I still wasn’t off the hook with the Coral Beach Village police for tampering with evidence. Something to deal with at a later date. Something I’d need an attorney for.
With exhaustion setting in, I showered in the locker room and dressed in clean clothes. While I would’ve liked to have taken a cat nap, I took a detour on my way home from work instead.
What I was about to do was the craziest thing I’d ever done. I parked my car, exited the vehicle, and walked through the parking lot. I grasped the handle to the door, and stepped inside. I looked around, drinking in the bright lights reflecting off the fixtures.
A woman with her hair in a tight bun, glasses, and pencil skirt approached me. “May I help you?”
I nodded. I used to think my parents were out of their minds. The story they told repeatedly about how they met. “We met on a train,” my father would say. I would picture him fluffing his feathers and fanning his tail like a peacock to impress my mother. My father was a conductor. My mother was on the Northeast Corridor Line for her first trip into New York City.
“My girlfriends giggled when he asked for my phone number,” my mother would add, reminiscing. It was nineteen seventy-seven. She was only eighteen. My father was twenty. They were engaged two months later. I mean, who in the world gets engaged after only knowing each other for two months?
I was about to do something that everyone would tell me was stupid. But I knew in my heart it was right.
“I’d like to see what you have in a two carat solitaire marquise in white gold.”
“A man who know what he wants.” The sales woman led me toward the back of the store and asked me to have a seat. She unlocked the cabinet and pulled out a row of shimmering diamond rings.
“We don’t have a marquise cut in two carat, but this one is lovely. It’s a two and a quarter total carat weight princess cut, with cascading embedded diamonds on either side of the center stone. It’s in fourteen carat white gold. What size is the lucky woman’s ring finger?”
I didn’t know Chelsey’s ring finger size, bra size, or shoe size. I didn’t know her favorite color or favorite food. I didn’t know her family or her secrets. But what I did know was that I loved her and that she was the one. I wasn’t going to let my one slip away.
“I’m not sure of her ring size.”
“This one comes in a standard size seven. She can bring it back for sizing. We’ll size it for free. Did you want to start a payment plan? Do you want to take the ring with you now?”
I considered the questions. Was this stupid? Or just crazy? Did I want the ring now? I mean, I hadn’t even had an official date with Chelsey. I knew I was out of my mind. What the heck am I doing?
Chapter 27
Chelsey
Sunday meant something special to me. Mandy was coming home! I was on cloud nine. Not only about Mandy, but about Bryce too. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. And there were those butterflies each time I recalled our night together. It was so out of character for me. Bonnie always told me I needed to be bolder instead of so intimidated by men.
Being with Bryce didn’t feel like boldness though. It felt so…natural. Easy. Exciting. Passionate. Yes, cloud nine described my feelings perfectly.
I ran to the store to pick up a few of Mandy’s favorite things. Bananas, milk, yogurt, and chocolate. I parked my car in my driveway and stepped out, greeted by a warm summer breeze. The drama was over, I was safe, Bryce was exonerated, and I was ready for things to get back to normal. Or better than normal.
As I approached my little green house, I discovered something unusual. The front door was unlocked. I never left my front door unlocked. I absolutely knew, without a doubt, one hundred percent, that I hadn’t left the door unlocked this time. Here I was, once again, fearing for the worst, yet being the naïve blonde, setting a foot inside.
“Mommy!” A shriek from a beautiful, curly-haired blonde. Mandy ran and jumped into my arms. I had almost forgotten that I gave Randy the spare key in case I wasn’t home when they got there.
“You’re home!” I dropped the grocery bags on the floor to clutch my little one my arms.
“I missed you so much, Mommy!”
“I missed you too, Mandy! I love you so much!” I peppered her face with soft kisses.
“I wuv you too Mommy.”
“Did you have fun with….” There I was again, at a loss for a name for Randy. If I couldn’t bring myself to call him “daddy,” then what was he? And what was he going to be going forward? Would he actually stay part of her life? Could I trust him? “I mean, did you have fun on your vacation?”
“Yeah, I had fun. We played and played and played and ate and ate and ate.”
“Wow!”
“I have a present for you, Mom!”
“You do? What is it?” I almost didn’t notice Randy sitting at the breakfast bar with my sole focus on Mandy.
Mandy’s little legs ran to the couch where there was a wrapped Tiffany’s box. I looked at Randy and raised an eyebrow.
“Well, open it, Mommy,” Randy said.
“Hello to you too.” The cloud I’d been walking on dissipated. It was no surprise that Randy had the power to disintegrate my happiness in thirty seconds flat. Note to self: Work on not allowing Randy to kick my happy clouds to the curb.
“Sorry, I just saw how excited you were to see Mandy. I wanted to give you time without interrupting.”
“Thoughtful.” My passive-aggressive side took over. I definitely didn’t trust the guy.
“Well, go ahead…open it already.”
I hoped to God it wasn’t an engagement ring. Not that Randy would’ve bought a second ring for me. I had kept the first one as a down payment for the aggravation he gave me.
I opened the box. It was a sterling silver locket in the shape of a heart. The back was engraved with the words Best Mom Ever. I opened it. Inside was a tiny picture of Mandy on the right. On the left was a very old, very tiny picture of me and Randy.
“What is this? Some sort of half-assed apology?” I rolled my eyes.
“I think we should talk.”
That was the second guy in one week that wanted to talk and the first one that I didn’t want to talk to. Looking a little closer look at the inscription on the box, I realized it said Fittany’s, not Tiffany’s. I should’ve known Randy wouldn’t have spent over four hundred dollars on a locket from Tiffany’s. Cheapskate. Just another one of his games.
Disgust spewed from my mouth. “This doesn’t make up for the three years you ignored your daughter.”
“I know. Just give me a few minutes of your time. I have something important that I want to say…”
The doorbell rang. I shook my head. Half of me wanted to hear what the jerk had to say. Did he want me back after all this time? The other half of me knew he was a charmer and I didn’t want to get sucked into whatever scenario he would’ve seduced me into.
I whipped open the front door. Before I could do or say anything, large arms encircled my waist, and swept off my feet, twirling me around and around.
Clearly, this man didn’t notice the other man in the room.
“What are you doing?”
“I did something crazy and I want you to be part of the madness with me.”
I felt a migraine coming on. First Randy, now this? What was happening? Was it a full moon?
“What? What’s going on? What did you do?”
“Chelsey, you know I care deeply about you. Very deeply. I haven’t been able to be there in the way you needed me, because of my situation, but that’s all going to change. Starting right now.”
“What are you talking about?” I was confused, but anxious to hear what he had to say.
“I sold my business.”
“Kris, you did? You sold the business? Why?”
“I’ve worked hard, Chelsey. I gave up a lot to work hard. Time away from you, time away from my son. I made sacrifices, but all for a very good reason. I built that business up
so I could sell it to the tune of four point three million dollars.”
“Holy cannoli!”
“Yes! Now I’m free! I’m free to spend time with the people I love. I have enough money to pay off the house. I can watch my son grow up. I’ll invest it so that I never have to work again, unless I want to. We can take a fantastic vacation with the kids. You’re the first person I told. I mean, the closing isn’t for another month, but the contracts are signed, and, well, wow. This is everything I worked for.” I saw Kris look toward the door. “Oh, hey, man.” Kris finally let go of his grip around my waist.
For a split second, I thought Kris finally noticed Randy. I almost forgot Randy was in the room. But it wasn’t Randy that Kris was looking at. It was Bryce in the doorway. He looked sort of, well, sad.
“Hey.” Bryce extended his hand to Kris. “I’m Bryce.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kris.” They shook hands.
“I’m Randy, not that anyone cares.”
Both Bryce and Kris turned to Randy and said, “Hey.”
Awkward! There was Randy, the guy who ripped my heart out of my chest by leaving me after Mandy was born. There was Kris, the guy who picked up the pieces of my broken heart, made me crazy about him, but then barely had time to send me a text.
And then there was Bryce. The guy with all the drama. The guy who got me into the middle of a sticky situation. The single, young guy who probably wasn’t ready to settle down with one woman. The guy I was starting to fall in love with. All standing in the same room.
I was overwhelmed. Nervous. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to scream at each of them. You’re a jerk, you’re a jerk and you’re a jerk, get out of my house! The words crossed through my head and out the other side. I decided to be nice.
“I’m real sorry, guys, but my daughter just came home, and I want to spend time with her. We’ll continue our conversations later. I’ll see you all soon.”
I demanded my house key back from Randy, ushered them out of the door, closed it, and flattened my back against it, sliding down to the floor. I sighed.
“Mommy!”
I held her tiny face in my hands. “Mandy, sweetie, did you eat lunch?”
“I’m hungry!”
“Peanut butter and jelly?”
“Oooo yes! Thank you, Mommy!”
Chapter 28
Bryce
I watched Kris and Randy retreat to their cars. I looked back at Chelsey’s door. I wanted to knock, but it wasn’t the right time. I patted my chest, feeling the ring box that rested in my interior jacket pocket. It was a stupid idea anyway. With my head hanging low, I, too, retreated to my car. Who gets married after only knowing someone for a few months anyway?
About Author Michele Lynn Seigfried
Michele Lynn Seigfried is an award-winning novelist, children’s book author/illustrator and public speaker who was born and raised in New Jersey. In her mystery novels, she draws from her personal expertise in the area of municipal government, in which she has served for over 16 years in two different municipalities. She holds a B.A. in communication from the College of New Jersey with a minor in art. She obtained the Master Municipal Clerk certification from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks in 2010. She also holds the Registered Municipal Clerk certification and Certified Municipal Registrar Certifications from the State of New Jersey. In combining her love of writing with art, Michele began writing and illustrating children’s picture books in 2013.
Connect with Michele:
Website: www.MicheleLynnSeigfried.com
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MicheleLynnSeigfried
Twitter: www.twitter.com/micheleseig
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/MicheleSeig
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/MicheleSeig
Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/micheleseig
Also by Michele Lynn Seigfried:
Cozy Mysteries
Red Tape (Jersey Shore Mystery Series #1)
Tax Cut (Jersey Shore Mystery Series #2)
Community Affairs (Jersey Shore Mystery Series #3)
Children’s Picture Books
S is for Shore (Children’s Vacation Series #1)
B is for Beach (Children’s Vacation Series #2)
Nobody Bullies Bub!
Bub and Guy Wish Upon a Star
That Witch Ripped Up My Flowers
Oh No! Snow!
Major Crimes Page 20