Who's Your Boss? (Original Version) Revised version available in eBook/paperback

Chapter 13

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be dropping by the prison anymore."

"Reed got to you," she uttered coldly. "He has turned you against Mark."

"No," I sighed. "Reed wouldn't do that. I just have all the facts now, Mrs. Drummond. I know what your son did and I no longer want anything to do with him. I'm sorry if that upsets you."

"No, you're not." The line went dead. She had hung up on me.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Drummond," I whispered.

"Are you ready to go?" Faith asked, returning to the kitchen.

"Yes." I slipped my phone back in my pocket, stood, and followed her from the house.

"Are you alright?"

I glanced up from my plate and swallowed a bite of blueberry pancake. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You seem distracted." Faith took a drink of orange juice and set her glass down. "Did something happen when I left the kitchen?"

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her about the conversation I had with Mrs. Drummond. The only thing that held me back was Reed. I had promised him I wouldn't tell anyone about his brother being in prison. I reached for my napkin and dabbed at my lips. "I got a call from Reed's mother. I can't say what it was about. It just bothered me a little."

"Is she trying to cause trouble between you and Reed?" she asked as she cut into her stack of pancakes.

"No, it's nothing like that." I quickly changed the subject. "Did Reed tell you that he and I are a couple?"

"He did." She looked at me. "You should've seen the look on his face when he told me and Carter. He was happy. It's because of you. You make him happy, Winifred."

I smiled. "He makes me happy, too. Just this morning he woke me up stroking my cheek. Instead of getting irritated at being woken up, I was happy to see him. He came into my room because he wanted to kiss me goodbye. How sweet was that?"

"It sounds like something Carter used to do when we were dating." Faith stabbed at a bite-sized piece of pancake with her fork. "In a lot of ways Reed reminds me of Carter. Maybe that's why I'm fond of him."

"It's funny," I mused, picking up a crispy piece of bacon. "Until recently I wanted to strangle Reed, not kiss him."

Faith chewed and swallowed. "He has a way of growing on a person. I think it's his big heart . . . his willingness to help others."

As I nibbled on bacon, I told her about the charity event and the award I was going to be presenting to him. "The thought of talking in front of a room full of people has my stomach in knots."

"You'll do fine," she told me. "Pretend you're talking to Reed. No one else exists. It's just the two of you. If you need any help with the speech let me know."

I promised her I would.

The house was quiet. I was curled up in the recliner in the family room, working on the speech. Faith was upstairs taking a nap. We had spent the morning and a better part of the afternoon shopping and she was worn out. I imagined being on your feet for hours at a time was exhausting for a woman in her last trimester of pregnancy.

I tapped an ink pen against my bottom lip while I read over what I had just written. Unsatisfied and quickly growing frustrated, I tossed the legal pad and pen on the end table next to me and rose from the chair. I left the family room, crossed the entrance hall, and entered the kitchen. A cup of tea was what I was after.

Just then, the door leading to the garage opened and Reed stepped into the room. "Well, hello, stranger," I said. "Where's the rest of your group?"

"They're cleaning the fish," he responded.

"Did you catch any?" I asked.

"No." He smirked. "But neither did Carter so I don't feel too bad. Jack was the lucky one. The kid caught five. It's like they just jumped on his line."

I tilted my head back and stared up at him. "At least you had fun and you got to spend some time with Carter and Jack. That's all that matters."

Reed bent forward and kissed me. "Next time you and Faith are coming with us. Speaking of Faith, where is she?"

"She's taking a nap." I reached up and brushed a lock of hair off his forehead. "Our little shopping spree wore her out. Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat."

"We stopped on the way home and ate." He leaned his hip against the counter and watched as I grabbed a mug and the canister of tea bags from a cabinet. "Anything new?"

The phone call from his mother came back to haunt me. I put down the canister and turned toward him. "Your mother called me."

Reed sighed heavily. "What did she want?"

Briefly, I filled him in on the conversation between his mother and me. "I guess it's safe to say I'm no longer on her list of favorite people."

"I'm sorry, Winnie." He pulled me close and wrapped his strong arms around me. "I never meant for you to get caught up in my family's drama."

"I knew what I was in for when I agreed to be in a relationship with you." I laid my head on his chest and listened to the steady beating of his heart. The sound lulled me into a peaceful state. "I'm not sorry. I do wish you and your family got along better. It's sad when families can't get along."

"It can't all be sunshine and roses." Reed kissed the top of my head. "I wish for your sake it could be."

"I wish for your sake it could be, too." I squeezed him as tightly as I could and rubbed my cheek against his soft shirt. "Do you think it was Mark's fault he got beaten up?"

"Oh, yeah," he drawled. "He was probably shooting his mouth off and made somebody angry. Would you think less of me if I were to tell you that I'm secretly glad he got the hell beaten out of him?"

Shaking with laughter, I leaned back and gazed at him. "Nope, because I'm glad it happened to him, too. He deserves to suffer. I hope he's in pain and I don't mean the stub your toe kind of pain. I mean the break your toe kind of pain. The more agony he's in the better."

Reed grinned at me. "Winifred Monroe, I never knew you had it in you."

I winked at him. "Never let my size fool you, Drummond. I can be just as mean as the big girls."

"And just as cute," he added, dipping his head. "Kiss me, you little meanie."

I didn't need to be told twice.