She brought her hand up to her mouth. “What? How? I mean…” She looked away.
I nodded and pulled my arm from her grip. My mother had been having an affair with one of my father’s business associates. They’d meet at a hotel or at my parents’ own home after my father would leave for work or when he was out of town.
“Karma is a bitch, Mom. Good luck living without Daddy’s money.”
I turned and walked toward the elevator. I was expecting her to follow, but when I looked back, she was just standing there, stunned. I stepped onto the elevator and leaned on the wall as I tried to calm down. I’d never stood up to my mother before, and I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or if the reality of having the worst mother in the world had just showed up on my doorstep.
I walked out to my car and decided that I would be the mother to Lily that I’d always wanted. This nonsense about me not being Lily’s biological mother was now behind me. Regardless of our situation, I was going to be the best mother for her, and I would always be there for both her and Cale. As I walked through the endless trail of flowers, I took a moment to look around. I loved Crystal Bridges. Even in the winter, they had flowers planted. I loved the quietness of it. It had a way of calming my nerves. I closed my eyes and could hear the water running along the creek that flowed through the property.
I stopped at my car and placed my hand on my stomach. Cale’s words replayed in my head:
I want to have a baby…you and me.
I pulled out my phone and texted Cale.
Me: Dinner at JJ’s tonight?
Cale: Sounds good to me.
Me: I think Lily will love feeding the fish and turtles.
Cale: Oh man, she will. I came home earlier and was talking to Mom. She’s heading out the door now. You may or may not have a surprise waiting for you when you get home.
Me: I’m on my way! I need something to cheer me up. My mom came by to see me.
Cale: Oh man. I’ll cheer you up. I got this, baby. I got this.
I walked into the house and looked around. “Cale?”
I walked into the kitchen, dining room, Cale’s office, and finally walked outside onto the deck. I looked down and saw him on the dock. Taking off my pumps, I made my way down the stone steps. It was mid-January and unusually warm. I looked around at the bare trees. There was a slight wind blowing, and I could smell the fire from a nearby fireplace. We hadn’t had much snow this year but, when we did, I loved sitting on the deck, wrapped up in warm blanket, looking out over the white landscape.
As I made my way down, I noticed Cale didn’t have Lily. I panicked for a moment and thought about turning around. “Cale? Where’s Lily?”
When he turned, the way he looked at me stopped me in my tracks. I sucked in a breath and my heart dropped to my stomach. He was so handsome and his smile drove me mad with desire.
He began walking toward me, and that was when I noticed his bare feet. Oh Lord help me. I wanted to strip out of my clothes and beg him to take me then and there.
“Lily is spending the night with her Grammy and Grampa.” Cale said, his voice laced with seduction as he sauntered my way. I smiled and tilted my head.
“Is that right?” I asked as I slowly ran my tongue along my teeth. He stopped just short of me and placed his hand on my cheek. My stomach took an immediate dive and my hands trembled as I thought about all the things I wanted him to do to me.
“I need you to go change.”
I looked at him, confused. “Change into what? I would think you’d be asking me to undress.”
One side of Cale’s mouth moved up into a grin and I was ready to drop to the ground and beg him to take me right that second. I felt my face flush at my wayward thoughts.
“Why are you blushing, baby?” He asked as he moved his lips to mine. I moaned and placed my hands on his chest.
“Cale, please, I want you,” I said, almost panting with desire. I looked up into his eyes and saw nothing but passion. I knew he wanted me, too.
“I have somewhere I need to take you first.”
I smiled. “If it’s to JJ’s, I think I’ll pass.”
Cale laughed and shook his head. “No. Dress warm, we’ll be outside this evening.”
I scrunched up my nose. “Outside? For dinner?”
He turned me around and slapped my ass. “Yep! Come on, we need to get going.”
“HOW WAS WORK?” I asked as Maddie got into the car. I grabbed her hand and gave it a kiss.
“Good,” she said, grinning. “We closed early today, though, because someone was renting out the whole restaurant.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “It was being kept on the down-low. I’m guessing someone big must be using it.”
I was looking back at the road as I shrugged. I headed into Bentonville and Maddie talked about Lily the whole time.
“Can you believe she’s six months old, Cale? The time is just flying by.” She shook her head, smiling.
I laughed. “I still can’t believe her poop turned orange. Scared the piss out of me.”
Maddie laughed and squeezed my hand. “I can’t wait to give her something sweet. Can we do that tomorrow, do you think?” Maddie asked. I quickly glanced at her, then back at the road.
“Sure we can! I don’t see why not. We’ve pretty much introduced her to all the veggies. Should we invite Jack and Monica over?”
Maddie chuckled. “We totally should. Tell them we’re having a small dinner party.” Maddie put her hand to her mouth, trying to hold back a laugh. “I’m texting Monica right now!” she said, grabbing her phone.
I was glad she was distracted, because I was driving straight to where she worked—Crystal Bridges. Crystal Bridges was an amazing place. Lily loved being in her stroller as we walked the trails.
I pulled up to the front while Maddie texted Monica. I’d hired a few people to work that night, and originally had planned on using the restaurant. But when the weather turned out to be so nice, I made other arrangements.
Maddie laughed, “Monica and Jack are a go for…” she started, then, seeing where we were, she said, “Wait. Why are we at Crystal Bridges?”
I smiled and got out of the car. I walked around to the front of my car and up to a young lady standing there. “Mr. Blackwood, everything is ready. It looks beautiful. Thank you again for your generous donation, sir.”
I nodded and said, “Thank you for taking care of all of this for me.”
She nodded and smiled. “It was our pleasure.”