Chapter 5

 

Kristen paced the living room. Ethan hadn’t come down and it was already past 8:30 in the morning. In addition, she could not reach Camila in New York. Was something wrong? She was worried about them both. She didn’t know why she worried about Ethan, but she did. Last night was weird. She’d heard him yell in his sleep, and without thinking had rushed to his bedroom.

Heat flushed her skin at the memory of seeing his naked torso gleaming with a layer of sweat. Her belly had burned at the sight of his erect thickness, as it stood before her. The memory caused her nipples to tighten against her lace bra.

“This is crazy. I must be really horny to be reacting to him this way,” she mumbled.

The doorbell ringing jarred her out of her reverie. Who could it be? She wasn’t expecting anyone unless it was her lawyer. Thinking he may have found her a suitor, she rushed to see whom it was. As she pulled the door open, she regretted it. Standing there was Helen, looking quite uncomfortable.

“What are you doing here?” Kristen inquired.

The woman stepped past her and walked stiffly to the living room. When she had looked around with her nose upturned, she gave her reply.

“Here is the last place I want to be. I’m only here because of Hailey.”

Kristen’s stomach wrenched. “What’s wrong with my daughter? Is she okay? I swear…”

“Hailey is fine, sort of.”

“What do you mean, sort of?”

Helen bristled at Kristen’s tone. “Don’t raise your voice, Kristen. She asked to see you so I agreed she could meet you for lunch. She gave me a message for you.”

“What message? Why didn’t you just bring her here? This is her home.”

“And let you run away to Columbia with her, or wherever it is you’re from?”

“You know I was born here,” she interrupted, but Helen didn’t seem to hear her.

“It seems you’ve forgotten the Judge’s rule, that she stays with me until such time,” Helen continued. “Have you found yourself a man yet?”

Ignoring her, Kristen asked, “What is the message?”

“She says she Misses Mr. Carrot Top… whoever that is.”

Kristen’s heart ached for her daughter. Mr. Carrot Top was an old stuffed rabbit with orange ears. Whenever Hailey was feeling sad, she snuggled with him. She’d sleep with the bunny when she’d had a rough day at school or when Andrew had broken a promise. She also slept with him whenever she was sick.

“Is she sick?” she asked, just to make sure of what her daughter was trying to tell her.

“No,” the woman replied, lifting her chin. “Of course not. Don’t you think I would have taken her to the doctor if that was the case?”

“I’ll take Mr. Carrot Top with me when I come to the house for lunch,” Kristen said. “I’m going to have to get it from the attic.”

“We will meet at Chez Marion for lunch.”

“Are you seriously taking a seven-year-old to a restaurant like that?”

“That’s a five-star restaurant, what’s wrong with taking my granddaughter there?”

Kristen rolled her eyes. “She’s seven. Do you really think she’ll eat braised salmon with artichokes or some roasted quail with sautéed onions?”

“Why wouldn’t she?”

“Is that what you’ve been feeding her, food like that? Has she been eating?”

Helen seemed surprised at Kristen’s questions. “I raised two children of my own, don’t you think I would know how to feed one child?”

“You mean your nanny raised your boys and the cook made the meals. Did you for once ask Hailey what she liked to eat?” Kristen looked at Helen’s nonplussed expression. “You don’t need to answer that.”

Helen walked off towards the front door. “You just be there on time. I will ask the chef to make something special for Hailey.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Don’t you make this difficult. You had better not tell her to misbehave today,” Helen warned before stepping through the door. When she was on the portico, she stopped and turned with a final warning. “If you cause trouble today, I will just have to ask the judge to move up your wedding date.”

The hatred in Helen’s eyes and the venom in her tone told Kristen the woman was not bluffing. Biting down a cutting reply, she watched as her mother-in-law walked to her chauffer-driven Lincoln. Before the car drove away, Kristen slammed the front door.

How was she to control a fussy seven-year-old? She worried about her daughter, and whether or not she was eating. A plan formed in her mind, something that may help her get out of this mess. If all went well today, she’d have her daughter home in no time. She’d just need to record the lunch date and hoped something could be of use from it.

In the meantime, she needed to find Mr. Carrot Top and head to the restaurant. She had a little over three hours to spare. The first thing she did was head up the steps leading to the attic. The attic was more like a third-floor apartment. Along with boxes of old toys and clothing was a folding bed and old furniture. She could always fix it up and rent it in the event that she lost the case with Helen. Not that she needed money, but she’d need something to make her feel useful.

“What are you thinking Kristen? You cannot afford to lose this battle.”

She found the stuffed toy in a box, which had Hailey’s old blanket and a few other toys. She picked up the stuffed animal and headed down to the washroom. She threw the bunny in the dryer and set it on steam. She usually did this to reduce any instances of bacteria and dust in the stuffed toys.

While she waited for the bunny to steam, she wondered if Ethan was okay. She still hadn’t seen him all morning and his motorcycle was still parked out front. She worried that he was experiencing some sort of PSTD. Many military men experienced this after returning home.

After the incident last night, she spent some time researching the disorder and found that many Veterans committed suicide due to not getting adequate treatment. Some veterans could not find jobs after returning home and ended up on the streets. The health insurance for life from the Veteran’s Administration caused nothing but problems. A part of her was glad she didn’t insist on him leaving. She’d hate for anything to happen to him out there. She’d found the name of a psychiatrist she thought he could talk to, but knowing Ethan, he’d probably refuse.

She was done with the bunny and headed up the stairs when the front door opened and Ethan sauntered in. That was strange. All this time she thought he was in his room.

“Where have you been?” she asked, retreating her steps. “Do you know how worried I’ve been?”

*

 

Ethan halted in the living room while Kristen bounded down the stairs. He’d just came back from a jog when she was apparently headed upstairs. As he opened the door, she turned in the middle of the staircase, saw him and came after him.

“Where have you been?” she asked, her voice sharp. “Do you know how worried I’ve been?”

“You can stop now. You don’t need to pretend anymore,” he replied, trying to past her.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him back. With narrowed eyes, he looked down at her hand on his triceps. She saw the look and dropped her hand, but her touch left a tingle behind. “What do you mean, pretend?” she demanded.

“Look, you don’t want to marry me that’s fine, but I can’t deal with you being nice one minute and mean the next,” he said. “I’ll be out of your hair anyway. I’m leaving.”

“What?” she frowned. “You’re running away?”

Ethan turned to face her fully. He couldn’t understand what she was talking about. He searched her eyes and got nothing. “What do you mean by that?” he asked.

“You’re leaving, just like that? I thought you said we needed each other.”

He scrunched his face and narrowed his eyes, trying to figure her out. “And you said something along the lines of you not needing me, remember?”

She shuffled. “Well, that doesn’t mean you should just leave. At least stick around for a while.”

Suspicion began to worm its way into his mind and he wondered what her game was. “What’s going on, Kristen.”

“Okay, I need you, for today. Join me for lunch with Helen and Hailey.”

“No, it’s more than that. What are you up to?”

She moved to the window overlooking the front lawn. Something seemed to be on her mind and Ethan waited to hear it. “I think you need to talk to someone,” she said.

He moved to the sofa and sat. “What are you talking about?”

Coming to sit beside him, she handed him a piece of paper. “She’s very good. I think she can help you.”

Taking the paper, he noted a telephone number and a name scrawled below it. Below the name was the word ‘psychiatrist.’ “What the f… a shrink?”

“Your nightmare could be as a result of PSTD.”

Ethan stood, crumpling the paper. “You want to get rid of me that badly? I’ve been here two days and you’re ready to assume something you know nothing about?” he began to move away.

“Ethan, wait!”

“No.” He paused. “I get it. I knew we didn’t get along, but I didn’t know you hated me this much.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Well, you sure act like it. You yourself told me so just yesterday.”

“You know I didn’t mean it,” she replied in a quiet tone. “Besides, you’re the one who told me that you’ve been having these recurring nightmares.”

“And I also told you they were nothing for you to worry about.”

“Ethan, please…” she said but he was still too upset to listen.

“No, I won’t see your shrink. Enjoy your lunch. I’ll be gone when you get back.”

There was no way he was seeing a damn shrink. He’d received a recommendation to see the Navy’s psychiatrist about the same thing and had refused. Why was everyone quick to label him as crazy?

 

*

 

Kristen didn’t like the way the conversation was going. Ethan threatening to leave did not sit well with her. Despite her denial, deep down she cared what happened to him. She told herself he was Andrew’s brother, and that was the reason for her concern.

Before she knew where her thoughts were leading, she was speaking, surprising even her own self. She couldn’t stop it even if she tried. “I’ll compromise with you, but don’t leave,” she said.

“What are you gabbing about now?” he growled, obviously irritated with her.

“You talk to the shrink once and I’ll consider marrying you.”

“No.”

She was confused. “You were the one who said we should.”

“Yes, I suggested we should. But I won’t have a shrink probing around in my mind.”

“What do you want, a promise?”

“No, you marry me first and then I consider seeing this shrink of yours,” he said, opening his palm with the crumpled paper and smoothing it. “Why do you suddenly care anyway?”

That question made her heart lurch. There were things no one knew or understood and Kristen was set on keeping them hidden. Maybe someday Ethan would learn the truth but for now, all she needed was to make sure he was okay. Her conscience would not allow it any other way. She needed to make sure he got the best psychological help he needed for his sake as well as hers.

“A child is involved and I won’t have you putting her at risk. Do you really want to be Hailey’s guardian not knowing if something is wrong? Shouldn’t you at least take care of yourself before putting our… I mean my daughter at risk?”

The look on his face told her that he knew what she said was true. He walked a few paces, then returned. “Okay, I’ll do it, but you have to sign to it. I don’t want you changing your mind after I see this person.”

“Fine. I’ll draw up the contract later,” she agreed. “I’m running late.”

“Kiss Hailey for me.”

“Ethan, you’ve got to do this for Hailey’s sake. I’m taking a huge risk here,” she reiterated.

“I know.”