When You Least Expect

by Lydia Rowan

  “Of course it is.”

  “Said they would do their investigation and be back in touch,” she said, her eyes taking on a faraway quality. “So I guess, on top of everything else, I’ll just have to wait.”

  He grabbed her hand and kneeled again. “Ariel, there’s nothing to worry about. This is utter crap. Anybody with eyes can see it.”

  “You’re biased, and you’re also not one of the long-standing pillars of the community backed by decades of reputation,” she said.

  She had a point. For as awful as she was, Matilda still wielded her fair share of influence.

  “Matt?” Ariel asked, voice sounding soft and sad and weak.

  He squeezed her hand.

  “If the offer’s still on the table, I’d like to get married,” she said.

  “What?”

  She’d been vehement about not wanting that.

  “I’m sorry to do this to you. It’s not ideal, and I still believe that it’s a mistake, but I can’t risk it. I need all the support and ammunition I can get, and you’ll help.”

  He hadn’t quite understood what she’d meant when she’d rejected his proposal initially, but it was crystal clear now. To hear their union described this way, a utility and not a preference, tore at his heart.

  “Yeah. We can do it tomorrow if you want.”

  She nodded.

  And it was done. He was getting what he’d thought he’d wanted. What he knew he wanted. But the circumstances robbed all but the smallest amount of joy.

  He wrapped her in his arms, pulled her so that she was half on, half off the bed. “We’ll get through this, Ariel. Together.”

  He felt her nod, squeeze his hand tighter, and then wipe her tears with his shirt.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “How about pancakes to celebrate?” Matt asked, glancing back into the rearview mirror.

  “But it’s the afternoon. We can’t eat pancakes in the afternoon, Dr. Matt,” she said as if she spoke the most inviolable truth.

  “I can’t argue with that. So how should we celebrate, Dani-girl?” he asked.

  “Ice cream!”

  Ariel could have guessed Dani’s response and from Matt’s chuckle, he could have as well. “Ice cream it is, kiddo,” he said and then he turned, driving toward the exit that would take them to the strip mall with the ice cream parlor.

  Dani sang a little song about the upcoming treat, and Matt reached across the console and squeezed Ariel’s hand. The one that now bore a thin gold band.

  They had picked it up at the shopping center earlier this morning, the same one where she’d bought a skirt that she’d changed into in the bathroom. By twelve thirty that afternoon, she was officially Mrs. Mathias Poole.

  Over breakfast that morning, she and Matt had explained to Dani what was happening. She’d been ecstatic at the prospect of having her beloved Dr. Matt with her all the time and had even proposed that they get a dog. Matt had looked to be considering it, but Ariel had quickly nixed the idea. They’d also considered telling her about the baby, but ultimately decided against it, not yet wanting to deal with months of unceasing questions.

  All things considered, the first half day of her married life had gone well.

  She was married again, married to Matt. A dream, one that she’d never thought would come true. The circumstances were terrible, but she couldn’t pretend she wasn’t excited about her new life. If Matt felt the same, she couldn’t tell. He was his usual stoic self, but there was comfort in knowing that Matt would be there, would help her through anything. And she’d need him if she was at risk of losing Dani…

  As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, Matt squeezed her hand again, and she let herself take his strength. His hand in hers, solid, warm, much like the man himself, was the touchstone that she needed, a reminder that she wouldn’t have to face this alone.

  When they reached their destination, he parked and then quickly moved to the backseat to unbuckle Dani. With Ariel trailing behind, off they went, her tiny hand in his as they crossed the parking lot, Dani chattering away about ice cream flavors, the two of them together looking so much like father and daughter it made her chest squeeze.

  She entered the ice cream parlor after them and was hit by the sickeningly sweet smell of ice cream that made her stomach lurch in rebellion. She caught Matt’s eye and he nodded. With that bit of permission, she retreated to stand outside while she watched Matt pick up Dani and hold her against the glass while she picked out her flavors.

  The nausea relented and Ariel’s stomach settled. She usually enjoyed the treat as much as Dani, but it would be a while yet if her reaction to one whiff of the ice cream parlor was any indication. She turned away from the window, looking into the shopping-center parking lot. The day was bright, sunny, a perfect one to start her new life. And it struck her then, that was what this was. Whatever the reason behind it, this was the beginning of her and Dani’s and Matt’s new life. And for the first time since yesterday, she felt like she could breathe.

  “Where is my granddaughter?”

  There went the milliseconds of relief she had managed to find.

  But somehow, she said nothing, didn’t even look in Matilda’s direction.

  “I know you heard me. You may be dumb but you’re not deaf. Where is my granddaughter?”

  Ariel cut her eyes at Matilda sharply, and if the way she leaned back was any indication, the pure rage and hate Ariel felt was reflected in her eyes.

  “The whereabouts of my daughter are none of your concern. Have a nice day, Mrs. Mallick,” Ariel said. It was difficult, the words like little daggers across her tongue, but it was preferable to the alternative. So Ariel focused on pushing Matilda away, treating her with the condescending reserve she saved for difficult customers at the shop, determined not to let the woman get under her skin.

  But Matilda was undeterred.

  “If you were less selfish, you would see that I only want what’s best for her. And to be frank, Ariel”—she said her name as if it was some dreaded disease—“you aren’t it. You simply cannot provide Danielle the home environment she needs.”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, Mrs. Mallick. Have a nice day.”

  Her voice was almost robotic, but that was preferable to the explosion that bubbled beneath the surface. Only the knowledge of the fact that Matilda was pushing her, counting on a response, helped her rein it in. And when the door opened and Matt emerged holding Dani’s hand while she clutched the biggest ice cream cone Ariel thought she’d ever seen, she was buoyant with relief.

  “Hey, Granny,” Dani said between licks.

  “Hey, doll. What have you got there?”

  “Ice cream. We’re celebrating.”

  “Celebrating what?”

  “Dr. Matt and Mommy got married. We’re a family now.”

  Dani refocused on her ice cream cone, and Matt approached and wrapped his arm around Ariel while he held Dani’s hand, his heavy arm on her shoulders comforting.

  Ariel hadn’t thought about how she’d tell Matilda, or whether she’d even bother to, but the look on her face as she watched Matt holding Dani’s hand, then moved her gaze up to where his arm rested around Ariel’s shoulders, pausing briefly on Matt’s own thin gold band, which flashed in the sun, before she looked at Ariel’s, was worth the annoyance. She was sick of being the bigger person and was more than happy to give Matilda a slight taste of comeuppance. Matilda looked like she smelled the most foul thing in the universe, but in her eyes there was hurt and surprise.

  Ariel smiled.

  Matilda caused the expression and then looked down the sidewalk. “We’ll talk soon, Danielle. Maybe your mother and her new husband will bring you to church on Sunday.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it,” Ariel said.

  For once, Matilda had nothing to say. Ariel watched, feeling triumphant as she walked away.

  ••••

  “So maybe three scoops was a little much,” Matt said with a d
eep sigh as he lay down that evening.

  “You’ll get the hang of it, rook,” Ariel said, lying next to him.

  He certainly hoped so. After ice cream, he’d spent hours chasing Dani around the yard, and he had aches and pains he hadn’t felt since before he’d gone off active duty. Embarrassing that a kindergartner had beat the crap out of him, but she had.

  “Oh, Dr. Matt’s tired,” Ariel said playfully.

  “He is,” Matt said.

  “How tired?” Ariel asked, placing a hand on his thigh, dangerously close to his instantly burgeoning erection.

  “I’m feeling rejuvenated all of a sudden,” he whispered huskily.

  She moved her hand higher, let it rest on his hardness. “Good to hear.”

  She left her hand there, not pressing down or otherwise increasing the pressure, which made him want her touch more. He’d been so focused on the whirlwind of their marriage, he hadn’t given any thought to their wedding night. But he was ecstatic his wife had more foresight than he did.

  He lay back flat and looked at Ariel, who let her hand meander from his erection, up his torso, and then back down. That faint little smile played on her face as she touched him softly, and at the sight of her face, his heart tugged, and his cock went stone solid.

  When she tugged at his waistband, he lifted his hips enough that she could maneuver his pants down and then lowered them, his fully engorged cock springing free, no longer confined.

  “Ahh,” he moaned when she kissed around the root of his shaft, her lips and warm breath against his sensitized skin making him harden even further.

  As she alternated between kissing him and tracing her tongue along the veins that lined his rod, she gripped him tight and moved her hand, working at his shaft and crown with her hand as she again kissed and licked at his base. She worked him in an unpredictable rhythm, increasing the pressure of her hand, the frequency and depth of her licks and kisses, the precum that dribbled from his slit in a steady stream, easing her path.

  Ariel’s breath fanned against him, and his skin pulled tight, his hips jerking into her touch. When she licked at a thick vein and then sucked at it with her lips, he couldn’t hold back. Her hand still grasping him tightly, he came, his cum bursting from him in a rush, coating her hand and his stomach.

  “That wasn’t so bad for a wedding night, huh?” Ariel said, hand still gripping his shaft.

  “Who said it was over?” he replied.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I should kick your ass, Thornehill,” Matt said that Saturday evening as he walked into the sheriff’s department.

  “You can try, but I’d have to embarrass you and then arrest you.”

  “I’d love you to test that out. You couldn’t give me a heads-up, man? You knew Ariel and I were together.”

  “Come on, Poole. That doesn't matter. You know I can’t reveal that information,” Cyrus said.

  He did, but he couldn’t blast the social worker or Matilda Mallick, so Cyrus would have to do.

  “You know it’s crap. Anyone with eyes and no agenda can see that Ariel loves that child and takes excellent care of her.”

  Cyrus looked at him sympathetically. “Yeah, we can, but you know we have to investigate. Nothing’s coming of it, so just let Matilda blow off her steam and she’ll settle down.”

  Matt knew his friend hadn’t said the name on accident, and Matt took it as an offer of appeasement.

  “I heard congratulations are in order,” he said a moment later.

  “They are, but it sucks that Matilda and her gang—”

  Matt cut off short, remembering that Cyrus’s mother was a member of said gang.

  “Uh-huh,” the other man said. “Mason’s?”

  “Rain check. I have to grab a few things before I head home.”

  Cyrus nodded, and it occurred to Matt that he wasn’t thinking of his house when he said home. He was headed there to pick up a few things, but knew he wouldn’t be at peace until he was back with Ariel and Dani.

  ••••

  A little over a month after the wedding, things had calmed so much that Ariel was finally starting to believe things would be okay. Dani had mentioned missing her grandparents, and she and Matt had talked about trying to set things straight with Matilda so the girl wouldn’t have to suffer. But for the most part, things had gone smoothly, so much so that she missed him when he was not around, and especially those evenings when he manned the hotline overnight. Still, Ariel was happier than she’d been in years.

  But when her doorbell chimed, she had the sneaking feeling that the comfort they had found was short-lived. She didn’t recognize the person standing on the porch but she opened the door anyway.

  “Ariel Poole?” the man said.

  She nodded, and he shoved a piece of paper into her hands. “You have been served,” he said, and then he scurried away.

  “Served…?”

  Ariel opened the paper and read. The formal-looking document with its legalistic wording had her heart pounding into hyperdrive.

  The District Court of Thornehill Springs County, In re. D.M.

  The paper, one she now realized was a legal complaint, fluttered out of her hand. How was this even possible? She didn’t know, but it seemed Ariel had relaxed too soon and that Matilda Mallick really did have sway. Because she was suing Ariel for custody of Dani.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Ariel practically shook with rage. She’d thought Matilda had done her worst, but she had been mistaken, and the thought that that woman had first had the nerve to claim that she was unfit and was now trying to take her daughter from her blinded her to anything but her outrage.

  As usual, the Mallicks’ driveway was full, but Ariel didn’t give a crap if the president and first lady were inside, they were going to handle this right now.

  Ariel ran up the driveway, her now gently rounded stomach not deterring her in the least, and flung open the front door without bothering to knock. The sound of laughter and animated conversation hit her, only stoking her rage.

  She looked at the curio cabinet, barely resisting the impulse to tip it over. Then she glanced down at the shoes next to the doorway and then the little basket with courtesy socks that Matilda kept next to the front door. Tried to imagine her rambunctious daughter living in this stifling environment, surrounded by porcelain and doilies and things she couldn’t touch.

  Tried to imagine hard her daughter living anywhere but with her and Matt.

  Her heart stopped, her blood turning cold.

  “Matilda!” she screamed.

  The voices quieted to a low murmur, and Ariel laughed as she pictured the expressions on the women’s faces. She sounded unhinged and in truth she was.

  “Ariel! I know you didn’t come in here uninvited and I know you aren’t yelling at me.” Matilda stomped toward Ariel, body rigid, face twisted at the grave offense.

  “I did, I am, and I’m going to stay until we hash this out. We can do it here in front of everyone, or we can take this somewhere private. But we will be having this conversation, Matilda. This nonsense has to stop,” Ariel said.

  “Well, we agree on something. And it’s just this type of behavior that has me concerned for my granddaughter. You can’t control yourself, so how are you going to set an example for her?”

  Ariel thought her head was going to explode. Control herself? Control herself!

  “You have to be…” She trailed off when she caught Matilda’s eyes, saw how deeply the woman believed what she was spewing.

  It felt like she was someone else, was somewhere else, watching the scene unfold as if it were a movie. And though it was her own body moving, she was surprised at the sight of her hand reaching out, pushing at the curio cabinet filled with the porcelain tea sets that Dani loved so much, pushing it until it fell. It hit the hardwood floor with a resounding clang followed by the shattering of glass.

  “Now that we’ve established I can control myself, can we talk?” Ariel said.
>
  Matilda gaped, mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out. Ariel could scarcely believe she had done that, but all things considered Matilda was getting off easy.

  “Ariel, why don’t we step outside?” she heard someone say. Then she saw Mandy approaching. The other woman was calm, but she couldn’t hide her surprise.

  “Hello, Mandy. Matilda and I have some things to discuss.”

  “Are we going to discuss how you’re going to pay for that? Are you going to use the blood money you get every month to reimburse me?” Matilda said, voice wavering with the strength of her scorn.

  “Blood money?” Ariel repeated, confused.

  And then Matilda’s meaning hit her. “The benefits? This is about benefits?”

  Matilda approached, stepping over the shattered glass and porcelain on her floor, seeming to have forgotten the other women crowded into the living room watching the scene unfold.

  “This is probably all about money to you, but it’s principle to me,” Matilda said, standing close enough that Ariel could smell her noxious perfume. Something else she could chalk up to pregnancy hormones.

  “I really think we should talk about this later,” Mandy said, moving around the sofa to approach Ariel.

  “There’s nothing to talk about. She’s unfit, and that’s all there is to it,” Matilda said. “And after this, no one will be able to disagree.”

  Again Ariel’s hand snaked out as if it had a mind of its own, and before she knew it, she had Matilda’s forearm tight in her grip. The other woman was older, but not at all weak, but Ariel’s rage fueled by years of resentment, strengthened her. She clamped her hand down even tighter, uncaring of any bruises she might leave.

  She whispered low in her throat, “Understand this, Matilda, you will not ever, ever take my daughter from me.”

  She held Matilda’s gaze with hard eyes, and Matilda stared back, eyes equally hard. But as Ariel watched, Matilda transformed in front of her very eyes.

  “Oh my God, she’s attacking me! Someone call the police! She broke in and attacked me!” Matilda screamed.