The Awakening (2 page)

“Anderson, the tree stays. The girl goes. I have guests arriving for our annual Christmas party. You’ll have your office back after Christmas. Jules, the girl, get rid of her.” She literally snapped her fingers, and Jules jumped, saying, “Yes, Mrs. Friessen” and motioning frantically at Laura.

Caroline didn’t stay but strode out of the room, across the marble floor of the grand entry and down two steps to the comfortable living room, which was decorated in peach and gold, with floor-to-ceiling windows and velvety white carpet. A twelve-foot cream-colored Christmas tree was also decorated to perfection with gold, silver, and red.

Caroline walked as if she were in a beauty contest, head high, striding to a small dinette set where one of the maids had set a
c
hina tea service. Caroline had to know he was following her, but she ignored Andy, which was a skill she’d perfected years before. It was amazing—his mother broke the mold in snobbery, and he’d never met anyone who could look right through a person and choose whether to see him quite like his mother could.

She brushed aside the white napkin that had been folded over the gold China cup, pouring tea and adding a generous amount of milk. She sipped and picked up the day timer sitting on the antique glass-top desk by the window. She never glanced up. “Is there something you would like, Andy? As I said, I have a million things to do today to organize this household and be ready in time for the party.”

“Mother, I am not going to continue butting heads with you. What you did, firing Laura just now, wasn’t okay. For God’s sake, she didn’t deserve to be treated like that,” Andy stated, rather annoyed. He stood in front of her desk, glaring down at her until she slowly, with the control of a seasoned politician, set down her tea and folded her hands neatly on the desk, eyeing him coolly.

“Anderson, this is my house. Therefore, the servants work for me, and I will decide how they are treated and who stays and who goes, not you. Laura, really? Already on a first-name basis? In some ways, you really are like your father.” She said it with such disdain, and the fact that she had alluded to the possibility of him playing hanky-panky with the maid irritated the hell out of him, even though, less than ten minutes before, he had been imagining Laura, dressed down in something completely indecent and doing all kinds of lewd things. He often wondered what kind of sixth sense his mother had for the perverse. But then, she had to, being married to his dad, Todd, who had the uncanny ability to sniff out a new mistress to keep his interests alive and his bed warm. His father could be like a hound dog when he was hot on the trail of a new scent.

Frankly, Andy was damn tired of cleaning up after his father and putting up with his mother’s pomposity. “You know what’s absolutely amazing? How you treat people and have for years, just by snapping your fingers and expecting everyone to jump, with no care to anyone’s feelings. You and Dad are so much the same, it’s alarming.”

“I am not like that…” Caroline sputtered, but Andy didn’t let her finish.

“You are exactly like him. You believe everyone is replaceable and have little care for anyone’s feelings. Dad, with every woman he beds. You, with the servants. And you know what? I’m done cleaning up. I’ve got my own life to live.” Andy was shouting, but Caroline hardened her expression better than any snake he’d ever met. There was no way to know what she was thinking.

“I’ve invited Alexis Johnston. You remember, the senator’s daughter. She just graduated from Stanton, and I told the senator that you’d be her escort for the party. He’s counting on you. Don’t disappoint me, Andy. And whatever you’re doing with your maids, keep it in the closet, where it belongs.” She issued the order as if she expected him to fall into line.

Andy laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes. His mother really was a piece of work. “You must have been drinking or something, because you don’t ever order me to do anything. And you certainly are not fixing me up with any woman. Not ever, Mother.” He could feel the irritation biting the back of his neck as he strode out.

But he didn’t get far when she spoke in loud clear voice: “Oh, I think you will, since Senator Johnson is on the very committee that your cousin Jed approached for funding for his therapeutic riding.”

Andy’s blood chilled as he turned slowly to meet the sharp gleam in the woman’s ice-blue eyes, the woman who had given birth to him.

“Yes, the senator and I had quite a chat about how tight funding is now, with the national debt this country carries and how selective any new programming must be. It’s quite a project, really, that your cousin is starting with that Claremont he married. I mean, really, the senator can’t be providing funding to just anyone.” Her face was hard as stone, not a flicker of emotion.

“Diana is her name, and she was a Fulton when she married Jed. She never deserved to be treated that way as a child. Diana and Jed are good people, Mother. You stay away from them. And stay out of Jed’s business.” He ground out each word, reminding himself she was his mother and, no matter what, it was never okay to strangle one’s own mother. But he also knew his mother never made threats; she insinuated, she dug, and she destroyed those she didn’t like. She also had an agenda, and it was never wise to let her know what mattered to you, because she would use it.

“I told the senator you’ll pick up his daughter when she flies in tomorrow. She’ll be staying here at the estate.”

This time, Andy walked away before he could respond, the fury pouring out of him with each step. Back in the library, two servants were righting the downed Christmas tree, and another was on her knees, cleaning up the shattered glass and decanters, another scrubbing the liquor seeping into the carpet. “Get out!” Andy roared. He then froze at his large window, watching as Laura was escorted down the front driveway on foot by the gardener and his mother’s driver.

Chapter Two

Laura Parnell was mortified. She’d never felt humiliation as bone deep as when Mrs. Friessen fired her. She had been reprimanded by Jules and then forced to stand at the back door with her coat on while the head housekeeper summoned two men, neither of whom had a sliver of interest in her predicament. When they arrived with Jules, Laura had been unable to swallow and was shaking, an agony twisting up her insides. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t fathom how bad the situation really was. Stan, a young, blond man she recognized as Mrs. Friessen’s driver, grabbed her elbow roughly and said, “Let’s go. Start walking, girl.” Ed, the burly gardener, flanked her other side, walking her up the long, slate-gray driveway for half a mile to the highway. It was Ed who muttered, “Take my advice, deary. Don’t set foot back here or the sheriff will be called.”

Laura could only nod as a tear finally slid out and she started walking home. She would have gotten a ride from Sue, one of the other maids who worked at the estate, but there wasn’t a chance in hell that Sue would have asked anyone if she could leave and drive Laura home today. She’d all but ducked her head and continued peeling potatoes in the kitchen when Jules had ordered Laura to stand by the door and wait, not touching anything. She hadn’t expected Sue to go to bat for her, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. She knew Sue needed the job, but then, so did Laura.

Laura pulled up the collar of her thin coat, her lips trembling. She was no more dressed for a stroll downtown than the five-mile walk back to North Lakewood. The Friessen estate was just outside the small town, which didn’t seem that far when driving but was a long way when you were walking. Even though she wore sensible shoes for work, they were not made for the wet highway. Thankfully, the weather had given them a break and stopped raining for the moment. But the wind blew, and the thick, dark clouds overhead were threatening to unleash one hell of a storm. Laura just hoped it would hold off until she made it back to town.

A few cars passed, going the other way, but no one stopped. She’d just rounded a bend when she heard a car behind her. Her feet were numb, and her stockings were soaked and muddy. She shuffled over further on the shoulder and felt tears of relief. But the moment she saw the shiny blue pickup, the fancy one she’d seen Andy drive, she froze. She could feel his eyes lock on to her, and she couldn’t help but duck her head in embarrassment. Of all people, why did it have to be Andy who stopped? He’d witnessed the entire embarrassing scene. After all, he was partly responsible. Laura could barely function around him; he was far too good looking, and the power oozed off him. She struggled not to trip over both her feet every time he was around, which was exactly what had happened when she took a header into the Christmas tree, knocking it down. She also knew he watched her in a way that was entirely indecent. His father did, too, but she went out of her way to avoid Todd Friessen. She’d heard all the rumours of how he played with women, and she couldn’t help thinking the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree with Andy.

He slowed to the side of the road and got out. He overwhelmed her with his size, and she really disliked having to look up at him. She shoved her bare hands in her coat pocket, unsure of what to say or do. How did one go about being rescued?

“You’re walking?” He swept his gaze downward, taking in everything from her bare legs to her shoes and her thin coat. “Get in. I’ll give you a ride.” He didn’t wait for her to answer but pressed his hand into the small of her back, hustling her to his truck.

Laura was stunned and scrambled to think of something intelligent to say as he closed the passenger door. When he slid in under the steering wheel, his eyes lingered on her, and she felt her cheeks burning. Flustered, she grabbed the seatbelt and jammed it in. Thankfully, Andy started the truck, driving toward town.

“Where do you live?”

She stared out the windshield and pointed straight ahead. “Just outside downtown. You can just drop me off at the school. There’s a daycare. I need to pick up my son.” She didn’t know why, but she didn’t want Andy to take her home or know where she lived, in a tiny basement suite in an old house. She kept her space neat and tidy, but from the outside it didn’t look like much. An older lady who smoked lived upstairs and wasn’t great at keeping up the front yard, which was the first impression everyone saw: overgrown weeds, long grass, and unkempt bushes. Laura looked after the backyard, which was a sharp contrast to the front. But then, people didn’t see the back, so they just assumed. So she’d rather Andy didn’t see it at all, and it irritated her further that she cared what he thought of her. Maybe it stemmed from how everyone had been critical of her throughout her entire life. Through her entire teenage pregnancy, people had looked down their noses at her and shook their heads. It hurt, and it was a pain she still carried with her.

“So do you have family around?”

She could feel his gaze burning into her as he waited for her to answer. Why couldn’t he just drive and ignore her? It hurt to talk—she needed to crawl into bed and pull the covers up over her head.

“No,” she responded in a voice she didn’t recognize, and she was grateful when Andy pulled into the parking lot of the school. “Here’s good.” She pointed to the concrete steps, but he didn’t stop until he pulled into a parking spot and shut off the engine.

“You have a boyfriend or husband at home?”

“No.” That was the last thing she wanted to talk about: Tyler, Gabriel’s father, who she hadn’t seen since she was six months pregnant and forced to drop out of school.

Laura shut her eyes and took a deep breath when he got out and came around. Laura grabbed the door handle, preparing to thank him and send him on his way. He grabbed her door as she slid out, and he reached for her hand. His was warm and so big that it dwarfed hers in comparison. She pulled her hand away, acutely embarrassed from his touch. “Well, thank you for the ride. I can walk from here.”

Andy didn’t move. “I’ll drive you and your son home.”

She wondered if all the color had left her face. She didn’t want Andy’s help, and she definitely didn’t want him driving her and her son home. But when he raised dark eyebrows over those hard blue eyes, she knew he wasn’t going away, so she dropped her gaze and started walking inside the old school and down the steps to the daycare. She knocked on the glass window. A dark-haired lady smiled and pressed a button that unlocked the door. Andy was right behind her, and he grabbed the door above her as she stepped in. She knew he was taking everything in. Laura didn’t like anyone knowing too much about her. She was private and liked to keep it that way.

“You’re here early. I wasn’t expecting you until this evening?” Peggy, the daycare worker in her late forties, glanced at Andy.

“Hello, Mr. Friessen. This is a surprise.” Peggy stumbled a bit, doing nothing to hide her questioning gaze as she glanced from Laura to Andy.

“I’m picking up Gabriel now.” Laura could feel Andy’s eyes burning into her as he stood behind her.

“I’m still going to have to charge you for the full day, you understand,” Peggy stated quite loudly as she strode to Gabriel, who was playing in the corner with a box of Lego bricks. Gabriel didn’t look up when she knelt beside him.

Laura was sweating when Peggy returned a few seconds later, asking, “Will Gabriel be back tomorrow morning, same time?”

Laura knelt down and zipped up Gabriel’s red coat. Her four-year-old little boy said not a word. “No, not tomorrow.” She didn’t look up and hoped Peggy would drop it.

“Oh, is it my mistake? I have you down for tomorrow. Five days this week. Did I mix up the days?”