Chapter 14 #2
Nick laughed and kissed her nose.
“Hmm… funny, that’s exactly how your Ma felt about it. Now go get cleaned up for dinner,” he told her turning her toward the door and delivering a smack to her backside. “I’ll get the kids.”
* * *
And so the wooing began. On Thursday she came home just as the carpet cleaning company was finishing up. They managed to get the stain out, and Maggie was very thankful not to have to replace it.
Nick reached for his wallet, but she snapped up the bill for the cleaning and immediately wrote the check. Even the eyebrow didn’t deter her this time. It was her carpet, her wine, and her vomit, she informed him. And he just threw up his hands and walked away, swearing softly.
Maggie had to admit it was nice to come home to a clean house with dinner ready and happy kids.
She no longer spent hours each night arguing with Todd to get his homework done.
Apparently, the eyebrow worked on him too, although certainly not for the same reason.
Nick only had to tell him once “no gaming until your homework is done”, for Todd to decide he should do it as soon as he got home from school.
Jason seemed a little quiet, and she often felt him watching them.
He and Nick got along well; they were so much alike, it was uncanny.
At times, Maggie had the feeling that Jason was waiting for something to happen.
When she mentioned it to Nick, he just smiled and told her she was imagining things. Maybe she was.
Her life had been turned upside down. Nick was everything a woman could hope for.
Attentive and kind, he seemed to take great pleasure in caring for her, rubbing her feet, brushing her hair, holding her on his lap while they watched TV.
Several times she fell asleep there, and he’d carried her up to bed, tucking her in gently and kissing her goodnight.
On Friday night Nick took them all out to eat, followed by a movie. Maggie took Caitie to see the latest animated feature, and Nick took Todd and Jason to an action film. It seemed to work out, and Maggie really enjoyed the girl time with her daughter.
Try as she might, she could find no fault with Nick.
Well, almost none. When the power company disconnected her for paying late, he was not a happy man.
When he found out that the money for the bill had been paid to the carpet cleaners, he was downright furious.
Not only did he pay the electric bill, he had to pay a reconnect fee, and all because of her stubborn pride.
On top of that, Caitie was so upset about sleeping in the dark, as the power company could not restore service until the next day that Nick sprang for a suite at a downtown hotel.
After the kids were asleep, Nick escorted Maggie from the sitting room into his connecting room, where he promptly sat on the bed and pulled her over his knee.
Maggie howled her distress and apologies into his pillow.
Things calmed down a little after that night.
School let out for the summer, and against her expressed wishes, Nick hired a part-time housekeeper/nanny.
Maggie came home early, not feeling well.
Unlocking the door, she let herself in and stopped dead in her tracks.
At the sink was a young woman singing at the top of her lungs.
Long, glossy black hair fell past her waist, and her butt wiggled with the beat as she rinsed a pan in the sink.
Her jeans were worn and seemed to be much too large for her small frame.
Maggie approached cautiously and gently touched the woman’s shoulder.
A piercing scream rattled the windows, and Maggie was so startled that she screamed too.
Backing up and away from each other, Maggie could see that she was quite young.
Wide, dark eyes stared at her as the girl struggled to catch her breath, ripping the ear buds from her ears.
Her hand clutched her chest as if she was trying to keep her heart from bursting out.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she stammered, her eyes pleading as she gulped in air.
Maggie was leaning on the counter, sucking in air too. Intending to get the girl’s attention, she had not been ready for such a vocal reaction.
“Who are you?” she asked, trying to keep her voice even and not alarm the girl further.
“I am Theresa… Tess. I’m sorry I screamed like that, but I thought I was alone,” she answered softly, still clutching her chest.
“What are you doing here, Tess?”
“I am the new housekeeper. I am supposed to come every day at noon to clean and watch the children until Mr. Nick gets home.”
“Mr. Nick? Is that who hired you?” Maggie asked gently. There was no sense in scaring this poor girl any more than she already had. It wasn’t Tess’s fault that she had a high-handed so-and-so trying to take over her life.
“Yes, well… it was Rory… Detective O’Malley, who got me the job. He said it would keep me out of trouble, but I don’t think it has so far. I am so sorry, Miss… ?”
“Maggie,” she told her, extending her hand. “I’m Maggie Cassidy. Can I get you anything, a glass of water or a soda?”
“No, it is me who should be waiting on you,” she said embarrassed. “Is there anything I can get you?”
“Do you know where anything is?” Maggie asked with a grin.
Tess laughed.
“Actually no, I have only been here for half an hour.”
“Then I’d better get it,” Maggie told her moving to the fridge. “How old are you, Tess?”
“I am twenty-eight.”
“And how did you meet my brother, Rory?” Maggie asked as she handed the girl a soda. Studying her closely, she could see that Tess wasn’t as young as she first appeared. There was wariness about her, sadness in her eyes, and Maggie couldn’t help being drawn to her.
Tess flushed and hung her head.
“It is kind of complicated. I am not sure what to… he arrested me,” she finally stammered, her face red.
Maggie was momentarily shocked speechless. Would her own brother send a criminal to care for her children?
“No, Mrs. Cassidy, nothing like what you are thinking,” Tess told her, blushing fiercely.
“Call me Maggie, Tess. Mrs. Cassidy was my mother-in-law. Go on.”
“You see, I lost my job, and then I could not pay my rent, so the landlord made me move out. It was not much of a place anyway, but it was furnished so I did not have much of my own. I decided to sleep in my car until I could find a place. But it has been so hot, and my car is a compact.
“Anyway, I thought I would just sleep in the park. I had an old sleeping bag and the bench was not too uncomfortable. I did not think it would be a problem, but apparently there are laws against that sort of thing.”
“Don’t you have any family?” Maggie inquired gently. As crazy as they were, Maggie couldn’t imagine not having her family around.
“No, I have a sister in California, but we never were very close. Our parents were killed in an accident when I was fifteen. Maria, that’s my sister, took care of me until I was eighteen, but the day after my birthday she told me I was on my own, and I have been ever since.
“Mostly I do all right, but lately it seems like everything is falling apart.” Tess was quiet, apparently lost in thought and not pleasant ones by the sadness in her eyes.
“So my sainted brother arrested you, did he?” Maggie asked, not thinking too highly of Rory at the moment.
“No, Maggie, do not blame him, he did make me leave the park three times in one week. Rory… Detective O’Malley, was very kind the first two times, walking me to my car and explaining the dangers of sleeping in the park. I guess I should have listened.”
“So the third time he took you to jail?” Maggie asked incredulously.
“Not exactly,” Tess mumbled. “He was so angry that night. Said there had been a woman attacked in the park recently, and as I did not have the sense that God gave an ant, he would have to instill some. He… he… ” Tess didn’t seem able to continue.
Maggie pulled her over to the counter and sat her down, pushing her drink towards her.
“It’s okay, Tess. There’s nothing you could tell me at this point that would surprise me, but if it makes you uncomfortable to talk about it, I’ll understand.”
“That is just it Mrs. Cass… Maggie. I have to tell someone. It is so embarrassing. I can hardly believe it happened.” Drawing a deep breath, Tess wrapped her shaking hands around her drink and continued.
“Before I could guess what he meant, he put his foot on the bench and pulled me right over his thigh.
I tried to struggle away, but it seemed like a really long way to the ground, and I was afraid I would fall on my head.
It did not matter anyway, because he is very strong and there was no way I could escape.
“I started yelling, but he said go ahead, maybe I could get a crowd to witness my foolishness. Not wanting that, I started quietly swearing at him, calling him a few choice names. It was not my best idea.
“Maggie, he spanked me, hard, and for a long time. I cannot remember the last time I was spanked. Matter of fact, I do not think I have ever been spanked, at least not like that. By the time he set me on my feet I was crying so hard I could not see. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped my face and made me blow my nose. That was almost worse than the spanking.” Tess shivered with a faraway look in her eyes.
“Finally he pulled a pair of handcuffs out and put them on me. He marched me to his car, plopped me in the back seat, and used his radio to call and have my car impounded. I could not believe it. No home, no job and now no car. It was the worst night of my life. We drove around for a long time. I kept quiet, trying not to make things worse. I swear if I could have gotten my hands free I would have smacked him just for the sheer pleasure of it.”
Maggie grinned.
“I know exactly how you felt. Go on.”