Chapter Forty Eight
Tiffany looked around as she walked to the 4-Runner. The hair on the back of her neck was sticking up. For the fifth time in as many days, she felt eyes on her.
Daisy had security cameras everywhere in the parking garage, and uniformed security officers that patrolled it at night, but she still felt uncomfortable.
I think tomorrow I had better take advantage of the night escort, she thought to herself, getting in the car and locking the doors. I’m picking up way too much of Aralyn’s paranoia.
Starting up the SUV, she headed home for the night, mentally reviewing the day. Daisy was letting her get into the business aspect of Daisy Duke Designs, which she really enjoyed. She liked seeing how things were managed from behind the scenes, and she was good at it. She had a good head for business.
Tiffany saw Lyris periodically in New York City, where she was working long hours with other designers. She and Tim had broken up a few weeks before, saying only that the long distance part was too hard. Tim wouldn’t let her leave her dream career to go be with him in Maryland. Lyris was taking it hard, convinced Tim had met someone else. Tim denied it to Tiffany but Tiffany didn’t push hard. Keeping an eye on Aralyn was almost a full time job in itself and Tiffany didn’t want to get involved in Tim’s love life.
Aralyn often came to work with her. Where Tiffany thrived on the business side, Aralyn found it as interesting as watching paint dry. She wasn’t fashion-centric and was lost with the designers. Daisy finally made Aralyn her personal assistant. Aralyn managed it well, but Tiffany knew her cousin’s heart wasn’t in it. Aralyn didn’t know what she wanted to do, but at least this way she had income of her own, and it got her out of the house and interacting with people. Other than some of the designers, almost all of Daisy’s staff was comprised of women with high degrees, a feat that had earned her awards from various women’s organizations.
Natala had also joined Daisy’s company as a model. While Natala was a little skinnier than Daisy liked, she seemed to enjoy modeling with Rayma coaching her. But sometimes, Tiffany sensed her cousin as scared of having her image being everywhere, so she mostly did runway. During shows and prep, Natala would bite her lip nervously, and Tiffany could see her cousin forcibly trying to calm herself.
Tiffany liked working with her cousins. While their positions didn’t overlap every minute of the day, they were often in the building at the same time, and took their lunch together.
Today was a therapy day for both Natala and Aralyn, so Tiffany had driven herself to work. Natala didn’t have her license yet, but Aralyn had been teaching her how to drive Aralyn’s motorcycle in an empty parking lot on weekends.
Tiffany could tell her cousin was restless. Aralyn had finally started coming out of her shell, but she spent a lot of time alone, and liked to take off and ride most of the day. She still wasn’t Aralyn.
Humming to herself, Tiffany waved to the security guard at the booth as she left, the earlier sensation of being watched finally gone.
***
Aralyn stood in line for coffee. Natala had secured them a table as the place was rapidly filling up. Aralyn’s thoughts drifted, as they often did, these days.
Dr. WIlman was nice, she could see why Natala trusted her. But some days she felt like she was just repeating herself in the sessions, asking the same questions.
“I can’t stop thinking about pulling that trigger. I never imagined it would lead to all of this. Dad always drilled it into our heads, if we were going to pull the gun, be ready to use it. I really thought that guy would back down when he saw it aimed at him. I just never thought I’d have to pull the trigger.”
“And if you hadn’t, we might be having a very different conversation right now. Or none at all.”
“Somewhere in my mind I know that, but I just can’t stop replaying those last few seconds.”
“Are you willing to try something new?” Dr. Wilman asked.
“Anything. I’m so tired of feeling like this, of being scared of my own shadow. Dad always described me as fearless, and now…leaving the house terrifies me.”
Dr. Wilman had suggested hypnotherapy, to unlock the fear and bring it to the front, so Aralyn could deal with it. Aralyn was tempted to agree but hadn’t just yet. She wanted her life back but she was hesitant to explore that part of her mind. She wanted her confidence and control back. She wanted her freedom back. She’d give anything to be back on the highway, flying down the interstate.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes.” A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.
Aralyn turned to look up into the blue eyes of Cam Kent. Next to him was Dean, who had a goofy smile on his face as he waved at Natala.
“Hi guys,” she forced a smile, noting how the red t-shirt Cam wore emphasized his broad shoulders, muscled biceps, and bright blue eyes.
“Are you in a hurry?” Cam asked.
“No, Nat and I were just out and about. Would you like to join us?” She knew Natala would want her to invite them.
Cam’s face lit up. “We’d love to.”
Do not ask about her, Aralyn thought. Do not ask. It’s none of your business who he’s dating or sleeping with.
Once they had their drinks, Cam and Dean joined them at the table. It was impossible to not sit next to her ex-boyfriend, and the crowded room and small table had their knees touching. Aralyn was annoyed with herself for being pleased she had combed her hair this morning and actually looked presentable. Lately, her appearance had fallen even lower on her level of priorities than usual.
“What are you girls up to?” Dean was holding Natala’s hand.
“We were going to go do some shopping,” Natala said smoothly. “But we needed some sugar and caffeine first.”
Cam raised one eyebrow. Aralyn hated shopping of any sort. But he didn’t press. Obviously, they wanted to keep their activity private. Dean hadn’t noticed the lie, Cam thought with amusement, his best friend was too busy staring at Natala with googly eyes.
“How’s the modeling going?” Cam asked Natala, keeping the conversation light.
Natala laughed. “Depends on who you ask. I think Rayma has way more confidence in me than I do. I feel like I just clomp down the runway.”
“You don’t clomp, you’re very graceful,” Dean said, squeezing her hand. He loved to watch her walk.
Aralyn snorted. “You’re more graceful than me,” she reminded her cousin. “I seem to have Mom’s lack of coordination. Fourth grade? I did the exact same thing she did and fell right off the stage when I messed up that cartwheel wearing that stupid flower costume!”
“I remember,” Dean laughed. “Tim broke formation to help you get back up on stage!”
Aralyn laughed, blushing. “He still likes to remind me of that sometimes!”
“I hope I get to see you walk in a show sometime,” Dean said to Natala.
It was her turn to blush. “We’ll see if I make the cut,” she said dryly.
“I’m sure you will,” Aralyn assured her. “Rayma doesn’t give up and trust me, I’ve seen girls who couldn’t walk. I sat in on a couple of runway castings over the years and …wow. I thought Rayma’s head would explode from watching some of them.”
Before they knew it, two hours had slipped by and a second, then third round of coffee.
“We should get going,” Aralyn looked at her cell phone. “I promised Mom we’d be home for dinner. The twins have rehearsal tonight so I’m dragging Nat and Tiff is meeting us there.”
“How are my favorite Weasley wannabes?” Cam asked with a smile.
“As Weasley-ish as ever,” she replied. “They’ve got girls calling them nonstop and I think Logan has two girlfriends who don’t yet know about the other.”
They shared a laugh over that as they rose to leave. The guys walked them out to Aralyn’s bike, where Dean kissed Natala, making her blush, then pulled her in for a longer one.
“Hey, this was fun,” Cam said.
Aralyn nodded. “It was. Glad we ran into you.”
Cam grabbed her hand. “Aralyn, look, I miss being around you. And I hope you’ll call me sometime to hang out. Just hang out. I miss my friend.”
Aralyn felt the small smile forming on her lips. “I miss my friend too.”
“Then call me sometime.”
Don’t ask about her. Don’t ask about her.
Aralyn just nodded.
“Can an old friend get a hug?” he asked shyly.
Tensely, Aralyn stepped forward, but the minute his arms pulled her close and wrapped themselves around her, she felt herself relax. Safe, she thought. He wore the same cologne, she noted, which made her smile. Her restlessness disappeared.
And then he released her, and Aralyn’s head was spinning as her thoughts raced in a jumble.
“Take care of yourself, Duke. And call me sometime.”
She nodded. Dean and Natala, who was blushing furiously, came up for air, and Dean joined Cam as the girls put their helmets on.
Nat sat behind Aralyn, and as they roared off, Dean turned to Cam with a smirk. “I bet you’re glad now that Nat sent that text they were heading here.”
Cam felt himself go red as he smiled.
Meet the cast in full & see the family tree!
***
Author’s Notes
- A huge yeee-haa to Ronda, my lovely editor who helps keep me on track!
- Word Count, 1,617
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