His and Hers and Hers (16 page)
Read His and Hers and Hers Online
Authors: Nona Raines
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Erotica, #Menage, #Erotic Romance, #Contemporary, #Bisexual, #Best Friends
Kendra had gone home to bed—a fold-out couch in a trailer barely big enough for herself and her kids. Both sisters had escaped the home they’d grown up in as soon as they could—Kyla through a nursing-school scholarship and Kendra through an early marriage that left her with two children and an ex-husband.
But at least her mother seemed at peace. Maybe that was because she knew she was safe now. They were all safe. The cops had hauled Marty off on charges of domestic abuse, and for the first time ever, Hope Burton had agreed to press charges.
When Kyla arrived hours ago and found her mother in the hospital room, cradling her broken arm, she’d blown up. “How long are you going to keep putting up with it? Until he kills you?”
Someone who didn’t know the story would think Kyla a heartless bitch for coming down so hard on her mother. For showing so little compassion. But her mom had spent years making excuses for Marty, telling people the bruises were her own fault. She was just so clumsy. The black eye came from walking into a door. The crushed fingers were from foolishly slamming the car door on her hand. Years of lies, years of cover-ups.
But today, Kyla’s mother had surprised her. Instead of making excuses, she’d shaken her head, in tears. “No. No more.” Her voice was so quiet, Kyla had barely heard her.
Mrs. Burton opened her eyes. “Hi, honey. Did you have a good nap?”
“I didn’t mean to sleep so long. Do you want anything? Soda or something hot? I can go to the cafeteria.”
“No, I’m fine. Just sit, keep me company.” The stress of living with Marty had aged Hope, making her look older than her forty-eight years. She’d had to walk on eggshells, never sure when her husband would lose his cool and strike out.
But now she smiled, and some of tension drained away, making her seem younger and prettier.
“It’ll be better now, Mom. You’ll see.”
Anxiety clouded her mother’s eyes. “I’m not young anymore. I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“You’re not old either. And there’s plenty you can do. Get a job, go to school, anything you want.”
All those possibilities seemed to frighten Hope. “I don’t know…”
Marty had done this to her mother. Turned her into a frightened shell, someone afraid to make a move. Someone who thought she had no right to make a move.
“You can come and stay with me and Jordan for a while. Start over.” Kyla made the offer without hesitation. She had no doubt Jordan would support such a move. He was that kind of man.
“You make it sound so easy.” With each denial, Hope seemed to shrivel a bit. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s not all Marty’s fault.”
A sour taste rose in Kyla’s throat. “You’re right. I don’t want to hear it.” The room shrank and turned airless. She stood and paced the few steps to the door.
“I only mean that I should know better than to wind him up when he’s in a bad mood. If I just kept my mouth shut—”
She turned on her mother in frustration. “It doesn’t matter what you did or what you said; he has no right to put his hands on you! Don’t you get it?” She noticed a vase of red roses on the wide window ledge. “Those weren’t here before.”
Hope’s smile was soft and dreamy. “They were delivered while you were sleeping.”
A shudder of disgust passed through Kyla as though insects were crawling over her skin. “Who sent them?”
Her mother’s face turned red, turning the bruise on her cheek even darker. “Don’t you think they’re beautiful?”
“Who sent them?” She was already at the ledge, looking for the card.
“Kyla.”
“Where’s the card?”
Hope curled her fist, trying to hide something. Kyla rushed over, snatched the card out of her hand, and looked at it.
I’m sorry. Please forgive me. M.
She crumpled the card and let it fall to the floor. “Marty.”
“He’s sorry…”
“I don’t believe this.” Kyla grabbed the vase and marched into the bathroom.
“What are you doing?”
She thrust the roses into the toilet and flushed. Of course they didn’t go down, just swirled in the bowl. It didn’t matter. They were exactly where they belonged. In the crapper.
“Kyla, stop that,” her mother cried from the bed. “Those are mine!”
“Are you out of your mind?” Kyla screamed, storming back. “That man broke your arm! Do you value yourself so little that you’d sell out for a bunch of fucking flowers?”
“He didn’t mean it.” But Hope’s confused expression made it clear even she didn’t believe that.
“Yeah, he
accidentally
punched you in the face. His fist slipped.”
Hope shook her head weakly. “No marriage is perfect—”
“That’s right. And yours is a lot less perfect than most.”
“I made sacred vows before God—”
“Sacred? Oh, I get it. That’s why Kendra and I had to hide in the closet when we were kids. Why we had to put pillows over our ears so we wouldn’t hear you scream. That’s why you were a punching bag for years. Why you threw your kids to the dogs. Because of your
sacred vows
.”
And that was why Kendra rushed into marriage with a loser when she was only seventeen. And the reason Kyla refused to even consider marrying a good man who’d never given her any reason to mistrust him. Yes, Hope Burton was quite the role model.
Kyla was exhausted. It had nothing to do with lack of sleep. She was exhausted by her mother’s excuses and by her insistence on living in a fairy-tale world where her husband would change from an ogre to a prince if only she loved him enough. And all it took was a lame apology and a few lousy roses.
Trying to reason with her mother was like trying to knock down a brick wall with her forehead. “You’re not going to leave him after all, are you?”
Her mother no longer looked pretty. Her lips were pinched tight, and dark pouches hung under her eyes. “You just don’t understand. You’re young. You don’t know how hard it is to start over.”
“So you won’t even try. You’d rather live with someone who might end up killing you.”
“He’s not that bad. If I hadn’t twisted away from him, hadn’t fought him—”
Kyla turned away, no longer listening. She’d heard all the excuses, all the justifications. Nothing was going to change. “I can’t do this.” She lifted her purse from the floor and slipped the strap over her shoulder.
Hope’s face looked scared. “Kyla, what are you doing?”
“I’m leaving.” She took her jacket from the back of the chair and jerked her arm through a sleeve. “Marty’s never going to change. If you ever decide to, let me know. The offer to stay with me and Jordan still stands.”
“What about me? You can’t just leave me alone like this.”
Kyla looked at her mother, her eyes aching. She wanted to cry. She wanted to save her mom. And maybe she was a horrible daughter to walk out like this, but she had no choice. She had to be hard to save herself. “I’m sorry.”
She walked quickly to the lobby, not letting herself look back. Once there, she collapsed into a chair. The sparkly garland that draped the nurses’ station hung limply. Pictures of Christmas trees and smiling Santas on the walls might have once been festive, but now, post-Christmas, only looked tacky and sad.
Now what? She had no intention of spending the night in the house she’d grown up in, nor of sharing the foldout bed in her sister’s trailer.
Where, then? She thrust her hand into her purse, pulled out her cell phone. She needed to hear Jordan’s voice.
Come for me
, she wanted to tell him.
I need you. I love you. I’m sorry.
Kyla looked up and saw Jordan and Cassie heading toward her. She shook her head to clear it, sure she’d conjured some mirage out of desperation.
But when Jordan slipped into the chair beside her and grasped her hand, she knew he was truly flesh and blood. Strength and love flowed through his touch. Her eyes burned as she let her head drop to his shoulder. His jacket was cold, and he smelled like snow. “Oh, babe.”
His arm came around her, and when she looked up, his face was pale with fear. “Your mom. Is she—”
“No, she’s not dead. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just had to get out of there.”
Jordan relaxed a bit, and his color returned. “How is she?”
“He broke her arm. Beat her up. She’s still going to take him back.”
“Shit.” He hugged her close again.
Cassie, on Kyla’s other side, spoke for the first time. “I’m sorry, Ky.”
Kyla smiled and took her hand. “Cassie. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I had to come.” She glanced at Jordan. “We both did.”
“Baby, I’m sorry,” Jordan murmured. “I let you down. I should have told my parents to step off the minute they started in on you. I should have had your back.”
“No,
I’m
sorry. I acted like a spoiled brat. I never even told you where I was or what was going on. I’m such a bitch.”
“No, you’re not.” Jordan set his chin on top of her head as she burrowed against him. Cassie hugged her from the other side. They’d come because they loved her, and she felt so undeserving of their loyalty.
Anger and grief formed a hard fist in Kyla’s chest, squeezing until jagged sobs erupted and tears spilled down her cheeks. She furiously scrubbed them away, and they still kept coming. She hated this, hated being so damn weak.
“She just makes me so fucking mad…so sad. Why doesn’t she value her own life?”
“Oh, baby, I wish I knew.” He held her until she cried herself out. When she looked up, scrubbing her cheeks, she realized that Cassie’s cheeks were wet too. “Cass, you’re crying. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you—”
Cass blinked at her. “I am?” She touched a finger to her cheek, and her eyes went wide when she touched wetness.
Jordan spoke. “What do you want to do?”
“Can we go home?” Kyla was exhausted, and all she wanted was to be with the people she loved. She looked at Cassie. “All of us.”
“It’s late. Let’s get a motel room with a king-size bed. We’ll head home tomorrow. All of us.” Jordan smiled. He lifted an eyebrow at Cassie. “You’re not going to give us an argument, are you, Cass?”
Cassie smiled as she dried her face. “No way. I love you two, and I’m sticking with you until you kick me to the curb.”
“Not gonna happen,” Kyla told her.
“That’s right,” Jordan said. “And no more doubting us or how much we love you.”
“Yeah,” Kyla added. “No more being a chickenshit.”
“I’ll try.” Cassie laughed. “And the same goes for you, Miss Ky.”
“It goes for
all
of us,” Jordan said, his voice firm.
They bundled through the parking lot, toward Jordan’s truck. Kyla stopped abruptly. “Oh crap. I forgot about my car.”
“Screw the car,” Jordan said. “We’ll come back for it in the morning.”
“I’ll sit back in the jump seat,” Cassie offered when they reached the truck.
“No you won’t,” Kyla answered, giving her a warning look. “You’ll sit up front with us. Right next to me.”
They all crammed into the front seat, with Kyla in the middle and Jordan driving.
“Okay, find a motel. Then tomorrow, we head home,” he said, turning the ignition.
Kyla laid her head on Jordan’s shoulder. “Where the heart is.” She snorted—had she really made such a corny remark?
But her heart would always be with these two people. It wouldn’t be easy, the three of them, but somehow they’d figure it out. One step at a time, like everyone else in the world.
“Home.” Cassie spoke the word reverently. Her eyes glistened, and Kyla felt her own eyes spring tears. “I can’t wait.”
Kyla grabbed Cassie’s hand and squeezed her fingers. “Neither can I.”
Loose Id Titles by Nona Raines
His and Hers and Hers
Uncollared
Nona Raines
Nona Raines became hooked on romances when she first picked up "The Flame and the Flower" by Kathleen Woodiwiss (and she's not telling how long ago that was). Romances may have changed since then, but her love for a good love story has not. She's been writing off and on for years, but it was only when she joined the Central New York Romance Writers Association that she finally gained the support and confidence she needed to complete a manuscript.
Nona lives in upstate New York with her many pets and is currently working on her next novel. A former librarian, she enjoys reading books of all genres and discussing them with others. She is thrilled to finally be able to call herself an author.
Find more about Nona at
http://www.nonaraines.com
.
Table of Contents
