Athena's Daughter (24 page)

“Is this my punishment?” she demanded of the
coffee maker. “Because I didn’t tell him about the baby, am I going
to have to go through life having him right in my face every day
but never have him touch me or love me again? Because if that’s the
case, I have to say I think it’s excessive and cruel. Yeah, I
messed up big time, but I didn’t commit murder or anything.”

The machine’s only answer was to belch out a
gust of steam as the coffee dribbled its way into the carafe. With
an inarticulate groan, Athena turned away and went into the living
room to open the windows. It was going to be another warm day, and
God knows she didn’t need any extra heat in her life. What she
needed was a cold shower or ten, but she wasn’t even sure that
would do any good.

Actually, what she needed was a day when she
didn’t see Derek at all, but that wasn’t going to happen, either.
Instead of an uninterrupted Sunday where she could drive around and
do a little house-hunting, Derek indicated he was going to show up
right after lunch with a big surprise for Elizabeth. Wonderful. But
if he kept insisting on being around every stinking day, Athena was
afraid she might break and give him the surprise.

For a moment, she stood at the window and
wondered what would happen if she did jump him. Just wait until
Elizabeth was out of the room, and then press against him.
Tight.

Athena sucked down hard on her lower lip as
she imagined the surprise on his face that would turn into the
sexy, predatory expression he got when aroused. His hands would
slide up her back as she wrapped herself around him and ran her
hands across his smooth chest. She wasn’t sure just when he’d lose
the shirt, but she wasn’t focused on logistics, just the delicious
outcome. Their lips would meet, a demanding kiss full of pent-up
desire and need. Lower bodies would press together, and she would
know exactly how much he wanted her by the rock hard evidence in
his jeans. Then he would push her against the wall, and…

An especially loud gurgle from the coffee
maker brought her out of her reverie and into reality. And the
reality was that he was more likely to freeze in disbelief before
stepping away from her. And that would destroy her.

She trudged back into the kitchen, and poured
a cup of coffee. If she was going to have to spend yet another day
being ignored by the man she loved while watching him laugh and
enjoy himself while not wanting her the way she wanted him, she
would need to over-caffeinate to get through it.

Having Derek back made her more miserable
than she’d been in her entire life.

The minute Derek told her to drive to
Chickasaw Gardens, dread settled over Athena as heavy and
oppressive as a wool coat in August. It was no secret that he
planned to buy a home in Memphis so he could be close to Elizabeth,
but she assumed he’d want one of the newer, fancier homes in
Germantown, and not the older charm of Chickasaw Gardens. She and
Elizabeth spent many a Sunday afternoon driving through the
tree-lined streets playing “What if?” as they checked out the
lovely, rambling homes and the quiet, placid lake, both of them
knowing that living there was way beyond their means. If Derek
bought a home there it would just add to Athena’s sense of
failure.

“Turn here,” he said, indicating Cherokee
Drive. “And then park at the house with the realtor’s sign out
front.”

Of course it would be that house, the one
Elizabeth told him was her favorite when they drove around on
Tuesday showing Derek the things about Memphis Elizabeth loved
best. The only difference was that the realtor’s sign now sported a
large SOLD sticker across its surface.

The steering column on the Bug squealed as
Athena made the turn into the driveway, and she wondered if the
neighbors would call the police to report low class people had
invaded and were clearly up to no good.

The house sat peacefully on a large,
landscaped lot, its gray bricks exuding a quiet elegance and
comfort. Athena felt as out of place sitting in the driveway as she
would at a black-tie dinner for the mayor of Shelby County.

“Well, do you like my new house?” Derek asked
Elizabeth who was hanging over the back of his seat.

The little girl wriggled with delight. “Is
that where you’re going to live, Daddy?”

“Yes, it is.” Derek opened the car door and
climbed out, taking Elizabeth’s hand to assist her exit. “And it’s
also where you and your mum are going to live.”

“What?” Athena exploded, her voice overridden
by Elizabeth’s squeal of joy as she dashed to the front porch,
followed by her scheming, manipulative, sneaky prick of a
father.

Athena scrambled to get out of the car, and
slammed the door with such force that flakes of rust fell from the
VW like redneck snowflakes. By the time she reached the
gable-covered front door, Derek and Elizabeth were already inside
the house, Elizabeth’s exclamations echoing off the hardwood floors
and bare walls.

Anger buzzed in Athena’s head like killer
bees, and she charged through the small entryway and into a
spacious living room. Damn it, there was a fireplace, just like
she’d always wanted. And gorgeous, multi-paned windows overlooking
the front yard, and a lovely arched doorway leading to…Oh, dear
God, look at that kitchen!

Terra cotta tile floors with an intricate,
inlaid pattern made the kitchen seem large and welcoming, and
through an arched pass-through Athena saw Elizabeth tearing around
an enormous den floored with the same tiles. And, yes, there was
another fireplace, this one set in a wall of built-in bookcases
lining one wall of the room. Through French doors she could see a
brick patio, and beyond that an in-ground pool surrounded by a
black wrought-iron fence. Another building built in the style of
the house sat beyond the pool, all of it shaded by large, mature
trees.

Ignoring her mother’s frozen figure,
Elizabeth tore past at top speed headed for only God knew where.
Athena rushed after her, determined to nip things in the bud before
it got any worse. She followed Elizabeth’s voice through the house,
and found her in a massive bedroom with Derek.

“Is this my room?” Elizabeth asked, bouncing
up and down with excitement.

“No, munchkin,” he chuckled. “This is your
mum’s bedroom and bath. Yours is upstairs. And I think it’s already
even painted pink.”

“Pink!” With a shriek, Elizabeth bolted from
the room. Derek started to follow, but Athena snagged the sleeve of
his tan linen shirt.

“Wait just one minute there, mister.”

He turned to her, blue eyes sparkling. “Have
you seen your closet?”

“It’s not my closet,” she declared.
“Derek…”

Ignoring her protests, he took her by the
hand and led her toward a set of double doors on one side of the
large room. Athena followed like a robot. It was the first time
he’d touched her since that confusing moment in his motel room, and
she couldn’t muster up the willpower to pull away. It didn’t help
that he looked like he got up that morning and thought, “How can I
dress to drive Athena completely crazy today?”

There were buttons halfway down his shirt,
but he hadn’t bothered to do them up, and the smooth, brown chest
she’d fantasized about only that morning was on full display under
an assortment of necklaces only a rock star could pull off and
still look so masculine other men would just wilt and admit defeat.
The sleeves were rolled up almost to his elbows, exposing his
forearms, and around one wrist he wore a wide leather cuff, the
sight of which turned Athena to mush for some unfathomable reason.
His jeans fit like they were tailored for him, saggy in all the
right spots, but still tight enough to drive her wild, and his lean
waist was encircled by a brown leather belt that just begged to be
removed.

As they entered a bathroom, she caught sight
of his face in the mirror and started to melt like a snow cone. How
the hell could a thin moustache and beard look so damn good? Her
peripheral vision noted a separate tub and shower, and all she
could think was how much she wanted to yank him into that shower,
turn on the water and get him as wet as she already was.

None of her tearing lust appeared to register
on Derek’s radar, and he continued through the bathroom and flung
open yet another door.

“There,” he said, gesturing in front of him.
“How about that?”

With wide eyes Athena beheld a closet bigger
than her bedroom in the apartment. Her clothes wouldn’t even take
up one-sixteenth of the available space, and that accessories
island in the middle would be completely wasted on her two
necklaces and one wristwatch. She only came out of her dazzled
state when he let go of her hand.

“Derek, are you completely out of your
mind?”

His brows drew together in a confused frown.
“You don’t like it?”

“That’s beside the point. But we can’t just…I
mean, it’s not…” She cursed her stuttering tongue, and took a deep
breath. “Derek, we can’t all live here together. That’s just not
realistic.”

Sudden understanding dawned on his face, and
he shook his head. “You’re right, love. That would be too confusing
for Elizabeth. But there’s a guest house on the back of the
property beyond the pool. That’s where I’m going to live.”

Confusing for Elizabeth? What about torture
for Elizabeth’s mother? “No,” she burst out. “I can’t let you buy a
house and then have to live in the guest house. For that matter, I
can’t live in your house anyway.”

“I bought the house for Elizabeth to live in.
And she can’t very well live here without you, can she?”

Athena dismissed his reasonable tone. “Derek,
this is nuts. I cannot live in your house.”

To her irritation, he only looked amused at
her statement. He leaned a shoulder against the wall and folded his
arms across his chest, bringing that leather cuff into view. Damn
it. Soft hair spilled down over his collar as he tilted his head.
“And why not?”

“Because it’s weird, that’s why not. And
there’s no way I can afford something like this.”

“You don’t have to. I bought it, not you.” He
leaned forward to stop her impending outburst. “We talked about
this the other night, remember? About how you didn’t have to do
things by yourself anymore.”

Agitated, she brought her fist down on the
surface of the accessories island. “Derek, that does not include
you buying a house for me to live in. You knew I was going to buy a
place myself. You should have talked to me about this before you
showed it to Elizabeth. And you promised me you weren’t going to
turn into Santa Claus and start buying her outrageous things. I
hate to tell you this, but buying her this house is
outrageous.”

“Maybe so, but…” He sighed. “How much were
you going to put down on a house?”

“Ten thousand,” she mumbled, knowing any
realtor in Chickasaw Gardens would have sprung a rib laughing at
that amount. “I was going to use the other five thousand to buy new
furniture and get a more dependable car.”

“And how much would the car cost?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I could probably
get a good used one for a couple thousand. Why?”

“All right, then. I’m going to buy the
furniture, so that would give you about thirteen thousand for a
down payment.”

“You’re not going to buy…”

“So,” he interrupted. “You give me that money
instead, and you’ll own thirteen percent of this house.”

“Oh, my God,” she breathed. “This house cost
a hundred thousand dollars?”

“Close to it.” One shoulder lifted in an
indifferent shrug.

Vertigo threatened to overcome her, and she
put her head down on the island. Even if she worked seven days a
week for the rest of her life, she’d never be able to afford to buy
such an expensive house. “This is nuts. This is completely and
absolutely nuts.”

“I thought you’d like it.” A hint of hurt
made his voice lower, and she turned her head to find him biting
down on his bottom lip. Oh, he had to stop that. He had to stop
that immediately or she’d end up agreeing to anything.

“What do you mean?” she asked, hating how
breathless she sounded just because he bit his lip. The way he used
to nibble her lip. And other places. Shit.

“You told me in New Orleans that you’ve
always dreamed of living in Chickasaw Gardens. I wanted a place
that you’d like, so…” He spread his hands before turning away.

Her heart ramped up its pounding with a
mighty lurch. He remembered that. He remembered, and had taken it
into consideration when choosing which house to buy. Athena pushed
away from the island and ran her hands through her hair.

“I can’t believe you remembered that. And
then you bought this house.”

After a brief hesitation, he looked back at
her over his shoulder. “I want you to be happy, too, Athena.”

“Oh.” The way her name sounded on his lips
was so beautiful, and she held her breath, not wanting to betray
how uneven it had become.

Derek turned to face her again, and took a
step closer. “Actually, it means a great deal to me that you’re
happy.”

Athena’s breath released in a long, slow
sigh, and before she could stop herself she swayed toward him.

“Mama! Where are you?”

An expression of irritation, or maybe it was
dismay, flitted across Derek’s face before he turned to greet his
daughter with a smile. “We’re in here, munchkin. Where have you
been?” He swung her up onto the island. “Having a look around, were
you?”

“Mm-hm. I found my room, and it’s pink, just
like you said. And it has big windows and I can see the swimming
pool out them.” Her little arms wrapped around Derek’s neck. “I
love it, Daddy. Thank you.”

There he went biting that lip again. “You’re
welcome, love.”

“Which room is yours?” Elizabeth wanted to
know.