Chapter 12
Dina stepped out of the apartment building and breathed in the remnants of the rain. After their emotional conversation, she could use another cup of coffee and a nice walk.
“Do you need a taxi?” Ronald asked, handing her the umbrella she’d left in the stand.
“No, thanks. I think I’ll walk to Café Coffees before heading home.”
“Have a good da—” His words faded and his face pinched.
She followed his line of vision and made her own pinched face.
Clarisse Saunders approached wearing a long, flowing raincoat and white gloves, yet her blonde hair was left open to the elements. The tight bun did nothing for the wrinkles on her mother’s face, liked she claimed. Dina shook her head. Her mother was and would always be a prima donna.
“Mother,” Dina said. The term that should be an endearment tasted sour on her tongue.
“It’s come to that?” Clarisse stopped in front of her and fumbled with the top button on her jacket. “You’re calling me mother instead of mom?”
“I think mom is a name that’s earned, don’t you?”
“Ah, dear.” Her mother’s voice matched the distant, cold look in her eyes. Either her mom had a head’s up from her dad or Clarisse just left the country club and hadn’t brought her nose back down to earth yet. “We need to talk.”
Between what Vince told her, the episode with Cole and the allergic reaction, then the heart to heart with her dad, she’d had enough of the emotional whirlwind for today. Yet, putting off the inevitable conversation with her mother would ruin another day. “We do.”
“Follow me.” Clarisse ordered, waving Ronald off from opening the door.
Dina followed her into a lounge just inside the foyer. The scent of vanilla and the low hum of a fish tank filled the air.
“Would you like a drink? Coffee? Juice?” Clarisse asked. “I can call someone to deliver it.”
She didn’t like having someone else go out of their way to cater to her. After all, they weren’t sitting in a bar lounge. “No.” Dina settled into one of the cushioned arm chairs, near the couch.
Her mother pulled off the expensive Nappa leather covering her fingers, her eyes skimming over Dina in silent judgment.
“Let’s have it.” Clarisse sank into the chair next to her. “You held a beef against your father all these years I guess it’s my turn now.”
Spitting nails sounded better than conversing with her mother when she acted like Mommy Dearest. “You talk as if you didn’t influence my opinion.”
“I didn’t. I told you what happened. From there, it was your decision on how to treat your father.”
“You’re kidding me?” Dina scoffed, rose and moved to the back corner to watch the goldfish swimming in the tank. “You tell lies, have Dad take the blame for your affairs, and now say I was in the wrong for being upset?”
“Sweetheart you have to understand I didn’t choose this life.”
Dina shot Clarisse a glare. “You think your sexual preference is why I’m upset?”
Clarisse nodded, the distant expression didn’t leave her eyes.
“That’s absurd,” Dina snapped, not believing the ridiculousness of her mother’s thought pattern. Clarisse knew Dina didn’t judge people, so why make such an accusation? She opened her mouth to ask and closed it, figuring why bother? Her mother was doing what she did best, playing the victim.
“Well, then why are you mad? Your father warned me you were upset.” Clarisse stood and walked the span of the room. “Being with the person you love is beautiful, not frowned upon. No one else matters but Betty.”
Hearing Clarisse say Vince’s mother’s name so tenderly made her throw up a little in her mouth.
Clarisse dug her fingers into the palms of her hands. “Why did Vince open his mouth? There was no reason to tell you after all these years. He’s the reason you’re upset with me.”
Aghast, Clarisse yet again, played the blame game, Dina went off. “Because I deserved to know!”
For a second, a flash of understanding crossed Clarisse’s face, but it didn’t stick. Her jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed. “He shouldn’t put his nose in the middle of our family business.”
Her mother’s antics of using everyone as a scapegoat sent Dina rushing forward. “How dare you!” A foot away from Clarisse, Dina jabbed her hands on her hips, and nailed her mother with a glare. “You’re the one at fault. How do you think he felt walking into his home and seeing you prance around naked? It happened only a few weeks after his father died. How dare you, Mother!”
“Well…” Her mother acted insulted and slid her gaze away.
“I’m not finished.” Dina wiped the sweat beading on her forehead. “Look at me.” When Clarisse did, Dina continued, “Another thing, I know about the other women. I always wondered what transpired with the maids. Why they left as soon as I became friends with them.”
“You shouldn’t befriend the help.”
“What planet do you live on?” Dina hated how pretentious her mother was.
“The one who has money.” Clarisse’s tone remained snooty and tight.
Dina shoved down the urge to tell her to stick her money where the sun didn’t shine. “You made Dad out to be the ogre, but he wasn’t, you were!”
“So, you call him Dad?”
This conversation was exhausting. “He’s earned it!” Dina yelled so loud her throat stung. The pent up rage from Clarisse forcing her to act like the perfect child, ideal student, model person when her mother didn’t possess any of those qualities burst. “You not only took my father away from me with your lies, you took the one person I trusted, the sibling I never had. I lost Vince for years because of you. He tried to protect me. In the process of him looking out for me, he screwed himself over by holding information inside. You have no right to put any blame on him or anybody else for your failure as a wife…as a mother.”
Clarisse’s lips quivered. She moved her hand as if she lost her balance and tried to find the chair to grab hold of.
Dina couldn’t do any more than watch. Her mother had tricked and lied to her so many times. She figured this time was no different.
Clarisse finally managed to hold the arm of the chair and met Dina’s gaze. Tears pooled in her mother’s eyes.
Dina’s heart squeezed. Was this finally remorse or another trick?
With slumped shoulders, Clarisse dropped onto the couch. “I messed up.” Her voice was a little more than a breath.
Dina exhaled, relief flooded her. “This is a start.”
“What? Me, crying?” Clarisse sobbed-laughed, half-heartedly.
“Yes.” Her mother hadn’t intentionally hurt Dina. Clarisse told lies to protect herself. Right or wrong, Dina couldn’t lose years with her mom like she had with her dad. Smart or not, Dina had to make amends. She dropped to the seat and grasped her hand. “You will have to give me space. What you did was unforgettable, but in time, I’m sure I will forgive you.” She also wanted to lecture her mom about the proper way to treat people, but figured one hurdle a day was enough for anyone. “Mom.”
A loud sigh choked out of Clarisse, and more tears fell. She looked at Dina through a watery gaze and touched the side of her cheek. “I may be able to handle a lot of things, but one thing that I can’t manage is losing you.”
Dina leaned forward and hugged her. The softness her mother showed at this moment was more than she ever expected. “You can’t lose me. Dad never did, either. I was just mad for a very long time.”
Clarisse eased away and tugged a tissue from her purse as her cell rang. She read the caller ID, and turned the phone for Dina to see. “Isn’t this just perfect timing?” she said and blew her nose.
“Why is Preston calling you?”
“You’ll see.” Clarisse dragged another tissue under her eyes, plastered on her ice princess demeanor, and hit the speaker button on the phone. “Hello, Preston. So good of you to return my call.”
Dina sent her mother a puzzling glare. Why would she contact him? Her mother had been just as appalled by Preston’s cheating as Dina.
Clarisse pressed a finger to her lips. “Sh-h-h,” she said. “Listen.”
“What do you want?” Preston’s gruff tone came over the speaker loud and clear. He wasn’t overly fond with talking to Clarisse.
“Listen well,” Clarisse barked, “you call my daughter one more time for any reason, much less threaten her with family politics, I will take the contract you signed to a lawyer. You think you don’t have any money now, just wait. You’ll never recover from the money pit my lawyer will bury you in.”
“Contract?” Dina mouthed.
Again, Clarisse held her finger to her lips and shushed her.
“Don’t threaten me.” Preston barked. “Your precious daughter ran to you? You’re the person who brought shame to the family, interesting. Hell, my name is even marred from what you did.”
Rage flew into Dina, her body stiffened. She couldn’t let him get away with disrespecting her mother. Her having an issue with her was one thing, but no one else outside her family had a right.
Clarisse clutched Dina’s arm, shook her head, and asked into the phone, “Do we have a deal?”
After a long moment, Preston said, “I have no need to go to the gossip rag. I’ve collected what I need.”
Dina leaned back against the couch. Telling her dad what Preston had planned must have set all of this into motion, but what did Preston have? And why did he need money? When she divorced him, he was a successful veterinarian. “Why do you need money?” Dina said, loud enough for the speaker to pick up.
“Dina?” Preston puffed. “What the hell?”
“What’s going on? You obviously hate me, so why do you want anything from me?”
For a long stretch of time, he remained silent. Dina eyed her mother, dying to ask her about the contract. Her mother was a paradox. She behaved high and mighty, yet when push came to shove, her claws came out and she had Dina’s back.
“The woman I dated when we split—”
“The one you ruined our marriage over,” she interrupted.
“Our marriage ended years ago. We lived together like companions.”
She had to admit, he was right. They had been associates, supporting each other in the workforce. Still, his act of betrayal stung. “Until then, we had trust which is more than most marriages.” She eyed her mother diverting her gaze to the floor.
“True, but don’t you want more?”
The love she had for him already didn’t compete with the budding relationship she had with Cole. “Yes, I do.”
“I thought my assistant was the one until a client came in and flirted with me.” Preston groaned. “I admit I liked the attention, so I flirted back.”
“No surprise there.”
“The client’s dog needed surgery on his leg. A week later when I operated, the orders read to remove the leg. I had so many pets with leg injuries I didn’t remember what treatment to administer without the files. I amputated the wrong dog’s leg based on the bogus notes. Another mix up suspended my license. The assistant is in jail.”
Dina’s heart went out to him. He worked long and hard to earn his license. For some twit to take it out from under him was a shame, even for a loathsome person like him. “Can your license be reinstated?”
“Possibly. In the meantime, I’m out of money.”
Preston opening up was a first. Too bad he hadn’t done it sooner. If he had, she might have considered helping him. She mulled over the idea for all of a second. Nah, she wouldn’t. He was a cheating scoundrel. One mystery remained. “So, what do you have that will help?”
“The Manhattan Advertising Group’s marketing boards,” he said.
“Give you a little rope and you hang yourself quite well, Preston.” Clarisse let smugness drip over her words.
“Fuck!” he said, followed by a groan.
The moment of compassion Dina held for him fled as anger forged its way forward with the memory of her practicing pitches in front of him. “You stole my ideas to sell?”
“You’re accusing me of being a thief?” His voice laced with disgust, but it was forced.
If Preston pitched the wrong campaign to Cole, the fallout would excite and gratify her on so many levels. Unfortunately, her conscious nagged at her. No matter how hateful Preston had been to her, letting him look even more foolish than what he already had wouldn’t solve any of her problems with him. “You’re such an idiot. When you stole the boards, you should have at least made sure you had an up-to-date campaign. The boards you grabbed are junk. The correct version was couriered over to the client this morning.”
A hissing sound drifted over the phone.
“Out of respect for the few good years in our marriage, I won’t press charges. But listen to me and listen well. I do not want you anywhere near me or my life again. Agree or I’ll call the police.”
“Get a restraining order,” Clarisse ordered. “And change your locks.”
Dina gazed into her mother’s eyes. She’d never seen her so maternal. Despite the years of her staying angry with her father, he had been the protective parent, the one who called when she was sick to see if she needed anything.
“You’ll pay,” Preston barked, pulling Dina out of her head.
Her mother disconnected the call and slid the phone into her purse. “I think the contract will stop Preston from doing anything stupid with the magazines. Even if he does, your father and I will handle it.”
“I can’t believe I married such a tweet.” Dina blew out a breath and rose, buttoning her jacket. She wanted to get home to fill Cole in on what Preston was up to. Vince and Monique needed to know, too, in case Preston tried to break in again, but first. “What exactly is in the contract?”
“I paid Preston handsomely not to tell you about me and Betty.”
“He saw you?”
Clarisse lifted her chin and suck in a deep breath. “Yes, he did.”
Everyone knew about her parents’ lives except for her and she was their child. “I have to go.”
Clarisse stood and wrapped her arms around Dina, pulling her into a hug. “I’m sorry.”
Emotions clogged her throat and tears threatened to spill. Dina forced them back. “Thank you.” Her mother apologizing helped relieve some of the disappointment.
“I hope Preston doesn’t try to retaliate and do anything stupid.” Clarisse stepped back and met Dina’s gaze. “Like come after you physically.”
Dina eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened. He was a lot of things, but violent…she didn’t think so. “He’s a lot of things, but not malicious.”
“Just be careful.” Clarisse checked her watch. “Your dad is expecting me. He and I have a lot to talk about.”
Instinctively, Dina wanted to say good luck, but saying it in reference to her father when she knew he was done with her mom’s foolishness didn’t seem appropriate. “Bye, Mom.” She kissed her mom on the cheek and scooted out the door.
****
Eyeing the heavy clouds, Dina held her coat’s collar against her chin, and tilted the umbrella against the breeze. When she left her parent’s apartment building ten minutes ago, heading toward the coffeehouse before heading home, the sky was light. Now, she feared she’d get wet any minute.
As if Mother Nature wanted to play a sick joke, the heavens opened. The sky grew dark, the temperature dropped, and the wind’s intensity increased, yanking the umbrella from her grasp and flinging it to the next street, like a rocket.
The cool air and sideways rain slammed into her face and neck as she turned the street corner. She clutched her collar tighter and bent her head. Only lifting it enough to ensure she didn’t hit anything or anyone, she ran toward the green awning and rushed inside.
Inside, the coffee aroma assaulted her senses. After a few minutes, she placed her order, moved to the pickup area, and watched the water splashing against the window. She reached into her coat pocket to call Cole to let him know she’d be delayed, came up empty, and remembered her phone breaking apart.
A young, red-haired woman moved hurriedly behind the counter, dispensing coffee. “Ma’am,” Dina said, catching her attention. “May I use your phone for a sec? I need to let my friend know I’m stuck here until the rain lets up.”
“Um.” The girl studied her for a beat. “Sure.” She slid her cell from her pants pocket and passed it over.
“Great. Thanks.” After a quick call to Cole, she disconnected and returned the girl’s phone at the same time her latte was ready. “Thank you.” She sipped the strong coffee, relishing the taste and warmth.
“It’s rough out there,” a female said, staring out the front door, where people shoved past her to seek refuge from the rain.
“It is.” The eyes of the man who’d scared her popped into her mind’s eye, replaying the scene from the other day like an old movie reel. Her stomach flip-flopped. She did a quick scan of the restaurant.
Hair stuck to faces and laid flat against heads. None of them had the unwelcoming eyes that had kicked her into hyper speed, dashing out of the coffeehouse, and down the block to…Cole.
Maybe she owed soulless eyes a little something for helping her connect with the man she hadn’t found the strength or courage to pursue, then again, maybe not. If it was meant to be, they would have connected, just as Cole had said, running into each other was fate.
Movement from the back corner caught her eye. A man, wearing a white cowboy hat and windbreaker, looking similar to the profile pic of the man she met in the online chat room, motioned for her to join him. “Amber.”
Dina jumped at the deep voice calling her by her online name.
“Would you like to join me?”
She diverted her gaze outside. The rain didn’t look like it’d let up. If she sat with him would he misconstrue her intentions? His strong profile and intense, dark eyes said he was more interested in her than she wanted. “Thank you, but I’m not staying long,” she said loud enough for him to hear over the chattering crowd.
“Might as well take a load off while you wait out the storm.” He straightened, didn’t stop until he was over a foot taller than her, and pulled out the chair across from where he had sat. “Come on. No need to stand.”
A clap of thunder supported his comment.
“Okay.” She weaved her way through the throng of people and undid the top few buttons of her jacket, so as not to choke herself when she sat.
“What a coincidence running into you here.” His Texan drawl caught her off guard.
“Cool Hand Luke?” she asked, not sure what to call him.
“Just Luke,” he said, chuckling and motioning to the seat. “Please have a seat.” He placed his hat on the table, his dark eyebrows slashing over his charcoal eyes as he looked beyond her.
She twisted in her chair, looking over her shoulder.
People either sat at tables or leaned against walls. Water droplets slid down cheeks, raincoats, even hands as they held coffee cups to their mouths.
If everyone was so wet, why wasn’t Luke? “Have you been here for a while?”
“Not long, just beat the rain.”
Suddenly chaos assaulted the room. The fire alarm blared. Chairs tipped, tables screeched against the floor as people hurried out the door into the mad weather.
She rose, waiting for the mass to leave, so she could move.
Luke clutched her arm. “Don’t leave,” he growled out, his voice tight.
Her heart pounded in her chest, echoing in her ears. “What?”
“Something’s off.” His eyes focused on the commotion around them, he slid the side of his jacket over.
Her eyes zoomed in on the gun in the holster on his hip. Apprehension crawled over her skin, sending her heart into a gallop. She jerked her hand out of his grasp and shoved into the mix of people, hurrying out the door.
“Don’t!” he yelled.
She stepped outside into the blowing wind and stopped short under the small canopy. The rain pelted the streets, making visibility zero. Finding a vacant cab would be like finding a needle in the haystack. She’d have to run.
“Get out of the way,” a woman ordered, bumping into Dina and shoving her into the wall. The confusion had thrown her for loop and she hadn’t thought about blocking others’ path. “Sorry,” she said, but the woman had darted away.
She pushed off the wall and a hard body pressed her back.
Luke’s pissed off eyes met hers. “Listen to me, or you will get hurt.”
Black spots crossed her vision and onto his face. Sweat beaded her forehead. Her hands grew clammy. He said something else, but purpose rushed forward, drowning out whatever it was. Fight, her subconscious screamed. Her knee rose and hit him between the legs.
“Fuck!” Luke grabbed his nuts and fell to the ground.
Heart pounding, breathing labored, she sprinted to the corner for somewhere to hide. To the left, a postage-sized parking lot, a dead end, on the other side, stores and people. She rushed to the curb, waited for a break in the bumper-to-bumper traffic.
“Freeze!”
Dina stopped mid-step. Goosebumps erupted across her neck and a feeling of doom weighed heavy on her chest. She raised her hands and turned. “Ple-a-s-e,” she begged, searching for the owner of the voice in the blowing wind and slanting rain.
“Get down!” The same voice yelled and the rain lightened enough for her to see Luke pointing a gun in her direction, his face fierce.
Before she could register his words, a hard force slammed into her body.
Gunfire exploded.