AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Three
“Ready, set, go,” I yelled before Jameson, Izzy, and I slid across the polished ballroom floor in our socks. It was becoming a nightly ritual before bedtime. That and a dance party.
We each ran a few feet before we got enough momentum to let our sock-covered feet do their thing and glide across the floor. Jameson had the advantage since he was small and light. But Izzy was a cheater and always tried to hold me back.
“Knock it off,” I laughed, while trying to get out of her hold. Better to laugh than cry. I was trying to enjoy my last few hours before Drake knew the truth. More like I was faking it for my son. Inside, I was a nervous wreck. I kept checking out the windows to make sure Drake didn’t show up without warning again. I jumped every time I saw headlights, which thankfully wasn’t too often, as we were a bit off the beaten path in our lovely tourist town that was clamoring with skiers and winter sports enthusiasts this time of year. I wished we could capitalize on it, but there was just too much work to do before we could open. We hadn’t even touched the George and Daisy or Westley and Buttercup rooms, where Drake and Martez were staying. I was saving the George and Daisy room, a.k.a. the honeymoon suite, for last. I had so many conflicting feelings about it. On one hand, I wanted it to stay the same because some of my sweetest memories lived there. On the other hand, I wanted to completely make it over because it was a painful reminder. In fact, I hoped I haunted the heck out of Drake in there tonight. Whatever that meant.
All I knew was what Martez had told Izzy—that Drake had fired like ten assistants after me and he was always comparing them to me, which I guess had them all cursing my name. Apparently, Martez had lasted the longest since my tenure. He’d been working for Drake for the past year. Izzy seemed to think Martez liked working for Drake, but he found him to be impersonal and cold. It didn’t surprise me. It had taken Drake a while to warm up to me after I’d started working for him. But I was determined to make him like me and open up to me. Eventually he did. I probably should have just kept it professional, but then I wouldn’t have Jameson.
I watched my little guy slide with ease and giggle the most addicting giggle in the history of the world.
“Look at me, Mom,” he yelled.
Oh, I was always watching him, afraid I might miss something. When he was first born, I would spend hours watching him, hardly believing I could create something so wonderful. I would think, I am a freaking rock star—look at this perfect kid. Then other times I would cry because I was exhausted with cracked nipples, wondering what day it was, and thinking I had no clue what I was doing. But somehow, we’d both survived.
“Way to go, J man.”
He turned and flashed me his best toothy grin. He was such a happy kid. I knew that once upon a time his father was too. Drake had shared some of his childhood memories with me that weekend. He’d had a horse named Thunder, and his brother Jameson’s was named Lightning. From the sounds of it, they rode more than they walked. He talked about exploring the hills near his home and digging for buried treasure and building forts. All things I could imagine my own Jameson doing.
“Let’s do it again,” he pleaded.
“How about let’s go get our pjs on and get ready for bed?” I countered.
“Listen, Mom, I had a long day at school. A boy needs to unwind.”
Izzy and I snickered. The kid was too much. Between my parents and Izzy and me, he’d probably spent way too much time around grown-ups. My dad was always telling my mom that he needed time to unwind.
“Oh really? Kindergarten is that rough?” I smiled.
“Yeah. I read like four books today and wrote my name ten times. And then when I got home, I built two snowmen.”
“That is a rough day. I guess we better have a dance-off.”
“Yes!” Jameson shouted.
“I’ll turn on the music,” Izzy offered. She jogged over to the alcove where we kept the sound equipment for now and plugged in her phone.
Meanwhile, I stared up at the gold-leafed ceiling, imagining my chandelier in the middle of it, sparkling like thousands of diamonds. At least this visit of Drake’s would be good for something. This space screamed for a fabulous chandelier. All grand halls deserved one.
Soon the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” was blaring over the surround sound.
“Ooh. We’re going disco tonight,” I shouted.
We immediately began rolling our arms and then pointing toward the ceiling and the floor. Then we did a few turns before we started thrusting our hips. It was hilarious to watch Jameson; the kid was so skinny he had nothing to thrust. Now me and Izzy—we could thrust some hips. Watch out, baby!
