Derailed (8 page)

“No, you’re right it doesn’t. But he’s my father, I’m his blood, and it pains Ashton to even look at me.”

She was so close to him he could smell her perfume. Something floral—a good scent for her. Suddenly her look changed from pain and hurt into something Everett was good at recognizing—desire. Their heads drew together like magnets and their lips connected. The kiss deepened and she sighed sweetly into his mouth.

She tasted sweet—like watermelon gum. He realized it was her lips and thought she must wear lip gloss. When they parted she looked shyly down. What was going on he did not know. They’d both been rejected tonight. Rejected by people they loved or wanted to love. In that moment, however, they both wanted each other and it felt good.

“Well. Um … that was good.” He cleared his throat.

“Yeah, it was.”

“I should probably apologize, but I don’t feel remorseful.”

She giggled. “I’m glad you don’t. You should know I’m a lost cause. I’ve been in love with Aston since I was sixteen.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty pathetic.”

“Not at all. Earlier tonight I got shutout by a single mother for telling her how she should raise her son.”

“Ouch. That’s like the cardinal rule of dating a single mom—don’t criticize her parenting.”

“I know that now.” They exited the ATV and walked toward the house. “You don’t have to go home tonight. You can stay in any of the spare bedrooms.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask where everybody is.”

“Parker has moved in with his fiancée. Julian is uh …
finding himself
. Courtney works long hours selling real estate and Ari is living in the dorms. She’s in a sorority, so it’s been an adjustment for us all.

“Wow, I never thought Parker would have a fiancée. That’s good for him. I guess that means you’re next.”

Everett laughed nervously. “Since my prospects are currently one below par, I don’t think my odds are looking too good. Maybe Courtney though—I heard her mumbling the name Sawyer in her sleep.”

“Sawyer.”

“Yeah, do you know any Sawyers?”

“I do know a Sawyer, but I don’t think she’d be talking to him. He’s kind of”—Harmony shrugged—”he’s a weird guy.”

“Actually, Courtney’s good with weird.”

“Weird is a misnomer on my part. He’s actually got serious problems and I don’t think he’d be in a position to date anyone.”

“Ah.” Everett nodded. “Do you want to stand out in the darkness all night or shall we go inside?”

“I think I’ll take you up on your offer to stay over.”

“Great.”

Everett led Harmony to the bedroom Maura used to stay in before she disappeared. It could be said Everett thought Julian was the greatest fool, for if Everett could get Fiona to look him in the eyes the way Maura had looked into Julian’s, he’d never let her go. Unfortunately, Everett sensed a dead end with Fiona.

“Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be on the other side of that door.” Everett pointed toward his door.”

“Thank you, Everett. You’re a good guy. Give it time—your single mom will come around.”

He found it hard not to smile, given her sincerity. “Good night.”

As much as Fiona wanted to hate Everett for suggesting that she was depriving her son of male attention, she realized the reason his comment hurt so much is because he was absolutely, one hundred percent correct.

Fiona sat up in her bed and sighed. It was chocolate chip pancake morning and she hoped that would be enough of a distraction that Ryder wouldn’t be too concerned with Everett’s absence.

“Everett!”

It seemed maybe that wasn’t going to be the case, however.

Ryder walked into her room, took one look in the bed, and then padded over to the bathroom still wearing his superhero pajamas. “Everett?”

“He’s not here, baby.”

Her heart broke as his little body deflated, starting with his shoulders. “He didn’t stay?”

“No, I’m sorry.” Fiona patted the spot next to her on the bed. “Come here.”

He unstably climbed up onto the bed, nursing his casted arm.

“He left because I asked him to, but he really wanted to stay.”

“Why wouldn’t you let him stay? You know I wanted him to.”

“I know.” At the hurt look in his eyes Fiona knew she’d made a mistake. “We had a little argument and I asked him to leave.”

“Was he mean to you?”

His concern was true and a light gasp escaped her lips. “No, baby. Sometimes grownups disagree with one another. I got upset and asked him to leave, but he didn’t want to. I wish he was still here.”

Ryder pursed his lips. “We have to take him some pancakes and you have to say you’re sorry.”

“I think you’re right.”

Fiona helped her son bathe and dress which proved quite difficult with a cast. At some point the steam must have caused a case of tumultuous itching down in the cast because Ryder seemed like he was about to crawl out of his skin if he didn’t get relief. She slid the parting end of a comb down into his cast. The sounds of relief he made reminded her of Mr. Whiskers when he used the back scratcher.

After Fiona showered and readied for her day, she joined Ryder in the kitchen.

“I lined up all the ingredients on the counter.” He stood on his stool and poured chocolate chips into a bowl. He’d even pulled the griddle out, but he knew the house rules and so he’d refrained from turning it on.

“Great, let’s get started.”

Ryder loved to stir things, but given his cast, he settled for being the measurer. “You’re the best sous chef a girl ever had.”

“I’m going to make this one for Everett.”

“Okay.” Fiona smiled and let Ryder lean over the griddle using his stool. He carefully placed chocolate chip clusters in various places on the bubbling cake until Fiona recognized he was making a smiley face.

“He’s going to love it.”

“Do you think he will make up with you?”

“I hope so.”

“How many pancakes does a man eat?”

“Hmm, that’s a good question. I’ve seen you eat three so maybe five or six.”

“We’ll go with six.”

They wrapped his six pancakes in foil with care. “Do you want to take the whipped cream in case he doesn’t have any?”

“Yes. And some chai tea.”

“We’re going to need a to-go container.”

“Here, Mommy.” He passed her his Spider-Man thermos.

“You’re going to let him use your prized thermos?”

“I guess so.” He nodded half-heartedly. “Just make sure we bring it back home.”

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”

They packed the picnic basket and headed out to the SUV.

“Do you think Everett will be at home?”

“There’s a good chance.” At nine o’clock on a Sunday she assumed he would be home. However, if he were at church wouldn’t she feel like a heathen?

She pulled into the massive paved drive that served as passageway to the large, stately home. A winding gravel lane wound into a circle in front of the house. In the center was a fountain at least as large as the one gracing St. Peter’s Square in Rome. She recognized Everett’s BMW, but there were several other cars she didn’t.

“Wow, it’s a mansion.”

“It’s pretty fancy, isn’t it?”

“Look”—Ryder pointed to the fountain—”it’s a bunch a children with umbrellas.” Fiona looked closely and saw Ryder was correct. It was an endearing image really. The children were carved wearing shorts and made to look as if they were playing and jumping in puddles.

“I wanna carry the basket.”

“But your cast”—

“I can do it.”

“Okay, at least let me get it out of the car for you.” She pulled the basket from the vehicle and placed it carefully across his arm. “Is it heavy?”

“No, it’s perfect.” He skipped up to the front door, leaving Fiona shaking her head. She loved her little guy’s spirit.

“These look like the doors at the Emerald City.”

“Wow, they really do.” Seeing things through the eyes of a child was quite revealing. Fiona razored her lip thinking about what Ryder may have seen last night and how he’d interpreted her behavior.

“Well, hello there.”

Everett’s sister had answered the door. “Hi, I’m Ryder. We brought pancakes for Everett.” Fiona felt her face heat as Courtney glanced at her.

“I’m sure he will be ecstatic! He loves pancakes.”

She moved aside to let them in. “Ryder and Fiona, right?” She gazed at Fiona waiting for confirmation, and so she nodded.

“I’m Courtney,” she said to Ryder. “What happened to your arm?”

She led them through the house.

“I broke it on a fishing trip—fell out of the boat.”

“Oh, my.” Courtney grasped at her chest. Looking back at Fiona she said, “You must have been scared.”

“I was terrified.”

“It was an accident,” Ryder added matter-of-factly.

“Here’s the kitchen if you want to get set up. I’ll go get Everett. I happen to know he hasn’t yet had breakfast.” She smiled and walked out leaving them alone.

“Wow, it’s the biggest kitchen I’ve ever seen!”

Ryder loved to cook and so she knew he’d be impressed by their gourmet kitchen.

“I bet they have a chef.”

“Let’s take the food out of the basket.”

Fiona helped Ryder lay out the breakfast for Everett and she hoped it would be a welcomed peace offering to counteract her behavior last night when he’d been so nice to her and her son.

***

Keiser of Keiser, Brown, and Doyle, was currently spewing a volcanic eruption of expletives into Everett’s ear.

“Yes, I realize that Mr. Keiser, but the client is crazy. He threw a ten-pound ashtray across the room, breaking the large window, not me.”

“Still, he wants the window paid for, so that’s coming out of your bonus. We at KB&D, pride ourselves on confidential and professional treatment of our clients. You just tarnished our image. You better be glad you already made partner—this little fiasco would have kept your name off the candidate list.”

Everett bit hard on the inside of his lip to keep from telling Keiser exactly what he could do with the partner candidate list.

“We want you to take a week of vacation and come back with a new vision. You’re a good lawyer. We all believe this is a minor setback.”

“Yes, Mr. Keiser.”

“Take care of yourself.”

Everett sat on his bed, gripping fistfuls of his hair. It was just as well he’d been made to quit the assignment. The sooner he could leave Baton Rouge, the better off he’d be. He’d had enough of the town’s man-eating, overreacting women and its brutish, half-crazed land dwellers.

A knock at his door preceded Courtney’s entrance. “Hey, there’s something in the kitchen I think you’ll want to see.”

“What now?”

“Just go to the kitchen.”

Still dressed in shorts and a T-shirt from slumber, Everett huffed, but stood and slid his feet into flip-flops by the door. He followed Courtney out, but when she went toward her room he asked, “Where are you going?”

“To shower. Just go to the kitchen. You won’t regret it.”

Everett made his way down the stairs while he pondered the reason behind Courtney’s secrecy.

When he turned the corner into the kitchen, he had his answers. Ryder was decorating a plate with whipped cream from a can and having a blast doing it.

“That looks great, baby. Everett’s going to love it.”

He cleared his throat and they both turned to stare with wide eyes. To break the ice he smiled. “Morning, what do we have here?” He took the plate in his hands, pulling it up to get a better look.”

“Smiley face chocolate chip pancakes,” Ryder answered proudly.

“Mmm. Looks awesome.” Everett took the stool next to Ryder at the bar while Fiona continued to stand at her son’s side. He took a large bite that demolished one of the eyes. “Just as I expected—best—pancakes—ever!” Everett laughed.

“We’re sorry for being mean. I mean Mom is.” Everett looked to Fiona.

“Yes, I’m sorry I overreacted. Given the events of the day I was emotional, but that is still no excuse. You were very kind yesterday.” She wrung her hands. “I hope you will accept my apology.” She bit into her lip and looked down at the floor.

It was a little too little, a little too late, wasn’t it
? He was headed back to Boston, thankful to be done with Baton Rouge. At least he could respond to her kind gesture.

“This is great, Fiona. Thank you.”

Both Fiona and Ryder continued to stare at him wide-eyed and he realized his reaction hadn’t been grand enough. He took his phone from his pocket and handed it to them. “I’d like a selfie with pancake man if you don’t mind.” He held a dry pancake up next to his face and smiled cheerily. Fiona took the shot. “And one more for good measure.” Everett stuck his tongue through the mouth on the cake while Ryder laughed. Then Fiona took a selfie of the four of them with their heads together—pancake man taking up one of the middle positions.

While he was finishing off cake number three, Harmony walked into the kitchen.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware you had company.”

“Please come, I’ll introduce you. Harmony, this if Fiona and her son Ryder.”

They exchanged greetings.

“You have a broken arm.” Harmony pointed.

“I fell out of a boat,” Ryder boasted.

“Whoa. I broke my arm in the same place when I was eleven.”

“I’m ten. How did you break your arm?”

“I fell off a horse.”

Ryder’s face became highly animated as he sucked in a huge breath. “Do you have a horse?”

“I do.”

“Harmony has a bunch of horses.” Everett smiled proudly.

“Wow! Do you ride them?”

“Every day.”

“I wish I could see them.”

Harmony turned to Fiona, “You’re welcome to bring him around. I could actually use help feeding them.”

“Oh Mommy, please can we help feed them?”

Fiona dazedly asked, “When do you feed them?”

“A horse will eat whenever you put out a pail of oats, so why don’t you guys just come on over when you get done here? Everett can tell you how to get there.”

She placed her hand on Everett’s shoulder, “Thank you for letting me stay here last night.”

“No problem.”

“See you guys soon.”