Someone to Love (14 page)

“What if we’re not living together in that way? What if we are roommates that happen to share both a house and children?”

“That wouldn’t work. Where am I supposed to sleep? The couch. That wouldn’t last too long before I’d end up laying next to you. It would take minutes for me laying next to you for it to end up with me doing far more than just laying next to you. Which would mean we’d be living together in that sense.”

“Would that be that bad?”

“I don’t want to play house and you don’t want to get married.”

“That about sums it up.” She laid back on the comfort of his chest. She would not mind marrying him, but she needed to know that they’d grow old together. She needed some reassurance that he wouldn’t be gone in the blink of an eye. That was something he, nor anyone else, could give. She wished it were easier somehow. “So, you said money’s tight?”

“The banks are tight with their money. Qualifying for a loan has proven impossible. Every penny I have is beer money. I have to move forward with distribution and larger scale production or else I’ll have to give up on my dream just like grandpa.”

“What if you got the money from some place other than a bank?”

“I know I’m a betting man, but I don’t know any bookies.”

“I wasn’t talking about a bookie.” She turned her face up so she could look him in the eye. “What if there’s a way to tie me here, without marriage or living together, and you have the capital you need.”

“I’m listening.”

“I have quite a bit of money from the life insurance policies and the settlement from the trucking company. What if I loaned you the money?”

“I don’t know,” he said hesitantly.

“Diane can put her law degree to work and draw up a contract.”

“Let me think on it.”

“I’d be investing in our children’s future. I can be a silent partner.”

He chuckled. “I can’t quite imagine you being silent about anything.”

She thought for a moment. “You’re right, maybe I should be the not so silent partner. I’d need something to do. Something I’m good at doing.”

“I don’t think that’s legal.”

“Event planning isn’t legal?”

“Oh you meant
that
thing you’re good at. That makes more sense.”

“What did you think I meant?” He raised and lower his eyebrows a few times in response. She narrowed her eyes and gave him a soft punch to the bicep. “You are such a boy.”

“I think I’ve proven to you that I’m all man.”

“You’re all something alright. I was thinking that we could bring in a steady income as a venue for receptions and other events.”

“I like that. You know what I like most about it?”

“What?”

“You said we.”

“See, that we was we the entrepreneurial brew master and the not so silent maker of magical memories.”

“Sounds like a fancy way of saying we, Cooper and Magnolia. Or maybe even we, the Smiths.

“What do you think of the idea?”

He wondered if it could work. They could work well together professionally, but he also knew they struggled to be together personally. How would their personal hang-ups get in the way of his business dreams? She was right about one thing, it would tether her to this town and to him. “I think it could be a good idea.”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“Besides my children, Coppersmith Brews is the second most important thing to me.”

“What about me?”

“If you were my wife, you and the twins would be the most important thing to me.”

“You are persistent.”

“You are stubborn.”

“Eventually one of us will have to give.”

“Yeah, eventually you’ll give,” he said kissing the top of her head.

“We’ll see.”

“The microbrewery is very important to me. If I make it a success, it would make me feel, in some roundabout way, like my grandfather’s dream came true too. It would be a vindication of sorts for what my great grandparents went through during prohibition.”

“I just want to help make it a success. I’d be totally hands off with any of the brewing.”

“What about the event planning? I won’t have time for that.”

“Good because I’d want you to be totally hands off in that.”

“People have weddings at wineries, not breweries.”

“Diane’s wedding was a success and there was some interest then. It’s a beautiful setting, it’s not too far from Indy or Louisville, if the fees are competitive I don’t see how it could hurt. In fact, it could be a great way to introduce people to the brews and get them coming back.”

He had to admit, her plan made sense. “It just sounds like a ton of work for one person.”

“And I’m willing to do it. I could put my business degree to use.

“I thought your degree was in art history.”

“I had a double major because I’m extra smart.”

“Only book smart.”

She punched him as hard as she could, which didn’t even make him flinch, but made her hand smart. “Just think about it,” she suggested.

“I will. I’ll give you my business plan for you to look over and think about. If we’re going to do this, I want you to loan me the money because you think it’s a wise investment, not because we are, whatever we are.”

“It’s time we get ready to go see Evan.”

“Of course.”

Noli was looking at onesies in an upscale boutique in Indy. She and Daphne thought a trip would be fun. They’d spent two weeks splitting their time between the hospital with Evan and the house with Evie. Once both babies were home Noli was too afraid to even sleep for fear that something would happen to send Evan back to the hospital. He was so small that it was hard to believe he was healthy.

She’d also spent quite a bit of time and energy convincing Cooper they didn’t need to take it quite as slowly as they were. She did convince him to stop living at the apartment. When Evan came home, so did Cooper but he was sleeping on the couch and not in the bed with her. She’d try every tactic in her arsenal, but his will was strong and they’d not been intimate even though the doctor had said it was okay. Maybe his will wasn’t that strong. Maybe he just didn’t want her anymore.

“How old is he?” Noli looked up at the woman holding a baby that was several months older than the twins were. The woman was probably in her twenties, but excessive tanning had started to show signs of aging that should not take place until much later. Her over bleached hair made Noli long for a deep conditioning, and perhaps a hot oil treatment too.

“About two months.”

“He’s so small.”

“He’s actually a twin.” Noli had come to discover that most people accepted this as a reason Evan was so little for his age without any further explanation. “His sister is somewhere around here with their grandmother. How old is yours?”

“Ten months. This place has the cutest clothes.”

“They are cute, but expensive. I wouldn’t be here if my aunt hadn’t given me a gift card.”

“It is expensive, but my baby deserves the best and I make sure his father provides it.”

Noli thought the prices reflected the name more than the quality, but she did not want to belittle the woman with her opinion. Noli moved down a few steps to another shelving unit thinking the friendly banter was over. Apparently the over made up shopper next to her did not think so because she moved to the next set of shelves too and continued the conversation.

“I wish I had twins because I know I could get twice as much money. My situation’s kind of unique.”

This woman was one of those people that lived off of gossip, even if it was about her. Noli knew the she wanted her to ask how her situation was unique, but she didn’t care and quite frankly this unwanted bonding moment was making her a bit uncomfortable. Noli just smiled and moved further down the wall of onesies.

Her tactic did not work because the other woman once again followed her. Some people just didn’t get subtle hints. Noli didn’t know why she expected this woman to, given nothing about her said subtle, not the bleached hair, the overly tanned skin, the surgically inflated breasts, or the weeks’ worth of makeup on her face. Her baby was even sucking on a rhinestone encrusted pacifier as it slept. It was obvious that she lacked friends and longed to tell her business to whoever would listen.

“We can’t quite go through traditional channels for child support because our love child is a secret. It works out for me because he pays me to keep this secret and twins would have been an even bigger secret to keep. There’s still hope though because he can’t get enough of me and sometimes I get him so worked up he doesn’t think about protection. It would be great if I got pregnant again, like giving birth to an ATM.”

Noli did not know what to say. She could not think of a time when she had been more perplexed by someone’s statement than she was right now. Fortunately, she didn’t have to respond because she saw Daphne turned the corner with Evie sleeping in the harness. The twin’s grandmother held up two onesies, one that said “one of two” and another that said “two of two” with “twins” on the back. Her smile over her find dropped when she saw the other shopper next to Noli.

“I hope you’re not here to shoplift.”

“I’m not.”

“I didn’t think there was any other way trash like you would be able to afford a place like this,” Daphne said.

“Daphne,” Noli said. She was shocked to hear Cooper’s mother speak with such venom.

“This is Misti,” she said to justify her harsh words.

Noli let out a silent oh because that did justify Daphne’s out of character dig. In fact, it may have been a little nice considering how conniving this woman was.

“You may call me trash, but at least my baby daddy didn’t throw me and my child away.”

Daphne turned so red that Noli imagined steam shooting from her ears and nostrils like in those old Looney Toons. She was certain that if her skin were lighter, she too would be the color of a stop sign. Misti had just knocked both Daphne and Cooper, plus the fact that she’d tried to ruin her cousin’s wedding made Noli feel enraged.

“I think you need to apologize.” Noli’s anger had increased the bass in her voice.

“I ain’t apologizing to her. She insulted me. She should be apologizing to me.”

“Neither I nor my children insulted you, but you insulted their father, which means you’ve insulted us. Daphne didn’t insult you, she merely stated a fact.”

“She doesn’t need to apologize. But she does need to leave.”

“It’s a free country, I can shop here. In fact, maybe I’ll pick something up for Jack’s baby, or would that upset Diane in her delicate condition?” she said directing the last part to Noli.

“You can try to upset her if you like, but I’ll make you more upset.”

“How?”

“I can make your secret not so secret.”

Misti’s smile fell. “You can’t do that. You don’t know who the daddy is.”

“Not now, but it wouldn’t be too difficult to figure it out.”

“I ain’t worried, you can’t figure out who my baby’s daddy is.”

“I don’t have to because I have a cousin that can. Diane’s brother, Ryan, Ryan Clark. You’ve probably heard of him. He’s the investigative reporter that broke that scandal that ended with a senator dropping out of politics. If he could get the story on someone that big, it wouldn’t take much to get the scoop on someone as easy as you.”

“I have never heard of him so I still ain’t scared of you.”

“You don’t have to be,” Noli snickered, “but you come near my cousin, if it’s so much as a misty morning outside of Diane’s house you’ll wish you had been scared.”

Misti studied Noli’s face for a moment to determine if she was serious. She must have figured she was because she lifted her nose in the air and addressed Daphne instead of rebutting, “I think I’ll go because this store will let anyone in,” Misti sat the clothes back on the shelf and pushed the stroller out of the door.

“She was referring to herself when she said anyone right?” Daphne asked.

“She wasn’t talking about me.”

“You’re pretty scary.”

“Don’t threaten my family. I don’t have much and I will protect what little I have.”

Daphne did that silent smiling thing that she does. Her lack of words spoke so much more than if she actually said something. Noli knew Daphne was smiling because she’d called Cooper family. He was, in a complex way, but that did not mean that she wanted to marry him or even that she was in love with him.

“What did Jack ever see in her?”

“He was young and stupid. And she was actually pretty once. She thought her looks would put her on easy street. When she didn’t immediately reap the benefits of beauty, she started to make those so called improvements.”

“Was she nicer too? Otherwise I just don’t see what he could see in someone like that.”

“I can sure see what my son sees in you.”

“He sees me as the mother of his children, nothing more.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“You’re right. He also sees me as his business partner.”

“And his lover. I mean that in every sense of the word. Not just the love you make, but the love you two have for each other.”

“We’re not lovers in either sense. He doesn’t love me, he’s not said that to me.”

“Just because he hasn’t said it doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel it. Love is more than just the word, it’s the way he looks at you, how he wants to be near you, and when you’re apart the way he calls just to see how you’re doing.”

“The reason he calls so often is to make sure I’ve not gone anywhere. I still don’t think he trusts me to not take off with the twins.”

“He’d hate for you to move away with the twins, but not just because he loves his children, but because he loves you. He’d miss you just as much if you were to go.”

“If I were to go, he’d just move on to the next one, like I’m sure he did last time.”

“You think there’s been anybody else since he’s met you? The sole company he had when you were gone was his broken heart. When you went away, that’s what he had, and trust me I know what a broken heart looks like. He wasn’t sitting around in his pajamas for days eating chocolate, but he was working harder than ever, working out more than ever, and the littlest thing would enrage him. Nobody could take your place because he loves you. Why do you think he keeps asking you to marry him?”

“Because he wants to be a father to the twins and wants them here.”

“This must be your time to be young and stupid. That boy wants to marry you because he loves you. If it were just about the twins he’d get a lawyer and try to get custody or a set visitation. He’s not doing that because he loves you. He wants you and the twins.”

Daphne knew her son better than he possibly even knew himself. Maybe she was right, maybe she was just as important to him as the twins. This shopping trip was supposed to be fun, first Misti, now the talk about love and marriage was making it a pain.

“I think we should go ahead and buy these things so we can head home.”

Daphne conceded with a smile. “I understand. I’ll drop it. I think we should go and buy you something new too.”

“That sounds good. I could use some new clothes. I haven’t lost the baby weight.”

“Blame it on the babies if you want, but we both know it’s Rose Sloan’s cooking.”

“It’s those biscuits. She keeps bringing them to me and I want to tell her no, but they taste so good.”

“She’s trying to fatten you up because she thinks you’re too skinny.”

Noli’s phone rang. “Hey, Amara what’s up?”

“Ryan bought your house?”

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you about that?”

“No you didn’t.”

“Well I meant to tell you. Taking care of twins killed whatever brain cells I had left from being pregnant with them. I’m so sorry it slipped my mind. It’s not a problem is it?” Noli thought she heard Amara mumble some profanity but wasn’t certain.

“No, it’s not a problem.”

“Ryan really liked the house when he was there to help Jack get the baby furniture for me and asked if I’d planned to keep it. When I told him I probably would be selling it at some point, he said he was moving to Indy and offered to buy it.”

“Didn’t you tell him I was already living in it?”

“Yes, but he said you’re like family and would like you as a housemate.”

“I’m sure he did,” Amara bit out.

“You don’t sound too happy. Did I do something wrong in letting him buy it?”

“Sorry Noli, it’s not you. It’s Ryan. He’s a …” Amara’s voice trailed off. Noli could hear her take a deep breath through the phone.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Everything’s just peachy. I’m sorry if I got upset. Him moving in just caught me off guard at the end of a long week.”

“I apologize for forgetting to tell you.”

“Forget it. I can deal with Ryan. I was also calling to see about renting the space at Cooper’s bar for a fundraiser. Can you have him give me a call?”

“Actually, I’m the one to talk to about that. We’re business partners now.”

“Business partners and co-parents, interesting.”

“Amara, don’t you start too.”

“Start what? I just said it was interesting. I’ll contact you about the fundraiser when I have more details. I thought it would be a good idea to have it at The Smithery because it would show support for an Indiana small business while running for Senate.”

“Who are you working for again?”

“Ethan Bedloe.”

“The Governor’s son?”

“That sums up my problem, trying to get people to see Ethan as his own person, while still benefiting from the name recognition.”

“I’m so glad you got this job after what happened on that last campaign.” Noli gasped. “Amara, I’m such a horrible friend. I’m sorry. I totally forgot that Ryan was part of what ruined that campaign. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry. With all that’s going on in your life, I totally understand you forgetting how messed up mine is and that Ryan shoulders the bulk of the responsibility.”

“Your life’s not a mess. You’ve picked up the pieces.”

“It is a mess and it’s about time I actually clean it up and not just sweep everything under the rug.”

“Tell me about it. I just used Ryan as a threat.”

“Against who?” Amara asked.

“I was shopping when this lady started talking to me about her child’s father paying her to keep her mouth shut about the baby. She actually referred to her baby as an ATM. I didn’t know until Daphne told me, but it was Misti.”

“Did she say who the father was?”

“No. When Daphne walked up words were exchanged and I threatened to have Ryan expose her. because he’s good at digging up dirt to get the story. Crap, and I’m good at putting my foot in my mouth when it comes to you and Ryan.”

“No, you’re right. He will get the story regardless of who he has to step on in the process.”

“I’m sorry. Your recent history didn’t even cross my mind when I sold him the house.”

“Like I said, you have a lot going on, I totally understand. I’m a big girl. I can handle living with Ryan. I’ll talk with you later.

“Talk to you later.

***

“Are you sure you don’t want to come to the dedication?” Daphne asked.

“I’m sure.”

“It would be nice if you were there.”

“I don’t see the purpose of me being there. I don’t even see the purpose of it being done. Cooper wants this, not me.”

“The purpose of you being there is that you’re their mother and the dedication is as much about their lives being for God as it is you acknowledging His importance in their lives.”