Scarlett Sinner (The Scarletts Read online

  Her steps faltered. He looked unexpectedly familiar. He resembled Dahlia. They could be twins. No sign of Erin in his hazel eyes. He was all Scarlett. Not even a drop of anything else.

  "Hello," he said politely.

  "Hello." Chelsea's voice was husky. She wanted to look at him some more but she dared not.

  She didn't want to have any unplanned conversation with him.

  She moved past him into the room and got her shoes.

  Troy was watching her from the bed.

  "I hope you won't be removing Dahlia's stuff," he said to her quietly, calmly. "She'll be coming back here sometimes, I hope. I think we should at least work out visitation."

  "Sure. I have no problems with that."

  "You might," Troy sighed. "I am moving to Malvern. I got a job at Mount Faith University."

  That caught her attention. "You did? I didn't know you were planning to leave the ministry."

  "Had to, I got the boot. Well, not exactly the boot. I was politely nudged and reshuffled."

  "Oh. Well, a child out of wedlock while you are in wedlock is a big deal."

  "Chels. Why do you keep interpreting events like that?"

  Chelsea didn't want to get into that with him again so she changed the subject. "So, what are you going to do with the house here?"

  "The lease will be up in a couple of weeks. It is one of the things I guess we need to talk about too."

  Chelsea brushed off one of her high-heeled pink shoes and the tip came off in her hand.

  Dry rot. Like my marriage.

  She still put it in the box though. She would discard it when she got to her parents’ house.

  "I got a job," she said after a pregnant pause where Troy watched her keenly and she pretended that she didn't feel him watching.

  She cleared her throat.

  "I am pretty sure that my work hours will be long. I was planning to ask Daisy to babysit in the evenings till I get home from work. It is actually an ideal situation."

  "Where are you going to work?" Troy looked shocked. He probably thought that she was going to have to depend on him to finance her.

  "Villa Ingles," she said smugly. "Manager. I start tomorrow."

  "With Ricky Mills?" Troy's voice became overly alarmed. "Why on earth would you work with Ricky?"

  "Because he has a job opening and I need a job." Chelsea frowned. "What's wrong with Ricky?"

  "He kidnapped Marla a couple of weeks ago and was in prison. He shouldn't even be out but as usual, money talks. I don't even think he was formally charged."

  "She was his wife; she left him for Yuri. It was not a kidnap scenario. Just a man taking back his wife." Chelsea rolled her eyes. "You Scarletts can really spin a story."

  "You are a Scarlett too," Troy hissed, "and Ricky does not like Scarletts. Besides, Marla was not married to Ricky legally. She was not his wife. He was blackmailing her! You heard the story."

  "I am still taking the job," Chelsea said stubbornly. "I was a Scarlett. I am taking steps to rid myself of your last name. As soon as this divorce is over I am going back to my maiden name, Padmore. Chelsea Padmore. I can't wait. So the Scarlett name shouldn't be an issue now, should it?"

  "Chelsea, don't do this. Please," Troy said urgently. "Is there any way we can work this out without such a drastic action as divorce?. You have put me through the wringer for this one.

  "Jeez, Chels, you are divorcing me over something that happened before we were married, when we were not even together!"

  Chelsea gave him a sneer. "And that's supposed to make me feel better? You jolly well know that if it were with anybody else this would not sting as much. But her...Troy, her of all people...what do you want me to do now? Play happy family with her son? I am not a hypocrite, Troy. You want to know how we can work this out?

  "Time travel. Go back to that parking lot and keep your pants on when you were with that slut, Erin Irving. That's what you could do."

  Troy closed his eyes. "Chelsea, Todd is a very sweet child. You can't hate a child just because of his mother."

  Chelsea gathered up the shoebox, which was overflowing with shoes, and practically ran to the car.

  She shoved the box into the passenger side of the car. Troy followed her outside and watched as she slammed the car door with unnecessary energy.

  "Don't you dare!" She spun around and looked at him. "Don't you dare think that I am ever, ever going to forget this, Troy. Don't you for one minute think that I am going to just miraculously forget who his mother is. And don't you for one minute think that I am going to forgive you for sleeping with her. You sicken me!"

  She jumped into the car and backed away toward the gate.

  Her heart was beating too erratically for her to drive so she just stopped the car at the side of the road and sobbed. Her life, her heart, everything was broken. Everything.

  Chapter Seven

  "Are you sure that this is what you want to do, Troy?" His mother looked around the house skeptically, running her hand over the furniture and inspecting it for dust. "And that housekeeper of yours, she is so young... and er, attractive."

  "She is all I could find on short notice." Troy lowered his voice because Faye was in hearing distance. She was recommended by one of his new colleagues. She was from the Mount Faith community, twenty-five years old. She had two children of her own and she was really good with Todd and now Dahlia. They were both in the kitchen with her as she prepared a snack for them.

  Frankly, he thought Faye was a godsend. Between moving to Mount Faith, settling in a new place and starting a new job, he had been swamped. In the short week she had been around she had also worked a miracle with the place. His mother's quest to find dust on the furniture was hopeless. Faye was a thoroughly good housekeeper.

  His mother snorted and sat in one of the comfortable settees. "I can't find anything wrong. It is a lovely place, spacious; it reminds me a bit of a dream house idea I once had, with all of the exposed beams and tray ceilings and rustic charm—and you have a lovely view. You can't beat that view of the mountains."

  Troy grinned. "I know. Four bedrooms. Helper’s quarters. It is available for sale."

  "You should definitely buy it," Daisy said, looking around. "It’s a really nice place to bring up children."

  "I might buy it." Troy sighed and pushed his hands in his pockets. "It gets really chilly up here. Todd loves it. He loves his room."

  "How is he settling in?" Daisy asked. "I know I have asked this several times before, but I am kind of anxious that he has a good time with you."

  "He is fine, a real trooper." Troy smiled fondly. "He's been with me now for what, two months? And already I can't believe that he wasn't always in my life."

  "Does he miss his mom?" Daisy asked.

  "Not really." Troy inhaled. "Erin left him with baby sitters a lot. He wasn't that close to her but he knows she is dead. Tatlyn, the foster mother he had before this, said she was the closest thing to a mother that he had. He talks about her still but he knows he is here with me to stay."

  Daisy nodded. "I wish he could spend more time with Dahlia. He seems to like her."

  "He does. They like each other, which I am thankful for. Thank you for bringing Dahlia up for me, Mom."

  "No problem. She is to spend the whole weekend. I will come back for her Sunday afternoon."

  Troy grimaced. "At least that is something."

  "She drove Chelsea to it." Daisy laughed. "She was crying for you. ‘I never get to see my Daddy. I want my Daddy.’ She did it in the middle of her class. The teachers strongly suggested to Chelsea that she is very sad and she needed to see her father. It was affecting her school work and social interactions."

  "Poor baby." Troy sighed and sat across from his mother. "I feared that this would happen. I am a former pastor with a broken home filled with regrets over my past transgressions." He swallowed, dreading having to ask, "How is Chelsea?"

  "Fine," Daisy said abruptly. "She changed her hairstyle and lost more
weight. She looks different. Your father says she looks single. She stopped wearing her ring."

  Troy swallowed. "I can't say I didn't see that coming."

  "Don't you still love her?" Daisy asked, frowning. "I don't understand you two, you know. Love just does not stop because somebody makes a mistake or things didn't go as planned. You two wanted to so urgently get married because you loved each other without reservations. Everything was perfect and nothing could come between you two. And now this..."

  "You are preaching to the choir, Mom." Troy rubbed his hand over his face. "Of course I still love Chelsea. I never stopped. Maybe she did not love me and this event was the catalyst for her to leave and do what she wants to do."

  "You should fight for her." Daisy urged. "Do something to break this ridiculous stalemate the two of you are locked in."

  "You can't fight a losing battle," Troy interjected. "It’s futile. All I can hope for right now is that Chelsea allows me to see Dahlia regularly."

  Daisy sighed and got up. "Well, I don't want to intrude on you and your family time. I have a couple of things I need to do in Santa Cruz before I head home."

  "Okay, Mom. Thanks again." Troy hugged his mother and watched as she told her grandchildren goodbye and drove off.

  ****

  "Your mother is nice," Faye said behind him. "She reminds me of my mum."

  Troy spun around and looked at Faye, who was standing at the doorway with a dishrag in her hand. "Yes, she is nice. Where are the kids?"

  "Dahlia is showing Todd a new toy of hers. They are in Dahlia's room." Faye smiled. "They look so much alike."

  "Yeah, the Scarlett gene is strong."

  Faye was looking at him curiously, as if she wanted to ask him a question. Maybe she wanted to ask why his wife hadn't visited. It was logical. He would have been curious too.

  He stood and waited, closing the front door in the interim. Waiting for her to speak.

  "What would you like for dinner, Sir?"

  "Troy," Troy corrected her for the umpteenth time. "My name is Troy. I get a lot of Sir at work. Besides, I am just a year older than you are."

  Faye grinned. She had a chip on one of her front teeth, giving her an impish air. She was attractive, as his mother had pointed out. She had a round face, with warm brown eyes and a womanly hourglass figure that looked good in anything, even the plain blue skirt and white three quarter sleeve blouse she was wearing.

  She looked real and warm and she wasn't snarling at him. He liked her. She was working out well so far.

  "Troy?" She interrupted his thoughts. "Dinner?"

  "I feel for some jerked fish with okra. Like how they make it at Little Ochi Restaurant in Alligator Pond," Troy said wistfully.

  Faye grinned. "I can do that. Will your children like that?"

  "We'll see. If you do it like how it's done at Little Ochi, you are hired forever."

  Faye nodded. "Well okay, then. I'll try my best."

  She smiled at him and headed to the kitchen, turning back at the door. "I wanted to ask about your wife. I know it's none of my business but your daughter talks about her mommy and your son doesn't really say anything..."

  Troy sighed. "They don't have the same mother."

  "Really?" Faye shook her head. "Then it's true, your genes really are strong!"

  Troy nodded. "Yup. My wife is Dahlia's mother and she is not really into me right now."

  "Oh," Faye said, "break-ups are tough especially when children are involved."

  Troy nodded. "Maybe one day we can trade stories."

  "My story is an ordinary one, really," Faye said, leaning on the doorway. "I choose the wrong men all the time. The bad boys. My first son's father is in prison and my second son's father is on the run from the police because he is an abusive, jealous jerk.

  "Your Mrs. Scarlett does not know how lucky she is to have a stable, educated man, willing to take care of his children."

  She moved into the kitchen and Troy stood at the door, reluctant to move. His Mrs. Scarlett. Chelsea had ceased to be his Mrs. Scarlett for close to a year now. Their wedding anniversary was coming up in April. Usually they would celebrate it by going to an all-inclusive hotel for three days.

  Just them and a king size bed. No interruptions.

  This year, he was probably going to be served divorce papers. He pulled himself out of the depressing thought and headed upstairs to find Todd and Dahlia.

  *****

  Chelsea looked at the pile of papers in front of her that she had to sign and at the chef in front of her, who was outlining his disappointment with the kitchen staff, and she tried not to cross her eyes in fatigue. Managing the thirty-room villa was supposed to be a breeze. Janet Long had certainly made it seem so but it wasn't. One had to have a natural affinity to put out fires, literally and figuratively, smile while you heard the most outrageous requests from the high-end guests and referee the hundred and one complaints from the villa staff.

  She had inherited a kitchen mutiny that was raging between the head chef and his staff for the last five weeks. They said he was a draconian dictator who didn't know how to talk to people and he said they were rebellious to authority and did not do as told.

  She couldn't fire the head chef; he was the best multi-skilled chef in the area. If she fired him today he would be in some other villa’s kitchen, lording over it, within the hour.

  As Janet had been at pains to point out to her, he was as good with pastry as he was with savory dishes and though he was arrogant and belligerent, he was partly responsible for over seventy percent of their repeat guests. He was that good, and he knew it.

  "Nathan, how would you like me to proceed?" Chelsea inhaled after he had outlined his grouses.

  "Get rid of them," he sputtered. "All of them."

  "And how would you manage alone? It’s the weekend. The villa is at full capacity. You need them. They need you. You are going to have to meet in the middle."

  Nathan snorted. "They are incompetents, Chelsea."

  "But they can't be that bad if I continue to get guest responses like this." She held up the guest feedback cards.

  The food was excellent.

  This place serves the best food in this entire country.

  Consistently good food. I would sleep in the kitchen just to eat here.

  Nathan preened.

  "It is team work, Nathan," Chelsea said tiredly. "I am sure that you do not work on every single dish. So some of the credit must go to the rest of the staff."

  Nathan sighed. "They rub me the wrong way, Chelsea."

  "I know but before you yell at them and call them hurtful names, can you take a deep breath and consider that you need them too?"

  "Well..." Nathan shrugged and got up, "I'll try."

  "Good." Chelsea nodded and watched as he closed the door. She was expecting him back next week, or another member of his staff. She was going to have to book a dispute resolution class for them and make it mandatory that they attend.

  She put her head on the desk and rubbed her temples. Her long hair fell around her in disarray. The irony was not lost on her that she was giving conflict resolution advice every single day and she was not following a single word of what she said in her personal life.

  She had effectively cut out Troy from her life. Some days she missed him; some days she just hated the thought of him and his son. Her anger was nowhere near being cooled. She probably would be angry forever.

  A knock on her door had her sitting up straight and pulling her face into efficient lines.

  "Come in," she said in her best capable managerial voice

  Ricky peered his head around the door. "Hello Chelsea."

  "Hi Ricky." Chelsea had not seen him much in the six weeks that she was there. He had been away on business.

  A guy almost as tall as he was stood behind him. Ricky opened the door wider. "This is Kadeem Virgo, a member of my accounting team. I am sorry, but he'll be in your hair for the next couple of weeks. He usually works from th
is office."

  Ricky pointed to the small conference table that was at the other end of the office. "He won't interfere. He is a necessary nuisance, I am afraid."

  "Hello Chelsea." Kadeem came into full view and Chelsea's eyes widened. He looked like a bodybuilder and he was dressed in a muscle shirt with a tattoo of a rose at the side of his neck.

  "I know, I don't look like a bookkeeper." Kadeem grinned at her frown.

  "But he is one of the best," Ricky said from the door. "I am back, so anything that you have to go over, I'll be in my office. I heard you have been doing an excellent job so far."

  Chelsea nodded. "Thank you. As a matter of fact I do have some, er..." Her gaze strayed to Kadeem, who was by no means inconspicuous. "I, er...yes do have some things to review with you."

  Ricky grinned at her, a wicked smile on his face. He looked at Kadeem and they shared a gaze of mutual understanding.

  Kadeem had his orders.

  Not only should he be going over the books but he should be seducing Chelsea Scarlett.

  Sleep with her, string her along and then break her heart. He wanted it on tape too; he had this office thoroughly wired from all angles. He would personally send the footage to Yuri and Troy.

  Now that would just totally devastate Troy Scarlett, wouldn't it? His precious wife getting nailed on her office desk.

  The thought made him smile.

  Chapter Eight

  Sunday morning was a great time to take a walk with his children, Troy thought as he watched them hop along the walkway, investigating everything that seemed fascinating. Their red-brown heads were close together as they looked at the plants along the side of the road.

  Todd had mastered the big brother role so far, holding Dahlia's hand, calling her back when she went too far. His son was shaping up to be protective and responsible. His daughter, who looked very much like her aunt Terri, had inherited her temperament too: a daredevil who was the instigator of all the mischief. Though Dahlia was a bit less fiery than her aunt Terri, she was shaping up to be bossy.