Mistletoe & Kisses (45 page)

Chapter Twelve

WHEN DINNER ROLLS around and Isabella still hasn’t come out of her room, Taylor decides to try convincing her to come back to California with him.  He’s always had a crush on her, but was always afraid of what Daniel would do to him if he hurt her.  Confident that nothing could be worse than what’s already happened, he’s determined to bring her back with him. 

He knocks lightly on the door, hoping she’ll understand the difference between his caring knock and Daniels overbearing one.  When she doesn’t answer, he knocks a little heavier.  Still no answer.  Hoping he’s not overstepping his place, he reaches out and opens the door slowly, peeking his head in and softly saying her name.  When there isn’t any hint of movement, he opens it all the way and steps inside.  That’s when he sees that she’s fallen asleep on the bed.

He walks over, sits on the bed behind her, and gently brushes the back of his hand over her cheek.  She stirs slightly, but doesn’t wake.  He takes the opportunity to really look at her.  She is just as beautiful as he remembers, and in sleep, still just as peaceful.  Awake, however, you can see the stress in her eyes and in the way she clenches her jaw.  He can’t believe how hard her life has been. 

“Isabella.” Taylor taps her shoulder.  “Isabella, hey.”  Another tap and she starts to stir.  When she stretches and rolls toward him, he jumps up like the bed is on fire. 

“Taylor?”  Isabella sits up and rubs her eyes.  “Wha—where?”  She looks around confused.  When their eyes connect, she relaxes a bit.  “Sorry, you startled me.  Why are you in here?”

“I came in here to tell you dinner was ready.  We were worried about you.”

“Why would you be worried?”

“Well, you’ve been in here for hours?  We haven’t heard a peep from you since before lunch.”

“I must’ve fallen asleep.  All I remember is lying down, and now you’re here.  I know I came in here upset with you and Daniel, but I can’t remember why for the life of me.” 

Taylor laughs while Isabella looks at him puzzled.  “Sorry.  Not laughing at you.  Just that you can’t remember why you were mad.  I mean, it’s only been six hours and you can’t remember, so it must not have been a big deal, right?” 

“You remember why though, don’t you?”  Isabella still isn’t laughing, nor does she look remotely humored by him.  When his smile drops and he nods, she asks him to tell her about it. 

“Look, Isabella.  You didn’t really give Daniel the chance to explain.  Please let me tell you the whole story before getting angry again.  I promise you in no one was trying to control you.”

She closes her eyes, trying hard to control the emotions that flood her as she remembers why she was angry at them.  Knowing she should listen to him explain, she takes a deep breath and opens her eyes to look at him.  He looks sincere, like he really cares about her feelings.  The softness in his eyes is different than she’s noticed from him before.  It brings those unrequited feelings back to her, and causes that ache in her stomach to return.  Why in the hell is she so hard to love?

“Fine.  I’ll listen,” she finally responds.

“First of all, please don’t look at me like that.  I know you’re mad, but I think you’ll understand if you hear me out.”

Isabella nods.  She pulls her legs in and tries to relax and listen, thinking the criss-crossing of her legs will keep her from bouncing them nervously.

“Okay, first of all, Daniel knows that not only does dad not practice anymore, he really doesn’t know a lot about divorce laws in California.”  Isabella’s small but tight smile encourages him to continue.  “My trip here wasn’t planned before you decided to come home.  Daniel called me the day you called him.  You see, I work at a law firm in California.  We are a family law practice.  I’m just interning this semester, but soon, I’ll be done with law school, take the BAR exam, and hopefully get a job there.  Anyway, Daniel called and asked me to come to help you as best as I could, knowing Eric wouldn’t have any influence over me.  He worried that you would get screwed, since Eric is a lawyer.  My work actually thought it was a good idea.  The partner I report to is letting me call him with questions.”

“B . . . but, uh, um . . . how did he know I was divorcing Eric?” 

“He didn’t know you were leaving him.  Honestly, he thought Eric had kicked you out.  He wanted me to go get you and make sure you got home safely.  I assured him that whatever had happened, you needed the time to think and be alone.”

“Thank you.  I did.  It was scary though, driving across the country by myself.  But I’m so happy I did it.  I needed to see that I could.”

“That’s what I’ve heard from our women in the office.  I figured you’d need the same thing.  It’s going to be okay.  You are stronger than you think.”

Isabella’s face lights up with the compliment.  She even blushes a little, and is unsure how to respond. 

To help her keep her obvious embarrassment at bay, Taylor just continues, “It really is best for you to stay in California to fight him, but it’s not required.  You will have to go back for the court dates, though.  I think it’ll be easier if you are there.”

“I can’t go back there.  I’m afraid he’ll never let me leave.  Or worse, he’ll try to be a good husband again and try to convince me to stay.  It’ll kill me to go through all this again.  I know he’ll go back to the man he is today once I give in.  I can’t do it again.  I just can’t.”

“No.  I don’t want you to go back to your home with him.  I want you to find another place to live in the meantime.  At some point, he’ll give up and stop fighting.  Honestly, how long can he fight before looking like an idiot?  If he’s been cheating, there’ll be evidence of it.  He can’t really say he wants to be married if he’s been running around.”

“I don’t have evidence.  I just know that he smells different when he comes home, and he’s not all wound up when he’s been gone for a few days.   I’ve found a phone number and a few receipts, but nothing for sure.  Even if he’s not cheating, he doesn’t care at all about how I’m doing.  I want out.”

“And you will get out.  I’ll help.  Isabella, you can come stay with me.  I have a two-bedroom apartment and no roommate.”

“I don’t know.  How will that look for his argument in the divorce?” 

“We’ve been friends for years, and I’m the only friend you have nearby, so I’m sure it’ll look normal to the judge.  Where else would you go?”

“Taylor, we barely know each other.  We can’t be roommates.  Besides, Eric will freak out if I live with a man.  Look at how crazy he is knowing I’m living with Daniel, and he’s my cousin.”

“Trust me, Isabella, it’ll be fine.  Eric has nothing to say about where you live.  Even better, if you are serious and do not to want to fight for anything besides your car and clothing, you can stay with me for free and use it as an argument that it was all you could afford until you found a job.  Then the judge will see that you are trying not to spend his money and that you are serious about wanting out with nothing from him.  It might make his fight futile.”

“I need to think about all this.”

“I understand.  But please come have dinner with us.”

Isabella agrees, no longer angry at Taylor or Daniel, and understanding why Daniel talked to Taylor to begin with.  However, she does still wonder why he’d come here to help. 

Chapter Thirteen

THE WEEK PASSES quickly and Taylor has been dropping hints here and there about Isabella going back to California with him.  She is so confused.  Daniel had told her he would support whatever decision she made.  He wanted to have her around, but knew the stress of traveling back and forth would wear on her, especially if Eric put up a fight that lasted a while.

She avoids answering both of them, confused about what the right decision is.  She knows she’d love to be in California again, but how could she live with Taylor? 

“Bella, I know you’re nervous about living in California,” Daniel says, “but I know you loved it there and it’ll feel like home.  I don't want you to think that I'm trying to send you away.  I'd love for you to come home for good, but I know you love California.  You never know how it'll work out.”

“Daniel, I want nothing from Eric.  How would I even manage to live out there now?   I don't have a job.  Hell, I don't even have work experience.”

“Bella, first of all, Taylor says you can stay with him and it’ll appear that he’s helping you out.  I can send money from the trust I’ve set up.  You'll be fine.  I wouldn’t let you go if I didn't think it was a good idea.”

"But I barely know Taylor.  It’ll be awkward.  We’re basically strangers.  At least you’re family."

“Bella, you’ll fall right back into place with Taylor.  He’s the same guy he always was.  I know you like your privacy but, since Eric is a lawyer, I knew you’d need help. Taylor will make sure you are taken care of.”

“I do’'t mind that you told him, that’s not what bothers me. I know I’d probably have to tell someone about what’s been happening.  I’m a little embarrassed, but I would’ve been with anyone knowing, not just Taylor. I’m more worried about living with a virtual stranger.   It’s weird.”

“I know it’ll be a little weird at first, but it’s not like living with a complete stranger. You can count on him, trust him, and maybe even make some new friends.  Maybe your dream will come true and you’ll get to stay in California.”

* * *

As Taylor packs the rental car with his things, he’s a little disappointed that Isabella hasn’t agreed to come back with him.  Besides wanting to help her through this divorce, Taylor remembers how wonderful she was to be around in high school, and wants to help her get that back.  She’s so insecure and broken. 

Taylor opens the car door and turns to Daniel.  “Sorry I couldn’t convince her to come with me, Daniel.  I tried.  Good luck getting her to see that she’s worth much more than Eric ever gave her.”  

“I know, and I appreciate it.  I’ll keep working on her.  I know she’ll love being back there.  She was so happy to move out there in the first place.  As much as I wish she’d make this her home again, she belongs there.  Now to convince her.”

“Good luck, man.”  Taylor climbs into the car, rolls down the window, and closes the door.

“Thanks.  Have a safe trip.  We need to get together more often.”

“For sure.  You need to get your ass out to California sometime”—Taylor starts the car and backs out of the driveway—“soon.”  Then he leaves for the airport.

  Inside, Daniel doesn’t know what to say to Isabella, but he’s determined to find a way to get her to California. 

Instead of hunting her down, Daniel goes about making his calls to all his shops to secure a few more days off.  He wants to spend some time with Isabella, so he could try to persuade her. 

Hours pass and, when Isabella finally makes an entrance, he’s buried under a pile of paperwork.  “Where is Taylor?” 

“He left today.  He’s got to get back to work.”  Daniel doesn’t even lift his head when he responds to her, acting a little nonchalant, in hopes of making her want to ask questions.  He wants her to think it’s her idea to keep talking about it.

“Oh.  I guess I didn’t realize he would leave so quickly.  Well, does that mean you’ll be going back to work tomorrow?”  Isabella tries to hide the disappointment in her voice. 

“Nah.  I took another few days off.  All of the managers have things under control. I knew I hired a great bunch of guys, but this is the first time they’ve really been put to the test.  I hope it’s all as good as they say when I get back.  Thankfully, I can check the numbers and stuff from home. It all appears good.”

“I’m so proud of you, Daniel.  It’s so nice to see you doing as well as you are.” The genuine smile Isabella wears and the warmth in her eyes tells Daniel he’s doing the right thing. 

“Thanks, Bella. So, want to go out to dinner tonight?  My treat, of course.”

“No thanks.  I think I’ll just go back to my room and read before bed.” 

“Bella, it’s early still.  Don’t hide away.  Let me take you out. We don’t have to go far or be out long, but you need to get out of your room.”

“I’m not hiding.  I just want to be alone.”

“That’s hiding.  I don’t want you to be alone.  You’ve been alone for too long.  Let’s go around the corner for pizza.   We’ll just eat and come home.”

Isabella thinks a moment, but when her stomach grumbles loudly, she can’t hide the fact that pizza sounds really good.  “Fine.”

Daniel puts his things away and ushers her out the door before she has the chance to change her mind.

Both the short drive to the pizza place, and the wait for their food,  are filled with uncomfortable silence.  It upsets Daniel, because they’ve always had an easy going relationship.  Eric’s presence in her life has done far more harm than good.  Daniel studies her, wondering how he can get her back.  Once the pizza arrives, though, Daniel can see bits of her old self poking through.  Isabella loves her pizza. 

“Oh.  My.  Gosh, Daniel.  This is so good.  Thanks for forcing me to come,” Isabella says with her eyes closed and a full mouth.  

Daniel just laughs at her in response.  That’s the girl he grew up with.  Not stuffy, prim, and proper, just genuine and full of life.