Rachel Laine (The Women of Merryton Book 3) (14 page)

I
didn’t know what I was more nervous about. Leaving Drew with Andrew, or my
parents and Andrew intersecting. It wasn’t really a contest—leaving my son with
his dad all day was killing me. I was so sick over it, I couldn’t eat breakfast.
It wasn’t that I was worried that any physical harm would come to Drew with
Andrew watching him, but I worried about the emotional side. I worried about
how rapid the two were becoming attached. I worried that eventually Drew would
love Andrew more than me. That he would fill an unknown need that I didn’t know
existed.

Andrew
was thirty minutes early. I was surprised, since he had gone to bed so late. We
were up talking until almost midnight, and he had an hour drive to get here. He
texted me to open up my garage. I hated all this sneaking around. He walked in
from the garage door with a box of donuts in hand. Drew was going to be
excited.

“You’re
early,” I said.

He
grinned. “I guess I was anxious.”

I
was zipping my boots up when he walked in. “Drew is still sleeping.”

“How
are you this morning?” There was care and concern behind his words.

I
took a deep breath. “I’m not really sure.”

In
a few short strides I found him next to me on the couch. He set the donuts down
and took my hand.

“Do
you touch everyone this much?”

“No.”

“Andrew,”
I turned toward him and met his eyes. Those eyes I adored and could usually
read, but not now.

“I’ll
take good care of him. I promise.”

My
eyes stung with tears. I couldn’t get any words out, but a tear escaped and
rolled down my cheek.

Andrew
reached up and brushed it away. “You have such beautiful eyes.”

“Did
you say those things to Sydney?”

“No.
She didn’t have the same eyes as you.”

“Of
course she did.”

He
shook his head to disagree. “I never saw the same light in hers as I do in
yours.”

“She
was always troubled, though most people were never able to tell.” I barely held
back the emotion I felt. I missed my sister.

“I’m
sorry, I took advantage of that—of her—in a weak moment for both of us.”

I
pulled my hand away. “Yes, well. We can’t change the past.”

He
took my hand back. “No, we can’t, but we—I—can do better in the present and the
future.”

I
shifted and pulled my hand away again. “We should probably wake up Drew.”

“I
make you uncomfortable.”

“Very,”
I admitted.

“I’ll
have to see what I can do to change that.”

We
walked up together to wake up Drew. We found Jake curled up next to him. I
never wanted the dog to sleep on the bed, but those eyes got their way more
often than not. And there wasn’t anything much sweeter than a boy and his dog
sleeping together.

Jake
was alerted to us first. He jumped off the bed and went straight to Andrew, the
traitor. Andrew rubbed his head and Jake lapped it up.

“Go
outside,” I said to Jake.

He
obediently trotted down the stairs and out the dog door.

I
sat on the edge of Drew’s bed and swiped his hair off his forehead. It reminded
me he needed a haircut. “Hey, handsome boy, it’s time to wake up.”

He
curled back into himself and pulled the covers up tighter.

Andrew
came and sat next to me. “I brought donuts,” he announced.

Drew
popped right up. “Andrew!”

That
was annoying.

Even
in his sleepy state, he high-fived Andrew. Two peas in a pod.

I
stood up. “Please get dressed. Grandma and Grandpa will be here soon to pick me
up.”

“We’re
going to have so much fun today. Mom bought me a new Lego set we can do, and we
can play ball in the back.”

Andrew
stood up to follow me back downstairs. “Can’t wait.”

We
both settled in the kitchen.

“There
are emergency numbers on the fridge, and there are hotdogs in the refrigerator
for lunch if you want to roast those with Drew, or sandwich meat. Feel free to
help yourself to whatever you can find in there. Try to get him to eat some
fruit, though. I’ll be back around six, so don’t worry about feeding him
dinner.” I looked around to see if I was forgetting anything. I felt like my
heart was going to beat out of my chest. It was already hard to leave Drew for
a whole day, but leaving him with Andrew added a whole new layer.

“Rachel
Laine.”

I
stopped and stared at him from across the breakfast bar.

He
was grinning, but not in a playful way as was his usual. It was more like, this
is going to be okay. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this covered. I brought stuff to
make dinner.”

“You
never asked if you could stay.”

His
grinned turned playful. “Do I ever?”

“Just
don’t introduce him to firearms or swords while I’m gone.”

He
laughed. “I’ll save that for next time. Relax, okay?”

I
blew out a large amount of air.

“By
the way, you look great. I like your hair natural like that.”

I
ran my fingers through my wavy hair that I had let fall naturally this morning.
“I suppose you don’t want me to take that the wrong way?”

“No,
I don’t.” His tone was different than I expected, and there was no laugh. I was
taken aback.

“Call
me if you need me today,” I made my final plea.

“You
know how I love to call you, but really, we’re going to be fine.”

I
held onto the counter and nodded. “Okay,” I eked out in my high-pitched, I’m-stressed-out
voice. Just when the stress was getting to me, there was a knock on my door
before it opened.

My
parents walked in and they didn’t look all that happy. Drew’s timing was
perfect. He came running down the stairs to greet them. He flew into my dad’s
arms. “Grandpa!”

That
appeased my parents for the moment.

I
looked at Andrew, who finally showed that he too could be nervous. I wondered
if he had ever lacked confidence before now. At least I knew he was really
human. I gave him a small smile to try and reassure him it would be all right,
or at least that it would be short-lived. He tried to smile back, but it came
out more like a strangled smirk.

I
met Andrew around the breakfast bar and we walked over together to greet my
parents at the door.

My
parents both looked between Drew and Andrew. I could see the awe in their eyes.

I
tried to be cheerful for Drew’s sake. “Mom and Dad, this is a friend of ours,
Andrew Turner.”

“He
played for the Bears!” Drew added in.

Andrew
held out his hand to my dad first. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

Dad
looked at my excited son before reluctantly shaking Andrew’s hand. I was
holding my breath and silently begging him to play nice. I knew how hard this
was for them, but for Drew’s sake, and all of our sakes, we needed to be
cordial.

My
dad shook Andrew’s hand. “You can call me Douglas.”

“Thank
you,” Andrew said with trepidation.

Dad
released his hand and gently moved my mom forward. “This is my wife, Claire.”

I
had always loved how he said my mother’s name with tenderness. They got on each
other’s nerves, but I never doubted how much they loved each other.

I
watched my mom take Andrew’s hand. I think she was shaking a little.

Andrew
not only shook her hand, but he clasped her hand with both of his, as if he was
showing deference toward her. “Claire, I’m so pleased to meet you.”

Mom
studied him for a moment. I think she, like me, had a hard time feeling ill
toward him because he reminded us so much of someone we loved and adored. And
there was something about Andrew. He possessed a charm that was all his own. It
was easy to see why people liked him so much. It was easy to see why Sydney
fell for him.

“Nice
to meet you, as well,” she managed, albeit strangled.

I
appreciated my parents putting on a good front.

“We
better get going.” Dad clapped his hands together.

My
mom took Drew in her arms and squeezed him extra tight.

I
grabbed my coat and leather satchel. I stood there awkwardly for a moment, not
sure what to do. I knew I needed to go, but I didn’t want to.

Andrew
placed his hand on the small of my back. “Have a good day. I’ve got things
covered here.”

Both
of my parents eyed him carefully. His physical contact with me was not lost on
them.

I
ignored him for the moment, bent down, and grabbed my little guy who wasn’t so
little anymore. I hugged him fiercely. “Be good, and listen to Andrew.”

“I
will, Mom.”

“I
love you infinity.”

“I
love you infinity plus one.”

I
squeezed him once more for good measure, and kissed his head.

“You’re
not supposed to kiss me in front of people,” he reminded me.

“My
mom still kisses me,” Andrew said.

Drew
looked up to him. “Really?”

Andrew
nodded.

Drew
shrugged like maybe it was an okay thing then.

My
parents walked out first, and before I could follow, Andrew grabbed my hand and
pulled me to him. We faced each other with our hands between us. “Breathe. I’ll
have dinner ready when you get home.”

I
let out a huge breath. “Take care of him.”

“Always,”
he whispered.

I
waved to the happy pair while holding my flood of emotions in, and walked out
to meet my parents. The cold morning air actually helped. I noticed they brought
the Cadillac instead of Dad’s old truck. I wasn’t too surprised, Mom hated that
thing. Besides, the Cadillac was more comfortable for all of us.

Dad
opened Mom’s door and then mine and we all situated ourselves in the car. I
watched out the window until my house was out of sight.

“Are
you okay, honey?” Mom asked.

“I’ll
survive, I think.”

My
dad’s stiff posture screamed that he was unhappy. “Drew certainly likes him.”

“Yes,
he does.”

“That’s
a good thing,” Mom added with reluctance.

“I
suppose.”

“The
question is how do you feel about his feelings for you?” Mom asked.

“I’m
confused. What feelings?”

“You
aren’t that naïve, are you?” Mom replied.

I
leaned up from the backseat and rested against my mom’s seat. “I’m thirty years
old and a mother myself; I’m hardly naïve.”

“You
are if you think Andrew Turner is only interested in Drew,” Dad chimed in.

I
sat stunned at the accusation for a moment. “Andrew and I are trying our best
to get along for Drew’s sake.”

“That
may be, and it’s commendable, but don’t sell yourself short. Andrew is quite
taken with you.” Mom remarked.

“I
don’t think so. I’m not his type.”

“Hmm
…” said both of my parents.

Mom
turned and faced me. “How do you feel about him?”

That
was an uncomfortable question for me to answer. I wasn’t sure how I felt or should
feel about him. Sometimes I found myself liking him … a lot. Other times, I
wanted to punch him. There were so many complexities surrounding that one
little question. “Mom, he was with Sydney. Besides, he’s filling my life with
craziness and uncertainty. I’m doing my best to make sure he doesn’t feel the
need to get some judge involved.”

Dad
gripped the steering wheel. “Has he given any indication that’s where this is
headed?”

“No,”
I said quickly to put them both at ease. “He says he would never think about
taking Drew away from me.”

My
mom looked skeptical. “And you believe him?”

“I
don’t have any reason not to.” I leaned closer to my dad. “You know, I remember
once upon a time, Dad, when you considered Andrew a stand-up guy, ‘a real class
act,’ I think you said.”

“That’s
before I knew he took advantage of my daughter and left her for dead. And now
he has his sights set on you.”

I
tried to remember Andrew’s parting words, and I took several deep breaths.
“Dad, he didn’t leave Sydney for dead. And as much as we all loved her, we know
that she knew what she was doing when she went after someone like Andrew.”

My
dad’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror and they didn’t look happy at all.

“I’m
not saying that Andrew doesn’t bear some of the blame; he knows that. He hasn’t
tried to excuse himself for his actions back then, but it wasn’t
him
that went after
her
.”