Sugar Baby

“I’ve only been here half a day, as you reminded me yesterday, but it’s long enough to know that other people’s feelings don’t seem to matter much to you, Michelle.”

Michelle glanced uncertainly at Mack.

“Just a minute, Claire,” he said.

But Claire’s wrath was still focused on Michelle. “You had no right to take my son without asking!” With Danny’s back pressed against her thighs, she crossed shaking hands over his chest. “It’s bad enough we have no choice except to be here, but for you to think so little of my peace of mind that you’d whisk Danny off and leave me to wonder and worry and imagine all sorts of horrible possibilities is just too much!” She drew in a deep breath, trembling all over.

“Gosh, I’m really sorry,” Michelle repeated, with none of her usual flippancy.

“Was it too much trouble to wake me and ask to take my son?”

Danny caught her hand. “Mommy…”

Claire ignored him. “If I could, I would pack our things and leave here this instant!”

“Mommy—” Danny pulled at her hand.

Claire turned to Mack. “What kind of people are you? Don’t you ever think of anybody but yourselves?”

“Just a damn minute, now!” He took a step toward her. “Maybe Michelle was wrong in bringing Danny out without asking, but seems to me you’re taking out other frustrations on her. You ask what kind of people we are—no different from most. We’re trying to be rational, and that’s more than—”

“Rational!” Now that she’d vented her outrage, her other emotions were threatening to overflow. Suddenly she felt close to tears. “F-forcing me to c-come here, d-demanding time with my son when you were perfectly happy to deny his existence before Carter died, then taking advantage of that hideous situation at the hotel.” She drew a new breath, blinking fast. “And why did we have to stay there, anyway? We would have been just fine at the Holiday Inn. But no, because you say so, we have to experience the quaint southern thing and check into a hotel right out of a trashy novel…” She looked away, struggling to keep herself together.

“Mommy…” Danny tugged again. “I think you need some time in the quiet corner.”

All three looked at Danny, then at each other. Sheepishly. Claire pressed her fingers to her temples, realizing how hysterical she sounded. How irrational. Even Danny knew it. Shaking her head, she whispered to no one in particular, “What am I doing?”

“Mommy, can I talk now?”

“What, Danny?” she managed to say, breathing in to try to regain her composure.

“You’re gonna be mad.” Warily, he watched her use both hands to wipe tears from her cheeks.

“Try me anyway, Danny.”

“Michelle didn’t bring me outside this morning. I came all by myself.”

She glanced in disbelief at the barn and then in the direction of the big house. It could hardly be seen from here. “How on earth did you find the barn?”

“I followed the dirt road, you know like in The Wizard of Oz, only it’s not a yellow brick road here, it’s dirt.”

There was an uneasy silence. Claire glanced at Michelle, then closed her eyes. “I can’t believe this.”

“Actually, I suppose I’m to blame,” Michelle said, shifting a little as the mare nudged her from behind. “Last night, I promised Danny if he’d go to sleep and not bug you, I’d show him the horses and the pony that was just the right size for him.” She shrugged, then with a wry look she reached out and ruffled his hair. “Like I said, I always ride early in the morning. When he appeared, I didn’t really think about whether anybody knew where he was. I just assumed you knew.” She looked at Claire. “He’s safe at Sugarland, whether you know it or not.”

Claire chewed on her lower lip, wishing she were anywhere but at this horrible place. “I apologize for losing control,” she said stiffly. “I don’t usually make such a fool of myself.”

Michelle shrugged. “You were scared. It’s a motherthing. Forget it.”

Nodding reluctantly, Claire glanced at Mack. Michelle might be willing to forget her outburst, but he wouldn’t. Fortunately, she didn’t care what he thought.

“Can we look at my pony now?” Danny begged.

She let him pull her toward the barn.

Claire wasn’t sure what to expect for the rest of that day, but to her relief, Michelle didn’t seem to hold any resentment and had even invited her to come along for Danny’s promised pony ride. He’d been enchanted with the pony, of course, and with everything else about Sugarland. In a way, Claire envied his youthful enthusiasm. How nice to be innocent enough to accept at face value this place, this new experience, even these people.

He fell into an exhausted nap after lunch. Claire seized the chance to slip out of the house and spend a few peaceful moments with her own thoughts and—she admitted it—to indulge her curiosity about Sugarland. Behind the house, at the end of a meandering brick walk, she turned a corner and discovered a pond—or maybe it was a small lake. To her delight, situated in the middle of it was a gazebo.

Did everything in this place look like something out of a storybook? she wondered, walking the wooden footbridge that spanned the water. Inside the gazebo, she spent a moment gazing around at the peaceful setting. In one direction, the big house was visible, its frame shimmering in the August heat. To the west was a vast expanse of green sugarcane. Along the perimeter of the field, a dust plume billowed out behind a slow-moving farm vehicle. Beyond that, a lush, dark line of trees marked a bayou.

She sat down on a wrought-iron settee. Only a light breeze stirred the willow trees ringing the pond. Clumps of purple iris at the water’s edge attracted butterflies and bees. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes. All her life she’d been a city dweller, but she had often imagined she would like country living. Pushing aside thoughts of why she was here, she lost herself in the peace and sounds and smells of deep summer.

Something brushed her ankle. Glancing down, she saw that a dragonfly was perched on the end of her sneaker. Gazing at its wide, fragile wings, she thought of her own precarious fate. How could she continue to stay with the McMolleres indefinitely? Where else could she and Danny go to be safe?

“Want some company?”

For a big man, Mack McMollere moved almost silently, she thought. Backlighted by the glare of the sun on the water, he seemed to fill the arched entrance of the small structure. How had he managed to get so close without making a sound? Shrugging wordlessly to let him know she had no objection to his company, she watched him push away from the arch and come inside.

The settee creaked with his weight as he took a seat beside her, shifting until he was wedged between the back and side arm. It gave him a clear view of Claire.

“Didn’t take you long to find the choice spot at Sugarland, did it?”

“It’s beautiful,” she murmured. “I can see why southern Louisiana has inspired so many writers and poets.”

“Yeah, mosquitoes, humidity, relentless heat ten months out of the year, and to top it off, alligators. You can’t get much more romantic than that.”

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