by S. J. McCoy
“And?” April wanted her to hurry up and come up with something convincing.
“And it seems that with you, he’s doing the opposite of everything he normally does. Which tells me that he feels the opposite of how he normally feels. Normally he just wants to have nighttime fun with a woman and so he doesn’t get into anything serious. With you he wants to have something serious, so hasn’t gotten into the night time fun. Yet.”
April stared at her. “You think?”
“I do.”
April thought that over.
“Can I make a suggestion?” asked Renée.
“Please do. I need all the help I can get here.”
“Talk to him?”
“Oh.”
Renée laughed. “Yep, it’s really that simple if you want it to be.”
April nodded. “It should be, shouldn’t it?”
“It is, if you’ll just do it.”
“I will. It looks as though today is going to be quite a day. I’m going to talk to Leanne this afternoon. And then I’m going to talk to Eddie when I go home.”
“I think it’s going to be a great day for you. It sounds to me as though today is the day when you’re going to be able to get clear about your future.”
April nodded. She hoped so.
“Anyway. Why don’t you get going? I can close up here. I’ll join you later.”
“That’s okay. I’ll wait and we can go over there together.”
“No, you go on. You’re not the only one with a divorce looming. I need to return a call to Paul before I leave here, and if you go now you might get a few minutes with Leanne.”
April nodded. She was hoping she might get chance to talk to Leanne in private before all the other girls showed up for lunch. They usually met up on Saturdays, but since Leanne was visiting and everyone was in town they’d decided to do today instead of this weekend. “Okay. I’ll see you there, and good luck with Paul.” She felt a little guilty as she made her way over to the resort. She’d been so caught up in her own life lately that she hadn’t realized that Renée was finally seeing some movement on her own divorce.
She stopped when she reached the edge of the deck at the Boathouse. It didn’t look like she’d get Leanne to herself until afterwards. Missy, Holly, and Kenzie were already sitting at one of the big picnic tables and Leanne was walking across the square with Laura. Oh, well. Hopefully, she’d get to talk to her in private later, but she didn’t want to be here too long. She wanted to get home to Marcus and Eddie. She loved that Eddie was being so good with her son, but she didn’t want either of them to feel that she’d abandoned them for too long.
“Hey, hon!” Missy waved when she spotted her. “How are you? I thought you were going to call me?”
She smiled. “I was, sorry. Things have been a bit crazy.”
Kenzie gave her a sly smile. “And I know who’s been keeping you busy.”
“Oh, we all do!” said Holly. “Eddie’s gorgeous! You snagged yourself a hottie there, sweetie!”
April smiled. She was never too sure what to say when they all talked at once like that. “He’s a good guy, and he’s been a really good friend these last few weeks.”
“Friend?” snorted Kenzie. “Sounds to me like he’s a lot more than that!”
“Leave her alone!” Missy slapped Kenzie’s arm with a grin. “Not everyone’s as brazen as you are!”
Kenzie laughed. “I guess not.” She smiled at April. “Sorry, I’m just excited for you both. You deserve a good guy and he deserves a good woman. He’s such a nice guy.”
April nodded. “Thanks. He really is. And I need the support at the moment.”
Missy wrinkled her nose. “Why’s that? What’s going on?”
Did she want to tell them all? She was more comfortable talking one on one than blurting out all the details of her personal life to a whole crowd. She looked at their expectant faces. But they weren’t just a crowd of people. They were her friends. They’d all gone out of their way for her. She took a deep breath. “Do you really want to know?”
“Damned right, I do!” said Missy.
The others nodded.
April looked up as Leanne and Laura came to join them, at least if she told them all now, Leanne would understand what she was facing by the time they got to talk later. “Hi, you two. Do you want to sit down? I’m just about to spill my story.”
Leanne grinned at her. “Hey everyone. You can’t fault my timing, can you? Spill away.”
Laura took a seat on the end of the bench and pointed out across the parking lot. “How about we all order drinks and wait for the stragglers to join us?”
April nodded when she spotted Emma, Megan, and Lily coming. “Okay.”
By the time everyone was settled and had a drink, she felt nervous. They were all waiting for her to talk now.
Missy gave her a reassuring smile. “Come on then. What’s going on with you?”
“I’m getting divorced.”
“Good for you!” said Emma.
Leanne raised an eyebrow. “Do you mean you’ve made the decision, or you’ve done something about it?”
“I’d kind of gotten to the point where I’d made the decision and then he did something about it.”
“What?” asked Holly.
She told them what had happened on Friday night when she and Eddie had left the resort; about going home to see the door standing open. About the divorce papers and the note left with them. She watched their faces when she told them what the note said. And again when she told them what her first reaction had been, and then how she’d felt when Colt had told her to think long and hard before she signed.
“You haven’t signed anything yet, have you?” asked Leanne.
“Not yet,” she sighed, “but I think I’m going to. I just want it to be over with. Guy called me on Saturday and told me I should just sign them because neither Marcus nor I would like what happened if I don’t.”
Leanne’s face was hard. “We can take him down.”
April shook her head. “I’m not sure we could. And I don’t think I want to risk trying.”
Missy held her gaze. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“You don’t know him. Even if I won. Even if I didn’t sign and managed to take him for half of everything, he’s so vindictive he’d find a way to make me suffer, and more importantly a way to make Marcus suffer. It’s just not worth it. I’d rather be free—and poor.”
“You shouldn’t have to be,” said Leanne. “You can’t let the bastard do that to you.”
Emma smiled at her. “You have to do what you believe is best for you and Marcus.”
She nodded, grateful that Emma understood.
“Isn’t it best for the boy to learn that you don’t let bullies get away with it?” asked Leanne.
April nodded. “Maybe. It’s an important principle, but I’m not sure I want to risk the reality of what Guy might do to us.”
Kenzie met her gaze. “And what does Eddie say?”
She smiled. “He’s been so good to us. He says whatever decision I make will be the right one.”
Holly smiled at her. It seemed she liked that answer.
Emma nodded. “He sounds wonderful!”
“He can hardly say go for the money, can he?” Leanne looked cynical.
“He wouldn’t, no matter what!” April just knew it. “Money’s not important to him.”
Kenzie laughed. “It doesn’t need to be, does it?”
What did she mean by that? She didn’t have time to ask.
“Can we just rewind a minute?” asked Missy. “Have I got it right that your ex was actually here, and he broke into your house?”
April shrugged. “I don’t know that it was him. He might have sent someone to do it. He uses henchmen to do his dirty work. I can’t see him coming all the way here now that I think about it, but it certainly felt like it was him.”
Missy nodded. “Have you talked to Chance?”
“No
. I don’t want to bother him, Missy. He hates Guy. I don’t want him to go getting into trouble on my behalf.”
Missy nodded. “I don’t want him getting into trouble either, but I bet he’d know if Guy was still at home, or whether he’d taken a trip.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t matter, does it?”
“It might,” said Leanne, “if we can get him for breaking and entering. Either way, that’s a criminal threat.” She looked at April. “Do you remember the exact words?”
April nodded. “I’m not sure it would count. It was an implication rather than a specific threat.”
“What did it say?”
“It said, Sign this and you and the boy will be fine. If you don’t and then just a bunch of dots. He didn’t say what, but the implication’s pretty clear.”
Leanne nodded with a grim smile. “I’d say it is.”
April stared around at them all. “I just want it to be over. I want to start a new life and forget about him. If I fight him, then I’ll spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. I’ll never be able to stop worrying about Marcus. No amount of money and no principle is worth that. Not to me.”
The others murmured their agreement. She hoped that would close the subject. She smiled brightly. “So can we leave it alone for now? I’d like to hear all of your news.”
“I’ll drop it for now,” said Leanne. “But can we talk after lunch?”
April nodded. She’d known that Leanne would want to make Guy pay—in every sense. She was a formidable woman and April would love to see her take Guy down, but she didn’t believe that even Leanne would be able to make him leave her alone.
She felt sure that Emma deliberately changed the subject and started talking about babies and making them all laugh with her tales of woe about the discomfort and indignity of her latest checkup. Megan soon joined in, and soon they were all laughing. The conversation moved on, and April was glad to be out of the spotlight, although she knew from the looks Leanne kept giving her, she wasn’t off the hook yet. Missy kept looking over at her, too. April could tell she had something she wanted to say, but apparently, she was going to save it for later.
Chapter Fourteen
Eddie had to hide his smile as he watched Marcus practice. The kid just wasn’t a natural. In fact, Eddie had the feeling that he wasn’t going to pick it up at all. His tongue was sticking out, his fingers looked raw already. He wasn’t giving up, though.
“I’ll get the hang of it soon. I promise!”
Eddie’s heart broke for the kid. He was so eager to please and yet he just wasn’t getting it. “How about we take a break? Your fingers have got to be sore by now. They need time to toughen up.”
Marcus looked at him uncertainly. “I can do it. I’ll learn!”
Eddie grasped his shoulder. “I know, I don’t doubt it, I just thought you might want a break. We’ve been at it for ages now.”
Marcus nodded and set the guitar down. He looked so defeated. Eddie felt bad. Learning to play was supposed to be making him feel good about himself, not making him feel like a failure. Eddie hated that for him. He racked his brain for something he could say, something he could do that’d make Marcus feel better again. He smiled as a thought struck him. “Tell you what, do you want to check out the drum kit?”
Marcus nodded sadly. He didn’t seem too interested.
Eddie led him down the basement where he had his kit set up. He’d soundproofed this room when he first moved in. To him, drumming had been his escape. After his dad had left and his stepdad had moved in, he’d spent hours learning and practicing. Drums were something he could beat the shit out of and yet still be productive, not destructive. He was hoping Marcus might feel the same way.
He flicked the lights on and sat himself down. “Are you ready?”
Marcus shrugged. It seemed as though all his enthusiasm had been extinguished.
Eddie was hoping he could reignite it. He watched the kid’s face as he started to play. He watched intently as Eddie started out slow. A smile slowly spread across his face as Eddie picked it up. Soon Eddie was lost in the rhythm. That was why he played. It took him away. All his worries, all his thoughts disappeared. There was no room left in his head for them as the beat became part of him and he became a part of it. He finished with a loud crash on the cymbal and grinned at Marcus.
The kid was grinning back at him. “That’s awesome! Wow! You’re amazing!”
“Do you want a go?”
Marcus shook his head. “I wouldn’t be any good. You do it again.”
“Nah, I want you to try. Please?” He didn’t want to pressure the kid, but he did want him to at least give it a go.
Marcus stepped forward reluctantly. “I don’t want to break anything.”
“Don’t worry; you won’t. You can’t. It’s made for you to beat the…” He caught himself just in time, “...heck out of it. Come on.” He stood up and handed him the sticks.
Marcus sat down, looking uncertain.
“Okay, so you can use the sticks on the tom and the snare. The pedal—see that down there? That’ll hit the bass, and that’s about all you need to know. Have at it.”
Marcus looked up at him. “What do I do?”
“Just hit stuff.” Eddie thought about it—that probably wasn’t too helpful. “How about you try just tapping a beat?”
Marcus looked at him blankly.
Eddie tapped on the snare with his fingers. “One, two, one, two, one, two, three, four, one, two.” He kept tapping over and over.
Marcus watched his fingers for a while and then tapped along tentatively with the stick. Eddie grinned and tapped harder and faster. Marcus grinned back and followed along. He grew bolder until soon he was belting away with a big grin on his face. Eddie saw the moment when the bug bit. Marcus closed his eyes and let rip. His arms flew as he banged at every surface within his reach. There was a beat to it, too. It wasn’t complex or sophisticated by any means, but it was there. The rhythm was flowing through him, and Marcus was feeling it. Eddie grinned as he watched.
Marcus reached a crescendo and finished with a flourish and a loud crash on the cymbals that echoed Eddie’s. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were sparkling. “I love it!” he cried.
“You’re awesome!” said Eddie. “You’re just awesome.”
“For real?”
“For real! You, my friend, are the real deal!”
Marcus grinned. “Will you teach me how to do it properly?”
Eddie nodded. “They say no one can teach you to play drums. You either feel it or you don’t. And you feel it! I’ll show you as much as I can, but you’ve got it. You can do this. You’re a drummer, dude!”
He held his fist out for a bump, but Marcus just looked at it and then up at Eddie’s face. He didn’t get it! Eddie’s heart hurt for the kid. What little boy didn’t know how to fist bump his dad? “Fist bump?” He reached for Marcus’s hand and curled it into a fist and then pressed his own against it.
“Oh!” Marcus grinned and did it again. “Fist bump!”
Eddie ruffled his hair. “What do you think, have we earned a burger?”
“Yeah! I’m starving!”
“Okay, then. Let’s go out and get the grill going, shall we?”
Marcus nodded. “Can I do some more later?” He looked back at the drum kit and in the moment before Eddie flicked the lights back off he knew the kid was well and truly hooked.
“You sure can.” He was happier than ever that he’d invested in the soundproofing.
~ ~ ~
When April got home, she could hear them laughing out in the backyard. The sound made her heart happy. She was so grateful to Eddie. She found them sitting at the table on the patio eating burgers and chips. She wanted to save that memory forever. They both looked so relaxed and happy.
Eddie saw her first and raised his drink to her in greeting. “Your mom’s home!” he said with a grin.
Marcus turned and raised his Coke can to he
r. “Hey, Mom! I hope you had a good time. We did!”
He had ketchup on his face and down his shirt; he was a happy little mess by the looks of him. April went to give him a hug. “I did, thanks, but by the looks of it I would have had more fun here with you two.”
“Yeah, I think so. Eddie taught me how to drum. I’m going to do that instead of guitar. I’m better at it.”
“You are?”
“He’s amazing!” Eddie grinned at Marcus as he said it and April had to wonder if he really was or if Eddie was just building him up, as he was so good at doing. “How did you get on? Did you talk to Leanne?”
She nodded.
“Who’s Leanne?” asked Marcus.
“She’s a friend of Laura’s.” She didn’t want to discuss what Leanne had had to say in front of him, but at the same time, she didn’t want to leave him entirely in the dark about what was going on. “She’s a lawyer.”
“Is she going to help you divorce Dad?”
April nodded. “Kind of. She’s not my lawyer or anything, but she knows a lot, so she’s giving me some advice.”
Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“She thinks I shouldn’t give in too easily.”
Marcus looked up at her. “About what?”
Should she just tell him? Was he too young to understand? Or should she be letting him know what was going on in decisions that affected his future? She looked at Eddie, unsure what to do for the best.
“About what?” Marcus asked again looking more worried now.
“Your dad has said that he will divorce me.”
“Yay!” he looked so excited for a moment and then his smile faded. “But what? He’d never do something nice for us. What does he want?”
She didn’t know whether to be sad or happy for him that he understood exactly what his father was like. She was glad that he was smart enough to see it but sad that he hadn’t had the chance to be naïve and see his father as a hero. She sighed. “It’s complicated.”