Trust Me II (44 page)

“But you can’t leave Great Grandma’s china hutch,” Sandra said suddenly remembering the
massive piece of furniture that she had played on when she was younger.

“Honey, that’s an elephant. We can’t move it without taking it apart and I don’t know how that will hold up
the moving. I think we should just leave it behind.”

“But I love that hutch. It’s really beautiful.”

“So it is, but my momma got it from her old aunt just because she needed a place to store her bric-a-brac. Don’t really know that she liked it all that much herself. She always complained about having to dust it.”

Sandra sighed, she wasn’t ready to start crying again, but she loved some of the old furniture around this house and was finding it hard to think about never seeing it again. Creighton squeezed her leg and smiled as Mary returned and held up a plastic grocery bag full of stuff.

“I thought you said one outfit,” Sandra teased, taking the bag and forgetting the sad subject they had been discussing.

“Well, there were a few things I couldn’t pass up.” Mary smiled as she sat back down. “Everyone asked if it was for you, but I used Kristin as an excuse.
You best be telling your folks back home about this youngin’, or I’m going to bust a gut waiting.”

Creighton smiled and watched his wife untie the knot in the bag
as Mary played her cards. He wasn’t sure it he was getting used to the slang or if he had been there long enough that it was beginning to make sense, but he was finding it easier to understand what people said around him.

Sandra began pulling the items out of the bag, setting them on the table beside her cards. There were
a half dozen little onsies in generic baby colors of robin’s egg blue, canary yellow, spring green and white. They were cleaned and looked new, but then that was normal for the exchange; mothers would spend a lot of time caring for the items before putting them out on the tables.

Creighton held up a small, newborn
christening dress, matching bonnet and a pair of booties, causing him to smile.

“Do you know something we don’t?” he asked with a wink.

“No, not at all, but it will come in handy sooner or later, and boys need christened too you know?”

“Not in a dress, that’s where I put my foot down.”

“It’s a christening gown, Creighton,” Sandra scolded. “Not a dress.” He narrowed his eyes slightly, knowing there would be an argument sooner or later on the subject.

“These are so cute,” Sandra continued, pulling out two little pairs of
booties, barely the size of her husband’s thumb.

“We have yours and Cathy’s first outfits saved,” Mary said, wiping her nose on the edge of her apron. “It was one of the few things we were able to salvage when your folks died.”

“I’ll take mine, but I think Cathy will want to keep hers, just in case.”

“Did we tell you, Andrew is planning on meeting her in New York to help her settle in?” Mary added with a sly grin. “She’ll be going out there in a few weeks to meet with her new boss and to find a place to live. She’s already got a young cou
ple who will take over the lease at her apartment. Michael Farnsworth asked her to stay on as his assistant, but she’s decided to take the job in Valley Stream. She’s looking forward to moving and is eager to find a new life for herself. Maybe the larger town will help get the country girl out of her hair.”

“I hope she finds happiness there,” Sandra said softly, a sad edge to her tone.

“Can we play?” James asked, waiting for Sandra to take her turn. She placed the items back in the bag and set it on the floor next to her and the game continued. Several minutes and two hands later and the echo of the front screen door opening filtered through the house followed by the scrapping of heels against the carpeted floor.

Cathy walked into the kitchen and smiled. She wore a dark red strapless dress that rested high above her knee, a silver chain and cross and a pair of dangling silver earrings. Her long legs were covered in a pair of silk stockings and she wore a pair of six inch black stiletto heels. From the look and smell of her, she had been on a date, which
explained why she did not come to supper.

“Hello everyone,” she said with a sweet smile as she
sacheted into the room and sat her black handbag on the table, walking past Creighton as she headed to the coffee pot. Her hand deliberately yet
accidentally
brushed his arm, causing him to look at her; his curious gaze inspecting her from head to toe.

“Hello dear,” Mary said before Sandra had a chance to comment on her sister’s actions. “How was your
evening?”

“It was fine,” she answered. “
Same old, same old; nothing extraordinary. Michael said your plans have been approved Crey, and that things are moving forward. I’ll bet that makes you happy?”

“It does on several levels,” he answered, capturing his wife’s hand in his, holding it
tightly as she tried to move free. “It means a lot for this town and for us. Now maybe my beautiful wife and I can return to our honeymoon and enjoy what’s left of it before we have to go home.”

“
You’re still on your honeymoon? How long do two people need?” Cathy laughed, sitting at the table between James and Creighton. “I mean seriously, haven’t you been on one since Sandra first arrived in France.”

“No, we were on holiday. A honeymoon doesn’t start until after the wedding.”

“Still, that was, what, two months ago? Do you ever work, or just travel around the world?”

“Creighton owns the company, Catherine,” Sandra bit off the words as she narrowed her gaze on her sister. “He sets his own schedule and since we had to take time out to come here, we have a right to finish the time we planned for ourselves.”

“Cathy, have you heard anything new about your move or your job in New York?” James asked, stopping the argument from progressing further.

“I start
on the first,” she said, turning her irritated stare off her sister. “It was sooner than I anticipated, but the paper has an apartment lined up for me and they want me to start right away. I already told Michael I would be leaving by the end of the week.”

“But that’s only three days out,” Mary said
, staring at her granddaughter with wide eyes.

“I’m aware of that,
Nana, but I’ll need time to settle in before I start work. I’ve already hired a moving company and the couple who took over my lease wants to move in right away. They have been living in her parents’ basement and they’re sleeping on the living room floor. It works out best for all of us.”

“I was hoping to plan a going away party for you,” Mary complained. “I don’t know if I can get everything arranged in time
before you leave.”

“It’s not necessary,” Cathy smiled sweetly. “I don’t think there are really a lot of people who would come anyway.”

“I’m sure all the men in town would,” Sandra said under her breath as she stood and walked to the sink, ignoring the scolding look her husband gave her.

“We should be going,” Creighton said quickly to hide her comment. “It’s been a long day and we have a lot planned for tomorrow. Will you call your friend and have his daughter call us?”

“Of course,” James said and stood to block the path before Sandra and Cathy’s eyes met. “I know you have your day planned out, but if you think you have some time, I’ll see if she can come over between her jobs?”

“She, who?” Cathy asked.

“None of your business,” Sandra snapped. “It’s personal, something for my
husband
and me to deal with and doesn’t concern you.”

“We’ll make the time
,” Creighton said quickly, wrapping his arm around Sandra’s waist. “Just call me in the morning and let me know when and where.” He quickly led his wife safely along the opposite side of the room, as they hugged Mary and James, hiding her from her sister’s gaze. He turned back to Cathy and smiled.

“We’ll see you later,” he told her, keeping a tight hold on
Sandra, a silent warn for her to behave.

“
Whatever,” Cathy said with an icy tone, sipping her coffee without looking up again.

They walked to the front door
followed by James and Mary and stepped out onto the porch where Sandra drew a deep breath and sighed. She once again felt like her emotions had taken control of her actions and she was sitting in the wings watching.

The night was clear and warm and the moon was full overhead
, bathing the surrounding trees and flowers in a soft glow. It was an amazing sky and one that she had missed, though she would never admit it to her husband for fear of his reaction. The stars aligned differently in Europe and she had a hard time placing them, but here she knew each one from the many long years of watching them. She only wished she was in a better mood to appreciate it.

Creighton continued to hold her
near his side as they walked to the car, waving to her grandparents who remained on the porch as they sat down in the dark interior. Once the engine roared to life and they pulled away from the front of the house, he turned to her and frowned.

“I didn’t encourage that,” he told her.

“I know it; I saw her deliberately brush up against you. She was doing what she always does, she was trying to…”

“Try as she may, it will never work,” he interrupted her. “I am forever devoted to you my love and our life together.”

“I’m sorry,” she said a few minutes later. “I am really getting tired of the constant roller-coaster ride these emotions seem to be taking me on.” Creighton laughed softly and reached across, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles.

“Things will soon even out and you’ll move past this. You just have to recognize when they raise their ugly head and take control of them.”

“Like you did when you thought Michael Farnsworth and I were more than friends, or when you thought Craig and I were…”

“Alright, so we both have a bit of the green eyed monster riding our backs, but there is no need; for either of us. We made a commitment voluntarily to each other and I for one will not allow any cheap, scheming sister to interfere with it.”

“I do love you,” she said with a smile. “I just hope I can get back to feeling a little less…weird. I’m even starting to get fat.”

“No you aren’t,” he snorted a sort of laugh.

“I am, look at this,” she argued, pulling the jeans taught against her stomach.

“If you are gaining weight, it’s not fat, it’s the baby growing.”

“I have seen women who barely look pregnant when they get ready to deliver. Why can’t I be one of them?”

“Because it’s not in your genetic makeup,” he teased. “
You’re going to be swollen in less than a week’s time. By the end of the month everyone who sees you will think you’re already nine months pregnant.” Sandra stared at him wide eyed as he pulled the car into the parking stall and shut off the engine. He turned to her and smiled, making her aware of his teasing and how stupid she must have sounded.

“I suppose there is one way of keeping you trim for a while longer,” he suggested, a very serious expression crossing his handsome face.

“How?” she asked with a frown.

“Come, I’ll explain it all in our room.” Sandra fought the smile from pulling her lips
as he walked around to her side of the car and opened the door, taking her by the hand and helping her out.

The room was clean and the clothing was washed and pressed and returned to the dresser and closet. Creighton frowned when he looked around and found the black bag –
the famous black bag of toys – sitting on the bottom of the closet floor. It had been at the foot of the bed; the same place he had left it after they used the wand and bunny vibrator that morning.

“She would never look in it,” Sandra said
, seeing where his attention had landed. Creighton frowned but chose to ignore the thoughts filtering through his mind; after all, they were married. He could always use the excuse of being an erotic European if questioned about the many items inside the bag.

“So darling,” he said looking at her with a wicked grin. “I believe you were interested in learning how to keep that figure of yours a bit longer.”

“You said you knew a way.”

“So I do, but it involves a great deal of exercise and
even more patience on the student’s side.”

“What is the first lesson, Professor Ashford?” she asked in a soft, even tone.

“Lesson one, you must be dressed appropriately.” He slowly walked around behind her and gathered the hem of her tee-shirt, pulling it over her head and tossing it to the floor. He placed his warm hands around her waist and nuzzled her neck with his lips, sending shivers of anticipation racing down her spine, before his large hands moved down her body, finding and unfastening her pants. He slipped his fingers into the waistband and pushing them down her hips, smiling at the bare skin. Moments turned into seconds as he peeled her pants down her legs, kissing a path along her spine, over her hips and across her buttocks; lifting one leg after another until she stood before him in only her bra.