by Robyn Roze
“Frank and I actually bought a lot of property on this side of the lake about twelve years ago. The parcel my house sits on is prime real estate now. It’s the highest point on this side of the lake, so the views are incredible. This house was one of the few things that I wanted out of the divorce. We started building it about four years ago and then not long after, everything went to hell in a hand basket. I moved in as soon as it was ready. Frank never stayed here. I’d already left him at that point.”
When she glanced at Sean, he quickly looked down to scoop up more of his omelet. She saw the expression he tried to hide—a look of relief that Frank had never stayed here with her.
“I’m surprised you’d want to be this far out by yourself,” he commented, without looking at her.
Shayna silently reviewed the last forty-eight years of her life. She often wished she’d had more time alone when she was younger. Maybe she could have worked through the last three years more efficiently if she had known herself better.
She had tied herself to men her whole life, never really understanding who she was without them. After she had abruptly cut ties to her ex-husband three years ago, it took many, many months before she recognized herself in the mirror without the trappings of Frank Chastain’s life weighing her down.
“The time alone has been good. Necessary, even, I think. Anyway, I love it here. We were going to downsize from the estate home that Frank still lives in and move in here once he retired—this year.” She puffed softly. “I don’t know if he’s still retiring or not. He probably thinks he’s going to need to work the rest of his life to make up for my half of the settlement.” Shayna shook her head skeptically. “Although, I think that would just be an excuse. A man like Frank never really retires.” Shayna noticed a peculiar look on Sean’s face.
“So, your ex was going to retire early?”
Shayna stopped chewing for a moment and then swallowed. Ah, that’s right. She had never gotten into their age difference or much about the personal details of Frank’s business. They had only discussed the banalities of divorce, not the specifics, and looking back, Sean had shown no interest in the man she was divorcing. She picked up a napkin and dabbed at her mouth before placing it on her plate and settling back in her chair. She was full.
“Frank is sixty-five.” Sean’s jaw dropped before he could contain his reaction or even say anything. “It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. He’s never looked his age, and he’s always stayed physically fit. But when I think about the fact that my daughter is the same age I was when I married Frank, I sure as hell wouldn’t be happy if she told me today that she wanted to marry a forty-year-old man.”
If she was honest with herself, Shayna knew why she had married Frank. Oh, it wasn’t his money. He didn’t have much when they met and later married, but he enjoyed a lifestyle that was beyond his means nonetheless. Eventually, during their marriage, his means caught up with his high-end tastes. No, she was wiser now, and she understood that she had married him to stem the desperate grief that had threatened to consume her back then. He had enabled her to avoid what she didn’t want to face—herself, alone.
“You’ve told me your mom wasn’t around, but your dad couldn’t have been happy, was he?”
Shayna’s eyes trailed off into the distance, back in time. Ben Montgomery—Big Ben as the locals affectionately called him—closer in age to Frank Chastain than she was. No, he couldn’t have been overjoyed, but he never said otherwise. After what had happened, he just wanted his little girl to be happy, taken care of, loved. It was obvious even to her dad that Frank was crazy about her.
“He never said he wasn’t.” Shayna’s focus skipped back to Sean, who was clearly trying to reconcile this new information. “I wish that he had, maybe. I don’t know if it would’ve made a difference, though.”
She glanced across the dark blue titan of lakes. “I had to grow up faster marrying someone that much older. Frank was a grown man—playtime was over for him. He was unhappy in his career and wanted to start his own business. So, we didn’t really have free time. When we weren’t working in the business, we were entertaining in our home, attending the right events, rubbing shoulders with the right people, traveling to the right destination spots. We were constantly busy. He’s one of those people who doesn’t need much sleep. He always said there’d be plenty of time for that when he’s dead.” She snorted softly. “He could never live the way I have for the last three years. No daily agenda. No plan. No minute-by-minute itinerary.”
Sean sat staring contemplatively at her, clearly assessing the woman across from him.
“So, what business were you and your ex in?”
Shayna sighed softly. “Ever heard of CCL Properties?” Unless Sean Parker lived under a rock, she knew he had.
“Uh, yeah,” he said dumbstruck, looking at her skeptically. “They’ve pretty much developed Mt. Pleasant and single handedly renovated and revitalized the downtown. The building my loft is in just to name one.” The expression on his face said, “That can’t be you.”
“Chastain, Coombs, and Logan,” she enunciated.
His brows shot up and he rubbed his palm against his jaw line as he tried to piece everything together. He was probably thinking the same thing that most people did, including herself, when a younger woman married an older man.
“There was no CCL Properties when I married him, Sean. I’m not a gold digger.”
He sat up quickly. “No! I never thought that, Shay. I just wasn’t expecting—”
Shayna stood, effectively cutting him off, and started to fill the serving trays with the remnants of their breakfast. Sean stopped her, encircling her wrists with his hands and pulling her away from the table to stand in front of him.
“Look at me, Shay,” he demanded. She lifted her eyes to his. “I did not think that for one second. I just can’t believe that after the last year and half I’m just now finding this out, that’s all. I can’t believe I never considered the possibility. Chastain is a big name around here.” Sean huffed, looking up at the cloudless sky before refocusing his eyes on Shayna’s. “I was clearly just thinking about myself, my good fortune.”
Shayna’s brow knitted. “Mmmm?”
He answered her quizzical expression. “I was just damn glad that some moron let you slip through his fingers. I didn’t care who he was, or who you were. I just knew I wanted you—for myself.” Sean skimmed her cheek with the back of his fingers.
Shayna felt rattled by the emotion-filled look in Sean’s eyes. She swallowed and decided to lighten the mood a bit.
“It took you a year and a half to figure that out?” she teased, softly, biting at the corner of her mouth.
Mission accomplished. He grinned, bringing her hand to his mouth, kissing the back of it, never taking his eyes from hers.
“I didn’t want to be the rebound guy, Shay. The guy you used just to get back at your husband before you decided to change your mind and go back to him.”
He framed her face in his hands. “If all I wanted was sex that might’ve been okay. But it didn’t take me long to figure out I wanted a helluva lot more from you than that.”
With that admission, Sean leaned down and kissed her hungrily. She felt his strong hand slide slowly down her throat, trace the opening of her robe, linger over her breast, and then glide down to deftly untie her sash. He drew her robe open, and she felt the cool morning breeze feather across her bare skin as he reached around to cup and squeeze her backside, drawing her closer to his hard heat, before smoothing his hand up to claim her breast.
She began to feel a little dizzy, winded, and pulled away before the emotions could overwhelm her. When had a man last made her feel this way?
Oh, she remembered.
Then she wanted to forget.
As their passion escalated, Sean carefully began guiding her back toward the house while continuing to tease her pebbled peaks. Tasting and touching, they swallowed each other’s soft moans.
&
nbsp; “Mother! What do you think you’re doing?”
CHAPTER 7
Before Shayna could even think to move, Sean had drawn her robe closed and tied the sash. She smiled up at him apologetically, and he shook his head faintly. She felt like a kid caught doing something wrong and was now seriously considering the wisdom of having given Dani a key. Shayna inhaled deeply and turned to face the music.
“Good morning, Danielle. I wasn’t expecting you,” she said evenly.
“Obviously not, Mother,” Danielle quipped, harshly, clearly disappointed and disgusted by what she had stumbled upon.
Shayna had grown impatient with her daughter’s increasingly judgmental attitude over the past three years. It was time for Danielle Chastain to grow up.
“Dani, this is Sean Parker.” She felt his hand come to gently rest at her lower back and she calmed a bit. “Sean, this is—obviously—my daughter, Danielle.”
In her peripheral vision, Shayna saw Sean nod at Danielle in acknowledgment, but he smartly didn’t speak or extend his hand.
The blue-eyed beauty remained mute, only shooting a bitter, dagger-filled look at Sean and then her mother. Shayna clasped Sean’s hand to lead him off the deck and toward the sliding glass panels near where Danielle stood. “I’ll call you later, Sean. Thanks for breakfast. It was delicious.”
As they passed by Danielle, Shayna leveled a blistering stare at her daughter. The young woman flinched and noticeably backed down.
“I can show myself out, Shay, it’s all right,” he offered quietly.
“No, it’s not all right,” she said as they strode casually into the contemporary styled great room, with its shades of gray, white, and aquamarine. When they finally reached the frosted-glass, double doors, Shayna turned to Sean and smiled softly up at him. “I’m really glad you stopped by this morning. We’ll definitely have to pick up where we left off.”
She saw the curl of a grin at one corner of Sean’s lips. He reached out and gently brushed the side of her cheek, his expression turning serious.
“I’m afraid I couldn’t have made a worse impression on your daughter. I’m sorry about that, Shay.” The concern in his eyes was evident.
Shayna sighed resignedly. “The circumstances wouldn’t have mattered. Trust me. You couldn’t make a good impression with her, Sean. Any man that’s not her father will always be suspect and inferior.” Shayna shrugged in defeat. “It’s just the way it is.”
Sean tilted her chin up toward him and then lightly pressed his forehead to hers. “Well, I’m sorry if I embarrassed you in front of her, Shay. I’m sure things won’t be pleasant with her after I leave.”
Shayna clasped his square jaw in her hands and pulled him down for a kiss. “I’m a grown woman, doing what grown women do in their own homes. I wasn’t embarrassed, just caught off guard. So, don’t let this ruin your day...it hasn’t mine.” She winked and moved to open the door.
Before exiting, Sean leaned down for a kiss and whispered against her lips, “Call me later. I want to see you.”
She nodded, and watched as he walked away and drove off. Sighing loudly, Shayna turned and made her way back to the patio, gliding smoothly past her visibly agitated offspring, and over to the table where she began clearing breakfast dishes onto the serving trays.
“Grab the other tray for me, would you, Dani?” Shayna asked, unperturbed, as she walked past her daughter and back into the house. The flabbergasted look on Danielle’s face suggested that she had been expecting an explanation and probably an apology from her mother. Not happening today, kiddo, Shayna thought to herself as she entered her bright, sky-lit kitchen; she was done playing the bad guy.
As she scraped the unfinished food into the trash, the other tray slammed onto the countertop, rattling and shaking the tableware on top of it. Shayna straightened and turned, looking impassively at her angry child.
Danielle’s brow furrowed. “Really, Mother? You’re going to act as if nothing’s wrong?”
Danielle Chastain was a beautiful young woman—beautiful in the way that youth tauntingly afforded; a beauty fleeting and taken for granted until it was gone far too early. Wasn’t that when most people truly appreciated what had once been in their grasp? Her shiny, long ebony hair was the same color as her father’s, inherited along with the gift of his sapphire blue eyes. Danielle bore no resemblance to her mother. Sometimes Shayna looked at her daughter and wondered if any part of her DNA had comingled with Frank’s to create this angry, self-entitled child in front of her.
“What exactly do you think is wrong, Dani?”
The raven-haired girl scoffed and her hands cut through the air. “Are you kidding me? What daughter or son wants to walk in on that!” she gestured pointedly toward the deck outside.
Shayna’s eyes narrowed and she shook her head deliberately. “There’s a time and place for everything, Dani, and my home is the time and place for that. You don’t live here and you’re not a little girl that just stumbled across something you don’t understand. I remember having that talk with you a long time ago.” Shayna crossed her arms under her chest and waited.
Danielle huffed, “I can’t believe you, Mother.”
Ah, yes, Mother. A recently minted, derogatory term that Danielle had taken to flinging the last few months to let Shayna know that she had failed in her obligation to maintain the bubble of her daughter’s idyllic life.
Shayna’s history didn’t leave her with much tolerance for people who refused to accept that life was paved with bumps, potholes, and complete washouts. Her daughter had experienced none of those, had had it easy so far. Apparently, too easy.
“Daddy tried calling you last night and so did I. We were worried about you! That’s why I came by—to check on you and make sure you’re okay. Now I know why you couldn’t be bothered to answer your phone!”
Shayna’s eyes pinched together. She had forgotten about powering off her phone yesterday. Hadn’t wanted any interruptions or anyone trying to talk her out of signing the divorce papers. Then with Sean later, well, she felt everything inside her warm at the recent memories, she had completely forgotten about the rest of the world.
“I’m sorry that I worried you, sweetheart. That wasn’t my intention. I had my phone off yesterday and simply forgot to check it for messages. That’s all.” Shayna glimpsed the sadness behind Danielle’s angry eyes and then shook her head. “Why was your father trying to call me?”
Danielle looked at her with slack jawed incredulity. “Because he still loves you! He was hoping you wouldn’t really go through with it. Daddy didn’t think you’d really sign those papers when it came time.”
Daddy. It made Shayna cringe to hear her grown daughter call Frank, Daddy. Oh, Danielle was definitely Daddy’s little girl, all right. He could do no wrong, or at least nothing that could be seen as wrong from below, when he was up on that high pristine white pedestal he’d been placed on long ago. Whereas, Mother, apparently, only served as an aggravation in their fairytale.
“Your father and I’ve been separated for three years, Dani. My signing those papers and making official what’s already been in place, was merely a formality.”
“I don’t care. I still can’t believe you’d leave him alone like that after all those years together. Why couldn’t you have at least given him another chance? Why didn’t he deserve another chance?”
Shayna felt blindsided. Wow. It was as if Frank was here and speaking through Danielle. Her ex certainly wasn’t wasting time turning their daughter against her. However, she was certain that Dani didn’t know the whole story, didn’t need to as far as Shayna was concerned. Even Danielle would be repulsed to find out that Daddy had been banging a girl her own age—and probably still was. No, Mother was not going to be the one that spilled that fetid detail.
Shayna said compassionately, “You’re going to have to accept reality, sweetheart. Your father and I have been living separate lives. We’ve moved on. Now you need to do the same. We’re not getting b
ack together, love.” Shayna reached out to stroke Dani’s flushed cheek, but she jerked back at the advance.
“No, you need to accept reality. Daddy hasn’t moved on. He thinks you’re just punishing him by going through with the divorce and that you’ll come to your senses now and realize that you’ve made a mistake.”
Shayna’s brows knitted together. “I’ve made a mistake? Look, Danielle, I’m not going to involve you in the details of our marriage, but just understand something: your father is not blameless.”
“I know that! He said he messed up big. Said it was the worst mistake he’s ever made. Damn it, Mom! He loves you! Why doesn’t that matter to you?” Danielle stepped further back, assessed Shayna, and then said coolly, “Maybe he’s right. He said it’s your mother’s fault that you’re this way.”
Shayna felt the blood coursing through her turn to ice. She had talked very little over the years about her mother to anyone. Frank knew the details, but Danielle didn’t, at least not from Shayna.
Trying to maintain her composure, she asked through gritted teeth, “And what way is that?”
Without realizing it, Shayna had stepped closer to her daughter, hovering above her. Danielle seemed to shrink a bit, as Shayna glared down into her eyes. She swallowed hard and backed away from her mother.
In a softer tone, she replied, “Daddy said it’s easy for you to cut people out of your life. That you’re unforgiving and cold because of what she did.”
Shayna exhaled sharply. “I’m unforgiving and cold? That’s what he said to you?”
The sharp words her daughter repeated didn’t hurt nearly as much as the knowledge that Danielle hadn’t been blessed with a father like Ben Montgomery. He would’ve been justified in any number of disparaging comments where his wife was concerned; however, he had never spoken an unkind word about her to Shayna or her brothers.