Chapter 4 Carter #3
“Hey, Sis!” He hugs me. “Looking good, did you have a great time?”
“Hey,” I smile, angling my head, “a great time? What do you mean?”
He winks at me. “Come on, with your mister mystery.”
“I told Nancy to keep it for herself, gosh!” I shake my head dramatically.
“You guys are worse than high schoolers.” I chuckle because I honestly don’t mind.
Alec has always been kind to me and Noah, and most importantly, he’s making my sister happy, and that’s all that matters.
He steps back, his tall frame and yellow Hawaiian shirt revealing Noah and his cousins in the living room, playing a board game on the large rug with Nancy cooking behind the kitchen island.
“Hey, guys.” Excitement takes over as I spot my Noah, his little face so focused on the game that he doesn’t even notice me. I kiss his forehead, pat Chloé and Ava’s heads, then join my sister, cutting carrots for lunch.
“Damn, Lana, you look so pretty!” she shouts. “Spin for me.”
I roll my eyes at her bossiness, twirling as the helm of my blue dress dances over me beautifully like a dancer. I’m glad I’ve picked this one. Modest but feminine, exactly what I was going for.
“Thanks, Nance. How were the kids?”
“The usual.” She chants with a smile, her long brown hair falling on her shoulders.
“They ran after the cat in the backyard for a good hour, then sat to play board games. Also, Ava and Chloé tried to put a princess dress on Noah, but he was not having it.” She raises her palm to her mouth to stop a burst of laughter.
“I fixed the situation with cookies and they were good to go. Kids.” She chuckles, shaking her head, then keeps on cutting the vegetables off the wooden board.
Sitting on one of the fancy leather kitchen stools, I drop my purse on the marble counter and sigh.
“So?” Nancy asks, staring at her cutting board.
“So?” I avert.
“How was the date? Come on! I want details!” Murmuring way too loud like a schoolgirl who’s way too excited about the latest gossip.
Nancy and I have always been close, but when Ben started hitting me, I stopped sharing everything with her.
I knew she wouldn’t have it, and I wasn’t ready to leave him yet.
So when she opened her door a year ago and found Noah and me with our suitcases, I spilled my guts and told her everything.
She was mad at first, then sad because she thought she could have saved me sooner.
Anyway, after this, I realized I was done keeping secrets from my big sister, especially since she’s always in my corner, helping me and wanting the best for me.
That’s why I told her about Ben and the mysterious stranger stopping by last week.
I don’t want to keep things to myself anymore.
“I think—um,” I stutter at the thought of his massive arms stretching when he’d put his jacket off.
“Girl,” she giggles, “you should see your face.”
“Stop it!” I slap the air with a laugh.
“Okay, okay, so tell me, what was it like? Coming back into the arena?” she asks in a lower tone, her brown eyes softening with tenderness and perhaps a bit of worry.
“I was a bit nervous, didn’t know what to wear and all, but…he was really nice about it, really.” The corner of my lips raise shyly as I remember our conversation and how easy it was to talk to him. “It went well, actually. He was…nice and direct.”
“Direct?” She stops.
“He didn’t have the usual bullshitty talk about himself and how great he was and all that.
” Reminding myself of some colleagues hitting on me by spreading their wealth and pictures of cars.
This isn’t the way to my heart. I have already given a shot at the over-confident, colgate smile, power-driven, Playboy type, and nothing could repulse me more now.
“Okay, I see. So that’s good, huh?” she says as she pours me a glass of her homemade lemonade.
“Yes, I guess,” I blush, “I know I shouldn’t compare him to Ben, but—”
“Yeah, you can, especially since that’s your only way to compare; it’s okay to do so.” She smiles gently at me. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“You know how Ben used to tell me that I was always talking too much and making conversation about me?” I tell her as I watch her shake her head and frown.
“That guy should have kept his mouth closed because whatever he says always sounds like shit,” she mutters.
“Anyway, I was talking to Carter about—”
“Wait, his name’s Carter?”
“Yes, didn’t I tell you?”
“You didn’t. Trust me, I would have remembered. Carter,” she says as if she’s testing the sound of it. “I like his name,” she murmurs.
“Well, I was talking to him about my to-do lists. I know it’s not the best topic for a date, but whatever, and I realized I was going on about it, so I stopped talking and apologized, and he asked me to finish my sentence.
He said I had stopped and he wanted to hear more about it.
I…I just… It felt nice to be acknowledged and actually listened to. ”
“Lana,” a little crease around her eyes, “you deserve a man who listens to you, even Alec listens to my extremely detailed rundown of what I did at the grocery shop, and that’s the cutest thing ever.
” I smile, thinking about my brother-in-law and how patient he is with my sister, and I hope I’ll get the chance to find my own person one day, too.
You won’t. Ben is your person. You’re just too ashamed to admit it and work for it.
“Lucky you, Sis.” I smile, glancing back at the kids. “He offered to teach me self-defense next Thursday.” I bite my lip as Nancy drops the knife to the counter and her eyes widen.
“No way!”
I chuckle. “I think it could actually be great to know a few moves.” Her smile fades as she frowns, worry painted on her face.
“You know we’re always there if you need us, right? You never have to see him alone,” she says quietly, and I’m grateful for her help, especially since her home has been the drop-in and drop-off station for Ben on his visiting days for a year now.
“I know, I know, but I'd feel better knowing how to defend myself in case I need to one day.” I swallow at the hard truth.
She nods, a shadow of sadness passing on her beautiful face. “I get it, you do what you gotta do to feel good.” She looks back at her vegetables. “Okay, now, let’s be serious for a second, was he hot?” I burst into laughter at her serious gaze as if we’re discussing world economics.
“Hot is an understatement,” I admit, because this man, gosh, this man was closer to a Greek God than an actual human.
And his tattooed hands and his broad shoulders, well, I’m sure he could lift my petite body like a feather.
He also had a light stubble, which only made me want to run my finger through it to feel the scratch on my skin.
There was something about him that was incredibly mysterious, and yet I felt as if I could read him completely.
“Oh, that’s good, that’s really good,” she says, clapping her hands once.
“What’s good?” asks Alec, passing behind Nancy and kissing her cheek before grabbing a glass of water.
“Lana’s date was super hot, that’s what’s good.” She smirks devilishly.
“Oh, okay, um, good for you,” he chuckles, “as long as he’s kind to ya.” His eyes soften, filled with knowledge of what I’ve been through.
“We’ll see, so far so good,” I reassure him as he nods back with a warm smile. “Alright, time to go home, I’ll see you guys soon.” I stand and sleek my dress.
“Stay, lunch is almost ready,” Nancy offers.
“No, I don’t want to impose; you already took care of him this morning.”
“C’mon, stay, there’s plenty of food and the kids are happy to be together, really, we love having you here.” She smiles, and I sigh.
“Okay, thanks, Sis, but let me help you.” I reach for the plate cupboard and start setting the table, knowing where everything is in the kitchen since I lived here for a few months last year. Then I walk to my boy and sit next to him.
“Mom,” he smiles, hugging me tight, “Chloé won again.” He pouts, and I run my hand through his golden brown short hair.
“That’s okay, you can pick another game later. We’re gonna eat lunch here,” I tell him, kissing his forehead.
“Yay!” he shouts as he gets up and starts running after his cousins, catching Ava and tickling her. I look at him and shake my head with a smile.
My boy.
I take a deep breath as I remind myself of Carter and me this morning. Whatever pull I feel toward him, he’ll have to have the patience of a monk to break my walls and enter my world, because this is priceless, and I’ll protect it at all costs.