Chapter 4
Cheyenne
S tress was something everyone had. It started when we were kids worried about the boogeyman in our closet, then moved onto school and grades. Some people felt that swirling anxious pit heavier than others, but it was still there.
The reasoning behind that awful feeling was different for everyone. Will Jim get promoted over me? Am I going to be late to work? Are we going to make the mortgage payment this month? For me there was only one question that made those nerve-wracking jitters crawl across my skin.
Are Mom and Dad coming over today?
More specifically my mother.
The tick in the back of my mind started as I watched Mama waltz down the driveway.
She was a true southern belle. Every step she made was a graceful glide.
Her look was nothing short of perfect. Not one hair was out of place in her tight blonde bun, nor was she wearing a single thing that didn’t match her outfit.
The simple white dress had just a touch of pink that was accentuated by the shade painted on her nails and high heels on her feet.
It didn’t surprise me that she was all done up to come and visit her daughter, just like it didn’t surprise me when she sneered at mine.
“Shelby, honey, don’t play in grease.”
My beautiful daughter wasn’t the girly type that Mama made me into.
Shelby would much rather poke at an engine with her Pop Pop, than have a tea party or get dressed up for a pageant.
Then again no four-year-old wanted to be in a pageant.
Trust me I’d been there, and there was nothing fun about them.
Beauty pageants were more chaotic than the jungle.
Various daughters were put on display while mothers fought over who’s sang better, or danced better, or who’s looked better.
Meanwhile the children were hopped up on sugar, stressed out, and dealing with adult judgement at the tender age of three.
I hated them. Mama considered them part of my debutant life.
Shelby poked her head up from the open hood of my husband’s car and waved a wrench. “Hi Nana. I’m looking for the cansmission. Daddy says it’s broken.”
“Did he?” I could feel the disappointment in my mother’s face when she tsked my way. “Cheyenne, Shelby has a pageant in two days.”
That was Mama’s way of telling me to get my daughter away from the car.
Our child rearing views were very different.
Mama thought there were things girls should do and things boys should do.
Playing with a car engine did not fall in the girl category.
I just wanted my daughter to be happy. If that meant she spent her childhood covered in grease, so be it.
“She doesn’t want to do the pageant, Mama.”
“She’s four, Cheyenne,” Mama pointed a perfectly manicured finger at me. “She doesn’t know what she wants.”
My heart warmed as I looked over at my little girl, bent over the hood with her orange shorts covered butt in the air.
Cars had been Shelby’s thing since the day she was born.
She’d rather play with her cousins hot wheels than her dolls.
Mama didn’t care about that. The only thing that mattered to Daddy and her was the reputation of the Davis family.
That meant that girls were pretty and always smiled while boys never cried.
They had to be tough and of course play football.
My brother could attest to that, before the car accident that is.
Now, he was the family secret that sat in his wheelchair, hidden away.
A lot like I was before I gave birth to my first child.
Getting pregnant at seventeen wasn’t exactly something my parents were proud of me for.
I was tucked away at a ‘school’ for troubled girls and had my child ripped away at birth.
My parents never let me forget about that, not that I could’ve.
My baby boy was constantly on my mind, just like his father was.
Mother always told me that people couldn’t affect your life, but she was wrong. I’d only spent a day with Louis Kessler four years ago, and I still couldn’t get him out of my head…
“Oh my lord.” I ducked down to quickly scoop up the books I’d knocked out of someone’s hand.
My visit to the college campus wasn’t off to a great start.
Some asshole wouldn’t leave me alone at a party last night, an asshole who apparently had a lot of pull.
We got kicked out shortly after that. When I woke up this morning I was determined to make a better impression.
That failed five minutes out the door when crashed into someone.
“I’m so sorry.” I muttered while gathering some loose papers.
The only reason I decided to tour this college was because Bella went here. My parents weren’t happy about that, they thought Bella was a bad influence, but she was the only one who really saw me. I missed her.
The deep tone of the voice that wafted down cause me to falter. “It’s entirely my fault.”
Of course I crashed into a man. Why wouldn’t I?
I had to remind myself to move when he crouched down to help collect his things.
I didn’t just crash into any man, I walked right into the most beautiful man on the planet.
His broad shoulders, deep chocolate eyes and dark hair were the things Bella and I used to dream about.
While he didn’t appear that much older than me, his eyes held a spark of knowledge far beyond his years.
But it was the aura of authority around him that drew me in.
Even his chuckle was sophisticated. “Do you always stare at people you almost knock over.”
A flush heated my cheeks as I ducked my head.
Way to make a first impression Cheyenne.
The man’s brow arched at my reaction. “You don’t strike me as the shy type.”
I wasn’t, but this guy had me feeling like a timid schoolgirl. I could barely even find my voice. “I should’ve been watching where I was going.”
Mama would’ve scolded me for that. Never admit your short comings.
“If you would’ve done that, then I wouldn’t have gotten to see you blush.”
How embarrassing was that?
“I don’t think I’ve even anything so beautiful.”
Did he just call me beautiful?
My eyes rolled up to his as he tipped his head and smirked.
He wasn’t like the boys back home. He wasn’t a boy at all.
He was a man. A breathtakingly handsome man, with an aura of authority someone his age should not have.
Everything about him screamed power. From the clothes on his back to the way he smelled.
Money recognized money. My family had wealth and respect.
The Davis had been in south Carolina since before the civil war.
But something told me that his family would make mine look like peasants.
“Are you going to keep those?” He asked while tipping his chin at the papers in my hand.
“Right.”
I didn’t realize how tall he was until we stood up. I had to crane my neck and lift my chin just to meet his gaze.
“Again, I’m so sorry.” I quickly thrust the papers in his chest.
He shook his head and smiled. “No apologies necessary.”
We stood there for a moment not saying anything, though it looked as if he wanted to speak.
Every time his mouth opened, his brow would knit like he was fighting to find words.
Something that I doubted he had a problem with.
This man struck me as the kind that knew exactly what to say and when to say it.
I could feel him studying me. His dark gaze rolled down the length of me in a way that made me want to cover up and expose myself at the same time.
Plenty of boys looked at me, but none had looked at me like that.
As if they were starving and I was the only food around for miles. It was a bit terrifying.
When he finally did speak it wasn’t at all what I expected. “I should be going.”
He gave me a little nod and walked away.
My mind told me to stay away. Yes the man was very refined, but there was something dark hidden inside him. The smart thing would’ve been to let him go and continue on my way.
I wasn’t smart.
“Wait,” I called out. “Let me buy you a cup of coffee. It’s the least I can do…”
I still don’t know why I didn’t listen to my mind’s warnings that day? Maybe if I had…
“Really Cheyenne, I don’t understand why you keep fighting me.” My mother rolled her stern blue eyes my way. “You don’t want Shelby to make the same mistakes you did.”
The mistake she was referring to was the son my parents forced me give up. That was the thing with my family, you couldn’t make a wrong choice, and if you did, you’d never live it down.
Hence my latest struggle. My husband Brett had been offered a new position in Florida. Normally that would be a great thing, but the town we’d be moving to was the same town Louis Kessler lived in. So, I’d been hesitant.
We only had the one night together and he probably made more of an impression on me than I did on him.
I doubt he would even recognize me. Louis had his own wife who was utterly gorgeous.
I was a nurse. My parents were not happy about that.
How dare their daughter work. Brett made good money, but I wanted a career. I wanted something for myself.
“Honestly Cheyenne,” my mother sighed. “What kind of debutant is Shelby going to make if you insist on letting her play with cars and run around like a boy?”
On the other hand moving would get my daughter away from my parents, which I was liking the sound of a lot more when my mother once again yelled at Shelby to get away from the car. Would it be worth it to save my child from the hell I grew up in?
My answer came with the scowl Shelby shot my mother.
“Mama, why don’t you come inside.” I placed my hand on her back and steered her towards the door. “there’s something I need to talk to you about.”