Safe In His Arms. Kay David

Houston had made its predictable swing back into popularity, exploding with swanky new spots and upscale restaurants. Anise tended to avoid it. She liked the old places where they knew which table she preferred and what she wanted to eat when she walked in the door. Kenneth had picked the spot tonight, though, and she hadn’t cared enough to argue. All she wanted was to put the meeting behind her.

      She didn’t rush as she walked down the sidewalk. He would be late, because he was always late. She’d use the extra time to gather her thoughts and organize her feelings. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told Sarah she felt like a failure. Anise wasn’t happy with the way her brief marriage had ended but she was looking forward to having Kenneth out of her life. He’d never understood her friendship with Sarah or the time Anise devoted to her art, seeming to be jealous of each, although he’d had no basis in fact for either. They’d argued about it more and more until his constant demands had turned unbearable. At that point, she’d realized that Kenneth’s world consisted of Kenneth and no one else. The sun, the moon and the stars all revolved around him. Anything outside of that simply didn’t exist. He was never going to change. And neither was she. Her boxes were her life. After a year of marriage, she told him she’d wanted out. He’d fought her for six months and she wasn’t sure why but he’d finally come around.

      The small restaurant was packed. Had she been on her own, she would have turned around and left but she didn’t have that luxury tonight. She gave a groan and fought her way to the hostess stand. To her surprise, Kenneth had made a dinner reservation and the young girl seated her immediately. Even more surprisingly, before Anise could order a drink, Kenneth appeared in the doorway. He waved to her, then started across the crowded room.

      Most of the women, and some of the men, watched as he came toward her. At six-one, with dark hair, blue eyes and a self-confident air, Kenneth was a handsome man and he knew it. He would be a very eligible bachelor again.

      Arriving at their table, he kissed her, smoothed his jacket then slid into the booth beside her. “I’m on time,” he announced. “Aren’t you proud of me?”

      Anise looked at him and shook her head. He actually thought she should be impressed because he had managed the simple courtesy.

      The waitress materialized beside their table. She zeroed in on Kenneth and Anise became invisible. Kenneth proceeded to flirt with the woman then ask her which drinks the bartender specialized in. Anise sat quietly and let him have his fun. This was the last time she’d have to put up with it so why not? After a few more minutes of discussion, the waitress wrote something on her pad then waded through the throng to the bar.

      Kenneth turned to Anise. “I’m sure you’ll like the Cosmos. That’s what she recommended and I’ve heard they really are the best—”

      “I could care less what we drink, Kenneth. I’m here for one thing and that’s to get these papers signed.” Anise went for her purse but Kenneth stopped her, his hand on her arm.

      “Can’t that wait a bit?”

      She raised her eyes to his and started to argue but behind the polished facade Kenneth wore like a second skin, a glimmer of something unfamiliar caught her attention. It looked like anxiety but she decided she was wrong. Kenneth didn’t worry about anything, including his practice. His ability to navigate the federal tax law labyrinth was amazing but he had never pushed himself to build his clientele. He puttered along, making a mediocre amount but living large.

      “I’ll sign them,” he promised, “But first I need a few minutes to catch my breath. It was a hell of a day.” He put his cell phone on the table between them. “Hope you don’t mind, but I’m expecting a call I need to catch…”

      Before Anise could reply, the waitress reappeared. She held a tray with two glistening drinks on it, their color matching her nail polish so perfectly Anise wondered if she’d planned it. With a flourish she put the drinks down then walked away, sending Kenneth a smile over her shoulder he didn’t catch.

      It had to have been a bad day for Kenneth to miss that….

      Anise’s mind skipped over the probable causes before it landed on the most obvious reason. “Is it Brittany?” she asked. “Is she okay?”

      Kenneth’s previous marriage had produced a daughter. Wild and unpredictable, Brittany had been a huge source of problems for Kenneth over the past sixteen years. Her latest round with drugs and alcohol would have been a cliché had the situation not been so serious.

      “Brittany hasn’t been okay since she was two,” Kenneth said wearily.

      His truthful reply surprised her. Despite Anise’s numerous attempts to make him see things differently, Kenneth generally tried to downplay his daughter’s “growing pains,” as he put them.

      “What’s wrong?”

      “What’s always wrong with Brittany? It’s her mother, of course.” He picked up his drink and half emptied it, the thought of his first wife apparently leaving him with the urge to get drunk.

      Anise could appreciate the sentiment.

      Donna Capanna was an angry woman and she didn’t bother to hide it. She and Kenneth had already been divorced when she found out he and Anise were marrying, but she’d been upset and resentful. Her irrational reaction had been bad enough, but she’d infected her daughter with her poisonous feelings, turning the girl against Kenneth as well. Anise had been appalled. What kind of woman used a child—her own daughter at that—as a weapon?

      “She’s demanding I put another ten thousand into Brittany’s college fund.” Kenneth stared into his drink and shook his head. “We’ll be lucky if Britt gets out of high school. I don’t know where Donna’s coming from.”

      “Have you talked to her about it?”

      “Talk to Donna? Are you kidding? That paint you use must be getting to your brain.” He caught the waitress’s eye and twirled his finger for another round. “She’s too busy playing with her latest conquest to talk about her daughter. You should know that by now.”

      Anise squirmed. Discussing Kenneth’s ex, no matter how irresponsible she was, had never made Anise comfortable and now, she was about to earn that label herself. She would be the “ex.” She flashed ahead five years and imagined Kenneth sitting in another booth with another woman talking about Anise. “She was crazy,” he would pronounce. She imagined him twirling that same finger in a circular motion only this time beside his ear. “An artist. A real nutcase…”

      “…damn business doing just about as bad, too. Robin’s driving me nuts. I don’t know what the hell’s happening with my life.”

      Anise blinked and came back to the moment. “Why is Robin upset? What’s wrong at work?”

      His lips tightened with anger. “I just told you,” he said, his attitude nudging its way past edginess and into impatience. “You weren’t even listening, were you? Some things never change.”

      “Tell me again,” she said.

      Staring at her, he downed the rest of his drink then picked up the second one the waitress had delivered, his irritation deflating as quickly as it had come.

      “It’s nothing,” he said with a wave of his hand. “It doesn’t matter.”

      Anise started to press him, then stopped.

      The problem he had was most likely the same one that he usually had.

      Kenneth was always broke.

      The whole time they’d lived together, Anise had supported them. The money he made seemed to evaporate. Sarah had continually tried to get Anise to make Kenneth cut back, but she had never been successful.

      He grinned, his mood shifting again as he put his arm on the back of the booth, his eyes falling on her face. “You didn’t come here to listen to me complain, did you? You came here to get rid of my sorry ass….”

      Anise returned his smile before she could