by Gem Sivad
“Because I don’t want to,” she answered, sounding belligerent. “And furthermore, stay out of my business.”
I knew Jack wouldn’t have mentioned the incident if Holly hadn’t had a very close encounter with a metal monster. But her version made it sound as though Jack had overreacted. Since I couldn’t be there, I asked Jack to continue his bodyguarding, discreetly of course. Meanwhile, I limited my conversations with Holly to her medical updates.
I held to my part of the bargain and focused on pregnancy issues. Holly seemed a bit testy when I asked details about her health, but when I pointed out it was under the purview of what could be considered our business she kept me abreast of her gestation progress.
Assured that things were fine at home, I concentrated on the job, limiting phone calls. Smoke, Inc. got an offer to stay on site, and the contract tempted me. I talked it over with the crew; the money was top-dollar and even though we were all tired, I’d made up my mind to accept the job when I heard from Elaine.
“What do you mean Holly’s going clubbing? She’s pregnant, she can’t do that.”
I’d expected my personal assistant to assist, as in, be my eyes and ears while I wasn’t home. As with Jack, I had included in her job description, keeping a watchful eye on my future progeny.
I thought Elaine had managed my baby’s mama into a sensible lifestyle. She’d scored touchdowns in getting Holly to agree to the insurance, the baby doctor, and even company employment.
I’d been sprawled on my blanket, SAT-phone in hand, ready to tell Elaine to fax one of our extended contract forms to the appropriate local agency. I didn’t get a chance to give my order before my unflappable secretary revealed she’d lost control of her charge.
“Can’t make your woman stay at home?” Teague and Cowboy both smirked at me from where they lurked, openly eavesdropping.
“Seems like it’s going around,” I drawled. “Harley-Jane and Megan are planning to party with her as well.” That wiped the smile off their faces.
I called Garret. As soon as he answered, I began. “I need you to call Holly and tell her she can’t go out clubbing with a bunch of women.” Even to my own ears I sounded like a petulant child.
“She’s not,” he answered immediately. Good. Someone had my back. “I’m going with them. She’ll be fine.” And he hung up before I could even ask what club they intended to start at.
Holly
I’d been anticipating the conversation with Marty when he called to review the results from my nonexistent Thursday medical appointment. I didn’t get to use any of my rehearsed sassy remarks because the phone remained silent that night. I felt cheated. I’d intended to tell him that the consensus of four Smoke, Inc. women was that the crew needed to come home.
When he didn’t call at all, I focused on life without him, because, really when all was said and done, my life and Marty’s life were separate entities. I had to keep reminding myself of that immutable fact.
Sheesh. I’d only started the whole, I’m going out thing, to demonstrate I could do whatever I wanted. I’d also assumed Elaine would tattle on me and Marty would tell me to stay home.
From that conversation I’d intended to work my way to telling him to come home…based on the will of the Smoke, Inc. women, etc. However, our imaginary conversation never happened.
Though I had no desire to go clubbing anywhere with anyone, my idea snowballed, and my rebellion gathered supporters along the way. Not being much of a party-goer, and never a bar-hopper, I yearned for rescue.
I’d fully expected Marty to find some obscure reason I shouldn’t go out and I’d blame him when I weaseled out of going. When I didn’t hear from him at all Thursday night, I worried something might have happened at the burn site.
Elaine stayed at the office on Friday. I called to find out what was going on with the crew, specifically was Marty okay, and she said she’d talked to him and he was fine.
She didn’t seem surprised he hadn’t called me, and it definitely showed me my place in the grand scheme of things. I was embarrassed that I’d let myself get comfortable in Marty’s world.
I had to follow through on going out, or lose face with my friends, numbering three now. But, my heart wasn’t in it. Since I couldn’t drink, and had no desire to sit in a bar and watch others have fun, that left a night with Roger.
I secured Garret’s escort by baiting my hook with Roger. Megan and Harley-Jane decided they were accompanying us to the CZ Club Friday night where we’d watch Roger’s alter-ego performing as Regina.
When the night arrived, Garret picked us up at my house and drove all of us to the club. As promised, we had a reserved table waiting for us. Roger was nowhere in sight, and I didn’t want to interrupt his pre-performance prep time, so I sat at our table and waited for the show to start.
“Staying out of trouble, I hope,” Maxine, the owner of Baby Dolls, greeted me when she strolled into CZ a bit later.
“I didn’t know you two knew each other,” I sputtered, shocked to see Elaine behind her.
“Poker Tuesday nights,” Maxine answered.
“Mind if we share your table?” Elaine asked, already pulling chairs from other tables to accommodate their addition to our group.
* * *
“Had a visit from a spurious member of the city today,” Maxine announced as soon as she sat down. “Said he’d been told that Baby Dolls Escort Service was really a stable of high class hookers.”
“It is, isn’t it?” I’d meant it as a tease, but her frown indicated she didn’t see the humor.
“Might want to rethink that opinion since it was my dancing Marilyn he wanted to know better. He wanted an introduction. He was quite insistent.”
“So?” I didn’t see much of a problem. Maxine had handled a lot worse.
“He threatened to go to the media and cause a stink if I didn’t give him what he wanted.”
“So, what did you do?”
“I told him business was booming since Marilyn’s dance, but a reminder to the public that she’d helped a disabled firefighter would be fine. Anything else would be libelous and my attorneys would see him in court.”
“And?”
“He scuttled away. But,” she paused and shook her head. “Something about the guy was off. I wouldn’t have booked him for any of my girls.”
“You trying to recruit my dancing mama, Maxine?” Marty’s question rumbled in my ear.
“Marty,” I gasped. “What are you doing here?” I’d been so focused on Maxine’s story I hadn’t seen him arrive.
“You should be thanking me for the introduction, stud,” Maxine answered, grinning up at Marty.
“You still have your lease, don’t you?” he growled. Then said to me. “Stand up a minute, baby doll.”
When I did, he sat on my chair, then pulled me onto his lap. Across the table, Megan did the same with Teague, and as soon as Harley-Jane unwrapped herself from Cowboy’s frame, they shared her chair as well.
“All this stress can’t be good for the kid,” Marty said glancing around.
“What stress,” I asked, gazing over my shoulder at him. “Geez, you weren’t kidding. Half your eyebrows are gone.”
“Makes me look distinguished,” he assured me. “Don’t change the subject. “Did you go back to see the doctor for the follow up exam?”
“Do not start with the medical stuff.” I didn’t hide my impatience at the idea of spending my night out discussing my blood pressure.
“Well, is everything all, right?”
“Maxine says a possible pervert wants to date me, but everything else is fantastic.”
The lights dimmed around us and I squirmed on his lap, making myself comfortable. I couldn’t believe how relieved I was to see him. And if the growing erection under my bottom was evidence, Marty was happy to see me as well.
Marty
“If some guy’s chasing after you, sweet cheeks, as your tenant and co-parent, we’re going to have to talk about it.�
�� I slid my arms around her waist and enjoyed the way her bottom fit snug against my groin. Perfect fit.
“Being my tenant entitles you to a room. The guy at Maxine’s is nothing, and the parenting together, we’ll figure that out. But, Regina’s about to begin. Hush now.”
Regina who? Never mind. Who cared. With Holly’s body hugging mine, I figured I’d let her have the last word for now. The show was obviously about to begin.
On stage, a good-looking woman dressed in a blue filmy get-up, glided into the spotlight and stood center stage. As if looking for something specific, she gazed out at the audience.
“Good evening everyone.” Her husky tones were almost familiar to me, but I couldn’t say why. “Special welcome to the Smoke, Inc. crew this evening.”
My mind had been wandering, as in wondering how soon I could pry Holly out of here and persuade her into Grandpa’s bed at home.
But the performer had my attention when she singled out our table.
“Do I have a volunteer, this evening,” she asked.
“What the hell are they volunteering for,” I asked when chairs screeched against the floor. A quick glance around the room confirmed that at least a dozen men stood at their tables, looking hopefully at the woman on stage.
Instead of waiting quietly like the rest of the volunteers, Garret bounded out of his seat so fast he knocked it over. Elaine caught it before it clattered to the floor while he made a bee-line for the night’s entertainment.
I settled back in my chair, curious to see what came next. The entertainer motioned for Garret to join her on stage. He trotted to the corner of the room, disappeared through a door, and ten seconds later reappeared by her side.
Music began, he raised his arms, she stepped into his embrace and they waltzed.
Okay, a dance routine. Since the kid had previously shown no inclination to participate in public entertainment, I didn’t know what he was up to.
After an intricate clockwise turn, Garret settled his arm around his partner’s waist and walked with her for a short promenade, then he moved forward in a smooth, fluid turn that accommodated the change in tempo when the music morphed into jazz. From there they moved into a rhumba, then a foxtrot, finishing with a steamy tango.
“Did you know the kid could dance like that?” Cowboy asked loud enough for most of the room to hear.
“Who do you think taught, him?” I answered, laughing proudly.
When the music ended, Garret and his partner, held hands, bowing toward our table. Then he left the stage and rejoined the crew. He was winded, but smiling big, happier than I’d seen him in a while.
When a stand-up comedian came on next, Elaine announced she was done for the night. “Garret, you were wonderful. It’s been fun. Later.” Taking that as her cue to leave, Maxine pushed back from the table as well.
“Watch your back, honey,” Maxine said to Holly. “There’s a squirrely one out there trolling for you.”
“What the hell? Holly you said it was nothing. Who’s squirrely, what do you mean he’s trolling, and where can I find him?”
“Holly can fill you in,” Maxine answered.
My questions had to wait when Holly’s friend, Roger, arrived at the table. But there was no way I wouldn’t be investigating further.
“You missed a good show,” Cowboy told him.
“Glad you enjoyed Regina. Ready Garret?”
As soon as Garret’s date spoke, I froze. Holly must have felt my surprise because she turned and gave me a smug grin.
Cowboy got it about the same time I did. “You’re the dancing woman?” he asked incredulously.
“Regina,” Holly supplied the star’s name. “Regina packs the crowd every Friday night, choosing a partner from the audience. Garret got lucky tonight.”
“Marty, you don’t mind taking Holly home, do you?” The kid’s eagerness to leave with his date made me smile.
“Not a problem. I’m going that way.”
“Have fun you two.” Holly hopped off my lap ready to leave the club. “You look tired,” she said, frowning at me.
“I’m beat,” I admitted, handing her the keys. “You drive. If I fall asleep, just leave me in the Hummer when we get home.”
Home. God that sounds good. Fatigue hit me with such force, I staggered when I stood. After we made it to my ride without me falling on my face, I relaxed on the seat next to her, enjoying the ride to her house.
“You have a driver’s license?” I thought to ask, half way there.
“You just rest up on the way home and don’t worry your head about a thing,” she chided me, giving me a quick glance and a toothy grin.
I laid the seat back as far as it would go and closed my eyes. If the cops pulled us over, I’d deal with it and pay the fine. Tired as I was, I didn’t want to waste one moment of time with her in sleep—unless it was us wrapped around each other in Grandpa’s big bed.
“We’re home,” she announced when she drove into her driveway.
Home. I knew with a sinking feeling, I’d invested more than lease money here. Every day, this old house and its owner claimed a bigger and bigger piece of my heart.
Chapter Sixteen
Holly
I didn’t know what to expect when we stumbled into the house together. Part of me, a big part of me, was ready to go horizontal against the refrigerator again. A more decorous side of me, preferred the idea of going up to my bedroom and snuggling in comfort with Marty.
As soon as he entered the front door, he sniffed the air. “Whoa, something smells good.”
“Hungry?” I asked.
He looked hopefully in the direction of the kitchen. “I could eat about anything you can find out there.”
“As a matter of fact, I have a chuck roast and vegetables simmering in a crockpot.”
Acknowledging the fine aroma coming from the other room, I put aside thoughts of seducing Marty, opting for food instead.
“You put this on for a late supper?” He unhooked the crockpot and inspected the contents.
“I can’t seem to get full these days. I put the roast on just for the sake of feeding me after I came home tonight. I’ll share.”
Of course, the pecan pie I’d baked yesterday had a couple of pieces left. And there were three or four dinner rolls from the dozen I’d been working on.
While Marty hovered behind me, I dished up cooked carrots, red potatoes, and a couple of thick slices of beef before ladling broth over it all and handing the plate to him.
I put butter, salt, and pepper on the table, along with the pecan pie and rolls after I nuked then enough to knock the chill off. Then I filled my own plate and started to sit down.
“Coffee?” I asked before I got comfortable. “Or beer?”
“Nah. Water’s fine. It’s been dry as a bone where I’ve been. I need to rehydrate.”
I served up ice cubes in water for both of us and sat down across from him.
My voracious appetite disappeared, replaced by queasy awareness as I studied his missing eyebrow.
“My grandfather was a fireman,” I said, watching him attack his plate of food with gusto. “Your father-in-law knew him.”
“Yeah?”
My revelation didn’t slow him down a bit.
“Jack and I had a whole conversation about him.”
Marty reached for another roll, and said, “Doesn’t surprise me. Jack’s been around so long, he knows everyone connected to the business.”
“He didn’t tell you?”
“Nope. Is it a big secret?”
Is it a big secret? “Not anymore.” Years of tension I’d carried, began to uncoil. Marty raised the one eyebrow he had left, waiting expectantly.
“I was born Holly Anna Carpenter. I came to live in this house when my parents were killed in a car accident. I was nine years old.” I paused to look around the kitchen where I’d spent so much time. “William Carpenter, better known as Cap, was my one remaining relative. He was already retired when he too
k me in.”
I’d been in this house for holidays before it became my permanent residence. My grandmother had passed the year before, so Grandpa and I had been on our own.
Memories I’d repressed for years flooded my mind. “He was seventy-nine, and seemed older than dirt when he brought me here. No doubt, having a kid to look after, aged him even more. But, he was good to me and we got along fine.”
“What happened?”
“He died.” I could hardly keep myself from sobbing. My eyes watered as if it had happened a moment before.
“How old were you then?” Marty prompted me.
“Fourteen.”
“And you assumed the name Smith, because…?”
“Well, as to that,” I said, my grief abating as I replaced that memory with another. “My mother was a Smith, so it’s not like I just yanked some name from limbo. As to why I dropped the Carpenter part of my name… Roger and Megan lived in the group home where I was placed. I needed friends and we jelled from the beginning.
“You know, Maxine is Megan’s aunt. She couldn’t get custody because of her work habits but, she visited every week, supplied Megan with money to spend, and checked up on the house parents to make certain she was being treated right. When Megan claimed me as her friend, I kind of fell into Maxine’s protective zone as well. I’d been there six months, when Roger was old enough to leave, Megan said she was ditching the place as well, and so…”
Marty frowned. “You were how old?”
“Fourteen. I didn’t stay there, long. And I started calling myself Smith on the off-chance someone in the system was looking for Holly Carpenter.”
“How does a fourteen-year-old survive on the streets of Pittsburgh?”
“I was never homeless. Maxine got me a job washing dishes for Buddy’s BBQ and helped Roger find an apartment we could all three afford.” Maxine was a canny business woman. She’d set us down at a table and made us do our math, figuring how much we had to make to pay the utilities, the rent, and buy food.
“‘You’ve got to be able to take care of yourselves, she told us.’ But she had our backs every step of the way.” It had been our first place and finding work, balancing our budget, and setting our goals had been a better vocational instruction than any school could teach.