Magic Man

by Ashley Hastings

  I cleaned the toilet, and I thought of the pregnancy test.

  I wiped down the front of the fridge, and I thought of my lack of morning sickness, and then thought of the pregnancy test.

  I went to put my overnight bag away in the closet, and I pulled out the pregnancy test. It stared at me accusingly. I should take it now and get it over with.

  The timer went off.

  Saved by the bell. I went to tell Ivy it was bedtime, and I found her already asleep, the book clutched in her arms. I gently tugged the book free and inserted her bookmark. I placed the book on her bedside table and switched the lamp off.

  Finally, it was bedtime for me, and I had never been more ready for sleep.

  My thoughts drifted back to the pregnancy test.

  Nope. Not tonight. It was time to go to sleep. The timer had gone off, and that was the rule at our house.

  I climbed into bed and was asleep within minutes.

  Twenty Seven

  I’m not sure what it was that work me up hours later. I was sleeping hard, and then suddenly I was awake. Confused, I sat up. Was Ivy calling me? Maybe she was sick?

  I peered at the clock. Just after midnight. I pushed my hair back from my face and stumbled across the hall to Ivy’s room, expecting to find a sick child, or maybe one who had just had a nightmare. I was surprised to see her sleeping soundly.

  What had awoken me? I had heard a noise, I know.

  Remembering Maxwell saying something about raccoons, I decided that was it, and I headed back to bed. No sooner had I pulled up the covers than I started worrying about the front door. I always checked it at bedtime to make sure it was locked, but I didn’t remember doing that this time.

  Sighing, I got back up. I knew there was no way I was going back to sleep without making sure the door was secure. Safety first for this mom. I made my way to the door and saw that both the regular lock and the deadlock were in the correct position.

  Okay, now I was going back to bed for sure. I climbed into bed, ready to get back to dreaming. I heard a crashing noise again, and the hair raised on the back of my neck.

  What was that sound? I sat straight up, listening with care. What if one of the horses had somehow gotten into trouble? It was my job to handle these types of situations, and horses are so easily panicked. A horse was a lot like a toddler, in that they frequently took a simple problem and turned it into a major catastrophe.

  I was never a nervous person, even after the violence I experienced as a teen. I was never afraid to live alone with Ivy after my grandmother died. I took reasonable precautions and lived my life as I wanted, with no fear.

  I was sure it was just raccoons or a horse that had gotten itself into a sticky situation, but for some reason that wasn’t entirely clear, I couldn’t bring myself to go down to the stall area to check on the problem.

  Call me psychic, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, and that it would be a mistake to go to the barn alone. I picked up my phone, hesitating. I didn’t want to call Maxwell after all that had happened at lunch and afterward. I could call Darby and have her wake Nathan, but I had embarrassed myself enough at lunch. Nathan would wonder why I didn’t call Maxwell, and if it turned out to be raccoons after all, I would look like an idiot or a lunatic.

  Again.

  Please, God, don’t let me regret making this call.

  I dialed Maxwell’s number, hoping his ringer was on. He answered on the second ring, not a hint of grogginess in his voice.

  “Millicent? What’s wrong, baby?” The concern in his voice was evident.

  I cursed myself for the relief that flowed through my body when I heard his deep, even tones.

  “I – I’m sorry, Maxwell. It’s probably nothing, but...” I stopped. It was raccoons. I just knew it, and I was going to look like that girl. You know, the needy one who runs to a man with every little problem.

  “What? What’s going on? Talk to me.” Maxwell had assumed that commanding voice that I could never resist, and I fell into my role of the good girl who obeys.

  “I heard a noise, I think. Something woke me up. I thought it was Ivy, but she’s asleep. I checked that the door was locked and went back to bed, and I heard it again. I got to thinking about the horses, and I thought I might need to go downstairs and check on them.” I took a breath.

  “Don’t move. I’m coming over. Do not open your door until you know I’m there, okay?” I could hear him moving around as he talked. “Give me two minutes, and I will be with you.”

  Maxwell hung up the phone, and I breathed out, relieved. Raccoons are not, it was great to know he was on his way, and he only had a short distance to cover on foot to get here.

  I thought back to my grandmother saying I shouldn’t wait to be rescued, but I should look for a partner instead. Isn’t that what Maxwell was being? A partner?

  Maybe he was rescuing me, but perhaps sometimes I rescued him right back. I remembered Darby telling me how she thought Maxwell was lonely. Had Ivy and I changed that for him?

  I got up and headed for the door again, ready to let Maxwell in when he arrived. I was startled to hear yelling outside, and I clutched my phone. Was that Maxwell’s voice? It was so far away I couldn’t tell, but I couldn’t let him be in danger.

  I unlocked the door and yanked it open. I ran down the stairs into the night, searching for Maxwell. I found him wrestling with a man just outside the sliding barn doors.

  Maxwell put the man in a tight chokehold and dropped him to the ground. He looked up and saw me. “Millicent! I told you to stay upstairs.”

  “I heard yelling, and I was afraid you were in trouble.” I looked at his prisoner. “Who is that? Do I need to call 911?”

  My heart pounding, I unlocked my phone with shaking fingers.

  “No. Call Nathan on his direct line. Don’t go through Darby. He’ll answer, don’t worry. He’s a light sleeper.” The man on the ground struggled, and Maxwell slammed his elbow into the man’s back.

  I called Nathan, and he answered almost as fast as Nathan had. “Millie? What’s wrong?” His voice was hushed. I assumed he was trying not to wake Darby.

  “Maxwell caught someone trespassing.” I looked to Maxwell for direction. There had to be a reason he wanted Nathan called and not the police.

  “Put him on speakerphone.” Maxwell waited until I complied.

  “Nathan? I caught my father trying to break into Millicent’s apartment.” He spoke matter-of-factly, but I could tell he was furious.

  I was shocked by those words, so shocked I missed Nathan’s reply. Was his father breaking into my apartment?

  Why?

  Suddenly conscious of my bare feet, I bit my lip and glanced towards the stairs. Maxwell caught the movement.

  “Go upstairs, baby. I’ve got this under control.” He gave me a reassuring look, but I wasn’t convinced that leaving him was a good idea at all.

  “I can’t leave you alone.” He was crazy if he thought I would leave him out here by himself.

  Maxwell shot me a wry look. “I said I’ve got this.” I heard the unspoken “for an old man” as if he had said the words aloud, and I couldn’t stop a small smile. “I’ll come to get you in a little while, okay?”

  Reluctantly, I backed towards the stairs. I climbed the first step, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave Maxwell, so I stopped.

  I heard Maxwell huff out an exasperated sigh when he realized I wasn’t moving, but it didn’t change my mind. I sensed that he didn’t want to say much in front of his father, so he let it go. We engaged in a silent staring match that lasted until Nathan drove up.

  Maxwell growled at me then. “Go upstairs.”

  I hurried up the stairs, but I went straight to the window and tried to see what was happening below.

  I saw Nathan hit the intruder in the stomach, and I winced. What the hell?

  Ivy called for me from her room, and I left the window to be by her side. She had awoken when I closed the door, I gues
s. I climbed into bed with her and snuggled her close until she fell back asleep.

  The whole time my brain was racing, trying to figure out what was happening outside. Two hours passed, and I couldn’t fall back asleep. Finally, I heard my apartment door open.

  I got out of Ivy’s bed and hurried to the living room. Maxwell was standing there, looking grim and exhausted.

  “Maxwell?” I spoke as quietly as I could so that I wouldn’t wake Ivy again.

  He crossed the room and enveloped me in a bear hug. I pushed away from him. Did he think I had forgotten about the stolen journal that easily?

  His sigh said he knew better than that. “I’m so glad you and Ivy are safe.”

  “That was your father?” I wasn’t letting that go, either.

  Another sigh. “Yes. That was dear old dad.”

  “Why was he sneaking around here at night?” I couldn’t wrap my brain around why Maxwell’s father would want to get into my apartment.

  “He had heard I was dating someone and that it was serious. So he wanted to find out more about you.” Maxwell frowned, working his jaw.

  “He couldn’t arrange to go to lunch with us like other fathers would in this situation?” I wanted to shake Maxwell so he would just give me my answers already and stop being so mysterious.

  Maxwell gave me a slanted smile. “Not his style, I’m afraid. He probably hoped to scare you in some way.”

  That made no sense at all to me. “Why, for crying out loud?”

  Maxwell was still being stingy with information, and I wasn’t going to let him get away with that.

  “Because I occasionally slip my father some money, so that he doesn’t live on the streets. Maybe he thought if I was getting serious about someone I might cut him off.” He shrugged, shame-faced.

  “I think that’s commendable, Maxwell. You could easily turn your back on him, but you don’t. That makes you a decent human being with infinite patience. Why do you look embarrassed to tell me that you give your dad money sometimes?” I was back to wanting to shake him.

  “Because Nathan hates it. He would love to see my father out on the street.” He looked away from as he shared this little tidbit.

  “Why?” Gah. This man. I swear, it was like pulling teeth.

  “Because Nathan’s first wife had an affair with my father. Well, an affair is overstating it. They slept together.” He looked back at me and shrugged.

  “What?” I had to have heard that wrong. Nathan’s first wife slept with Maxwell’s father? I remember saying something to Darby earlier about soap operas. That was straight out of a soap opera, for sure.

  “Savannah.” Maxwell gritted his teeth, and for the first time, I realized he despised Nathan’s first wife. “She tried to get me to have sex with her. She cheated on Nathan a lot, and I was a convenient target, I guess.”

  My eyes were round. Whoa.

  Maxwell shrugged his shoulders again. “She didn’t give a shit about me, but she knew it would be hitting Nathan where it hurt. She was always trying to get Nathan’s attention in some way. When I turned her down, she slept with my father. Unfortunately for her, neither Nathan nor I cared that much.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “Savannah was a bitch. We all grew up together, Nathan, Savannah, and me. I hated her from the start, but Nathan married her anyway.”

  “What happened to her?” Wow, I hadn’t had any idea about any of this.

  “The short version is she died in a sailing accident. The long version will have to be told some other time, and it’s not really my story to tell. Right now, like I said, all I care about is the fact that you and Ivy are okay.” He took me by the arm and led me over to the sofa. We sank down on the soft cushions together.

  “Where is your father now?” I tried to keep my suspicions out of my voice.

  “You mean, did we kill him and bury his body somewhere on the estate grounds? We aren’t vicious murderers, Millicent.” Maxwell smirked at me, laughing.

  I glowered. “Which doesn’t answer my question. Don’t think I didn’t notice that.”

  “We took him back to his miserable home. He may be a little bruised here and there, but he’ll live. And tomorrow I will be doing a sweeping review of estate security. You can be sure of that.” Maxwell’s face was set in grim lines as he spoke to me. I could see how angry he was that someone had slipped past his security measures.

  I looked him over carefully. “Okay. Thank you for coming so quickly when I called. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going back to bed.”

  Maxwell frowned. “We need to talk about what happened with your journal. You know that.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You mean we need to talk about how you stole my journal? It’s late, or early, however you want to describe it, and I don’t have anything more to say right now.” I headed towards my bedroom. “You can let yourself out.” I glanced back at him over my shoulder, checking to see if he would just leave.

  No such luck.

  He considered me for a moment. “Have you even bothered to take a pregnancy test?”

  Surprised, I stopped in my tracks, and I turned back around. “No. I don’t see a need.”

  Liar, liar. Pants on fire.

  Maxwell took me by the hand and led me back over to the couch, and we sat down together once more. I went along with what he wanted, but I continued to glare at him.

  “Millicent, I’m so sorry I didn’t put on a condom that day. You’ve had so much to deal with in your life, that sometimes I forget how young you are.” He scratched his head and thought for a minute before going on. “I don’t want to burden you with another child, but it is what it is, and it’s time you accepted the facts.”

  I tried to get up, but he grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me into his lap. “I was also dead wrong to have kept your journal, but guess what? It is what is. I can’t fix that mistake. I can only try to explain what I was thinking at the time.”

  I refused to look at Maxwell while he talked.

  “I love you, and despite that, I will make more mistakes in the future, I’m sure. You will probably make a few of your own. I am sorry I have hurt you, but let’s be perfectly clear here.” He lowered his mouth to whisper the next part in my ear, and I shivered. “I’ll do whatever it takes to have you in my life, whether we are having a baby together or not.”

  Goosebumps ran up my arms, and I rubbed them, still not looking at Maxwell.

  “Do you understand, kitten?” His voice was smoky as sin, and I told my body to behave.

  I nodded.

  I understood that for better or worse, Maxwell had become my partner, in the bedroom and out. And I couldn’t see that as a bad thing. Not at all.

  “Now, I’m going to get in the car and drive to Mathiston to find a twenty-four-hour drugstore and buy a damn pregnancy test.”

  I held up a hand in surrender, sighing out a long breath.

  “I have a test.” Might as well admit it now, because I didn’t doubt for a minute Maxwell would drive all the way over to the other town, and then come back and get me to take the test.

  Maxwell lifted my chin and studied my face, not asking any questions. “Then let’s go take it together.”

  And damn it all, he followed me to the bathroom and took the test out of the box, reading the directions aloud.

  “Um, I need some privacy for this part.” I traced a line on the tile with my toe as I spoke.

  “Nope.” His voice was matter-of-fact again, tolerating no argument from me.

  “What?” He couldn’t be serious. I loved him, and he knew every inch of my body in a sexual way, but there were some things a girl needed to do in peace.

  “You are mine, kitten. That means everything about you is my business. Drop your cute panties and pee on this stick.” He raised an eyebrow at me in challenge, waiting to see what I did.

  Shocked, I did just as he ordered, and together we waited the three minutes the test required. He held my hand as we sat there, stroking my hair. Before the three m
inutes were even completely up, the plus sign showed up as clear as if I had drawn it myself. I studied it for a moment, thinking of all the ways my life was about to change, but I couldn’t be sad about it. A baby was a miracle. And to have Maxwell as the father of my child? A dream come true, for sure.

  I didn’t need Maxwell to buy my lottery tickets. I had already won.

  I couldn’t be sad that we had made this baby together.

  I held the test out to Maxwell without a word, thinking he would want to see for himself.

  He took it from my hand and tossed it in the trash without looking. I opened my mouth and then closed it again without speaking. He already knew, so he didn’t need to read it for himself. Right.

  I rolled my eyes again.

  Living with this man wasn’t going to be easy, but it would be so worth it. “I have to ask. Is there anything else you need to tell me, Maxwell?”

  “The tuition reimbursement check I gave you? That came out of my own pocket.” He said it without any hint of apology at all.

  I closed my eyes in disbelief, but I think I had known that all alone. I thought about when Maxwell first brought up the idea of tuition reimbursement, he had acted like I should have already known that it was part of my compensation package. I had never heard of it because it wasn’t part of the deal. Then he said not to mention it to the Randolphs. Right, because they hadn’t heard of it, either.

  The deposit slip had come from a Randolph account. Maxwell had probably given money to Nathan and then had the money transferred to me so it would look like it had come from my employers. Nathan and Darby would have been all for it because they had been matchmaking from almost the start.

  Peace settled over me, and I let go of my anger and frustrations. Maxwell was worth forgiving.

  “Now.” Maxwell stood up and lifted me in his arms. “Let’s see how quiet you can be. I need to make love to you, baby, and we don’t want to wake Ivy, now do we?”

  I shook my head and wrapped my arms around his neck, and he carried me off to bed.