Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set (79 page)

Jenkins took the application and her license, making a copy on an ancient looking copy machine.  He handed her the key and a copy of the rules of the building which were pretty basic.

No drugs, no excessive noise, pets only with permission and deposit.

Key in hand, she thanked Jenkins and went back to her car.  She was headed up the stairs with the bag her air mattress came in and a duffel bag full of clothes and hygiene items when a male voice from behind her said “You need some help with that?”

She turned slightly and saw a hard looking blonde man who looked about her age.  It looked like his nose had been broken and not set properly.  He was giving her a look of interest that was somewhere between casual and an outright leer.  She was used to men looking at her.  She was used to men undressing her with their eyes.  It didn’t mean she enjoyed it though.

Ami turned back towards the stairs.  “No thank you.”

“You sure?” He stepped towards the stairs.  “I’m Carson by the way.  Let me take that for you please.  It looks heavy.”

Ami turned and gave him what she hoped was somewhere between a friendly and a stiff smile.  “I’ve got it, I promise.  It was nice to meet you Carson.”

Carson shrugged and muttered something under his breath.  She was almost to her door when he called up “What’s your name?”

“Ami,” she called back.  She wasn’t sure how long she could stay here with Carson around she thought.

She could almost feel his eyes roaming hungrily over her ass.

“I’m downstairs in the corner apartment if you need anything.  Just knock on my door anytime, day or night.”

“Thanks.”

She wondered how long it would take Carson to get over thinking that his new neighbor would want to make a midnight bootie call and sighed.  She didn’t dislike men.  She just thought that they were much nicer to look at than to touch and actually getting involved with one; that wasn’t going to happen.

She put her bag on top of the dresser, and brought the air mattress out of the bag, plugging in the attached pump.  She lit a cigarette as it started to inflate and opened the window.  The apartment was clean but it felt stale, as if the windows hadn’t been opened in a while.

By the time she had finished her cigarette, her bed was almost inflated.  She was very much looking forward to going to sleep and just sleeping until she woke up.  She had discarded her cigarette in the toilet and pulled out the sheets for the bed, when she realized she had forgotten to bring her laptop in.  She thought that it was probably safe in her car since it was locked, but she didn’t like to take chances.

She went to the living room window and parted the curtains, trying to see if Carson was lurking outside.  She didn’t see anyone in the parking lot, so she figured she was safe.

Car keys in hand, she went down the stairs and had grabbed her laptop case out of the back seat when a voice startled her.

“Amelia?”

She turned and saw her landlord.  “Yes?”

“I was sorry to hear about your father’s death.”

She couldn’t breathe for a moment.  “You knew my father?”

Jenkins coughed.  “Sorry.  Guess I should have asked first.  Your Dad is Charles Collins right?  You’ve got to be some relation.  You look just like him.”

Ami couldn’t speak for a moment.  “Yes.”

“My younger brother went to school with him.”

“I see.”

“Have a good day Amelia.”

“You too.  You can call me Ami.”

Jenkins nodded.

When he turned away, she went up to her apartment.  She yawned again as she entered the apartment, locking the door behind her.  She deposited her laptop on the kitchen counter.  She could feel the caffeine from the coffee she’d drank with breakfast wearing off and decided that she was not awake enough to do much of anything.

Since the bed was fully inflated, she put the sheets on.  She dug around in her bag and pulled out a pair of loose sweat pants and a t-shirt to sleep in.

She lay down, pulled the sheet over her and was asleep almost immediately.

Chapter 2

When she woke the next morning, Ami had a stiff neck because she’d forgotten to bring her pillow in. 

She used the bathroom, and then headed back to the bedroom.  She retrieved a clean set of clothes and her shower supplies and headed back to the bathroom, hoping a shower would clear her head.

She needed to get the rest of her stuff out of the car, and she needed to call her mother.

Ami did feel a little better when she got out of the shower.  Dressed, she lit another cigarette and took her makeshift ashtray (an empty soda can) to the living room.  She opened a window and pulled the beat up chair that had been left in the kitchen into the living room.

When her mother picked up the phone, she could hear her half brother and sister in the background, fighting.  They were four and five so their fighting was nothing new.  Ami had never met them, but she’d seen enough pictures to feel like she had.

The fact that her mother and Bruce had waited to have children until after she’d left home cemented the idea in her mind that Bruce hadn’t been broken up when she’d gone.  He was starting a new family that she wasn’t a part of.  It wasn’t something she’d discussed with her mother, but she felt it all the same.

“Just a second Ami,” her Mom said and then put the phone aside to yell at Jasper and Carissa.  “I’m on the phone.  Jasper, give your sister her book back.  Cari you can share the crayons with your brother.” Once she returned to the phone she said “Sorry Ami.”

“It’s okay Mom.  I have a few questions for you.”

Her mother’s voice was wary.  “Okay.”

“Did you know that Dad had lived in Brunton before I told you I was coming here?”

The silence stretched on so long that she knew her mother’s answer.  “Mom.  Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s not a conversation you want to have with your daughter when she’s calling from a payphone Ami.  I got to talk to you five minutes at a time for most of the last six years.”

“So what exactly happened to Dad here?”

“I don’t know all the details.  Something about him getting a girl pregnant when he was fifteen.  His parents demanded she have an abortion.  He said there was talk that she didn’t get one though.  His parents dropped her off at the abortion clinic on their way out of town.  She was older I think, twenty-one or something.”

“Are you kidding me Mom?   How could you not find the time to tell me in all these years?  You wrote letters.  Long e-mails.  You could have told me.”

Desiree sighed.  “It wasn’t my story to tell.  It was your father’s.”

Ami felt that her mother wanted her to say that it was okay, but she still didn’t feel that it was, so she didn’t say it.  “Who was this woman?”

Desiree let out another sigh.  “Sarah something I think.  He supposedly had an affair with her later on.  It was supposed to be what ended his marriage with Partrice.”

“No.  Par left because she was screwing around.  She got pregnant by that young guy remember?”

“I don’t know Ami.  Your father and I didn’t talk much.  Except about you.”

“I guess.  So I have an older brother or sister out there somewhere?”

“I don’t know.  Talk to Lisa about this.  She would know better than I would.  Have you talked to Lisa lately?”

“I talked to her before I left the last town I was in.  Why?”

“She wanted to talk to you about taking custody of little Charles again.”

Ami sighed.  “You know I can’t do that.  He’s not safe with me as long as Corin still walks the Earth.”

“Corin is dead.  Has been for six months.”

Ami lit another cigarette.  She had an urge to throw her phone across the room and stomp on it.  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?   Why didn’t Lisa tell me?”

“”I just told Lisa myself.  Your cousin Trinity is having some problems and might have to move back in with her.  She wanted to know if you’d take Charles since Corin won’t be a problem anymore.  Not that she minds having him of course, but she’s going to have three other little ones running around to worry about.”

Ami closed her eyes.  She briefly pictured herself ringing her mother’s neck.  She opened her eyes again and took a deep, calming breath.  “You didn’t answer my question Mother.  Why didn’t you tell me before now that Corin was dead?   How did it happen?”

“Some bar fight out in Bristol.  He tried to hit on the wrong guy’s girlfriend and wouldn’t take no for an answer.  You know how Corin was.   What matters is that he’s gone now.  Talk to Lisa about taking Charles.  I’m sure he’d be happy to live with his mother for the first time in his life.”

“I can’t believe you waited this long to tell me.  I’ve been looking over my shoulder for seven goddamned years, waiting for him to find me and finish what he started.  And you know I can’t take Charles right now.  I have to get my life together before I can do that.”

“Do you need money Ami, is that it?”

Ami wanted to scream.  It had never been about money she thought.  She had the money that she carried with her, and she had a secret bank account that she hadn’t touched in years.  She didn’t like banks much, but it was enough that she carried as much as $10,000 in cash with her.  She didn’t want to carry twenty.

“It’s not about money.  I have to be settled before I can take Charlie.  I haven’t been really settled in years Mom.  You know that.”

Desiree sighed.  “You should really think about it Ami.  That child needs his mother.  Then maybe I might get to see him more often.  Why don’t you come home?   We have the guest house out back.  You and little Charles could live there.”

Never mind that she never wanted to set foot in the guest house again because Corin had hit her for the first time when they were there, Ami thought.  “You know why Lisa has been so careful about letting you see him.”

“But now you don’t have to worry anymore.  Come home Ami.  And bring my grandson with you.”

“No Mom.  Bruce can barely tolerate me and you have two little kids of your own to worry about.  I’ll figure out some way to get Charlie myself.  Eventually.”

“Bruce has always loved you.  It still bothers you that Charles looks so much like his father doesn’t it?   He’s your son Ami.  He won’t grow up to be like his father.”

“I know Mom.  Listen, I’ve got to go.  I have to look for a job.”

“Ami.”

“What Mom?”

“Amelia Lynn, please don’t leave it like this.  I can’t stand it when you’re angry with me.”

“Yeah.”

“If you need money, I still have your college fund.  I was going to set it aside for Charles, but if you need it to help you get him back, you can have it.”

“I don’t need it Mom, I swear.  I’ll get Charlie back myself.”

“Do it soon Ami okay?”

Ami sighed.  “Yes Mother.  I really do have to go now.”

“I love you, Amelia Lynn.  Always remember that.”

“I love you too.  Tell the kids I love them.  Bye Mom.”

“Bye Ami.”

Ami clicked end on her phone and threw it across the living room.  It hit the wall and the back came flying off, her battery flying out.

She left her phone where it was and lit another cigarette.  She was angry and disappointed with her mother.  She couldn’t believe her mother hadn’t found it important to tell her that Corin was dead.  She couldn’t believe that Desiree thought it would be so easy to take custody of Charlie either.  He’d barely seen her his whole life.  She’d been too nervous to take him by herself for long because she’d always been terrified of his father.  Fighting tears, she took a deep drag of the cigarette.

She wasn’t sure what the point was in staying in this town now that she knew Corin was dead, but she figured she might as well do as she had planned today.  Go to the bar and see if they were hiring, put in a few other applications elsewhere, go to the grocery store.  She put the cigarette into the can and with a sigh, got up and retrieved her phone.

It was a simple phone.  She had chosen it because it looked sturdier than the more expensive models.  There was no damage, and she put it back together and turned it back on.  It turned on as normal.  She shoved it into her purse, grabbing her keys, thinking that she should probably stop at a used furniture or thrift store as well.

When she went outside, she saw Carson leaning against the picnic table in the parking lot, talking to a tall guy with shoulder length dark hair.  She hurried down the stairs trying to avoid them, but Carson looked up and saw her.

“Ami.” He gave her a huge grin.

“Hi,” she said, trying not to sound enthusiastic.  Carson’s friend was eyeing her with interest.

She met his eyes, which were a beautiful shade of hazel and then looked away.  She thought he was really good looking, but she had a feeling that he knew it.

“This is my friend Nick.  Nick this is my new neighbor, Ami.”

Nick nodded at her.  “Nice to meet you.”

“You, too.”

“How do you like your apartment?”

“It’s fine.  Is there a furniture store or a thrift store that might have some cheap furniture around here?”

“There’s a thrift store up about five blocks.  It’s right across from the grocery store.” Carson said.

Ami tried to ignore the fact that his eyes kept drifting to her chest.  “Thanks.”

“No problem.  “I’ll see you around then?”

“Sure.”

Ami hoped that it wouldn’t be too often as she walked away.  She had a feeling they were both checking out her ass.

Once she reached her car, she pushed the button to unlock it and got behind the wheel.

Following Glendene’s directions, she found the bar easily and pulled up outside only a few minutes later.

Once she’d checked her wallet to make sure that her social security card was still inside, she pulled out the only picture she'd ever kept in her wallet.  It was an old picture.  She'd only been two when it was taken and it was hard to believe sometimes that she'd ever been that young.  They all looked so happy, she standing in front of her parents in her favorite yellow dress.  Who would have thought that they’d no longer be a family less than a year later she thought?   She hadn’t found out that her mother had been screwing around with Bruce since a year into her marriage with Charles until much later.  She’d known that her father had never stopped loving her mother.

She sighed, shoving the picture back into her wallet, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to fill her eyes.

She took a deep breath and exited her car, locking the door behind her.