Moments In Time: A Collection of Short Fiction (40 page)

“Wait, what did you say?” I sighed as he raised one eyebrow in amusement and started toward the bed, grabbing the damp towel on his way.

“I said that Sage has been asking to call all night,” Kate grumbled in exasperation.

“Oh, okay,” I told her as he slid into bed beside me, running the towel between my legs gently. “Put her on.”

He glanced at me questioningly, tossing the towel off the side of the bed as I pushed the speaker button on my phone and placed it between us. We heard scuffling sounds of movement before Sage’s sweet voice filled the line.

“Hi, Daddy! Are you home? When are you coming home? Did Mama go get you? Mama said I can go with you to the Laundromat! She says she is
not
washing your cammies in our washer ’cause last time they left sand
everywhere
. You been gone
so
long! I cleaned my room!”

His smile lit up the room as his eyes met mine. He lifted my hand, kissing the wedding ring on my finger, and cleared his throat before answering.

“Hi, Princess . . .”

About the Author

Nicole Jacquelyn is the mom of two little girls and a full-time college student. She hasn’t watched television in well over a year, she still does things that drive her mother crazy, and she loves to read. At eight years old, when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she told people she wanted to be a mom. When she was twelve, her answer changed to author. By the time she was eighteen, when people asked her what she wanted to do with her life, she told them she really wanted to be a writer, but the odds of that happening were so slim that she’d get her business degree “just to be safe.” Her dreams stayed constant. First she became a mom, then she went to college, and during her senior year—with one daughter in first grade and the other in preschool—she sat down and wrote a story.

Nicole may be found on social media at:

Facebook:
Author Nicole Jacquelyn

Twitter:
@AuthorNicoleJ

Books by Nicole Jacquelyn include:

The Aces MC Series

Craving Constellations

Craving Redemption

Craving Absolution
(coming Summer 2014)

by Lisa M. Harley

Edited by Jennie Wurtz

and

Laura Hampton

What’s a sure-fire cure for a broken heart? A cowboy, of course!

Ember Kennedy

“Sadie, I really don’t think this will help my situation,” I whined to my best friend over the phone. She was insisting I go home with her for the weekend. Going home with Sadie meant going to the middle of nowhere and sleeping in a barn. Okay, maybe not sleeping in a barn, but there is a barn there. And they could make me sleep in it. I don’t know what those country folks are up to half the time.

“Ember, you are being absolutely ridiculous. You know my family adores you and a weekend in the country will do you loads of good.”

“How do you figure?” I asked sarcastically.

“So many reasons, but the best one I have would be that you won’t have to see that bastard Brock for three days.”

Sadie was not wrong about that. Not seeing Brock was definitely a huge bonus. He and I had a less than amicable split about six months ago. When I say less than amicable I really mean we were engaged until I came home from class early, cliché I know, and found him going down on some blonde slut that he worked with.

Excuse me I misspoke. She didn’t work with him at his daddy’s law firm. She was actually the coffee girl from the café downstairs. Nope, I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried. Our relationship was a complete and utter joke.

Brock Archer was looking for someone to play the part of his perfect wife. Apparently, since I was finishing up law school and getting ready to take the BAR exam, I fit the role perfectly. He had been a lawyer for only a little over a year, and was already on the fast track to partner at his daddy’s super-swanky law firm in Los Angeles. It was clear that nepotism was still alive and well in the Archer family.

I truly believed that he loved me for me, not for what I could do for him and his reputation. The day I caught him with the blonde’s scrawny but beautifully tanned, perfectly hairless, probably from laser hair removal, legs wrapped around his head he actually said to me, “Did you really expect me not to sleep around on you? I mean come on, look at me.”

At this point, he had removed himself from the blonde’s legs and was standing buck naked at the foot of our huge king-sized super soft bed. Looking me up and down he said with a snarky smirk on his face, “Look at yourself, Ember. We aren’t exactly compatible in the looks department now are we?”

Okay, something about that statement made me flip the hell out. It might’ve been the fact that I had been working my ass off for the last two years to lose those sixty pounds that had been the bane of my existence since I was a teenager. Or it could’ve been that in the past year I had changed everything about my wardrobe. My bright colors and rock band t-shirts had been replaced with boring, dark colors and more pencil skirts than any woman should own. But if I had to choose one reason that his statement really made my blood boil it would be that the blonde skank chose that moment to stand up. When she climbed out of our bed I noticed the huge, and I mean fucking huge, tattoo across her lower back. A tramp stamp if you will. It was two hummingbirds on either side with writing in the middle that said, “Free Love”. Really? No shit. I’m sure this chick had no problem doling out all of her love for free. But I digress, my point is I had always wanted a tattoo, but Brock told me they were trashy and that he would break up with me if I got one. I guess the jackass didn’t have a problem screwing someone with a tattoo though.

Her tattoo had me in a trance. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from it. Finally, I looked back at Brock and I could see fear in his eyes. I’m pretty sure he could tell by the flashing red lasers shooting out of mine and boring down into his very soul that I was a little beyond pissed.

My obsession with big expensive purses was about to pay off big time. With both hands wrapped around the long black strap of my purse twisting and turning so hard that my knuckles turned white, I was biting my lip, and my eye was literally twitching. Before I even realized what I was doing I swung my purse around and proceeded to beat Brock with it. Hitting his arms, shoulders, chest and his face repeatedly. My dad always warned me that carrying around such a heavy purse was bad for my back. It turns out it was actually much worse for Brock’s face. Poor beautiful Brock. I really felt bad for him as I pelted his head repeatedly.

The little blonde had crawled back into bed and curled herself up into the fetal position. She had her hands over her eyes, peeking through the cracks between her fingers as she screamed at me, “Not the face. Please, please don’t hurt his beautiful face.”

Really?

Did this bitch honestly think now was the best time for her to start speaking to me?

Of course, we all know what they say about blondes. They aren’t known for being the brightest bulbs in the box or the heaviest bricks in the load; however, I’m pretty sure this chick wasn’t a natural blonde. It was pretty clear from the view I had that the curtains didn’t exactly match the drapes – poor fake Malibu Barbie.

At that moment a thought occurred to me. I’ve seen the coffee girls woo hoo. Goddamn you Brock. How would I ever be able to order a skinny caramel latte from her again?

Then it hit me, what the hell was I worrying about? It wasn’t like Brock’s dad was going to let me work at his firm after I beat the hell out of his son while trying, in the nicest way possible, to shove the large engagement ring he had given me down his lying, cheating throat.

“Earth to Ember!” Sadie huffed into the phone, pulling me out of my happy memories of Brock.

“I’m here. I was just thinking about Brock.”

“Of course you were.” I could hear her damn grin through the phone. “Good memories I’m sure.”

“They were very good memories for me, probably not so much for him,” I laughed.

“The purse incident?”

“Damn straight.”

“I love that story. Have I ever told you that after that incident you totally became my hero?” Sadie said.

“Really? Don’t lie to yourself. You know I’ve always been your hero.”

“What the hell ever. I’m your hero, now back to more pressing matters. Your ass is going home with me this weekend. I need to see my parents and I’m sure Sean is up to something stupid and needs to be put in his place.”

“That little brother of yours is still a mess, huh?”

“Oh my god. You have no idea what all he’s been putting my parents through. Mom is begging me to come home and talk some sense into him. You know how he feels about you, Ember. I think just seeing…uh, remind me, what’s that cute little nickname he has for you?

“You know exactly what he calls me. I’m not going through this with him again, Sadie,” I groaned.

Her little brother, Sean had been in love with me since the minute he met me. I know that sounds pretty conceited for me to say, but it’s true.

It all started the day that I met Sadie for the first time. We were starting college and were assigned to be roommates. I arrived early and got moved into the dorm a couple of days before she did. After I spent the entire day cleaning and finally unpacking the last of my boxes, I was standing in the middle of our dorm room admiring my work. It was unseasonably warm that day and somehow throughout the day I’d stripped off all of my clothes. So as I was standing there wearing nothing but my hot pink push up bra and matching panties, you guessed it, Sadie, her parents, and Sean walked in.

Sean was a few years younger than Sadie and me and I was 90 percent sure he’d never seen a girl in that state of undress before. I was quickly grabbing at clothes, blankets, or anything I could find to cover my ass. Luckily, Sadie had ushered her parents out of the room, but Sean was still standing in the doorway completely dumbstruck. His eyes were darting back and forth faster than windshield wipers during an intense rainstorm. Back and forth, up and down. His mouth was hanging open and there appeared to be the tiniest amount of drool dripping out of the corner of his mouth.

Slowly, his eyes met mine as I wrapped myself up in the leopard print fur throw I had pulled off of the chair. His mouth formed a really cute, yet semi-frightening grin as he whispered, “Pinky Pie”.

From that moment on he has only referred to me as “Pinky Pie.” Apparently, my undergarments made a lasting impression, because I haven’t seen him once in the last several years that he hasn’t flirted with me incessantly. In fact on more than one occasion he’s actually begged me to sleep with him. More than a few times I’ve received drunken calls from him in the middle of the night begging me for a booty call. A booty call across six states! Yep, that sounded totally legit.

“Oh come on, Pinky Pie,” she whined. “You know he’ll listen to you. He’s obsessed with you and your underwear.”

There would be no giving in. I was not going to spend the weekend in the boonies. Uh huh. Was. Not. Going. To. Happen.

“Sadie, please don’t make me go,” I whined in my most childlike high-pitched voice. “A weekend in the country is not going to make me feel better.” All that was left was a stomp of my foot and I’d be acting just like the quintessential four year old brat.

“Maybe not, but a weekend with a hot cowboy will make you feel a whole lot better. Remember that guy I told you about? Cade Walker. He is one hot ass cowboy and he will give you a weekend that you will never forget. Pleeeeease!”

She wasn’t going to give up.

Damn it.

“I’m not going, Sadie. Enough. You’ll have more fun by yourself anyway.”

After a short pause on the line, I heard Sadie take a deep breath. Then she said, “I was really hoping you wouldn’t make me use this, but I can see that it’s come to this.”

No way. She wouldn’t dare.

“Are you sure you want to sink that low, my friend?” I asked.

“Do I want to? No. Will I? Yes. I need you to act as my buffer this weekend and if I need to pull out the video I have and post it on your Facebook page, I will. It’s really your choice,
my friend
.” Her condescending tone was pissing me off.

The fact that she had that video also pissed me off. The fact that she was using it against me was beyond belief. The video was of me sitting on Sadie’s couch, in a very intense state of intoxication confessing my undying love to a half-gallon of peanut butter cup chocolate swirl ice cream. Did I mention I was wearing nothing but an old
Blondie
t-shirt that I’d been wearing for days? Or that my hair was sticking up all over my head? It was beyond embarrassing and really stupid and I didn’t want anyone to see it.

“Fine. I’ll go with you because you have forced my hand, but I will not be having sex with any cowboys. Hot or otherwise.”

“I’m sorry I had to go that far, but I need you this weekend, Ember. Oh, and we will see about that. You will have sex this weekend, and by god, you’ll enjoy it,” she giggled as she disconnected the call.

Slumping down further into my big brown comfy micro-suede couch my eyes scanned my sad little apartment. After the big split with Brock I had to find somewhere to live and I had to find it pretty quickly. Sadie of course offered to let me stay with her, but she already had a roommate and I didn’t want to cause her any additional stress. It was bad enough that I was a basket case and crying on her shoulder 24/7.

When I left the apartment after the purse beating incident, I spent my first night at Sadie’s place and then the next morning I woke up, walked down to the coffee shop on the corner, bought a skinny caramel latte and a newspaper and began the search for my new apartment. My biggest problem was at that moment I wasn’t really in the mood to search for an apartment. So I found the first thing in my price range, scheduled an appointment to view it, and within two hours I was sitting in the same spot that I was right then. I was doing the same thing I’d been doing then. Looking around and thinking, “How in the hell did my life turn to shit?”

I thought I was happy with Brock, I thought he was happy with me, but most of all I thought he was my future. When the realization hit me that he had played me for the two years we were together, something inside me kind of snapped. Ember Kennedy the brash, bold lawyer to be had disappeared and in her place was Ember, the sad girl whose fiancé crushed her heart and while he was at it went ahead and crushed her spirit too.

There had been no dating since the breakup. I wouldn’t even allow that thought to enter into my head. I was sad and depressed and needed some time to wallow in my self-pity.

The summer internship I was in the running for was all I could think about. My hope was that I would get the internship and knock their socks off so hard that they would have to offer me a full-time position but just until they named me partner. Peterson, Nichols, and Corbett Law Firm was the largest firm in L.A.; well the second largest right behind Brock’s daddy’s firm. It wasn’t like I wanted to work with Brock and his daddy, but I had to admit that losing that opportunity did make me a little nervous.