Chapter6
That night when Brady and Charlotte put Abbie to bed, he walked out with her into the hall as they did every night, and he took her into his arms to kiss her. With Abbie around, all he did at night was kiss her and then leave her to sleep alone in her own room. That night, as he kissed her, his finger slipped beneath the collar of her button up shirt, and then down to the buttons.
The kiss grew deeper, and the buttons came undone, and his mouth moved downward to her breasts. She felt herself becoming lost in her passion for him, and with her heart quickening, she gently placed her hands on his face and lifted it, looking into his fiery eyes.
“Brady…” She began, giving her head a little shake. “Don’t make me want you so much when you’re just going to go to bed alone.”
He stared hard at her for a moment and then kissed her firmly, crushing his lips against hers and wrapping her tightly in his arms. She moaned softly beneath his lips, and he loosened his grip on her, holding her in the circle of his embrace.
“Come with me tonight. I need you. Come to bed with me.” He took her hand and she glanced back at her own bed and the nursery once, and followed him to his bedroom. He closed the door behind her and in minutes she was bared before him, his hands traveling over her curves and lines, touching her with even more desire than he had the first time they were together.
Brady softened his kisses, but they were no less urgent. His desire for her grew stronger, and as he drew her into his bed, pulling her legs astride over his hips, he locked his eyes on hers, pushing himself up into her as he held fast to her hips, rocking her over him slowly. He raised his hands to mold them to her breasts, bringing her dark, hardened nipples to his hungry mouth.
“I can’t get enough of you.” He told her huskily as he drove himself into her over and over again, tracing his mouth from her nipples up her throat to her lips. His hands closed over her hips and he thrust himself in deeply, filling her with each sway, until she cried out with her first orgasm and he grinned. “That’s my girl… cum for me…” He held her tight until she could breathe again, and then rolled her onto her back to love her much longer.
A long while later, he finally laid back in the pillows and pulled her to him, holding her in his arms as he fell asleep. She watched him again, as she had the first time, wondering what was going on in his head and in his heart, daring to ask herself if he could ever really love her in return, or if he was just caught up in the fantasy of money, sex, and independence.
Reaching her hand up to him, she held his cheek in her palm and leaned forward, kissing his lips softly. “I love you, Brady Douglas. I am so in love with you.”
The anomaly of him taking her to his bed on a night when Abbie was home was something that she had been surprised about. She had expected it to happen only once after it was done that Wednesday night, but it happened again on Tuesday night the following week. They had spent Friday and Saturday night wrapped up in each other and in the sheets, and he had taken her out for dinner both nights, dancing with her, talking with her, kissing her, and even taking her for a horse-drawn carriage ride through Central Park once, but that was while Abbie was gone.
Charlotte fully expected him to keep his distance when Abbie was around. She thought that he was trying to; she could see him making an effort at it, but his lust for her overtook him, and he kept her in his bed on Tuesday night, and again on Thursday, not wanting to wait until the weekend when they would be alone together in the house.
Each time she was with him, Charlotte promised herself that she was only there for the sex, that she could stop herself from falling in love with him, and that she could get over her feelings if she wanted to. Rita’s words hung in her heart and mind, unwavering, steady, and stuck.
It was a Tuesday morning when Charlotte took Abbie to one of their favorite parks, playing with her on the playground and having a great time, when she noticed a woman sitting on a bench nearby. She was tall and shapely, with wavy shoulder length blonde hair and dark glasses. She wore fine slacks and a silken blouse with a pearl necklace.
Normally, Charlotte wouldn’t have paid much mind to anyone else at the playground, except that the woman had no children with her, and that single fact struck her as slightly odd. The woman just sat and watched, saying and doing nothing.
Charlotte picked Abbie up and held her in her arms. “Shall we go get lunch? Would you like to go to a restaurant today, or eat at home?”
Abbie grinned, clutching Lula to her side. “Let’s eat at Sam’s!”
Sam’s was a hamburger joint, and Abbie’s favorite place to go have a cheeseburger and a milkshake. Charlotte kissed her cheek. “Okay. We’re going to Sam’s.” She walked with Abbie to the car and secured her into her car seat. All the way to the restaurant, they listened to a children’s sing along album, and sang the songs together as Charlotte drove.
They hadn’t been seated long at Sam’s, eating their sweet potato fries and sipping their milkshakes, when Charlotte looked up and noticed a woman sitting at the counter with a glass of iced tea. It was the same woman from the park. Her big blonde curls held in by the dark sunglasses that were pushed back on the top of her head. Her back was to them, but by chance, Charlotte happened to catch the woman’s blue eyes in the mirror on the wall behind the counter. The woman gave her a little smile and looked away, and Charlotte let it go as coincidence.
She and Abbie finished their meal and Abbie began to rub her eyes. “Well, it’s almost nap time for you, young lady. Let’s get you back to the house. After naptime we can go swimming, okay?”
“Okay.” Abbie replied, holding fast to Charlotte’s hand as they walked out of Sam’s.
Half an hour later, Abbie was fast asleep in her bed, and Charlotte was sitting in an armchair in her bedroom, reading a book, when she heard a car pull up outside of the house. A few moments later, the doorbell rang, and Charlotte hurried down to the door to see who it might be.
She was stunned when she opened the door and saw the Marilyn Monroe look alike woman from the park and the restaurant, standing before her in the doorway. The woman lifted her dark sunglasses again and pushed them back on top of her head.
“Hello.” She smiled coolly.
“Uh… hello.” Charlotte answered, knowing that it was no coincidence that she had seen the woman twice already that day. “Can I help you with something?” She asked, considerably suspicious of what might be going on.
“I was hoping to talk with Brady.” The woman purred pleasantly. Her tone did nothing but give Charlotte an uneasy feeling.
“I’m afraid he’s not home right now. Perhaps you could try another time.” Charlotte started to close the door, but the woman’s perfectly manicured hand shot out and stopped the door from closing. Her red pointed fingernails were a sharp contrast to the light-colored door, and they reminded Charlotte of claws.
“I’ll wait for him in the sitting room.” She kept the half smile on her face.
“I don’t think that’s-” Charlotte began, but the woman interrupted her.
“You must not know who I am.” She continued in her smooth voice. “I’m Abigail’s mother.”
Everything in Charlotte came to a screeching halt. Her heart nearly beat right out of her chest. “You’re… what? No, you’re not.” She shook her head, her shock beginning to turn to anger.
“Oh yes, young lady, I promise you that I am.” The woman replied as if they were discussing nothing more than the weather that day.
“That’s not possible!” Charlotte bristled, tightening her hand on the door handle, ready to slam the door in the woman’s face. She didn’t know who the imposter was, but she did know that she wasn’t about to let her into the house.
“What did Brady tell you about me? That I was gone?” She cooed lightly.
“You’re not Abbie’s mother. Abbie’s mother is dead!” Charlotte shot back at her. “Now please leave, before I call the police!”
The woman shook her head. “Oh, that man of mine. I promise you dear, I am most certainly not dead. I’m alive and well. Here. Let me offer you some proof.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She handed it to Charlotte, along with her driver’s license.
“That’s Abigail’s birth certificate. Stamped by the state of New York. That’s my name on the birth certificate, right there on the line that says ‘mother’. Here’s my driver’s license, so that you can see it’s me. I’m Evelyn Douglas; Brady Douglas’ wife, and Abigail’s mother.” Her tone turned cold.
Charlotte stared at the paper in her hand. She read it and then read it over again. There was no mistaking it. The driver’s license was just as real and official as the birth certificate. Evelyn Douglas was the mother of Abigail Douglas, and her driver’s license showed her residence as the house where they were both standing at that moment.
“Oh my god.” Charlotte whispered, looking from the documents back up to the blonde woman. “It’s not possible.”
“I’m not dead, no matter what Brady might have wished. Now,” She swiped the birth certificate and the driver’s license out of Charlotte’s hands and tucked them back into the folds of her purse, “if you wouldn’t mind terribly, I’m going to come into my house and wait for my husband in the sitting room.”
She reached past Charlotte and pushed the door open further, stalking past her as Charlotte stared in silence. Evelyn went straight into the sitting room and over to the bar. She knew where everything was. She opened the hidden bar and poured herself a double shot of brandy, and then sat down on one of the thick cushioned sofas and kicked her high heels off, resting her feet on the couch as she tipped her drink back.
Charlotte was numb from head to foot. She could barely blink or breathe. Abbie’s mother was alive. Not only was she alive, she had followed them that day, and then come straight into the house and was sitting on a sofa with a stiff drink her hand, acting as if she owned the place. If Charlotte was to believe anything she said, she did own the place.
Brady had lied to her. She was livid. Moving her hand, she closed the front door and wondered what to do. She didn’t want to go and talk to the woman, though she had a thousand questions running through her mind. She didn’t want to leave her alone downstairs in the house, but she also didn’t want her trying to go upstairs to wake up Abbie, as she knew that it could be upsetting to the little girl to see a woman she hadn’t seen in a while.
It had definitely been at least as long as Charlotte had been in the house, and she was certain that it had to be much longer than that, because Abbie had never once talked about her. She had never brought up the word ‘mommy’ or said anything even remotely related to her. If Evelyn had been around in recent time, even within the whole last year of Abbie’s life, Abbie would have talked about it at some point, but there was never a single word breathed.
Watching Evelyn, Charlotte could see that she wasn’t going anywhere. The woman was settled into her spot. Charlotte decided to go up and keep an eye on Abbie. She headed upstairs and closed and locked both her bedroom door and the nursery door. Then she went into her bedroom and closed the door between the two rooms, giving herself some privacy. Reaching for her phone with a trembling hand, she called Brady’s cell phone.
Not in all the weeks she had been there had she ever called him. She had never needed to. So, it was no surprise that he answered it right away.
“What is it? Is everything okay?” He asked with concern in his voice.
Charlotte was shaking, she was so angry and hurt. “You need to come home immediately.”
“What? What happened? Is Abbie alright?” Panic flooded his tone.
“Abbie is fine. She’s sleeping.” Charlotte was doing her best not to raise her voice. In fact, her voice was low and hedging on dangerous at that point. “There’s a woman downstairs in the sitting room waiting to see you.”
“A woman?” He asked in confusion. “I’m not expecting anyone. Who is it?”
“Evelyn Douglas. Your wife.” Charlotte’s voice was as sharp as a dagger.
Silence answered her, but it was replaced with a level of anger that Charlotte had never heard in Brady’s voice before. “I’ll be right there.”
The line went dead, and for a moment, Charlotte wished that she could throw the phone against the wall, she was so frustrated and angry, but she closed her eyes and calmed herself, taking a deep breath. She didn’t know what was going on, but answers would come, and when they did, they would come with decisions and consequences as well.
Fifteen minutes later, by nothing short of a miracle, Brady’s car came whipping up the driveway, and Charlotte watched from her window as he pulled up to the garage. She hurried downstairs, and met him as he came into the house from the garage.
His eyes were blazing with fire and his face was ruddy with rage. Charlotte saw a vein standing out in his neck that she had never seen before. “Where is she?” he demanded, ready to push past Charlotte, but she held her hands out, planting them on his chest and making him stop where he was.
“Oh no. Before you go talk with her, you have some explaining to do with me.” She shook her head, and her eyes were just as fierce as his were. “You lied to me. You told me that Abbie’s mother was dead. Well, she’s not dead. She followed Abbie and me to the playground this morning, and then to Sam’s where we had lunch, and then she showed up on the doorstep here and pretty much forced her way in so that she could talk to you. What in the hell is going on?” Charlotte demanded.
Brady sighed heavily and his shoulders dropped some as he looked down at the floor. “She’s not dead. Obviously. It was just the easiest thing to tell you. I didn’t think you needed to know the truth. She was dead to me, at least.” He raked his fingers through his hair and tugged at his tie, loosening it from around his neck.
“We were married. I thought it was going to be forever. I thought she loved me. She didn’t.” He sighed again and planted his hands on his hips, still looking downward. “She cheated on me with my business partner. I caught them. I was devastated. She said she didn’t want a family with me, but Abbie was already born.
I kicked her out and they took off together. They left. Her and my business partner. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know why she’s here. We got divorced and I thought I would never see her again. She had no interest in Abbie or me, so I thought it was done. She might as well have been dead. Abbie was only six months old when Evelyn left, and we’ve never heard a word from her since then. This is… this is a complete shock.” He shook his head and clenched his teeth in frustration.
Charlotte could see it all so clearly that her anger dissipated, and she found herself feeling sorry for Brady and Abbie, though she was still mad about having been lied to, whether it was understandable or not. “You could have told me that. It wouldn’t have changed anything, and you would have been telling me the truth, rather than lying to me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to lie, I just wasn’t prepared to answer any questions about her, and it caught me off guard.” He looked up at Charlotte, and she could see that he meant it.
“Well, she was drinking in the sitting room when she got here, but I think she’s in your office now.” Charlotte told him grudgingly.
Anger flashed in his eyes again, and he moved past Charlotte and headed down the hall toward his office. She wanted to follow him, to go and listen in, but she knew that anything they said wasn’t really her business. It would be between them. Her business was Abbie, and Abbie was sleeping just then, but if Evelyn was still around when she woke up, she would have a hard time of it, and she would want Charlotte around. Charlotte had every intention of being there for her little girl. She went upstairs to the nursery and her bedroom, and she waited.
Brady walked into his office and found Evelyn sitting behind his desk, her stocking feet propped up on the edge of his desk, a full tumbler of brandy in her hand. The top two buttons on her blouse were undone, offering a generous view of her ample cleavage, and her carefully coiffed blonde curls were slightly tousled, as if she might have played with them a little while she was waiting, to keep herself entertained.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” He demanded, glaring hotly at her. “Get out of my chair.”
She pouted and dropped her feet from his desk. With the slow steady movements of a cat on the prowl, she rose from his chair and slinked her way around the desk, keeping her eyes on him. “Oh Brady, I’m so glad to see you! I missed you so much. I know we didn’t part on fabulous terms, but I really have missed you. You look good. You look very good.” She gave him a coy little smile and then the pout returned to her full red lips.
“Miss you? Miss you?! Are you crazy? You were never supposed to come back here! Not ever! I can’t even believe that I’m standing here talking to you!” He growled furiously at her.
“You’re not happy to see me?” She purred, walking right up to him and perching her rounded bottom on the edge of his desk, pushing her shoulders back and her breasts forward, straining them against the satin blouse she wore. He kept his eyes on hers, not looking at her body.
“You must have lost your mind. You cheated on me with my business partner! You lied to me! You used me! You betrayed our marriage and our daughter, and I’ve had to raise her on my own! So, no… I am not happy to see you, and no… I did not miss you.” He shook his head and turned away from her, throwing his hands up in the air. “I can’t even believe you’re here! How are you even standing here in my office talking to me?”
With another deep growl, he dropped his hands and set them on his hips. Sighing heavily, he turned to face her, pain and anger burning in his eyes. “I loved you, Evelyn. I thought you and I had something beautiful and special. I thought that we were going to be together forever! But you just couldn’t resist being tempted by another man. Or did you tempt him? You know what… it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter one little bit. The point is that we didn’t matter to you, and because of that we wound up with a broken family; a broken home. I had to let go of my dreams of us growing old together! I had to figure out how to raise a daughter on my own! How in the world could you have been so selfish that you never cared about that? How could you have destroyed us and our dreams the way that you did!” He choked back his anger and tears, shaking his head at her.
She just watched him bleed his sorrows, giving him sad and sorry eyes the whole time, and a sensual pout. “Oh honey, I’m so sorry.” She said in a soft voice, going to him and laying her hands on his chest.
He pushed her hands away and the anger took over. “What in the hell are you doing here, anyway? You’ve been gone all of this time and only now you just decide to show up on the doorstep? What do you want?”
She reached for him again, raising her hands to his collar to toy with it, sort of straightening it as she drew near him, gazing up at him with big blue eyes. “I want a second chance. I want redemption. Oh baby, I screwed up so bad when I was here before. I made the biggest mistake of my life and I didn’t even realize it until it was too late! He and I broke up ages ago, and I’ve been alone ever since. I would have come back sooner, but I was so ashamed! I didn’t know how to come back, even though I wanted to!”
He stood stock still, not moving as she fiddled with his collar and traced her slender red tipped finger over his jawline and then back down his chest. “What made you come back now? What are you doing here, Evelyn?” He asked again, knowing he didn’t have the whole answer.
She looked down at his tie, running her fingertips over it and straightening it as well while she talked. “Well baby, I just missed you so much that I wanted to come back. I want my husband and my child again.”
“You can’t have me back. Never again.” He sighed and dropped his shoulders. “I do understand that you want to be in Abbie’s life again, though, and I don’t feel like I can stop you from doing that.” He slid his hands into his pockets and she continued to play with his tie and the buttons on his shirt.
Looking back up at him, she pouted again. “But baby… I… I don’t have anywhere else to go! Let me come back home here to you and Abigail. Let me stay in the house, please? You can’t put me out on the street.” She looked at him pitifully.
Brady groaned and closed his eyes and she lifted her hands and held his face in her palms. “Please! Brady, I need you. You said you’d always take care of me! Please baby…” She leaned close to him, peering into his eyes when he opened them.
With another long sigh, he pushed her hands away from his face. “Fine. You can stay in the house until you get your own place.”
A grin immediately took the place of the pout that had been on her lips, and she launched herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Oh honey, thank you so much. I knew you’d be there for me when I needed you. I just knew it.” She tried to lean up and kiss his mouth but he turned away from her, and she kissed his cheek several times, squealing with joy, before she let him go.
“I never should have hurt you. You’re such a good man, and I am so sorry. Losing you was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I’m going to prove to you just how sorry I am, and how good we would be together again. You wait and see, baby, I’m going to get you back and nothing is going to stop me.” She slipped her arms around him and pressed her body against his.
He pushed her away. “You’re here to spend time with Abbie, and to get on your feet and get your own place. That’s it. You can have the guest room at the end of the hall. Don’t make me regret helping you.”
She only smiled and rubbed her hands over his chest. “Oh no, baby. I’m going to make you so glad you have me here that you’ll never want to let me go.”