Rachel Laine (The Women of Merryton Book 3) (13 page)

“Ouch,
that hurts.”

I
laughed. I knew his ego could sustain the blow.

“Can
I come up tomorrow?”

“I
thought you were meeting with your party.”

They
were having a nasty fight in his district. The current representative decided
not to resign over the corruption charges, so now they’d have to go through a
recall process. Once that was over with, and depending on the outcome, there would
be a special election, which meant Andrew would have to run against others if
he wanted to be chosen as the candidate for his party. If the current guy would
only resign, Andrew could just apply and his party could decide. It could be over
and done within thirty days. Now it could be months. I tried not to think about
it. This whole situation was a landmine waiting to be detonated.

“I
can meet with them Sunday morning. I really want to see Drew. And I wouldn’t
mind seeing his mother, too.”

“Oh
… well, I have plans for tomorrow.”

“Like
a date?” He sounded worried.

“No.”
I laughed. “Why is the word
plans
synonymous with date for you?”

“So
what are your plans?” He skipped right over my question.

“Well,
if you must know, my dad and I will be in Denver for the day at a class we need
to keep up our licenses.” It was the last class I needed for the year, and it
was perfect timing since Drew had a bye week before his championship game the
following week.

“Who’s
Drew staying with?”

 “I
hired a babysitter.” My mom was coming with us, too, so she could visit with an
old friend.

“Oh.”

“Sorry.
I didn’t know.”

“Well,
what if I kept Drew tomorrow?”

I
sat down on the couch and blew out a huge breath. I temporarily lost all my
senses.

“Rachel?
… Rachel Laine?”

“Uh
… I’m here.”

“Please?”

“I
mean … I don’t know what I mean.”

“Don’t
you trust me?”

“It’s
not that … but, I haven’t even known you a month. I don’t know if I’m ready for
this.”

“Rachel,
he’s my son. I would never do anything to hurt him. And I’m hoping when my
campaign is over, you’ll let him stay with me sometimes, like on the weekends.”

I
felt like I couldn’t breathe. I needed a paper bag. My mom was right, I was
terrible at sharing. I didn’t want to share Drew. It was one thing when Andrew
was here with us, but this? Yes, I figured it was coming, but I wasn’t ready
yet.

“Rachel,
are you okay?”

“No,”
I cried.

“I’m
sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you this over the phone.”

I
sat there and sniffled into the phone. I felt so foolish for crying in front of
him.

“Rachel,
please don’t cry. We’ll work this all out, but please, can I be the one to
watch him tomorrow?”

“Okay
…” I eked out.

“What
time should I be there?”

“Seven.”

“Perfect.
I’ll see you then.”

He
was wrong; this wasn’t perfect. Besides being unprepared for this turn of
events, how was I going to explain to Maddie—Jessie and Blake’s daughter—that I
didn’t need her help tomorrow without lying? I wished I had asked Taylor’s
daughter, Ashley, instead. At least her parents knew what was going on. Andrew
had no idea how complicated he was making my life.

The
church parking lot was apparently the place to be. There were several cars
lined up around the building, all with their trunks up and decorated. I checked
out our competition as we drove around to find a spot to park. I thought we at
least had a chance at winning best trunk. I saw some creative ones, like a
pumpkin patch, Pac Man, and several Disney themes. No Christmas motifs, so at
least we would be unique.

While
I set up the trunk, Easton was kind enough to come and take Drew trunk-or-treating
with Gage and Emmy so I could man my trunk. Taylor and Ashley were manning
theirs. Taylor was handing out apples while Ashley handed out the real stuff. I
admired Taylor’s healthy habits, but I wasn’t too sure how much the children
would.

“Ready
to load up?” Easton asked Drew.

Drew
and Gage high-fived; I guess that was a yes.

“Thanks,
Easton.”

“My
pleasure.”

Once
I had the hot chocolate ready on my portable folding table, I settled in my
trunk with Christmas music, tree, and lights. It was cozy. I even had a large
stocking filled with my wrapped candy. I was going all out. The hot chocolate
was a big hit, as it was typical Colorado Halloween weather—cold. At least it hadn’t
snowed this year.

I
enjoyed seeing all of our friends we went to church with, and their costumes. I
especially enjoyed when Jessie and Blake showed up. I couldn’t believe Jessie
got Blake to dress up for Halloween. He didn’t look all that pleased about it,
either. They did a family theme—Blake was dressed as a cowboy, Jessie as a
cowgirl, and their little guy was the cutest cow ever.

“Bring
him over here,” I called out to Jessie.

She
glowed as she walked over with her little cow. It was his first Halloween. Blake
followed begrudgingly. I think he was ready to be home, but wherever Jessie and
his children were, that’s where you would find him nowadays.

I
held out my hands to Tristan and he came right to me. I snuggled him close. “I
can’t believe how big he’s getting.”

“He
took his first steps today,” Jessie beamed.

“Now
the real fun begins,” I warned his parents.

“He’s
already into everything,” Jessie commented.

I
looked down at Tristan, who was all smiles. He was such a happy little guy.
“Are you a troublemaker, already?”

He
smiled some more and showed off his new front teeth.

“He’s
the cutest troublemaker ever,” Jessie answered.

I
hugged him one more time before I reluctantly gave him up. He was making my
biological clock go tick-tock. “Where’s Maddie?” I asked.

Blake
looked around with a worried expression. His daughter was too beautiful for his
own good.

“She’s
hanging out with Ashley and Taylor,” Jessie said quickly to put her husband’s
mind at ease.

“I
hate to do this last minute, but I’ve had a change of plans for tomorrow and I
won’t need her to babysit. I’ll still pay her though.”

Jessie
gave me a look of interest. “You don’t need to pay her. Did you decide against
going to your class?”

“No.”
The unease of the situation crept up.

Jessie’s
eyes narrowed. “Is everything all right?”

I
sighed. “That’s a good question.”

“Well,
I’m here if you need anything.”

“Thanks,
Jessie. By the way, Blake, I would like to update the office, maybe do some
remodeling in the foyer area.”

Blake
looked relieved that I spoke his language. “Give me a call next week and I can
come over and take a look, see what you have in mind.”

“Sounds
good. Thanks.”

Blake
reached for the baby and Jessie. He was beyond ready to go home. Jessie stared
back at me as they walked off.

I
turned my attention back to handing out candy. I hated that I felt like I was
keeping secrets. Being private was one thing, but this felt different. And the
deceit, unfortunately, continued. Cheyenne, who never came to anything church
related, showed up. I wondered if she was intrigued with Aidan, the Pastor’s
brother, or if it was the free candy. It was a toss-up with her.

My
blonde bombshell friend came bounding over on a mission. She was dressed up
like Cat Woman, and she filled the black, body-hugging suit to perfection. It
struck me that she was the kind of woman that Andrew would probably be interested
in. She reminded me of the women he had kissed at the game, maybe not as young,
but definitely as gorgeous.

She
sat next to me in my trunk, reached into my stocking, and grabbed a candy bar. “Rachel
Laine, I thought we were friends?”

“We
are, as far as I know.”

She
nudged me with her shoulder. “Then why didn’t you tell me that Andrew Turner
came to your office?”

Was
he going to invade every part of my life? I took the safe route, or at least I
thought it was safe. “I didn’t know you were still into him.”

Her
incredulous stare told me she thought I was crazy. “I’m always keeping my
options open. So is he moving up here or something?”

“How
would I know?”

“Well,
why else would he come to your office?”

“You
know, I can’t really discuss any clients or potential clients.”

“Potential?”
she purred.

I
let her go with it.

“Well,
if he ever comes in again, tell him he needs to call me. I gave him my number
over the summer, and I’ve never heard from him.”

“I
definitely will.” I was interested to see why he hadn’t called her.

Trunk-or-treat
was fun. Drew got way too much candy, and we took second place in the trunk
decorating contest behind the family that had literally transformed their car
into a dragon. I couldn’t compete with that. Who had the time for that sort of
thing?

By
the time I got Drew to bed, I was exhausted, but I needed to make sure
everything was in place for tomorrow. I couldn’t believe I was letting Andrew
spend a day alone with Drew. My parents were less than impressed with the idea,
but I was trying my best to make sure Andrew didn’t feel the need to get lawyers
involved. Besides, Drew thought it was the best idea ever when I told him as I
tucked him in.

I
folded laundry while I listened to the late night news. I had been watching
more and more news since Andrew entered the picture. His district was on every night.
The media loved a scandal, and the current representative was giving them
plenty to report. First it was alleged there was improper use of campaign
funds. The newest twist involved an affair with a staffer. The evidence against
him seemed damning, but he was holding his ground. I wanted to call him myself
and beg him to resign and not force a special election. I also had a deep
desire to call Andrew’s party and beg them not to choose Andrew as their
candidate, but it sounded like he was a shoe-in if that’s how it fell. He had
high electability. Not only had his dad left a legacy of being a favorite,
Andrew was a hometown hero in Colorado.

While
I folded and worried over events that weren’t in my control, I received a text.

Are
you still up?

Yes.

My
phone rang instantaneously. I answered it only to hear yawning. “It sounds like
you should be sleeping, not calling me.”

“Probably,
but I had to call to tell the mother of my son how surprised I am in her choice
of costume.”

“How
do you know what costume I wore?”

“Facebook.”

“We
aren’t friends on Facebook.”

“True,
but you don’t block your profile.”

“I
will now. I didn’t know you were stalking me online.”

“I’m
not stalking you, and please don’t block your profile yet. I like seeing your
posts about Drew and I can’t friend you right now.”

“You
know, I don’t like feeling like we are some back-room secret of yours.”

“Please,
let’s not fight tonight, Rachel Laine. I only called to say that if all the
elves dressed like that, Santa would never get any work done.”

“You’re
an idiot.”

His
laugh was laced with exhaustion. “And you belong in the hot moms club.”

“Do
you subscribe to that?”

“Why
do think so little of me? Of course I don’t. I was paying you a compliment.”

“Well,
thanks.”

“You’re
welcome.”

“Before
I forget, I talked to someone tonight who is upset that you haven’t called
her.”

“Are
you talking about me?” I could hear both the panic and pleasure in his voice.

“You
should know that Merryton has a far-reaching grapevine. The citizens here are
intrigued when people such as yourself show up in town.”

“People
like you?”

“No.”

“I
should have known.”

“Anyway,
I have a friend and she is particularly interested in you.”

“Is
that so?”

“Oh
yes. She says she gave you her number and you’ve never called. Is that the kind
of man you are?”

“It
all depends on the woman.”

“She’s
right up your alley—beautiful, blonde, ample chest. Do I need to go on?”

His
laugh rumbled through the phone. “I told you, it’s brunettes from here on out.”

“You
may want to rethink that for her.”

“Who
is she?”

“Her
name is Cheyenne Fairchild.”

It
was quiet on his end for a moment. “You’re friends with her?”

“You
do
remember her.”

He
cleared his throat. “How do I put this … She’s a little too pushy for my
taste.”

It
was my turn to laugh. “That sounds like Cheyenne.”

“Are
you trying to set me up with women?”

“No.
Who you date is your own business.”

“Unless
you don’t approve.”

“Unless
they do anything to harm my son.”

“Our
son,” he corrected.

“Yes,
our son. Speaking of which, you will be meeting my parents tomorrow.”

Complete
silence.

“Would
you like me to get my original babysitter back?”

“No.”
He didn’t even think about it. “I want your parents to know that I don’t run away
from my responsibilities.”

“Hmm.
I’m not sure they will ever see it that way.”

“I
don’t blame them, but I’m more worried about how
you
see it.”

I
set down the towel I had been folding and thought about how I saw things.
“Andrew, I want to like you for my son’s sake. I want to believe you had valid
reasons for not taking care of my sister, for not believing her. I want to
believe you now when you tell me that your reasons are credible for not telling
our son who you are, but I don’t know if I can.”

“Rachel
Laine … I promise you, I will deserve the title of Drew’s dad.”

“I
hope so.”