The Woman I Love: Book One (The Woman I Love Series 1)

by G S Binkley

  “Lacy!” David said just short of a shout. “We need to talk. Now.” Casting a hateful look to Gage, he added. “Alone.”

  “David.” Lacy calmly said as her daughter carefully watched the interaction between her mother and father. “Sit down and have some breakfast first. Then we’ll talk.” The sarcastic twist Lacy spun on her last word sent an odd shiver through him.

  After breakfast, David determined to recapture domination of his family situation that was spiraling out of control since the break of dawn. He coughed then politely asked. “Gage, is it? I’d like to talk to my family alone. That is, if you don’t mind.” The caustic tone cut sharp, but no one was within striking distance.

  Gage remained steadfast as Lacy informed her, for the moment, husband. “Gage isn’t going anywhere. Unless she wants to. This is her cabin.”

  “What do you mean? Her cabin?” David inquired, holding the razor sharp edge to his voice in check.

  “Somebody broke into our cabin and we’ve been staying here with Gage. She tells stories you know.” Dani supplied, finishing her last bite of food.

  “Stories?” Derek happily clapped his hands.

  “Later.” Gage picked him up and sat Derek on her lap.

  David glared at his wife. “Mind telling me what’s been going on?”

  Picking up her plate, Lacy stood. “Dani, you go with Gage and Derek, I’d like to talk with your father alone.” She nudged Dani up off the chair. “Now, go on.” Lacy nodded to Gage adding a smile that said ‘everything would be alright’.

  With both kids in tow, Gage walked outside, heading to the boathouse. Having looked back only twice, Gage hoped Lacy would be okay in handling the delicate situation with her husband. Uncertain of the influence David had over his wife, Gage was deeply concerned what the outcome of their talk may yield. Gage discovered that Lacy had a very trusting nature and generally was willing to go along with things, sometimes just to placate the person or the situation and not make waves. Gage had no idea how deeply ingrained in Lacy this had become due to her husband’s subtle manipulating domination.

  Turning to David, Lacy gathered her strength. Generally, she didn’t like confrontations, steering clear of them at all costs. “David.” Lacy started to explain.

  “No. First, you explain to me why you didn’t inform me of the break in and why you’re staying here at …. her cabin. And,” Slamming his fist on the table, he shouted. “Just who the fuck is she anyway?”

  Like a picture frozen in time, Lacy remained still. David fumed, stalked across the floor then waited for some sort of explanation. Finally, she asked. “Have you calmed down yet?”

  With controlled anger, he sat. “Go ahead.” He said through clenched teeth.

  “I did call you. The machine picked up. As a matter of fact, I haven’t been able to reach you at all. Been busy?” The sharp sarcastic tone edged from her voice did not go unnoticed by David. “And yesterday when you avoided Dani’s question about going to the fair, I knew you had a change of plans in mind. I didn’t want you to use the break in as an excuse to modify our plans.”

  He started to protest, but she cut him off. “Don’t even deny it. I’ve known you too long. It’s your usual style. We make plans with the family and something always….always comes up.”

  “That’s not true, babe. Besides, what do you want me to do? Just forget about work.”

  “David, what was I wearing when you showed up yesterday?”

  “What?” Dumbfounded, David looked at her.

  “It’s a simple question. What was I wearing?”

  “I… clothes.” David didn’t have a clue as usual. “Hell, babe, I don’t know… jeans, I think. What does this have to do with anything?”

  “Apparently nothing.” Lacy said, surprisingly calm. “I realized, just recently, I’ve become an…. ornament in your life. And our marriage, well, let’s just say, it’s a…. was a deal sweetener.” Fueled by finding the divorce papers the evening before which hit her like a shock of icy cold water, Lacy took stock of her marriage with David and what it had become. The cold hard reality of it blew through her like a howling whip of shivering wind. The whirlpool of emotions froze solid and the whole comprehension of their relationship would take time to thaw.

  “You’ve lost me completely.”

  “No, you’ve lost me.” She corrected him.

  “What?” Confusion reigned heavily in his mind.

  She handed him the divorce papers. “I’ve signed them.” Turning on him with a predatory glare, Lacy said with steel affirmation. “I get the kids.”

  Shocked, he fought to formulate words of protest.

  Raising her hand, Lacy stopped him cold. “One, you didn’t want Derek. Remember your attempts at getting me to get an abortion. The show must go on you said. Two, you weren’t involved with them anyway. Work always came first and, three, I don’t think you’ll have time, not now, with your new girlfriend.”

  “Come again.” How the hell could she know?

  “Hayston Rawlings. My ever loyal co-star and even more supposed loyal husband in a clandestine tryst.” Lacy shook her head in mock shame.

  It was like a stun gun had slapped him in the face. She couldn’t know anything. I’ve been so careful and she’s always believed me before.

  Seeing his bewilderment, she filled him in. “I overheard you’re conversation last night. The rest was easy.” She smiled sweetly. “You might want to tell the truth. Was it a deal you just couldn’t refuse? And it included Hayston instead of me?” Waving her hand, Lacy walked away before he could. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.” Triumph filled her every pore albeit a sad one at that. “And don’t call me babe.”

  ************************

  David, with bag in hand, reluctantly walked the short distance to his car.

  “It’s okay. Go ahead, David. The shoes on the other foot, isn’t it?” Lacy said.

  “I don’t mind telling you I haven’t understood one thing you’ve said since I arrived yesterday.” David retorted snidely.

  “Then let me explain. You’re usually the one that walks out when we’re having a ‘discussion’. How does it feel? You know I loathed that, didn’t you?”

  He opened the car door, tossed in the bag then turned toward Lacy. “Apparently, I’m still the one walking out.” David flashed a smile, syrupy sweet.

  “You don’t get it, do you?” Lacy shook her head, feeling sorry for her husband of ten years.

  Having a hard time understanding his wife’s new attitude, David slid into the car then said. “No, what I don’t get is you.”

  “That’s right you don’t.” A firm voice confirmed. David turned to the origin of that steely voice, meeting cold green eyes. “The kids are inside. In case you wanted to say goodbye.”

  David slammed the door, started the engine and left. Dani stood at the window, gazing out as her father’s car traveled down the road away from her. She hadn’t heard the exchange between her parents, but she was wise enough to deduce that life would never be the same.

  When Lacy and Gage walked back into the cabin, Dani asked. “Are we going back home now?”

  “No, not quite yet.” Lacy answered solemnly.

  Hesitantly, she asked another question, waiting on bated breath for the answer. “When we do, will daddy be there waiting for us?”

  Lacy dropped down next to her daughter, pulling her into a warm, comforting embrace. Dani had her answer in the silence that hung in the air.

  Derek walked up to his mother, tugged on her sleeve and asked. “Jage go with us home?”

  Tears welled in Dani, Lacy and Gage’s eyes, but for different reasons.

  ************************

  Night fell upon the cabin and the solemn mood that blanketed its residents the rest of the day was still held in check. When Lacy mentioned it was bedtime, Dani studiously grabbed her younger brother’s hand and led him to their bedroom to change. Lacy caught up with them in the bathroom as Dani was putting th
e finishing touches to brushing her teeth.

  As she walked out the door, Dani turned right instead of left, taking her into the second bedroom. Lacy followed with Derek on her heels. “Are you sleeping in here tonight?” Lacy asked, wondering why her daughter hadn’t decided to pounce on Gage’s bed as usual.

  Tucking herself in, Dani confirmed. “Yes.” Seeing the surprise on her mother’s face, the young girl continued. “Jeez, I am going to be nine soon.” Her father’s words echoed in Lacy’s thoughts, but were firmly pounding away in the young girl’s mind.

  “I see.” She lifted Derek upon the other twin bed. “Then I guess you’re old enough to watch over your brother tonight.”

  “I am.” The seriousness in her tone for some strange reason caused Derek to giggle.

  Lacy leaned down to kiss her son then did the same to her daughter. “Then I’ll rest easy tonight. Thank you.” She gave her daughter a confident wink.

  Gage finished putting up some games that had occupied their subdued time for part of the evening. She watched Lacy amble across the room into the kitchen, drawing a glass of water. “You okay?”

  Finishing her water, Lacy replaced the glass. Wandering back into the living room, she finally slipped down on the couch. Inhaling deeply, she let the chest full of air escape slowly in a deep sigh. “It’s just been a trying day.”

  “Want to talk about it?” Gage checked the doors, ensuring they were locked, but kept a careful eye on the quiet star.

  “Maybe later.” The laconic answer left more questions begging to be answered, hanging heavily in the air.

  “You going to bed then?” Gage was running out of things to say hoping to jumpstart Lacy into unleashing the foreboding feelings welling up inside.

  “I think I’ll just read some.” Lacy threw a quick glance to the writer. “Would you mind if I read one of your stories?”

  Hesitant, Gage nodded. “Sure.” She retrieved her latest screenplay from her leather satchel. Handing it to Lacy, the writer then turned, walking to the bedroom, she whispered. “Goodnight.”

  Lacy knew Gage wanted to talk and the irony was that it was the exact same thing she wanted, but found the irresistible urge to do that beyond her capabilities in that moment.

  Instead of finding sleep, Gage called Mark Calico, her friend and partner. “Mark, hey, did I wake you up?”

  “And if you did, would it really matter?” Mark’s sleepy voice offered an attempt at brevity.

  Silent for a moment, Gage sighed. “Sorry.”

  “No, I’m sorry. I was just kidding.” Mark recognized his friend’s troubled state easily now. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing really. Hey, what did you say the other day about my book?”

  Taking a moment to merge onto the same thought track as his friend, Mark recounted their conversation. “It hit the top ten. Great news, huh?”

  A small chuckle escaped. “I wonder what I was thinking when you told me that. It sure didn’t sink in.”

  “I believe you were in hot pursuit of my arch enemy. The wasp.” Mark laughed. “How’d that turn out?”

  “Don’t ask.”

  “Okay, what can I ask then?” Mark was concerned now.

  “It’s what I want to ask of you.”

  “Anything.” Mark assured her.

  “Do you have any contacts in Hollywood? I know you do. But I’m talking about people you could find out information from on the QT.” Gage asked.

  “What do you want to know?” As always, she knew her good friend would come through for her.

  As Gage hung up the phone, Lacy cleared her throat. “Hi.”

  “You finished already?” Gage asked surprised.

  “No.”

  “Please don’t tell me it was boring or, heaven forbid, you didn’t like it.” Gage smiled, indicating she was joking.

  “Can I come in?” Seeing Gage nod, Lacy walked in, not stopping until she slipped into bed along side the writer. “I didn’t even get started. Too much on my mind.”

  “Can I help?”

  Lacy spent a few moments regaling Gage with her life story zeroing in on her relationship with David over the years along with snippets about Hayston Rawlings and how David referred to her as ‘babe’. Sarcasm dripped like venomous poison as she said that last word.

  “You don’t like to be called ‘babe’?” Gage asked, making a mental note for later.

  “I hate it.” Disgust flashed across her face. “But when you love....care about someone, I don’t know, it seems to fade into the background. He meant it as an endearment.”

  Another thing that bothered Lacy was the fact that David didn’t seem at all concerned about her upcoming pairing with Koda Kannon. Aware of Koda’s flirtatious ways, David showed no sign of jealousy. His only response was his humongous ego roaring loudly, unconcerned that Lacy would even be tempted by anyone else when compared to him. Lacy then wondered how the writer would feel if faced with the same situation. “Gage, if you cared for someone and, let’s say, the person you loved was doing a movie. And, well, the….there was a love scene and the other person was a real charmer always getting their co-star to fall for them. Well, how would you feel about that?” She peered deeply into the writer’s thoughtful green eyes.

  “You mean, the woman I love…..” Lacy took serious note of Gage’s gender reference. “Was being charmed by an irresistible Casanova. Would I be jealous? Most definitely…. yes.”

  “So you’d be jealous.” She recounted more to herself.

  A wide smile swept over Gage’s face. “I don’t have green eyes for nothing.”

  “What would you do?” Lacy asked tentatively.

  She shrugged. “It’s her decision. Doesn’t mean I’d have to like it though.” Gage turned. “Of course, I would trust her with our love. With all my heart.” She finished, gazing into the star’s sparkling eyes.

  Suspecting Gage’s feelings toward her ran parallel as her own feelings toward the writer, Lacy quizzed. “What was I wearing the first day we met?”

  Surprised by the question, Gage offered a cavalier response. “Clothes.” Quick to see it was not the answer Lacy was looking for, Gage turned resolute. “Let’s see, jeans, light blue and a deep burgundy tank top…” That was so tight I could… Gage cleared her throat. “…tennis shoes…..” A smile rose on her face in remembrance, temporarily forgetting that the woman lying next to her was the same woman she was now intimately describing. “Blue eyes, very blue….beautiful blue eyes that reigned over a brilliant smile.” Out of the side of her eyes, Gage saw that same brilliant smile shining back at her. Uh oh! Gage shifted alarmed green eyes back and forth waiting for the bomb to explode at her unexpected revelation.

  “Thank you.” With those words, Lacy scooted closer, shut her eyes and fell asleep. Then and only then did Gage let out a breath she knew she was holding.

  Chapter Sixteen

  With the quick turnaround regarding her father’s stay, Dani sunk into a bleak depression. Breakfast came and went only to be met by a silent eight year old. She refused any and all suggestions made by her mother. Lunch started out the same way as the early morning meal had and Lacy couldn’t take the unbearable stillness any longer. “Gage, I was thinking….. today might be a good day to explore that cave. What do you think?”

  The unexpected suggestion jumpstarted the lifeless attitude Dani wore all day, perking up now, a slow smile crept across her face.

  “We could do that. What do you say Dani?” Gage asked.

  Not one to waste time when on the verge of getting want she’d craved for days, Dani jumped up ready to go. With her constant companion strung around her neck, Dani blew it loudly. “Let’s go.”

  This triggered Derek. “Yo-yo. Want yo-yo.” He hopped down from his chair, wobbled a bit as he gained his balance, searching for his favorite toy. He finally pulled it from the depths of the couch and strung it around his neck. Derek insisted that his yo-yo have a lanyard just like his sister’s whistle. Happy now, he
joined his sister who was waiting patiently at the door.

  “It’s unanimous then.” Lacy concluded. “Let me get some extra clothes. As I remember, it can get pretty damp inside that cave.” Lacy dreaded and regaled in her decision to explore the cave. On the one hand, her daughter’s depression did a one-eighty flip, but on the other, an unpleasant buried memory was bound to make its presence known.

  Walking up to the two would be explorers Gage opened the door. “And we need to get a few things ourselves.” The three marched to the boathouse, retrieving two flashlights, matches, a universal tool, which included a small knife and some rope.

  “What’s the rope for?” Dani questioned.

  “You never know.” Her vague answer seemed to appease the young girl who couldn’t care less as to why they would need some rope. “You remember the knots I showed you. Right?”

  “Yep, sure do.” Dani stated as her mother approach them. “I’ll lead.” The self-appointed captain marched off confidently.

  “Uh, hmmm. Dani?” Lacy caught the captain’s attention, pointing. “It’s this way.”

  Without missing a step, Dani did an about face leading her motley crew onward.

  ************************

  The mouth of the cave was wide and for the first fifty feet or so the ambient light illuminated it. Lacy delegated Gage to partner up with her son especially since he refused to leave her side while she glued herself to her overzealous daughter. “Let’s all stay together.”

  This did not sit well with Dani who had lofty ideas of trekking out on her own. “But I have my whistle in case…. you get lost.”

  “And just what good would your whistle do me if I got lost?” Lacy asked.

  “If you got lost, I would just blow my whistle and you could head back toward it. Jeez.” Grown ups! Adamantly sure that she would not be the one to lose her way; Dani cocked an eyebrow identical to the one her mother wore. The short battle of wills raged until Dani relented. I’ll let her have the glory. “Fine, stay close behind me.” She trotted off deeper in the cave.

  When the cave split, Lacy allowed her daughter to investigate the bigger tunnel that veered off to the right, staunchly refusing to entertain the idea of exploring the small tunnel which, of course, was much more enticing to Dani. Lacy nervously searched her bag for the extra flashlight and batteries, having found them she sighed in reassurance.