Games of the Heart

by Kristen Ashley

  “Dusty, this is my son, Jonas. He likes to be called No,” Mike started to introduce, I pulled my eyes from the beautiful Clarisse and looked up at No who was offering a hand to me.

  I took it, squeezed and smiled up at him. “Hey, No. Cool to meet you.”

  “Yeah, you too,” he replied, grinning an easy but lazy grin that I was certain the high school girls all creamed their pants over. Then he let my hand go, looked to his sister and declared, “Told you Dad would nail a hot babe.”

  Clarisse’s eyes got big and her face flushed in a way that was so becoming I felt the desire to find a camera immediately and capture it on film. Then daggers formed in her eyes as she glared at her brother. I wasn’t certain what this meant. I was certain the daggers were imaginary because her brother wasn’t felled instantly.

  At the same time I heard Rhonda gasp and Kirby and Finley chuckle.

  Mike just said in a warning low, “No.”

  He was using that word in two ways and No’s playful gaze went unrepentantly to his Dad then to me.

  I winked at him.

  His easy, lazy grin turned into a bright, easy, lazy smile.

  Yeah, the high school girls creamed their pants for this kid. Totally.

  “Right, that’s No and this is my daughter, Clarisse,” Mike carried on.

  I stopped looking at No and turned my gaze to Clarisse.

  “Hey, honey,” I said softly and put my hand out.

  She looked at it then at me, took my hand and murmured, “Hey.”

  I squeezed her hand and said right out, “I’m into your Dad so you gotta know I want you to like me but I’m not blowing sunshine when I say you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

  Mike’s arm got tight around my waist. Clarisse’s hand spasmed in mine as her cheeks again got pink, her eyes got round and not in a pissed off way and her perfect, full lips parted endearingly.

  Finally, she visibly and audibly forced out an, “Uh…thanks.”

  “Just saying it like it is,” I told her.

  Her chin dipped slightly and she looked at me under her lashes, watchful but bashful and it was then I figured, even at fourteen, nearly fifteen, that girl made the high school boys cream their jeans.

  If Clarisse didn’t fly right off the rails and become a goth or get a fake ID and a tramp stamp, Mike was just about to enter approximately five years of his life that would include a world of hurt. And this hurt didn’t mean wondering where he went wrong but lamenting that he went very right including the fact he passed on excellent genes.

  I dropped her hand and Mike shifted us.

  Then he spoke but not to me or his kids, to Rhonda.

  “Brought the kids in so they didn’t have to sit out in the cold while we had a chat. Dusty and I need to talk to you and the boys about something quickly before we go.”

  I’d forgotten about this. That was how freaked out I was about meeting Mike’s kids. But when he’d phoned me to tell me where we were going for dinner, he’d also told me when he showed he wanted a minute to talk not only to Rhonda but to Fin and Kirb about Debbie.

  Weirdly, I did not think of this as Mike horning in on family business. It could be because he’d been around so long, in our lives, Darrin talking about him, Debbie dating him, him meaning what he meant to me, that he kind of felt like he already was family. It could be that after Fin told me what was going down with my bitchface sister and Rhonda not snapping out of it, for the first time in a long time I felt overwhelmed. And Mike not just taking my back but ready, willing and able to wade in to help me shoulder the burden took some of that weight off me. Better, he wasn’t going to delay and I knew this the instant he slid my phone from my fingers last night when bitchface Debbie had the audacity to call me. And then, he didn’t even know what was going on.

  “Can we talk in the living room?” Mike asked and I looked to Rhonda to see she looked confused. I looked to Kirby to see he was looking at his brother. And then I looked to Finley to see, not surprisingly, he had his eyes glued to Clarisse.

  That was when I looked to my boots and grinned.

  “Of course,” Rhonda said softly then moved toward the living room.

  Finley shifted, following his Mom. Kirby moved after them. With his free arm, Mike swept it around as an indication to his kids to precede us.

  Finally, Mike moved us that way and I looked up at him. The farmhouse was not small, the rooms big and stuffed with years of family accumulated, well…stuff. But still, I didn’t want anyone overhearing anything I had to say. Like payback for Mike helping me take care of my family was going to take a variety of forms he would enjoy.

  So I communicated this with my face.

  Mike didn’t miss it, his eyes dropped to my mouth, his arm tensed around me and the tip of his tongue came out to wet his full, lower lip.

  It was hot.

  “Little Dusty” spasmed.

  We hit the room and I pulled my shit together. Rhonda was seated on the couch. Kirby was sitting next to her. Finley standing by the arm, strong, tall, keeping his feet, the new man of the family. No and Clarisse were huddled to the side, probably uncomfortable, not knowing what was going on and never having been to the house, not sure of what to do or how to behave.

  Mike didn’t delay.

  Eyes on Fin, he asked, “Do you still have your mother and brother’s phones?”

  “Yes, sir,” Fin answered immediately.

  “You talk to them about why?” Mike went on.

  Fin nodded.

  “Good man,” Mike muttered and looked at Rhonda. “Dusty has shared with me that Debbie’s been in frequent touch to discuss her plans for the future of the farm. She’s also shared with me that Fin has expressed his desire to carry on the family tradition. I know things are very raw right now and, for you, it isn’t the time to be making decisions about your sons’ futures, decisions you can’t unmake. So I’ve asked Debbie not to call you for two weeks.”

  Relief washed through Rhonda’s face and I was glad to see it. Contradictorily, I was also pissed because the relief was so keen I knew Debbie had been crawling right up her ass. I knew this already but her expression told me just how bad it was.

  But for some reason my eyes went to Fin and he was grinning toward No and Clarisse. My gaze shifted to Mike’s kids and I caught Clarisse’s return smile before her eyes dropped to her shoes.

  I looked back to Fin to see he was now looking down at the arm of the couch.

  But his grin had not been the grin of a hot boy junior toward a beautiful freshman he thought was a beautiful freshman. It was intimate, knowing and triumphant.

  Hers was the same.

  Oh my God, something was going on between Mike’s daughter and my nephew.

  Mike popped my sister’s cherry. Decades later, we hooked up. And now it seemed like Holliday/Haines history was setting up to repeat itself.

  Oh boy, I didn’t know what Mike was going to think about this mainly because he was the one who had the penis in the last teenage scenario and he knew what he did with it.

  Before I could think further on whether this was awesome or a complete catastrophe, Mike kept talking.

  “Debbie is likely not going to do what I’ve asked, so –”

  “She already hasn’t,” Finley cut in and I looked to him to see his eyes on Mike. “Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Haines, but you should know she called Ma three times last night, four today and left five voicemail messages.”

  I clenched my teeth and my arm around Mike’s waist got tight.

  “Did you take any of those calls?” Mike asked Fin.

  Fin shook his head.

  “It’s rude not to take a call,” Rhonda put in and I looked at her.

  Seriously, no backbone. I loved her to pieces but she had two boys. I didn’t know how but I had to plant a backbone seed in my sister-in-law and coax it to grow. She only had a year and a half with Fin. He was mostly man already, Darrin saw to that like my Dad saw to the same with Darrin. Bu
t there was still a ways to go. She had to help me with that. She had to help Fin with that.

  I opened my mouth to speak but Fin got there before me.

  “It’s rude to call a woman who’s lost her husband and get in her face about important stuff, Ma.”

  Rhonda looked up at her son. “I guess so, honey, but –”

  “No buts,” he cut her off. “It’s just rude. She shouldn’t be callin’ you about that stuff. Not now. Not next week. Not the week after. Mr. Haines is right. You need a spell. She isn’t givin’ it to you. But you need it and you’re gonna take it.”

  Okay, maybe there wasn’t still a ways to go to make Fin a man.

  “Fin’s right, Rhonda. It’s rude and you need some time. I asked for that and she didn’t give it. That’s rude too,” Mike stated and Rhonda looked back at him. “If you think you can’t do that because you’re polite then you let your son keep your phone and you let Dusty or the boys answer the one in the house. Finley will give you any messages you need and Dusty or the boys will pass the phone to you if it isn’t Debbie.”

  Rhonda’s eyes were working and I settled in because I was used to this and it took time. I didn’t know if we had a reservation or if Mike’s kids were hungry but I hoped the answer was no to both because we were going to be late for the first and his kids were going to have to wait to assuage the last.

  Mike, being a good guy, waited. Finley, I saw, was less patient with his Mom and I saw this because he was staring down at her and his impatience was barely concealed.

  This was beginning to concern me because I hadn’t been around for long but I’d already noted this on several occasions not to mention during Fin’s phone call.

  With Darrin there providing guidance on how to deal with Rhonda, neither of his boys showed frustration with her quirks. Kirby definitely not. Whereas Finley got everything about my brother that screamed man! Kirby got the gentle, sweet parts of him. Kirby had all the time in the world for his Mom. Finley, without his father there to show the way, was losing it.

  Finally, Rhonda came to a decision, “I’ll let Fin keep my phone.”

  Finley heaved an audible sigh.

  Mike muttered, “Good call.” His eyes moved to Kirby and he asked, “You on board, Kirb?”

  Kirby looked to Finley, Finley gave him a nod then he looked back at Mike and mumbled, “Yes, sir.”

  “Right,” Mike murmured. Then his arm gave me a squeeze and he said, “Thanks for giving us time and now we probably should go.”

  “I know!”

  This was Clarisse piping up and Mike shifted, taking me with him so we could look at her.

  “Why don’t the Hollidays come with us?” she suggested like this gracious thought just popped into her head when in absolutely did not. I nearly burst out laughing.

  She didn’t want Rhonda and Kirby at our dinner table.

  She wanted Finley there.

  “We couldn’t,” Rhonda murmured politely.

  “I already had a sandwich,” Kirb stated which wasn’t exactly the truth. He’d had three. Still, he could probably consume a four course meal but he was taking his mother’s lead.

  “I could eat,” Fin said nonchalantly and I couldn’t help it. I made a sound like I was being strangled.

  Mike looked down at me and raised his brows. I shook my head. He tipped his to the side. I grinned. He shook his head and looked back at Fin.

  “Get your coat, Fin.”

  Fin tipped up his chin and moved, shooting a quick glance Clarisse and No’s way but I knew his eyes hit Clarisse.

  Mike missed this because he was moving us to the door.

  “Make sure you get her home at a decent hour.”

  This was Kirby, following and being what he was, cute and dorky.

  I turned to him and asked, “Am I grounded if I’m not home by midnight?”

  Kirby’s eyebrows shot up and he said, “Midnight? Your curfew’s ten.”

  “Not fair, Kirby,” I shot back.

  “Okay,” he grinned, “Ten thirty.”

  I rolled my eyes. His grin got bigger and I liked seeing that from my Kirby. He’d lost his Dad, the shadow of pain was in his eyes even with that grin but it mingled with humor and I was pleased as hell I put it there.

  We were in the foyer. I disengaged from Mike, moved to my nephew and payback was me grabbing his cheeks like I did when he was a kid and kissing him back and forth until he shouted, “God! Stop! Gross, Aunt Dusty!”

  “Honey, you shouldn’t take the Lord’s name in vain,” Rhonda muttered distractedly and it was Kirby’s turn to roll his eyes and he did this to me.

  I grinned at him, playfully shoved his face away then moved to the chair in the hall where my kickass sheepskin coat was. It hit me at the waist, had a slant zip and built-in belt, a super high collar and wide sheepskin cuffs. I shrugged it on, zipped it up and grabbed my huge slouchy suede bag.

  Finley met us at the door and Mike, doing a macho Dad move that was still hot, stood with his hand high at the side of the door holding it open for all the kids to wander through. Then his eyes came to me as I was about to wander through too and I stopped. He grabbed my hand, let the door go, I went out calling farewells to Rhonda and Kirby and he followed me out.

  The kids were already at Mike’s car in the lane and Mike dug his keys out of his pocket, lifted his arm, the lights flashed as the car beeped and they started piling in.

  “Hmm…” I muttered under my breath, eyes on the car watching the kids arranging themselves. “Clarisse is climbing in the middle. That means she’ll be pressed next to Fin in the back.”

  “Caught that?” Mike muttered under his breath back.

  My eyes slid to the side and up, “You did too?”

  “Hard to miss,” he was still muttering just like me.

  “Yep,” I agreed.

  “Shit,” he kept muttering and I chuckled.

  “History repeating,” I also kept muttering.

  “Over my dead body.” He was still muttering but there was something else in it and I burst out laughing.

  “Actually, I wasn’t being funny,” he told me as he walked me slowly around the hood to the passenger’s seat.

  “I know you weren’t but you still were.” I looked up at him and finished softly, “And, seriously, babe, being funny and all hot guy, protective Dad, I want to kiss you right now.”

  I watched his face shift to a look that was sexy as all hell even as he murmured, “Don’t give your nephew any ideas.”

  “I think the ideas would be Clarisse’s.”

  “That earned payback.”

  “Bring it on, gorgeous.”

  Mike grinned at me then opened my door.

  I climbed in and he didn’t close it until I was settled.

  I twisted in my seat to look in the back and announced, “I’m hungry. Who’s with me?”

  “Totally,” No stated on an easy, lazy grin.

  “Yeah, Miz Holliday,” Clarisse answered.

  “I’m always hungry,” Finley muttered the God’s honest truth.

  “I’m Dusty, honey,” I said to Clarisse as Mike angled in.

  “She’s Rees,” No offered as Clarisse studied me.

  “Yeah, that’s my nickname,” she confirmed softly.

  “You cool with me calling you that?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’m cool.” Again with the soft. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Finley looking out the side window but he was doing it with a grin playing at his mouth that said he was listening to Clarisse’s quiet words and he liked how they sounded.

  “Excellent,” I said to Clarisse but I was also thinking about my nephew.

  He was a teenage boy which meant that in normal circumstances, he had one thing on his mind. In the current circumstances, he had everything on his mind and most of it was no good. Going out with the girl who had to be the most beautiful girl to hit The ‘Burg’s high school in the last century would give him good things to think about while I (and Mike, obvious
ly) took most of the other shit away that he had to think about.

  “Angel, you wanna quit yammerin’, turn around and buckle up so I can feed these kids?” Mike asked and I rolled my eyes at Clarisse then turned around.

  “Sure,” I agreed readily.

  I buckled in. Mike started her up.

  And away we went so Mike could feed a car full of teenage kids and me.

  * * * * *

  Mike tore his mouth from mine.

  Using his hand curved around the back of my head, he shoved my face in his neck and in my ear, growled, “Shit, fuck, honey.”

  I knew what he was saying.

  He’d dropped off his kids at his house with Finley graciously offering to walk out Mike’s back gate, through the frozen field in the February night cold to get home. He’d done this under Mike’s suspicious gaze but Clarisse’s excited one. Mike, surprisingly, agreed. Then, following my directions, he drove us to what Dad and Granddad called “The Back Forty”. It was more like “The Back Two Hundred”, a lane that cut through our land that was far from a hop, skip and a jump from our house. At the end of the lane was a stand of trees that surrounded a creek fed mini-pond that was really the bend of the creek where it widened and deepened significantly. It was an old-fashioned watering hole that even had a tire hanging from one of the trees that you could swing out, jump off and land in the water. Growing up, Darrin and I, my girlfriends, his guy friends (but never Debbie) frequented it regularly in the summers.

  Now, like two teenagers, Mike parked his truck there so we could make out.

  This escalated dramatically and the way it did, what with our make up, break up, long separation, great phone sex and fantastic real sex, I decided I needed room to move. So I found the controls and maneuvered the back of Mike’s seat to near full on recline. I was out of my jacket, Mike out of his, I was straddling him and we kept making out with my hands up Mike’s sweater and Mike’s hands feeling me up in ways that made me press down and rock against his hard crotch.

  I wanted him inside me.

  And by his words I knew he wanted that too.

  “We can do this,” I whispered into his neck.

  “Honey –”

  My hand slid down his belly then pressed in deeper as it slid over his groin and that got me an unintelligible growl that was so hot I felt it heat my entire body.