Surprises

Part Eighteen

Worry for Jason prompted Keesha to do something she swore she never would. She paged him. Sitting in a parked car near the dividing line between Corinthos and Sorel territory, she waited for his response. Her fingers tapped nervously on top of the dashboard. She hated the concern that made her heart race and palms sweat. Whatever made her think she could share her body with him without sharing a part of her soul, too?

Her cell phone came to life with a shrill ring. Keesha grabbed it and answered, "Ward."

There was a slight pause and then, "Keesha? This is--"

"I know," she said, releasing a sigh of relief that he was indeed okay.

"What's wrong?"

Keesha's chest constricted. How could he ask her that considering how he started her day?! Of course, something was wrong. He'd changed things on her and now, she couldn't even think straight. She had half a mind to hang up on him, but just hearing his voice... Well, his voice did things to her. Like make her feel safe and believe that everything would be okay.

"Where are you?" he asked, his voice hard and agitated. "I'll come get you."

"No!" She said the word more sharply than she intended. She drew in a deep breath and added, "Don't. There's no need."

"I think there is," he said quietly. "Tell me where you are, and I'll get you."

"And where will we go?" she asked.

Another pause. "It's a surprise."

"I'd rather you didn't come. I'll meet you."

He gave her the address and Keesha agreed to meet him there. It was a stupid move, and she knew it. But hey, that seemed to be the story of her life of late. What could one last time hurt?

# # #

"It's late," Laura said, glancing at her watch and then back at Carly. "I didn't expect you to come back today."

Carly shrugged. "I wasn't ready to go home."

"You'll have to eventually," Laura replied gently. "Why don't you come in and shut the door?"

"Why not," Carly said. She closed the door and trudged over to the comfortable sofa that took up the center of her partner's office. The session with Gail had drained her. So much came out at once. Tears and words. Words and tears. Carly never realized she had so much stuff bottled up inside her.

Laura joined her on the sofa. "You were right before. We're not pals, and we don't need to be to run a business. But there is more to life than work."

Carly arched an eyebrow. "Another lecture?"

"No," Laura said, shaking her head. "Just some unsolicited advice. Give yourself time to deal with the changes. Deception will be here. Believe me, burying yourself in work won't solve anything. I've tried it before and all it did was make things worse. With that adorable little boy depending on you, the last thing you want is for things to get worse. Take some time off."

"I don't need to," Carly said. Laura frowned and Carly quickly continued. "No, I hear what you're saying, but I don't need time to deal with the changes. I just need to get off my ass and stop feeling sorry for myself."

Laura's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"

Carly laughed softly. "That doesn't sound like me, does it? I've spent most of the day thinking about myself and the choices I've made. Most of them weren't good choices. I hurt people who cared about me. Kinda like striking first and asking questions later. I don't need time to deal with changes. It's just time that I've made a few."