Chapter 1 : Part 3

Dinner First, Me Later?
by Candy Halliday

(Page 3 of 4)

"Well, you should have answered your cell," Alfie said. "All I had to do was ask Tish what exciting things were going on in Woodberry Park, and she was more than happy to fill me in on how Zada hoped to get you and Jake together at her party on Friday night."

"Remind me to thank Tish for that," Alicia mumbled under her breath.

Alfie said, "You are not going to that party, Alicia. Do you hear me? I forbid it!"

"Fine!" Alicia said. "If I can forbid you from seeing your nutty new-age therapist again!"

Alfie gulped - loud enough for Alicia to hear.

Alicia said, "Stop worrying about me getting involved with Jake Sims. It isn't going to happen! Besides, his daughter is going to be living with him, remember? Kids always hate me on sight."

"And dogs," Alfie mentioned. "Dogs always hate you on sight, too."

"Yes, Alfie," Alicia huffed. "Dogs always hate me, too. Would it make you feel any better if I bought the daughter a puppy as a welcome-to-the-neighborhood present?"

"Yes," Alfie said. "I think that would make me feel better. You pick the pup out at the pet store. And I'll be happy to pay for it."

Alicia ignored him and said, "No, what I'm going to do is tell Zada at coffee this morning to back off, and I mean it."

"And Zada's party?" Alfie pressed.

"After I give Zada a piece of my mind this morning," Alicia said, "the party isn't going to be an issue."

"Mark my words," Alfie warned. "Jake Sims will have his hand on your knee before Zada serves the main course."

"Mark this," Alicia said and hung up on her twin.

"Jake," Tish Jones said with a smile when she opened her front door. "I'm so glad you could make it for coffee this morning. Zada and Jen are already in the kitchen."

Jake followed Tish down the hallway.

Having morning coffee with two brunettes and a redhead used to mean one of his famous parties had lasted all night. But that was before his ex-wife's accident had turned his life upside down. And before Carla's death had set off a chain of events that would change the course of his life forever.

Doing what was best for his daughter hadn't been an easy decision.

The easiest thing would have been allowing Danielle to remain in LA and continue living with her grandmother, despite his own personal feelings toward his ex-mother-in-law. Ranatta Harper of the famed Harper Modeling Agency in Hollywood had been his archrival since the moment he married Carla. Marrying him had been Carla's one and only act of defiance against Ranatta, and one Carla regretted after her mother disowned her. Divorcing him, Ranatta had vowed, would be the only way Carla could rectify the situation. Sadly for him, for Carla, and for Danielle, Ranatta's hold on Carla was stronger than her new family bond. Carla had divorced him shortly after Danielle was born, taking Danielle with her back to LA.

Still, Jake had known that uprooting Danielle from her home, from her grandmother and her friends, and forcing her to live with a father she hardly knew would only add to the trauma of losing her mother. But Ranatta just had to push his buttons one last time.

When news broke out in the gossip columns that Ranatta was already lining Danielle up to step into Carla's supermodel shoes, Jake knew he couldn't allow that to happen. All of Ranatta's money and all of her power hadn't been able to keep Carla's autopsy report out of the papers. The high levels of cocaine found in Carla's system during the time of the accident had been broadcast over every media venue for weeks.

Ranatta had put Carla on the cover of every teen magazine available by the time she was thirteen, and where had that gotten Carla? Caught up in a world where image was everything. Where the pressure to stay thin and beautiful was constant. And where drugs were simply a way of life.

In other words, dead before her time.

He'd struggled for days over the decision to fight Ranatta for custody. And he'd argued for hours with his agent who was convinced that trading in his man-about-town image and his downtown penthouse to play Daddy Dearest in the suburbs would be committing TV-commercial suicide.

Jake had finally decided it was just a chance he'd have to take.

There came a time in every man's life when he had to step up and be accountable for the decisions he'd made in the past. At thirty-eight, Jake knew he had arrived at that time.

Exit Mr. Big Time.

Enter Mr. Housewife.

After the six long months he'd spent battling Ranatta for his parental rights, he'd finally been given temporary custody, with the understanding that the court was appointing a guardian ad litem on Danielle's behalf. He and Danielle would be monitored frequently over the next six months by a social worker. If the court was satisfied that Danielle was adjusting to her new lifestyle, and if he could prove himself a fit father, he would be granted permanent custody at the end of the probation period.

Thanks to the three women who had invited him to coffee this morning, a new and improved Jake Sims was ready to step up to the plate now - this challenge far more important to him than any baseball career had ever been.

That was the reason Jake suspected the three women had invited him to coffee this morning. He'd finally passed the crash course in Domestic Living 101 these three housewives had given him over the last few weeks. And yes, there had been a few testy moments while they were trying to whip him into shape, but he'd learned to keep his mouth shut and pay attention.

Copyright © 2007 by Candy Viers

About the Author

Candy Halliday is a renegade Baby Boomer who is also a part-time dental hygienist. She's been married to her Mr. Right for 17 years, has one daughter and two fabulous grandchildren.