She paused, her jaw clenched.

"No, you you don't understand. You make her upset every time you call. She has a schedule. A life. You can't interrupt it and I won't let you. I've spoken to my attorney about this. Stop now." don't understand. You make her upset every time you call. She has a schedule. A life. You can't interrupt it and I won't let you. I've spoken to my attorney about this. Stop now."

Her brow furrowed as she listened to whatever whoever it was on the other end said.

"I'm done. I'm hanging up now. Do not call again until the fifteenth." She flipped the phone shut and shoved it in her pocket.

The shoulder he put his hand on trembled and her eyes shone with unshed tears. He tipped her chin up. "Are you all right?"

She shook her head. "I'm just really, really angry. I can't talk about it right now. Rennie might see. Go and play. I'll be together in a minute."

He pulled her into a hug, and the tremor in her shoulders echoed through him as though it were a sob. "I'm going to hug you first. Then I'll play and take you and Rennie out for pizza afterward. Even better, we'll order in and have root beer floats. Root beer floats are made of win."

A ghost of a smile played on her lips. "No wonder you and Rennie get along so well. But you shouldn't worry. You're going to want to be with your friends. I'm all right."

He kissed her forehead. "You and Rennie are are my friends. Now go sit down and be impressed with my athletic prowess." Keeping his arm around her shoulder he guided her back to the table, and then ran off to the field. my friends. Now go sit down and be impressed with my athletic prowess." Keeping his arm around her shoulder he guided her back to the table, and then ran off to the field.

Erin handed her a cookie. "Looks like you could use one of these. I have a candy bar in my bag, wanna share it?"

Elise took the cookie and ate it, shoving her anger away. She'd become such a champion at shoving her anger away, at pushing it aside to get the job done, that she wondered about the effect it had on her body. And her mind. Still, right then it wouldn't do her any good and it certainly wouldn't help for Rennie to see it. "I'm good for now. I'm apparently having pizza and ice cream with Brody after this, so I'll eat too many carbs then."

Erin raised a brow and Elise wanted to laugh. "What?" After several silent moments, Erin said, "Nothing. He does that to me too. When I'm having a hard day. He used to show up at my house with a fully loaded pie, a six-pack and some horrible movie with screaming and gratuitous nudity in it. He's a good friend to have. Or more. Or whatever."

Elise did laugh then. "You're not very subtle." She winced as Ben tackled Todd. "Oh, ouch! I thought this was flag football." "Yeah, it is. But with tackling." Maggie looked back to the game again. "Hey! Don't break anything, I need him in one piece," she called out.

The kids made their way over, and Rennie settled in Elise's lap, eating cookies and clapping for Brody. It was wonderfully normal, and Elise sent a prayer of thanks that they had days like this now.

After the children had eaten their fill, they headed back to the swings and Erin turned back to Elise. "So when you toured before, did you bring Rennie with you? I'm curious. We brought Adele- that was my little girl-along on tour, but her father was our manager, so that was easy enough."

"My mother came along with us. She'd keep Rennie occupied while I was at rehearsals and on stage. I did have a nanny once, but Rennie and her gran are pretty tight, so neither of them liked it much. My mom had to fly to Australia to take over." Elise laughed at the memory. "I thought about quitting, but it was a steady source of income, and for a lot of the year I'd be in New York or a few hours' train ride away." She knew how much her parents had supported her; she'd have been lost without them.

"There are worse ways for a child to grow up than hearing a live orchestra on a regular basis," Maggie said.

"She was all about the costumes. Even when she was just a baby. Anything with sequins or feathers would catch her eye. She wanted to learn en pointe en pointe so she could have toe shoes because they're satiny and so pretty." so she could have toe shoes because they're satiny and so pretty."

"Is she all set to follow in your footsteps, then? With dancing?" Erin asked.

"She likes dance, but she doesn't love it so much she's willing to live it. Which is fine with me, really. The kind of schooling she'd need if she really wanted to pursue dancing professionally would mean a lot less time together for us. She's not focused in the way she needs to be. But she's really artistic, it comes from both sides for her. Painting and drawing are more her thing than dancing. Watching her paint is an experience; she's all movement and color. Her father was a painter, but he was her polar opposite when he worked. He went inside himself so deep he'd stare at a canvas for hours without moving. She's talking and dancing around, singing. She announced to me yesterday that she needs a studio of her own."

"Where was her father during all this? Staring at a canvas while you did all the work? G.o.d, sometimes men are such lazy a.s.sholes. They can spot a doormat a mile away. He had your number," Raven said.

Elise looked at her and wondered what her deal was. It wasn't that she was deliberately hurtful. But she seemed to just say whatever she wanted whenever she wanted without a thought. It wasn't cute. It rubbed Elise the wrong way. Part of that, she could admit, was that Raven clearly had some kind of connection to Brody. But just because you could say anything you wanted at any time didn't mean you should. Or that a little bit of thought before you spoke wasn't in order.

"Wow, Raven, did you forget to take your manners pills this morning?" Maggie asked.

"She doesn't mean to sound like a b.i.t.c.h. She just seems to lack filters," Erin explained of her friend.

"Was that rude? Clearly there's a father if there's a kid. I just thought I'd join in on the conversation." Raven truly did look confused, and Elise eased back on her anger. Still, Raven just wanted to know wanted to know, so Elise decided to school her some.

"There was a father in as much as I had s.e.x with a male who donated his sperm. In the whole of her life, she's probably only spent a total of a week with him. He was in county jail when she was born. In the end, it's a far better thing that I had to do much of Rennie's child-rearing myself." Elise hoped like h.e.l.l all Rennie got from her father was his artistic talent.

The smirk on Raven's face fell, and Elise felt a stab of satisfaction. "Oh. Wow. I'm sorry."

"Me too."

Erin paused and sat forward, grabbing Elise's hands. "That wasn't him on the phone just now, right? If so, you need to record it and call the cops. Todd and Ben used to be cops, they know folks you can talk to. Or let Brody answer the next time. He'll set that f.u.c.ker straight." Erin shook her head. "I hate abusers."

Ah yes, a reality check. After that call from Bettina it was hard to do. Things could be so much worse. It could be Ken, high and paranoid, screaming into the voice mail that he loved her and would kill her and Rennie so they could all be together. Compared to that, dealing with Bettina was a walk in the park. Besides, she'd gone head-to-head with Bettina and had won. Her child was out of their clutches. Even the phone calls could stop after Rennie turned ten, if Rennie so chose. They'd still controlled Elise to a certain extent as they played this little back-and-forth. But it was a waiting game and she'd do what she had to to be free of them forever.

Elise breathed out slowly. "No, it wasn't him. He can't call anyone, he's dead."

"Oh." Erin started to say more, but just then the game ended and chaos broke over the group as the guys came off the field and the kids ran over and the area overflowed with good-natured trash talk and lots of jostling and laughter.

Rennie headed not for her mother, but to Brody, who tossed her the ball, and she caught it before he gathered her up into his arms. The two of them laughed, and Elise realized she wasn't the only Sorenson female to have made friends with Brody.

He reached them, and Rennie scrambled from his arms, barreling toward Elise. "Momma! Brody says he's gonna get a pizza and we can all eat it in his living room! He said we could sit on a blanket on the floor and have a pizza picnic and he'd make root beer floats. Brody is totally awesome, he even invited Nina!" Rennie's eyes were wide, her face flushed, her hair a disheveled mess.

What a nice man he was. Nina and Rennie both seemed ecstatic about the whole thing. "Brody is is totally awesome, you're absolutely right." totally awesome, you're absolutely right."

Rennie threw her arms around Elise's neck and kissed her cheek. "Momma, can Nina stay over tonight? I'm asking real quietly in your ear instead of asking in front of her and I got all my spelling words right this week. Can she, please?"

Elise nodded. "Yes. But let's okay it with Nina's mom too."

Nina giggled and Maggie nodded. "You sure? They could come to our house tonight. We're not going to the barbecue anyway."

"I'll do it this time, you guys next time. How's that?"

"You have a deal." Maggie looked down at the girls. "Let's go get Nina's pajamas and toothbrush. I'll bring them to your place in a few minutes?"

"Great. I'm on my way now. Be good for Miss Maggie, okay?" she asked Rennie, who nodded solemnly and then danced around, singing about crocodiles and monkeys. A sleepover? She was having an extra piece of pizza for this.

Elise looked around Rennie, up into Brody's face, and smiled. "I'm sorry about this. My house would probably be better since Nina is staying over."

"Makes sense. Next time we'll do it at my place. I just need to stop off at my house to grab the root beer and ice cream." He grabbed his bag and pulled a sweatshirt over his head.

"You sure you aren't supposed to go to that barbecue? Maggie mentioned it. I don't want you to babysit us instead of being with your friends. And you did just think it would be me and Rennie. Two six-year-olds together? Whoo. You're going to have a headache when you leave." She laughed and sent an affectionate look at her daughter trailing off after Maggie.

"I've already told you, you you are my friend too. I've known Nina since she was born, and Rennie and I are friends now. You three ladies are my dates for the evening. Imagine the kind of brag that'll allow me." He winked. "Now, come on." He began to tug her toward their street. "Honestly, I don't even want to go to this barbecue. It'll be loud and people will be drinking from plastic cups and tapping kegs. I want a quiet night." are my friend too. I've known Nina since she was born, and Rennie and I are friends now. You three ladies are my dates for the evening. Imagine the kind of brag that'll allow me." He winked. "Now, come on." He began to tug her toward their street. "Honestly, I don't even want to go to this barbecue. It'll be loud and people will be drinking from plastic cups and tapping kegs. I want a quiet night."

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure I wish we had about ten more minutes, because you look good enough to eat," he said in a low voice that sent shivers through her.

"Instead you get squealing and giggling."

"And pizza. Don't forget pizza. Anyway, this isn't my first slumber party. I raised Erin through her teen years."

Brody sat back and watched how Elise was with the girls. Neverending patience, kindness, a vein of whimsy he hadn't imagined she possessed. She laughed as she helped him make root beer floats, she knew card tricks and she knew how to kick some serious a.s.s on the PlayStation.

She was so very capable, which was beyond s.e.xy. In his deepest heart, he could admit he found it s.e.xy because she took care of her own s.h.i.t. He didn't have to be responsible for her. She didn't need taking care of, though he did like it when she shared parts of her past with him.

He could enjoy her. He could enjoy their friendship and whatever else they had. He liked her, respected her. She was something he'd never really brushed up against before, so exotic and beautiful to his eye, to his heart.

And that kid of hers, wow. Irene was such a spot of sunshine. Bright, happy, loving. Whatever put that fear in Elise's eyes, she'd done something spectacular in shielding that little girl from it.

"You girls need to go upstairs and get ready for bed." Elise looked at the girls with a smile. "I'll be up in ten minutes to read a story, so pick one."

"Good night, Brody!" Rennie bounced over and gave him a hug, followed by Nina.

"Night, you two. Thanks for hanging out with me and your mom tonight."

Rennie fluttered her lashes at him, and both girls giggled as they ran upstairs.

"She's something else. Amazing kid you've got there." He looked up and caught the pride on her face.

"I don't really have much to do with it. She's been this way since the moment she came into the world. I'm lucky to have her her."

"You want to talk about that call today?" He watched her carefully, not wanting to push too hard.

"I need to deal with them first. I can't unpack that wound just now." She put her hands on her hips, and he saw the cracks in her facade.

"I'll be down in a few minutes, if you want to wait around. I can't, well, I don't think tonight is the night for anything naked." She quirked up a smile. "But your company is nice and I like to look at you."

He laughed. "I'll be here. Unless you need my help up there?"

"Nah. They'll be hard enough to wrestle down. In fact, I'm guessing they'll be up most of the night."

"Okay then. I'll be here."

"Help yourself to whatever."

He watched her leave the room and liked what he saw. A lot.

"Oh man, I'm so full I may have to be rolled back to my house," he said after she came back down half an hour later. He'd made himself another root beer float and settled in on her very comfortable couch.

"I've got strong arms, I'll roll you." She tossed herself next to him, putting her feet up on the low table. He reached out and grabbed her feet, pulling them into his lap, starting to ma.s.sage them. "Oh, you don't want that." She tried to pull back, but he held on.

"Oh, but I do. Woman, you do for people over and over. Let me do for you."

"Dancers have horribly ugly feet." She blushed.

"You have no idea what ugly is. Believe me. You're fine. Are the girls okay?"

She rolled her eyes, but let him work, even arching and groaning when he kneaded her insteps.

"I figured they'd be awake all night, but they're both conked out. I guess the game and the pizza and all that running around they did ran 'em down. The silence is so lovely."

"I like your voice."

"Thank you. You know, you give really wonderful compliments. As it happens, I like yours. It's like a hot toddy after being out in the snow for an hour. Warm and sinful, and it makes me all melty inside."

"d.a.m.n, now that is probably the most awesome compliment I've ever received."

She blushed. "Why tattooing? What made you do it?"

"I've always loved to draw, and for a time I was big into animation. I was headed to art school, but life threw me into another direction and I had to get a job. A friend of mine had a tattoo shop, and he hired me on to clean up the place at night and help out with whatever they needed. The hours were good, he let me work around when Adrian and Erin were in school. It really didn't take me that long to realize tattooing was an art and to get into it. Ron, the guy who owned the shop and pretty much taught me everything I know, let me apprentice. I was good at it right away. Probably because I was too stupid to be worried I wouldn't be."

"Or maybe, Brody Brown, perhaps you accepted it the way you accept that you're good at just about everything else I've seen you do. Some people are gifted. It's okay to be proud of that."

That struck deep in a place he seldom delved into. He took care of others. He was proud of Erin and Adrian and celebrated all their successes. But sometimes . . . sometimes he forgot he had his own accomplishments worthy of praise. And it was quite often Erin or Adrian who reminded him.

Interesting. Now it was Brody who blushed. Elise liked that, liked that she had looked long and hard enough and she'd glimpsed some secret part of him.

"Anyway, it went pretty quickly from there. Within five years I had my own shop when the owner sold to me. He's living in Hawaii now, surfing and watching hot chicks in bikinis all day. He deserves it. Believed in me when no one else wanted to take on an eighteen-year-old raising two siblings."

"I've seen your work on Erin. She showed me the tree of life on her back. It's amazing. You're really talented."

"I do okay, yeah. That one is special to me, of course. It started with small stuff and kept growing until it took up her entire back and we wrapped it around her hips too."

"Covers her scars, but memorializes what happened to her too. It's a positive thing."

He sighed. "I hope so. She's had a lot to deal with. More than anyone should. I expect, given the shadow in your eyes, you know a little bit about dealing with things."

She shrugged. "It's amazing how one bad choice can s...o...b..ll into something you can't stop until it ends horribly. But it's over and I survived. Rennie is relatively untouched by it although she does go to play therapy once a month."

"What happened, Elise? Obviously it was her father, right?"

Swallowing hard, she nodded. She kept her voice low, mindful of Rennie asleep upstairs. "I'm not the only one with a story like this. I'm not a special snowflake. My ex-husband was an abusive, mentally-ill junkie. Thank G.o.d he was in jail for most of my pregnancy with Rennie."

"Was that who called today? Because if so, I'm totally free to show a man what it feels like to be pounded on by someone bigger than he is."

Unable to resist, she traced her finger over his lips. "Thanks, but no, it wasn't him. He's dead. It was his mother trying to bully me. It's her pattern." She shrugged. It wasn't a mystery that she hadn't met Ken's parents until after she and Ken had eloped to Vegas. Once she'd met them, she knew she wouldn't have married him if she'd been exposed to them for any time at all prior to the wedding.

"Can't you block her number?"

"No. The phone is for them to call Rennie once a month. It's better than them having my home number or knowing where we live. Anyway, she's vile and horrid and I hate her more than I ever hated her son. Thankfully, she lives in New York and we don't."

"Some people are a.s.sholes."

"Yes."

"We should make out."

She looked up, surprised, and then she laughed, launching herself into his lap.