Daring the Wild Sparks (34 page)

“I did talk to him, but not about that. I asked him to…” I stop and toy with the hem of my skirt. Do I tell Rod this? Will he laugh at me or call me stupid? He didn’t before. Can I trust him to listen to me like a friend should? He did after the race. In fact, he was a great friend. I had told him personal things that I’ve never even told Morgan.

Impatiently, he asks, “You asked him to what? Buy you tampons? Remove his tat? Have a threesome? Jump off a bridge without a parachute?
What
?”

The words swiftly tumble out of my mouth. “I asked him to get me pregnant.”

His eyes nearly pop out of his head like one of those stress relief toys. “Shit! You actually asked him
that
? Did you have to take him to the hospital?”

My eyebrows tug tightly together in my confusion. “For what?”

“For the stroke he had!”

Pulling my lips contritely to the side, I reply, “Almost. We had a big argument.”

“I take it he said
no
to a Wilder Jr.?”

I nod emphatically. “Oh, yeah. He was not into that at all. He even told me that he wants me to go on the Pill.”

He leans hard against the back of his seat. “He’s against it!”

“I know. We fought about it again last night. I told him that I won’t go on it.” I cringe and look down at my lap. “He left the apartment while I was in the shower.”

Rod gasps. “Did he come back?”

Without looking up, I answer, “I imagine so, but I wasn’t there. I went to my apartment.”

The coldness returns to his tone. “Have you heard from him?”

I sigh and lift my gaze up to him. Rod looks pissed again. “No. He’s leaving for Charleston, West Virginia this morning for an assignment. I doubt I’ll hear from him. Maybe he stayed at Ricky’s all night and drank. I have no idea.”

He slowly crosses his ankle over a knee and shakes his head. “Damn, Hadley. What the
hell
is his problem? He wants everything on
his
terms.”

“
I’ve
been holding out for marriage, though.”

Rod angrily scowls. “So? The weird hatred he has for marriage is killing your relationship.”

“It’s definitely an impediment, but I’m not going to break up with him over it.”

“What about you wanting to have a baby and he doesn’t? That has to weigh heavily on you.”

“It does.” I rest my chin on my palm. It’s more the fact that he doesn’t want
my
baby as much as I want his
.

He sets his foot back on the floor and leans forward again. “Anything else?”

“His mom and stepdad are getting divorced.”

Hanging his head, he mutters, “Oh, no. Fucking hell. More ammo for him.”

“Yes.”

“Good morning, kids.” We look up as Val walks into my office. “Come on into my office. Both of you guys. Amos had to go see Judge Chancellor, Rod. I’ll fill you in on what he was going to tell you.” Rod and I glance at each other and I follow him around my desk to go into Val’s office.

He stands outside Val’s door, waiting for me with his hands in his pockets. Before we go in, he tends toward me and whispers, “Amos is really hooking up with Juan.”

I whisper back, “Will you shut up about him having a boyfriend? He’s not gay!”

“He
is
, Hadders!”

I shove Rod forward and Val takes her seat as she looks up at us. “How was your weekend?”

Rod replies first, “It was great. I learned a few things.”

Widening her eyes, Val mutters, “I’m afraid to ask.”

Taking a seat and adjusting his tie, he shrugs. “You probably should be.”

She raises an incredulous eyebrow at him before turning to me. “Babe, how was yours?”

I force a smile just like my boyfriend does. See. I learned something too. “Great.”

She grins. “Did you give Finn a gift?”

“I gave him a necklace. He loved it.”

Rod tilts his head, wiggling his eyebrows at me suggestively. “You did? Was it a heart-shaped locket? Did he give you a pearl necklace in return?” I elbow his arm and he covers his mouth with his hands and laughs. Thank God, Val doesn’t seem to catch on.

Ignoring Rod’s increasing laughter, I ask, “How was your
weekend, Val?”

She claps her hands together. “It was spectacular! Ali has a boyfriend! His name is Wade and he’s choreographer!”

Rod’s incessant, growing laughter is punctuated by a sharp snort. “So her boyfriend is
gay
?” He resumes laughing, only now louder and with even more snorts.

Val rolls her eyes at him. “Rod, anyone can be a choreographer!”

Gasping for air, he wheezes, “Not
that
! His name is
Wade
.” He regains his composure only long enough to manage, “That screams, ‘I kiss boys!’”

I ask, “And
Rod
doesn’t?”

His laughter immediately ceases, his face stone serious, as if we shut off a valve. He flings his hands into the air. “That’s not even my real first name, people!”

Mischievously, I stroke his arm and purr, “Yes.
Gregory
is so manly.” He testily yanks his arm from me, forcing me to giggle.

Val continues, “Ali brought Wade with her. He’s very handsome, nice and—”

Rod blurts, “Homosexual.”

Exasperated, Val protests, “No! He’s dating my daughter, Gregory.”

Rod squawks, “He’s closeted! I guarantee you he’ll be dumping Ali for one of your sons!”

I turn to him. “Aren’t you the one who wrote a fan letter to Betty White asking her to be your grandma?”

He whips his head to me and frowns. “Damn it, Hadders! How does that make me gay? I was eight years-old! Can’t you keep a secret anyway?”

Val and I laugh, staring at Rod in disbelief, while he scowls back and forth at us, moping like that eight-year-old.

“Good morning, guys!” Morgan greets us, walking into Val’s office. Holding onto a coffee mug, she drags a chair over and takes a seat next to me.

“Oh! My dream!” Val exclaims, dropping a folder down onto her desk. She raises an eyebrow, while regarding Morgan and me more closely, pointing an accusing finger at us. “I dreamed about fish last night!”

Rod hangs his head over the back of his chair and pleads, “Please say that isn’t code for something sexual.”

Val regards Rod staring up at the ceiling. “No, Rod. It’s folklore. Whenever a woman dreams about fish, either she’s pregnant or someone she knows is.”

He speedily rocks his head back down. “Holy crap, Val! You’re having a baby?”

Val’s mouth slackens, as do Morgan’s and mine. Val then shakes her head incredulously. “Rod, sweet pea, I’m practically 60 years-old! Do you think it’s
me
having a baby?”

Straightening his tie, he retorts, “Well, it’s definitely not Ali if she’s dating
Wade
.”

I furtively glance at Morgan. She hasn’t told anyone in the office yet.

Grinning devilishly, Val shifts and crosses her arms. “I’m always right about this. I haven’t had a fish dream yet and someone I know not be pregnant.” She suspiciously assesses Morgan and then me. “So, which one of you is it?”

“Frick, don’t look at me,” Rod insists. I want to laugh at his insanity, but I also have to concentrate on not giving Morgan away. Everyone is right. I am a horrible, horrible liar.

Suddenly pushing me hard, making me fall onto Morgan, Rod yells, “Congrats, Hadders! That’s awesome news!” He laughs, but then abruptly stops. “Oh, damn. Is it mine?”

I scowl at him and turn to Val to object, “I’m not.” I try to avoid inadvertently implicating Morgan, so I look away and avoid eye contact with everyone, which probably makes me look even more like a liar. She’s already told everyone about her engagement; so mercifully, I don’t have to perjure myself about that.

Morgan interjects, and thankfully saving me from lying anymore to cover her butt, “That is freaky, Val. Actually, it’s me. Your dream was right. I’m pregnant!”

Val covers her mouth, yet she can’t hide her gigantic smile. “Morgan! Really? Congratulations, dear heart! That’s fabulous!”

Morgan happily giggles. “Thank you! I’m due November 13
th
!”

Rod slaps his knee. “Figures the 13
th
. Are you absolutely positive it won’t have horns?”

Ignoring him, Morgan informs Val, “So, no softball for me.”

“Softball?” I ask, rejoining the conversation.

Val swiftly sits up and puts her hands flat on her desk. “Oh, yes! We’re forming a softball league!”

Rod circles his finger to indicate Val, himself and me. “Who? The three of us? That’s a crappy team.”

She laughs. “No! Our
firm
! Or anyone from the whole building who wants to play. As of now, we have just about enough players from our floor alone, but we’ll take anyone who wants to join our team.”

Rod smacks my arm hard and I yelp, “Ouch!” I rub my stinging arm as he springs up and down in his chair.

“Why don’t you ask Wilder to play with us?”

I wince and take aim at his words. “You’d like to play with him, wouldn’t you?” I couldn’t help it. Without question, it couldn’t be avoided.

“Bite me, hadrosaur.”

I wrinkle my nose. “
What
?”

He holds his hand next to his mouth, like he’s telling me a secret, but loudly whispering, “It was a dinosaur with a big nose.” Val and Morgan groan.

“Thanks a lot, jerk!” He snickers and I ask, “Why do you want Finn to play? He’s always busy anyway.”

He hits my leg this time. “Doing what? You?”

Morgan scoffs. Val sighs and says, “Gregory.”

Rod laughs. “Because he’s a sporty kind of guy! Duh, Hadders!”

“That’s a great idea!” Val declares excitedly. “If he doesn’t want to play, we do need some coaches who know something about the sport.”

I shake my head, hoping they don’t seriously want me to ask Finn to play. “I don’t know if he’d be interested in playing
softball
.”

Rod leans onto the arm of his chair. “Just ask him!”

Morgan uncrosses and alternates legs as she says, “I can keep score. That’s about it. I wouldn’t be a good coach.”

Rod dips his head back to the ceiling once more. “Thank you, Jesus!”

I sigh. “I’m not asking Finn, Rod.” He looks over at me, but doesn’t say anything else.

I ask Val, “Are we getting uniforms?”

She nods. “We’ll have T-shirts and hats. You can wear jeans or sweats, I guess.”

“Yeah, Hadders. No skirts that you can leave unbuttoned to distract the ump. Although, that would actually work in our favor. Just make sure you show some belly button too.”

I slump in my chair thinking about last Sunday’s attire. “Shut up, Rod.”

He smirks. “Sadly, you can’t do that if your boyfriend is around. He’d beat the crap out of anyone looking at your legs or at your—”

Val, Morgan and I all yell, “Rod! Gregory!”

He throws his hands up and swings his head around to all of us. “Whoa! What? I was going to say Underoos! You’re all paranoid!”

I mumble and twist my ring. “I doubt that he’d care anyway.”

He loudly laughs. “You wanna bet? If I tried to look up your skirt in front of him, he gauge my eyes out before smashing my face into his knee!”

“Just shut up, Rod.” I close my eyes, boosting my arm on the side of my chair, and rest my forehead in my hand.

Morgan leans in front of me and says to Rod, “How much do you want to bet that
I
won’t do that right now just for you breathing?”

As so Val doesn’t notice, Rod surreptitiously flips Morgan off while scratching his ear as he complains, “There’s no way we have enough people to play in our office alone.”

I look past my crooked arm. “Why not? Just Morgan is out.”

He lifts his hand up and motions, “Everyone else is…” Yes. As of right now, Rod is the youngest in our office at 27. Aside from Rhonda, our receptionist, and the other paralegal in our office, Shasta, Morgan and I are the closest to him in age.

Val props her elbows on top of her desk and sets her chin in her clasped hands, smiling super sweetly. “What, Rod? Please, enlighten us as to what everyone else is.”

He flicks his tongue nervously over his lips and answers, “Golden?”

She grins. “That better mean awesome.”

He nods instantly, while bouncing his leg anxiously. “Definitely.”

Her eyes sweep to all three of us. “Actually, there’s more news. We’re getting two new lawyers and Morgan is finally getting a paralegal of her own.”

Morgan claps excitedly. “Yes! No more using Hadley!”

I frown. “Thanks?”

She nudges my arm. “You know what I mean.” Actually, Morgan barely gave me any work to do. The biggest project she gave me was a stack of papers to shred. Backbreaking work. I had to stay late for that one.

“Mostly everyone is back from their Easter vacations. The new attorneys are actually here today too. Sylvie Tucker and Grant Majorca. Morgan’s assistant, Crick Scanlon starts next week.”

Rod nearly leaps out of his chair as he gasps, “Crick?
Crick
?”

Val shrugs. “Yes, Rod. I know. It’s different.”

Looking as if he’s going to explode, he lets loose, “Holy sheep dung! Don’t get me started on
that
name! That’s what my parents call the creek that runs through town! Or a spasm you get in your neck! Who names their kid
Crick
? Is it short for
Cricket
?”

Morgan leans past me again. “Rod, if you make fun of my new assistant, I will trade paralegals with Amos and make your life a living hell.”

He throws his hands up and leans back against his chair. “Too late!”

I look at Val. “What’s our team’s name?”

She runs a hand through her banana blonde hair, patting the already perfect strands into place. “That’s for us to come up with. We can put suggestions into a box in the kitchen and then decide on the best? That reminds me, we need to quickly come up with a name so we can get our shirts and hats ordered.”

Rod wickedly grins. “Oh, I have quite a few suggestions.”

Val narrows her eyes at him. “Rod, keep it clean.”

Moving to the edge of his chair, he clasps his hands together. “Dirt Bags! Boo Bees! The Bats Out of Hell! Bat Shit Crazies! The B-Baggers! What? Why are you guys staring at me like that? Would those all be a no?”

After we leave Val’s office, I go to the kitchen and pour myself more coffee. I barely slept last night and I’m running on fumes. I hear the clicking of shoes behind me, followed by unmistakable laughter.

“Oh, Roddy, you’re so funny.”
Roddy
? Ugh. Shasta Montgomery.
Shasta
. Isn’t that a brand of pop? She’s been Brandon Rhodes’ assistant for about four months now after his former one, Gigi, retired. She always seems nice enough when we’re alone, but when there are men around, she’s a major flirt and the women around her don’t exist. I’m also pretty sure she’s slept with her boss, who is 30 years her senior and married. She’s the reason I don’t want Finn playing softball with us. With her killer body, long, curly auburn hair, drop-dead looks, flirty personality and even a cockiness about it…she’s perfect for my boyfriend. In fact, she’s like the female version of Finn Wilder.

Rod says, “You’re the only one who thinks I’m funny!”

I turn and she nods at me, obligatorily saying, “Hey, Hadley.” She’s dressed in a black scoop neck top, a tight, white skirt and ridiculous black heels that look more like stilts than shoes.

I smile. “Hi, Shasta. How was your vacation?”

She tosses her gorgeous hair over her shoulder and alluringly grins at Rod, as if he had asked her the question. “Good. I went to the beach with some friends. We were looking for some men to bring home as souvenirs.” She sighs and crosses her arms. “No such luck, though. Why are all the hot guys married?”

“Or named Wade?” Rod snickers. Shasta looks at him questioningly, but he doesn’t elaborate.

Shasta says, “Brandon told me about our softball team. I’m excited, but have no idea what I’m doing.” She shrugs and reaches for a mug. “I guess it could be fun. Roddy, you’ll help me. Right?”

He cheekily nods as he braces his hands behind him on the kitchen counter. “Absolutely. I’ll teach you how to hold a bat firmly, how to gently handle a ball and how to slide smoothly into home.”