Steele Promises

White Lies

Chapter 11

 

September 20, 2011 Annapolis, MD

 

Chey stood in front of the stove stirring the sauce she’d made for the lasagna. She was surprised how comfortable she was here now. It was almost like living with Preston; accept they hadn’t slept in the same bed since the night of the funeral. She remembered how warm and protected she’d felt with his arms around her. It was nice; she missed sleeping next to someone even though she hadn’t been sleeping a lot lately.

At her last appointment she’d been told it was normal being a month away from her due date. She was excited to see what her daughter would look like, but at the same time scared that the child would favor her father so much she wouldn’t be able to forget about the man who’d ruined her life. She placed the top back on the sauce pan and left the kitchen just in time to see the mail man walk off the porch.

Part of their routine was that Jaxon got the mail when he returned from physical therapy. His shoulder was getting better every day. It wasn’t as though she couldn’t get the mail herself, but she just never thought about it. She moved toward the door, wondering what he would think to come home and there not be any mail for him to look through in his office on the second floor. She went out to the mailbox knowing that he would have yelled at her for not putting on a coat and shoes. She removed the mail from the mailbox and rushed back into the house. As she made her way up to his office she ran across an envelope with her name on it. It was from her doctor’s office. She opened it and read it quickly.

“Another, culinary masterpiece?” Jaxon said coming into the kitchen. He looked around but didn’t see Chey anywhere. He turned around and went into the living room, she wasn’t there either. He rushed up the stairs and burst into her room only to find her sitting on the bed. He could tell by her body language she wasn’t happy. “Chey, what’s wrong? Is it the baby? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“When were you going to tell me the marital benefits weren’t going to go through?” She asked in a small voice. He let out the breath he’d been holding only to realize that he wasn’t out of trouble yet.

“When I had to,” he said simply. “I made a promise…”

“Screw your promise; you were just going to keep lying to me? I…I was starting to trust you, what else have you lied to me about?” He thought for a moment, and then took a deep breath.

“Nothing, I haven’t lied about anything and I only kept that away from you because you had just lost your husband and you didn’t need any more to worry about.” He moved to sit next to her on the bed and she moved further away. “I’m sorry Chey. I was only trying to protect you.”

“I don’t know how much Preston told you about me, but I don’t trust easily and I don’t like to be lied to. Secrets hurt people.”

“I would never hurt you Chey, nor would I let someone hurt you. I’ve been paying the bills as they come…”

“Oh, Jaxon,” she said looking at him in surprise. “I’ll pay you back once I get back on my feet…”

“I wouldn’t take a penny from you,” he said looking offended. “I’m not going to let you pay me back. This is something I want to do and it’s not like I don’t have the money. I’ve had this trust fund for a long time and haven’t needed or wanted to touch it until now. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it.”

“Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?” A hurt look flashed across his face, but he hid it quickly.

“I don’t want anything from you Chey,” He said. “Preston was like a brother to me and after years of friendship with him the least I can do is make sure that his wife and child are well taken care of.” With that he stood up. “Don’t ever accuse me of trying to buy you again Chey. I have very little patience for smart people who don’t pay attention to the things that are right in front of their eyes.” Then he left the room without a backward glance.

“That’s not fair!” she yelled to the empty room. She moved to follow him but heard his bedroom door slam closed.