Earning Yancy (NSFW #2)

by C. C. Wood

  I nodded. “I really think he is. I mean, at first, I worried he was like Coop, acting nice until I let my guard down, but he’s proven me wrong more than once.”

  Grier grinned. “And just think, when you first met, you couldn’t stand him.”

  I shrugged. At the time, I couldn’t, but everyone had flaws and it would be stupid for me to hold Charles’ mistakes against him.

  Behind me, someone cleared their throat and all of us turned to see a man in slacks and a button-down shirt standing nearby. He looked directly at me.

  “Yancy Stevens?”

  Tanya stood, moving between us. “Who are you?”

  The man remained stone-faced, even though Tanya stood at least three inches taller than him in her stilettos. He leaned over so he could see around her.

  “Are you Yancy Stevens?”

  “Uh, yes,” I answered, completely confused.

  The man took a folded sheaf of papers out of his back pocket and held them out to me. When I lifted my hand to take them, he said, “You’ve been served.”

  “Oh, hell,” Tanya muttered as the man walked away.

  I glanced down at the paperwork. Coop hadn’t been bluffing when he said he intended to sue me for custody of Carolena. At the realization, my blood ran cold because I knew that, as ugly as things had been so far, they could get far, far worse.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  NEEDLESS TO SAY, Monday sucked. After lunch, I spent the rest of the day alternating between work and checking my phone to see if my attorney had returned my call. I texted Tanya to let her know I couldn’t reach Delinda, but she calmed me down, explaining that she was probably tied up in court or meetings and couldn’t take my calls.

  When I told him about what happened at lunch, Charles insisted on coming over later that evening. He ate dinner with us, then did the dishes while I got the baby ready for bed. Once again, I was getting a glimpse of what life would be like if things worked out between us, and I wanted it badly.

  After I put Carolena to bed, I headed downstairs to find Charles stretched out on my couch, watching some show on the History Channel. He had a beer in his hand, resting on his belly, and his socked feet crossed at the ankle on my coffee table. He glanced back when he heard me enter the room.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  I nodded and flopped down on the couch next to him. He offered me his beer and I took a long gulp. “Thanks for washing the dishes.” I handed his beer back to him and assumed a similar position to his, slouching down on my sofa and putting my feet on the coffee table.

  “No problem.”

  We sat in silence for a while, Charles watching his show and me trying to figure out what to say to my mom when I called her to tell her what was happening with Cooper. I decided that I needed to call her immediately. If I waited until Charles left, I would justify waiting until tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the next week. When my mother found out I hadn’t told her, there would be holy hell to pay.

  I rolled to my feet. “I’m going to get a beer. You want another one?”

  Charles looked up and studied me. “Sure.”

  “After I bring your beer, I’m going to be on the phone for a little while. I need to call my mom and tell her what’s going on with Cooper and this custody suit.”

  He nodded. “I understand. Do you want me to leave?”

  “If you want.”

  Charles frowned at me. “No, I want you to tell me what you want, what you need from me.”

  I sank back down on the couch next to him and placed a hand on his thigh. “I’d like it if you stayed. I may need you to pour the booze.”

  He grinned at me, covering my hand with his and squeezing gently. “Then I’ll stay. Now go get me a beer and call your mother.”

  I rolled my eyes and stood once again. “Actually, I just remembered that I’m out of beer.”

  I squealed as Charles jumped up and chased me into the kitchen. He grabbed me around the waist, hauled me against his body for a quick kiss, then got his beer out of the fridge. Once again, he managed to take my mind off my problems. He was definitely a keeper.

  I got a beer for myself and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. Settling on a stool at my bar, I selected my mother’s number and lifted the phone to my ear.

  “Hi, Yancy! How’s my baby today?”

  “Are you talking about me or Carolena?” I asked, unable to resist teasing her.

  “Both.”

  “Well, Carolena is great. She’s in bed for the night.” I took a deep breath, preparing for the imminent explosion. “I’m not so great though. I, uh, have something I want to talk to you about and I want you to promise me that you will listen to everything I have to say before you freak out.”

  “Oh, God, you’re pregnant, aren’t you? Sweetie, Charles seems like a wonderful man, but please promise me you won’t jump into a marriage just because you’re having a baby.”

  “Jesus, Mom! No, I’m not pregnant.” I paused. “Cooper came by a couple of weeks ago. Apparently, he wants to reconcile.” As my mother began to sputter, I said, “Mom, you need to let me finish.” When she fell silent, I continued, “Anyway, I told him no way in hell, but he’s decided to retaliate by suing me for full custody of Carolena.”

  I had to move the phone a couple of feet from my ear as my mother’s voice rose in anger. My eyes widened when I heard several phrases that even sailors would hesitate to use. As she wound down, I put the phone back to my ear.

  “Look, Mom, I hired an attorney as soon as Cooper threatened me and we have a plan. The papers were served to me at work on my lunch break today and I just wanted you to know what’s going on.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me before? Dammit, Yancy, I realize you are grown, but there’s no shame in talking to me about this. Do you need money for the lawyer? When are you going to have to go to court?” She began to fire questions at me so quickly I couldn’t understand half of them.

  “Mom, I didn’t know if he was just being an ass or if he would really follow through on the threats,” I explained.

  “I don’t care if he meant it or not. Your ex comes back to town, you tell me and your sisters so we can help you,” she ranted.

  I had a suspicion that my sisters’ version of help would be to drug Coop and ship him to a remote region of Asia. Or offer him to some pirates as slave labor. While I wasn’t necessarily appalled by the idea of my ex disappearing for a long time, I didn’t want my family doing something crazy.

  As much as I hated Carolena growing up without a father, I couldn’t stomach the idea of her experiencing Coop’s neglect. I worried that would harm her a great deal more than his complete absence.

  “Mom, I get what you’re saying, but, honestly, I needed time to process all this before I talked to you about it. I knew you would have a ton of questions I wouldn’t be able to answer.” When I finished speaking, Mom was silent for so long I thought we’d been disconnected. “Mom?”

  “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry. I don’t want to make this harder for you, but think about Carolena. Wouldn’t you do whatever was necessary to spare her pain and ease her burdens?”

  “Yes.”

  “I just want to do the same for you, Yancy,” she said quietly.

  I understood then. Completely. It was difficult to remember that my mother was still my parent, even if I was fully grown. Though I’d been independent for years, she still wanted to take care of me in whatever ways she could. I knew, without a doubt, I’d be the same when my daughter was an adult.

  “I love you, Mom.”

  “I love you, too, sweetie.”

  We talked for another twenty minutes. I explained the plans that Delinda laid out for me when I contacted her the first time. There were a few of her questions I couldn’t answer, but promised to let her know as soon as I could.

  She surprised me by asking about Charles.

  “Have you spent any time with that nice young man lately?”

  “Yes, he came for dinner
tonight and we’re going to watch some TV when I get off the phone.”

  I expected a lecture about rushing into another relationship too fast or waiting until this business with Coop was over before I started having Charles over for dinner. That’s not what I got.

  “Then why are you still on the phone with me? Go cuddle on the couch, watch some TV, and take your mind off all this stuff. Tell Charles I said hello.”

  Surprised, I said good-bye and hung up.

  I carried my beer into the living room and settled on the sofa next to Charles.

  “How’d it go?” he asked.

  I glanced at him. “Better than I thought. She had a ton of questions and I was actually able to answer some of them.” I paused. “And I think she approves of you because I said you were here at 8:00 p.m. and she told me to tell you hello. Less than a year ago, she gave me hell for having Girls’ Night In with Chelsea, Tanya, Grier, and Lucy while Carolena was asleep upstairs.”

  Charles wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me against his chest. “Moms love me. I told you, I’m a catch.”

  I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Yeah, but she doesn’t know what happened on this couch last Friday night. She might not love you so much then.”

  “Yeah, let’s not tell her about that.” He grabbed my beer and drank from it. “Speaking of moms, mine wants to meet you. I accidentally let it slip that I was over here a couple of weeks ago and your mom dropped by. She’s been bugging me ever since. She can’t stand it that your mother has met me, but she hasn’t met you. I hate to bring it up since you have all this shit going on with your ex, but I’m afraid she’ll take matters into her own hands if I put her off too much longer.” He paused, his eyes twinkling. “And, by taking matters into her own hands, I mean that she will somehow find your number or, God forbid, call you at the office, and insist you come over for Sunday dinner.”

  His family really was nuttier than mine.

  “Okay, so I need to present myself for parental inspection?”

  “Think you can handle it this weekend?” he asked.

  My heart stopped at his question then began beating double time. That was earlier than I anticipated. “I guess so.”

  Charles stared at me for a moment. “Yancy, it can wait. You’re stressed out enough. You don’t need to worry about meeting my crazy family.”

  I shook my head. “No, I want to.” I did. However, I was always nervous when I met new people, more so when I was meeting my boyfriend’s parents. Oh, Jesus. Charles was my boyfriend.

  I could tell Charles wanted to argue, but he merely shook his head. “Okay. I’ll call my mom and tell her I’m bringing you two for Sunday dinner.”

  I chugged what was left in my beer, then snatched his half-full bottle off the coffee table and emptied it as well. Charles merely laughed.

  THE REST OF the week passed in a blur of work, phone calls and meetings with my attorney, while my evenings were spent with Carolena and Charles. Every day, Charles did or said something that reinforced his assertion that he was, in fact, a catch. Often times, it was something small, like refilling my wine glass, chopping vegetables for dinner, or texting me in the middle of the day just to let me know he was thinking about me. He never expected me to fawn over him for these things like Coop had. He simply did them.

  We’d also made love twice more and spent several nights locked in epic make-out sessions on my couch, yet, he didn’t stay the night. Even if she wasn’t aware, I wasn’t yet comfortable having him sleep over with Carolena in the house. Charles understood and he didn’t pout or give me a guilt trip. It was wonderful to be able to tell him what I was thinking or feeling and not have it thrown back in my face.

  I’d also heard back from the Office of the Attorney General. It seemed that they had finally tracked Cooper down and were determining whether to merely garnish his wages or arrest him. Well, that explained his sudden desire to reconcile. If I took him back, I had no doubt that, as soon as I’d forgiven the back child support, his ass would have been gone again, this time for good.

  Sunday afternoon, I dressed Carolena in her cutest spring outfit, a lavender romper with white polka dots. Ever the girlie girl, she picked out a pretty flower clip for her hair. Then she insisted that her shoes match. I had chosen my own outfit with the same care, so I couldn’t be impatient with her.

  I wore a mint green dress in soft, stretchy cotton and a white cardigan with three-quarter length sleeves. I chose nude pumps with heels that were an inch higher than what I preferred for work. I even went to the trouble of pulling my pretty pink Coach purse out of my closet and putting all my stuff into it.

  Charles told me he was coming by at noon. Though he wanted to pick us up, I talked him into taking my car so we didn’t have to move Carolena’s car seat.

  Sunday dinner at his parents’ house turned out to be lunch at 1 p.m. I didn’t mind. If it had been in the evening, there was the possibility that Carolena would get cranky before everyone was ready to leave for the night. While she was usually even-tempered, sweet, and affectionate, my daughter had a set of lungs to rival an opera singer’s. When she was tired and grumpy, everyone in a half-mile radius knew it.

  When Charles rang the doorbell, my stomach knotted then erupted in a swarm of butterflies. I was going to meet his mother. And his sister, her husband, and their two kids. Swallowing hard, I opened the door, but, before I could say a word, Carolena dashed past me and wrapped her arms around his leg.

  “Car! Car!” She bounced up and down in her little silver Mary Janes. I chuckled as she called Charles ‘Car’. She couldn’t quite get her tongue around Charles yet, so Car he was.

  He touched her forehead. “Hi, Lena.”

  She grinned up at him and raised her arms. In the last couple of weeks, she had warmed up to Charles significantly.

  Charles scooped her up and settled her on his hip, then his eyes came to me. Starting at the top of my head, his gaze ran over me, growing hot as it reached my legs. Then he raised his eyes to mine.

  “Wow. You look beautiful.”

  I felt a blush rising up my neck. “Thank you.”

  “You ready, gorgeous?” he asked.

  The heat in my cheeks intensified at the way the word ‘gorgeous’ tripped off his tongue. As far as pet names went, I liked it a lot.

  “Yes. Let me grab my bag and Carolena’s and we can go.”

  Charles took the diaper bag from me and waited patiently as I locked the front door. He held his hand out for the car keys. After I buckled Carolena into her seat, we climbed in and were on our way.

  As we drove, Charles reached over and laced his fingers with mine. “You seem quiet.”

  I turned from the window, where I’d been watching the scenery as we drove. “I’m a little nervous.”

  Charles lifted my hand and pressed his lips to my knuckles. “My aunt has already sung your praises to my mother, who, in turn, shared them with my sister. They’re excited to meet you and Lena.”

  I nodded. “You may not have noticed this, but I’m kinda shy.”

  He chuckled. “I know, gorgeous. If things get too overwhelming, tell me and I’ll take you home, okay?”

  My eyes widened. “Overwhelming? Now, I’m really nervous.”

  When Charles laughed, my daughter joined in, and I couldn’t stop my own smile. The knots in my belly eased slightly and I knew that everything would be fine.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  THE MOMENT WE got out of my car at his mother’s house, I knew what Charles meant by overwhelming. As I carried Carolena up the front steps, I could hear screams from inside.

  When Charles caught my wide-eyed look, he said, “Those are Sherri’s kids you hear. They’re four and six and they’re hellions.”

  Carolena merely clapped her hands and giggled.

  I took a deep breath and blew it out as Charles shoved open the front door. Immediately, the screams I’d heard outside became twice as loud and I could smell something delicious cooking. />
  “Give it back! GIVEITBACK!” a small, blonde girl shrieked as she chased an even smaller boy.

  The boy merely laughed, a doll of some kind dangling from his hand by its hair as he ran at breakneck speed through the living room. As they darted past us, Charles reached out and snagged the boy around the waist, lifting him off his feet.

  “Hey, hey, hey,” he said, trying to keep the girl from smacking her brother.

  “Uncle Charlie, he took my doll!” she wailed. “Tracy is my favorite doll in the whole world!”

  I watched as Charles smoothed her hair down with one hand, tugging the ends lightly. “I understand, Katie. Calm down and I’ll talk to Robbie, okay?”

  She nodded, blinking her damp eyes rapidly. Charles set the little boy on his feet and squatted down, putting his hands on Robbie’s shoulders. A brown-haired doll was clutched in his hands.

  “Robbie, why won’t you give Katie her doll back?”

  Robbie looked down at his scuffed sneakers and shrugged, not speaking.

  “Did you want to play with it?” Charles asked patiently.

  “No,” Robbie said softly.

  “Were you trying to get Katie’s attention?”

  “I guess.”

  I struggled to hide my smile. With his curly golden hair and big blue-green eyes, he was adorable.

  “It’s okay, Robbie, thank you for telling me the truth. I understand you wanted to play with your sister, but taking her toys isn’t the right way to do it. Can you give Katie her doll back?”

  Watching Charles with his niece and nephew, I could see him with our children, patiently helping them work out their spats. My heart stopped and I held my breath. Our children? Somehow, in the last few weeks, I had begun to imagine our future together without realizing it. Spending time together watching television, cooking meals, and making love had given me a glimpse into that future and I wanted it badly.

  As quickly as this epiphany burst into my consciousness, I returned to the present, my breath leaving my lungs in a rush and my heart resuming its function, only now it was pounding hard and fast. I blinked rapidly and managed to regulate my breathing enough to focus on what was going on in front of me.