A Good Time Was Had By All

Rachel tried to block the thoughts and images swirling through her. Separation + time on his hands = a little girl. She didn’t much care for that equation. Yet, right in front of her stood the tiny black haired beauty from her hotel room just the morning before. And she was calling Carl Daddy. Daddy. One of the few names she’d never heard in reference to him. She didn’t like it or the implications one bit. Damn it! He’d sworn there had been no others since her.

A little finger poked her in the arm. "Hey Angel," said the singsong voice. "Hey Angel, what’s the matter?"

Rachel didn’t move, didn’t uncover her eyes. She just couldn’t look at the little girl and say ‘You’re the problem’. No matter what, it wasn’t the child’s fault.

"My daddy’s been waitin’ for you Angel. See."

Rachel felt a sharp wooden edge bump against her. Finally peeking through her hands, she saw a framed photo of herself. She remembered that picture and the day it had been snapped by none other than Carl. In it, she was laughing, apparently happy and so naively unaware of the mess just waiting to happen.

She’d always wondered where the photo had gotten to, never allowing herself to believe he’d taken it with him.

"Daddy keeps it right there," she pointed at the bedside table for Rachel’s benefit. "Right next to mine." Indeed, there sat a smaller frame with the picture of a one-year-old. Even then, the girl had been breathtakingly beautiful. It made Rachel want to cry.

"Are you stayin’ Angel?"

"Norie, that’s enough," warned Carl. Rachel had nearly forgotten he was in the room. Had nearly forgotten just what they’d been up to just seconds before Norie’s arrival. If time could only be turned back. If only Carl had said something, given her some sort of indication that he had…she shivered at the thought…a daughter other than Cindy.

"But Daddy, Angel looks bad." Rachel had to agree there. She probably looked like death warmed over. "Ain’t you gonna ask her to stay?"

"Little one, do not say ain’t. Now, off with you." Rachel heard sounds of little Norie being shooed from the room. "Rachel, please, look at me."

She was stuck. She wanted to face him, yet feared what came next. More than anything she wanted to work up a good head of steam and be angry with him. She had the right she thought. So why wasn’t anything happening?

"You know Rachel, you’re being somewhat tiresome. Just look at me and we’ll discuss this like adults."

That brought her head up. Adults? He wanted her to act like an adult? "That’s priceless Carl."

"No my darling, you are priceless. Let’s see, just how many conclusions have you jumped to in the last five minutes?"

"Wrong conclusions?" He was pushing her buttons she realized. "What conclusion do you expect me to reach given the facts?"

"And those facts would be?"

"Her! The child! Kind of obvious if you ask me." Now, she was mad. "How dare you let me carry on with you without telling me about her! How dare you lie to me again Carl!" She leapt from the bed to stand before a fully dressed Carl. "You’ve had opportunities left and right to tell me, yet you didn’t. I didn’t care for the sin of omission then and I certainly don’t like it now!"

"I did not lie," he said calmly. Too calmly, for it registered through her anger just how calm he was.

"You can’t dress up what you didn’t tell me and expect me to take it at face value. For all I know she happened before the divorce. For all I know you and I were living a lie the entire time. It certainly would fit in with your MO."

"And that would be?"

"The Last Great Playboy. Get what you want, use them up and get the hell out before anyone is the wiser. That was your behavior before me, why not during as well." The words were out before she could censure herself. And oh, how she regretted them. A quick peek at Carl told her she had hit home. The hurt shone in his eyes along with anger. "Carl…"

He held a hand up to keep her away. "Leave."

"Carl, please."

"Leave my home."

"I didn’t mean…"

"Now!"

Rachel pulled away at the fury in his voice. Without another word she walked away and didn’t look back.

*+*

Even when he heard the wheels of Rachel’s borrowed ride peel out of the driveway, Carl couldn’t let himself relax. Damn that woman and damn her damn honesty hang-up! She made him want to hurl things about the room, break something, anything, as long as it brought him peace. But more than anything he wanted to hold him to her, tell her he loved her and never let her go. Rachel was the burr in his side and the love of his live.

He had it bad.

"War over?" Lorna poked her head into the room. "I thought I’d check on the casualties after seeing Rachel."

"How did she look?"

"Better than she deserves for a woman her age. Oh, you mean after…Not too hot. So, tell me."

"Can a man never have any peace in this house?" Carl raked a hand through his still damp hair. "Norie, in her usual fashion, came bounding in and upset the delicate balance I like to call my relationship with Rachel."

Lorna joined him on the edge of the bed. "You didn’t tell her about the adoption did you?"

"No."

"Or the rest of it."

"I made a promise."

"Yeah, I know. However, I also know Rachel and Rachel doesn’t bend much. She always expected you to be this lily-white man after she married you."
"She had the right…"

"No she did not. She held you to this silly standard set by Mac Cory and still does! Yet, she won’t let you explain."

"We never actually made it that far. I threw her out."

"No joke?"

"I told her to leave. ‘Go’, I said."

"So, what are you going to do?"

The first thing that came to mind was finding Rachel and making everything right. Instead he stood and proclaimed, "I’m going out on Mahler."

"You can’t go horseback riding."

"Why ever not?"

"Have you looked out the window?"

He did so then. Black clouds loomed on the horizon. The promised rain to help break the heat wave was well on the way. "I’ll be back before the storm begins. It doesn’t matter, perhaps I’ll get lucky and drown."

*+*

And ride he did. Over the lush hills of his land he rode faster than the wind that whipped around him. Behind him, the black rain clouds gave chase, but Carl always kept just in front of the storm. Eventually though, he faltered, and the rain swept him up in its chilly embrace. As his body was battered by the onslaught, he came to a decision. In a split-second he turned his steed back the way they’d come and headed straight into the storm.

*+*

Rachel made it back to the Inn on a wing and prayer. The pesky tears in her eyes simply refused to go away so she’d had a hard time seeing the road. Not that she would have cared if she’d wrapped the SUV around a tree. She found she didn’t care about anything at the moment. Without a little white-hot rage to hang on to, she felt empty. Not that she wanted to be angry with Carl, but anything was preferable to this silly empty feeling.

Once back at the Inn, Rachel threw herself on the bed and resumed her pity party. By the time the storm rolled in she was far beyond noticing it. She even ignored the rumble in her stomach that was trying desperately to remind her she hadn’t eaten in hours. Nope, she was well on her way to crying a river in her room. Without a doubt she knew she’d regret it in the morning when she got a load of her red, puffy eyes in the mirror.

Getting up from the bed, she wandered over to said mirror and took a look. They were definitely swollen. Geez, how much better could this little side trip to hell get?

So wrapped up in her own misery, Rachel did not hear the faint sounds just outside her balcony doors. So when they flapped open, she jumped nearly to the ceiling. But it was what she saw reflected in the mirror that truly made her shiver with apprehension.

"Carl!"

She spun around. Carl stood on her balcony soaked to the bone and with an old fire burning bright in his eyes. Neither of them moved.

"Rachel."

She could barely hear him over the roar of the wind. She was slightly taken aback that he was here in her room just hours after throwing her out of his house. Yet she could not deny his presence was also a comfort. Must be the whole climbing the trellis in the pouring rain to reach the love of your life thing.

"Why are you here?"

He stalked forward, leaving a wet trail on the hardwood floor. The closer he came the harder it was for her to breath. If she didn’t find out soon why he’d come to her now, she’d scream.

"I couldn’t let things go," he said as soon as he was close enough. "I am here to give you an education Rachel, and I will not be denied."

…to be continued…