© 2018 Shay Spencer. All rights reserved.

Something New

[ Chapter 4 ] The Cavalry of Texas

. . . . .

Scarlett

9 1/2 Months

. . . . .

I had never felt like this; like I'd messed up so badly. That was until my mother showed up at my father's door unannounced.

"Mom," I breathed, taking a step back as she pulled me into a tight hug. The air jumped out of my lungs before I had a chance to hug her back, but she didn't seem to mind.

I hadn't seen her in almost a year.

"I thought it would be best if we spoke in person," she nodded, more to herself than to me. She hadn't made an attempt to contact me since I had left her a voice mail nearly two weeks prior. I was starting to think she would keep this going until I flew into town for the holidays. "Would you like to step out for lunch with your father and I?"

I frowned at her wording, glancing back over my shoulder to the man that had an obnoxious pair of beat headphones strapped to his head. Simon Cavalry would be damned if he got caught not working on his latest real estate project.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. Elias, I mean. Your step-father is in the car," she corrected herself. "It won't be a problem if you'd like him to head back to the hotel-"

"No," I shook my head. Deep down, I wanted to whole story. I couldn't let myself move on from this until I found out what happened once Hayden and I had left the try-out's that night. Elias had been roped into all this nearly as much as my mother and I. "Let me get changed."

"Don't worry about your outfit," my mother waved her hand as if to dismiss me. I glanced down at my pair of jean shorts and the bright pink tank top I had put on this morning. The only redeemable mark on my attire would be the pair of brown ankle boots I had been planning to put on. "Elias is insisting on fast food."

That in itself left me in shock.

I took a deep breath, opting to leave my father to his business rather than interrupting him over his ex-wife stopping by to kidnap me. Quickly, I slid on my shoes and trailer after my mother like a child.

It felt like a step up after the way I had been feeling the last few weeks.

-

The Texas air was humid at best. It was a stifling kind of heat that I had never quite gotten used to. But in the moment, fleeing to my father's house in Dallas had seemed to be a better option than facing Axel and his band of brothers.

I wasn't sure how to treat any of them now.

"I got you another side of fries," Elias relayed as he set the greasy bags onto the picnic table. My mother smiled as he took his seat beside her, the woman watching me closely as I staked my claim on the opposite side of the table. "I didn't think you'd care for the salad."

"She never does," I muttered, more to myself but Elias did crack a smile at my statement. The two hadn't been a couple more than two years, but already I was starting to feel an ease settling over them. During my time growing up I hadn't once seen my mother look at my father the way she fixed her gaze on Elias.

It was nice.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," my mother repeated. It seemed when it came to the truth of what happened that night, Axel's summary had turned out to be more favorable. "I should have been honest with you from the get go."

Instead of waiting to arrive at the park, mom and Elias explained everything during our short trip here. Axel had kissed my mother, to which she promptly pushed him off and Elias threatened to tell his father.

It was all very political.

"It's fine," I brushed the topic aside.

"But speaking of New York," Elias said, "Zane did call to say that you dropped out of NYU." My stepfather strode right into the conversation, only looking away from me when he was needed to pull another item out of the bags. "You didn't want to go back?"

The shame pooled in the pit of my stomach, making it hard for me to imagine eating at a time like this. It was starting to seem like I would never finish college.

"No," I said lamely.

My mother pressed her lips into a fine line, taking hold of Elias' hand to stop him in his mindless motions. "We support you. No matter what it is you want to do, sweetheart."

With that, I could feel a lump in my throat.

"I don't know what I want to do." I shook my head at myself. "I tried interior design at UCLA, business at NYU-" I stopped myself from diving any further into my most recent failure. "I can't get the hang of it."

My mother laughed in my face.

Elias reeled back a bit, frowning at her in what looked to be disgust.

"I'm sorry," she bit her lip to keep from laughing. "You remind me too much of your father. He couldn't stick with anything to save his life."

"But that's not a problem," Elias reassured with a teasing grin pointed my way. "You're young, Scarlett, and your apart of the Pennington family now. You are free to try anything. The sky is the limit."

I gave the two a weak smile, turning my attention to my ever cooling food. Popping a fry into my mouth, I decided to sit back as my mother and Elias found themselves in a conversation about one of my step-father's latest cases.

"There's an idea." My mother reached across the table to take my hand. "You can intern with Elias. See if the law is your forte?"

I tried my best to keep a frown from taking form on my face. "Dad already has me set up with his company. He wanted me to see if real estate-"

"Say no more," Elias smiled happily. "I think Texas should do you some good. There's no sense ripping you back to Beverly Hills."

For once, I was happy to have Elias around. Since meeting him last year I hadn't gotten to know him very well. Now, I could see what kind of good he brought into my mother's life as well as my own.

He had the power to stop her before she got so hooked on an idea that I had no choice but to say yes.

"We would be happy to gather your things," she reasoned with me. "I know how to handle a young man like Axel, and he's more fearful of myself and Elias than you could even imagine."

"It wouldn't be a problem for either of us to stop in and strike a bit more fear into his heart," Elias agreed.

The mere thought of Elias going after Axel for what he had done to both my mother and I made me want to laugh. I never pegged him for the 'defending my wife and daughter's honor' type.

"You don't have to pick up my things," I said. "I think Zane texted me  to say that he and Josie would pack them up and overnight them here."

"Nonsense," mom rejected my suggestion. "We're needed to help Wren and James move to Miami, anyway. It won't be a problem to put a few more miles on the jet."

That statement alone made me look at her just a bit differently. Like she was a step-ford wife or something.

I had no choice but to agree. "Thank you."

The two gave me the most reassuring facial expressions they could muster before turning their attentions back to their lunch.

"You do need to see the house we've arranged for Wren and James, though," Elias reminded through a mouthful of French fries. My mother swiftly slapped his shoulder in distaste.

"It is to die for."