Chapter Six
I locked my office and doubled checked it before I headed downstairs to wait with Peter for our guests to arrive. It was nice to have a space for Autumn. In our apartment, we were constantly in fear of having someone drop by and accidentally see Autumn Moone evidence. There were a few times we had to hastily shove papers and laptops under our bed. Now it was always behind lock and key, disguised as a walk-in attic. The entrance was within one of the bedrooms. And by looking at our almost bare home, no one would think we kept anything in our attic. We also had a decoy desk and laptop in the “real” office across from our dining room downstairs.
It was going to be a short tour tonight. Mostly, look at this empty room and oh hey, here’s our couch and small TV. I wanted to get Peter a larger one because I knew he would enjoy it. He seemed to ogle the big screens his dad and James owned, but he wouldn’t allow the luxury. It was as if he had to prove to himself and God he didn’t need those things or even want them. He justified the house because it might have to protect me someday—I hoped with all that I had, that would never happen, but with technology, it was getting harder and harder to keep secrets. My publisher had to constantly be on guard. Communications to me went through a virtual private network my publisher set up especially for me. There were several tabloids willing to pay a lot of money to anyone who could prove who I truly was.
We laughed at how many people swore they knew who Autumn Moone really was. There were sightings of me all over Montana, where I was apparently a recluse living in a small mountain town. I supposed since my novels took place in Montana that was a good guess. Some had even surmised that Sam was Autumn Moone since her posts frequently ended up on my website. That had delighted Sam to no end. One of my favorite rumors, though, came from a man named Hunter Black from Rhode Island. He swore up and down he was me. His interviews were priceless. Peter and I laughed when he made up all sorts of nonsense about how he came up with the storyline. It was based on him and his high school sweetheart, Laine, of course. She died and came to him in a dream and told him to write their love story. Funny how he never knew the plot of the next books or even the titles. He would get flustered in interviews, but he would keep on telling lies.
My publishers loved it. It was marketing gold for them. It was so lucrative I had a clause in my contract saying I could only tell my spouse and authorized personnel who I was. They were also contractually bound to keep my identity a secret. It helped me sleep at night. At least when I could. My characters were Chatty Cathys and loved to talk to me and each other all night long sometimes. It was why we kept a bed in the spare bedroom leading into the walk-in attic. Many nights saw me getting out of bed and heading to my computer to relieve the noise banging around in my head. At times, I was so exhausted after my midnight writing sessions I would crash-land on the spare bed. Often, I would find Peter there sleeping soundly. I always loved to come out and see him there waiting for me to curl up beside him.
Beside him is where I planned to stay tonight. I wouldn’t say his mother scared me, but I didn’t underestimate her either. I didn’t expect her to come over here and be all sunshine and daisies. I did hope, though, that if I was near Peter, she would keep her comments to herself or at least to a low-grade insult. This way I would not have any reason to retaliate. She was lucky my period had already started, and PMS had subsided. That, and I still couldn’t stop thinking about that nine-year-old girl. There were bigger worries in my world than why my mother-in-law continued to hate me. All little girls should be safe and loved. I hoped . . . No. No. No. Not now. You did what you had to do, my heart whispered. I wasn’t sure if I would ever believe it. Or forgive myself.
“Delanie.” Peter shook me out of my thoughts in the nick of time.
“I’m sorry, did you say something?” I met him by the ecofriendly bamboo butcher block island in our large kitchen that would probably remain underutilized.
He reached for my hand, then with his free one he brushed my long hair back. His eyes gave me a good look over. “Are you okay? All the color drained from your face there.”
I felt that blood returning as heat rushed to my cheeks. My emotions were too transparent sometimes. “Just a lot on my mind.”
“Are your characters giving you trouble? Should I talk to them?” He could always get me to smile.
“They are mostly cooperating, except for the mother.”
He gave me a knowing grin. “I told Ma to be on her best behavior tonight.” Peter knew exactly whom I’d based Mrs. Black on.
“And I will do the same.”
He drew me closer and nuzzled my neck. “Only until they leave, right?”
I ran my fingers through his hair and reveled in his touch and words. “Are you suggesting I should be—”
A windchime sound filled the house. Whoever rang that doorbell was not getting any cookies or ice cream tonight.
Peter groaned and released me, but not before giving me a sly grin. “Don’t lose that thought; it was exactly what I was suggesting.”
Something to look forward to when this bad idea was over with. I smoothed out my long, patterned gypsy skirt, my favorite thing to wear, along with a tank top that my mother-in-law would consider too revealing.
“You look beautiful.” Peter took my hand and led us to the reclaimed wood double front doors in rustic gray. The thing I loved about this house was that we used repurposed or environmentally friendly materials wherever we could.
The sound of my bracelets jangling echoed throughout the mostly empty, largely open home with high wood beamed ceilings. Those were reclaimed too, as were the wood floors my feet padded against trying to slow down my husband. He laughed and tugged me along.
Before we opened the door, I could hear them all on the other side. You don’t know how much I appreciated that. Sam and Avery promised me they wouldn’t leave me alone with the woman who birthed some of my favorite people. I could hear Sarah’s shrill tones now wondering very loudly why our doors looked so old. “If you’re going to buy a house in this fancy neighborhood, you should have a nice door. And can you believe we had to use a code to get into this place? Who does she think she is, a Kennedy?”
Peter kissed me before some choice four-letter words came flying out of my mouth. I breathed him in. He was my sanity.
“You owe me,” I whispered against his lips.
“Big time.” He pecked my lips once more before opening the door.
The whole motley crew stood there on our covered porch. Dear, dear, dear, Sarah was front and center. Maybe if I called her dear enough times I might believe she was marginally not evil.
Sarah squinted at me before throwing her arms around Peter, making sure Peter’s and my hands broke apart. “Peter, your home is beautiful.” She proceeded to pat him down. “You’re so thin.” I got some more narrowed eyes.
I wanted to tell her this was no longer the Brady Bunch era. Peter was a big boy who could feed himself. And he wasn’t thin, he was lean and muscular.
Sam and Avery barged in wearing invisible superhero capes. They were ready to save the day, or at least keep another rift from happening. Both women embraced me and whispered, “Don’t pay attention to her.”
Easier said than done. But I would try my best for my husband, who was doing his best to untangle himself from his mother.
The rest of the crew filed in, including all my teenage nephews. Cody was first, he belonged to Sam and I could safely say Reed too. Reed was more of a father to Cody than his biological one. Jimmy and Matt belonged to Avery and James. The boys were laughing loudly about some prank they had seen on YouTube. Each boy bore the Decker jawline and nose. It was a good nose. They should be thankful for it.
Joseph followed, giving his mother-in-law, Mimsy, a steady arm to hold. I believed she was well into her eighties, but her eyes said she was still twenty and kicking. She wore a light blue jogging suit and looked ready to take on the world. Joseph looked around the entry and into the large empty space that was our great room. He nodded, impressed. Last came James. He seemed reluctant to enter. Normally confident and booming, he seemed reticent. His gray eyes were darting all over the place.
Once everyone was gathered into the foyer, Peter made it out of the clutches of his mother and back to me. He took my hand and gave it a good squeeze. “Welcome to our home.”
“Where’s all the furniture?” Sarah wasted no time with her criticisms.
I took a deep breath and focused on Sam and Avery who were already staring my way giving me encouraging smiles. Or perhaps Sam was smiling because Reed had his arms wrapped around her from behind, whispering in her ear. He was probably saying something like, “Thank God for Delanie; your ma hates her so much she doesn’t even realize I’ve signed your NDA.” Or something along those lines. Lines Peter said we shouldn’t be thinking about.
“We are taking our time,” Peter responded to his mother.
“Probably can’t afford it after buying this house,” Sarah said under her breath.
I was about ready to accost my husband and give Reed and Sam a run for their money in the groping department, but Joseph came to the rescue. “It’s good to live in a home for a while and get a feel for it before you start filling it with a bunch of crap.”
We all stood surprised at not only his wise words but his bravery in contradicting Sarah. But no one was more surprised than his wife, by the way her eyes pulsed. She might break a blood vessel if they throbbed any harder.
I, on the other hand, was going to buy Joseph all the cookies in the world and maybe kiss his cheek. Though I was afraid that might cost him his life.
“Well, let’s head to the kitchen.” Peter tried to smooth it all over.
“Ooh, I love the kitchen.” Avery grabbed James’s hand. “I want you to see their double oven. It’s just like the one I want.”
James’s face turned a shade of red before he sullenly followed his wife. What was wrong with him? Normally he was the loudest of the bunch and life of the party. I didn’t have time to focus on him, though. Mimsy had caught her breath after walking up the porch stairs and was now ready to jump into the mix.
“I’m thirsty. Do you think they have glasses?” Mimsy asked Joseph.
Peter and I gave each other alarmed looks. Maybe Mimsy was faking being thirsty. My guess was she wanted to throw her brand of holy water all over the house, or maybe she thought Reed and Sam were acting too frisky. But how do you refuse water to an elderly woman when she says she’s thirsty?
Peter gave me an apologetic smile before answering his grandmother. “We have glasses, Mimsy. Do you want ice too?”
“Just water.”
Did her eyes turn a shade of devious, or was that just me?
We all congregated in the kitchen and everyone looked wary when Peter filled a glass of water and handed it to Mimsy. I noticed everyone took a step away from the little old troublemaker. Except Sarah, who inspected the glass to make sure it was clean. I was no Martha Stewart, but I knew how to run a dishwasher. Not to say my office was spotless; it was in quite a bit of disarray now, but such was the life of an artist. When I was in the middle of a manuscript, cleaning took a back seat.
While all the adults looked warily at Mimsy and the glass of water, I noticed the teenagers were standing around bored. They were looking toward the family room off the kitchen and were unimpressed with our small couch, chair, and thirty-two-inch TV screen.
“No video games,” Cody whispered to Jimmy and Matt.
“I don’t think they have anything cool here,” Matt replied.
Maybe Peter and I needed to up our game. I was hoping we might be the hip aunt and uncle. It’s not like we couldn’t afford to, but Peter and I were both very reluctant to cross that line. We knew once we did there would probably be no going back. Staring at my nephews made me think of any children we might have. I didn’t want to be my parents, withholding luxuries for the sake of research. There was no doubt we wouldn’t want spoiled children, but I never wanted them to think of us as lame or like we wouldn’t share all that we had with them. I would never make them feel like Cat and Ron had made me feel, like I was only a science experiment.
“We have cookies and ice cream,” I offered to the boys.
That got a few appreciative smiles.
“I hope she didn’t make the cookies,” Mimsy said, not even trying to be quiet about it.
Sarah didn’t hold back her smile.
Peter swiped the glass out of his grandmother’s hand. “I’m sure you didn’t mean to slight my wife like that.” He slammed the glass on the island. Mimsy didn’t look offended at all. It was almost as if she applauded his spirit with her eyes.
It didn’t help break the tension that filled the kitchen while everyone stared around the room at each other, not sure what to say. I knew this was a bad idea.
“I would love some ice cream and cookies.” Joseph seemed intent to be the peacemaker tonight.
I smiled at my father-in-law. “We bought your favorite, mint chocolate chip.” The smile he gave me in return gave me some courage, and maybe a bit of hope.
Sarah, on the other hand, didn’t appreciate her husband’s enthusiasm. She gripped the counter she was near so tight I wondered if she was going to leave indentations in the wood. She wanted to say something, but the look Peter gave her said it would be best if she didn’t. Her obvious irritation with the situation was replaced with a fake sweet smile. “I’m not ready for dessert yet, I’d rather see the rest of the house.”
The nephews all groaned. They knew if grandma wasn’t ready, no one was getting any dessert yet.
Peter and I gave each other looks of resignation. His eyes said how sorry he was. My eyes said, if we’re going through hell, might as well keep on going. I just wanted it to be over.
“Why don’t we go upstairs,” Peter suggested before leading the way.
Everyone followed. Avery and Sam both patted my back as they passed me. I was happy to take the rear before I said some things I wouldn’t regret, but my husband might. I watched everyone ascend the L-shaped staircase while I took some deep, cleansing breaths.
Peter explained as they walked up the stairs how energy efficient and eco-friendly the house was. “We even used sheep’s wool for insulation.”
“That had to be expensive,” James commented.
Peter shrugged. “In the long run it saves money.”
My nephews were helping their great-grandma up the stairs, which she found offensive. She kept smacking away their hands saying, “I don’t need your help.” But the next second, she was handing out cash to them that, unfortunately, she pulled out from her bra. That was a new one for her. The boys looked warily at the breast-rubbed ten-dollar bills. “You boys aren’t afraid of old boobies, are you?” Mimsy cackled.
Everyone stopped where they were, some still on the stairs and some in the loft.
“Mimsy, what a thing to say,” Sam said.
Mimsy wasn’t having it. “Don’t lecture me, little miss sex talker.” She was referring to some of Sam’s Sidelined Wife posts. There was nothing graphic about them in nature, just Sam lamenting about how hard it was to be in a sexless marriage and how she wished she would have loved her body more through the years.
The boys lost it to fits of laughter. They ditched the cash and ran past me down the stairs.
“Feel free to help yourselves to the ice cream and cookies,” I said as they passed by me.
Everyone else decided it was better to move on and not respond. Mimsy shrugged and shoved the money back in her bra. She took the stairs by herself slowly. I stayed close behind in case she fell.
Once we were all situated in the empty loft, Peter obviously wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. He began pointing from where we stood. “Down that hall is the master suite. Over there are some more bedrooms. We aren’t sure what to do with this space yet, but we’ll figure it out.”
I was already heading back downstairs, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“I want to see all these rooms.” Sarah took charge of the tour. “Did you put wood floors in all of them?”
“Yes, Ma,” Peter sighed. “They are easier to clean and make for less toxins in your home.”
“It’s an awful idea if you ever have children.” She narrowed her eyes at Peter as if she was asking him if he planned to breed with me. She was obviously hoping that he didn’t want to. We never told her we were trying.
“Ma, children can learn to crawl and walk on wood floors just fine,” Peter responded.
Sarah’s eyes widened. It was apparently all the clue she needed. The wheels started turning in her eyes and I knew it couldn’t be good. Yet we allowed her to nosily inspect every room, starting with our own.
It was a no-frills room, but I loved it. The light gray-blue walls were serene and played well against the hardwood floors. Our bed was simple with no headboard, only ivory covers and lots of pillows in varying shades of white. Other than that, we had a chair and dresser. For me it wasn’t what was in it, it was who I shared it with. When his mother tsked at the bareness of it, I almost blurted out that we didn’t need much to make love in here and how often that happened, but I bit my tongue.
Avery and Sam oohed and aahed over the wood beamed ceilings and wrought iron chandelier. Those elements were a nice touch, I must confess, but Sam and Avery had already seen the entire house, minus my other room.
Mimsy helped herself and sat on our bed. She bounced up and down a few times. “It doesn’t squeak, that’s good.”
We all internally begged she would say no more. She left it at that. It was the one time the night went right.
Sarah looked mildly impressed with the master bathroom. It was beautiful, with a free-standing soaker tub and a stone walk-in shower. After all this I might need a soak in the tub.
“There’s no door on this shower.” Sarah found something not to like.
Peter wrapped his arm around my waist. “We like it that way.”
There were some low chuckles by Sam, Avery, Reed, and James.
That concluded the fun part of the tour. Basically, the rest of it consisted of empty bedrooms and closets, except for the one spare bedroom with a bed. Peter and I both tried not to make a big deal out of any of the rooms. We basically flipped on the light and said, “Here’s another bedroom.”
Unfortunately, Mimsy was like a child and decided she needed to sit on the bed in the spare bedroom to try it out too. “It’s a little lumpy and it squeaks.” She bounced some more.
No one really paid attention to her until Sarah decided to join Mimsy. She agreed with her mom’s opinion but took it further. “This would make an awful guest bed. Good thing I live in town.”
Peter squeezed my hand. It was like he was asking me to hold on. I was sure he knew I wanted to say that she wouldn’t be invited to stay even if she lived out of town. If only she did live far away.
“Let’s all go have some ice cream.” Peter turned off the light.
Most everyone filed out except his mother and grandmother, who for some odd reason became fascinated with the attic door. They tried to open it.
“Is this an extra closet?” Sarah asked.
“It’s an attic,” Peter responded.
“Why’s it locked?”
“No reason.” Peter played it cool.
“Is it a walk-in attic?” Sarah wasn’t letting it go.
“Yep.” Peter turned to leave. I followed.
“Let’s see it. It’s probably the most interesting thing in the entire house. Why else would it be locked?”
My patience was running thin. I turned back toward her. She dared me with her palest of blue eyes to contradict her.
“Let’s go have some ice cream, Sarah,” Joseph jumped in before I could say anything.
Sarah stood firm. “Are you hiding something, Peter?” She sounded like she was trying to give him an out, like, just tell Mommy and she will save you from whatever evils your hideous wife is hiding.
“Ma, let it drop. It’s an attic,” Sam jumped in.
“I didn’t hear Peter deny he was hiding anything.”
Oh sh . . . I meant crap. I couldn’t let Peter lie. He was too pure. Me on the other hand, not so much. I took a breath with an evil gloating smile. “Peter doesn’t want to say because he’s embarrassed.”
Peter’s wide eyes looked directly at me and played right into it.
I kissed him once and whispered, “Sorry,” against his mouth before I turned and unleashed my fury on my mother-in-law. I gave her the most sardonic grin I could muster up. “We wanted to keep it a secret, but we have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Sarah clenched her fists, ready to lash out.
Everyone else had gathered closer to Peter and me at the door, waiting on bated breath.
I paused a bit more for dramatic effect and just when I had Sarah where I wanted her, I let out, “It’s where we keep all the boudoir photos of each other.”
Sam, Reed, Avery, and James all snickered behind me, knowing it had to be a joke. Anyone who knew Peter would know he wouldn’t be down for that sort of thing. Though he did enjoy a sexy pic of me now and then being texted to him. Joseph just shook his head and headed downstairs.
Mimsy clapped her hands together. “Can we see?”
Sarah, dear, dear, dear, Sarah, did not disappoint. Her clenched fists shook while her face turned fifty shades of red. “You’re corrupting my child!”
I glared at her. “Your child is a man who can make his own choices.” I kept my voice steady.
She turned on Peter. “So, this is what you choose to do? Take naked pictures of yourself? Are you selling yourself online to pay for this house? Is that what it is? I thought it was drugs, but this is worse.”
“Ma, we aren’t selling ourselves or drugs.”
“Then tell me how you afford all this and why you would keep naked pictures of yourself. You were a such a good boy, a man of God, and then this woman,” she pointed at me, “she came and—”
“Reed and I eloped last month!” Sam shouted, interrupting Sarah’s tirade.
A shockwave went through the house, and for a fraction of a second all was still. But almost like we choreographed it, we all whipped our bodies and heads toward a nervously smiling Sam and Reed.
Reed wrapped his arm around his bride with a wide, almost apologetic smile. “We’ve been waiting for a good time to tell everyone.”
“What? What?” Sarah pushed her way through us, grabbing her chest. “Joseph, Joseph,” she yelled. “Are you hearing this?”
Joseph came running up with an ice cream scooper in his hand.
“How could you, Samantha Marie?” Sarah was shaking.
Joseph fell by his wife’s side. “What’s going on?”
“Tell your father what you did,” Sarah demanded.
Meanwhile Avery, James, Peter and I looked at each other. We were all in shock. No one saw this coming.
Reed pulled Sam closer while Sam bit her lip. “We eloped last month.”
“Is that true, baby girl?” Joseph asked, disappointed.
Sam nodded with her eyes cast down.
“How could you do this to me?” Sarah leaned into Joseph, distraught. “At least tell me it was at a church.”
Sam shook her head.
Sarah tipped her head up and threw her hands in the air. “Two children now married outside the eyes of God. What have I done to deserve this?”
I had a list for her, but I kept it to myself, not wanting to direct the attention back on me. I would be forever grateful to Sam for the beautiful gift she gave me of taking the heat off me for a few minutes.
Sam reached for her Mom’s hands. “Ma, we didn’t do this to hurt you. Neil is doing everything he can think of to fight the annulment of our marriage. And we felt it was best not to wait any longer.”
Sarah yanked her hands away. “Because you wanted him to sign your NDA.”
“That’s part of it.” Sam blushed. “But more than anything we wanted our lives to start together as a family.”
That set Sarah off again. “Cody Joseph!” Her loud voice carried through the entire house.
Cody was smart enough to yell, “We’re headed outside!” The back door slammed.
I loved that kid.
Sarah turned back to Sam. “Did Cody know about this?”
Sam pressed her lips together and thought about what to say. “Of course he did. It’s not something we would have done without him.”
“What about the rest of us?” Sarah was on the verge of tears.
I almost felt sorry for Sarah. I knew one of the reasons she hated me was because Peter and I eloped. I understood why that would be painful. From the look in her eyes I think she felt even more betrayed by Sam, her only daughter. If she could only see why her children felt the need to do things behind her back and that her way wasn’t the only way.
It was time for me to jump back into the fire. “I think it’s terrific. Congratulations!”
Before Sarah tried to set me ablaze with her eyes, Avery and James were congratulating them as well. Even Joseph was hugging Sam, although he didn’t look happy at all with Reed.
Mimsy was shuffling toward them, muttering about adultery. Good thing she didn’t have any water on her.
And that’s when I found myself in Peter’s arms. We said not a word, but clung to each other in our private island of safety. As long as I had that tiny slice of paradise, it didn’t matter what raged on around us. Peter would always be my refuge.