"Good," I muttered.
"What the fuck?" I heard Brock growl, my head went up and both boys' necks twisted to look toward the door.
"Nice," I heard a woman say then go on, "I've got to get the boys early. Can you get their stuff together? I'll be waiting in the car."
"Come again?" Brock asked.
"I have to get the boys early," she repeated. "I'll be waiting in the car. Tell them to hurry."
"Olivia, you don't get them until five," Brock stated and, already tense at the knowledge my mind was refusing to believe, that Brock's ex was at the door sounding like the bitch I suspected she was from what I'd learned from Brock (and Fern and Laura and Jill), I went tenser when this was irrevocably confirmed and it was then I noticed both the boys were frozen to the point of looking calcified on their stools.
"I know that, Slim, but today I need to pick them up early," she retorted.
"You need to pick them up early, you tell me you need to pick them up early; we discuss it and make plans. You don't show at my fuckin' door and tell me to get them packed."
"Oh for God's sake!" she snapped. "It isn't a big deal. Why do you make everything a big deal? It's only two hours. Just get them to get their shit packed and I'll be waiting in the car."
"Woman, I get four days a month with my boys, two hours shaved off that is a big deal,"
Brock returned on a dangerous rumble.
"There you go, making it a big deal," she shot back.
"They haven't eaten," Brock told her.
"Dade will take them out to get some burgers or something later," she replied.
"No, Dade won't. We got plans. You'll come back in two hours or I'll drop them at your house at five or whatever-the-fuck time you'll be home to look after your sons."
"You can do whatever you have planned next time you see them. I'm here now, I went out of my way to come and get them and I don't have time to discuss this."
"You went out of your way to come and get your boys?" Brock asked, his dangerous rumble getting more dangerous.
"Jesus, Slim, just tell them to get packed."
"All right, you are not hearing me and you need to listen, we have plans. The cake's baked and the boys are lookin' forward to it. They're gonna eat it and then they'll go back when it's time for them to go back."
"The cake's baked?"
Uh-oh.
Brock didn't answer that question. Instead he ordered, "Go, I'll bring the boys to your place at seven."
"What cake's baked?" she asked. "You baked a cake?" This was incredulous.
Apparently, Rex nor Joel had shared about me.
I looked back at the boys at the same time their heads, in unison, slowly turned to me.
They looked terrified.
Oh man.
"Olivia, Christ, step back," Brock growled.
Oh man!
"What cake, Slim?" she asked, her voice rising as well as getting closer then on a shout, "What cake? "
Then there was a moment of silence, a muttered, "Fuck," from Brock and my eyes went to the living room a half a second before a woman appeared at the foot of the stairs to the kitchen.
And one look at her was like a sock to the stomach.
She was beautiful. Utterly, top-to-toe, the definition of beautiful.
Shining, healthy, long blonde hair. Fabulous bone structure. Perfectly symmetrical features. Intriguingly shaped bedroom eyes. Cheekbones to die for. Tall and rake thin. Slim-fitting, stylish sweater, two hundred dollar jeans, seven hundred dollar boots and fifteen hundred dollar handbag.
And she had extraordinarily beautiful hands tipped with perfect, crimson fingernails.
She looked like she walked out of the pages of a celebrity magazine.
And she was Brock's ex-wife.
Her striking, angry, venom-spewing eyes leveled on me and she demanded to know, "Who are you?"
I opened my mouth to answer but then Brock entered my vision and he spoke before me.
"This is Tess, Olivia, and seriously, this is not fuckin' cool," he snarled.
"Tess?" she asked, eyes on me then they cut to Brock, "Tess? "
"Maybe you'll do me a favor and go outside for your tantrum instead of havin' it in front of my boys and my woman."
Wrong, wrong, wrong thing to say.
I knew this when she hissed, "Your woman? "
"Jesus, Olivia, can we fuckin' go outside?" Brock asked.
"No we fucking can't! " she shrieked.
And that was it for me.
"Okay, boys," I said softly, putting down my pastry bag, "do me a favor and get your coats. Let's take a walk around the block."
"Don't you take my sons anywhere, " Olivia lashed out, her arm coming up so she could jab a finger at me.
"Take them, Tess," Brock growled.
"Up boys, let's go," I whispered as they seemed planted to their stools.
"Don't you dare walk out of this house with my children!" Olivia shouted.
"Go, Tess," Brock barked.
"Guys," I called, rounding the counter, "up. Let's go."
"We have problems if that woman takes my sons out of this house," Olivia threatened Brock.
"You steppin' into my house, we already had problems, Olivia," Brock fired back.
"What's going on?" I heard and Olivia and Brock both looked to the door as I tried to place the voice that was vaguely familiar and couldn't do it until Joel spoke.
"Grandpa," he whispered.
Boy, Cob Lucas had interesting timing.
"What's going on, Cob, is that I'm here to pick up my sons and Slim won't release them,"
Olivia informed her ex-father-in-law at the same time she crossed her arms on her chest, hitched a hip and put out a foot.
"Well, I'll be," the invisible Cob replied. "I musta got somethin' messed up. I thought you picked the boys up at five, that's why I stopped by, to see my grandsons. Did I lose two hours somewhere?"
I watched Rex look at his brother, Joel gave him a small grin then they both finally moved to jump off their stools and race down the steps.
"Hey Grandpa!" I heard Joel shout.
"Hey Gramps!" Rex shouted after him.
"Joey, Rex, come give your Granddad a hug," Cob ordered.
Olivia glared at proceedings I couldn't see. Brock scowled at his boots.
"Tess baked us a cake!" I heard Rex say excitedly. "Carrot. My favorite and Dad's!"
"And mine, boy," Cob added. "Is it someone's birthday?"
"Naw," Joel answered. "She does it all the time. We had cupcakes last time we visited Dad. She bakes cakes for a living."
"She bakes cakes for a living," Olivia whispered disdainfully, I felt my back go straight but watched Brock's head snap up and neck twist whereupon he aimed a look so vicious at his ex-wife that it made me, not even the recipient of the look, quake a little.
"You should see her decorate it, Gramps," Rex said. "She goes so fast, you can't see her hands move. It's like those people on TV."
That made me feel better and when I say that I mean that made me feel downright smug but I aimed my smug grin at my feet.
"This I gotta see," Cob muttered.
"You gotta hurry, she's almost done," Rex told him.
"All right then, how about me and my grandsons watch Tess decorate this cake and you two go on out to the parking lot and finish your talk," Cob suggested. "Does that sound like a plan?"
I looked from my feet to the living room to see Olivia glare at Cob then she transferred her glare to Brock then she moved her eyes to shoot daggers at me.
Then her eyes travelled the length of me and back and she asked me, "Why am I not surprised you bake cakes?"
"Maybe 'cause she's got a real woman's body that a real man enjoys," pause then a pointedly emphasized kill shot of, "a lot rather than a body full of points and ridges that, newsflash, Olivia, really doesn't feel all that fuckin' good?" Brock asked this as her gaze snapped to him and it was clear by his look, the mood that hadn't shifted out of the room and the fact he didn't shut up that he wasn't done. "You should watch Tess decorate her cake too, probably would be fascinating, seeing as having talent of any kind is foreign to you." He'd already delivered ouch, with that he twisted the knife deep. But he still wasn't done. "I'll make sure the kids wrap a couple of pieces up to take home. You taste it; you might learn life can be sweet rather than bitter. Dade tastes it, he might remember that there are women out there who know how to take care of a man rather than expend all their energy suckin' the marrow out of his bones."
"Slim," Cob said softly, moving into my vision and giving his son a gentle look that, albeit gentle, clearly said to Brock that he'd made his point and it was time to move on before he moved up the stairs. When his eyes hit me, he said softly, "Heya Tess. Good to see you again."
"Hey," I said softly back.
"Have the children at my house by five." I heard Olivia hiss at Brock.
"I'll have them back at seven so Dad can have a good visit,"
I moved back behind the counter but glanced at the living room as Cob and the boys gathered at the bar and I saw her pinched face now staring daggers at Brock.
And Ellie was not wrong. She did have a pinchy face and after the initial impact of her looks, her words, attitude, anger and inappropriateness colored those looks and she was not nearly as beautiful as I'd thought.
"Fine," she bit out then started stomping to the door.
I picked up the pastry bag and went back to decorating even as I listened hard.
Therefore I heard Brock rumble low, "You cool down, you reflect on this, Olivia. You do this shit one more time, and I mean any of it, from your start of showin' two hours early to take my boys to finish with you throwin' a shit fit in front of them and my woman, I warn you, I'll take action."
"Go fuck yourself, Slim," was her hissed retort.
"Jesus," was Brock's muttered reply.
My eyes slid to Cob to see his mouth tight, his jaw hard and his eyes aimed at the counter.
He must have felt my look because his head came up, his gaze caught mine, he schooled his features into a smile that did not reach his concerned yet angry eyes then he released my gaze and reached out to wrap a big hand around Rex's head and pull him into his side.
"That's a big cake, boy, so big I'm thinkin' I can talk Tess into lettin' me stay so I can bum a piece," Cob said to Rex.
"I don't know, we were all gonna take quarters," Rex said back and Cob grinned at him.
Brock showed, stalked to the end of the bar and looked between his sons.
"You guys all right?" he asked.
Joel shrugged and kept his gaze steady on the cake so I went back to decorating it even though I knew this non-answer actually meant a big, fat, hairy no to his father's question.
"Yeah, Dad," Rex mumbled.
"Right," Brock whispered disbelievingly but let it go. Then, "Tess?"
"I'm good, honey," I told the cake then asked it, "You want me to get you a beer?"