Chapter Nine

  Rick had been angry with his mother for cheating on his father, for what their family could have been. He had put his hand through a wall when he had discovered Lauren was more interested in being ‘seen’ with him, than being ‘with’ him.

  But what Cathie, uh Carrie, that was her name, had done went far beyond any of those emotions. This hurt was on a level he couldn’t even fathom. She had pulled out his heart and stomped it. Left nothing recognizable. He wanted to shake her, scream at her, yet his treacherous body ached to have her. That was the worst feeling of all.

  Their drive home was the longest he’d ever experienced. The most miserable and quietest. There wasn’t an elephant in the car. Instead it was full of them. Only because he didn't have any choice, and it would have been ungentlemanly to leave her at Mike’s, had he endured being alone with her.

  She had lied to him! Not once, but over and over. In and out of bed. She’d made a fool of him. Why did he keep picking the wrong women? How could he ever trust again? He was completely disgusted with himself.

  More than once, she’d asked for his forgiveness. Really? How had Carrie expected him to forgive her? What had she thought his reaction would be? She cared more about her sister than what all her lies were doing to them. Had even said she wouldn’t hurt him for the world. Yet she had. Far deeper than he was willing to admit.

  For the next two days, he didn’t come out of his house. He mindlessly watched the TV, unable to remember what had been on. What food he had eaten was left on the table nearest him. He’d slept in a chair. The thought of going in his bedroom where he and Carrie had made love made him ill. She had permeated everything in his life.

  Mike showed up at his house unannounced on Sunday evening. Rick looked through the glass of his front door at him. Would their friendship survive not letting him in? Rick let him in against his better judgement.

  “You look like hell,” Mike stated as he made his way into the living room.

  “Thanks for dropping by,” Rick deadpanned.

  “I would’ve come yesterday but I wasn’t sure you’d let me in. I figured by now you’d start pulling yourself out of the mire of self-loathing if for no other reason than you have a deal to close.”

  Rick groaned. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought about his meeting with Herbert. The old man would just have to get over Carrie not being there.

  Mike flopped on the sofa and started flipping through the TV channels. “That’s what I figured. You let a woman get under your skin enough to forget about putting your name on every building in town. A first. Who would’ve guessed?”

  “Shut up.” Rick returned to his chair. Putting his elbows on his knees, he rubbed his hands over his head.

  Putting the remote down, Mike said, “You want to enlighten me about what happen the other night?”

  Rick didn’t really but he owed Mike that much. He told the whole sorted story making it as short and unemotional as possible.

  “So you fell for her.” Mike made it a statement instead of a question.

  Rick slumped back in the chair and glared at his friend.

  “Now you’re wallowing in the pain. What’re you going to do about it?”

  Rick jumped up and stalked across the room, then faced his friend. “Nothing. Why would I want to have anything to do with a liar? Anyway, we agreed it was temporary.”

  “Then what’s all the fuss about?” Mike shrugged. “Could it be you love her?”

  “Love doesn’t have anything to do with it. My father loved my mother. What good did that do him? I thought I loved Lauren. Her me. You know how that turned out. If I can’t trust Carrie, how can I love her?” Mike needed to go. He was starting to make him mad.

  “She makes one mistake because of loyalty to her sister, which I consider a worthwhile quality, and you’re ready to give up on trying to make it work. Didn’t she say she tried to tell you? Melissa says she’s a topnotch person and teacher. You might want to think about it.”

  “Didn’t you say you had to go?” Rick quipped.

  His longtime friend chuckled and stood. “Then I’ll leave you to your pouting.”

  Rick called him a nasty name.

  “I might be, but I have a warm-willing woman at home in my bed. Do you?” Mike asked as he went out the door.

  Rick turned the porchlight off hoping Mike would trip going down the steps taking all his worldly wisdom with him. Forcing himself to pick up around him, Rick then climbed the stairs. At his bedroom door, he took a deep breath and entered his room. He headed to his bathroom without glancing at the bed. In the shower, he ran the water as hot as possible.

  Mike was really off base about Carrie. What could he know from her just being Mikey’s teacher? He knew more about her than Mike. Like she was a pretty liar.

  But wasn’t she more?

  She loved children, had proved that by believing in helping the children’s hospital. She was smart. She’d shown that with Mr. Herbert. She was sincere—when she wasn’t lying about who she was. Carrie had clearly liked his house. No one could be that good of an actress.

  And most of all she made him feel good about himself. Made him laugh. She was proud of the work he was doing, interested. Encouraging. In bed, she had a way of making him believe he was the greatest lover in the world. She had certainly satisfied him. More than that.

  Mike had been right about her being loyal. He couldn’t fault that. She loved her sister enough to protect her. That kind of devotion was hard to come by. What would it be like to have that in his life?

  Yeah, he loved her.

  Would she still have him? If she would, could he trust her and his heart enough to take a chance on her? To see her for who she really was?

  Did he have the guts to go after her?

  He did. Beyond a doubt, he’d hurt her. He’d have to find the right way to approach her or all would be lost.

  Carrie sobbed all the way up to her apartment. She had refused to fall apart while in the car. Still the stubborn, high-minded man could at least have listened to her. Tried to understand. She hadn’t done any of it to hurt him. If she had done something wrong it was to care too much for him. She was going to miss him.

  She wouldn’t have liked being lied to either, but she had honestly tried to tell him. Maybe with time Rick’s anger would ease. Even then, could he forgive her enough for them to have a real relationship? Start over. Or maybe he’d decide it wasn’t worth the effort.

  She’d found a man she could be herself with and lost him because she’d put Cathie before herself. Sometimes that could be considered sisterly love, but other times it was just being a doormat to Cathie’s desires. That had to stop.

  Most of the weekend she cried into her pillow while curled up in bed reliving her time with Rick. If it hadn’t been for her stupid lie, she would be off spending the weekend with him. Late Sunday evening the doorbell rang. Her heart skipped a beat. Was it Rick? It was the only time in the last forty-eight hours that Carrie had had the inclination to leave bed.

  Her heart fell when she saw it was Cathie.

  “Man, you look awful,” Cathie said in greeting. “What’s up?”

  Carrie closed the door behind Cathie after she entered. “Rick found out that we’ve been lying to him.”

  Cathie’s face took on a worried look. “Is he going to tell Ryan?”

  How like Cathie to think of herself first. Then again, she had been doing that for years. Carrie had allowed it and in some ways had even encouraged it. Why hadn’t she seen that before now?

  “This isn’t about you. It’s about him. He thinks we made a fool of him. He was hurt.”

  “Do you think he’ll say anything?” Cathie headed toward the kitchen.

  Carrie made a sound of disgust as her hands balled into fists. “You owe him an apology. What you did, with my help I’m ashamed to say, was an immature and hurtful trick to play on someone. You need to own that.”

  “I’m sure he’ll get over it.”

  Carrie wanted to shake her. “Cathie, you’ve got to stop treating people like they’re on this earth just for you. Life isn’t about running off for the weekend. You need to grow up.”

  Cathie whirled to face her. “You’re grown up enough for both of us!”

  “You’re right, I was, and I took a chance and let go a little and I hurt a very nice man in the process. I’m not going back to who I was.” Her voice took a hard edge. “I’m done swapping places. I won’t be covering for you ever again, for any reason.”

  Cathie looked at her closely. “This has really gotten to you, hasn’t it? Have you been crying?”

  Carrie told her the highlights of the past few days but kept the intimate details to herself.

  “Care Bear, I’m sorry. I know you’ve always thought you had to look out for me, be the sensible one, but I’ve never asked you to.”

  “No, but you expected it. Liked that you got your way. That I’d cover for you. Like with Rick. You knew I’d do it. It’s not going to happen again. It’s time you were responsible for yourself. Fix your own problems. I should’ve told him at the gala who I was. More than that, I should’ve stood up to you and refused to do it to begin with.” But if she had she wouldn’t have met Rick. She had taken a chance which was good, but honesty should have been involved as well.

  Cathie looked hurt for a second but then nodded. “You really have changed.”

  “Yes, I have.” And along the way she’d lost Rick.

  Chapter Ten

  Rick listened to Melissa’s message on his cell phone. “Hey. Mikey has a program at school on Thursday night at seven. He wants you to come. I just thought you might like to know.” The thinly vailed attempt at matchmaking didn’t escape his notice. Yet this might be his chance to see Carrie. At least she couldn’t make a scene about him being a jerk when children surrounded them.

  The next evening, he took his seat next to Melissa on the third row from the front in the school auditorium. He had to admit he was nervous. Mike sat on the other side of her. He leaned up and grinned. “Nice to see you in the land of the living.”

  “Funny.”

  Mike chuckled as the curtain opened. For the next hour, children sang, danced and did skits. In one, Mikey rolled himself out to join a group of other kids dressed as vegetables.

  When Rick caught a glimpse of Carrie in the stage wing, his heart raced. He could hardly believe he was under the same roof as her. How would she react when she saw him? Would she still be interested in talking to him? He could only hope.

  Mikey waved wildly at Rick and his parents at the end of the skit. He then pointed in the direction of where Rick had seen Carrie. Had the boy told her he was coming?

  At the end of the program a man who introduced himself as the headmaster came out on stage. He said, “I’d like to introduce the teacher who put all this together, Ms. Carrie Rodgers.”

  Pride surged through him at the man’s announcement. Carrie was amazing. As she crossed the stage, he had to stop himself from going to her and taking her in his arms. Dressed in a simple, blue dress and with her hair pinned back on the sides, she was everything he’d ever wanted. He had missed her.

  Rick saw the second she realized he was in the audience. Her eyes widened. There was a tremble to her hands as she accepted a bouquet of flowers. She left the stage with her back straight, not looking his way. Would she speak to him?

  As the crowd rose to leave he asked, “May I go get Mikey?”

  Mike and Melissa grinned at each other. Melissa said, “Sure.”

  “Nothing like having your kid used as a wing man,” Mike said loud enough for Rick to hear as he walked away.

  Ignoring his friend, he climbed the steps at the side of the stage. His chest tightened. He’d be seeing Carrie in a moment, if she hadn’t gone out the side door. Pushing back the curtain, he saw children and parents mingling around. There was no sign of Mikey or Carrie. Moving further into the backstage area, he located Mikey who was talking to another child. Carrie stood nearby having a conversation with a woman.

  “Uncle Rick,” Mikey called. “Did you see me dressed as a cabbage?”

  He glanced at Carrie who was now watching him. Continuing to Mikey, he went down on his heels and put his palm out. “Best looking cabbage I’ve ever seen.”

  Mikey’s small palm hitting Rick’s made a pop.

  “Ms. Carrie showed me what to do.”

  Rick glanced at Carrie. She was standing by herself now. “She’s pretty special, isn’t she?”

  Mikey nodded.

  “Excuse me a sec, okay buddy?” Rick stood and walked toward Carrie.

  As he approached she said, “I’m surprised to see you. I didn’t know kindergarten spring shows were your thing.”

  There was that humor he loved so much. “Sometimes they’re the perfect place to find the best people. And I thought you might think twice before pointing at me and shouting to the world ‘He’s a jerk’ if there were a lot of children around. I’m sorry I turned out to be such a jerk after all.”

  The tenseness in her body eased and she gave him a soft smile. “You weren’t a jerk. Just hurt and you had every right to be. I’m the one who’s sorry. My only defense is that I didn’t know how to come clean and have you still like me at the same time.”

  She sounded so remorseful he wanted to pull her to him and comfort her. “Do you still like me?”

  Carrie nodded. “Very much.”

  His heart started to beat again. There was still a chance.

  Rick took her hand. “Could we go somewhere and talk about it?”

  Carrie smiled. One that reached her eyes. “Yes. Please.”

  “Hey, when I said you could get Mikey, I didn’t know you were going to leave him sitting by himself all night,” Mike said in a dry voice that held a teasing note.

  “Sorry about that.” Rick took Carrie’s hand as they joined Mike and Melissa beside Mikey. Rick wasn’t about to let her go again. It felt right to be touching her again.

  “I think we need to get this young man home to bed,” Melissa said taking the handles of Mikey’s wheelchair. “Even with the long weekend ahead, you need rest.”

  “Later guys,” Mike called.

  Rick looked at Carrie. “Can I give you a ride home?”

  “I’d like that. My car’s in the shop. I was going to call a taxi.”

  In the car, Carrie couldn’t believe that Rick was really sitting next to her. She had hardly been able to take a breath since she’d seen him in the audience. She kept debating whether or not he was there to see Mikey or her? She’d acted cool while all she’d wanted to do was jump into his arms. When he had showed up backstage, she’d felt more confident. The second he met her gaze, she knew he had come for her. After he took her hand, she’d found home again.

  “Do you mind if we go to my place?” Rick asked.

  “Before I answer that, tell me why you came tonight?” She wasn’t going to settle for a fling.

  He looked into her eyes. “To see you.”

  “Why?” She was being bolder than ever.

  “Because I discovered that if I couldn’t trust you then I couldn’t trust anyone. You’re special. I’m sorry it took me so long to realize it. Or that I didn’t already know it after being around you.”

  She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Right answer. Let’s go home.” Her middle fluttered at the look of desire Rick gave her.

  “Sounds good to me.” He squeezed her hand, he’d only let go of it long enough to get in the car.

  Rick said, “I saw Cathie today at the office. She apologized and told me that I’d be crazy if I didn’t ever speak to the greatest person on earth again, her sister.”

  “She said that? She turned up at my place on Sunday night. We had a long talk. I told her I was making some changes in my life. She was going to have to handle her issues by herself. I’ve decide that it’s time I let Cathie live her own life. It isn’t my job to protect her when she messes up. She needs to learn to clean up after herself. I’m sorry we both put you through what we did. It was wrong. I won’t ever do anything like that again.”

  Rick glanced at her. “I think that’s probably a good idea. But I do owe Cathie a vote of thanks.”

  “Why?”

  Rick stopped for a traffic light and looked at her. “I wouldn’t have met you without her.”

  For the first-time Carrie believed she and Rick had a real chance. She smiled. “Come to think of it, I owe her thanks as well.”

  As they walked into his house she asked, “How did your meeting with Herbert go?”

  “He was disappointed you weren’t there, but he got over it. He agreed to sell me the land. You were the first person I thought about telling. If I hadn’t been so stubborn you would’ve been around to celebrate with.”

  They stood in the middle of the living room. “I’m here now.” She could hardly contain her joy. Being in his arms again was all she could think about. Making her voice as suggestive as possible she asked, “How would you like to celebrate?”

  He kissed her hard, as if he were a man finding water after a long drought. She returned his passion with all the longing and desperation she’d felt over the last few days. Not letting her go, Rick led her upstairs to his room.

  Sometime later, after she’d found her pleasure at least twice, she whispered, “I love you,” as he entered her.

  Rick looked down at her and smiled. After his last powerful thrust he found his released and crooned, “I love you, Carrieee.”

  The End

  About the Author

  Susan Carlisle’s love affair with books began when she made a bad grade in math in the sixth grade. Not allowed to watch TV until she brought the grade up, Susan filled her time with books. She turned her love of reading into a love of writing romance. If the hero is a smart, sexy alpha male, he can be found in her books along with a strong heroine that captures his heart.

 

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