Road to Reality (18 page)

“She won’t be. You have my word.”

“I’m sorry,” Mac said once they were seated in the car and on the road back home.

“No worries,” she replied, nonchalantly.  Reaching over, she placed her hand on his near the shifter. “Your family get-togethers are still nicer than mine,” she said with a half smile.

He didn’t find that funny. He knew today was going to be uncomfortable, had expected it, only he didn’t expect how much he was going to be bothered by it. 

Laughing off his mother’s rudeness was a lot harder than it had seemed before.  At least Zoe seemed unfazed by everything today. Thank goodness for small favors.  He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw her eyes starting to droop. “Do you want her to fall asleep again?”

Beth turned with a start. “Oh, no.  Zoe, honey.” Mac saw Zoe’s eyes pop back open in the mirror. “As much as this pains me to do,” she mumbled. “Do you want to play with your mini?”

“Yay,” Zoe cried out.  “Play with the numbers and colors.”

“You got it.” Beth reached into her purse on the floor by her feet and handed the tablet over to Zoe, and then she looked back at Mac. “Are you OK?”

“What?” He glanced over at her, saw her eyes moving over his face in concern, seeing more than he wanted her to see.  He put a smile on his face, for her. “Yeah, I’m fine.  Long day.”

She settled back, tilted the seat a bit more and yawned. 

“You look tired. Why don’t you close your eyes, Zoe will be fine.”

“If you don’t mind, because I suddenly feel exhausted. Guess it’s been a long weekend,” Beth said.

Twenty minutes later Mac looked over and saw Beth had indeed fallen right to sleep.  She looked so peaceful, like a modern day sleeping beauty.  She was gorgeous, so relaxed, so trusting.  Unfortunately he knew she was still holding back, and he wished she wouldn’t, but he didn’t know how to change it. He didn’t know what else he could do right now for her to actually believe he would be there for her.

But she was his.  The fierceness of that moment twisted his heart. He would do anything to keep her safe, anything to keep her happy.

Hearing Zoe happily calling out colors and counting in the backseat made him look back. A mini version of her mom. And another feeling of fierceness, because she was his, too.

***

Mac rolled over and listened again.  He didn’t hear anything, thought he must have been dreaming, so he rolled back over and closed his eyes.

There it was again. Faint, not crying, but more like talking or maybe mumbling.  Beth was still sleeping soundly, so he grabbed his shorts from the floor.  He walked through the living room and into Zoe’s room where he heard her talking.

Moving closer, he realized she was talking in her sleep. “Mean witch,” she mumbled. 

He grinned, and figured it had to be another princess dream. “Leave my daddy alone,” he heard next and stopped short, not thinking he heard her right. He moved closer to the bed, and she mumbled again. “Don’t make my daddy mad.”

Now he frowned. He knew she had never met her father and didn’t even know what a father was. That upset him; however, he was trying to change that, and hoped that he was. She must be fighting some mean witch in her dream.

Grinning some more, he rested his hand on her head, brushed her hair out of her face and leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Night, sweetie.  Have happy dreams,” he whispered.  He could swear she smiled, or maybe it was his imagination.

Since he was up, he went to the kitchen for a glass of water.  It had been a long day indeed.  He was actually grateful for the quiet ride home. He wasn’t in any mood to talk about what happened today.  Shaking his head and pushing those thoughts from his mind, he realized he would have to figure something out. 

It shouldn’t be too hard. His visits with his parents were few and far in between, but he couldn’t avoid them completely.  He would talk to Brooke and figure something out there, too, see where her head was at.  His father was at least trying to make peace, and for that he was even more grateful.

Earlier this evening, after they’d put Zoe to bed, Beth must have sensed his mood, and pulled him into her room.  “I may not have a license for this, but I think I can give a pretty decent back rub.  You look like you could use a bit of relaxation tonight.   Why don’t you get undressed?” she had suggested.

He didn’t need to be asked twice.   Lying on his stomach in the middle of her bed, she straddled his hips and went to work.  She had started at his lower back and worked her way up.  Pressing the heels of her hands into his back, then moving them up to his shoulders, and continued until he was completely relaxed.  She had gripped his thick shoulders in her hands, squeezing them until he felt the tension being eliminated.  Then she moved down his biceps, over his forearms and back to his shoulders again.

He had been taking comfort in her touch, until all of a sudden she turned it into something else.  When he felt her kiss his shoulder, he thought she was done with the massage, and was looking forward to returning the favor.  Only she continued to kiss him down his spine, over his back, over his arms—teasing him. Suddenly he decided to let her control the show.

“Roll over,” she ordered him, and he gladly complied.

She had changed into a tank top and shorts earlier when they’d gotten home. Except she was only wearing her tank top and panties when the massage started, which she made fast work of discarding, then straddled his waist.  Leaning forward she had started to tease him, placing kisses on his cheek, his mouth, his neck, never staying in one place for long. Changing her direction at random, she threw him off guard as to where she would go next. 

When she started to move down his chest, he held his breath and waited while she trailed her fingers over his chest, down his waist and below. She grasped him in her hand, and ran her fingers up and down the length of him, all the while kissing his chest and abdomen. Before he knew it, her mouth replaced her hand.

Tentatively at first, she tasted him.  It didn’t take long before she found her rhythm, wringing moans from his throat. Moans, that turned to shouts minutes later.

She had given him everything and more—the best he’d ever had. And she wasn’t done yet, he discovered.  She moved back up his body, with her lips of course. He loved her mouth on him, everywhere it had been and everywhere it was going again.

She whispered in his ear, “What’s your recovery time?” Reaching over, she pulled a packet from the box he had stored in her bedside table months ago.

He knew she was smiling, and was trying to smile himself, except he couldn’t quite manage it, he felt completely drained. “Pretty good.” Then groaned when she moved her mouth back to his chest, torturing him again.

Watching her roll the condom on, he griped her hips, then lifted her up and slid her slowly on top of him. She let out a raspy moan when his hands found her breasts, and urged her to lean forward so he could return the torture she had bestowed on him.

Her hips started to rise and fall of their own accord.  He felt her inner muscles squeezing him—a precise move. She rose up squeezing him tight, and then released him as she slid down. She had complete control over her body and was making his body sing in a way he hadn’t experienced before.

He thought he’d died and gone to heaven as she continued like that for minutes, squeezing and releasing, sliding up and down. Her breath was coming in gasps, just as fast as his. Until at last, he yanked her head down and smothered his mouth with hers, shouting out his release. 

He couldn’t help but think how amazing she had been tonight.  Now with his glass of water empty, he placed it in the sink and made his way back to her room.

Detouring for a quick check on Zoe, he found her fast asleep, all the talking done.  Back in Beth’s room, he climbed in next to her and pulled her close, taking comfort in her body as he drifted off to sleep.

***

The alarm on his phone went off much earlier than he would have liked. Rolling out of bed, he grabbed his shorts and made his way to her tiny bathroom in the hopes of taking a quick shower. He hated staying in there longer than necessary because the shower head barely hit his chest, causing him to bend over to get his hair wet.

When he exited the steamy room he saw Beth in the kitchen making breakfast.  “You didn’t need to get up. I know it’s early for you.” He walked over and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.

“I wanted to. I like cooking for you.”

Warmed, feeling much better than he had yesterday, he asked, “What are you making?”

“Pancakes, Zoe’s favorite. She’ll be happy, too.”  She reached for the milk, started to pour it in the batter and had to place it back down quick.

“What? What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I don’t know.  Does this smell bad? I just bought it, but the scent hit me hard.” She held it out to him.

He sniffed. “No, seems fine to me.”

She tried again and her face turned green.  “Sorry, I can’t do it. I think my mind is drifting back to that spoiled milk on your deck Saturday.” She gagged slightly, and placed the carton on the counter.

“Here, I’ll do it, because I want pancakes.” He poured the milk in, watched her mix it all, saw that she seemed fine now as she poured the batter on the griddle, then went to get dressed for work, laughing at her reaction.

“Mommy, someone’s here,” Zoe called.  Beth walked in from the kitchen where she was making a fruit salad for Zoe to snack on this week. Pushing back the curtain, she frowned at the large Mercedes parked behind her little Honda.  When she noticed the Vermont plates, she stiffened and asked Zoe to play in her room.

Taking a deep breath, Beth opened the front door and saw Paula Malone standing in front of her.  Unsure of what she could be doing here, and dreading that it couldn’t be good news or even a friendly visit, she reluctantly invited her in. “Mrs. Malone, if you’re looking for Mac he’s at work right now,” she offered.

Paula looked around the tiny apartment with her nose held high.  Beth knew it was clean enough, no doubt about it, but well below Paula’s standards. “I’m not here to see Mackenzie. I’m here to see you.”

“OK,” she answered hesitantly. “Please come in. Would you like something to drink?” She led her to the living room and offered her a seat. 

“No, thank you, I won’t be here long. There’s no need to even sit down,” Paula said, glancing briefly at the slipcovered couches in the small room and wrinkling her nose.

“What can I do for you then?” Beth asked, her patience wearing thin.  She was proud of her little apartment and didn’t need someone coming in and turning up her nose at it.  Luckily, she could hear Zoe playing in her bedroom a few feet away and hoped she would stay there for a bit longer, because deep down she knew whatever Paula had to say wasn’t going to be well received.

“I’m sure you know why I’m here,” Paula stated plainly.

“No. I’m really not sure.  I’m not even sure how you found out where I live.”

“I keep tabs on Mackenzie and the women he dates. I always have, of course.  We have a family name to carry on, and I want to make sure he is going to keep up those standards.”

Paula paused, looked around the tiny room again, then looked at Beth, who was dressed in cotton shorts and a simple T-shirt, standing in front of her barefoot, the complete opposite of Paula’s perfect tailored pant suit.  “Regrettably, once again, he hasn’t adhered to those standards, so I’m afraid I have to take it upon myself to rectify the situation.”

“Excuse me?” Beth pulled herself up straight, towering over Mac’s mother by half a foot, a nasty gleam coming into her eyes as they narrowed on her, her teeth all but grinding.  Enough was enough, this was
her
home. “I’m not up to
your
standards.”

“Of course you aren’t, dear.” Paula laughed cruelly, her eyes cold as steel. “Look around you.  You’ve only seen a glimpse of our wealth and family.” She stopped and shook her head, all but a sneer forming around her lovely face.  “Rest assured, you aren’t even close, you or that child of yours.”

Suddenly a red haze flashed before Beth’s eyes, hot and heavy, burning her retinas and making her inhale sharply. It was bad enough to insult her, she was used to it. She actually expected something like this when she started dating Mac, but she didn’t expect it to this extent. Nor did she expect it from his mother.

But she would be damned if she would let Zoe be judged. “I don’t know how you think you can rectify anything,” she said in a tight clipped tone. “But I think you should leave now.”  She was barely able to control the anger creeping in but refused to yell and upset Zoe in the other room.

“Very well,” Paula stated.  “But here, maybe this will change your mind.”

Beth looked down at the white envelope in Paula’s hand and felt an odd sense of déjà vu.

“Go on, take it, and open it up. In exchange for what’s in that envelope, you will have a sudden change of heart where Mackenzie is concerned.  I don’t care what reason you give him, but end it.  Use this to move away if you need to, there is plenty there,” she assured Beth.

Looking at a white envelope in front of her for the second time in her life brought back all the tears and frustrations of her childhood.  All the things she fought to change, all the things she wanted for Zoe.  Refusing to take it and lay down this time, Beth shook her head, adamantly.  “No, I can’t be bought.  If Mac doesn’t want to be with me, then it comes from him. Same thing with me, if I decide I don’t want to be with him, then it comes from me, not because either one of us was forced.”

Paula tilted her head to the side, almost like she couldn’t fathom Beth wasn’t doing her bidding. “You aren’t even curious how much is here?  It’s a certified check, and Mackenzie need never know about it. I assure you, it’s more money than you’ve ever seen before, probably more than you may ever see again,” she said, mocking her.

Beth paused, reached out and took the envelope out of Paula’s hand. Then watched her knowing smile, letting Paula think she won, and at that moment in time when Paula smiled triumphantly, Beth had no doubt what she was going to do. Looking down at the envelope for a few seconds, turning it around in her hand, she contemplated opening it, watching Paula’s eyes start to gleam with pleasure. And then she promptly tore it to shreds, opening her palm and letting all the pieces float to the floor. She lifted her arm and pointed to the door, her voice shaking with rage. “Get out of my house. Now.  Don’t come back and maybe I won’t tell Mac what you were doing here today.”

Paula scowled. Her beautiful face, so much like Mac’s and Brooke’s, now turned ugly with a fury she was likely feeling that someone as low as Beth, in Paula’s world, wouldn’t bend over and do as she told. “Don’t think you’ll get another offer, and don’t think for a minute Mackenzie will believe a word you say.” She turned and walked out the door, her back held ramrod straight.

***

“Mac, I hope you don’t mind I brought a few extra players,” Ryan said, walking into the guest suite of Mac’s house Saturday night. 

Mac had been looking forward to a poker night all summer long, and finally managed to work out a weekend where everyone was in town and not on-call.  He didn’t even care it was Labor Day weekend or that most of the people in the room were at his house the week before for Brooke and Zoe’s birthday.

“No problem at all.” Mac reached out and shook Alec Harper’s hand, of Harper Construction, then noticed the man next to him and assumed it was one of his brothers.

Ryan verified Mac’s thoughts. “You obviously remember Alec, who I’m sure you are hoping to win some of your money back from,” he said with a friendly laugh.  “This is one of his brothers, Ben. I tried to get Phil here, but he had plans with his girlfriend.”

Mac looked at Ben, only an inch shorter and built like a brick wall, his short-cropped hair, arms crossed in front of his chest—a total contradiction to the smile on his face.  Mac knew ex-military when he saw it. 

“The more the merrier. Come on in, you know your way around,” Mac told Alec.  “Lucas is upstairs with Jack bringing down food that Beth and Brooke made earlier, and Thomas should be here any minute.”

Thirty minutes later, all the men were seated around the table, chips stacked in front of them forming a large pile in the center.

Thomas was staring all the young men down, most likely trying to read their tells. But it was a tough group. Mac knew that Thomas had taught Ryan and Lucas well, knew when they were bluffing and when they had a stacked hand.  Alec Harper was easy enough to read. Ben on the other hand had no tells that anyone had witnessed so far, and it was a bit scary that his eyes showed no emotion at all. Thankfully he didn’t seem to have much luck tonight.

Mac was more cheerful or joked more when he was bluffing, and he did it on purpose, just to throw everyone off. But Jack, he was the toughest one to read so far, and was doing a good job winning half the hands and changing up his tells. The night was young, though.

“What happened to your hands? Why are they shining like that?” Lucas asked Mac.

Before he could answer, Ryan looked over. “You got a manicure.  Looks good,” he stated seriously.

The rest of the men at the table laughed. Mac actually had the grace to look embarrassed. He still didn’t know how Beth managed to talk him into it, though he had to admit it felt good, and his hands
were
softer now.  It probably was better when dealing with the infants, unfortunately the last thing he expected was anyone to notice it.  Least of all, his brother-in-law.

Lucas chuckled good-naturedly. “Only you would say that, Ryan. The rest of us don’t need our hands to be soft and shiny.” 

Jack grinned pleasantly. “My hands are more important than most and I don’t care if they are soft and shiny.  Besides, I could only imagine Cori’s reaction if I did get a manicure. I’m not sure she would ever let me live it down,” he said with a small shake of his head.

Alec Harper seemed to be enjoying the banter around the table.  He had seen Beth a few times, even elbowed Mac in the ribs and raised an eyebrow at him a time or two. “If I had someone that looked like Beth, I think I would do pretty much anything she asked of me with a smile on my face, and a thank you ma’am right after.”

Mac looked over and laughed, he couldn’t agree more. “See, Lucas. Some of us know how to play the ladies.”

Ben Harper looked around the table at the group.  Jack and Mac were new to Ben, but the Mathews brothers were childhood friends. “I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t need to play any of the ladies, they come to me just fine. Rough hands and all. Some of them like it that way.”

Ryan, sitting next to Ben, elbowed him. “That’s because women like a man in a uniform, but you aren’t the only one the women come to. And I don’t even wear a uniform.” He laughed a little, then turned his head to Mac.  “Mac here is whipped, plain and simple, though I can’t say I blame him.” He winked, causing everyone at the table to laugh again.

Alec, never one to hold back, looked at Ryan. “You wait, your day will come.”

Ryan snorted, shook his head, obviously refusing to be bated. “Not going to happen.  I know how to keep them hanging on long enough, and then push them on their way without a fuss.”

Ben reached back in his wallet and pulled out a bill. “I’ve got a Benjamin right here that says not only will Ryan fall—and fall hard—but the unlucky woman is going to give him a run for his money and bring him to his knees.”

The laughter erupted around the room, but not before everyone threw down the money accepting the bet.  Ryan looked down at the five crisp hundred-dollar bills on the table, pulled out his own wallet, lifting several bills.  “Double or nothing.  Never going to happen,” he said with finality. 

“Are we done making Ryan sweat? Because I want to win some of my money back from Jack over there,” Thomas interrupted, reaching forward and pulling in the pot of money against Ryan. “I’ll hold on to this for safe keeping, because nothing would make his mother happier than to see him lose.”

***

“Zoe, come back here,” Beth called out two hours later when Zoe ran down the steps to the poker game.

“I want to say good night to Dr. Mac,” she cried out, causing all the men to raise their eyebrows over the name.

“She’s fine, Beth. Come here, sweetie. Come give me a kiss for luck; everyone is taking my money tonight,” he complained.

Zoe gladly went over and climbed into his lap to rest her head on his shoulder and give him a hug.  Her eyes rested on Thomas’s cards next to Mac, and she excitedly pointed. “Lots of hearts.” Everyone roared with laughter.

Mortified, Beth went to grab Zoe. “Come on. Let’s go take your bath and get ready for bed and leave the men to their game.”

Ben said, “Let her stay. Maybe some of us can win a hand or so.  Zoe, go sit on Jack’s lap now.”  That statement caused the group to laugh even louder.

Beth looked at the newcomer she hadn’t met and saw a striking resemblance to Alec. She sent him a tentative smile and made another grab for Zoe. “Come on, sweetie, you can see the men another time.”

But Zoe only clung to Mac’s neck harder. “Go on, Beth, run her bath and get it ready. She is fine here with us for a few minutes.”

She hesitated a second, but complied. “Only a few minutes, Zoe. Then no arguments.”

“Thank you, Mommy.”

Beth smiled and made her way back upstairs.