CHAPTER EIGHT
She screamed! I covered my ears and hummed like Daddy taught me. Momma and Daddy were fighting again. She hated him. She hated me. This time it was bad and I jumped.
Something shattered… glass.
She threw things. I heard daddy yell. I heard him shout “Divorce!” and she screamed, “You’ll never get her!”
I trembled.
Silence.
I rocked back and forth on my bed as I waited. My stomach jumped to my throat when the door opened.
Daddy walked in and I knew he was leaving without me. His face said it. He always did. She wouldn’t let him take me.
I felt my heart breaking.
“Daddy,” I cried in a tiny voice that cracked as hot tears ran down my cheeks. I saw the sadness in his eyes when he bent down next to the bed and opened his arms wide.
“Come here, baby,” he choked out and I threw myself at him.
“Daddy, don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me here with her.” I begged and cried against his suit jacket as I hugged him as tight I could. I never wanted to let go. I loved momma, but she didn’t want me.
“Baby girl, I’m not leaving you,” Daddy promised.
“Please take me with you now,” I cried.
“Patricia Grace Kincaid! Start packing your shit! I’m taking you to Jessica’s house so your dad and I can talk without you nosing around in our business,” Momma yelled at me from the door.
“Carolyn, I’m warning for the last time… do not take your problems out on her. We might be going through a divorce, but you can’t keep me from seeing my daughter,” Daddy hissed and Momma immediately backed off.
“I just want a chance to talk to you, Sam. I don’t want to argue with you, I want to make things right between us again. It’ll take me five minutes to take her to Jessica’s and five minutes to get back. Please.”
Daddy turned to me. He was angry. She always made him angry.
“Honey, I can’t take you with me now. I came to see you before I went to work and I’ll come pick you up as soon as I get off, okay?” He smoothed down my hair, kissed my forehead and left me.
“Please don’t make me go,” I cried as Momma pulled up to Jessica’s apartment. I hated it. I hated Momma for making me go.
“Get out,” she shouted. I jerked back.
Tears burned my nose.
“God! Stop acting like a fucking baby and get out of the damn car!” She shouted again.
“Jessica’s husband is a bad man. Please don’t make me go in there. I promise--” I didn’t finish my sentence because she got out of the driver’s side, came around the front, opened my door and yanked me out. She slammed the door shut and hurried back inside.
I stumbled to my feet. I knew she already locked me out, but I pleaded through the window, “No! Please! Please don’t leave me here!” I choked on my tears.
I heard my name being called, but I fell back when Momma sped away.
“Don’t leave me,” I cried, but she couldn’t hear me. She was gone.
I curled up into a ball...
“Trish! Damn it, Trish, wake up!” I heard Tony shout and my eyes flew open. I felt myself being lifted.
And I was bawling.
“My god,” I heard Tony hiss and I belatedly realized I was in Tony’s lap, but I couldn’t stop crying.
“She hated me,” I cried. “She… hated… me. I was only a little girl,” I sobbed.
“Shhh… everything’s all right,” Tony whispered as he moved the hair off my face and wiped the tears from my cheek. I clung to him greedily. I wanted to forget the nightmare I hadn’t had in a very long time. I had them, sure, but I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had one as vivid.
“Please stop crying. Can you tell me what happened?” Tony asked.
I shook my head against his chest. If I told him this part of the nightmare, I’d have to tell him the rest and he wasn’t someone who needed to know anymore.
“I don’t remember,” I responded softly as I slowly came back to my senses. As I did that, it hit me that I sat in Tony’s lap wearing nothing but my big sleep shirt and a pair of lace bikini cut panties. He didn’t have on a shirt and I could feel the light sprinkling of chest hairs against my cheek.
I jerked back and my eyes swung to the clock. Three in the morning.
I didn’t take my eyes off the clock, because if I did, I’d notice how delicious it felt to be in Tony’s arms again.
I wiped away my tears and spoke, “I’m okay now.”
Tony’s response was to lift me off his lap, lay me on my side and move behind me. He tucked me into him, knees curved into mine, hips pressed against my ass, hand over my waist. His fingers dug into my stomach.
“You’re not okay. I want to know what the hell that nightmare was all about, but I’ll wait for you to tell me. Just go back to sleep,” he ordered against my ear.
I didn’t move a muscle.
“I’m serious, Tony. I’m fine. You can go back to your room now.” He only squeezed me tighter.
“Tony, I don’t want you here,” I tried again.
“Just go back to sleep, Trish.”
“But--”
“Do you want me to shut you up? I only remember one way to do that and I’ll do it. I have no problem kissing that big mouth of yours until you forget whatever the hell you were saying.”
I had no response to that.
Yes I did. “You’re an asshole.”
“Just go back to sleep. We’ve both had a long day and I know your nightmare was seriously fucked up.”
I lay there and fought the urge not to kick him in the shin. I tried not to think about his reason for staying and I decided to recite a few of Laura’s lullabies. Eventually gave into my exhaustion.
Tony wasn’t in bed when I woke up and I had no idea what time he left. The clock read six and I couldn’t go back to sleep.
I was wide awake.
I crossed the hall to the restroom, washed my face, brushed my teeth and went back to change into something more appropriate; gray sweat pants that rode low on my hips, a white sports bra, a powder blue, V-neck, fitted t-shirt that showed a hint of skin at the waist, and no shoes.
I walked to the kitchen and made my way to heaven; otherwise known as the coffee machine. I searched the cabinets until I found what I needed and I moved around as quietly as possibble because I had no idea what time Tony usually woke up.
As I waited for the coffee to finish, I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering back to my nightmare.
I couldn’t believe I’d had it in the first place. I hadn’t had one that vivid in years. I’d also never broken down in my sleep the way I had and I was embarrassed that Tony was there to witness it. I was even more embarrassed that I let him hold me as I fell back to sleep.
I thought about the reasons why he stayed with me after, but I had no explanation. Luckily, the brewing coffee finished in time to distract me.
I poured my first cup of coffee, added milk, made a mental note to tell Tony we needed French Vanilla creamer, added three teaspoons of sugar, walked over to the bay window in the dining room and gazed out at the stable. It looked beautiful from where I stood.
Green; everything was so bright and green. Trees surrounded the background, but through them, I glimpsed the white wood fence that bordered the property. Off in the distance I spotted a riding ring, and in front of that, two gentlemen stood in deep conversation.
It was all very picturesque and I could not wait to go outside.
I wondered what Tony actually did on the property, if he was actually hands on or if he just managed from behind the scenes. I couldn’t imagine him not wanting to be involved in the beauty of this place.
When I ran out of coffee, I walked back to the kitchen, refilled my cup and stood at the window over the sink because didn’t want to miss anything.
“Good morning,” Tony said from behind me, his deep voice was still filled with sleep. I turned and had to smile. He wore another plain white t-shirt, this one clean and jeans that were clearly unbuttoned at the top. He had bedhead hair and his feet were bare. He was so damn sexy.
Don’t sigh, Trish!
I turned away before I did or said something to embarrass myself.
“Good morning. You want coffee?” I asked as I continued to focus out the window.
“Yes, please,” he replied, right at my ear.
I never heard him move.
The hem of my shirt lifted and his fingers traced the skin on my lower back. They slowly dipped into the waist of my sweat pants to caress me there.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
He ignored me.
“You look good. More than good. I think I’d rather have than coffee,” he said roughly as his arm moved from my back to wrap around my stomach. When his hand dipped into the front of my pants I breathed, “Tony?”
He pulled his hand away, kissed my neck and backed up. I trembled inside, but managed to turn my neck to look at him.
“Coffee,” he said.
“What?” I asked, my pitch a little higher pitch than normal.
“Coffee first, then we’ll talk,” he stated.
It took me awhile to come unglued from my spot.
Then, I rolled my eyes.
“Boy! That must have been some dream you had last night!” I heard a loud female voice with a country twang chime in as I was in the middle of pouring Tony a cup of coffee. My head whipped around to find the owner.
That motherfucker!