was probably hiding some dark secrets, but prying is simply something I couldn’t do. If anything, she had Cambria and I knew maybe only telling one person, your best friend, was the only way you could move forward. I looked at Mags for a moment and she looked to be in her own little bubble, so I focused back to Koralen.
“Yes, Koralen?”
She looked down at her feet and said something incoherently.
“Koralen, look at me, please. Whatever you have to say would not go further than this apartment and I promise to not judge anything you have to say.”
“Could I sell my jewelry when the shop reopens?” She said this so quickly, I almost didn’t understand.
“Jewelry? When did you start selling jewelry?”
Her face peaked with a tint of pink as if she was embarrassed. “Only the past couple of years. I’m not in school like Cambria, but I took some classes at Hobby Lobby for jewelry making and I really liked it. I’ve become pretty good. I’ve done a few arts and crafts shows before, and sold a good amount, but not enough. I would still like to do that, but…maybe it’s not a good idea. Never mind.”
If Koralen made jewelry and she wanted to sell it at the shop, I wouldn’t want to stop her from making her dreams come true.
“No, no, no. Koralen I would be honored to showcase your jewelry. The only thing is I would like a 20/80 royalty. Twenty for me and the rest would be yours. I would love to sell jewelry. That’s actually an idea I had not thought of. I can talk to Konner about putting a special glass cabinet to hold it. This is going to be great. You selling your jewelry at art and craft shows is also amazing. Next week or whenever you want, bring me some of our stuff and let’s take a look.”
I never saw Koralen smile very much, but she did now and it lit her whole face.
“I told you she’d go for it, girl.” Cambria whispered to Koralen but loud enough so we all could hear.
Koralen laughed shyly and nodded her head to me. “Yes, that would be great, thank you, Sidda.”
“It’s my pleasure. I know Candace also wanted to bring her own designs into the store,” I turned towards Candace and said, “You do make beautiful hats and the belts are simply gorgeous. Just so you ladies know, my only requirement is for them to not be terribly expensive. My boutique is not only for those who have money. It’s for all women. As long as that is something y’all can agree on, I think this will turn out to be an awesome idea.”
We talked about the store for a bit. No one mentioned the fire. Since I knew Konner had it well in hand, I figured I’d just let it go. He was making me a whole new store, I would be more vigilant, but I wasn’t going to worry about it. It still hurt. I was pissed as all hell, but there was no use crying over spilt milk, or in this case, burned ash.
“Ok, ladies, have you brought your books?”
We chose a new book each month. I love to read. Read every spare moment I could. I got the girls hooked. Mags said she wished more heroes would be real live men. She told me she had many fictional boyfriends. I said, me too! I had over seven hundred paperbacks on the shelves lining my walls and over eight hundred on my Kindle Paper white. (What can I say? I’m a romance novel tramp.)
This month was one of my favorites to read. I read it as soon as it came out. It was Charmed by Cambria Hebert. I knew Cambria thought it was weird reading a book by a woman with the same name, but went with it anyways. I never thought I’d like reading Young Adult or New Adult romance, but whenever I needed a break from historicals by Candace Camp or Brenda Joyce, and contemporary adult romances, such as Maya Banks or Lora Leigh. I’d read some NA or YA. I could reread this one by Cambria Hebert over and over and feel like it’s a first read every time. B
eing a lover of romance books, there is only certain ones I could seriously read over and over and know the story by heart. Charmed is one of them.
Our discussion maintained about how Charming’s character became more likeable, then more lovable.
“In Recalled, he was such a douche, even at the end, helping Dex, he still seemed like an unlikable man. But with Charmed, he has such an amazing background story. And of course, he’s a fighter! Who doesn’t love fighters? Boxers? Or military men?” Callie said as she sipped her margarita.
“I know, right? Even when he was kinda being mean to Frankie, he had such a big attraction to her. You read that love scene?” Cammy sounded as if her margarita was starting to affect her just a bit. “I mean, it was soooo swoon worthy. Made my heart race.”
Candace and Brianne just sat and listened, since this was their first ‘chick’ gathering. I did make sure not to leave them out though.
“Do you ladies read any kind of books?”
Candace nodded and Brianne shrugged her shoulders.
“I like historical romance. Especially about highlanders. Have you all read Suzan Tisdale’s Laiden’s Daughter, from The Clan MacDougall series? So good.” Candace mentioned Suzan Tisdale and my face brightened.
“Yes, I have. I’ve read all the way up to the novella, McKenna’s Honor.” I loved that we shared a passion for the historical. “Maybe we should read her after the next book. It’s Samantha Young’s On Dublin Street. Have you ever read her before?”
“Oh! I have!” Brianne chimed in. “I read her Fire Spirits series. It’s ah-maze-balls.”
“Yeah, I loved reading that series, too.” Callie worked in.
After our book discussion, there was a knock on the door. I got up and looked through the peep hole and Nathan was standing on the other side. I opened it, let him in and directed him towards the back den area where Konner and Damien were holed up in.
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