Chapter 47
Dax
The little liar was truthful about having plans with my mother. Mom was at the house by midmorning, and the two of them were in the living room talking and giggling. It almost felt like a normal home where the people in it get along and love each other.
Cori pours my mother a mug of coffee and pulls me aside.
“I need money and my car.” There was no question or remorse in her voice, and for a second, I wanted to tell her to go to hell, but my mother’s words stopped me.
“With your sister being gone, it’s so nice to have another daughter to do these things with. I don’t remember the last time I had a day of pampering. The only thing that could make it better is if Josie could join us.”
Cori crossed her arms as if daring me to deny my mother this day. Whatever my issues are with the snake I married, my mother has nothing to do with it.
“Fine. Today only.” I hand her a credit card and her car key. “I realize you can’t help yourself, but try not to lie to my mother. I know for someone like you, lying is as easy as breathing.”
She gives me a cold, calculated smile. She gets closer to me and spreads her hands on my chest. My body wakes up, and despite knowing I need to walk away from her, I remain frozen.
“Lie? You mean like this?” She gets so close that our bodies practically touch. “You’re so handsome.” My nostrils flare. “I love you.”
My heart stops beating at those three words, and for a moment, she has me again. I bend down to kiss her, but she drops her hands and jumps away. She points and laughs, and I feel like the biggest fool who ever lived.
I walk away without a word to her or my mother, and lock myself in my office until they leave. Once they’re gone, I walk Finch, give her food and water, then go to meet one of my attorneys.
It’s been a shitty day, and the meeting was long, boring, and didn’t do anything to improve my mood. I was expecting the house to be quiet and dark upon my return, but I was wrong.
There were charges for the spa, the restaurant, and the grocery store on the credit card, and that was it. That was hours ago, so I’m surprised when I hear my mother’s voice in the kitchen.
Cori is standing at the kitchen island, wearing a black apron and pouring a drink for my mother.
“No more, sweetheart. My head is already spinning.” Mom giggles, and Cori fills her glass to the brim. I approach and kiss my mother’s cheek. Since my mother is here, I attempt to kiss my wife, but she grabs a wooden spoon and holds it between us like it’s a barrier.
Thankfully, Mom doesn’t notice, and since my wife doesn’t offer me a drink, I pour my own. It’s a fruity but strong wine, and I down it all and refill my glass. Her eyes narrow at me.
“So, Momma Had, are you ready? My paternal grandmother was from New Orleans, so this is her signature dish. She taught my mom and me, but I’m better at this than Mom.” Cori puts a finger to her lips. “Don’t tell her, but Grandma said southern cooking is in my blood. I hope you like it.”
“I can’t wait.” Mom rubs her hands together in anticipation.
“Have you been here long, Mom?” I ask.
“We were at the spa for a couple of hours, and Cori asked me to spend the day with her. We had a light lunch, did some food shopping, and we’ve been here for a few hours.” Mom rises from her seat and hugs Cori. My wife wraps her arms around my mother and kisses both her cheeks.
“You’re the best, Momma Had. We should do a girls' lunch once a week.”
“I’d love that.” Mom beams, sits and sips her drink. Cori doesn’t look my way. Not wanting to talk to her, I leave the kitchen to search for Finch.
“Where the fuck is my dog?” Mom’s head whips around, and she frowns.
“Who are you talking to like that, boy? Cori is your wife, not some stranger off the street. You better watch your language and your tone before I knock your ass out.” I ignore my mother and confront my wife.
She’s setting the table, and I notice she only has two dishes out.
I wrap my hand around her wrist and snatch the plate from her hand.
“Where’s my fucking dog?” Her eyes widen, and she takes a step back, but there’s nowhere for her to go since I’m holding her wrist.
“How am I supposed to know. Finch is your dog. I don’t have anything to do with her.” She pulls her wrist, but I don’t let her go. “Let me go, you jerk.”
“Son, Finch was here this morning when I left with Cori. She’s been with me all day.” I glare into my wife’s lying eyes and shake my head in disgust. She managed to fool me again, because I bought her little act of wanting to spend the day with my mother, but I should have known better.
“Mom, she’s not here. I found her collar, which has her tracker in it.”
Cori manages to pull away from me and continues to set the table.
“Momma Had, we should take a girls' trip to New Orleans. You, me, and Josie, but Selene and Eden might want to come too.” I snort at that. “But I think it would be great if it’s the three of us girls. We can make it a little family trip. What do you think?”
Conniving and manipulative. This girl has my mother eating out of the palm of her hand. Mom grabs her phone, and I know she’s texting my sister. Knowing my mother the way I do, she will have the trip dates picked out by tomorrow, and I hope Cori doesn’t break her heart by not following through.
“That sounds lovely. I love the idea of the three of us, at least the first time. We can open it up to others another time. I absolutely love New Orleans, though I haven’t been in a while. I’m going to go call your sister, Daxton.” She presses the phone to her ear and leaves the kitchen.
Cori busies herself putting the food in a serving dish. She refills their glasses and carries them to the table without saying a word to me.
After she puts the glasses down, I get in her face. She goes around me, but I cut her off.
“If you hurt a hair on Finch’s head, it will be the last thing you ever do. Tell me where she is.”
“Or what?” She drops the innocent act and stares me in the eyes. She gives me a smug look and looks me over. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been with your mother all day.” She leaves and returns to the stove. “And I don’t know how someone like her gave birth to someone like you.”
“I can say the same about your mother.” I press into her back. “I guess you’re an opportunist like your father.”
She faces me while holding a wooden spoon.
“What opportunities? You?” She points the spoon at me.
“Don’t make me laugh, but I will end up with everything you own.
Very soon, and by any means necessary. Remember in the good ol’ days when women would poison their husbands?
” She looks past me before lowering her voice.
“Be careful what you eat or drink in this house, sweetheart.”
Fed up with her and her bullshit, I stick my hands under her armpits, lift her off her feet, and press her into the wall. “Tell me where my fucking dog is before I lose my shit.”
She presses her lips shut, but she tries to kick me. I press my body into hers, leaving her no room to move her legs.
“You want to fuck with me? Fine, but if you touch my dog—”
She suddenly burst into tears and starts to sob.
“Stop it. Leave me alone,” she sobs while tears stream down her face.
“Daxton Lemar Hunt! What in the hell do you think you’re doing?
” My mother’s voice takes me by surprise, and my lying wife cries harder.
“Put her down right now.” I let her slide down the wall and let her go.
Mother steps between us and pushes me away before pointing a finger in my face.
“Don’t you ever let me catch you doing that again.
” She slaps me upside the head, and I try to dodge her, but she grabs my collar.
“Did I raise the type of man to get in his wife’s face like you just did?
” She hits me on the chest this time. “Answer me.”
“No, Mom.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“She took Finch,” is all I say in my defense.
“I don’t care if she took your soul. Don’t you ever.
Do you hear me? And she did not take Finch.
Your dog was here when we left, and you know that.
This sweet girl has been with me all day, showing me a good time and keeping me company.
How do you figure she took your dog? Maybe you should learn to be more responsible. ”
“Mom, she’s not sweet. She’s evil.”
“Evil? Then why did you marry her?” I don’t offer my mother an answer. “If she’s so evil, leave her. File for a divorce. I bet you won’t.”
“I sure won’t because I’m going to make her miserable,” I growl.
Cori bursts into tears again, and my mother takes her into a hug.
“He’s just been so awful to me,” my wife sobs. “Always in my face and accusing me of things. I’m scared of the dog. I didn’t go near it.” Mom’s arms tighten around her. “And he uses Finch to terrorize me. I’m scared of dogs because of a childhood trauma, and he—”
“Trauma? From a dog barking at you when you were five? If you’re that frail, I’ll lock you up in an institution.”
“You see what I mean, Momma Had? He’s constantly going at me.
I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I’m so stressed, I can’t even design dresses.
All I want is to live in peace. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve this kind of treatment.
” She takes a paper towel and dabs under her eyes.
Fresh tears fall, and I raise my hand and do a slow clap.
“You didn’t do a thing to deserve this, sweetheart. My son will get his head out of his ass, or I’m going to stick my foot in it.”
“He scares me,” she lies. Mom makes soothing sounds and runs her hands over Cori’s head. My wife finally lifts her head and looks at me. She raises her hand and slowly lifts her middle finger, followed by a smug look of triumph.
“He won’t do a thing to you, baby. If he so much as raises his voice, you call me, and I’ll come set him straight.” Mom whips her head around and gives me a disappointing look. “Apologize,” she orders.
“I will not.”
She lets Cori go and gets in my face. Unlike for my lying wife, Mom has no hug or words of comfort for me.
“Are you deaf, son? I said apologize to your wife. Right the hell now.”
Cori crosses her arms and slightly rolls her neck before mouthing the word 'checkmate'.
“Mom, I will not. She—” Mom tries to whack me upside the head, but I wrap my hand around her wrist. Her eyes widen right before she hits me with her free hand. After slapping me on the head, she grabs my ear like she did when I was a misbehaving boy.
“Right now, Daxton.” She pulls on my ear, and I wince.
“Sorry,” I say without any emotion. She lets me go, and I take a big step back.
“I suggest you put that nasty energy into finding my grand dog. Go. You get on my nerves.” Mom gestures for me to leave, but all I do is grab myself a plate and set it on the table.
Cori dabs her eyes and lets out a shaky breath.
“Sometimes, I just feel so unsafe.”
I do a slow clap before standing up and bowing. “Your acting is as bad as your cooking.” She gasps and puts a hand to her chest. It’s a lie. Not only is she a fantastic cook, but she takes pride in everything she makes.
“I’m too upset to eat.” Cori rubs her temples, and Mom pulls out her chair. “I’m very sensitive.”
I snort at the obvious lie.
“Sensitive? Like a sensitive boa constrictor?” Her eyes narrow at me. “Or a honey badger?” I snort. “Sensitive, my ass.”
“Son, shut up.” Mom tries to swat me, but I lean back, and she misses.
“I know you are sensitive, sweetheart, but sit down. You haven’t eaten in hours. I wouldn’t want you to get lightheaded.”
“Lightheaded from not eating for a few hours?” I scoff. “Yeah, okay.”
“So, now you’re calling me fat?” Cori puts her hands on her hips.
“What? I said no such thing. You see how she twists everything?”
“Boy, shut the hell up,” Mom snaps. “You’re starting to piss me off.”
“Maybe Dax can go look for the dog. He’s upset me too much tonight. And since he hates my cooking—”
“You have something to say to me, say it, sweetheart.” I snap. “Say it directly to me, don’t go through my mom.” I turn to my mother. “I can’t believe you’re buying her act.”
“Get away from my table, honey.” Her fake sweetness is enough to give me a toothache.
“I bought this fucking table, darling.”
“Daxton,” Mom warns. “I told you to watch your God damn mouth, now.”
“I’m sure Finch is out there waiting for you to find her, schnookums,” she snaps.
Instead of responding, I pull a chair, letting it scrape against the tiles, before I dramatically drop myself on it.
“I ain’t going nowhere until I’m damn good and ready to go.” I grab her drink and down half of it before adding, “Pookie.”
“Momma Had, I don’t understand how a sweet woman like you could end up with such a butthead as a son.” Cori points at and scoffs.
“Well, don’t blame me for that, honey. He gets that from his daddy’s side. They’re a whole family of buttheads.”
“Makes sense,” Cori says while glaring at me. “I know you couldn’t be responsible for that.”
“Child, I can tell you some stories about his paternal grandmother. She always had a flask in her purse and a cigarette between her lips. And she dropped him when he was a baby. I stopped taking him to visit after that.” Mom shakes her head.
“Did she drop him on his big ass watermelon head?”
Mom laughs, but I don’t dignify my wife with a response. For someone who is too upset to eat, she shoves jambalaya down her throat with ease. She doesn’t look at me, but I stare at her the entire time.
“How’s your cousin, sweetheart?” I ask, and the table goes quiet.
“That lovely girl I met at the wedding?” I snort at my mother’s question, but I keep my eyes on Cori. She shoves a forkful into her mouth, but I notice her body tensing for a brief moment.
“Lovely, my ass,” I say.
“Daxton, I suggest you shut your mouth now.” Mom slams her hand on the table, and Cori jumps. “How is Selene, Cori? You should have invited her to dinner.”
Cori flares her nostrils while glaring at me, and I wait for her to tell my mother how I put Selene out.
“She’s good. She has a date tonight, but I’m bringing her some of the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. She loves jambalaya.”
We eat in silence, and I’ll never admit this out loud, but the food is delicious. I make sure to fill my plate three times.
“Are you done, Mom? Do you want any more food?” I ask.
“I’m full, and Cori already put some aside for me to take home.” She rests her hand on top of Cori’s. “One of the best meals I’ve had in a long time.”
“I made dessert.”