Need You Now (33 page)

Darlene waited until he was closing the door behind them before she glanced at her watch. Brad had asked her to sign for a package today, but she knew UPS always came between four and five. It was just three o'clock.

Four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, a sunroom, media room, and game room later, the tour was complete.

“It's gorgeous,” she said as they walked back into the living room.

“Thanks. I thought about selling it after Julie died, but this is the only home Cara has ever known, so it just makes sense to keep her where she's comfortable.” He motioned for Darlene to sit. “So when does school start?”

“Monday.” She took a deep breath. “I'm always glad for summer so I can have time with the kids, then I'm always ready for them to go back to school. But I'm—” She stopped, brought a finger to her lips.

“You're worried about Grace.” Dave sat down beside her on the couch, turned to face her.

“Yeah. I am. And I know I've got to quit hovering over her so much.” Darlene grinned. “She told me to quit doing that. But it's hard. I want to be with her every second now just to make sure that she doesn't . . .” She raised one shoulder, forced a smile. “I'm sure she'll be fine.”

“What about Brad? Things better?”

“Well, it's not any worse.” The moment the words slipped from her mouth, she regretted them. Her relationship with Brad was none of Dave's business, yet she was already guilty of involving him in it. “I mean, we're okay.”

Dave crossed one leg over the other and rubbed his chin for a few moments. “Marriage is hard, no doubt. But I'd do anything to have one more day to be with Julie, even if we spent the entire day fighting.”

His comment put things in perspective. She couldn't imagine her life without Brad.

They were quiet for a few moments, then Dave sat taller. “Hey, I have a proposition for you.”

“What?” She blinked her eyes a few times as she felt her cheeks warm.

“Relax, Darlene.” He chuckled. “Maybe proposition wasn't the right word. I was going to ask you the next time I saw you if I could bring Cara to see the chickens. She mentioned them for the first time recently, and I thought it would be a nice treat for her. And I think enough time has gone by that she won't cry when she sees you.” He paused when Darlene dropped her chin. “I didn't say that to make you feel bad. You know what I mean.”

“You can bring Cara to see the chickens anytime.” She looked up at him and smiled, relieved to hear that the proposition involved Cara.

“That would be great. Otherwise, I'll be forced to buy some chickens, and I'm not excited about that idea.”

Darlene looked at her watch, then stood up. “Oops. I've gotta go. Brad is expecting something from UPS, and maybe I won't miss the delivery guy if we hurry. It's the last few days of summer, and I have a feeling my children might be running around enjoying it and not home to accept the package.”

“Sure.” Dave rose also, reached into his pocket for his keys, and motioned her toward the door.

Neither Chad's nor Grace's car was in the driveway when Darlene got home, so she hurried inside to the designated note spot on the counter.
Went to Skylar's. Love, Grace
. And
Riding horses at Layla's. Love, Chad and Ansley
. The second note was in Ansley's handwriting, and Darlene cringed at the thought of either of her kids on a horse. To her knowledge, they'd never ridden before, but surely they were riding under Layla's supervision.

But she was glad Grace was at Skylar's. She'd looked by the front door and in the mailbox and hadn't seen anything from UPS. She wondered if she'd missed it. When she'd asked Brad what he was expecting, he'd just said, “Something I ordered online.” She suspected it was the gift he'd mentioned when they went to dinner to celebrate her new job.

As she sat down on the couch, she couldn't shake the feeling deep in her gut, and she finally allowed herself to admit it: Dave Schroeder was hitting on her. It had been so long that she almost didn't recognize the signs, but the way he looked at her, talked with her . . . the way he'd held her at the gala.

Guilt wrapped around her so tightly she couldn't breathe. She put her hand on her chest as she stood up and walked across the living room, resolved that she would never allow herself to be alone with him again. If he brought Cara to see the chickens, that was fine, but that was it.

Hurry home, Brad
.

She wanted to wrap her arms around him, tell him she was sorry about the words they'd had and the distance between them lately, then spend the rest of the evening together.

But no sooner had the thought crossed her mind than Brad burst through the door. And he began yelling. Loudly. At her.

Chapter Sixteen

“Stop screaming!” Darlene yelled back at him after he'd unloaded on her. “I just got home and got Ansley's note.”

“Well, I stopped when I saw her and Chad on my way home, and I told them to get their butts home.” He chucked his briefcase on the couch. “They've never ridden horses before, and Chad was running his horse like he was some sort of cowboy or something.”

“Was Layla with them?”

“Yeah, she was out there, but those kids shouldn't be on horses. They have no idea what they're doing.”

“Brad . . .” She spoke calmly as she followed him into the kitchen. “I'm sure Layla wouldn't put them on a horse unless she felt it was safe.” Darlene had counted on that, and in her effort not to be so overprotective, she hadn't felt the need to rush over to Layla's and drag them home.

Brad picked up the note. “They didn't even ask. They just went. Where were you?”

She flinched at his accusatory tone. “I went shopping. I haven't even unloaded the car.” She touched his arm. “You heard Layla tell them at dinner the other night that they could ride the horses sometime.”

Brad loosened his tie, her hand slipping from his arm. “And did you not hear me tell them that they needed some training before they just jumped on the back of a horse?”

“Well, what better person to train them than Layla?” She made the mistake of smiling.

Brad glared at her. “I'm serious, Darlene. I can't take it if one more thing happens to our children. After all Chad's stuff in Houston, now Grace . . .” He shook his head. “I don't want anything else happening to our kids.”

Despite the harsh words they'd exchanged, it was clear to Darlene that Brad was just overwhelmed with worry. Determined to get past the way he was talking to her, she put her arms around his waist and squeezed. “Grace is going to be fine, and nothing is going to happen.”

Brad eased her away, took a deep breath. “Where's my package?”

“Oops.” Darlene frowned. “Sorry. I'm not sure if I got home in time. But I didn't see a note from UPS or anything. What is it anyway?”

“Nothing important, apparently.”

She took a deep breath as her heart thudded a little too hard in her chest, a reminder about why she was late, fueled by the knowledge that the package was possibly a gift for her. “I'm sorry.”

When he didn't say anything, Darlene pulled a package of chicken from the refrigerator, then turned when she heard the front door slam. “Someone's home.”

Chad and Ansley scurried into the kitchen, and Ansley went straight to the refrigerator and pulled out the tea pitcher. “Want some, Chad?” Without waiting for an answer, Ansley pulled two glasses from the cabinet.

“Man, what a ride!” Chad walked to Ansley's side and picked up one of the glasses she'd filled. “Thanks.” Then he turned to his father. “It's cool, Dad. Really. The horses are super gentle.”

Brad's face reddened. “I told you the other night not to get on the horses without me or your mom around, or until you had some training.”

Ansley stepped forward. “Layla told us exactly what to do, and it was a blast, Daddy!”

“Yeah, that's the most fun I've had in a long time. The minute she opened the gate to the main pasture, the horses knew to run, and they just took off with us.” Chad gulped down the rest of his tea as Brad's face turned a darker shade of red. He pointed a finger at Chad.

“No more riding the horses.”

Chad sighed. “Yes, sir.”

Then Brad turned to Darlene. “Can you please talk to Layla and tell her not to put my children on those horses again without our permission? I'm sure she heard me say that I didn't want them on the horses yet.”

Darlene nodded before Brad walked out of the kitchen, and a few moments later, Grace walked in with Skylar.

“Hi, girls.” Darlene smiled. “How was your day?”

“Good,” Grace said. “We just hung out at Skylar's and played cards with her dad.”

Darlene turned to Skylar. “How's your dad been feeling, Skylar?”

“He's better. And he loves to beat Grace at spades.” Skylar smiled, as did Darlene.

“Can you stay for dinner, Skylar?” Darlene rolled the chicken in seasoned bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.

“No. But thank you. I followed Grace home in my truck. She's—she's loaning me some stuff.”

“Let's go upstairs.” Grace motioned for Skylar to follow her out of the kitchen. Darlene wondered what Grace was loaning her, but Ansley caught her attention at the refrigerator. She stood with the door open, counting her eggs.

“Fourteen dozen,” she said proudly.

Darlene walked to her daughter's side. “Ansley Marie, we are going to eat those eggs. Do you hear me?” Darlene had already been using them secretly to cook with. With four laying hens, they were getting four eggs per day, and Ansley's refusal to eat them was causing a huge backup in the refrigerator.

“That's so stupid, Ansley,” Chad said, shaking his head. “Why are you saving those eggs?” Then he walked closer to her. “I boiled a dozen of them just last week, and Mom uses them all the time for cooking.”

Ansley narrowed her eyes at him. “You know what, Chad? You're just mean.” She walked out of the kitchen.

“Why do you do that to her?” Darlene asked after Ansley was out of the room.

Chad shrugged. “Because it's retarded the way she saves them.”

Darlene spun around. “Don't use that word, Chad.” Then she frowned. “You need a haircut before school starts.”

“Yeah, I know.” He grabbed a banana from the counter, peeled it, and took a big bite.

Darlene put the chicken in the oven. “I wonder what Grace is loaning to Skylar.” From the little Darlene had gathered from Grace, Skylar and her father lived modestly. Darlene suspected they struggled due to his health problems and not being able to work much.

“I hope it's some clothes,” Chad said, chuckling as he left the kitchen.

Brad fluffed his pillow, then flipped channels on the TV, finally settling on a documentary about space, one of his favorite subjects. Something to keep his mind off of life and the way he'd been acting lately. He'd been so irritable around Darlene, his kids, and his coworkers.