by Mary Calmes
“Yeah, okay, come get me.”
“Be right there.”
It took him half an hour to reach me, but I did some last-minute packing with all four suitcases on the bed in the guest room: mine, Sam’s, and one for each of the kids. Sam had said that my clothes and his could go in together, but I had shoes to pack, and jackets, and…. He gave up and packed a duffel bag, since I was taking a garment bag for his suit and mine.
In Aaron’s immaculately kept vintage Lincoln Town Car, I greeted his driver, Miguel, who had worked for him for years.
“Nice to see you, Mr. Harcourt,” he smiled as he closed the door behind me.
“Are you still driving this thing, Miguel?” I asked as he got in.
“We keep upgrading it, don’t let the outside fool you.”
“Oh no, I get that I’m in Batman’s car.”
He chuckled as Aaron patted my leg in hello and passed me his iPad. There was Kevin Dwyer, MD, and all his stats.
“This is just—”
“Scroll to page two,” he said drolly. “Where are we going?”
I passed him the card, which he read to Miguel before the two of them started discussing rental places. Miguel didn’t like where my car was and suggested to Aaron that we move it to a place he knew. That was as much as I listened to, since I was reading.
Apparently Sam had been under surveillance when he was in Columbia, and those pictures, classified though they were, were not off-limits to the people who worked for Aaron Sutter.
Sam looked younger but mostly the same, and Kevin Dwyer looked even better, which was amazing. It was hard to see the way he smiled at Sam in the pictures, touched him, and how close they walked together. The thing that kept me from losing it, though, was the look in Sam’s eyes. The smile did not reach them. The instant I recognized that, realized that I was looking at a lack of caring, I was filled with very unbecoming pride. Clearly whatever Kevin Dwyer had thought there was between them was not the case. Sam Kage had never been in love with him and I knew what I was talking about. I could say for certain what love looked like on the man.
“You look happy.”
I grunted at Aaron and then looked over Kevin’s relationship history since Sam. Surprisingly there wasn’t one. It was as though he’d poofed out of existence before he popped back up in Chicago six months ago.
“That’s weird, huh?”
“The way he just disappeared after Sam left Columbia?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought that was strange too, but I have good people and asked them to dig.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, and if we find anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay.” I exhaled.
“All better now?”
I nodded and passed the iPad back to him. “Thank you. It’s cheating, what I just did, but thanks anyway.”
“There should be benefits to being friends with the rich, yes?”
I nodded and leaned into him, bumping his shoulder. “You’re the best.”
“I keep telling you that.”
I laughed at him as we came to a stop. “Yeah, right. You don’t want me anymore, Sutter. I have baggage now, little people and a cat.”
“I like both of your children, and I suspect if I got Kola a race car and Hannah a pony they would love me too. Your cat just needs to be shot up with tranquilizers to mellow him out.”
“You want to medicate my cat.” I smiled as I got out, Miguel holding the door for me. Aaron followed.
“Yes,” he said smugly, buttoning his suit jacket before pulling on his topcoat and scarf. “Shall we?”
I realized I had no idea where we were. It looked like a car dealership, not a rental place. “What’s going on?”
“We’re getting you a new van.”
“But I like mine. I just need a rental.”
“You like your Nissan thing.”
“Yes, I love it.”
He grunted, and the glass doors of what I could see was a Mercedes-Benz dealership slid open.
“Oh for crissakes, Aaron, I just need a rental.”
But there was a team of people in front of us, a man and three women, and when one of the three asked for my driver’s license, I got out my wallet and passed it to her. Really, fighting with Aaron— especially in front of other people—was useless unless I was prepared to bolt, which I didn’t do anymore.
“I’m hungry,” I told him twenty minutes later.
“We’ll go get beef sandwiches at Al’s after this, all right?” He offered it like I was five instead of thirty-five.
I looked over at Miguel. “You want that?”
“My favorite,” he assured me. “Now pay attention. The lady asked you what color?”
“Black,” I told her.
“How about metallic slate instead?” She tipped her head and smiled at me.
I groaned.
Driving the new Mercedes-Benz R-Class minivan out of the dealership, I was hazy on whether it was a rental or not. It seemed to be all paid for and registered in my name, but I was told very firmly that I could return it at any time during the month. I had a printout of an insurance card in the glove compartment, and Miguel had left to go to wherever my Nissan was to get everything from it and meet us at Al’s.
I hadn’t been worried—Sam had a set of car seats in his enormous SUV that we would take with us instead of the set from my van—but now I would have both.
The food had just gotten to the table when Miguel joined us at Al’s. He had me give my keys to two guys who came to the table, and my guess was that, while we ate, they moved everything.
“It must be nice to have staff,” I told Aaron.
“Pretty much, yeah.” He smirked at me.
I let it go, asked him how much the van was, and he answered me with his mouth full of spicy beef sandwich. “I love the peppers,” he told me when he swallowed.
“Aaron.”
He knocked his knee against mine under the table. “You know, Jory, the back of your van was completely crushed in.”
I looked at Miguel. “It was?”
He made a noise as he was chewing. “Yeah. Somebody plowed into you from behind, huh?”
I didn’t remember that.
“You know a Mercedes is built like a tank, yeah? The kids would be safe.”
When I looked back at Aaron, he waggled his eyebrows at me.
“I can buy my own new minivan if I need to with the insurance money. As soon as I get it, this one goes back.”
“Whatever you want,” he agreed.
Once I was back in the van, I realized that everything was there: the carved, ivory-colored agate butterfly that hung from the mirror, the car seats, Kola’s gi, two sets of roller skates, a cat carrier, a first aid kit, and all my coupons from the glove compartment.
“And you didn’t have AAA, but you do now. I had the number and your ID downloaded into your phone,” Aaron said from where he was leaning into my open window.
“I don’t need you to take care of me.”
“I know.”
I squinted at him. “Did you just buy me a van, or is this a rental?”
“I bought you a van.”
My sigh was long. “I’m going to take it back as soon as I get my insurance money and get a new van.”
“Like I said, if you decide that’s best, that’s fine with me.”
“It’s not fine with you.”
“No, it’s not, but I’ve never had any luck giving you gifts.”
“I can’t fall in love with it. I can’t afford it.”
“You can give me what you get for your van from the insurance company and we can call it even.”
“But it wouldn’t be.”
“But it could be,” he said, his eyes locked on mine. “For once.”
“Aaron—”
“If the roles were reversed, would you buy me a new van? I mean if I had the kids and had a strict monthly budget, would you do it for me?”
“Well
yeah, but—”
“Do what you want,” he said, about to lean free.
I grabbed hold of his forearm. “Don’t be a dick.”
“Then let me do something for you,” he grumbled at me. “I have a lot of money, and I do for my family and friends. I don’t expect you to put out just because I—”
“Okay,” I laughed at him.
“Okay, like, okay?”
“Okay like I’ll drive it for a month and see what’s what.”
“It’s got an awesome safety rating.”
“The car costs more than I made last year.”
“No, probably right about the same.”
“Aaron—”
“You have never, ever, let me do a thing for you in over nine, almost ten years of friendship. Maybe just this once, since it’s not just for you and the insurance will pay for a third of it easily….”
“I’ll see what Sam says.”
“Good.” He smiled at me. “Now so you know, everything’s done.
The registration will come in the mail, but you have copies in the glove compartment in that zippered pouch, okay?”
“And the insurance?”
“Is there.”
“You transferred my insurance from my old van to this new one?”
“Not exactly.”
I squinted at him. “What does that mean?”
“Just… call me when you get back from your reunion thing next week, and in the meantime, I’ll send all the information for the art auction over to Dylan and Fal.”
“Okay, step back.”
He moved, and I got out and lunged at him. “Thank you.”
He groaned like he was annoyed. “This display of appreciation is so—”
“Needed,” I told him as I hugged him tight.
Chapter Four
I PARKED out front of Sam’s parents’ house, and since he had no idea what I was driving, I was certain Sam wouldn’t know I was there.
Aaron had said he’d call him, and so for once I wasn’t going to try to manage their friendship, or whatever it was called when an ex and the love of your life tried to be friends because the person they both cared about was in the middle.
After walking around the house to the backyard, I went in through the door that opened into the kitchen. The pot roast smelled fantastic, and there were dinner rolls cooling on the stove. Moving through the room, I walked to the swinging door and out into the dining room. I could hear the music from the living room and went to see.
I found Hannah entertaining everyone as she danced with Sam’s sister Rachel’s now-teenage daughters. The thing was, Whitney Houston was belting out “It’s Not Right, But It’s Okay,” and Hannah was way too familiar with that tune not to sing it along with her. It was on my iPod, which I usually played when I dropped my kids off in the morning or picked them up. The best part, though, was not that she knew all the words, which she actually didn’t, but that she was the only one keeping the beat as she danced. She was jumping and moving her hands, the cardiovascular workout daunting. Her head was tipping back and forth, she waggled her finger, and she stopped when the music did.
She could not have been any cuter, and when she sang the chorus, everyone howled. Picking it right back up, she started bouncing again, and her cousins gave up, unable to match her style or her energy. When the song ended and everyone clapped, she shrieked with happiness before bolting over to her grandmother and hurling herself into Regina’s arms.
“That was so good, pumpkin,” she cooed over my kid.
“I’m the best dancer in my class.”
“I’m sure you are,” she laughed, still not seeing me.
“I’m sure she is,” some guy I didn’t know snickered under his breath. “Having two daddies, how could she not be?”
I was in the doorway and off to the side, out of view, not really in the room, but even from where I was, I felt the chill in the air.
“What?” Regina’s voice cracked like a whip as she turned to the man. “What did you say?”
“Michael.” The voice of Thomas Kage, Sam’s father, boomed through the space. “Your friend—what was the name again?”
“Noah.”
“Yes, Noah—he can’t stay for dinner. Take him out of my house.”
Like a dog. Take him out.
“Uncle Michael.”
He was distracted by my daughter, but it was hard for him to look away from his father.
“Uncle Michael.”
“Yes, B?” he answered, finally giving her his attention.
“Where’s Auntie Bev? I miss her,” she said, inquiring as to the whereabouts of Michael’s glamorous wife.
How or why, I had no idea, but Hannah and her aunt got along famously. It was odd because most children were too messy, too sticky, or too loud for Beverly Kage. She liked everything just so, from her makeup to her nails to the handbag she carried. But all that fell by the wayside when it came to Hannah. She doted on her niece, allowed herself to be hugged, even if something that was on Hannah would rub off on her. The whole thing had made Regina rethink her impression from earlier in her son and daughter-in-law’s marriage, that motherhood and Beverly were not suited. Regina had hope when she saw Beverly with my daughter.
“She had a meeting tonight, B, but she’ll be on the plane with you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” She beamed at him.
“Hey,” I heard Sam call as he came through the front door.
“Anybody home?”
“Daddy!” Hannah squealed and tore across the room to him,
leaping like a spider monkey toward him, arms and legs outstretched.
He caught her effortlessly and lifted her up high so she could do the airplane pose as she giggled like crazy.
“Sam,” Regina called to him as she rose and stalked across the room.
“Wait,” Noah recanted, turning to Michael. “I’m so—I didn’t mean any—”
“Let’s just go,” Sam’s brother sighed, turning as I stepped into the room. “Jory.”
All eyes on me.
Silence.
It only took Sam a minute. “What’s going on?” he asked.
Hannah was held now against his chest, one little arm around his neck and her other hand fiddling with the collar of his leather jacket.
“That man thinks that because I have two daddies that’s why I dance good.”
Before I had kids, I had no idea that children had selective supersonic hearing. I always assumed that they heard based on the regular laws of physics. But it wasn’t true. If you said something stupid—as Michael’s guest just had—if you mentioned dessert but didn’t mean to, or if you swore as you stubbed your toe, all these things would carry instantly to their small ears. However, requests to pick up their rooms, directions to brush their teeth, and inquiries as to who had thrown the ball that knocked over the vase in the living room—normally these questions had to be shouted before being heard. So I was not surprised in the least that my daughter had heard every word that was uttered under Michael’s friend’s breath, even over the pop classic.
Noah, however, was stunned. I was guessing he was not a parent, or he might have known better.
Sam’s eyes went cold and hard the instant Hannah uttered the words.
“But it’s not true.” She beamed at him. “’Cause Kola can’t dance, and he has you and Pa too. So that’s not right, is it, Daddy?”
“No, B, that’s not right.”
You could hear the antique mantel clock ticking.
“Pa!” she shrieked when she realized I was there.
“Hi, B.” I waved at her.
She gave a violent dolphin twist, and Sam put her down. In an instant she was across the room to me. I bent and grabbed her, and when I lifted her up, her head went down on my shoulder, her little arms around my neck as she snuggled. I rubbed her back and heard her sigh.
“I’m really so sorry,” the friend said to me, stepping close. “I didn’t mean anything.”
&nbs
p; “Sure.” I smiled at him before turning to Thomas. “We could just let it go, couldn’t we?”
Sam’s father studied my face. We both knew I was asking permission for Noah to stay. If Thomas Kage gave an order, everybody had to listen.
“I’m okay. Are you okay?”
He grunted, gave me a quick nod, and I looked to Regina.
“I’m starving and that pot roast smells amazing. Did you make the red potatoes?”
“I did.” She hesitated for a minute before moving fast, hands on my face when she reached me. Then she kissed my cheek. “And I made the monkey bread you like, along with the rolls.”
“Heaven.”
Her brows furrowed as she studied me. “Were you in a fight?”
I shrugged. “It’s nothing, it doesn’t even hurt.”
From the look on her face, I could tell she was not convinced.
“Sam,” I called over to him, needing the backup.
“He’s okay, Mom,” he vouched for me. “I promise.”
She lit up with relief; it was easy to see that she loved me. “I have your itinerary.”
“Which is why Sam and I came, for dinner and to get that.”
Jen, Sam’s sister, made a kissing noise as Regina told everyone to get to the table.
“You’re just jealous,” I hissed at her.
“Of what? You having to kiss my mother’s ass?” she whispered back, making her eyes huge for me. “You think?”
I laughed at her, and she smirked as Rachel walked over and rubbed Hannah’s head. “Your daughter is an angel.”
“Yeah I know.” I smiled at Rachel. “Where’s my boy?”
“In the playroom with Peter and Riley.” She yawned. “My kids love watching their cousins.”
“And even if they didn’t, you’d make them do it anyway.”
“Yeah. So?”
“You’re so bad. Do they want to go to the reunion at this point?”
I asked her.
She shook her head. “No, but I guilted them into it. I told them if they didn’t go then they obviously loved their stepmother more than their mother.”
“Rachel,” I scolded her.
“What? Dean decides to divorce me and marry a woman in her midtwenties and I’m supposed to be the grown-up? Did I tell you she’s pregnant?”