by Lee Wardlow
“Sure, I’ll load the rest into shopping bags while you change.”
“Thanks.”
When I stepped out of the changing room, I glanced in the mirror. Sure, I didn’t have Lacey’s willowy figure. I had curves. Broad hips, long slender legs that were accentuated by the skinny jeans. I looked at my ass. I kept looking at my ass in the jeans. The fabric cupped it gently giving prominence to the fact that I did indeed have an ass that had always made me feel self-conscious. Cam sat the bags down by me. I looked at her.
“Are you sure, my ass is supposed to look like this?” I asked her feeling, awkward and unsure of my choice of outfits.
“Walk by a construction site and you’ll find out just how good your ass looks in those jeans,” Cameron teased me.
I had to laugh. I had been wolf whistled at before. I had DDD sized boobs most men noticed them right off the bat. Then as I walked away I usually heard something about my behind. Most men who asked me out on dates weren’t even aware that I was intelligent. A neo-natal nurse because of the body that I had endured since puberty.
“You look amazing,” Cam reassured me.
I grabbed my bags, hugged Cam goodbye and headed to Steward Steel. I wanted to surprise Davy.
Chapter 4
I walked up the sidewalk, feeling nervous. I should have called him first. What if he was in a meeting? I opened the doors and stepped into the cool, interior. The air was cranked up high. The Steward males were always a warm bunch, I knew that about them.
I was about to approach Bindi at the front desk about seeing Davy in his office when Brodie’s door opened. All six Steward males, Chase Holloway and Kyle poured out of his office. They must have been in a meeting which I interrupted.
I wanted to crawl into a hole. Maybe this wasn’t a good, idea. I couldn’t tell what Davy was thinking.
He approached warily. Then he took my hand and twirled me around. “Did we have a date or are you cheating on me?” He asked.
“Davy,” Kyle snapped at him.
He ignored her. He continued to gaze at me with a perplexed look on his face. I couldn’t stand him not saying anything. “Do you like it?” I asked.
He looked concerned. That was not a good thing. “What’s wrong?” He asked starting at my toes then letting his eyes travel up to the top of my head at my new haircut.
I frowned. “Nothing is wrong.”
Now, I have heard that on many occasions that the Steward males are not known for the intelligence when it comes to women. Davy was about to exhibit that stupidity with his next comment.
“Your jeans are so tight. Baby, are you sure you can breathe,” he declared. They were skinny jeans, but the fabric was stretchy for comfort or I wouldn’t have bought them. I was very comfortable right now and could easily breath.
“Maybe you should have gotten a size bigger.” I gasped. I had paid seventy dollars for these jeans. Cam assured me they were in style and looked fabulous on me.
Then he continued to dig his hole deeper. “You never wear make-up. Your toes are…” He glanced down at them. “Is that pastel blue? Like Hunter and Georgie’s baby’s room.”
I sucked my lower lip in trying not to cry while his eyes traveled up to my new haircut. “Your hair is shorter than mine. Right before the wedding? Are you sure you’re going to like it? You were talking about getting extensions for the wedding.”
I heard his brothers groan.
“I think she looks stunning,” Kyle stuck up for me. Then she elbowed her husband in the ribs.
“You do look pretty,” Hugh added.
He elbowed Fin standing next to him.
“Yep, you do, Caz,” Finlay agreed.
It went down the line. An elbow then a compliment. Davy was now looking over his shoulder at his brothers. “Thanks guys,” I replied and heard the catch in my voice. “I had better head home now. Lots to do.”
Like a bedroom to paint.
I turned, my hand slipping from Davy’s. “Hey babe, I have to work late tonight.” He was following me. I was trying not to cry. “Caz, slow down. Are you all, right, honey?” I was nearly running to get to my car. “Caz, I didn’t mean it. I was just shocked by the drastic changes, that’s all. Concerned that something might be wrong. Caz?” He shouted my name.
I waved to him over my shoulder and kept going. Climbed in my car and started it up. I was backing out and trying to see through the tears streaming down my face.
I sobbed all the way to my sister’s house. Brodie’s house, my fiancé’s brother. At least he was at work still and wouldn’t see my meltdown.
Lacey opened the door and frowned at me. “You are one hot mess,” she declared. Then she yanked my hand until I was standing inside her entryway.
She gazed at my brand, spankin’, new shirt and said to me, “You have mascara on that shirt. Is it new? I don’t believe I’ve seen it before.”
I nodded. “New and expensive. I spent two thousand dollars at Cam’s today to be insulted by my fiancé.”
My sister was more than shocked. We did not spend money like that. She knew that I would be taking money out of my savings to cover it. I had it, but I had it because I didn’t spend frivolously.
“Take it off. I’ll get the mascara off the shirt and get you a t-shirt of mine to wear home.”
I stripped it off handing it to her, then stood in her living room in my white, granny bra with my cups running over. My tight skinny jeans and platform sandals waiting on my sister to get me a t-shirt of hers that would be too tight across my boobs, I heard the front door and grabbed a pillow holding it in front of me. Brodie walked into the living room.
He walked with a cane now when his one leg got sore or tired. The other leg, the right leg was back to normal and just as strong as before the shooting. He leaned on the cane and set his briefcase down.
“Sorry,” he said. “Lacey, get a shirt for your sister,” Brodie shouted up the stairs. “I’m home early.”
“She’s cleaning mascara off my new one,” I explained.
Then he did the sweetest thing. He went to the kitchen and got a wet paper towel. When he returned, Lacey still hadn’t. I was still hiding behind his couch pillow.
Brodie wiped the black streaks from my face. I lowered my eyes, so he wouldn’t see the pain that I was feeling.
“You know he didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” he said as he continued to wipe my face.
I nodded.
“He was really upset that you left quickly when he has to stay late tonight. He’s been trying to call you since you left so suddenly.”
“My phone is in the car,” I replied.
“We told him that. You are notorious for leaving it someplace,” Brodie replied. That was true. He stepped back and took note of his handiwork. “There. All cleaned up and just as pretty.”
“Thanks.” It wasn’t like Brodie to compliment me.
I saw Lacey standing in the doorway. My shirt under her arm. A t-shirt dangling from her fingertips. “What are you doing?” I asked.
“You two were having a moment…finally,” she declared.
Brodie and I rolled our eyes at each other. “Give your sister a shirt.”
Lacey entered the living room and checked out my jeans. “Caz, how are you breathing in those things.”
Brodie glanced over his shoulder as he was about to leave the room. “Davy already covered that, Lace. Not a good topic, right now.”
“Oh, I mean Caz they look great on you. Brodie, check out her ass.” He cleared his throat. “Women, kill for an ass like yours, Caz. Brodie, check out Caz’s ass. Don’t you agree, the jeans make her ass look great?”
He shook his head. “Lacey, I’m not checking out your sister’s ass. She does look beautiful though. I already told her that once today at Steward Steel when Davy made an ass of himself. I’m going to start dinner. Want to stay, Caz?” He asked.
“No, thanks Brodie. I have stuff to do at home.” Like paint a bedroom and put to rest a ghost. At
least one that bothers me if not Davy.
Lacey looked at me. She touched my hair. “What is going on?” She asked. “New hair, new make-up, something you hate wearing. New polish on your toes which by the way, I love. New clothes. New you? Must have been shocking to Davy when he saw you?”
“I think it was. He didn’t respond well.”
“Not well at all,” Brodie shouted from the kitchen. We both looked in that direction.
“I told you, he doesn’t seem to notice me anymore and I was feeling stale. I wear scrubs to work. Haven’t updated my hairstyle since high school. I needed this for me,” I explained.
“Caz, he’s been obsessed with the new contracts at work,” Brodie shouted from the kitchen again.
Lacey rolled her eyes at him. “Sit with me. Eddie called me this morning.”
I lowered my eyes to the floor. “He told you I called him last night,” I stated.
“He was worried about you. He wanted to know if I thought you were okay and making the right decision to marry Davy so soon.” I looked up at Lacey. Then I saw Brodie in the door between the kitchen and living room listening to us. “Tell me what is really going on in your head.”
I wiped a stray tear or two. “I just want to be sure he’s over Georgie. He talks to her a lot, I know. Maybe I’m just a replacement for his heartache and he doesn’t really love me as much as he thinks he does.”
Brodie came into the living room with us then. He perched on the edge of the expensive coffee table and leaned over on his knees. He picked up one of my hands and rubbed his thumb across the top. My sister had changed Brodie Steward for the better.
He was big, and he was gruff, but Lacey had brought out his tender side. I glanced up into eyes that reminded me of Davy in shape and set but they were more hazel like Ian’s where Davy’s were warm, chocolate brown.
His dark hair was longer than Davy’s. He was one of the few Steward brothers that liked his hair short.
“Caz, Davy, Ewan and Georgie are the same age. They have grown up together,” Brodie explained. “That’s a bond that will never be broken. Honestly, I’m not sure they ever loved each other as much as they thought they did. They were comfortable together. Situations brought them into a more intimate situation. Don’t let your head get in the way of your happiness.” He glanced over at Lacey. “If I hadn’t screwed everything up, you would have already been married.” Then he looked back at me.
“Davy wants you. You just need to talk to him about what is going on in your head. He won’t figure it out on his own. We aren’t that smart when it comes to women. Maybe because I raised them until Mom left and Dad and I picked up the slack afterwards. I didn’t do such a hot job of teaching them about women, so you can blame me for his short comings.”
I had to laugh. Then he rose from the coffee table and leaned over to kiss my forehead. “Just talk to him.” He gave Lacey a kiss too before he left the room.
Lacey smiled at me. I could tell she was checking out the style still. “I like the haircut and color,” she informed me.
“It’s fresh.”
“Caz, you had to grow up quickly when Mom died. You always felt the need to watch over me even before that because of her usual state of inebriation.”
“I did,” I replied.
“Maybe this was good for you, but Brodie is right talk to Davy. He really does love you.”
“I will. He’s working late tonight. As soon as I can,” I told her.
After that, Lacey showed me the progress on the baby’s room. A boy’s room with very distinct boy decorations. Football decals on the wall. Baby blue paint on the lower half of the wall. A light, colored wood, sturdy crib. Only the best for Brodie Steward’s son. “It’s beautiful, Lacey. You’ve done a great, job with the decorations.”
She glanced around the room and then she smiled at me. “I think so.”
Lacey walked me to the door. I had my new silk shirt slung over one arm. I hugged her at the door then headed to mine and Davy’s home.
Brodie was right, I had several text messages from Davy apologizing for his behavior at Steward. A voicemail too, telling me how much he loved me.
I texted him back. I love you too. I didn’t really want to talk right now. The thoughts were rolling through my head. My uncle always did say I was the paranoid one while Lacey was the laid back, easygoing niece. I think at times, he preferred to deal with her. I was a handful.
At home, I made numerous trips carrying my purchases in the house. I put my new clothes away first, leaving the tags on everything in case I decided there was something that I didn’t like after all. Then I changed out of the clothes I had on, putting on old shorts and a tank.
I pulled the furniture away from the walls. The bed was the hardest piece to move. I had to inch it away on one side then run around and move it an inch or so until I had it about a foot away from the wall. It was six o’clock by then.
My stomach rumbled protesting at the lack of food I had given it. I realized I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I ran downstairs and popped two hot dogs in the microwave. I was desperate. We even had buns for my junk food feast. I sat at the bar in the kitchen and piled mustard on the dogs and drank some water laced with lemon juice. It was the unhealthiest meal I had eaten in months and I enjoyed every savory bite.
After cleaning up the kitchen, I went back to the task of changing our bedroom. Hoping that with that change, I wouldn’t wonder if Davy was still thinking of Georgie Baird Cole.
I taped off the baseboards which took an hour. My back was aching by the time that was done. I removed the big quilt that was on the bed and folded it nicely before stuffing it in the guest room closet on a shelf. Out of sight, out of mind, I hoped.
Then I stripped the bed of the sheets and tossed them over the balcony. Later, I would take them or throw them down the basement stairs to wash later. The pillows were going in the garbage. I threw them over the balcony too.
I poured the soft gray paint into a pan and began rolling it on the walls. I realized when I had finished one wall that I should have cut the ceiling in first. I bit my lower lip trying to decide what to do.
I ran across the hall and grabbed a chair that Davy used at his old desk. It was sitting in the corner. It swiveled and rolled. He got rid of the desk when he purchased a new one but kept the chair for some reason.
I moved it across to our bedroom. I dipped a brush into the paint and began cutting in at the top on one of the other three walls. Balancing easily enough on the slightly rocky chair.
When I couldn’t reach any longer I hopped down and moved the chair. I finished cutting in the room then rolled out the other four walls in no time. I stepped back and looked at the room. I liked it.
Then I remembered that I hadn’t cut in the first wall. I finished that and cleaned up my mess. The worst part about painting…cleaning brushes and rollers. The pan was getting thrown away. It was one of those plastic, disposable kind.
Then I moved the bed back against the wall and made it with the new pillows, linens and quilt. It looked pretty with the dove gray walls. I went to the bathroom and setup the new stuff in there. The shower curtain was the most difficult piece to hang around the claw footed bathtub. Its rod was suspended from the ceiling and even though I wasn’t short the ceiling in here was rather high. I wrapped up the old things in the shower curtain I had taken down for easy carrying.
I glanced at the brushed stainless, steel soap dish, toothbrush holder and soap dish. One was out of place, so I straightened it. The gray rug was aligned perfectly in front of the sink. The white silky shower curtain was decorated with what appeared to be silvery, delicate, vines floating down to the hem. I wanted it to coordinate with the colors in the bedroom.
I moved the dressers and the nightstands back into place. I was almost done, and it was ten o’clock. I looked around for my phone, wondering if Davy had texted me about when he was coming home. I finally found my phone beneath the neatly made bed covers. I retrieved it and ch
ecked for messages. Nothing.
I gathered the shower curtain filled with the old things from the bathroom and headed out to the garage. There we had a sixty-five-gallon receptacle where I dumped the contents of the shower curtain then went back for the pillows. The sheets I took downstairs to the washing machine and threw them in. I just needed to hang the curtains at the two windows and I was done. I thought maybe I would take a picture and send to Davy after that.
Standing on the chair, I hung the curtains at the first window and straightened them along the rod until they were evenly spaced with a perfect ruffle along the top. I hopped down from the chair and went to the second window and did the same thing.
I was surprised that I had balanced so well on the swivel chair. I was the klutz of the family. Lacey was right behind me in the accident, prone department. She had one or two less broken bones that I had growing up.
Roller skating. Roller blading, I was better than Lacey at it but we both sucked. We didn’t often go to skate when we went with our friends. We went to hang out.
I climbed down from the chair and moved it across the hall putting it back in its place. The paint was in the basement now. The brushes and roller cleaned. I was ready for a shower. It was nearing eleven-thirty. I checked my phone again. Still no Davy and no messages letting me know when he would be home.
I stepped to the doorway and took a picture. The soft lighting of the room made the new paint and the new linens look good. I sent him the picture and perched on the edge of the bed. I waited for fifteen minutes to see if Davy would respond then I went to the bathroom. I was grimy and in desperate need of a good scrubbing with my loofah.
Afterwards, I discovered that the new, hairdo made it quick and easy to style. I just ran my fingers through it while I quickly ran a blow dryer over my head. When I was done I put the dryer away and slipped into the other room in nothing but a towel.
Davy was sitting on the bed. I hadn’t heard him come in because of the hair dryer. I screamed, startling him. He dropped his phone. I almost dropped my towel.