Sex and Key Lime Pie (22 page)

Luc grinned. “Sleeping like a baby, but don’t tell him I said that.”

“Was there something you needed?”

Damn, he hated phones. He preferred face to face so he could read body language and figure out how to respond. “Did I call at a bad time?”

“Depends on what you mean by bad. I’m at the airport. They’ve just called my flight.”

“You’re coming back now?”

“I’m going to Boston on the red-eye. I have to get some things from my apartment.”

“You’ll be back tomorrow?”

“Does it matter? I said you could keep Sam all week. I won’t go back on my word.”

“Can’t we have a conversation?” he asked.

“Not lately.”

He bit back a retort because she was right. He’d been so angry, it had been a struggle to remain civil. Until she left. Not only did he miss her, he realized at the end of the summer, he wouldn’t have his son to fill the absence. “Sam misses you.”

“I miss him too.” She pined for her son, but had she given Luc a second thought? She had been on his mind constantly. “Is there anything else?”

“You can’t move him across the country.”

Nice going! He had been practicing the speech he would give her when she returned, with logical, valid reasons why she should remain in Rhode Island. Instead he blurted out what amounted to an order.

She sniffed. Was she crying? “I know. He doesn’t want to leave you.”

Luc shook his head. Did he understand her correctly? “Are you staying in the Cove—”

“I really have to go. It’s last call. We’ll discuss it when I get back.”

“Will we, or will you keep avoiding me?”

“I never avoided talking to you. But I’m not going to fight over who’s to blame. It’s done. I can’t change the past any more than you can.”

“Okay. You’re right. I’d say I’m sorry but then you’d spend the five-hour plane ride wondering if I apologized because I missed the sex or the key lime pie.” Another pause followed but not a strained one. “You smiled. I know you did.”

“Are you done? Can I catch my flight now?” She faked the inflection of annoyance in her voice. He was absolutely sure.

“Okay. We’ll talk when you return. I have a few other things—”

“I’m hanging up now, Luc.”

She disconnected. Again. She’d made of habit of it lately. No wonder he preferred face to face. She couldn’t cut him off. After all, he was the master at shutting people out, not her.

Chapter Fifteen

Cheyanne returned to the Cove the following afternoon. She had so many errands she didn’t know where to begin. Her current house, a summer bungalow, had no heating system. She needed to find a new place for her and Sam, but year-round rentals in the Heights and the Cove were hard to come by. When in doubt, ask the locals. She took the ten-minute walk to Isabelle’s home.

The house smelled of apples and cinnamon. Isabelle sat at the kitchen table, enjoying what appeared to be her first free moment. The baby slept in his portable carrier and she looked half asleep herself.

“You’re back early. Hell of a long flight for just two days.” Her eyes filled with moisture. “Did you get everything taken care of for the move?”

Cheyanne slid into a chair. “Actually, that’s why I’m here.”

Isabelle grabbed her hand. “Don’t you dare say you’re leaving before the summer ends.”

“No. I need help with a few things.”

“What can I do?”

Cheyanne pulled a small list from her shirt pocket. “Does Alicia go to the public school or Catholic school?

“Public.”

“I’m going to need the name of a local pediatrician, too. And would you happen to know if there are any Tae Kwon Do schools in the area?”

Isabelle came to life as if she received a double shot of caffeine. “You’re staying!”

Cheyanne rolled her shoulders. “It seems I don’t have a choice.”

“Please tell me my brother hasn’t threatened you.”

“No.” Obviously, Luc had taken her warning to heart. They didn’t agree on much, but he chose his words carefully. Their last conversation had been civil, even pleasant. “Sam doesn’t want to go. I’ve dragged him all over the world, and I always promised him that when he said stop, we would stop moving.”

“Does Luc know?”

“We spoke briefly last night, but since I was in the airport when he called, I couldn’t really talk.” She didn’t add that she had been in a hurry to get off the phone because she wasn’t ready to deal with Luc. How would she survive living in the same town, sharing custody of Sam, given the circumstances and the animosity?

“You should have seen him these past few days. He took off the whole week, his first vacation in years. He’s gone from ogre Shrek to Marshmallow Man since hanging around with his little sidekick, Mini-me. I don’t think there’s a person left in town who doesn’t know about his son.”

Cheyanne forced a smile. She could only imagine how she fared through the gossip mill. After all, what kind of woman denied a willing and proud father his rights to his son?

“Nobody blames you. Luc made sure the family knew he was at fault. I would have kicked his butt otherwise.”

She expelled a low groan. “Will you stop reading my mind, Izzy? It’s scary. While you’re at it, do you think that you could pretend to feel bad that I have to give up my job?”

“You didn’t want to go. You never spoke about it. And, I’m thrilled. I’m sorry if that makes me selfish.”

“Not selfish. It makes you a good friend. Not to mention that I couldn’t have you getting weepy all the time about my leaving. What with a new baby, new restaurant plans and a new monkey...”

Isabelle let out a squeal of delight. “You got one? I didn’t want to bring it up with everything else going on.”

“I wouldn’t forget my niece. I’ll pick it up Saturday morning before Alicia’s party. I would have taken it today, but I don’t think Sam would be able to keep a secret from her that long.”

“She’ll be so excited.” Cheyanne doubted the child would be any more excited than her mother. “Alicia is getting everything she wanted this year. Sam and her monkey.”

Little T.J. let out a small cry of protest.

“And a new brother.” Cheyanne lifted him from the carrier and pressed kisses against his stomach. She’d forgotten how tiny they started out. “You were born into a real zoo, little guy.”

“Admit it, Cheyanne. He makes you want to have another one yourself, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, but this time, I’ll find a husband first.”

“That would be a good idea.”

Thankfully Isabelle let that subject rest without making the obvious suggestion. Cheyanne had already accepted the truth. She had no chance of marrying Luc and no intention of marrying anyone else.

Isabelle bit her bottom lip. “On a different note...Elisabeth. Are you still mad at her?”

“I wasn’t mad at her. She was mad at me, if you recall.”

“Yes, well I set her straight about a few things but that only made it worse. Miguel is worried about her. She cries all the time and she can’t keep anything down. She won’t talk to him and she won’t see a therapist. I tried talking to her but she wouldn’t take my call.”

Cheyanne expelled a guilty sigh. She hadn’t given a thought to her argument with her friend. She’d had so many problems in her own life. “I’ll try to talk to her if she’ll see me. Do you want to come?”

“No. Something about you is eating away at her. Whatever it is, she needs to work it out with you.”

Despite the fact that she had other errands to take care of, she decided to settle the matter with Elisabeth first. Cheyanne made a quick stop at the drug store before going to the house. When she arrived, she scooted in the door just as the housekeeper walked out. Where was Lizzy’s mom? She must be in bad shape if she didn’t want her own mother around.

Cheyanne found Elisabeth in her bedroom. At three in the afternoon, she lay sprawled across the bed, still dressed in her bathrobe. The drawn shades left a depressing pall over the otherwise bright bedroom. She wore no makeup and her hair looked as if it hadn’t seen the bristle end of a brush in several days.

“What the hell is going on?” Cheyanne bellowed. Elisabeth gasped and came to a sitting position. “Cheyanne?”

“Let me get my camera. I need a picture of this. Your sisters-in-law are gonna love it.”

She dropped back into the pillows and pulled the blanket over her head. “I’m sick.”

Cheyanne ripped the covers off the bed with one swift yank. “Then get dressed and I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“I thought you hated me.”

“I disappeared for nine years and you forgave me. You think I’m going to end a twenty-year friendship over a difference of opinion?”

Elisabeth bowed her head. “It was more than a difference of opinion. You don’t know what I did to you.”

“I’ll admit, I don’t know what you’re doing to yourself. But you didn’t do anything to me.” Cheyanne rested against the bedpost.

“Yes, I did. To you and to Luc. I have never been accepted into the family, and there’s a reason.” “What’s that?”

“Harlan changed his Will because of me. I told him about you and Luc. Not your mother.”

Cheyanne arched any eyebrow in confusion. “Why?”

“I was jealous. I mean, I never thought Harlan would do what he did. I just figured he would break the two of you up.”

“You didn’t even like Luc.”

Elisabeth shook her head as if she thought her friend must be blind. “Of course I did. Every girl in Mystic Township wanted him. But he never looked at me the way he looked at you.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“I cost him his inheritance. And you got blamed for it.”

Cheyanne touched Elisabeth’s arm. “If you’ve been holding that in for nine years, then you’ve beaten yourself up for nothing. Harlan only left that money to me because he knew Luc’s pride would never allow him to marry me while I was rich and he was poor. Before he changed his Will, Harlan had left everything to his nephew James, but that wasn’t hurtful enough.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“You and Sam still lost all that time with Luc.”

“You’re assuming Harlan didn’t know until you told him. But he’d been having Luc followed for a long time. He knew already.”

“Was Harlan that much of a creep?” Elisabeth asked.

“When it came to Luc, yes. He blamed Luc for his first wife’s suicide even though Luc was a baby at the time.”

“Then you’re not mad at me?”

Cheyanne shook her head. “I’ll admit I’m disappointed. I had no idea you were jealous of me.”

“Gee, Cheyanne. You were blonde, beautiful, and popular, and you fit in as easily in the Heights as you did in the Cove. What wasn’t there to be jealous of?”

She’d also had Harlan Waitley as a stepfather. That should have stopped anyone from envying her life.

“Get your grungy ass out of that bed and take a shower. We’ll go out and get hammered tonight... Maybe.”

“What do you mean?”

She took a paper bag from her purse and tossed it to Elisabeth. “Try this first.”

Elisabeth peeked inside the bag. “Is this a joke? I don’t need this. I am sure.”

“I’m not going out drinking with you unless you do. I’ll be making some tea while you’re in the shower.”

Five minutes later Cheyanne stood by the stove and waited for the kettle to boil. She couldn’t believe Elisabeth had been jealous of her. Everyone had considered Lizzy the beauty of the group. The only reason Luc chose Cheyanne over any other girl was because it ticked off his father. He had admitted as much.

Miguel came in the back door. “Cheyanne?” He gave her a warm hug. “You’re back early.”

“I couldn’t stay away. How’s it going?”

He placed his briefcase on the counter. “Good. Where is Lizzy?”

“In the shower.”

“You got her out of bed?”

“Sure. I just threatened to take a picture of her and pass it around the family.”

He laughed. “I should have tried that, but I have a feeling it wouldn’t have worked coming from me. I don’t know what it is between you guys.”

She turned off the whistling kettle and poured two cups of tea. “Twenty years of friendship.”

Elisabeth shuffled into the room, wrapped in a towel. Shampoo suds still bubbled on the top of her head. For a woman who wouldn’t emerge from a bathroom unless fully made up and dressed to the nines, the sight was a surprise. In her trembling hand she held the plastic strip.

“I guess we’re not going out and getting looped tonight. And I was so looking forward to it,” Cheyanne said.

Elisabeth’s eyes widened. “You never planned to, did you?”

Cheyanne tipped her head. “I knew I wouldn’t have to.”

“How?”

“Golly, let me see.” She jokingly scratched her head. “Nausea, tears, and an intense desire to stay in bed. Not to mention the completely irrational mood swings.”

“I just thought it was because I was upset.”