(This is fic one or two new fics for the month of July. Every week for the whole month of July I will upload two new fics, I plan on updating them on Fridays for the whole month. I'm not sure what time, but probably in the afternoons will work best for me, but we shall see.)
(A/N-I want to first thank Kara for beta reading this story. I appreciate it so very much! I hope you all enjoy this!)
*No disclaimer needed as I helped create Outlaw Queen, not Adam or Eddie per the COWARDLY ADAM!*
Regina Colter was on her way to meet her new potential client. She has been working with a home care provider agency for the last ten years, she had left home when she was seventeen. Her growing up years had not been ideal in the least, her mother had always been a very controlling person, wanting to increase their...her, social status more than anything. The price had almost cost Regina everything.
Her dear father, Henry, had tried to protect his daughter, but he had been no match for his wife, Cora Mills. Regina loved her father dearly, her only regret had been when she had been forced to leave him behind. Knowing her mother would find out eventually, her father had helped her escape from home.
She had left her old life behind, her status, her money, and her identity; Regina Mills had literally died back then. She was and had been Regina Colter for many years now. She kept to herself from those at work, along with her clients, never giving away too much of herself to anyone.
Her potential client had suffered a fall two weeks ago, requiring her to have surgery on her arm. A home nurse would be required for the next few weeks, until Mrs. Locksley recovered fully. Regina turned onto the street she was given and arrived at the gate at the start of the driveway, a man was stepping out of the office there.
"Name and identification?" the man asked.
"Regina Colter, Home Angels sent me here for an interview with Mrs. Locksley," Regina answered and presented her driver license to him. He looked it over and after confirming everything, let her enter the house. She parked her car and headed for the front door of what was a mansion, she knocked on the door and was greeted by a young man.
"Hi, I'm David Nolan," David introduced himself as he held out his hand for her.
"Regina, Regina Colter," Regina answered as she shook his hand.
"Come in, we have been expecting you," David said as he showed Regina into the house. Regina followed him into the living room of the house where her client was waiting for her.
"Ah, Ms. Colter," Ruth Locksley called out to her.
"Please, call me Regina, Mrs. Locksley," Regina said as she took a seat across from her.
"And call me, Ruth," Ruth Locksley replied.
"Your report states you suffered a broken arm two weeks ago," Regina said.
"Indeed, I was watering my plants on the patio. I was on a step stool and lost my balance," Ruth explained how she fell.
"Which we have tried to tell her not to be standing on, that we would be glad to hire someone to do these tasks," David said as he sat down by his mother.
"My first born, worries too much," Ruth said, patting David's knee with her good hand.
"Over you, one can never worry too much," David said as he smiled at his mother.
"So you'll be needing physical therapy three to five times a week, for the next several weeks," Regina said.
"What about light housework as well? Or do we need to hire someone separate for that?" David asked.
"No, we do light housework as well," Regina said as she looked around the room. The house was huge, she felt like she could spend a week inside and never find every room.
"Relax, we're not expecting it to be perfect one hundred percent of the time," David said with a smile at Regina.
"That's fine," Regina said,"here are my credentials."
Regina handed them her paperwork, which had her years in the field, her recommendations, etc. "You're very detailed, that's good." David said.
"My son, the lawyer," Ruth said, "tell me about yourself, Regina."
"I have my schooling listed on my papers-" Regina stated.
"I mean about yourself, are you married?" Ruth asked.
"My mother, the nosy rosy," David said with a laugh.
"That's fine," Regina laughed as she answered,"I...there's not a lot to tell. I went to college after high school, went into nursing school and have been in the field ever since. And no I'm not married now, my husband died a few years ago," Regina said as she shifted her eyes to the window behind Ruth and David.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry to hear that," Ruth said as she grabbed one of Regina's hand to offer comfort
"Thank you," Regina said, wiping away a tear as she always did when she thought about Daniel and what could have been.
"Did you have any children?" Ruth asked without batting an eye.
"Mom, don't you ever stop?" David asked, shaking his head at his mum.
"You should know I don't, David," Ruth said.
"No, I have no children," Regina said. Ruth was about to say something when she saw a look pass over Regina's face, something was not right there. Ruth opened her mouth to speak when the front door opened, and they heard the sound of running feet heading their way.
"Nana!" a cheerful little voice called out, as Regina saw a little boy with curly, brown hair headed towards Ruth.
"Careful Roland!" another voice called out behind the little boy. Regina turned ready to put on a polite smile, when her heart quite inexplicably began to thump rapidly against her ribs. She simply stared, struck dumb by the sheer dynamic presence of the newcomer. She saw a man standing there, probably a few years older than her. He looked down at her with gorgeous blue eyes and wavy, dark blonde hair. He reminded her of David in many ways but with a edge to him.
She didn't mean to stare at him, but that seemed to be all she could do. He was even looking at her, she saw a smile appear on his face as he looked at her. Their gazes were locked on each other, as if they were the only two in the room right now.
But they were not the only two in the room, two of them could do nothing but sit and watch the two of the have a moment. David and Ruth looked at one another and David nodded as Ruth smiled at the scene before them. They could feel and see the tension between Robin and Regina, nothing could have broken the spell until...
"But, Papa, I want to hug Nana," the little boy protested to his papa.
His papa, turned to his little boy and said,"But you have to be careful with her, Roland. She has a very hurt arm from her fall."
"I know, Papa. I remember," Roland said as he turned back to his Nana to give her a hug.
"Roland, it's so good to see you," Ruth said as she hugged her grandson. She missed her grandson and was so thankful when Robin came by with him.
"Is your arm still hurting?" Roland asked, his bottom lip was dropped a little.
"Your hug, helped it a lot, Roland," Ruth reassured the little boy.
"And who is this?" Roland's father asked as he looked at down at the beautiful woman on the couch by his mum.
"This is Regina Colter, she is going to be my new care giver," Ruth said as she confirmed Regina's employment for her.
"Thank you, Ruth. I intend to aid in your recovery as quickly as possible," Regina said with a smile, breaking her gaze from the handsome newcomer to Ruth.
"And this is my strapping grandson, Roland Locksley," Ruth introduced them.
"Hello, Roland," Regina said to the young boy.
"Hello," Roland said in a little shy voice. He was standing by his father now, hugging one of his father's leg as he spoke to her.
"And this is my second born, his father, Robin Locksley, the other lawyer," Ruth said as Robin held out his hand to Regina to shake.
As their hands almost made contact, a shock of electricity shot through their hands, causing them to move back just a hair. Robin Locksley was the most devastatingly attractive man she had ever seen. He was wearing a tailored lightweight grey suit that fitted his elegant frame to perfection. He was near six feet tall, with perfect shoulders that tapered down to lean hips and legs. His perfectly sculptured lips were curved in a smile over brilliant white teeth.
"Delighted to meet you, Regina," Robin said. He thought she was a vision of feminine perfection, and he felt an instant reaction in his groin area. A region that hadn't known much attention since his wife died, and never this strong before from any woman, including his former wife.
For Regina, this was not how she planned on meeting Mrs. Locksley's family. She gave him a cold look as she shook his hand, even though she could feel the warmth of his hand as she did so. She had been so distracted by him, that she had forgot the wall that she was famous for. Regina felt as if she'd been suddenly subjected to a force field of male charisma and she resented it. And the fact that he had beautiful teeth did nothing to endear him to her either. No one had ever affected her instantly like this before, not even her first love.
"It's my pleasure, Mr. Locksley," Regina said using his formal name.
"The name is Robin," he said to her gently with a soft smile on his face.
Regina smiled awkwardly, she had never felt so uncomfortable in her whole life, or so scared, scared of how this man was making her feel things she hadn't felt in forever. She hadn't been scared in such a long time, not since...
"Regina, will you play with me when I'm here?" Roland broke the silence.
Regina chuckled at the little boy, but before she could speak, Robin spoke up,"Roland, Regina is not here to play with you, she is here to make Nana Ruth feel better."
"Your Nana does come first Roland, but I promise if I have time to spend time with you, we shall play anything you wish," Regina offered.
Robin was not sure which shocked him more, the fact that Roland had spoken to a basic stranger like this or the fact that Regina was agreeing to making time with his little boy.
"I'd like that," Roland said.
David and Ruth shared another look, David cleared his throat and stood up saying,"Regina, why don't I show you the rest of the house, along with where your room will be." Regina stood and followed David out of the room as he started to show her the house, Roland following behind them both.
"She's a delightful girl," Ruth said to her son as he sat down beside her.
"Woman, mum, she's a woman," Robin said as he knew what his dear mum was up to.
"I'm glad you can tell," Ruth said,"I was beginning to wonder if you were going to stay like this the rest of your life."
"Like what?" Robin asked.
"Like you wouldn't recognize a beautiful woman who was standing right in front of your eyes," Ruth answered.
"She's your nurse, mum," Robin said,"I'm not going to put the moves on your nurse. Besides, after what happened with Marian, I don't intend to repeat that mistake."
"Oh hogwash, Robin. I don't like speaking ill of the dead, but Marian was a gold digger to the fullest. I'm just glad you caught onto her before she did anymore damage," Ruth said to her son. She knew what her former daughter in law had done to her son and her grandson was horrible, the only good thing Marian Locksley had ever done was to give Roland to them. Especially after what she had done with Keith Notting, right in Robin's own home, why it was just...
"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see where my son has gone off to," Robin said to her, interrupting her train of thought.
Ruth eyed her son as he moved from the couch to follow where the others had gone off to, she had a smile on her face as she said,"Time will tell, Robin. Time will tell."
Ruth looked upward and closed her eyes as she spoke to her beloved husband,"Russell, if you can hear me, please help our son open his heart to having a future and not being lonely for the rest of his life. He deserves it after everything he has gone through. I have a good feeling about this Regina Colter, if our son's reaction was anything to judge by." She smiled to herself as she felt a calm feeling pass over her.
(A/N-Now while I usually only write Outlaw Queen stories, I do like Evil Charming just thisssssss much. And I think after the next chapter it becomes quite obvious where this story is headed. I'm also debating on when to do regular updates, like perhaps on Fridays. Let me know what you think! Also the history of Regina will be revealed later on as well as things that transpired in Robin's failed marriage.)
