Parker
We were up most of the night. I finally told everyone to go home and that we’d look at everything with fresh eyes in the morning. We got a lot of work done and created a map of who belongs to whom.
I get a cup of coffee and sit down with my art project. I love this detective work. If it didn’t hit so close to home it might fun. Now I need to figure out the puzzle in order to save the lives of the ones I love. If I do this, Trent and I may have a chance. If not, I’m afraid he might run away with her and never look back.
I look over the names again and the key players. Apparently, there is the top guy who Edward and Jonathan have only met once. His name is Albert Capellini. He has two men who work under him who are essentially his right hand men. Those are the two Edward and Jonathan have been mostly working with. They are responsible for ensuring things are taken care of and are Capellini’s eyes and ears. Below them are about five guys to carry out the plans, the muscle of the organization, so to speak. They’re the tough guys who don’t mind pushing people around to get what they want. Below them are countless yes men.
I look over the flowchart a little longer and it becomes very clear that if we want this to stop, we need to take out the top guy. I’m not a violent person, so I’m not saying kill him. Besides, if we did that there would be some retaliation and possible deaths in our own family. I’m pondering this when Trent comes into the kitchen.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” I say cheerfully. I can’t help but ogle him. His hair is in a sexy disarray and he has nothing on but the flannel pants he wore to bed. His six pack abs grab my attention, as does the bulge in his pants from not wearing any underwear. I swear to God, I married the sexiest man on Earth. Too bad he didn’t wake up next to me this morning. The guest bedroom thing is getting old. I want to put my hands all over my husband. I want to feel him become aroused against me. More than anything, I want to pleasure him.
“Parker!”
“Huh?” I snap to attention, aware Trent is calling my name.
“Where were you just now? I was talking to you and your mind was clearly elsewhere.” Trent pours himself a cup of coffee.
“Oh. Nowhere. What were you saying?” I’m totally flustered. My cheeks are on fire.
“I asked if you came up with anything. How long have you been staring at that?” Trent sits at the table across from me.
Why does he have to be so damned good looking? “I have come up with a couple of ideas. They’re quite obvious, actually. I’m not sure why one of us didn’t come up with it last night.”
“Well, spill it.”
“We need to go after the top guy.”
Trent swallows a sip of the dark liquid. “I hate to break it to you, but we already figured that out last night.”
“Yes, I know, but we couldn’t come up with how. I have a couple ideas. The first is we come up with some dirt on him and blackmail him. He’s a mafia boss. Surely we can find something.”
“We already have something. It’s called gambling, and he’s already got the table turned on us. I don’t think it’s going to work.”
“Okay. We find someone who has a bone to pick with this guy. It may not be easy, but it shouldn’t be impossible. Then we take the dirt we have on Capellini and give it to his enemy. They can duke it out and the only thing we ask for is for that person to help us get out from under Capellini’s thumb.”
Trent rubs the day old scruff on his chin while he ponders what I’m saying. “That may not be a bad idea. We’d need to make sure it didn’t come back on us, but if we help his enemy, it will give us more power than if we tried to handle this by ourselves.” Trent picks up the landline sitting on the counter next to him.
“Who are you calling?”
“Our fathers. We need to find out everything they know. This might actually work.”
A smile forms on my face from Trent’s excitement. Seeing him this way makes me feel good. I have an overwhelming feeling I’m going to get my husband back.
While Trent makes his phone calls, I labor over the diagram to formulate a more succinct plan. My phone rings and I glance at the screen. It’s Dianne. I don’t feel like talking to her right now, but I should find out how Beth is doing. We do have some responsibility in this whole thing.
“Hey, Dianne.” I get up from the table and head into another room so Trent and I aren’t having competing conversations. “How’s Beth doing?”
“She’s doing okay. They’re going to release her tomorrow.”
“Really? I thought it was going to be today.
“It was going to be, then something happened we didn’t expect.”
“What happened? Is she okay?”
Dianne hesitates, which only worries me more. “She was pregnant. Apparently she had a one night stand with a boy at school.”
Oh my God. Trent knocked her up. Damn him. I ball my fist, ready to slam it against a wall, or even Trent. “Wait. She was pregnant or is pregnant?” I bite my lip, waiting with bated breath for the answer.
“Was. Beth miscarried this morning. The doctors think it was a combination of the drug she was given to knock her out and the stress of being beaten up. At any rate, if I’d been home more, none of this would’ve happened. I’m a horrible mother!” Dianne cries into the phone.
I want to feel bad, but the relief that’s just washed over me is euphoric. I have to stop myself from laughing. If Beth had that baby, it would surely be the end of us. There’s no way I could stomach being with him after that. Now I can chalk it up as a mistake that should never have happened.
“I’m so sorry. This is horrible, Dianne, but you can’t blame yourself. You’re doing the best you can to provide for her.”
“I should’ve kept a better eye on her. It’s just for a while now she’s been watching your kids, and it’s only recently that she’s had time to get into trouble. I should’ve cut back on my hours. I’m just trying to save some extra money so she can go to college wherever she wants.”
College. Yes! If we can get her into college, let’s say in California, Beth won’t be around here to mess up my marriage. Oh this is such a great idea. “Honey, I don’t want you to worry about her college. We’ll pick up the tab. It’s the least we can do. She’s done so much for us, and if it will allow you to spend more time with her over the next few months and that will make me so happy.”
“No, I couldn’t ask you to do that. You’ve already been so generous to us.”
“I insist. I won’t take no for an answer.” I’m going to have to remember to have Daddy use his connections to get that girl into Stanford. There’s no way she’d be able to say no to that, especially if it’s paid for.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’ve been a better friend than I could’ve ever imagined.”
Guilt plagues me. I haven’t been a very good friend. What I did to Beth is deplorable. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve to have Dianne in my life.
“Hey, is there any word on who did this to Beth?”
“Oh lord, do I have a story for you…” I start to go into the quarrel with our fathers and finding out Porter is only my half-brother. I’m just about to explain the mafia stuff when Trent calls for me. “Dianne, let me call you back in a little bit. Trent needs me for something.”
“All right, but hurry up. I want to know more details.”
I hang up the phone and run into the kitchen.
“Where were you?” Trent asks, making himself a piece of toast.
“I was talking to Dianne.” Trent raises an eyebrow. My heart breaks with the knowledge that Trent and Beth made a baby. “Beth is fine. Except she lost the baby.”
Trent’s eyes grow wide.
“Am I right to assume it was yours?” I’ve got my angry bitch voice going. I’m more than angry. I’m livid.
Trent doesn’t respond.
“What kind of idiot doesn’t use protection? Did you think I wouldn’t find out? What would’ve happened if she did carry this baby to full term?”
Trent rubs his hand down his face. He knows he’s in hot water.
“You do realize the implications of this, don’t you?”
He leans against the counter I’m even more pissed that I still find him incredibly attractive right now. Shame on me. I should be running as far away from him as possible. I should be on the next flight to Delia. Except, I need to do this for the children. The sad thing is, we’ve both lost our way. We’ve each become broken all on our own. If we stay together, maybe we can pick up the pieces and be whole again.
“I don’t know what to say. I fucked up.”
“How long have you known?”
“I only found out the other night in the hospital. That’s when Beth found out also. I haven’t had a chance to process it. I’ve been too busy thinking about this predicament our families are in.” Trent stares at the floor. “I love her. She makes me feel alive again when I’m with her. She listens and understands me. She makes me feel like a man.”
The knife doesn’t just cut my heart, it stabs it over and over. I bend over, gasping for air. Trent’s words are like a poisonous apple I’ve consumed, and I’m not sure if there’s a prince to bring me back to life.
“But you’re my best friend, Parker. And up until a year ago, we had a good thing going. I love you too. There’s things that you’ve done lately to remind me why I love you. Sometimes I think we could get it back. This family has always been my priority. Those kids are my world. We’ve just gotten so caught up in the conspiracy that our parents left us with. I wonder what things will be like when the dust settles. Can we ever go back to what we were, or is there too much damage that’s already been done? I don’t know. I waffle every day.”
I’m still trying to catch my breath while Trent rubs his hand along my back.
“I know I screwed up. There is no doubt in my mind. When I found out she was pregnant, I felt like I was trapped. I was going to have another kid who was my flesh and blood. I couldn’t turn my back on that. At the same time, I wasn’t ready to settle down and devote myself to Beth and that child. I guess that should have been my clue. Perhaps that’s what I needed to wake me up from this fairytale I’ve been living with her. What you and I have is a forever thing. We’ve built an incredible life together and then almost destroyed it. Do you think this is something we can get back?”
He starts this conversation by telling me how in love he is with Beth and ends it with he wants to work on us. What the hell? “How can you love her and want to be with me?”
Trent pulls me into his arms. “Because you’re my wife and I made a commitment to you. I’ve finally woken up to see the big picture. We may have our ups and downs but that’s all a part of our journey, the one we’re taking as husband and wife. I was too busy living in the moment and that was the wrong approach. Do you think you can find it in your heart to forgive me?”
I want to jump in his arms and welcome him back, but I’m afraid that something else is going to come up. I’ve found out so much about Beth and him, and none of it has been from him. He only gives me the details after I already have learned about what happened. How many more surprises am I going to get?
“I only slept with her that one weekend in the Caymans. There aren’t going to be any more surprises.” Trent smiles at me with this goofy grin.
He catches me off guard. “How did you do that?”
“Because we’ve known each other most of our lives and that’s what we do. We complete each other’s thoughts and sentences.” He pulls me into his arms.
I don’t know what to make of his change of heart. He’s been so aloof about his relations with Beth, and now he wants to be an open book?
“Beth being pregnant was the wake-up call I needed. I had a good time with her and I care for her deeply. However, I don’t want any more kids. I’m done with that chapter of my life. I want to raise my boys with their mother. That’s you, Parker.” Trent smiles, kissing me on the forehead.
There’s a renewed sense of exuberance emanating from him. It’s refreshing. For months, Trent has seemed like he was battling something. I know now that he was conflicted between me and Beth. He never stopped loving me, he just didn’t know how to deal with his feelings when it came to her.
“Let’s get through this situation first, and then we can work on fixing us.”
That’s the best answer I can give. As much as I want my husband back, I’m not going to be his second choice. Although I guess I’m guilty of the same thing. In my heart, I want to be with Delia. However, Trent is right. We made a commitment to each other and our family. We have to honor that first.