Broken Pasts(10)

“No!” I rolled my eyes.

“Yes, and … ” I paused. “I have a crush on the bodyguard.” Jamie chuckled and I could just see her shaking her head.

“I knew it,” she said. “I think he's into you, too, so if you play your cards right, you could be sitting pretty on that pogo stick.”

“Mom!” I heard snorts of laughter in the background.

“That's not what I'm after,” I told her. “He's interesting. I just want to see what makes him tick, you know?”

“My guess would be that it's seven inches long and just dying to break out of those stuffy black slacks.”

“Jamie!” I said and then forced myself to lower my voice. “Be serious. For the first time ever, I'm happy that Glen left me when he did. I think I'd have been trapped if he didn't, you know?”

“You mean you wouldn't have been able to screw the sexy bodyguard?” I rolled my eyes.

“I snuck into the bathroom to talk to you, you know. The least you could do is be grateful about it.” Jamie chuckled.

“You know I love you, Theresa. Don't stress so much. We'll talk all about it on bowling night. I gotta go. Joel's got a dentist appointment, so I have to drop the boys off at school before I go to work, but save that and any other life revelations for Friday, okay?”

“Alright, I love you, too. Bye.”

I ended the call and leapt down from the counter. Nathaniel was waiting outside the door with a small smile on his face while Rhea sat at his feet with her legs crossed.

“Nathaniel said he's your boyfriend,” Rhea informed me and I was grateful to see that he'd kept up the ruse. It meant a lot, whether he knew it or not. “Which means the necklace worked.” I reached down, grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.

“It sure did,” I said, trying to change the subject before I got too deeply involved in my own lie. “Now, why don't you help me pick out some clothes, so we can eat. I'm starving.”

“Will you be happy now?” she asked me, completely serious. Her face was twisted into an expression that was far too grown-up for a nine year old. “Now that you have love and a penis?” Nathaniel snorted, actually snorted. I'd been expecting a deep, silky chuckle, like dark chocolate or something, but his laugh wasn't like that at all. It was so … real. Human.

“Absolutely,” I answered as she glanced over her shoulder at him. “Now let's go before they run out of pancakes.”

***

Apparently, to a nine year old, being chauffeured in the back of a sleek, black car with tinted windows and leather seats is the coolest thing in the world.

“Is Nathaniel a prince?” she'd whispered to me as she'd eaten her pancakes, syrup and all, on those very same leather seats. I owe you big time, Mr. Sutherland.

“Nope,” I replied, trying to keep the conversation light. “You want a bite of my McMuffin?”

“What does he do then?” she asked, her mind still attached to the previous question. She stared at me, brown eyes wide, hair braided down her back and tied with a furry, purple hairband that she'd picked out all on her own.

“I'm a security officer,” Nathaniel replied, voice light and cheerful. He was good at playing the boyfriend character, great actually. Rhea and Gary had never really hit off like this which should've been a bright red flag to me. What was I thinking? Rhea's eyes widened.

“Do you have a gun?” she asked as she tried to take off her seat belt and stick her head between the front seats. I pushed her back gently and refastened it.

“Couple,” Nathaniel replied, looking at me through the rearview mirror as if to confirm that what he was saying was okay. I nodded. “One under my jacket and one strapped to my ankle.”

“Why?” she asked as she pushed her half eaten platter towards me.

“The better to protect your mother with, my dear,” he joked and god help me, but I thought it was kind of … cute. Good lord, woman, get a hold of yourself. You're thirty-two years old. You get to know men before you start fawning over them, remember? Cute is not a descriptor that you need to be using for judgmental purposes.

“Why?” she asked as I put my hand out and rested it on her arm.

“We're going through a 'why' phase right now,” I said as I gave her the eye. “Once is more than enough when it comes to other people's business, remember?”

“It's okay,” Nathaniel said as he pulled the vehicle up to the line of cars waiting to get into the loop where the kids were dropped off. He'd done it without a hitch, too. Surprising since I always ended up going in the wrong way and causing a traffic jam. “I protect good people from bad people. That's why I need the guns, just in case.”

“But why do you want to protect them?” she asked, sounding exasperated as she picked at her zebra patterned leggings.

“Rhea … ”

“Because I've seen what happens when someone doesn't. It doesn't just hurt the good person. It hurts their whole family. I just don't want to see anyone else get hurt like that.” Rhea opened her mouth at the same moment that I wrapped my hand around her head and gave her a big, fat kiss.

“Mom!” she yelled as she pushed away from me and grabbed her backpack. “Gross!” Rhea grabbed the door handle and started to climb out.

“Look for this car after school, okay?” I paused as her teacher, Mr. Clarke, moved over to us and checked Rhea in with a clipboard. “And don't go with anyone else, do you understand?” She ignored me and raced to catch up with a group of girls near the gated entrance.

“Is everything okay, Theresa?” he asked me, eyeing the car, and its driver, with interest.

“It's just … I'm having a personal problem and I don't want Rhea to get involved. Please, don't let her leave with anyone except for me.” Mr. Clarke watched me for a moment and I could see that his curiosity was piqued. To his credit though, he asked nothing.

“Of course.” I smiled.

“Thank you so much,” I said as the cars behind us started to honk. You'd think having kids would teach you some manners, you spoiled rotten brats. I was, of course, referring to the parents and not the children. As I waved goodbye to both Mr. Clarke and Rhea, I closed the door and made a promise that I would get him an apple or something as a gift. “Do you think she'll be okay?” I asked, thinking aloud. “I mean, the school is gated and they do have their own police officer, but I just … ”

“Stalkers are usually fairly single-minded. It's doubtful that Gary would go after Rhea. That doesn't mean you want to leave her unsupervised, but she'll be fine at school.”

“Will you stay outside her door tonight?” I asked. If something happened to me, I'd deal with it, but Rhea … I shivered to even consider it.

“Absolutely,” he told me and his voice was firm and confident, strong. I had no qualms about trusting him with my daughter's life, strange as that sounds. Something about Nathaniel was just right on target for me. I had never felt this way about anyone before, not once. It was both scary and exhilarating. And now I was even more interested. I just don't want to see anyone else get hurt like that. He'd said anyone else, meaning people other than him. Meaning he'd been hurt before.

“Thank you,” I told him. “For pretending. I appreciate that.”

“It's okay,” he replied and I could hear the slightest touch of amusement in his voice. “I've done it before though I can honestly admit that it's never been this pleasant.” I felt myself flush with pleasure at that statement, thoroughly convinced that that was also not a very professional thing to say. “I've been an uncle, a son, a cousin, an attorney,” he stressed it like a joke and pretended to shudder. “A vampire.” I laughed.

“A vampire?” I asked, amused. “Sounds like the perfect cover for a bodyguard. Much less suspicious.” Nathaniel laughed and it was that same snorting, silly laugh from before. It was the kind of laugh that made you want to join in alongside it, like he'd seen enough in his life to know what was really funny and that you could trust him on it.

“The client was this lovely, young woman who'd changed her name from Anna Yearling to Erika Van Doe. She was involved in an underground drug ring full of people who believed they were actually vampires. Some of the most horrifying moments of my life were spent in that woman's basement.” Nathaniel paused. “So much for client confidentiality,” he said as if he were disappointed in himself. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you that.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I thought it was pretty funny.” He laughed then, suddenly, like he was nervous, which was strange because the thought of Nathaniel being nervous about anything seemed a near impossibility. “Just don't go telling anybody that I stay up late to watch crime dramas or I'll sue you.” His laughter this time was guilt free, feel good laughter, the kind you can sink your teeth into.