The Pleasure's All Mine (38 page)

Raven’s chuckle faded as she left the balcony, slumped onto the sofa and pulled her knees to her chest. Raven, like so many other women, had the Superwoman Syndrome: “Just dive right in and deal with it.” But now, she weighed and reweighed, thought and rethought. Now that Eric was grown, she had been looking forward to doing a lot more traveling and taking French, or maybe even some Spanish classes, ballroom dancing, salsa dancing—the works. And she’d just met her father and learned that she had brothers and sisters yet to meet. How would Eric take to seeing her do more with Kayla and Manny than she had with him? How would Pierce take to all these changes—especially raising someone else’s children especially when he couldn’t have his own?

Manny was twelve, so she’d only have to spend about five years helping him into adulthood, and hopefully college, if that’s what he wanted. Maybe he’d get a job or something, or she’d put him to work at Macro. That was a decent plan, right?

And Kayla, when she turned eighteen, maybe she would be ready to try independent living, or was her condition one that would require monitoring for the rest of her life?
Aw hell.

And just when she had found a bit more happiness in her life.
Pierce.
Sweet, sweet, Pierce. She hated to be selfish, but, Lord, she wanted him—maybe for the rest of her life. He was warm, giving, compassionate, and loving—all the positive qualities of the male characters in her books. And he was stubborn and…Raven smiled. He had some of the same negative qualities she’d written about, too. But he had them in a
nice
way—if there was such a thing.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He wrapped his voice and arms smoothly around her. “What are you doing out here?”

“Thinking.”

“Hmmm. Care to talk about it?”

She shook her head at first, then began, “Pierce, I…”

He shifted her body until she faced him.

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“How about the middle?”

Raven laced her fingers in his. “I’m about to become a mother again.”

Pierce’s eyebrow shot up. She watched the myriad of emotions spill into his expressions, including one of confusion before a faltering grin spilled over his lips. “They said there was always a one percent chance that––”

“Oh, baby,” she reached up to cup his face in her hands, “not
that
kind of mother.”

Raven didn’t miss the flash of disappointment in his eyes as his lips set into a grim line. Her heart went out to him. He actually would have been elated if she had been pregnant. A far cry from Enrique’s response when he found out about Eric: “Now, how the fuck did that happen?” As if she had smacked him across the forehead and taken the dick herself.

“Maybe you should go back to the beginning,” Pierce conceded.

“I’m going to fight for custody of my niece and nephew. Well, let me rephrase that: I’d like to have custody of them, but I wanted to talk with you and Eric first.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ll support whatever decision you make.”

“It’s not as simple as I thought,” she worried. “They have issues.”

Pierce cocked his head. “Don’t we all?”

“I mean
real
issues. Manny has a learning disability; Kayla has a psychological problem and might have an addiction.”

“Sounds like a handful. Are
you
ready for that?”

She stroked his arm, enjoying the strong feel of him. “I thought I was.”

“What makes you think you’re not?”

“Eric, me, my business. You.”

“You can take me out of the equation,” he replied, trailing a finger down to the tip of her nose. “I love you first and foremost; everything else will follow.”

“You really mean that?”

“Yes, and when you talk to Eric, he’ll have your back. As far as your business, you practically run it from home anyway. You’ve got a crack team of freelancers that you trust, and you’re the only person I know who sets her own hours. What are they? Noon to 4? Two to 3?”

“I’m not a morning person.”

He laughed. “No doubt.”

She elbowed him.

“Let me ask you this: what will happen if you don’t take them?”

“Their mother will get them, spend their money, and then they’ll end up in foster care or worse before we can get to them.”

“Can you live with that? Could you be at peace knowing that they were in the system?”

“No! I’m sure I could raise them right.”

“They’ve pretty much been
raised
, Raven. All that’s left is fine-tuning. And that’s the real work.” Pierce blinked a few times, rubbed his bare head. “As long as you don’t hold them to the same expectations that you have for Eric.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“What other reference do you have? You’ve overcome a lot on your own and so has Eric since there was no father in the picture.”

Raven waved her hand. “But that hasn’t affected him as a person.”

“It has, Raven, you just can’t see it,” he remarked tenderly. “But like you, Eric’s resilient. These children might not be. They may require more of you to become that way. I don’t want you to set yourself up for failure, you being a perfectionist and all.”

She inched away from him. “I am
not
a perfectionist. I had to send out the first printing of my novel with three errors in it. A perfectionist would not have sent it to print.”

“What was the alternative?”

“Paying the printer $500 per day to keep the plates warm while the changes were made.”

Pierce shook his head. “So you were being practical, not perfect.”

“Right. Common sense.”

“Raven, I thought I was bad—but you really have this issue about things fitting the way you see it, or you tend to get a little flustered.”

“I do not!” She pushed him away. “Where are you getting this crap?”

“I noticed how afraid you were to love me.”

“I just thought the timing was a little off.” His smirk irritated her.

“Two years from now, the timing would
still
be off.”

“That’s not true. Eric will be in college then, and I’ll be free to do anything I like.”

His voice lowered to a mere whisper as he stroked a hand over her arms. “Eric’s been trying to tell you that you’ve been free all along.”

She froze, then her defenses went up. “No, I haven’t. I didn’t want to bring a man into my life, especially not until my trip to the Castle to work out my—some things.”

Pierce’s bushy eyebrows shot up.

It was the perfect time to tell him what her visit would really entail, and she almost started, but instead continued with her original thought. “I didn’t want my bedroom to have a revolving door of men. What kind of example would that set for him? I wanted him to respect women.”

“You’ve done a wonderful job.” Pierce slipped his arms around her again. “That’s why Marie’s head over heels in love with him.”

“Who?”

“Former secretary at MEG.”

“Right, the
older
woman,” she shot back.

“Only by two years.”

Raven rolled her eyes.”Whatever! And that makes it okay?”

“It makes him a man with mature tastes,” Pierce retorted as he stroked her arm.

“You’re no help here. She’s more…experienced.”

“Well, she did keep her vow to remain a virgin until married.”

Raven gave him a suspicious sideways glance. “And exactly how do you know, that?”

“Office pool. Fellas were a little pissed that master Eric scooped Marie up, right out from under their noses. A gentleman
and
youngster at that. He could teach them a thing or two.”

“So how do you know about the virgin thing?”

“Self-proclaimed. Her family’s strict as hell,” Pierce stated smoothly. “Everyone who knows her family is well aware she’s saving herself for marriage.”

“Eric never told me that.”

“He’s a young man now. There are some things you don’t need to know.”

“But he talked with you?”

Pierce met her gaze. “He needed some manly advice.”

“Oh.” She didn’t know how to feel about that and looked down at the floor.

“Raven?”

She didn’t answer.

Pierce lifted her chin with the tip of his index finger so that their eyes met yet again. “Let it go.”

She turned away. “I’m not going to say—”

“Raven!”

She slumped in his arms. “Oh, all right.”

“He respected the young lady enough to want to know what to do if things got hot. He’s smart, Raven, and I’m honored that he came to me.”

“But he’s just a baby,” she whined.

“Who lives with one of the best-selling erotic-fiction authors in the country.”

Her eyes widened. “He doesn’t read my work. He’s not old enough. I practically forbade him.”

Pierce roared with laughter. “Even if he hasn’t, children are inundated with sex and violence from television and videos. His exposure is at a high level, but he’s geared to controlling himself. That says a whole lot.”

“We’ve always been open about everything.”

“And you still will be, about most things.”

She remained silent for a moment before saying, “Thank you, Pierce.”

“Don’t mention it.” He kissed her, causing a sigh of pleasure to escape her lips.

“I have to be at court in the morning.”

“Would you like me to be there?”

“No, that’s all right.” Then her brow furrowed with thought. “Well, yes, please. I need an objective person—just in case my sister needs strangling.”

“We’re not going to think like that.”

“
You’re
not going to think like that,” she retorted. “It’s
all
I can think about.”

“Raven, I’m gonna put you over my knee and spank you.”

She softened, parting her lips in sensuous expectation. “Promise?”

Pierce laughed as he carried Raven back to bed.

Raven shuddered in disgust as she stood at the back of the courtroom in the Daley Center looking at her sister. Forget the children, Janetta couldn’t even dress herself! The floral print dress draping her wide behind had seen the wrong end of a steam iron. The flowing, wavy hair that had once been long enough to sit on was gone. The remaining straggly hair barely covered her scalp. Deep scars, missing teeth, and body odor that made a skunk’s spray smell like flowers reigned supreme.

Janetta had shaken her cocaine habit several years ago, but it had all come back when she hooked up with T. J.—the latest of her loser boyfriends, who had a penchant for milking Jaylon for money to do odd jobs around the house. Eric, at three, could have done a better job painting the house. Her mother, always wanting to help, had allowed herself to be used and abused, and there had been nothing Raven could do about it.

“Hey, you,” Ava said, shaking Pierce’s hand before he pulled her in for a hug. “I’m glad you made it.”

“Like I told Raven, there’s no place else I’d rather be.”

“This shouldn’t take long.”

“Don’t count on it,” Raven mumbled, sending Janetta the evil eye. “She
appears
to love them, you know.”

“Appearances can be deceiving. Anyone can love a child. Not everyone can take care of one.”

The bailiff announced crisply, “In the matter involving the Ripley minors…”

Ava perked up. “Coming.” She escorted Raven to the front of the courtroom.

The judge’s large, round face loomed from the bench. Not the friendliest looking man she’d seen lately, but if he could distinguish the difference between what was right for the children and the bullshit her sister would let loose, then he’d work just fine.

“We’re here to decide who gets custody of Manny and Kayla Ripley.” He flipped through a few pages. “There’s money involved?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Ava answered, consulting her notes. “About $5,000 for each child, plus monthly SSI/Disability benefits.”

“I see here that the natural mother wants them returned to her care.” The judge scrutinized Janetta with a quick head-to-toe, staring at her face for several seconds as though trying to sum her up, then went back to reviewing the file.

“Yes, Your Honor, but Raven Ripley—the children’s maternal aunt—is contesting that petition.” Ava’s strong voice carried across the almost empty courtroom.

A quick flash of hope made Raven’s heart leap. The judge already seemed to have dismissed Janetta as a worthy parent. Raven whispered to Ava, “This should be easier than we thought.”

“These cases aren’t always predictable.” She gave Raven’s hand a reassuring pat. “Don’t get your hopes up just yet.”

“I don’t care what it takes,” Raven said. “I don’t want my sister to have them. She just wants their money.”

“Your Honor,” Ava said, as she elbowed Raven, “we have specifically asked in our petition that the money their grandmother left them be kept in trust until they each turn twenty-one. Those trusts will be untouchable to
anyone
but the children, and only when they reach maturity.”

“I see.” The judge’s piercing scowl fell to Janetta. “You wouldn’t object to that, would you?”

Janetta shook with anger but held her tongue and her breath. T. J.’s wiry hand snaked out and barely held her steady.

Raven locked gazes with Pierce, whose hopeful expression was marred only by the slight twitch of his lips as he successfully held in his laughter.

“I want to talk with the children in my chambers.”

Ava’s head whipped from the judge to Raven’s gasp and back to the judge. “But, Your Honor—”

“Save it, counselor. I’ve read your petition, and I have every intention of speaking with the children before making
any
decision.” He gestured to the door he held open. “This way, please.”

Kayla, dressed in a beautiful polka dot dress, and Manny, wearing in a dark blue Sunday morning suit, trudged past the dark wooden bench and waved at Raven before following the judge. They had obviously been staying with Drew and Dina and not their mother. They waved at him.