by Rita Sawyer
“So for a month she’s going to let you wonder what she’s going to do to screw up.” Rosie wasn’t about to let that happen.
“No. For a month I need to keep her from getting in trouble.” Which they both knew could be a full time job at times. “Then for the span of her time on the show I’ll have to be at her beck and call.”
“What the hell was your father thinking?” If he had been thinking about anything but avoiding a showdown with Gina Rosie would be surprised.
“Don’t get mad at him. You know that he hates putting me in these positions,” Sophia sighed and reached for her drink. “It’s just that he knows that no one else can control her.”
“Nobody else even tries.” Rosie wanted to take the words back as she said them, because the last thing she wanted was to make Sophia feel even worse. “Okay new plan. You check out the contracts. Hopefully there are no issues, but if there is maybe someone is involved that we’ve had contact with in the past and we can get it fixed. As for your sister what if we give her some kind of project.”
Sophia perked up a little at that suggestion. “Like what?”
“What’s she good at?”
“Shopping.” They both said and started laughing.
“Oh… I’ve got it. We’re sponsoring that Keep Kids Warm program again this year. We need someone to make calls to the director and get numbers for how many coats, hat and glove sets, and pairs of boots we need. We did twenty five hundred last year. I think it’ll be higher this year since they’ve opened it up to more schools. We could give her the information and have her start shopping by age.”
“It could work,” Sophia didn’t sound totally sold on the idea. “But I don’t know if she’d be interested.”
“Listen she’s saying she wants to give back this will show her you’re willing to believe her. If she’s says no then you’ll know there’s something else going on.”
Sophia twirled her fork in the Lo Mein. “I guess. I just wished she’d talked to me before she agreed to do this.”
“That would have given you the power to shoot it down.” Rosie shook her head. “We both know she’d never willingly give you that much control.”
“This has to work.” Sophia took another huge bite of her slice of pizza.
Rosie had no idea how Sophia’s parents had managed to raise two such different daughters. One serious and one… well flaky was the only way to describe her sister Gina. Sophia managed to shy away from the limelight, while Gina did her best to find her way into it.
“It will. We’ll make it work. Who knows maybe she really does want to make a change.” It wasn’t likely, but it was possible.
Sophia looked at the food spread out on the table. Rosie saw the regret in her eyes. She only ordered takeout like this went she was upset. Normally she picked up salads, stir-fry, or other healthy stuff. Rosie knew if she went to the fridge right now she’d find eggs, cheese, water, mayonnaise, a bag of baby carrots, maybe milk, and soda. The soda was Sophia’s one guilty pleasure and she limited herself to having it once or twice a week. There was bread and tuna in the cabinet.
“Don’t do it.” Rosie commanded. “Guilt is not an option. You’re allowed to splurge every now and then.”
“It’s not guilt. I’ll work it off tomorrow. I was just thinking that pizza and Chinese are Gina’s favorites. My subconscious might be trying to tell me something.” They both laughed.
“Yeah, that someday you’re going to need to stop letting her get to you.” Rosie and Sophia took what was left of the food and the bottle of wine Sophia had opened and migrated into the living room.
“I’m working on it. Now let’s talk about something totally different. Something that has nothing to do with my family.” Sophia put the stuff in her hands on the coffee table and walked to the shelf of DVDs.
She held up a romantic comedy that had the new sexy Scottish actor. Since Rosie was missing Dade he might be able to get him off her mind for a while. If not they’d at least get a laugh or two out of it. Rosie nodded and Sophia stuck in the DVD player.
“What would you like to talk about?” Rosie asked.
Sophia dropped onto the opposite end of the couch sitting facing Rosie. “How about you tell me how Dade is in bed?”
“Whoa,” Rosie said around her mouthful Lo Mein. “Sophia, what the hell?”
“What?” The look on Sophia’s face portrayed innocence, yet guilt at the same time.
“You had to know I was going to ask.”
Rosie had, but not like this. “I thought you would have eased into it.”
“Does he ease into it?” The way Sophia drew out the word ease made Rosie laugh.
Rosie finally caught her breath and said, “Sometimes. God, I can’t believe we’re sitting here talking about this.”
“Why not?” Sophia seemed genuinely surprised. “We always talk about this stuff. What’s different this time?”
“For one I’m on the receiving end.” Rosie pressed her hand to her chest.
“You’ve been there before. Even though the rest of us think there were far too many times in between.” Sophia’s long term memory was too damn good.
“Yeah well, it’s easier when I’m the one doing the questioning, not being the one who has to answer.” Rosie quickly stuffed more noodles into her mouth.
“Quit stalling. All that sex should have you relaxed, but you’re not. So why don’t you tell me what’s got you so tensed up.” Sometimes her friend read her too well.
“Everything.” Rosie dropped her fork into the box with a sigh. “I mean the whole way here I was trying to figure out exactly what the situation between me and Dade is. We’re living together, sleeping together, doing just about everything together, yet we’re not together. Does that make any kind of sense at all?”
Sophia shrugged. “Sometimes the best things don’t make sense. I think part of your problem is you’re thinking too much. You need to shut your brain off and just enjoy him.”
Sophia was probably right, because at some point this was all going to come to a crashing halt. Rosie had been pushing that thought out of her head for days. She knew that when it came time to leave Dade it was going to be one of the hardest things she’d ever have to do. Her friends would be there for her. Which was a good thing because she had the feeling she might need a little help to get past it.
“Stop thinking,” Sophia groused. “I can practically smell the smoke leaking out of your ears.”
“Shut up and watch the movie.” Rosie said and they both laughed.
Chapter Eight
Between work and soothing her friends ruffled feathers Rosie had spent most of the last three days on the phone or computer. She was at the point where she wanted to hop in her car and drive into the city. If she wasn’t spending her free time with Dade she would have done it already. She just wasn’t ready to give that up yet, even though she knew Dade would understand her need to go be near her friends.
She had explained to him that most of the time her role within the group was the sounding board. Whenever one of them had a problem she would listen to them talk it out. Sometimes if they were lucky they’d come up with at least a temporary solution. It seemed like since her visit with Sophia last week everyone had gone into a tailspin of sorts.
Nicolette wasn’t talking to two of her cousins, which was a huge deal in a family as close as hers. Sophia said it was because they had teased her about her lack of skills with kids. Rosie knew it was a sore subject for Nicolette. It wasn’t that she didn’t like kids, or that they didn’t like her, she just didn’t have many in her life to really learn how to take care of them. Rosie had once heard her sisters tell her it was no big deal, because she could afford a team of nannies. Nicolette was determined that she would never let it come to that. When Rosie talked to her earlier today she’d said she was going to find a way to prove them all wrong, which kind of scared her. A determined Nicolette could be dangerous.
Then there was poor Tiffany. Things
had been a little intense past few months between her, her parents, and sister. Her parents were pushing her to further her education and Tiffany wasn’t firmly against it. The issue seemed to be coming to a head, and though Nicolette and Sophia promised to be there for her Rosie wanted to be on hand.
Sophia, well she was usually the most together one of them all, but she was still dealing with the situation Gina had created. Hopefully the idea they’d come up with would work, but only time would tell. Rosie had already done what she could to get things moving.
When she was at home in her apartment and felt stressed or cooped up she’d take a stroll through her neighborhood. The sights and sounds always managed to calm her. She had no idea if it would work there but she decided to go for a walk and give it a try. She grabbed her cell phone off her desk just in case anyone needed her and headed for the back door.
Dade had gone into town early this morning for some supplies and hadn’t returned yet, so she stopped in the kitchen and left him a note. She wanted to make sure he’d find it right away so she put it on the counter next to a plate of leftover cinnamon rolls that she’d made this morning.
Once outside on the porch that wrapped around the house she just stood there looking out at the yard. The idea of tossing rocks into the pond didn’t appeal to her like it had when she was a little girl, but she found herself walking toward the gazebo anyway. She ignored the bench and leaned against the post and stared out over the pond. The water was still and the few ducks floating on the surface were silent. Not for the first time since she got there she felt like something was missing.
It was more than her uncle. She missed him like crazy and wished he was there with her, but it was more than that. Like something was missing in her life. A part of her she’d yet to find. She wondered if she would have felt it in the city if there hadn’t been so many things to distract her. She felt the tears building up and didn’t even try to hold them back. Her uncle was always trying to teach her something.
She closed her eyes. An old memory of her and Teddy lying on a blanket staring up at the stars popped into her head. She had been around eleven, or maybe even as old as twelve. He had been pointing out the constellations and telling her stories about them.
He paused and after a few minutes he’d said, “Baby Girl, someday you’ll come here to think and I want you to remember this.”
“Why?” she had asked.
“Because I may not always be around to tell you how much I love you. You need love in your life, or it won’t really be any fun. Look for a man who makes you smile on the inside and on the outside.”
She opened her eyes, wiped her cheeks and said, “Oh Teddy. I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”
Teddy’s reply would have been, “You’ll never know until you try.”
She’d always taken that to heart and tried her hardest at everything she did. Sometimes she failed, but it was with the knowledge that she’d given it her all. And there were some things like roller blading that she thought she’d never be able to do. With a little hard work and patience she had surprised herself and gotten the hang of it. She couldn’t help but wonder which category Dade would fall into?
* * * *
Dade stayed away from the house as long as he could without it being too obvious. The last thing he wanted was for her to realize that he was avoiding her. He just needed some space to get his thoughts in order. While she seemed able to focus on work and everything else that came her way he couldn’t stop popping into the study to see if she needed anything, or just to say hi. So when the stable manager asked him about ordering some supplies in town Dade had jumped on the chance to drive in and pick them up.
Once he’d done that he decided to waste a little time. He grabbed a quick lunch on his own. The turkey and Swiss club sandwich hadn’t tasted nearly as good as the ones Rosie made. Even though the diner had been packed it was too damn quiet without her there to talk with. Then he hit the bookstore, bank, grocery store, and stopped to visit a friend of his. His buddy Nick was happy to see him, or maybe anyone might have done at the time. Nick’s five year old twins Hank and Holt had woken from their nap and without him knowing decided to take their dog Molly and her eight puppies out to play in the yard. When Dade had shown up Molly and Nick were chasing the puppies and the boys around the yard trying to round them all up.
It had taken over an hour, but Dade had helped them get everyone inside and calmed down. The puppies settled in much quicker than the boys. Once their mom laid down it was feeding time and they all pounced on her. The boys got angry because they weren’t done playing with them yet. Dade watched Nick negotiate with his kids better than some of the business men Dade had to deal with. Dade asked a few questions about the pups.
He knew they were yellow labs. Nick said they were almost six weeks old and all but two already had homes they’d be going to in just two weeks. Dade had no idea how Rosie was going to feel about it, but before he could stop himself he claimed the last two. Both girls, one was a touch bit lighter than the other, but Nick said that could change as they got older. Dade visited for a little while longer then decided it was time to go home and tell Rosie what he’d just done. He snapped a couple of pictures of the pups, tentatively named Baby and Girly until he got Rosie’s input and left.
Some people might see it as irresponsible of him to take on not one, but two puppies when so much of his life was still uncertain. He guessed that might be one of the reasons he’d done it. There was a damn good chance he was going to lose Rosie. The puppies wouldn’t replace her, but at least he wouldn’t go back to being all alone. A sick and twisted part of his mind told him he might be trying to see how she’d deal with him for doing this without asking her first. No matter what happened he’d love and care for the dogs and provide them with the best home he could.
Dade pulled the truck up to the barn and started unloading it. One of the boys from town that worked in the stable came running out to help him. In no time at all they were done and Dade had no excuse not to go find Rosie. He checked the study, her bedroom, his bedroom, and finally the kitchen. There on the counter sat a plate of gooey sticky buns. With one hand he grabbed a bun, and with the other he picked up the note resting against the plate.
She’d gone for a walk. It was only four-thirty so it would be light out for a few more hours. Still he wanted to make sure she was okay. He’d been in the barn so he knew she wasn’t there. Still he walked over that way to see if she’d taken one of the trails. Not finding any sign of her he started back for the house.
He climbed the porch steps and turned to take one more look around. A dark shape on the gazebo caught his eye. Dade walked over and found her sitting there staring out into the woods. He had no idea why and from the concentration lines on her forehead he wasn’t sure he wanted to ask.
“Hey there, everything okay?”
“Fine.” But she didn’t look up at him
“I’ve got some news to share,” His voice sounded a little too chipper so he toned it down. “If you want to hear it?”
“Is it good?” Dade noticed the slight droop of her shoulders when she asked.
“Um… I think it is, but you might not.” Honesty would hopefully gain him a few points.
“I’m willing to think positively. What’s up?”
“I stopped by my friend Nick’s while I was in town. His dog, a purebred yellow lab had puppies about six weeks back. I bought the last two. They’ll be ready to come home in about two weeks.” It came out in such a flash that he would almost admit to it being the closest thing he’d ever done to babbling.
“Puppies?” He couldn’t tell if she was excited or anxious, so he just nodded and waited for the rest of her reaction. “Boys or girls?”
“Both girls. I know I should have asked since we’re sharing the house, but it was kind of a snap decision. I really didn’t want to take a chance on someone else claiming them before we could hash it out. I’ve always wanted a dog, but Teddy was allergi
c.” Dade realized he was trying to justify what he’d done. Then it hit him that she could take after Teddy when it came to cats and dogs. “Shit! You’re not allergic, are you?”
“No. I’ve been around dogs and never once had an adverse reaction, but my parents were too busy to consider pets when I was younger. I guess I was just nervous about taking one on.”
“You don’t have to take care of them. I’ll do it all.”
“No,” She shook her head and smiled. “I’d like to help if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. I’m going to have to do some shopping and get things ready around here before they come home.”
“We can do it together.”
Chapter Nine
Rosie knew it was wrong and she truly tried to stop herself, but she’d spent the past four months pushing Dade’s buttons. Sometimes he deserved it. Others had mainly been just for her gratification. The thing was he let her get away with it. Oh he’d done some pushing of his own, but nothing she couldn’t handle. It was the strangest relationship she’d had with a guy. It retrospect she came to the startling realization that it was really similar to the one she had with Sophia, just with added benefit of awesome sex.
All the teasing was a perverse type of foreplay. It wasn’t what she had intended, but she wasn’t complaining. And since Dade wasn’t either she could go on enjoying the rewards. After all it wasn’t hurting either of them. Still Rosie was going to make an effort to see how long she could go without saying or doing something that would demand a response. She kind of wondered how long it would take Dade to make a move of his own without her egging him on.
Would the passion that roared between them die down without them pushing each other? She hoped not, yet at the same time it would be good to have things fizzle out naturally so they could end on good terms. They only had two months left. He was going to be busy training and house breaking the puppies, and they both had tons of work to keep them occupied. It might be good if she actually started to initiate the beginning of their end.