Complicated Ties (The Ties Trilogy (A Contemporary Erotic Romance Novel))

by J. A. Roberts-Parkes

  “Miss, there's no access to this road by car, you’ll have to walk” his look was officious

  “What happened? ...”, I knew the question was unavoidable

  “Some kid on a dirt bike collided with a bus, emergency services are dealing with it”, he walked back behind the cordon and continued with his duties.

  I parked my 177 outside a dry cleaner, and walked the hill that Mike’s house stood on. A colonial two story building that had recently looked like it had been painted, with one of those white fences surrounding a finely cut lawn, Mike’s station wagon parked on the drive with a red bicycle leant against it.

  I could see little faces peering out of a window and then heard what sounded like a stampede came rushing out the front door, and two kids grabbed both my legs and hugged me.

  “Aunt Maddie”, they both chimed with excitement.

  “Hello James, John”, I grabbed them both and hugged them both. They then dragged me into the spacious house with its oak panelling and waxed floors.

  Johns little voice piped up as he peered up at me,

  “Aunty, can we stay at yours soon, I want to play my bike on your woods”, his face full of a beaming smile.

  “Does John want to come too?” I asked knowing the answer already.

  “Yeah me too Aunty...I want to play my bike too”, Mike and Megan came into view from the kitchen, they both hugged me and we sat in the front room.

  “Mike, I’m going to see Dad next month.. If the kids want to come that's ok”,

  “New Zealand?” he looked puzzled, “Yeah New Zealand” I told him as I wondered where Lucy was.

  “Where’s Lucy?” I asked looking at James pushing his toy car along the floor

  “Lucy’s at Playgroup...” Megan replied handing me a coffee, and then taking a seat on the couch.

  “So Mike.. Kids...Dad...New Zealand?”

  “If the kids want to go see Grandad?” before he had time to finish they both ran up and sat on my lap.

  “Well you're all invited if you can get time off work...” Mike smiled at me and winked.

  “I’ll organize time off, you want to stay for lunch?” he already knew my answer as we walked into the kitchen.

  “Megan’s made her famous Babouska, and there's plenty to go around” we all sat around the dining table as Megan brought out the food, and Mike began to dish it out.

  Chapter Eleven

  We sat and talked about Dad, about Mike’s recent bust involving a crack den and what we would do when we go to Auckland.

  “So what you have been upto Mad?”, Mike asked as he began to eat

  “Just sorting out my building work Mike, the new vets” I looked at him and started to pick at my food.

  “When do you think you’ll have it up and running?”, Megan came back into the room with a jug of ice tea.

  “I’ve got some contractor coming out to have a look and work out the measurements on later today”,

  “I’ll have to take a look at when it’s finished”,

  “Yeah, good idea”, I picked up my fork and took a mouthful of food.

  “So you don’t mind heading to New Zealand to see Dad?”,

  “No sis, It will be good to see him, haven’t seen him in a while and plus it will give us and the kids a chance to get away from it all”, Mike poured me a glass of ice tea

  “Mike I’m going to have to make a move, I’ll let you know the dates of when we're going to see Dad”,

  “Bye Aunty...see you soon” James said, hugging my leg.

  Mike and Megan waved me off as I returned to my car, the street empty of the accident that occurred earlier.

  Driving along the freeway I could swear I was being followed, but put the thought out of my head as I approached the turnoff that led to my house.

  Pulling into my drive I spotted a white GMC van with two men standing having a conversation and pointing to the woods. Daniel was there with man dressed a plaid shirt and scruffy looking jeans, ‘Shit what's Daniel doing here...he said only the contractor was coming’

  Daniel spotted me and headed my way, but Ant had appeared from nowhere and opened the door to my 177,

  “Cheers love,” Ant’s hand pulling me out the low seat and Daniel interrupted us,

  “Miss White, this is Edward Gregg,”, as he came towards us, his hand outstretched

  “Mr Gregg, pleasure to meet you”, I shook his hand, it felt warm and clammy.

  “How long have you been waiting then?”,

  “Not long Miss White,” Edward’s reply seemed friendly enough, although I could see the scowl begin to form on Daniel’s face, his jealousy showing. ‘I swear he can’t get enough of me’

  “Would you like to follow me, I’ll fix you both a drink if you fancy it,”. Daniel and Edward followed me into the house as I heard Ant start the engine of the 177 and pulled it around to my four car garage that was at the side of the house.

  “I hope you gentleman are not afraid of dogs, they don’t bite unless I tell them too, so be good boys would you”, I could tell that my comment had put Edward on edge but Daniel seemed nonchalant at it.

  As we stepped into the hall, the dogs came bounding around the corner with Alice in tow,

  “Miss Maddie, Good afternoon,”, she looked flustered as she led the dogs into the orangery.

  “What would like to drink Gentlemen?”, I asked as I moved towards the bar, with both of them following me into the dining room. The atmosphere was calm as they sat down at the table.

  “Whiskey Sour, please Miss White”, came Edward’s voice with him peering over at me, I could swear he was checking me out. If Daniel was jealous at the fact, then he didn’t show it, although I would of expected him to.

  “Coke with absolutely no alcohol in it”, came Daniels sly but what he thought to be funny reply. I made the drinks and joined them at the table, Alice came through to the dining room, she appeared to be agitated.

  “Miss Maddie, I need your help with Maizie”,

  “What’s the problem Alice?” the look on my face revealing my anxiety

  “One of the puppies is having trouble breathing, and Maizie is panicking”,

  “Alice would you keep these Gentlemen company and telephone Lisha to get her butt here with her Emergency Bag, I’ll be in the utility room. Oh get me some clean towels and fill one of those hot water bottles from the cupboard next to the bathroom.”, Alice moved to the cupboard and pulled out several cotton towels and an empty hot water bottle. She ran through the dining room with Daniel and Edward wondering what was happening, I could hear her grab the phone and dial Lisha’s number. The one sided conversation with Alice asking Lisha to get her butt here.

  “Miss Maddie, Lisha is on her way”, as she came into the utility room with a pile of towels and a full hot water bottle.

  I could hear Daniel and Edward come into the room, their faces looking concerned.

  “What’s going on Miss White”,

  “Daniel, I need you to go back into the dining room, I’ve got a distressed puppy and Maizie is getting too excited”, Daniel and Edward moved back into the dining room, with Daniel acting like he had just been told off, complete with his tail between his legs.

  “Alice, take Maizie out into the yard, find out how long Lisha’s going to be”, I told her while I placed the distressed puppy onto the towels with the water bottle, ‘Trust him to be the runt of the litter’, it was all I could do until Lisha arrived.

  I returned to the dining room where Alice was conversing with Daniel and Edward, I could see she was overly flirting with them, Edward spotted me coming in.

  “Everything ok,” he asked looking slightly concerned,

  “Drink Miss White?”, with Edward asking me as I sat down next to him.

  Daniel looked at me and gave me an odd look, I knew he was getting jealous at the fact that Edward was talking to me in a particular way.

  “So..what was going on with the dogs...nothing major I hope?”, Daniels concern was genuine but
the hint of jealousy was still in his question.

  “Maizie’s a surrogate...”, before I had finished speaking I heard the front door bash open and the familiar sound of Lishas sneakers squeaking across the floor at high speed. She came flying into the dining room nearly knocking Daniel over.

  “Where’s the emergency?”, she asked looking dishevelled and panicky

  “Utility room, puppy having problems breathing, in and out of consciousness..”

  We both ran into the utility room, and attached a nasal canula, the oxygen bringing her around slowly. Lisha attached an I.V subcutaneously in the scruff of the puppy’s skin of the shoulder blade to give the puppy the needed hydration. We watched as she came around, her head rising at us.

  “Well that was a close one Lish.”

  “Your telling me,” She looked at the puppy who was fully conscious and it began to stand up.

  “Thanks for coming so quickly, I appreciate it”, moving towards the door I turned around.

  “Lisha, keep an eye on her, I’ve got some business to conclude, I don’t want Alice ending up in some sticky situation.”, Lisha laughed at my comment.

  “Alice in a sticky situation?”.

  “Never mind Lish”.

  I returned to the dining room where Daniel and Edward were laughing at something Alice had said, she saw me and stood up.

  “Miss Maddie, will there be anything else?”, she asked looking surprised that I had caught her making both men laugh.”.

  “Go and see if Lisha needs any help Alice, I’ll speak to you later”,

  “Yes Miss Maddie”, I watched her walk to where Lisha was, her tight black dress revealing her visible panty line and her long slender legs underneath her black tights. No wonder both men kept staring at her, wondering what they were thinking. If I knew Daniel it would of involved copious amounts of sex, followed by more sex.

  “Miss White, drink this...it will make you feel better”, Daniel handed me a shot glass that smelt of vodka, his eyes looking at mine.

  “Everything ok?,” he said, guiding me to the couch. I sat down and downed the vodka.

  “Yeah, Lisha the miracle worker just saved my ass, if you would excuse me both, I’m going to get changed into something more comfortable”, I told them as I stood up and headed into the hallway, pausing outside my bedroom door. I breathed deeply and pushed the door open. The room had been cleaned recently by Alice, the smell of lilies filling my nose and clothes back in their respective drawers and cupboards.

  I made my way into the bathroom to freshen and up and compose myself, my clothes ending up in a pile on the rug. I heard a noise in my room, ‘that sounds like the door’, I thought I moved towards it and carefully pulled back the bathroom door.

  I saw Daniel standing in the middle of my room, it felt like he had invaded a part of my private space.

  “What the fuck are you doing in here?, my anger starting to boil as I confronted him. “If you need the restroom it’s down the hall, not in here!”. Daniel looked taken back, his face looking shocked.

  “I wanted to get you on your own, to have a chat with you...I wanted to clear up what happened this morning..”, Daniel sat on my bed without being asked, I remained standing in my underwear with no attempts to cover myself.

  “I thought it would be a good idea and you wouldn’t mind me coming in here to chat with you”, Daniel continued to look at me and my semi nakedness.

  “Of course I mind, I’m practically naked, please Daniel it’s not a good idea for you to be in here, I don’t want people gossiping, let me get dressed first and I’ll chat to you about business and business only”, I opened the door to the bedroom and let him out, the door closing quietly behind him.

  In the quiet confines of my bathroom I searched for my makeup bag, realizing it was in the bathroom down the hall I opened the door to my bedroom and quietly walked towards the door that led to it. Daniel was standing outside the bathroom, looking at one of my paintings on the wall, I watched him walk in and followed him.

  Reaching for my makeup, Daniel was at the sink washing his hands, I removed the clear plastic case and moved towards the door, Daniel moved from the sink and stood in front of the open door.

  “Would you excuse me please?” I said looking directly into his face, with my anger beginning to resurface, ‘This guy doesn’t get the meaning of talking later’, I thought.

  “Are we going to have dinner sometime Miss White, you seem to be avoiding the question...Look I’m going to be honest with you”, “Everytime I think of you and what we did in my office makes me hard”, his honesty direct and to the point.

  “I just want to push you against the sink, pull your knickers to the side and fuck you until you scream with ecstasy...”, I could see Daniel’s face as he told me about what he wanted to do to me. I wanted it as well, but not now.. Not in the house with Edward in earshot.

  “If you stop bugging me I’ll have lunch this Sunday...ok?”, my answer seemed to please Daniel.

  “Thank you, I’ll pick you up at 6, and wear something sexy...”. His voice sounding demanding.

  Beginning to put my makeup on and pull on the pink and black Tracksuit that lay on a chair besides the shower, Daniel moved towards the door and I followed him shortly after, attempting to avoid the obvious looks from Edward, as I approached the dining room I could hear their conversation about women that Edward had been with the previous night.

  “Miss White...shall we have a look around your estate now”, Edward asked as he came towards me with a blue clipboard and a laser measuring tape.

  “Sure Mr Gregg, this way please”, I led Edward and Daniel out of the front door and around to where I wanted my veterinarian practice to stand and my new home which would stand opposite.

  Edward began to take notes and measure the plot, his concentration never faltering as Alice went about her duties as she passed us.

  “Looks about right Miss White, what do you think Daniel?”, his question directed at Daniel who was stroking one of my dogs who had appeared from the orangery.

  “Well...if Edward has everything he needs we’ll be heading out...I have that meeting with Larsen and Toubro at 8 and you know how they like to be early”, he said as he began his walk towards the white van.

  “Miss White, is there any chance of seeing one of the puppies, my daughter would positively freak out if I got her one for her seventh birthday”,

  “Yeah I’ll let Daniel know when you can come around.. oh and thanks for doing this for me.. have a safe trip”, I said, with Edward moving towards his van. I watched him get in and start the engine, spluttering into life. The van moved towards the gates as they opened and he pulled out on the main road.

  Chapter Twelve

  As I returned to my house as Alice was in the kitchen making coffee, and the television was playing some re-run of Oprah. I heard Lisha come in looking for me,

  “Oops, I forgot you were still here...sorry love..”, Lisha smiled as she sat down on the sofa and changed channel.

  “It’s ok...I’m not that unforgettable..oh that puppy is stable now and feeding properly”, I could see Lisha looked like she needed a drink, heading for my bar I remembered that I had a bottle of Cristal in the fridge.

  “I’m just going to phone my dad, I think I’ll crash here tonight if you don’t mind...”, she said with one of those smiles that you couldn’t say no to.

  “Sure, you're always welcome to stay here so quit asking me all the time Lisha, see if he’ll pop to yours and walk Nelly, you know how he loves that dog to pieces..I swear he had bacon hidden in his pocket, she always following him around with her tail wagging...oh just a quick one, you hungry?”, I could tell I had asked an obvious question as Lisha had pulled a Chinese menu off the coffee table and was waving it in the air like a mad woman.

  “Well that's a silly question to ask isn’t it...hungry?, now that’s funny Mad.”, her face beaming stupidly at me.

  When I had come back to the sofa, Lisha had finished
her conversation with her Dad and was placing the phone back in its cradle. Sitting down next to her I poured the champagne into glasses and handed her the drink,

  “Would your Dad like anything from Ma’s Restaurant?”, asking as Lisha was bringing the glass to her mouth.

  “I think so, I’ll just give him a text and see what he fancies to eat”, Lisha said as she took out her phone and began to send her Dad a message. A few moments later, a melodious tune notified her that her Dad had sent one back.

  “Kung Pao calamari, with special fried rice”, oh I’ll have Sweet and Sour Chicken..”Lisha said drinking her champagne, the bubbles having their desired effect.

  After a brief conversation with Ma’s House, we continued to drink the Cristal.

  “Here’s to big opportunities...”,

  “Yeah big opportunities and ‘big’ men”, I laughed at her comment.

  The food had been ordered and another bottle of Cristal had been opened, the ornate ice bucket keeping it chilled.

  “This kinda reminds me of that party we went to, you know the one Connor’s house party when I awoke in a Dumpster with a hamburger as a pillow”, Lisa laughed at my comment.

  “You mean the one where the guy dressed as Spiderman disappeared upstairs with you”, Lisha pulled out her phone and ran her thumb across the screen. I knew what she was doing, she must of still had the photographs from the night I wanted to forget.

  “Look, it's the aforementioned Spiderman with his tongue down your throat”, Lisha laughed as she continued to show me more and more embarrassing pictures.

  “Please..stop...oh god, what was his name...you know..”, I tried to rack my brains in an attempt to remember who the tongue belonged to.

  “God knows...all I remember he had his hand on your ass half the night, you could totally see his boner”, she couldn’t contain her laughter any longer and in between a mouthful of champagne, spat it all over the coffee table.