“Oh, Sarah’s here!” I say, dropping my purse on the ground at the entrance to the room.
“Her mother’s here too,” Andie says in a wry tone.
I wave her off. “Yeah, yeah, but it’s the baby that everyone wants to see, you know that. She’s new, you’re old. Get used to it.”
Andie tries to kick me as I approach, but I’m too nimble for her post-pregnant butt. I jump to the side and keep coming until I’m able to crouch down by my god-daughter.
Sarah is completely wrapped up in a puffy blanket. The only thing showing is her tiny pink face. Her eyes are closed and she’s making sucking faces.
“Awww … look … she’s dreaming about nursing. How cute is that?”
Andie smiles. “She’s pretty cute, that’s for sure. I can’t stop staring at her. She’s such a miracle.”
I look up at the weird tone in her voice to see Andie crying.
“Why are you sad about that?”
“I’m not sad,” she says, all weepy, “I’m so happy, I can’t stand it. I never knew being a mother would feel like this.”
I nod. “I know exactly what you mean.”
“You do?” Maeve asks. “Do you have any children?”
“Yes.”
Andie’s eyes bug out. “No, you don’t.” She’s frowning in confusion.
“Yes, I do. Her name is Candy and she’s out in the barn.” I lift my chin a little. “Ian and I are her foster parents.”
Andie shakes her head. “You’re crazy.”
“Crazy like a fox.” I look up and wink at Maeve.
“What was that?” Andie’s pointing at my face.
“What was what?” I am innocence personified. There’s no way she’ll get anything out of me. All I have to do is play stupid for a few minutes and this will all blow over.
“That wink.” She’s still pointing at my face. “You just winked at Maeve and don’t act like you didn’t.”
I blink several times. “I had a snowflake in my eye.”
Andie narrows her eyes at me. “Snowflakes, my ass. It’s too warm in here for a snowflake.”
“It was snowflake residue, silly. From all the pollution.”
“You are so full of it.” Andie turns her attention to Maeve. “Tell me what she’s scheming about. I know she’s got you involved.”
Maeve’s eyes open wide and she looks from Andie to me.
I pantomime slicing my throat, but Andie turns really quick and catches me.
She slams her hand palm down on the table, startling the baby. “Tell me!” she insists.
“Whoa,” I say, standing and backing up a little. “Hello, hormones.”
She glares at me as she bounces the baby, trying to get the little thing to close her eyes again. From what I can see over here, she’s too terrified to let her guard down, and I don’t blame her. Andie’s acting crazy.
“It’s not hormones. It’s me being cranky about being in the dark.”
I pat her on the hand. “Never you mind. Auntie Candice has it all under control.”
“Auntie Candice is going to get a chunk of hair cut out of her ‘do while she’s sleeping if she doesn’t start talking,” Andie says in a deadly calm voice.
I put my hands on my head in a protective gesture. “Holy harsh. What has Baker City done to my friend, anyway?” I feel like I’ve been accosted by a terrorist. What’s next? My fingers? Is she going to lop those off too?
“It made me a no nonsense person is what it did. Tell me what you’ve been up to while I’ve been up all night feeding this little monster.”
I walk over to Andie slowly and reach down. “Give the babyyyy to meeee … there we gooooo … everybody’s happyyyy…”
Andie slaps me away. “You can hold her after you’ve confessed.”
My hands go to my hips, angry that I’m being not only threatened but thwarted. “Are you denying me my rights as a godmother?”
“I’ll be denying you a whole lot more than that if you don’t start talking.”
I’m completely deflated. I barely make it into a chair before I’m totally boneless. I can hardly hold my head up to look at the shell of my former best friend. She looks like a pudgy Andie on the outside, but inside …? She’s pure demon.
“Don’t you think you’re being a just a little … hard?” Maeve asks, acting like she’s ready for Andie to blow. Andie is a grenade, that’s for sure.
“Are you kidding me?” Andie looks at me and then Maeve. “This is the girl who two years ago single-handedly caused an entire city to stop serving buffalo meat because she convinced people that the animal was on the endangered species list.”
I frown, recalling that little nugget from my past. I don’t know why she always has to bring that up when things don’t go her way. My heart was in the right place.
“It’s not my fault Google lied,” I say in my defense.
Andie bugs her eyes out at me. “Google is not a person, okay? I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that.”
I look towards the door, thinking a nap might be a good plan for me right now. A nap behind a locked door. I’m not sure I can manage Andie’s mood swings with the grace that’s probably called for in this situation.
Maeve cuts in to save me. “Well, buffalo aren’t endangered exactly, but they certainly aren’t as common nowadays as they used to be. And cattle are much more plentiful, so maybe it’s not a bad thing if people give the buffalo herds a chance to grow bigger.”
I point to Maeve. “Yeah, see? I was doing you guys a favor. Do you know how much business you’ll lose if everyone starts eating buffalo? A lot, that’s how much. And then how will you pay for Sarah’s college?” I nod to drive my point home.
Andie looks at me with no expression, just blinking a few times. That scares me more than any mood she might have been in before. This is her lawyer face, and she’s a really good lawyer.
Andie lowers her head a fraction, never breaking eye contact. “Tell me what I want to know.”
I could fight her, but I realize it’s pointless. She’s like a dog with a tasty bone sometimes. One of those bulldogs that gets lockjaw.
“Fine. You want to know so bad? I’ll tell you. Maeve and I …”
Maeve holds up her hand. “Just to be clear, I wasn’t exactly part of the planning committee.”
“Hey!”
Andie holds up her hand to stop us from having the side argument that I was planning to use to distract Andie. Dammit.
“I know, Maeve,” she says. “She ropes people into her schemes all the time.” Andie goes back to staring at me, waiting, silently demanding my explanation.
I am so ready to leave this place. Some mean bitch has taken over my best friend’s body and turned her into someone I would never hang out with.
I stand, making the chair scrape across the floor. “You know what? I need a nap.”
Andie grabs my wrist. “Sit. Stay. Have some coffee.” Her voice is a tiny bit less mean, but it’s still not good enough to make me want to listen.
“No, thanks. I’m all coffeed out for one day.” I turn to go, but she still has me in her grip. I’d yank myself away from her, but I’m afraid Sarah will end up on the floor.
“Please? For me?”
I grit my teeth and glare down at her. “Your emotional roller coaster is giving me whiplash, Andie.”
She starts crying. “I know.” She’s weeping as the words come out. “Me too.”
“Oh, poor baby!” Maeve exclaims, rushing over to kneel down and pat her on the back. “It’s okay, sweetie, everything is going to be fine!”
Andie looks down at Sarah, still holding me in her kung fu death grip. “I love her so much! Why do I keep crying about it?”
“Baby blues,” Maeve says, smoothing her hair on her head. “It’s totally normal. You’re just hormonal. It’ll go away on its own or we can get you some medication. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
I sit down across from her, feeling bad that
I jumped to the conclusion that my friend was consciously being awful to me. She finally lets me go, leaving red marks behind on my skin.
“I’m sorry, Andie,” I say, letting go of all my plans for future pouting. “Don’t be mad at me.”
Andie shakes her head. “I’m not mad at you. I love you. I could never be mad at you.”
I try to smile. “Even though I tried to plan a baby shower for you and it didn’t work out?”
“You did that for me?” Her crying goes on pause.
“No, I just told you. I tried to do it but it didn’t work out.” I give Maeve a knowing look. “But I’m pretty sure I know why now, though. And I’m on it, believe me.”
Maeve lifts an eyebrow.
“Do I want to know what you’re talking about?” Andie asks, sniffing as she wipes her nose on her sleeve. She sounds exhausted.
“No, you do not.” I nod my head once for emphasis. “Ian’s helping me, so don’t worry.” I look at Andie’s mother-in-law. “Maeve, you’re off the hook.”
“Oh. Good. I think.”
“So, do I get to hold that dang baby or what?” I ask, huffing out some air in annoyance. Time to change the subject.
Andie gives me a watery smile. “Of course you can. You’re her godmother.” She hands the bundle over to me and makes sure I have a good grip before she lets go.
“Good. Finally.” I look down at Sarah who has miraculously fallen asleep, even in the middle of all the drama. She’s already tough as nails, apparently. “Open your eyes, baby girl. You need to memorize my face before I leave.”
Andie starts laughing and then her laughter turns to tears again.
I shake my head in pity at my friend. “Don’t worry, sweetie. As soon as I’ve got Sarah imprinting on me, I’m going to Google that baby blues thing and get you all fixed up.”
Andie laughs through her crying jag. “Thank you, Doctor Candice, Internet M.D.”
I smile back at her, happy now that she’s acknowledging my skills. “You are very welcome.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
I’M IN MY ROOM AFTER my fat nap looking at the meager offerings my suitcase holds when Ian comes in and shuts the door almost all the way.
“What are you doing in here?” I ask, turning around to face him. I’m instantly on fire, but there’s no way I’m going to touch him in his parents’ house. I hold onto the back of a chair behind me for strength.
He clears his throat. “I came to see if you want to go out with me tonight.”
I blink a few times, letting that sink in.
“On a date,” he clarifies.
I go all tingly inside and suddenly I’m feeling kind of shy. “Sure. I’d like that a lot.”
“In ten minutes.”
I frown, no longer suffering that little shyness problem. “Are you joking?”
“No, I’m totally serious.”
I fold my arms across my chest. “Do you have any idea how rude that is? To just assume I’ll drop everything and go out with you … like I don’t already have plans?”
“You were sleeping earlier.”
“So?”
“And I thought you wanted to confront Ginny, but if you don’t …” He turns to walk out the door.
I run across the room and grab his arm. “No! Wait.”
He grins. “That’s what I thought.” His head tips down and he steals a kiss before I know what’s coming. “Be ready to go out to a bar.”
“Out to a bar? It’s not even dinner time yet.”
“Dart tournament. Ginny’s entered to play. We should get there before too many people are eliminated. She’s not that good.”
“How’d you know she was doing that?” I go over to my suitcase and pull out the black cashmere sweater I was saving for a special occasion, wondering if a dart tournament qualifies.
“Got a text from Hannah, of all people.”
I snort. “She’s sucking up. She probably wants to sit on your gear shift and spin or whatever.”
Ian comes up behind me and presses his whole body up against mine, so I can feel him practically from head to heel. “I was kinda hoping I could convince you to do that.”
Half of me wants to throw him out of the room for being so rude and the other half wants to go ahead and shove him down onto the bed so I can ride him like a bronc.
Instead, I do neither. I ignore his obvious invitation and hold up the black sweater. “Do you think this will work?” I ask.
“Sure.” He nuzzles my neck.
“What about this?” I ask, holding up a nightgown.
“Sure. Perfect.”
I sigh. “Ian, these are pajamas.”
“Whatever. You look hot in anything.” He’s too busy sucking my neck to make any sense.
He tweaks my nipple and I jump. Spinning around, I detach myself from his grip, speaking in a loud whisper. “You’re terrible! This is your parents’ house!”
“So?” He comes at me with his hands open, like he’s going to grab me by the waist. “They’re grownups. They know what other grownups do.”
“Not in their house!”
“Oh, you prefer the barn?” He’s getting closer and I’m running out of room to escape.
My legs bump up against the bed. “No, I don’t, as a matter of fact. I’m still fishing pieces of hay out of my hair.” The heat is building up inside me and my panties are getting wet. Life is so unfair. All he has to do is look at me like that with those crazy intense green eyes of his and I go nuts inside.
He stops just in front of me and rests his hands gently on my hips. “Kiss me.”
“Just once,” I say in my best bossy tone. “Then no more. You have to leave my room.”
“Okay, but it has to be a good one.” He grins.
“All my kisses are good ones.” My hands slither up his chest to go around his neck. We fit so perfectly together, like he was made for me and I was made for him.
He lowers his head and says, “I’ll be the judge of that,” just before he presses his lips to mine. His mouth is so soft, not asking me for anything but making me want to give it to him anyway.
We draw apart after just a couple seconds.
“There,” I say, completely unsatisfied, but acting like everything is exactly how I wanted it. “Now you need to go.”
He shakes his head. “Nope. Sorry. The deal was a good kiss.”
“Excuse me, but that was a good kiss.”
He screws up his face and shakes his head a little. “Naaah, not so much.”
“What? How dare …” I huff out some air. “Fine. You want a good kiss? Here’s a good kiss.” I grab his head and pull him down to me, ready to make out with him like nobody’s business.
He pulls away and holds up a finger. “One sec.”
“What?” First he asks me for a good kiss and then when I’m finally ready to cave in he leaves? What kind of messed up, mind-bending reverse psychology is that?
Walking across the room, he goes to the door and shuts it, locking it before he comes back.
I look at him sideways, happy that I’m not being abandoned but worried again that he’s going to convince me to do something that feels naughty. Unfortunately, anything having to do with Ian feels like it can’t possibly be wrong, even when it clearly is.
“Ian. I told you … no messing around in your parents’ house.”
He holds out his arms. “Just a good kiss. That’s all I need.”
He’s standing there with a giant bulge in his pants and all I can think about is seeing him naked. I look at the door and then at his pants again. The whole rule about not doing bad girl things in his parents’ house is seeming sillier and sillier by the second.
“You’re killing me, babe,” he says, turning his smile upside down.
The look of pain on his face is what does it to me. I throw all my ideas about propriety out the window and spontaneously reformulate my ideas of right and wrong. Boom. Done.
“Take your clothes off,” I say, seized b
y some demon slut who cannot control her libido. All I can think is that I need to get my hands on his dick.
He doesn’t even question me. His shirt comes flying off along with his socks and then his jeans. He’s standing in a pair of boxer briefs with a giant tent bulge in the front in less than a minute.
“Your turn,” he says, looking me up and down.
I decide a sneak attack is the best way to handle this situation. This’ll teach him to try and call the shots with me.
I walk up closer and act like I’m going to take my shirt off, but instead I get on my knees, pulling the top of his briefs down with me. His dick comes out and bounces up and down in front of my face, fully erect.
“What are you doing?” he asks, confused.
“Giving you a good kiss so you’ll leave my room.”
Chapter Forty
I TAKE IAN’S ROD IN one hand and rest my other on his thigh. My mouth goes to the tip of his cock and I lick it with my tongue, once, twice, and then three times, bringing my lips in to slide around and accentuate the feeling for him.
His sharp intake of breath tells me I made the right choice.
“Fuuuuck,” he says with a long exhale.
“No, not fuck,” I say, and lick him again. “Just kiss.”
He moans. His hands move to my shoulders as I begin to slide my lips over the tip of his dick and down the shaft. My tongue swirls around, while my lips move forward and back. I use my hand to stroke the length of him, and his hips move slightly with the rhythm I’ve set.
“I had no idea …” he says.
“Mmmm…” I can’t respond, too busy reading his signals, taking him in deep, making sure to work the entire length of his cock.
He’s getting bigger, thicker, so I know I’m doing what he likes. I’m trying to remain focused on his pleasure, but at the same time I wish I’d taken the time to remove my clothes too, so I could throw him down on the bed and climb on top before he finishes. I’m getting seriously turned on watching him start to lose it.
Sweat has popped out on his face and chest. He’s breathing heavily and his grip on my shoulders has tightened. “Oh my god, babe … oh fuck … yeah, that’s it …”