NRoberts - G2 Black Rose - Black Rose

 Then it had been a long, long time before she’d allowed another man to touch her. And to be honest, none ever had. Not really, not beyond the physical.

 Bryce hadn’t. But she’d thought, for a while at least, that it was her own fault, or her own nature. She hadn’t loved him, not deep down. But she’d liked him, she’d enjoyed him, and had certainly been attracted to him.

 Stupidly, but that wasn’t the point now.

 The sex had been adequate at best, and adequate had been enough for her. She’d wanted—needed—companionship, partnership.

 Since the divorce, for a considerable time prior to it, if truth be told, she’d been celibate. Her own choice, and the right one for her.

 Until Mitch.

 Now he’d turned her inside out, and God, she was grateful. And relieved, if it came to that, to know her sex drive was in fine working condition.

 He said he was falling in love with her, and that put a little knot in her belly. Love still meant specific things to her. Marriage and family. And those were too enormous to take lightly.

 She’d never take marriage lightly again, so she could hardly take love, what she considered its precursor, lightly.

 But she could, and she would, enjoy him, and the way she felt on this spectacular evening.

 She crossed her own lawn and saw that her earliest daffodils were blooming buttery yellow. Maybe she’d go in, get her sheers, and cut some for her bedroom.

 As she approached the house, she saw Stella and Hayley on the veranda, and raised her hand in a wave.

 “I smell spring,” she said. “We’re going to want to start moving . . .” She trailed off as she saw their faces. “Well, don’t you two look solemn. Trouble?”

 “Not exactly. Mrs. Haggerty was in today,” Stella said.

 “Is something wrong with her?”

 “Not with her. She wondered how you were doing, though, if you were all right.”

 “Why wouldn’t I be?”

 “She was concerned the scene at the garden club meeting had upset you.”

 “Oh.” Roz shrugged. “She should know better.”

 “Why didn’t you tell us?” Stella demanded.

 “Excuse me?”

 “She said that bitch, that walking Barbie, insulted you right there in front of everybody,” Hayley cut in. “That she was spreading lies and rumors and accused you of harassing that asshole she’s hooked herself up with.”

 “You seem to have most of the facts. She should have added, if she didn’t, that Mandy came off looking foolish and shrill, and was certainly more embarrassed by the whole thing than I was.”

 “You didn’t tell us,” Stella repeated.

 “Why would I have?” The tone was aloof.

 “Because whether or not she was more embarrassed, it had to upset you. And while you’re the boss, and blah, blah, blah—”

 “Blah, blah, blah?”

 “And a little bit scary,” Stella added.

 “A little?”

 “The fear factor has diminished considerably over the past year.”

 “I’m not afraid of you,” Hayley said, then hunched her shoulders when Roz turned cool eyes to hers. “Very much.”

 “Despite us being your employees, we’re friends. Or we thought we were.”

 “Oh, for God’s sake. Girls are so much more complicated than boys.” On a long sigh, Roz plopped down on the porch swing. “Of course we’re friends.”

 “Well, if we’re friends, especiallygirl friends,” Hayley continued, and sat beside Roz on the swing, “you’re supposed to tell us when some skinny-assed bitch rags on you. How else are we going to know we hate her guts? How else are we going to know to think up nasty things to say about her? Like, here’s one. Did you know that seventy-three percent of women whose name ends with thei sound are bimbos?”

 Roz sat a moment. “Is that one of your factoids or did you just make it up?”

 “Okay, I made that one up, but I bet it’s true if they dot thei with a little heart—after the age of twelve. And I bet, I just bet she does. So. Bimbo.”

 “She’s just a foolish girl who believes a very smooth liar.”

 “I stand by bimbo.”

 “She had no right to say those things, to your face or behind your back.” Stella sat on Roz’s other side.

 “No, she didn’t, and she came out the worse for it. And all right, it did upset me at the time. I don’t like my personal business aired in public forums.”

 “We’re not a forum,” Hayley stated firmly. “Or the public.”

 Saying nothing for a moment, Roz laid a hand on each of their thighs and gave them a little rub.

 “As I said, females are more complicated than men, and even being female, I probably understand men better. I certainly didn’t mean to hurt your feelings by keeping something like this to myself.”

 “We just want you to know we’re here for you, for the good stuff, and the bad stuff.”

 Hayley’s words touched her. “Then you should know I’ve long since put Mandy out of my mind, as I do with unimportant people. And I’m in much too good a mood to think about her now. When a woman, especially a woman within spitting distance of fifty, has herself a lover who performs excellently twice in one night, so well in fact that she needs the fingers on both hands to count the number of orgasms experienced, the last thing on her mind is some silly girl with no manners.”

 She gave each of their thighs another pat, then rose. “There, that’s some good stuff,” she said and strolled into the house.

 “Wow,” Hayley said after she managed to close the mouth that had fallen open. “I mean, mega-wow. How many times do you think he got her off? At least six, right?”

 “You know what I thought the first time I saw Roz?”

 “Uh-uh.”

 “That I wanted to be her when I grew up. And boy, do I.”

 ROZ WALKED STRAIGHTback to the kitchen, and straight to the coffeepot. Once she had a cup, she sidled over and gave David’s cheek a kiss as he stood at the stove making his famed hot chocolate.

 “Boys outside?”

 “Running off some energy with Parker, and working up anticipation for hot chocolate. My other guest, as you see, has conked on me.”

 Stella grinned toward the highchair, where Lily snoozed in the tipped-back seat. “Isn’t she a doll baby, and aren’t you a sweetheart for minding three children so those girls could waylay me.”

 “We do what we can. And you should’ve mentioned what that silly bitch pulled.”

 “You ever known me not to be able to handle a silly bitch?”

 “I’ve never known you not to be able to handle anything, but you should’ve mentioned it. How else am I going to know what shape to make the voodoo doll?”

 “Don’t worry, Bryce’ll stick plenty of pins in her before he’s done.”

 “Don’t expect me to feel sorry for her.”

 “It’s her cross to bear.”

 “Dinner in about an hour,” he called as she started out of the room. “And you’ve got some phone messages. They were on your line so I didn’t screen them.”

 “I’ll get them upstairs.”

 She took her coffee with her, and toed off her shoes after she crossed the threshold to her room. Then she pushed the button on the answering machine.

 “Roz, I didn’t want to bother you at work.”

 “What a nice voice you have, Dr. Carnegie,” she mused aloud, and sat on the side of the bed to enjoy it.

 “It’s my pizza night with Josh. I forgot to mention it. I like to think you’ll miss me, and that I can make up for it by taking you out tomorrow. Whatever, wherever you’d like, just let me know. In addition, I did some work today, and I’d like to talk to you about that tomorrow. I should be over there by noon. If I don’t see you, you can reach me on my cell. I’ll be thinking of you.”

 “That’s nice to know. That’s very nice to know.”

 She was still daydreaming a little when the next message began.

 “Ms. Harper, this is William Rolls from the Riverbend Country Club. I received your letter this morning, and am very sorry to hear that you’re dissatisfied with our services and have resigned as a member. I must admit to being surprised, even stunned, by your list of complaints, and only wish you had been able to speak with me about them personally. We have valued your association with Riverbend for many years, and regret your decision to end it. If you’d care to discuss this matter, please feel free to contact me at any time at any of the following numbers. Again, I sincerely regret the circumstances.”

 She sat very still until the entire message played through. Then she shut her eyes.

 “Fuck you, Bryce.”

 WITHIN AN HOURshe’d not only spoken with William Rolls, had assured him she wasn’t dissatisfied, had no complaints and had not written any letter, but she had a faxed copy of the letter in question in her hand.

 And a head of steam that threatened to blow like a geyser.

 She was dragging her shoes back on when Hayley popped in, the baby on her hips. “David says dinner’s . . . whoa, what’s wrong?”

 “What’s wrong? You want to know what’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong.” She snatched the letter up from where she’d tossed it on the bed. “Here’s what’s wrong. That miserable, snake-spined son of a bitch has tried my patience once too often.”

 “ ‘The admittance of individuals of lower-class backgrounds and mixed ethnicity,’ ” Hayley read, holding the paper out of Lily’s reach. “ ‘Staff members of dubious character. Demeaning intimacy between staff and members, substandard service.’ ” Her eyes were huge as she shifted them back up to Roz’s face. “You didn’t write this.”

 “Of course I didn’t. And I’m going to take that letter, find Bryce Clark, and stuff it down his lying throat.”

 “No.” Hayley jumped to block the door, her move so fast it had Lily laughing and bouncing in anticipation of another ride.

 “No? What do you meanno ? I’m done taking this. Finished. And he’s going to know it when I’m done with him.”

 “You can’t. You’re too mad to go anywhere.” The fact was, she’d never seen Roz this angry, and Stella’s term of a little bit scary was currently bumped up too many levels to count. “And I don’t know much about this sort of thing, but I’d bet a month’s pay this is just what he’s hoping for. You need to sit down.”

 “I need to kick his balls blue.”

 “Well, yeah, that’d be great. Except he’s probably expecting it, and he’s probably got something worked out so you’ll get arrested or something for assault. He’s playing you, Roz.”

 “You think I don’t know that?” She threw her arms out as she spun around, looking for something to kick, to hurl, to punch. “You think I don’tknow what that bastard’s doing? I’m not going tostand here and take it anymore.”

 The shout, the fury in it had Lily’s face crumpling, her little mouth trembling an instant before the wail.

 “God, now I’m scaring babies. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Here, let me have her.”

 Lily continued to sob as Roz took her out of Hayley’s arms and cuddled her in her own. “There, sweetheart, I’m not mad at you, I’m not mad at your mama. I’m so sorry, baby girl.” She crooned, and nuzzled while Lily clung to her. “I’m mad at this no-account, slimy-assed, cocksucking son of a bitch who’s doing whatever he can to complicate my life.”

 “You saidcocksucking ,” Hayley whispered. Awed.

 “Sorry. She doesn’t know what I’m saying, so it won’t hurt her.” Lily’s tears were down to sniffles as she began to pull at the ends of Roz’s hair. “I shouldn’t have yelled like that in front of her. It’s the tone that scares her, not the words.”

 “But you saidcocksucking .”

 This time Roz laughed. “I’m so mad,” she said, walking the baby, and calming them both. “Just so mad. And you’re right, and that’s just annoying. I can’t go tearing out of here and going after him. It’s just what he’s looking for. It’s all right, it’ll be all right. He can’t do anything that can’t be fixed.”

 “I’m sorry Roz. I wish I could go kick his balls blue for you.”

 “Thanks, honey, that’s a sweet thing to say. We’ll just go down to dinner.” She held Lily up, blew on her belly to make her laugh. “We’ll just go down to dinner and forget all about the asshole, won’t we, baby girl?”

 “You’re sure?”

 “Absolutely.”

 “Okay. You know, I don’t know as snakes have spines.”

 Roz blinked at her. “What?”

 “You saidsnake-spined —before, when you were raving about Bryce. I’m not sure they have actual spines. Maybe just some sort of skeletal cartilage. Could be wrong, though. I don’t much like snakes, so I haven’t paid a lot of attention.”

 “You never fail, Hayley, just never fail to baffle me.”

 FIFTEEN

ROZ PUTMITCHoff for a day, then for two. She wanted her head clear, her temper calm, and it wasn’t happening quickly. She needed a meeting with her lawyer, and felt obliged to schedule another with William Rolls at the club.

 She hated, absolutely hated, being pulled away from her work, particularly at the very start of high season. She could thank God for Stella, as always for Harper, and for Hayley as well. She could be confident that her business was in the best of hands.

 But those hands weren’t hers, at least not while she was running around tidying up the mess Bryce had made for her.

 With the hateful errands done, she trudged through a soaking rain toward the propagation house. For an hour or two, at least, she could dive into the final prep work for the spring season. And she could take her headache, and her sour mood, into a private spot and let the work do its magic.

 When she was done for the day, she told herself, she was going to find Mitch. If he wasn’t working in her library, she’d call him. She wanted his company—or hoped she would by that evening.

 She wanted conversation, about something other than her problems. And wouldn’t it be nice to relax with him, maybe up in her sitting room, by the fire—especially if the rain continued—and bask a little in the way he looked at her?

 A woman could get very used to having a man look at her as if she were beautiful and desirable and the only one who mattered.

 Get used enough to it, she might start to believe it. She’d like to believe it, Roz realized. What a difference it made, being drawn to a man you felt you could trust.

 She opened the door to the propagation house.

 And stepped into her own bedroom.

 The fire was simmering low, the only light in the room. And it tossed flickers of gold, hints of red into the shadows. She heard them first, the quick breath, the low laughter, the rustle of clothing.

 Then she saw them in the firelight, Bryce, her husband, and the woman who was a guest in her home. Embracing. No, more . . . grappling, hurrying to touch, to taste each other. She could feel the excitement from them, the snap of the illicit thrill. And knew, even in those few shocked seconds, this wasn’t the first time. Hardly the first time.