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CHAPTER THREE
WHENTHESIDEWALK ended at the beach, Mikelina kicked off her shoes and tucked them into her purse. As soon as her toes hit the warm sand, she felt the tension leave her body. She missed this. The sun and the salty ocean air. She couldn’t remember the last time she sat her ass in the sand and watched the waves. There hadn’t been a lot of time for that this year.
She was tense and tired and wished she was kicking up her heels at a decadent party for the next two weeks. Bastien’s schedule was meticulous and planned down to the last minute, but it was going to be a fun vacation for the men—as long as they weren’t expecting a wild time.
Maybe she’d ask Kirk for a few days off after the bachelor party left. She could sleep in her own bedroom again and pretend that her world hadn’t fallen apart slowly after her father reported to prison last year.
The air perked her up some, taking her out of the funk that closed in every time she thought about her father. He still claimed to be innocent, even with the overwhelming proof against him. Breathing in deep, she centered herself. One day, she would enjoy all this from their wraparound porch. One day, they’d be a family again.
Her phone rang again.
“I swear to fucking god,” she muttered, digging it out. But it was her mother.
She stared at the phone and for a moment considered letting it go to voice mail. But guilt had her answering at the last minute. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hello, sweetheart. Any chance I could stay at the house this weekend?” Tawny Presley still liked to pretend that everything was normal and she could zip on down to the beach house for a quick getaway.
“No, I’m sorry. We’re booked up for the next few weeks.”
“Your aunt is driving me crazy.”
Mikelina sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“I want to get a condo or an apartment in South Beach.”
Wincing, Mikelina rubbed her head. “It’s expensive out here.”
“I don’t care. I can’t take it anymore. All she wants to do is watch Fox News. It’s blaring on and on, 24/7. I can’t think.” Tawny’s voice rose up to an almost hysterical pitch.
“Okay, Mom,” Mikelina soothed. “Why don’t you shop around on Zillow or something and after the bachelor party leaves, we can see what you can afford.”
“Bachelor party?” Tawny shrieked.
Mikelina groaned. She had not meant to say that.
“I don’t want strippers and drugs in my house.”
My house, Mikelina mentally corrected, but knew better than to say that aloud. Her parents had given her the beach house for her twenty-fifth birthday. It had been a tax write-off for them. She had been the owner in name only and had she realized what her father had been up to, she never would have signed the papers. “It’s not that type of bachelor party. The best man has arranged for a tasteful getaway.” If a little staid and overscheduled, but that was preferable to strippers and drugs.
“I can’t do this anymore,” Tawny repeated. “Why did your father have to ruin our lives?”
“He ruined more than our lives,” Mikelina said sadly. People lost their retirement funds. One person had been dying in the hospital when he found out that Tanner Presley had bankrupted him, leaving his heirs next to nothing. One family had to sell their restaurant when their stocks he bought turned out to be junk.
“Why am I being punished?” Tawny lamented. “I did nothing wrong. I lost my home. My friends. My entire world turned upside down.”
Tawny lived for the dramatic and while what she was saying was true, she had also been saying it for the past year. Almost on a daily basis. Mikelina’s mother had never held down a job in her life.
Must be nice to live in that world. But back on earth, you had to hustle unless you had a husband or a daughter to hustle for you. Mikelina tried not to feel resentful, but when her mother complained about it, she wanted to scream.
“I’m doing the best that I can.”
“I know that, sweetheart. I don’t mean to keep bothering you with this, but you’re all I have.” Tawny sniffed and Mikelina could almost picture her eyes filling with tears. Her mother had been brought up to be a society wife, the perfect hostess. And now that she didn’t have a husband or a party to plan, she didn’t know what to do with herself.
“You need to get out more. Find new friends,” Mikelina said. “You need to keep busy.” Maybe get a job? But she knew better than to add in that last part. That was guaranteed to bring out the self-pity of how Tawny wasn’t as smart as Mikelina. Which was bullshit—Tawny was plenty smart. She could set up a conference without breaking a sweat and handle a fund-raiser like nobody’s business. Unfortunately, all the charities she used to work with wouldn’t touch her now with a ten-foot pole.
“I’m so unhappy. But you’re right. I need to do something about it, not just mope around.” Tawny took a shaky breath. “I should let you go. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
“You’re not bother—” But Tawny had already hung up. It was more dramatic that way.
