Chapter 2 #2
At first she’d felt guilty, making the changes so soon after Jim’s death, but eventually she began to see it as therapy.
Her life had taken turns she had never expected and she’d been forced to adjust. She was a single mother, working in a typically male profession.
Struggling to make ends meet, sometimes by the skin of her teeth, she never regretted what she had spent on this room. It was her haven.
Slipping into her nightgown, Maggie snuggled down into the rocking chair.
She reached for the phone three times before she forced herself to dial Nick’s number.
If he hadn’t been staying in Mason’s apartment, she actually might have lied to the kids and told them she didn’t know how to reach him.
Soft light from the lamp on the side table glowed around her as she waited for him to answer.
“Hello.”
Maggie was instantly sorry she hadn’t called from downstairs. Even over the phone, he intruded into the room.
“Hello,” he tried again, the tone of his voice rough.
Maggie cleared her throat. This is ridiculous she thought, as the receiver threatened to slip from her sweating hand.
“Nick, it’s Maggie. We need to talk.”
“Well, it’s about time,” he said, torn between relief and suspicion. “Do you want me to come over?”
“No,” she gasped, a hand going to her throat.
For a moment she pictured Nick in this room and began to tremble.
He was too big, too masculine, and too powerful.
It was even difficult to sit on the couch in the evening without remembering how he’d looked in the soft glow of the fireplace.
The way the flames danced across his glistening muscles—if he ever came into this room, it would never truly be hers again.
Nick sighed.
“Obviously, this isn’t the call I’ve been hoping for, so why don’t you just say what’s on your mind. It’s late.”
Maggie took a deep breath. Nick’s voice irritated her to no end. It was a command and she almost complied. She’d been taking orders from men all her life—her father, her brothers, her boss, and she’d be damned if Nick was going to join the parade.
“If this is a bad time for you, Nick, we can put it off,” she finally responded, the chill in her voice freezing him.
“There is no good time, Maggie, unless you’re going to tell me you’ve reconsidered.”
“We’ve been over this before, and I think I’ve made my feelings perfectly clear,” she answered, trying to sound stronger than she felt.
“Then why the call, Maggie? I meant everything I said today, and I mean everything,” he continued.
She could almost hear the smile in his voice.
“Unless you’re willing to let me into Jason’s life, I guess I’ll see you in court.”
Maggie trembled with fury. He really meant to take this all the way.
“Not only have I not changed my mind about Jason, but I want you to stop trying to infiltrate this family.”
“What?” he demanded incredulously.
“You heard me. Caitlin can’t talk about anything but ‘Nicky’. The boys are waiting for you to take them to the arcade, which by the way you never bothered to ask me about. I’m damn sick of hearing Nick this and Nick that,” she gasped out, revealing far too much.
“I’m sorry, Maggie. Sorry you can’t handle the fact that I like your kids and they like me.
I can’t help it if they feel the need for a little male attention, and I won’t build a relationship with Jason and ignore Todd and Caitie, nor would I want to.
They’re great kids, and if you would stop whining and carrying on for five minutes, you would see—”
“I do not whine,” she informed him, insulted. “And another thing, how dare you tell Caitlin I have too much sass!”
“Because it’s the truth. You’ve never known when to shut up.
As a matter of fact, your best arguments are usually when you’re in the wrong and you know it, as you are in this case.
I’m picking the kids up Saturday to take them to the arcade,” he informed her sharply.
“I promised. Christ, Mason has more freedom with Jason than I do. I can’t see why you—”
Emotion raced through her. It took her a moment to identify it, but when she did, she cut him off immediately.
“You don’t see anything. I’ve had a man telling me what I could and could not do for most of my life, and I refuse to let that happen again.
I’m independent Nick; do you even comprehend what that means to someone like me?
I make my own money, raise my kids, run my life, and the last thing I need or want is some man telling me—”
“I’m not trying to run your life; I just want to be part of it.”
“The hell you’re not. You, Nicholas Kord, are probably the most domineering, arrogant man I’ve ever met. Just look what you did to me today, coming to my workplace, making me look like a woman—”
“Maggie, you are a woman. Have you been working so long in your steel-toed boots, that you’ve forgotten that? And I’ll tell you one more thing, you can wear your jeans, stuff your hair under a hard hat, and boss that crew like MacArthur, but every man there is more than aware that you’re a woman.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a woman doing my job. I happen to be very good at it.”
“I’m not saying that,” Nick argued, trying to keep his cool in the face of her tirade. “You should be able to do any type of work you want regardless of your sex, but Maggie you’re running.”
“And here I thought you were a lawyer. You didn’t tell me you were also a psychiatrist,” she shot back sarcastically.
“It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out, honey. You’ve been running scared ever since New Year’s, avoiding me like the plague, or I wouldn’t have had to track you down at work. What are you afraid of Maggie? Why can’t you admit that it’s tough going it alone? You have needs just like—”
“I do not need anything. For your information I’m doing just fine, or I was until you started—”
“Started what, Maggie? Started making you remember there are other things in life besides work and kids? Started making you feel again?”
“You make me feel all right, make me feel like wringing your neck.”
Nick laughed. “Well, I guess that’s a start. You won’t do it, Maggie,” he whispered softly, “and do you want to know why?”
“No, but I’m sure you’re dying to tell me.”
“Because you’re afraid to touch me,” he told her, his voice deep and heavy.
Maggie’s stomach muscles contracted. Her throat closed as she tried to draw breath.
“Afraid if you do, I’ll put my arms around you and—”
“Nick,” she choked out, her heart beating rapidly against her ribs. “I’ve got to go. I hear Caitie crying, she must be having a nightmare.” There, she’d lied three times in one day. What was happening to her?
“All right, Maggie. I get the message. Go take care of the munchkin. I’ll see you Saturday.”
“I have plans for Saturday.”
“Change them.”
“I can’t. Saturday is the only day I have to get things done around here.”
“Fine, have it your way, but I’m picking up the kids like I promised. I want time with Jason, and I wouldn’t hurt Todd and Caitie by leaving them out. Have them ready.”
“Nick, I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“I don’t either, but it’s the best option I have right now. Don’t push me,” he sighed. “You’re treading on very thin ice.”
“All right, they can go, but you better enjoy it because Monday morning I’m calling my own lawyer,” she informed him, trying to keep her voice steady. “This has to be blackmail or something.”
“What this is, Maggie, is a reasonable man trying like hell to keep from spanking some sense into a totally unreasonable woman,” he shot back almost growling into the phone. “And in case you’re wondering, even I’m not sure how much longer I can continue being reasonable.”
Maggie shivered, whether from fear or desire she wasn’t sure.
She had been Rebecca’s maid of honor the day she married Mason, and it was a day she’d never forget.
Maggie had stood before the alter, trembling while Mason had instructed his bride-to-be on the proper response to the question ‘Do you promise to love, honor, and obey?’ Absolutely mortified at what was taking place, a part of her was a little jealous and wondering what it would be like to have the love of that kind of man.
Someone strong and confident who would love and care for you, even if you were acting like an idiot.
Someone to help and guide you, who would hold you accountable, yet be a strong supporter and a tender place to rest your head when the world became just too damn much.
“Maggie?” Nick’s rough voice pulled her back to the present with a jolt.
“I heard you, Saturday, but don’t get used to it,” she told him trying to keep the quiver out of her voice. “I have to go. Goodnight.”