Chapter 8

8

With a contented sigh, Stacey sat up. Water streamed off her back and shoulders as she reached for the drain plug, letting all the scented oils and soap suds go swirling down the drain. The water had gone cold, but she still felt wistful about seeing her bath come to an end. She turned on the shower to rinse off, proud of allowing herself such a luxury in the middle of the day.

Wrapped in a soft robe and with her hair twisted up into a towel, she slowly made her way down to the kitchen. "Do I smell coffee? I know it's well after lunch, but that sounds awesome right now."

Carol was just stepping away from the pot. "Freshly brewed. I needed a bit of a pick-me-up. I like to think I'm still young and energetic, but the truth comes up and smacks me in the face every now and then. How was your bath?"

Stacey poured herself a mug and added a little more creamer than usual. "Heavenly! I never would've done such a thing in the middle of the day before. Hell, I didn't even do it at night. Something was always more pressing. I couldn't do more than take a quick shower before I was right back at it again."

"Guess that means you made the right move?" her mother asked, pulling a catalog from the pile of mail on the breakfast bar.

"I really did." Stacey inhaled deeply as she looked out the back door, taking in the lovely backyard and beach just beyond. "I'm sure I'll need to find another job eventually, but right now, it's nice to enjoy the money I saved while I was too busy to spend it."

"Speaking of getting busy, have you been neighborly with Dylan lately?" Carol asked with a raised eyebrow. "I know you said you were going over there for lunch, but did you have dessert? "

"Mom, you're terrible." Stacey gave her a level look. Her mother had always been one to say exactly what was on her mind, regardless of how anyone else felt about it. Unfortunately, Carol had just brought up a subject that'd been weighing heavily on her mind. "We did have lunch with Dylan and met his daughter. The kids loved Lila. Dylan let us go up in the lighthouse, and I think I might've enjoyed it just as much as they did."

Carol looked up from her catalog, ignoring the striped bikini she'd been eyeballing. "So then, what's the matter? And don't say nothing because I can hear it."

Her mother might be an oddball, but Stacey did have to give her credit. She'd always paid attention to her daughter, providing something many moms didn't. "I just don't know if whatever this is between Dylan and me is a good idea."

"What's the matter? That he's a hunk who conveniently lives right next door? Or is it that he's nice to your children? I'd ask if it was a sexual problem, but what I witnessed the other night suggests otherwise." Carol fanned herself with the catalog.

"No, seriously," Stacey replied. "There are a lot of great things about him. This isn't just about him, though, or about me. Vivian and Elijah are still so young. I moved out here to spend more time with them, but what does it say about me if I start spending that time with someone else? What's that demonstrating to them? "

"Oh, that's simple." Carol leaned an elbow on her catalog and picked up her coffee mug. "You're demonstrating that mothers need time for themselves, too. It's true, you know, despite what society has told you."

There was a good point in there, but Stacey couldn't see far enough through this problem to consider it seriously. "Even so, what about Todd?"

Those active eyebrows now slammed down hard in a firm line. "What about him? I don't think he has a damn thing to do with this."

"Now, Mom. I know how you feel about him." Not that Stacey could blame her. She still held plenty of her own resentful feelings toward her ex.

Carol snorted. "As anyone should! What a way to find out that he'd been running around on you! I don't regret a single dime we spent on those genealogy tests. The only thing I'm sorry for was how stressful it was on you when that young man came forward and said he had half of Todd's DNA. At least we have the proof. You know the asshole never would've admitted to it otherwise."

Stacey glanced around but then remembered that she'd heard the kids playing in Elijah's room before she'd come down from her bath. They only knew what they had to know about their parents' divorce, and she wouldn't discuss the sordid details in front of them. They had no idea just how humiliated and furious Stacey had been when she'd discovered that Todd had not only cheated on her way back in the first years of their marriage but that he'd also managed to father a child out of that little affair. There hadn't been any going back after that.

"I know, and I'm not considering Todd in this for myself at all. I meant the kids," Stacey explained. "They still love Todd, and of course, they see him regularly. It might make them feel weird if they find out their mom is dating."

Carol clucked her tongue. "You're not giving those kids enough credit. Sure, it might be a bit difficult for them to understand at first. They're young, and it might take them a little time, but they're also very smart. They got that from their grandma, you know. They'll manage just fine. If they don't, they probably won't hesitate to tell you how they feel about it."

"You're making everything sound far too simple," Stacey grumbled.

"Because it is! Now, what other arguments do you have for me? It's been a while since I've had a good debate, and I'm enjoying myself." Carol took a long drink from her mug .

Stacey couldn't deny that Carol was making some good points, but it was always easier to tell someone else what to do instead of going through it all yourself. "All right. What if I date him, and things don't work out? He lives right next door. I can't just avoid him."

"Darling." Carol reached over the breakfast bar and took Stacey's hand. "You're thinking too much and too hard about this. You need to concentrate more on how you feel instead. Sure, things might be weird with him being our neighbor, but so what? I have some regrets about not living life to the fullest."

Stacey tipped her head. "I kind of doubt that about you."

"No, really," Carol insisted. "There were some things I wish I'd done differently. I don't want you to feel the same. These days they say you should wear the dress. I say you should wear the dress, put on the eyeliner, and stay up all night with that hot piece of man meat."

"That doesn't really fit well on one of those little signs people hang in their kitchens, does it?" Stacey replied with a smile. She crossed over to the backdoor with her mug in her hand, ruminating on her life. "You might be right. It's just hard to surrender myself to those kinds of feelings when I've always felt the need to be so responsible. Hey!"

"What's wrong!"

"A dog!" Stacey didn't have any more time to explain. She slammed her mug down on the counter, sending coffee sloshing over the back of her hand before she raced out the back door and charged down the path in the backyard.

A scruffy little dog was digging in her flowers. His tongue was out as he tore the greenery down, flinging dirt industriously behind him.

"No! Bad dog!" Stacey clapped her hands to get his attention since he didn't seem too concerned about her arrival. When he finally looked up, she flung her hands in the air. "Go on! Shoo! Go home!"

The dog panted happily before he resumed his digging.

"Hey!" He wasn't a very big dog, and she thought about lifting him straight out of the flower bed, but she wasn't sure if he'd bite.

A sharp whistle pierced the air. "Come, Barney. Leave the nice lady's flowers alone."

As the dog darted off, Stacey turned to the gate to see Dylan standing there. No, not Dylan. At first glance, she noted strikingly similar features and that same dark hair, but this wasn't him. Whoever this was had spent long hours out in the sun, judging by the leathery quality of his skin. She knew she definitely would've spotted the big anchor tattooed on his forearm when they'd spent their time together on her back deck. Dylan made her heart pound and her blood rush. This guy made her heart pound, but for a very different reason. "Um, hi," she managed.

He leaned on the fence post and gave her a big smile. "Hey, there. I'm Will. Dylan's twin brother. This is my dog, Barney. That's short for Barnacle."

"It's nice to meet you," she managed in her best customer service voice. When it came to being nice to people who didn't deserve it, Stacey had years of training. For some reason, she wasn't sure she was pulling it off with this guy. "Your dog is…very persistent."

"Yeah, sorry about that. He's a little excited to be on land right now since we're usually out at sea." He smiled over his shoulder at the scruffy thing, who'd now proceeded to dig up the flowers in Dylan's yard instead. "Anyway, I saw that he had a new neighbor, so I figured I'd stop over and introduce myself."

She forced a smile she definitely didn't feel. This Will character had the wrong kind of spark in his eyes. It wasn't one of brilliance or creativity. It was one of mischief, at the very least. "That's nice of you. Yes, we just moved in."

"I'm surprised Dylan didn't tell me about you." Those eyes she'd been studying roved openly down her body. "There's a great breeze off the water, though, so you might want to be careful about wearing something so short outside."

Horror dripped over her like syrup as she realized she'd run outside in her robe. Not her big, fluffy, oversized robe that was perfect for a cozy winter's night by the fire, either. It was the short, satin summer robe, the one that really didn't hide much of anything.

Seeing that he'd finally gotten to her, Will let out a laugh that sent a shiver down her spine. It was forced, the kind that had no true humor behind it. "I'll see you," she ground out as she turned for the door.

Another sharp whistle escaped his lips. Stacey thought at first it might've been meant for her until he called the dog's name and headed back inside Dylan's house.

"Well," Carol said with a smile as Stacey hurried back into the kitchen, "did you give him a good show?"

"No." Stacey could feel the heat creeping up her face and knew her cheeks were bright red. All the pleasure and relaxation she'd earned from that bath were completely gone now, replaced by an infuriating rush of adrenaline. "Apparently, Dylan has a twin brother."

"You're kidding!" Carol craned her head to see if she could still catch sight of him through the window. "What are the odds that there are two hunks like that in this world?"

"They're not in my favor. I'm going to get dressed." Stacey stormed up the stairs. This move was supposed to give her a simpler life, but right now, it only felt complicated.