by G S Binkley
“No!” They all harmonized in sync. Flipping on their individual flashlights and placing them under their faces so the light shined upward, Dani sealed their collective decision. “We want an adventure.”
Having procured a flashlight of his own, Derek mimicked the older girls and added. “Me, too. I’m going along.” Squinting his eyes, he shifted them toward Dani, glaring at her.
Frustrated, Lacy let out an aggravated sigh. “You are to stay in the tent and not step one foot out of it. Do you understand?”
Taken aback slightly by her mom’s harsh tone, Dani conceded. “We know, mom.” Dani loved her brother and didn’t mind that he tagged along all afternoon with them but hoped her mom wouldn’t insist that Derek get to camp out, too. After all, we’re going to talk about boys and…..
Shaking her head, Lacy realized she had overreacted. “Stella, would you put Sammy to bed and I’ll be up later.” The nanny agreed. “Gage?” She looked at Gage and nodded toward Derek.
The blonde took the hint. “Derek. Why don’t we check the perimeter while your mom helps the girls get settled?”
“Oh, all right. Who wants to spend time with girls anyway?” He said sarcastically, not believing what he said himself. Derek enjoyed bothering them all afternoon and especially was happy when his sister pretended she was aggravated with his antics.
Both of Gage’s eyebrows shot up at Derek’s remark referencing girls.
“I don’t think of you as a girl.” Seeing Gage’s expression fall as she wondered just exactly what he thought of her, Derek used his best disarming smile and revealed his trump card. “I think of you as…. as my hero.”
Sweeping the boy up in her arms, the jubilant Gage promised. “For that you get ice cream and tomorrow we’ll do something special. Just you and I.”
“More ice cream? Yeah.” After putting him back down, Derek grabbed her hand and yanked. “Let’s go.”
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Hidden by several bushes, Gage watched the tent from a short distance. Lights flashed on and off inside the tent followed by sporadic spurts of laughter and screams. Gage guessed Dani was re-telling a ghost story she had told the young girl on the plane ride home to St. Troy.
The night was clear and any boating activities in the lake cove had long since deceased for the day. The night sounds hummed steadily provided an eerie background against the young girl’s voices and giggles. The sounds of crickets and other critters filled the air with only an unknown creak or small animal apparently moving in the night caused little concern for Gage.
However, after an hour or so on her post, the blonde wished she had brought a blanket to lie on and something to eat. She considered making a quick run back to the house when heavy footfalls demanded her full attention. Gage swallowed hard and sucked in a calming breath. After a quick look toward the tent, seeing no one, she buried herself deeper inside the bushes waiting for the culprit to venture closer. Her flashlight in hand, Gage wished she had brought her cell phone with her.
The footfalls fell still bringing a deadly silence permeating the air as the animals themselves took quiet refuge due to the intruder’s presence. I can’t just sit here and….. Her thought was cut off by another step of the intruder coming closer. Gage stole a quick peek to the tent and up at the house. She clearly saw her bedroom light on and prayed Lacy had opened the window. It would provide a lifeline in case she had to yell for help.
An alarmed Gage sprung upward then quickly twisting around coming face to face with a tall dark figure. With her flashlight at chest level pointing upward, she flipped it on revealing a very scary sight. Her scream was cut off by a slap of the hand over her mouth.
“Shhhh..” After seeing that the occupants of the tent were undisturbed, the lips close to Gage’s ear whispered. “You want to scare the girls.”
Drawing in deep breaths, Gage stilled her racing heart. “Lacy, you scared me to death!”
“I’m sorry.” Lacy pulled her partner in for a hug. “I couldn’t stay inside any longer.” She flipped the blanket and let it fall to the ground. Retrieving a small backpack, Lacy tossed it on the blanket. “What’s been happening?”
Being pulled to the ground by her partner, Gage settled down again. “You know what I want for Christmas?”
Lacy gazed at their lover. “What?”
“Night vision glasses.” Gage cocked her head toward Lacy. “Raising kids… is hard work and anything…. gadgets and such definitely would help.”
The dark haired woman nudged Gage. “She just hit her teen years and then there’s dating and…..” The moonlight revealed Gage’s green eyes widen in shock. “…then we’ll have three more to do it all over again.”
After Lacy mentioned the word ‘three’, Gage shifted. Pulling Lacy closer, she placed her hand on her partner’s stomach. “And, how is our little one?”
Receiving a gentle loving kiss from Gage, she placed her head on the blonde’s shoulder. “Wonderful. Me, too.”
“Other than a few times during the movie, this time you haven’t been as sick.” Gage wrapped her arms around her lover, inhaling deeply. Lacy snuggled even closer. “Must be a girl, huh?”
Lacy popped her head up. “Why do you say that?”
Gage shrugged. “Just a feeling.”
“Do you want to know before…..”
“You?” Gage countered. When Lacy shook her head, Gage revealed her own thoughts on the subject. “Me neither. Just as long as both of you are okay. That’s all I’m concerned about.” The older woman met her lover’s lips in a gentle, soothing kiss.
Those kisses soon turned heated. Gently rolling Lacy on her back, Gage moved up placing her leg between the younger woman’s legs. Gage’s hand found its way up and under Lacy’s shirt landing on her lover’s breast.
When Lacy yanked at the bottom of Gage’s shirt, pulling it upward, the blonde resisted. “Uh uhh. Not out here.”
Frustrated, Lacy acquiesced. “No more camp outs for the kids.”
Smiling at the lover, Gage said. “Oh, I don’t know… it’s kinda nice. A moonlit clear night with a beautiful woman in my arms…. I intend to take full advantage of the situation. At least until you go back inside.”
Before Lacy pulled Gage closer to take possession of her lover’s lips, she said. “I want you inside.”
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The early morning sunlight wasn’t enough to wake the soundly sleeping couple. It was only Dani’s declaration to her friends that woke the young mother. “Come on, we’ll get our stuff later. Mom said she’d make pancakes this morning.”
Blue eyes flew wide open. “Gage, sweetheart, get up!”
Gage jumped up with her head swinging wildly around. “What happened?”
Grabbing the backpack, she ordered Gage. “Get the blanket.” Gage watched Lacy in a mad dash across the lawn ducking and weaving in an attempt to hide from Dani and her friends. Seeing that her partner would not be able to make the last twenty-five feet to the house without being discovered, Gage knew she had to do something to divert the young girl’s attention.
Rolling her frustrated green eyes, she put the plan into action. In a rush, Gage stumbled out from behind the bushes and got her foot caught on the blanket.
Hearing the swishing of the bushes, Dani and her friends swung around just in time to see Gage fall to the hard ground with a thump. The young girl cocked her lips to one side and squinted her glaring eyes at an embarrassed Gage. “Were you out here all night?”
Caught with no suitable excuse, Gage shrugged.
Twirling around, Dani yelled out. “Mom?” Dani trampled in the kitchen with three angry girls behind her. “Mom? Did you know Gage was outside all night long…. watching us?” Her accusing blue eyes landed squarely on Gage as she entered the kitchen behind them.
Lacy cocked her hands on her hips. With one hand still holding the pancake flipper, Lacy glared at her partner. “Gage! I can’t believe it. When did you sneak out last night?” T
he blonde stood stunned at her partner’s words. “Dani is thirteen now and perfectly capable of an overnight campout without being observed.” She quickly pulled at her partner and pushed her though the kitchen door down the hallway but not before whispering. “I’ll make it up to you later.”
It was the quick lick of her lover’s tongue on her ear and a well-placed hand on her backside that convinced the blonde that later would be more than enough to make up for Lacy placing all the blame on her. Gage heard Lacy join in with the giggling girls about the events of their night out.
Chapter Seventeen
The next day after Gage deposited Dani’s friends back to their homes, they enjoyed a quiet weekend before school started on Monday. Compared to Dani’s excitement about the new school year, Derek grumbled even after receiving an array of school supplies. He rolled his eyes several times when Dani told him how much he was going to love school.
“Derek, look.” She produced her new notebook and then pointed to the one he was given. “There’s a place for everything. Pencils, a ruler…. and right there you can put something in it. See it zips.”
Derek compared both notebooks and found his to be lacking. “Mine’s not as big.”
“But it’s yellow. You like yellow.” Gage inserted though it had no effect on his mood. “And, you have colors. How many colors are in there?”
“Over a hundred! I never got more than 64 in my pack.” Dani pointed out to her younger brother.
Still not impressed, Derek’s pout remained intact.
“Come here.” Lacy called to her oldest son and he climbed on her lap. The mother pulled her son’s head against her shoulder. As she ran long fingers through his hair, Lacy hugged him closely. “It won’t be that long a day, Derek. Then you get to come home and play with Gage the rest of the day.”
Burying his face deeper into her shoulder, he whined. “I want to play all day.”
“You will.” She assured her son. “Even in kindergarten ….”
“You get to play, too.” Gage tried to help.
He gave her a sharp look. “You didn’t even go to kindergarten and I don’t want to go to school.”
Dani rolled her eyes. Guess I need to get this thing settled. “Derek! You know how much you like to help Sammy.” He stared at his sister, not sure what she meant. “You know, boss him around.”
Lacy and Gage shared a concerned look before Dani continued. “Not like that.” She assured the pair then returned her attention to her brother. “Since you already know your ABC’s and how to print them and numbers all the way up to one hundred. Thanks to me! All the other kids will look to you because they won’t know near that kind of stuff. And, you can print your name.”
Somewhere in Dani’s mini dissertation, Derek perked up. “I get to be the boss.”
“Derek, that’s not what she meant.” Lacy insisted. Yet, the young boy only saw his sister nod her head countering what her mother said. Derek had been a shy boy during his early years but since Gage came into his life and especially since he had a younger brother, he was slowly coming out of his shell. Now it was only with his father and complete strangers that he retreated to the safety of his shyness.
Gage noted Dani’s nod to Derek. She remained quiet because Derek was not getting excited about school and she didn’t want to douse any enthusiasm at the moment. I’ll talk with Lacy later and make sure he finds other reasons to like school.
Derek’s gray eyes turned intently to his mother. “Will you take me to school?”
Tapping his nose, Lacy assured him. “We both will.”
“Okay.” Derek jumped off her lap and headed back to the table where the school supplies sat. Now, with a wide smile on his face, he asked. “What else did you get for me?”
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That morning as Lacy and Gage gathered the kids and headed out the front door, David showed up unexpectedly with Hayston by his side. “David! What are you doing here?”
“This is our kid’s first day of school, right?” David smiled while Hayston’s expression was less than jubilant.
Lacy agreed. “Yes.”
“We’ll I’m here to take them to school. We both will.” David insisted. He found a smile on Dani’s face as Derek scooted behind his mother.
“I… we…. Gage and I were just about to do that.” Temporarily stymied by David’s interest, Lacy offered. “You can go with us.” Lacy wanted David to be in her children’s life and welcomed his attention to them. However, he picked the most inopportune times to show that interest.
“All three of us?” David asked then looked questionably at Gage.
“I could… I could stay here and watch Sammy.” Gage offered weakly.
David shoved Hayston up next to the blonde. “Keep Hayston company till we get back.”
“Gage?” Lacy intently stared at her partner.
“It’s okay.” She dropped down next to Derek. “I’ll pick you up though. Okay?”
Nodding his head, Derek clung to his mother’s hand.
Frustrated, Lacy reluctantly instructed Dani to take Derek to their father’s car and get in the back. Before she walked to the car, Lacy jerked David closer by his lapel. “Next time…. call.”
Gage walked Lacy’s to David’s rented car and the younger woman turned to her partner. “We’ll be back within the hour.” Lacy stole a quick kiss before getting in the car. Gage shut the door and waved to them as the car spun away.
Twisting back around, she saw Hayston nervously waiting. “Want some breakfast?”
“You don’t have to be so nice. I’m sure you don’t like this as much as I do.” Hayston swung her purse up over her shoulder.
“Maybe not…. but, I’m hungry and you look like you could use a meal or two.” As Lacy and Gage prepared the kids for school on this hectic morning, Gage was too busy trying to get things ready and missed breakfast.
The charming smile Gage offered the younger woman was disarming and Hayston conceded to the offer. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
As they walked together inside the house, Gage said. “Didn’t mean it any other way.”
Hayston ate as if she had skipped a week’s worth of meals. When Gage offered more, she slumped back against the chair, grabbing her stomach. “No! That was delicious though.”
Gage shrugged. “Just pancakes.” The blonde sat down next to her and asked. “Now that I have you plied with food…. why are you here?”
“David… why is David here!” Hayston understood the question. “He really does miss his kids and after we lost….” She let that thought die on her lips. “His career isn’t as hot as it once was and I’m tired of it….. for now. By the way, thank you for letting me be in your film.”
“Thank Lacy.” Gage gathered the plates and sat them in the sink. “You want to see Sammy for a bit? I’m sure Stella could use a break.”
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After Lacy and David dropped their two children off at school, she turned toward him in the car. “Shall we get to it now or wait?”
“I don’t know what you mean, Lacy. I’m here to spend some time with my children. Is that a bad thing?”
Not entirely believing him, Lacy shrugged. “Mmmmmm… no, it’s not if that was the only reason you were here.”
“Listen, honey…” He hesitated when she shot him a glaring look. “Can’t you believe me?”
“This had better not be about our deal.” Lacy questioned.
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Hayston was hesitant to hold the two year old but Gage insisted that she would do fine. “He looks like David.”
Nodding, Gage agreed. “Yes. He’s a handsome little guy. Derek does, too.”
“I’m surprised to hear you say that.” Sammy sat quietly on her lap while playing with the little yellow duck.
She shrugged. “It’s true. David’s good looking and so are his sons. But, they both have Lacy’s smile.” When Hayston didn’t respond, Gage ventured do
wn a line of questioning she knew would be treacherous. “Why do you stay with him?”
Taken aback by the direct question, Hayston finally found her voice and offered a shallow response. “Like you said, he’s handsome.”
“That’s not a reason to be with someone.”
Hayston sucked in a deep breath after Sammy wiggled, dropping his toy. As Gage scrambled for it, the younger woman revealed some of her feelings. “He’s … he can be very charming when he wants to be.”
When Gage handed the toy back to Sammy, he held out his arms wanting her to take him. Gage gathered him in her arms and sat down on the floor where he could play.
Uncharacteristically, Hayston joined the two on the floor before she continued. “He’s manly, virile and I like the way he takes charge.” A forlorn look swept across her face. “Not when he’s demanding like he is sometimes or when he’s impatient…. rather it’s his ‘I can do anything attitude’ even when things look bleak. With our careers in a slump right now, he refuses to accept that…. he just keeps going as if nothing can stop him.”
Having learned more about him than she expected, Gage admitted. “I’ve seen him at work. He’s good at taking charge and knows what works. Can’t say that about the way he is in his personal life though especially with Derek.”
“He’s jealous of you, you know.”
Surprised, Gage looked up.
“Oh, yes.” Hayston admitted. “Not just about Lacy being with you. It grates against him that the kids love you so much. And, as you said especially Derek.”
“He’s easy to love and get along with, Hayston. Derek’s a great kid. He doesn’t have Dani’s outgoing personality which is similar to David but….”
Stella’s entrance caught their attention. “You have a call from Mark.” She handed Gage the telephone and picked up Sammy. “Let me see about a bath for him.”
“Thanks, Stella.” Gage glanced at Hayston. “Excuse me a moment. Hello Mark. How are you?” She listened for a while, nodding a few times before she confirmed. “Absolutely, Lacy and I will be there. I’ll tell her. Hey, before you go. That’s around the same time as when the movie comes out, right?”