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“Oh, you’re in trouble now,” she finally said.
“How is that?” I asked pleasantly. “You just purse snatched me, you bastard,” Etta said on the edge of hysterics. “That purse?” I asked, pointing to it hanging from her shoulder as I pocketed my phone. “No, but you—” “Ex-Army Ranger, remember?” I asked. Etta made an inarticulate sound of utter frustration before storming off, her hands clutched in the tight fists of defeat. “She is a real piece of work,” Whitney said, watching her former best friend stomp down the sidewalk and rocking the still sleeping little girl.
“She’s certainly a piece of something.” I took her by the shoulders. “You okay, kid?” “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just a bit of a shock, ya know?” “She made a fool of both of us,” I admitted. “Etta is a slippery one.” “I just—” I held out my hands and took Katie back then swung an arm over my baby sister’s shoulder. “Come one, let’s go back to my place and have some coffee, yeah?” Whitney nodded mutely, the tears already starting to roll.
Chapter Sixteen
Ashlyn
My favorite dress really wasn’t meant to be a solo operation. The zipper was situated in such a way as to require two people to do it up — at least that was my theory. I managed fairly well with double-jointed shoulders and a coat hanger.
After getting the dress done up, I looked at myself in the mirror in as many angles as was possible. I had to admit, I looked pretty good. It was certainly as good as it got. Though Chase did seem to be into me anyway. He had already given me the biggest orgasms of my life. So that was something.
Getting my hair done as well as I could with what I had, I went out into the living room and stretched out as seductively as I could manage on the couch. In that position, I waited for Chase to return from the park.
Turns out wait was about all I did. The note had said noon. It was a quarter to one by the time they came back. My mind was already racing with the kind of terror really only parents know.
“Jesus, what happened?” I asked as Chase got Katie down off his back. “Mommy!” Katie said, toddling toward me at high speed, making it most of the way before going down. “There was a complication,” Chase said. “Hi again,” Whitney said, appearing behind him. “Oh, um, I’ll leave you alone to talk,” I said, picking up Katie. “This actually involves you too,” Chase said, grabbing my arm. “It does?” I asked, not quite understanding what was going on. “Yes,” he said in a way that made me sit back down. Chase waved Whitney in and closed the door behind her. Whitney came over and sat on the overstuffed chair as Chase made for the minibar. Pouring a Glenfiddich for him and a Brown Cow for Whitney, he came back over and sat down next to me on the couch.
“Sorry, we’ve both had a bit of a shock,” he said, punctuating the statement with a sip from his tumbler. “What happened?” I asked, getting nervous again and clutching Katie to me. “Etta,” Whitney said, taking a sip of her own drink. “Oh,” I said, sure I would never hear that name again. “She’s gone,” Chase added. “That’s good, right?” I asked, not sure what he was getting at. “Very good,” he agreed. “I can’t really argue,” Whitney said. “Especially since she took money from you,” Chase said. “Oh, no, I never gave her any cash. She asked, and I wrote her a check. I already canceled it.”
“Smart,” Chase said, impressed by his sister’s thinking, if nothing else.
“She really is oily,” Whitney said, as though realizing this for the first time. My heart really went out to her. I knew what it was like to find out that someone you loved wasn’t who you thought they were.
“Don’t beat yourself up or let it make you cynical. She had me fooled for the better part of a decade, so I speak from experience,” Chase said. “I guess,” Whitney said, clearly still hurt, “How much did you spend on the hotel?” Chase asked. “Two grand, why?” Whitney asked. Without a word, Chase got out his checkbook and an expensive-looking marble themed fountain pen. The kind of writing instrument that tended to come in polished wooden cases with attached price tags ranging from fifty to eighty dollars. Quick as could be seen, Chase wrote and pulled out a check form, giving it to Whitney. “Oh, no, I can’t, really.”
“You can and you will,” Chas said, putting away his checkbook and pen. “But—” “Trust me, I owe you.” Chase said. “How?” Whitney said, looking at the check with something resembling wonder. “Etta isn’t the only one who was lying,” Chase said. “What?” Whitney asked, looking like she was going to cry. “I wasn’t straight with you about my relationship with Ashlyn,” he explained. “Are you sure?” I asked, not wanting him to do anything he might regret. “Yes,” he said firmly. “Whitney, I lied to you. Ashlyn and I are not engaged. We didn’t even know each other before a week ago. We came together through circumstance when I saw her asshole of a landlord throwing her out and did my best to help the situation, which included having her and Katie stay here. My friend Ann, do you remember Ann Howell?” “Yes,” Whitney said, quietly. “Well, she said that she knew lots of people, herself included, who successfully used fake fiancés to get themselves out of all sorts of jams. I know it’s a bit twisted, but I figured even better than that would be a fake family. A beautiful fiancée and cute step-daughter to put Etta off for good,” Chase explained. “Did you know?” Whitney asked, looking straight at me. “Yes, but I didn’t know the whole story.” “What whole story?” Chase and Whitney asked in unison. “That Etta was still into Chase.” “Into my money,” Chase pointed out. “Yeah, I can see that.” Whitney agreed. “Well yeah, she tried to get your inheritance too and actually did rip you off on the flight and the hotel. That’s why I owe you. If I hadn’t gone on with this stupid charade, you would have been staying here instead of at a hotel.” “You wish we weren’t here?” I asked, his words like a knife in my heart. “Not at all. I don’t regret for a moment helping with the landlord or taking you in. I’ve really liked having you around. I just wish we hadn’t tried to do the whole fake relationship thing. I should have just stood up to Etta and told her the truth from the beginning.” “Can’t argue with that,” I agreed. “So, what do we do now?” Whitney asked. Chase looked at her and then me. “Well, I would really like Ashlyn and Katie to stay if they want to. I would also like to pursue a real relationship, but that would probably be too much too soon.”
