Simple Perfection

  Braden let out a frustrated growl. "Della, a call from you wouldnt be a bother to him. "

  She loved me and didnt understand what I was trying to tell her. I knew better. "No, Braden. Im letting him live. Ill find my way soon. First, I have to figure out my past. "

  She didnt say more as I walked back to the bedroom. I closed the door and waited a minute to make sure she wasnt following me before I let the tears fall. I didnt want her to see me cry. She would call him. She would try to fix this. There was nothing there to fix, but she didnt see it that way.

  But now I knew I was going to heal. I was going to be okay. I had a future. I had to face what Id lost. Losing Woods was my biggest mistake. I shouldnt have left him. I should have been stronger then and fought harder. But I hadnt. I would deal with that the rest of my life.

  Page 27

 

  Woods

  The ringing was in the distance. I heard it but I couldnt find it. Everything was dark. My eyes snapped open and the ringing started again. Shit! It was my phone. I sat up and grabbed it. It was after three in the morning and Braden was calling me. Della. God, please let her be okay.

  "Is she okay?" I asked the moment I answered the phone.

  "Yes and no. "

  "What does that mean?" I asked, standing up and looking for my jeans. If I needed to go to her that night I would.

  "She had a dream about her mother. She didnt wake up screaming. She just woke up. "

  I stopped searching for my jeans. "What?"

  "She had one of her dreams but she didnt have a night terror. She didnt get lost in her fears. She just woke up. Shes already getting better. "

  "Im coming there. Ive had enough with waiting. Im on my way. Tonight. "

  "No! Youre not. You have to give her time. Shes meeting with her birth father next. She met with her birth mother and then had dinner with her family all on her own. She needs to do all this alone. Shes realizing she can do this. Shes also finding out that she was crippled by her fears. Shes overcoming that. Dont come here and confuse her. She has to come to you this time, Woods. She thinks you dont want her. She needs to face that fear on her own, too. "

  Fuck no! "You cant expect me to stay here and let her think I dont want her. Thats not okay, Braden. Its not fucking okay. She shouldnt have to overcome a fear thats pointless. How can she think I dont love her? That she isnt my heart, my soul, my future? Thats the one thing she should never doubt. That, she needs to know. "

  "Listen. I know this is hard and youve been great so far but give her just a couple more days. Please. She needs this. Remember this is about what she needs, not what you want. "

  I started to hit the wall again and stopped myself at the last minute. That wasnt going to help anything. I had to calm down. "When she left here she took my soul with her. I will always belong to her. I dont want her to ever think differently. "

  "Trust me, I know this. But she doesnt. She thinks you havent tried to contact me or Tripp and you dont care that shes gone. That youre relieved she left. Before you run out to your truck, take a deep breath and remind yourself that youll get to correct her belief in a few days. Just give her a few more days. She doesnt need you here messing with her emotions while shes facing her demons and figuring out that shes going to be okay. When she sees you again she needs to feel like she can be what you need. "

  "Two days. Thats it. She comes to me in two days or Im coming there. I cant do this anymore. It isnt for me that I want to come. Its because I cant let the woman I love believe I dont want her. Ive done this for as long as I can stand it. Two days is all Im promising," I told her.

  "Fine, two days. "

  I dropped the phone to the bed and sat down beside it. Della had overcome her night terrors. She was getting better. She was going to be whole. If I could make it just two more days.

  My mother had called and woken me up that morning. I told her Id be at her house in an hour to talk. She was furious and I had been avoiding her calls. It was time I talked to her. She would know soon who the new board members were when I held a party at the club to celebrate their new positions. Everyone would know and she wasnt going to be happy about it. Dean Finlay might send her into a rage. She should be prepared.

  When I arrived at her house, Harry, the chauffeur Id hired for Mother after I fired Leo when I returned to Rosemary, was loading my mothers bags into her Benz. She was going somewhere, obviously. Good. That was probably best.

  I nodded as I passed Harry. He was my employee. Leo had been my fathers. Leo had also left Della in handcuffs for five hours in the back of a car and hadnt let her use the restroom. Id fired him before I could get my hands on him.

  "Shes leaving, I see. "

  Harry nodded. "Yes, sir. Im taking her to the airport at nine," he replied.

  "Thanks, Harry. "

  I headed to the door and didnt knock. It was standing open. The house cleaner, Martha, was standing there, wringing her hands nervously. I was sure shed seen and heard my mothers anger. I smiled at her reassuringly. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, I called out, "Mother. Im here. "

  Then I turned to look back at Martha. "Its okay. You can finish doing what you were doing. She wont kill me. Even if shes threatened to. "

  Martha didnt look too sure but she nodded and scurried off.

  Mother came to the top of the stairs with her purse over her arm. "Im leaving," she stated, as if I hadnt figured that out already.

  "I see that," I replied.

  She walked down the staircase and I waited for more of an explanation.

  "You have chosen to defy your fathers memory. You have taken everything he set into place and thrown it away. Those men you let go were a part of the Kerrington Club for over thirty years. They are trusted confidantes. You thumb your nose at that. Youre a foolish child. I dont want to stay here and watch you destroy this legacy. Your grandfather was a silly man. He shouldnt have left anything to you. A twenty-five-year-old boy isnt old enough to run a business like this one. You know nothing. "

  I let her angry words seethe from her mouth. She needed to get this out and it was time I let her. When her furious gaze leveled on me and stayed there I decided it was my turn to speak.

  "Those men were my fathers confidantes. Not mine. I put in place those who are close to me. Its time for a change. The club will be run differently now. Im not Father. But I strive every day to be like the man who built this club. I admire my grandfather and hope to be worthy of his legacy one day. I hope you travel safely and will check in with me so that I know youre doing well. I love you, Mother. You may not believe me or even care, but I do. Youre my mom. That will never change. "

  She opened her mouth, then snapped it closed again. I believed, deep down, that she loved me, too. But right now her pride was too big to accept that emotion where I was concerned. She pulled her purse up to her shoulder and looked at the door. "Im going to our apartment in Manhattan. I have friends there, and I prefer to live there now. Rosemary has changed. "

  Yes, it had. And I hoped it would keep changing. "I wish you happiness," I replied.

  She didnt look back at me. I watched as she walked out the front door with the click of her heels echoing through the house. She would come back one day. She would love me one day. But for now, she had to go. She had to be mad. And letting her go was something I could do.

  Page 28

 

  Della

  Nile Andrews had my eyes. Or I had his. When his eyes met mine as I stepped into the restaurant, I could see that he noticed it, too.

  I was more nervous about this than meeting Glenda. Id never had a father. I didnt know what that felt like. What a meeting with the man whose sperm gave me life would even be like. My first question had been, did he really want to have this meeting? The answer was clearly yes. Hed boarded a plane to Atlanta hours after Id called him that morning. He said he could meet me at seven at this restaurant. I had been surprised by his desire to come here so soon. I ha
d even expected him to make excuses.

  "Hello, Della," he said as he stood up and held out his hand for me to shake.

  "Hello, Nile," I replied, slipping my hand into his. He was tall. Glenda had said he played basketball and I could see why. His hair was a dark color that contrasted greatly with his blue eyes. He was a handsome man. I could see what Glendas teenage heart had seen.

  "Im so glad you wanted to meet me. Ive been waiting for that call since Glenda let me know she found you. "

  He hadnt wanted me. But hed been a seventeen-year-old boy. I couldnt hold that against him. It wasnt like he had been an adult who had made the decision to give me away. He hadnt been old enough to be a parent yet. Not really.

  "I like Glenda," I said simply.

  Nile grinned and he sat down after I did. "Yeah, shes something else. "

  There was a tenderness in his eyes that surprised me. He had loved her once. It had been young love but he had loved her. It had been real. And somewhere deep down it had never really gone away for him. Glenda didnt get that soft look in her eyes when she talked about Nile. She admired the man he had become and said his wife was gorgeous and perfect for him. Nile reacted differently.

  "I guess she told you about what happened," he said.

  I nodded. "She did. I understand. You were both young. "

  He studied me a moment, then shook his head. "You look so much like her. Its amazing. But you got my eyes. My other girls dont have my eyes. They got their mothers. But you got them. "

  His other girls. He hadnt called them his girls. He hadnt made them sound exclusive. He had said other. Something in me warmed. In his mind I was one of his girls. I didnt know him. I hadnt even known about him until a few days ago. But he had always known I existed.

  "Did you know that I was a girl . . . before you heard from Glenda?"

  A frown creased his forehead, then a small smile touched his lips. "Yeah. She told me. After you were born she told me she held you. That you were perfect and that shed given you away. I got drunk that night. Real drunk. Wrecked my dads car and almost lost my scholarship. I went a little self-destructive for a while. I was a kid myself but I kept seeing this small baby whose face I had never seen, and I knew she was mine. But Id never held her. Id never been able to kiss her. " He shook his head. "It was the hardest thing Id ever experienced. Then Glenda moved. Without a word of explanation she was gone. I didnt see or hear from her for over thirteen years. Then one day she called me. She wanted to find you. I didnt want to. It wasnt because I didnt want to see you, because I did. I was just afraid to see her. She, uh . . . " He cleared his throat and tugged at his collar. "Shes my one that got away. You never quite get over that one. "

  I felt like pointing out that she hadnt gotten away, that hed sent her running, but I didnt. That ship had sailed. They were both married with kids. "What are your daughters like?" I asked. I had never had siblings. Not ones that I remembered. To know I had half siblings in this world was hard to comprehend. I was curious about them. I wanted to know if they were anything like me.

  Glendas daughter was young but she had a free spirit. Shed told me I looked like a princess. She asked me if I could fly a plane and told me that one day she was going to fly planes. I had been fascinated with her. All her long blond hair, like her fathers. Her name was Samantha but they called her Sammy. I liked knowing she was my sister. That what she was could have been me. I could have been like that as a child. I could have been so free. Knowing she would get a chance to live her dreams and have a family around her that loved her made me happy. It made the heaviness on my shoulders ease.

  "Three of them are difficult but theyre fun too. Jasmine is the oldest by one minute and fifty-six seconds, and she doesnt let the other two forget it. Jocelyn is the middle child and shes the most like me. She plans to be a basketball star. Then there is my baby, July. Thats the month I met their mother. Shes what warms me when I need it most. July is the perfect name for her. Shes also the sweetest and most forgiving. "

  "They all have J names," I said, smiling at the idea.

  "Their mothers name is Jillian. "

  I liked that. "I would like to meet them," I said.

  Niles smile grew. "I would love that. So would they. I told them about you after I got the call from Glenda. Jillian already knew about the baby . . . about you. So, she stood behind the idea of me meeting you. She would like to meet you too. "

  "Okay," I replied.

  The server appeared and we ordered our drinks and Nile asked if I wanted an appetizer. I wasnt really hungry at the moment so I told him no. Once the server left he turned his attention back to me. "What was your life like growing up, Della?"

  This was a question that Glenda hadnt asked me. I had been prepared for her to ask me but she never did. Because of that, I had let my guard down with Nile. He was different. He wanted to know. He wasnt afraid to hear the answer. I could tell that Glenda was afraid of the truth.

  "It wasnt easy. I wanted to meet you because I needed to know what the people who created me were like. I needed to know I was going to be okay. But Im not ready to share my past with you. Honestly, I dont think you want details. If I were you, I wouldnt want to know. "

  Niles face paled at my words and his jaw worked back and forth. I picked up my water and took a drink. I was more honest with him than I had planned on being. But the words had come out without a filter.

  "Youre wrong. I want to know," he said in a quiet tone.

  I shook my head. "No, you think you do but you dont. And I dont like talking about it. Im still working through some things. Meeting you and Glenda and seeing with my own eyes that you have healthy, happy children is what I need right now. It eases fears that Ive lived with a long time. "

  Nile leaned his elbows on the table and studied me. "Youre scaring the shit out of me," he said.

  He had no idea.

  "Nile, I want to get to know you. But I plan on taking that slow and doing it when I can deal with it. One day Im sure Ill be ready to tell you about my life. Until that moment, I dont want to discuss it again. "

  He took a long, deep breath through his nose, then nodded. "Okay. Fine. But the father in me wants to fix things. "

  He wasnt my father. He was someone elses but he wasnt mine. He just provided the sperm that helped create me. "The male in you wants to fix things. Not the father in you. "

  He started to say something and stopped. A smile broke across his face and he leaned back. "Who is he? The man who wants to fix things for you?"

  I fidgeted with the napkin in my lap. "Im not talking about that, either. "

  "Why not? Did he hurt you?"

  I shook my head. "No, he never hurt me. "

  Page 29

 

  Woods

  I stood looking out the window of the conference room while I waited on my new board members to arrive. I had now talked to all of them. Everyone I had asked had agreed. Well, everyone except one of them. He would come around though. In time.

  My thoughts went back to Della. I had twenty-four more hours before I was going after her. She would arrive here by then or I was going to Georgia and Braden could get over it. I had agreed with her at first but I didnt agree now. It was taking too long. Every day Della was away from me, she convinced herself even more that I didnt want her.

  "I feel like a badass," Jace drawled.

  I turned to look at him. He was standing in the doorway with a cup of coffee and a grin on his face. "When did we get so damn old?" he asked, then chuckled and walked inside.

  "Were not old," I replied.

  "Whos old? Im not fucking old," Thad said as he followed Jace into the room.

  I had debated asking Thad to be a part of the board. He was rarely serious and he still thought he was seventeen most of the time. But he was one of us. His father had been a board member. He should be one too.

  "Im old. Thats whos old," Darla announced as she walked into the room with her iPad in her hands
, typing away at it. She was always working. That was why she was the best.

  "No, youre not. Youre wise," I assured her.

  She snorted and barely glanced up from what she was working on before she took her seat.

  "This kind of feels like the knights of the fucking round table," Grant said as he sauntered into the room with a grin and a glass of what I assumed was bourbon. He really was drinking a lot more these days. I wondered if Rush knew about this.

  "This needs to be quick. Nates checkup is in two hours. I have to be there. They weigh him and shit. I dont want to miss that," Rush said as he walked into the room, followed by Dean.

  "Im not missing it either," Dean said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

  "No smoking in here, Dean," I told him.

  He grumbled. "You bunch of prejudiced asses. No one lets me smoke anywhere around here. Its fucking insane. I need to go back to home where I can smoke a joint on that street if I get the urge. "

  I ignored his rock star hissy fit. We were all here. At least the ones who were in Rosemary. We were missing two. One would take her place soon. The other still had his shit to figure out.

  "Are you drinking bourbon this early?" Rush asked, looking at Grant with a frown.

  Grant rolled his eyes and leaned back, propping his feet on the table. "Yeah," was his response.

  "Really? Youve started drinking whiskey before lunch?" Rush wasnt giving in and I really didnt want them having this fight in here.

  "Hes fucking your sister. Hell, anyone that stupid has to drink to stay sane," Dean said in a bored tone.

  Shit. This was gonna go downhill fast.

  "Dont respond to that, either of you," I said, standing at the head of the table.

  "Its okay. Its true," Grant said, and held up his drink with a grin that didnt reach his eyes.

  Rush swore under his breath.

  "Harlows too damn sweet for you. You know that, dont you, boy? She dont need Nans seconds. Shes too good for that. Shes the kind of girl you can look at but cant touch. Theyre too unattainable for guys like us. Only those who can reach the pedestal shes on can touch her," Dean said.

  "Harlow? Rush asked, looking at his dad in confusion. "Whats Harlow got to do with this?"