He grinned then said softly, “I know, honey. When’s your next day off?”
“Uh…Friday.”
“Thursday night, we’re gettin’ a babysitter.”
I blinked at his intimate words, words said by a Dad to a Mom, a husband to a wife, more words I liked and repeated, “What?”
“A babysitter.”
“Why?”
“’Cause Thursday night I’m takin’ you out. I’m feedin’ you. I’m gettin’ you intoxicated. Then I’m bringin’ you home and then I’m doin’ other things to you. Things I’m gonna keep doin’ that’ll take me deep into Friday and I don’t want the kids interrupting me while I do them.”
My toes curled, my knees wobbled and my nipples started tingling.
Oh boy.
I struggled to find my way back to Mara World which was safer and far more sane and started, “I don’t –”
I stopped speaking when I heard the door to the hall bathroom open. Billy was out of the shower.
Mitch’s head went back another two inches and turned slightly before he murmured, “Kids interrupting.”
My hands moved so they were pressed against his chest, not a good thing to do as all my fingers encountered on their journey was warm, hard, sleek skin.
I powered through this and started, “Mitch –”
At that moment there was a knock on the door.
Mitch’s head turned the other way, my gaze followed his and we both stared at the front door.
“Who could that be?” I whispered.
“No clue,” Mitch replied, not in a whisper, let me go, my hands flew back so my palms could press against the counter to hold myself up and I watched Mitch move to the door.
He looked through the peephole and then I watched him drop his head, shake it, his neck twisted and his eyes hit me. I saw they were amused at the same time a little annoyed. Then he turned back to the door, pulled off the chain, twisted the lock and opened it.
“You couldn’t help yourself, could you?” he asked whoever was outside the door and his voice was the same mixture of amused and a little annoyed.
“My brother doesn’t call me at nine o’clock at night to discuss the care of a fevered child…as in never…so you’re right. I couldn’t help myself.” A female’s voice came at me and then I saw Mitch move back as I saw a woman with Mitch’s dark hair cut in an attractive style that brushed her shoulders, natural waves flowing through it. She was tall, like Mitch, though not as tall as Mitch. And she was built, not like Mitch. She was all tits and ass and obvious attitude.
She was followed by an older version of her who could be no one but Mitch’s mother.
And I was right. She wore twinsets.
With scarves.
Attractive ones.
Oh…dear…God!
“Hi there, you must be Mara,” Mrs. Lawson called when she saw me. “I’m Mitch’s Mom, Sue Ellen.”
My brain took that unfortunate moment to remind me I was wearing a nightie and Mitch’s shirt and Mitch was wearing nothing but a pair of drawstring pajama bottoms. This collided with the thought that I was at Mitch’s house early in the morning wearing nothing but a nightie, panties and Mitch’s shirt and Mitch was in nothing but pajama bottoms and what the woman who told me she was Mrs. Lawson and the woman who was obviously Mitch’s sister Penny would think of this.
“Hey,” I replied before I could start hyperventilating.
Mitch’s sister started walking toward the bar and her smiling eyes moved to me. “I’m Penny, Mitch’s sister,” she introduced herself casually like it was perfectly okay to perpetrate an early morning surprise attack on your hot brother’s neighbor. Even if that neighbor was staying with your hot brother while she was having one in a long line of crises into which she’d sucked your hot brother.
Which, by the way, it was not.
“Uh…hey,” I returned. “I’m Mara, um…” I had no further information to give because they obviously already knew who I was and I wasn’t certain what I was to Mitch. Except last night he’d called me his Mara and just thinking about him doing that made goose flesh rise on my skin.
I hoped they couldn’t see it.
Penny ignored me trailing off stupidly and asked, “How’s Billie?”
“Fever broke,” Mitch answered. Having closed the door, he was moving too. Toward me. And I noted he seemed laidback about this new and unusual turn of events like his mother and sister frequently happened by unannounced and maybe they did. “It came on fast and she was cool before the second dose so it left just as fast.”
“That’s good,” Mrs. Lawson murmured, coming to stand by Penny at the bar.
“Would you guys like some, um…coffee?” I asked, pulling up my hostessing skills and wondering if I should because it wasn’t my house, also because I probably should excuse myself to go put on some clothes.
Mitch was already getting mugs as Mrs. Lawson replied, “That’d be great.”
“Love a cup,” Penny added.
Although I asked to be polite, I didn’t know how to feel about their response considering their response meant they were staying awhile. And weirdly they didn’t seem surprised I was playing hostess in Mitch’s kitchen while wearing a nightie and his flannel.
Mitch set the mugs down and I grabbed the coffeepot and filled them. No one said anything so I latched onto something Mitch said and when he returned to me with the gallon jug of milk, I asked, “What do you mean, Billie was cool before the second dose?”
He splashed milk into two mugs and then set the jug aside, answering, “Set the alarm like I said I’d do. It woke me up, I checked her and she was good.”
At his words, forgetting my audience, I stared at his handsome profile as he grabbed a spoon from the drawer and then reached out to the sugar bowl.
Then I asked, “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“No need, she was cool,” Mitch answered, spooning sugar into the milky mugs.
“But why didn’t you wake me?” I repeated, Mitch’s head turned and his eyes caught mine.
“There was no need, sweetheart,” he repeated with variation. “She was cool, you were both out so I just went back to sleep.”
I felt my brows knit. “You just went back to sleep?”
“Well, yes and no. I got up, turned out the lights, locked the front door and then I came back to bed and went back to sleep.”
I stared at him, lips parted.
He woke up to check Billie, found she was okay, got out of his bed not to go sleep on the couch but instead he turned out the lights, locked the front door and came back to his bed, a bed I was in with Billie.
Why would he do that? Why?
He turned and handed coffees to his mother and sister while I watched and they, I noticed vaguely, watched us and they did this closely. Then he turned back and grabbed his which he took black. Then he lifted it to his lips. Then I opened my mouth to speak.
“Hey,” I heard Billy mumble and my eyes jerked to my little cousin who was walking out dressed for school in a pair of new jeans and one of the new tees I bought him, hair combed, looking like the perfect child.
“Hey there, you must be Billy,” Mrs. Lawson grinned at him. “I’m Mitch’s Mom, Sue Ellen, and this is my daughter, Mitch’s sister, Penny.”
“Hey,” Penny smiled.
“Hey,” Billy smiled back then climbed up on a stool and looked at Mitch. “Can you do oatmeal again, Mitch?” he asked.
“Sure, Bud,” Mitch muttered, put his coffee mug down and went to a cupboard to get a glass.
“Cool, thanks,” Billy muttered back.
Okay, this was weird. This was insane. This was nuts. But I couldn’t cope with any of that now. My life was on its head, as it would be considering I was now in charge of two kids, my cousin was in jail and the Russian mob, amongst others, wanted him dead. And my apartment was a crime scene. And my mother and aunt were in town. And me and my two new kids were essentially living with my hot guy neighbor I’d secretly been i
n love with for years. I needed to focus and not on Mitch, Mitch’s apparently nosy sister and equally nosy Mom.
I grabbed my coffee mug, took a fortifying sip of caffeine and walked to stand across the counter from Billy.
“Billy, honey, Billie got sick last night so she’s going to stay home with me today,” I told him.
“She did?” Billy asked, his face suddenly awash with concern but he looked strangely like he was hiding something.
I couldn’t ask or pay too close attention because Mitch took all of it when he stated firmly, “She is not.”
I turned to him in surprise to see his words weren’t the only thing that was firm. His face was firm too and this made me even more surprised.
“Yes, she is,” I told him.
“She’s fine,” he replied, coming to my side and putting a glass of milk in front of Billy. “Fever broke. She’s good.”
“She puked her guts out last night, Mitch,” I reminded him.
“She did?” Billy asked and I looked at him.
“Yes, buddy, she did. She’s okay now,” I assured him. “But I want her to rest today.”
“She’s good, Mara,” Mitch butted in. “And she’s missed enough school, something I learned yesterday when I talked to her teacher. Apparently, her Dad didn’t make her go. But now she’s fine and she’s going to school.”
My head turned to Mitch. “Maybe she’s fine but she might have a relapse and I don’t want her at school when she has a relapse. I want her at home and I want to be around if she does.”
“She has a relapse, the school will call and you or I’ll go get her,” Mitch returned.
“That would be a waste of time,” I replied. “What wouldn’t be a waste of time would be if she had a relapse and she was already home.”
“She’s goin’ to school, Mara,” Mitch declared and I felt my blood pressure ratcheting higher.
“She’s not, Mitch,” I declared right back then I thought of something and I looked at Billy. “Maybe you shouldn’t go to school either.”
I watched my cousin’s eyes light with delight at the thought of missing school but I heard Mitch speak.
“Why the hell not?” he asked and I looked back at him.
“What if he has her bug?” I asked back. “It came on fast, Mitch. She was fine one minute, though she was grumpy and didn’t want to go to bed. Two hours later she was throwing up on the living room carpet and had a temperature of one hundred and three. That could happen to Billy and if it does, I want him right here.”
“Bud gets sick, the school calls and you or I go get him,” Mitch fired back.
Yes, my blood pressure was definitely ratcheting higher and that was why I put my hands on my hips, leaned into him and snapped, “That would be a waste of time too.”
“Baby, they’re both going to school,” Mitch announced.
“Honey, they are not,” I decreed.
Mitch glared at me. I glared back.
Then he said, “Just for the record, sweetheart, I’ve decided I like the Mara who lives in her own world and ums and uhs and doesn’t hand me attitude. Let’s go back to her.”
After that, I replied, “Just for the record, honey lumpkin, I know why you like the Mara who lives in her own world because that Mara lets you have your way. But when I’m worried about my kids, and you disagree with me, we’re not going back to her. And, by the way, I’ll remind you, yesterday you promised we’d be a team and talk about decisions regarding the kids.”
“Uh…baby,” he looked around and my glare heated when I noted he was looking around sarcastically, then his eyes hit mine and he stated, “That’s what we’re doin’. We’re talkin’.”
Luckily before I exploded, at this point Penny butted in and she did this by saying, “Can I just say, I freaking love this.”
“Not as much as me, sweetie,” Mrs. Lawson added and my eyes snapped to them to see they were both smiling huge.
Before I could freak out that I forgot my audience, Mitch spoke.
“Maybe one of you can make yourself useful and go wake up Billie so she can shower and get ready for school,” he suggested toward his mother and sister in a way that it was no suggestion at all.
“Please don’t,” I put in quickly. “She needs her rest and, not to be rude, she doesn’t know either of you and I don’t want her to be alarmed.”
Mitch’s eyes sliced back to me and he growled, “Mara.”
I couldn’t growl but I tried my best and returned, “Mitch.”
“How about I make myself useful by being the voice of experience and saying, sorry, Mara but Mitch’s right, she’ll probably be okay,” Penny stated, I bit my lip and her eyes went to her brother. “But I’m more sorry, Mitch because Mara’s more right. She’ll probably be okay but if it was one of my kids and they were puking their guts out and had a fever, no way they’d be in school the next day.” Then her eyes turned to Billy and her face gentled. “And even sorrier for you, honey, because, if you were my kid, I’d make you go and come get you if you got sick.”
“That’s what I’d do too,” Mrs. Lawson agreed.
“I’m good with going to school,” Billy chimed in and my gaze went to him because his eyes not five minutes ago lit with delight at the thought of missing school and anyway, what kid was good with going to school?
“That settles it,” Mitch decided and I looked back to him. “Sorted,” he finished, turned to the cupboard and pulled out the box of oatmeal while I watched and as I processed what was happening in my head, I realized I was also seething.
Then I asked Mitch’s back, “Did our discussion yesterday about teamwork penetrate…” I hesitated for emphasis before finishing, “at all?”
He put the oatmeal box down and turned to me. I glared into his dancing, beautiful, fathomless, dark brown eyes then suddenly found myself crushed to his long, hard body, his strong arms caging me in.
In my ear, he muttered his answer. “Yes but also kind of no.”
“I didn’t think so,” I returned acidly, my hands at his waist pushing back.
His head lifted up, he smiled down at me and asked, “You want oatmeal?”
I glared up at him and I really wanted to say no and there were a lot of other things I really wanted to say. But I couldn’t because firstly, his mother and sister were there and secondly, I’d had his oatmeal yesterday, he squirted maple syrup in it mid-nuke and it was really good.
“Yes,” I snapped.
His smile got bigger, he gave me a squeeze, let me go and turned to the oatmeal. I turned to my coffee mug which was sitting in front of Billy. That was when I saw Mrs. Lawson and Penny, still smiling huge, and Billy, his eyes going from me to Mitch and back again, his expression again fifty years older than he was.
I decided to ignore all of this and concentrate on caffeine.
It was the best decision I’d made all morning.
Chapter Nineteen
Harsh, Bright Light of Mara World
I stared at myself in Mitch’s bathroom mirror.
Seeing all that was me, I realized I’d made a huge mistake. Huge. Enormous.
My eyes moved over my made up face. Then they moved over the hair I’d curled into big soft curls and let fall around my shoulders. Then they took in the silky, sapphire-colored, blousy top I had on that came up in gathers to my neck and wrapped around with a wide sash which tied at the back of my neck, totally exposing my shoulders, arms and back. And last they took in the nice jeans and awesome silver belt I was wearing.
And I knew.
I knew I couldn’t do this. I had to rectify my mistake.
I heard the front door open.
Mitch was back from taking the kids to Penny’s. We were going out to dinner.
So that meant I had to rectify my mistake now.
* * * * *
I was clueless at the best of times but apparently when my life was in turmoil, something that hadn’t happened since I’d moved away from my crazy, mean Mom, it hadn’t happene
d because I guarded against it every second of every day, I was even more clueless.
But two days before I’d woken up in a dream come true after a night that included spending time with Mitch on the couch which was (almost) a different kind of dream come true. I fought it but not hard enough. It lulled me, sneaking up on me, taking over my safe cocoon and wrapping me in one that felt safer, snugger, warmer and much, much better.
* * * * *
The morning Mitch’s Mom and sister came over, Mitch made oatmeal while decreeing he was taking Billy to school. He did this again without discussing it with me. Then again, he was going out, I had Billie to look after so I didn’t argue since his bossy edict made sense.
He had a shower while I talked to his (surprisingly) easy to gab with Mom and sister who were both really nice with Penny being very forthright and equally very funny and his Mom letting Penny mostly carry the show while smiling sweetly a lot.
Mitch took off to take Billy to school and himself to work. But not before he grabbed my hand, led me to the door where we stood with our audience watching (including Billy standing right there) and said good-bye like an old married couple. That was to say he curved an arm around my waist, pulled my body into contact with his, brushed his lips against mine then muttered there, causing a belly whoosh, “See you tonight, honey.”
Then he and Billy were gone. I was in a daze that took awhile to shake off and Mrs. Lawson (who insisted I call her Sue Ellen) and Penny hung around and gabbed with me until Billie got up. They stayed long enough to meet Billie and for Billie to charm them then they left.
Mitch called me late morning to ask about Billie and I slid deeper into my dream world listening to his deep voice on my cell phone asking about Billie. In this dream world, I told him she was fine, up, her appetite was normal and all seemed well in Billie world.
Then he asked me about my day and I told him I was doing laundry, going to the grocery store and picking up Billy and asked if I could go to my place to do the laundry. Then he told me to use his washer and dryer. I decided not to argue because there was no purpose but I would add laundry detergent to my grocery list so we didn’t use all of his.