Not Broken: The Happily Ever After(31)

“Good, no major problems.”

“That’s good. Um…in a way, that’s why I’m calling. Can you give me your agent’s number?”

That request caught me by surprise. “Yeah, sure.” I paused. “Are you ready to sell your house?” I knew the most likely answer to that question, but still I had hope that she was moving somewhere, even if not with me, and getting out of that place.

Silence on her end followed by Shawn’s voice coming through, and then the sounds of them wrestling for control of the phone.

“Sorry, he always wants the phone when I’m on it. But no. Dorian showed up last night. She’s moving here and apparently staying with me until she finds a place. She’s been here less than twenty-four hours, and it’s been nothing but near constant complaints about her accommodations, so that needs to happen sooner rather than later.”

That was the last thing I expected to hear. Ginger and her sister had a rocky relationship due to the fact Dorian was a major bitch to Ginger more times than not. To hear that Dorian not only asked to stay there, but that Ginger had agreed, blew my mind.

When I didn’t say anything, Ginger launched into an explanation about needing to help family no matter what, which also revealed the fact she’d gotten Dorian a job at the company she’d inherited.

“Why didn’t you tell her no?”

“When has anyone ever taken no for an answer from me?”

I squeezed the steering wheel and tried not to let her clipped tone, or the implications of her statement, get to me.

“Right. I’ll text you Brenda’s number. Talk to you later.”

“Malcolm, wait. Sorry…I didn’t mean…” Her words died out. “If you aren’t busy, do you want to come by later?”

More rustling sounds, and I listened to her tell Shawn he couldn’t have the phone, which was followed by him crying. Loudly at first, but it started to fade away as if one of them walked away from the other.

“How is he today?”

“Busy like always. I’m sure he’d like to see you.”

“Is he the only one?”

Her delayed reply was an answer in itself.

“No. I’d like to see you too.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Come by, and I’ll do as my mother said and feed you.”

Her answer brought a smile to my face and eased some of the tension. “Okay. I have a few things to do, so I’ll call you later about a time.”

∞∞∞

Ginger and Shawn stood on the porch, watching as I pulled up. Shawn reached out for me as I approached them.

“Hey, buddy. And here are the cookies you requested.” I handed her the bag I’d grabbed from my front seat.

“Thanks.” She hesitated before giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Smells delicious. What are we having?”

“Herb crusted salmon with creamed asparagus and oven roasted baby potatoes.”

As we got closer to the living room, Shawn started fighting to get down. He grabbed my finger, pulling me behind him over to his play area. I sat on the floor with him and drove cars around, then worked on a puzzle, followed by him wanting a book read. All within ten minutes of play.

“Can you put him in his chair, please?”

“Time for dinner, Lil’ Man.” I picked him up and complied with Ginger’s request.

I walked up behind her as she fixed our plates, and rested my hands on her hips. She stopped moving. There was a time when I could do this and she would’ve laughed. She would’ve enjoyed it instead of reacting like she had to brace herself for what was next. We needed to get back to that place.

“What are you doing?”

“Supervising.”

She turned, placed her hands on my chest, and gave a gentle push. “Why do I need supervising?”

“I’m a growing boy, have to make sure you don’t give me the kid portion.”

A playful grin appeared on her face. “Really? With as big as you are, you should be done growing.”

My arms circled her waist. “Nope, pretty sure I have several more inches.”

She visibly swallowed. Color crept into her face, and she dropped her head, breaking the eye contact. Reaching behind her, Ginger took hold of my hands, and removed them from around her waist.

“One kid portion coming right up.” She smiled, but it didn’t seem as genuine as the earlier one. “Pick a wine, please.” She turned back to complete what she was doing before I interrupted her.

Playtime was over. Shawn whined from his high chair, fighting to get out of his restraints. I picked up his little plate and gave it to him before heading over to her bar.

I wasn’t a big wine drinker, but the lady gets what the lady wants. “White or red?”

“White. A Chardonnay.”

We’d not been eating long when the alarm chimed, singling the door had been opened.

“Great,” Ginger muttered under her breath. She gulped down the remaining wine in her glass before refilling it.

I thought back to our phone conversation this morning, and swallowed back the comment I wanted to make.

“Smells good,” Dorian stated when she entered the kitchen. “Hello, Malcolm.”