Here's the hammer," Brent Dresden said as he held the tool by the head, offering the handle to Glen, who simply reached up and grabbed it. Brent squatted down on the deck as he looked down on Glen who was in the middle of adding more supports to the base of the dock they were installing for a Mrs. Patterson, soon to be Miss Patterson. Brent glanced back at the house, a smirk creasing his lips. "I bet she has an extra room. She may even cut you a deal on the rent. Obviously, she has some major alimony coming in from the divorce." He turned, his eyebrows raised, eyes wide. "Hey, maybe she'll take the rent out in trade. Women have needs, you know?"Glen shook his head. "You're a pig."Brent shrugged his thick shoulders as he ran a hand through his walnut hair, the bangs once again falling back into his hazel-green eyes. "So I've been told. I'm just trying to help you out. You'll never get lucky living at your parents' house."Glen handed the hammer back up to Brent as he rolled his eyes.
Cherish parked her car in front of Selby's Downtown Books and stared at the front door. Jordie was at preschool, and she wanted to take this time to start her apologies. It was time to switch her way of thinking, to cease being the self-absorbed person everyone came to expect. She was the one who screwed up, and Selby had been right yesterday in calling her out on it. Of course, it turned her stomach to admit it, but if she was ever going to fix her family, she needed to start making some positive changes in her life. Selby was the safest place to start.With a deep breath, Cherish left the safety of her car and stepped into the responsible thing to do. She wasn't really a fan, too used to being the selfish one. It was easy being selfish. Pushing the front door open, the bell over the door announcing her arrival, she looked around for her brother-in-law. He appeared down one of the rows of shelves, a coffee mug emblazoned with #1 Husband on it in his hand, sipping it as he walked. Whe
"Oh god, Glen, how stupid could I have been?" Her tears streamed down her cheeks and into his shirt as he cradled her head against his chest. "I should have been smarter. I knew he never would have taken care of a family; I knew it! So why wasn't I more careful?"Glen rocked her, his hand stroking the back of her head. "It'll be all right. We can get through this. I promise." Glen loved her, had loved her for years he told her. Once Nick was out of the picture, Glen stepped in before Cherish distracted herself with someone else. The two partied and eventually wound up in bed, bodies intertwined. The night she told him she was pregnant, he told her later, was the night he knew he needed her in his life no matter what, his course of action determined. He told her it was right then he decided he would quit school, move back home, and get a job in order to take care of Cherish and her baby."My dad is going to kill me," she whined into his shoulder."Does anyone know yet?" Glen asked.She
Her father pounded away on the roof as the rain continued to pour down upon the city of Melbourne. The thunderstorm pummeled them for over an hour, and a leak developed in the kitchen of the Lansky home. Cherish hadn't even noticed it until she walked in to put a dirty plate in the sink, hit the puddle of water unaware, and just about broke her tailbone hitting the floor as her feet slid out from under her. Jordie came in after hearing her scream and, not knowing what else to do, called his grandparents. Arni Driscoll was now on the roof, covering the area that leaked, and her mother, Valerie, sat in Cherish's kitchen stirring her fourth spoonful of sugar into her coffee and grumbled about how Glen should be the one on the roof and not her husband.Her body screaming at her from where she hit the hard tile floor, Cherish stood by her kitchen counter scooping fresh coffee grounds into the filter while her mother grumbled behind her. Cherish really needed something stronger. A lot strong
Dinner over, Glen helped his younger sister, Tanya, clear the table. While he had only been staying at his parents' place for the past week, Tanya had been there since birth with no sign of moving out anytime soon. Together, they scraped and stacked the dishes while Brenda Lansky already scrubbed away at them. Their father shifted from the kitchen table to his recliner, flipping through the channels on the television. It was a normal Monday night in the Lansky home. It just wasn't Glen's home.Once he finished his share of the after-dinner chores, Glen stepped out onto the back porch, the rain peppering the wooden roof. The wind rustled the banana palms along the fence line, making the evening storm seem worse than it was. He stood along the screen wall, arms crossed over his chest, staring out at the pouring rain.Lightning cracked the night air. Glen counted. One. Two. Three. Thunder then rumbled through the turbulent night. Three miles away. He smiled as he thought about how he woul
I'm hungry." Jordie Lansky draped himself over the arm of the couch, upside down, his pouty face staring at his mother. "Can we have pancakes?"Cherish looked over at her four-year-old. She wore a pair of Glen's old pajama pants and a baggy T-shirt with an old Mountain Dew logo faded across the front. She had skipped the bra, hairbrush, and toothpaste. It didn't matter. Who did she have to get dressed up for? Glen made it known several days ago he wasn't ready to come home yet; he wasn't sure he could come home yet. She didn't have a job to get dressed for either, so what was the point in even trying. She even kept Jordie out of preschool, so she didn't have to see anyone. She had no interaction with anyone since Tuesday morning when the roofer arrived to patch the leak in her roof. She cried her eyes out every night while sleeping on the couch and watched as Jordie played around the house. She knew she should get him back in school, but it was Friday, so what harm could one more day o
"Doesn't it get old? Playing house all the time?" Edwin stood at the tailgate of his truck, his foot up on the bumper, his Salem cigarette dangling between his fingers. "Hell, I tried the relationships without kids and found it stifling. Life is too short to be tied down in one spot. There's too much adventure to experience out there."Cherish stared at him, her smirk pushing up one side of her face. "You mean no one could tolerate your childishness for too long without going insane."He chuckled as he took a long pull from his cigarette. Finally, he shrugged. "Perhaps. What can I say? Life is about having fun. From what you say, that was your motto for a long time as well."She nodded, her own Marlboro Red dangling between her fingers. Glen had been after her to quit smoking, saying how bad it was for Jordie. Yet, she gave up enough of her vices as it was. She wasn't ready or willing to surrender more of what she enjoyed. "That was pre-family. Life doesn't tend to allow for that type
Jordie had a great time at Betsy's, even asking for three chocolate milks. They were such regulars there that Tina Rogers, "Betsy," made sure Jordie was kept satisfied with pancakes until he couldn't eat any more. She even brought out a washcloth to wipe away the syrup that didn't make it into his mouth. Cherish sat there, smiling, as the older woman doted all over Jordie as if he was the king of the world. Jordie just laughed and ate it up.Once they finished breakfast, Cherish decided it was a good idea to take Jordie to the park and allow him to run off some of the energy all that syrup pumped into him. Besides, it was a beautiful day, and her misery had cooped them up inside too long, wallowing in her self-pity. Today called for wallowing outside.There were two other moms there with their children, so Jordie at least had someone else to run around with, giving Cherish time to herself to sit and wonder where she went wrong. She knew she should focus on Glen and repairing her marria
Dropping the arm holding the towel to his side, he walked over to where Cherish sat and joined her on the bed. He reached out, placing a hand on her leg and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sorry you're having to deal with this," he told her. He gave a weak shrug. "I guess we never know the full extent of our actions and their consequences until it's too late." He quickly held a hand up, stopping her from saying anything else. "That wasn't a judgment. Promise."She offered him a weak smile. "I didn't take it that way." She shrugged. "Besides, you're right. I didn't realize while I was...you know...how it would hurt you or Jordie, and I sure as hell didn't realize how it would follow me to another job. I was too caught up in what I was doing to even think of anything else." She reached out, placing her hand on top of his. "I'm sorry I was such a selfish bitch."Glen leaned over and kissed Cherish's forehead. When he pulled away, he grinned. "You're my selfish bitch, so it's all good.
Cherish shoved her phone into her purse, closed the final file folder, and shoved herself away from her desk. This day was over, and she was more than happy to see it go. As she stood, however, she realized the day was not completely over. She stood at the edge of her desk, adjusting her purse on her shoulder, as Mary Overton stepped into her doorway, arms crossed over her chest, looking as if she had a corncob shoved deep up her ass. What Bernie saw in the woman, Cherish would never know. Cherish sucked in a deep breath as she paused, waiting to hear what had brought the grump of a woman to her door. "Is there something I can help you with?" Cherish asked.Mary glanced over the room, scowling as she took in the changes Cherish made to the small office. "I see you've rearranged. Making the place more to your liking." Cherish could have sworn the woman gave a disgusted sniff as she said it. "I thought the way Kim had it set up was quite efficient." She glanced around the room with a sn
Glen soaked in her naked body, making no qualms about devouring her with his gaze. He had always thought Cherish was gorgeous and hated when she started to hide her body in baggy shirts and shorts. He wanted to see more of her flesh, more of her body tempting him under tight clothes or low-cut tops. He wanted her to be seductive, sultry, sexy. Hell, he even wanted her to dress slutty for him.Reaching out, Glen ran a hand over her freckle-covered shoulder, up her neck, and into her strawberry-blond hair. Gazing into her eyes, he sucked in a breath as he stared at her. "You, Cherish Lansky, are beautiful."He saw her cheeks redden with her blush, felt her squirm under his touch as his words embarrassed her, but he didn't care. While he thought the words often enough, he failed to say them out loud for her to hear. She needed to hear them. He needed to say them. They needed to get back to the spark that was them when they first ignited each other's passions. Looking at her right then, he
Cherish took a deep breath, deciding to tackle the topic of Rutherford even if Glen hadn't brought it up. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jed. It's been a pretty emotional week all around, and I swear, it just slipped my mind."Glen cocked an eyebrow at her. "A lot of things have slipped your mind lately. I should probably do something about that, eventually."She bowed her head. "Yes, sir," was all she said, but she couldn't deny the tingle between her legs at the thought of Glen punishing her again. She would never have thought the idea of him spanking her would have such an effect on her.He took a sip of his coffee as he studied her, and Cherish just stood there under his scrutiny. After a stretched-out moment, he said, "So, tell me about the conversation now. You said you weren't interested in returning. Is that the truth?"She shrugged. "I don't know, to be honest. And, in the way of full disclosure, it was sort of a mixture of him asking if I would want to return and me aski
Cherish placed the last of the glasses back in the cabinet, her back screaming at her due to the lengthy day she just endured. Jordie was already sound asleep in his bed, his tired little body crashing as soon as everyone left, and the constant energy faded away. She could relate as exhaustion tugged at her as well. She had to admit, however, Glen's idea of having the party at their house opposed to her parents' was definitely a winner, minus the cleanup part afterward. Jordie loved every gift he opened, and he and the other kids made full use of the bounce house. Even a few of the adults climbed inside to get their inner youth on while they made the little ones stand outside the giant inflatable while they took over. The children, of course, were far from happy about not being permitted inside, but they laughed like crazy as they watched their parents bouncing around, trying to do flips, and falling on their asses.Valerie surprised Cherish with how she interacted with everyone else a
Cherish felt the tears streaming down her cheeks, felt the anguish clutching at her heart as she sat there, staring at her mother, the woman crying openly now as she stared back at Cherish. How could her mother ever doubt Cherish's love for her? Because I did a shitty job of showing it. I pushed her with everything I did. Cherish reached out, taking her mother's hand in her own, squeezing it tight. "I've always loved you, Mom. You did nothing wrong. It was all me; I was the selfish bitch who never seemed satisfied and happy. I'm so sorry I ever made you feel that way." She squeezed her mother's hand again. "I should never have treated you that way."Her mother gave her a weak smile, squeezing her hand back before pulling it away. "I love you, too, and I'm sorry I ever made you feel as if you couldn't tell me you were pregnant." She shook her head. "Not a very good mother, huh?"Cherish settled back in her chair. "I think we both made mistakes, but that was then. This is now. I need to
Cherish left the others and walked over to her mother, taking one of the remaining chairs beside the other woman. "Why don't you come join the rest of us? Has to be better than sitting over here all by yourself."Her mother didn't even look at her, keeping her gaze on the children. "Why is she here?" she asked, her back stiff, hands clasped in her lap."There are a lot of shes here," Cherish said, even though she knew to whom her mother referred. "You'll have to be a little more specific.""Your sister's new friend," her mother said, her lips pressed into a thin line. "Why did they have to bring her to a family event? It's rude."Cherish glanced over and watched as Tracey Williams laughed at something Arni said, her feet barely touching the ground from where she sat in the chair. "She's close to Selby and Faith," Cherish said with a shrug. "We permitted Brent to bring Bonnie; why wouldn't we allow Faith and Selby to bring Tracey? She seems to be getting along with everyone all right."
Glen stepped back out into the yard, two camp chairs in his hands. Valerie Driscoll was accustomed to calling all the shots, and he knew she set up her area far away from his mother to try to force a division in the party, drawing the crowd to her, so she could show off. That was one of the reasons he wanted the party at his house, so she wouldn't be able to pull a stunt like this. Yet, she still wrecked division wherever she went.Glen moved to the middle of the yard, close to the bounce house, and set up the two chairs. He turned to find Cherish near her mother, two beers in her hand as she watched him, one eyebrow raised and a smirk turning up the corner of her lip."Excuse me," he heard her tell her mother. "I think I'll go join my husband." She then left her mother's side, Valerie's mouth ajar as she gawked at her daughter's retreating back. When Cherish reached him, she handed him his beer as she slid into her chair. "Your beer, sir," she said, smiling at him.He glanced over at
Glen just needed a few minutes to calm his temper. He knew he had acted rude since returning home, and he didn't mean to snap at everyone, taking out his frustration with Cherish on everyone but her. He shoved his way inside the house and headed for the bedroom at the back of the house. Just a few minutes, that's all he needed.However, what he needed and what he received were two different things. As soon as he plopped down on the bed, his hands clasped together as he rested his elbows on his knees, doing his best to take deep breaths, Cherish walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. He didn't even turn to look at her. He couldn't right then. She had lied. Again. That's all she ever did lately.Cherish walked in front of him and dropped to her knees, sitting back on her heels, her hands on her thighs as she stared up at him. She said nothing. Just knelt there, waiting.Glen closed his eyes, taking another fortifying breath. Before opening them again and staring at his wife.