Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set

by Misty Reigenborn

  Brian had cousins in the area that had given them tons of baby clothes, but most of them had boys. Of course a lot of the clothes were suitable for baby girls as well, but Alicia wanted to add some more feminine touches to the child's wardrobe. Carson teased her because she already had what he jokingly called two years’ worth of girlie clothes stock piled but he let it go.

  After the last fitting of her dress which had been rescheduled from yesterday, during which Carson was made to sit in the car, they headed for their last stop. Carson was getting a haircut.

  Ami was bored stiff by the time the day was over. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy spending time with her friends; it was just that she felt she shouldn't be there for about 90% of what they did that day.

  When they were back at the apartment, Ali offered to have her over for dinner but she was overloaded. She needed time to herself and she politely bowed out. Gabe hadn't made an appearance. Ami hoped that after dealing with him tomorrow that things would go back to some semblance of normal.

  She made herself a sandwich and tried to read but she couldn't concentrate. She was still thinking too much. Thinking about Nick. Thinking about Gabe.

  Nick called a little after seven, but the conversation was short. He asked about Gabe, though she figured he already knew from Carson that they hadn't seen him. He offered to follow her home from work the next night. That was pretty much the end of it.

  There was still no sign of Gabe. She slept better that night.

  She awoke early the next morning to the chime of a text message. She opened it, reaching distractedly for a cigarette. It was Ali. It said 'The baby's here!'

  She was alarmed for a minute because Alicia was too far from her due date for her to be excited about her baby coming, but then her tired mind realized that she had to be talking about Carson's son.

  She yawned and typed out 'That's great.'

  Before she could send the message Ali sent her a picture. It was Carson and an adorable blonde little boy. Father and son were both grinning from ear to ear.

  She sent the first message and then typed out 'He's adorable.'

  'Cause he looks like his Daddy. Come meet him Auntie Ami.'

  'Auntie Ami? I'll be down in a bit.'

  'This poor baby is starving for love. He hasn't climbed down off Carson's lap once.'

  'That's too bad.'

  'We're gonna make it better.'

  'I know. I'll be down soon.'

  She started a pot of coffee and drank a cup to wake herself up before she headed downstairs.

  Carson, Elijah and Ali were outside. Carson and Elijah were bouncing a ball and Ali was taping it. She turned the camera to Ami and gave her friend a smile. "Mornin, Ami."

  "Good morning Ali.”

  Carson turned to her. "Ami this is my boy, Eli."

  Elijah was shy suddenly. He peeked at her from behind his Dad's leg. Then he smiled and gave her a little wave saying "Hi."

  But his attention was soon away from her when he said "The park Daddy.”

  "Okay little man. You ready babe?"

  "Yeah. You want to come Ami?"

  "No thanks." She didn't want to intrude.

  "Okay. Well, if we don't see you again today, we will see you tomorrow. The wedding's at noon, but you might want to come a little early. No real reception, just lunch at Madison's downtown. No gifts please. We already have enough stuff. If you want to get us something, feel free to do so when we finally have our own place."

  Ami held back a laugh. "You guys have fun."

  Elijah smiled, not quite as shy anymore. He looked so happy to be with his Dad. How could his mom have kept him away she wondered? She felt a little stab, thinking about her own son.

  The day seemed to fly by. It was soon time for her to head to work. She smoked two cigarettes as she sat in the parking lot of the bar, still not wanting to go inside.

  She only cared because Candy was waiting for her and the parking lot had already begun to fill up.

  When she was inside Candy said "Hey Ami. Sorry to hear that you're leaving us."

  "Me, too. Well, I like working with you and Rick anyway."

  "Is it him?"

  "Who?" But she knew who Candy was talking about.

  "You know who. If we get a chance later, I'll tell you a story."

  "Okay."

  They didn't get a chance to talk until 10:00. It only slowed down because there was something going on at the other bar in town, but both Ami and Candy were glad for the break. Candy motioned for Ami to sit down on the only chair behind the bar. She said she liked to pace when she was talking.

  "So," Candy said. "I won’t make you tell me about it, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s Gabe that’s chasing you away."

  "Yeah."

  “I’ll try to make this quick because who knows when we might get hit with a crowd, but I’d like to give you a little background okay?"

  Ami nodded.

  "I wasn’t always a woman that a man like Rick can be proud to say is his. I messed around. I was naive and I was one of those girls who couldn't stand to be without a man. I had my first miscarriage when I was eighteen. I was crushed, but not as crushed as the baby's father. He was older. I met him when I was seventeen and moved in with him the day after I graduated high school. We were going to get married. I was happy, thought I had it all. He was so happy when I got pregnant. But when I lost the baby, he walked away. He left me with a house that he'd told me he owned, which I found out he was only renting when the landlord came knocking on the door. It turned out that his father was some rich guy that put a stipulation in his trust fund, in his will. He'd only get half of Daddy's money if he didn't produce a male heir by the time the old man kicked the bucket. If he had a son, he'd get 3/4 and the rest would go into trust for his son. His mom had been dead for years, he was an only child. I found out he had a couple ex-wives. One had given him three daughters and the other ended up not being able to have kids. I definitely started out my life in the real world on the wrong foot. I moved back in with my parents for a while but it didn't work well. So I stayed with friends here and there, worked crappy jobs. I was twenty-four when I started doing drugs, and I'm just now a little over a year and a half totally clean. Rick's been my savior. Let me tell you how I met him. I was really down at the time. I'd been sleeping on people's couches, basically homeless. As much as I hate to admit it, there were a couple of times I had sex with a guy or gave him a blow job so that I'd have a roof over my head for the night. But things were turning around. I'd gotten a steady job and was lucky enough to run into a girl I'd gone to high school with. She said I could stay with her and her old man and their kids as long as I kicked in on the rent and food as soon as I could and didn't mind watching the kids now and then. That was heaven compared to what I'd been used to so of course I took her up on it. Right around that time I found out I was pregnant. I was happy but with the timing I didn't know who the father was. I'd been so high all the time when I would have gotten pregnant that there were men I probably don't even remember. Who wants to worry about birth control or a rubber when all you're worried about is your next fix? I was apprehensive because of my first pregnancy but I went to the doctor and they said everything looked fine. One thing I can say about my parents is that no matter how much they may not like me at the time, they've always made sure I had health insurance. Well, everything was going good. My friend was happy for me. She was a little worried too, though. She'd had a couple of miscarriages herself. Ran in her family. I was at work, this was a Friday. I'd been spotting a little bit that morning but didn't think it was a big deal. I went into work and everything was fine until about halfway through my shift. I was just past twelve weeks at that time, excited because I'd heard the baby's heartbeat. I thought I was going to be sick so I went to the bathroom. I was bleeding again, but this time it was heavier. I freaked out, told my boss, called my friend. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes before I was at the hospital, but it was too late. My b
aby was gone. I cried for a full day after. They could have sent me home but they were worried about my mental health. I was worried about my mental health. I may not have known who the daddy was but it was going to be me and my baby. I felt so empty. The second day I woke up and saw this angel. You can laugh if you want because it sounds stupid, but it was true. He was a CNA then, changing out sheets and emptying bed pans. He was trying to fix my blinds. I was sure he was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen. I must have stared at him for a good five minutes before I decided I had to hear his voice. I cleared my throat, but he didn't turn around. So I asked him what he was doing. He turned around and smiled at me. Rick doesn't usually smile with his mouth open because he has a little gap between his front teeth that he's self-conscious about and won't get fixed because he hates the dentist. But he did that time. He was beautiful. Sounds funny to call a man who is 6'7" and almost three hundred pounds beautiful, but to me he was. And he has been my angel. That man has made me believe in myself, believe that I can be better than the shit that I did. He told me no the first ten times I asked him out. People still ask how we have sex."

  Candy smiled.

  "I tell them it's none of their business. It can get interesting though. Now I know I've probably blabbed to you enough and you're probably tired of hearing my voice, but let me tell you one last thing about Rick before I get into the shit about Gabe. There are two types of men. A man that would hit a woman and a man that never would. You can disagree because there's got to be a gray area, but let me tell you my thoughts. My Rick is a man that would never hit a woman. We've been in plenty of screaming matches, most of them I'll admit have probably been my fault. But never once have I been scared of him. He's close to three times my weight and almost a foot and a half taller than me, but he wouldn't ever hurt me. He couldn't live with himself. He can't even stand to hit another man. He broke a guy's nose once and he felt so bad about it. This guy deserved it. He'd kicked him out of the bar because he was being rowdy, starting fights, had tried to feel up some other dude's wife. This guy waited outside for Rick. He was drunker than shit, but he thought he was going to be smart. He had a bat, and all kinds of other dirty little coward’s tricks. Rick says he pulled his punch, and he probably did," Candy smiled again.

  "But this guy had been raggin' on him half the night and they'd been in the parking lot for another fifteen minutes or so, so maybe he didn't pull his punch as much as he said he did. A man can only take so much. But anyway. Gabe falls into the other category. He may not have hit a woman yet, and he may not, but it's still in there, waiting to come out. Sorry, one last story. You hear about Tandra yet?"

  Ami nodded.

  "Well, that night that Gabe walked in on Andy smackin’ her around, and this is coming straight from her mouth, okay? Andy was cocky and asked Gabe if he wanted to join in. Tandra was thinking that Gabe's gonna take Andy out so she sat up. But she said he paused a second too long, got this look that flashed through his eyes before he ended up beatin’ Andy's sorry ass. That he was a little rougher than usual when they had sex that night. But it's not just that. Gabe has got a lot of rage pent up inside. He came from a poor family and his wife's family is rolling in dough. He may say that he doesn't care if Leslie fucks around but he does. I think what he does with the girls that he hires is partly to get back at Leslie and partly to prove that he's the man, that he can keep some poor girl under his thumb. So that brings me to me and Gabe. Rick doesn't know because if he did, it would be the end of Gabe and Rick couldn't live with that. I had only been working here about a week. Rick and I were fighting like crazy. I had taken off my engagement ring and lost it and he flipped out. I can't blame him but it pissed me off at the time. I'm stubborn; I'm a fighter at heart. Finally it got to be too much and Rick said he was going to move out. I was mad but deep down I was really scared of losing him. He said he still wanted to be together, but I wasn't listening. I happened to hear some dumb ass say something that night about him flirting with one of his teachers at school. That's not Rick and I know it but it still pissed me off. That man is completely oblivious to the fact that women find him attractive. Eric was still working nights then so I was closing with him. He begged me to let him go early because he had a date. I let him go. I wanted to be alone anyway. I'm almost done when Gabe walks in. He asked me where Eric was. I lied and said he felt sick. Gabe laughed. He knows Eric. He asked me if I was okay. I said yeah, I just wanted to get home even though I knew Rick probably wouldn't be there. He gets this look in his eyes and asks me if I want a drink. I tell him no, but then he tells me there's something he wants to talk to me about. I thought I was getting fired. So I said what the hell. Now what happened between me and Gabe wasn't rape, not exactly. We both got pretty drunk and I may have been the one that made the first move. I didn't tell him to stop until about halfway through. He did but the look he gave me made me sick to my stomach. It was like he was telling me that he may not have had me all the way that time, but he would have me whenever he wanted from then on. I wanted to quit. I must have taken three showers that night and I was actually glad that Rick wasn't home. I couldn't look at Gabe. I could barely stand to look at myself in the mirror. I felt so dirty. And he wanted me to feel dirty. He gave me a dollar raise and my paycheck was $500 more than it should have been. I didn't say anything. I was looking for another job, practically begging Rick to come home. Gabe was calling me all hours of the night. He'd sit outside our house for hours. It was a week and a half later when Rick came home. Gabe stopped calling, quit coming by. Now you'd think it never happened. But it did. I don't know exactly what happened between you and Gabe, but I don't blame you for wanting to be out of this place. I'm counting the days girl. Won't break my heart none if the doctor says I need to quit early for the sake of the baby."

  Ami didn't have time to respond. There were several people coming in the door and she and Candy were suddenly swamped again. It was that way until the end of the shift. When they were finished with the clean-up, Gabe walked in.

  Candy looked at her. "I'll stay if you want."

  "It's okay. Thank you. I'm gonna miss working with you."

  "You, too. You'll come to the wedding and my baby shower won't you?"

  "Of course."

  Candy gave Gabe a hard look. "Are you sure you’re okay hon?"

  "Yeah." She'd already seen Nick outside waiting for her.

  "Okay. Night Ami. Goodnight Gabe." She said his name as if it were a dirty word.

  He smiled at her. "Goodnight Candice."

  Candy walked out. Gabe's smile faded. "Ami."

  "Yes?"

  "Shall we settle your check?"

  "There’s no way I’m going back to your office with you Gabe."

  Gabe laughed. "Please Ami. It's not as if I'd rape you."

  "Bring it out to me. Better yet, don’t bother to pay me at all. I’m going to leave now. Nick is waiting."

  "He looks so adorable trailing after you like a lost puppy."

  "Shut up. I'm going to go now Gabe."

  She moved towards the door. He started to reach for her arm and she said "Don't touch me Gabe. I can scream pretty loud."

  "I only like to hear women scream when they’re screaming out my name Ami.”

  "You're disgusting. I'm leaving."

  "You're only defensive because you know you want what only I can give you."

  "Dream on Gabe. I don’t want your money. Taking it makes me feel dirty."

  He sighed. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

  She was tempted to leave, but instead stood there, tapping her foot impatiently.

  He was back a minute later with an envelope stuffed full of cash. "There you are. You know that all you have to do is call and I'll be there."

  "Fuck off," she muttered, her hand on the door. He laughed.

  She slammed the door behind her, heart beating fast. She had a feeling that what she was going to do might piss Nick off almost as much as she hoped it would piss Gabe off.

  Nick was
leaning against his car. "Hi," he said.

  "Hi." She stepped in front of him and practically shoved him back against the side of his car.

  "Ami, what are you doing?"

  “Kiss me Nick. Please.”

  He started to pull away from her. She said “He’s coming. Just do it Nick. Don’t make me beg you.”

  She pressed her lips against his. His response was lukewarm at first, but once she slipped her tongue into his mouth, he warmed up quickly. She slipped her arms around his waist and pressed her body against him. She was breathless, and leaned her head against his chest when she pulled away several minutes later.

  “He’s standing there watching us,” Nick murmured into her ear.

  “Do you want to get into the backseat?”

  Nick snorted. “No way. Besides, I heard that some girl that used to work here talked her boyfriend into doing it in front of him in the parking lot a few years ago and he stole her keys right out of the ignition. She used to live in your apartment I think.”

  “That’s just weird Nick.”

  “Yeah.”

  "He's sick."

  "Yeah, and you’re contributing by shoving your tongue down my throat in front of him.”

  Ami sighed. “I want him to go away Nick.”

  “I know. Lock your doors. I’ll follow you home.”

  Once at the apartment, he took her hand and they went up the stairs together. Before they went inside, they checked to make sure Gabe hadn't followed. There was no sign of him, no headlights across the street or elsewhere, so they went inside and locked the door behind them.

  "It might not be a bad idea for you to stay with me, at least for a while,” Nick said.

  "I'm not going to run away. That's letting him win." She lit a cigarette, sitting back on the couch.

  “Honey, you have a son. I’m afraid of what Gabe will do to you. Yes, he had a lot of women but even Angela thinks that you’re different somehow.”

  “I don’t want to think about this anymore Nick. I finally got out of my nightmare with Corin and stepped straight into another one. I want a normal life. I want to be a mother to my son. I can’t deal with this shit anymore.”