Underestimated Part 7

"I just saw Joel on your porch. You're not going alone. You little conniver."

"But I don't want you to sit here alone."

"I like being alone. I am going to change and veg out on the couch. I'm tired. I worked harder than I am used to this week."

"Fine, party p.o.o.per, I will talk to you later."

I did veg out on the couch and dozed off by ten. It was the first night in almost a week that I dreamed, and again I was taken back in time to being a little girl. My mom had just gotten home from her s.h.i.+ft at the truck stop. I was twelve, and Justin was just a tiny baby, maybe two or three months old. He was sick and burning up with a fever.

I was trying to give him a bottle and rock him and do everything that a twelve year old child would know to get him to stop.

My mom took him from me and was mad because I let him get sick. I was crying and trying to explain that I had told my dad to stop and tell her that he was sick on his way to the bar, but she wouldn't listen and slapped me across the face for back talking her.

That was the first time that I was ever alone. She took him to the hospital, and they kept him for three days. I knew he was in the hospital because my dad had come home long enough to shower and leave again for his weekend bar routine. He never came home that night, and my mom never came home. It was the dead of winter, and again I couldn't keep the only heat source burning. It was freezing in the trailer, and there was no food in the cabinets or freezer. I ate a bag of microwave popcorn the first night and dry cereal for the next two days. I was afraid that n.o.body was ever coming back, and by the third day I was hungry, scared and freezing.

My parents came home together with Justin, and again I was in trouble because the fire was out. It was so cold in the old trailer that there was ice on the inside of the windows. My dad bent me over his legs on the sofa, no, he didn't bend me over, he threw me over his legs. My mom stood there and watched him hit me over and over until she finally told him that was enough.

I woke up to Justin crying in my room a few hours later. I waited for my mom to come and get him, but she didn't come. I left him crying in my room while I heated a bottle. I hated my parents and neither one of them deserved me or Justin. I could hear the bed creaking and both my parents moaning and going at it in the next room. I put Justin in bed with me after changing his diaper and covered us both up.

I didn't wake panic or scared with this dream. I felt pain and neglect and my heart ached for Justin, hoping that he was doing well. I wanted to go there and find him, just to make sure for myself, but I didn't dare. I knew that Drew had somebody staked out there, waiting to see me. I wiped the single tear from my eye and got up. I didn't have to open the shop for another two hours, but I dressed and went anyway. I would rather have been working then alone with my thoughts.

Before I knew it, I had been in my new dwellings for a month. I did hang out with Dawson quite often, and he hung around the shop drinking more coffee than normal.

The store looked sensational, and the office was actually a well productive working s.p.a.ce now. I filed everything in the empty filing cabinets that were buried with boxes and boxes of stuff that I was sure Starlight didn't even know she had. I used some of the petty cash and Dawson built shelves in the storeroom for me. I had everything organized and on shelves. I had found some really funky things in the storeroom and continued to make the dining room more, customer friendly. There was a box that I was sure Starlight had gotten for that purpose that had yellow and white checkered tablecloths. I brought out three booths that were also buried in the back, and Dawson screwed them to the floor for me in front of the gla.s.s windows. I brought out three more tables and covered them all with the tablecloths.

I also found a whole stack of beautiful Indian paintings that needed to be on display. They were beautiful. The first day that I had hung them on the hooks that Dawson also hung for me, I sold three of them. I hung some uniquely made dream catchers which were also selling like crazy. I found the company that had made them and ordered another box in all shapes and sizes.

Lauren and Dawson helped two Sundays in a row, scrubbing and re-staining the wood floors. I couldn't wait for Starlight to get back to see her new store. I also hoped that she wasn't going to be mad at all of the changes that I took upon myself to do.

A young girl from the next town over stopped in one day and had just opened up a cookie and cupcake store and wanted to know if I would be interested in placing an order. I had told her that I would order once and see how they went and if they did okay I would order more. They did more than okay, and she was bringing fresh orders daily. The display case that Dawson helped get from the back room to beside the counter was perfect and I even had room for Phyllis's Sat.u.r.day morning doughnuts in the case. I was the one to get the cookies, cupcakes, and pastries from the case. I hated the way it was before and people could just finger whatever. I felt much better about taking the food out with my plastic gloved hand.

Dawson was there, as normal, earlier than he needed to be on Sat.u.r.day morning. I was frantically cleaning and making sure everything was perfect for Starlight. I was a nervous wreck and hoped that she was okay with all of the changes.

"Will you get over here and sit down," Dawson pleaded. "I know Starlight. She is going to love it."

I got a cup of coffee and sat at the booth in front of the window with him, patiently waiting and wis.h.i.+ng that she would get there already.

"You want to go eat some ribs tonight?" Dawson asked as we waited.

"Hmm, maybe," I replied.

"Maybe?"

"Well it's six o'clock in the morning. I can't think about supper until I have breakfast and lunch."

Dawson laughed. "Okay, let me know after lunch."

I ran to the back room when I heard the door unlock, knowing that it was Starlight. She came in with huge eyes, and her hand covered her mouth. Dawson had followed me back, wanting to see her reaction, as well.

"Oh, my G.o.d, Riley, did you do all of this," she asked in awe of the neatly organized storeroom that you could actually see the floor, and it was clean.

"Well, I had some help," I answered, smiling at Dawson. "I would have never been able to do it all myself."

"You haven't seen anything yet, Starlight. This girl is a working machine. Welcome home," Dawson added.

"I don't think I am home. This is not the store that I left."

She walked down the hall and opened the office door and gasped. I had hung pictures on the walls, the desk was clear, except for the computer and a folder in a medal slot with an order for some psychedelic flip-flops that I wanted to purchase for the store. It was now pretty warm out, and with the tourists that I had been getting in the store, I knew they would sell.

Starlight couldn't believe what she was seeing.

She opened the drawers and filing cabinet with the wisely placed tabs with a tangible system. She couldn't seem to close her mouth. She continued and walked in both the men's and women's restrooms. They too were transformed into delicately decorated rooms. Both rooms had an Indian theme and the decor all came from things that I had found in the storeroom, except for the paint. We did paint those two rooms because they desperately needed it. The rust colored paint with the Indian design looked almost urban.

"Riley, I am speechless," she exclaimed.

"So you're not mad?"

"Mad? No way. I am in shock that you did this."

"Keep walking," Dawson said. I gasped when I felt him place his hand on the small of my back. I knew it was just a friendly gesture, but it made me feel like, like, I don't know, like maybe I liked it.

I thought Starlight was going to have a heart attack when she finally made it to the front. She took note of every little detail, not missing a thing, and commenting on every little alteration.

She loved the new look and thought that my design was magnificent. She thought we had painted there too, and couldn't believe it when I told her that we only scrubbed the walls. I told her that I had wanted to get the ceilings painted as well, but didn't want to use all of her petty cash.

"I will get the ceilings painted for you," she almost demanded. She walked around the new counter and slid the deli case open just in time for Phyllis to bring in the Sat.u.r.day morning doughnuts.

"Oh, I better get the coffee going," I said, forgetting the time after getting wrapped up in showing Starlight everything.

"Oh no, you don't. You've done enough. I've got it," Starlight demanded, taking a bite of an oatmeal cookie.

"I love the cookie idea, and I love you, Riley Murphy,"

she stated. Dawson and I smiled at each other.

Dawson didn't hangout as long as he normally did, and Starlight was again amazed at the traffic that came in and out all day. We didn't get to close until an hour later than normal and stayed another hour restocking the sold merchandise.

"Riley, I don't know if we can keep up at this rate," she said as she replenished the tie-dye s.h.i.+rts on the rack.

I smiled at her, and she shook her head. "Let me guess, you already have it covered?"

"I do," I said. "I sent for a catalogue from this company out of Oregon. They have the coolest stuff ever,"

I explained, disappearing to the office to retrieve it.

Starlight followed me, and we sat across from each other at the desk while she turned each page. I had corner pages folded of the things that I thought would be nice for the store and she circled a few things, as well.

My cellphone rang, and I answered the call from Dawson.

"Are we eating ribs or not? I'm starving."

"I forgot all about it, Dawson. You go ahead. I think I am going home and making homemade pizza."

"You made me wait until eight o'clock at night and didn't call me. I'm coming over for homemade pizza," he demanded, and I laughed.

I wasn't nervous around him anymore and wasn't worried about anything happening between us. We had been hanging out for a month, and he had never even tried to kiss me.

"Okay, I have to stop at the store and then I am headed that way."

"Sheriff Dawson, uh?" Starlight smiled.

"No, we're just friends. There is nothing romantic between Dawson and me."

"Why not? Dawson is a great guy."

"I just got out of one mess. I am not interested in another one. No thank you. I will see you Monday," I said, taking my purse from the hook.

"No, you won't. You take the day off, take a couple of them if you want. You deserve it."

"I really would rather be here, Starlight," I admitted, not wanting to be home alone with my thoughts.

"Well, only if you want to be. Thank you so much for all of this, Riley. I couldn't have asked you to do half of what you did."

"I'm just glad you like it."

"I love it. Have a good night."

It was almost nine before I got the pizza in the oven. Dawson came, and I told him to chill out while I grabbed a shower. I didn't care that he was there, and I was putting on comfortable clothes, done with the whole impressing somebody else situation. I put on a baggy comfortable t-s.h.i.+rt and a pair of soft flannel pants. I figured we would end up sitting on the deck, and although the days were fairly hot, the evening ocean air was brisk.

"I brought a couple of movies," Dawson said as I entered wrapping my hair in a ponytail.

Lauren was there and sitting on the sofa.

"Hey, what are you doing? I figured you would be with Joel tonight," I said when I saw her.

"I am. Dawson answered your phone and said you were making homemade pizza."

I laughed. I don't think the girl ever cooked. She just came to my house and helped herself.

The three of us sat out on the deck and ate pizza and drank beer. I tried to tell Lauren to invite Joel over to my house, but they wanted to go to the bar because they had a band. She tried to get us to come with them, and I refused. She didn't push it. My turning her down to hang out in the bar was starting to catch on, and she didn't badger me about it as much.

She drank two beers, ate two slices of pizza and left to meet Joel.

Dawson and I stayed out on the deck and consumed more alcohol than I should have been drinking. I could feel it, and knew that was my limit when I stumbled a little when I went into the bathroom.

"Comedy romance or action romance?" Dawson asked, holding up the two DVD's.

Romance? Awesome.

"I don't care. You pick."

We sat on separate ends of the couch, and he picked a comedy romance with Sandra Bullock. I had already seen the movie but didn't tell him and watched it anyway. The wedding part took me back to my wedding day, and I stared blankly at the TV.

I was looking out the small jet window when I knew that we were descending. I saw one runway and knew that we were going to land there. I remembered my heart beating too fast and was trying to talk myself out of a full blown panic attack. We landed the Jet and a black limousine picked us up.

"Good evening, sir," the man dressed in a black suit nodded to Drew, opening the door for us. I didn't know where the other two men had gone that was on the flight with us, but they didn't get into the car with us.

Drew talked on his phone the entire time we were in the limo, not that it was a long drive. We were pulling up to the mansion of a house fifteen minutes later. I had found out later that the runway was his own private runway and was on the property of the estate. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. We drove through two stone pillars with the numbers 41293. I remembered repeating the number over and over in my head, just in case somebody cared and needed to come and rescue me. I wondered why the gate read, Callaway Estates, but a.s.sumed he had purchased it from the Callaway's or something.

I could barely keep my mouth shut when we were let into the house by a lady, maybe mid-thirties or so. She smiled at me and could probably tell how scared I was.

Drew was still talking to someone on the phone, telling whoever he was talking to that he couldn't drop price and to tell them that if they wanted it, the price was thirty five thousand and to take it or leave it.

Wow, what could he be selling for thirty five thousand dollars? No wonder he lived here.

Drew held my elbow and led me to his office where two other men were waiting for us. He walked around and sat in the oversized leather chair. I stood awkwardly at the door. The one guy was the one who had traveled with him to retrieve me. I wondered how he had gotten there before us and why he hadn't ridden in the limousine with us.

"Let's get this over with. I have a plane to catch."

he told one of the men.

"You sign here," the same man in an expensive suit said, sliding the paper to him.

All three men turned to look at me, and I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing.

"Come on, Morgan, I don't have all day," Drew said. I was still puzzled.

He got up and pulled me by the arm to his desk when I didn't move. He grabbed my hand and shoved the pen in it.

"Sign!" he almost yelled, poking hard at the X where my name was already printed.

My hand started to tremble when I saw the top of the paper that said Secretary of the State, Nevada, and then it said certificate of marriage.

What! This was my wedding? I couldn't believe it.

What was his motive? Why was he doing this?

"Sign the G.o.dd.a.m.n X, Morgan!" he yelled, and I could feel the tears forming in my eyes. I didn't want to sign. I didn't want to marry Drew Kelley.

He grabbed my hand and scribbled my name with his.

"Witness it, Derik," he demanded and the other man signed as well.

I was speechless. What the h.e.l.l was going on? I was just forced to marry someone against my will. A very rich someone that didn't care about the law, or that we had just gotten married illegally, I was sure.

"That isn't real," I stated boldly. "You have to have a county of the clerk or a judge or preacher or justice of the peace," I was rattling on and on nervously. Drew laughed.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Kelley. Ronald is a judge. It's legal. Somebody get her the f.u.c.k out of here," he said, and the lady that met us at the door came to retrieve me.