Remember Me

by Jennifer Foor

  The only problem with that was the fact that I knew telling him would make things completely awkward for both of us. I didn’t want that.

  I had more important things to be worrying about besides Shayne. He’s promised to take care of the twins, but I didn’t want to force myself on him, not when he was so determined to be happy without his ex-girlfriend.

  Then I got hurt, and in that terrible instant Shayne came to me with a confession that I could hardly believe was actually happening.

  In that moment when he told me he loved me everything changed. I wanted to be smart about it and keep my distance, in case he changed his mind.

  To this day he was still giving me reasons to love him even more.

  I think part of the reason that my dad hated him so much was because Shayne bent over backwards for the twins. My father had always picked the government and community over his family. He traveled and was never around for any of my school or outside activities. I could count on my hand how many times he attended one of my birthday parties.

  Instead, he’d buy me extravagant gifts that none of my other friend’s parents could afford, and act like it made up for everything else.

  While all this was happening, my mother, who is actually my step-mother, because mine walked out on my dad when I was too young to remember her, decided that she’d cope with his absence by drowning herself in evening cocktails until she would pass out. Now in her thirties, she’d become addicted to fitness, or more less her fitness instructor. Even my dad knew it was going on; he was just too busy with his own life to give a damn.

  After Ford broke up with me and then Harley died, I tried to seek out my birth mother, but failed horribly. I’d made the mistake of calling a local private investigator, who happened to do a bunch for my dad.

  I thought about calling someone else, in hopes of maybe find her now that I wasn’t living with him, but his newest conquest to destroy my boyfriend’s dreams was making me feel like I was never going to completely be free of him.

  I felt someone touching my arm and jumped, not realizing that Shayne had come up behind me.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare ya. I woke up and you were gone. You alright, baby?”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “I can’t get rid of this damn headache. I got up to take something for it and couldn’t go back to sleep.”

  He started rubbing my shoulders, relaxing me while he spoke. “Did the rag help earlier?”

  “A little.”

  “If it continues I want you to call the doctor. You’ve got me worried that somethin’ in the farmhouse made you sick.”

  I looked back at Shayne and saw how concerned he was. “It’s just a headache. Besides, you’d be sick too. If it was airborne it would have gotten to you before it did me. I’ll be fine. It’s got to be stress. My dads just gettin’ to me again. He loves to make me miserable.”

  Shayne brought his hands down to wrap them around my stomach. He rested his chin on my shoulder as he spoke. “Ash, I’m so tired of that man tryin’ to come between us. What the hell is his problem now? I’ve done right by you and the kids, and he still has to fuck things up for us.”

  I turned my body to rest my head against Shayne’s hard chest. “I’m sorry.”

  He rubbed my back and kissed me on top of my head. “It’s not your fault. He’s just a dick. I swear, if it wasn’t for my family, I’d take us far away from here.”

  “Shayne, you know we can’t do that. As much as you don’t get along with your dad, you love your family. What would your sister do if she couldn’t come runnin’ to you every time she had a problem? I’m envious of the way you protect your siblings. If I had a brother, I’d want him to be like you. You wear the weight of the world on your sleeve and they don’t even understand how lucky they are that you have their back.” I was mostly talking about Parker. He’d let Shayne take responsibility for the twins without argument. As long as he had nothing to do with them, he didn’t care what happened. Still thinking about that made me queasy. He could look at himself in the mirror every day and know that he had kids, but that he never wanted anything to do with them. “You know I’m surprised that your parents haven’t noticed how distanced Parker is to you since the twins were born. To me, it’s pretty obvious he’s tryin’ to avoid us.” I shook my head, disgusted. “I’m sorry, Shayne. I just can’t stand the way he’s handled this. I never expected him to want to be a father, but since they’ve been born he’s never even inquired if they’re healthy. I mean, he doesn’t have to be a dad to them to care. No matter who donated the egg, they’re still family. He just sits around pretending they are invisible.”

  Shayne grabbed my arms at my elbows and started rubbing them. “Calm down. My brother takes after our dad. Out of sight out of mind. It’s wrong, but honestly, I don’t want him around the twins. It makes me feel uneasy. Don’t get me wrong, Ash, I know I’m their dad, but a part of me wonders if someday he’ll try to be more than an uncle. I don’t know what I’d do if that happened. It’s not even my parents that I worry about findin’ out. It’s just about losing the respect of two children that I consider mine in every way. I hold Beka every night and I tell her that her daddy loves her. I don’t say that about someone else. I say it about me, because I’m her daddy. God, I’m too tired to be talkin’ about this.”

  I leaned my forehead against his lips. While he kissed me there, my hands lifted up around his neck. “As long as I’m alive, no one will ever take those children from you. I promise.”

  I meant that too. I wasn’t going to let my family, or even his, take those kids from him. Shayne had changed his whole life for us, and if they couldn’t see that he was a wonderful father, they were blind.

  When I looked into Shayne’s eyes they were glossy. He wasn’t crying, but I could tell he was emotional. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Ash.”

  “You don’t ever have to wonder, because I’m right where I belong.”

  He lifted up his hands and put them behind my neck. Our heads were leaning together. “Somewhere down the road you’re goin’ to have to start thinkin’ about takin’ my name.”

  I pulled away and smiled. Though my head was pounding, I heard him loud and clear. “Shayne, we don’t need to talk about that yet.”

  He laughed. “Look, I’m not sayin’ I’m ready for that either.”

  Then there was that…

  I went from citizen high to citizen disappointed. I don’t know why it bothered me. We’d only been a couple for less than a year. Of course we needed time to grow and be sure.

  The thing was, I felt like I was sure. It didn’t matter to me if it had been one week, year, or decade. I wanted Shayne. I wanted us to always be a family.

  I think when I didn’t respond he knew he’d put his foot in his mouth.

  He grabbed my hands and started pulling me into our bedroom. “Let’s go back to bed. We’re both tired and we’ve got plenty of time to talk about that stuff.”

  It was nice being led to my side of the bed and having the covers folded down for me. Shayne was always great with the twins, but usually too tired for little details like he was showing me. Being that I felt so crappy, I appreciated feeling important. “Love you.”

  He walked around to his side of the bed and climbed in before leaning over to kiss me. “Love you, too.”

  For a little while I forgot the pain and focus on how happy we were. My dad wasn’t going to stop us from moving in that farmhouse. Like Shayne, I could see the kids growing up there. It’s what I wanted.

  Chapter 17

  Ashley

  I woke up with less pressure than the day before and hoped that after talking with Shayne I was less stressed out about the damage my dad could do to Shayne’s plan. For the most part I knew it would be a waiting game. Lucky for me, I had another idea to put both of our minds at ease.

  While Shayne headed over to the house to meet the Asbestos crew, I got the twins fed, changed and loaded up in their car seats. It was diff
icult, but I managed to carry both children and my purse. After getting them each fastened, I climbed in and started to back up the car. Peyton pulled in behind me and I slammed on the brakes. My two sleeping infants never flinched.

  Peyton, wearing a pair of pajama pants, walked up to my car window. “Where are you goin’? Shayne said I needed to get over here. He said you were sick.”

  “I’m fine. I’ve got an appointment,” I lied. I did have an appointment, but not one my dad knew about.

  “Let me move my car. I can come with you.”

  As much as I didn’t want her going, I knew I didn’t have the time or energy to argue. Shayne was going to be angry at me for dragging the kids out, especially when I hadn’t been feeling well, so Peyton would give him a little relief.

  I didn’t give Peyton information on the drive over to my father’s office. The less she knew the better. I didn’t want Shayne’s family knowing the things my good ole’ dad was doing to cause us problems.

  “Why are we here?” She asked when we pulled up at his office.

  “I just need to run inside and get somethin’. Can you sit in here with the twins?”

  “You don’t think your dad would want to see them?”

  “I don’t think he’s here.” Another lie. I’d spotted his car with government tags as soon as we pulled in. This wasn’t a friendly visit to show off my beautiful little angels. This was about getting to the bottom of whatever he was up to.

  I left Peyton sitting with the twins and rushed inside with my mind set on tearing into my father.

  His secretary stood up as I walked through the glass doors. “Ashley, you look great. Are you here to see your father? He’s in a meet - ”

  I didn’t let her finish as I walked right to his door and opened it. He was in a meeting all right. While he sat at his desk a young brunette, looking a little older than me sitting on his desk facing him. She had one shoe off and was poking her toes into my father’s crotch.

  I left the door open, crossed my arms and cleared my throat. “This is your idea of a meetin’? Are you planning on investin’ our tax dollars on sluts in skirts now, Daddy?”

  “Ashley.“ He shoved the girl’s foot away and she quickly jumped to her feet. “We were just - ”

  I held up my hand. “Save it. I don’t even care anymore.” I looked toward the very embarrassed office slut. “You need to get out of here, before I start posting on all of my social media sites that you were my father’s newest conquest.” I paused for a moment, getting a kick out of her despair. “Yeah, you heard me. He hits on everyone.”

  “Enough!” He yelled from behind his desk.

  I wasn’t giving him my respect. “It’s the truth. The last time I was here, he had someone bent over, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t you because that woman had killer legs.” It was meant to crush her. I hadn’t caught him with another woman, not in a very long time. I wanted her to be so disgusted that she never gave him another glance.

  She ran out of the office with one heel on and the other in her hand.

  My father stood up and leaned his hands on his desk. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  I kept my arms folded and shook my head. Once upon a time my father spoke with an accent, but after a few years being involved in the government and he acted like he’d come from the city, instead of a little farm town off the beaten path.

  “The meanin’ of what, Daddy?” I smiled, like I was innocent. “Are you referrin’ to this incident today, or the fact that you’re tryin’ to sabotage my boyfriend?”

  He pointed his finger at me, as if I would be scared. “Young lady, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  I walked right up to that desk, my heart beating it’s way out of my chest. Without blinking, I looked him right in the eyes. “You are a liar, a cheater, and nobody that I want to admit I’m related to.”

  I didn’t usually talk to my father with such disrespect, and when I had it was usually resolved quickly.

  However, this was different. I wanted this man to stay the hell away from me and Shayne. He wasn’t going to destroy our relationship.

  “Don’t you dare talk to me that way.”

  “I’m an adult. I’ve got a family now and I won’t let you hurt us. You had no right to show up the other day, and certainly no right to tell us what to do. That house is goin’ to be our home and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”

  He turned to face the window and stuck his hands in his pockets, jingling around some loose change. “You don’t understand. That property wasn’t for sale. We were working with the banks to purchase the land. It needs to be torn down, Ashley. You can’t live there, not now and not ever.”

  “Stop actin’ all concerned for my health and safety and tell me the real reason why you were there. Why don’t you want us there?”

  “This is bigger than you and that boy you’re with. Find another place. That’s all I’m goin’ to say. And as far as you walking in here earlier, it stays between us.”

  I turned like I was going to leave, but then froze in place, slowly moving my body to face him again. “No. I don’t think so. Not this time. This time you messed with my family. That’s right, Dad, I said my family. Shayne bought us that house to start our future in and we’re goin’ to make it work. We love each other and I know that house is perfect for Eli and Beka to grow up in. You can’t tell me where to live, who to love, and what to do with my future. I make my own decisions.” I pointed right at him, the same way he’d done it to me. “I’m here to tell you to stay away from us. Stay out of my business and my life. You’re not the man that I thought you were. You make me sick with your hypocritical actions.”

  “Don’t you dare threaten me.”

  “Oh, just shut up! Just shut up and listen to your only daughter for once. You’ve never been there for me, not when I needed you. Now I’ve got my own children and I’m watching their father love them. I’m watching him miss them and want to spend every second with them. You never wanted to be like that. All you’ve ever done is buy my love. You’re pathetic and I’m over it.”

  He put his hands up like he was starting to feel guilty. Knowing how much of a fake person he could be, I ignored him.

  “You won’t keep us from moving into that house.”

  Finally, he looked down at his desk and shook his head. “That house is standing right in the middle of the new proposed highway. If we can’t tear it down then we’ll have to reroute and draw up new plans. The bank never should have allowed the sale. We had an agreement.”

  “Well, it sounds like they think you’re a liar as well. That new highway ain’t happenin’.”

  “You could live in so many other houses. We’d buy it back from him. He’d get his money back and you could find a place that didn’t need so much work. This error could cost me my job.”

  I’d never wanted something so badly as I wanted the house now that I knew he was after it.

  Spiteful?

  Yes.

  “Do me a favor, Dad. Don’t call me anymore. Don’t stop by my home, or assume that I’ll change my mind. I’m done with you choosing your job over your own daughter’s happiness. Finally, I have someone that adores me and my children. If you think I’d let you ruin that, you’re ridiculously mistaken.”

  “If you walk out that door, you’re cutoff, young lady. Do you hear me? I’m done with you.”

  I turned and put an innocent smile on my face. “No, Dad. I’m done with you!”

  “You know you don’t mean that. Don’t walk away from me.”

  “You’ve walked away from me for as long as I can remember. Stop actin’ like you care. You didn’t even want me to have the twins. You think I could ever forget that? I’ll never forget it. I meant what I said. Don’t call me, and don’t stop by. We’re all better off without you.”

  I slammed his door on the way out and held up a hand to wave to his secretary as I walked out of the office building. As shaky as I knew I was, I
felt so alive. It was invigorating getting my feelings off of my chest and also discovering the real reason my father didn’t want us in the house.

  Someone had messed up and in turn Shayne was able to purchase the house next to nothing. We were making it into our dream home and there was nothing my father was going to be able to do about it.

  “You alright?” Peyton asked when I climbed back in the car.

  “Yeah, just tired. Thanks for keepin’ them in here.”

  We started heading home, but I never divulged any information to Peyton about what went on. The conversation was for me to tell Shayne and nobody else.

  Chapter 18

  Shayne

  I’d received great news about the farm house. No Asbestos had been found and I was given the go-ahead to proceed with the renovations. After learning that the kitchen cabinetry was going to take a few weeks to come in, I decided to start conquering the remodel on the upstairs. Before leaving the property I set up the drop cloths and paint buckets to allow me to get an early start the next morning.

  With such good news on my mind I couldn’t wait to get home and tell Ash. Since I hadn’t spoken to her all day long, I was eager to get home to them to celebrate. To make things even easier I picked up Chinese and even a little something special for my girlfriend, to brighten her day.

  When I pulled up in the driveway my sister’s car was already gone. I had to admit that even the slightest image of Ash being naked always awakened my dick. By the time I’d made it to the door I was horny and ready to take her as soon as I walked inside.

  I swear that there was no greater excitement for me than coming home and knowing there was someone so beautiful waiting for me on the other side of the metal door.

  I should have assumed it wouldn’t work out that way.

  When I entered the apartment it was filled with two wailing infants. Ash had wheeled their bassinets to the living room and she was sitting in between them on the couch. Both of her hands where covering her head near her temples and she was also in tears.