Chapter Two
"Make sure she goes to bed at eight," I told Rachel as Derek and I were leaving for dinner that night.
"I know!" Rachel said, "I've done this before, you don't have to worry," she assured me. She smiled and told us to have a wonderful time.
We got into Derek's black sunfire and started out on our trip to the city. We didn't go to the city very often, we had no reason to. We had everything we needed here.
"This is going to be great," Derek said reaching over to take my hand. I smiled. I couldn't wait for dinner to be over so we could go to the hotel room. It was going to be nice to be away from Hope for a night. We both loved her very much but she could be a handful at times. It was nice to have a break once in awhile.
We went to a restaurant called, "C'est Delicieux," which means it's delicious. And it was definitely that. I had the lamb with scalloped potatoes and wonderful green beans and carrots. Derek had a steak with a baked potato and a salad. The wine was wonderful and for desert we shared a huge pieces of peach crème brulee.
I was so full afterwards I could hardly even walk out to the car. My black dress actually felt tight around my stomach. I could tell Derek was stuffed too.
We drove to the hotel in silence. I was anticipating getting into to room. I could hardly keep my hands to myself when we were in the elevator. I ran my hand up and down his back.
Finally we made it to the room. It was a nice room with a queen sized bed and a mini bar. It reminded me of the hotels we used to go to when we were only seventeen.
I sat on the bed and Derek came over and kissed me hard on the lips. I fell back on the bed and pulled at his necktie. He pulled away from me and pulled off his jacket and dress shirt. It seemed like he was going agonizingly slow. I longed to have him beside me, with his arms around me.
He leaned over me and kissed my neck and shoulders. Finally he pushed the one strap of my dress away and it was off in a matter of seconds.
"Skye," he moaned as I helped him get his pants off. I kissed his chest and we got under the covers. I ran my hands up and down his back and he rolled over and entered me. We were the most passionate that night out of every other time since we got married. The only time I could remember this was when we so young and in love. Now I felt like I was truly where I belonged.
The next day we drove back home in silence. It wasn't a bad silence. We were both happy and content to just be together.
"I wonder if Hope gave Rachel any trouble," I worried when we got home.
"She was probably fine," Derek said setting down our bags in our room.
"Rachel?" I called on my way down the stairs. The house was quiet. Where was everyone? This house was rarely empty. There was usually someone home. Roberta or Wesley or Tyler.
Suddenly everyone jumped out from the den and yelled, "SURPRISE!" My heart almost thumped right out of my chest. I laughed.
"Happy Anniversary!" everyone cried. Derek came up beside be and laughed.
"Wow, you guys didn't have to do this!" he said, but I could tell he was very happy they did.
In the den there was ahuge banner that read: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SKYE AND DEREK! There were balloons everywhere and streamers decorated the ceiling.
The guests included, Roberta, our cook, Rachel and Wesley, Tyler and his girlfriend Keely, my best friend Nikola and a couple of our friends from town.
"Thank you everyone!" I cried happily. I loved everyone in this room. I was so happy to be with all the people I loved at the same time. I felt a tiny pang of disappointment at Erin and little Greg not being here. She was my sister after all.
We had some cake and talked with everyone for a while. It wasn't a huge party but that was ok with me. Nikola pulled me aside when some of the guests were starting to leave.
"So how was your night?" she asked smiling.
"Amazing," I told her about how happy I was with Derek. She had lived right next door to him when he first showed up in Duncan. She knew our whole story. She had given me a lot of good advice concerning him over the years.
Eventually everyone was gone and it was starting to get dark outside. It had been a long day and I was exhausted.
Derek and I had just crawled into bed when there was a knock at the door. I got up and put in a robe.
"Who could that be?" Derek wondered out loud. I was sure it was only Rachel coming to tell me something about Hope.
But I opened the door to find Tyler standing there. He looked ready to cry. To my horror he was holding a brown envelope. The envelope that had the papers regarding Fred's parole hearing.
"Tyler.."
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.
"Tyler, I didn't want you to worry," I told him.
"Why should I worry? I might have to live with a father who used to abuse me!" he yelled sarcastically,
"You should have told me!"
"Tyler please, I don't want you to wake up Hope," I said trying to stay calm. Tyler was rarely, if ever angry with me. I was not used to arguing with him. Derek came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Why don't you come in and we'll talk about his," he said. He sounded so calm and collected while I felt ready to burst into tears.
Tyler came inside and we sat on the overstuffed chairs in the sitting room section of our room.
"Am I going to have to live with him?" Tyler asked. His eyebrows were furrowed in worry. It broke my heart to see him so scared. He was playing with the hem of his shirt, twisting it around his forefinger. It reminded me of the first day he came here with Erin to live with us. He had been so afraid. I hated for him to be scared again.
"No, it isn't likely, I don't think the courts will give custody to a convicted kidnapper and that is if he even gets out of jail in the first place, which might not even happen," Derek told him.
"We'll do everything possible to make sure you stay with us," I said. I tried to fight back my tears. I wanted to look confident for Tyler but it was hard.
Tyler came over and gave me a hug. He had a solemn look on his face like he wasn't going to get his hopes up that he would be able to stay here.
"You won't have to live with Fred," Derek said with so much conviction in his voice, I even believed him. Tyler nodded and left the room.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Of course I am, don't worry about it," Derek told me. We got back into bed and my husband fell asleep right away. I didn't know how he could be so sure about everything. He was always so in control. I wished I could be more like that.
I fell asleep that night, praying that Hope would have her father's strength rather than my weakness.
The next day I took Hope over to see little Greg and Erin. Anthony I knew would be at work in his shop. I had no real desire to see him anyway. Erin and I had come to a truce; we wanted our children to be friends at least. But that didn't mean I wanted to see Anthony any more than was absolutely necessary.
I knocked on the door of their small house in town. It was a cute house, with a white picket fence and blue shutters. Hope was holding onto my hand tightly.
Erin opened the door and smiling slightly. I never knew if she was happy to see me or just smiled to be polite. She was still very beautiful. She kept her curly brown hair long and her brown eyes always seemed to sparkle.
"Hello Hope!" she said, "Skye,"
"Good afternoon Erin," I said and walked into the house.
"Hope!" Greg cried. He had been in the living room playing with his little cars. He was a very cute little boy. He had his father's dark hair and blue eyes. He had Erin's nose and mouth. He kind of reminded me of Tyler when he was younger despite the difference of hair colour.
"Go play with Greg honey," I told Hope. She skipped into the living room and sat with him on the floor.
"Would you like some lemonade?" Erin asked. It was a warm spring day and I thought lemonade would be very refreshing.
I had come here to tell Erin about her father's hearing as well as to have Erin and Greg play together. We sat in the small kitchen at the table. She had a vase of tulips on the table.
"These flowers are beautiful," I commented.
"Thank you, Anthony brought them home for me last night," she said. She had a small smirk on her face that I chose to ignore. I couldn't let her get to me.
"Erin, I have something to tell you about your father," I started.
Her smirk faded and she frowned. I knew she didn't like to talk about Fred.
"He has a parole hearing tomorrow," I said.
Her eyes widened and she set her glass of lemonade down in surprise, "Does Tyler know?" she asked. Erin rarely came over to see Tyler but she still worried about him. They had been so close when they had first come to Duncan to live. Erin's relationship with Anthony had ripped them apart and I don't think Tyler had any desire to ever be close with her again.
"Yes and he didn't take it very well," I explained, "You see, it is possible that Fred could get custody of him back,"
Erin looked afraid.
"Derek said it id very doubtful, but still possible," I told her.
She let out a little breath.
"I'll be leaving at about noon tomorrow to drive to the city for the hearing, you are welcome to come," I told her. I really didn't want to spend such a long trip in the car with her, but I wanted her to be there if she wanted to. She didn't have a license so she wouldn't be able to get there on her own. She was only nineteen after all.
"Yes, thank you, I will come," she said. She sighed, "Wait, I won't have anyone to watch Greg," she said.
"Oh, you can bring him to my house and Rachel will watch him and Hope," I told her.
She stared at me for a minute, as if surprised at my generosity.
"Thank you," she said.
We let Hope and Greg play for a while longer and we left before Anthony was due to be home. Fred had been Anthony's father for many years but I assumed Erin would tell him about the hearing. I avoided my ex husband as much as possible.
"How did it go with Erin?" Derek asked that night.
"Fine, she'll be coming with us tomorrow to the hearing," I told him.
Derek put his arm around me and hugged me close to him. I was so thankful to have a husband like him. I knew he would always protect me. I few years ago before Hope had been born I had been foolish enough to think that I had no reason to live and I had tried to kill myself. I almost drowned in the frozen lake. But someone pulled me out of the water; I believed that person was my one and only true love. I never found out who it was but I had always thought it was Derek.
I fell asleep, dread heavy in my heart. I had a feeling something was going to happen tomorrow at the hearing and it wasn't going to be good.
"Make sure she goes to bed at eight," I told Rachel as Derek and I were leaving for dinner that night.
"I know!" Rachel said, "I've done this before, you don't have to worry," she assured me. She smiled and told us to have a wonderful time.
We got into Derek's black sunfire and started out on our trip to the city. We didn't go to the city very often, we had no reason to. We had everything we needed here.
"This is going to be great," Derek said reaching over to take my hand. I smiled. I couldn't wait for dinner to be over so we could go to the hotel room. It was going to be nice to be away from Hope for a night. We both loved her very much but she could be a handful at times. It was nice to have a break once in awhile.
We went to a restaurant called, "C'est Delicieux," which means it's delicious. And it was definitely that. I had the lamb with scalloped potatoes and wonderful green beans and carrots. Derek had a steak with a baked potato and a salad. The wine was wonderful and for desert we shared a huge pieces of peach crème brulee.
I was so full afterwards I could hardly even walk out to the car. My black dress actually felt tight around my stomach. I could tell Derek was stuffed too.
We drove to the hotel in silence. I was anticipating getting into to room. I could hardly keep my hands to myself when we were in the elevator. I ran my hand up and down his back.
Finally we made it to the room. It was a nice room with a queen sized bed and a mini bar. It reminded me of the hotels we used to go to when we were only seventeen.
I sat on the bed and Derek came over and kissed me hard on the lips. I fell back on the bed and pulled at his necktie. He pulled away from me and pulled off his jacket and dress shirt. It seemed like he was going agonizingly slow. I longed to have him beside me, with his arms around me.
He leaned over me and kissed my neck and shoulders. Finally he pushed the one strap of my dress away and it was off in a matter of seconds.
"Skye," he moaned as I helped him get his pants off. I kissed his chest and we got under the covers. I ran my hands up and down his back and he rolled over and entered me. We were the most passionate that night out of every other time since we got married. The only time I could remember this was when we so young and in love. Now I felt like I was truly where I belonged.
The next day we drove back home in silence. It wasn't a bad silence. We were both happy and content to just be together.
"I wonder if Hope gave Rachel any trouble," I worried when we got home.
"She was probably fine," Derek said setting down our bags in our room.
"Rachel?" I called on my way down the stairs. The house was quiet. Where was everyone? This house was rarely empty. There was usually someone home. Roberta or Wesley or Tyler.
Suddenly everyone jumped out from the den and yelled, "SURPRISE!" My heart almost thumped right out of my chest. I laughed.
"Happy Anniversary!" everyone cried. Derek came up beside be and laughed.
"Wow, you guys didn't have to do this!" he said, but I could tell he was very happy they did.
In the den there was ahuge banner that read: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SKYE AND DEREK! There were balloons everywhere and streamers decorated the ceiling.
The guests included, Roberta, our cook, Rachel and Wesley, Tyler and his girlfriend Keely, my best friend Nikola and a couple of our friends from town.
"Thank you everyone!" I cried happily. I loved everyone in this room. I was so happy to be with all the people I loved at the same time. I felt a tiny pang of disappointment at Erin and little Greg not being here. She was my sister after all.
We had some cake and talked with everyone for a while. It wasn't a huge party but that was ok with me. Nikola pulled me aside when some of the guests were starting to leave.
"So how was your night?" she asked smiling.
"Amazing," I told her about how happy I was with Derek. She had lived right next door to him when he first showed up in Duncan. She knew our whole story. She had given me a lot of good advice concerning him over the years.
Eventually everyone was gone and it was starting to get dark outside. It had been a long day and I was exhausted.
Derek and I had just crawled into bed when there was a knock at the door. I got up and put in a robe.
"Who could that be?" Derek wondered out loud. I was sure it was only Rachel coming to tell me something about Hope.
But I opened the door to find Tyler standing there. He looked ready to cry. To my horror he was holding a brown envelope. The envelope that had the papers regarding Fred's parole hearing.
"Tyler.."
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.
"Tyler, I didn't want you to worry," I told him.
"Why should I worry? I might have to live with a father who used to abuse me!" he yelled sarcastically,
"You should have told me!"
"Tyler please, I don't want you to wake up Hope," I said trying to stay calm. Tyler was rarely, if ever angry with me. I was not used to arguing with him. Derek came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Why don't you come in and we'll talk about his," he said. He sounded so calm and collected while I felt ready to burst into tears.
Tyler came inside and we sat on the overstuffed chairs in the sitting room section of our room.
"Am I going to have to live with him?" Tyler asked. His eyebrows were furrowed in worry. It broke my heart to see him so scared. He was playing with the hem of his shirt, twisting it around his forefinger. It reminded me of the first day he came here with Erin to live with us. He had been so afraid. I hated for him to be scared again.
"No, it isn't likely, I don't think the courts will give custody to a convicted kidnapper and that is if he even gets out of jail in the first place, which might not even happen," Derek told him.
"We'll do everything possible to make sure you stay with us," I said. I tried to fight back my tears. I wanted to look confident for Tyler but it was hard.
Tyler came over and gave me a hug. He had a solemn look on his face like he wasn't going to get his hopes up that he would be able to stay here.
"You won't have to live with Fred," Derek said with so much conviction in his voice, I even believed him. Tyler nodded and left the room.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Of course I am, don't worry about it," Derek told me. We got back into bed and my husband fell asleep right away. I didn't know how he could be so sure about everything. He was always so in control. I wished I could be more like that.
I fell asleep that night, praying that Hope would have her father's strength rather than my weakness.
The next day I took Hope over to see little Greg and Erin. Anthony I knew would be at work in his shop. I had no real desire to see him anyway. Erin and I had come to a truce; we wanted our children to be friends at least. But that didn't mean I wanted to see Anthony any more than was absolutely necessary.
I knocked on the door of their small house in town. It was a cute house, with a white picket fence and blue shutters. Hope was holding onto my hand tightly.
Erin opened the door and smiling slightly. I never knew if she was happy to see me or just smiled to be polite. She was still very beautiful. She kept her curly brown hair long and her brown eyes always seemed to sparkle.
"Hello Hope!" she said, "Skye,"
"Good afternoon Erin," I said and walked into the house.
"Hope!" Greg cried. He had been in the living room playing with his little cars. He was a very cute little boy. He had his father's dark hair and blue eyes. He had Erin's nose and mouth. He kind of reminded me of Tyler when he was younger despite the difference of hair colour.
"Go play with Greg honey," I told Hope. She skipped into the living room and sat with him on the floor.
"Would you like some lemonade?" Erin asked. It was a warm spring day and I thought lemonade would be very refreshing.
I had come here to tell Erin about her father's hearing as well as to have Erin and Greg play together. We sat in the small kitchen at the table. She had a vase of tulips on the table.
"These flowers are beautiful," I commented.
"Thank you, Anthony brought them home for me last night," she said. She had a small smirk on her face that I chose to ignore. I couldn't let her get to me.
"Erin, I have something to tell you about your father," I started.
Her smirk faded and she frowned. I knew she didn't like to talk about Fred.
"He has a parole hearing tomorrow," I said.
Her eyes widened and she set her glass of lemonade down in surprise, "Does Tyler know?" she asked. Erin rarely came over to see Tyler but she still worried about him. They had been so close when they had first come to Duncan to live. Erin's relationship with Anthony had ripped them apart and I don't think Tyler had any desire to ever be close with her again.
"Yes and he didn't take it very well," I explained, "You see, it is possible that Fred could get custody of him back,"
Erin looked afraid.
"Derek said it id very doubtful, but still possible," I told her.
She let out a little breath.
"I'll be leaving at about noon tomorrow to drive to the city for the hearing, you are welcome to come," I told her. I really didn't want to spend such a long trip in the car with her, but I wanted her to be there if she wanted to. She didn't have a license so she wouldn't be able to get there on her own. She was only nineteen after all.
"Yes, thank you, I will come," she said. She sighed, "Wait, I won't have anyone to watch Greg," she said.
"Oh, you can bring him to my house and Rachel will watch him and Hope," I told her.
She stared at me for a minute, as if surprised at my generosity.
"Thank you," she said.
We let Hope and Greg play for a while longer and we left before Anthony was due to be home. Fred had been Anthony's father for many years but I assumed Erin would tell him about the hearing. I avoided my ex husband as much as possible.
"How did it go with Erin?" Derek asked that night.
"Fine, she'll be coming with us tomorrow to the hearing," I told him.
Derek put his arm around me and hugged me close to him. I was so thankful to have a husband like him. I knew he would always protect me. I few years ago before Hope had been born I had been foolish enough to think that I had no reason to live and I had tried to kill myself. I almost drowned in the frozen lake. But someone pulled me out of the water; I believed that person was my one and only true love. I never found out who it was but I had always thought it was Derek.
I fell asleep, dread heavy in my heart. I had a feeling something was going to happen tomorrow at the hearing and it wasn't going to be good.